Pizy

If he goes in the summer I’ll thank him and be fine with him leaving. If he signs a new deal and stays I’m fine with it as well. Very good player to have in the squad but someone who I wouldn’t be terribly upset at losing if it means we upgrade.

Benfica seems like one of those clubs that always accepts that bigger, richer clubs will come in for their players. They don’t play games and they don’t stand in the way if clubs pay what they ask for. So if we (or someone else) offer the money and convince the player they’ll sell. They won’t dig their heels in and refuse to let him go. If we want him this window may be our best and only shot. Much more competition for him in the summer you’d assume and who knows how attractive we’ll be then.

I thought FFP was essentially a joke now? Didn’t the regulations change a couple of years ago? And I also thought there was some exception to spending rules for us after the ownership change?

It’s really impossible to determine where things actually are regarding Enzo at this point. Some fairly reliable journalists saying we are actively pursuing him and others saying we like him but haven’t moved yet. If we indeed do want him badly enough I would hope we don’t piss around in the wind trying to negotiate a lower and lower fee knowing that Benfica want the release clause or nothing. If he’s our #1 choice then pay the money.

Y’all hate Rice, damn. 🤣🤣🤣

A more mobile and athletic Jorginho is exactly what I think Rice can be for us. Jorginho contributes next to nothing in attack as it is so it’s not like we’d be losing anything by replacing one with the other. Jorginho is our recycler and deep outlet. Receive the ball off of the keeper or CB’s and make short, simple passes that are mostly sideways to the wingbacks or other midfielders. He doesn’t do anything that Rice can’t do. He’s not Fabregas or De Bruyne or Modric who can destroy an entire defense and midfield with a single pass. The big difference is that Rice can’t be isolated and targeted defensively by every opposition manager like J5 is. He is a total Achilles heel on every counter attack.

Meh. He’s no Fabregas or even Jorginho at controlling the entire match from midfield but I think Rice gets wrongfully shit on for his ability on the ball. He’s not spectacular but more than good enough. I’ll put it this way, if we are playing against a very athletic, quick team like for example Liverpool or Arse I’d much rather have Rice in the middle of the pitch for us than Jorginho. Much safer defensively and don’t lose much if anything when in possession.

The main thing people have to take into account about Rice vs these other options that doesn’t get mentioned often is that there’s no settling in period or adaptation for Rice. He’s got basically zero potential to fail or be a bust since he has already been performing at the top level in this league in a very specific role that can translate to any team really. He’s not someone who is asked to create or be a match winner or be a goal scorer. You can easily plug him into any of the current top teams and he’d be solid. With players coming from another country and league it’s always a gamble on whether they can quickly adapt. And at over £100m you may want to minimize the risk and go for the safer choice. Look what we’re experiencing now with Koulibaly. He was a beast last season in Italy and a dominant CB. Comes to the PL and has looked almost lost at times dealing with the dramatically quicker pace of the play. Imagine spending £100m or more and going through this. Definitely something to consider.

So what’s the plan for David Fofana, I wonder? Are we really planning for a 20 year old from a tiny league to come in and go straight into the team? Are we giving up on Auba already?

What you say about the players those two already have makes total sense, but these clubs don’t usually think like we do. They just see shiny new toy and want it. Like Barca this last summer.

That’s still a significant injury at a time we can’t afford it.

Just done my usual YouTube scouting of Enzo and have now realized who he reminds me of. He’s basically a carbon copy of Verratti who has been one of my favorite midfielders in world football over the past 5 or so years. Perfect mix of silky technical ability and tigerish work rate. Got a bit of a nastiness in him but isn’t a destroyer. Can absolutely see now why he’s so sought after. I’d be amazed if we could pull a move off over other big clubs who are in a much better position than we are. Don’t really know what we could sell him on that others can’t. Unless he’s keen to move this window and we’re the only ones willing to meet the clause. His Benfica side are apparently flying and are still in the CL so it seems like it would be near impossible to convince him to jump. Plus, being a Spanish speaker from South America he’s probably almost guaranteed to be a target for Barca or Madrid this coming summer so may hold out for them.

I agree that I wouldn’t be sad to see them all go, but I think that happens in the summer. I think Gallagher’s biggest issue is that he’s the sort of player that needs to be on the pitch every game in order to show his best. Coming in for a handful of minutes here and there does him zero favors. If he was starting every week like he was last season I think he’d be amazing again. But that clearly won’t happen for him here.

I don’t doubt at all that we’re very interested in Enzo Fernandez like every other big club is. But it’s most likely as a Declan Rice alternative for the summer. We already have so many CM’s that several of them regularly go huge stretches without even seeing the pitch. And that’s with Kante not even playing this season. Gallagher, Chukwameka, Zakaria, and RLC may as well not even suit up every weekend if we buy another midfielder in January because they’d never play. Don’t get me wrong, I’d take him in a heartbeat, but CM is our most overloaded position in the squad as it is. Our priority for this window needs to be a RB and if possible a goal scorer who can hit the ground running.

Tbf, we’ve apparently just laid over Nkunku’s release clause to ensure that we got him before a bidding war started. But yeah, the idea that we’d spend over 100m on a midfielder when we’ve currently got a million of them on our books makes no sense.

Is Enzo on the same talent level as Jude Bellingham and Tchoameni? That’s the sort of player I’d expect to get for the money being talked about.

What sort of midfielder is Enzo comparable to? Haven’t payed close attention. Paying £100m or more for a midfielder who isn’t already a superstar seems nuts.

A midfielder of any kind in January seems extremely unlikely so anyone linking us with one is just getting our hopes up. The proverbial decks will be cleared in the summer and that’s when we’ll move for one or more.

We should 100% be bringing in a long term rotation option at RB/RWB this window. Someone young and athletic who can replicate a lot of what Reece can do when for when he’s not in the side. It’s not good enough for a top club like us to so dramatically drop in quality when just one player goes out. I didn’t want us to blow money for the sake of it this window but RJ’s niggling injuries are going to be a recurring theme unless he’s managed and rotated properly. And Azpi has been past it for years now. He’s not the answer.

Well that was an anticlimactic 2nd half. All that mattered was the 3 points, though.

Dumfries would be a godsend to us right now.

The quality of play both defensively and attacking down our right side has taken a dive off a cliff since Reece went off. As expected. Bournemouth targeting Azpi again and again.

Been brilliant and showed exactly why we’ve desperately missed him and he instantly gets injured again. Now becoming a serious problem for his career. His super powerful physique may be contributing to it.

Reece injured again, ffs.

Couple of poor loose passes that he has to iron out but pretty good otherwise. Certainly a useful player.