The latter is what appeals to me too, been a top player over the years even if he has had his share of injuries. I think he’s still got a bit left in him to play a supporting role to Hojbjerg though if he was happy with that sort of situation. Europa and cup starts, cameos and a few starts in the Prem etc. It’s more than he’s getting at the moment anyway, plus if he’s willing to play for Jose again that works in our favour too.
IIRC we're at our Non-HG limit again, so who do we ship out to make space for somebody who'll get a few Europa and Cup starts? It's one thing if we're looking to bring in somebody who will go straight into the starting lineup (for the sake of argument Skriniar), especially if Gazzaniga is moved on to accommodate him and things balance out nicely, quite another to do so for either a short-term signing (which Khedira would be) or for a punt (hello again, Kim Min-jae!) Of course, this is why the clickbait merchants are compiling lists of players who "will" be sold in January, with Lamela and Sanchez the names which come up more often than not
I can't see Skriniar happening in January, could be wrong but I think that's a 'summer only' type of deal. Sanchez and Lamela could very well be possible departures, especially Sanchez. Lamela I think we'll keep until the summer then assess, we can't keep persisting with someone so injury prone though, does us no favours despite the fact he's someone who 'gets it' when he plays. A left field option could be Aurier if we're able to get someone like Aarons in.
I think Sanchez’s days are numbered tbh. Rodon has taken his spot on the 1st team bench and the lad captained Wales the other night after Bale left the pitch, he’s clearly a massive talent and I hope he gets chances in the coming months. A real shame he couldn’t be involved in the EL group stages. Aarons I could see happening in the summer if Norwich miss promotion. Hopefully us loaning Skippy to them and the impact he’s having will create some goodwill. Aurier certainly off if that happens. Jose loves Lamela and I don’t see him leaving. I think he’s pretty happy with our forward options and it’s mainly backup in DM (Skipp long term of course) and in defence that he wants us improved. Along with any opportunistic signings we can pull off.
I've mentioned it before, but a Sanchez/Skriniar swap would make a lot of sense as Sanchez has the pace to play on the right of a back three which Skriniar doesn't Of course, at some point Inter might realise there's one unifying reason why they keep losing players who were great for them just a couple of seasons ago please log in to view this image
Random Winger Watch Duncan Castles has popped his head above the parapet to claim that Leicester are resigned to losing Demirai Gray on a free transfer to us at the end of the season Since his name has been coming up a bit in the last few months, it seems like he's seen as a low risk/high reward signing as we'd be paying £0.00 while also balancing the HG quota while also getting a rapid winger who can play on either flank - but the real question is who leaves if he comes in, because we're starting to get to Gerry Francis levels when it comes to stockpiling wingers
The main thing about Grey is that he plays pretty much the exact same way that Lucas, Bergwijn and Clarke do, so from a tactical standpoint it doesn't really do anything if Lucas is having one of his anonymous games so we replace him with someone who plays the exact same way Also, sticking with the tactical viewpoint, considering our system is based on our wingers pressing opposition fullbacks so the opponent's play gets funnelled into a low block, that requires wingers who do that hard work and I'm not certain Grey fits that profile - and considering our system certainly needs a Lamela on the wing, if we had somebody who's a passenger when we don't have the ball we'd soon see a repeat of the West Ham game
Midfield Rando Watch The Daily Wail has taken a five minute break from believing that sitting in the corner yelling "FISH!!!" is what counts as negotiating with the EU to report that Sean Longstaff has replaced his agent with Pini Zahavi, and decided that means that Longstaff will be joining us sooner or later as he's got 18 months on his contract Now on the one hand he ticks the all-important HG box (especially come January 1st, thank you very much Daily Mail readers...) and he does have similarities with Hojbjerg which means our rotation options aren't either a.) Play Hojbjerg anyway b.) How about we try Lo Celso as a DM this week? On the other hand, given our system requires another Sissoko for a fair chunk of games, the obvious question is why we're being linked with a more defensive Harry Winks whose passing is far less accurate
CB Watch The Corriere dello Sport and CalcioMercato have both reported that we're looking at Fiorentina CB Nikola Milenkovic On one hand it's fair to respond to this by saying "...again?" given he's been linked with us off and on for the last couple of years, but one thing that is worth pointing out is that while he wasn't a fit for what Poch wanted in a centre back as he wanted CBs who can play out from the back, Milenkovic is a better fit for our current setup as he's physically imposing, good in the air, and has been a rock for Fiorentina for the past few years which, of course, has led to inevitable lazy comparisons with Nemanja Vidic There's also a few other variables that are in our favour, especially if we want to bolster our defensive options in January - He's contracted until the summer of 2022, while in comparison Milan Skriniar is contracted until the summer of 2023 - Reports suggest that he's keen to move, with him refusing to sign a new contract last week - Fiorentina are not playing in any European competitions this season, so he won't be cup tied in the Europa League That's the key part for me: if Milenkovic is keen to move and has 18 months on his contract, that makes the possibility of signing him in January plausible, with the only obvious obstacle being having to fill out approximately eight times more paperwork than during the summer thanks to people who base their life decisions on whatever's plastered on the side of a bus, or Fiorentina refusing to sell due to their form this season being utter garbage and they don't want to risk a relegation battle after selling one of their key players
(Austrian) Bundesliga Rando Watch As we're one of the clubs being linked with G Fuel Vienna midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai, it's worth mentioning that it's emerged that he has a €25m release clause - albeit a release clause with a few caveats - The €25m must be paid in one lump sum within two weeks of activating it - The release clause also contains a 20% sell-on clause - Szoboszlai must give notice that he wants to leave by December 15th, while offers must be received by December 31st While it's not worth getting our hopes up yet, as not only are Monster Energy Dusseldorf the most likely destination based on a decade of transfer activity that UEFA appear to have not noticed, but both Madrid sides are also looking at bringing him in and it's safe to assume a few other likely suspects such as Bayern, Juve and the Manc clubs will also be looking to pounce (as are some bunch from Woolwich) and the way the deal is balanced is pretty much the same as the one that took Erling Braut Haaland to Dortmund so the team who sign him are basically going to get screwed from two sides at some point in the near future Dybala Watch I'm guessing you've heard about Dybala's representatives offering him to each of the PL's "Big Six" (aka The All New Sky Four, with special guest star Spurs while ex-Goon pundits pretending their team are still relevant)? If I were to put money on it, it's likely PSG will sign him to future proof themselves from Mbappe being spirited away next summer
€15m a year wage demands Given that's more than £250k a week, it's probably worth speculating who has gotten in his ear