Transfer Rumours | Tactics | Who to buy/sell etc

http://www.espn.com/soccer/soccer-transfers/story/3502466/paris-saint-germains-kylian-mbappe-i-may-not-stay-at-parc-des-princes-for-five-years

So Mbappe has committed to PSG for next year...  but not after that.  Left the door wide open after this coming season.  So this mean that he's certain that Neymar is not going to leave this summer either imo.`

And before people go off on this, realize that players don't announce that "I'm staying" unless he was considering leaving or dispelling a rumor. There was no rumor swirling around Mbappe... so connect the dots.

Our dream summer is going to have to wait then.

HOWEVER, we need to sign a striker ffs.  Icardi it is.

Well, ESPN is referencing an Mbappe interview with Le Parisien in which he is directly asked whether he will be in Paris for a long time, to which he replies that he'll be there next year but who knows after five years. That's a reasonable and politically correct answer to a direct question.

As for getting both Mbappe and Neymar, PSG would look really bad if that happened, and considering the money involved i'd only take Mbappe, i don't like all the fuss over Neymar, personally.

Sports making up stories out of nothin, sthap this

Nick doesn't understand the difference between the words "rumor" and "fact"...  also, 99.9% of proposed moves don't happen.  Doesn't mean they were never considered.  This info is too close to the source to be false.  

PSG are damn lucky Neymar is staying...   saved them tbh.  They sold their souls (if they had any) to get both he and Mbappe to come over.  It very nearly bit them in the arse (and it still might).  Good thing Tuchel clicked with Neymar...  that wasn't a given with Tuchel's reputation.

Word is Madrid aren't giving up on Neymar though...  long summer for PSG if you ask me.  They need to make a decision on Cavani and it's dependent on whether they can keep Neymar and Mbappe both.  For now, it looks like they're safe.  Maybe Mbappe actually likes the fact that the attack may focus on him with Tuchel as his manager and Neymar gone.  Not a bad setup for him either.

There are times when I feel you're a very knowledgeable poster and others where I feel you're simply gullible.

Do you really think Madrid are stupid enough to give their manager access to their sensitive data without having legal guarantees they won't be parroting them to their friends and family?  There's a confidentiality clause in Z's contract sports. That clause guarantees that he'll keep his mouth shut or else he'll be torched.

My advice to you: stop listening to these people who claim they're getting inside information. They're lying to you.

Also, Neymar is not coming to Madrid any time soon. Same goes for Mbappé.

DoC, I’m not one to defend Sports, but there definitely was something behind this. Both Marca and AS in particular, as well as most of Spanish media have been running this Neymar story non stop for the past 3 weeks. They even claimed that Neymar had agreed to terms! But they always had a fine print saying it was up to PSG, for any movement to happen. However there has never been any mention of Mbappethat I know of, only Sports’ version.

So I really don’t know what to make of Sports’ stories!

On one hand, I can’t see PSG let Neymar go, yet on the other hand, they do have serious issues with FFP. I think it will turn out like I said a week ago. All this, much like was done when Ronaldo was at ManU, is positioning for a future move.

I really hope we don't spend the entire transfer window chasing pavements w.r.t Neymar and/or Mbappe.

futbol_bill wrote:DoC, I’m not one to defend Sports, but there definitely was something behind this. Both Marca and AS in particular, as well as most of Spanish media have been running this Neymar story non stop for the past 3 weeks. They even claimed that Neymar had agreed to terms! But they always had a fine print saying it was up to PSG, for any movement to happen. However there has never been any mention of Mbappethat I know of, only Sports’ version.

So I really don’t know what to make of Sports’ stories!

On one hand, I can’t see PSG let Neymar go, yet on the other hand, they do have serious issues with FFP. I think it will turn out like I said a week ago. All this, much like was done when Ronaldo was at ManU, is positioning for a future move.

I'm not denying Madrid's interest in Neymar. He's the hottest talent in the world after Messi and Ronaldo and he's a marketing goldmine. I'm pretty sure any team with strong spending power would love to have Neymar if they knew they had a chance of signing him.

But PSG MUST greenlight the move for anything to happen. If they refuse to let him go (which is the likeliest outcome), it doesn't matter if he submit a transfer request or rebel or even if Madrid put 500m on their desk, he won't go anywhere.

That's why I'm pretty sure Neymar will not come to Madrid anytime soon. Marca and AS are just trying to fuel the speculations and help Madrid in their quest to bringing him.

Just ask yourself this: If Madrid truly wanted Neymar, why didn't they poach him last summer when it was exponentially easier to sign him? They could've paid his release clause, get him directly from Barcelona (and humiliate them again with a Figo 2.0 masterstroke) and be done with it. You know as well as I do that Barcelona wouldn't be able to block the move if the 220m were paid and Neymar was willing to come.

Yet Madrid didn't do anything last summer. You're telling me it's easier now to get him now after he tied himself for 5 years to PSG and the transfer fee is probably (at least) double the fee the French club paid for him last summer?

Let's be real, Neymar is not coming anytime soon. And don't even get me started on Mbappé because I'm willing to bet you my left butt cheek he'll not come as well.

Mbappe doesn't choose PSG over Madrid, City, etc. unless he gets a lot of say about when and how he moves next. This wasn't a transfer where PSG could keep the leverage. There are "conditions" that are attached.

Same with Neymar. It came out that one of them was a coaching chance. That's why, in part, PSG were in such a rush to hire the next guy and have him meet Neymar ASAP. He could ask PSG to leave and they would have had to acquiesce (for a price).. not much more than his transfer in either according to the media in France.

PSG have the keys for the other players.... but not Neymar and Mbappe. They definitely share driving duties with those two. They had to in order to get them to come over.

Entertaining the notion of this because this sort of rumour is fun, any "condition" better be made on said contract as if it is just word of mouth, PSG would still would have the keys to both their cars.

Also, it really would not surprise me if all those "conditions" actually turn out to have some truth in it and Neymar's party leaked it to the Madrid media to try to "pressure" PSG into at least listening to whatever Madrid has to offer. To which, I still think we would find a way to not offer the right amount anyway.

Well Neymar does make 37 mil net euros a year in wages.  CR is at 32 mil.  Mbappe is at near 18.

Bale is at 17 i think as a reference. Benzema is at 8 (a big reason he stays put).

Mbappe makes 18m a year? That's 2 time CL winner, Balon D'or esque salary.

Doc wrote:Mbappe makes 18m a year? That's 2 time CL winner, Balon D'or esque salary.

Anybody who says he didn't go there for the money is out of his mind. And that's not an attack on him, I understand his choice, but under no circumstances his transfer to PSG was for football related reasons, because there are none

Hazard is such a brilliant talent and unfortunate to play in that team and statistics obsessed era. Simply unplayable, everything Chelsea does is through him, creates changes at will

I keep thinking that signing a player like Icardi makes sense because of his price, age and numbers but Everytime i watch him i am less than impressed. sigh

Mr Nick09 wrote:I keep thinking that signing a player like Icardi makes sense because of his price, age and numbers but Everytime i watch him i am less than impressed. sigh

I was just thinking the same thing after watching. If you look slow in serie A, it's not going to get better in La Liga unfortunately... i have grave doubts.

Need to break the bank and get Salah... although one great year scares me there too. But what can you do.

Technically he is a subpar player, that's really what is holding him down.

Honestly, I still prefer Icardi out of any striker out there. His fight, drive and ability to barely touch the ball and still score just appeals to me. Honestly fed up of the Benzema's and Hazard's tbh.

Though Icardi is far from my first choice, he seems like a player who would play up to the level around him. At Inter the service is not nearly as good as what he would have at RM, yet he still puts up great numbers. If he were to come to RM, I think we would see an improvement.

But dont you think we should be looing for forwards who can create on their own on top of being excellent finishers? it's an aspect that we always ignore but i feel like in comparison, barca never sign a player who is not A technically. this is my main concern, the fact that he is completely useless on the ball if he is not shooting at goal

Completely agree, which is why I think he should be far from first choice, but if he did come in to replace Benzema it would not be the end of the world, and I think he could play above some of the expectations on this forum to surprise a few of us.

yeah sure, he could certainly impress us. But fundamentally, he wont change the type of player he is. I am just concerned because i look at who barca sign and they are about to bring in Girezmann, who is by all account an all-arounder. I dont want us to sign a player who is limited.

If for example you look at Martial, he has the technical baggage to be a great CF, but mentally he is a huge question mark.

but it's clear on the market there are no outstanding young CF talent

The whole Griezmann deal makes no sense to me. Valverde plays a 4-4-2, Griezmann is a good fit for that formation (him paired with a CF/ST in the mold of Costa), but they have 3 forwards for those 2 positions. Surely they won't drop Messi so they will have a lot of sorting out to do.

Meanwhile, he would be much more suited to our play style and personnel. He would be a pretty seamless replacement for Benzema. He's French, so sports and Zidane should be fans. He would play with that CF he needs in Ronaldo. Plus he would be affordable and the marquee signing we have needed.

So there is this French blog called Paris United, they have a lot of sources at PSG and their infos are very good.

About Lewandowski, he changed agent to leave Bayern this summer. We are top of his list but there are other clubs like Chelsea (queue report from the telegraph today they want to sell Morata and sign him for 114 mil) and PSG. So since he now has the same agent as Neymar he could potentially go to PSG because they are trying to sell Cavani.

If they sell Cavani and they can't sign Lewandowski then apprantly Nasser LOVESSS KARIMINAL OMFG. They even added he would be interested.

This is too good to be true is it? I would fully support signing Lewandowski if that means Karim going to PSG ffs

Likewise, would take Lewa over Benzema, not even a question or debate for me. As for your initial question

But don't you think we should be looking for forwards who can create on their own on top of being excellent finishers?

Ideally, yes, I would love if we could have a forward like that to replace Benzema (Griezmann clearly being the ideal choice) but since we seem to not be interested in that and Mbappe/Neymar are impossible/improbable signings this season (also ideal choices), I really prefer a player like Icardi (or just Icardi to be exact). A striker who while actually being a good footballer has that mentality to keep going, to put in a proper shift and actually play like a God damn striker when we need one.

He is what Morata could very well be but simply does not have the mentality to pull off. Or in other words, a (much) better version of him.

But yeah, I'll take Lewa over Benzema too. Easily.

Hmm. I'd take Lewa over Benz, but not for 114 mil. I'd rather Lewa go to Chelsea or PSG for that price.

Also if Lewa and Neymar have the same agent, wouldn't he rather his biggest client (Neymar) get the move he wanted (RM) over a new client?

Lots of question marks for me.