Nketiah was signed right at the last minute and Saka was already an integrated part of the team and entered thr last year of his contract before he signed a new deal.
We have a history with their agency being tough negotiators.
Well youāve just given two examples of his clients signing extensions. Why would Balogun not sign?
Youāre missing the point. When he returns he will have two years left in his deal. Unless thereās a spot for him here itās unlikely heāll sign an extension when he comes back and the club would be stupid to let him go on loan again if he doesnāt.
On the contrary, I think youāve missed my point. What is better for him to double his salary and play elsewhere, where his stock could rise even further or run down his contract for 24 months on half the salary and hope his stock is as high now?
You do realise that having two years left on his deal makes a transfer very expensive? We are in a good position here.
At no stage have I suggested loaning him without an extension.
What would you do with Balogun?
Assess him in preseason then decide. Arteta and co. can have a closer look in what state he is now and see if he fits into our plans next season and perhaps beyond.
Fair. Nketiah is in a position now where heās proven that heās Premier League level. If we were to sell, we could get in excess of 40m - wouldnāt sell him though. Strangely, the hype around Balogun should make him worth similar.
Ideally, we keep both unless a silly offer comes in for either.
What I like about Balogun is he is fairly physical. A new Striker is quite low on the agenda for me now unless his name is Felix.
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The alleged fee for rice winds me every time I see it. But maybe thatās where fees are headedā¦Seems the trick is to be at the top of the wages pecking order.
Perhaps a combination of zubimendi and Ramsey as an alternative for refreshing midfield
Phillips cost 45m and Rice is loads better. Nothing suggests to me that Bellingham is 50m better than Rice but some fans would be happy to pay it. Rice is also better than Caicedo and loads of us were happy at the idea of us slinking 75m.
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Declan Rice please, his durability is good and o doubt heāll be injured at important times every single season.
Sign Maddison for the no 8 position also.
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Anyone else like Bella Kotchap? Would be surprised if Southampton retain him if they go down.
Depends on what he goes with Iād rather have Gustoso Chilli myself
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Big talent on FM, was surprised when Southampton managed to sign him. But donāt think Iāve actually seen him play yet
Heās 3 years older than Caicedo and a bit more withdrawn positionally. More of a 6 than Caicedo who is a full blown box to box 8. If theyāre being compared then Arteta would know Rice has nowhere near the same pace or athleticism to get up and down the pitch and break up play further up the opponents half.
If it comes down to who should replace Xhaka out of those two itās Caicedo all day long. Rice is too like for like with Xhaka. But if itās about Partey, Rice is the only one of those two that might be able to fill that role albeit not at Parteyās level yet. Partey is a phenomenal 6 whoāll be extremely hard to replace.
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Anyone checked out Elye Wahi or Rasmus Hojlund (or Victor Roque)? Seems Wahi is more a physical/powerful type. Hojlund looks to be in the haaland moldā¦I wouldnāt be disappointed if one of these came in to replace nketiah
What then for Balogun?
Three strikers seems sensible. Iām not happy about current situation
Looking at the strength of our squad I think we are in good shape going into the summer window.
------------Jesus / Nketiah ------------
Martinelli ā Odegaard ā Saka
Trossard --------ESR -------- Nelson
---------------- Vieria ----------------
------------Xhaka ā Partey ------------
-----------Jorginho - Elneny -----------
Zinchenko ā Gabriel ā Saliba ā White
Tierney ā Kiwior ---- Holding ---- Tomiyasu
------------- Ramsdale / Turner -------------
Two positions stand out to me that we need to strengthen as a priority, and then we are looking at upgrading existing players. Two priorities for me:
-
DM/CM - Declan Rice remains No.1 on my wishlist. Elneny becomes a 5th choice backup/sub to see out games aka Holding.
-
RW - We need to have a genuine quality alternative to Saka on the RW IMO.
After that, 3 positions stand out to me where we could upgrade on the existing players we have in certain positions if there is a quality alternative available in the market (not listed in any particular order):
Xhaka (SMS)
Gabriel (Gvardiol)
Tomiyasu (Fresneda)
I havenāt listed Holding, as I think he is a decent option as a 5th choice CB, and very few players would be happy to get the level of game time he does. He is happy to come on as a sub and do a job for us.
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I agree. My question is, do we look at ESR and Jesus as right wing forward options? Both have spent time there in the past.
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