Pizy

Hope so.

I didn't want to believe that the club doing business now in January had anything to do with an impending transfer ban. But wow, if we buy another £50m player this month and loan them back to their club until the summer what else could be happening!? I mean, it would be fantastic work by the club but we need help now, too!

Signing both would be crazy. While it would be sensational from our (the fans') perspective to have such a gluttony of quality midfielders, it would seem strange from the players' perspective. Paredes in particular is so damn similar to Jorginho. Couldn't see the two playing together so he'd purely be cover for him? Can't see it. Barella is the one we really want.

Willian deinitely seems like he'd kick up a stink if he was dropped abruptly. Did fall out with Conte, remember. Sarri probably doesn't want to cause a big drama so will (hopefully) start to ease Willian out of the XI.

They probably can if they are aware other big clubs are interested and will come for him in the summer. An advantage we have of course is that we have an Italian manager who will be familiar with him, we have Jorginho who is familiar with him, and we have an opening now in our squad. He perfectly fits the profile of player the board loves. Super young, super talented, his value only goes up and up.

Injury list piling up and fatigue clearly showing in several of our key players. Is treating this like a massively important PL match truly wise? I'm not so sure. We always want to beat this lot but I'd honestly rather we have a rotated side similar to the one we just played against Forrest. Let Jorginho, Hazard, etc be as fresh as possible for the next PL match. Unfortunately, I think Sarri will play our strongest XI. Also probably means Willian straight back in for CHO.

Let us now hope the club see it the way he does, then. Wouldn't be shocked if they told him to just use Drinkwater and Ampadu there instead...

Just watched a bit of him. Can certainly understand the link to him if it's real. He has the same skill set as Jorginho and Cesc in terms of his long passing but he's certainly more athletic. For the amount of money we're talking about here, though, I'm not sure Paredes makes sense. I don't see how he and Jorginho play together since they occupy the same area of the pitch. Would we really spend tens of millions of pounds on a backup? Can't see it. Barella on the other hand seems more versatile. More of an all arounder who can play across midfield.

First thing that comes up when I google this dude is that he's desperate to return to his boyhood club in Argentina.

You know how those old farts like Souness and Roy Keane always moan about how soft and entitled modern footballers are? Normally I roll my eyes because they go overboard, but Morata is actually the perfect example. He's been utter shit for ages and then has the audacity to moan and sulk in plain view of the world as if it's our/the clubs fault for his struggles. Do me a favor... If only their was a viable option available this month so we can ship his ass off the a smaller club where he'd actually fit in.

I had literally never heard of him before yesterday and now I'm almost obsessed with him. 😂 Been watching videos throughout the day. Exquisite first touch, tenacious workrate, great eye for a pass, excellent in tight spaces. He really looks like he was trained the "Barca way." I really fucking want us to buy him now! Before some other big team does.

Body language is atrocious. They way he sulked today made it seem like he thinks the fans are against him or something,

Bayern think they're pulling a fast one trying to turn CHO's head. They know that he'll be a mega expensive player within a couple of years if he plays. Hopefully they haven't succeeded. You can 100% see him going there, exploding in development, and then City or United buy him for £80m or something 3 years from now. He really must be convinced to stay. He may be raw and have much to learn, but as someone said here he already looks more dangerous in space than Willian and Pedro.

Morata pouting all night as if it's someone else's fault he's been shit! 😂😂😂

Be sad to see him leave. Could've been very useful in the EL and non-PL competitions the rest of this season. But it's clearly his choice to go and play regularly. Must be painful to be like Cesc, Moses, and Christensen who played nearly every week one season and just never playing at all the next. Don't blame them at all for wanting out.

Having just watched his highlights, he does indeed look super talented. Great dribbling and bursting forward. Actually reminds me a bit of Kovacic on the ball but plays from a slightly deeper position. He's got that same tenacious workrate as Kova as well. Unlike Kovacic, Barella appears to be much better at playing Fabregas-like long balls. I think the closest comparison is Arsenal's new midfielder Torreira. An all arounder who looks perfect for the PL. This only seems like it would make sense if Kovacic returns to Real Madrid. Don't see where he'd fit otherwise. He's too good to come sit on our bench and is highly sought after by other big clubs.

Just finished watching some highlights on YouTube. Looks to be basically the same sort of player as Pulisic and plays on that same side. Pacey, skillful, decent eye for goal. Excels in open space 1v1. To be honest, he actually looks more impressive than Pulisic, though to be fair he's several years older. Not sure it really makes sense to be linked with him unless Willian and Pedro are both off in the summer OR Hazard will be used up top for the remainder of the season.

Will be very difficult to convince Hazard to stay if we do finish top 4. It will be impossible if we don't. Imagine how huge of a step back we would take if he left. Fucking hell. We MUST find a way to improve and stave off Arse and United or we will be royally fucked for years.

Don't think he was figured out here. He had loads of time on the ball as usual but over and over he looks up and sees zero movement and is forced to pass sideways or backwards. Continuously saw him show frustration that no passes forward were on.

Every team around us scores for fun from all over the pitch. We struggle to even get shots away! Eden looks completely gassed. Our other attacking players look fucking shocking. Fucking Kante looks our most dangerous attacking threat! Let that sink in!

Embarrassing points dropped. We are utterly toothless with no solutions in sight. Now even United, who just recently 11 points behind us, are quickly catching us up and look far better in attack.

We sorely miss Kovacic in games like this or like Palace. Barkley isn't suited for this sort of opponent who sits packed around their box. He's too slow on the ball and doesn't have a great eye for a pass. Also fucking hurts having to be totally reliant on Hazard for a moment of magic. Willian was terrible (again!) before he went off and Morata can barely control a football when he's got someone marking him closely. We cannot go through the rest of this month without an attacking addition. Just fucking can't!

It's actually painful watching us in the final third. Same story against all the small teams who sit deep. Zero ideas and sluggish passing. Watching us grind through the rest of this season is going to tough unless something changes. Southampton have a shit defense and are missing their two best midfielders yet we make them look like a prime Mourinho side.

No Lemina, no Hojbjerg, no Shane Long or Charlie Austin causing issues with pace in space. Not saying this should be a walk in the park but...well actually it should be looking at the teams.

Please don't let Morata look like a donkey today. FFS, their defense is awful and theyre near the bottom of the table for a reason. If a £57m striker can't do well against this lot there's no hope. This would be an absolutely terrible game to drop points.