02 Jul 2026 19:52:12
Who’s a bigger risk signing? Fernandez for £85M. Got relegated 2 seasons running and not selected for national side but is regarded as a player with potential. Or Baleba for let’s say £85M too. Proven in the Premier League but off the back of a poor season?
Personally, I think Baleba’s profile is what we need, athletic, physical. Would compliment Mainoo perfectly IMO.
02 Jul 2026 21:33:57
Last summer, I really wanted Baleba, Fernandez wasn't really that impressive. Baleba had a poor year. Fernandez was good, not great, certainly not at the level of Baleba in 24/25. Both are young.
I rather fancy Baleba had his head turned by United, then struggled to deal with the move falling through.
However, if last year was simply an off year, and Baleba returns to the level of 24/25 and is closer to 50 mill than 85, then I certainly won't be disappointed that we made that move.
Whilst, like everyone, I have preferences and opinions on players, I am not too bothered who we buy or if we get cheaper options or miss out on XYZ if the guys actually making the decisions get it right.
I am certainly not overly bothered by the players we have not got so far. Just looking forward to seeing who we do get and how they pan out.
{Ed001's Note - Baleba had an injury and never got a proper pre-season, which didn't help him.}
02 Jul 2026 22:19:51
Amen to that, Oakbark.
03 Jul 2026 00:55:42
I think we wanted Fernandes as a preference. No, I don't know. But it seems like he was the option chosen after Anderson. Now they are pivoting. Maybe it was Fernandes and baseball, I guess we will never know.
Salah was something like a 5th option for Liverpool when they bought him (if I remember right), and that turned out okay.
Just would prefer us to avoid using the press to say someone is top priority, then to lose out to a rival... which is what we did with Anderson.
Long window yet to go.
03 Jul 2026 07:19:48
I agree, Oakbark. The reason I asked is because I'm curious what people are actually more concerned about. Is it the player's profile itself, or is not paying the £85M price tag what's shaping people's opinions?
03 Jul 2026 09:28:04
Ports, we're not in a stable enough position to make a gamble on potential. Mateus Fernandes, I think, has excellent potential, but we need someone who can come in now. I think the board are looking at it like last summer - we need two "guarantees", and are happy to go for a third to speculate on.
Fernandes was to be this summer's Sesko, I think. But they didn't value that potential above 70M, so fair enough.
We're doing fine. We have Ederson in. People seem to completely ignore that, and he's a very good player.
03 Jul 2026 11:14:33
Is he a very good player... We have no idea how that will translate to the EPL and TBF. It's not exactly set the world alight. There was no queue for him either...
Hopefully he sets the world alight at OT.
03 Jul 2026 14:05:21
Yeah EPL is like a different sport.
But his style is high energy and very competitive, so I'm hoping he can make the transition better than others have done.
He has been good in Italy, like you say, we have to hope he can settle and adapt quickly.
I'm very hopeful that he will.
Could be a dark horse. Let's hope not another Fred.
03 Jul 2026 15:00:02
Fred is a great comparison for him, Ken. His technique is better, but that all-action style and slight lack of positional awareness is there. But a lot was asked of him in the Atalanta midfield, and at times he excelled.
No doubt he dropped off last year (on the few games I saw at least), but that was true of them as a whole, so I'm hoping he shows that was a blip.
03 Jul 2026 15:22:29
Atalanta have struggled, and they had a style of play change since Gasperini moved on. They all struggled last season.