I was always a bit wary of the Jude hype train. Yes he’s awfully talented but he’s a bit petulant, has a big price tag and I’d much rather prefer a player we can develop and who wants to be here.
Like someone mentioned Merino would be great, watched a few Sociedad games and he’s very classy and could be a good fit.
Rice is a class player but I feel might struggle with the technical side of our game, he’d be great for a Liverpool side but in a possession based club I fear his talents wouldn’t shine through.
The lad from Brighton would probably be the best fit, very Gundo like in his strengths, plenty to improve but has all the tools to be a good player. His ceiling isn’t as high as Jude but then we are a system team under pep and he’s clever enough to fit in.
I’d love Lavia back as he’s versatile enough to play ahead of Rodri and has great composure, can take the ball in any position and obviously we already know his capabilities.
If we did lose Gundo and Phillips I’d be more than happy with Lavia, keeping silva and then integrating Mcatee into the first team mix - then pushing Phil as a cm.