8 minutes ago, coco said:

Hazard 6 years ago, drogba, 14 yrs ago,Essien 15 years ago,........................Torres a decade ago.......Any up to date examples?

Barkley and Giroud were vfm gambles, we didnt spunk loads of £ on them.

All i am saying is we cant rely totally on overseas players, we have to mix it up with players sourced in this league. I could mention names, and i have done elsewhere, but i just dont want us wasting money on a bunch of Moratas, Bakayokos, Kepas, 

Prem teams have too much money now to cherry pick the best players from other sides. When Bournemouth can hold out for £70m for wilson, and palace can afford tl do the same for Zaha, there is no longer decent value buying players from the prem. 

Grealish has been mentioned a few times, but villa arent short of cash, so he would probably cost £60m plus, and he hasnt even made his international debut yet. 

Theres no guarantees with any transfer, but this new tv deal, has made buying prem players an expensive buisness. We cant do what liverpool did, because a mane would cost £70m, and a roberstson would cost £50m now. 

19 minutes ago, big blue said:

 

Theres no guarantees with any transfer, but this new tv deal, has made buying prem players an expensive buisness.

Expensive ? compared to Morata, Bakaoyoko, Kepa prices, they are a steal.

21 minutes ago, coco said:

Liverpool won the CL -and probably EPL - mainly buying players with EPL experience.

Liverpool won the CL because they splashed out on a GK and DM, both of which came from Serie A and Ligue 1 respectively imo. 

Mane, Van Dijk and Robertson were all brilliant buys but who in this league is close to their level? Suppose we could argue Chilwell but would once again come at a huge premium, isn't £70m being branded about atm?

Zaha maybe because he could play on the wing and through the middle, but would still be a huge gamble and cost £80m most likely. 

I can't think of a single CB we could get from the prem that would be an upgrade on what we have. I think Mings looks good, but is it less of a risk than Romagnoli?

Lets not forget the big failures Leverpool have had from this league too with Clyne, Benteke, 

38 minutes ago, big blue said:

My mind changes daily on this tbh. 

In :Ruben Dias £60m, Telles £25m, Sancho £100m, Ziyech £50m, Werner £30m

£255m

out: Pedro, Giroud, willian, free. Barkley £20m, Batshuayi £25m, Christiansen? £30m, alonso £20m, Bakayoko £20m, Morata £50m.

£165m

£100m net spend.

Gk Kepa, cumming

Dr James Azpilicueta 

Dl Telles Emerson 

Dc  Dias Rudiger Zouma Tomori 

Mc Kante Kovacic Jorginho Ampadu

Amc RLC Mount

Rw Sancho Ziyech

Lw Pulisic CHO

Cf Abraham Werner

Ziyech is a fantastic footballer but he just seems like someone who would struggle with the week to week physicality if the PL.  Wouldn’t be too disappointed though if we signed him.  Is he a winger though?  Seems more like a midfielder.

1 hour ago, RIP Mourinho said:

In: A.Telles (£25m), Romagnoli (£80m), L.Martines (£60m), Areola (£20m)

Out: Alonso (£15m), Barkley (£15m), Christensen (£25m), Pedro (n/a), Giroud (n/a), Baba Rahman (£8m), Zappacosta (£10m), Drinkwater (£12m), Bakayoko (£25m), Kenedy (£10m)

Net Spend: £65m

Squad:

Kepa/Areola

        James/Azpi    Rudiger/Zouma    Romagnoli/Tomori     Telles/Emerson

Jorginho/Kovacic      Kante/Kovacic

Willian/Pulisic           RLC/Mount          CHO/Mount

Tammy/Martinez

 

Anyone that disagrees is wrong. 

 

Martinez is scoring goals for fun but I’d be really surprised if Conte let us have him.  I’d rather we go for Skriniar if we are going to poke that bear.  Just seems like it would a long summer transfer saga, similar to our dealings with Napoli in the past.

18 minutes ago, mwblue10 said:

Ziyech is a fantastic footballer but he just seems like someone who would struggle with the week to week physicality if the PL.  Wouldn’t be too disappointed though if we signed him.  Is he a winger though?  Seems more like a midfielder.

Martinez is scoring goals for fun but I’d be really surprised if Conte let us have him.  I’d rather we go for Skriniar if we are going to poke that bear.  Just seems like it would a long summer transfer saga, similar to our dealings with Napoli in the past.

My thoughts was that with Inter having Lukaku they might not be against the idea of letting Martinez leave for a big sum. Failing with him i wouldn't mind Werner, seems to have really matured as a player this last year or so and can be stuck out wide if need be. 

Charles Aranguiz available on a free next summer - criminally underated player - could even be convinced to take him over Lewis Cook (net spend -£140m)

Edited December 3, 20196 yr by the special one

2 hours ago, coco said:

Expensive ? compared to Morata, Bakaoyoko, Kepa prices, they are a steal.

Surely the issue is with our targets more than where we are signing them though? 

We couldve signed Alisson, Fabinho, and Aubameyang, instead of those 3, all for a similar price. 

You site liverpool as an example, but other than van dijk, they have bought players from abroard in the last few windows.

All about balance, we have a good homegrown core as it is. I just think we need 4/5 players with a bit of pedigree to push us back to a team challenging for titles. 

I dont see that level of player available in the premier league.  

Leicester and Wolves have a few that could fit the bill, but the price of these players is absurd. 

3 hours ago, RIP Mourinho said:

Liverpool won the CL because they splashed out on a GK and DM, both of which came from Serie A and Ligue 1 respectively imo. 

Mane, Van Dijk and Robertson were all brilliant buys but who in this league is close to their level? Suppose we could argue Chilwell but would once again come at a huge premium, isn't £70m being branded about atm?

Zaha maybe because he could play on the wing and through the middle, but would still be a huge gamble and cost £80m most likely. 

I can't think of a single CB we could get from the prem that would be an upgrade on what we have. I think Mings looks good, but is it less of a risk than Romagnoli?

Lets not forget the big failures Leverpool have had from this league too with Clyne, Benteke, 

I've been impressed by Mings too, defensively he's one of the best in the league but on the ball there's room for improvement. Personally I don't think we need to spend big money, but instead bring in an experienced left sided CB to keep Tomori honest. Hubner may be unheard of but he's having a decent season at Hoffenheim - 30, left footed, and hits a killer diagonal - most likely would cost £15m-£20m. If we spend big money Tomori may question his future and we risk losing him.

Edited December 3, 20196 yr by the special one

21 hours ago, the special one said:

4-3-3
                                               Kepa (Button)
Azpi/James - Zouma/Christensen - Hubner/Tomori - Chilwell (Azpi/Rahman)
               Kovacic/Cook - Jorginho/Cook - Grealish/RLC (Mount)
    Gerard/CHO (Brown) - Abraham/Gerard (Brown) - Pulisic/Grealish
      
4-2-3-1
                                              Kepa (Button)
Azpi/James - Zouma/Christensen - Hubner/Tomori - Chilwell (Azpi/Rahman)
                  Kovacic/Cook (Ampadu) - Jorginho/Cook (Ampadu)
          Gerard/Pulisic/CHO - Grealish/Mount - Pulisic/Grealish/CHO
                                      Abraham/Gerard (Brown)
                       
4-1-4-1
                                             Kepa (Button)
Azpi/James - Zouma/Christensen - Hubner/Tomori - Chilwell (Azpi/Rahman)
                                      Jorginho/Cook (Ampadu)
Pulisic/CHO - Kovacic/Mount (Brown) - RLC/Grealish - Grealish/Pulisic/CHO
                                       Abraham/Gerard (Brown)
                       
3-4-2-1
                                             Kepa (Button)
               Zouma (Azpi) - Christensen (Zouma) - Hubner (Tomori)
     James (Azpi) - Kovacic (Cook) - Jorginho (Ampadu) - Chilwell (Rahman)
                       Gerard (Mount/Brown) - Grealish/RLC/Mount
                                      Abraham/Gerard (Brown)

Incoming: Button (£5m), Hubner (£15m), Chilwell (£70m), Cook (£40m), Grealish (£70m), Gerard (£40m), Brown (free), Rahman (free)
-£240m

Outgoing: Rudiger (£30m), Emerson (£35m), Willian (free), Alonso (£35m), Kante (£80m), Giroud (£5m), Pedro (£5m), Barkley (£25m), Batshuayi (£20m), Bakayoko (£30m), Caballero (free)
+£265m

Profit: +£25m

Def different, Kante out hmmmmmm

37 minutes ago, Ballack & Blu said:

Def different, Kante out hmmmmmm

Take no joy from suggesting it put it that way, as you say just a different way of looking at it. SAF built his legacy around selling the top players at the right time.

Edited December 3, 20196 yr by the special one

4 hours ago, RIP Mourinho said:

My thoughts was that with Inter having Lukaku they might not be against the idea of letting Martinez leave for a big sum. Failing with him i wouldn't mind Werner, seems to have really matured as a player this last year or so and can be stuck out wide if need be. 

It’s possible.  I haven’t paid much attention to their starting lineups, just watched highlights mostly, but have Lukaku and Martinez been playing together in a 2 up top?  Or is one of them usually on the bench to start?

1 hour ago, mwblue10 said:

It’s possible.  I haven’t paid much attention to their starting lineups, just watched highlights mostly, but have Lukaku and Martinez been playing together in a 2 up top?  Or is one of them usually on the bench to start?

Not sure tbh, just really liked the look of Martinez last season whenever i saw him play. 

1 hour ago, mwblue10 said:

It’s possible.  I haven’t paid much attention to their starting lineups, just watched highlights mostly, but have Lukaku and Martinez been playing together in a 2 up top?  Or is one of them usually on the bench to start?

They both play together. Conte is even looking for one more striker to rotate them as they are playing every week, hence the links with Giroud and its highly highly unlikely that Inter will sell him. Barcelona have being after him for a while now too so if he were to leave thats probably his next destination. Werner would be my choice, young, hungry and scoring alot. 

1 hour ago, Gentian said:

They both play together. Conte is even looking for one more striker to rotate them as they are playing every week, hence the links with Giroud and its highly highly unlikely that Inter will sell him. Barcelona have being after him for a while now too so if he were to leave thats probably his next destination. Werner would be my choice, young, hungry and scoring alot. 

Cheers.  That’s why I was asking - figured if they played together in a 2, then Inter would be less likely to sell.

4 hours ago, RIP Mourinho said:

Not sure tbh, just really liked the look of Martinez last season whenever i saw him play. 

He is really good, he looks to me like a new Roberto Baggio...I'm actually scared of the thought that a team like Liverpool or Man United buys him.

Is it today we learn the ban result. More rumours gaining momentum about our chase for Zaha, I’m really on the fence with this, could turn out great or bang average.

God no, Zaha is the last player we should be going for. He wouldn’t come cheap either

17 minutes ago, dansubrosa said:

God no, Zaha is the last player we should be going for. He wouldn’t come cheap either

Seconded. Zaha has proven to be a big fish in a small pond. Nothing since he flopped at Man U shows he has developed into a player who can play for a team with a higher ambition than just staying up.

We have viable alternatives for positions all over the pitch with the only exception being Centre-Forward

I am afraid if Tammy is out for any length of period during the season everything could go pear shaped fairly quickly, that is the only position I would want the Management to consider if the ban is overturned. Otherwise I am happy to wait it out until the summer to have a full review of Lampards requirements.

Some of the numbers and potential ruours im seeing in this thread are ridiculous, jesus christ.

Bruno Fernandes would be a world class move. But he is most likely going to be taken by Mourinho and the spuds. And he won't cost less than 50M/60M.

Appeal reduced by half, we are free to sign players.
 

https://www.skysports.com/share/11878931

Mixed feelings on this. Just hope we spend only where absolutely necessary and where we can’t find suitable players through the academy system.

On 04/12/2019 at 01:35, Gol15 said:

He is really good, he looks to me like a new Roberto Baggio...I'm actually scared of the thought that a team like Liverpool or Man United buys him.

 

On 03/12/2019 at 20:56, RIP Mourinho said:

Not sure tbh, just really liked the look of Martinez last season whenever i saw him play. 

https://sempreinter.com/2019/12/08/inter-striker-lautaro-martinezs-agents-are-in-milan-may-meet-nerazzurri-management/

111m euros release clause, Barcelona wants him, so does Man City.

We don’t need to spend huge on a striker, we have Abraham. Sorted for a decade.