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The transfer window thread.

Bale, Ibra, Dybala, Fernandes all mentioned in the early circus rounds

I'm expecting his priority will be more defensive/FB in January
 
Raziel said:
Bale, Ibra, Dybala, Fernandes all mentioned in the early circus rounds

I'm expecting his priority will be more defensive/FB in January
Click to expand...

I'm not so certain, mainly because the targets I suspect he will want won't be available in January.

I mean, let's look at where we need players - CB, FB and DM.

CB - Mourinho seems to like Ruben Dias, from Benfica. It makes sense, since Dias is basically a Portuguese John Terry, but younger. He's also a Jorge Mendes client, like Mourinho - and Mendes will want to get as much control over this club as humanly possible.

Dias would cost 60m in the summer, given his profile. How much more would he cost in January?

FB - There are simply no good candidates available in January. For left-back, Davies and Sessegnon can tide that over until the summer - or Rose can have a miraculous revival. For right-back, Mourinho can always try turning Foyth into an Ivanovic, which was basically what Poch was trying to do.

DM - Mourinho has Dier. It's possible he tries for Matic to give us some experience, which wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, but I suspect he will try to make Dier work first, given his affinity for the guy. Plus, Matic's contract expires in the summer anyway - might as well pick him up on a free then, because his experience won't have gone anywhere (and his legs went a while ago).

Given all that, I don't think we'll get many in this January.

Longer term, I suspect Bruno Fernandes will return to our radar, because of the way he plays and what he brings to Sporting. He's basically a Portuguese Lampard - a leader on the pitch, playmaker, goalscorer and (most importantly) very dangerous from long range. For Mourinho, the role Lampard played was two-fold - he led the team from the front, while Terry led from the back, and he broke down low blocks by shooting from range. I think Fernandes would fit the bill for both those attributes.

Apart from that, Dias, an FB (possibly Dalot from United) and other shrewd signings hopefully picked up by Luis Campos will be on the cards come the summer.

If we can get Luis Campos in to accompany Mourinho, that will be the real win, maybe even more important than getting Mourinho in. We need a Director of Football *now* - the difference between when we had one (Baldini, Arnesen, Comolli) and when we didn't is night and day in terms of how quickly we sign players. Without a DoF, Levy takes *ages* to get even the simplest signings done.

And Luis Campos is one of the very best in the business in terms of DoFs. He would be the real win in all this, if we could grab him.
 
I was at this game. He brought the house down - three times zones from home. Standing O after the replays went up on the board. This wasn't his only great moment.

He's still a physical specimen and clearly motivated to keep playing. To have him available as an impact sub or for -20C away games in Blackburn or Murmansk (is there a diff?) would be adding a useful, self-motivated and massively marketable asset.

 
Raziel said:
Bale, Ibra, Dybala, Fernandes all mentioned in the early circus rounds

I'm expecting his priority will be more defensive/FB in January
Click to expand...

Bale has been linked relentlessly since he left.
Fernandez and Dybala weekly since the summer.
Ibra is a new, but obvious, link given he is free and an old Jose player.

I really dont ascribe any real weight to any of these deals, its just paper 2+2 stuff.

Though if any of them are likely - Ibra on a free makes a lot of sense, I suspect Jose would love to have his attitude around the place even if only for a short term deal. Also he is someone that has worked with Jose before so offers something of a head start.

Otherwise I remain convinced RB will be the most pressing need and possibly only move made.
 
You'd imagine the first purchase will be a DM and it will be in January, regardless of all the talk of "no money to spend"
If not, then, we'll probably continue to be porous after any initial "new manager bounce"
 
glorygloryeze said:
You'd imagine the first purchase will be a DM and it will be in January, regardless of all the talk of "no money to spend"
If not, then, we'll probably continue to be porous after any initial "new manager bounce"
Click to expand...

Diers fit again, and Jose is a fan.

Sissoko is capable.

I expect us to be far more compact as a team, and that in itself will go a long way to keeping things tight.

RB, on the other hand, is just weak - and Jose teams rely on FBs a lot - so Id expect something to have to be done there.
 
nayimfromthehalfwayline said:
Diers fit again, and Jose is a fan.

Sissoko is capable.

I expect us to be far more compact as a team, and that in itself will go a long way to keeping things tight.

RB, on the other hand, is just weak - and Jose teams rely on FBs a lot - so Id expect something to have to be done there.
Click to expand...

Let's hope Dier can get back to previous levels, though i'm pessimistic on that front.:(
Jose will definitely want a player in the mould of peak Wanyama and i'll be shocked if we don't try for someone who can bring that power, ball control AND mobility as a DM in January.
I actually think if the FBs are less important attacking-wise, i think Jose will get more out of teh current roster, though again if we can get an upgrade there in January i'm sure he'll ask Levy to make a try.
But DM will be the bigger priority imo
 
greatwhitenorf said:
I was at this game. He bought the house down - three times zones from home. Standing O after the replays went up on the board. This wasn't his only great moment.

He's still a physical specimen and clearly motivated to keep playing. To have him available as an impact sub or for -20C away games in Blackburn or Murmansk (is there a diff?) would be adding a useful, self-motivated and massively marketable asset.

Click to expand...
VAR rules that out for a high boot.
Yellow card for dangerous play, free kick to the opposition
 
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