Vesper

I am hoping that Baka and Drinkwater ARE sold, just starting to think it may not happen for both. It's a 50/50 I think, but as soon as one is gone, I really think they close out Vecino. The most consistent number (price-wise) I have seen Inter wants is €30m (£26.7m). I cannot see that being a deal breaker

Oh, for sure, he is in a no win situation, agreed. They just don't have the players to win anything major at this point. They did add Simone Verdi (who is going to be their new number 9), CMF Fabián Ruiz (would love to have him over Vecino as well), and a really good young GK, Alex Meret (who I could have lived with as a replacement for Courtois), but I just dont see them winning Serie A or going deep in the CL.

Of course they do not have these levels of players, but as a mananger, he is pretty damn good Juventus UEFA Intertoto Cup: 1999 Milan Serie A: 2003–04 Coppa Italia: 2002–03 Supercoppa Italiana: 2004 UEFA Champions League: 2002–03, 2006–07 UEFA Super Cup: 2003, 2007 FIFA Club World Cup: 2007 Chelsea Premier League: 2009–10 FA Cup: 2009–10 FA Community Shield: 2009 Paris Saint-Germain Ligue 1: 2012–13 Real Madrid Copa del Rey: 2013–14 UEFA Champions League: 2013–14 UEFA Super Cup: 2014 FIFA Club World Cup: 2014 Bayern Munich Bundesliga: 2016–17 DFL-Supercup: 2016 Serie A Coach of the Year: 2001, 2004 Panchina d'Oro: 2002–03, 2003–04 Ligue 1 Manager of the Year: 2012–13 IFFHS World's Best Club Coach: 2007, 2014 European Coach of the Year—Alf Ramsey Award: 2003 World Soccer Magazine Manager of the Year: 2003 Globe Soccer Awards Best Coach of the Year: 2014 Globe Soccer Awards Best Media Attraction in Football: 2014 Enzo Bearzot Award: 2014 FIFA World Coach of the Year (Runner-up): 2014 Miguel Muñoz Trophy: 2014–15 Italian Football Hall of Fame: 2015 A.C. Milan Hall of Fame 33 total trophies as player for club and country, and as a manager, plus in 3 halls of fame (Roma not listed above)

I really think it will. Inter already has an overload of CMF's (Vecino, Radja Nainggolan, Marcelo Brozovic, Roberto Gagliardini (who I rate higher than Vecino), Borja Valero) and are on verge of signing Arturo Vidal from Bayern. They also have agreed fully with Atletico Madrid on RB Sime Vrsaljko. https://gianlucadimarzio.com/it/inter-accordo-totale-per-vrsaljko-le-cifre-delloperazione They need the cash, and Sarri is obsessed with Vecino for some reason. Roman and Granny spent the Inter post game discussing his transfer. I think it goes down (and I think is a waste).

At this point, the only player I see coming in is possibly Vecino, who is so not a scorer. Maybe a panic/consolation signing (he is free, which is our preferred price for most signings these days) of Bernard. Willian is going nowhere, Real have said the £100m dual buy story was (of course) bullshit. The Martial swap is a self-delusional projection of my own wishes. I doubt we will even be able to sell Drinkwater (unless Palace loses the plot and sprays 30m quid our way) or Bakayoko (Milan has said no, Sevilla dont have the cash to meet our valuation) for anywhere near a price the board will agree to. We are 80% probably just going to let Courtois's contract wind down and lose him on a free next summer. I predict big issues goals scoring and with LB, when Emerson is not playing. EPL and EL teams are going to so exploit Alonso slowness and lack of defensive skills. Players like Salah, Mahrez, Sterling, Zaha, Felipe Anderson, etc will open him up like a cheap tin of tuna, The board has zero ambition, and I really think the club may be in the process of being sold. I hope I am pleasantly surprised, but I see nothing going on at present to make that an outcome. The best we can hope for is Sarri to work magic with what he has.

That grizzled dwarf needs to go sod off.

Apparently we soon have Vecino too. Another waste of money that should go elsewhere. The problem with SMS is Lazio want over 100 million quid. I cannot see us splashing anywhere near that type of cash, especially as we are simply not being successful in selling our deadweight, We still have massive holes at GK (potentially, if Courtois goes) and at RW (potentially, if Willian is sold) and striker (unless Morata does a turnaround for the ages).

I am deffo not his biggest fan as well, and I think we should sell him ASAP, but I agree, this article seems a cheap shot over nothing much. I think he is entitled to take his allotted time off, as he is not some 21 year old kid with boundless reserves.

Yep. 5th year wedding anniversary this coming November.

Hate to say it (as I was an insanely huge fan, and I REALLY thought he had top ten CB in world eventually written all over him) BUT Zouma is perma damaged goods He is never going to fully recover, IMHO, from that cruciate ligament nightmare 2 years ago.

I have a suggestion for a new official nickname for Jorginhno I thinks it is inch perfect (like his passing) The Metronome

https://www.buildlineup.com/shared/5b5e54eb138c092e24abca00

I posted a really detailed comparison in the Rugani thread. Rugani is a better passer, yes, Caldara is more the hard nose enforcer type.

Tony Pulis's wet dream!!!!!

She said 'You're going where,no man has been before', I said, 'Wot?, what in your ear?'

Makes sense it's Kitson as the source. He is a ginger and the footie kit on his Twitter is orange! Only thing I really remember about him is Tony Pulis at Stoke called him a petulant prick. LOL. I think the only striker Pulis hated more was Berahino at West Brom.

waaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy too early to go there !!!!!!!

He is deffo one I do NOT want to sell. The guy is pure class and is a great changeup striker. He busts his arse every minute on the pitch and does all the dirty work.

Offer Juve Morata for Alex Sandro, straight swap once we have Martial then buy Bailey or Suso that would all yield a staring line up of GK Cillesson CB AC CB Rudiger (Luiz and Ampadu as backups) I dont care what we do with Cahill, have him park cars outside the Bridge LB Alex Sandro Emerson as backup RB Azpi Zappacosta as backup DMF Kante Bakayoko as backup (eek) we could sell Bakayoko IF their is time and get Vecino to keep Sarri from upping it to 5 packs a day CMF Jorginho Fabregas as back up Moses as backup sell Drinkwater PLEASE!! AMF Barkley/RLC LW Hazard CHO as backup RW Bailey or Suso Pedro as backup Striker Martial with Bats and Giroud as backup I would be sooooooooooo happy with that lineup

We can still sell them Courtois for £35m once we have a keeper lined up Offer Barca a swap, Alonso for Cillesson (they are selling Lucas Digne their backup LB to Everton so need another LB) then we have striker and GK sorted and get rid of the 2 main trouble makers atm surely we can find a LB to support Emerson and a RW (BAILEY) if that is all we need we need to stop arsing about with Italian CB's and dodgy CMF's

THE ONLY way I would not do this double deal is IF Man U offers a swap of MARTIAL FOR WILLIAN

Norbert Elgert: Schalke's academy guru behind Özil, Draxler, Sane, Neuer, Goretzka and many more https://www.bundesliga.com/en/news/Bundesliga/leroy-sane-ozil-draxler-all-owe-schalke-s-norbert-elgert-debt-of-gratitude-475024.jsp his youth coach

yep

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-6004491/Real-Madrid-make-100m-bid-Chelseas-Willian-Thibaut-Courtois.html

FTW