• Dear Guest, Please note that adult content is not permitted on this forum. We have had our Google ads disabled at times due to some posts that were found from some time ago. Please do not post adult content and if you see any already on the forum, please report the post so that we can deal with it. Adult content is allowed in the glory hole - you will have to request permission to access it. Thanks, scara

Matthijs De Ligt

If we don't sell Toby...we just go with what we have at CH.

But for all we know, we may have to offer Man u toby if we want Martial and that will then mean we need a CH as well (unless he has super faith in foyth)
 
I don't know about you, but more than any other player I really really really want us to get de Ligt. I wanted Davinson really bad last summer, so maybe I can do some Jedi mind trick to make this happen.
 
I don't know about you, but more than any other player I really really really want us to get de Ligt. I wanted Davinson really bad last summer, so maybe I can do some Jedi mind trick to make this happen.
I agree. I think if we don't buy him now, he's gone forever.
 
The Sun reporting this morning it will take £48m to get him.

By most accounts, that's money very well spent. Highly rated and only 18? Got to be considered a great investment all round no?

However, that does use a large chunk of any transfer budget we have in a position we actually only need to strengthen if Toby were to go. If there's some u-turn in the Alderweireld camp, then £48m is far better spent addressing, say, the centre mid conundrum.
 
Honestly I have no idea. 19 this summer, clearly ahead in development, but Ive no idea just how good he is/can be or if he is worth £48m.

That, to my mind, is incredible money - and I struggle to understand the market these days. It seems to just be "average" at the moment and I simply dont comprehend it.

That being said, I trust Levy on the finances 100%, so if he pays it he pays it and thats fine by me.

Judging by reports, it would basically be DeLigt in, Alderweireld out, no net spend.

So I guess the only real question is where does that leave us?

Is DeLigt good enough to step in to a good level to replace Alderweireld?
 
Honestly I have no idea. 19 this summer, clearly ahead in development, but Ive no idea just how good he is/can be or if he is worth £48m.

That, to my mind, is incredible money - and I struggle to understand the market these days. It seems to just be "average" at the moment and I simply dont comprehend it.

That being said, I trust Levy on the finances 400%, so if he pays it he pays it and thats fine by me.

Judging by reports, it would basically be DeLigt in, Alderweireld out, no net spend.

So I guess the only real question is where does that leave us?

Is DeLigt good enough to step in to a good level to replace Alderweireld?
How much did Rio Ferdinand cost ManU all those years ago? If Poch and Levy think that Davinson-Foyth-DeLigt (not necessarily in that order, or indeed all on the pitch at the same time) is going to be our CB triumvirate for the next decade, £48M seems a relative bargain.

If he's as good as Davinson*, given his age, I would swap DeLigt for an ageing injury-prone Toby (and the go-ahead to sign Martial). Ideally it'd be next year rather than now, as I think Toby still has plenty to give us.

* Normally this would be a crazy thing to say, but in this case they played together so it's a pretty good reference point.

Yes, the amount of money seems bonkers. I've been thinking about that. Part of it is our new-found station. A few glamour signings aside, we didn't splash the big bucks in the '90s and '00s as, well, we weren't really shopping from those shelves. Now we're pushing the top tier and, if that's the money it takes, we need to spend it. I trust Levy to make sure we don't do a Leeds, thankfully.
 
Ferdinand was 24, had broken through in the premier league in a (then) decent West Ham team, and gone on to captain Leeds into the CL.

I dont think the comparison stands, to be honest.

I dont disagree, it seems to be the going rate and a good investment if he is "the" player.

Im just saying, its a mental amount of money I struggle to comprehend.

That, and it also seems a lot for an 18 year old defender from the Eredivise.

That being said, I thought Sanchez was extremely expensive, but Im delighted we have him now.

Im not really complaining as such, rather just saying the money is so extreme its meaningless really and I cant get my head around it.
 
Ferdinand was 24, had broken through in the premier league in a (then) decent West Ham team, and gone on to captain Leeds into the CL.

I dont think the comparison stands, to be honest.

I dont disagree, it seems to be the going rate and a good investment if he is "the" player.

Im just saying, its a mental amount of money I struggle to comprehend.

That, and it also seems a lot for an 18 year old defender from the Eredivise.

That being said, I thought Sanchez was extremely expensive, but Im delighted we have him now.

Im not really complaining as such, rather just saying the money is so extreme its meaningless really and I cant get my head around it.
A (slightly) better comparison might be how much Rio Ferdinand cost Leeds from West Ham. I think it was £18 million, which at the time that was a huge amount of money (I think perhaps even the highest ever fee for a defender) but the gamble didn't seem a particularly big one as it was clear Ferdinand had everything required to be a top class centre half.

From the little I've seen I think De Ligt has very similar attributes to a young Rio Ferdinand.... balance, composure, ability on the ball, confidence, seems to read the game well and is physically decent already, despite such a young age.
 
A (slightly) better comparison might be how much Rio Ferdinand cost Leeds from West Ham. I think it was £18 million, which at the time that was a huge amount of money (I think perhaps even the highest ever fee for a defender) but the gamble didn't seem a particularly big one as it was clear Ferdinand had everything required to be a top class centre half.

From the little I've seen I think De Ligt has very similar attributes to a young Rio Ferdinand.... balance, composure, ability on the ball, confidence, seems to read the game well and is physically decent already, despite such a young age.
Aaargh. That's the transfer I meant! I forgot that he came through at West Ham.
 
Honestly I have no idea. 19 this summer, clearly ahead in development, but Ive no idea just how good he is/can be or if he is worth £48m.

That, to my mind, is incredible money - and I struggle to understand the market these days. It seems to just be "average" at the moment and I simply dont comprehend it.

That being said, I trust Levy on the finances 400%, so if he pays it he pays it and thats fine by me.

Judging by reports, it would basically be DeLigt in, Alderweireld out, no net spend.

So I guess the only real question is where does that leave us?

Is DeLigt good enough to step in to a good level to replace Alderweireld?

This is made easier by how little we relied on Toby this past season. Finished 3rd in the league, semis of the cup, knockout stages of Champions League, all done pretty much without Toby. So it's a lot less pressure for DeLigt than if he was replacing Vertonghen for example.
 
Even so, swapping out a top level experienced player for an expensive, 18 year old rookie is still somewhat "?!?!?!" in my head!

Im not against it, just as Im saying - it all sounds bonkers to me
 
Even so, swapping out a top level experienced player for an expensive, 18 year old rookie is still somewhat "?!?!?!" in my head!

Im not against it, just as Im saying - it all sounds bonkers to me

Overall, I'd prefer that Toby stayed and got back to his best. But if he forces our hand by wanting to leave and not signing a new deal, then we could do worse than signing "the next big thing" I suppose.
 
Overall, I'd prefer that Toby stayed and got back to his best. But if he forces our hand by wanting to leave and not signing a new deal, then we could do worse than signing "the next big thing" I suppose.
If he as good as reports suggest, maybe it makes sense to get this guy in now even if Toby hangs around for another couple of years. It will give him a little time to acclimatise to the PL and not have to perform defensive miracles straight from the off.
 
Last edited:
This is made easier by how little we relied on Toby this past season. Finished 3rd in the league, semis of the cup, knockout stages of Champions League, all done pretty much without Toby. So it's a lot less pressure for DeLigt than if he was replacing Vertonghen for example.

"if he was replacing Vertonghen for example." Now go and wash your mouth out!:eek:
 
If he as good as reports suggest, maybe it makes sense to get this guy in now even if Toby hangs around for another couple of years. It will give him a little time to acclimatise to the PL and not have to perform defensive miracles straight from the off.

This, I'd be very tempted to keep Toby, let him go for his release next year or free year after if

- He would play a senior role, both on and off field for Sanchez, Foyth and if we get this kid. Play 3 at back in domestic cup, lesser games with Jan or Toby +2 of the 3 ..
 
I don't think we'll go for De Ligt if Toby is staying. Toby's sale would cover the fee to Ajax and somewhat create the first team pathway for the youngster, which would be essential to his ongoing development, I would guess, and possibly be a huge factor in his preferred destination.

Plus we'd be around £50m poorer when that money could go towards signing a Martial, Pulisic, etc.

Personally I think Alder has been immense for us but I can't help thinking that him moving on and us getting the young Dutchman in now is the best thing for Spurs in the mid-long term.

On a side note, if our interest in De Ligt is true I wonder if anyone (DL, Poch?) has asked Sanchez how he would feel about playing alongside him again? The answer to that could possibly be key in how we play this one out.
 
I personally think we should do all we can to strengthen our defense. That's the area that cost us points and cup progression more than anything. If we have a world class defense in place, we'll find a way to score goals that will get us the wins.
 
I personally think we should do all we can to strengthen our defense. That's the area that cost us points and cup progression more than anything. If we have a world class defense in place, we'll find a way to score goals that will get us the wins.

In the league what cost us was not turning dominant performances into wins...

I agree in Europe the defence cost us in the end

In the cup... debatable
 
Back