The Arms (Errr, Legs) Race: 2022 Summer Transfer Window

the1andonly3003

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The early returns for Chelsea’s new ownership are not looking great. Pulisic never should have gone there but getting out this summer could be a blessing for him and the USMNT.

I have no idea why Chelsea are spending the summer chasing wingers when they already had some quality there and have massive gaps in their back line with an aging midfield
Chelsea will pay City a ton for Nathan Ake

I'm going to take a nap until the final week of July when I need to put together my FPL team
 

teddykgb

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Chelsea will pay City a ton for Nathan Ake

I'm going to take a nap until the final week of July when I need to put together my FPL team
At some point they’re gonna have FFP problems. They should be selling to buy but instead they’re loaning Lukaku and Ziyech and they’re not gonna get anything for players they haven’t sold but have already replaced. They’re welcome to buy Ake at an appropriate price but I wonder how they can afford it
 

67YAZ

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The hot rumour is that Chelsea have offered Pulisic or Werner plus £34m for de Ligt…but Juve laughed and asked for £84m in cash. But the idea of McKennie & Pulisic playing together!

I really don’t know where Pulisic goes unless Chelsea sell at a steep loss and Christian takes a big pay cut from a reported £150k/week. With his USMNT slot firmly locked in, Pulisic is going to “stay and fight for his position” at Chelsea until next summer, when he enters into the last year of his deal.
 

Mighty Joe Young

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The hot rumour is that Chelsea have offered Pulisic or Werner plus £34m for de Ligt…but Juve laughed and asked for £84m in cash. But the idea of McKennie & Pulisic playing together!

I really don’t know where Pulisic goes unless Chelsea sell at a steep loss and Christian takes a big pay cut from a reported £150k/week. With his USMNT slot firmly locked in, Pulisic is going to “stay and fight for his position” at Chelsea until next summer, when he enters into the last year of his deal.
Klopp has always been an admirer, but it’s unlikely Chelsea would sell him to Liverpool. And I‘m not sure where he’d play anyways. Maybe he’ll go back to Germany?
 

teddykgb

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I like the idea of Serie A but not Juve. He’s got to go somewhere where he can play every week he’s fit and get back in a strong rhythm. That Atalanta/Fiorentina/Lazio/Roma group could really allow him to push on
 

67YAZ

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I like the idea of Serie A but not Juve. He’s got to go somewhere where he can play every week he’s fit and get back in a strong rhythm. That Atalanta/Fiorentina/Lazio/Roma group could really allow him to push on
Roma? Jose?!? Noooooo!!!

I don’t know how accurate capology is, but they have detailed Serie A wage data. Top earners (per week):

Atalanta - Demiral £61k
Fiorentina - Milenkovic £77k
Lazio - Immobile £122k
Roma - Pellegrini £122k (Tammy Abraham is next at £92k)
Napoli - Koulibaly £186k

Koulibaly is the high paid player outside the Juve/Inter/Milan triumvirate. Next highest is Mertens at £138. So maybe Napoli now that Insigne is a maple leaf? But still, Pulisic is going to have to temper his wage demands, maybe sign a 3 year deal and look for a huge bounce at age 26?
 
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OCST

Sunny von Bulow
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The hot rumour is that Chelsea have offered Pulisic or Werner plus £34m for de Ligt…but Juve laughed and asked for £84m in cash. But the idea of McKennie & Pulisic playing together!

I really don’t know where Pulisic goes unless Chelsea sell at a steep loss and Christian takes a big pay cut from a reported £150k/week. With his USMNT slot firmly locked in, Pulisic is going to “stay and fight for his position” at Chelsea until next summer, when he enters into the last year of his deal.
Lampard is supposedly whispering into the ears of some of the youts he coached up at Chelsea. With Evertons historic affinity for American players this rumor has some legs.
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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At some point they’re gonna have FFP problems. They should be selling to buy but instead they’re loaning Lukaku and Ziyech and they’re not gonna get anything for players they haven’t sold but have already replaced. They’re welcome to buy Ake at an appropriate price but I wonder how they can afford it
UEFA is in the process of turning FFP into even more of a joke than it already was.

This is a useful tweet thread on the changes, with this the most important piece.

View: https://twitter.com/SwissRamble/status/1541305073480900608
 

67YAZ

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Lampard is supposedly whispering into the ears of some of the youts he coached up at Chelsea. With Evertons historic affinity for American players this rumor has some legs.
That’s a good shout…but will the club’s sale hold up big ticket moves?
 
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Sunny von Bulow
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That’s a good shout…but will the club’s sale hold up big ticket moves?
if anything it would help although FFP doesn’t care who the owner is and that’s the limitation. On July 1 several big contracts come off the books so there is some room to spend.

Moshiri has blown so much cash on bad buys (The Athletic):

In the past six years, Goodison has become the place where fading stars and nearly-men have gone to pick up the best wages of their careers. Or, at the very least, contracts they would not have got anywhere else at that time.
he seems to have lost the stomach for it.

or, to look more closely, he’s always been a front for Alisher Usmanov, an oligarch and a sponsor. Since Usmanov is now persona non grata and the club have severed ties, Moshiri lacks his source of funds - he’s rich but Usmanov is out of this world wealthy.
 

OCST

Sunny von Bulow
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With Chelsea tying up Raph, Richy to Spurs is almost certain, though supposedly Everton have dug in on price - no one else is in on Richy at this time.

Lots of talk of Winks to Everton, which would depress me.
 

teddykgb

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Roma? Jose?!? Noooooo!!!

I don’t know how accurate capology is, but they have detailed Serie A wage data. Top earners (per week):

Atalanta - Demiral £61k
Fiorentina - Milenkovic £77k
Lazio - Immobile £122k
Roma - Pellegrini £122k (Tammy Abraham is next at £92k)
Napoli - Koulibaly £186k

Koulibaly is the high paid player outside the Juve/Inter/Milan triumvirate. Next highest is Mertens at £138. So maybe Napoli now that Insigne is a maple leaf? But still, Pulisic is going to have to temper his wage demands, maybe sign a 3 year deal and look for a huge bounce at age 26?
I think Roma could be great for him. He’s a very Hazard like player and Jose’s desire to defend in numbers and spring creative players on the break could really suit him.

Agree that he’d need to considerably reduce his wage. He really needs to play and I hope he’s learned that taking the money at a big club and being a rotational option is not worth the money. Chelsea was too big a jump too soon. Admire the confidence but he wasn’t exactly a first name on the team sheet guy at Dortmund it was a big ask to crack Chelsea’s lineup regularly. He’s probably played more than I expected but I think he needs to focus on playing every week somewhere.

UEFA is in the process of turning FFP into even more of a joke than it already was.

This is a useful tweet thread on the changes, with this the most important piece.

View: https://twitter.com/SwissRamble/status/1541305073480900608
This I’m well read in but haven’t made a thread about because I’ll just be repeating myself. It’s a complete farce and only cements the idea that the board room and sponsorships are the real sport now and that the big clubs have won in cementing a system where only they can spend. It’s a terrible system that should not have been perpetuated. I’ll have none of Tebas’/Bayern/other whining about City until these clubs start proposing salary cap/luxury tax approaches that actually attempts to level the playing field.

What’s hard to understand is Chelsea’s finances post sale and what kind of money is available for them to spend this summer. Updated FFP will be harder for them as stadium costs would now be included and Chelsea have been trying to do something in that space for years. I have no idea if Chelsea are now considered a “well run club” after their debt was magically wiped away. They’ve lost players on free transfers which doesn’t help build a transfer budget year to year and spending 60million on Raphinha is a big chunk when you still need to buy defenders who are expensive. Then linked to Sterling and Ake who will cost 100m and it seems like they’re just all over the shop
 

candylandriots

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Looks like Palace finally got their man in Chieck Doucoure from Lens. I don’t know much about Ligue 1, but this looks pretty interesting for £20 million-ish. I guess he’ll be filling the Milivojevic or maybe Kouyate role.

How Cheick Doucouré ranks among Ligue 1 Midfielders:

Tackles Won: 3rd
Successful Pressures %: 3rd
Interceptions: 4th
Progressive Passes: 4th
Progressive Carries: 3rd
Successful Dribbles: 5th
View: https://twitter.com/cpfc_xtra/status/1542258295548919808?s=21&t=KM0jHvsMYp5YX4TKLpViQQ



They also picked up Malcolm Ebiowei from Derby (with Ebiowei turning down ManU in favor of Palace), continuing Dougie Freedman’s youth movement in South London.
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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They’ve lost players on free transfers which doesn’t help build a transfer budget year to year and spending 60million on Raphinha is a big chunk when you still need to buy defenders who are expensive. Then linked to Sterling and Ake who will cost 100m and it seems like they’re just all over the shop
Marina, Buck, and Cech have all been shown the door. It feels a bit like a Tuchel power play in that he's the only one left with any football knowledge and surely Boehly is taking his cues from there.

The biggest danger of giving the manager total control over transfers is that, unless you have a true long termer in the seat, the manager's time horizon tends to be very short. Spending 150m on Raphinha, Sterling, and Ake seems like a play by Tuchel to raise the team's level immediately in order to try to challenge next season, with little concern for what those players are contributing three years from now or how it affects finances down the line. Boehly may be happy to go along because he doesn't really know the sport and he also wants to show the Chelsea fans that there won't be an immediate dropoff after Roman.

Anyway, that's the best explanation I can come up with.
 

the1andonly3003

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With Chelsea tying up Raph, Richy to Spurs is almost certain, though supposedly Everton have dug in on price - no one else is in on Richy at this time.

Lots of talk of Winks to Everton, which would depress me.
it feels like Frank is in a race vs Pep to collect as many midfielders as possible

Marina, Buck, and Cech have all been shown the door. It feels a bit like a Tuchel power play in that he's the only one left with any football knowledge and surely Boehly is taking his cues from there.

The biggest danger of giving the manager total control over transfers is that, unless you have a true long termer in the seat, the manager's time horizon tends to be very short. Spending 150m on Raphinha, Sterling, and Ake seems like a play by Tuchel to raise the team's level immediately in order to try to challenge next season, with little concern for what those players are contributing three years from now or how it affects finances down the line. Boehly may be happy to go along because he doesn't really know the sport and he also wants to show the Chelsea fans that there won't be an immediate dropoff after Roman.

Anyway, that's the best explanation I can come up with.
these moves are in the "glad the team you root for didn't make them"


In addition to Richarlison it appears Lenglet is close.

how will they actually fit?
 

OCST

Sunny von Bulow
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Chelsea have enough good players to finish in a CL spot but I don't really see how that collection of attackers works together... ask me to make a formation and I'd (shrug emoji)
 

OCST

Sunny von Bulow
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This is going to hurt. My Richarlison-throwing-a-smoke-bomb T-shirt is coming in a couple of days, before the Everton-Arsenal game in Baltimore.

He said he was going to keep us up and he did. He played his heart out for us. He has the song the fans made for him tattooed on his neck. But he wants CL football and we were moving backwards. He deserves the move and I will always root for him.

I'm not at all happy with Winks. This kind of Sky-Six castoff, has-been or nearly-man, on a salary that allows little or no resale value- that's been Everton's jam, from Sigurdsson to Schneiderlin to Delph to Walcott to Iwobi to Dele. Now Iwobi came good toward the end of last season and Dele showed that he might have something, but still, fuck me. I'd rather be going after players with upside from smaller clubs.
 

OCST

Sunny von Bulow
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I know you’re already a sympathizer, but you can still make a full switch to South London ;) Come join me and @Mr Jums
Palace doing good business and I always love their kits. Since London Calling is my jam I’d gladly adopt the Brixton club as my side piece. But these Mersey bastards goth their hooks into me, so.
 

DJnVa

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how will they actually fit?
Bring in talent for Conte and let him figure it out.

https://www.bbc.com/sport/articles/cmje7300rrpo
"I know Son is going to start every game, but with Champions League football, if you bring in someone like Richarlison he can play left of the three, he can play right of the three because he is energetic, he is determined. Then he can play down the middle in the place of Harry Kane if you are changing it up.

https://www.whoscored.com/Articles/8ChOCosb0ku7_RM6W6NgpQ/Show/The-reasoning-behind-Tottenhams-reported-interest-in-Everton-star-Richarlison
What stands out most about Richarlison is his versatility on the frontline. Able to play on either flank or through the middle, the Brazilian's adaptability in the final third would afford Conte additional tactical flexibility. In his 28 league starts last season, Richarlison started six times on the left and 22 times through the middle, three of which were in the number 10 role.
 

OCST

Sunny von Bulow
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He’s best on the left which is why I thought Spurs wasn’t the best fit, his heat map is on top of Son’s. Not a classic 9, doesn’t hold up very well, but loves running at goal. And he works his ass off, between the drama.

:(
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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Per Transfermarkt at least, Richarlison has only played 33 career games on the right and hasn’t been all that productive when doing so (7 goals, 2 assists). I imagine he backs up both Kane and Son while Lucas rotates in for Kulu on the right.

I think he’ll be a very good Conte player in this system and role. But I don’t see him as a piece to build around in the longer term post-Kane/Son future.
 

OCST

Sunny von Bulow
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Per Transfermarkt at least, Richarlison has only played 33 career games on the right and hasn’t been all that productive when doing so (7 goals, 2 assists). I imagine he backs up both Kane and Son while Lucas rotates in for Kulu on the right.

I think he’ll be a very good Conte player in this system and role. But I don’t see him as a piece to build around in the longer term post-Kane/Son future.
I agree. He's a player who gets significant action but not week-in-week-out 90 minutes for a CL-quality side. He could be a Vardy, aka the talisman, the beating heart of an aspirational club (crying emoji) but if you're looking 4-5 years down the road he's not THE guy.
 

SocrManiac

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Reading the news, TIL Richarlison is 25 years old. I'm not sure what I expected, but I had him pegged a lot older. He already moves with a lot of long strides and doesn't have great acceleration. He might not age particularly well.
 

DJnVa

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I agree. He's a player who gets significant action but not week-in-week-out 90 minutes for a CL-quality side. He could be a Vardy, aka the talisman, the beating heart of an aspirational club (crying emoji) but if you're looking 4-5 years down the road he's not THE guy.
To be honest, I'm not sure any Spurs fan here was thinking that he would be.
 

67YAZ

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I suspect Richarlison is going to get a lot of run down the middle to rotate Kane. ‘Arry has put in over 8000 minutes the past 2 years between Spurs and England - about 4500 in the last calendar year. Now there’s UCL football plus Southgate is going to ride Kane as far as possible in Qatar.
 

DJnVa

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Chelsea tried to highjack the move at last minute, but Spurs pushed it through.
 

Mighty Joe Young

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Chelsea tried to highjack the move at last minute, but Spurs pushed it through.
So …. Is this going to be Chelsea’s MO under the new regime? Batting their eyelids at every shiny bauble who might be available. They’ve been linked with Renaldo, Raphinia, Sterling and Richarlison. Meanwhile dumping their own shiny baubles. (Lukaku, Pulisic, Ziyach and Werner are all rumoured to be on the way out)

And completely ignoring the major weaknesses in the team .. namely CBs (losing Ruddiger is huge, not to mention Christiansen) and their mid field is hurt all the time.
 

SocrManiac

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So …. Is this going to be Chelsea’s MO under the new regime? Batting their eyelids at every shiny bauble who might be available. They’ve been linked with Renaldo, Raphinia, Sterling and Richarlison. Meanwhile dumping their own shiny baubles. (Lukaku, Pulisic, Ziyach and Werner are all rumoured to be on the way out)

And completely ignoring the major weaknesses in the team .. namely CBs (losing Ruddiger is huge, not to mention Christiansen) and their mid field is hurt all the time.
Further, it seems odd that they haven't been linked to Neymar. It seems clear at this point that PSG want rid of him. Is he really that toxic?
 

candylandriots

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Surprised @candylandriots hasn't updated us on this; Pefok is going to Union Berlin. Seems to be a pretty good move for USMNT ambitions, going to a solid Bundesliga side after leading the Swiss League in goals:

View: https://twitter.com/fcunion_en/status/1542515493042499585
Wow - I actually hadn’t heard this yet! I’m excited by the news. Union’s manager, Urs Fischer, is Swiss and played and coached in the Swiss league, so hopefully he’s got good intel on Pefok. My first game at Stadion an der alten Försterei featured a brace from Bobby Wood, who was a fan favorite. Hopefully Pefok can have some similar success. Can’t wait for the new season to start.
 

coremiller

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Further, it seems odd that they haven't been linked to Neymar. It seems clear at this point that PSG want rid of him. Is he really that toxic?
Neymar's contract at PSG is supposedly something like 700k euros/week just in wages (not including other bonuses, etc.). Nobody else is going to pay him like that.
 

SocrManiac

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Neymar's contract at PSG is supposedly something like 700k euros/week just in wages (not including other bonuses, etc.). Nobody else is going to pay him like that.
I’d assume we’re talking about a loan that includes PSG paying a fair amount of his wages.

Juventus have been linked to him as well. There isn’t enough “nope” in the world.

Speaking of Juventus, Pogba should be announced in July, and probably Di Maria as well. If anybody can get something out of Pogba, it’ll be Allegri, so I’m fine there. Di Maria’s ugly side is too ugly for me to want him wearing black and white. I hope that falls through.
 

candylandriots

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Wow - I actually hadn’t heard this yet! I’m excited by the news. Union’s manager, Urs Fischer, is Swiss and played and coached in the Swiss league, so hopefully he’s got good intel on Pefok. My first game at Stadion an der alten Försterei featured a brace from Bobby Wood, who was a fan favorite. Hopefully Pefok can have some similar success. Can’t wait for the new season to start.
I’m somewhat less excited (I leave for a couple days and…) about this deal now that I know it’s to replace, rather than supplement, Taiwo Awoniyi — who went to Nottingham Forest for £17 million. Not bad considering they bought him for around £5 million from Liverpool, but frustrating all the same. But damn if this doesn’t underscore the differences between the haves and have-nots. Awoniyi was Union’s largest ever transfer in at £5mm, and they couldn’t hold onto him even with Europa League football for Union vs a likely relegation battle with Forest.
 

67YAZ

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I’m somewhat less excited (I leave for a couple days and…) about this deal now that I know it’s to replace, rather than supplement, Taiwo Awoniyi — who went to Nottingham Forest for £17 million. Not bad considering they bought him for around £5 million from Liverpool, but frustrating all the same. But damn if this doesn’t underscore the differences between the haves and have-nots. Awoniyi was Union’s largest ever transfer in at £5mm, and they couldn’t hold onto him even with Europa League football for Union vs a likely relegation battle with Forest.
Ive read it was a release clause, so not much they could to stop him now.
 

Kliq

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On the plus side, he managed to play in more than half of his teams' games for the first first time in four seasons.

I've always found Neymar spectacularly overrated; he was very good when he played with Messi and Suarez but has been pretty unreliable since coming to PSG, and that was five years ago now.
 

Mighty Joe Young

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On the plus side, he managed to play in more than half of his teams' games for the first first time in four seasons.

I've always found Neymar spectacularly overrated; he was very good when he played with Messi and Suarez but has been pretty unreliable since coming to PSG, and that was five years ago now.
I suppose it’s the small sample size … just International and CL appearances for me ..l but I never understood what the fuss was. Spectacularly overrated indeed.
 

Kliq

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I suppose it’s the small sample size … just International and CL appearances for me ..l but I never understood what the fuss was. Spectacularly overrated indeed.
He's really talented, he's Brazilian, he played for Barcelona when they are awesome, and he had a huge Nike deal.
 

67YAZ

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I suppose it’s the small sample size … just International and CL appearances for me ..l but I never understood what the fuss was. Spectacularly overrated indeed.
An insightful piece I read years back pointed out that by the time Neymar was 17, he was already being touted as the next Messi/Ronaldo and bearer of the great Brazilian striker mantle. And he started to act like it with large entourages, celebrity-seeking moves, designer haircuts and clothes…all the dazzle blinded people to the actual football player. He’s a great, great player when healthy and not flopping about. But he’s never been as good as the public image, and that’s what pissed people off.