The idea that clubs are “locked in talks” just doesn’t align with the notion that bids are being submitted and rejected.
The point of talks/negotiations is to agree on terms, why would you do that and then come back and bid a worse offer?
Likewise if you’re negotiating a bid that’s already been submitted then that bid hasn’t really been rejected.
Probably all ITK guesswork
Getting slightly bored of this transfer saga now. Why can’t we just wrap up a deal quick for once
Slightly???
I mean, it’s a £100 million transfer, the first either club has been involved in, and neither is in a position to be frivolous about it. I imagine both sides are being very careful to get this right.
I don’t agree that Arsenal are incapable of wrapping-up a quick deal. But we’re talking about the biggest transfer in the club’s history here, there’s going to be a bit of due-diligence going on. Do you want your surgeon to do a good job or a quick job?
If you’re bored of very complex legal and financial deals taking time to get signed off could I politely suggest you take a healthy break from football transfer news and do something else for a bit?
Chelsea are struggling to pay the money for Caicedo and Man Utd are struggling to pay the money for Mount, but we’re impatient with what will be our new club record signing(on top of the 100+m we spent on Havertz and Timber).
Who else isn’t too fussed if this transfer falls through?
I just think there are plenty of other options to get if Rice decides to go elsewhere. He isn’t a 100m player for me.
I will be. I think he’s a unicorn(I know people hate the term, whatever). Perfect player to add to our midfield. It isn’t just his ability but his presence and leadership too.
He’s the best player on the market for what we’re looking for. It would be pretty big for us to get him here.
I am still not convinced by the statistics. For a defensive midfielder he was part of 20 losses over the course of the league. It’s of course not all his fault, but partially I suppose he should carry responsibility being a defensive midfielder…
I think there are plenty of good options for DM elsewhere in Europe.
If it was a choice between Rice for 110m, or around the same money for Caicedo and Maddison, getting the deal wrapped up quickly, then I wouldn’t be that bothered about Rice.
He’s a great player and is certainly an upgrade but make no mistake we’re getting fleeced here.
Who is on your midfield wishlist?
I’ll be disappointed if we don’t get Rice but keeping Partey and Jorginho and then adding Caicedo or Lavia is a really good backup plan that would strengthen us considerably, especially considering that Havertz is likely to play a lot in the Xhaka left eight role anyway.
I’d rather get Rice but not at any price.
For me Rice has been pretty significantly overrated by fans and the media whilst the likes of Caicedo underrated. Neither should be quoted as 100m players but this market is fried. With Rice though, the name value of the signing alone at this moment in time is a massive statement. Ultimately the manager wants him desperately and that’s the only thing that matters really.
If Arsenal is the home of some of England’s best players, and we land him over all the other giants, it adds serious present day credence to the stature of the club.
However what undoes a huge amount of the good work for me is the very strong chance that we’re losing both Partey (seemingly because he desperately wants to leave the UK) and Xhaka because he wants a new environment/challenge. If we’re serious about a title and UCL challenge, we have to hold onto as much of the the core of last seasons squad as possible.
Apparently Rice has agreed personal terms. We just need to submit a third bid @SRCJJ
Caicedo is overrated if anything all things considered.
Dude has one season of above average play and is being quoted at £80m, wouldn’t shock me if he performances evened out at a big club like Cucurella
I think you can have the best midfielder in the world but if he is surrounded by mediocrity, the team will still ship goals and lose games.
For me, when Saliba got injured and Partey was asked to do too much, we also started conceding for fun. Pre-Saliba injury he was lauded, after the injury he was criticised but for me the biggest difference was what was expected of him and then he lost his way.
If Rice comes in and our defence has glaring weakness, then I expect forum members to be slating Rice as shit/average when we concede, if however the backline is solid then I expect the same members to be singing his praises as the best CDM in the league/europe…
It depends. Id be miffed if we spend months pissing about to not get him last minute and be left scrambling for a replacement
He’s a different case to Cucurella, much younger and took to the league like a duck to water.
You don’t see that often in that position, also deputised at RB and took it in his stride, looks legit IMO
I’m not too fussed about this transfer if it fails. I’d definitely like us to get him, but he’s nowhere near the transformative player most people here think.
It’s only his valuation that make people excited. People need to watch him play, he’s Mr. Safe. Sideways and backwards passes is what we’ll get with him.
He’ll help protect the defence a bit better and alter the tempo of play - but he’s not going to transform our team imho.
Who knows, maybe that’s what we need - there must be a reason why we’re willing to spend so much money on him.
But from what I’ve seen, whenever we play West Ham, our players run rings around him.
He’s their best player in a very long time, but he’s nowhere near our best player if he joins. He’s not even better than Partey.
I hope he’ll join, cause he has some good qualities. But under normal circumstances, he’s not worth more than £45m.
Either way I just want this done. Either he joins us or he doesn’t, I think we’ll be fine.
I agree. I rate Caicedo but that’s a huge fee for the performance and experience level. Its also not 100% clear where he fits into Pep/Arteta football. I don’t think its obvious that he has the passing repertoire and tactical nous to do what Rodri or Partey does as the deepest midfielder. But he also hasn’t yet demonstrated the end product and final third decision making to play more advanced. He could grow into any of these roles or none of them. 80m is a big gamble for that kind of player.