Non-Chelsea Transfer Pub

[Vesper 28,818]

Chelsea news: Maurizio Sarri in pole position to complete January deal for Federico Chiesa

https://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/1018105/Chelsea-news-Maurizio-Sarri-to-complete-January-deal-for-Federico-Chiesa

A wonderful player, but his favourite position is an an inverted right-footed LW (exact opposite of Leon Bailey).

If Hazard leaves we are covered at LW with Chiesa and CHO, so I am all in on this, plus he absolutely can play RW as well.

If Hazard refuses to renew, Chiesa is a must buy.

[Unionjack 7,531]

57 minutes ago, Vesper said:

Chelsea news: Maurizio Sarri in pole position to complete January deal for Federico Chiesa

https://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/1018105/Chelsea-news-Maurizio-Sarri-to-complete-January-deal-for-Federico-Chiesa

A wonderful player, but his favourite position is an an inverted right-footed LW (exact opposite of Leon Bailey).

If Hazard leaves we are covered at LW with Chiesa and CHO, so I am all in on this, plus he absolutely can play RW as well.

If Hazard refuses to renew, Chiesa is a must buy.

I remember seeing you rated him high.

Tho my attitude on having a player in a position that he is trained for all his career has softened to where I find it acceptable for a more multi functioned player I would like us to finally have a proper balance to Eden on the RW.

I do hope Eden signs as it would truly irk me if he didn't And I'm finding it upsetting that he is putting it off after all the things hes been saying lately.

[Vesper 28,818]

1 hour ago, Unionjack said:

I remember seeing you rated him high.

Tho my attitude on having a player in a position that he is trained for all his career has softened to where I find it acceptable for a more multi functioned player I would like us to finally have a proper balance to Eden on the RW.

I do hope Eden signs as it would truly irk me if he didn't And I'm finding it upsetting that he is putting it off after all the things hes been saying lately.

My gut says he isn't going to renew, and we HAVE to start planning around this, as it will turn into a disaster if we do not handle this right. Next summer he already has us over a barrel and looking square in the face of another Courtois situ.

LW options of truly world class level are slim

 

the impossibles

Neymar (pipe dream, and not worth the $250m or so it would cost)

Leroy Sané (City would NEVER sell him to us)

Thomas Lemar (same as Sane situ, and not even as good as Sane)

Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli, enough said there)

 

leaving these

Marco Asensio (only way he would ever come here is if RM tossed him into a Hazard deal, and they won't do it)

Federico Chiesa (by far the best option that is realistic)

Anthony Martial (I am far more interested in him as a striker than as a LW, buy he is still an an option there)

Vinícius Júnior (same as Asensio, buy maybe a WEE less unlikely)

Mikel Oyarzabal (can play inverted RW too, like Bailey)

Julian Draxler

 

step downs

Kingsley Coman

Julian Brandt

Keita Baldé

Hirving Lozano

 

[Unionjack 7,531]

5 minutes ago, Vesper said:

My gut says he isn't going to renew, and we HAVE to start planning around this, as it will turn into a disaster if we do not handle this right. Next summer he already has us over a barrel and looking square in the face of another Courtois situ.

LW options of truly world class level are slim

 

the impossibles

Neymar (pipe dream, and not worth the $250m or so it would cost)

Leroy Sané (City would NEVER sell him to us)

Thomas Lemar (same as Sane situ, and not even as good as Sane)

Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli, enough said there)

 

leaving these

Marco Asensio (only way he would ever come here is if RM tossed him into a Hazard deal, and they won't do it)

Federico Chiesa (by far the best option that is realistic)

Anthony Martial (I am far more interested in him as a striker than as a LW, buy he is still an an option there)

Vinícius Júnior (same as Asensio, buy maybe a WEE less unlikely)

Mikel Oyarzabal (can play inverted RW too, like Bailey)

Julian Draxler

 

step downs

Kingsley Coman

Julian Brandt

Keita Baldé

Hirving Lozano

 

You dont like Isco?

[Vesper 28,818]

18 minutes ago, Unionjack said:

You dont like Isco?

I consider Isco an AMF, much more than a winger. He can play winger, obviously, but I would rather see him at AMF

I think a MF of Jorginho, Kovacic and Isco would be insane under Sarri. I also think we have almost no shot at Isco. Real have almost no reason to give up Asensio, Isco, or even Vinícius Júnior next summer at this point, when they can just wait a year and sign Hazard on a free, OR offer us a shit price and see if we take it in the dying days of the summer window. I was saying this THIS window, We need to do something fast or we are going to get fucked badly.

I see a massive amount of ostrich action on this. Burying yer head in the sand and hoping it changes for the better never works.

Same mentality every Luiz fanboy/fangirl I know has. To me, it's delusional thinking.

[Unionjack 7,531]

39 minutes ago, Vesper said:

I also think we have almost no shot at Isco. Real have almost no reason to give up Asensio, Isco, or even Vinícius Júnior next summer at this point,

This is why I dont understand why RM would want Eden. Now or gambling on a free which  I would rather bench him for his last year than let him take the piss

But I do have my Blue heart pumping optimism right now.

[Vesper 28,818]

CIES Football Observatory

n°233 - 17/09/2018

Economy

Transfer cost to assemble the squad: Manchester City at the top

http://www.football-observatory.com/IMG/sites/b5wp/2018/233/en/

Manchester City has spent almost €1 billion in transfer indemnities to sign its present squad members (add-ons included). This is the highest figure ever measured for a football team. Issue number 233 of the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post presents the data for all of the big-5 league teams.

Seven English Premier League teams are in the 11 top positions of the table. The biggest increase compared to last year was measured for Liverpool (from €437M to €704M). The Spanish giants (Barcelona and Real Madrid), Juventus and Paris St-Germain (2nd overall) are the only non-English teams in the top 11. The best-ranked German Bundesliga club, Bayern Munich, is 12th.

Total transfer expenditure to make up the squad for clubs from the five major European leagues went constantly up during the last decade. In 2010, a big-5 league had spent on average €67M to sign its squad members. In 2018, this figure reached a new record high of €161M. During the same period, the amounts invested to assemble the squad by English Premier League clubs went up from €126M to €326M.

Transfer expenditure to assemble the squad

(million €)

 

 

[quickpassnmove 924]

Hope it's an exciting January for us looking at new forwards with a left foot dominance.

Where's the player that looks like the next Robben (with his shooting accuracy anyway)?

[Unionjack 7,531]

15 minutes ago, quickpassnmove said:

Hope it's an exciting January for us looking at new forwards with a left foot dominance.

Where's the player that looks like the next Robben (with his shooting accuracy anyway)?

LOL Its amazing how we are looking forward to the January sales still 3 months away

But then again here in England it wont be that long till the Xmas stuff starts hitting the shops.

Quote

Dear Santa Roman. I have been a good boy this year and I would like a couple of new players ..............

 

[Vesper 28,818]

3 hours ago, quickpassnmove said:

Hope it's an exciting January for us looking at new forwards with a left foot dominance.

Where's the player that looks like the next Robben (with his shooting accuracy anyway)?

Leon Bailey FTW. Left footed RW yardie version of Robben. Deadly shot as well as pace.

Federico Bernardeschi and David Neres of Ajax are also left footers who prefer RW.

My dream set of wingers would be Bailey and Neres on RW, replacing Willian and Pedro, and Chiesa or Asensio plus CHO on LW (if Hazard leaves in January or next summer).

Ousmane Dembele is surely off the table now as he has exploded for Barca (as predicted). Mbappe is a pipe dream unless your name is Shitty, Real, or Barca.

Malcom would have been great at RW (swap him for Neres above), but we all know the cockup with Willian and the £65m offer from Barca that we foolishly turned down, thus allowing Barca to grab Malcom for only £37m.

Vinícius Júnior from Real is a wild card at LW.

[bigbluewillie 1,859]

Who is this Vesper

She has an incredible knowledge on all subjects, players she will tell you anything about them no matter who, even what they have for breakfast

Any stats are truly amazing, and in depth post........this is no ordinary person..... she has to be involved in the professional game at some level, possibly an advisor.

[Unionjack 7,531]

28 minutes ago, bigbluewillie said:

Who is this Vesper

She has an incredible knowledge on all subjects, players she will tell you anything about them no matter who, even what they have for breakfast

Any stats are truly amazing, and in depth post........this is no ordinary person..... she has to be involved in the professional game at some level, possibly an advisor.

Send her a Msg and have a chat, She doesn't bite.

[bigbluewillie 1,859]

4 hours ago, Unionjack said:

Send her a Msg and have a chat, She doesn't bite.

The comment is tongue in cheek bud.

Oh and I forgot her command of the English language, there aint no Swede with that command or any foreigner for that matter.

The intrigue goes on

[Unionjack 7,531]

3 hours ago, bigbluewillie said:

The comment is tongue in cheek bud..

Oh and I forgot her command of the English language, there aint no Swede with that command or any foreigner for that matter.

The intrigue goes on

Sorry mate.

Its hard to get a read on texts sometimes. Sarcasm doesn't translate written down all the time. Shall learn to keep moi's nose out of sjhit 

[Vesper 28,818]

3 hours ago, bigbluewillie said:

The comment is tongue in cheek bud.

Oh and I forgot her command of the English language, there aint no Swede with that command or any foreigner for that matter.

The intrigue goes on

I live in Sweden now, I am half Swedish, but was born and grew up in West London (South Kensington mostly) for the most part. I did spend a few years as a toddler and early schooler in Hong Kong, and read for my MBA in New York as well. As for foreigners having a superb command of English from a both a syntaxical as well as an idiomatic perspective, I know hundreds, especially in academia. It's the global language of business and what passes for a global culture (much to the dismay of the French, lol). Using Sweden as a pedagogical example, English is mandated by law to be taught alongside Swedish, as well as a 3rd, actual 'foreign' language.

[Vesper 28,818]

Kai Havertz saves Bayer again (video)

Bayer 04 Leverkusen vs Mainz 05 Highlights

Watch Bayer 04 Leverkusen vs Mainz 05 Highlights
Start date: Sep 23, 2018 2:30 PM
Location: Leverkusen Venue:BayArena
Referee: Marco Fritz, Germany

https://highlightsfootball.com/video/bayer-04-leverkusen-vs-mainz-05-highlights-3/

 

Bayer has so many players I would love to get.

BTW, Mainz has one player, Jean-Philippe Gbamin, a 22yo super young DMF  who all the big clubs are after, a real beast

RW Leon Bailey (of course)

AMF Kai Havertz, and remember he is only 19!

CB Jonathan Tah  (1.94m beast, the more I see of him, the more I think he might become my number target as Pavard is looking very unlikely, and Marquinhos is a pipe dream) had a superb pass in the game highlights

also

CB Panagiotis Retsos   superb young Greek potential buyperhaps, he is great at didtribution and ball play)

LB Wendell super solid young player

LW Julian Brandt (not in my top of list, but still is a really good player)

LW Paulinho (18yo new Brasilian signing, HUGE HUGE potential, could be a £60-70m plus player in a few years)

CF Lucas Alario (would be a great backup striker option)

 

Jean-Philippe Gbamin

[Vesper 28,818]

Manchester City Targets for January and Summer 2019

I post this because I still think Shitty are our biggest team to overcome to win the title, with Liverpool 2nd, and I will point out players we both are going after

Shitty projected targets (they really dont give a fuck as to price, PSG and Shitty share that enviable position)

 

CB Marquinhos or Matthijs de Ligt or José Giménez or Dayot Upamecano or Benjamin Pavard (maybe even go for the top dog in Raphaël Varane, but Real would be INSANE to give Pep the best CB in the world, it would be like saying, HERE come take the next 3 CL's like we did. To be honest, the first 3 or 4 are (Marquinhos) or probably will be (the rest) sorta near to being as good as Varane (none are there yet, of course). I will say they make a move for Matthijs de Ligt (highest potential of them all), but I honestly have no gut feeling for sure.

 

LB One name only, and its a gut-wrencher for me, as he is my main realistic target for us. Júnior Firpo of Real Betis. We can offer a starting position if we sell Alonso (which we need to do to RM for £50-55m, which covers cost of Firpo). We have to block the Mancs on this one. They will move for Ryan Sessegnon perhaps if we get Firpo, not sure if he is a Pep-style player plus (and this affects us too) I also am not sure if he really wants to be a LB fulltime, I think he prefers LMF or LW.

 

DH DMF  Ruben Neves, Wolves says £110m, City will pay close to that, Pep is obsessed (probably rightly so). Only other DMF's I could see them even considering (as it has to be a deep holding type) would be Rodri (too late, Atletico Madrid scooped him up, and I think he is the next Busquets), Julian Weigl (HUGE talent, young, but has had a off year, Pep could fix him and make him a terror though, but Neves is better) and Leandro Paredes (maybe a slight step down, but still could do wonders there, is by far the most experienced and still only 24, but I say NO, they don't go for him). The only other remotely young WC DH DMF's out there are Jorginho, Busquets (not young, lol, but still a monster), and maybe (or very soon) a young 21yo Argentine who plays with Stuttgart, Santiago Ascacíbar. (I don't count Marco Verratti at this position, as he is a regista, like Kroos, Koke, Thiago, Pjanic, Pirlo (back in the day), etc) I am not sure if one could label Lucas Torreira from the goonas as either a genuine DH DMF or world class (for sure not there yet). Maybe also add in Frenkie de Jong from Ajax (see below) as he seems to be able to play almost any position other than striker and GK.

I say Neves all the way, he will someday be the best DH DMF in the world, IMHO, and he also can score (sniper of a shooter, 7 goals last year alone), which is crazy, given where he plays from. Its a crazy hard position to fill, as they are so few players who have the skillset need, its probably the hardest position in football to master and play.

 

CMF Adrien Rabiot  I do admit both of the first two that I now discuss could be also seen as DMF deep playmaking MF'ers as well, but really feel the are more forward-leaning players. I think, unless Barca scupper the Mancs, Rabiot goes to Shitty in January (maybe a pre-contract) or surely in the summer, on a free, he wants City, City wants him, both badly, BUT watch out for Barca. TBH, a better fit for Barca IMHO is Verratti, but who knows.

I think the only other CMF Shitty would REALLY covet if somehow Rabiot deal falls through would be Frenkie de Jong, the 21yo Ajax midfielder wunderkind who is going to be probably the most fought over young MF this summer, as Barca, Real, PSG, ManUre, Bayern, and Juve have all said they want him (not just want, WILL get him in some cases!). God help us and all football if Pep pulls both de Ligt AND de Jong from Ajax. Rabiot, btw, is better at this very minute (totally WC), but de Jong is OFF THE CHARTS scary down the road in 2, 3, 4 years. Same for de Ligt at CB, who is 2 years younger than de Jong.

Long shots, finally, would be Bryan Cristante (another favourite of mine) from Atalanta, now on loan at Roma or the poison dwarf's (Napoli) Piotr Zielinski. I do not see them making a run at SMS. He just doesn't, IMHO, for some reason, seem a Pep-type player. He seems to coast at times, which is never going to sit well with Guardiola. Doubt me, go watch the Serbian WC games, and some Lazio losses last year. It has always bugged me about him. He is like a much, much more talented RLC at times. Shitty only have one player like that, the horrid (and injured or would have been long gone) Eliaquim Mangala. John Stones used to have that issue, but Pep has, from all I can see, pounded it out of him.

 

Thats their only needs, literally, other than back-up GK, as Guardiola is contemplating whether to hand a Shitty debut to 19yo Arijanet Muric (big lad too, 1.98m and supposedly still growing a wee bit), He was recalled from loan at NAC Breda last month following an injury to Claudio Bravo.

 

If they bring in those 4 main targets (CB is the only one I am not clear on, I pray it isn't de Ligt they end up with) I do not see how anyone can touch them.

 

Long term insane bonus prediction: They get Mbappe within 3 years or so. Pep is the best manager on the planet, and I am sure he wants who will be the best player on the planet, having had that for years in Messi. Obviously Real and Barca will try too (he is out of Juve, AM, Bayern price range, ours too unless Ratcliffe buys us and finds a quarter to a third of a billion quid he wants to spend in his spare change drawer, lolol), Mbappe would be insane to go to Manure unless ZZ is the manager.(which actually MIGHT put Manure close to the top of the Kylian sweepstakes, goddammit)

He would make Shitty, IF they hold the team together, and get those 4 above, plus replace a couple aging stars (Sergio Agüero, who will be 33 in 3 years (hello Mbappe), David Silva (my number one AMF target, Kai Havertz is on Pep's radar as a replacement alas, as, I predict, will also be the one we fumbled this summer, Aleksandr Golovin, provide he progresses at Monaco, plus Carlos Soler from Valencia), Kompany (replaced by one of those CB's I listed, although its Otamendi who will be the first one benched), and Fernandinho (Neves replaces him) could, quite possibly (on paper) become one of the greatest sides ever, up there with the 1955-1960 5-in-a-row EC (CL now) winning Alfredo Di Stéfano-led Real sides, the early 70's Ajax sides, the mid 70's Bayern sides, the late 70's/early 80's scouser scum sides, the late 80's/early 90's AC Milan sides (my pick for greatest ever, due to defence and just insane generational talent, I am sure most won't agree with me), the mid 1990's/early 2000's Manure sides (a little light on the CL trophies, just the one, the Treble Year 98/99), Pep's Barca sides (especially the 2010-11 Sextuple winning team) and the most recent Real Madrid 3 in a row CL sides.

[Johnnyeye 7,441]

4 hours ago, Vesper said:

Manchester City Targets for January and Summer 2019

I post this because I still think Shitty are our biggest team to overcome to win the title, with Liverpool 2nd, and I will point out players we both are going after

Shitty projected targets (they really dont give a fuck as to price, PSG and Shitty share that enviable position)

 

CB Marquinhos or Matthijs de Ligt or José Giménez or Dayot Upamecano or Benjamin Pavard (maybe even go for the top dog in Raphaël Varane, but Real would be INSANE to give Pep the best CB in the world, it would be like saying, HERE come take the next 3 CL's like we did. To be honest, the first 3 or 4 are (Marquinhos) or probably will be (the rest) sorta near to being as good as Varane (none are there yet, of course). I will say they make a move for Matthijs de Ligt (highest potential of them all), but I honestly have no gut feeling for sure.

 

LB One name only, and its a gut-wrencher for me, as he is my main realistic target for us. Júnior Firpo of Real Betis. We can offer a starting position if we sell Alonso (which we need to do to RM for £50-55m, which covers cost of Firpo). We have to block the Mancs on this one. They will move for Ryan Sessegnon perhaps if we get Firpo, not sure if he is a Pep-style player plus (and this affects us too) I also am not sure if he really wants to be a LB fulltime, I think he prefers LMF or LW.

 

DH DMF  Ruben Neves, Wolves says £110m, City will pay close to that, Pep is obsessed (probably rightly so). Only other DMF's I could see them even considering (as it has to be a deep holding type) would be Rodri (too late, Atletico Madrid scooped him up, and I think he is the next Busquets), Julian Weigl (HUGE talent, young, but has had a off year, Pep could fix him and make him a terror though, but Neves is better) and Leandro Paredes (maybe a slight step down, but still could do wonders there, is by far the most experienced and still only 24, but I say NO, they don't go for him). The only other remotely young WC DH DMF's out there are Jorginho, Busquets (not young, lol, but still a monster), and maybe (or very soon) a young 21yo Argentine who plays with Stuttgart, Santiago Ascacíbar. (I don't count Marco Verratti at this position, as he is a regista, like Kroos, Koke, Thiago, Pjanic, Pirlo (back in the day), etc) I am not sure if one could label Lucas Torreira from the goonas as either a genuine DH DMF or world class (for sure not there yet). Maybe also add in Frenkie de Jong from Ajax (see below) as he seems to be able to play almost any position other than striker and GK.

I say Neves all the way, he will someday be the best DH DMF in the world, IMHO, and he also can score (sniper of a shooter, 7 goals last year alone), which is crazy, given where he plays from. Its a crazy hard position to fill, as they are so few players who have the skillset need, its probably the hardest position in football to master and play.

 

CMF Adrien Rabiot  I do admit both of the first two that I now discuss could be also seen as DMF deep playmaking MF'ers as well, but really feel the are more forward-leaning players. I think, unless Barca scupper the Mancs, Rabiot goes to Shitty in January (maybe a pre-contract) or surely in the summer, on a free, he wants City, City wants him, both badly, BUT watch out for Barca. TBH, a better fit for Barca IMHO is Verratti, but who knows.

I think the only other CMF Shitty would REALLY covet if somehow Rabiot deal falls through would be Frenkie de Jong, the 21yo Ajax midfielder wunderkind who is going to be probably the most fought over young MF this summer, as Barca, Real, PSG, ManUre, Bayern, and Juve have all said they want him (not just want, WILL get him in some cases!). God help us and all football if Pep pulls both de Ligt AND de Jong from Ajax. Rabiot, btw, is better at this very minute (totally WC), but de Jong is OFF THE CHARTS scary down the road in 2, 3, 4 years. Same for de Ligt at CB, who is 2 years younger than de Jong.

Long shots, finally, would be Bryan Cristante (another favourite of mine) from Atalanta, now on loan at Roma or the poison dwarf's (Napoli) Piotr Zielinski. I do not see them making a run at SMS. He just doesn't, IMHO, for some reason, seem a Pep-type player. He seems to coast at times, which is never going to sit well with Guardiola. Doubt me, go watch the Serbian WC games, and some Lazio losses last year. It has always bugged me about him. He is like a much, much more talented RLC at times. Shitty only have one player like that, the horrid (and injured or would have been long gone) Eliaquim Mangala. John Stones used to have that issue, but Pep has, from all I can see, pounded it out of him.

 

Thats their only needs, literally, other than back-up GK, as Guardiola is contemplating whether to hand a Shitty debut to 19yo Arijanet Muric (big lad too, 1.98m and supposedly still growing a wee bit), He was recalled from loan at NAC Breda last month following an injury to Claudio Bravo.

 

If they bring in those 4 main targets (CB is the only one I am not clear on, I pray it isn't de Ligt they end up with) I do not see how anyone can touch them.

 

Long term insane bonus prediction: They get Mbappe within 3 years or so. Pep is the best manager on the planet, and I am sure he wants who will be the best player on the planet, having had that for years in Messi. Obviously Real and Barca will try too (he is out of Juve, AM, Bayern price range, ours too unless Ratcliffe buys us and finds a quarter to a third of a billion quid he wants to spend in his spare change drawer, lolol), Mbappe would be insane to go to Manure unless ZZ is the manager.(which actually MIGHT put Manure close to the top of the Kylian sweepstakes, goddammit)

He would make Shitty, IF they hold the team together, and get those 4 above, plus replace a couple aging stars (Sergio Agüero, who will be 33 in 3 years (hello Mbappe), David Silva (my number one AMF target, Kai Havertz is on Pep's radar as a replacement alas, as, I predict, will also be the one we fumbled this summer, Aleksandr Golovin, provide he progresses at Monaco, plus Carlos Soler from Valencia), Kompany (replaced by one of those CB's I listed, although its Otamendi who will be the first one benched), and Fernandinho (Neves replaces him) could, quite possibly (on paper) become one of the greatest sides ever, up there with the 1955-1960 5-in-a-row EC (CL now) winning Alfredo Di Stéfano-led Real sides, the early 70's Ajax sides, the mid 70's Bayern sides, the late 70's/early 80's scouser scum sides, the late 80's/early 90's AC Milan sides (my pick for greatest ever, due to defence and just insane generational talent, I am sure most won't agree with me), the mid 1990's/early 2000's Manure sides (a little light on the CL trophies, just the one, the Treble Year 98/99), Pep's Barca sides (especially the 2010-11 Sextuple winning team) and the most recent Real Madrid 3 in a row CL sides.

i sure love reading your posts, your footy knowledge is immaculate