Levy's Lament: The 2019 Summer Transfer Window Thread

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Sunny von Bulow
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Everton's window was fantastic until this. Agreed it's very unlike Brands to be caught without a plan B. It did look like he'd get some CB from Chelsea until Sideshow Bob decided to jump on the tube to the Emirates.

Glad that Rojo fell through. I'm confident in Mina despite his injury history, but if he goes down then we're awfully thin back there.

meh on Iwobi, but Iwobi on that kind of money as a make-do smells like an Allardyce acquisition.

Zaha was not worth the numbers being quoted. He's worth it to Palace because they likely go down without him. Not worth it to Everton.
 

SocrManiac

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Between injuries and red card suspensions, Rojo is only good for a quarter of the season at most, anyway.
 

Rusty Gate

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I'm OK with the 3rd and 4th options at CB being the young guys, Holgate and Gibson. I'd rather see what we have with them than overpay ManU to bring in a replacement level at best retread.
 

bosox4283

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Rumors are picking up that Barca is really working to bring back Neymar. Today's update includes the possibility of Coutinho headed to PSG. The idea of a line-up with Griezmann, Suarez, Messi, Neymar, and Dembele sounds electric.

Meanwhile, Atletico seem on the verge of signing Rodrigo from Valencia, a move that will depend on Atletico selling Correa to Milan. While I like what Correa adds to the club, I do like the idea of having a solid and tested third striker along with Morata and Costa (who, incidentally, is already injured and will be out 15-20 days).
 

Zososoxfan

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Rumors are picking up that Barca is really working to bring back Neymar. Today's update includes the possibility of Coutinho headed to PSG. The idea of a line-up with Griezmann, Suarez, Messi, Neymar, and Dembele sounds electric.

Meanwhile, Atletico seem on the verge of signing Rodrigo from Valencia, a move that will depend on Atletico selling Correa to Milan. While I like what Correa adds to the club, I do like the idea of having a solid and tested third striker along with Morata and Costa (who, incidentally, is already injured and will be out 15-20 days).
I don't think the deal gets done without at least one of Rakitic, Semedo, or Dembele going to PSG. That may be in addition to Coutinho, but perhaps not (Coutinho to Bayern has been rumored as well). To me, Semedo is the most untouchable of that group since he's got a much higher ceiling than Roberto and Wague is super promising, but untested. I'd also hate to see Rakitic or Dembele go. Rakitic is easily one of the best 4 MFs in the squad, but they do have a lot of bullets in the MF chamber (especially if Semedo is kept and Roberto becomes primarily a MF) and Dembele is still so young and skilled, I'd hate to give up on him this early. But, if Ney is brought back, a frontline of Ney, Messi, and Griezmann could harken a return to false 9 Messi. That system requires 2 speedy wingers comfortable cutting inside, which with Ney and Griezmann could be absolutely lethal. What would the opposing manager tell his CBs to do?? Not to mention that Suarez would be an outstanding alternative when the team wants to setup entirely differently. Of course none of that matters since EV will go with a conservative 4-2-3-1 when the stakes are highest, but I digress.
 

bosox4283

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Barca continues it's wild pursuit of Neymar. I guess that Barca has to try to make the move, but I really struggle to understand the long-term play here.
 

Zososoxfan

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Barca continues it's wild pursuit of Neymar. I guess that Barca has to try to make the move, but I really struggle to understand the long-term play here.
I agree, but playing devil's advocate, this makes a modicum of sense if you think that Suarez is no longer a world class striker (I don't think he is) and the short/medium-term future is Ney-Messi-Griez and the long-term future lies with Ney-X-X. Ney is 27, Griez is 28, Suarez is 32, and Messi is also 32. I'd say that Suarez and Ney are more dependent on their speed than Messi and Griez, but Ney should still have ~3 years as a top 5 attacker and even for a club like Barca it's hard to get your hands on those guys. I think Messi will age gracefully and he'll be allowed to play like a tresquartista through his mid 30s, but having Ney as his winger for the start of the process would help immensely.

Think about players comparable in quality and age (same or younger) to Ney--Mbappe, Sterling, Mane, Bernardo Silva, Jesus, Salah, and?? There's a tier of other guys who are close or still have some promise to grow into (e.g. Sane, Alli, Dybala, Kane, etc.), but really, you are talking about a very small list of players owned by megaclubs who will want 100M+ for any of those players. Having a player like Ney at a non-EPL/Bayern club with a strong desire to come is something that at least has to be considered.

That obviously leaves out Dembele, newcomer Perez, Rafinha, and other very talented guys on the squad in a bad spot, but if Barca can loan Dembele out for a season or two I don't think that would be the worst for his development.
 

Zososoxfan

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Smalling to Roma on loan for $3M. Very surprised by this as I thought he would be a first or maybe second choice CB. If I'm a United fan, I'd rather see Smalling than Rojo (gets a yellow card just hearing his name), Jones (so ugly), and about even with Bailly. Lindelöf didn't look good last match either, but overall just surprised by this move.
 

67YAZ

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Smalling to Roma on loan for $3M. Very surprised by this as I thought he would be a first or maybe second choice CB. If I'm a United fan, I'd rather see Smalling than Rojo (gets a yellow card just hearing his name), Jones (so ugly), and about even with Bailly. Lindelöf didn't look good last match either, but overall just surprised by this move.
That would seem to end their interest in Lovren. Roma have spent a lot and sold a lot this window, looks like they are at about break even in terms of fees before the Smalling deal. For a team dropping from the Champions League to the Europa qualifying stages, financial prudence is probably a necessity.
 

PedroSpecialK

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Škrtel has apparently asked for a move away from Atalanta after 3 weeks due to Gasperini’s training regimen. Atalanta trying to secure Simon Kjær from Sevilla as a replacement.

Also a few tweets about Icardi to Valencia and Rodrigo to Atlético. The former would be absolutely wild and completely out of the blue
 

bosox4283

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It’s rather exciting — or, perhaps, disappointing, depending on one’s point of view — that we might end this transfer window with four of the biggest names staying put: Neymar, Podga, Eriksen, and Icardi.
 

Mighty Joe Young

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Pep needs to just keep this on the inside. Man City crying poverty is about the lamest thing I've heard in any transfer window.

Man City had no money for a center back
Looks like Sane’s injury cost City the chance to sell him to Bayern from €100m+ .. maybe they needed that to balance the books .. especially with the FFP hearing looming over their heads.
 

Zososoxfan

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Rafinha was loaned from Barca to Celta for $15M Euro. Rafinha was actually one of Barca's best players during this bizarre opening to the season, so I was a bit surprised to see him go. But, with a glut of players in the MF it does make some sense to get some money for in-demand players. Alena is one of the biggest beneficiaries of this transfer since he's likely to get those minutes. No other Barca MF can provide incisive passing, finishing, along with the workrate required to be a true AMF. Nevertheless, this position is an afterthought on this squad and we're likely to see a lot of true 4-3-3 this season. Alena doesn't crack the top 4-5 of the MF (Busi, Rak, FDJ, Arthur, Vidal, Roberto) and may find some time on the wing perhaps (Dembele, Messi?, Griez, Perez, Fati(??)), but not likely.