Confirmed Transfers Thread 17/18

[Stevencc]

Lol we finally announced Bakayoko


After he's been winding everyone up on social media the past few days

Can we have Matić now?

 

[Relentless]

Can we have Matić now?

Honestly wouldn't be surprised if any emails you send to us with a bid for him we just reply with a photo of Bats and Bakayoko sticking their middle fingers up at the camera.

 

[JimJams]

Wenger wants Matic!

 

[JoshBCFC]

Lucas has gone to Lazio. Poor Bilo.

 

[Pagnell]

Great servant, will be missed. Think he still had something to offer myself but he probably wanted regular football and that couldn't be guaranteed. Good luck Lucas.

 

[Benji]

Looks to me like a good deal for everyone involved, except Bilo.

 

[HarvSFC]

Now Bill understands how I felt when his own club took Rickie Lambert away.

No sympathy from me.

 

[JimJams]

Can we delete the last set of posts and all pretend, for Bilos sake, that Lucas is still a Liverpool player? He'll probably play for them just as much anyway!
Do it for Beelo.

 

[SALTIRE]

Goodbye sweet prince, we shall miss you Lucas. God speed my friend.

 

[Nilsson]

Wow, a decade of service to Liverpool FC and 344 appearances. Kudos to the guy, that's some going in this day and age. I think we should take some time to digest everything he won during his time there.

• League Cup: 2011–12

Not bad!

 

[Bilo]

Lucas has gone to Lazio. Poor Bilo.

Looks to me like a good deal for everyone involved, except Bilo.

Can we delete the last set of posts and all pretend, for Bilos sake, that Lucas is still a Liverpool player? He'll probably play for them just as much anyway!
Do it for Beelo.

Now Bill understands how I felt when his own club took Rickie Lambert away.

No sympathy from me.

Fuck you.

Anyway guys I'm ok. I'm ok. I think the biggest problem is that I always start FM with no first window transfer budgets and I like a proper nr 6 so that will be a problem on FM18.

I'm ok. This is fine. I just want to say that. Good luck Lucas, Biglia won't be missed in Rome. I'm ok with this. It's fine.

 

[St. Juste]

A week in which Walker costs more than Bonucci is downright offensive to any football fan.

Like Stones, he really isn't that good and will be exposed when Man City play decent opposition in the Champions League. Ruthlessly so, I expect.

Excellent deal for Spurs, Trippier looks to have far more to his game.

 

[JimJams]

Do you think Juve would have sold Bonucci to a Premier league side for the same price?

 

[St. Juste]

Do you think Juve would have sold Bonucci to a Premier league side for the same price?

It certainly would benefit Juventus for him to not go to a rival Serie A team.

They probably would have paid more for him, but he has chosen not to leave due to his sons health. Which is fair enough.

 

[Bilo]

Jairo Riedewald confirmed for Palace.

Good signing all in all, he's versatile, left footed, and very good with his feet. The classic ball playing centre back who can do a job in midfield as well. He does like to take a risk though, sometimes very needlessly, and he's quite vulnerable in the air. At £8m it's safe enough though.

 

[mistermagic]

A week in which Walker costs more than Bonucci is downright offensive to any football fan.

Like Stones, he really isn't that good and will be exposed when Man City play decent opposition in the Champions League. Ruthlessly so, I expect.

Excellent deal for Spurs, Trippier looks to have far more to his game.

I'm gonna go out and say that I don't think you rate England players that much. Walker was in many experts' team of Euro '16.

 

[St. Juste]

I'm gonna go out and say that I don't think you rate England players that much. Walker was in many experts' team of Euro '16.

Which experts were these? This is a tournament where England won 1 game, and were knocked out by a nation of less than a 20th of their population?

If he made the team of the tournament, despite that, he must have been absolutely exceptional.

 

[Stevencc]

Wow, a decade of service to Liverpool FC and 344 appearances. Kudos to the guy, that's some going in this day and age. I think we should take some time to digest everything he won during his time there.

• League Cup: 2011–12

Not bad!

 

[AFCB_Mark]

I though Walker was by a country mile our best player at the Euros, but then the bar wasn't set particularly high. Walker goes to Man City replacing Bacary Sagna, France's RB at the tournament who City have released for free. Prefered to Jallet who himself isn't getting any younger.

I'm not sure you'd look at Southampton/Portugal's Cedric and say he was a particularly outstanding player despite winning the tournament. Spain had Juanfran but they were underwhelming and went no further than England. Italy's Damian only gets in Man United's team half the time. Decent player, but does he stand out when he does play? I'm not sure, would United fans take Walker in their side instead?

The official UEFA team of the tournament put Germany's Kimmich at RB and he's not even a defender, normally a midfielder for Bayern I believe (please correct me if I'm wrong). So who are the best right backs in Europe right now? Who is clearly better than Walker? I'm struggling, but please feel free to enlighten me.

 

[Bilo]

Spain's Carvajal. Thank you and goodnight.

 

[AFCB_Mark]

Spain's Carvajal. Thank you and goodnight.

Couldn't get in their Euro squad, Bellerin and Jaunfran preferred at the time.
Edit, I gather he was injured? Is he their best RB then? I guess we'll find out next summer...

 

[St. Juste]

Couldn't get in their Euro squad, Bellerin and Jaunfran preferred at the time.
Edit, I gather he was injured? Is he their best RB then? I guess we'll find out next summer...

Is this a serious question? There are plenty of right backs better than Kyle Walker. Dani Alves, a target for Man City as well, clearly being one.

The person who is replacing him at Spurs is a better player too.

Can you imagine how much, say, Micah Richards would have been worth 10 years ago? The mind boggles at these bang average defenders going for so much.

Looking back where did these defensive prodigies go? Anton Ferdinand, Joleon Lescott, Jack Rodwell (a Rio esque centre half apparently), Rolls-Royce Phil Jones, Luke Shaw, Nedeem Onuoha, Chris Smalling and Steven Caulker? It's astonishing when you consider back how highly rated all these rubbish players were. If they were around 20-22 now you can imagine one of the daft Manchester clubs would be spending big bucks on them (well, 5 were signed by Manchester clubs, none still in the first team).

 

[epic73]

5 were signed by Manchester clubs, none still in the first team

I'd say either Jones or Smalling will start next season, and Mourinho has said that he'll probably give Shaw a chance.

 

[Bilo]

Couldn't get in their Euro squad, Bellerin and Jaunfran preferred at the time.
Edit, I gather he was injured? Is he their best RB then? I guess we'll find out next summer...

Well in many ways Carvajal's proper breakout season was his most recent, obviously after the Euros. However I can't imagine anyone arguing any right back in the world has been better over the past 12 months. Some will always lazily question his defensive abilities just because he's very good going forward (it's amazing how this correlation never fails), but he's a very good defender and his touch is good enough to play anywhere across the field. Which he does, in many ways, since Zidane's full backs are anything but conventional.

That said, Walker is a good full back and there aren't too many of them out there.

 

[Renegade]

Couldn't get in their Euro squad, Bellerin and Jaunfran preferred at the time.
Edit, I gather he was injured? Is he their best RB then? I guess we'll find out next summer...

Pretty sure he was their first choice, I remember viewing their squad when it was announced before the Euros and Bellerin was third choice (he was a reserve). Carvajal was comfortably the best right back in Europe last season, though it's a pretty weak period for the position. There aren't any better options for City right now really, with Alves choosing to go to PSG and only having maybe a year left in him, it was their only choice. They need fullbacks and they very likely are going to have to pay a premium (£40+ million) for another one to play on the left flank.

 

[St. Juste]

I'd say either Jones or Smalling will start next season, and Mourinho has said that he'll probably give Shaw a chance.

Really? He didn't seem to rate either last year. Where do you think they will play? Bailly and Lindelof will surely be the first choice centre half pairing, with Valencia emerging as first choice right back too.

I don't see a spot for either of them, I'll be shocked if either makes 20 + league starts barring a serious injury to one of the above.

Either way "Rolls Royce" Phil Jones and "England LB for next ten years" Shaw have not reached the heights they were both tipped for. Because the heights were ludicrously ambitious at the time they were made. Stones will go through a similar chastening I would expect.

 

[Renegade]

Luke Shaw suffered a horrible injury after he started 15/16 in spectacular form (he was their best player until that PSV game), players often struggle the following season after such a serious injury. Not to mention that he's picked up various other niggles since, he's missed 92 competitive games in his short United career. He turned 22 last week...he's not in the Phil Jones category yet.

 

[St. Juste]

Luke Shaw suffered a horrible injury after he started 15/16 in spectacular form (he was their best player until that PSV game), players often struggle the following season after such a serious injury. Not to mention that he's picked up various other niggles since, he's missed 92 competitive games in his short United career. He turned 22 last week...he's not in the Phil Jones category yet.

I guess we will see, it doesn't bode well his last two managers have both singled him out for lack of fitness / application on his side.

But, yes, young players go through trials and tribulations following injury. I would suggest, it's not ideal they are signed for a large transfer value, given huge wages, and highly praised on how great they are before they have actually achieved anything. Shaw doesn't try that hard in training but, then, why would he? He's been a millionaire since 18. Indeed, when Shaw went to Man Utd at 19 Mourinho - then Chelsea manager - said if he paid Shaws wage demands it would have destroyed morale in the Chelsea dressing room and would have impacted on the financial fair play regulations.

 

[Renegade]

I guess we will see, it doesn't bode well his last two managers have both singled him out for lack of fitness / application on his side.

But, yes, young players go through trials and tribulations following injury. I would suggest, it's not ideal they are signed for a large transfer value, given huge wages, and highly praised on how great they are before they have actually achieved anything. Shaw doesn't try that hard in training but, then, why would he? He's been a millionaire since 18. Indeed, when Shaw went to Man Utd at 19 Mourinho - then Chelsea manager - said if he paid Shaws wage demands it would have destroyed morale in the Chelsea dressing room and would have impacted on the financial fair play regulations.

Time may prove you correct, it was disheartening to see Mourinho directing almost every single one of Shaw's actions on the pitch when he eventually did start a few games at the end of last season. I really do rate Shaw's talent, I haven't been as excited about any of United's recent purchases as much as I was about Shaw during the start of 15/16. He was fit, sharp, confident/instinctive, defensively sound and provided an attacking element to the position that has been sorely missed since peak Evra. Since he returned, he has looked fat (for a footballer obviously) and has lost a step. Lack of application can hopefully be scared out of the player when he see's he might have to step down to a mid-table club to rejuvenate his career. I think the injury absolutely buried his confidence.

 

[epic73]

Where do you think they will play?

Not sure, but based on previous seasons I'd say they might play centre back.

Bailly and Lindelof will surely be the first choice centre half pairing

I doubt they'll play all of the time, I think they're better but not by a large margin. There's also a large chance Lindelof will not do well, in which case Smalling will probably play.

Valencia emerging as first choice right back too.

When has he not been the first choice right back recently and when has Valencia playing right back decreases Shaw's chances of starting?