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

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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OCST said:
What’s going on with Gallagher anyway? I’ve heard little about him either going elsewhere or featuring for Chelsea in preseason.
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Chelsea seems intent on keeping him and he has been playing regularly for them in the pre-season matches.

My hot take is that he is currently at the peak of his value and Chelsea should sell him this summer. He just doesn't seem to have the tactical restraint and technical ability to play CM for a side like Chelsea. But I'm not sure he has the end product and threat to be part of the front three either. You'll get the best out of him if you let him be more of a high energy 10 who runs his ass off out of possession and then crashes the box, like he did for Palace.

He reminds me a lot of Aaron Ramsey, which isn't a bad thing by any means.
 
OCST

OCST

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Other than his terrible penalty.
Morgan's Magic Snowplow said:
Chelsea seems intent on keeping him and he has been playing regularly for them in the pre-season matches.

My hot take is that he is currently at the peak of his value and Chelsea should sell him this summer. He just doesn't seem to have the tactical restraint and technical ability to play CM for a side like Chelsea. But I'm not sure he has the end product and threat to be part of the front three either. You'll get the best out of him if you let him be more of a high energy 10 who runs his ass off out of possession and then crashes the box, like he did for Palace.

He reminds me a lot of Aaron Ramsey, which isn't a bad thing by any means.
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That makes a lot of sense. Might be better off at a side like Palace (or Everton, right Frank?) where he could have free rein and be the talisman.
 
candylandriots

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@OCST yeah - the way I’ve heard and seen it is that Gallagher believes he’s proven himself enough to play meaningful minutes for Chelsea (his boyhood club). And he probably has earned that. But that decision would seem to negatively affect his chances of playing for England at the World Cup, because no way is he going to be the man at Chelsea the way he was at Palace. I’m guessing his calculation though is that the expanded World Cup rosters and the compressed Chelsea schedule (including Cups and UCL) is going to force Tuchel to play him enough to be considered. It seems a calculated risk, and I’m reasonably sure he can pull it off. I might have advised him differently, but I had an ulterior motive and lack the confidence of a young pro athlete.
 
OCST

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candylandriots said:
@OCST yeah - the way I’ve heard and seen it is that Gallagher believes he’s proven himself enough to play meaningful minutes for Chelsea (his boyhood club). And he probably has earned that. But that decision would seem to negatively affect his chances of playing for England at the World Cup, because no way is he going to be the man at Chelsea the way he was at Palace. I’m guessing his calculation though is that the expanded World Cup rosters and the compressed Chelsea schedule (including Cups and UCL) is going to force Tuchel to play him enough to be considered. It seems a calculated risk, and I’m reasonably sure he can pull it off. I might have advised him differently, but I had an ulterior motive and lack the confidence of a young pro athlete.
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Yes, of course, I don't blame him for wanting to "fight for his place" at Chelsea. Chelsea are a bit of a mess at the moment, relative to their talent level and aspirations. Teuchel doesn't seem to know how to best deploy what he has. Even if they gel, and that's a big if, I don't think they have enough to get past either Pool or City. Now, crisis and opportunity are represented by the same character, so the unsettlement, particularly in midfield, may give him a chance to get in there.

I think he'd be better off at Palace. Newcastle are the sexy pick for a side to make the leap for Europe contention, but I like Palace too. The likes of Eze Olise and Edouard are getting better and haven't hit their ceiling. Zaha looks in great form.

We'll see.
 
67YAZ

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The Athletic reports that Chelsea are very close on Villa’s Chukwuemeka with a £20m fee already agreed and the player eager for a switch. Chukwuemeka is a great prospect, a real box to box dynamo and an English homegrown to boot. He would have been in Gerard’s rotation this season, but was refusing to sign a new deal (current deal expires in 2023). A real bummer for Villa to lose a impact youngster from their own academy. Nice get for Chelsea.

Now, where will Chukwuemeka get minutes? Good luck young man.
 
Mighty Joe Young

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67YAZ said:
The Athletic reports that Chelsea are very close on Villa’s Chukwuemeka with a £20m fee already agreed and the player eager for a switch. Chukwuemeka is a great prospect, a real box to box dynamo and an English homegrown to boot. He would have been in Gerard’s rotation this season, but was refusing to sign a new deal (current deal expires in 2023). A real bummer for Villa to lose a impact youngster from their own academy. Nice get for Chelsea.

Now, where will Chukwuemeka get minutes? Good luck young man.
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With whoever they loan him to. I hear Villa might be interested ;)
 
candylandriots

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67YAZ said:
LOL. Send him Palace, right @candylandriots?

I kinda of hoped Liverpool would make this move for him because Chukwuemeka seems the perfect fit for Klopp’s midfield. Not that he would have played a whole lot yet.
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I know it’s silly season, but I saw something a little while ago about Timo Werner or Hudson-Odoi to Palace (and that Loftus-Cheek wants to stay at Chelsea, which makes no sense to me except as a negotiation tactic).

All that perhaps means Zaha’s time with Palace is nearing its end, or more likely is just August bullshit.

https://www.caughtoffside.com/2022/08/01/forget-timo-werner-crystal-palace-line-up-move-for-another-chelsea-star/amp/
 
67YAZ

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wonderland said:
I think Everton and Brentford are two teams that escaped last year but didn’t get better As they each lost a key player
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Brentford are rumored to be nearly done on a Damsgaard transfer. After a great performance at the Euros, Damagaard developed a mysterious arthritic knee issue that derailed his season. He now claims that his doctors have found a cocktail of drugs that counter the condition and he’s back to 100%. Brentford had their £16m bid accepted, which is about half of last summer’s valuation.

It’s a big swing for the Bees, but their gamble on Erickson paid off very well. This could be the same. Or a disaster. Such is life for a club trying to climb the ladder.
 
67YAZ

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Club legend gets to ride out on the French Mediterranean.

Incredible career, more than did his name proud. Also gave us the spot on quip, “Has it ever been home?”
 
Joe D Reid

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Kliq said:
That's...not good for Leicester.
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Newcastle are making a play for Maddison as well. And Leicester have brought in exactly nobody this offseason, so it sure seems like the money has dried up for LFC. Which sucks because they are a perennial second-favorite club contender for most folks.
 
wonderland

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If selling Maddison allowed them to keep Fofana and Tielemans, I think that would be a big win.

I wondered when things would go south after Vichai’s death. I’m surprised they’ve been able to hold it together so long for this many years.
 
Mighty Joe Young

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Joe D Reid said:
Newcastle are making a play for Maddison as well. And Leicester have brought in exactly nobody this offseason, so it sure seems like the money has dried up for LFC. Which sucks because they are a perennial second-favorite club contender for most folks.
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And after the devastating loss in Wagatha Christie, Vardy is going to be a complete shell of himself.

Leicester could be in for a very rough season. It’s always felt like they were greater than the sum of their parts. Rogers has done a masterful job of installing and maintaining self belief. But if it starts going south they could end up in a relegation fight.

I’m betting Rogers has his resume all polished and raring to go.
 
teddykgb

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Super high fee for a player Brighton just got for peanuts. Chelsea aren’t making a ton of sense this summer spending like crazy. They just spent on Chillwell no idea what the thinking is here aside from City wanted him
 
HowBoutDemSox

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Mighty Joe Young said:
Always nice to gazump City … but why?
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I think the theory is he can play either CB (where they need reinforcements with Rudiger and Christiansen out the door this window and only Koulibaly in as a replacement so far) or leftback/wingback (so insurance/rotation for Chillwell coming back from an ACL injury and Alonso possibly out the door as well).
 
67YAZ

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Mighty Joe Young said:
And after the devastating loss in Wagatha Christie, Vardy is going to be a complete shell of himself.

Leicester could be in for a very rough season. It’s always felt like they were greater than the sum of their parts. Rogers has done a masterful job of installing and maintaining self belief. But if it starts going south they could end up in a relegation fight.

I’m betting Rogers has his resume all polished and raring to go.
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I’ve prattled on many times about how Jon Rudkin is the best director in the EPL - runs a fantastic youth development system and has a really high hit rate in the transfer market (both buying and selling).

Looking at their finances, it appears they are in a bit of a crunch. They booked a £31m loss during the pandemic while also in the middle of (now completed) construction of a £100m training ground & HQ. They’ve been quickly pushed to the wrong side of the ledger despite prudent planning. Ownership seems to be managing the £200m+ debt without taking funds out of the club, but they’re not sending a cash infusion to get over this hump.

It’s a tricky spot - they need European competition money to keep up, but can’t presently make significant transfer moves without sending someone out first. And Maddison is probably completely off limits given his 30 goal involvements last season - he’s the heart of the attack. I think the plan for this season is get healthy & make a good showing to get back in the black.
 
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swiftaw

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wonderland said:
If selling Maddison allowed them to keep Fofana and Tielemans, I think that would be a big win.

I wondered when things would go south after Vichai’s death. I’m surprised they’ve been able to hold it together so long for this many years.
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Tielemans has already rejected a new contract and says he wants CL football.
 
Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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litigator02 said:
Huh - I hadn’t seen that about Tielemans. “CL” or “European football”? (Asking as an Arsenal fan.)
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By many accounts he is desperate to join Arsenal but we haven't made an offer, so I'm going with "European football."

When the window is wrapped I look forward to eventually reading some kind of inside story about what happened with Tielemans. Arsenal supposedly has been working on the deal for like 7-8 months and then put it either on the back burner or decided to go in another direction (still not clear which). And no other club seems all that interested, despite him being available for a relative bargain price of 25-30m.
 
Cellar-Door

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Apparently West Ham have activated the release clause for Maxwel Cornet from Burnley. He scored 9 of Burnley's 32 goals last season in the PL, a lefty Jarrod Bowen, he can play anywhere from LWB up to FW. Nice flexibility as he's also played on the right.
Word is he's agreed to terms n a 5 year deal and has a physical tonight
 
Jimy Hendrix

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Why doesn’t it make sense in terms of football? At that price he’s worth a punt as an upgrade over McFred which we’ve needed for three seasons now.

I know my club is the punching bag of the forum, and no arguments about his past attitude, but football wise it makes sense. Arnautovic does as well as striker depth is clearly needed.
 
teddykgb

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Probably he’s better than McFred but that’s both a low bar and not even guaranteed. His mother/agent stuff has been a persistent problem, it seems, and he just seems like the wrong powderkeg to add to the mix of TNT United is sitting on right now. There is of course a version of that story where the player finally gets a good chance and changes all that narrative about him but I’m not sure why United would rush to roll those dice given how many issues seem to be there.
 
Jimy Hendrix

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Yeah, it makes some basic sense as a slight midfield upgrade, but I don’t think it’s a significant enough one these days to bring in the locker room headache he can be or the salary he will command.

I could be wrong here though, Bentancur at Spurs has been very much showing me that Juve have no idea what they’re doing in the midfield overall.
 
67YAZ

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Tackles, pressures, blocks, headers, progressive dribbles…he rates out at very good at many of the key stats for a defensive mid. Not interceptions, though, which may be more about how he has been deployed. But fine. United have need a guy like this for a long while now - aim him at the ball and let him go blow up the attacking move.

The attitude and his mother are real concerns, but seem to have quested down recently. Maybe only in public? Maybe he’s grown up? Why don’t Juve want to extend him and play him with Pogba? What’s the cost going to be? That’s for the scouts and intermediaries to sort out.
 
rguilmar

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Jimy Hendrix said:
I could be wrong here though, Bentancur at Spurs has been very much showing me that Juve have no idea what they’re doing in the midfield overall.
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The McKennie family would like a word…

67YAZ said:
The attitude and his mother are real concerns, but seem to have quested down recently. Maybe only in public? Maybe he’s grown up? Why don’t Juve want to extend him and play him with Pogba? What’s the cost going to be? That’s for the scouts and intermediaries to sort out.
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About that

View: https://twitter.com/route1futbol/status/1409915063654260736?s=21&t=QzveLzEufMe6ETwJk8fiDg
 
Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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@rguilmar, what's your take on Yeremi Pino? Lots of rumors are coming out of local Villarreal media that Arsenal (and maybe Liverpool, although I suspect that might not be true) are in for him. I know he is very highly rated in Spain and obviously has developed quickly but not much beyond that.
 
rguilmar

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Morgan's Magic Snowplow said:
@rguilmar, what's your take on Yeremi Pino? Lots of rumors are coming out of local Villarreal media that Arsenal (and maybe Liverpool, although I suspect that might not be true) are in for him. I know he is very highly rated in Spain and obviously has developed quickly but not much beyond that.
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I think he's a very nice player already. Like most players from the Canary Islands, he's super technical. I do think he could use a little more developmental time though as some of his decision making can improve. He can get a little greedy at times and might be prone to the occasional embellishment. But he has a good work rate, works hard on defense, and generally contributes to goal scoring chances. His goals scored stats are skewed though as he had 4 in one game (against Espanyol maybe??) then didn't score again last season. He gets lots of minutes at Villareal and people saw what they're capable of last season in the Champions League, along with a few caps for La Rioja. Villareal often lined up in a 4-4-2 with Chukwueze and Pino splitting time on the right. Pino did play on the left a bit too. For Arsenal I would imagine he is a backup to Saka.

I think he just signed a long term contract last year though, so he won't come cheaply at all.
 
Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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rguilmar said:
I think he's a very nice player already. Like most players from the Canary Islands, he's super technical. I do think he could use a little more developmental time though as some of his decision making can improve. He can get a little greedy at times and might be prone to the occasional embellishment. But he has a good work rate, works hard on defense, and generally contributes to goal scoring chances. His goals scored stats are skewed though as he had 4 in one game (against Espanyol maybe??) then didn't score again last season. He gets lots of minutes at Villareal and people saw what they're capable of last season in the Champions League, along with a few caps for La Rioja. Villareal often lined up in a 4-4-2 with Chukwueze and Pino splitting time on the right. Pino did play on the left a bit too. For Arsenal I would imagine he is a backup to Saka.

I think he just signed a long term contract last year though, so he won't come cheaply at all.
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Thanks man.
 
OCST

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View: https://twitter.com/WhoScored/status/1556562860788125697?s=20&t=2mrF57HGroaNRGiX_bPUKQ


and

View: https://twitter.com/Everton/status/1556750849413718016?s=20&t=2mrF57HGroaNRGiX_bPUKQ


Amadou Onana comes to Everton on a 30M deal from Lille. A bit on the pricey side but the upside of this 6"5' 20 year old midfield destroyer is quite high. He's got great defensive numbers.

Coady has left on loan in search of regular playing time and a possible way into the England WC setup.

Lampard has reportedly prioritized high-character players, often looking for captains of club or country - Coady was Wolves captain. So far it seems like a good window. Tarkowski was one of the best players on the pitch for Everton's 1-0 loss to Chelsea. McNeil didn't play that well (was out of position FWIW) but seems to have slotted in well. Ruben Vinagre came on after the injuries to Godfrey and Mina, letting Mykolenko slide over to CB in a back four, and was solid. Of course Gueye is class, even if he's lost half a step.

Desperately need a striker still, though. DCL out probably another 8 weeks and the side had no cutting edge whatsoever against Chelsea.
 
Pesky Pole

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Christensen and Kessie could leave Barcelona for free if they are not registered before Saturday, sources have confirmed to @samuelmarsden and @moillorens Sources have told ESPN that if they are not registered prior to Barca's opening fixture against Rayo, both players could choose to execute a clause that allows them to leave for free.

This would be wild. Liverpool could use Kessie right now.
 
Kliq

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Pesky Pole said:

Christensen and Kessie could leave Barcelona for free if they are not registered before Saturday, sources have confirmed to @samuelmarsden and @moillorens Sources have told ESPN that if they are not registered prior to Barca's opening fixture against Rayo, both players could choose to execute a clause that allows them to leave for free.

This would be wild. Liverpool could use Kessie right now.
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This is crazy, but I just assume somehow, some way, Barca will be able to get them registered.

Kessie is a 25 year old, stud box-to-box midfielder, any team in the world would be happy to have him and him might being available on a free would be something.
 
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67YAZ

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Would love to see the details to see how much (if any) these two have already received.

If Chelsea is really in on FDJ, this is incredible leverage.

Also, there’s rumors now that Barca have agreed to a £42m for Silva. This is incredible entertainment value for the neutral.
 
teddykgb

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Cmon you guys are smart enough to know that City aren’t selling Bernardo for 42m. That’s probably half his value lol.

I don’t know why Barca has spent the entire summer vomiting every idea someone in the City has onto a newspaper or website but you’re getting caught up in Barcas propaganda machine
 
67YAZ

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teddykgb said:
Cmon you guys are smart enough to know that City aren’t selling Bernardo for 42m. That’s probably half his value lol.

I don’t know why Barca has spent the entire summer vomiting every idea someone in the City has onto a newspaper or website but you’re getting caught up in Barcas propaganda machine
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54128
 
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