He is, but with only domestic games to think about next year it feels borderline negligent to keep Laca and Auba, esp. as this is perhaps our last chance to cash in on Laca. Unfortunately it has to be him - the decision was made a year ago when we gave Auba his new deal. Unless someone takes Auba and his wages off our hands (or we have a lot more money than we know about) then it feels like we’ve already made our bed and we’re just going to have to lie in it...Originally Posted by Mac76
yes that's more or less what i meant about the circumstances, I realise we need to cash in now, it just means it's a shame we gave Auba that deal though i can see why we did.
you don't let a 30-goal a season striker go easily.
Auba's chucked away his later career though...
Yeah, I figured that's what you meant, but conversations are like gold dust atm, so I just wanted to keep it going
There has been talk of an option of a one year extension for Laca, but I don't really see the point? It'd just be delaying the inevitable by a year, and we'd lose another big chunk of his value as he moves into his 30s.
Plus is doesn't change the math of our situation next year: unless we go all the way in both cups, we're unlikely have enough games for the both of them next year, so what's the point? Extra expense and another missed opportunity to sell for the sake of a handful of games (which should probably be going to Balogun and Martinelli anyway).
Sounds like Neves is the bookies' favourite, atm.
Not sure if I buy into our rumoured interest in him / Bissouma / Berge / etc - all the noise is coming from outside the club on those ones. In fact, the only player I feel 100% confident in saying that we want is Ødegaard, and that's only because Arteta and Edu have basically said it - beyond that I haven't got a fucking clue who we might be after!
i'd be happy with Neves, he's a definite upgrade on Xhaka (not difficult obvs) and although i didn't realise he was more of a DM, that's what they're saying so i think that would be a good buy as he can also give you goals
Yeah, I'd be happy with Neves as *one of* the new CMs - would be a definite upgrade on Xhaka.
Very similar profile of player, but with a couple of crucial differences for me, namely his defensive stats are much better, he doesn't make the errors, he's more agile and better able to evade pressure (even if he's not blisteringly fast or powerful) and, most importantly, he moves the ball forward much, much faster! No pissing around taking half an hour to set it on his favourite foot while he picks out a safe pass - he just wins it and moves it. That results in a slightly lower passing accuracy than Xhaka's (although still good), but I could live with that if it means starting attacks quicker.
His rep for shooting from distance would also be really handy - even if he doesn't actually score that many, just the threat would be enough to pull defenders out.
I want us to go out and get a proper athlete in CM too, but I'd be OK with this if it was one of our moves.
Sounds like Xhaka’s move to Roma is at an advanced stage.
Never thought it'd happen.
Sounds like Xhaka’s move to Roma is at an advanced stage.
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