Especially when the example is someone like Mumba, who Sunderland wouldn't give a chance in League One. He's on course to play more Championship minutes this season than he managed Championship+League One minutes in 3 seasons with Sunderland. And that's with an injury that ruled him out for 10 weeks, and having Coronavirus.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/f...-TEN-clubs-placed-transfer-embargo-month.html Maybe Covid might give us the opportunity to scavenge?
It is alledged, in a couple of blogs, Football League World and Anfield Central, that Liverpool have enquired about the availability of Buendia this summer. Cue a derisory offer intending to unsettle him. Jamal mark two scenario?
This from FLW sums it up: "Football League World has learned, meanwhile, that the Argentine is just one potential option the Reds may look at if and only if Mohamed Salah leaves the Reds, with some speculation growing over his future in recent months. Some members of the Reds’ recruitment team think that Buendia is ‘different class’ on his day but they have some reservations over the price the Canaries are looking for at the moment and so are very much just monitoring his situation as things stand." Lots of speculation but little substance.
Reservations over the price - I and others have reservations over half their team - results don’t lie. Pay up or stay away from the top of the table!
The one point of substance, and why I am still 80% sure we won’t sell Buendia this summer, is that it is true about “on his day”. Buendia has yet to prove himself consistently in the Premier League. He was highly creative last season, but it wasn’t consistent, he didn’t really win matches single handedly and it never quite clicked. However, I think last season improved him a lot - and this season he has been a match winner (frankly, I think he’s been a league winner) and comfortably the best player in the league. But it’s still in the Championship. He’s worth £40m plus to us. To be worth that to another team, he needs to be single handedly winning premier league matches. Then they can justify the outlay. So I’m confident he will leave either in January after a stellar first half of the season or next summer (after a stellar full season...), unless he gets injured or has a spectacular fall in form (no sign of that). He’s not a dead cert to anyone else yet either. If he goes this summer, I think it’s more likely he will go to Spain.
I think part of the issue for Buendia is the role he plays. I'm not sure he fits that many teams. He pretty much has to play as a RAM in a 4-2-3-1, in a possession based side. I can't see him as a wide forward in a 4-3-3, or working in a 4-4-2. Based on this season, he doesn't fit the way Man Utd, Liverpool, Arsenal, Everton, Leicester or Spurs play. Maybe he works at Chelsea or Man City? But why would they buy him? Overseas might make more sense, but then cost becomes an issue. As pointed out, he's not yet proven in the Prem, I can't see why the likes of Liverpool would buy him in order to bench him, or play him out of position. They'll either buy a superstar to compliment their front line, or a smart, cheap player like Origi and Minamino were.
Eredivisie striker linked: https://www.edp24.co.uk/sport/norwi...umours-giorgos-giakoumakis-eredivisie-7884328 I like him, purely because he can join Giannoulis, Placheta and Omobamidele in our efforts to annoy commentators. 24 goals in 26 appearances this season.
Excellent posts about Emi Rob and DH. Georgios Giakoumakis looks very much like an SW player but I wonder about the possible competition from Brighton and Southampton. One to follow certainly.
With Dimi about to join us permanently this surely would give us the inside track in any chase for his international team mate. Tell him what a brilliant City Norwich is please DG.
The difficulty with the Greek names lies in the Greek letter Gamma normally being pronounced like y, thus: Giannoulis is pronounced Yia-nou-lees Giakoumakis becomes Yia-kou-mak-ees As for Omobamidele I notice Chris Goreham pronounces it Omoba-mideley I'm still not sure about Placheta though
Thanks this is helpful, especially on Omobamidele as I understood the end bit is the same as Dele Alli, but want sure about the first bit and it’s easy to confuse it for Obama the first time you look at it. I had understood Placheta is “PLOR-Xch-ETTA” with the “Xch” pronounced a bit like the Scottish say ch at the end of “loch”. But that could well be wrong!
Apparently his nickname is Plaku, which still isn't that easy for non-polish speakers, thus the 'P.P.' or 'Pepe' nicknames I suppose.