Creative Midfielder

[22mek22 133]

Tottenham are adamant in not selling Modric, Palermo want £44 for Pastore.

So where do we go now for creative midfielders? Who's out there?

[Naked Mole Rat 437]

It's too early to conclude that Chelsea won't get these players. Modric is starting to get annoyed that Redknapp isn't letting him go, and Tottenham may have to let him go in the end.

But I want Hamsik more than these two.

[Gianfranco_Z 202]

I'd still like Nasri tbh

[Severinb 309]

pastore,MATA,santi carzola,herrera

[LDN Blue 7,903]

I have no doubts we'll sign Modric to be honest. He's expressed his desire to leave & his desire to stay in London.

Levy can only do so much till he realises, having an unhappy player at the club will have a real impact on the team. *cue Torres flashback*

[Kajo 176]

I think we should keep tryin sign one of these three players : Modrić, Sneijder , Nasri if we fail to sign one of them we should go for Pastore it should the last hope not the first choice.

[Domino- 116]

Only Luka Modric

[KingEssien 127]

Banega

- High risk but RELATIVE low price.

-Coming into form.

-Concerns over his future.

-Extremely creative and can defend too.

-Very young.

[rantdeville 195]

The arrival of this "creative" midfielder would displace whom on the team sheet?

There's lampard, essien, Ramires, benayoun, mceachran, mikel and zhirkov.

•I think after the season he's had and his work rate, Ramires deserves a place

•lampard and essien should have to prove they r back to top form to get their place, but if they do, they are each worthy of a starting place

•lots of people don't like him cuz he passes sideways (which is how u control the tempo of a game) but when it comes to no-nonsense defending in the holding role, mikel is our best player for that

•what happens to benayoun and zhirkov? Both have shown to be top level when fit but neither was fit last season...

•and mceachran, still young, a great late sub when weve gone up by a goal or two...

So if lamps and essien dont make the first team, will roman agree to dump £350k a week between lamps, essien, zhirkov, and benayoun just for them to sit on the bench?

I think, unless we wave goodbye to some midfield players...were gonna bite off more than we can chew. I think out of those aforementioned four, two will have to go. Not because I want them to, but because roman will see them as far too costly for their production. He's a businessman after all.

[lionsden 4,689]

The arrival of this "creative" midfielder would displace whom on the team sheet?

There's lampard, essien, Ramires, benayoun, mceachran, mikel and zhirkov.

•I think after the season he's had and his work rate, Ramires deserves a place

•lampard and essien should have to prove they r back to top form to get their place, but if they do, they are each worthy of a starting place

•lots of people don't like him cuz he passes sideways (which is how u control the tempo of a game) but when it comes to no-nonsense defending in the holding role, mikel is our best player for that

•what happens to benayoun and zhirkov? Both have shown to be top level when fit but neither was fit last season...

•and mceachran, still young, a great late sub when weve gone up by a goal or two...

So if lamps and essien dont make the first team, will roman agree to dump £350k a week between lamps, essien, zhirkov, and benayoun just for them to sit on the bench?

I think, unless we wave goodbye to some midfield players...were gonna bite off more than we can chew. I think out of those aforementioned four, two will have to go. Not because I want them to, but because roman will see them as far too costly for their production. He's a businessman after all.

Our midfield is too rigid and mechanical and in serious need of creativity. only josh and benayoun to an extent are capable of addressing that problem. However. The Israeli is 31 and hasn't played competitive football on a consistent basis for a while now.Therefore his fitness and form is seriously in doubt while Josh on the other hand could not be trusted with that type of responsibility week in week out primarily due to lack of experience. the only logical solution is to buy a proven world class playmaker. That would eliminate the risk of heavily depending on a 31 year old player to anchor play in midfield next season and Josh's development would follow a smooth transition.

P.s I fully expect some players to leave this summer. The list could include Zhirkov,Benayoun and possibly essien. That would free up space in the midfield.

[Kostas 1,468]

FYI, playmaker is not a position, it's a state of mind.

[LDN Blue 7,903]

FYI, playmaker is not a position, it's a state of mind.

[Blue Armour 4,449]

Our midfield is too rigid and mechanical and in serious need of creativity. only josh and benayoun to an extent are capable of addressing that problem. However. The Israeli is 31 and hasn't played competitive football on a consistent basis for a while now.Therefore his fitness and form is seriously in doubt while Josh on the other hand could not be trusted with that type of responsibility week in week out primarily due to lack of experience. the only logical solution is to buy a proven world class playmaker. That would eliminate the risk of heavily depending on a 31 year old player to anchor play in midfield next season and Josh's development would follow a smooth transition.

P.s I fully expect some players to leave this summer. The list could include Zhirkov,Benayoun and possibly essien. That would free up space in the midfield.

Fully agree with this post...There was a time when we could rely on Lampard for any deficiency we had in midfield, but we absolutely need an extra attacking/creative mid to play along side him.

Also, its too early to decide who we've lost out on...so we can't rule out anything at this stage....As far as I'm concerned, all our potential targets remain as such..

[Blue Armour 4,449]

FYI, playmaker is not a position, it's a state of mind.

Lol...I feel the word "playmaker" is thrown around too often these days...

If you call someone a "playmaker" a lot of people instantly think the guy can single-handedly win the match for them....

[bluephoenix 1,131]

I think we should keep tryin sign one of these three players : Modrić, Sneijder , Nasri if we fail to sign one of them we should go for Pastore it should the last hope not the first choice.

Manu will sign Sneijder if he wants to leave Inter :-/

Nasri/Pastore/Mata/Modric are the best prospects ... having said that I can vouch for nasri and Modric and not for the other 2

[Randall 315]

Urgh anyone haha I just want a signing.

[crazy1 24]

der r plenty more like Banega(Valencia), Borja Valero(Villareal), Brunt(West Brom), Rakitic(Sevilla), Hamsik, Michael Johnson(Man City), Moutinho, Pjanic(Lyon), Dzagoev(CSKA), ...................n plenty more

I will prefer Nasri / Banega / valero / Dzagoev/ Hamsik

[Spike 12,049]

What about Toni Kroos? I know it is a longshot that Bayern would sell one of their young stars but he is a fantastic 'playmaker'.

He doesn't score many goal but damn he knows how to pick a pass.

Hell, everyone knows that all the best players are coming from the Bundesliga nowadays. Lewis Holtby (Hey, he is half English), Marko Marin, Thomas Muller, Arturo Vidal, Renato Augusto, The Bender Twins, Mario Gotze, Nevan Subotic, Mats Hummels, Per Mertesacker, among others.

[The Big Drog 1,110]

What about Toni Kroos? I know it is a longshot that Bayern would sell one of their young stars but he is a fantastic 'playmaker'.

He doesn't score many goal but damn he knows how to pick a pass.

Ye Kroos is a wonderful player and quite young too but much like Schweinsteiger, I doubt Bayern Munich will let go of one of their top German talents.

[termninja 5,290]

I'm for Pastore. Why? Creative midfielder will be the most important position in our team so why not get one of the biggest talents there? He can replace Lamps while Modric for example would push out either Mikel or Ramires. 45m? Money was never our problem, though after Copa America I think Zamparini will have to lower his price.