Summer Transfer Window 2017 Thread

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

First topic message reminder :

Time to kickstart this baby...rumours that Kolasinac has signed a deal to go to Arsenal and that Inter are prepared to make Pochettino the highest paid manager in the world to take their job

[Guest]

Well apparently Zabaleta is definitely going to West Ham. His legs seem to have gone

Confirmed & on £90k a week. I don't rate Bilic in the market, had a poor summer last year & can see it happening again.

[Dolphin Ziggler]

Happy with Zabaleta. Need a right back who knows how to play right back. Played a good amount of games last season, and we also have had recent right backs of: Kouyate, Tomkins, Arbeloa, Antonio, Kouyate, Fernandes and Nordtveit over the last two seasons. Byram the only one who could be considered a right back and he is positionally immature.

And, undoubtedly, our summer was not his fault. He wanted quality last year and got quantity, he's asked for quality again. I'd bet the 3 he wants become 6 or 7. Saying that, the window has proven to have been ok - too many options and not enough improvements. Which is fine, just not good.

[Crimey]

Looks like Manchester City are getting Benjamin Mendy rather than Bertrand. They're just gutting Monaco basically.

[GSC]

Sampaoli off to Argentina

[Crimey]

Also Man City increasingly confident of signing Kyle Walker. 

Mendy and Walker are big improvements on Sagna and Clichy.

[Crimey]

New Keeper

Walker - - Otamendi/Stones - - Kompany - - - Mendy

Gundogan 

Bernando Silva/David Silva - - - De Bruyne

Sterling - - - - - - - Sane

Jesus/Aguero

That's a pretty formidable side. 

[Hammersmith harrier]

It's not much different to what they have already and signing two attacking full backs isn't going to miraculously cure having a poor defence, it's a football manager side really.

[Guest]

Still not convinced Kompany is injury free, neither is Gundogan. Walker will be found out defensively in a flat back four. That protection from midfield needs Fernandinho or it will be carnage. Sane, Sterling, Bernardo & De Bruyne are not prolific midfield goal scorers, so still a lot of pressure on Jesus/Aguero.

[Crimey]

To be fair I think full back was easily their weakest position and was one of the major reasons their centre backs struggled. Agreed that Kompany and Gundogan are huge injury concerns and thus a hypothetical line up can't really be taken at face value. Fernandinho will probably start most games as Guardiola is a big fan and he can fulfil a role nobody else can. 

To be fair to the midfielders, all of them together scored between 5-8 goals each season over the past couple of seasons. If one or two of them can improve on those tallies and Aguero/Jesus can get 40 then that's not too bad.

[GSC]

Do enjoy watching a team with the ethos of we'll score more than you though.

[Crimey]

Do enjoy watching a team with the ethos of we'll score more than you though.

Agreed.

The last few years of the league haven't got close to how entertaining the 2013/14 season was with both Manchester City and Liverpool tearing teams apart with fantastic attacks and suspect defences. Since then the three winners and even the chasers have all been defensively sound teams with competent attacks, just not quite as exciting.

[Dolphin Ziggler]

Can't not love Pep just signing all the fast, attacking players he can in any position.

The question on Walker has become: is he a better right back than Jesus Navas?

[Ent]

Silva fee being reported as £43 million. Surprised more people weren't interested at that amount.

Seems strange Bayern would be willing to let Sanchez go when Alonso has just retired.

[GSC]

Do wonder what the final price tag will be for the Manchester clubs.

Griezmann likely to come in close to Pogba, Ronaldo and Bale

[Ent]

Not sure he is worth that amount.

[GSC]

Predictably Harry is interested in Benoit Assou-Ekotto.

Unpredictably he'd rather go into porn

[Dolphin Ziggler]

Diego Costa says he would only leave Chelsea for Atletico

[GSC]

City paying 45m for Ederson from Benfica apparently

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

City paying 45m for Ederson from Benfica apparently

I don't really know why they're doing this when by all accounts they have a 13.2m buy back clause for Rulli, who is a better keeper than Ederson imo

[GSC]

I guess money is no object

[GSC]

At least they're getting it all done early

[Guest]

Rafa wants Mangala. Willing to give him a second stint in the PL under Rafa, or he could just be the next Boumsong/Bramble

[Dolphin Ziggler]

City closing on Ederson and Mendy. Should move them to £110m spent before June

[Hammersmith harrier]

I'm guessing that Ederson is good with his feet but lacking everywhere else.

[GSC]

You'd have to ask his missus

[Dolphin Ziggler]

Liverpool getting Solanke
Begovic finally joining Bournemouth

[Crimey]

For the £2-3 million it'll likely cost in the tribunal, considering his record at youth level and that he'll be on under £20,000 a week, that's a good, low risk deal.

There were talks that he was demanding £50,000 a week so to see he'll be on low wages initially is good.

[Dolphin Ziggler]

I do wonder how a kid like that can expect that money and then leaves a club he's comfortable at in search ofnolaying time and joins a side who won't give him it.

[Crimey]

I do wonder how a kid like that can expect that money and then leaves a club he's comfortable at in search ofnolaying time and joins a side who won't give him it.

Well it turned out that the £50,000 a week was complete rubbish, that's why. I just meant that when the initial link came out, because of the reported wage demands I wanted the club to stay well away, now that it's obvious how untrue they were, it's a pretty decent deal.

[Dolphin Ziggler]

Oh it's good for Liverpool, I just question the lad. Want to play? Don't join Liverpool, they've just made the Champions League and have better strikers that's they aren't desperate to play.

He should be going on loan

[Crimey]

Oh it's good for Liverpool, I just question the lad. Want to play? Don't join Liverpool, they've just made the Champions League and have better strikers that's they aren't desperate to play.

He should be going on loan

I'm guessing that he wanted assurances that there would be a place in the squad for him in the future at Chelsea and they couldn't give him a firm answer. By all accounts, Solanke will be going straight into the U23s at Liverpool so he can't have been desperate for a spot in the first team just yet. 

Not to mention both Liverpool and Klopp have much better reputations for developing youth players than Chelsea or Conte. Liverpool definitely needed a striker for the U23s as it was one of the weakest positions down there.

[lfc91]

Oh it's good for Liverpool, I just question the lad. Want to play? Don't join Liverpool, they've just made the Champions League and have better strikers that's they aren't desperate to play.

He should be going on loan

I'm guessing that he wanted assurances that there would be a place in the squad for him in the future at Chelsea and they couldn't give him a firm answer. By all accounts, Solanke will be going straight into the U23s at Liverpool so he can't have been desperate for a spot in the first team just yet. 

Not to mention both Liverpool and Klopp have much better reputations for developing youth players than Chelsea or Conte. Liverpool definitely needed a striker for the U23s as it was one of the weakest positions down there.

Yes Under 23s, but also unless Liverpool sign another striker in this window, Solanke would have a decent shot at making the bench almost every game (with sturridge either sold or injured and Origi just not being very good the last season).

[Beer]

*cough* Danny Ings *cough*

[Crimey]

*cough* Danny Ings *cough*

I'd be surprised if he was here next year. I don't know if he will necessary leave permanently, but he'll almost certainly be going out on loan. He has got to prove his fitness, he's been out injured for basically 2 full seasons. It's unlikely he'll ever return to anywhere near full fitness. It's a real shame as I feel like he was talented and he fits Klopp's play style, but he can't be relied on next year at all.

[Beer]

Was it the same knee??

[lfc91]

What he said.

[Crimey]

Was it the same knee??

Different knee but not sure if that makes it better or worse to be honest.

[Beer]

Worse. That's having two surgically repaired knees. And tendons aren't like bones in that they grow back stronger.

[Crimey]

Worse. That's having two surgically repaired knees. And tendons aren't like bones in that they grow back stronger.

I'd like to think he might come back, but this is the third serious knee injury he's had in his career so it seems very unlikely. 

I unfortunately know the tendon thing as I've had two tendons torn by glass and was told how they just don't heal properly because it's all just scar tissue.

[Crimey]

Riyad Mahrez has told Leicester he wants to leave.

Suspect, like Vardy, that last summer was the time to go for a big money move. Mahrez has been pretty poor this year.

[compelling and rich]

isnt solanke a buy to bulk up there champions league home grown quota

[GSC]

Is he old enough to need registering?

Purely guessing from the last time I played FM 7 years ago (I feel old)

[compelling and rich]

Is he old enough to need registering?

Purely guessing from the last time I played FM 7 years ago (I feel old)

the premier league you dont have to register young players, i believe that you still have to register 8 "homegrown" players for champions league. which solanke would be

[GSC]

Liverpool have offered Clichy a contract for some reason

[Fernando]

Because they have no LB & He's free.

[Dolphin Ziggler]

And relatively good. The Robertson links have gone quiet, and I did hear something about Cresswell again but he'd be expensive. Clichy is probably good enough for them still.

I could have seen them going for Gibbs, who is surely about to go 3rd choice at Arsenal

[Crimey]

Seems to just be The Sun linking us to Clichy right now so I'll wait until some of the more reliable names start talking about it before I take it seriously. Wouldn't be a terrible second choice left back behind Milner, but would rather sign a young player to develop there.

The Momahed Salah links are growing stronger. He has been good at Roma and Liverpool did try and sign him before he ended up at Chelsea so it wouldn't be a massive surprise. He'd be a good pacey player to have either in replacement of Mane or on the opposite wing but he'll also be missing for Africa Cup of Nations so doesn't solve that problem.

[GSC]

Aumbameyang off to PSG apparently

[Dolphin Ziggler]

Reports coming that Atletico Madrid's transfer ban will be upheld.

Puts Lacazette on hold and may muddy the waters over Griezemann (although his release clause takes it out of their hands if the player pushes it)

[compelling and rich]

anyone who's watched clichy over the last few years wouldn't describe him as good, liability defensively. only in city's team because kolorov is even worse. a team who wants to win titles has deemed clichy not good enough but liverpool will be fine with clichy and solanke

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