That was my fear when we were linked to Conte; his limited knowledge of talent outside Italy given very few Italians play outside Serie A. It will be a strange signing if it goes through, and makes you wonder why didn't we just spend £30m+ on a top class LB instead of gambling on lower priced ones.

And you know this how?

Were we after anybody else at that time? Here we were after Koulibaly, then Romag, then someone else before we landed on him. Doesn't really take a genius to determine how desperate we are now.

Edit. Just talking defensive options in general.

Also, Azpi was highly rated in spain, unlike our current fascination. But hey, would loved to be proved wrong.

Edited August 26, 20169 yr by JoseBlues

Were we after anybody else at that time? Here we were after Koulibaly, then Romag, then someone else before we landed on him. Doesn't really take a genius to determine how desperate we are now.

Pretty sure we were after Debuchy as well. Thankfully the club came to their senses and went with Azpi. 

That was my fear when we were linked to Conte; his limited knowledge of talent outside Italy given very few Italians play outside Serie A. It will be a strange signing if it goes through, and makes you wonder why didn't we just spend £30m+ on a top class LB instead of gambling on lower priced ones.

Im pretty sure he might have known a little bit about all thise other countries international players too.

I see some people mentioning that we will play a 3-5-2. I don't really see how this will work. If we play Dave and this guy as part of the three surely we will be a bit weak at the back. And if Alonso and Dave go to the wings, then surely we don't have enough defenders, that's without even mentioning the severe lack of pace our back 3 of Ivanovic, Cahill and Terry would have. 

 

Let's face it, this guy is not solving our problems. We need to spend big on a good centre back, a GOOD left back (not this guy), and another striker (surely we need more than 2 strikers, oh and why the hell is Traore on loan to Ajax). If we surpass the transfer window with the same 5 defenders (oldie, slow, slower, injured, and Dave) we currently have we are screwed. When we go to the Etihad and Old Trafford we may as well bend over, bite down on the pillow and get ready for the beasting we will receive.

Looks like this deal is happening. Very good signing imo.

 

Chelsea deal for Marcos Alonso getting closer. €20m signing is imminent [@DiMarzio].

I don't understand the whining from some posters. Not beyond comprehension that the manager might want him given he's based in the Italian league which Conte might have good knowledge of but of course he's no good as his stats on Fifa and football manager aren't off the charts, let's just sign Marcelo and be done with.

Baba MK2

Seems like such a waste of time buying another LB of about the same quality as the one we just loaned out. We're going to probably end up loaning Baba out for a few years and then selling him, so if this guy is not really any better, why purchase him, if we're just going to be in the same boat next summer.

If this is a panic buy then at least is one that allows us to address 3 areas of need: LB , CB depth and left footed players in defense. I hope it goes thru to be honest, 17MM in this year's market is not a terrible amount to pay as the downside is to sell him on if it does not workout and he still relatively young.

I don't understand the whining from some posters. Not beyond comprehension that the manager might want him given he's based in the Italian league which Conte might have good knowledge of but of course he's no good as his stats on Fifa and football manager aren't off the charts, let's just sign Marcelo and be done with.

 

I'm all for it, but would Real sell him to us?

This could end up being a good signing, and I hope it does turn out that way, but right now all I can say do is say wtf and shake my head. At least it helps our squad depth.

Baba MK2

Now I'm very worried as you my great sage in your infinite wisdom in a judging player's potential has deemed him worthless.

I'm all for it, but would Real sell him to us?

Why not? Just like on Fifa, just make a bid and it's done

Edited August 26, 20169 yr by summer is coming

Why not? Just like on Fifa, just make a bid and it's done

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...don't forget Miazga.

it would be interesting to see how current posters would react if azpilicueta was signed this window instead of a few of seasons back. i didn't know much at all about azpi but he's turned out well. we can't control the signings/sales so it's the board and conte's who work together to figure out what's best and we as fans put our trust in them. 

Edited August 26, 20169 yr by enigma

I like him, good player. Anyone that's comparing him to Baba should probably watch him play a bit. They aren't remotely similar.

I like him, good player. Anyone that's comparing him to Baba should probably watch him play a bit. They aren't remotely similar.

Can you give me a rough idea of Alonso's style I don't really know that much about him besides what I've read in terms of stats, etc.

I'm pretty down on this transfer but in his defence, he's improved a lot since he was in the prem last time, however, I don't think he's somebody who's going to be a huge improvement for us.

I will put my neck out and say if we sign him he will be our 2nd best left footed left back of the RA era.

Can you give me a rough idea of Alonso's style I don't really know that much about him besides what I've read in terms of stats, etc.

 

Haven't seen him play since he was at Sunderland, but he's very good on the ball with a nice technique. Nothing like Baba's all pace, no touch no control.

 

I agree with timetowaste. He won't be a huge improvement but he's a solid player that would, in my opinion, be a pretty good addition to the squad. I guess it comes down to whether the club see's him as our first choice left back or as a utility player. 

Haven't seen him play since he was at Sunderland, but he's very good on the ball with a nice technique. Nothing like Baba's all pace, no touch no control.

 

I agree with timetowaste. He won't be a huge improvement but he's a solid player that would, in my opinion, be a pretty good addition to the squad. I guess it comes down to whether the club see's him as our first choice left back or as a utility player. 

Thanks for that mate. Surely he can't play a worse role than Zhirkov did. That always struck me as a bit of business to forget for us.

He's partly responsible for when we lost Mourinho's unbeaten home record, when Schwarzer spilled his shot for Sunderland's equaliser at 1:15 >

 

Just messing about with my posts (in case it wasn't obvious enough), but I really don't mind a steady full back if Cesar can move to the right. It would be nice to have a pacy backline, though.

(Btw, someone mentioned Alonso being a very tall left back. I was trying to figure out who he reminded me of... Fabio Grosso.)

Edited August 26, 20169 yr by Kante Conte

I thought he was pretty good at Sunderland but yeah not a signing to get excited about. To be honest would rather we just kept Ake or Baba, Its not like Alonso is so much better than them that we have to buy him. I really wouldn't mind going for Amavi from Villa.