King Kante

I have heard that Roman made Jeff Bezos an offer he couldn't refuse and is now the majority share holder of Amazon which he is using to fund his spending spree.

As the Harvetz links are coming from a reliable source, I am going to go full Vesper (no offence Vesper) and have a go at a semi-fantasy Summer plan of action: Buy New GK - Do not care who as long as I do not have to witness another season of football's version of 'The Diary of a Wimpy Kid' - approx £25-£50m - players I would consider (as I have actually seen them play) Onana, Donnarumma, Dubravka. CB - De Ligt (Swap) / Romagnoli (£55m) / Vertonghen (I am ok with him for a year or two as he knows the league is left footed and can buy us time to get a CB as I think this is the hardest position) LB - Telles (£25m) CM - Harvetz (£80m) AM/CF - Werner (£50m) CF - Cavani (Free) Out Kepa - sell for whatever. Will probably have to stay as No.2 if we cannot find anyone who smokes enough crack to think it is a good idea to give him £170-190k a week. Zouma - £30m+ Emerson - Swap/£20m Jorgi - Swap/Stay Kante - Only if the club can get £75m+ Barkley - £25m+ Baka - £20m+ Willian - Free Pedro - Free Batsh*t - £15m Giroud (If Cavani is a possibility) - Pull a Luiz on him - Free-£5m. Squad GK: New GK, Kepa, Willy CB: Rudi, New CB, AC, Tomori FB: James, Dave, Telles, Alonso CM: Kova, Gilmour, Mount, RLC, Harvetz + Jorgi(?), Kante (?) AM: Puli, Ziyech, CHO, Werner CF: Tammy, Giroud/Cavani

Technically, Alonso is miles ahead of Chilwell. Alonso has one of the best left foot's in the country, while I would question that he is more intelligent which I would say is par. Chilwell is quicker but that is about it. Hernandez is never happening. We are more likely to sign to sign Lewandowski then get him off of Bayern.

Have you seen Kepa play? If he was not brought for an insane amount of money and put on ridiculous wages he would have been replaced already. So, for me GK1 is a position we absolutely need another player. I would also say CB is another area that something needs to be 100% done. Pick who you want to leave from Zouma/AC/Tomori (I would sell Zouma) but all three are currently playing at CB3/4 level for a club that wants to be in the CL. As for LB, I actually have this lower down the list if GK1 and CB get sorted as I am ok with Alonso, especially if overpriced and overrated Chilwell is meant to be the solution. I am also not that sold on Tagliafico but if a Sandro/Emerson swap could happen or Telles can be brought for £20-25m then do that. As for midfield, I would like a new No.6, my ideal would be SMS but I can see how some people are fantasizing over Harvetz (who could play No.6/No.8 in tandem with Mount). However, that is a priority that is much lower down the list for me as GK, CB and LB are bigger priorities.

From my perspective I have never really understood the hate Alonso gets. For me, he isn't great at defending in a back 4 but he has an absolute wand of a left foot and scores and assists at a very high rate and is statistically one of the best in Europe for the past 3-4 years. As a LWB, he is very good and doesn't need replacing at all in my opinion. For that reason, if we do buy a LB I want them to a) be able to defend to a high level (or a much higher level than Alonso), Be very fast, c) Score and Assist at Alonso level. If we do not get a player that does this I do not see what the real point is in replacing Alonso as it is just going to continue to be a problematic area. Thus, for me Chilwell is about the same level at defending as Alonso, does not score and assist like he does but is faster. For me, I just do not see the logic in paying £40m+ on a player who is only really better than the FB we already have in terms of pace and isn't going to get the goals and assists he does. For me, Alonso takes a lot of stick but if it wasn't for him we wouldn't have got the win against Newcastle at home (as no one else has the technical ability to hit the shot he did with his left), we would have lost Bournemouth away (pretty clear why I think this) and against Tottenham (both home and away he was pretty much our best player). On top of this who thinks he would've missed that header like Emerson did against Bournemouth at home when it was 0-0? So, for me. Only bring me a LB that is clearly superior to Alonso and not one that is equally flawed and likely to cause even more issues but in other areas.

With GK I know the two mentioned have good stats but have you seen them play enough to make judgements about their ability to control their six yard area? I ask because if we get another GK I want one that comes off his line to get the ball and not another one that stands like a wimpy child on his line too scared to come out like Kepa. I cannot see Sandro (too old now as we never seem to buy players over 28 for decent money), Hernandez or Alaba. Gosen's, when I have watched him, remind's me of a only slightly faster version of Alonso but without the technique that Alonso has in striking the ball. So, not sure people wouldn't be on his back like they are with Alonso. Personally, I still think there is a chance with Telles. I say this as he pretty much hits every aspect we are looking for in a LB (ok maybe not the greatest at 1on1 defending) and is a reasonable price. Further, it is pretty clear the press have absolutely no idea what we are up to transfer wise until it is done, so I am not buying we are dead set on Chilwell. Agree on Romagnoli being No.1 choice but fairly certain he will not leave Italy. Personally, I am not sure what the answer is at CB as all the top peak ones are taken, the top old ones are still super expensive and the top young one are either taken or super inexperienced. Tonali looks great but he will end up at either Inter or Juve as hardly any young Italian's leave the country. Partey is a shout but I am not so sure we need a No.4 as I am pretty happy with what we've got. For me, we need more of a No.6 so would be inclined to go for SMS as he has both the size and technical ability in both feet we require (his pace and acceleration are a concern though). For me Harvetz (who is more of a No.8/AM) is Bayern/Real bound.

You know Willian is going to pull this shit too.

I think we do need to be careful with Jorgi. Firstly, I think he is an important player for us as he is pretty calm and he can sort things out on the pitch by talking to the other players and just ensuring possession is kept. As you say Kova can play the No.4 role too and I think with the way SFL wants to play he would actually be best there. However, in order to play Kova (or Billy) in the No.4 role we are going to require two top CB's as otherwise we could get exposed. Personally, I am still a massive De Ligt fan so I would part with Jorgi to get him (or Demiral who I also rate - although his knee could be blown). If either of those players are not up for a swap I would not let Juve have him unless they go completely bonkers and offer £75m+ or something.

I think De Ligt is great, that is why I want him. Personally, I think he would be better off in England or Germany but I also wouldn't be surprised if he does bounce back next year in Italy as for me he is will be the best CB in the world in the next 2-4 years time.

Thing with De Ligt is that I do not think Italy is a good country for him to be playing. For me, he is more of a dominating CB who is better in leagues such as PL/Bundesliga etc as in Italy (or Spain if he went there) he gets fouls given against him that wouldn't here. Further, whilst good on the ball he isn't the most technical which again means Italy/Spain aren't the best places for him. For those reasons, I am not really worried about his form at Juve as not only is he young but Italian football is not the best for his skill set. It is kind of like how AC would probably be considered a very good defender in Spain but is considered a weakling here.

Agree. If Ake is the answer I am not sure what the question is. Ake is a good PL CB but that is about it. As for Zouma, I would sell him as soon as we get a chance as I do not rate him. In my opinion, if he wasn't such a freak athlete he would be playing Championship football. I mean, the amount of times he gets caught out of position is a massive worry. For instance, in the last game against Everton he some how found himself caught out on the half way line and allowed the a 2on1 attack which DCL should really have scored which I think would've made it 1-1 or 2-1. A better example of his poor positioning was the Valencia away game. If you watch these highlights, you will see he is out of position for virtually every attack (AC gets rightly criticised for his lack of strength but at least he is where he is meant to be): This is also not a isolated incidents as he does it all the time, game after game. On top of this his distribution under any sort of pressure is also poor, while he also has a habit of mis-kicking balls that come into the area. An example is the Everton away game, where for their 2nd he skies the ball and allows it to bump off of him after AC doesn't get the header (while on the third he is out of position then stands and watches DCL continue towards goal) For those reasons, when people talk about CB's that need to be sold I always say Zouma as not only is he our worst CB on all aspects apart from physicality/athleticism he is also one that would probably bring in the most coin from any sale of AC/Tomori/Zouma.

Haha, but lets be real. This was their level between 1992-2012 so really, they are just going back to their natural place i.e. 5th-12th place.

They can have Jorgi and Emerson for De Ligt.

My money is on Cavani on a free.

If Granny gets anything over £20m for Batsh*t in this market with only one year on his contract then she will be doing wonders.

I see where you are coming from but a better comparison for Kepa is Bravo. For me they are both about the same level. Ederson does have flaws but he is still much better than Kepa/Bravo as at least he can control his six yard box on set pieces where the other two look like 15 year old boys against men.

Well, yes. Like Werner they could/can also play CF. However, my point was Anelka primarily played from a WF role for us and Mertens has mostly played as a WF throughout his career. Hence, I see Werner doing the same. Will we ever see him play the CF role here? Probably. Will he come in and play that role from the start? I very much doubt it.

As for the money, it is exactly as you describe. Pay stupid money on him and then you are lumbered with him with the team seriously stuffering for years as you cannot recoup the money. For me a better example than Torres is Kepa, who we are now stuck with for god knows how long because some bright spark thought a funsized, t-rex armed GK would be a good idea at £72m + £9-10m a year for seven years. As for Chilwell's ability, I would actually rate Alonso above him as they are both above the same level defensively but Alonso scores and assists a lot more. Personally, I wouldn't even mind the Chilwell links so much if there were not other players about we could get, but with players such as Telles (£20-25m) and Tagliafico (£25m) knocking about a £40-70m transfer for Chilwell is lunacy.

From when I started watching (20 mins onwards), I would only say he missed one good chance today (when he had beat the GK to the ball). The other one where he got played in the channel and hit it over was a tough chance. That said, he isn't perfect yet and does need work. However, as anyone that has been tracking him for a while will say, he has been improving consistently year on year so he should still improve, while his statistical output is very good. He will play from the left. People need to think of him as a Anelka/Mertens type player. I really cannot see him playing CF unless SFL switches to a 352 formation and he plays off Giroud. I really cannot see us playing 433 with him as CF in the PL or moving to a 442 and giving up midfield.

When I look at those sides all I can think is we really need another CB, GK and if we actually go out and blow £30m+ on Chilwell I'll be fuming.

So, where does everyone stand on what else we need for next season if Werner does get over the line? I would say we still need (in no order); GK1 CB1 LB1 No.6

Yeah, I saw this. If we pull Harvetz off this week to go alongside Werner, the internet is going to break. That said, if we do get it done, I hope we have some buyers for the likes of Barkley, Baka, Batsh*t etc lined up otherwise we are going to have a squad size of 35+ next year.

Yeah, Romagnoli is probably the one that is best fit. Let's hope Granny can pull some magic. However, like you I am also a bit of a Granny sceptic in that I think she is fine at buying players with buy outs (or gentleman agreements), not so great at when she has to negotiate and I really cannot see her willing to deal with Ranola.

RE: Gabriel, when I have seen him I would say he was better on the ball than Cahill (kind of implied in the Brazilian Cahill part), however he, for me at least displays quite a few of the same traits: 1) Strong in the air (we really need this tbf) 2) Slow for a modern day CB 3) Back peddles when confronted by the fast/tricky player (this was the thing that annoyed me most with Cahill) 4) Will go long unless there is an easy short pass. Tbh, with Gabriel, I think he is a good player, he just isn't one where I go 'wow, he is going to come in and be our new undisputed CB1'. Like you, I am a big fan of Romagnoli and reckon he would be a massive boon for us. However, like you say his agent is a c**t and the bigger problem in my opinion is that he seems to me to be one of those Italian's that wants to stay in Italy. As for the younger ones you list, I'll take your word for them as I haven't seen them or only seen very little. However, the worry is how much time they would need to adapt and are they experienced enough to push us forward. For me the only CB under 22 I would be willing to go for is De Ligt as he has played a lot of football, has experience of being a Captain and whilst not setting Italy alight, I think that is partly due to him not being as suited to that league as he would the PL (only issue I would have with him is his speed which is average.)

I have probably seen him about 4-5 times. For me, he is a bit like a Brazillian Gary Cahill, which isn't really a bad thing as Cahill was a great servant but he wasn't someone that took us to the next level. Next, I am not so sure SFL is completely set in a left footed CB. Sure, it is probably preferred but with the way our CB's are at the moment I am not sure he wouldn't take one just because they were right footed. As for the players you list, this is pretty much the problem with CB. Half of the players play for top teams so aren't going anywhere. Then the others are young ones with massive question marks and we need experience/guaranteed players atm not taking a risk on another 21/22 year old to go with AC and Tomori. Sure if the 21 year old is De Ligt or something, go for it but 21 year old CB's usually require another 2-3 years experience as it is the most physically demanding position on the pitch and requires a super strong mentality as any mistake can cost a goal.