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I think we will see Diego back up top and Cesc next to Kante. Should be an easy win at home. 3-0 Diego, Hazard, Pedro. Cesc with 2 assists

Anything under 25M and send Bats or RLC for a loan and id do the deal. His age is an issue but a front 3 of hazard,Diego, and Payet interchanging would be so deadly. Yes he is older than a normal target but for the next 2-3 years he will be a top player. That is good enough for me.

I hope we can close this deal in January. even if it means loaning him back for the remainder of the season. He is the prototypical type of CM Conte wants and he is already playing the system! Seems to be a little more well rounded than bakayoko who seems to be more defensive(only off what I have read). going forward he could be a major talent especially with conte coaching him.

Pogba and Bakayoko would make for a serious midfield. Lets hope its lazy journalism connecting them rather than fact

No Mahrez, No Slimani, Fully rested and healthy. Should be 3 points if we stay focused. Tricky team but i am very confident. Matic/Kante for me with Pedro/Hazard/Costa up front.

Jose Fonte has handed in a transfer request at Southampton...No chance Van Dijk moves in this window unless he follows by handing in a request and REALLY pushes for the move. Price just went up also.

agreed^^ why would they even consider selling him? Feels like an agent move to get a better contract.

Conte just said Alonso was fit to play, same with luiz although he is still struggling from the aguero challenge. Pedro and Matic back in for me. Going to be a fast physical game against a hated rival. My stance is always the same against the top 6 teams away, any points tomorrow and I will be happy. If we get 3 ill be absolutely buzzing, if we get 1 ill be very happy especially with Liverpool dropping points. I am not any more worried about tottenham than I would be away at ManU, City, Arsenal or Liverpool. Costa LOVES this type of game and he is in the best form of anyone on the field. Pedro and hazard buzzing around will free up some space for him. Nervous for a big game but excited!

Have you watched a lot of monaco? or what is your reasoning for calling him "unremarkable" and "middling" (i genuinely am curious as I have no personal opinion on the player) We have not spent any of the oscar money or any of the money Roman said he was prepared to spend for conte so i don't think its necessarily fair to say we only spend 25-30m on "middling" players. We bought 4 players this year, Luiz/Kante in the price range which you referenced who are indispensable important players. Marcos Alonso who without him the 343 would not work and Batman who is stuck behind the most on form striker in the world at the moment.

I agree, that statement stood out to me as well. It seems he has that tantalizing future projection coupled with a pretty established game currently. A mix of Matic and Toure works for me though haha Both monaco prospects seem to be conte type players so lets hope Marina is in charge of negotiations!

http://www.squawka.com/news/who-is-manchester-united-and-chelsea-target-tiemoue-bakayoko-and-which-club-would-he-suit-best/859237 I have never seen him play so i have no opinion on the player. But from what I am reading he seems like a very very good fit. Conte has seen him with his own eyes and that is very important. Exciting times!

First coach since Carlo to go. Just saw his press conference, the guy is just an absolute gem. Seems like such a nice guy, honest and shows respect. If he ever leaves I might actually cry.

On the Bayern Bench: Muller, Rafinha, Bernat, Kimmich, Ribery, Sanches, ON THE BENCH. what a ridiculously talented squad top to bottom.

Currently watching Bayern vs Leipzig and just dreaming of Kante/Keita midfield partnership. He looks like he is just gliding when the ball is at his feet. Such an interesting prospect but we dont seem to be linked with him at all.

Don't know much about this guy, but he seems to be a Conte type midfielder. Young, Athletic, Hardworking, Skillful. Sign him up.

He is still my #1 target, can't trust the rumours but I dream of him bossing our midfield around. Lets hope the unrest in Paris lights a fire for him to escape. We don't need alot of new signings just QUALITY

If this does go through (Its a big IF) i think its safe to say that Conte had SOME sort of input on the player, as I have said all along if Conte wants him than I want him. He sees the best sides of players and can seemingly bring it out in a wide variety. Some people might not rate him but IF he comes than everyone should be supporting him 100%, we dont need any negativity because you thought you could build a better team in Fifa. Some players can't be had which is a shame. We all support the same side and if James comes I believe he will be beneficial to us in winning the League and hopefully many more trophies. No transfer is down to a singular person, this isnt Emenalo decision, this isnt Marina decision, this isnt Conte decision. As conte says they are a TEAM. So I hope we get him and I hope we win the league and James racks up assists and adds some goals for fun. KTBFFH

And for this deal to go through Conte must envision that he is the type of talent to do that. So you would tell the coach that he is wrong and we arent buying him because you dont rate him? My position on the player is down to if the coach says he is who i want, I think we should get him.

That is a debate for another time and another forum. We have never been shy about spending cash on transfers. If conte said to you "This is the player i want, we are in first place and just sold oscar for 60m get me him" Would you say no?

What makes you think we are not in a position to buy players the way city has? we just have chosen not to spend as freely as they have recently but by no means if we spend the cash and he sucks are we completely screwed? I have made my thoughts on the matter clear, IF conte wants the player and it takes 70m than I think we should buy him.

In a market where Raheem Sterling and John Stones are 50m and we sold Oscar to china for 60, if the coach wants James than Yes I do think he is worth it. If i am starting a team from scratch and have 70m to spend on one player, maybe not. But in our situation, with what we need, and if Conte wants him than Yes. I would rather spend the money on Verratti or Griezz (Dybala can't be had, I wish) BUT there is a reason i keep saying "if Conte wants him" because if our coach who has earned the right to buy whoever he wants in my eyes says "Thats my guy, go get him" I think we should support his wishes.

To "Waste" is quite a strong statement. I understand you really must not rate him if you think it is throwing away the cash. I can't change your opinion on him and some people seem to think he is a truly useless player by what i am reading which i do not agree with. As i have said before i view our front 3 as interchangeable attackers which I believe James has the skills and smarts to thrive in. Freedom with creative players is what we should be after. I think he has the smarts and skill set to play in a variety of formations as i am of the belief that talented players can fill a variety of roles. he could play the furthest up in a 352 (James, Kante, Matic) could play the #10 if conte ever wanted(incredibly unlikely) I think he can fill the right attacking side of the 343 or in a 433. I believe he adds something that we currently are lacking and we are a better team with him in it. Cuadrado would have been useful to us this year if he wanted to stay but Mourinho soured his view of chelsea to a point that it couldnt be redeemed so I dont think its necessarily fair to bring him up.

I think if we DO actually pull this off he will work out great. I saw on twitter if you view it as Oscar + 12 million it looks pretty damn good. We have been longing for a Left footed attacker who is a goal threat and can pick a pass no? James is a left footed attacker who is a long range goal threat and can pick a pass. Yes, he is slower than we all would have liked but he isnt Cesc/Alonso level slow. Plus we also have 7 men behind him who can cover up for him like we do with hazard, he has moses/Kante/Azpi behind him and Conte will drill him into at least a decent defensive performance. We have been complaining about Pedro/Willain for as long as i can remember and how bad we looked against teams who defend deeply. James could potentially solve BOTH problems and free up some tactical flexibility, while also taking some attention away from hazard/costa which frees up space for them. Most importantly to me, if Conte wants him than I want him. He has shown he can get things out of players nobody expected. A solid defensive leader David Luiz? A well behaved Diego Costa? Hazard working to get the ball back? Matic the assist machine? Moses the stud RWB? Cesc a hard working professional demeanor super sub determined to earn his spot back? James has something special in his left footed going forward and it could be exactly what we need to help us get to the next level. Plus if i said Oscar + 12 mill for James Rodriguez everyone would say "yes please" this wont deter us from spending in the Jan/Summer windows it is found money in my eyes.

His name keeps coming up in the new rumours. Looks like a mountain of a man but with some good skill. I know very little about him besides some youtube videos and his passing statistics. My stance is if Conte wants him, we should try to give him whatever he asks for haha Does anyone watch bundesliga and have a more informed opinion on this giant? Edit: From a daily mail article " He is 6ft 5ins tall and strong, quick for his size and comfortable on the ball with either foot, and represented Germany in the Olympic Games in Brazil, winning a silver medal. He made his debut for Joachim Low’s senior team in August.

Agreed fabregas starts for me. No hazard certainly hurts but this is bottom of the table sunderland. They have injuries and a short week as well. Anything less than 3 points and ill be massively disappointed. 2-0 or 3-0 should be the score line. 2-0 if we dont score until the second half, 3-0 if we bang one in the first 45 minutes.