Summer '21 transfer lunacy and overpayment

[I am invisible]

Totally, let's just clear him out and then it paves the way for more recruiting

Agreed. I still think this has to happen this summer - the player clearly wants out, we won’t get a better offer next summer (with or without an extension) and we need to free up non-HG spots in the squad before we can add any more foreign players. I still think this will happen, but it’s starting to look like it’ll be a late deal now, which really isn’t helpful.

I wonder if this might now force our hand with other sales, e.g. redouble efforts to move Torreira on (for the non-HG spot), and Willock and AMN for the money and wages? Seems clear that we can’t rely solely on Roma coming up with a suitable offer and need contingencies.

Also need to call it on Locatelli now - we’ve given it plenty of time and it’s not going anywhere. Pull the offer and move on.

[I am invisible]

Ffs, we’ve just signed a £50m player and all we’ve done is talk about Xhaka an a teenager we have on loan!

[dazthegooner]

Locatelli won't be coming here he wants to move to Juventus (though they are still pursuing with the plan for a European super league so champions league football hopefully will be taken away from them) so we have to forget about him.

[I am invisible]

Links to Guimarães sound far more likely - think that one could be doable if our interest is genuine.

[Mac76]

Ffs, we’ve just signed a £50m player and all we’ve done is talk about Xhaka an a teenager we have on loan!

I'll make my mind up on White when i see him play, don't really know much about him

As for Xhaka, getting rid of him will be of just as much benefit as signing a new player if not more, without him slowing play down and giving away FKs all over the place we'll be much better, as we were when he got put at LB

[dazthegooner]

People keep going on about how well he plays for the Swiss but international football is a lot slower (even slower with Southgate) so he looks more accomplished he's too slow for the premiership.

[Globalgunner]

People keep going on about how well he plays for the Swiss but international football is a lot slower (even slower with Southgate) so he looks more accomplished he's too slow for the premiership.

International football is also less tactical. Xhaka looks good when given space and time to be a quarterback receiving the ball under no pressure and delivering it to the front. He thrives on that. In the PL, there will be none of that. Soon as you put someone on him, stop him playing, he will lose it and double his customary single yellow card. All he will then be good for is recycling the ball between himself and the CB`s. Cant run, cant tackle, cant dribble, occasionally shoots well. Thanks Wenger

[I am invisible]

I'll make my mind up on White when i see him play, don't really know much about him

As for Xhaka, getting rid of him will be of just as much benefit as signing a new player if not more, without him slowing play down and giving away FKs all over the place we'll be much better, as we were when he got put at LB

This is quite a good write up on White if you’re interested…

https://www.skysports.com/football/n...l-artetas-side

Honestly, I think just having an agile CB pairing with the recovery pace to play high is going to solve a raft of midfield and attacking problems for us.

Agree about moving Xhaka on - his time here is done. If we believe Sassuolo’s president, and we’ve tabled a 40m bid for Locatelli, then you’d hope that means the money for his replacement is already there, and holding out for a higher fee is just about principle. Ultimately I think the Xhaka camp will win this one, though - it’s never a good idea to keep an unhappy player at a club, and (assuming he has no interest in a contract extension) then there’s no value in keeping him another year.

[I am invisible]

International football is also less tactical. Xhaka looks good when given space and time to be a quarterback receiving the ball under no pressure and delivering it to the front. He thrives on that. In the PL, there will be none of that. Soon as you put someone on him, stop him playing, he will lose it and double his customary single yellow card. All he will then be good for is recycling the ball between himself and the CB`s. Cant run, cant tackle, cant dribble, occasionally shoots well. Thanks Wenger

The problem with Xhaka isn’t the type of player he is or even his lack of physical pace - it’s his lack of agility and the amount of time he needs to pick out the perfect pass. He seems to need an age to line it up on his strongest foot and pick out his man, and if a pass isn’t on by the time he’s done that then he doesn’t have the ability to take the ball for a walk and go past a man to find a better angle - as you say, he’ll just turn and roll it back the CBs. It also gets him in no end of problems because he can’t evade a press - he’s very easily pressured and forced into errors.

I’ve seen a lot of concern over targeting players like Neves as his replacement purely because they’re a very similar profile of midfielder, but for me there’s some crucial differences there that would make it an upgrade. If you watch comps of the two of them, Xhaka’s long passing might be incredibly accurate, but it’s also very often played to a static player after the opposition have had ample chance to regroup - Neves, on the other hand plays those long passes much faster, and very often hits them at space instead of to feet so the target player has to attack it at speed. It’s riskier, and results in a lower passing accuracy, but it’s also far more dangerous and we need more of that.

(Not necessarily saying that Neves is the guy we should go after, btw - just that we shouldn’t discount that type of player just because Xhaka has a couple of catastrophic flaws that make him a timing tomb bomb).

[Mac76]

agreed Neves isn't perfect but defiinitely a big upgrade on Xhaka