Transfer: Winter mercato window rumors

[cgf]

Mittelstadt clearly is the biggest pure talent from 97 class if only this class had produced a Makar to compete with him.

Casey should come to Berlin to. The Eisbären could really use him...

 

[East Coast Bias]

World cup 2022 could see a pretty rejeuvenated Netherlands squad also.

Still looking for a keeper talent, but something like this has a lot of potential:

Bijlow
Karsdorp - TFM - de Ligt - Verdonk
Kongolo
van de Beek - de Jong
Adekanye - Memphis - Kluivert​

We'll see if it actually pans out, but there's plenty of other talents like Toure, Stengs, Bergwijn, Kadioglu, Lang, Piroe, Eiting, Dilrosun, etc. to go along with guys like Wijnaldum, Promes, Vilhena, de Vrij, van Dijk, etc. who will also still be kicking around. Anyway I know that it's kind of off topic just got excited looking ahead after this kind of lull in Dutch football...these guys provide hope. Kluivert, van de Beek and de Ligt are not long for their clubs in today's world of big money being thrown at young players. In a perfect world they'd all stay until 22/23 to fully develop but we'll see how they progress.

What do you think of Tahith Chong?

He missed 9 months with a knee injury, but he’s back playing with th United U18s. He looked great last season. Rocket of a shot.

 

[YNWA14]

What do you think of Tahith Chong?

He missed 9 months with a knee injury, but he’s back playing with th United U18s. He looked great last season. Rocket of a shot.

Not really sure. He was promising playing for the young Oranje but I always got the impression that he would be better suited to CAM and that he's always been kind of easy to muscle off the ball when his trickery doesn't create enough space. He doesn't have that same low centre of gravity that other quick, tricky players have (Bergwijn, Dilorsun, Adekanye, Kluivert) that allows them to not get pushed around. I think he made a big mistake going to United where he'll have a hard time breaking through. He's certainly talented from what I've seen but I think he'll need to get stronger, move into midfield and add an element of discipline to his game to make it. I could see him playing in that more attacking midfield spot beside van de Beek if he could adapt to the position; I think it's important to have a strong dribbler with creative passing there for the 4-3-3. That said de Jong has a sense of calm and very smooth dribbling and passing as well and actually has a good road to playing time.

 

[maclean]

Czech media reporting a lot of interest in Udinese midfielder Jankto - Milan, Juventus and allegedly in particular Arsenal. Nice to see, but mostly hope he can keep earning playing time if he ends up moving somewhere big.

 

[Savant]

Paul Joyce thinks LFC may cash in on Coutinho if the price is met by Barca, because of Salah & Mane taking over as faces of the team.

Irresistible form of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mané may tempt Liverpool to cash in on Philippe Coutinho

No problem with them selling, but they better have a darn good plan for the money.

 

[cgf]

Paul Joyce thinks LFC may cash in on Coutinho if the price is met by Barca, because of Salah & Mane taking over as faces of the team.

Irresistible form of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mané may tempt Liverpool to cash in on Philippe Coutinho

No problem with them selling, but they better have a darn good plan for the money.

They do

 

[Paulie Gualtieri]

Weren't they willing to pay over 120M euros? Crazy money IMO.

 

[Savant]

They do

MFW that happens would be closer to the Family Guy parody version of this where Peter breaks his legs

 

[Savant]

Weren't they willing to pay over 120M euros? Crazy money IMO.

They got close to Liverpool’s valuation but a lot of it was based on unrealistic incentives, like winning Ballon d’Or.

Barca needs to put in a real offer.

 

[YNWA14]

A generous offer would be anything over 80m tbh. Even in today's market I think it's absolutely insane that a team would be willing to pay 100m for Coutinho, let alone 120.

With Ox and Solanke I think Coutinho is very movable. He doesn't fit in that well to the 4-4-2 that we're transitioning to, and Keita is coming next season as well. Hopefully, considering we should already be sitting on a pile of money, we take this and buy Kondogbia and van Dijk. A midfield duo of Kondogbia/Wijnaldum centering some combination of Keita/Mane/Salah/Firmino/Ox/Solanke would be nice, and there's plenty of combinations to be had in there with that depth and prospects.

 

[Savant]

A generous offer would be anything over 80m tbh. Even in today's market I think it's absolutely insane that a team would be willing to pay 100m for Coutinho, let alone 120.

With Ox and Solanke I think Coutinho is very movable. He doesn't fit in that well to the 4-4-2 that we're transitioning to, and Keita is coming next season as well. Hopefully, considering we should already be sitting on a pile of money, we take this and buy Kondogbia and van Dijk. A midfield duo of Kondogbia/Wijnaldum centering some combination of Keita/Mane/Salah/Firmino/Ox/Solanke would be nice, and there's plenty of combinations to be had in there with that depth and prospects.

I would go Ndidi over Kondogbia. Would probably be easier to get too especially if no CL.

Certainly would not complain with either.

They also need a Goalie, a center back (VVD), a right back, a striker and probably a winger. (Assuming Kondogbia Or Ndidi would be the CM they also need in this scenario)

I rarely do this but here are some Savant approved targets that should be realistic:

GK: Alisson, Areola (if PSG gets an Oblak type); Wild Cards: Schmeichel & Szczesny

RB: Ricardo Pereira, Weiser

CB: VVD; (I also like Stark here but it’s onviously VVD or bust)

CM: Kondogbia, Ndidi; (would need CL and a miracle, but wouldn’t Fabinho be perfect?)

ST: M. Dembele (Celtic), Sanabria

W: Lemar (hopefully but think that ship has sailed), Lozano, Zaha

 

[Paulie Gualtieri]

I would go Ndidi over Kondogbia. Would probably be easier to get too especially if no CL.

Certainly would not complain with either.

They also need a Goalie, a center back (VVD), a right back, a striker and probably a winger. (Assuming Kondogbia Or Ndidi would be the CM they also need in this scenario)

I rarely do this but here are some Savant approved targets that should be realistic:

GK: Alisson, Areola (if PSG gets an Oblak type); Wild Cards: Schmeichel & Szczesny

RB: Ricardo Pereira, Weiser

CB: VVD; (I also like Stark here but it’s onviously VVD or bust)

CM: Kondogbia, Ndidi; (would need CL and a miracle, but wouldn’t Fabinho be perfect?)

ST: M. Dembele (Celtic), Sanabria

W: Lemar (hopefully but think that ship has sailed), Lozano, Zaha

I still feel that Liverpool need to replace Moreno.

 

[Savant]

I still feel that Liverpool need to replace Moreno.

Oh me too. I think that’s is not a priority to them though. They still have Robertson (meh) and may want to give him a go, but I don’t think either are good enough.

They might go back in for Sessegnon but I the word in the summer on our end was he wanted to stay in London and winds up at you lot to replace Rose.

Maybe Celtic will take Robertson and cash for Tierney (they won’t). I did suggest Ricardo Pereira partially because he can play both sides, but there is the fundamental problem that there are not a lot of good Left backs on planet Earth. .

 

[YNWA14]

They have Robertson. They're just not using him because...idk. Tierney would be a great target as well but I don't think Klopp is moving on from Moreno at this point. Also do we really need a rightback? Between Clyne, Gomez and TAA I think we're fine there (especially with Gomez's evolution at the position despite it not being his best one).

For me a perfect window would consist of van Dijk, Kondogbia and Promes/Zaha. Kondogbia is perfect for that role beside Wijnaldum in this new formation because he is more comfortable playing deeper, is big, physical, and importantly can dribble and likes to get forward WITH the ball. While Wijnaldum is great for controlling space and tempo Kondogbia complements him perfectly. I'm not giving up on Karius as of yet and Mignolet could make a good back-up.

 

[cgf]

I just don't see the ball skills in Stark ever be a truly top class CB, and he's not as mobile as Matip either. LFC might just be a step too far for him, although he could probably do better than Hertha.

 

[Savant]

They have Robertson. They're just not using him because...idk. Tierney would be a great target as well but I don't think Klopp is moving on from Moreno at this point. Also do we really need a rightback? Between Clyne, Gomez and TAA I think we're fine there (especially with Gomez's evolution at the position despite it not being his best one).

For me a perfect window would consist of van Dijk, Kondogbia and Promes/Zaha. Kondogbia is perfect for that role beside Wijnaldum in this new formation because he is more comfortable playing deeper, is big, physical, and importantly can dribble and likes to get forward WITH the ball. While Wijnaldum is great for controlling space and tempo Kondogbia complements him perfectly. I'm not giving up on Karius as of yet and Mignolet could make a good back-up.

I think they need a right back because they want to put Gomez in the center. Clyne can’t be counted on. Trent’s best position is CM (how about a Keita-Trent midfield two?!?), so yeah, I would look for a RB.

Mignolet isn’t going to want to stay as a backup, and if I was him I probably wouldn’t either. Neither him nor Karius are good enough, and they certainly aren’t financially committed to Karius, so I would prefer to cover that weakness before finding out if Karius can do it or not. Karius probably still has resale value in Germany, (and his buy out is so low LFC might be able to sell him for a profit), and Ward can back up.

They need a player they can alternate with Wijnaldum, not one that complements him. The player they need to compliment is Keita. Maybe the German Bundesliga contingent can chime in on who that ideal player would be. Keita has done well with Demme, who is no superstar, but let’s Keita do whatever he wants to up the pitch.

 

[Savant]

I just don't see the ball skills in Stark ever be a truly top class CB, and he's not as mobile as Matip either. LFC might just be a step too far for him, although he could probably do better than Hertha.

Interesting. Klopp certainly likes mobility in his CB’s. I was thinking Stark could be one to take a chance on before he blows up. He is getting good coaching at Berlin and they might be able to catch him before he goes to like Dortmund or something.

That being said, the player I really want from Berlin is Weiser.

 

[cgf]

Interesting. Klopp certainly likes mobility in his CB’s. I was thinking Stark could be one to take a chance on before he blows up. He is getting good coaching at Berlin and they might be able to catch him before he goes to like Dortmund or something.

That being said, the player I really want from Berlin is Weiser.

Stark is well on his way to becoming a "just" good player; since I see his ceiling around a Howedes level...as someone who can make the NT, but if he ends up starting that means we got hit hard with injuries to the defense. And for a Klopp team to be able to defend you really need a Hummels.

His 20 yo team-mate Jordan Torunarigha should have a much brighter future as that kid not only has superior physical gifts, but he's much more skilled & clever on the ball as well. Of course defending against senior players is different than defending against fellow youths, but Torunarigha has been one of the few truly prized & hyped 97ers in german football...and at this point he & FB-Henrichs have lapped most of the pack a couple times over in the battle for the title of the best 97-born german player...although there are a clutch of 97ers breaking through in the second division this season (Neuhaus, Teuchert, Löwen, Mühl of the top of my haven't-slept-in-two-nights head); so I guess it's possible that Neuhaus or someone like that will just keep improving even after Torunarigha & Henrichs plateau. But I wouldn't put money on it.

Weiser is our second best RB/WB behind Kimmich; but the Hertha german that I'm most in love with this season is Arne Maier. The 18 year old was able to step in for Darida and they didn't skip a beat. In a very strong year for german midfielders...with Havertz, Schreck, Akkaynak, baby-Dardai, Kade, & Maina...it wouldn't be a shock if Maier ended up the best of the bunch. That kid is looking like it's only a matter of time until he joins the Weigl/Kimmich debates.

 

[Savant]

@cgf good to hear!

Now pick me a perfect partner for Naby Keita!

 

[John Pedro]

Gremio is going to FIFA accusing Barcelona of tapping Arthur up (he visited the club and wore their jersey). He's the perfect fit for Barça, they can't screw this up. Kid can control a game like few, outstanding passer (82 passes per 90, 93% accuracy this season). Some Spanish papers already calling him the next Iniesta (I found him more similar to Xavi, tbh). 50m euros release clause.

 

[John Pedro]

Racing has declined a 12m euros offer from Atleti Madrid for Lautaro Martinez

 

[Evilo]

Barca are apparently after Fekir but also Tousard from Lyon.

 

[Savi]

Ajax have signed Hassane Bandé from KV Mechelen. 19 year old forward from Burkina Faso, has only been playing in Belgium for a few months. During the summer he tried out at Anderlecht, but they didn't sign him. Their coach at the time didn't think he was good enough to make the squad. So he went to Mechelen, which is a middle of the pack team, and has been pretty impressive with 8 goals in 13 games.

Ajax will pay €9.5m (woah) and Bandé will join them after the season.

Barca are apparently after Fekir but also Tousard from Lyon.

Diakhaby has also been mentioned.

 

[Evilo]

Diakhaby is nowhere near ready to play CB at Barca. He's been tested at DM though and I liked what I saw.

 

[Live in the Now]

Barco to Atlanta for $12m. Nice to see an MLS team spend some real money on young talent.