Ha. I only know we want a physical midfielder as the crop we have are lightweight bar Etebo. I’d imagine it’s Thorsby given the noise around him
Thorsby may be a decent height and hardworking/all action type, but is he really 'physical' by PL standards? Not convinced
Most likely. I’m worried about Giaretta’s interview the other day where he (supposedly) said we want another midfielder and the squad is ‘complete’. Hopefully that’s lost in translation because this squad is complete in numbers only - it’s nowhere near the requisite level of ability and we will be relying massively on Xisco’s abilities. And as much as I like the bloke, that’s a MASSIVE gamble. Plus we still will undoubtedly lose players so we will only get weaker. This squad just is not complete and needs a few quality additions yet.
Adam Newson on Twitter (has decent inside knowledge of Chelsea) suggests Guehi cost Palace £18m + sell on fee, and the ability for Chelsea to match any accepted offer. So another we had zero chance of getting.
Attack is probably ok although I really think we need a left sided forward. Thorsby probably completes the midfield assuming we keep Hughes and Chalobah, if not we need replacements there too. Full backs fine, I genuinely still think we need two centre backs, one of which who is good enough to start. Four more needed minimum.
Definitely feel as if we're about 4 players light. Especially if we end up losing Hughes and possibly Chalobah. Not to mention we need to clear a lot of deadwood from our forward line! IF we can keep Hughes and Chalobah I think one more central midfielder is probably about right, but would surely see someone like Quina and TDB leave (loan in TDB case)? Not convinced by us defensively at all!! Sierralta and Troost untested at this level, Kabasele & Cathcart were weak links in our last visit to this level (as were Kiko & Masina) and Pollock is a kid we've signed from the bottom of League Two (needs to really go out to the Championship on loan). RB CB CM ST These are the positions, IMO, we need to strengthen.
If the CM is another more physical midfielder to replace Hughes, then we'll still be sorely lacking an advanced midfielder/number 10. None of the midfielders on our books have enough in the way of creativity and goal threat, allowing for the fact that Gosling isn't really at PL level.
Bang on. Although I think ST/LW is up in the air dependant on what the thinking is on Dennis position.
Yep. All the signs point to the owner being asleep at the wheel again regarding our CB depth of ability. Could get away with it IF Sierralta and WTE prove they have PL level ability and manage to stay fit all season. But - people forget how many games Mariappa played last time around. Often ahead of Cathcart who is still here! Centre-back looks a perilous position in my opinion and we are currently hoping for an unlikely set of circumstances to play out if we are to get away with it being ignored. Now we have added King and Dennis, I think any funds need to be directed towards new deals for the 2 CM’s and the rest (and anything that’s raised) urgently needs to go on a quality CB. Kim Min-Jae’s contract is up in December. If we can wangle a work permit, he looks a relatively straightforward addition given previous interest.
Sky are saying Everton are looking at Demarai Gray of Bayer Leverkusen for £1.5M. Could we also be looking at him for that price?
Flatters to deceive largely. Decent player but I imagine the wages would rule us out even if we did have a a shout - Everton would always get him over us regardless. Worth noting - Lookman still hasn’t gone anywhere and will likely get a move away from Leipzig. A loan with an option would be a nice deal for us.
I imagine the club have Joao Pedro/Zinckernagel/Quina…and even King in mind for this spot when we play with a No.10. Big questions over whether they are good enough. But I suspect there won’t be any more additions in that area.
The first three aren't good enough to be regular starters in the PL and I'd be surprised if King would offer enough defensively or have good enough passing for the club to use him there. And by "when we play with a No.10" - under Xisco we've generally seemed to have had one of the central midfielders be a bit more adventurous, whether it's Cleverley, Gosling or Zinckernagel. JP was also tried there once or twice for about 20 minutes before it being quickly abandoned when he couldn't get in the game and didn't offer enough defensive help. It's effectively been the same role whatever name is given to it and whether we ask a slightly more midfield-oriented or attack-oriented player to do it. I get the impression that Xisco prefers for the role a more midfield-oriented player who can still put in a decent enough shift defensively, but can also pop up in the box with the occasional goal. Basically we could do with another Gosling, but better and with more energy. We have no one capable of doing that to a PL level and it seems really bizarre given I'll be very surprised if we changed the team's shape that much. I know it's unlikely as he'd prob get better offers, and also because of his wages, but someone in the mould of Barkley would fit the bill for what we still need there, and I'm a bit surprised you turned your nose up at him earlier in the thread. Not going to happen anyway. Yangel Herrera is of course another one who would be good.
That would make him one of our highest paid players. And I doubt we are in the market of offering those types of wages to anyone. Especially someone who wouldn’t be a nailed on starter every week.
I'd love a genuine left-sided forward too, but I suspect with the sheer number of forwards we have, our left-sided forward for the season is already here (be he Dennis or be he Cucho, with Sema in reserve). Hughes, Chalobah, Thorsby and Louza would be a decent midfield (albeit weaker than the one we got relegated with), although Hughes would be a loss who ideally we'd replace and I'm not quite sure who is going to play in a more advanced role (Louza? Zinckernagel? Quina? Cleverly?). Would like a right-back with Ngakia maybe going on loan, and a centre-back, although I don't think they're priorities at this stage
Really? I thought he was pretty good last season. His pressing and tackle/interception numbers are pretty good and he gets into the box well to score goals. I think there’s probably better out there for the fee mooted by Bournemouth (£10m) but he’d be a good addition.
I didn't really think much of him, but he has looked pretty good the second half of this season to be fair to him. His move into a slightly more advanced role seems to have really suited him. I'd have thought there were better options available elsewhere for cheaper, but I can see that he sort of fits the profile we want.
We've been after Billing before, he's a very good player under the right manager and in the right system. Not sure what Woodgate did to him but he was great for them second half of last season.
Think this French reporter for Lequipe was getting carried away; FC Lorient Fish is still in negotiations with Chelsea Flag of England to loan Trevoh Chalobah Flag of England. But Lorient will have to face increased competition. The player arouses the lust of Watford Flag of England, West Brom Flag of England, Crystal Palace Flag of England, Lens Flag of France, and Montpellier Flag of France.
