Which is probably why we are trying to sign Stones.

Main point I was making is that some posters seem to be referring to Ivanovic as a defensive liability in our side when he is far from it... He's the best right back in the league.

I think that could remain to be seen, based on last season he is but Zabaleta was the year before and he struggled last season. I'm not saying drop him from RB all the time but I think he's getting to that stage where he needs to play CB more often.

I think that could remain to be seen, based on last season he is but Zabaleta was the year before and he struggled last season. I'm not saying drop him from RB all the time but I think he's getting to that stage where he needs to play CB more often.

Think your both wrong, best right back is is clearly dave

Seems Everton have put a 34 million pound price tag on Stones. So what say you Shed End?

A ridiculous fee but basically it's Lukaku plus 6 million. Considering we managed to get them to pay well over the odds for Lukaku, you can't blame Everton for trying to play hard ball over Stones.

Think your both wrong, best right back is is clearly dave

I'd say he is but he hasn't played RB for ages so at the moment he's a left back

By the end of the season I would be surprised to see Dave back over the right and Baba covering the left full time

The problem is Mourinho knows how important height is in the premier league.

 

That´s why Ivanovic is pretty much undroppable.

 

Matic for his height is disappointing in the air and Costa isn´t exactly world class in that area.  That leaves us with our two centrebacks which is not enough.

 

Most of the bottom sides know that the best way to score agianst the big clubs is through set pieces and you have to be able to defend them.  Also Mourinho likes to use Ivanovic high up the pitch to win headers off of kicks from Courtois.

 

I doubt very much that Mourinho will drop Ivanovic which is a shame because it probably means that we´re buying a 20 million pound left back to sit on the bench, just like Luis.

Few media outlets reporting that we are expected to return to Everton  either today or tomorrow with an improved £30m bid. 

 

Couple of places saying this will be enough to conclude a deal, others are saying they are likely to reject the bid as they are holding out for £34m. 

 

Not seeing too many places suggesting that Everton won't sell at this point and the general reporting seems to be that we could soon be seeing a conclusion to this deal. 

So with the news that Baines could be out for up to 3 months on top of Martinez allegedly wanting to add central defender, a creative No10 and a striker to his squad before the end of the transfer window. 

 

Seeing as they look set to miss out on a loan deal for Shaqiri who is set to sign for Stoke overall I'm wondering if Everton are starting to look at the money offered for Stones and are thinking would they be better off cashing in to allow them to strengthen across the pitch rather than stubbornly holding onto a prospect? 

 

There's only so many loan deals you can make and so £30m might go a long way to helping them patch up the squad with Martinez's desired reinforcements. 

Hopefully we will offer £30 with add ons to £34m. Getting fed up waiting for this one..just get it done already.

Hopefully we will offer £30 with add ons to £34m. Getting fed up waiting for this one..just get it done already.

£30 with add ones would be dirt cheap

So with the news that Baines could be out for up to 3 months on top of Martinez allegedly wanting to add central defender, a creative No10 and a striker to his squad before the end of the transfer window. 

 

Seeing as they look set to miss out on a loan deal for Shaqiri who is set to sign for Stoke overall I'm wondering if Everton are starting to look at the money offered for Stones and are thinking would they be better off cashing in to allow them to strengthen across the pitch rather than stubbornly holding onto a prospect? 

 

There's only so many loan deals you can make and so £30m might go a long way to helping them patch up the squad with Martinez's desired reinforcements. 

 

 

 

If only this were true in our case!

Hopefully we will offer £30 with add ons to £34m. Getting fed up waiting for this one..just get it done already.

Exactly. I want us to feel like we've made meaningful business this summer.

Still doesn't necessarily make us stronger. Stones is 21. He won't win us CL if indeed that is really our aim. We are a step or two behind th really big sides.

If only this were true in our case!

 

Point well made... 

Still doesn't necessarily make us stronger. Stones is 21. He won't win us CL if indeed that is really our aim. We are a step or two behind th really big sides.

It's hard to disagree with this. The same is very much true for Baba Rahman. 

That's why I'd go with the youth  , unless we're ready to splash the cash.

Which is probably why we are trying to sign Stones.

Main point I was making is that some posters seem to be referring to Ivanovic as a defensive liability in our side when he is far from it... He's the best right back in the league.

This!

He did get exposed a couple of times last season but that will inevitably happen, no one is infallible. The fact is he was important for us a hell of a lot more often than he wasn't.

Still doesn't necessarily make us stronger. Stones is 21. He won't win us CL if indeed that is really our aim. We are a step or two behind th really big sides.

True.

What it would do though is soften the blow of when JT calls it a day and we have a potential top English centre back to take his place.

Few media outlets reporting that we are expected to return to Everton either today or tomorrow with an improved £30m bid.

Couple of places saying this will be enough to conclude a deal, others are saying they are likely to reject the bid as they are holding out for £34m.

Not seeing too many places suggesting that Everton won't sell at this point and the general reporting seems to be that we could soon be seeing a conclusion to this deal.

Simon Jones of the daily mail reporting it will be turned down but he never reports breaking news first. He just reports on the gossip columns or news already broken elsewhere

No other team in Europe has that great of a defence, so that isn't important. It is more that we have a strong enough team already that should be good enough to compete in Europe.

True.

What it would do though is soften the blow of when JT calls it a day and we have a potential top English centre back to take his place.

Exactly. Without being melodramatic we have no idea how much of an impact losing a player of JT's calibre could be. It could mean the difference between 1st and 3rd. I seriously ponder how much of a negative impact we are going to have to shoulder once JT is done and dusted with his boots.

Im intrigued to know why putting in a transfer bid takes so long.

Im intrigued to know why putting in a transfer bid takes so long.

Terry Tibbs is our secret behind the scenes negotiator. Double the price that's why they call me Terry Tibbs!

Telegraph saying that we will open our third bid with £30m with a view to concluding the deal. Report says £30m with add ons will be enough and it will be £34m on total.

Sounds promising and I'm sure this weekend has sped the club up. Pretty sure we'll get him now.

Lets just send Costa and Bran to their front door to work it out

To be honest, I think we will be made look stupid if we blow all our money on him, then have him sit on the bench for 1/2 of the time. Despite concede 2 on the weekend, I still believe our problem is on the other end of the field. He won't sign a new contract if he's keen to move, so we will pretty much be bidding the same amount of money 12 months later.