Thomas is rather having a bit of a mad one.
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On Tielemans, that’s probably not a hard one to scout. He was probably already well known by the time he left Anderlecht. Fans knew him for a while (probably another FM name) so maybe moving to Monaco and Leicester were a bit ‘meh’ moves (similar to how Gini went to Newcastle of all places). I think at that point it’s more about decision making and a player willing to come.
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He’s on a bit of a run…
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I think the transfer team have to remember before they need to forget. We should anyway put in a few offers on different Leeds players just out of pure spite.
I just mean it wasn’t like a Mahrez or Kante unearthing a hidden gem type of deal. They did well to secure him on loan initially and he did well in that spell but even then there were Leicester fans I know who thought the price was steep and his form fell off a cliff in his first full season.
They did well to take that initial risk free loan with the option to buy. But just like us with Kabak, he was a player that was known that a change in circumstances meant he was available relatively risk free initially.
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Leicester buying the likes of Tielemans at the time made sense. Good player, definitely, and making his way on to bigger and better things. Good enough to be purchased by a bigger club than Leicester, at that point in his career?
Debatable.
So how it panned out was an upper mid/lower top Prem team snapped him up. And we must remember that relatively speaking, Prem teams have a lot of money compared to most of Europe, so we will continue to see teams the size of Leicester picking up some very nice signings.
The top clubs can’t have them all!
Mind you, if Tielemans progresses and grows, he will go somewhere bigger than Leicester in due course.
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So with Gini likely gone, Milner to stay for one final year, and Henderson and Keita likely needing to be used very sparingly due to their constant injury problems, where are we in midfield? I would think it’s absolute priority to hunt out a midfielder, hopefully with leadership qualities. We are going to look super light there without the ever-reliably fit Gini.
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Would Gravenberch or however you spell it be an option?
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Yes I think so. Him, Bellingham, Camavinga along with Jones would be the core of the future of our midfield I’d like to see. Guys who tick every box, quick enough, tall enough, athletic enough, good enough on the ball, bit of physicality to them already, defensively conscious but accurate passers.
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Well done. 
On a side note: his name means mountain of graves. 
He is one of the few young Dutch players I like but if he is good enough for us right now? How many young and hyped Dutch players who come to the PL have succeeded?
The step from the Mickey Mouse competition to the PL is huge.
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Bed him in slowly though. If he goes to Germany or Spain, he could be a 100 million pound player in a year or two. Think we should take a risk if he has the things wanted by Jürgen.
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I wonder if there’s any merit in going older/younger at the same time.
e.g. Martinez leaving Bayern Munich. High wages, but no transfer fee. Would give us some substance on the pitch while we allow a younger player, like Gravenberch or Camavinga, find their groove?
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Just when you thought our win at Old Trafford was the best news of the day…
Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone is thought to be a big fan of Liverpool midfielder Naby Keita, 26, and is keen to add the Guinea international to his squad this summer. (Fichajes via Star)
I’m not one of the “Naby out” brigade but there are plenty of posters on this forum who would love to see the back of him.
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Keita under Simeone? Oh boy.
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Well now, they did buy Lemar, sounds promising.
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I’d bet if we got offered anything over £25mil Keita would be off.
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IF Keita’s days are numbered…
Have Athletico got anyone worth swapping him for…?
I’ve heard some rumours (commentator in the Barca v Atletico game) that Barca are looking at Saul. He’s had a little drop of form this season.
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IF Keita gets sold…
Not sure Edwards would want his own CV besmirched with a massive hit on the selling price… Part exchange comes to mind as a way of fleshing out the figures…
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