Think we have some good options in the team right now. We will see if they come good. We should definitely be looking to offload Akanji and Hazard, possibly Schulz. I would like to see what this team could do in the following setup: Granted, it probably won't be how we usually line-up, but still.
I think we have to go 3 in the back and that's mainly because I want to play all of Adeyemi, Moukoko and Reus as starters in the front 3 of 3-4-3. I think that would make best use of our talents. The center backs and wing-backs are clear choices. The only question is the 2 defensive midfielders, two out of Dahoud, Jude and Ozcan will have to be chosen depending on the game and how good Ozcan turns out to be. Re Jude: I am impressed by him despite not liking his style of play at all. He needs to learn to be a better passer and I find that a crucial aspect for a central midfielder. I would still want to try him more as a winger where his dribbling and stamina will be very helpful. But I don't think he wants to play as a winger.
This works too, I guess (didn't see it before posting) as long as Moukoko is regularly rotated up front, with a winger or Haller.
Yes hopefully thats the line up, but it doesn't suit Haller and I am confident Moukoko is ready to bang in goals. It's sad to think we could have sold Bellingham signed Bissouma and got an attacking winger think Anthony, Raphina, Sarr, etc. Now there's no money to get a dribbler and we are still light in CM since Bellingham and Brandt cannot play in a two.
I wish BvB brings El Matador.. At age 34 he is still a beast and can score 20+ goals easily in Bundesliga
Raum goes to Hoffenheim for only 28 million including bonuses. Too bad we couldn't get it done. Angelino might become available now, possibly going the other direction to Hoffenheim. It seems Leipzig must not have liked his attitude problems because just from his abilities, I don't see the need for Raum when you have Angelino. If Leipzig can keep their team together, they might be in better position than us.
Cavani is already injury prone, imagine how bad things would be for him at BVB lol. Seriously though, I would expect it’s most likely to end up being someone like Modeste as a short term fix. Depay wouldn’t really fit the profile in terms of the club wanting a big CF, plus the club already has Malen, Adeyemi & Moukoko who are similar in style.
I think the club is taking risky decisions in chasing away Akanji and (if reports are true) Brandt. I'm still not confident about how Sule will turn out (reported discipline issues, weight, and injuries) and at the 10, relying on Reus 99% of the time + Reyna is also risky IMO because of their injury records. Reyna is also still unproven at the 10. They'll end up either alienating both players or losing them for much less than their market values.
Akanji not being chased away, he wants to leave hes on his last year of contract and refuses to sign new one. Brandt a different story
Yep, but the club doesn't care about the future. It is so badly run that it is shocking. I see no reason why Moukoko should sign his new contract. We are losing one of thr best talents. We are not putting any faith in him and wasting money. We know Bellingham is about to leave next year, but we are trying to make him the centre of the team, which would then need to be rebuilt possibly alienating Dahoud. I wouldn't be surprised if Brandt, Dahoud and Moukoko are all gone by the start of next season.
Perhaps. But the way he was sat for friendlies made us look so desperate to offload him. Clubs will wait till the last day in the transfer period and make offers that are much lower. And then they may not go through and we end up with a grumpy player.
Moukoko is under a lot of pressure and it's one of the few things that Rose got wrong last season. I think once there's less pressure on him, he may explode. Just gotta put him in that position as often as possible this season. Dahoud has looked at home during the pre-season, even wearing the captain's armband for a bit during a game. Right now, I am not too worried about him leaving. I do feel bad for Brandt being marginalized, while he can contribute at the 10 if Reus is rested more and can def be more productive from the wing than Hazard, who i have no idea why he still gets minutes.
Why waste resources and limited playing time on a player who wants to leave when you need to see where the team's at? There's no point in planning your preseason as if he'll remain in the team. Same for Schulz. If a club wants to wait until the last day to make a bid for a player of Akanji's level, then it's to their own disadvantage. It feels we are seeing it more often now that players run down their contracts. It's a development clubs cannot like and the harsh reactions are understandable.
I see what you're saying, but I think we should take into account the possibility that he stays. Not only can it be bad if we 100% rule it out too early, but on the other hand it can be actually advantageous if he stays this season.
BVB are reportedly interested in Cologne's Modeste as the Haller replacement. 20 goals last season was a more than decent output. Contract in Cologne until 2023 so I doubt it will be a contract extension + loan. I think we need a striker and I'm confident he can help us in the short term but the player was honest about looking at other clubs for financial reasons. So when Haller hopefully returns, Modeste might be an expensive rotation player who also blocks young players.
At this point I actually hope we do not bring an additional striker. Give Moukoko and Adeyemi playing time. If we do end up bringing someone, it would be best that he is on loan. Modeste would be a stupid buy IMHO.
I really like this signing, apparently its only a 1 year deal, fee of 5 mil $. He's 34, and fits the profile of the target man Terzic was looking for. I would have ofcourse prefered Suarez, oh man, this would have been a baller season with Suarez, but its understandable he chose to head back to Nacional... Modeste should do just fine. Now, all we need to do is get rid of that parasite Schultz.
Exactly. I hate to say this, but is any striker we bring in going to change our season? No I don't think so. We are not good enough to challenge Bayern and we will make top 4. What we should be doing is giving time to our youngsters. A signing we should make is to get Hudson-Odoi on loan. We are badly needing width and he would be perfect for us.
Well we have signed Modeste. What's the point in this? I thought the aim was to rebuild, but instead we are wasting money. We are no where near Bayern this year and aren't going to win the league. At least we could try and build a team for the future. Moukoko SHOULD refuse to sign the contract.
It's the very definition of prioritizing the short term. Transfer fee + wages add up to around 11 million. That's not cheap but I'm also not unhappy at all about the signing and I hope he achieves similar numbers that he had for Cologne last season. He's strong with the head and I'd like that being added to our offense but just like with Haller, we also need players that can play to his strengths. It may also be possible that he isn't a fit for our system. I'm not sure anyone knows for sure how long Haller will need. He'll have to undergo chemo, his tumor was malignant. It if was only 3 months, I'd say just play Moukoko, especially with the WC stopping the league. But we better have an established striker should Haller miss most of the season. I don't want Moukoko to leave due to lack of playing time but getting him ready also means not putting too much pressure on a 17 year old. He should understand that taking your time and growing in an overall functioning team can have its advantage over time.
Modeste 20 goals in 32 games in the BL last season, 3 goals in 3 games in the DFB Pokal, those are good numbers. It is pretty clear that the tactical plan was to play with a big target man this season. With Haller out this signing makes sense in terms of an affordable replacement. You don’t want to have to change tactical plans already, this signing allows Terzic to still implement plan A. Moukoko was planned to rotate with or sometimes play alongside Haller, so on that front his position at the club hasn’t changed.
Well it looks like the club might end up firing Schulz and saving some wages as a result if the evidence supporting the domestic violation allegations look convincing. Sounds pretty gross. Modeste is pretty decent as a stopgap, the cost is not trivial but it's rare to grab someone who scored 20 goals in the previous league season as an emergency signing. Terzic has shown an inclination to give Moukoko and Adeyemi all the playing time they need, so hopefully we don't have to worry about that angle too much. The Hudson-Odoi talk looks like it's picking up steam. Arguably we have too many players in the wide positions but no real wingers so this might be a good opportunistic signing.
From whaT I hear, the evidence is pretty damning.... good riddance i say. As for Odoi, I'de rather not. It makes no sense to loan in a player, and as they always do, perhaps even without a buy clause mandatory. Especially when they still have Hazard on the books. And with Guerrero and Meunier bombing those wings, I don't think they really need one either. I prefer a hard pass on Odoi. Wait till years next when Knauff has returned, Bynoe will also be a step ahead. It's just too many players... Malen, Adeyemi, Hazard, Knauff, Bynoe, and all of Brandt, Reyna, Reus, and Moukoko can play there even if perhaps not conventional wingers, with the fullbacks they have, it really makes no sense. Leave Odoi be I say.
Sorry to say, but Moukoko simply cannot be the first choice striker of a club that consistently plays in UCL. Nothing against his skills and technical abilities, but he simply lacks the strength and physical presence for a target man. He has had enough chances to prove himself, but has failed.