Centre Midfielder Transfer Links

Trigestis said:
Anderson makes sense, to be honest, he has been top 5 best CMs in the league for two years in my opinion, and is heavily involved in all parts of the game. But the likes of Tonali and Mateus Fernandes aren't the best in the country, they're just the best ones available, and that's a different thing. They shouldn't cost premium because of their availability in the transfer market. I think there are midfielders out there that would do just as good/better if they moved to PL that could go for half of what they went for.
Click to expand...
I agree on Tonali and think he's massively overpriced. Fernandes puts up considerably better numbers than Tonali in many areas and is much younger so I can see why he was so in demand.
 
Think Bouaddi for anything below or around 80 million would be a great investment. It's not just the World Cup. He clearly has it. France had been on him for a while and very much like Camavinga who was in a similar situation (age and position) when Real Madrid payed big money for him, we'd do well to get him in now. Don't even think he'd need to be loaned out. This isn't a Saliba situation, that's just silly.
 
Harry190 said:
Think Bouaddi for anything below or around 80 million would be a great investment. It's not just the World Cup. He clearly has it. France had been on him for a while and very much like Camavinga who was in a similar situation (age and position) when Real Madrid payed big money for him, we'd do well to get him in now. Don't even think he'd need to be loaned out. This isn't a Saliba situation, that's just silly.
Click to expand...
Lille president already said €100mil minimum. So same price as M Fernandes
 
always_score99 said:
In your hypothetical scenario where Anderson, Fernandes and Bruno G don't exist does the next best available midfielder produce the same numbers as they do? If the answer is no and the next available midfielder is performing at a mid table level but is priced at 100m simply because of scarcity a data intelligent club should walk away.

There is no midfielder in La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A or Lique A who puts up similar numbers to Anderson across the board despite playing in weaker leagues. His value is not solely based on an abstract concept of being "the best in the land" it's based on elite level performance.
Click to expand...
That's what people here are missing. They say Anderson isn't worth it and how we should make data driven signings. Well the data says Anderson is the best available across Europe, his stats are elite a cross all leagues, when you add that's he's already doing it in the pl, that's why people wanted him. Fernandes also had elite data alongside pl experience, it turns out that's really expensive. Either we follow the data or we don't, but people want to cherry pick
 
Last edited:
dinostar77 said:
Newcastle signing this guy? Never heard of him. Any good?

Click to expand...


The Dutch fans on the reddit thread about it seem to think he's nowhere near ready and it's very expensive.

He has the same agent as Howe, a load of other Newcastle players & Manzambi who they're after
 
Harry190 said:
Think Bouaddi for anything below or around 80 million would be a great investment. It's not just the World Cup. He clearly has it. France had been on him for a while and very much like Camavinga who was in a similar situation (age and position) when Real Madrid payed big money for him, we'd do well to get him in now. Don't even think he'd need to be loaned out. This isn't a Saliba situation, that's just silly.
Click to expand...
Camavinga only cost them about €30m. Still a lot for teenager I guess, and I think he might have had only a year left on his contract, otherwise it would have been more.

That price put a lot less pressure on him than £80m (nearly €100m) would on Bouaddi though
 
ron86 said:
That's what people here are missing. They say Anderson isn't worth it and how we should make data driven signings. Well the data says Anderson is the best available across Europe, his stats are elite a cross all leagues, when you add that's he's already doing it in the pl, that's why people wanted him. Fernandes also had elite data alongside pl experience, it turns out that's really expensive. Either we follow the data or we don't, but people want to cherry pick
Click to expand...
That's not what hapenned. We don't only need a single midfielders, but 3 as things stand, therefore we couldn't get Anderson who alone would take almost entire budget. City are in different situation. If we had an established squad I am pretty sure we would go for Anderson a bit harder. Not that he was keen on joining us anyway,

Everybody wanted Anderson, he is the best midfielder "available".

We knew we were going to face this "midfield revamp" problem, we just didn't know it's going to me magnified by other clubs apparently having all the money and also needing midfielders.
 
Borys said:
That's not what hapenned. We don't only need a single midfielders, but 3 as things stand, therefore we couldn't get Anderson who alone would take almost entire budget. City are in different situation. If we had an established squad I am pretty sure we would go for Anderson a bit harder. Not that he was keen on joining us anyway,

Everybody wanted Anderson, he is the best midfielder "available".

We knew we were going to face this "midfield revamp" problem, we just didn't know it's going to me magnified by other clubs apparently having all the money and also needing midfielders.
Click to expand...
I don't think we need 3 midfielders per se, in an ideal scenario, sure. The issue we have is if we arbitrarily say 3, then unless you have a blank cheque book you'll always have to sacrfice on quality.

Realistically, you should be trying to get the best quality you can first and worry about the numbers later - you can find soutions for that after you've got quality through the door. The market will always have an impact, thinking it wouldn't is also pretty naive. You can only plan for what's within your control which leaves you with:

1) Try and find better value alternatives
2) Pay a premium for your identified targets
3) Don't sign anyone

no.1 is open ended and uncertain, so if you want real control over what you get, you have to be willing to do 2 or 3
 
dinostar77 said:
Lille president already said €100mil minimum. So same price as M Fernandes
Click to expand...
He actually didn't specifically say any number. He referenced the Anderson and Tonali deals and said they are older and without the same margin for improvement as Bouaddi. He also said Bouaddi is already one of the best midfielders in the world and that not many clubs can afford him. He made it clear he had never given a number which they would sell at nor discussed the potential transfer publicly before. He said explicitly that €50m would not be sufficient so he's clearly looking for north of that. Maybe the Lille President wouldn't sell for less than €100m but he didn't explicitly say this. People have been inferring that and spreading it around based on what he said.
 
Lash said:
I don't think we need 3 midfielders per se, in an ideal scenario, sure. The issue we have is if we arbitrarily say 3, then unless you have a blank cheque book you'll always have to sacrfice on quality.

Realistically, you should be trying to get the best quality you can first and worry about the numbers later - you can find soutions for that after you've got quality through the door.
Click to expand...
No, we can't do that because we are too thin in the squad. We had the luxury of playing stable midfield duo every game, now we only have Mainoo and no partner for him + only one squad option in Ederson. We can't go only for quality, this is why we dropped Fernandes deal imo.

Lash said:
I don't think we need 3 midfielders per se, in an ideal scenario, sure. The issue we have is if we arbitrarily say 3, then unless you have a blank cheque book you'll always have to sacrfice on quality.

Realistically, you should be trying to get the best quality you can first and worry about the numbers later - you can find soutions for that after you've got quality through the door. The market will always have an impact, thinking it wouldn't is also pretty naive. You can only plan for what's within your control which leaves you with:

1) Try and find better value alternatives
2) Pay a premium for your identified targets
3) Don't sign anyone

no.1 is open ended and uncertain, so if you want real control over what you get, you have to be willing to do 2 or 3
Click to expand...
I am not sure what's the conclusion here. We thought we were in #1 scenario with Fernandes, that then turned to #2 with Tottenham bumping the price (which eventually we were not ready to pay). It's all fluid and what looked to be an exciting window with lots of options in the market is turning out to be a bit of a dramatic one with something pretty unprecedented really - we are out of targets that make you excited. Unless anyone thinks there's anything in Tchouameni story, which I believe is a dead end (and has been for a while).
 
Newcastle links building with Manzambi. Should we be all over him? Not watched enough but his stats are wild.
 
macheda14 said:
Newcastle links building with Manzambi. Should we be all over him? Not watched enough but his stats are wild.
Click to expand...
He's been good for Freiburg / Switzerland but we might struggle in a bidding war against Newcastle.
 
No one seems to be arsed about Wharton anymore. He certainly faded off but he’s a great passing midfielder with a solid defensive game, and would no doubt cost less than Tchouameni
 
Borys said:
No, we can't do that because we are too thin in the squad. We had the luxury of playing stable midfield duo every game, now we only have Mainoo and no partner for him + only one squad option in Ederson. We can't go only for quality, this is why we dropped Fernandes deal imo.


I am not sure what's the conclusion here. We thought we were in #1 scenario with Fernandes, that then turned to #2 with Tottenham bumping the price (which eventually we were not ready to pay). It's all fluid and what looked to be an exciting window with lots of options in the market is turning out to be a bit of a dramatic one with something pretty unprecedented really - we are out of targets that make you excited. Unless anyone thinks there's anything in Tchouameni story, which I believe is a dead end (and has been for a while).
Click to expand...
I don't really understand that really. We will have Mainoo and Ederson as it stands. If we spent big on one more quality signing, we could easy tie ourselves over with a free agent/academy player for depth. If we buy two players, one of them won't play a great deal anyway, this just seems like a risk averse strategy just in case one might fail. I'd rather mitigate the risk by paying the premium for quality.

I think trying to buy two top quality players, whilst not trying to spend too much, is a recipe for ending up with lower quailty players in the squad. Just focus on bringing in a player you believe are quality and have some conviction in your eye for talent. Worrying about depth before you've got quality, seems like putting the cart before the horse.
 
Lash said:
I don't really understand that really. We will have Mainoo and Ederson as it stands. If we spent big on one more quality signing, we could easy tie ourselves over with a free agent/academy player for depth. If we buy two players, one of them won't play a great deal anyway, this just seems like a risk averse strategy just in case one might fail. I'd rather mitigate the risk by paying the premium for quality.

I think trying to buy two top quality players, whilst not trying to spend too much, is a recipe for ending up with lower quailty players in the squad. Just focus on bringing in a player you believe are quality and have some conviction in your eye for talent. Worrying about depth before you've got quality, seems like putting the cart before the horse.
Click to expand...

Whilst I agree with the principle in the main I think we need to be in a situation where we have enough squad cover for 15-20 extra games, plus I’d imagine we would also be like to change things from
The bench and hope for an improvement, rather than sending in the likes of Ugarte or Fletcher and hoping we survive. Definitely an interesting rebuild going on, lots of options and solutions despite the general feeling in here that the world is ending because we didn’t get any of the “main” targets yet.
 
Lash said:
I don't really understand that really. We will have Mainoo and Ederson as it stands. If we spent big on one more quality signing, we could easy tie ourselves over with a free agent/academy player for depth. If we buy two players, one of them won't play a great deal anyway, this just seems like a risk averse strategy just in case one might fail. I'd rather mitigate the risk by paying the premium for quality.

I think trying to buy two top quality players, whilst not trying to spend too much, is a recipe for ending up with lower quailty players in the squad. Just focus on bringing in a player you believe are quality and have some conviction in your eye for talent. Worrying about depth before you've got quality, seems like putting the cart before the horse.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I'd rather they overpay for Tchouameni and skimp on the 4th CM. I think we've already seen multiple 4th CMs in this tournament who would be boring and passable for 5-10 games a season as defensive options fighting with Mount (who would be a more offensive #8 or a twin #10 with Bruno either side of Tchouameni). Berg, Raskin (Clumsy at times but works, cost 1.5M for Rangers), Eustaqio (went on loan to MLS, almost always a solid holding mid for Canada) all look passable options for very cheap and that's just watching this week.
 
Surely we have to spend big to get a player who is good enough to be a mainstay of our team for years to come, especially with Champions League football on the agenda next season.
It’s one thing to look for value in the market but the market rate for a player of that stature isn’t going to be anything short of 80m at least.
 
Reds Under The Bed said:
It's insane how many supporters are delighted we didn't sign somebody, not because they think they're not good enough but because they are expensive.

When have the best players in the land not have the highest prices?

It's not like the transfer fees are coming out of my pocket.

If we put saving money first then the club is in a lot of trouble going forward.
Click to expand...

Maybe some people are hoping for a "class of 92" to happen again because unless we start buying big for top class players we will never realistically compete and win the two big trophies, well certainly not in my lifetime.
 
whitbyviking said:
Whilst I agree with the principle in the main I think we need to be in a situation where we have enough squad cover for 15-20 extra games, plus I’d imagine we would also be like to change things from
The bench and hope for an improvement, rather than sending in the likes of Ugarte or Fletcher and hoping we survive. Definitely an interesting rebuild going on, lots of options and solutions despite the general feeling in here that the world is ending because we didn’t get any of the “main” targets yet.
Click to expand...
But in my mind, if you're playing - for arguments sake, Mainoo - Tchouameni. Ederson is on the bench as probably first option to come in, Mount as an attacking option and then a wildcard from the academy or find someone more serviceable for peanuts. You can run through the permutations that makes enought to cover those extra games, in my opinion. It's not that I don't want a bench with quality, it just value having a first team with quality far more than that. We both obviously want both, I think it's just about what's most likely and acheiveable with less risk.
NoPace said:
Yeah, I'd rather they overpay for Tchouameni and skimp on the 4th CM. I think we've already seen multiple 4th CMs in this tournament who would be boring and passable for 5-10 games a season as defensive options fighting with Mount (who would be a more offensive #8 or a twin #10 with Bruno either side of Tchouameni). Berg, Raskin (Clumsy at times but works, cost 1.5M for Rangers), Eustaqio (went on loan to MLS, almost always a solid holding mid for Canada) all look passable options for very cheap and that's just watching this week.
Click to expand...
Agreed. I think there are lots of creative ways to fill that gap, especially if it's as cover or impact sub. The hard part is improving the first team, that should be the key focus.
 
Would much rather gamble on Bouaddi than overpay for Tchouameni, Scott, Baleba or Wharton.

Personally I think Bouaddi or Tchouameni are the best fits alongside Mainoo
 
Hmmm it’s not looking good is it at the moment.

We can still salvage this window, I’d love Tchoumeni and Wharton, but I can’t see us going for both.
 
worldinmotion66 said:
Would much rather gamble on Bouaddi than overpay for Tchouameni, Scott, Baleba or Wharton.

Personally I think Bouaddi or Tchouameni are the best fits alongside Mainoo
Click to expand...
Bouaddi isn’t going to come cheap judging by the quotes from the Lille chairman.
 
Santos looks good and has big potential.
Would be a shrewd buy if the price is right.
 
dinostar77 said:
Newcastle signing this guy? Never heard of him. Any good?
Click to expand...

The budget Kees Smit.

Lennon7 said:
No one seems to be arsed about Wharton anymore. He certainly faded off but he’s a great passing midfielder with a solid defensive game
Click to expand...

He does not have "a solid defensive game" - that's the big problem and something which will keep the biggest clubs sceptical for now; the 10th slowest player in the PL last season...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.