I have the same reservations about Mahrez. That one season was so magical and he looked like an absolute star. But it came out of nowhere... who's to say it can happen again?
Mahrez was great when he felt like playing last year too. Going into a world cup year, I like our chances of getting his best.
Mmm the upside of the deal is tantalizing. When he's on and running at defences , it's a beautiful thing to watch. But if we commit that much money to a guy , I'd like to assume multiple years of production.
I mean... with all transfers theres an element of risk/reward .. but with Mahrez.. it's such a gigantic spectrum. I could see him becoming a star in Rome... or I could see him fizzling out hard.
I don't know what makes the guy tick. He got a raise before last season and was still making less than Salah was with us. I can see him being underwhelmed by staying put. New place, new proper wage. I think he'll turn up, and I think we'll capitalize on his resale after another elite season or two. I don't want or need him around for the long term. Just win us something. The guy can have any fullback on toast when he wants. We don't sniff those types on a regular basis, and it's worth the risk at anywhere shy of 40 mil imo.
I'm not sure you'd be able to count on any re-sale value. That's the thing. If we sign Mahrez it's a long term piece imo.
I think he's just disillusioned with whats happened at the club. Maybe he was promised that the club would invest & surround him with better talent in order to stay at the end of the title winning season. But ultimately, Kante, the main man in the engine room, left and many of the other players were either too old now or just decent/slightly above average players who happened to have a career year all at the same time (this is not meant to diminish their achievement in any way though). None of their new signings worked for them either.
Again, in 0 of his Premier League seasons, has Mahrez turned up for more games than he didn't turn up for. No top, league-winning club wants to touch him, even Chelsea who're -begging- for wingers. If you want to reach the next level, you have to be quick and snap up the players which the next level want. And yet, the competition for Mahrez is one Europa League club in the 3rd weakest league. You don't buy water and try turning it into wine, not when football demands results -now-. You don't buy the likes of Mahrez & Karsdorp with hope they can elevate you, and themselves, to a new level. You buy the likes of M&K because you accept those players as they are - both of whom are, on their very, very best days - good enough for a 2nd-rate team who're giving a real go to whoever the real champions of that league are.
If this were to happen and he accepted I'm not sure I would care much anymore. There are very few players that I get worked up about for more than a day or two after they leave but Stroot isn't one of those players for me. It would be completely unacceptable in his case.
I'm curious if your opinion would change if Monchi dropped a ton of cash on a CB instead? Is it Mahrez or nothing for your opinion to change? I want Mahrez but what I don't want is another Iturbe or Doumbia situation where we drop a lot of money on a player and that hamstrings us for 2-3 years.
Sky Sports saying we won't be making any more offers for Mahrez. So I guess the dream is over then. I just hope we don't go and drop 30m on Cuadrado now. That would be disastrous.
I can't imagine we'd buy Cuadrado for anywhere near that price. One player that might be worth the gamble is Gaitan. He's about 30 and with all the young talent AM at his position he didn't play much last year. Could be a cheap option and a guy that has experience, just need someone for a year to develop Under.
hmmmm... not sure what to make of this. I've always thought Laxalt was a nice player but I'm not sure he's what we need. http://www.forzaroma.info/calciomer...chi-pensa-a-laxalt-lagente-e-una-possibilita/
#Monchi trusts the will of #Mahrez to be sold and join #Roma will help dictate matters https://t.co/UH1NzZ9Uy5— RomaPress (@ASRomaPress) August 7, 2017
Why are you shitting on karsdorp? He's still a youngster just getting started in the game. Coming through the Feyenoord system he's been well taught. Probably the most interesting player we've bought, he's like a tank. Within 2 years, maybe much sooner I think he'll be comfortably first choice RB.
Let's see what happens. I think most of us are only looking at true wingers as a replacement. There are plenty of examples of AM or CM moved wide that have been a success. Maybe Monchi has an eye on this type of player.
You are living in a fantasy world if you think Roma can go out and buy guys at the next level. Roma. In their wildest dreams Roma can't afford guys like Hazard or Carvajal or Reus. The reality is you need to buy young guys like Karsdorp and Under and develop them. Roma have no chance of landing the upper tier players you suggest.
Iturbe might be on his way to Spain. http://www.forzaroma.info/calciomer...le-futuro-in-spagna-il-leganes-e-ad-un-passo/
The only upper tier players we can hope to hold onto are Roman. That's what makes our club so bloody special and unique. Screw you Romagnoli. Long live Pellegrini.
I'm sure there's plenty of players under the radar that could really help us , it's just we as fans don't really want to commit the time to doing the research. (why would we?) Mahrez eases the mind because he's a name we all know , but before Mahrez broke out , who was he? ... maybe that's the kind of guy Monchi is scouring the earth for.