I just don’t think Elliot fits in with where we want to be. Not for a lack of effort at his end.
Feels weird to discuss, but life goes on. Jota will be sorely missed and his death, and that of his brother, stings on a raw emotional level. Young men in their prime, and in Diogo’s case, our player who was held in our affections.
Before the accident we were all wondering what other business we would do. And now, tragically, this adds another footballing obstacle to navigate, which of course pales compared to what his wife, parents and loved ones are dealing with.
I think it solidifies the fact that we need two signings in the forward positions, probably a central striker and a winger. I love Nunez, but his time is surely up. Arguably we get by without the winger, assuming Diaz stays, but I would start to plan for the future as I don’t like all the noise around him.
Central defender. Striker. Winger. Three more signings it looks like to me.
2 Likes
What kind of winger?
We have two excellent options for left wing and three options on the right.
Unless we sell one, we aren’t really short in that position.
2 Likes
If Diaz stays, we are fine on the wing for now. The winger shout is in anticipation of him leaving, as there is a fair amount of noise around it.
I think Nunez and Chiesa will depart, and if we sign a striker as we expect, the group of forwards would be:
New striker
Diaz
Gakpo
Salah
Wirtz has been more of a 10 but he could also be seen as one of the group of forwards.
Frimpong will probably be a fullback, but he could also be seen as one of the group of forwards if he plays on the right, say, when Salah is at AFCON.
It’s a bit tight, but doable. I would be prepared to act on another winger/versatile forward to give us another option while starting to look to the future. If we hold off, fine, but if Diaz departs, we will need to act.
1 Like
We’ve just stated that Diaz is not for sale.
I agree that Darwin is going as long as someone puts their money where there mouth is, but there’s no concrete sign that Chiesa is being sold at the moment.
Unless there’s a lot going on in the background, there’s nothing that’s public to suggest that we need a new winger.
We do, clearly, need a CB and a CF.
3 Likes
The winger shout is the over/under for me. We definitely need a central striker and a central defender. Let’s see what further movement happens with outgoing.
I know we said Diaz is not for sale when Barca and Bayern came sniffing. I’m not certain if that is a negotiating position or a fact. Let’s see if a bid arrives to test it.
I do think Chiesa will stay
Someone who can be an option on both the left and the right. Also the low transfer fees that we will get for him makes him the more likely candidate to stay.
Nunez should go.
Regardless of whether Diaz stays or goes , we still have Frimpong covering both RB and RW. And this is Mo’s Afcon year. All the more reason for Chiesa to be the third choice winger(across both RW and LW).
1 Like
I don’t like the situation.
Basically, in terms of quality and players we fully trust, we are down to our main front 3 that was our winning formula last season.
Besides that, now it’s pretty thin, especially looking at that Chiesa and Nunez are likely to leave and I don’t think the recent unfortunate event will change that.
Maybe Elliott stays, but it will also depend what kind of offers we get for different players. It’s not only numbers, but playing characteristics, experience, etc.
I already prepared myself that we would go for Salah, Gakpo/possibly a new winger, Diaz/Jota. If there was a striker coming in, then we wouldn’t go for that left winger.
6 main forwards for 3 positions who are all satisfied (not easy) is ideal, 5 main forwards is absolutely doable, but 4 definitely isn’t enough.
We’ll have to wait a little bit and see what this means for our remaining targets in the transfer market. I do hope a little bit more that Diaz stays now (even if we don’t prolong with him).
1 Like
Just thought I’d say the circumstances should lead to any possibles being shut down.
I don’t think it much changes Nunez situation though we will see.
3 Likes
Am I the only one who wants Nunez to stay?. He’s rash, quick and chaotic. Nobody wants to play against him. Especially with 30mins to go.
However if he goes he’ll score a big goal against us somewhere down the line, that’ll knock us out of something and celebrate madly in front of the kop.
Nah, he’ll be offside.
6 Likes
He hasn’t been chaotic for months stats show it.
1 Like
I’ve never been interested in stats, so I wouldn’t know that much.
Okay the eye test then, hes looked terrible since Christmas.
2 Likes
There was always a part of me that thought that Wirtz might be able to unlock more of Nunez. But I think Nunez’s heart is set on leaving, and I don’t think you want to bring him back into the fold when he wants out.
3 Likes
I think the chances of Diaz going have now reduced significantly, even if we bring in a No.9.
4 Likes
If I think about it, you actually onto something here. Value in Nunez now, yet reducing without playing. Not much to lose with Chiesa even if he doesn’t play.
2 Likes
Not sure about Nunez going. He has been doing it tough as strikers can do. Maybe a pre-season with some goals could change his luck.
.
As far as Diogo, his position might go to someone like Dans, or an academy kid.
We said this after the Brentford game where he got the 2 late goals. He then gets 2 in the last 20 appearances after 5 in the previous 27 includes the Brentford goals. He was 11 goals down on the previous season.
7 Likes
I think Chiesa stays if he wants to. I think Slot is keen to see what he is like after a full pre season. However the World Cup hangs over all that.
If they qualify.
4 Likes