Barcelona are beyond skint. So much so a Spanish reporter who'd been looking at their finances & was asked about us signing Coutinho said "They'll be that desperate to get their wages off the books soon that they'd sell him for next to nothing".Fucking hell, are we the only club who are skint?
Todd cantwell is one of those players who is raved about at a mid table club, doesn’t get the big money move he’s looking for and then 5 years later is in one of those “dodged a bullet” threads.
City have entered talks for Koulibaly according to their best source.
That's a big step in the right direction for them. Balls.
Massive money and wages for a 29 year old. I’ve always been wary of older players coming to the premier league. It’s a shock to the system.
Rurik - you are great as Rurik. You don't need to become the new Halmeister.He's going to dominate the League 2 next season.
Done more this season than Lallana has done in the last three seasons at LiverpoolA poor man's Lallana.
Massive money and wages for a 29 year old. I’ve always been wary of older players coming to the premier league. It’s a shock to the system.
Done more this season than Lallana has done in the last three seasons at Liverpool
No... Lallana was a part of a team that won the league, and better players than Lallana have been relagatedLallana just won the league, Cantwell is about to relegated.
The italian papers still have us in pole position. Saying we are putting Lovren in as part of the deal. €50m/€60m + Lovren.. i would be really happy with that.City have entered talks for Koulibaly according to their best source.
That's a big step in the right direction for them. Balls.
The italian papers still have us in pole position. Saying we are putting Lovren in as part of the deal. €50m/€60m + Lovren.. i would be really happy with that.
You can see how he played against us to understand he would be an absolute monster for any team.As for City's interest, Koulibaly is a very good player, but like someone pointed out, he's 29, and the PL is not a good league to come to in the latter half of your career.
Last year I'd have agreed with you. Gomez is amazing. But if we had a 3 headed monster at the back, we could afford to give Virg a break, while Gomez seems to have at least one lengthy spell on the sidelines per year. All while not losing anything in terms of quality in defence.I am honestly not sure if I would ...
1) This would greatly hinder Joe Gomez's development. He's on the cusp of being a great CB.
2) We could have invested that money in Werner to ensure we have 3 excellent goalscorers and can sustain an injury to one of our front 3.
Just look at their pool of CBs. It's horrific bar Laporte. I always expected them to make a big move on one or two CBs this window. Laporte and Koulibaly would be a superb CB pairing.City have entered talks for Koulibaly according to their best source.
That's a big step in the right direction for them. Balls.
They certainly would be, I still think Pep and the way he plays will always leave his defence looking worse than the sum of it's parts. His best teams have always relied on generational talents in defence, and even then they have never looked like defensive titans like Mourinho and Fergie's best teams, and us the last 18 months. If he continues to persist with Ederson, the most overrated goalkeeper in Premier League history, and that Medy / Zinchenko left back combo, they'll continue to look venerable at the back imo.Just look at their pool of CBs. It's horrific bar Laporte. I always expected them to make a big move on one or two CBs this window. Laporte and Koulibaly would be a superb CB pairing.
Ederson is a good GK as his stats prove. Even if susceptible to the occasional brain-fart, as they all are. Our FBs are great because not only can they run forever but because they are primarily WBs and central to our attack, so there's not much difference with City's in as far as their defence relies(d) on the CBs and a DM (Fernandinho) as their main defensive fulcrum. It's no coincidence to me that they've lost 8 games this season since Fernandinho was converted into a CB, Rodri isn't the same type of player or in the same class.They certainly would be, I still think Pep and the way he plays will always leave his defence looking worse than the sum of it's parts. His best teams have always relied on generational talents in defence, and even then they have never looked like defensive titans like Mourinho and Fergie's best teams, and us the last 18 months. If he continues to persist with Ederson, the most overrated goalkeeper in Premier League history, and that Medy / Zinchenko left back combo, they'll continue to look venerable at the back imo.
Who said anything about 'replacing'?Imagine wanting to replace one of the best centre backs in the league, who's only 23 and still developing, with one who's 29, and would cost all of our transfer budget, and would arguably only offer maybe an incremental improvement at best.
Last year I'd have agreed with you. Gomez is amazing. But if we had a 3 headed monster at the back, we could afford to give Virg a break, while Gomez seems to have at least one lengthy spell on the sidelines per year. All while not losing anything in terms of quality in defence.
I don't rate Matip anymore than 'decent'. I know others do. He's the same age as .
Lovren is pretty much accepted to go.
Getting Koulibaly in would also allow Gomez to be cover for Robertson without getting a specialist in to cover.
Do we lose a bit attacking with Robertson out the side? Absolutely. But we'd be solid at the centre.
Edit - the players growth it could stifle would be Hoever and/or Van der Berg