OneMoSalah

Unless Klopp goes and plays Firmino as a 10 in a 4231, I doubt Werner will start at Liverpool evert week in my opinion. But the biggest issue is Firmino can easily play as a 10 and Klopp has also been a big fan of 4231 in the past. Firmino has also been linked with Bayern and Barca too so if he were to leave I think Werner would find it hard to go anywhere but Liverpool.

There will undoubtedly be a bidding war though. United being in the mix means they will throw whatever they have to at Dortmund to get him as well because they are desperate for high level signings. Hence why they offered over Haalands release clause to Salzburg. Clubs will go over 100m to get him ahead of others, like other clubs do for other players the whole time. Dortmund will sell for more than 100m too undoubtedly, look at when they sold Dembele to Barca for a fee that could reach 145m euros... after one season. Sancho will have done 2 good seasons, IIRC he definitely renewed his contract last season and will have more suitors. If anyone thinks he will just go for 100m when us, Liverpool, United, Barca and Real are all interested then I think they will be shocked come the summer. Dortmund will want as much as somebodies willing to pay. It would be bad business if they did it any other way and based on how theyve operated before with Dembele and Aubamayang, who only wanted one specific club, they will make the club he wants to go to pay their fee, which I would imagine wont just be 100m.

Inconsistent? In like the last 160 games hes scored like 50 goals and assisted around 60-70 or more (was a vague stat off twitter). Another one saying in 113 games for Ajax hes been involved in 92 goals in the league. Has created over 400 chances since moving there in 2016. What the fuck is consistent if that isnt? You mentioned Sancho, who in the first half of the season for Dortmund, was very inconsistent as well..... so I dint know. Seems to be because he isnt Sancho he isnt going to cut it here, which is ridiculous. Like Pulisic because he wasnt Hazard.... some people need to take their heads out of the sand. Inconsistent, fuck me, madness.

Do you think that teams are just lining up to buy Barkley, Zouma, Christensen, Alonso, Bakayoko, Drinkwater, even the likes of Kenedy etc? Also for the money they will want to pay and what we want, it won't be straight forward as the club doesn't like to take losses on players. Hence why Bakayoko, Drinkwater and Kenedy are all away on loan, why Barkley and Christensen were both linked with a loan move and why only Everton were linked with Zouma in the summer when Marco Silva was there after he spent a year there on loan beforehand.... Its not a given we will be able to shift them easy. Plus losing Giroud, Pedro and potentially Willian on frees already means we will have to replace them. So using the majority of our reported budget on one player, if that budget rumours are true, seems highly irresponsible. Think we should be priorisiting a CF and LB before another winger now that it looks likely that Ziyech will arrive in the summer. Playing 2 RBs (when he has 2 LBs) and having no other trusted CF in our squad to rely on as he refuses to use Giroud, is killing us in some games.

No. Look getting Sancho is all well and good but if we lose Giroud, Pedro, Willian and Alonso in the summer, we will definitely need to keep some of the other experienced players. Frank talked about adding experience to this group because it is young. Ziyech fits the bill. Likes of Azpi, Rudiger, Kante, Jorginho, Kovacic have all played lots of games in their careers and we need to have a good balance of experience and youth in the squad. For me, as I mentioned before about the year we lost Cole, Ballack, Deco, Belletti and Carvalho in the same summer, we cant afford to be too rash and just think okay replace everyone with youngsters who are taleneted and we will get guaranteed success because when has that ever worked? Especially considering Frank is still a young manager too. Okay they are different types of characters or were bigger leaders than what we have now but still think it would be incredibly naive to sell Kante at any costs even to get Sancho. Still not entirely convinced Sancho would transform our fortunes to the point where signing him would have the same effect as the summer we signed Costa and Cesc for instance under Jose. He would improve us undoubtedbly but he still isnt worth getting rid of arguably our best player on paper despite the teething issues trying to get him into the side. I would hope Frank would want to keep Kante as involved and pivotal to whatever his plans are here because he is a top player. Better than most still even if he has been off his level. I still think that spending 120m or more on Sancho isnt a guarantee of anything. He is a very good talent and is an improvement on what we have but if the club is smart, like we are being with Ziyech, they can also prioritise strengthening other areas in the team first such as CB, LB and CF as well for 150m if they look hard enough. I think having a very good collective with 3 or 4 good signings as opposed to spunking the whole kitty on 1 player is the better thing to do. Plus Ruben will be back and Pulisic can still improve tenfold. Its a double ended sword putting all our eggs in the Sancho basket.

Even then if he does, as a squad player, not the worst idea in the world. His problems consistency and end product, probably wont change at his age now but if hes playing sporadically and can impact games, why not? Suppose its all hypothetical still. I do think he maybe is/should look at moving because the clubs trying to refresh and he might only get one more big move in his career but if he stays and plays as a sub or squad player I am not completely against it. Pedro looks as if he is off for definites and so is Giroud but keeping Willian with all his experience around and the influence he has on the youngsters isnt neccessarily the worst thing. But if FL decides to play him every game, people will kick up a fuss, yes. Cant see FL and the board allowing all of Giroud, Pedro, Alonso and Willian all to leave in the same summer to rely solely on younger players and potential signings that arent guaranteed. Frank was also there as a player when we let Deco, Ballack, Carvalho, Belletti and Joe Cole all leave in the same summer too and that didnt exactly go well.

Exactly. Better players than Billy have gone there and looked well out of their depth. Sheffield United are having an excellent season as well and if we, Spurs and United arent careful, could find ourselves behind them because they are very organised and seem to be able to get goals in key moments in games. Think Chris Wilder deserves the same respect, if not more than what Nuno got last season considering the fact hes kept the core of his championship first 11 in that team and hasnt spent anywhere near what Wolves did in the previous 2 or 3 seasons since they had the new owners and links with Jorge Mendes. Id go as far as saying if they finish in the top 6 or 8 Wilder would be a massive contender for manager of the year. In favt I would say if they finish where they are now he should 100% win it ahead of Klopp.

I dont see what the hassle is. I was slightly apprehensive after the links based one that one season last year but he has like over 20 assists this sesson and like 8 goals already. Hes shown he can do it again. As I said before, I think he lacks that geniune pace you'd want in a wide player and for me it feels like if he plays outwide it would be like Mourinho shunting Mata there. I do think centrally he could be a lot more influential and have lots more touches of the ball. His final pass, shooting and dribbling are great qualities as well as his deliveries from set pieces and freekicks as we have seen this season. For 38m, he is as good as it gets at that price range in the modern market imo. Hopefully if the deal is done, he does play as a 10 in contention for a place with Mount or as a more advanced option in a 3. If hes shunted wide in the PL, I think he may struggle to have the same influence he has at Ajax, here. Although maybe not. I dont think FL will necessarily see him as an out and out winger. I know he plays there for Ajax but he floats infield a lot more than he would perhaps get to do here as they are a lot more fluid with their line up. For 38m, at 27 years old, it seems logical because we lack a bit of that x factor in the final third. Technically he is probably just as good as anybody out there I would say bar the Messis, Neymars, Ronaldos etc and I am geniunely surprised that Spurs didn't go for him on Van der Vaarts recommendation in the summer because he is probably just as good as Eriksen and more adaptable.

Hopefully he will be deployed as a 10 when he comes here, he can play wide but he does lack that pace that Willian, Pulisic and CHO have. Great final pass and dribbler though.

If I am following correctly, we are on about last season. I think the majority of the results in the first half of the season gave us as good a chance of getting 4th minimum, we went on like an 18 match unbeaten run although there was obvious weaknesses and signs we could struggle when the goals dried up, which they did. Yes results tailored off but I dont think top 4 was ever ever truely in doubt. Tottenham and Arsenal didnt help themselved either as they had the chances but again I doubted we would of finished outside the top 4. Even with the radical change in style and set up. Plus throw in Hazard on top of that. Re Tammy, again if I am following correctly, I think Conte had he been around to this season may have used Tammy. I do think the previous 2 years he did on loan was absolutely nevvessary for his development and the right thing to do. Tammy kinda seems like he could of been an ideal CF for Antonio if you ask me, tall, decent aerial ability and pace. Yes his hold up isnt amazing but you can work with it. Look at what Antonio has done to Lukaku's game at Inter. Hes brought out a huge improvement in his movements, combination and hold up play. Lukaku predominantly has always preferred running in behind teams and not being overly involved in the build up. Maybe Conte wouldnt have fancied him but I have a feeling that it isnt necessarily as straight forward as that. He seemed to take a shining to Ruben (injuries and the fact Conte couldnt seem to piece him in one fixed position was maybe a reason why he didnt feature as much) and Nate in his first season. Okay they didnt play every game but Nate especially became a trusted member of the squad although the whole decision to try loan him out to accomodate Drinkwater baffles me, even more so having lost Matic and signed Baka who I never truely expected to be the 'midfield general' many seemed to have him pegged to be. Ruben he tried in various positions in pre season amd I think he played him as a CF in cup games but again, at that stage after his first season, a loan move seemed more logical than being a cup game player and Nate maybe felt the same after the additions so moved to Watford. I dont think Conte would of neccessarily just went and promoted the likes of Tomori or Mount like Lampard has but again, the whole giving Moses a permanent place in the team and also used Andreas a lot in the 2nd season and Nate in his first, I dont think he would of neccessarily shunned them completely. Maybe I could be wrong but I feel that his trust in Andreas over David who played the best football of his career the previous season was a big sign that if the player was good enough, he would of used them. Conte also promoted and gave Callum his debut which everyone forgets. I think winning the title in his first season, I doubt he expected that to happen, he would of wanted us to compete but we were like 9th the previous season. He worked miracles with half of that team if you ask me. You would probably never have thought Moses, Alonso, Luiz, Cahill, Pedro in those moments would perform as they did. I mean forget Kante and Matic for a minute in MF, the back 3 was unbelievably solid with 2 of the most average CBs out of the top 4 teams at the time. Moses and Alonso were key parts but arent exactly amazing footballers either, both have huge limitations but they gave that team in that set up a lot and it freed the likes of Pedro and Hazard up in more central areas. Some of the matches that first season the football was great, Everton, City and United games for instance. Winning the league and again failing to build on that team with top quality, like with under Jose, was just as major a factor as him becoming disinterested and kicking up a fuss. This is a guy who left Juve because he felt he couldnt progress them any further due to limitations in the market (although Allegri did and it was a welcomed change for them undoubtedbly as he and Conte are polar opposites in terms of their styles and demeanors) so the club knew whst they were getting when they hired him, just like rehiring Jose.

Think thats harsh. Having watched him from his time at Rangers, with Scotlan and here I think he can be a really good player with some fine tuning in certain areas. PL isnt going to be easy for him just now as he had never played first team football at any other level before this season and that Sheffield game as youve said was tough for him but better players than Billy have went and struggled in matches against them so I wouldnt sweat it. Hes shown in cup games he can play well in this team and I dont think his inclusion as a first team squad member is rash or unwarranted as he has huge potential. A loan to the Championship would have maybe been better so he could get regular minutes and adjust to the physical demands of the league but technically he is very good and I think once he gets to grips with the standard in the PL through playing more youll change your mind. He is capable of playing in the deeper 2 or as a 10 so if Lamps trusts him he might have plenty opportuinities if Mason and Barkley continue to struggle. I really dont think Mason is that much ahead of Billy in terms of talent but he has more match experience and is slightly better physically due to that and being older. They are different players too but in terms of their ceilings I dont think Mason will be a much much better footballer in the long run if I am honest.

Conte wont go for a draw v Lazio. Just like Inter didnt settle for a draw tonight. They have to win every big game to have any chance of pipping Juventus who just dropped points to Hellas Verona. Theirs only 1 point separating them all but hes won titles before, he knows what it takes.

Wait and see Inter go and win their next 3 games.

I'll believe it when I see it. Seen the whole player X only wants Chelsea move or have said the usual 'Chelsea would be a great team to play for' before for it to turn out to be utter shite and they move elsewhere or not at all. The likes of David Silva, Robinho, Neymar, Douglas Costa, Sergio Aguero, Nicolas Pepe... the list probably goes on and on. I do find it very strange that out of all the clubs linked with him, particularly the Spanish giants, he only wants to move here. I mean that is surely a first. Even more so when we have no guarantees on where we will be finishing as of yet because theres still plenty of games for 4th position to change hands. Even if by some miracle that is the case, doesnt mean Dortmund will be pressured to sell him to us if we cant agree a fee with them which I dont think people understand. I think the whole 'he wants Chelsea only' thing is kinda blinding them from the fact that Real, United, City and Barca will probably be able to outbid us comfortably if they want to. And before anyone says we have the Morata and Hazard money on top of this supposed kitty of 150m in the summer, please dont, this isnt as easy as FIFA or FM, its not as if every sale goes straight back into a kitty for Frank to spend on the squad only. I doubt we are gonna sign Sancho because there will be teams sitting waiting to see who bids what amount before coming in and bidding more or offering more money as usual. Just like us and United offering more wages to Cavani than Atletico although he was never interested in a move to anywhere else bar Atletico.

Yes and no. There was a lot of tension in the squad between him, Willian, Hazard and Luiz who were obviously big parts of the team and dressing room. Reports are they would have all tried to leave if Conte stayed which said it all. Yes he moaned a lot, wasnt overly happy at the recruitment and he didnt do an amazing job after the turn of the year but the players also dropped their levels a fair bit so to speak based on their effort and performances (again, like under Jose too a season after winning the title although again there were similar factors). There were games like Watford and Bournemouth for instance where you could see the players didnt give a shit. Other games we still created chances but not being clinical fucked us (Morata, lack of trust in Batshuayi - although warranted based on what we see from him when he does play). Regarding Morata too, I think he signed him for Juve at his request before he left but obviously Lukaku was his first choice that summer and you can see that at Inter. Morata still confuses me, he was good the majority of the first half of the season, having an effect similarly to what Costa had when Jose first brought him in (albeit different players and styles), his regression here is absolutely baffling. He had good aspects to his game in terms of technical attributes and his ability to combine with others but his mindset was completely wrong after he went on that dip and never has recovered. Not even properly at Atletico. Sarri, as I said before he went needed time and some new players but the fans and club werent truely behind him towards the end which is sad because I do think if he was able to persist with his tactics and add to the squad, it would of been better. I also agree with your points. He was trying to go from a more pragmatic 343 to a hugely offensive fast paced possession based 433. There were times where the football was very good in terms of the build up but the final third again, that was the key issue, it either got too slow (Hazard, Willian, Morata taking too kany touches and no 3rd man runs from midfield particularly in the 2nd half of the season) or broke down. 2 cup finals were really a bonus for somebody who had never won anything until that season although beating Arsenal in the way we did in the Europa was great. There is a huge underlying factor behind all our managers since after Di Matteo. The transfers have been mixed, for all the good, there has been more bad. For every Courtois, Cahill, Azpi, Hazard, Kante, Costa, Cesc, there is a Bakayoko, Papy Djibilodushd whatever his name is, Barkley, Drinkwater, Michy etc.

Probably his way of saying he has 3 years left lets look to get a new deal. Juventus dont need him. Pjanic is just as good.

If there is a bidding war like many expect for Sancho he will easily go for closer to the 150m IMO. Man Utd, Real, Barca, City, Liverpool and us have all been linked. Dortmund will be rubbing their hands together at the prospect of say 100m minimum for the starting price rising to god knows what. I honestly do think he will go for closer to 150m than 100m because of the interest in him.

This whole Kepa isnt good enough thing is bullshit and just shows double standards. After Cech and Courtois it was always going to be a downgrade of somesort. People keep saying about having faith with younger players and a manager with relatively no experience but want to dump a GK, who is a hugely respected and well known talent around Europe, after a bad half a season. Last season he was consistent and played very well too. Being 25 y/o for a GK is still young. Physically he could do with adding some muscle mass, I feel he isnt particularly strong at coming and claiming high balls from set plays and corners but again, De Gea was exactly the same (even worse IMO) at United before he put on some muscle mass. Kepa is lightweight but his reflexes, general shot stopping, distribution, communication and decision making is still very good for me and if he filled out a bit he would be better able or maybe be more confident in coming to claim high balls and command his area. The coaching behind the scenes really intrigues me, I didnt see this regression coming after last season under Sarri. I do think he has a lack of fonfidence in his defenders as well. Even Cech and Courtois showed signs of regression here too in periods but it didnt mean they were shit so its not like GKs are immune to performing badly or making mistakes either. Looking for a long term replacement on a 71m GK as well? That is going to be difficult to sell to the board.

Lampard wants to bring a GK coach in, I dont know if Sarri had his own one in when he was here, IIRC he did so the coaching standard or the training obviously is inferior/different/whatever because Kepa is a very talented keeper and we all know this.

Or appoint Luis Campos and save the hassle. Someone who can identify great talent.

Think his spell at Milan has shown he isnt that good. He did very well in Poland and at Genoa but moved too soon after a promising start. Started decently for Milan but their desire to resign a 38 year old on a big salary, regardless of how good he is, speaks volumes about what they think of Piatek imo. Spurs taking a hard pass at 30m is also more evidence he isnt that good. As a second option, maybe, he is a decent choice but strikes me as someone who needs to be playing regularly to deliver and I dont see him as an outstanding choice or that big an upgrade on Tammy. Suppose maybe 6 month loan with option to buy is as good as we will get him for or any CF just now though. We do need another CF though.

Perhaps but its also true to say that a big reason why he lost the dressing room because of his reluctance to use senior players more (despite many people at the time thinking they werent at their best), Lamps, Drogba, Anelka etc, even when things werent going well or others underperformed (Mount almost undroppable despite offering nothing in recent weeks, very familar with Torres, Bosingwa and Luiz under AVB). Frank hasnt alienated anyone but his use of Giroud, Barkley, Alonso and Pedro this season, who are more senior personnel in the squad is odd considering how some others have played in those positions. Plus the likes of Pedro and Giroud have won a lot between them, they are good pros so he has to be wary of not looking too far ahead when he has these guys here and now. I think his recruitment ideas of Sancho and Chillwell in the summer, is dangerous because there are no guarantees with them coming and he has other players he can use in those positions to bring others who have underperformed out.

His contract runs out in 6 months so wouldnt of ever been a realistic option unfortunately..or it would have been too much like common sense even for us to mess it up. I do think he could be persuaded to take a wage cut of sorts but we would have to make other circumstances change (bonuses, signing fees etc). The wages on offer in Spain are undoubtedly higher due to their taxes. Pretty sure the likes of Messi and Bale are near bang on 50% tax. Not sure if its much less in PL but if it was to be maybe that or a bigger bonus/fee for signing would make him lower his demand. I do think its probably too late in the day anyway for us to sign anybody of that sort of name. Think the change of scenery would do Eriksen the world of good, regardless of if it is here, Inter or wherever but I do feel Frank could have maybe edged him into a player who as well as gets plenty of assists, scores more.

Even somebody like Tagliafico would be easily attainable in my eyes. Maybe more short term but again, 2 or 3 seasons out of him, better than what we have... its almost as if the club see it as Chillwell or bust.

Maybe wages but again if we are going to haggle with Willian over a new contract before caving and probably handing him 200k a week then offering Cavani slightly more is hardly anything out of the ordinary. Especially considering the fact weve thrown 100k a week at guys like Drinkwater, 180k a week to Hudson Odoi, god knows how much of Falcao and Pato's wages we were paying etc etc. He would be worth the risk I think because 1 we are urgent for better CF options to reduce the load/rotate Tammy out at times and 2 the other options dont seem realistic in January. I do think he will be a hit for Atletico if he goes there, he doesnt strike me as somebody who is finished, where as Costa really suffered after that 6 month spell of not playing and basically has wound up finished earlier than he should of been as well as that Croatian bloke they had for a season who was pathetic, he was probably finished before he had even kicked a ball for Atletico. Have to disagree with Eriksen, hes in his prime age and while he hasnt started for Spurs with Mourinho his quality on the ball is still evident. He has come on and had a hand in a few goals with either key passes or assists in these games and he is definitely more creative than Willian, Barkley and Mason combined. Again for 17m, he would of hardly been a huge risk. Even if he didnt set the world alight completely. I mean we paid 15m for Barkley and people said it was a good move because it was a low price and he had untapped potential so 17m for a player who was arguably one of the top 5 number 10s in the PL over the last 3 years, a huge upgrade on everything we have, baffles me why we werent even in the running. Even more so United who were chasing the inferior player in Bruno Fernandes at about 4 times the price....