Ridiculous. 

Paying that amount for a bang average footballer. Should have kept Mikel or Matic

Let's not revise history.

Mikel is certainly not a better footballer than Drinkwater at this stage; although I'm admittedly not enchanted by these rumors.

I'd rather take a punt on Barkley.

Conte wants homegrown though, maybe this is one who is available and he rates. I mean conte turned Moses into cafu light so who is to say drinkwater becomes Vidal light... Lol

I can't believe it's not Vidal perhaps?

Lol but that is a lot of letters to get on the shirt. Think of the poor parents that will have to pay for that. 

11 minutes ago, Chelsbear said:

Ridiculous. 

Paying that amount for a bang average footballer. Should have kept Mikel or Matic

Woah, woah, woah, steady on mate

Edited August 5, 20178 yr by EdinburghBlue

Are we going to end up paying as much as we did for Kanté for Danny Drinkwater?

Did I quantum leap into a universe were tha was good buisness?

Don't rate him anything over 15m but we will over pay because he's English 

3 minutes ago, axman2526 said:

Conte wants homegrown though, maybe this is one who is available and he rates. I mean conte turned Moses into cafu light so who is to say drinkwater becomes Vidal light... Lol

 

If we assume Remy is going, we can still sign 3 more non-HGs, so Drinkwater's HG status isn't the be-all and end-all, especially as Barkley is on the market and possibly Oxlade-Chamberlain, both of whom are 4 years younger and have over 20 England caps.

 

Now I'm not saying Drinkwater isn't a good player, he is, but £37m is pure madness, and I never comment on a fee, but for that sort of money you could get the players mentioned above, who surely are more talented and have more years ahead of them.

 

Still, if Conte wants Drinkwater to play a specific role within the squad (i.e. CM cover) and he fits the bill better than the other two, then I support him, but £37m is pure madness and if it's true would only show how desperate we've become.

 

Remember, we haggled over Lukaku and over Danilo until we were gazumped, and then there's Juve and Sandro. Our unwillingness to pay over the odds for those deals would look ridiculous if we pay this much for Drinkwater.

 

I can't believe it's true.

Yeah that reminds me that we're dicking around for a few million with Sandro but perfectly willing to put in 35m for Drinkwater?

Somebody's having a giggle.

38 minutes ago, BordeauxBlue said:

Yeah that reminds me that we're dicking around for a few million with Sandro but perfectly willing to put in 35m for Drinkwater?

Somebody's having a giggle.

Juve don't want to sell Sandro we could offer 120 million and it wouldn't matter 

where's the £37m coming from? 

Of course they can twist our hands even for 50m. Because the board is idi***. They wait till the very last moment, and now everyone can blackmailing us. They know we need players, they know we have money, bad, bad situation, thanks to the board.
And this Drinkwater, not worth even 10m.  When this board will learn? For a World Class player or Top talent, like Hazard was, it`s worth overpaying, but for bang average players, like Drinkwater, it`s not worth it. You should get such player for less then 10m., for free or not at all.

 

Apparently we went in for drinkwater when we bought kante but leicester wouldnt part with both, I mean he was part of a league winning team, went further than any English team in the CL, he isn't incompetent, he can defend, he can pass and has footballing intelligence, I actually think he would make a decent back up, he isn't great but he is reliable, think of him as a Milner type player, not in the sense that he is flexible in being able to play different positions, but he can do a bit of everything as a CM, won't blow you away but will work for you playing practical football. I honestly don't mind him, I'd prefer sanches on loan but drinkwater can give you something, not for 37 mil, but maybe we can loan them Baker in exchange for a lower fee. 

I'd rather just play Baker than give them 30 million plus and our most promising midfield prospect.

Just now, BordeauxBlue said:

I'd rather just play Baker than give them 30 million plus and our most promising midfield prospect.

Giving and loaning are quite different, a loan to a decent PL team is the perfect scenario for a promising youth player...

But is Drinkwater that much of an improvement on Baker to justify the deal?

I just don't see it to be honest, not that I've scrutinized Baker, just that I don't rate Danny D as the level we should be looking at (especially for silly money).

1 minute ago, BordeauxBlue said:

But is Drinkwater that much of an improvement on Baker to justify the deal?

I just don't see it to be honest, not that I've scrutinized Baker, just that I don't rate Danny D as the level we should be looking at (especially for silly money).

PL winner, CL experience, yea I think that if we lose one of kante and Bako we need an experienced player to be able to come in, cesc can't play against an attacking team and Baker hasn't got the experience. Getting a player with that experience who will sit on the bench isn't easy, you have to compromise on quality a bit, a top player isn't going to play backup man and conte likes experience. 

It's misleading to say that because he was part of a PL winning team he's good enough to play for us.

His style of play was perfect for Leicester who set up defensively and counter attacked.

 

He's not a player who's good when his team has the ball and can dictate play. Not a midfielder you'd see at Barca, Real or Bayern.

Believe me, even Rabiot (a player I'd compare him to over here in France) has a lot more in his locker than Drinkwater.

Going for Drinkwater (on what he's shown so far) is just cementing us as playing second fiddle to Europe's elite, being on the backfoot and not just on the pitch.

 

A 30+ million pound backup that would only start as last resort isn't something I'm mega keen on either.

9 minutes ago, BordeauxBlue said:

It's misleading to say that because he was part of a PL winning team he's good enough to play for us.

His style of play was perfect for Leicester who set up defensively and counter attacked.

 

He's not a player who's good when his team has the ball and can dictate play. Not a midfielder you'd see at Barca, Real or Bayern.

Believe me, even Rabiot (a player I'd compare him to over here in France) has a lot more in his locker than Drinkwater.

Going for Drinkwater (on what he's shown so far) is just cementing us as playing second fiddle to Europe's elite, being on the backfoot and not just on the pitch.

 

A 30+ million pound backup that would only start as last resort isn't something I'm mega keen on either.

It's misleading to say that I said something i didn't say, I said it gives him experience. We also set up defensively and counter in big games btw, it's a staple of chelseas style of play and of contes.

How do you know he isn't good if the team are in possession? You're assuming he isn't just because leicster don't play possession football, doesn't mean he can't, if anything being an intelligent footballer and good passer would suggest he can.

This is a practical signing not a game changing signing.   As I said before if you want a back up with PL winning EXPERIENCE and CL experience you have to compromise on quality, in addition to back up he provides rotation, I mean who do you want as a back up?

I would prefer sanches but seems we cant get him. You're talking about European elite but would rather have Baker, who is unproven and inexperienced..

Edited August 5, 20178 yr by DonAntonio

I'd still consider Barkley or Oxlade Chamberlain over Danny D for that midfield 2/3 if we're talking Brits for the HG.

Sanches is very much unproven, akin to Baker for me.

Edited August 5, 20178 yr by BordeauxBlue

41 minutes ago, BordeauxBlue said:

I'd still consider Barkley or Oxlade Chamberlain over Danny D for that midfield 2/3 if we're talking Brits for the HG.

Sanches is very much unproven, akin to Baker for me.

If Conte doesn't like Fabregas in central midfield because he can't defend what chance do Oxlade-Chamberlain and Barkley have?

I don't entirely understand this transfer. The name Drinkwater mainly pops up because he is English.

If that would be the main reason, then why didn't we keep Loftus or Chabolah in the first place and save us some money for other transfer that we need? 

1 hour ago, BordeauxBlue said:

I'd still consider Barkley or Oxlade Chamberlain over Danny D for that midfield 2/3 if we're talking Brits for the HG.

Sanches is very much unproven, akin to Baker for me.

If unproven akin to baker you mean that winning the Euros as a key player while winning young player of the tournament, starting for Benefica in the league and in the CL as well as 25 appearances for Bayern Munich vs Baker  playing for MK dons and vitesse then I'm not sure I can agree with that....

1 hour ago, Fatty_Speeding said:

If Conte doesn't like Fabregas in central midfield because he can't defend what chance do Oxlade-Chamberlain and Barkley have?

You're right we are looking at ox as a wingback not a CM as for Barkley I'd assume he would play RF