So true what you are saying i feel that nacho is so underrated by some when he was pretty much our most consistent player last year so i don't worry about the defence unless varane goes on brainfarts again. It is the attack which worries me as someone said morata and james were 30 goals both even if it was against small clubs still them goals need replacing which is why mbappe is more than needed .
Because we could well be surprised and we all know zidane wants him and florentino might want to please his coach who has done what no other coach has ever done.
So 6 leave. Pepe, Coentrao, Mariano, Danilo, Morata, James. And so far 5 have come. Mayoral, Vallejo, Theo, Llorente, Ceballos. Need 1 more to come in to even it out. You all know who...
If that is true then i can only see the club bringing mbappe because we need to think about injuries so going with only cristiano and benzema as our only forwards would be asking for trouble.
Damn, so Morata is gone. Too bad. Or we get a replacement or we permanently move to the 4312 and use Bale as one of the two attackers. Benz, Ronaldo, Bale for 2 spots and Isco, Casemiro, Modric, Kroos, Kovacic, Llorente, Ceballos and Asensio for 4 spots.
Yeah but at the same time a lot of 'excess' depth removed. Coentrao, Pepe, Mariano barely played (mostly injuries for the first two). Danilo in all honesty was shocking during his 2 years here, and if the club can recoup what they bought for him and still make a profit, take the bloody deal. Ceballos is a better fit than James (not yet a better player, but hopefully will get there). And Morata, imo I'm most sad about Morata leaving because he was a fantastic supersub and won like 15 points for us. But with that being said, I was never impressed when he started. If the club got 80m from him then that's fantastic business and hopefully it goes towards getting Mbappe.
Pls go for Mbappe now! Considering our attacking options, our quiet summers for a while, the Mbappe hype train, and the fact that he is french, I can´t see Florentino let this one pass by.
Cadena SER (Which you all know Morata's father is well connected with) said Morata made his decision to leave in Jan. if Zidane stayed. I think I remember hearing the same thing by Cadena a couple months ago too.
Please that is how much we have received from our sales this year,wouldn't make any sense to just keep the money especially given that we have lost 2 subtitutes yes but heavy contributors in goals . James+ morata+mariano that is 123m euros so more than enough to buy mbappe.
The total # of bodies matters only if the players are versatile. If Danilo's gone, we don't have anyone [other than Nacho] who can play both the LB and RB spot, so you've got to leave LB out of it -- that's Marcelo and Theo on an island taking turns. So that leaves Nacho, Carvajal, Ramos, Varane, and Vallejo for three spots. Last year wasn't an exactly ideal situation on this front -- it's playing with fire IMO. And we have more matches this year. Nacho stepped up and ate up minutes in a big way, but 5 players (two injury-prone) for three spots is cutting it thin. It wouldn't necessarily have to be an RB, but we'd need another defender to be safe IMHO. I'm fine with that being Achraf.
The sudden confidence in Danilo is baffling. We overpaid 2 years ago and his performances have been shocking, but the market's overall movement up has buoyed his price. Recouping the full amount is actually very good business considering the two factors bringing his price down (form, overpaying originally). If I'm a manager and you ask me to choose between Danilo for €35M or Semedo for €35M, I'm choosing Semedo 10/10. People saying worse wingbacks going for more, like who? I'd be hard pressed to choose Danilo over Walker/Semedo/Rodriguez.
Danilo out, Archaf In Morata out, _____ In Pepe Out, Vallejo In Coentrao Out, Theo In James Out, Ceballos In Mariano Out, Mayoral In Danilo was a disaster, although he did put in a good showing in the last two months, I will be happy to recoup what we paid, sky is reporting £30m+, which would be fantastic. Don't see how Archaf could be any worse. Coentrao never played and even when he was fit he was a shell of the player he once was. Theo provides some much needed support for Marcelo. Mariano to Mayoral honestly isn't that big a deal, I just hope Mayoral provides the same intensity and energy off the bench. Ceballos is honestly a better all round CM than James, maybe not a better attacker, but at CM where James was playing, I see him as an improvement and no longer the defensive liability James was. He won't be able to fill the front three like James did but hopefully that is where Bale, Isco, Lucas and Asensio come in. Morata will leave and we will need to find a replacement, if we can land Mbappe, that will be a clear improvement, although I worry we don't have a true tall CF type player anymore. The only one which concerns me a little is Pepe leaving, as good as Vallejo is and I know will be, Pepe was a monster with a load of experience. It still leaves a bitter taste in my mouth the way he left, playing in Turkey over one less year here. That being said he hardly played last season due to injury and wasn't there during the hardest part of the season for us. So basically, bring on MBAPPE!
And the inventor of football couldn't find better options with 75m burning in his pocket? Not that I'm complaining, take the money and run.
So sad to see a canterano go for that sum -- it being a reflection of how good everyone believes he is and can be. Hope we're doing the right thing for the club here -- if Mbappe is as good as people think he is, not sure you have a choice really. Hope we don't look back on this as a big mistake.