The Ongoing Serie A, La Liga, All English Football, Champions League Thread - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Part 55

[Iceman]

Aye I'm the same, there's no way he can come back into the fold & I think EtH would have likely told the club that, he seems to have washed his hands of the situation & said it's the club/ceo/owners decision.



West Ham make improved bid for Man Utd defender worth £30m: West Ham also made a separate £30m bid for Scott McTominay which Man Utd have rejected



I also read earlier that apparently West Ham might have interest in Martial also, which would be just wonderful if we could flog all 3 of them. Whoever's rejecting these McTominay bids though is taking the piss.

West Ham and Utd could do a deal on a whole bunch of players. Should get a discount if purchasing 3 deadwood at once lol. Throw in Fred if they stump up for Maguire, McT and Martial.

 

[Iceman]

Amrabat would be a good signing, I'm all for another midfielder who brings something different. Even though I feel more confidence about Mount-Casemiro-Bruno than a lot of other fans, reality is that different games might require different gameplans and thats why you want depth and variety. Do I think this is a midfield that could be great in most PL games? Sure. But lets say we're going to Anfield or play City, I would gladly have another more physical player in there and just make adjustments.

But I feel like we already saw that last season. As good as we played in some games, the Eriksen-Casemiro-Bruno midfield got run over in some games.

Yeah, you need options for different games as well as quality depth compared to players who just fill in but don’t do an effective job. Can’t have your season’s momentum ruined every time Casemiro misses a few games. I think Amrabat would be a beast signing for the price he looks like he’d be available and Mount will at least give everything IMO to try and make this work. It’s good to have a bunch of midfielders who can do different things.

 

[B]

Even as someone who doesn't particularly rate McTominay, if players like Gallagher is rumored to be worth 40m I don't see why McTominay would be worth less. If you are planning to cash that check, it is a gamble to turn these bids down as I'm not sure West Ham would come back at 40-45, but I get the reasoning for thinking he is worth that. It seems like we're more keen to off load Fred, unfortunately the fees reported for him are in the 15-20m area which is a lot less.

It's subjective of course, but McTominay is 3 or 4 years older than Gallagher so it's unlikely he'll improve beyond what he currently is given he's entering what are typically 'peak' years. Gallagher still has a few years to grow before hitting the same age & IMO he's already better.

I also straight up don't rate McTominay at all which is, I'll happily admit, probably clouding my opinion. If we can get £40m for him, it's a fantastic piece of business I feel, but I'd already have crumbled & sold him at £30m which would have been good for me.

 

[Iceman]

Christopher Nkunku: Chelsea's new signing ruled out for 'extended period' after knee surgery

Want to see this dude asap. A blow for Chelsea if he’s out for a long time.

 

[Zantera]

It's subjective of course, but McTominay is 3 or 4 years older than Gallagher so it's unlikely he'll improve beyond what he currently is given he's entering what are typically 'peak' years. Gallagher still has a few years to grow before hitting the same age & IMO he's already better.

I also straight up don't rate McTominay at all which is, I'll happily admit, probably clouding my opinion. If we can get £40m for him, it's a fantastic piece of business I feel, but I'd already have crumbled & sold him at £30m which would have been good for me.

For me it's interesting to see just how much loans do for players value. Gallagher has looked average at Chelsea but he had a good loan at Palace and clubs seem very interested in him. McTominay has been fine for us for years - not good enough for where we want to be but he's also had some good games. I would argue he's shown more for us than Gallagher has for Chelsea.

Just makes you wonder if McTominay had a good loan at a bottom PL club if his value would be 10m higher somehow.

 

[Iceman]

It's subjective of course, but McTominay is 3 or 4 years older than Gallagher so it's unlikely he'll improve beyond what he currently is given he's entering what are typically 'peak' years. Gallagher still has a few years to grow before hitting the same age & IMO he's already better.

I also straight up don't rate McTominay at all which is, I'll happily admit, probably clouding my opinion. If we can get £40m for him, it's a fantastic piece of business I feel, but I'd already have crumbled & sold him at £30m which would have been good for me.

McTominay might be better at a club like West Ham. I don’t think he’s ever going to achieve whatever potential he has at Utd. I understand the need to negotiate a bit but if it ends with no sale at all then Utd will have blundered.

 

[BlackFox]

Manager leaving just before the season starts is never a good start...

Lopetegui leaves Wolves, O'Neil set to replace him

 

[Zantera]

Manager leaving just before the season starts is never a good start...

Lopetegui leaves Wolves, O'Neil set to replace him

New manager bounce against us? Feels like that happened to at least 5 teams last year.

 

[Iceman]

https://www.skysports.com/ipad/liveArticle/12476234?postid=6268556#liveblog-body
West Ham & Man Utd agree deal in principle for Maguire
West Ham United have an agreement in principle with Manchester United to sign defender Harry Maguire in a deal worth in the region of £30m.

Personal terms are now not expected to be a problem.

Still work to do on the details of his exit at United, but West Ham are now cautiously optimistic about completing the signing.

 

[Iceman]

Manchester City make £70million offer for West Ham star

(Paqueta)

Already lost Rice, Scamacca and Lanzini. This is going to be a very disrupted start to the season with all the comings and goings at West Ham (mostly goings).

 

[Iceman]

Tons of news this morning:

 

[Zantera]

Any predictions for top4/european spots or relegation?
I know transfers can strongly impact what happens but I'll stick my head out first and just throw out my thoughts that could prove to be very wrong.

1. Arsenal
2. Man City
3. Man Utd
4. Liverpool

For me Arsenal and City will battle it out again and while City will be considered favorites by most, I'm giving Arsenal a small edge not because of Community Shield but they have made 3 good signings and I'm thinking City could possibly face some issues with replacing some of the players that have gone, and also living up to last season. Following a treble isn't easy.

At this moment in time I feel like we should hold onto the third spot, hopefully better but there's also other teams that have heavily invested. 4th is very hard to predict, I think Liverpool, Chelsea and Spurs all look pretty solid at the moment but if Liverpool sorts their midfield (at least 1 more signing but maybe 2) I think they will be pushing hard to get back into CL. Could see a team like Aston Villa or even Brighton being around there sniffing as well. I'm not too worried about Newcastle after their signings, and the added pressure of having CL but if they can repeat last season they will also be around there.

For relegation I'm thinking something like this:

18. Bournemouth
19. Wolves
20. Sheffield United

Sheffield United for me just looks the most 'meh' out of the promoted teams. Just a gut feeling based on their squad and signings. But who knows, I could be proven wrong. I have a feeling Burnley will do well under Kompany and maybe have a season like Fulham did last year, surprising a lot of people and not really being part of the relegation discussion. Luton for me is a wildcard and I feel like they will either be the team to surprise everyone and stay up (kinda like Brentford) or they will just be in over their heads and finish dead last. I still think they will have a tough season but maybe finish 17th and have a memorable great escape ending to their season.

Wolves for me just look like an injured whale surrounded by sharks. They have lost some huge players (for them) this summer, replaced them with nothing and they just lost a good manager. Just feels like they will have a tough season, and I feel like it wont get any easier. With Bournemouth I could be proven very wrong but I'm going based on the second season usually being harder for teams than the first season. But based on my thoughts for who will go down, I would also consider Everton a possibility.

 

[BlackFox]

https://www.skysports.com/ipad/liveArticle/12476234?postid=6268556#liveblog-body
West Ham & Man Utd agree deal in principle for Maguire
West Ham United have an agreement in principle with Manchester United to sign defender Harry Maguire in a deal worth in the region of £30m.

Personal terms are now not expected to be a problem.

Still work to do on the details of his exit at United, but West Ham are now cautiously optimistic about completing the signing.

Best news all round to be honest for all parties. Glad he is gone now though, he had become a meme of a player for us and usually ended in disaster when he played at the back for us. He will go down as an expensive error on our behalf but we knew we overpaid when we bought him and it just never worked out. Felt like a player Jose wanted, Ole signed, Ralf was forced to use and ETH never wanted, some things are not his fault perhaps he just came at the wrong time or perhaps just isnt good enough probably a bit of truth in both, its telling for £30m nobody is really interested in him other than West Ham.

For Maguire its for the best, he will do a solid job for West Ham I expect and a fresh start will probably do him mentally the world of good and also gives him the best chance of keeping his England spot as he will be playing most weeks I assume, which would not have been the case with us and only made for bad vibes when he did have to come on.

For us it does leave a gap at the back though that needs filling as we will need cover with Varane always feeling like a ping of hamstring away from missing half the season, think we might have to do some more business now before the window closes and if we can get shot of some other deadwood that would be great, we still have plenty of others who would probably feature less than Mguire knocking about.

 

[BlackFox]

Tons of news this morning:

This and Maguire is actually pretty decent business for them, if they could get McTominay as well that would be a half decent summer for them considering they were always losing Rice this window.

 

[Zantera]

I think Maguire will be a good signing for Moyes-West Ham.

However, with his luck you will see Moyes sacked halfway through the season and West Ham goes for some young spanish manager who wants to play a high line and all of a sudden Maguire is exposed again.

 

[BlackFox]

New manager bounce against us? Feels like that happened to at least 5 teams last year.

Not sure he will be in place in time and to be honest Wolves have a lot of issues behind closed doors so Im not sure how positivity a new manager would bring alone.

Might be new season over excitement getting the better of me but I fancy us to get a winning start against them at home under the lights opening day. Might be the best time to play them before the new manager gets them organized.

 

[BlackFox]

Any predictions for top4/european spots or relegation?
I know transfers can strongly impact what happens but I'll stick my head out first and just throw out my thoughts that could prove to be very wrong.

1. Arsenal
2. Man City
3. Man Utd
4. Liverpool

For me Arsenal and City will battle it out again and while City will be considered favorites by most, I'm giving Arsenal a small edge not because of Community Shield but they have made 3 good signings and I'm thinking City could possibly face some issues with replacing some of the players that have gone, and also living up to last season. Following a treble isn't easy.

At this moment in time I feel like we should hold onto the third spot, hopefully better but there's also other teams that have heavily invested. 4th is very hard to predict, I think Liverpool, Chelsea and Spurs all look pretty solid at the moment but if Liverpool sorts their midfield (at least 1 more signing but maybe 2) I think they will be pushing hard to get back into CL. Could see a team like Aston Villa or even Brighton being around there sniffing as well. I'm not too worried about Newcastle after their signings, and the added pressure of having CL but if they can repeat last season they will also be around there.

For relegation I'm thinking something like this:

18. Bournemouth
19. Wolves
20. Sheffield United

Sheffield United for me just looks the most 'meh' out of the promoted teams. Just a gut feeling based on their squad and signings. But who knows, I could be proven wrong. I have a feeling Burnley will do well under Kompany and maybe have a season like Fulham did last year, surprising a lot of people and not really being part of the relegation discussion. Luton for me is a wildcard and I feel like they will either be the team to surprise everyone and stay up (kinda like Brentford) or they will just be in over their heads and finish dead last. I still think they will have a tough season but maybe finish 17th and have a memorable great escape ending to their season.

Wolves for me just look like an injured whale surrounded by sharks. They have lost some huge players (for them) this summer, replaced them with nothing and they just lost a good manager. Just feels like they will have a tough season, and I feel like it wont get any easier. With Bournemouth I could be proven very wrong but I'm going based on the second season usually being harder for teams than the first season. But based on my thoughts for who will go down, I would also consider Everton a possibility.

Top 4 is really tough to call this season, there so many unknowns going into this season especially for teams that underperformed last. Liverpool, Chelsea and Spurs its hard to see them all having bad seasons again but its hard to see other than Newcastle who drops out the top 4.

For us I worry about some of the major changes to key positions such as in goal and up top and with Mount I'm not sure how he fits in, I still think we make top 4 but possibly only just in fourth this time as I expect some teething issues with several new players and may take time to completely gel with the new additions and still think our fullbacks are a weak area we could get exploited on.

Liverpool I expect to do much better this season and Klopp will have them flying from the start this time round, they finished last season strong and pushed us and Newcastle all the way to top 4 so I can see them coming 2nd possibly even being City's biggest rivals. Arsenal might not reach the heights of last season but they still have a lot of quality now and I expect them to come 3rd this time out with CL football to contend with as well they might find the league a little tougher this time round. City will no doubt win the league again, they saw off Arsenal rather easily last time out in the end so I am not sure who can realistically stop them apart from Liverpool.

Chelsea will no doubt be a lot better than last season under Poch, they will fight for top 4 but might just come up short, along with Spurs, Villa and Newcastle who could really finish in any order.

As for going down I fear for Luton it will be a tough season despite them being everyone's second team this season for the nostalgia factor, Wolves are in a lot of issues already, I can see them slipping away and Fulham might struggle should they lose Mitrovic and Sheffield United will find it tough as well.

 

[Iceman]

https://www.skysports.com/ipad/liveArticle/12476234?postid=6271085#liveblog-body
Chelsea make £48m Lavia

 

[Zantera]

Setting aside Arsenal and City because they feel the most likely to get top4, looking at our rivals for top4 I think there's 'issues' at pretty much every club that could either prove to be big bumps or not much of a worry at all.

Liverpool - Don't have a working midfield as of right now. Clearly need at least one #6 if not two. Their 2 midfield signings are great but they have shipped out 6 (!) midfielders, with some pretty big names in the mix. If they get someone like Lavia done they will be fine I think but right now they don't even have DM?

Chelsea - Have looked good in pre-season but lots of new faces, lots of players and Poch really has a lot of work to do. Like many other teams before them with lots of new faces I think we might see some growing pains here and there, dropped points because everything isn't 100% yet.

Newcastle - Transfer window has been OK but aside from Tonali nothing special IMO. Kinda feels like signings they could have made even if they finished 9th last season and not 4th. I just have a feeling they overperformed last season and were greatly helped by other big teams having poor seasons, and while I think Newcastle will still be good, now you also have CL in the mix.

Spurs - I think having no european football will help them in the league and I think Spurs could have one of their better seasons in a while, but new manager who wants to do a 180 with the team tactically from the last few managers, also the questionmark around Kane, also how will the team adapt to playing attacking football?

 

[Iceman]

Tottenham & Bayern agree deal in principle for Kane

 

[Iceman]

Setting aside Arsenal and City because they feel the most likely to get top4, looking at our rivals for top4 I think there's 'issues' at pretty much every club that could either prove to be big bumps or not much of a worry at all.

Liverpool - Don't have a working midfield as of right now. Clearly need at least one #6 if not two. Their 2 midfield signings are great but they have shipped out 6 (!) midfielders, with some pretty big names in the mix. If they get someone like Lavia done they will be fine I think but right now they don't even have DM?

Chelsea - Have looked good in pre-season but lots of new faces, lots of players and Poch really has a lot of work to do. Like many other teams before them with lots of new faces I think we might see some growing pains here and there, dropped points because everything isn't 100% yet.

Newcastle - Transfer window has been OK but aside from Tonali nothing special IMO. Kinda feels like signings they could have made even if they finished 9th last season and not 4th. I just have a feeling they overperformed last season and were greatly helped by other big teams having poor seasons, and while I think Newcastle will still be good, now you also have CL in the mix.

Spurs - I think having no european football will help them in the league and I think Spurs could have one of their better seasons in a while, but new manager who wants to do a 180 with the team tactically from the last few managers, also the questionmark around Kane, also how will the team adapt to playing attacking football?

I expect Liverpool to fix their issue (even paying up if necessary) before the season starts and be a banker for top 4. I think Szoboslai (one of our earlier targets) will be very good for them.

I think 4th is Utd’s unless one of the other teams overperform current expectations. If/when Chelsea get going with all these new players they could become a machine and very hard to beat, but that is likely to take time and lead to a slow start for this season.

I think Newcastle will be decent again but that might not be enough this year if the other big teams are back. The few new signings should make up for some players not sustaining last season’s form but not leading to much of an improvement from that.

Spurs I expect to see definite functional improvements under the new manager but again those might take time to come into full effect. If Kane goes they will have a big job replacing those goals.

I think Villa are going to be in and amongst the wider Euro places at least. I’m very excited to see Moussa Diaby, another long time target of ours that we missed out on. They should also be more structurally solid this season, Emery is one of the best managers out there.

Brighton should be in the chasing pack while West Ham would need to spend the whole of the Rice budget and the existing summer transfer budget in the next few days on top quality bargains to have any chance of being at ECL level. And if they don’t they could be in for a battle at the other end of the table otherwise.

 

[BlackFox]

Tottenham & Bayern agree deal in principle for Kane

Feels like the transfer market is going into overdrive again, Fred now off to Fernabache it seems, not sure what that means for McTominay but lots moving about now, wonder what else is to come.

HUGE loss for Spurs if they lose Kane just before the season kicks off though.

 

[B]

Tottenham & Bayern agree deal in principle for Kane

If I was Kane, despite having no European football, I'd stay with Spurs & depending how the season goes ie if they qualify for Europe, I'd either sign a new deal at end of year or leave on a free to another English team, preferably obviously one that is competing for the title & in CL for final few years of his 'peak'.

Breaking Shearer's record would be more meaningful than going to Bayern to presumably win a few domestic German trophies, he'd have to win the CL for it to have been worth it given what he's on the cusp of doing individually. Not many people will be in line to break that record, Haaland maybe if he stays with City for several years & can replicate his form multiple seasons. Probably also dependant on Guardiola's future long term.

He's 48 goals away, by his typical form barring injury that's 2 seasons, maybe 3.

 

[Zantera]

Yeah it might sound weird but why go to Bayern? They're not a Real Madrid where you can go "Hey, good chance at CL" (even if there's a slim chance) and winning the Bundesliga with Bayern (who have won it about 10 times in a row without Kane in the team) must be as exciting as winning the Tiger Cup with Spurs in pre-season. It feels like it makes more sense to just stay in Spurs this season and depending on how things go, you have all your options open next summer.

I was also thinking about Liverpool how we focus on their midfield - and rightfully so. But I still think there's some question marks about their defense. Questions about VVD being finished or not have been floating around for 1 ½ year now and the other defenders aren't really putting much fright in other teams. Think VVD needs to find his old form again if Liverpool want to have a good season.

 

[B]

Yeah it might sound weird but why go to Bayern? They're not a Real Madrid where you can go "Hey, good chance at CL" (even if there's a slim chance) and winning the Bundesliga with Bayern (who have won it about 10 times in a row without Kane in the team) must be as exciting as winning the Tiger Cup with Spurs in pre-season. It feels like it makes more sense to just stay in Spurs this season and depending on how things go, you have all your options open next summer.

I was also thinking about Liverpool how we focus on their midfield - and rightfully so. But I still think there's some question marks about their defense. Questions about VVD being finished or not have been floating around for 1 ½ year now and the other defenders aren't really putting much fright in other teams. Think VVD needs to find his old form again if Liverpool want to have a good season.

For me it's a similar sort of thing, while Bayern are unquestionably almost always a good team & generally seem to do well in Europe, I think becoming the all-time leading Premier League goalscorer would possibly change/improve people's opinion of him more than potentially winning a few domestic titles in Germany. He might win a European trophy as Bayern always seem to be there, but I think that all-time top goalscorer would be more meaningful.

You think about how many greats have played in the Premier League & he'd have the potential to put his name right at the top of at least the statistical category. Who knows, if Spurs new manager works out as well as some believe you might end up picking up a trophy with Tottenham.. or alternatively leave next summer for free if things go to **** & cherry pick who you want to go to.

It's a shame United couldn't get him in some sort of money + Martial deal to sit in front of Hojlund for a year or two. But at almost £100m, he's too expensive considering his age.