The Unreliable Rumours Discussion Thread (Part 1)

If this is the case then we will have a major advantage in signing Sancho.

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IMO Ox still has a lot of football left in him and he should go somewhere he can be a starter. He gave us some memorable performances and I wish only the best for him wherever he goes.

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Maybe he wants to join J.Lings at West Ham.

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Seen a few people saying Atletico Madrid are serious about Bobby.
We would take Ā£55m.

Also Reddy saying that only way Sancho comes in is if 1 of our top forwards are sold - so not Divok!

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I think most fans have always believed that to be the case, she isnā€™t really saying anything groundbreaking there.

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I donā€™t think anyone would be too upset to see Firmino leave would they? When was the last time he put together two good performances?

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As much as it would hurt me but anything more than +Ā£45m would be a good deal for Bobby. Ā£55m would be a no brainer.

From the Front3 he is surely the first in line to leave. Will be 30 in October. Wonā€™t be as expensive as Sadio or Mo.

And from the personality he is clearly one who will play in sunny spain rather sooner than later.

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Christmas 2019 is his last run of good form Iā€™d say. Heā€™s a Simeone player through and through, that rumour makes a lot of sense.

Dortmund would be a great move for Chamberlain too, would probably score 12-15 a season playing for them.

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Yeah I agree. In the unlikely scenario that we sold Firmino for 55m and bought Sancho for say 85m, I think everyone would be happy with that. Probably would mean Salah goes into the CF role full time which may be good for him anyway.

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Aye, I think there are two clear ways we can change up the attack and both have merit - have a classic #9 (Abraham, Vlahovic) replace Firmino, or use Salah/Jota as the #9 and bring in a wide player who can attack on the outside as well as the inside (like Sancho), meaning we donā€™t have to rely on the full backs for the width in every game.

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One consideration for factoring in Mo as a replacement for Bobby is that we apparently are going to miss him for a significant period next season due to extra international commitments. In addition to the Olympics at the beginning of the season, Mo is likely going to have to go for the Arab cup in Nov-Dec. This is the first year the competition has full FIFA support and so supposedly his release for the games will be mandated despite them not being in a normal international window.

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Iā€™m also in two minds here. We probably wonā€™t see Edwards acquire a striker that is similar to Haaland, Lewandowski or Kane because they are extremely rare but thatā€™s the kind of player Iā€™d ideally like - basically, a different version of Firmino thatā€™s good at holding up the ball but also frequently getting on the end of passes in opponentā€™s box. On the other hand, I wouldnā€™t mind having a centre forward version of Jota - so, another ā€œscore first, think laterā€ player, perhaps a taller one to make himself a nuisance when contesting long balls and crosses.

Iā€™m not sure that Abraham would be a good fit for this team at this moment and Iā€™m not sure if I can explain it concisely. As for Vlahović, I think he could be the best centre forward to come out of Serbia since forever but his immediate future should be with Fiorentina (though I wouldnā€™t be surprised to see them cash in on him after one great season) and his long-term future should be in Serie A or Bundesliga, otherwise heā€™ll go down the route of Luka Jović. If I was at Dortmund and I had to sell Haaland for a truckload of money, Vlahović would be my first pick to replace him. Heā€™ll never be as prolific as him but he should carve out a pretty good career for himself if he was properly advised, simply because he combines the good aspects of a classic poacher and a target man.

I would like to see Firmino phased out of the team, though, it seems that the experiment of having an ā€œextraā€ player in pressing by combining him and Keita will never come to fruition. Iā€™d rather see this team turn into one that can patiently grind down opponents, rather than one that will rely on constantly running into them and hoping they make a mistake close to their goal.

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So he might be playing in the Olympics, Arab Cup and Africa Cup?

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Oh good, more football. :neutral_face:

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Possibly, but not sure. I think FIFA typically forces concessions for players who are made to play in these extra FIFA sanctioned tournaments like the Olympics, but I havent seen anything commented on for that.

Olympics July/August
Arab Cup November/December
Africa Cup January/February

Regular season August until May.

Whatā€™s going to be left of him in 12 months?

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First Iā€™ve heard of this fucking Arab cup. Is there any wonder the big clubs push for super leagues and the like.

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Thats ridiculous, 3 tournaments wtf he only needs to pick up a decent injury at one of them and we will pay him 200k a week to not play for us at all next season.

I despise international football

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I think this may be covered by insurance either by the club or national federation.

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Getting the points isnā€™t though. Without Salah weā€™d be bottom half of the table this year.

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