That's weird, as my spell check changes Penaranda to "PenaltytoBournemouth". Hope that's not an omen.
A blast from the past. I see, somewhat dishearteningly, that I’m almost exactly 3 years older than him.
I wonder how Iggy would do in our current system? 2nd top scorer in China but his team got relegated. Worth a pop at £10m?
Based off Leventhal’s tweet I’m glad that we are focusing on a CB first. Cahill’s name is being mentioned a lot, which on a 6 month loan deal would be the perfect signing for us. Another name that I just saw mentioned on Twitter is Jake Cooper at Millwall. I don’t know much about him but he’s 23 and English. The little digging I did shows that he has 5 goals and 6 assists. He also seems to win everything in the air, but I guess at 6ft 7in you should be. Also according to the whoscored website, he has been Millwall’s 2nd best player this season. Years ago my brother and I were saying we should sign Maguire from Sheff Utd but we didn’t. Based on what I’ve read about this guy, seems like he could have a bright future. Might be worth taking a punt on him? If anyone has seen him play more than a few times, would love to know your thoughts. Edit: if transfermarkt is to be believed, he is also left footed. I know Leeds are doing well at the moment but I wouldn’t mind us going after Pontus Jansson. Think he would be able to make the step up, having a great season for Leeds. Seems pretty consistent and at 27 is in his prime. I’m sure we won’t sign any of the three I’ve mentioned, so this was pointless.
Wouldn't mind giving Munir from Barcelona a chance? Contract up in the summer, should be available for cheap. Pre-existing relations with Barca already exist due to Deulofeu transfer and they're sniffing around Cucho so..
I honestly can't see how a 33 year old Gary Cahill could be considered the perfect signing for us as we currently stand. I think we need a centre back under 30, with some top flight experience, the right leadership qualities to marshal the whole defence and who is willing/able to stay for 2 to 3 years to give us some stability.
Cahills wages and the fact he has barely played this season make him far from ideal as it will take him a month to get up to speed
Not to mention the fact that Fulham are linked. Given the amount they spent in the summer it would be no surprise if they agreed to his wages.
I don't understand the negativity over Cahill. He only just turned 33 in mid-December, so I would say he's still got at least 2 years at the top. He's also got an incredibly good injury record. Only been out for a couple of months in total in his entire career!! 61 caps for England and 348 Premier League appearances to his name and home grown. He was in England's WC squad last summer. He looks like a typical Pozzo signing to me. A top quality, under-valued player approaching the end of his contract. It wouldn't surprise me if Cahill is one of the players we would seriously look at signing and I think he would be a great addition to the squad if we did.
Well it's just an opinion of course. But, for me, 33 is almost always beyond a defender's peak. I just had a quick look and only Morgan and Bamba are older centre backs playing regularly in the Premier League this season. Koscielny might be the third if he recovers from his injury and gets back in the Arsenal side. Experience only goes so far in that position. Although Cahill’s an excellent pro he’s never exactly been world class. World class players look the business even as their career winds down, even if they maybe have to play less to manage their fitness. Cahill looks like an ideal signing for a club looking down the league with concern or maybe even a rich Championship club on the up - sides who can afford him to miss the odd game or be beaten for pace by the best attackers but who will benefit from his experience. But surely now we’ve established ourselves at this level we should have a different type of signing in mind? We’ve signed midfielders at or just before their peak since we came up (Doucs, Bobby P, Deulofeu etc) and now need to do the same in defence. We need to be the Southampton signing Van Dijk or the like rather than scraping the barrel or looking for stopgaps.
Talking of creaky old defenders, are we not supposed to be signing Thomas Vermaelen? Or was that twitterbollix?
You're probably linking him to John Terry in that his legs have gone. I think Cahill's better than that and better than the Championship. I don't think he's at the JT stage just yet. However, I don't disagree with you in that we should be looking for someone a bit younger, but a top class central defender in his prime we are not likely to get. Maybe a younger player who has lost his way, a kid with potential or an experienced old pro. This is our likely market.
Would like Andreas Christensen from Chelsea. But fully expect someone we’ve never heard of for about £2m.
Somebody good, but mentally unwell or with evident character flaws, convictions, bad lifestyle choices etc. These players are cheaper and more hilarious in the long run.
In that vein, I wonder if this experienced international defender "with flaws" might be free ? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriel_Tamaș
'His deal at FCSB was offered by the club's owner on the condition that Tamas addressed his issues with alcohol,[20] and go to church every Sunday, which led some fans to make fun, saying that he only goes to church to drink the wine from communion.[21]'
Two strikers up for sale, Defoe and Gabbiadini. I think Defoe would be ideal as a player forgetting wage demands, contracts etc
Tammy Abraham is going to Wolves for £18m. Good player, good price, untapped potential and is able to play the lone striker role.
It’s amazing how far we have come in such a short space of time. Outside of your sarcastic response though, I would rather us sign an English 23 year old, left footed, 6’7” CB. Who clearly has a lot of potential, which if reached will sell for a big profit. Even if he doesn’t reach it, we will still make a profit if we moved him on 4 years from now. So this sort of signing is low risk and goes along the line of what Gino has been doing in the last couple windows. I doubt we will sign him, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see him in the Prem next season and people on here will be saying how we should have signed him. As I pointed out in my first post, I haven’t seen him play but based on what I’ve read about him now, he would be much better to have than Prodl or Britos. Millwall’s captain just over a week ago made a statement that if Prem clubs want him then they won’t get him cheap. He is obviously being looked at by at least one Prem team. Even watching some of the highlights of Millwall games, he looked like he could handle himself. On a serious note though, who would you like to see us sign at CB?
I'm happy we make this sort of purchase if the price is right as a medium term investment but we also need someone who can slot into the team now and match Cathcart's ability. Someone like Dawson at WBA. I'm surprised that Wilmott hasn't been given a chance there ahead of Mapps.
On a 6 month loan deal, he would be the perfect signing for us. He has been a solid Prem CB for years. He can organize our back 4, is a winner and knows what it takes to win. Everything you want in a CB under 30 is exactly what Cahill is. Of course we need a long term option, I agree with you completely but I would rather have Cahill than Prodl and Britos. I just think Cahill would bring that experience and stability we need.
If rumours are true then he apparently has a £3mil release clause if Millwall get relegated. So I think we could probably get him for about £6-8mil, which in my opinion would not be a bad deal at all. Absolutely, and Dawson is a decent shout. I think that’s why a lot of fans are mentioning Cahill on a short term deal, which I think would be a decent signing. Agree with you on a Wilmott, seems as though Javi sees him as a Defensive Mid more than a CB I guess.
