Youri Tielemans

I’d prefer if we’d go after De Jong. We seem to be going big this summer…let’s keep it going.

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We’ve been going big not stupid lol

Mother of god Flexo, we’re talking Galacticos spending here. Let’s ground ourselves a bit. :rofl:
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How about Jude?

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The price that United have offered for De Jong is £50m-£60m. That doesn’t seem stupid to me.

We might have to sell someone to facilitate the move but we’ve got some sellable assets.

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Jude Judy judy judy judy judy!

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It’s the wages though we very clearly have a vision this summer to reinforce our ranks while maintaining the £220-250k a week mark as our biggest wage outlay.

It’s why when people are throwing names like FDJ or Sterling they just don’t fit in line with what I think Edu and Arteta are trying to do right now. Ok you could buy both for £100m maybe which we’re entirely willing to spend. And yes they are classy, classy players.

However that would essentially be 700k a week in wages if not more. It just isn’t what we’re trying to do here. And rightly so we’ve just got out of that Ozil and Auba mess, I really don’t want to find ourselves back in it so soon.

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That’s fair. I must admit I didn’t realise FDJ was on £350k a week and that’s according to those football salary per annum websites. That’s absurd.

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Yeh I couldn’t believe that either when I read it, if it’s true but you know what Barca are like. It’s probably why this United deal for him is dragging as much as the transfer fee. It’s insane.

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He’s also got some heavy loyalty bonuses written into his contract

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You need more talent to get the best out of Jesus.
The midfield has to function for the maximum. Tielamanns and Raphinia are essential for transformation.
No room for half measures now.

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Barca are insane for handing out such a ludicrous contract. It’s little wonder they facing so many financial issues. Pack in the big-spending bullshit and get your books in order.

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Him and de Ligt really had everyone begging for their signature a few years ago. They both flopped and it’s not talked about enough.

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I agree. A player like that moves the needle when deployed correctly.

He’d thrive in the leftsided 8 spot at Arsenal. Would be the biggest signing since Ozil in terms of impact on the pitch.

idgaf about wage tbh. Club clearly has money and it wouldn’t wasted on an elite player not even in his prime yet

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Ffs just thought we had a juicy link to this guy. All that erection for a shitty poll ffs

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Not worth the €80m, £350k a week and inevitable disillusion from being forced out of his boyhood club.

Plus his sample at Barcelona playing in a midfield 3 has been so poor I wouldn’t want to pay that kind of money for the risk involved.

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I dont see it any different to Ozil or Sanchez, only way is down if you’re leaving the spanish giants.

The figures involved don’t bother me, but I agree we’d need some outgoings to justify the total investment.

I’d say his sample at barca is tainted because he isn’t being deployed properly. Even now Xavi does rate his profile

I agree FDJ isn’t being used properly. At the same time, is he a player who, to be used properly, needs the system built around him?

Xavi seems to want the same as Pep and Arteta - two creative 8s pushed high and a defensive 6 behind. Neither of those roles fit FDJ. But he wouldn’t fit a Klopp midfield either, not nearly energetic enough off the ball. So how much do you want to pay for a midfielder who couldn’t fit into the midfield systems of the two leading managers and tactical innovators in the game right now? There is no doubting his quality but I think there are legitimate concerns about how you fit him into a team.

Yeh no one cared about Auba or Ozil’s wages until they did. Then it was brought up weekly, even when he stopped being our player.

Really glad we’ve caught ourselves on in that regard, it’s simply not sustainable. Transfer fees are one thing but wages are the real poison chalice.

Just look at clubs like Liverpool and all they’ve achieved not simply bowing down to players like Mane or Salah. Shits not FM, ignoring a sustainable wage hierarchy is how you end up like United or Barca. Hell even Auba and Ozil set us back years

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Slightly different as those were second contracts we willing entered into eyes wide open with aging players. With Ozil he was 28 but in fairness, there was an expectation that he would have aged well, post Wenger breakdown was tough luck really. Auba was 31 when he renewed. It is not totally clear if he aged poorly or if the falling out with the coach was the biggest issue there.

The big wage aren’t really the issue, it’s investing poorly. FDJ is 25 and an elite player not even in peak yet. A 5 year deal would cover his prime and contribute to the club massively, you can easily offset the expenses against future collective success. We’re spending huge sums as is and we’ve been out of the CL for 5 years AND we’re coming to the end of major commercial deals where the new one will exceed old figures.

This club has resources, no one bats an eyelid at the thought of Jesus being on £200k+ p/w, who cares at the end of the day as long as you get proven elite talent in.

I don’t even criticize the Pepe deal, yeah it was a swing and a miss but it was important to fans to see the club go big and aggressive to secure someone who we thought would be a gamechanger and raise the level of the club. We should take big swings like that every so often for elite players, I think FDJ falls into the that category of player tbh

Saying that I do get the concern about suitability on the pitch and total investment, just generally we need to shift dudes this window

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Sorry man I just feel like expecting us to pay Barca’s extortionate asking price and then pay him 400k a week on top of that is frenkie just ridiculous