Sideshow Luiz

Can we shift Bakayoko to get him in? I don't know him at all, so I have very few feelings about this.

It looks that way. On one hand, I'd love a Thiago type for that position. But Barkley, RLC, and Mount are all young. Any AM purchase will hamper their development. I have high hopes for Barkley this season. He looked a little lost tactically against Perth, but his determination was really nice to see.

Agreed. He was always a CF, IMO. Tried to turn him in to a winger at Utd. Then bought a young (ish) ST and an older winger, both for big money.

He's home-grown, is he not?

But, he could have had this: I jest, I really like London. Had a great time living there.

Oh, I agree, selling hazard now is stupid. We've done nothing to get rid of the dead weight either. We could possibly get Martial in, in a swap deal for Willian. That would mean that Morata has to go, which is fine. But, no one is paying 60M for him. The problem with this Bernard deal is: 1. He takes up a non-HG spot, which are at a premium 2. He's just good enough to be ahead of CHO in the pecking order. But, he's not good enough to warrant taking away important development time from CHO.

So, they want CHO to sign a new deal, and are telling him that he's got a place in the squad. Then, they want to bring in a right-footed playmaker winger type who likes to play on the left. Okay. My god, if this is a Hazard replacement.....

I was thinking that Mount could be the reason we aren't or probably won't get an attacking midfielder. He and RLC are not quite ready, but buying a 25 year old attacking mid would only push them further down the depth chart. That's what I thought, then remembered that we tried to buy Golovin. So, fuck only knows what the club are thinking.

Yup.

He's free, okay. But, he'll take minutes from CHO, not okay.

I had the impression that he was more of a playmaking winger type. Like a Hazard replacement

Saw that tweet on Reddit. Powerful lady-boss.

He's overpowered in FIFA 18. That's all I know about him.

Thanks for putting the list together. It looks like we're on an absolute 1 out, 1 in policy irrespective of any financial reasoning.

No worries. This club make it really easy to be pessimistic during silly season. And, there are a lot of casuals out there that let the trophies mask the deficiencies (I'd argue that this has been happening from before 2012). No doubt, this is the toughest campaign yet. It gets tougher every year. Even the newly promoted sides are getting quality players in, the league is really strong from top to bottom. It's going to be really tough. But, if we were supporters of one of the other top 6, I'd say "don't discard Chelsea" too. Personally, I think we are in dire need of an attacking mid and a striker.

I think my glasses are pretty clear. I did not say that Conte was THE reason. I pointed out his hissy fits AND that the team folded. I also never said that we are a shoe-in for top 4. I said that we CAN. Blue-tinted glasses Please. I've had more than my fair share of criticism of the club. I simply said that we are able to get in to the top 4. I never suggested that it would be easy. I was pointing out that we were in with a shout last season despite all the failings that you've pointed out (and I don't disagree with).

Also, look at it this way. We didn't get Golovin for 30, if we didn't buy Rugani, that's another 50. That's 80% of the way to SMS money. Or just a really good attacking midfielder or winger. Personally, I think both of those positions are much weaker than what we have at CB.

I'm of the mind that our CBs are good. If there was a huge upgrade coming, okay. But, I just don't see how 50M on Rugani is at the top of the list.

Sure. But, all I'm saying is that Dortmund need a striker. Martial fits their profile. And, it's not crazy to see them being able to afford him.

If Martial is on 65K, Dortmund should be able to afford him. Schurrle was on 85K

Yes, forget about Rugani. Sell Morata to Milan and sell Courtois to Madrid. Should be enough to buy Bailey and a GK (especially if you don't also buy a CB that you don't need).

Yeah we can. You've been reading about how shit everyone is on this forum too much. We were 2nd midway through the season. Then Conte went full on with the hissy fits and the team folded. And after all of that, we still didn't miss out until the 2nd last match of the season.

Depends, I guess. They were able to afford Schurrle's wages. Aubameyang gone last winter. Schurrle just now. They might.

I think Dortmund could go for him. They're looking for a striker. He fits their profile.