22 May 2024 19:07:15
During the transfer season one of my favorite things to do is check on teams that are in a transitional period or in an otherwise confusing state, to hypothesize whether there could possibly be talented players available for bargain prices.
For a couple years now Chelsea has featured in these searches and i have to say, Conor Gallagher intrigues me. Apparently he will be sold as he has only one year left in his contract. He, Rice and Odegaard would form a pretty good midfield in my opinion.
{Ed014's Note - you said talented and then mentioned Conor Gallagher, I’m a little confused Iceman. ?
22 May 2024 20:20:02
Perhaps my algorithm needs tweaking Ed. Though i also searched on United and that yielded no results so it can't be too far off.
But on a more serious note, while i don't think Gallagher is a 9/ 10 player he'd still fit stylistically and even improve our midfield, potentially for a good price. He also has good workrate and presumably leadership skills given he's been captaining Chelsea as well.
As an internal solution Smith Rowe would be fine by me as well but Arteta seems to want a bit more defensive set up overall. Though we don't know how Arteta plans to evolve the squad for next season.
{Ed014's Note - I’m just not that convinced with Gallagher Iceman, he’s not a defensive mid and that’s really our priority.
I don’t really want to see Rice as our DM as he has too much to offer away from that role.
I wouldn’t say no to Mainoo from United, he looks the type of player Arteta could bring on and he’s just wasting a promising career staying at United.
22 May 2024 20:59:00
Ed i think Rice should be our dm. The reason why i think so is our left hand side has been pretty anonymous when he has played there. Though maybe Timber as lb would fix that?
I want Rice as dm and two 8's a bit further forward, with possibly a fullback (Timber? ) inverting to form a box midfield. Gallagher could fit in there. But i get it even i wouldn't call him exciting. 'Sensible' feels like a more appropriate word. I want to spend the big bucks on a forward.
Mainoo is great but i don't include him because everyone else knows it as well so he wouldn't come cheap.
{Ed014's Note - I think Arteta wants Rice to be more box to box which was why he was happy that Partey returned to the side.
Unexciting is probably a good description of Gallagher and I think we’ll buy much better and still buy a quality striker.
Agree on Mainoo, plus he has a couple of years left on his contract with an option for another 12 months.
Timber looks quality and I’d be happy to see him fill the LB role.
We have Tierney, Lokonga, Tavares, Nketiah, Nelson and maybe Marquinhos to generate some additional money.
22 May 2024 21:35:00
It seems that way with Rice. I'd just prefer a player who can release Martinelli quickly into space and Rice hasn't been able (or instructed) to do that. But maybe there are ways to solve that while Rice stays as a cm. Who would you like as dm Ed?
{Ed014's Note - I don’t really know re a DM, the links to Zubimendi seem to be the strongest but I’ve never seen him play.
Ugarte was highly regarded before his move to PSG but not sure he did that well this season.
Not convinced by Douglas Luiz and maybe Paulinho is a little to old.
22 May 2024 21:45:54
We've been linked with Bruno Guimaraes and De Jong, while I don't think either of those are very likely. Hopefully that's the type of calibre we are going for to replace Party, Gallagher is decent, good leadership and may become great, but at the minute I don't think he would improve us and would arguably be a step down. I'm hoping we don't skimp on that position and get the best possible player available.
23 May 2024 06:22:39
Ed002 says Zubimendi wants Barca. From the players he listed i guess Guimaraes would be the best but i feel like he's (Guimaraes, not Ed) a bit of a hothead so i have some reservations. Mats Wieffer from Feyenoord is apparently quite Rodri-like so maybe he would be a good fit but apparently there are no links. I wonder if Slot wants to take him to Liverpool.