Arsenal ready to sell Edu to Real Madrid

I say do it.

pretty good deal either way (£2M or £3,45M), considering that without a new contract wenger is probably not going to play him anyway in spring.

of course, he should have been sold earlier had it been known that this would happen...

 

This is a joke, right?

WTF does Real Madrid need with another slightly above average midfielder in that mess of a midfield they already have? Or has Edu magically become a Galacticetto?

Why not: dumber things have happened.

 

Yeah, getting at least 2million at this point is good news I think. Though I can't see Edu excelling in Madrid, I think he's a much better fit for their system of play than in ours.

 

That's just it, isn't it? Earlier, it wasn't known that this would happen.

And by "this" I mean a few things. The contract situation isn't only about Edu's ability. It's also about Edu's place in the team. Players have emerged this season, in large part because Edu was injured, and that has effected Edu's value as a player to the club.

 

you have a point.

 

2mil for a guy with only six month left on his contract is a fair price. The problem is whether Gilberto will be able to recover fully from his injury. I have doubts. If Edu is sold we may be left with only three central midfielders for the entire second half of the season. Unless Wenger can line up a good replacement to buy in January, we might be better off keeping Edu til the end of the season and letting him leave on a free. 2 mil wont seem like much money if it costs us the title and weakens our chances in Europe. I call this theory the Upson effect.

 

The Upson effect! That's hilarious! I share your concerns about midfield depth. If Edu leaves, Cesc will have to maintain his level of effort, Flamini will need to do some heavy lifting, and Gilberto's back will need to recover completely. And, everyone will need to stay healthy. We have four players who can be very good in the middle of the park, which is fine as far as numbers. But with two of them so young and one out with an injured back (spine?), the situation makes me a little nervous.

 

Not to sound like a total stoner, but......"DUDE, you should totally, like, do it!"

 

Um, that link is from tribalfootball which is the worst rumor site on the net.

But I'd rather sell him to Real for 2 mil. than let him go to Barca for free.

 

If they plan to pick someone up in January then maybe it's time to release him and get the 2 mil for him. If not, I'd keep him on until the end of the season. I don't feel that confident in Flamini yet and Edu has the experience for the CL as well as league play. I don't think we should do it unless we plan to pick up another midfielder. Gilberto is going to be questionalble for the rest of the season, so it would not be wise to let Edu go.

 

I'd have liked more money. This would eat into our transfer fund to strengthern our squad in the window and we need a defender at least, midfielder if he goes and possibly a gk, There's other question marks as well. We'll have to take what we can get but it's obvious we'll have to go out and spend now but do it wisely .
The needs are growing but the kitty is shrinking, it's a small worry.

 

IMHO, Edu was the Emmanuel Petit-like player that Arsenal was looking to partner Vieira last year(break up plays on defense, good passer, score 5-9 goals a season), only for Paddy himself to be injured/suspended and Gilberto playing his role adequately enough. Its a huge understatement saying Edu was important in Arsenal's 03-04 season.

Flamini and Fabregas have done well for the Gunners this season, but they are still young in only their first seasons....and as has been the case for many young bright players (Reyes as of late, Kaka for Milan, Howard for Manure) the sophomore slump is not uncommon...in fact, one might say it is needed for the player to realize they always have to adapt and learn each and every season. To expect Flamini and Cesc to have stellar second seasons is too much of a burden for them...especially in the physical position that they have to play which is conducive to causing injury. In their case, a severe injury which could be devestating to their careers. If I recall, Wenger only wanted each player to play 18 games this season. They are well on their way to going above that amount each.

With all the talk about Edu's renegotiations, I'd say better to pay up rather than have him leave on the bosman-free. Just because a player signs a new contract doesn't mean that you won't be able to sell them sooner rather than later (plus, you then don't have to worry about the free). And be honest. That amount being thrown around is dirt cheap for a player of his quality. If you want to sell him, fine. Just don't get robbed while you're doing it.

 

Me too.

I have mixed feelings about seeing Edu leave. The club went through a ton of crap to get him and he had a fairly exciting reputation. He took forever to get into the team and then he fell right back out of it. I agree with Jasonisimo's assessment and I feel bad for Edu because he was very important for the team last year.

It must really and truly suck for an established professional to lose his place (or role if you prefer) to a couple of kids so I can't blame Edu for leaving. I'd like to see him go somewhere where he can actually play though and I don't think he'll fare any better at Barca or Real than he is at Arsenal.

 

Meanwhile, Planetfootball reporting that all three Spanish giants are in for Edu with Valencia in the pole position currently.

http://skysports.planetfootball.com...irms+big+three+want+him&channel=Football_Home

Look, under normal circumstances there is absolutley no way you sell Edu with the lack of depth in Arsenal's midfield and with Gilberto's injury problems.

But Wegner has a unique approach to Bosmans. He has stated before that if Edu is going to be leaving at the end of the year he won't play him the rest of the season anyways, so whats the point of hanging onto him for depth?

The 2-3 (I think you'll be able to leverage 3 because of the interest) million will be nice, but you really do have to wonder about the long term impact on the squad this season. Hoping Flamini and Cesc will hold up is quite a tall order and Cesc has already appeared more often than you'd like to see a 17 year old.

It certainly is an odd situation, but with Wegner's philosophy the move is clear: get what you can for Edu and move on.

 

People are so obsessed with not having players leave on a Bosman. I just don't get it. I would rather see a player leave for nothing than pay him millions to sit on the bench and watch. Paying non performing players as though they were superstars is what kills teams, not Bosmans.

 

Edu's heart is not in Arsenal. End of story. What's the point of keeping him in Arsenal if that's his attitude? I don't see how he will be inspired to play well if we keep him.
The truth is, he has attitude problems. Back last season when he was getting all the praises and has successful dislodged Gliberto to be in the starting XI, he become arrogant and lazy. After his wonder-goal against Celta, he started wildly shooting long distance shots at the goalpost whenever he had the chance. And his performance suffered as a result. I don't believe he will be a success if he plays in any other club; in Barca he'll be a bit-time player that will stop playing when the injured midfielders are back, and in Valencia he'll be another of Raneri's failure buys.

 

I feel that tribalfootball is VERY entertaining, but agree that most of the rumors are unfounded. Many are picked up from some of the less reputable spanish press, and usually not attributed to any source. I don't know why they have an Australian section, but not German or Dutch.

Bigsoccer actually is a good source. Posters usually link to a news story, and other reply with assessments of accuracy or if a rumored transfer would be good for those involved. Many poor rumors are posted, but shot down quickly.

 

To be honest, i can understand why Edu is holding out in his contract negotiations. He has reached the pinnacle of his career and the next contract he signs will be the last big payday of his career. He is on top of the world right now having just won the Premiership trophy and the Copa America. Last season he established himself as a firm second choice to Gilberto, and had a great year. This season he can claim to be a part of the Brazilian national team, but if he ends up on their world cup team in 2006, i will be surprised. He will be 27 at the end of this season, and if he gets a four year deal he will be 31 at the end of the contract. The money he makes now will be the most he will ever make. He needs to cash in and this is the time. With the emergence of Cesc and Flamini, its obvious that he has no long term future at Arsenal. Who can blame him for wanting to leave for a fat paycheck in Spain, even if it means he spends more time on the bench than on the pitch. It would be nice if he showed more loyalty to the club that made him who he is today, but its hard to blame him for being a professional and holding out for the best deal he can get. Even if he signed for Arsenal again, its likely that a year or two from now he would be featuring regularly for neither Arsenal nor Brazil, and who will want to sign him then. More likely Bolton than Barca.

 

The plot thickens, apparently Edu doesn't want to leave:

http://www.football365.com/news/story_137268.shtml

 

This is beginning to look less likely that he will be back with Arsenal.