Transfer Rumours | Tactics | Who to buy/sell etc

Oh what? We were willing to spend major money? Must be fake no? Hmmm

This isn't news, it was long ago said, club didn't have a problem paying the transfer fee for both Pogba and Mbappe, it was the salary demanded and it's subsequent negative effect on the salary ladder that was the problem. Also Mbappe wanted guaranteed starter status.

Those extra conditions were only if he wins the Balon d'Or, supposedly.

I hope we sign him and loan him back. Unless we make the push for Conte and have a back 3, it really doesn't make sense to bury a young starter on our bench just for depth

Marca is claiming Madrid will make three signings in January not including Rodrygo and Palacio (both of whom will most likely come next summer and not any time sooner).

The three signings are believed to be:

1. Mauro Icardi.
2. Mario Hermoso
3. A Midfielder whose identity is yet to be revealed.

I don't see how they can convince Inter to let go of their deadliest marksman midseason. But if by some miracle they can, I'm all for it.

Don't really want Hermoso to come now though. Nothing good can come by halting his development now by gluing him to the bench. Let the kid play with Espagnol and bring him at season's end. And send Vallejo the other way or anywhere else. Just not here.

No idea if these rumors hold any shred of weight to them, but I'm glad the board has finally understood they fucked up and an injection of fresh blood is needed.

There are certain players I don't want to see in the white of Madrid next season. Start the overhaul. Let the heads roll. Let it be brutal.

The Demon of Carthage wrote:Marca is claiming Madrid will make three signings in January not including Rodrygo and Palacio (both of whom will most likely come next summer and not any time sooner).

The three signings are believed to be:

1. Mauro Icardi.
2. Mario Hermoso
3. A Midfielder whose identity is yet to be revealed.

I don't see how they can convince Inter to let go of their deadliest marksman midseason. But if by some miracle they can, I'm all for it.

Don't really want Hermoso to come now though. Nothing good can come by halting his development now by gluing him to the bench. Let the kid play with Espagnol and bring him at season's end. And send Vallejo the other way or anywhere else. Just not here.

No idea if these rumors hold any shred of weight to them, but I'm glad the board has finally understood they fucked up and an injection of fresh blood is needed.

There are certain players I don't want to see in the white of Madrid next season. Start the overhaul. Let the heads roll. Let it be brutal.

they did not name Icardi in their article...

Yes, clearly they have edited the article to remove Icardi from it.

The following paragraph went from:

Marca wrote:Their search at this time is focused on a centre-back (Mario Hermoso appears the likely candidate), a midfielder and a striker, most likely Mauro Icardi, as they await Vinicius' development.

To become:

Marca wrote:Their search at this time is focused on a centre-back (Mario Hermoso appears the likely candidate), a midfielder and a striker as they await Vinicius' development.

No idea why. Probably for fear to upset Inter. But I'm certain Icardi was mentioned in that article and I'm pretty sure I wasn't the only one to have read it before it got removed.

I dont know if they did in english, i assume that's the language you are reading it in, looking at the quotes. But it was never in the spanish text.

You simply cannot sign Icardi in the winger. And almost no club playing for something important would sell you one of their key players mid season if that damages their chance at reaching the CL next year.

this is why the winter market is difficult.

Hermoso is a good shout for our long term plans in general

James is rumoured to wanting to come back but im not sure that's what we need.

i would definitely take Zlatan as a winter rental

Also, Ramsey is an excellent all around player who will be free this summer. i would try to make a deal now to sign him.

James over Ramsey 100%
Hermoso for CB

That's all I can see this winter. I would also like to bring Kovacic back

we need a midfielder capable of playing deep in the midfield more than we need an attacking one. we have plenty of attacking options already.

you can't bring Kovacic back midseason, i doubt his contract includes such a clause, or that he wants that anyway.

Also, has Kovacic been that great with Chelsea? i am not seeing it. He looks very unremarkable to me

Chelsea fans have spoken very highly him. From what I have seen he has been pretty good. Mostly recently he was a game changer against crystal palace when he came on.

Also, Ramsey hasn't played well defensively in a long time, he wants to be a CAM. That is why he hasn't played much for Arsenal lately, he is just not as good as Ozil.

That is true but even today he is a way more capable box to box player than we currently have in the team. Also, knowing he wont renew with Arsenal, Emery has no incentives to play a guy that wont be part of his team moving forward. He is going to sit on the bench a lot. He is still very capable of playing in a double pivot.

As for Kovacic, he has been doing well, but i just wonder if he will get to a level close to Kroos or Modric's peak.

I have to laugh every time, I read "the board" being involved in transfers! Do you guys even know who is on the board?

When it comes to transfers, it is solely Florentino Perez, with some input from Sanchez, occasionally from coach and scouts. Butregueño is the only one there with futbol background and he is NOT involved!

Normally I don't buy any rumors re winter market as club almost never participates. The only times I remember were when injuries necessitated a purchase or after South American kids as their first season ends by Christmas.

But this time with the poor first half, and essentially nothing much had been done in last summer market, plus the changes in CL eligibility, the club may make some moves. But again don't expect a lot. I would like to see Hermoso and a scorer, either a winger of a CF.

For those of you saying Hermoso shouldn't come to ride the bench, take a better look at one; how well Hermoso has been playing the past year and a half and two; how often we have played without Ramos or Varane.

We desperately need a 4th CF that can play. And by the way, this call up for Seleccion has Hermoso named and Nacho left out. It also has Llorente named as well. Llorente, an ex Castilla prospect, as is Hermoso, was passed over to return for Vallejo. Now it turns out all 3 ex Castilla CBs are in contention as Luis Enrique searches for a viable long term CB starter and Vallejo has literally fallen off the charts.

We need movement and pace upfront. Zlatan won't help us.

futbol_bill wrote:I have to laugh every time, I read "the board" being involved in transfers! Do you guys even know who is on the board?

When it comes to transfers, it is solely Florentino Perez, with some input from Sanchez, occasionally from coach and scouts. Butregueño is the only one there with futbol background and he is NOT involved!

this is not trueand i dont know why you want to state it as fact.

There is a board of directors which is involved in the decision making of these signings, plus many scouts who make recommendation. There are also names like Juni Calafat who are important in driving our recruiting in south america.

Perez does not have time to scout players and to decide whom to sign by himself.

Mr Nick09 wrote:

futbol_bill wrote:I have to laugh every time, I read "the board" being involved in transfers! Do you guys even know who is on the board?

When it comes to transfers, it is solely Florentino Perez, with some input from Sanchez, occasionally from coach and scouts. Butregueño is the only one there with futbol background and he is NOT involved!

this is not trueand i dont know why you want to state it as fact.

There is a board of directors which is involved in the decision making of these signings, plus many scouts who make recommendation. There are also names like Juni Calafat who are important in driving our recruiting in south america.

Perez does not have time to scout players and to decide whom to sign by himself.

Bill is laughing at how incorrect you are right now

Bill is always correct

Mamad wrote:We need movement and pace upfront. Zlatan won't help us.

If we can pull him for cheap, there's no reason for us not to get him as a backup, though.

Other than his juggling of women, which isn't even all that impressive considering he's a professional footballer, there is nothing remotely impressive of Exequiel Palacios. And Kovacic sucks, like ive said for years, other than his ability to turn and straight line speed/acceleration, there's nothing to him. We've been buying to many players like Kovacic, Ceballos, and now Palacios who are in one way or another frustrated attacking midfielders who inevitably fail to be anything special in deeper positions.

I don't think anyone has seen enough of Palacios to make a decision either way. I trust our scouts in SA who are much better to make a decision than us. We havent even seen enough of Vinicius ffs and he's been tracked for over a year now, and he is in our team.

Re Zlatan, I think he would be a marginal improvement, but would cost a lot in wages so overall not the best business decision. We need someone to lead the line, replace Benz and be around for another 4-5 years. If we can't get an Icardi type, we might as well just wait until summer.

Mr Nick09 wrote:

futbol_bill wrote:I have to laugh every time, I read "the board" being involved in transfers! Do you guys even know who is on the board?

When it comes to transfers, it is solely Florentino Perez, with some input from Sanchez, occasionally from coach and scouts. Butregueño is the only one there with futbol background and he is NOT involved!

this is not trueand i dont know why you want to state it as fact.

There is a board of directors which is involved in the decision making of these signings, plus many scouts who make recommendation. There are also names like Juni Calafat who are important in driving our recruiting in south america.

Perez does not have time to scout players and to decide whom to sign by himself.

Nick, i said coach, scouts and Sanchez are involved in terms of recommendation. The board is ONLY involved re budget considerations.

He plays in roughly 40 min with River Plate. I think it's a great opportunity to see the kid in action.

Seems we only scout in Spain and Brazil... with a couple of the Brazilian scouts going on vacation to Argentina recently.

Really not impressed by the scope of our scouting.

I'm willing to give the kid the benefit of the doubt for the time being. I'll watch him tomorrow and let you know what I think of him.

Having said that, I totally agree with you. This scouting policy is flawed and shouldn't be relied upon if you want to stay competitive and elite.

Let's just hope Florentino will make a U-turn and spend next summer on elite talent. We don't have any other choice but to wait anyway.