Transfer Talk/Gossip/Rumour Thread - Summer 2014 - Mod note in OP

Francie Barrett

Leicester paying £7M for Ulloa. Is that a record for a club in the Championship?

I am talking rubbish, McCormack to Fulham for £11M. Mental money for two players who've never played in the PL though!

ricero

Francie Barrett wrote: »

Leicester paying £7M for Ulloa. Is that a record for a club in the Championship?

Leicester are big dick players in the premier league now :cool:

Lucas Hood

Ben Davies was pictured training with Spurs today in Toronto. Strange that he's able to train with them but nothing official as of yet.

Ormus

Lord TSC wrote: »

I think they just love making a "Statement" signing, regardless of how good a player is; I nearly wonder if they're eager to add a few million onto reported fees just to look like they are super-powerful (as if buying one of the player of the tournaments wasn't enough post World Cup).

He's a class player but I'm not even sure I'd have him in their first team. I'd probably have Alonso, Kroos and Modric as their midfield 3, with James, Khedira and Di Maria as back up and Isco and Illaramendi as back up to the back up. Ridiculous.

I guess Khedira and Di Maria might be let go.

Iused2likebusts

MagicIRL wrote: »

El Classico won't know what hit it next season. Mother of God.

That's true it's going to be like a utd Liverpool match thread in these parts.

Bojan deal will supposedly be a permanent deal and not a loan.

Lucas Hood

Caulker to QPR confirmed.

me89

Bojan has signed for Stoke on a 4 year deal.

Drexel

me89 wrote: »

Bojan has signed for Stoke on a 4 year deal.

What happened this guy. Couple of years ago he was tipped to be great.

He was brill in FM. You had to sign his dad as a coach first though :pac:

miralize

jonny666 wrote: »

What happened this guy. Couple of years ago he was tipped to be great.

He was brill in FM. You had to sign his dad as a coach first though :pac:

He played too much too early under Rijkaard and then Guardiola. Guardiola wanted him to return to the B team when he became manager.

Bojan didnt want that and insisted he stayed in the first team when he wasnt ready. He thought too much of himself basically, tired out at a young age and didnt think he needed to prove himself to anyone anymore, then he flopped at Roma, AC Milan and Ajax.


And now he's at Stoke.. so yeah...

Andersonisgod

I was never big on Bojan, there was a lot of hype around him when he was rising through the ranks and after he scored a few goals for the first team in Europe but I wasn't very impressed and didn't buy into the hype. Admittedly sometimes youngsters from Barcelona do receive undue hype as a result of the image these days of being a "Barca youngster" but there are a few coming through now who deserve every bit of hype they receive, Samper, Adama Traore, Munir, Denis Suarez, Kaptoum and the exciting addition of Halilovic are all worthy of excitement.

Giggsy11

ESPN FC ‏@ESPNFC 1m

Barcelona announce agreement for Jeremy Mathieu from Valencia for a fee of 20 million euros.

20 Million Euros for a player who will be 31 when the season starts.. Signed 4 year deal with option for 5th.

Skylinehead

Giggsy11 wrote: »

ESPN FC ‏@ESPNFC 1m


20 Million Euros for a player who will be 31 when the season starts.. Signed 4 year deal with option for 5th.

And he's not really a centre half.

tupac_healy

Giggsy11 wrote: »

ESPN FC ‏@ESPNFC 1m


20 Million Euros for a player who will be 31 when the season starts.. Signed 4 year deal with option for 5th.

In fairness though it's a great deal.....


If your Valencia that is

Mickeroo

Thomas Eisfeld has joined Fulham from Arsenal on a permanent deal.

Alfred Borden

Are Barca immune to signing decent natural centre backs?

Cantona's Collars

Mauricia Isla to sign for Newcastle on a 3 year deal.

miralize

Thats what we get for not strengthening an area with an actual CB for 6 seasons.. Clear as day what our weak spot is

Hangballlouie

zerks wrote: »

Mauricia Isla to sign for Newcastle on a 3 year deal.

Any idea what happened to him the last few years? Was he injured? I thought he was a very good player before he went to Juve, haven't heard much of him since he moved there.

CSF

Barca have the weirdest transfer policy

Sheepy99

Giggsy11 wrote: »

ESPN FC ‏@ESPNFC 1m


20 Million Euros for a player who will be 31 when the season starts.. Signed 4 year deal with option for 5th.

Release clause of €40m too ? Makes no sense

Paully D

Lucas Hood wrote: »

Caulker to QPR confirmed.

Browsing Cardiff forums and Twitter earlier this summer to see what they thought of Caulker, I was surprised to see that so many of their fans didn't really rate him. The general consensus was that the few goals he scored overshadowed his lack of positional sense which cost them quite a bit.

I thought he was a decent player but would have to bow to those who seen him week in, week out. Perhaps there was some bitterness there as he was an expensive signing that played a part in their relegation however.

Dempsey

Something very strange with the Mathieu deal

Liam O

The defensive dynamo Mathieu may be what some call overpriced but that is the price paid for a player who is capable of wearing the blaugrana shirt. The French tradition embodied by Henry, Abidal and Giuly in recent years is being kept alive by the at first modest looking but overall exquisite signing of a man with vast experience in the league where dreams are made who will slot in beside Pique, the ever towering figure in the middle of the Barcelona backline.

KERSPLAT!

Liam O wrote: »

The defensive dynamo Mathieu may be what some call overpriced but that is the price paid for a player who is capable of wearing the blaugrana shirt. The French tradition embodied by Henry, Abidal and Giuly in recent years is being kept alive by the at first modest looking but overall exquisite signing of a man with vast experience in the league where dreams are made who will slot in beside Pique, the ever towering figure in the middle of the Barcelona backline.

6/10

Liam O

KERSPLAT! wrote: »

6/10

Yeah it was quite rushed. Didn't have time for the thesaurus

Sheepy99

Paully D wrote: »

Browsing Cardiff forums and Twitter earlier this summer to see what they thought of Caulker, I was surprised to see that so many of their fans didn't really rate him. The general consensus was that the few goals he scored overshadowed his lack of positional sense which cost them quite a bit.

I thought he was a decent player but would have to bow to those who seen him week in, week out. Perhaps there was some bitterness there as he was an expensive signing that played a part in their relegation however.

Maybe the media hyped him up and you (along with a lot others) bought into it without noticing where it came from. Not trying to have a go but it happens

Andersonisgod

Dempsey wrote: »

Something very strange with the Mathieu deal

What? Why is Barcelona's transfer policy so strange? They were short on center backs, they've signed one. They lost their two goalkeepers, they signed two excellent replacements. They needed a central midfielder, they signed a central midfielder. They needed a marquee signing (in particular a number 9) they've signed one of the best number 9's on the planet.

In terms of the Mathieu deal in particular, they've gained an experienced center back who has played for a long time in La Liga, who has recovery pace and is very good on the ball, he adds height to the team and, as an added bonus, is very versatile, much like Abidal was. It's an excellent signing. I fully expect one more center back to be signed too.

SureYWouldntYa

Sheepy99 wrote: »

Maybe the media hyped him up and you (along with a lot others) bought into it without noticing where it came from. Not trying to have a go but it happens

He's English. There's most the reason he's "rated"

Paully D

Sheepy99 wrote: »

Maybe the media hyped him up and you (along with a lot others) bought into it without noticing where it came from. Not trying to have a go but it happens

Yeah, it could have happened to be honest. I'd like to think I'm capable enough of forming my own opinions, but not seeing him every week (apart from highlights packages) and seeing him linked to teams such as Liverpool probably has clouded my judgement a bit. Don't get me wrong, I don't think he's a fantastic player or anything, just decent. However, those Cardiff fans begged to differ.

I'll certainly watch him with interest at QPR this coming season now.

Dempsey

Andersonisgod wrote: »

What? Why is Barcelona's transfer policy so strange? They were short on center backs, they've signed one. They lost their two goalkeepers, they signed two excellent replacements. They needed a central midfielder, they signed a central midfielder. They needed a marquee signing (in particular a number 9) they've signed one of the best number 9's on the planet.

In terms of the Mathieu deal in particular, they've gained an experienced center back who has played for a long time in La Liga, who has recovery pace and is very good on the ball, he adds height to the team and, as an added bonus, is very versatile, much like Abidal was. It's an excellent signing. I fully expect one more center back to be signed too.

They signed a 30 year old left back that can play centre back for €20m on a 4 year contract. It smacks of desperation really considering who they could have signed for the money.

Corholio

Paully D wrote: »

Yeah, it could have happened to be honest. I'd like to think I'm capable enough of forming my own opinions, but not seeing him every week (apart from highlights packages) and seeing him linked to teams such as Liverpool probably has clouded my judgement a bit. Don't get me wrong, I don't think he's a fantastic player or anything, just decent. However, those Cardiff fans begged to differ.

I'll certainly watch him with interest at QPR this coming season now.

In fairness a lot of Spurs supporters thought Villas Boas made a mistake selling him. They were awful defensively under Solksjaer anyway so maybe made it harder to judge. I'd be surprised too if they said he wasn't any good.

Andersonisgod

Dempsey wrote: »

They signed a 30 year old left back that can play centre back for €20m on a 4 year contract. It smacks of desperation really considering who they could have signed for the money.

A 30 year old center back with the attributes that the club wanted. A 30 year old center back who played there practically all season for Valencia, a very talented player who is at the height of his game. As I said, I still fully expect another center back to be signed but Mathieu is a fantastic option.

MD1990

Mathieu played CB last year for Valencia. I think Barca overpaid but he is a good signing. He has the pace to cover the huge space Barca leave at the back & is also very good with the ball.

Dempsey

Andersonisgod wrote: »

A 30 year old center back with the attributes that the club wanted. A 30 year old center back who played there practically all season for Valencia, a very talented player who is at the height of his game. As I said, I still fully expect another center back to be signed but Mathieu is a fantastic option.

Are you Barcelona's version of Baghdad Bob?

Wow, practically all season? Thats not a long time for a guy thats played most of his career on the left side. He'll do a job no doubt but Valencia definitely came out the best out of that deal. 4 year contract to a 30 year old, not many elite clubs have that policy anymore for a good reason.

Skylinehead

Andersonisgod wrote: »

What? Why is Barcelona's transfer policy so strange? They were short on center backs, they've signed one. They lost their two goalkeepers, they signed two excellent replacements. They needed a central midfielder, they signed a central midfielder. They needed a marquee signing (in particular a number 9) they've signed one of the best number 9's on the planet.

In terms of the Mathieu deal in particular, they've gained an experienced center back who has played for a long time in La Liga, who has recovery pace and is very good on the ball, he adds height to the team and, as an added bonus, is very versatile, much like Abidal was. It's an excellent signing. I fully expect one more center back to be signed too.

A rightback wouldn't go amiss, Dani Alves is terrible.

Frankie Lee

Dempsey wrote: »

Are you Barcelona's version of Baghdad Bob?

Wow, practically all season? Thats not a long time for a guy thats played most of his career on the left side. He'll do a job no doubt but Valencia definitely came out the best out of that deal. 4 year contract to a 30 year old, not many elite clubs have that policy anymore for a good reason.

A 31 year old who has only 2 international caps.

Andersonisgod

Dempsey wrote: »

Are you Barcelona's version of Baghdad Bob?

Wow, practically all season? Thats not a long time for a guy thats played most of his career on the left side. He'll do a job no doubt but Valencia definitely came out the best out of that deal. 4 year contract to a 30 year old, not many elite clubs have that policy anymore for a good reason.

Yes practically all season and he has not been a stranger to playing center back in the past. If anything, I'd argue that his time at full back will aid him at center back at Barcelona given how the system exposes the center backs to more 1 vs 1 and 2 vs 2 situations than center backs at other top clubs. A 4 year deal, he will have wanted assurances about his long term future, he has gotten them. Perhaps not many elite clubs do but Barcelona have taken this individual case on its merit rather than having a blanket policy dictate to them and I think it's absolutely the right move if the club, and Lucho, believe it to be the right move.

Andersonisgod

Skylinehead wrote: »

A rightback wouldn't go amiss, Dani Alves is terrible.

Admittedly I wouldn't say no to a new right back but this really might be the breakout season for Montoya.

EuropeanSon

Suarez is a lot of things, but a number 9 he isn't, nor will he be playing there for Barcelona.

Andersonisgod

EuropeanSon wrote: »

Suarez is a lot of things, but a number 9 he isn't, nor will he be playing there for Barcelona.

I think you may be surprised if rumours are to be believed and Suarez can, and often has, operated as a number 9, if not perhaps as the prototypical number 9.

Francie Barrett

EuropeanSon wrote: »

Suarez is a lot of things, but a number 9 he isn't, nor will he be playing there for Barcelona.

People used to say the same thing about him at Liverpool, he couldn't do this, he couldn't do that. Then he ended up smashing in goals from all over the pitch.

EuropeanSon

Andersonisgod wrote: »

I think you may be surprised if rumours are to be believed and Suarez can, and often has, operated as a number 9, if not perhaps as the prototypical number 9.

If not a 'prototypical' number 9, them what will his role be, and as a follow up to that, what makes that role that of a number 9?

I'd be shocked if he wasn't in a support role to Messi, like the rest of the team, as an upgrade on Sanchez/Cesc in a loose sense. It would probably be a misuse of Messi to do otherwise.

EuropeanSon

Francie Barrett wrote: »

People used to say the same thing about him at Liverpool, he couldn't do this, he couldn't do that. Then he ended up smashing in goals from all over the pitch.

You seem to have misread what I said as a criticism.

Or read the word 'couldn't' somewhere. Not in my post, though.

Dempsey

Andersonisgod wrote: »

Yes practically all season and he has not been a stranger to playing center back in the past. If anything, I'd argue that his time at full back will aid him at center back at Barcelona given how the system exposes the center backs to more 1 vs 1 and 2 vs 2 situations than center backs at other top clubs. A 4 year deal, he will have wanted assurances about his long term future, he has gotten them. Perhaps not many elite clubs do but Barcelona have taken this individual case on its merit rather than having a blanket policy dictate to them and I think it's absolutely the right move if the club, and Lucho, believe it to be the right move.

He's converted to centre back because he's lost whatever little pace he had over that achilles injury & his age. Giving out a 4 years contract with a year option in the face of that does not add up very well for Barcelona.

Andersonisgod

EuropeanSon wrote: »

If not a 'prototypical' number 9, them what will his role be, and as a follow up to that, what makes that role that of a number 9?

I'd be shocked if he wasn't in a support role to Messi, like the rest of the team, as an upgrade on Sanchez/Cesc in a loose sense. It would probably be a misuse of Messi to do otherwise.

I mean in the sense that his attributes and style of play aren't those of the traditional number 9. Far too much to be discussed in the follow up question, though an explanation of what a number 9 was generally considered to be can be found in "Inverting the Pyramid"

There's been quite a bit of talk of Messi perhaps playing behind Suarez and Neymar, though as of now those are rumours and we wont know for sure until Messi returns but I wouldn't be surprised to see Messi drop a bit deeper than he has previously.

Andersonisgod

Dempsey wrote: »

He's converted to centre back because he's lost whatever little pace he had over that achilles injury & his age. Giving out a 4 years contract with a year option in the face of that does not add up very well for Barcelona.

I disagree about his loss of pace, he looked entirely fine moving across the ground last season. I don't agree, I think he will be a very worthwhile option for Barcelona for the next several years and someone who can slot in straight away into the first team.

Lukker-

Suarez can play as a 9 or a wide striker. He'd be comfortable in any position along the front or in the hole, it doesn't matter. He'll score goals and pop up all over the the pitch to collect the ball.

Officer999

Andersonisgod wrote: »

What? Why is Barcelona's transfer policy so strange? They were short on center backs, they've signed one. They lost their two goalkeepers, they signed two excellent replacements. They needed a central midfielder, they signed a central midfielder. They needed a marquee signing (in particular a number 9) they've signed one of the best number 9's on the planet.

In terms of the Mathieu deal in particular, they've gained an experienced center back who has played for a long time in La Liga, who has recovery pace and is very good on the ball, he adds height to the team and, as an added bonus, is very versatile, much like Abidal was. It's an excellent signing. I fully expect one more center back to be signed too.

Huh? Why do Barca need a marquee signing, especially a number 9? They already had Messi and Neymar...

They were crying our for a world class central defender, ala Hummels, yet they blew all there money on an unnecessary striker up front, and hence barely had enough change left over to buy an ageing defender who couldn't get in the French World Cup side

Andersonisgod

Officer999 wrote: »

Huh? Why do Barca need a marquee signing, especially a number 9? They already had Messi and Neymar...

They were crying our for a world class central defender, ala Hummels, yet they blew all there money on an unnecessary striker up front, and hence barely had enough change left over to buy an ageing defender who couldn't get in the French World Cup side

2nd in La Liga, only a Champions League quarter final, beaten in the Copa Del Rey, a squad overhaul is being undertaken under a new manager looking to make his mark and with a transfer ban looming and an understanding that something in the style must change if Barcelona are to once again scale the heights that they have previously. An over-reliance on Messi and the lack of a replacement for him when he is injured/ineffective means that a number 9 was paramount this summer. Barcelona have signed one of the best strikers in the world and the Messi/Neymar/Suarez is mouthwatering stuff for any football fan.

Who is to say they wont sign a world class center back? I said ages ago on this forum that the plan was two goalkeepers, two center backs (one of whom can play as a wing back), a central midfielder and a striker, so far they have bought all of those things (along with bringing back Rafinha and Delofeu) except for the second, marquee, center back. I have absolute faith that will happen. Whether it's Hummels or not is a different matter (Marquinhos was the favourite).