Also Arne being linked with Milan might give him added incentive 
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After some youtube scouting of Camara, I vote yes. Iām dealing on that.
Iād prefer to keep Jones, still hoping they can agree on a contract. Even if he stays though, I hope they buy two midfielders. Mac and Endo out, two in.
Wharton would be a really fun signing, heās so good on the ball. It would be great to have a midfielder who can see and make the early pass, whether itās against our old nemesis the low block, or in a transition situation.
I think thereās a lot of interesting midfielders out there though, so if heās out of the clubās price range then fair enough.
If so, maybe we could go with a foreign light version of Wharton, Kees Smit. Dutch midfielder. Iāve only watched him once, against Norway earlier this year. Or last year..? One of the two. Anyway, he was good. Still playing in Holland last I checked, so he should be gettable.
Difficult to know what Iraola will be looking for, now that heāll have access to better players, but I think thereās enough good midfielders out there no matter which type(s) heāll want.
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I wouldnāt argue any of your points except that Wharton is definitely a 6. Scoot is played as one too but he gets up front and scores so often that heās actually a better 8. Summerville has come on leaps and bounds but for me we keep Frimpong as a back up winger for Diomande.
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Probably a stupid idea, but isnāt Lewandowski free this summer? Worth getting him for a year or two? He must be better than Gakpo up top. Not seen him play but he knows where the goal is (or did). Might want too much in wages though but would give us options next year, especially if Isaac is injured again.
Go on then, IĀ“ll do me list of actual priority targets
Right back
Not sure about this but probably DoueĀ“s brother at Strasbourgwould might be first choice
IĀ“d also look at Cambiaso at Juventus. Very good going forward and can use both feet so could cover left back. Would have to tighten up his defending though
Centre Back
Probably Schlotterbeck as the long term successor to Van Dijk
I like Scalvini at Atalanta and Bastoni is also good
I am wary of relying on Van Dijk as our main senior CB
DM
Not too sure here. I like Kevin Danois at Auxerre. Solid and plays the ball between the lines reasonably well for a DM.
Maybe Hjulmand at Sporting. Solid player and passes well.
I donĀ“t want some guy charging up the field. I want a player who wins the ball and distributes it well, staying in position.
Ballplaying CM
Anderson would by my first choice - passes forward well, plays with lots of purpose every time he has the ball and a bit of a leader. IĀ“d go all out to get him
Wharton is a better passer and plays the ball between the lines very well but sometimes I think he is a bit casual whereas Anderson plays with more intensity
We need to get one of these two, in my opinion. A player like them is crucial.
Angelo Stiller would be another option. Not as fancy as Wharton but solid passer.
Left Wing
Ez Abde at Betis would be my pick. Quick, beats a man a lot, can score, can pass into the box. Not expensive.
Schulderup Clever winger who passes into the box and can score. Not an amazing dribbler
Mike Godts or Matias Fernandez Pardo as two gambles who dribble very well and can score but not sure on their all round game-
Right Wing
Diomande - Depends on the fee but we know heĀ“d be good to very good quite quickly.
Conceicao - Some doubts over size but he is such a threat against any defender with his speed off the mark and dribbling
Utility
If we do need or have spare cash for this IĀ“d look at Saidara at PSV or Esteben Lepaul
They can both play across the front line
Sell
Anyone other than Wirtz, Isak, Hugo, Kerkez, Van Dijk, Jones (for utility and English), AND the two young CBs, I would think we could sell and I wouldnt care.
IĀ“d bring back Morton and use Bacjetic as backup too IF he can be fit.
Iām hoping Iraola can get a tune out of MacAllister again next season but we still need more bodies in midfield and everywhere else. The problem with selling to buy like we did is that we were left with a bench of goalies and academy kids, while Arsenal had two first teams virtually. selling Tyler Morton was insane, as heās proved in Ligue 1. One of the best players in the season.
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Actually, I always had the opposite feeling - when he was playing, heād usually deliver the goods but Juventus fans couldnāt stand him, starting with him joining from Fiorentina. I think he should have had a much better career and I hope he stays in Italy and joins a side that will actually care about him and play to his strengths (heās really strong, deceptively quick, good finisher). Heās not Liverpool material, though.
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If you donāt mind me writing this in capitals, WELCOME BACK, YOU ABSOLUTE MADMAN! We really missed you! 
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THANK YOU SO MUCH, I REALLY APPRECIATE YOU FOR WRITING THAT.
Ok then..
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Particularly as Everton are interested in WB. Do we really want somebody they would buy?
We did when it was Abel Xavier!
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Yes, but he was Neptune, god of the oceans. Bit of an exception there.
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By eck, welcome back yeah Smit seems a good and cheap option and a lot reckon he has more growth as a player
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I was a silly purchase, but fuelled in part by Portsmouth owing us some money I think.
Brian Reade talks about this deal in his Epic Swindle book - I might be forgetting the details, but Rafa had just missed out on Barry (I think) and heard that City were trying to get in on Johnson ahead of us, so Rafa went all in on Johnson, paying more that he needed partly as a fuck you.
Yeah, I think we saved a bit on Johnson due to being owed money for Crouch.
Iām sure it was similar with Aquilani and Roma, but I canāt for the life of me think why Roma would have owed us money at the time.
Riise?
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Id say he looks like the next Modric.
Sometimes he plays in the 10 but I say stick him in as CM and he will really flourish. HeĀ“s technical and composed, passes through the lines well, decent vision, quick for a CM, positive and I think he has that swagger.
IĀ“d be looking at him for sure.
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Yeah, could be that!
Honestly for a season or so Johnson was really good, even defensively decent. Going forward he would regardly roast Ashley Cole even with his dribbling.
Just another player who could have been a very good player but we couldnt get that defensive side to be consistent.
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