mexico1970
Well-Known Member
I can't see us doing much in January, most January transfer windows apart from the odd exception do anything at all.
As for Nunes, I've never been overly impressed & I've seen nothing to change my mind since his arrival. He was our third choice behind Paqueta & Ezé, & seemed more like a panic buy.
He lacks that something special all top players have, & is a level below our usual targets imo. If I were Pep, I'd use his pace & other assets to cover Rodri at CDM. From what I've seen this is probably the best for him if he stays, because he's no replacement for Gundog, KDB or Mahrez, & I doubt he ever will be.
Walker has been fantastic for City but, at 33, is now near the end of his career. Moving forward he can't be expected to play as many matches so we need his replacement ready now. Kimmich can play right back or centre midfield so is the obvious choice. I hope we get him.Walker needs a good kick up the arse.
Nunes has barely played since he has arrived and has been injured I like his pace and ball control. But he needs time and sometimes need to slow things down and be in a midfield that’s working not like the one against VillaAgreed there will be minimum movement in January with rumours persisting about our interest in Andre Trindade & Barco.
There's little we can do about Kev's injury, & I suspect Kova was intended as Gundog's replacement. The one player we didn't plan on losing was Mahrez. Apparently Doku was already on our radar whether Mahrez remained or left.
There are other rumours that City retain a strong interest in Paqueta, & may revive our bid notwithstanding his betting charges.
I feared Jack's excessive drinking would lead to injuries & a loss of form, & that's exactly what's happened. Essentially we've lost Gundog, Jack, KDB & Mahrez from last season's team. Added to Philips not being trusted to cover Rodders, that's a helluva lot of problems for us to overcome.
Jack is slowly returning to form, & Kev says he'll be back by mid-January which eases squad pressures, but I can still see some urgent tinkering in January, & I can also see some major upgrades & big departures in the summer.
As for Nunes, I've never been overly impressed & I've seen nothing to change my mind since his arrival. He was our third choice behind Paqueta & Ezé, & seemed more like a panic buy.
He lacks that something special all top players have, & is a level below our usual targets imo. If I were Pep, I'd use his pace & other assets to cover Rodri at CDM. From what I've seen this is probably the best for him if he stays, because he's no replacement for Gundog, KDB or Mahrez, & I doubt he ever will be.
I see Nunes differently. We've been aware of him for 3-4 seasons now, & I still can't see what the bug deal is about him.I see the opposite with Nunes. I think he'd be better as a box to box midfielder or playing further forward (in that position where KDB usually plays - towards the right). He lacks the defensive discipline to play further back currently. Watch him against Luton when he came on, he was ball watching so badly, the winger / full back got behind towards the end and they got a corner from it I think. Pep won't have liked that at all.
He's the only player that can carry the ball and break lines besides KDB in our squad. The big difference between them is end product. KDB is absolutely deadly when he gets into those positions approaching the box, whereas Nunes is very hit and miss. You saw the good and the bad in mid week in the CL with his end product I thought. There's a good player in there but he's raw and its clear Pep doesn't trust him yet. He will probably fall into the category of player we sign that needs a season to adapt.
Seems a perfect bench player tbh, jack of all etc. get him graduated from pep education bet he could be used anywhere on the pitch at somepoint.I see Nunes differently. We've been aware of him for 3-4 seasons now, & I still can't see what the bug deal is about him.
As I said earlier, he's missing that special something all the top players have, which is the final killer pass & an eye for goal.
All his other attribute are admirable, but without the killer pass or the end product, I don't see the point & I personally can't see him improving to the levels we need.
Yes we need a KDB replacement, but for that I feel we should concentrate our effort on Florian Wirtz in the summer.
I'd be easier easier to coach Nunes as a CDM, & take the pressure off him to have an end product & score important goals. We can source those respinsibilities from other areas of the squad imo, & utilise his box to box pace & power where we'd just need to concentrate on his defensive side & concentration.