Part exchange deal with Napoli involving Deulofeu going the other way. https://www.football-italia.net/138808/diawara-part-exchange-deulofeu
It’s Diawara plus cash as Napoli don’t want to pay the full £30mil. If we get Diawara plus £15-20mil then the Pozzo’s have pulled a blinder. As much as I love Deulofeu and want him to stay, there is no way we could turn that deal down.
Diawara is a great player. Very very good. And a decent Doucoure replacement should be leave. But if he doesn’t leave, should we be letting our biggest goal threat and best player leave for a player who plays in a position that doesn’t need additions? I’d argue not. Deulofeu would likely press for the move I’m sure. But I think he’s worth more than €30m.
I totally get where you are coming from and I don’t want him to leave, we just couldn’t turn that deal down. It would be too good for Gino. Plus if we were to get £15-20mil cash as well, Gino would use that to go buy Pavon or some South American that will generate a large profit. Deulofeu would be replaced with someone of caliber. Personally I’ve always wanted Berardi from Sassuolo. Will never happen, but he would be the perfect replacement in my opinion.
I don’t entirely disagree. But the figures being banged around are £10m-£15m plus Diawara and they value Deulofeu at £30m. So they value Diawara at £15m-£20m....if that’s the case, I’d rather we just went and bought Diawara?
Yeah agree entirely, but if Deulofeu wants out, which reports from Italy are claiming, then getting £15mil plus a player better than what we have is a no brained. Again I would rather keep him and just sign Diawara and who knows, maybe we will with the Udinese, Napoli, Watford merry go round. Supposedly Napoli want De Paul from Udinese. Udinese want Verdi and Ounas from Napoli. Napoli want Deulofeu, we want £30mil. You just know there will be players moved, money moved.
Have to disagree. We were very lucky with Capoue and Doucoure’s fitness last year. Provides cover and competition for places. It also sometimes takes a player a while to blend in. The season after next Capoue may be on the wane and Doucoure gone, if not before.
I know, I know. Diawara is a class player. I’m just not sure he’s worth losing our existing best player and biggest goal threat for - especially given the options outside of Deulofeu. Chalobah, Quina and Cleverley provide what you are saying. Now if we have long terms doubts over their fitness, and expect to lose Doucoure - then I’d be more inclined. I’m not saying it’s likely, I just think in a world where we can demand more for Deulofeu, hope he doesn’t ask to leave and hold on to Doucoure - as good as Diawara is, it’s not tempting enough.
£30mil sounds too low. Deulofeu shouldn't be sold for anything less than £40mil. I hope we keep him still though.
This season we converted Deulofeu to a striker and he got into double figures despite him only hitting his bootstraps mainly in the second half of the season. Possibly could score 20 + goals next season - How much is a 20+ goalscorer and 5+ assist player a season these days? And how much do we need one?
W Couldn’t agree more. If we sell we should look to be getting £50m. That said even if we got £50m we would struggle to get a player as good, so we would need to use the money to strengthen in a few areas.
We’ll never get £50m based on his consistency and lack of stamina. He sorts those out and he’s at a top club and worth that. But we were told that before he came and that’s the reason he’s currently at Watford.
We probably get £50m in which case we shouldn’t sell. He may want to leave, but he is on a long contact and if we sell our best players I can see only one outcome. Personally I think we should be selling the opportunity to him of developing into the striker role for another year and then he can move.
I’m sure that’s the idea. I doubt we are looking to sell him and I also think £30m isn’t enough. But I can see the reasons why better clubs than us would pay no more than that to get him. And Napoli offer CL group stage football and a heightened chance of getting back into the Spain squad. Hard to convince him to stay if bids come in.
We don't need Diawara though. He provides zero goal threat. Reminds me of Behrami. We struggle to play Cleverly or Chalobah. He is neither a Doucoure or Capoue who do create as well as compete in the middle. Del Boy is our best offensive player and 40 million pounds sterling up front is required. Doubt any Italian club beyond Juve either has or is willing to part with those sort of readies. The tone of these Italian sourced reports makes me laugh. The great Mazzari demands we sell Pereyra on the cheap and so on. We are not a charity.
All very interesting, but remember it's the Italian media at work here. They make Donald Trump look like an entirely trustworthy source of facts.
I think that's a stretch, 10 goal a season strikers are pretty dime a dozen, 20 goal a season strikers are altogether rarer, and there's a gulf between the two. Let's not forget that even in the second half of the season Deulofeu did have a few stinkers (much fewer than in previous seasons mind) and that 7 of his 12 goals this season came against Cardiff and Huddersfield. We won't be getting £50m for him, that's for sure, probably not even £40m. What concerns me a bit about this move is that it wouldn't be a straight swap, this Diawara lad isn't a striker or a winger, he's a midfielder, a sign that Doucs may be off? Heard good things about him, but it would still be a gamble. Depending on what we do with our loanees, we might need a Deulofeu replacement too
He’s 21. Doucoure added little goal threat at that age. Capoue scores the odd goal but he’s hardly a big contributor. Diawara is a very good player and far better at 21 than either Capoue or Doucoure were.
Everything about Diamara indicates he is a defensive midfielder not a box to box midfielder. Of course at his age things can change, but my main point is that we don't really need midfielders. If Doucoure goes I expect us to go in for a more of a like for like replacement not this guy. Certainly not giving up our main in-form striker in a part swap. Napoli might be in the CL next season but Del Boy should stick with us and develop. In 6 months time it could be one of the big boys who come calling. There is no to 'need' to sell either Doucoure, Pereyra or Delofeu unless an offer we just can't refuse is made.
Look up the thread. I have made the exact same points you are debating me over. I agree. But. We also have to be realistic about who we are. Footballers hold the bulk of power now and if Pereyra, Deulofeu or Doucoure wanted to make life difficult and force a move, Watford Football Club aren’t a huge roadblock to that. The stature of the club and its finances make that true. We can drive a hard bargain. But we can’t have a hugely disgruntled player. It’s a balancing act. Convincing Deulofeu to stay would be hard in the face of a decent bid from a bigger club. Clubs like Napoli, Milan - that’s his level. I very much doubt the clubs bigger than that will be keen on a direct move from us. As we have been saying about Joao Pedro, the big boys would want Deulofeu to be consistent and performing for a club just below their level. That’s not us. We don’t need midfielders. But if Doucoure were to move on, that changes. I agree, at this point in time that Diawara’s style can’t be paralleled to Doucoure’s. But we are unlikely to find a like-for-like replacement. Diawara is a class player and is young enough to be moulded just like Doucoure was. In short - I wouldn’t accept the deal as per the rumour. But if behind the scenes it was known that Doucoure is moving, then I’d be tempted to negotiate a better fee. And only if Deulofeu wanted out too. But we buy these players telling them we are a shop window which means these types of bids are there to be negotiated.
I think mainly I was trying to suggest that now we have him, let's keep him at least another season. Despite the rumours, he looks happy to me and won't be pushing for a move. It's not easy to get players of his calibre.
They've made it clear that they would like the chance at a bigger club, but thankfully neither Deulofeu nor Doucoure seem like the types that would throw their toys out of the pram. Ideally we'd keep them both for another season until next season, where the loanees/Quina/Chalobah etc will take their place
I think it's likely Deulofeu will stay. But also, there is the chance he might leave. Either way, I will have called it first.
Not really arguing against your points Burnsy, but the thread is about Diawara not our players being swapped. Good as Diawara is or might be I don't see how he fits into a crowded midfield. The Italian media articles have manufactured a scenario for swapping players which rarely happens anyway. It is basically code for saying that even top clubs in Italy (Juve apart) struggle to pay for WFC players. The power has shifted financially so that a relatively small EPL club like WFC is punching well above its weight because of the TV money on offer in England.
I don’t think we are clashing too much in our viewpoints. I don’t think the trade off for Deulofeu vs Diawara is worth it either. I just think the black and white is that Diawara is better than Capoue so he does fit into a crowded midfield if we had him. He’s a better player. Capoue has had an ace season but no one’s place should be certain on the face of being able to get someone better. That’s how you improve. No room for sentiment. Any of our players would be capable (rightly) of dropping us at the sight of a better opportunity. The club should behave similarly. The lesser clubs in Serie A don’t compare to PL equivalents. But Juve, Napoli, both Milan’s and Roma are a level above us and can afford figures we can’t.
He's better than the player with most interceptions and most clearances in the Prem last season? Crikey!! Out of all the areas on the pitch we could improve upon, a replacement for Capoue is the last we need to think about. A midfielder who could sometimes rotate with him would be handy (maybe Chalobah if he recovers enough), but until his fitness starts dropping, maybe in another season or two, he should still be the first name on the team sheet.
Can you tell me where I’ve said we should be thinking about replacing Capoue? I swear people read what they want to read at times and not what is written. Capoue had a great season. And has been a revelation under Gracia. But there are allowed to be better players than him in football. I think Diawara is better. The argument was put to me that IF we had Diawara, then there’s no room for him. My opinion was that IF we had him, of course there’s room. There’s always room for good/better players.
I am just going by what you'd written: you said that the club should behave unsentimentally "at the sight of a better opportunity" when it comes to dropping players. You then said that you think Diawara is better than Capoue (i.e. would be a better opportunity). The implication being that if the club had the opportunity to replace Capoue with Diawara they unsentimentally should. Don't try and blame my reading comprehension abilities. It is not my fault if what you have written either contains contradictions, does not accurately express the point you intended it to, and/or you later realise is baloney.
On a completely separate point to the one above, I am also wondering how you have come to the conclusion that Diawara is better? Tbh, I don't really know much about him, so I'm not saying your opinion is invalid out of hand. However, he appears to have only started about 10 games a season for Napoli across all competitions. Meanwhile, with Capoue I'd struggle to name a better defensive midfielder in the division last season, bar maybe Fernandinho, Fabinho and Kante. Sure, it's unlikely Capoue's form will continue indefinitely, but I still think a player would need to be going great shakes to take his spot.