Pizy

Starting to hear more rumblings of Thiago Alcantara heading to United instead of Liverpool because Liverpool are so cash strapped to even pay €30m. I wasn't too bothered about him going to Liverpool becasue I don't think he improves them much. But him replacing Matic at United is a huge upgrade. He and Pogba behind Bruno Penandes is a seriously elite midfield 3.

I think it'll end with City paying Barca a hefty fee (£100m+) so they can save face and tell their fans they fought to keep him and at least got something for the greatest player ever. If he leaves on a free the Camp Nou may burn.

Getting basically a whole new defense organized and gelled literally on the fly and once the season has started is probably going to be rough for a while. Yes, other clubs are in the same boat but it just feels super poorly thought out by the league.

Haven't Liverpool and Arse both played about 3 preseason matches each? Seems pretty ridiculous to enter a season with the likes of Thiago Silva, Havertz, a new keeper etc having never even played together before. At least Timo and Ziyech have been here training for weeks. Have a feeling that we'll be seeing a lot of Alonso, RLC/Barkely, Kepa and all these players who aren't up to scratch for quite a while until our new signings get up to speed. Which could cost us some important points.

So are we not playing another warm up match before the season starts? One match against Brighton weeks beforehand with loads of players missing surely isn't enough.

It's gonna be kinda funny when we have basically a 10/10 window where everyone is jealous of us and all the media are praising us for addressing all our issues. And then City will sign Messi and everyone will just stop paying attention to us and it's all about them. 😂 I actually think that'll be a huge positive. Way less pressure on Frank and the boys. Nobody will be expecting us to win the league.

😰😰😰 Would be just dreadful luck if he got a serious injury in the first appearence he made for us.

I wouldn't be worried about it with Havertz since he has played there a bunch. And unlike Hazard or Pulisic he isn't small and easy to bottle up. But I don't ever think we'll see it. There's no way all 3 of Timo, Giroud, and Tamy will all be missing at once.

Just hope whoever it is, we have a new keeper in in time for match week 1. Really don't want to see Kepa in there for a month until the window closes. This Mendy dude has the profile to suit us. He's fucking massive, seems to be commanding and assertive enough for the PL, and at 28 he's not going to be in over his head and inexperienced. Plays at a decent level for a side that finished 3rd in Ligue 1. There are a few concerns watching his highlights, though. He is frequently parrying the ball back into dangerous areas. He also seems to frequently punch or push away what look to be easily catchable shots. And lastly, I have no clue what his distribution is like since it's not really shown in the vid I watched.

Yep. And it'll be that way with Tammy as well. If (heaven forbid) Timo gets injured the way our team plays will be completely different. We now have 3 strikers with vastly different qualities and skill sets. Plus the ability to play with a false 9 in Havertz if necessary.

Very weird seeing Che,sea with a smaller, lightning quick striker rather than the bigger, more traditional #9's that we've had for years and years. He popped up all over the pitch today. Should be awesome to watch when all of our attackers are fit and on form. Having 2 players with incredible vision and creativity like Havertz and Ziyech combined with two forwards who excell at making runs like Timo and CP will be lethal.

Judging by his latest Instagram post I think he's all good after the injury. Was just a precaution hopefully. His long range diagonal passing even in his first appearence with very little chemistry was ridiculous. Imagine what it'll look like when he's dialed in with Pulisic and Werner running on to the end of those. 😱

They're so fucked if he gets injured. Just like Spuds with Kane. If only Barca weren't in a complete mess they could've snatched him away.

Ziyech is going to be extremely important in so many ways. Hope he's good to go in two weeks time. Can't afford to be without him and CP for the first few matches.

Really? I rate him. He's one of those highly effective but really unspectacular players. Not flashy, doesn't wow you, but has great technique and can pop up with goals. If we weren't signing Havertz I think he'd be solid backup option.

So what, like a hamstring or something?

So what was the Ziyech injury exactly? I missed it.

Why even play Werner and Ziyech second half?

I agree that there's that creative force missing in our midfield 3. Kova and Kante are brilliant at winning back and maintaining possesion but are greatly lacking in creative passing. Havertz will help there immeasurably. That's what his job is.

Good half of football for the new lads. Now get them off so one of these Brighton players don't injure them!

I think we'd have to sell 2 of Barkley, Kante, or J5 in order to sign Rice. And we've heard nothing about any of those leaving, really.

So....I wonder how we're going to handle the keeper situation in preseason? What would be the point in continuing to play Kepa if he won't be here? And if he does start these early games surely he'll stay? Seeing as no keeper seems to be close to joining I wonder if Willy will just be used so he can start the season until one is bought.

That might be the best window anyone has ever had, nevermind just us!

Brilliant long term planning from Antonio. 😂 Probably figures he won't be there long so wants to win ASAP. Forget bringing in young kids. Much like Mourinho, he prefers old players.

If you guys haven't yet, watch the highlights of his last match in the CL final on YouTube. He's just effortlessly classy and extremely calm. Like he's just casually strolling around barely breaking a sweat. And that's against the scariest side in Europe who have blown everyone else away. That's precisely what we needed. Shit, depending on the CB partnership and the keeper situation it could mean Jorginho comes back in the fold as a hugely important player. Having a rock of a defender behind him so we aren't totally exposed to counter attacks could allow us to use J5.