Leif

Some (old) free agents; would any benefit us? Casillas; Robben; Ibrahimovic; Pepe (talks with PSG have broken down; officially no longer a Madrid player); Terry

Apparently he has a gentlemen's agreement with Bayern. He wants 6 months off of football immediately just to rest, by which point his contract enters the 'free' phase. With that, Bayern have allowed him to talk to clubs right now.

Only a loony doesn't target Robben, especially a club he loved, on a FREE. Him going to Turkey is criminal if it goes through. He'd still remain the difference in semi's & finals of the CL. He is still one of the world's top 10 or so wingers. For free. Just, free. Nothing. No compensation. Free. For that guy. A freak of nature. One of the best wingers we'll ever see. Still not far from his peak; his downfall is so gradual, especially compared to Ribery. Sad times. The club's so addicted to employing a new consistent policy that it won't shake things up for our benefit; more interested in what happens on paper than what happens on the pitch.

You say that with a lot of confidence; from now on this question is asked - how many games have you seen? Same as Alonso? Alonso's a great crosser, with a great header, who leaves a lot of space behind him when going forward. Telles is an average crosser as far as wing backs are concerned, making that up with better awareness than the average wing back. He can't header to save his life, but he's a guy you want taking set pieces. He defends better than 3 of the top 5 so-called best full backs in Europe; if you get past him, he catches up (find me a faster full back); but players rarely get past him in the first place. Alonso likes link-up play with his winger; Telles likes to carry the ball all the way forward himself. Alonso could be a central defender if needed. Telles could straight up be a conventional winger if needed. I'd never put Alonso on the wing, or Telles in the centre, nobody would. So how are they the same? Why do you want to share an opinion when you can no doubt not name 5 teams in the Primeira Liga? (Which isn't personal - it'd be shocking to me. I'm only plugged in because my granddad's favourite place is the touristy Algarve so I've been going there since I was 8.) He's been a boss since Gala. But tell me more about Portugal, its league, and the players in it.

The idea that Man City could hijack this is a cruel fantasy.

He's great defensively from what I've seen.

Offer an alternative.

Before even looking at these stats, Telles is truly more special than Alex Sandro. Sandro is more complete, perhaps more..predictable in a good way, but Telles will certainly win more games with a piece of magic. He could easily be a winger if he wanted to be. Very similar to Marcelo in ways.

I'd like to know why Man City don't want to keep him (or if it was him who wanted to leave.)

We're back to my favourite away kit. Never change it, unless for yellow.

Let me be pedantic and protect my ego. Lukaku is 24 and Costa is 28. Neither have a birthday coming up. It's 4, for now. And there's nothing wrong with that. But it puts into perspective that they're the same generation. Lukaku's always had a narrative forced on him that he's the 'next big thing' from the 'next generation', but he isn't that young, it's simply surprising

Porto's most important player last season, something like 13 assists in all competitions. Only rarely does a player really shine at Porto and not then shine elsewhere.

From day 1 Luiz was an elite player, so special, with clumsiness in his game. From day 1, Rudiger has been a '??? I guess he looks strong, he'll make it somewhere' player, with clumsiness in his game. Different leagues. Different journeys.

It's somehow depressing to learn Lukaku's only 4 years younger than Costa. I guess we bought Lukaku when Costa was 23 and still hadn't even made his Atletico impact?

Roma's attack was on fire last season. Roma's midfield was on fire last season. Roma's manager was on fire last season. Roma's goalkeeper was on fire last season. They failed to win any honours for one reason. Their inability to defend well. They notoriously have the most inconsistent back lines out of the Serie A's top 6. Every season. Marquinhos & Benatia were incredible potential for them a while ago, but they were the only great defenders they've had in a decade. Everyone trying to fill their boots since hasn't been good enough. Hence why they're sold every season. What sane team actively tries to sell 2 of their central defenders? A team who knows they need upgrades.

He's like Zouma with ambitious passing, at times running forward like Luiz used to do. Defensively, I'm not sure he's won a single clean tackle in Italy.

Being Premier League champions is leverage to sign the best players. It's a lot easier to sign the likes of Bonucci when you've just won the title, vs when you finish 2nd/3rd/4th. And we're wasting that leverage on Rudiger if we sign him, considering he'd just as happily come if we ended next season in 6th. Most of our targets are now or never. Shambles.

Bertrand.

Scenes when we offer 20m + Christensen.

He was indeed, but the formation changed for a large chunk of the season & he played in a back 3, no different from Azpilicueta.

You've specifically watched Manolas since he signed? You've been watching that many Roma games, and honed in specifically on Manolas all this time, instead of their handful of quality players? Why? They're my '2nd' team if I ever had one; you sound like a casual Serie A observer. No Roma fan considers Manolas to be one of the best centre backs in Serie A. I can list 10+ right now who're better, but this conversation's done.* *So i'll list them for my own amusement. Miranda, Rudiger, Romagnoli, Antei, Bonucci, Vrij, Conti, Caldara, Koulibaly, Fazio, Chiellini, Rugani, Benatia. Samir... ..... and then there's Manolas.

We're not arguing. I've stated twice now I've watched 40+ full games of his. Your rebuttal is made out of air; you watch a lot of Serie A. I watch a lot of Premier League - it doesn't mean I know shit about Southampton, Stoke City or Everton's niche players by default. You're not adding anything here, just taking away.

Are you trolling?

I agree. For too long those exact players, & others, have seemingly stuck around solely because they're nice guys. Maybe it's something about their perceived locker room 'presence'. We as a club definitely seem uncomfortable when it comes to letting players go unless they've been absolutely horrid for a long stretch. If you're 'average', but already been here for a few years, you'll probably be here for a few more. Unlike at Madrid/Munich/Juventus.