Barry
No Means Yes
Nice, I haven't got much to add. Aouar's passing range is very underrated because he's such a good dribbler with the ball. I'd still worry about how well he adapts to the league though.Not sure I agree about more pressing areas, I guess it depends. I've gone with €50m which I think is £42m(?). Hickey is rumoured to be €20m. So what would you use those extra €30m for. I'd take Kamara & Cucurella over Bissouma & Hickey for example. I'd take Núñez & Cucurella over Osimhen & Hickey (and I really want Osimhen over Núñez). I think that with Cucurella we get a top level LB. Someone who will have the same impact and give us a similar style of play as Robertson. I think that shouldn't be underestimated and the time to get him is now imo, which also plays a part.
Elneny has done a tremendous job and I'm someone who's actually rated him as a very reliable option. It wouldn't be the worst thing to extend for a year or so, but given that it's probably at least 3 years I really hope we see past recency bias. I wanted Guimaraes so I agree there, although I don't see him as an alternative for Partey, but rather Xhaka
Yeah I've wanted both. I think with Aouar if you look at his contribution this year he's mostly played in a defensive double pivot. He just has the technique and passing and flair I want. If Tielemans is more like Xhaka then Aouar is more akin to B. Silva and I'd take that any day.
Yeah I see Nelson as an enabler more than anything. He wouldn't really be the Saka sub, but rather the 6th man across the front three and he wouldn't play much even with European competition. The comment regarding him vs Pépé is based on the latter's declining form and total lack of interest.
Yeah this is the one where I struggle. I just like Nkunku that much I guess. He's just quality and have been for a long time wherever he's played. I'm not sure enough about Abraham or Nunez to rate them higher, but of course it'd be nice to have a different type of player as alternative to Jesus.
I guess it's regarding that the tricky part with Cucurella over Hickey comes in. Say we put the 30m difference towards Scamacca instead, sell Nelson and have a front 6 of Nkunku, ESR, Jesus, Scamacca, Sake, Martinelli. I honestly don't know then, but I think I feel it'd be a shame if we had Jesus and Scamacca blocking our two CF spots going into next summer...
And yeah, I was really opposed to Nunez, but in the end the numbers become hard to ignore and watching him play I just feel he's improving which would indicate that it's not a one off season and that he can improve enough to adapt to a more competitive league.
Very interesting reading respected views on the forum about our left back situation. I'm a bit surprised that so many people rate left back as a priority over Centre Mid, but can't argue with Cucurella - would be a quality signing even if he's expensive. Kamara could be a good free agent signing but by the time you've paid the "freemium" I'd rather spend a bit more on a player with experience in the league for this position...
And yeah, striker remains the biggest decision in some ways. Jesus is such an obvious choice to bring in but we're still likely to need more.
