I don’t think there’s GK who is better than Caoimhín but willing to be a backup.
And nobody is suggesting there should be one bought. Think everyone is happy with Alisson and Kelleher as first and second choice.
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When you’re persuading any player, let alone a top star with other options, to come to your club you discuss your plans on how you would be using them when they arrive. It pretty much always happens.
Aulus just said he is accepting that Memphis is “leaving this summer for a bigger club”.
Aulas told a press conference on Tuesday: "I know that Memphis remained in a good frame of mind for the club. He has remained at the level of international player and is doing well in his role as captain. We put him in the best position to return at his level of the 2014 World Cup.
All that said, I promise I won’t start another Memphis Depay conversation. 
Last year we said ‘Mbappe and Sancho will be the next decades Messi/Ronaldo’.
Sancho seems to have lost that spot but Haaland out of nowhere overtook Mbappe.
It will be very difficult for Mbappe to overtake Haaland now.
Of course he has to win the CL in the near future - both of them have to - but Mbappe has to chose his next club - and more importantly his next manager - very wisely.
Are Zidane or Pep really able to improve a player on Mbappes level - I doubt that.
Klopp is the man who would do that 100%.
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I didn’t have Sancho on Mbappe’s level already. Mbappe is a world cup winner, he’s already one of the world’s best players. Sancho is one of the world’s best talents.
I think Haaland is now getting to that level, where he’s both a top talent and quickly becoming a top player, too. I wouldn’t say he necessarily overtook Mbappe, if we look like that, it would change every month then.
And Pep is one of the best at improving players.
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I’m not the biggest fan of Guardiola as a person but as a developer of elite talent, you’d be hard pressed to find a better one. I’d argue that Aguero, Kompany and Silva played their best football under his guidance and they were already world class players at the time of his arrival. De Bruyne, Sterling, Dias, Laporte, Sane, Bernardo Silva, Foden… Arguably, aside from De Bruyne, none of them is at the sublime level of Mbappe and Haaland in terms of talent and numbers in their respective roles (Foden and Dias might be, though, Sane, too, though he took the easier route in my opinion).
I have to admit that I didn’t expect Haaland’s numbers to skyrocket, last year @Magnus and I debated him vs. Greenwood and I was adamant that Greenwood was the better rounded and more “natural” talent, even if Haaland was a lethal finisher - they have gone in the opposite directions since then, though I firmly expect Greenwood to fulfil his potential at Man United, Solskjaer won’t hold him back forever.
I watched a few of Haaland’s games at Dortmund and he looked like a player who can become a complete striker, maybe a bit more similar to Lewandowski than Kane but I’m sure he’d take being as good as either of them, I struggle to think of better and more complete no. 9s over the past four or five years. Sadly, I think he’ll only be attainable if Salah leaves for unreal money, which would mean that this side would probably need a replacement for him as well.
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I think Haaland “just” needs to look at Lukaku and not repeat the same mistakes. I’m not saying Lukaku isn’t a pretty successful story, but… he didn’t quite developed as maybe a lot of people thought he would. Don’t get too bulked up (even if they are of different built, Lukaku was a beast already, Haaland looks more “lean and hungry”, as Shanks would say). I think around his United time, it became evident that Lukaku struggled with some things. Which led him to Inter and not quite finishing at the very best sides in Europe. Focus on the technical and tactical stuff, keep adding to it. Learn to also share the game with others, you get benefit from it in the long run. He’s a very unusual and dangerous player with his height, pace, finishing, mental aspect, etc.
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I’d say he’s more his generations Ibrahimovic or Lewandowski than Ronaldo or Messi. Not saying he can’t get there but they’re more rounded players as is Mbappe. Sancho is a really good winger who could be world class but he’s not that type of wide forward.
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Maybe Sancho’s best role is actually that of a more combining wide player, rather than a high goalscoring/attacking in behind one. Someone who is best at coming inside between the lines from either sides, though so far more from the right. I see him as someone who can score a very good number of goals for his game, but I see him being the best version of himself at linking up, creating and assisting. We’ll see what’s his next development.
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To improve one player individually who are already on the level of Mbappe or Haaland - I’d have Klopp over Pep all day long.
Pep would make them work at City - no doubt.
His best attacking player at City were Agüero for some time, then Silva for some time, then Sterling for some time, then the other Silva for some time, KdB for some time and now it’s Gündogan.
He makes players better but that’s not enough for them to win the ballon d’or.
Klopp on the other hand can improve individual talent from level 8 to level 14 in no time.
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I’m not at all a fan of Lukaku, on or off the pitch. That said, his 59 goals in 91 appearances for Belgium is a ridiculous statistic. And the fact he’s made 91 appearances already is almost mind boggling. I was listening to a recent football podcast and they talked about Lu’s time at United. They said his dietary and lifestyle habits were wildly out of control and he couldn’t care to get them in line. He’s since made more of a dedication to fitness and a healthier lifestyle.
The comparison to Big Z is perfect! I love that. He has that heel aura about him and usually backs up his trash talk with his play on the pitch.
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Yeah, it was about time he matured a bit in that aspect. Also, I think the two strikers system at Inter helped him. His back to goal isn’t great. Belgium also play always with 2-3 attacking players, so he’s not alone. One of the best tweaks they did was at the World Cup in Russia when Martinez flipped his attack with De Bruyne almost in a Firmino role and deployed Lukaku inside right almost in a Salah role. But still, overall, I think a lot of naturally strong players need to be careful not to go down the “too much muscle” route. The game is fast, the spaces are tight, you really don’t need so much size. Better to be leaner, but aggressive mentally.
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Really, MBappe is north of 150 million quid. Rice 60 mill, Fofana (80 mill), Upamecano (36 mill), Zaha(20 mill max). Maddison/Barnes(45-60mil). To me it would be better we spread the wealth around and improve the standard of the overall squad than buy one great player. We buy MBappe, the defense is still infirmed, Midfield is aging and we have no squad depth.
When people say Not Zaha, i hear NOT Shaqiri, Not Milner, NOT Gini. He’s was being shopped around for 20 million quid…Buy him and put some pressure on our wingers who’ve been diabolical all season.
Declan RICE is a purchase on three fronts. 1. It’s us sticking it to ou rivals who might be interested. 2. He’s a replacement for Gini and Henderson both of whom are over 30. Make no mistake, Rice would stake a starting spot in our team. Father time is undefeated…Hugo cannot continue playing at our pace much longer, 3 Rice is the future of our center mid position.
Barnes……really like the look of this kid pre-injury. However I do not recommend signing injured players EVER. I would pass for now, we have enough gimps in our squad.
I’ve never watched Botman so I cant speak on the dude. Fofana definitely, this is dependent on the Foxes who have no reason to sell their players.
Why is buying Rice a lazy propositon? How much would you pay for Hugo + Fabinho in today’s market? 90 -100 mill easily I would say. We buy him young, he becomes part of our core for the next decade. No drop-off in talent, the engine-room and skillset.
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Not quite correct;
“West Ham co-owner David Sullivan reportedly valued their prize asset at £100m…”
Fail to see you getting even just Barnes or Maddison and Rice (2 off your list) for less than £150m, probably a lot more.
In fact you can possibly get Mbappe and Camavinga (far far far superior players) for less than Maddison and Rice;
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Zaha will probably be off to AFCON so I don’t see him being that useful. Add to that his age is around that of our current forwards, it doesn’t help with our squad renewal.
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Because we have two pretty important players already in his position. Yes, Hendo will be 31 soon, but Fabinho is entering his peak as starter in Rice’s position.
He’d cost and arm and a leg and he’s really not the only #6 out there. Dier looked fantastic in his first period as a holding midfielder under Pochettino and look at him now. He’s lost, both as a midfielder and defender. Not saying it will happen with Rice, but it’s one to keep an eye on.
He plays in a system (and both for West Ham and England) we don’t play. Not a huge difference, but still plays a part why it’s not a “no brainer”.
And honestly, even though I like the kid, I’m still not sold if he’s really that good, or if he would be that good for a side that needs to dominate and compete/win trophies. Hence why some top sides haven’t taken him already by now (I’m not saying it’s too late, he still has time and can develop further).
Who is Hugo?
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