That price for an unproven player...from Germany.... what could go wrong...

Very good player. Ekitike and Sesko among those who seem to have a bright future in that CF role.

Anyone actually watched him regularly?

I made a post on here a few months ago about Ekitike (on Osimhen or random rumours maybe?) and he's got the perfect CF playstyle for what we need. Good finisher, solid in the air but most importantly can link up with his play. Obviously if Gyokeres is available he'd be first choice, but if we can get Ekitike for £60m its worth the gamble. For me he's a FAR better footballer than Osimhen. he was fantastic at Reims too. I don't give the SD'd much credit, but this is one i can get behind. I just pray they aren't serious about Joao Pedro.

Edited May 22May 22 by Ukraine Bolt

13 hours ago, Sconnie Blue said:

Anyone actually watched him regularly?

Watched a fair bit of Frankfurt start of the season, mainly to see Marmoush but Ekitike always stood out. Played well in tandem. Annoyingly he'd probably get the best out of Nkunku playing off him but i think that ship has sailed.

1 hour ago, Ukraine Bolt said:

Watched a fair bit of Frankfurt start of the season, mainly to see Marmoush but Ekitike always stood out. Played well in tandem. Annoyingly he'd probably get the best out of Nkunku playing off him but i think that ship has sailed.

Upgrades for Maresca (i.e. bin the rigid system), Jackson, Fernandez and Sanchez would probably benefit all sorts of players in our squad that we currently think are duds, Nkunku being one !

First season where he had a good goal output in a very open Bundesliga, and looks to perform his best off another striker.

It's almost a carbon copy of the circumstances when signing Jackson, and at £70m its far too much of a gamble.

25 minutes ago, Sconnie Blue said:

First season where he had a good goal output in a very open Bundesliga, and looks to perform his best off another striker.

It's almost a carbon copy of the circumstances when signing Jackson, and at £70m its far too much of a gamble.

Jackson has never had a good season. Jackson only played 15ish games up front in Spain. Very different to this guy.

Dont know Ekitike at all - but comparing the lad to the lame donkey is harsh and disrespectful in the extreme.

2 minutes ago, nonotnowjim said:

Jackson has never had a good season. Jackson only played 15ish games up front in Spain. Very different to this guy.

Dont know Ekitike at all - but comparing the lad to the lame donkey is harsh and disrespectful in the extreme.

Signing a player after one good season that does well playing off another striker isn't a route I'd like to take again, especially when its nearly 2.5x more expensive this time around. Also worried this is a striker, like Jackson, that will get bullied in the box.

85m for a striker I’ve never heard of 6 months ago. Are you having a f*cking laugh?

Is this a joke? 85m? Bournemouth got Evanilson for 40m and he looks far better than anything we have.

If it's not a player like Gyokeres we shouldn't be spending anywhere close to 85m.

4 hours ago, Sconnie Blue said:

Signing a player after one good season that does well playing off another striker isn't a route I'd like to take again, especially when its nearly 2.5x more expensive this time around. Also worried this is a striker, like Jackson, that will get bullied in the box.

He doesn’t play off another striker, another striker plays off him. He’s got physical attributes Nkunku could only dream of.

Big pass. German league strikers are a scam.

Honestly he looks like an improved version of Jackson. Usually Athletic posting transfer news means it’s getting close

14 minutes ago, NestorGarde said:

Honestly he looks like an improved version of Jackson. Usually Athletic posting transfer news means it’s getting close

An improved Jackson would be a very good striker, actual Jackson is a few sandwiches short of a picnic.

Edited May 26May 26 by timetowaste

He can actually score a header which is very much missing from this team atm. But him playing in Germany is making me worried, no doubt

84m….

Sometimes I wish we had a transfer ban

Not saying I want him or he’s anywhere near as good but, stylistically, he looks and plays a lot like Isak to me?

Looks like a french version of Crouch to me.

Is it really the best we could do?

That price is so f**ked. First decent season too.

Basically the closest thing to Isak in world football and we all know that guy is not going anywhere now that Newcastle clinched a Champions League spot.

If The Athletic reports on it then things must have gathered pace behind closed doors for the past days.

Judging by the rumoured amount, it means Chelsea will spend big this summer and can match anyone for Gyokeres, too, but my guess is most of the available strikers have already chosen their destinations, hence we made a move for Ekitike.

The market pool for quality strikers is really limited, probably as limited as it has ever been and can't really fault the board for not getting Gyokeres. The guy is the most sought after player in European football that is available for a transfer and has the luxury to choose the destination he desires and negociate from a power position.

Gyokeres, Sesko, Ekitike and Osimhen. That's basically the four really, really good strikers available this summer. Gyokeres and Sesko have probably agreed to go to Arsenal and Liverpool, Osimhen for some incredibly shady reasons seems to be avoided by every big club and Ekitike looks set to sign for us.

Others like Delap, he is a battering ram but IMHO not good enough for a big club, Mateta could be a good shout, although this might have been his prime season and you never know what's going to happen with him as he was never projected to be someone with a high ceiling anyway. And the rest like Haaland, Isak, Lautaro, Julian Alvarez are not for sale. And that's basically it. The pool for really good strikers is probably at an all time low in world football.

Edited May 26May 26 by petre ispirescu