Transfer Talk Topic

[Original 21]

1 hour ago, CarefreeMuratcan said:

Some Emile Smith Rowe rumours swirling around but can't see any reputable sources discussing it yet.

It’s from the Times apparently. Lots of Arsenal fans upset about this rumour. But truth is  he’s down their pecking order, and they just bought Havertz!

He’s a winger who can play the 10 position, runs with the ball well, is a good finisher, which fits the profile we seem to be looking for. Downside is injury record, a groin issue which needed surgery last season, but that appears sorted now. Wonder what the asking price would be. 

[Morgs]

3 minutes ago, Original 21 said:

It’s from the Times apparently. Lots of Arsenal fans upset about this rumour. But truth is  he’s down their pecking order, and they just bought Havertz!

He’s a winger who can play the 10 position, runs with the ball well, is a good finisher, which fits the profile we seem to be looking for. Downside is injury record, a groin issue which needed surgery last season, but that appears sorted now. Wonder what the asking price would be. 

Given Havertz's travails at Le Arse already, it seems unlikely it'll be much much less than we rushed them for for the Silky German. 

Edited August 29, 2023 by Morgs

[Original 21]

Wow indeed!

[Mark Kelly]

[paulw66]

42 minutes ago, thevelourfog said:

Just read he didn't even start a game for Arsenal last year, under 200 minutes as a sub after injuries and recovery from surgery. 

Christ, can we just skip to the bit where we've paid £50m for him.

Wasn't he injured?

[thevelourfog]

1 minute ago, paulw66 said:

Wasn't he injured?

... My post says that.

[paulw66]

1 minute ago, thevelourfog said:

... My post says that.

Yes, you said 200 minutes after injuries, but I am wondering how many games in 2023 he was available for?

Either way, he was injured (not ideal) or back from injury and not good enough to play (not ideal)

[paulw66]

2 hours ago, Morgs said:

 

Look at the dross we managed to shift! Now if we could just find a loan for Cucurella and Mudryk. 

 

we don't have nearly enough forward options to consider loaning out Mudryk (or anyone else in attack)

Mudryk, Madueke, Sterling, Jackson.........then the very young, unproven Burstow or Morreira, then Nkunku (inured), Broja (recovering)

[Ham]

1 hour ago, Morgs said:

I think we have done amazingly this summer. I'd love to see a comparative study of the squad 12 months ago compared to now. 

Petrovic, Sanchez and Bettinelli is our weakness right now unless the big Serb proves to be a world class surprise. 

Gusto and Reece at right back is as good as it gets. 

Likewise Maatsen and Chilwell on the left side , not many clubs have a better strength in depth than we do at full back. Cucurella will go on loan, I am convinced.

Two or three from Silva, Disasi, Humphreys, Badiashile and Colwill is pretty good even if we are probably unlikely to see Wesley Fofana back, sadly. If we are letting Chalobah go then it seems like Humphreys wont be going on loan, which I'm fine with as I think he looked excellent in pre-season.  We have a lot of quality at centre half now. 

Arguably, Enzo, Caicedo, Gallagher, Chukwuemeka, Ugochukwu and Lavia is amongst the finest midfields in the world.  Big Les is likely to go on loan but if he doesn't he will do okay for us as a squad option. Santos and Casadei on loan is good: both will come back and be ready for the first team. We are blessed with a very solid middle now. 

A rejuvenated Sterling is our main threat from out wide with squad depth coming from Madueke and Mudryk. The stories of us buying "an attacking player" probably refer to a left sided striker/winger to add more quality as there are questionmarks over whether Mudryk will make it. The club probably now accept the latter will need a loan so perhaps we will buy one more before the window shuts. 

Jackson, Nkunku, Broja and Burstow will do okay but the likelihood is a new striker will replace Burstow who probably needs a loan. If not now, then probably in Jan. 

That's 25 players. Should be manageable, especially, as you point out, with so many injuries. 

Thing is you look at that and there aren't many holes. We have quality in depth all over the park apart from in goal and in a couple of months once everyone is gelled it will be wonderful to see us start slotting crap teams away as we should be doing. 

We talked about "a spine" a lot before and I'd contend that our spine of Jackson, Nkunku, Caicedo, Enzo, Silva and Colwill (with the jury still out on Petrovic) is the strongest we've seen for many years. 

That said I am absolutely buzzing to watch us batter Wimbledon 0-0 tomorrow.  

 

Agree with all of this apart from the  Mudryk bit.  He'll come good. Just needs the confidence that starting regularly brings.  We have some winnable games until October. Once up to speed he'll terrify those teams that don't sit back. 

I'm heartened by some of his performances in the US.  

[Morgs]

45 minutes ago, paulw66 said:

we don't have nearly enough forward options to consider loaning out Mudryk (or anyone else in attack)

Mudryk, Madueke, Sterling, Jackson.........then the very young, unproven Burstow or Morreira, then Nkunku (inured), Broja (recovering)

I know but Mudryk is a waste of a squad option right now - will do nothing but generate negative headlines and lots of crowing from the Gooners this season I'm sorry to say.  

I fear he may well go down as a buy in the Lukaku sort of level of catastrophe. Disastrous, DISASTROUS bit of business. He needs a couple of years of loans at least and we need to bring someone in to replace him. 

Might sound a bit alarmist or even daft now but I have a feeling the club will be getting shot of him in Jan on loan and bringing in someone who can contribute. 

He reminds me a bit of Jesper Gronkjaer in that he is a sprinter first and foremost and a footballer distant second. Whereas The Gronk tried hard and through sheer force of will alone did pop up with a few goals (including one of the most important in the club's history) he generally lacked ability on the ball and couldn't really use the prodigious pace he was blessed with to its best effect. Mudryk I think is just an more extreme case of the same thing - he's an athlete. Doesn't have a footballing brain, doesn't have the ability as a footballer to do anything meaningful with his ridiculous pace. Doesnt have the experience to know when to time his runs, when to drop deep to collect the ball or to know when to take it wide or cut in. Keeps his head down so cant spot the runners anyway.  

Fact is we don't have the luxury of carrying a player like Mudryk or to give him the months or years he needs to become an actual footballer, and to be honest his pace to get in behind (as that's all he offers) is a bit pointless when the other team wont come out of their own half and he has two ranks of four or five in front of him to shut off the space. Where can we use him? When do teams allow us that much space? Answer: they don't. 

We're stuck with him now but if not in Jan then this time next year we'll be trying to replace him. Mark my words. 

God I would love to be wrong about him. 

The other thing that worries me is the fact that he has "an entourage" and maybe does think he is better than he really is. I think if he continues to find himself out of the side when fit, there will be a confrontation and some bad blood. 

 

Edited August 29, 2023 by Morgs

[Morgs]

9 minutes ago, Ham said:

Agree with all of this apart from the  Mudryk bit.  He'll come good. Just needs the confidence that starting regularly brings.  We have some winnable games until October. Once up to speed he'll terrify those teams that don't sit back. 

I'm heartened by some of his performances in the US.  

I really hope you are right and that I'm being unduly and uncharacteristically harsh on the kid, but I just cant see it, sorry. 

Honestly I'll be doing cartwheels if he does come good, but how? Where is that going to come from? 

[paulw66]

5 minutes ago, Morgs said:

 

Might sound a bit alarmist or even daft now but I have a feeling the club will be getting shot of him in Jan on loan and bringing in someone who can contribute. 

 

 

He is 22 and has played 710 minutes in the PL.

The rest of the post is an astonishing conclusion from such a limited snapshot. 

[Morgs]

6 minutes ago, paulw66 said:

He is 22 and has played 710 minutes in the PL.

The rest of the post is an astonishing conclusion from such a limited snapshot. 

I really hope I'm wrong Paul. I agree it is a big conclusion to make and I think folk on here know me well enough to know its unusual for me to be so polarised on a player. Normally I'm all about the "give him time, lets wait and see, he could improve" but for some reason I am struggling with Mudryk to see how he could ever be a top player. Fantastic sprinter yes, but footballer? Not convinced. 

Luckily for him and me, I'm not a football scout or a director of football. 🙂

Serious question mate and I half want you and Ham to convince me here as I'd absolutely love him to come good- 

What does he do? 

What can he offer us?

Where do you see it working for him? And how? 

What do you see Poch being able to improve for him and how much can he be helped? 

Edited August 29, 2023 by Morgs

[Miguelito07]

Bit surprised no PL team has gone in for Chalobah, i,e, West Ham, Fulham and Villa are in need of CDs. Unless of course Chalobah was hoping for a move abroad.

[Original 21]

12 minutes ago, Miguelito07 said:

Bit surprised no PL team has gone in for Chalobah, i,e, West Ham, Fulham and Villa are in need of CDs. Unless of course Chalobah was hoping for a move abroad.

 

[Chelsea_Matt]

1 hour ago, Mark Kelly said:

Imagine Fatty’s google search history

Pizza takeaway in Rome

Bakeries downtown Rome

Doughnut delivery Rome 

[Mark Kelly]

6 minutes ago, Chelsea_Matt said:

Imagine Fatty’s google search history

Pizza takeaway in Rome

Bakeries downtown Rome

Doughnut delivery Rome 

Am I entitled? 

[Chelsea_Matt]

7 minutes ago, Mark Kelly said:

Am I entitled? 

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[DannyLB]

16 minutes ago, Chelsea_Matt said:

Imagine Fatty’s google search history

Pizza takeaway in Rome

Bakeries downtown Rome

Doughnut delivery Rome 

How could you forget "gelato near me"?! It's Rome after all. 

[Thiago97]

1 hour ago, Morgs said:

I really hope you are right and that I'm being unduly and uncharacteristically harsh on the kid, but I just cant see it, sorry. 

Honestly I'll be doing cartwheels if he does come good, but how? Where is that going to come from? 

He just needs a good run of games. I don't think he is an impact sub at present, he generally looks poor off the bench and really seems to struggle to pick of the rhythm of the game, which is maybe more a confidence thing. The problem is he needs to take his chance when he does start, to ensure he gets that run of games. We can't really afford to just play him straight for 8-10 games, when we have other options who may outperform him.

I get the Gronkjaer comparisons, but I am thinking this more along the lines of Gareth Bale comparison. When he arrived at Spurs, nothing clicked early on for the first 12 months or so. By all accounts, they were contemplating moving him on at the time.  He eventually got his chance and found some consistency and spurs understood how to use him to get the best out of him.

He's been a bit unlucky getting this minor set back, as Luton and Wimbledon at home were perfect opportunities. Reminded me of Lukaku getting injured, just before we had a nice run of games he would likely score against with Norwich and another couple of lower table teams.

I think he will come good and I think we have the  right coach to get something out of him. I am convinced it will come from starts though, I don't see him impacting things off the bench, as I think he is just a little too raw and naive to understand the flow of the game currently.

[chara]

2 hours ago, Morgs said:

 

 

He reminds me a bit of Jesper Gronkjaer in that he is a sprinter first and foremost and a footballer distant second. Whereas The Gronk tried hard and through sheer force of will alone did pop up with a few goals (including one of the most important in the club's history) he generally lacked ability on the ball and couldn't really use the prodigious pace he was blessed with to its best effect. Mudryk I think is just an more extreme case of the same thing - he's an athlete. Doesn't have a footballing brain, doesn't have the ability as a footballer to do anything meaningful with his ridiculous pace. Doesnt have the experience to know when to time his runs, when to drop deep to collect the ball or to know when to take it wide or cut in. Keeps his head down so cant spot the runners anyway.  

Fact is we don't have the luxury of carrying a player like Mudryk or to give him the months or years he needs to become an actual footballer, and to be honest his pace to get in behind (as that's all he offers) is a bit pointless when the other team wont come out of their own half and he has two ranks of four or five in front of him to shut off the space. Where can we use him? When do teams allow us that much space? Answer: they don't. 

 

 

 

Excellent post mate....if you substitute Mo Salah for Jasper G  then it is even more..imho...apposite.

One of those how right/wrong the club was discussions 5 years down the road!

A gamble and I lean slightly towards the negative but as you say I hope he makes good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2 hours ago, Morgs said:

He reminds me a bit of Jesper Gronkjaer in that he is a sprinter first and foremost and a footballer distant second. Whereas The Gronk tried hard and through sheer force of will alone did pop up with a few goals (including one of the most important in the club's history) he generally lacked ability on the ball and couldn't really use the prodigious pace he was blessed with to its best effect. Mudryk I think is just an more extreme case of the same thing - he's an athlete. Doesn't have a footballing brain, doesn't have the ability as a footballer to do anything meaningful with his ridiculous pace. Doesnt have the experience to know when to time his runs, when to drop deep to collect the ball or to know when to take it wide or cut in. Keeps his head down so cant spot the runners anyway.  

Fact is we don't have the luxury of carrying a player like Mudryk or to give him the months or years he needs to become an actual footballer, and to be honest his pace to get in behind (as that's all he offers) is a bit pointless when the other team wont come out of their own half and he has two ranks of four or five in front of him to shut off the space. Where can we use him? When do teams allow us that much space? Answer: they don't. 

 

 

 

[chara]

8 hours ago, Chelsea_Matt said:

So fatty is fatta?

As in "Cast Your Fatta To The Winds"..?

Strange ..we had a visit from a bear overnight..emptied our trash can and dragged a bag out and spread it around the yard...made me think of Lukaku for some reason!

[Original 21]

Too much transfer news this afternoon. Maatsen is both going on loan and staying. Gallagher is about to sign a new contract and he’s being sold. Cucurella is going and he isn’t. Chalobah is having a medical in Munich and he isn’t.

Anyone would think the window is coming to a close or something. 

[ROTG]

4 hours ago, Original 21 said:

Wow indeed!

 Question was asked on Talksh1t this morning. Simon Jordan said it not possible unless the player changes T&C of his contract. 
 

More likely it’s one of those deals where all parties are happy and the details of the deal are kept between the parties. He also said next summer Lukaku’s book value is £25m. 

[ROTG]

2 hours ago, Chelsea_Matt said:

Imagine Fatty’s google search history

Pizza takeaway in Rome

Bakeries downtown Rome

Doughnut delivery Rome 

Who’s your next target now Lukaku has gone for the season?