03 Mar 2023 09:11:17
See Barcelona are not allowed to make any transfer signings unless they raise over £170M in the summer. Wonder what this will mean for the De Jong situation? I'm sure ETH will want him again if possible and Barcelona will need to sell but will they be pushing for a big fee? Probably. Will they just stick with their current squad? Potentially. Either way I expect a bit of a De Jong saga this summer.

Part of me thinks move on, he had his chance but ETH clearly rates him and wants him and the thought of pairing him with Casemiro is exciting and who are we to question ETH. I just hope it doesn't drag on to long and we miss out on other potential targets.

1.) 03 Mar 2023
03 Mar 2023 09:39:02
If that’s the case I think this time around United may be a more attractive proposition for FDJ. We should be in CL and have won a trophy/ trophies and he may be the one they’ll be happy to cash in on again like before. Did FDJ ever get his deferred wages? Did he take a pay cut?

2.) 03 Mar 2023
03 Mar 2023 10:37:48
It sounds like they are not in as bad a situation as they were last year and can buy 40% of there sales once they reach a level. I think they have quite a few players they also would be happy to move on and even if they don't there squad is decent and could cope with a transfer window of no purchases.
That being said, if there is a chance of FdJ and EtH still wants him I say we go for it but state that it needs to be done one way or the other by mid July, if not we move onto second choice. A midfield pairing of FdJ/ Cassimero with Fenandes ahead of them would be brilliant. Fred/ Ericsson and Sabitzer (if we can also bring him in permanently) as rotation with Mainoo/ Iqbal/ Savage as youth players coming through.
Sell McTominy and Van De Beek and the Midfield will have been transformed.

3.) 03 Mar 2023
03 Mar 2023 10:54:26
Tebas said the exact same thing last year about them and they signed a fair few players.

De Jongs dream club is Barcelona. He had no intention to leave them when their future was in the balance. Now they're odds on to win a league and Cup double. I don't see why he leaves yet.

If Ten Hag is targeting him, hopefully we know fairly soon if he's keen to join, otherwise onto the next player on the list. We'll need or reinforcements in early in the window to get off to a good start next season.

4.) 03 Mar 2023
03 Mar 2023 12:40:45
Watched him against us. He did ok but by no means dominated midfield and that's the type of player we need a Keane type of figure who drives the team on. Henderson is not the most talented but he has been central to Liverpools success and City have had several such players.

5.) 03 Mar 2023
03 Mar 2023 13:53:06
Salford I think eth is better positioned to know what we need.
I think he knows what and who he wants. Let's hope we get them.

6.) 03 Mar 2023
03 Mar 2023 16:17:42
His first half performance at OT was the best midfield performance I’ve seen against us this season, he was brilliant, can see exactly why ETH wants him. Not as good 2nd half but we were a lot better.

7.) 03 Mar 2023
03 Mar 2023 16:56:06
If we can get FDJ or Bruno Guimaraes (my preference), add Sabitzer, then we'd be pretty much complete in midfield imo for now.

8.) 03 Mar 2023
03 Mar 2023 21:28:46
Why on earth would be back in for De Jong?
Agreed a deal and he chose not to join us. Move on!

9.) 04 Mar 2023
04 Mar 2023 07:59:03
Think we need cover for Casameiro also, hence Rice at a decent price.

10.) 04 Mar 2023
04 Mar 2023 08:18:06
Sabitzer as a good squad player and Rice or FDJ would be very interesting indeed.

Add a striker, and we’d be looking at an excellent summer window.

GK needs addressing either way. Decisions on DDG and Henderson are key. Ed - has the club made a decision on that position yet please if you have any insights?

11.) 04 Mar 2023
04 Mar 2023 09:41:19
As I see it we currently have Casemiro and Eriksen as permanent players who are good enough, however both turn 31 this season.

McTominay and Donny just aren't good enough, while Fred has his uses he shouldn't be a regular starter.

We have a couple of good young players coming through with the likes of Hannibal and particularly Mainoo. Yet these lads probably aren't ready yet to make 25-30 appearances across a season for us.

If it were up to me I'd sell both McTominay and Donny in the summer, then buy two new midfielders. I wouldn't be against Sabitzer being one of them, I think he's done well and will really come into his own over the next month or so as he starts to play regularly with Casemiro. The second should be a more defensive option. Rice wouldn't be an awful option. I think he currently works best more as a No.8 which he could do alongside Casemiro when we need to be more defensively solid. While longer term he could develop into a holding No.6 to replace Casemiro a few years down the line, and cover there as and when in the meantime. He's also a leader, great character to have and is a home-grown player.

Fred I'm on the fence about, either keep him another year and send Mainoo out on loan for a season or let him leave and keep Mainoo around the first team.

In an ideal world if we start next season with Casemiro, Rice, Sabitzer, Eriksen and one of either Fred or Mainoo as our first team squad midfield options then I'd consider us to have one of the strongest midfields in the league.

12.) 04 Mar 2023
04 Mar 2023 12:42:25
Shappy.

In an ideal world, we'd get FdJ instead of Rice and, with Casemiro, Eriksen, Sabitzer, Fred and Mainoo, have one of the strongest midfield departments in the world.

13.) 04 Mar 2023
04 Mar 2023 14:02:44
Let's hope woggle. Rice would not be on the bottom of my list, he would not be on it at all.
Not sure that eth has any interest in him at all. I don't see why anybody would want to sign him particularly at the prices being talked about.
Unless we could do a straight swap for maguire then he would make decent back up to casimero to play a dozen games a season.

14.) 04 Mar 2023
04 Mar 2023 14:38:23
I was at the game on Wednesday and I wasn't particularly impressed with Rice. He's a nice and tidy player but doesn't offer enough going forward. I'm aware that's not his main role but I struggle to see the hype. Much better out there for the money that would be involved in getting him.

15.) 04 Mar 2023
04 Mar 2023 22:38:13
I think Rice is a much better player than we are seeing this season at West Ham. I'm not sure Moyes's style of play will really get the best out of him.

English players are always overpriced, but maybe as he'll be entering the final year of his contract in the summer he might be available for a more reasonable 50-70m price range.

I don't think we'd go for both FdJ and Sabitzer as they both play the same role (as the ball progressor) although in slight different ways. We only need one of them, however where we do need depth in midfield is for a ball winner. Casemiro is the obvious world class choice. However he is 31 and the drop off in quality behind him is stark, with McTominay and Fred. Neither of which can play as a holding ball winner.

Rice I think would be a good option, but there are plenty of other good options out there Caicedo from Brighton, or Romeo Lavia from Southampton could be a savvy signing if they get relegated. Both have EPL experience.

16.) 05 Mar 2023
05 Mar 2023 07:50:03
Mumbles, I live next door to their stadium, so I go to every home game. He's not it for me. Too much backwards and sidewards, hasn't got what would justify such a huge signing.

17.) 05 Mar 2023
05 Mar 2023 10:32:48
We don't know what FDJ is thinking, but it seems that he's very happy at Barca. A very good player, but if he's coming against his will, then stay well clear.

18.) 05 Mar 2023
05 Mar 2023 10:57:46
AAA, I tend to agree, very few players have moved against their will and excelled at their new club.

If he doesn't wan to come then we should find someone who does. Last summer FdJ didn't want to join, so we signed a slightly different player in Casemiro who did want to join us and he's been one of our best players.

We missed out on Ronaldinho and got Ronaldo instead.

It happens in football, supposedly Salah wasn't Klopp's first choice and he needed persuading.

There are other players out there, and I'm confident that under EtH we will sign the right ones who can come in and make a difference.

19.) 05 Mar 2023
05 Mar 2023 15:16:33
Rice is rubbish.

20.) 06 Mar 2023
06 Mar 2023 15:51:32
TBH redwhiskey, I don't think he is rubbish but there is better value out there. guimares defiately no and fdj could prove difficult and very costly at the expense of other positions, caicado at brighton would be my choice for midfield. We were woeful yesterday as a team, and lacked discipline and workrate above all else. The haters will be gloating today but we still are a work in progress with a trophy, cl spot at the moment and still in fa/ europa cups. Not all bad but the performance was made worse by it being against pool who tbf wanted it more and had a great day at the office.