28 May 2025 23:38:01
Cunha Mateta Mbuemo would be a prime Barclay’s premier league front 3 ? I would love it if we could make that happen! It would be fun to watch if we could actually get control of the midfield. I reckon those 3 or players of that profile would cause havoc.

1.) 29 May 2025
29 May 2025 09:14:05
I'm sure somebody posted on here if we signed cunha and mateta it could be sang to the lion King tune. Hakuna matata. Cunha mateta.

2.) 29 May 2025
29 May 2025 11:34:16
I think Mateta is being slept on by many fans. I think there is a little bit of snobbery when it comes to players already playing in the EPL from a lot of fans. I think it's because they've seen them play more often and for a less fashionable side. People tend to be seduced more by the unknown (or little known) player from a foreign league.

I think fans are also prone to ageism, they only want a player over the age of 25 if they have been playing at a world class level for the past 3 or 4 years. If a player isn't ripping it up by the time they are 22 then fans seem to think they won't be good enough.

Mateta suffers from both those issues. Playing at a less fashionable club like Palace, and being 27 having only really started to live up to his potential in the last two seasons.

Yet there are many examples of players reaching their potential a little later in their career. Drogba didn't move to the EPL until he was 27 for example. While Harry Kane didn't start showing the goalscoring ability he has until he was 24.

I highly doubt Mateta will get to the level of either of them, but I still think he could be a very good option for us this summer.

In a limited striker market with lots of competition for the best players available I'm not sure there are many realistic options better than Mateta.

EPL proven, proven in a system similar to the one we play, a physically strong player who can both score goals and create them for his teammates, good in the air, quick enough across the ground, very good link up play, clinical in front of goal, and entering the final year of his contract do should be available for a more reasonable fee (maybe somewhere between 35-40m, possibly a little less) .

If we cannot get a deal for Gyökeres, and we miss out on Delap then Mateta definitely looks like the next best option.

Currently I think Mateta is a better player than Delap. The reasons I'd have Delap above him are his age and potential means he could/ should become a better player than Mateta in the next couple of years, plus given his fixed low fee and his age he has resale value if he doesn't work out, whereas Mateta doesn't.

Beyond those three options though and the pickings become slim and the gamble on the player becomes much bigger.

Ekitike looks a phenomenal player this year in Germany, but he will be close to 100m apparently, there is lots of competition for him meaning we probably would miss out, while I'm a little apprehensive over signing strikers who scored well in the Bundesliga as goals seem to be easier to come by in that league, with most strikers seeing a significant drop in their numbers when they move to another top European league.

Sesko is another young striker playing in Germany whose doing well. But again he'll be very expensive and there is the worry about whether there will be a significant drop in his numbers when moving to a different league.

Both are young strikers with limited experience and evidence of consistently doing well. They would be a similar type signing to Højlund in a lot of ways, and we've seen how that gamble can play out.

Proven strikers like Isak, Haaland, Mbappe and Kane just aren't realistic options even if we had the money to buy them. The same could be said for someone like Watkins.

That leaves Osimhen, who will cost a fortune both in terms of fee and particularly in wages.

Schick could be available, seems a decent player and maybe a short term stop gap. Although he also has that Bundesliga drop off concern.

Wissa from Brentford could be a decent option, EPL proven, but will likely cost more than Mateta due to a longer contract.

Jonathan David is available on a free and makes a lot of sense, although he isn't quite the right profile for Amorim. He is better at running the channels than being a physical striker who can hold up the ball and link play. He'd be a great second option to bring in but I think we'd need another more physically dominant striker to come in alongside him.

The final striker I think could be a good option is Mateo Retegui who has been prolific in Italy this year. Given that he was born in Argentina despite being an Italian international I don't think he'd have the same issue that many Italian strikers seem to have with their form dropping off when they move away from Italy. He's a good age and is a well rounded striker. The issue is that he plays for Atalanta and we know first hand how much they charge for strikers. I'd expect to have to pay upwards of 70m for him. Being an Italian international, and with the goal scoring season he has had I can't see why Atalanta would accept less than what we paid for Højlund. That fee alone probably rules him out unfortunately.

If we miss out on Delap then we will likely have to pay more for a player either with less potential, or pay significantly more for a player with more.

We probably should be doing all we can to sweet talk him into picking us.

3.) 29 May 2025
29 May 2025 12:01:55
I think we have to go prem proven. Raise the general level of the first 11 with players who know the league and perform consistently. There’s no point spending big money on talent around Europe who possibly don’t adjust to the league and country. We’ve been burned a lot of times like that and we don’t have the money to make those mistakes either. I do like the singing of Delap as I think £30m is a bargain for the current market. Signing prem proven players will push us up the table quite quickly.