I think that was more about how Southgate used him. He was surrounded by fellow midfielders, Foden and Kane dropped deep and there was nobody he play his long forward passes to.
I’m agnostic about it, but there are those who are still to be convinced that his best place isn’t in midfield.
Don’t blame me, I’m just the messenger.
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If we not making any ‘new’ signings then I’d take him now…
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No thanks. 33 with a chequered injury record.
I’m shocked that West Ham are reportedly going after him and the Utd full back - I thought they had brought in that director of football last summer to move away from deals like these.
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Because you’re desperate for us to sign someone?
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Honestly, e24m for Kante is a decent deal for someone. Just not us.
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No but from what I saw at the Euro’s, he still can play at the highest levels. Would be great to have him as a squad option.
If he continues his form from the euros he would be a real difference maker. That’s a big if.
There’s a sense in which Kante has been able to stroll around in an easy Saudi league, so it helped his injuries to heal properly, as the intensity isn’t the same. At that point he was fit to play for France, and he looked good.
I see the temptation, but my guess is once he comes back to the Prem he will struggle to impose himself consistently, and will miss a lot of action again, as everything is contested on the pitch to the nth degree, and an underlying susceptibility to niggly injuries will surface again.
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Euro is not highest level. Some unknown players in Turkey or Georgia able to shine as well, Shaqiri was almost alway top performance in Euro but does it mean anything?
Kante missed like 60 games his last two session in Chelsea. We worry about Endo’s age, what point bring someone event older than him.
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Depends on what they plan to do with Trent and if they want to move a couple on given the number of midfielders we currently have. Would be a priority for me but I think they’ll be more concerned about getting a defender and maybe another attacker.
I have idea move Trent to the left. He plays inverted, then doesn’t need make wide, just hold his position and make play from range. Our left forwards - Diaz or Gakpo, also have better cover for him, and plays lower position than Salah. Most of right wingers is left footed, then maybe easier for him when defending. Then we maybe solve multiple problem:
- Trent defensive ability.
- Growth pathway for Bradley- who I believe will be better version of Roberson.
- Left back long term solution with Roberson is already 30 years old.
Oh for sure.
You could do that with almost all positions. But who could we buy who would be a significant upgrade on Endo (for next season… not long-term) if we sell Endo because our squad is huge??? As I said, I’m interested in a top player.
Zubimendi doesn’t want to leave Spain, Ugarte didn’t do great at PSG. Andre is unproven and might not even be better. Joao Neves… sure I’d have him if we are willing to make a £100M gamble. I’d have Guimares too.
The grass is not always greener on the other side (Caicedo, Lavia, Sangare).
Yeah, a Declan Rice or Rodri would make sense. So would a Tchouameni if we could buy them.
No marginal improvements please or injury prone players. Because if he gets injured and “we have to rely on Bajcetic all season or Macca out of position” there is no difference.
I couldn’t see us committing money towards Kante. Maybe if it was loan deal.
There are still quite a few aspects to the squad that will probably impact whether we spend big or not in August. For example, maybe Slot convinces van den Berg to stay, as he sees him as a part of his plans, which impacts whether we move for a CB.
How we use Jones and Gravenberch will determine whether we opt to move for a midfielder who is seen more as a No.6 (Valera), or more as a box-to-box (Ederson).
I do think something will be announced out of the blue. Maybe our main targets have been in the Euros/Copa America, so we’ll see movement over the next few weeks.
I mean there’s desperation and then there’s this.
At the very least, we’d have to make him the joint highest earner at the club…that aint happening.
I love Kante, but we don’t need him.
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7 years too late to be going for Kante
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Maybe our physios are bored since Naby and Ox left…
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Calafiori is gone as well…I guess we should all collectively pray that Sepp Van Der Berg comes out well and is more available than Konate…
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