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January Transfer Thread - it couldn't open and close any quicker

parklane1 said:
tickle my balls with a feather, said it before but Jan is not the best time to buy really big players. We have got rid of the rubbish and brought in two who look promising.
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I think that’s a fair point but I’d almost take a second rate centre forward to cover Kane at this point. It’d be better than we have which is precisely nothing if he gets injured.

We’ve been negligent in that area for the last few years, Vinicius aside.
 
One to keep an eye on for the summer window. Tajon Buchanan.

Right sided midfielder for World Cup-bound Canada, undefeated in World Cup qualifying and the world's highest scoring team in WC qualifying.

Sensational contributor to the New England Revolution's surge in form in MLS and now playing in Belgium for Club Brugge. He's just turned 22 and has a serious set of wheels to motor up and down the right wing. Great ball control and attacking skills, typical hard-assed, ice hockey mentality about body contact and defending.

Yes, yours truly is Johnny Canuck but Buchanan really is the business.
 
greatwhitenorf said:
One to keep an eye on for the summer window. Tajon Buchanan.

Right sided midfielder for World Cup-bound Canada, undefeated in World Cup qualifying and the world's highest scoring team in WC qualifying.

Sensational contributor to the New England Revolution's surge in form in MLS and now playing in Belgium for Club Brugge. He's just turned 22 and has a serious set of wheels to motor up and down the right wing. Great ball control and attacking skills, typical hard-assed, ice hockey mentality about body contact and defending.

Yes, yours truly is Johnny Canuck but Buchanan really is the business.
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Canada has a bit of production line currently and they seem to end up in Belgium
 
Bedfordspurs said:
Canada has a bit of production line currently and they seem to end up in Belgium
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They get around and git 'er done.

Favourite workout is trophy lifting - Jonathan David with Lille, Alphonso Davies with Bayern and Cyle Larin with Besiktas.

Also watch for fleet RWB Richie Laryea (pron. La-Ray-ah) who just transferred in Jan. from Toronto FC to the improving Nottingham Forest. Could be what they need to get into the promotion battle.
 
I'm not going to go hunting for their comments, but I can't see that our rivals for a top 4 place will be happier than us.
We've removed four players who were getting little to no game time and brought in two first team options that (we have to believe) are accepted by the manager and will bring the right work ethic.
Man Utd have signed no-one, kept Phil Jones and suddenly lost Greenwood
Arsenal have signed no-one but reduced their squad options
West Ham haven't signed anyone either.

One or two more for us would have been nice, but January and the summer window are probably to be taken as a whole.
 
I don't think many fans thought we'd be able to shift N'Dombele, Alli, and Le Celco. It also confirms what most fans felt too - that these players were not at the races for us in Conte's system. Great thing about Conte is he knows what is required for a team to win the league. And while the above 3 players can play exquisite football at times, they are not cut out to grind out wins. They are players who will elevate sides like Everton (if given complete backing).

Then we've added two professionals. They might not be as creative, but they are more efficient. Both are technically proficient. Both young, both able to work hard defensively and contribute in attack. There is potential with both for some attacking flare too.

But we lack some dynamism down the wings still. Traore would have been a nice wild card signing to throw on. But to spend 30m on a sub/rotation option was maybe not great business.
 
I think top 4 could depend on how our wing play develops.

  • Can Royal develop into a more attacking player? He's accomplished as a more defensive RB, almost nothing gets past him. At 23 he can still become more attacking. He's a better player than Walker, Trippier and many others at his age. But he will never be a flair player; and it is likely he needs the summer to really take a step forward and develop. Does Conte stick with Royal or use an attacker out of position for some games when we need more down the wing to score?

  • Bergwijn, Moura, Kulusevski could all play down the right wing in theory.

  • Can Sessegnon come good and offer us a more attacking left-sided option to Reggie? With Sessegnon you get the feeling a lot of it is in his head. Get him into the right headspace, settled, and he can kick on. He can score, play one-twos and fly down the line. He needs consistent games, and again he might need the summer and a pre-season to get set.

Not an easy puzzle for Conte. Hopefully he prepares one attacking player to fill in on the right-wing. It would actually take some pressure off Royal for some games when we need to score. Then Conte has to get the most out of Reggie and Sesegnon. If we add assists and ideally goals from the wings, then we'll make the CL imo.
 
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