The only position I feel we 100% need to strengthen right now, is the DM position. Fernandinho is getting old, and who knows maybe his form could completely drop off a cliff like Yaya did a couple of seasons ago. Gundogan has done quite well in the position when Dinho has been injured, but as we saw against Leicester and Crystal Palace in december, he backs out of tackles and doesn`t offer enough protection for the back 4.
My first choice DM would be Ndombele. I`ve watched him quite a few times the last 18 months and he has it all. Very quick, strong, incredible ball control and dribling and can also tackle. He`s currently very similar to Fernandinho at Shakhtar, but is only 22 and Pep could make him the best DM in the world.
I haven`t watched much La Liga this season, and have only watched some highlights of Rodri. He seems pretty good, but to me he looks big, slow and not very agile. Saul is a wonderful player, but not sure if he has the physicality or defending abilitites to play as a single pivot. Haven`t seen too much of Thomas either, so can`t really give an opinion on him. Rice has been fantastic for West Ham, but in 2 years I think we could expect Tommy Doyle to be equally as good. Rice is a great talent, but not worth 60m+.
Other signings would depend on eventual outgoings. The report that said that 7 or 8 players, including Gabby and Leroy, could leave is hopefully just BS, but I think there is a few players who could leave:
Danilo: linked to Inter and hasn`t played a lot this season. Can see him leaving for more game time. Walker has stepped up the last few weeks and should be first choice next season, but he can`t play all the games, so we obviously need a replacement. I`m a huge fan of Frimpong in the academy and personally believe he could play in cup games nest season. We have seen TAA and AWB break through at the dippers and CP, and Frimpong could do the same for us. If we sign a midfielder or two, I also believe Fernandinho could play as an inverted RB. I would like to see Walker, Dinho and Frimpong (65%, 20%, 15%) sharing the RB role next season, but I think it`s more realistic that we sign another RB. Wan-Bissaka looks most likely. Would be a great signing, IMO easily the best RB in the league next season. Quick and amazing 1vs1. Max Aarons is another option (YPOTY in championship). Would probably be cheaper than AWB, but is younger and has less experience.
Kompany or Otamendi: I hope we can keep both of them for another season, and slowly integrate Eric Garcia. He was easily our best player in the preseason and did very well in his 3 appearances in the EFL cup. He`s a huge talent and we can`t afford to lose him. Could save us 50m+ if we play him enough and show that there is a pathway to the first team. 17yo Harwood-Bellis is also a huge talent. Compared to Garcia he`s taller, much more physical and probably the better defender. On the ball he`s not that far off Garcia either. Looks very similar to De Ligt when he broke into Ajax first team. Garcia and Harwood-Bellis is very young though (18 and 17) and if one or both of Kompany and Otamendi leaves we probably have to buy another CB. I personally believe Sandler would have been played more if Pep believed he could be a first team player for us. The obvious first choice would be De Ligt. He`s the Mbappe of CBs, and it`s very hard to believe that he`s only 19. Looks like he has been playing for 10+ seasons and his physicality is ridiculous for a 19yo. He could be unbelievably good in a couple years with Peps guidance. I personally believe he`s Barca or Bayern bound, so not very likely that we`ll get him. We haven`t been linked to many CBs, and that might be an indication of that neither Nico or Kompany is going to leave in the summer, or because there simply doesn`t seem to be a lot of young attainable CBs in the market right now. Some targets could IMO be Akanji, Tah, Elvedi or Ruben Dias.
Mendy: Zinchenko 100% deserves a new contract. His mentality is fantastic, he`s worked hard and he`s looked like our best FB this season. Could be a Kimmich type of fullback or even a Zabba, not very quick, but a warrior and good in possession. Mendy`s situation is more difficult. He`s been ridiculously unlucky with injuries since he signed. Considering he`s missed a year or so since he signed, he`s been surprisingly good lately. His defending seems to have improved a lot and once he gets in form he will be fantastic. IF (and thats a big if) he can stay injury free until the summer and during preseason, Mendy and Zinchenko should be more than good enough options for the LB positons. If Mendy is hit by more injuries, I think we sadly have to go for another LB. Top of my list would be Tierney. Rapid as hell, and good both defensively and offensively. He`s a big Celtic fan though, and it would probably be very hard to get him. Angelino has 11 assists in all comps, and apparently did well against Spurs, Inter and Barcelona in the CL. We might have a decent buy back clause on him as well. Firpo and Grimaldo also look great but they`re both a little bit injury prone.
Gundogan: Currently looks like he will leave in the summer, which would be a big blow. He`s shown (especially in the last month or two) that he`s an incredible footballer and replacing him might not be as easy as many thinks. We will 100% sign another DM to rotate with Dinho, and we already have Kev, Merlin, Bernardo and Foden to play in front of the DM, but it`s not completely unrealistic that we could sign another midfielder. Kev has been hit by lots of injuries, Merlin is getting old, and Pep likes Bernardo on the wing. Potential targets could be Bruno Fernandes (28 goals 15 assists this season), Hakim Ziyech (19 goals and 20 assists), Julian Brandt (7 goals and 15 assists) or Houssem Aouar (7 goals and 8 assists). I personally hope we can keep Gundogan, but that looks unlikely, but I still beleive we`ve got enough attacking midfielders. Zinchenko could play there, Mahrez could potentially play centrally, and we have some amazing talents in the academy (Bernabe, Nmecha and Doyle (can also play DM)).
Sane or Mahrez: Losing Sane would be horrible, but considering he`s been benched so much this season, it`s something that could happen. Mahrez doesn`t look like he fits into the team (at least not yet), and at 28 he`s in his prime and I wouldn`t be surprised if he wanted more playing time (although I find it unlikely that he will leave). If one of them leaves I think we should look at Son, Pepe, Chiesa, Lozano, Hudson-Odoi or Bailey. None of them comes close to Sane though, (not many in world football at all) so hopefully we can convince him to sign a new contract.
Jesus: With only 8 starts in the PL (compared to 19 last season) and also reports saying he wants to leave, he could be on his way out (I personally don`t believe it though, signed a contract extension less than a year ago). If we sell him should we get something between 70m and 90m. Luka Jovic is 21, and has 25 goals and 7 assists in the Bundesliga and Europa League and is apparently available for 52m. I`ve seen some highlights of him and he looks like a mix of Aguero and Dzeko. At that price, he sounds like a good option. Joao Felix also looks fantastic at 19. His release clause is 103m, but I can`t see any clubs paying that much for him. Maybe 80-90m, which we should be able to get from an eventual sale of Jesus.
Conclusion:
Regardless of outgoing:
Ndombele in. Rodri/Rice/Saul/Thomas other options
Eventual outgoings:
Danilo --> Frimpong/Dinho or one of AWB or Aarons
Kompany or Otamendi --> De Ligt, Akanji, Tah, Elvedi, Ruben Dias
Mendy --> Tierney, Firpo, Angelino or Grimaldo
Gundogan --> Fernandes, Ziyech, Brandt or Aouar. Or just play what we already have
Sane or Mahrez --> Son, Pepe, Chiesa, Lozano, Hudson-Odoi or Bailey
Jesus --> Jovic or Felix
Of course I don`t beleive that all the players above will leave. I personally hope we can keep as many as possible, because I believe our squad is almost perfect as it is right now. A couple of them probably will leave though. We really need to sign Sane on a new contract, replacing him would almost be impossible. And before anyone asks; yeah, school starts tomorrow
My first choice DM would be Ndombele. I`ve watched him quite a few times the last 18 months and he has it all. Very quick, strong, incredible ball control and dribling and can also tackle. He`s currently very similar to Fernandinho at Shakhtar, but is only 22 and Pep could make him the best DM in the world.
I haven`t watched much La Liga this season, and have only watched some highlights of Rodri. He seems pretty good, but to me he looks big, slow and not very agile. Saul is a wonderful player, but not sure if he has the physicality or defending abilitites to play as a single pivot. Haven`t seen too much of Thomas either, so can`t really give an opinion on him. Rice has been fantastic for West Ham, but in 2 years I think we could expect Tommy Doyle to be equally as good. Rice is a great talent, but not worth 60m+.
Other signings would depend on eventual outgoings. The report that said that 7 or 8 players, including Gabby and Leroy, could leave is hopefully just BS, but I think there is a few players who could leave:
Danilo: linked to Inter and hasn`t played a lot this season. Can see him leaving for more game time. Walker has stepped up the last few weeks and should be first choice next season, but he can`t play all the games, so we obviously need a replacement. I`m a huge fan of Frimpong in the academy and personally believe he could play in cup games nest season. We have seen TAA and AWB break through at the dippers and CP, and Frimpong could do the same for us. If we sign a midfielder or two, I also believe Fernandinho could play as an inverted RB. I would like to see Walker, Dinho and Frimpong (65%, 20%, 15%) sharing the RB role next season, but I think it`s more realistic that we sign another RB. Wan-Bissaka looks most likely. Would be a great signing, IMO easily the best RB in the league next season. Quick and amazing 1vs1. Max Aarons is another option (YPOTY in championship). Would probably be cheaper than AWB, but is younger and has less experience.
Kompany or Otamendi: I hope we can keep both of them for another season, and slowly integrate Eric Garcia. He was easily our best player in the preseason and did very well in his 3 appearances in the EFL cup. He`s a huge talent and we can`t afford to lose him. Could save us 50m+ if we play him enough and show that there is a pathway to the first team. 17yo Harwood-Bellis is also a huge talent. Compared to Garcia he`s taller, much more physical and probably the better defender. On the ball he`s not that far off Garcia either. Looks very similar to De Ligt when he broke into Ajax first team. Garcia and Harwood-Bellis is very young though (18 and 17) and if one or both of Kompany and Otamendi leaves we probably have to buy another CB. I personally believe Sandler would have been played more if Pep believed he could be a first team player for us. The obvious first choice would be De Ligt. He`s the Mbappe of CBs, and it`s very hard to believe that he`s only 19. Looks like he has been playing for 10+ seasons and his physicality is ridiculous for a 19yo. He could be unbelievably good in a couple years with Peps guidance. I personally believe he`s Barca or Bayern bound, so not very likely that we`ll get him. We haven`t been linked to many CBs, and that might be an indication of that neither Nico or Kompany is going to leave in the summer, or because there simply doesn`t seem to be a lot of young attainable CBs in the market right now. Some targets could IMO be Akanji, Tah, Elvedi or Ruben Dias.
Mendy: Zinchenko 100% deserves a new contract. His mentality is fantastic, he`s worked hard and he`s looked like our best FB this season. Could be a Kimmich type of fullback or even a Zabba, not very quick, but a warrior and good in possession. Mendy`s situation is more difficult. He`s been ridiculously unlucky with injuries since he signed. Considering he`s missed a year or so since he signed, he`s been surprisingly good lately. His defending seems to have improved a lot and once he gets in form he will be fantastic. IF (and thats a big if) he can stay injury free until the summer and during preseason, Mendy and Zinchenko should be more than good enough options for the LB positons. If Mendy is hit by more injuries, I think we sadly have to go for another LB. Top of my list would be Tierney. Rapid as hell, and good both defensively and offensively. He`s a big Celtic fan though, and it would probably be very hard to get him. Angelino has 11 assists in all comps, and apparently did well against Spurs, Inter and Barcelona in the CL. We might have a decent buy back clause on him as well. Firpo and Grimaldo also look great but they`re both a little bit injury prone.
Gundogan: Currently looks like he will leave in the summer, which would be a big blow. He`s shown (especially in the last month or two) that he`s an incredible footballer and replacing him might not be as easy as many thinks. We will 100% sign another DM to rotate with Dinho, and we already have Kev, Merlin, Bernardo and Foden to play in front of the DM, but it`s not completely unrealistic that we could sign another midfielder. Kev has been hit by lots of injuries, Merlin is getting old, and Pep likes Bernardo on the wing. Potential targets could be Bruno Fernandes (28 goals 15 assists this season), Hakim Ziyech (19 goals and 20 assists), Julian Brandt (7 goals and 15 assists) or Houssem Aouar (7 goals and 8 assists). I personally hope we can keep Gundogan, but that looks unlikely, but I still beleive we`ve got enough attacking midfielders. Zinchenko could play there, Mahrez could potentially play centrally, and we have some amazing talents in the academy (Bernabe, Nmecha and Doyle (can also play DM)).
Sane or Mahrez: Losing Sane would be horrible, but considering he`s been benched so much this season, it`s something that could happen. Mahrez doesn`t look like he fits into the team (at least not yet), and at 28 he`s in his prime and I wouldn`t be surprised if he wanted more playing time (although I find it unlikely that he will leave). If one of them leaves I think we should look at Son, Pepe, Chiesa, Lozano, Hudson-Odoi or Bailey. None of them comes close to Sane though, (not many in world football at all) so hopefully we can convince him to sign a new contract.
Jesus: With only 8 starts in the PL (compared to 19 last season) and also reports saying he wants to leave, he could be on his way out (I personally don`t believe it though, signed a contract extension less than a year ago). If we sell him should we get something between 70m and 90m. Luka Jovic is 21, and has 25 goals and 7 assists in the Bundesliga and Europa League and is apparently available for 52m. I`ve seen some highlights of him and he looks like a mix of Aguero and Dzeko. At that price, he sounds like a good option. Joao Felix also looks fantastic at 19. His release clause is 103m, but I can`t see any clubs paying that much for him. Maybe 80-90m, which we should be able to get from an eventual sale of Jesus.
Conclusion:
Regardless of outgoing:
Ndombele in. Rodri/Rice/Saul/Thomas other options
Eventual outgoings:
Danilo --> Frimpong/Dinho or one of AWB or Aarons
Kompany or Otamendi --> De Ligt, Akanji, Tah, Elvedi, Ruben Dias
Mendy --> Tierney, Firpo, Angelino or Grimaldo
Gundogan --> Fernandes, Ziyech, Brandt or Aouar. Or just play what we already have
Sane or Mahrez --> Son, Pepe, Chiesa, Lozano, Hudson-Odoi or Bailey
Jesus --> Jovic or Felix
Of course I don`t beleive that all the players above will leave. I personally hope we can keep as many as possible, because I believe our squad is almost perfect as it is right now. A couple of them probably will leave though. We really need to sign Sane on a new contract, replacing him would almost be impossible. And before anyone asks; yeah, school starts tomorrow
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