Summer Transfer Superthread

BullBlackNova

Arsenal complete the loan signing of Dani Ceballos. Good player, interested to see how he does.

They have plenty of work left to do.

Had a quick look at the full list of completed transfers and was struck by how little has been spent everywhere. Other than Villa, who passed the €100m mark today I think, its pretty pretty quiet. Even the next highest spending teams - Man City, Man Utd, Spurs and Leicester - have only really added one expensive player and a few others around that.

There's only about two weeks left in the window, right? Would have expected a little more from pretty much everyone.

TitianGerm

BullBlackNova wrote: »

Arsenal complete the loan signing of Dani Ceballos. Good player, interested to see how he does.

They have plenty of work left to do.

Had a quick look at the full list of completed transfers and was struck by how little has been spent everywhere. Other than Villa, who passed the €100m mark today I think, its pretty pretty quiet. Even the next highest spending teams - Man City, Man Utd, Spurs and Leicester - have only really added one expensive player and a few others around that.

There's only about two weeks left in the window, right? Would have expected a little more from pretty much everyone.

Clubs might be holding tight with Brexit still not sorted.

BullBlackNova

I'd say Brexit is definitely a factor alright. But even considering that, I'd have expected a few more moves at the start of the summer.

Even of the top sides, you could pick out a few obvious gaps for everyone.

City - Kompany was essential by the end of last season and he's now gone. Is Pep going to go back to Stones?
Liverpool - no new first team additions. No depth on a few positions.
United - centre mid? Or are the young players stepping up to replace Herrera? Also, CB, but that may be sorted.
Spurs - full back, or is Walker-Peters replacing Trippier?
Chelsea - transfer ban, fair enough
Arsenal - cental defence, minimum. Especially with Koscielny...

Not everything is going to be fixed by a new signing, there are young players and existing squad players to fill in, but it's just a little surprising that we are so close to the start of the season and none of these things have been resolved.

marklazarcovic

Think city trying to.offload otamendi,then buy Maguire

Necro

Saliba to Arsenal done as well it seems, though not as exciting as he's back on loan to France for a year

Father Hernandez

BullBlackNova wrote: »

Arsenal complete the loan signing of Dani Ceballos. Good player, interested to see how he does.

They have plenty of work left to do.

Had a quick look at the full list of completed transfers and was struck by how little has been spent everywhere. Other than Villa, who passed the €100m mark today I think, its pretty pretty quiet. Even the next highest spending teams - Man City, Man Utd, Spurs and Leicester - have only really added one expensive player and a few others around that.

There's only about two weeks left in the window, right? Would have expected a little more from pretty much everyone.

William Saliba signed too for £27million...

But he's gone back to Saint-Etienne for 1 season

eagle eye

It's a new end to the window. These clubs arexl always the same, change something and they'll him and haw. It'll be a crazy end to the window this year.

ThunbergsAreGo

Necro wrote: »

Saliba to Arsenal done as well it seems, though not as exciting as he's back on loan to France for a year

For a club struggling for money, that seems like an insane deal

PARlance

eagle eye wrote: »

It's a new end to the window. These clubs arexl always the same, change something and they'll him and haw. It'll be a crazy end to the window this year.

It closed before the start of the season last year as well.

KaiserGunner

naughtb4 wrote: »

For a club struggling for money, that seems like an insane deal

Not really, I’m assuming they are paying very little up front this season as he has been sent back to his previous club on loan. I’d imagine the majority will be paid in instalments starting from next season.

Mr.Nice Guy

Think Arsenal made a very good signing in Saliba. He looks the next big thing as far as young defenders in Ligue 1. Wonder will Emery be there to see his first game in an Arsenal shirt? Ceballos in on loan is another great bit of business.

Saint-Etienne selling Remy Cabella to Krasnodar for €12m surprises me. He's coming off a very good season in Ligue 1. Not sure he'll be getting Champions League football as they have to play Porto in their qualifier.

Agent Coulson

Daniele de Rossi joins Boca Juniors.

~Rebel~

Agent Coulson wrote: »

Daniele de Rossi joins Boca Juniors.

Interesting! Not a move you see big (if aging) European players take too often! Seedorf is one of the only ones I can think of.

PARlance

~Rebel~ wrote: »

Interesting! Not a move you see big (if aging) European players take too often! Seedorf is one of the only ones I can think of.

He's nearly middle-aging. Was very surprised to hear he is 36.

Tomw86

~Rebel~ wrote: »

Interesting! Not a move you see big (if aging) European players take too often! Seedorf is one of the only ones I can think of.

Tevez is there and moved there at 31/32. Veron also went back to the League at a relatively young age...there's been others too.

The crowds and following they have over there makes it an attractive proposition, even if the standard or wages may not be massive.

The Boca General Manager - Nicholas Burdisso - was at Roma for 6 years so that's the link.

dr.kenneth noisewater

Tomw86 wrote: »

~Rebel~ wrote: »

Interesting! Not a move you see big (if aging) European players take too often! Seedorf is one of the only ones I can think of.

Tevez is there and moved there at 31/32. Veron also went back to the League at a relatively young age...there's been others too.

The crowds and following they have over there makes it an attractive proposition, even if the standard or wages may not be massive.

The Boca General Manager - Nicholas Burdisso - was at Roma for 6 years so that's the link.

yeah but they were moving home. Not too many big name European born players

Tomw86

dr.kenneth noisewater wrote: »

yeah but they were moving home. Not too many big name European born players

Yeah, very true. My point was it's not a strange move - he's 36 and is mates with their General Manager (or at least ex-team mates).

~Rebel~

Tomw86 wrote: »

Tevez is there and moved there at 31/32. Veron also went back to the League at a relatively young age...there's been others too.

The crowds and following they have over there makes it an attractive proposition, even if the standard or wages may not be massive.

The Boca General Manager - Nicholas Burdisso - was at Roma for 6 years so that's the link.

dr.kenneth noisewater wrote: »

yeah but they were moving home. Not too many big name European born players

Tomw86 wrote: »

Yeah, very true. My point was it's not a strange move - he's 36 and is mates with their General Manager (or at least ex-team mates).

Yeah, as the good doctor said, the weird thing isn't a move from Europe to SA in general, what I thought was weird/interesting was that it was a European established player moving to South America. As I said, the only one I can think of for a long time is Seedorf going to Botofogo, and even that came with a bit of a caveat of behind the scenes management experience.

Cookiemunster

Bale to China done according to Reals mouthpiece Marca

https://twitter.com/MARCAinENGLISH/status/1154846358102249473?s=19

Inquitus

Cookiemunster wrote: »

Bale to China done according to Reals mouthpiece Marca

https://twitter.com/MARCAinENGLISH/status/1154846358102249473?s=19

Strange decision, clearly values money over any further meaningful success in his career, he's only 30 after all.

Dempsey

Inquitus wrote: »

Strange decision, clearly values money over any further meaningful success in his career, he's only 30 after all.

He knows his hamstrings are ****ed

Any decent golf courses out in China?

MD1990

Bale's crucial goals glossed over an average spell at Real bar his 1st season.

I know that seems a crazy comment but he was sub in 2 CL finals for a reason.
Going to China probably confirms he knows he is past his best now.

Agent Coulson

£1m a week can't blame him at all.

Who in their right mind would turn that down.

ERG89

Agent Coulson wrote: »

£1m a week can't blame him at all.

Who in their right mind would turn that down.

I bet Ronaldo was offered more last year.

Agent Coulson

ERG89 wrote: »

I bet Ronaldo was offered more last year.

He is on over half a million a week after tax at Juve so he is probably on close to a million a week before tax.

NIMAN

sugarman wrote: »

Footballs a short career and at 30, he hasn't got all that long left. He could be one hamstring injury away from a career ending injury for all anyone knows

Its not some guy at Colchester you're talking about. But a guy at Real Madrid who has been earning many millions per year for 6 seasons.

He is a multi multi millionaire. He hardly needs any more money to see out his life.

I agree that it's a cheap cop out for him. I would have thought a couple of years in the EPL or the Bundesliga would have suited him better.

He's admitting his career is over. He'll get richer, but will have lost a lot of respect with the move.

thebaz

sugarman wrote: »

Hardly, who turns there nose up at €1m a week on a 3 year contract? Footballs a short career and at 30, he hasn't got all that long left. He could be one hamstring injury away from a career ending injury for all anyone knows.

its not like the 1970s or even '80 where professional footballers have to worry abouit the rest of life - Bale is comfortably minted for life , wont have to worry about where he sleeps EVER- Taking the easy route , and ther is a bit of the could have been more

~Rebel~

thebaz wrote: »

its not like the 1970s or even '80 where professional footballers have to worry abouit the rest of life - Bale is comfortably minted for life , wont have to worry about where he sleeps EVER- Taking the easy route , and ther is a bit of the could have been more

NIMAN wrote: »

Its not some guy at Colchester you're talking about. But a guy at Real Madrid who has been earning many millions per year for 6 seasons.

He is a multi multi millionaire. He hardly needs any more money to see out his life.

I agree that it's a cheap cop out for him. I would have thought a couple of years in the EPL or the Bundesliga would have suited him better.

He's admitting his career is over. He'll get richer, but will have lost a lot of respect with the move.

If there's one thing we should know by now, it's that money is all relative. Same as for all of us, for these lads football is a job, and if one job opportunity maximises his income hugely more than another option, he'll take that choice - same as every one of us will. And money of this sort goes way beyond just Bale - this choice probably sorts out a whole extra generation of his family down the line. This guarantees his grandkids, or even great grandkids won't have to worry.

There's this sense that sports professionals are duty bound to maximise their playing potential ahead of their earning potential, which doesn't make much sense, and isn't really a standard we apply to other people. Some people will be passionate enough about their sport to put their personal sporting development ahead of all else, but most won't.

Corholio

I'm a fanof Bale and would disagree strongly with anyone who says he's been average at Real. He was written off by many who said he'd never make it there, back to Spurs in a year etc etc. But I do have to say I'm disappointed he would take this route and it's hard to argue that he wouldn't be thought of a bit less now.

MisterAnarchy

Real dont seem to be any better off without Bale ,4 down against Atletico in New York.
Only a friendly but they have an almost full strength team out and have been battered.

PARlance

Make that 6-0.
4 for Costa, would have been a decent signing for Wolves

MisterAnarchy

PARlance wrote: »

Make that 6-0.
4 for Costa, would have been a decent signing for Wolves

Its pretty embarrassing .
Zidane should never have gone back .

~Rebel~

MisterAnarchy wrote: »

Its pretty embarrassing .
Zidane should never have gone back .

He really shouldn't - left at the perfect time, with the perfect reign.

dmigsy

Diego Costa. 4 goals and a red card. In a friendly. What a man.

ctrl-alt-delete

dmigsy wrote: »

Diego Costa. 4 goals and a red card. In a friendly. What a man.

Guess that means he is fully fit now for the oncoming season :pac:

Jurgen The German

Fair fcuks to Bale.

It makes me laugh seeing people pontificate about what him and what he should do, make a name for himself again, only driven by money, disappointing end to his career etc.

There is not a single person here working that if they were offered an obscene amount of money to take a job with a less "glamorous" company that they would refuse it. He has won arguably the biggest prize in world football on 4 separate occasions and was instrumental in a couple of those, he has nothing left to prove to anyone.

Why should Bale or any footballer / athlete for that matter be held to some kind of higher standard than everyone else on the planet. They give their all physically and mentally and make massive sacrifices to get to and stay at an elite level. Its something that only a fraction of the population will ever achieve so seeing people lambast him / them for maximizing the short window they have is hilarious.

Iused2likebusts

Jurgen The German wrote: »

Fair fcuks to Bale.

It makes me laugh seeing people pontificate about what him and what he should do, make a name for himself again, only driven by money, disappointing end to his career etc.

There is not a single person here working that if they were offered an obscene amount of money to take a job with a less "glamorous" company that they would refuse it. He has won arguably the biggest prize in world football on 4 separate occasions and was instrumental in a couple of those, he has nothing left to prove to anyone.

Why should Bale or any footballer / athlete for that matter be held to some kind of higher standard than everyone else on the planet. They give their all physically and mentally and make massive sacrifices to get to and stay at an elite level. Its something that only a fraction of the population will ever achieve so seeing people lambast him / them for maximizing the short window they have is hilarious.

The difference is that football is a sport that everyone starts off playing as a kid because they love the game. I think its pointless comparing it to another job . Nobody on here is going to voluntarily give up their free time to go in and start working in an office or when they were a child spent their free time doing work over playing football. You have two types of player one that loves the game, and wants to push themselves to be the best they can, and play at as high a level as they can. This type of player has remained the same as he always was and is playing football for the right reasons with the obvious benefits of getting massively paid . Other players will have fallen out of love with the game and view it as an opportunity to just make as much money as they can. Bale is set up for life and is far too good to go to China if he makes that decision id view him negatively and I think it will tarnish his legacy somewhat.

NIMAN

7-3, well that's embarrassing.

I know it's only pre season friendlies, but there's something not right at that club.

For me Zidane was crazy to return. He will ruin his legacy and I can see him gone by Xmas.

Dempsey

Iused2likebusts wrote: »

The difference is that football is a sport that everyone starts off playing as a kid because they love the game. I think its pointless comparing it to another job . Nobody on here is going to voluntarily give up their free time to go in and start working in an office or when they were a child spent their free time doing work over playing football. You have two types of player one that loves the game, and wants to push themselves to be the best they can, and play at as high a level as they can. This type of player has remained the same as he always was and is playing football for the right reasons with the obvious benefits of getting massively paid . Other players will have fallen out of love with the game and view it as an opportunity to just make as much money as they can. Bale is set up for life and is far too good to go to China if he makes that decision id view him negatively and I think it will tarnish his legacy somewhat.

How's he too good for China when his body is clearly not able for a top european league

ERG89

Dempsey wrote: »

How's he too good for China when his body is clearly not able for a top european league

Why is he able??
He was fit last season & Spain is a top league last I checked. Played 29 games & was benched for a few games too.

Drumpot

Jurgen The German wrote: »

Fair fcuks to Bale.

It makes me laugh seeing people pontificate about what him and what he should do, make a name for himself again, only driven by money, disappointing end to his career etc.

There is not a single person here working that if they were offered an obscene amount of money to take a job with a less "glamorous" company that they would refuse it. He has won arguably the biggest prize in world football on 4 separate occasions and was instrumental in a couple of those, he has nothing left to prove to anyone.

Why should Bale or any footballer / athlete for that matter be held to some kind of higher standard than everyone else on the planet. They give their all physically and mentally and make massive sacrifices to get to and stay at an elite level. Its something that only a fraction of the population will ever achieve so seeing people lambast him / them for maximizing the short window they have is hilarious.

I don’t really care what Bale does as long as united don’t sign him. I can see why he would take the deal and hope it goes well for him. But “fair f**ks to him for what? Choosing the easiest path to loads of money?

He is no longer taking his football seriously by going to China. It’s not an insult , it’s just an observation. There is no football challange in China and he’s taking the deal for the money when he prob has the quality to play for most of the top 5 clubs at the peak of the game. He really only had 5 years (Madrid) as a top footballer at the top level. I know he was class for spurs but they weren’t even at the level they are at now, let alone challenging for leagues when he was there.

I’d prob respect him more for staying at Madrid , challenging to get back into the side and playing golf (in protest) to be honest. You can accept a player is doing what they feel is right by them but also see what their decision says about their aspirations. Going to China , you no longer have any serious footballing aspirations. Might aswell go to Scotland. Again, that’s just a statement from observation, I would be saying good luck to him. Not all footballers choose that path and I’d say plenty have had similar offers from China, different strokes for different folks.

Maybe there are other reasons why he’s taking the money, but it is the end of his football career as a serious player. That’s clearly not important to him so there’s no harm in pointing it out.

Cantona's Collars

https://twitter.com/bbcsport_david/status/1155052728525164544

MD1990

huge signing for arsenal.

Get Tierney too & they have done some great business.

el Fenomeno

That's very expensive IMO, even given today's transfer fees.

I was convinced it was all agent-driven nonsense as he'd been linked to about a dozen clubs all summer with nothing concrete.

Agent Coulson

Is that the 5th team Pepe has agreed to join this week.

IncognitoMan

Jurgen The German wrote: »

Fair fcuks to Bale.

It makes me laugh seeing people pontificate about what him and what he should do, make a name for himself again, only driven by money, disappointing end to his career etc.

There is not a single person here working that if they were offered an obscene amount of money to take a job with a less "glamorous" company that they would refuse it. He has won arguably the biggest prize in world football on 4 separate occasions and was instrumental in a couple of those, he has nothing left to prove to anyone.

Why should Bale or any footballer / athlete for that matter be held to some kind of higher standard than everyone else on the planet. They give their all physically and mentally and make massive sacrifices to get to and stay at an elite level. Its something that only a fraction of the population will ever achieve so seeing people lambast him / them for maximizing the short window they have is hilarious.

If I had been working in a job good enough for the last 10 years that could set me up for life then no I wouldn't take a ~50% pay increase to go to a company in China.

Having said that equating football to a normal job is fairly stupid to be honest.

Take a pay cut (he'd still be on unreal money), go back to Spurs who have a very good team now and he could lead them to their first major trophy in decades and go down an all time hero for them. Something that's worth a lot more than increasing an already incredible fortune.

For him it's a complete lack of ambition at this stage of his career. Not saying he never had ambition but he doesn't right now, taking a 50% pay increase to go play for a team who sit 6th in the Chinese super league when you are only just gone 30 can never be described as ambition in my eyes. It's the easy option.

I wish him luck and hope he doesn't look back and regret the move.

There are very few people in the world who would choose to take 300k or so a week over a million.

There are very few clubs who give him the same chances at the big competitions as real do, none of which are in for.

Taking a pay cut to win most likely win feck all, or take a pay rise to.

People are being very irrational about bale here

Irish_rat

IMO, Bale was top 5 in the world during his first season at Madrid and his last at Spurs. Love watching the goals he scored those years.

Whether fans like it or not he's actually a legend. 4 Champions Leagues and nearly 1 in 2 goal ratio for a guy that started his career at right back.

Bulking up on whatever they use in Spain(:rolleyes:) did him no favours. His hamstrings didn't like that extra weight.

I reckon he's shot now with all the injuries over the years. I would have preferred him to milk Madrid for all their worth though and stick out the contract.

Corholio

Deleted User wrote: »

There are very few people in the world who would choose to take 300k or so a week over a million.

There are very few clubs who give him the same chances at the big competitions as real do, none of which are in for.

Taking a pay cut to win most likely win feck all, or take a pay rise to.

People are being very irrational about bale here

I don't think some understand the criticism correctly. Of course we'd all take outrageous money like that if offered to us, but we are fans of football and are just criticising the football elements of it. I don't think anyone likes to see really good players take such moves, even though we know from their own personal view it's crazy money to turn down. But I think criticism on his footballing decisions is fair game, and I say that as someone who is a big fan of his and thought he got a lot of unfair criticism in the past.

Irish_rat

Dempsey wrote: »

How's he too good for China when his body is clearly not able for a top european league

True pity he didn't take the China move at the end of last season though. Would have been nice to end on a high.