Who would you buy?

I am not sure what the clause is. Is there something confirmed?

1 Like

Show me a better two-sided FB to rotate with TAA and Robbo who was available last summer, without a big drop in quality… because Nico and Tsimikas haven’t done the job and we’ve pretty much burned our starters out at 22 and 27yrs old.

2 Likes

18m that could rise to £26m when he plays 50 games and wins the premier league and Champions league :joy: sorry I have slightly exaggerated here.

2 Likes

City wouldn’t sell to us at any price. And I wouldn’t support spending 30m on a back up full back either.

Harsh on Neco and tsimikas. We’d have seen a lot more of them if we hadn’t been playing makeshift centre back pairing all season.

7 Likes

I’d prioritise CB and CF first and then a CM if we can and an experienced back up keeper on a cheap/free deal.

I think Kabak is passing his audition and with a deal there to be done I think we go for it rather than twisting and going after another target. £18m seems a reasonable fee and I think he’ll look much improved alongside a senior centre back when they come back.

CF it’d be great to get Daka in but the risk of three players from the same area of the squad heading off mid season to the Afcon could be a worry. Although they haven’t qualified for the last two so perhaps worth the risk. Absolute goal machine number nine and a very different option to Firmino.

Donyell Malen’s name cropped up on the rumour mill in the last week and he’s another number nine type that reminds me a bit of Rashford. Direct running, pacey and cool finisher. He’d be an exciting addition but it’s a big big step up.

An interesting one could be Matheus Cunha at Hertha. They’re struggling this season but he’s doing okay. More of a forward type than the other two but can play a bunch of positions and we know Klopp likes flexibility. Might not bring the goal scoring prowess of the other two but could be a much needed injection of flair a d creativity.

Centre mid will be interesting. And I’m assuming Gini is off because he’d have signed a contract by now if he wasn’t. If we can’t afford the right one this summer I could see us stick with what we’ve got. But, with Thiago, Milner and Henderson all thirty plus, I think we need to be looking at the next generation as Ox and Keita aren’t it unfortunately. I think the type of player will depend on whether we’re trying to replace Gini like for like with another box to box type or whether we think we need someone more creative.

I’ve no desire to see Renato Sanches come in. Sorry, just doesn’t do it for me. Same for Sander Berge, he’s just a relatively cheap option but would be nothing more than squad filler I fear.

Bissouma would be great but I think the price will make it prohibitive unless Brighton go down but even then I’d imagine they’d be plenty of competition.

Either Neuhaus or Aouar would be very exciting and if I was picking I’d go with the German I think. He’s more similar to Gini, I believe he has a release clause which isn’t too eye watering and he very much seems to be growing as a player.

Aouar is someone I’d argued for instead of Thiago last year and I think maybe he doesn’t have the same industry as Neuhaus but is perhaps a little more attacking. Not sure how Lyon feel about dealing with us after the whole Fekir fiasco though.

Outgoings I think most of us are on the same page with. Adrian can go. I’d sell Phillips now whilst his value is as high as it’ll get here and he’s never going to be a long term option. Don’t see us getting any offers for Matip either and I’d eep Davies for now and in case of us qualifying for the Europa.

In midfield, Gini is gone. I’d take whatever we can get for Grujic (maybe Hertha would take him as part of a deal for Cunha) and Wilson. A decent offer for Ox and I’d consider it as I don’t see him getting back to where he was without playing week in week out and I don’t think he gets that here. I doubt we get anything close to enough to what would tempt us.

Up top I’d get what we could for Taki, Shaq and Div. Hopefully Taki does enough to convince Southampton to make the deal permanent. I still think there’s a player there but it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen for him here. Div should have gone after the CL final but now we need to make it clear his time is done here.

That should give plenty of depth and quality whilst also bringing in some younger players to be part of the next great team.

1 Like

With Virgil and Gomez back next season I’m happy with our centre half’s. Think we need a more reliable centre half so we can sell Matip. Nat can stay if he wants. Don’t bring Kabak back. Davies can be sold as Jürgen doesn’t seem to rate him.

We don’t need an Adrian replacement imo. Kelleher can do that, and we have Grabara coming back to be 3rd choice if he wants.

With Gini leaving I think we still have enough depth in midfield if injuries don’t plague us again.

We need a striker. Someone who can link up but most importantly who can produce a random moment of magic and finish what he should.

Sell everyone away on loan bar Elliott and maybe Grabara. Should find 30 m there and about 200k a week wage. Sell Origi, and Oxlade and the centre half’s mentioned previously. 30 m there and about 200k a week wage.

1 Like

I think we’ll want someone more similar to Gini (maybe that player won’t be such a guaranteed starter immediately, that will purely depend on merit - quality, style, form).

Need to be careful not to sway too much on the creative side. Thiago can be better, maybe we can still get something from Keita, Jones is one of the rare positives of this season. This time I think we will want someone dynamic to keep that balance.

Position wise, on the left side of attack we have Mane and Jota. Sure, Jota is versatile, but his best role long term is exactly that one. Up top, I think we’ll want someone either centrally or more off the right side. Judging by latest rumours, I think it could be central. Origi and one of Minamino/Shaqiri to leave.

I look at it this way: Henderson, Fabinho, Thiago, Jones, insert new player and one of Keita/Chamberlain. Probably Keita stays. And Milner also probably plays his final season with us, but he’s versatile so it’s okay if we have 7 instead of 6 central midfielders.

3 more hard working ones and 3 more creative ones, to put it banally.

That can all change until or during the summer. Who knows, we may not sign a central midfielder. But I hope we can pull it off. In that case, I fully expect it to be a midfielder with proper hard working qualities.

3 Likes

That’s the problem with trying to buy a “two-sided” full back. You end up with Danilo being the best option and he’s not very good.

2 Likes

[quote=“Euphoria, post:1401, topic:114, full:true”]
With Virgil and Gomez back next season I’m happy with our centre half’s. Think we need a more reliable centre half so we can sell Matip. Nat can stay if he wants. Don’t bring Kabak back. Davies can be sold as Jürgen doesn’t seem to rate him.[/quote]

Presumably that’s a financial decision? Otherwise I don’t know how you can favour keeping the lad who is clearly not at our level and needs the team adjusting so he doesn’t get exposed, and binning off the one who is playing better, is three years younger, has been dropped into the team with no bedding in, and has had to play on the wrong side.

The problem I have with the ‘moment of magic’ type player is that when the team is struggling, they will tend to just give the ball to him in the hope he can do something. We saw this with Coutinho and we were a better side without him. I’d sooner find players that make the system stronger.

Raising money from selling players is going to be tough this season. I think the club would like to move on Karius, Wilson, Awoniyi, Woodburn, Grujic etc but I don’t see there being £30m there. Last summer the club turned their noses up at a £14m offer for Harry Wilson. We’ll do well to get anything for the majority of those who players, and the ones that have value are going to be in the £5m range.

Regarding our fringe lads, again I don’t think we can shift them for the prices you’ve said. No-one is taking Origi when you can get better, younger, cheaper lads from Europe.

2 Likes

Can clubs do this now though? Isn’t the whole Brexit thing going to mean picking up younger but not really elite players going to be harder?

I might have made that up or not understood the rules but in addition to the financial changes, Brexit may also have some impact on what clubs are able to do.

2 Likes

The cheaper part yeah. They’ve got to be regulars in international sides or expensive to stand a good chance of getting the OK to play in England. Also those times that does happen where exciting young talent is poached by clubs in England those teams who play in weaker leagues will then have the bit of lose change and future good will we might ask for when considering sales of Awoniyi, Origi and Shaqiri.

1 Like

That Daka kid looks talented. But he is too raw and Premier League is a huge step up from Austrian League.

I think @Kopstar wrote a post on TIA Forum covering what he thought the post Brexit impact on transfers might be. Maybe he could write a similar one on TAN.

I’m really interested where he goes next.

1 Like

Sander Berge’s an interesting name that keeps popping up.

Obviously a decent player who made the wrong move by going to Sheffield United. Tall, athletic, reasonable on the ball. Also another player who could probably play centre back in a pinch so we don’t have to use the likes of Henderson back there.

Highly doubt he’s our first (or second or third) choice but if he’s available for less than what SHU paid for him, then maybe.

2 Likes

West Ham will buy him and Moyes will have his tall midfield trio. Rice, Soucek and Berge. Maybe stick Hans Vanaken in there, too.

:joy:

1 Like

Haha. Cheers mate. Thanks a bunch :joy: :wink:

It’s complicated. Essentially GBE points will apply to EEA similar to how they already applied to the rest of the world. Here are some links that set out the new rules, so I don’t have to :slightly_smiling_face:

3 Likes

He has the hallmarks of a Dortmund (or is it Klopp) signing. But since he is under RedBull patronage, I would say Leipzig.

1 Like

Where he’ll develop into the next big thing and then join Bayern on a free.

3 Likes

He isn’t going to Dortmund.

1 Like