2017 Summer Transfer Rumors and Discussion

[Evilo]

Yes. A lot of media people here though he was better suited to Europe than Neymar cause he was relentless and didn't dive all the time like Neymar used to do. But what caused his fee to be so high was the fact that PSG had to outbid United.

Or didn't hide 30M from taxes like Barca with Neymar

 

[hatterson]

Mata I don't agree with, he does fine in the EPL and has been Manchester United's best player the last couple seasons. Mourinho just doesn't like Mata for whatever reason and he's suffered this season because of it. Hazard never shies away from challenges.

Mkhitaryan has been really inconsistent this season and injuries haven't helped. Just watching him in games though, he hasn't handled the physical play and lack of time and space you often have in the EPL all that well. When he's gotten time and space he's looked fantastic. He'll need to adjust if he is going to flourish in England.

I was speaking tongue in cheek.

Mata's had a pretty solid EPL career. Mkhitaryan's issues at the beginning had nothing to do with physicality and everything to do with coaching since he never had a chance to prove himself.

Once he started playing he was doing very well. Not the same level as last year, but still very solid. Then he ran into some injuries and has struggled to be consistent since then. Either way, those struggles haven't really been due to physical play but due to positioning and decision making.

The point of mentioning Hazard was becuase Hazard and Mkhitaryan actually playing similar stylistic games. Hazard is obviously better, but the point is that style of play can easily succeed in the EPL.

 

[les Habs]

His face when Dybala goes to barca...

I'm still dreaming of a Verratti/Dybala combo... or Saul in place of Verratti

Dybala would be great, but not sure it happens. Don't want to even think about that fee.

Thiago was the CM for me from a footballing standpoint. After that I'm not sure who we can get. I'm not sure Verratti moves and I doubt we'd get Saul much less any time soon. Koke's contract is up in 2019, but he rejected us. At CM I keep going back to La Masia. Roberto and Alena. That still leaves a RB though.

From my list above Herrera and Matuidi would be nice signings for the price. Isco though would be the ideal candidate from a style standpoint considering Iniesta's getting on. Mata though also really stands out. Problem is his lack of a defensive contribution and he's not so much and "8". Still he brings a ton to the table and I think in our side he'd take off. Imagine a Castilla reject making a big impact for us.

Oh, and speaking of La Masia if we lose Cucurella I may have to go remove the board myself.

Lucas was tremendously hyped at the time. Explosive speed, lots of skills. Neymar generation and all.

But the guy is an idiot on the pitch. AND thinks way too highly of himself too.

Yeah, I said at the time he was overpriced. Granted even the market then was crazy.

I was speaking tongue in cheek.

Mata's had a pretty solid EPL career. Mkhitaryan's issues at the beginning had nothing to do with physicality and everything to do with coaching since he never had a chance to prove himself.

Once he started playing he was doing very well. Not the same level as last year, but still very solid. Then he ran into some injuries and has struggled to be consistent since then. Either way, those struggles haven't really been due to physical play but due to positioning and decision making.

The point of mentioning Hazard was becuase Hazard and Mkhitaryan actually playing similar stylistic games. Hazard is obviously better, but the point is that style of play can easily succeed in the EPL.

Yeah, you definitely have to cover Mkhitaryan's injuries. He basically started the season injured and it took him some time to get going.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I was thinking about how bleak the coming transfer window looks for Barça and how it could be a period of transition until a proper manager is brought in. So in turn I was thinking about what some cheaper "transitional" signings might be and players with only a year left on their contracts came to mind. I also noticed a few players I was thinking about who only have a year left on their current deals. Anyway, quite a list of players with only a year left:

Mata
Herrera
Matuidi
Isco
Deulofeu
de Vrij
Kolarov
Clichy
Zabaleta
Sagna
Fernandinho
Yaya Toure
Jesus Navas
Ramsey
Oxlade-Chamberlain
Sanchez
Ozil
Blind
Can
Gimenez
Meyer
de Sciglio

Players in bold are the ones who I think have contracts expiring this Summer. There are more too, but some potential bargains out there.

de Vrij and Gimenez would be excellent signings for any team that needs a center-back.

 

[Edo]

Hey Seph,

You should know better than to argue with Germans over their league. It's a lost cause.

It's pretty tough to see Barca wanting Toure back and vice versa. Clichy/Sagna/Zabaleta/Navas aren't good enough for Barcelona. Not even sure they're good enough for the second tier of clubs in Spain.

Barcelona need to invest a ton of money to get on Real Madrid's level. Huge summer ahead for them. It seems like Real Madrid can now survive without Ronaldo, pretty easily. Barcelona seem to be increasingly reliant on Messi and they may be in for dark days after his play starts to drop. If it ever does.

Whatever happened to Munir?

 

[les Habs]

Hey Seph,

You should know better than to argue with Germans over their league. It's a lost cause.

It's pretty tough to see Barca wanting Toure back and vice versa. Clichy/Sagna/Zabaleta/Navas aren't good enough for Barcelona. Not even sure they're good enough for the second tier of clubs in Spain.

Barcelona need to invest a ton of money to get on Real Madrid's level. Huge summer ahead for them. It seems like Real Madrid can now survive without Ronaldo, pretty easily. Barcelona seem to be increasingly reliant on Messi and they may be in for dark days after his play starts to drop. If it ever does.

Whatever happened to Munir?

I didn't post the list in reference to just Barça but rather in general.

Barça don't need to invest a ton of money to get on Madrid's level. We haven't lost to them this season after all and just beat them at home. On top of that the league, as was the case in past years like 2012, has been affected by the refs.

Munir is on loan at Valencia. I believe his contract is up this Summer or next, I think it's this Summer, and so he'd be on that list as well.

 

[Deficient Mode]

Only respect in which Barca need to catch up with Madrid is their depth. Somehow that hasn't hurt them too badly yet, but that could change with a couple of injuries. Honestly they should try to sign Gimenez.

I was thinking about how bleak the coming transfer window looks for Barça and how it could be a period of transition until a proper manager is brought in. So in turn I was thinking about what some cheaper "transitional" signings might be and players with only a year left on their contracts came to mind. I also noticed a few players I was thinking about who only have a year left on their current deals. Anyway, quite a list of players with only a year left:

Mata
Herrera
Matuidi
Isco
Deulofeu
de Vrij
Kolarov
Clichy
Zabaleta
Sagna
Fernandinho
Yaya Toure
Jesus Navas
Ramsey
Oxlade-Chamberlain
Sanchez
Ozil
Blind
Can
Gimenez
Meyer
de Sciglio

Players in bold are the ones who I think have contracts expiring this Summer. There are more too, but some potential bargains out there.

That list is far more impressive for non-Barca clubs since they get to include Messi and Iniesta.

 

[Corto]

Theo Hernandez reportedly doing the medical for Real today.

Good signing if true, I've been really impressed by him.

 

[Savi]

Surely that will be the end of Coentrao in Madrid. He's already in Zidane's doghouse.

 

[Duchene2MacKinnon]

Theo Hernandez reportedly doing the medical for Real today.

Good signing if true, I've been really impressed by him.

Danilo 2.0?

With Marcelo being the greatest of all time why buy another LB? Another attempt at keeping a player away from Barca?

Hearing it's for 30 million... A little more than the buyout fee of 24 million... Real doing this because Atleti are pissed Theo completed his medical just before the CL game.

 

[Duchene2MacKinnon]

Actually, they still sell for too little fee. City paid €32M for Jesus while Barça paid €30 for Paco Alcácer. Milik was sold for €35M. Marquinhos went to Roma for just €3M then they sold him for €31M to PSG.

Europe buys low then sell high almost all the time.

That's because the players are usually young and not proven... it makes sense to buy low and then flip for a higher fee after they've proved themselves.

 

[Jussi]

Mata I don't agree with, he does fine in the EPL and has been Manchester United's best player the last couple seasons. Mourinho just doesn't like Mata for whatever reason and he's suffered this season because of it. Hazard never shies away from challenges.

Mkhitaryan has been really inconsistent this season and injuries haven't helped. Just watching him in games though, he hasn't handled the physical play and lack of time and space you often have in the EPL all that well. When he's gotten time and space he's looked fantastic. He'll need to adjust if he is going to flourish in England.

No he hasn't. He's been one of United's best players offensively and Mourinho's shown that trust. He was in good form before the groin surgery.

 

[S E P H]

Yea Mkhitaryan and Mata aren't physical enough to survive in the EPL. That's also why Hazard struggles so much.

There's always exceptions and players who can withstand physicality as Zuccarello, Panarin, and St. Louis have done in the NHL.

You guys are only responding to pinpoint sections of my post, I said that even with his struggles I would gladly take Mkhitaryan on Arsenal. Players can improve as we've seen in the past, but this particular season Henrikh has struggled. Mata, besides two to three above-average seasons was nothing special. Mourinho is an awful manager, but you can't put all the blames on him. Mata was struggling under van Gaal as well.

Hey Seph,

You should know better than to argue with Germans over their league. It's a lost cause.

It's a lost cause, especially when they think I'm trolling every time. I gave them evidence about BVB's feeder list and they just disregard it as imagination even though it was based on facts from transfermarkt.com.

 

[cgf]

All your lists prove is that unlike Arsenal BVB have regularly had talents that the top teams wanted. And we're seeing with Sanchez what happens when Arsenal have a player the top teams actually want. Yet for some reason you refuse to accept this reality; but whatevs you can fail to recognize how damning having Edo on your side in an argument is.

 

[Deficient Mode]

It's a lost cause, especially when they think I'm trolling every time. I gave them evidence about BVB's feeder list and they just disregard it as imagination even though it was based on facts from transfermarkt.com.

You used them selling a 29 year old out of favor, barely healthy Kuba to Fiorentina as evidence of them being a feeder club. The only lost cause is your and Edo's sanity.

 

[Vipers31]

All your lists prove is that unlike Arsenal BVB have regularly had talents that the top teams wanted. And we're seeing with Sanchez what happens when Arsenal have a player the top teams actually want. Yet for some reason you refuse to accept this reality; but whatevs you can fail to recognize how damning having Edo on your side in an argument is.

You used them selling a 29 year old out of favor, barely healthy Kuba to Fiorentina as evidence of them being a feeder club. The only lost cause is your and Edo's sanity.

All of this is absolutely and undoubtedly true.

As a Bayern fan in Germany, the number of times in my regular life that I have spoken up in BVB's defense isn't very high. On here, the absurd ignorance about BVB from some posters has made me argue for Dortmund too many times for me to be comfortable with. I dislike that club with some passion. When you get a Bayern fan to defend Dortmund, you know you're on the wrong side of the argument.

 

[Havre]

They know that China have the money and the desperation for "star" players so they play hardball. It's not a conspiracy. It's smart negotiating.

So the Chinese are stupid and Chelsea are smart? Don´t buy it.

Why would it be lower? The few Chinese teams that can buy them are swimming in money and are desperate to land these players.

So someone bids 30m for Oscar - why bid 60 instead of 31?

Even rich people (or clubs) don´t just throw away money.

I can understand a slight premium, but not these kind of sums.

 

[bleedblue1223]

So the Chinese are stupid and Chelsea are smart? Don´t buy it.



So someone bids 30m for Oscar - why bid 60 instead of 31?

Even rich people (or clubs) don´t just throw away money.

I can understand a slight premium, but not these kind of sums.

A lot of the times, they aren't going after players that are being made available, they have to ridiculously overpay to get them.

Money isn't an option for many of those clubs, so Euro clubs can just pick a ridiculous number, and China will pay it. It's not like Chelsea would've sold Oscar for 30 or Costa for something like 60.

China has the money and wants to make statements, that's why they splurge the crazy money. Part of spending the crazy money is a marketing trick to get more people talking about them.

 

[Live in the Now]

The Chinese transfer bids are political. Just have to read about the Chinese Super League a little bit and you'll see what it's about.

 

[Deficient Mode]

All of this is absolutely and undoubtedly true.

As a Bayern fan in Germany, the number of times in my regular life that I have spoken up in BVB's defense isn't very high. On here, the absurd ignorance about BVB from some posters has made me argue for Dortmund too many times for me to be comfortable with. I dislike that club with some passion. When you get a Bayern fan to defend Dortmund, you know you're on the wrong side of the argument.

Pfft you can drop the charade. You know you like us. Come to the light side.

 

[Vipers31]

Pfft you can drop the charade. You know you like us. Come to the light side.

This may be harsh, but I need to draw that line...

 

[Wee Baby Seamus]

So the Chinese are stupid and Chelsea are smart? Don´t buy it.



So someone bids 30m for Oscar - why bid 60 instead of 31?

Even rich people (or clubs) don´t just throw away money.

I can understand a slight premium, but not these kind of sums.

The Chinese clubs aren't stupid, the Chinese Premier League teams are desperate. You ignored the key word in my post. Chelsea (and other European clubs) have all of the leverage in these negotiations; they don't need to sell, and the CPL clubs, looking to establish themselves and get talent quickly, need the players.

 

[Havre]

If you believe Chelsea would not have sold Oscar for 50m then we just have to agree to disagree. And you also got to wonder why they had to have Oscar if Chelsea didn't want to sell. Good player, but not exactly a world wide known superstar like some of the players that have gone to MLS and even India (if it is names they are after - I do understand Oscar is younger). I can't prove it of course. Still think it is strange that no-one seem to be looking into it. Then again investigating journalism within football isn't exactly widespread (some exceptions of course seen from Qatar etc.).

 

[Corto]

Danilo 2.0?

With Marcelo being the greatest of all time why buy another LB? Another attempt at keeping a player away from Barca?

Hearing it's for 30 million... A little more than the buyout fee of 24 million... Real doing this because Atleti are pissed Theo completed his medical just before the CL game.

Few reasons, I guess:

- he's got tremendous potential
- he can play further up the pitch if needed
- he can play for "Real B"

I understand Real, I don't understand him.
In Barca, he'd have a legit chance of starting in Alba's place. In Real, Marcelo's one of the best players in the world (not just LBs).

 

[WhiskeySeven*]

This may be harsh, but I need to draw that line...

Ahhh there it is!

As a North American who can't really claim to be a real supporter of any European club, as I have no ties these leagues or cities or clubsc I have definitely followed Bayern the most and would call myself a supporter in a lighter sense.

But having moved to Europe recently and lived amongst "real" supporters, I'm now even MORE hesitant to call myself a fan of any team - some people live and die by their clubs. Some of my coworkers are Gunners and they HATE Arsenal but love it in such a way that it dwarfs any emotion I have toward my preferred club.

So, that said, as a nominal Bayern fan who used to think he was a BIG fan - what the hell can they do to get back on top next year?

I had a thought - why not reshape the team to be more like Madrid's 4-3-3? Just cop the whole system they have entirely.