Pizy

You know exactly what it means. Marko Marin, Djilobodji, Miazga, Kenedy... Players that the board buy regardless of the manager in hopes that they turn out well. Mourinho publicly admitted he'd never even heard of Djilobodji, ffs! Of course, Rüdiger is well known and Conte will have seen him before, but surely he isn't/wasn't out top CB target this summer. Not at the level we need to join Europe's elite level.

100% smacks of a board signing after they failed to secure what Conte really wants, which is a ready made, top class, veteran CB that will slot straight into the side. Bonucci, Van Dijk, and Boateng are exactly that. I'm not sure Rüdiger even pushes Cahill out of our XI. General consenus I'm seeing around is that he's just solid and nothing great or special. Very underwhelming.

Literally linked with a different CB everyday. Bonucci, VVD, Manolas, Boateng, Rüdiger...

Agreed. Lotta heartbroken transfer muppets come Saturday on Twitter I think.

Looks like the intern got into the official Premier League website code...

All gone silent since the Textgate, hasn't it? Wouldnt be surprised if he and Conte kissed and made up. New contract on the way!

Why does what this dude says matter, lol? He could've just read a few tweets from a week ago when everyone was reporting that it was basically done.

Has he fully recovered from his injury? He was amazing before that and if we were getting that Boateng I'd definitely be happy with him. One of the best CB's in Europe.

I'd probably destroy quit a few things in my direct vicinity if he went to Man fucking City.

Is PSG even as attractive as they were a couple of years ago? Don't really think so. They sort of lost their edge after Zlatan left, their best player in Verratti wants out, and they were overtaken by Monaco in the league. We'll surely be offering Sandro huge wages, so unless PSG offered him considerably more I don't see why he'd go there instead of here.

So basically, as good as Marcos Alonso was for us going forward last season, Alex Sandro is just at a whole other level. At the same time he's also elite defensively.

Why the fuck don't we go after Nainggolan again ourselves? He admitted that we were indeed talking to him last summer. Maybe this time he can be persuaded.

Just can't imagine Juve turning down the reported money we're offering. Considering how cheap they've been recently when they themselves dip into the market. Higuain aside, you normally see them putting in lowball offers for players or getting players in on free's. They also use the loan market effectively and pay for transfers in installments. Just can't picture them turning down a world record transfer fee for a defender. If this doesn't come off its probably because this whole thing was a ruse to begin with and we were never after him at all. Just some agent playing the media for a new contract.

After all these various reports saying it's going to happen I'm not going to let one report saying it's unlikely kill my excitement. Still,

I keep checking Twitter hoping for good news but also dreading the infamous "he has renewed his contract" tweet that we often see when a top player is linked with a move away.

Apparently they want both for some reason.

I thought this whole deal hinged on him forcing his way out? That Juve wouldn't sell unless he did so?

Watch him end up at City in a couple of years for £50-60m. Doubt he'd consider coming back to the club who didn't really even give him a chance.

New ScoutNation video just uploaded. Perfectly shows what makes him so great. Wouldn't look out of place as a winger yet is still extremely solid defensively. The perfect modern fullback.

LOL! Some kid with photoshop fishing for Twitter followers probably.

Who to believe... Within minutes on this page a report that they don't want to sell him and one that says we're close to signing him.

Yep. Imagine if Kante or Bakayoko pick up a lengthy injury. We'd be right back to a midfield that includes Cesc which means any good team will dominate us in the middle of the pitch. We certainly need more than one signing there.

Playing at CB robs him of the opportunity to do what he's best at, though, which is bombing down the flank and putting in good crosses. I'm sure he'd do an admirable job as an emergency CB but surely his future isn't there.

Wonder what would be going through Alonso's head if we made this signing. Coming off a great season where he started just about every match and having only been here a year. Going from a nailed on regular to a bench player overnight. I'll feel bad for him to be honest.

Comes down to one question for me- does selling him there make it more difficult to win the league? Yes, it does. So don't do it! Will Matic be the vital cog that takes them to another level? No. But adding him to their midfield and completely freeing Pogba of defensive duties may indeed do that. A midfield 3 of Pogba, Herrera, and Matic could be excellent. Only way I'd be okay with it is if we brought in Verratti. And that ain't happening.