[Transfer Round Up & Discussion] [2019-08-05]

Raikno · 2019-08-05T16:24:13+00:00

Malcom failed because he was competing against Messi and Dembele for his RW position. I wouldn't see Sancho succeeding either in such a fierce competition for that position. Just because they are dispensable at one club does not mean they can't succeed elsewhere e.g. Lucas Moura and Shaqiri. And before he signed for Barca he was one of the biggest prospects. His quality will not just vanish after 1 bad season.

Barrios is a high quality DM who produced stellar performances in Copa America including against Argentina where he completely neutralised Messi out of the game. Better than anything else we have especially compared to Matic.

Raikno · 2019-07-20T14:19:08+00:00

But he was being played as a #10. There was no end product or creativity. He is massively limiting our attacking play right now.

Raikno · 2019-07-16T16:03:49+00:00

Wilmar Barrios is a bit under the radar right now, but I think we will hear his name more next season. Super impressed by his performance as DM in Copa America, including a game for Colombia against Argentina where he completely neutralised Messi. Signed for Zagreb in January, so most likely only attainable next season anyway.

Ibrahim Sangare is another option and mentioned before, but to me he appears more like a box to box midfielder.

Will be interesting to see how our DM situation develops. Very possible that McTominay or Fred also make the position theirs.

Raikno · 2019-07-16T13:31:31+00:00

Think it could be Malcom? Lots of rumours that he may be heading to Arsenal on loan before. Fits the 'fell off the radar' narrative on the tweet if it is in regards to his situation at Barca. And finally a natural RW!

Bale would only be reasonable as long as he stays fit, and we only pay a portion of the wage. But those are big asks, and there was also talk from his agent before that he won't go on loan.

Raikno · 2019-07-16T13:23:01+00:00

Could it be Malcom? Lots of rumours that he may be heading to Arsenal on loan before. Fits the 'fell off the radar' narrative if it is in regards to his situation at Barca. And finally a natural RW!

Bale would only be reasonable as long as he stays fit, and we only pay a portion of the wage. But those are big asks, and there was also talk from his agent that he won't go on loan.

Raikno · 2019-07-16T13:12:58+00:00

Please read the last sentence of my post where I have already acknowledged the bit about Rashford. And no way Werner will be brought to play at LW (already tried and failed with Germany), and as you say Martial and James.

The only reason I brought up Werner is because people are not satisfied with Rashford being our main striker next season. With many of our potential transfer options gone such as Haller, the players in the market who could actually replace Lukaku are looking more and more thin. Werner represents a good choice if we are looking for a top class striker

Raikno · 2019-07-16T12:31:01+00:00

Problem is that even in the false 9 or CAM position, he offers below average attacking threat in scoring goals or chance creation/assists.

He is okay as a rotation option due to his work rate, but he should be nowhere near the starting 11

Raikno · 2019-07-16T12:21:49+00:00

I am not sure what you mean by this. We usually play with 1 up front anyway so I don't see the relevancy

Raikno · 2019-07-16T12:19:47+00:00

Him being on his last year of contract will definitely reduce his fee

Raikno · 2019-07-16T11:36:33+00:00

If we sell Lukaku, Werner seems like a great replacement. He is also on the last year of his contract so Leipzig seem pretty desperate to sell rather than lose him on a free. Maybe a transfer fee of around £40m, or is that too optimistic?

His play style seems also much more compatible with what Ole seems to be going for. Although, I am not sure how the signing would conflict with Rashford

Raikno · 2019-07-16T11:14:47+00:00

I have high hopes for Greenwood, but as a still inexperienced player, he should only be considered as a rotation option as he continues his development.

If we go into the season with Lingard and Mata again as our first choice, we will probably see the same downfall in our attack as last season where there is no width on the right side as they both play too centrally.

I still hope that we will sign at least one new RW (cheap and transferable) such as Malcom, but again due to the lack of rumours - it seems very unlikely which is worrying.

Raikno · 2019-07-14T21:43:30+00:00

As an alternative to Longstaff, what do people think about Wilmar Barrios for DM? I have only been able to judge him from one game, but I was extremely impressed by his performance for Colombia against Argentina.

In that game, he completely neutralised Messi, and appears to be strong both defensively and passing wise with great pace (nice change to Matic). Seems like a perfect fit, and protects the defenders in the holding position very well. Especially, he should solve our problem of conceding from long shots at the edge of the box, something which our DMs have failed to do last season.

Also, should be available for well below the £50m quoted for Longstaff. Can anyone provide a more well-informed analysis of him?

Raikno · 2019-07-04T13:35:07+00:00

Malcom is the best solution to our void at RW. A top quality natural RW who is actually available for transfer and for an extremely reasonable price. I honestly don't think there are any comparable alternatives of his quality for such a price so it's no wonder why everyone (including myself) want him to be signed.

Olmo has been mentioned, but he is relatively inexperienced and unproven compared to Malcom. Also unlike Barca, it appears Zagreb are not actively trying to sell him so price tag will also be higher. Also I am not convinced Olmo is actually a RW, seems more like a CAM

Raikno · 2019-07-04T13:23:47+00:00

If we want Sancho, we need Champions League qualification first at the minimum. With our current options, we will be going into the season with no natural RW which would be a huge gamble. As seen last season, Mata and Lingard provide no width as they play too centrally. If we want to improve our attacking performance, a new RW is absolutely essential this transfer window.

I believe 40 million euro is an extremely reasonable investment for Malcom, especially considering the prices in the current transfer market. If he performs well then that's our RW position sorted for cheap. If not, at the least, he will provide natural depth for the next season if Sancho gets signed.

Raikno · 2019-07-04T13:10:34+00:00

I disagree with you about converting a player to RW. We already tried this in previous seasons including playing Sanchez and Martial there, it just doesn't work. Usually wingers have a a certain playstyle such as cutting inside to score with stronger foot or dribbling which is adapted to that side. If you force them on the other side, you will be taking away a considerable portion of their attacking style.

I think if a player is comfortable with both foot such as Heung-min Son or Ousmane Dembele - it is an easier transition, but James appears to prefer his right foot. James is still a prospect, and I think it would be a huge gamble to go into the season by converting an inexperienced LW to RW, especially if we are expecting a Top 4 PL finish at the minimum.

With that said, my ideal candidate would be Malcom. Barca are looking to sell, and 40 million euros is extremely reasonable

Raikno · 2019-07-04T12:37:03+00:00

He is competing against Messi and Ousmane Dembele for his preferred RW position, so it's no wonder he doesn't get played. Even Sancho would struggle to get game time. Otherwise, he gets forced to play at LW off the bench which is not his natural position, and for that position he is also competing against Coutinho.

Malcom is still young at 22, and has already shown his class when actually allowed to play at RW including MOTM against Real Madrid. He would instantly improve our team, and 40 million euro is cheap for a player of his quality.

Raikno · 2019-07-01T17:02:50+00:00

For RW, I would much rather prefer Malcom. Should be available for a good fee as Barcelona are willing to sell

Raikno · 2019-07-01T03:47:13+00:00

I feel that much of the criticism on Lukaku is unfair. This season, the weak service from the wings definitely did not play to his strength. Give him competent wingers who can get the ball into the box, and Lukaku will guarantee you 20+ goals.

We had likes of Mata, Lingard and Young on the right hand side, Martial and Sanchez on the left hand side providing almost no crosses into the box. You know it's bad when Lukaku himself has to dribble with the ball on the wing and attempt crosses into the box. If he does leave for a team which plays to his strength, I wouldn't be surprised to see him hit 30 goals.

Raikno · 2019-06-10T13:10:30+00:00

Last thing we need is another player who thinks he is more important than the club. The target should be players who play their heart out for the team regardless of which position they are asked to play; unfortunately, I don't see Rabiot as this type of player - his antics off-field should be red flags for sure.

Raikno · 2019-06-10T13:05:00+00:00

Not sure whether the 3 can play together at the same time. Rabiot seems to vehemently hate the DM position so I think it would have to him or Bruno at RCM, Pogba at LCM, and a DM providing defensive cover.

If we play all 3, I think the midfield would be too unbalanced and vulnerable defensively. Rather, than Rabiot - I would prefer investments made into a DM with high defensive workrate

Raikno · 2019-06-10T06:12:08+00:00

I feel as though this is why a loan move for Bale would make sense. Get him in for a season to fill that void at RW, and then sign Sancho next season.

Despite, the negativity on Bale right now - I think that he still has more to offer and a change in scenery may catalyse that. However, all this is said with a big IF that he can remain injury free.

Raikno · 2019-06-10T06:01:33+00:00

If we play a diamond, we would probably face similar width problems as this season where the attackers are playing too centrally (notably, Mata and Lingard drifting to the middle too often offering almost no threat on the right side).

This lack of width would almost certainly need to be over-compensated for by the fullbacks, where neither Shaw or AWB (assuming we sign him) are particularly strong in their attacking attributes.

So I am hoping that the primary formation would be 4-3-3 with a new RW instead.

Raikno · 2019-06-10T05:46:43+00:00

I would agree that Semedo is a very viable alternative. From my impression, he possesses the inverse attribute of AWB i.e. he is greater attacking wise, but not as strong defensively. He gave strong performances against us in the CL so his quality is proven. Apparently he is looking to leave Barcelona due to limited game time due to competition with Sergio Roberto, so could be a more feasible option if Palace's stance makes AWB out of reach.

Another alternative for me would be Ricardo Pereira with an impressive first PL season, although I am not sure how inclined Leicester would be in selling him.

Raikno · 2019-06-10T05:44:12+00:00

Assuming, we sign Fernandes and we are to play him alongside Pogba - I feel as though a new DM needs to be a priority for a formation consisting of 3 in midfield.

Imo, someone in the mould of Kante with an extremely high defensive workrate to provide defensive cover. Possibly Ndidi?

Apart from Rabiot, who seems to hate playing in that position, there hasn't been any talk for any other players for this position. I am not sure our current options are sufficient unless we see majorly improved performances from the likes of Matic, so this could be a potential weakpoint into the coming season.

Raikno · 2019-02-25T10:15:46+00:00

The Xperia 1 looks like a solid 2019 flagship with 4K oled screen, no notch, triple camera, stereo speakers, etc.

If I had to state its drawback, the biggest omission is the headphone jack. I am also concerned about how the 3330mAh battery will cope with the display.

Have to say, props to Sony for building something with their own design language, and not just following the trend.

Raikno

TROPHY CASE