He’s used to playing alongside cunts so he’d be a good fit there.
I’m not sure I agree with you guys and its pretty immaterial as I doubt we deal with his agent but…
West Ham have been asking for over £100m for Rice, Bowen is just as integral and cost them £20m I wouldn’t be surprised if they ask for just as high.
West Ham are shit at keeping secrets if there was a clause for this summer I think it’d be all over the media. Also I don’t think such a release clause for Bowen would be enforceable, @Kopstar would know better.
Bowen for £90m say and on £150k a week wages over 5 years is an investment of £129m.
Haaland for £63m release clause and £200k per week wages (match Thiago) would be £115m investment. Add a signing bonus to Haaland of around £20m and you’re talking only £6m difference over a 6 year period before taking into account agents fees. That’d be what stops the Haaland deal in my eyes.
I don’t see us in for Bowen, Mmmm-Bop, or Haaland.
Mane may see his contract out, but Mo gets re-signed. I think that’s the planning behind Diaz signing, right there. 5 forwards…plus Taki Origi and Gordon. Origi out at end of season, Taki probably costs nothing as a squad player to keep as depth
The midfield. we’re aging quickly. Carvalho will be a welcome injection of youth, with Elliott to mentor from the senior lads. we’ll get another 4 years from Fab, 2-3 from Hendo. Hopefully Naby stays healthy and Jones can kick on a bit. But there’s a big jump in performance between the senior lads and the kids right now.
I really don’t see us needing to sign a big name if Mikey E and his protege get the Carvalho deal across the line.
Only place we really lack any depth is a pure FB for Trent, but we have Gomez…and Milly
squad looks pretty complete
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Even using the hypothetical numbers you state, (over paying Bowen weekly and under paying Haaland weekly) you still have to include the agent fees in the investment overlay. All fees are not created equal and it’s widely reported Haaland’s father and scumbag agent are asking for approx 15M pounds each. So lets add another 25M in cost (I’ll give Bowen’s agent closer to 5% or approximately 5M pounds at your evaluation of 90M) and say it is now approximately 30M pounds apart in total cost of the deal. Oh and this is calling Bowen a 90M pound player. Grealish was 100M pounds last summer. We then have to ask the question of how we evaluate talent. Is Haaland really 30M pounds better than Bowen? Statistically and analytically speaking? I have no idea.
From my living room couch I could agree with you that 30M would be worth it to splurge and get Haaland. However, from a purely data driven approach I am not sure you get that 30M in value difference between on field performance. Moneyball is the idea of buying wins right or points in our case here, how many more points does Haaland get you vs Bowen and is that worth 30M extra upfront? Not sure.
Either way, not sure if we are legitimately interested in Bowen, but calling the outlays similar between the two players is a stretch.
This is just funny. Thanks for the laughs.
I know @Kopstar will set me straight on the enforcement of some clause, but if someone is tied down until 2025 contractually and the club feels the need to renew now to ward off interest screams something going on behind the scenes that we do not know. The club would still have leverage in this position traditionally. Player’s value would still be protected, no?
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I don’t know if Bowen has a contractual release clause but he has a de facto release clause under Article 17 of FIFA’s Status and Transfer of Players Regulations that would be effective next January. It’s rarely used though but would be an option to put pressure on West Ham this summer.
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How much do you think it’d take in wages to persuade Bowen to sign then @KY_TNRed we’ve just struck what was considered a “bargain” wages wise for Diaz at around £100k apparently. I’m not sure £150k is out there as most of our top stars are on around £200k now and thats about what Ox signed on a couple years ago.
A neutral opinion on price cost for him (written before a good run of form and a likely England call up before the summer both of which you’d expect to add to the fee);
clickbait. this is why I don’t watch the media these days. most of it, is bullshit.
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With our latest developments, Diaz pretty much out of the blue, Salah probably signing a new contract (at least it seems like he’s our priority from the 3 forwards in that situation)… I somehow don’t see us going for someone like Bowen anymore. But I bet the media will just use perhaps some information/news from before to still push that link. He’s playing really well, numbers are increasing, there’s a possible England debut around the corner, it’s just how it goes.
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Didn’t his agent float a ridiculous weekly wage demand of 600k or so about 12 months back?
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Thanks for someone pointing out the glaring hole in any sort of plan for us signing Haaland, he wants over £500k a week.
Spoiler alert - That’s over double the wage of any player we currently have.
My view is Bowen is he’s in the sweet spot of £40-50mil we seem to like, but I was clear this would only happen if one of Mane/Salah leave this summer.
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No one is paying £90m for Bowen. If we were serious and he wanted to come we’d get it done in the Jota/Diaz ballpark. Anymore than that and we’d walk away I’m sure and rightly so. Not sure he’d be asking for £150k a week either. And what West Ham say and what they do are two very different things so I wouldn’t pay much attention to the Rice chatter.
As for Haaland, he’ll want (and probably warrants) probably double the £200k a week figure you’ve picked out. He’s well over £100k a week now and there is talk Dortmund are willing to double that. Dunno what the signing bonus is you’ve specified but Raiola and the players dad reportedly want more than £30m to split between them in agents fees for any deal.
So Bowen would come in at about £100m over five years where as Haaland you’re probably looking at not far shy of £200m. That’s what probably stops both of them from happening but one is far more likely if either did happen.
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On the Bowen snobbery, I get the point, but I haven’t seen anyone saying he’s a bad player… just possibly not good enough at the likely price, since the amount West Ham would want would bring lots of other options into the pot.
The comparison with Haaland is a strange one, as the overall cost is in a different ballpark. And so it should be, as Haaland is one of the very best strikers in the world, and has a great chance to be top dog, or in that conversation, for the next decade.
Haaland isn’t coming here, unless someone huge leaves, e.g. Mo to PSG to fill an Mbappe hole; and even then, I think some of the hangers on around the Haaland deal would need to wind their necks in a bit.
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Media like to sensationalise things. No way Haaland really demands over £500k a week wages.
Still remember when Ox was going to cost us over £250k a week as Arsenals latest offer was supposedly £200k to stay. In reality Ox took a paycut from what he was on according to reports and we didn’t need to offer more than they were offering. Just used him as an example off top of my head to show the media gives these sensational headlines that never seem in touch with reality before anyone starts pointing out they are completely different situations.
For one it won’t be one price for all. What Haaland may accept from some clubs might be different from what he’ll accept from others.
I’ve said I don’t think he’ll end up here because of his agent and the fees involved that end. But to answer @Mascot questions the reason I said £200k a week plus a £20m signing on fee is because if the signing on fee is payable in the first two years added to the wages its the equivalent of over £392k a week. But still within our wage structure because the signing on fee is due to us getting him at a discounted £63m instead of £85m+! That make more sense now? Sorry didn’t explain it fully.
On Bowen I know we and probably all other clubs won’t pay £90m for Bowen, that’s the point, West Ham won’t want to sell him. It’s like when United were buying Maguire or City Grealish. Till his contract is approaching an end in a couple of years (if he hasn’t extended) it’ll take that kind of bonkers fee. Which is why he’ll probably stay there for at least a while longer.
Not sure what logic people are using as to why West Ham would be tempted to sell for less than £50m.
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So you’re saying we shouldn’t put any stock in the reports of West Ham demanding £100m for Rice then? 
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Love the wording newspapers use. In this instance plotting. Like it’s some dastardly plan hatched to kidnap blindfolded him at 3am, throw him in the back of a black van with tinted windows and speed off to destination unknown.
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No he didn’t. He took a lower base salary with the potential to make more similar to the structure of all of our contracts. Incentive based on individual and team performances.
Probably around a similar base to where we bring most of our first team ready transfers in at, 100-125K a week plus incentives.
Yes price can rase; however, not going to get anywhere close to the 90M you suggested. He is not going to increase his transfer value 150% in a matter of 6 months. If we are actually in for him, which I agree with plenty others here that it is unlikely, it will likely be at the 40-50M pound (Sorry I keep writing this out I don’t know how to do the fancy currency thing on a US computer) range.
Now I realize I am being a bit of a dick here @AnfieldRdDreamer, but you have to see why saying the costs between Haaland and Bowen would be similar is simply untruthful.
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Last summer when links first started appearing we had plenty of people turn their nose up at the idea of signing him.
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If Klopp praises another random Arsenal player, we’re definitely in for him!
Why be so overly dramatic again? A few weeks ago you were worrying about the ageing of the squad.
We have 2 years on their contracts in which time could renew, move on for a fee or leave on a free. Even the last scenario is not really an issue if Diaz adjusts to life here as that gives 2-3 summers to fund their replacements or back ups.
Diaz’s fee is approximately what we expect to see spent on transfers before sales. Then we have player like Neco and Nat who could leave while being replaced internally to provide funds to reinvest elsewhere in the squad.
Then there is the prospect of additional cash becoming available between now and then.
Edit- it is one year not two but the point stands, it would still be OK. It wouldnt come as a total surprise to the club and will adapt accordingly.
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