Essien19

Atletico wouldn't act like this if they hadn't asked Costa and his agent what they 'really' think. Classic play, let him go for >50 mil., he's not worth the hassle, imo.

He's great, buy him! Gesendet von meinem SM-G930F mit Tapatalk

Willian, not Mahrez. The latter is indeed a huge goal threat. Still not over his beauty against City, unstoppable.

It all comes down to the question in which position Willian is going to play in? pros: Hard working player, covers a lot of ground and definitely knows how to defend With the ball at his feet he rarely gets dispossessed On the ball his acceleration impresses me, did it against PSG, so can do it against anyone Technical player, must be encouraged to show off more often his skills, can beat anyone cons: Hardly a goal threat, he often overcomplicates things Holds on too long to the ball, slows the whole (attacking) play down I question his vision, then how he misplaces some short passes is simply sloppy Don't like his corners, he can do a lot better! As a winger he can't do it all by himself like someone like Hazard, it could be the case that he just needs a Marcelo behind him, but i would still have my doubts. Willian is better on the left wing, but will there be a new home for Hazard in the lineup? Doubt it! Point is despite of his turnovers and maybe him being a bit of a 'one-trick pony', i'm having a hunch that Mahrez would be an upgrade on the wing. For me Willian isn't a good no.10, my 'cons' don't make it that good an idea of, imo. Willian never gives up, never goes down without a fight, he's a soldier and there's war out there. The fans love him for that, Conte with his 'work, work, work' mentality should be also looking to having him around. In a 4-3-3 in the middle of the park Willian should be given a trial, if Chels' is going guns blazing for someone like Mahrez, imo. Personally, despite my criticism i much rather have someone like Willian who i'm fully convinced will play for the shirt then some more talented player who just throw the towel early when the mood isn't right.

He thinks he's not good enough. Some of the former players set the bar quite high, but these days Willian is one of the better ones in this current squad. You can make of this whatever you want. [emoji4]

Del bosque selecting policy could be fun. Wasn't impressed with his recent team, refusing to pick the likes of Saul and Gabi is nothing but a joke.

About 800,000 seems a bit of a stretch though. Rooney looks like to be on 300k/week before tax, so i can't see pogba getting more. But Kanté is coming a lot cheaper, i guess max. 150k/week. 2 Kantés if only wages are taken into considerarion. So you do have a point there!

I've just read some rumours. I don't know how much Matic would cost, ~30 mil. should be possible for Juve, imo. We'll see.

Matic off to Juve now? Gesendet von meinem SM-G930F mit Tapatalk

Fair points, but Matuidi made the cut. Yeah Kanté is a bit different, i get that. The questions remain, how will Kanté perform outside the system? Drinkwater was important, at Chelsea it's different. Is he good enough with the ball at his feet, how about his intelligence... overall the price is fair but far from a present.

The question is why did Deschamps drop him and prefer someone like Pogba? Gesendet von meinem SM-G930F mit Tapatalk

To be fair, they have been gambling for quite some time. Especially this version of Gotze doesn't look that promising to me, think he has lost his hunger, simply lowered his expectations. In addition the pressure on him is gonna be huge. If i were him, i would have gone elsewhere, but #partofme knows best!

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Fingers crossed! But can't see it, sadly. Gesendet von meinem SM-G930F mit Tapatalk

Tactical review of Conte's Italy, rather for the Frensh speaking members, but there are videos in it, so you don't necessarily need the language. http://analysport.fr/italie/

The problem is who could have replaced him? Better players are quite expensive these days, transfer market has gone mad...

It's Abra who is the captain. Maybe the war chest isn't that big or Kanté has made up his mind. Should have spent the money on someone like Kanté instead of this new Belgium lad, ffs... Gesendet von meinem SM-G930F mit Tapatalk

To be fair i've never thought that Pogba is suited to a deep-lying role. It's difficult for him to dictate play there, too much defensive work, too far away from the box and unable to make the most of his shooting ability. Moreover he didn't get on the ball as often as he'd liked. But yes, you do have a point there, he should have done better. You said Matuidi and Sissoko looked way better than him, i get where you're coming from, but the two of them failed to stop Eder from shooting, Pogba was livid and because of that feck up, he had every right to be. More or less, cost France the game! No matter what, that takes away a lot of praise, at least in my eyes. Matuidi isn't the player he once was, he has become a liability, can't understand why Deschamps decided to stick with him, instead of Kanté. National managers...different discussion. Maybe one could say that the Pog should improve his mentality. He comes across as arrogant and/or self confident, remember when he took on Fergie and was just about 18 years old. That's not normal! Juve sold the likes of Vidal and Pirlo. On top of that Marchisio isn't always there to play. Last season Pog really stepped it up. At the moment he isn't not running through a brick wall for neither his team nor his manager. He needs defensive cover to thrive, which suggests he'd play as the most advanced of a midfield three. When Deschamps decided to bring on Kanté against Germany which saved him from some of the defensive duties and guess what?! He immediataley looked better, imo. If played in a more advanced role and given the freedom he needs, he'll be the driving force of any midfield: bombing forward, dribbling, doing the unexpected, pulling off a 30 yard screamer now and then. Which team can really do without such a player? Therefore i can't see a midfield of two and a number 10 in front of him for a long time, but if it were to happen as you've said, yeah, the Pog could be in trouble. But i wouldn't predict that outcome! I stand by comparison between Lamps and Pog: Lampard got the better mentality, Pogba is technically speaking superior. I think Mourinho intends to use him similar like he did with Lamps. Can see that one working out well. If the team plays to his strengths, he makes most teams in the world better. He offers a decade worth of service, he'll be worth the money, imo. I think English media will love his style, don't forget that he plays for Manchester United and he's attacking minded, why should it go wrong?

Don't touch him, that's the no brainer! ? Gesendet von meinem SM-G930F mit Tapatalk

Didn't look that good to me, wouldn't pay the aformentioned sums, would stay away. Gesendet von meinem SM-G930F mit Tapatalk

Is it worth to overpay so that it means no Pog for United? Gesendet von meinem SM-G930F mit Tapatalk

That's far fetched! Not every cop is the same and out of line. Shooting cops sets a dangerous precedent, can't allow street justice. Why not make a demo instead of shooting people? Mankind never learns, fight fire with fire results in more fire. Now it's gonna be interesting to see how this one plays out...

The question is which transfers you include in the balance sheet and when do the books close?! Maybe the sales of former players helped to fund last years players. I think over the recent years there was surplus, should also be taken into account. Some day a recalculation is perhaps necessary to finally put things to bed. We were in for Stones, but how much?! That's the question. Moreover no one knows maybe if Stones happened, Chelsea wouldn't have bought Pedro, so there's another lil' extra cash. Pogba, which club wasn't interested, sure we made Pogba a good offer, but don't know whether there were really about 80 mil. on the table. If a remember correctly, according to the media it started a bit late which leaves the door open whether the club was really keen on that guy. Mourinho was, but the club?! If Morata comes, maybe Costa will be sold for about 50 mil. But yes, it could the case that the club wants to make some adjustments this time.

At the age of 23 Ronaldo had pocketed a Champions-League winner's medal and been voted best player in the world. Pogba can't compete with that, admittedly though, far from a shame. What's up with the Pogs? A multiple winner of the Seria A, played a Champions-League final and now one of the reasons why his country plays in another European final. I liked what i saw last season. Point is, i think a comparison with Bale might come in handy. As good as Bale was at Spurs, he didn't win a thing and couldn't reach a European final, it was all for nothing and in Madrid, he went through some rough spells. He still needed time, but finally he has stepped it up, Euros show how he's matured. He wasn't always known as a leader, but these days, one could hardly argue against it, imo. I argue that Pogba isn't far off, controversial. What i give you is that it could be questioned whether or not Pogba is a 'specialist'. In which area of expertise has the boy graduated?! Some people say he's a jack of all traits, master of none. Still, the ability to provide that one pass that splits the whole defense wide open, simply the moment of surprise, combined with a lot of other stuff is worth a lot of money. Frank Lampard is a unique player, the better player in the end (Lamps got the brains), but Pogba could master in a similar field, imo. I'm having a hunch that you're of the opinion that Pogba isn't a 100 mil. player. That's one opinion, maybe he's a bit of a luxury player, i get that. Furthermore you look most times for different things in midfielders, Pogba can't become a Xavi, but maybe he can pick up some traits of Iniesta. A long way to go, sure. As you've mentioned, personally i have been impressed with Kroos, he makes teams tick, maybe for him you would pay 100 mil. bucks.