Watford are interested in QPR's Ilias Chair, but are not preparing an offer yet. The midfielder has interest from clubs in Belgium, Italy, Germany and England. [@adjones_journo, @TheAthleticUK] #watfordfc https://t.co/bNZ6syq1X8 I'd be up for this, a very tidy player who ran us ragged at theirs
Agreed. One of the few players I've seen this season, outside of the top 7 clubs, who to me looks genuinely too good for the Championship.
Very good player and still pretty young. If I had the choice between him and Olise, I would absolutely prefer the latter, but Chair deserves a crack at top flight football. He still has 4 years left on his deal and is QPR's most important player so I can't imagine he would be cheap and is in an area I feel we had a reasonable amount of depth already (Cleverley, Zink, Gosling, Quina etc). Doesn't really seem like a high priority to me.
He played well against us but I'm not convinced he's quite at the level he should be aiming for - he only got 8 goals and 4 assists overall in 43 starts this season. For comparison, the season before Eze got 14 goals and 8 assists in 46 starts. Really we should be trying to get Eze-level talents at minimum for the LW or AM position if we want to survive in the PL and he's a bit off that. He strikes me as more of a "already preparing for life back in the Championship after getting relegated next season" type of signing.
If this is the level of signing we're making, then next season will just be spent like rearranging the Titanic's furniture.
TBF he is creating a significant number of good quality chances, and they just aren't being taken. I know when we were linked in January he had some of the best creative stats in the division (obviously these are stats and are not the be all and end all). Eze was an unreal player - I still don't know how Palace were the only club in for him. Olise will do the same next season - just looks far too good for this level.
The thing is, despite how good Eze was in the Championship last season and however promising he is, he's still only got 4 goals and 5 assists in the PL this season. It's a respectable figure, though not loads. We'll be wanting a LW or AM to be chipping in with at least a similar figure to that next season, and given that Chair isn't at the level Eze was it seems highly unlikely he'd even hit Eze's current total if in the PL. I agree Olise is a better player than Chair. I'm not convinced he'd even improve our first XI. The only current Champ players in his kind of role who probably would are Olise, Armstrong, Powell and Danjuma. Harry Wilson could also maybe get there if he rediscovers his form somehow, but he'd be a risk.
8.21 xA though so not sure he can be faulted for QPRs awful finishing! Only Buendia, Wallace, Olise, Sema + Bannan had higher.
Wilson would be a pointless signing imo. The others have either not played Premier football or haven't achieved anything in the Premier league.
For a deal of this magnitude it apparently bypasses the agents and straight to the chairman to decide. If it’s over a bank holiday we could save up to 50% and stretch the payments over 4 years.
I really don't think much of Wilson. He has not just failed to kick on from his decent form for Derby, but actually looks to be going backwards. I have gushed about Olise enough that my views on him are clear. I 100% think he goes into our starting 11 (even if it takes him a bit of time to adapt). We don't have anyone else capable of carrying the ball in midfield and taking players on like he does. Armstrong would be worth a shout. I would be interested to know what Blackburn want for him. Danjuma was absolutely awful last time they he was in the premier league - 0 goals and 0 assists. There is clearly talent there, but that has to be a real concern.
Interesting. Raises a question though - do people really think Chair is any better than Sema, Joao Pedro and Zinckernagel? He just seems as if he'd be a bit of a pointless signing whether for £5mil or £10mil when he's unlikely to really improve us. We need to find upgrades from somewhere somehow, whether that be from the Champ or elsewhere.
Rotation option ? I've heard he has a great swivel. Who would we castor side to make space for him in the 11 ?
Hence why I said he was a "maybe [...] if he rediscovers his form somehow". He was still young though and hardly given much of a chance (just 629 minutes), and I genuinely thought he looked threatening at the time (not awful) even if he didn't register. His good dribbling was in evidence already last season (similar successful dribble rate to this one) he was just lacking a bit of composure. I'm sure he'd do much better now if given a regular spot and with a good season behind him.
Me thinks Danjuma has matured since his last spell in the PL and I would sign him tomorrow if we could afford him.
