With talk of Raphinha from Leeds, what do you make of Pereira from West Brom as cover for the left side
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If all of Firmino, Salah, Mane, Jota and Elliott are going to be here next season then I’m not seeing the need for wide players like them. I’m thinking adding a traditional CF type is the way to give the squad something different. At false 9 you’d have Firmino and Mane which is fine. As floating forward types you’d have Salah and Jota which is great. As wide forward options you’d have Salah, Mane and Jota which is as strong as think we are likely to get. And a traditional winger type in Elliott. Adding a proper CF option gives us all the tactical options we could have.
If anyone leaves I’m not sure what we would need. Don’t see Jota leaving straight away. Salah or Mane go then the likes of Raphinha won’t cut it sorry we’d need top class, world class level replacements. If Firmino goes we still need a top player but at that point I see the false 9 set up largely coming to an end, just a tactical option sometimes, I think that’s our set up because we have Firmino not that we use Firmino like that because its the set up we want.
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Would be nice but we’ve seen Dortmund sell high and don’t like to budge on their valuations. Genuinely think the only way he ends up here now is on a bosman or having a year left on his contract and Dortmund cashing in before they lose him for nothing. And even then we’d have to be in a pretty good place to fend off the inevitable scramble for him.
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Aye under no illusions he’d cost a lot, but if the squad shapes up nicely this summer and we only need 1 player next summer you never know!
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I think we have seen that we aren’t afraid on pulling the trigger if we are convinced we have the right man.
van Dijk, Alisson, Salah, Keita, Jota, Thiago, Mane, Konate… all very significant investments. If they are sure they want Bellingham or Raphinha - for example - the backing will be there.
Not a popular sentiment with the #FSGOut crowd but evidence is that they’re happy to invest for the right reasons.
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You missed out our lighthouse!
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I’d say this is somewhat accurate, in that all these players immediately and more than likely improved on what we had in the team.
Raphina while a quality player certainly improves on Shaqiri, but he’s not currently better than Salah
Does Bellingham improve our midfield? If he fulfills his potential certainly, but no guarantees there. I can’t see him picked ahead of Thiago, Fab and Henderson.
It’s not unbelievable that we’d be interested in them, but I personally think we’d only spend that much if it’s a player who’s likely to spend more time on the pitch than on the bench.
We might yet spend ‘big’(ish) on a Gini replacement, but I doubt very much that would be Bellingham and have seen nothing to suggest it would be.
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Let Bellingham keep baking in Dortmund. In a couple of years, when he is world class, he can come in and replace Henderson, and hopefully the fee will be manageable as his contract winds down.
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He might be scone by then.
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That’s my point, they’re happy to make the move when they think you are “the” guy but they won’t allow big spending on someone they’re a bit Meh on.
Timo Werner wasn’t signed last year which led to a lot of calls for FSGOUT etc. but I think it’s clear to all looking now that the club (rather than the owners) just weren’t 100% sold on him. He was probably 75% the player they wanted and they’re reticent to push for a big signing when it’s not ideal.
If they decide Raphinha, or Bellingham, or anyone else is good enough then no doubt they’ll push the big red emergency button for an influx of cash (or just let Michael Edwards do his magic to pay it off on a 150 year interest free loan paying 14 quid a week).
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There’s also an element of succession planning here. Bellingham or Raphinha wouldnt waltz into the first 11. But our front line don’t need replacing, they will need to face up to the challenge of younger, fitter players.
I’d be fine with it if we do a big spend on a young one. But we know the club want to coach the rough diamonds. Harvey Elliot will be interesting to see grow.
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Oh either player makes absolute sense, and I’d be delighted to see us go after them, I just don’t feel it’s likely this summer at the prices that currently being touted.
If we manage to do some early business with our higher value departees then you never know.
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Bellingham should stay at Dortmund. That’s the best thing for him. If he carries on his progression though I’d love us to sign him in a year or two. Maybe a Keita type deal? But then we don’t want to tie up funds this year on players who won’t be with us straight away. Perhaps Dortmund would like some of our players on the fringes as a sweetener for a deal next year? I’m thinking Origi, Shaqiri, Grujic…?
This year, Bissouma makes a lot of sense. Camavinga even more but he seems destined for PSG.
Would Brighton sanction the transfers of Lamptey and Bissouma to us? Doubt they’d want to look like the newest South Coast feeder club.
But the fees for Konate, Onana, Lamptey and Bissouma we ought to be able to offset with sales. Then sell Firmino and buy Martinez?
Secure Bellingham for next year, Mbappé on a free…dreamland.
But
GK: Alisson, Onana, Kelleher
Def: Trent, Lamptey, VvD, Gomez, Konate, Matip, Phillips, Robertson, Tsimikas
Mid: Henderson, AOC, Keita, Fabinho, Thiago, Bissouma, Jones, Milner
Forwards: Salah, Martinez, Mané, Jota, Elliott
Looks decent to me.
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How about buying Trippier? There are 5 reasons for buying them:
- Trent can get injured.
- He can play on both wings - this is a characteristic that I really like.
- He played very well and had a key role in helping Atletico overthrow Barca/Real duopoly last season, which is in inself a strong feat.
- He is 30 so he won’t compete with Arnold in the long run. And being 30 will lower his price tag a little bit.
- Atletico is cash-strapped.
No thank you!
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Buying Lamptey is not a difficult affair. He is not even a starter there.
Will I consider the Tottenham version? Nope. But he has improved a lot under Simone, so we should not rule him out.
Because he’s injured. He started every game when he wasn’t.
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As for the attack, I would prefer buying a versatile forward who can play anywhere but focuses on the centre, as such player will not compete too directly with Elliott
What position does Elliott play?