Roberto De Zerbi *OFFICIAL*

[parklane1]

I think they are talking nonsense

Indeed they are. Some will lap it up though.

 

[revlis]

His language was the reason his awful Mason Greenwood comments were given a pass, but we're going all in on this bomba brick eh?

 

[SissokoWasGood (BoL)]

We shouldn't, but lets say we buy a striker and they don't work out? I also think certain players like Gallagher/Maddison/Tel/Xavi/Udogie, even Deki all have this season to prove they are worth sticking with. That itself could be significant change next summer.

I would expect we won't need 6-8 players next season, but quality upgrades will be needed regardless of results.

I get the point re what we pay, and I'd agree we have had great success from Europe in the past for much less, that said, RDZ seems to want (and maybe it's just for now, just for the first rebuild) PL proven, and that will never be cheap.

Yeah, I think the key with the Lewis kids is, do we end up in a situation that Saudi Sportswashing Machine are in now, at some point, because our power in the market was predicated by their willingness to spend? Because if that’s all it is, then it would prove Levy right.

What I hope, is that we are in the realm of Liverpool and Arsenal now. We use the strength that our infrastructure gives us to pay proper wages, and are able to attack the market decisively to back the manager when there are clear gaps to fill. We won’t need to do this summer each summer, so I won’t be worried if next year isn’t like this. I will be worried if we start selling off our best players and buying unproven replacements again. That will the tell for me. If we have a gap and move decisively for the best possible player, and it’s one or two players because that’s all we need, then great. Right now I feel like we’re playing at the top of the market, and you’d be able to tell if we fall back.

So far, so good.

 

[Muttley]

Yeah, I think the key with the Lewis kids is, do we end up in a situation that Saudi Sportswashing Machine are in now, at some point, because our power in the market was predicated by their willingness to spend? Because if that’s all it is, then it would prove Levy right.

What I hope, is that we are in the realm of Liverpool and Arsenal now. We use the strength that our infrastructure gives us to pay proper wages, and are able to attack the market decisively to back the manager when there are clear gaps to fill. We won’t need to do this summer each summer, so I won’t be worried if next year isn’t like this. I will be worried if we start selling off our best players and buying unproven replacements again. That will the tell for me. If we have a gap and move decisively for the best possible player, and it’s one or two players because that’s all we need, then great. Right now I feel like we’re playing at the top of the market, and you’d be able to tell if we fall back.

So far, so good.

In my head, this is a one off summer with regards to churn and spend. The key indicator is probably the difference between our transfer debt and our transfer income. When you break that down into total total and the following year P&L impact, that sort of informs what spending might happen in the next summer. At least we're now seeing some player sales that create multi-year income to somewhat balance the transfer debt equation.

As far as the squad goes, it currently sits at about 30 players on the official website with a month to go of this transfer window. After the next tranche of ins and outs we need to have reduced further. That gives us the manoeuvrability for future windows as players leave naturall at end of contract and we decide to sell others.

For me, this was always the problem on Levy's watch. He could never find a football ops strategy that right-sized the 1st team squad. We'd go through these culling cycles and get it lean only for it to bloat again with some average purchases. What RDZ needs help with is to keep this squad at the right size for multiple years.