Vesper

not a chance that happens zero bookmark this for historical reasons as I am 100% standing by this prediction the Saudis have a long term plan and at least 1.5 trillion in sovereign wealth (just the royal family's share and that is based off a 2 year old number, they likely are pushing 2 trillion now due to explosive oil revenues the past 2 years) backstopping it all

The whole point of my first post on the subject was that Ajax (The Netherlands are also in NATO and are also involved in sanctions v Russia) IS buying a player directly from a Russian club. As for the season before the Ukraine invasion occured he was a 17 year old teen (turned 18yo 3 days before the season ended, as they played in the Russian Cup final v Spartak on May 29th, losing 1 - 2, despite his scoring Dynamo's only goal) who had just been promoted to the senior team in mideason, he had played 13 Sr team games with 3 goals and 5 assists in 888 minutes people in Russia during that following summer transfer window (summer 2021) really had no clue what was going to happen in early 2022, let alone some 17/18yo kid who had just been called up 6 months earlier. The season before that he was mostly playing in an U17 league. I was the first person on the board to post anything about Zakharyan my first post that included him was a year and a half ago, 22 days before Russia invaded Ukraine that was halfway through his first full season at topflight level, a season in which, as an 18yo, he produced a total of 18 goals (9 and 9) in only 2869 minutes

well, there is now this, lol FC Barcelona Star Ousmane Dembele Receives ‘Enormous’ $220 Million Offer To Join Ronaldo At Al-Nassr https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomsanderson/2023/07/22/fc-barcelona-star-ousmane-dembele-receives-enormous-220-million-offer-to-join-ronaldo-at-al-nassr-reports/?sh=5b46bb6f472c FC Barcelona star Ousmane Dembele has received an 'enormous offer' of €200 million ($222.5 million) to join Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr according to transfer market experts Foot Mercato. Ronaldo switched to the Saudi Pro League giants in January when his Manchester United contract was terminated by mutual consent. Believed to pay him $200 million a season, the move allowed the legendary forward to finish top of Forbes' list of The World's Highest-Paid Athletes in May. Though Al-Hilal failed to deliver his generational rival and new Inter Miami signing Lionel Messi, big stars such as Ballon d'Or holder Karim Benzema and N'Golo Kante have made the switch from elite European football to the Kingdom where the Public Investment Fund has taken control of four of the biggest clubs to boost its domestic championship. Yet while all the players mentioned thus far are well past their 30th birthday, or not far off 40 in the case of Ronaldo while Benzema and Messi are on their way, the Saudi Pro League still hasn't pulled off the coup of landing a top, young player at the height of his powers. Ruben Neves, 26 and now at Al-Hilal, partly fits the bill. But the Portuguese midfielder didn't exactly feature for the biggest club on the Old Continent, with all due respect to Wolverhampton Wanderers. Al-Nassr luring 30-year-old Marcelo Brozovic in recent weeks, in turn snatching the Russia 2018 and 2022/2023 Champions League finalist away from FC Barcelona, was a bigger achievement. When all is said and done, however, convincing one of the victors on the other side of the ball in said World Cup final would be an indicator of great progress being made in the fight to have the local league recognized as more than a lucrative retirement camp. Unfortunately for Al-Nassr, they haven't been able to turn France international Dembele's head despite tabling a five-year, €40 million ($44.5 million) a season offer according to Foot Mercato which would have totaled €200 million and made 'The Mosquito' a much richer man by his 31st birthday. The Saudis are obviously willing to trigger his release clause in Catalonia, which has halved to a paltry €50 million ($55.6 million) this summer as part of a contract extension agreed last year which expires in 2024. Even though Dembele and his agent can pocket half of that fee, turning down the eye-watering package from the Saudis is another sign of how dedicated the Frenchman is to the cause under his head coach Xavi Hernandez. Keen to agree fresh terms at Camp Nou, or the Montjuic Stadium while Barca's usual home is being renovated, the winger has gone from being a booed outcast in early 2022 for not putting pen to paper to a fan favorite and regular starter. Barca are currently occupied trying to register their new players and the renewed contracts of existing stars while navigating Financial Fair Play limits, but Dembele is expected to commit to the Blaugrana for another three years when his own deal is oven-ready. "Barca want to renew me until 2027 and I'm happy here," he revealed to La Vanguardia last month.

the number in my mind for some time (just like me for Mount with £60m, which is exactly what we got) for Gallagher is £45m (£35m + £10m English tax) let us hope I am once again at the right price point

Just tossing this out here Ousmane Dembélé's release clause for July and August is only £43m I know he really wants to stay at Barca, but they are so fucked atm financially

£35m is too low I am sure we can get between £40m and £50m for him (HG and a multiple capped Sr England player) who is only 23yo, so in the first year or two of his prime time (22/23 to 30yo or so) £40-42.5m at a minimum

yes, but again, we were trying to buy him despite already having Mudryk, so we must have talked to him (Mudryk) I doubt Mudryk would snap over an Armenian descent (100%) player joining us, a player whose family also fled a war (granted they fled to Russia, but that was pre Putin Russia, a Russia that was at the time being propped up partially by the US) see this Time Magazine cover from July 15, 1996: Hypocrisy of Russia-Did-It Stories Is Hard to Stomach (2016) https://fair.org/home/hypocrisy-of-russia-did-it-stories-is-hard-to-stomach/ Hollywood even made a Jeff Goldblum movie about it https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0324619/

Sterling has only had 3 great seasons on his entire career, all in a row, from the age of 22/23 to 24/25yo (he was born December 8, 1994, so turns 30yo on the middle of next season) he absolutely peaked at the age of 24/25, which is bizarre, as he had no bad bad injuries it is almost like he is like 70 to 80% of NFL running backs, who peak early and then mostly tumble down due to the insane physical beating that they take (the average career span for an NFL running back is around 3 years) Sterling of course does not have that excuse he has now had 2 meh and 1 poor (last season) seasons in a row since

11, unless you are already assuming they win it again this year (which is very likely, lol)

but we were trying to buy him after we already had Mudryk Zakharyan is not even of Russian descent, he is 100 per cent Armenian (both parents), just like that Ajax AMF I refuse to blame a 19/20yo kid for Putin's war crime thuggery Arsen was born into an Artsakh family. His family moved to Samara after the war https://sport24.ru/news/football/2021-03-23-intervyu-ottsa-arsena-zakharyana-iz-dinamo---istoriya-detstva-interesnyye-fakty-semya-pochemu-ne-vzyali-v-zenit Arsen Zakharyan's family comes from Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), where war between Armenia and Azerbaijan has flared up more than once over the past 30 years. The city of Mardakert is located exactly where the fighting takes place. After the first war, the family decided to move to Russia. The usual story of families who leave to be away from wars and troubles. “The war has strongly affected our region,” says the football player’s father, Norayr. “Mardakert has always been under fire, it’s terrible and scary… Uncle and aunt still live in their homeland. And we go there every year. Of course, after the war it was difficult, but we got out and began to gradually build our lives anew. Our relatives have been living in Samara for a long time, and they have always helped us. In Yerevan I graduated from a construction institute, in Samara I started working in my profession. Never left without a job. At a time when the children were running and playing football, I did everything to provide them with a carefree childhood.”

How the hell are Ajax buying an AMF from a Russian team but we cannot buy Zakharyan?????? wtf https://thedailybriefing.io/i/135369041/ajax Ajax have submitted a bid for Armenian top talent Eduard Spertsyan worth €8.5m plus €2m add-ons and 10% sell on clause. Ajax are still waiting on a decision from Krasnodar as there’s no green light as of now — but talks are ongoing.

Romeo Lavia and Liverpool - the latest https://thedailybriefing.io/i/135369017/romeo-lavia-and-liverpool-the-latest Jordan Henderson to Al Ettifaq is now almost a done deal - a verbal agreement was already in place and I can now also confirm that the player did his medical on Friday night. The deal will be signed next week, so it’s almost completed - Henderson will is leaving Liverpool. Staying with Liverpool, they keep working on Romeo Lavia. Nothing is advanced in terms of bids or club to club negotiations - still, contacts are taking place with the player’s agents and they are trying to understand the final price tag. Southampton always wanted around £50m but Liverpool are hoping for a different fee. He’s not their only target, but he is a concrete one, and Liverpool are still there. Jurgen Klopp has hinted that things will happen before the end of the summer, and while it’s impossible to predict the exact number of signings, Liverpool will be busy for sure, it just depends on opportunities. Chelsea are also following the Lavia situation due to the connection with Joe Shields, one of the Chelsea directors, but it’s not linked to the Moises Caicedo deal. Caicedo remains the priority for Chelsea, but Shields had Lavia at Southampton and Manchester City, so he knows the player well and there is a good connection there.

https://thedailybriefing.io/i/135369017/other-midfield-deals-to-watch Gabri Veiga made headlines earlier this summer and then more recently it’s gone a bit quiet in the media, but I can say that behind the scenes things are happening. We know he has a release clause of €40m but some clubs feel they can strike a deal for below this fee. Let’s see how the conversation will continue, but in the coming weeks things could move. We know there is interest from the Premier League, with Chelsea following the situation and well informed, so let’s see if they make a bid, but for sure he’s appreciated by Chelsea. It’s not only Chelsea, but they are watching this situation while Liverpool look to be focusing on different kinds of players right now - Veiga is not their priority, despite reports.

I do not know

yw!

well, thank fuck we do not need a 23 to 28yo left footed CB atm, lolol as you can see, that market is fucked (and even Kimpembe is a hard pull, as he doesn't really want to leave Paris)

I am all in for Kudus atm let footer, super athlete decent price can also play RW so a 2-for-1

those are all right footed CBs btw we do not need a left footed one atm if we did here they are in your age group requirements of 25-28 and available ONE (lolol) that I rate to buy (and he is 29 next summer so will not be on any of my lists next summer, buying a 28yo is even not something I really recco) if I expand it to 23 to 28 then we can add these 3 (monsters) and all 3 are CRAZY hard pulls

23yo

so nice to have positivity again

he has monster potential in their system

the new kits look sooo good

Kudus number 4 overall globally and with an insane success rate of 76.9 per cent

The 420th edition of the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post uses Wyscout data on dribbling in domestic league matches over the last 365 days to compile a world ranking of the best dribblers according to an index combining the frequency and percentage of successful dribbles, as well as the sporting level of teammates and opponents. Only footballers who have not yet turned 23 and have played at least 1’500 domestic league minutes are included. Real Madrid’s Brazilian winger Vinícius Júnior tops the list with a successful dribble every 15 minutes and 32 seconds, and a success rate of 50.3% in highly competitive matches. His compatriot Ângelo Gabriel of Santos FC ranks second with even more impressive statistics, albeit in lower-level games: one successful dribble every 13 minutes and 56 seconds with a 64.2% success rate. Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala rounds up the podium ahead of AFC Ajax’s Mohammed Kudus. Players from 35 different leagues are in the top 100, with Spain’s La Liga in first place (11 representatives), one more than the English Premier League and Argentina’s Primera División. Born on 23 December 2004, Brighton & Hove Albion’s Facundo Buonanotte is the youngest player in the top 100, followed by Ângelo Gabriel (born just two days earlier), RB Salzburg’s Israeli Oscar Gloukh and Vélez Sarsfield’s Julián Fernández. Ranking of U23 attacking players according to the Dribble index

he was playing topflight football since he just turned 15