Or Isak?
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No. Nunez must go. he doesnāt fit and heās really not good enough.
OK. Iāll be the first to say that Diogoās tragic death might result in Harvey staying. I doubt if it would really, as he probably would still not get the amount of game time that he wants and needs. But I can imagine the idea being put to him by Slot.
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Thank you, i had that very same thought this morning.
I donāt see the connection. Very different players in a different position.
If Harvey stays , it will be because we havenāt found a suitable club(that Harvey wants to join) willing to pay what it takes to get the transfer done.
And in such a situation, I assume that Slot will be giving Harvey some time on the pitch this season (not enough but as a backup to Wirtz). And then we revisit the transfer market in January to see if thereās a potential deal that can be done then.
Thereās no link to Jotaās demise and Elliot potentially staying at Liverpool. Different circumstances.
Yes, youāre right. Itās just that I can envisage Harvey being a kind Kevin Keegan type of player playing off a target man like Isak or Ekitike.
But youāre right. It almost certainly wonāt happen. With Wirtz as CAM, as much as I would like there to be one, thereās no place for Harvey.
There is a point that will come very soon where the unpleasant transition will kick in from remembering Jota as a person and colleague/friend to thinking out how to move forward without him as a footballer. It is not out of the question that in this market they decide Wirtz is a better fit for that than anyone we can bring in leaving a hole big enough that Harvey could then fill.
I think there were real questions about all this last week and they have become harder to answer now.
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I just donāt 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 Diogoās 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 donāt like all the noise around him.
Central defender. Striker. Winger. Three more signings it looks like to me.
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What kind of winger?
We have two excellent options for left wing and three options on the right.
Unless we sell one, we arenāt really short in that position.
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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.
Itās 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.
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Weāve 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 thereās no concrete sign that Chiesa is being sold at the moment.
Unless thereās a lot going on in the background, thereās nothing thatās public to suggest that we need a new winger.
We do, clearly, need a CB and a CF.
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The winger shout is the over/under for me. We definitely need a central striker and a central defender. Letās see what further movement happens with outgoing.
I know we said Diaz is not for sale when Barca and Bayern came sniffing. Iām not certain if that is a negotiating position or a fact. Letās 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 Moās Afcon year. All the more reason for Chiesa to be the third choice winger(across both RW and LW).
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I donāt 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 itās pretty thin, especially looking at that Chiesa and Nunez are likely to leave and I donāt 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. Itās 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 wouldnāt 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 isnāt enough.
Weāll 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 donāt prolong with him).
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Just thought Iād say the circumstances should lead to any possibles being shut down.
I donāt think it much changes Nunez situation though we will see.
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Am I the only one who wants Nunez to stay?. Heās rash, quick and chaotic. Nobody wants to play against him. Especially with 30mins to go.
However if he goes heāll score a big goal against us somewhere down the line, thatāll knock us out of something and celebrate madly in front of the kop.
Nah, heāll be offside.
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He hasnāt been chaotic for months stats show it.
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Iāve never been interested in stats, so I wouldnāt know that much.