11 May 2024 21:22:37
Potential free agents for us to seriously consider.
Tosin Adarabioyo CB
Wilfred Ndidi DM
Alex Meret GK
Juan Miranda LB
Luka Jovic CF
Does this provide a bolster to our squad, whilst we navigate any financial restrictions/ implications of not achieving Europe and shipping out all the dross.
Not saying they are the answer, just opening the discussion.
11 May 2024 22:40:11
Not convinced by any of them.
12 May 2024 00:19:20
The most sensible thing I've read in here was ed001 saying no point in suggesting a ying or anybody until the footballing strategy is clear.
I'm sure wilcox and ashworth will be aligned.
All players need to fit that agenda.
Once that's defined and clear and once we know which coach they want to carry that through then we will have at least semi informed opinions on which players we fell will fit the bill.
Too many unknowns at this stage.
I expect things will become clearer at the end of the season and euros and going into the window.
Who's stays who goes who comes in. Have to say I've not looked forward to a summer quite as much for a long time. Should be great craic.
12 May 2024 08:32:08
Of those I think Adarabioyo is the most likely to actually be pursued. He was at City's academy while Jason Wilcox was running it, so our new technical director knows him personally. We also will likely need to sign multiple CB's this summer, and Tosin on a free, at a good age and with EPL experience could be a no brainer.
Ndidi and Miranda are both a solid no for me. Neither good enough even as squad players.
Meret as a back up keeper would be a decent signing, although I'd expect he'll want to go somewhere to be first choice. While I'm not convinced he is at the level we would need for him to be first choice.
Jovic is the interesting one on that list, he has the talent, but has too often struggled to turn that into performances on the pitch when at a top club. Maybe he can't take the pressure. Considering that AC Milan have an option to extend his contract then I think we can rule him out. Either Milan extend and he isn't available for free or Milan choose not to which kind of tells us everything we need to know about him.
There is a name you've left off which I would definitely be considering this summer. Danny Welbeck. He could have a similar impact to Evans this season. A solid EPL professional, who knows the club and our values and who can play 12-18 games across all competitions next season to give others a break. Stylistically he's the right sort of striker that we need and he has the experience that he used to can help develop and improve a player like Højlund.
Others we maybe should look at would be Iheanacho from Leicester, Rabiot from Juventus and Marten De Roon from Atalanta.
Iheanacho is a creative forward who could be solid back up for Højlund.
Rabiot based on ability is surely a player we should sign, the only issue is his mum. He could be a smart signing though, he adds physically and technical ability to our midfield, while at 29 he'd be great for 2-3 years while Mainoo develops. Personally I think we need a couple of signings in midfield and someone like Rabiot alongside another midfield signing makes sense.
De Roon could be an alternative, but at 33 he'd likely be a one season option only.
If we signed Adarabioyo, Rabiot and Welbeck on free transfers, Meret too if he'd be happy to sign as back up, that would give us some better squad options and might allow us to focus more of the spending on aop quality CB, a top class CDM and maybe a winger and full back. Then great.
12 May 2024 09:17:59
Following Fiorentina closely I’ve seen a lot of Jovic including in the flesh. He struggled to pin down the starting role there, barely scoring any goals in a season that led to a European final.
He barely starts for Milan with most appearances coming from the bench. In fact he’s only had 1 good season in his entire career and that was for Eintracht Frankfurt. That was a one-off that put him on the map.
I said Amrabat would be an unspectacular signing, I think Jovic would be worse. Even as a backup to Hojlund.
12 May 2024 09:30:17
Shappy,
You’ve lost the plot, how in the world would Danny Welbeck improve us? I can just imagine the reaction.
Tosin looks a good player every time I see him, would be a good signing I think.
12 May 2024 09:37:42
Re Spurs. Graham Potter was watching Spurs vs Burnley yesterday.
12 May 2024 10:41:13
GtS, Welbeck has 20 league starts and 7 sub appearances for a Brighton side that boast João Pedro (17 starts, 12 subs) and Evan Ferguson (15 starts and 12 subs) as striker options.
He's a very complete forward who can run the channels, or drop deep and link play. He's very good at creating space and chances for his teammates. He's also a local lad and former academy player, someone who knows the club and the league and could come in and make 15-20 starts next season to allow Højlund time to rest. While he can also pass that experience on to the young lad. While not being a player who will block the development of the 70m, 21 year old Dane.
If we are looking to sign a player with a similar skillset and profile who is 5-6 years younger then we'd be looking to pay between 30-50m in today's market. While they are unlikely to be EPL proven, which increase their likelihood of flopping.
If we are looking bat signing a back up striker to rotate with Højlund (which given how much we have spent on him and the need to spend elsewhere in the squad seems the best course of action) then we want to make sure we aren't committing a large proportion of our budget to buying someone to sit on the bench, especially when that means there will be players not good enough in our starting line up in other positions.
Signing Welbeck would only be a short term solution for the next season or two at most. But it means we can delay spending a large sum of money on a player to sit on the bench at a time where we need to make sure we get the absolute most out of every pound we spend.
As for how does Welbeck improve us? He's better than any current back up options we have to Højlund at centre forward. Ergo he improves us.
12 May 2024 10:41:27
Tosin for me is a no brainer.
12 May 2024 13:37:45
Hang on… Wellbeck?
12 May 2024 18:46:36
I always liked Ndidi. Surprised he didn't get a move when Leicester went down. Maybe that says something ?♂️.
12 May 2024 20:32:43
Not saying any of them are the specific answer, but we will likely need a few stop gap players as we continue the process. A lot of what we have currently is not fit for purpose, some of these can't be any worse, and on a free.