Meanwhile The wage structure is all over the place here https://t.co/xp3jxLrvx3— Sam (@samuelJayC) June 18, 2019
Rumor of the morning... - Atletico is interested in Xhaka as a replacement for Rodri whom is expected to be headed to City. - We are supposedly looking at Matt Targett as a young(ish), inexpensive, HG LB option
So I know I don't come around here a lot, but I this is maybe the first summer where I just don't care what happens. I want us to make signings and improve, but my attitude is much more along the lines of "whatever happens, happens". We'll sign some people, but god knows it doesn't look like anyone soon. I'm fully anticipating that we are outside of the top 4 again this coming season. I guess I'm pretty excited that we are planning on playing a lot more youth this season, which was part of the catalyst for promoting Freddie. No joke, a couple of years of having to actually play young guns and buy high potential players might be the best way to fix everything wrong with this team.
Yeah...Arsenal should start talking when they're serious. By serious I mean £150 Million as a starting number.
Ouch. You and Calvin both can't stand Clive. Calvin even got blocked by him on twitter. I don't mind Clive. Yeah, he overuses many already well-worn tropes, but he doesn't make my ears bleed. I could do with a lot fewer of Paul's lame double entendre jokes, though.
Arseblog > Arsenal Vision Both are awesome in their own ways, but the Arseblog is a Monday/Friday tradition at this point. Hopefully the US makes it a goodly evening tonight.
Utd's issues signing Wan-Bissaka demonstrate what we have been discussing here. Identifying the player is perhaps the easier part. But how much is the correct amount to pay for him? IMO it's already established that a top flight fullback could go for 50m. This guy doesn't have the track record of walker, but you have to pay youth tax So is say 70m too much for a fullback who might be elite and hold down the role for a decade? Is a CB like VVD more valuable than a fullback?
50 for Wan-Bissaka is too much in my mind but they are paying an inflated number because he is young, HG, Palace really doesn't want to sell and ManU has plenty to spend. Seeing more links to Tierney last night and this morning. Those that reference a fee are claiming 20m.
So £20m for a 22 year old left back and £50+m for a 21 year old right back. I haven't followed either player, is there really that much difference in heir skill level and athleticism, especially considering there is likely a premium on left backs?
I don't think so. Both are young with the potential to be really good outside backs for the next decade. To me Tierney's reported fee is probably about right for the current market (20-30m). W-B's fee is that plus HG plus ManU bump because CP doesn't really want to let him go. It's the same thing with CP asking 80m for Zaha when he is probably worth 40m. But he is HG and they don't want to have to replace him so they put a huge price on him.
Right back is the easiest position to fill in football. Unless you are Dani Alves or Trent Alexander-Arnold type who dominates that side both in attack and defense, you shouldn’t spending more than 30 million on one. And Wan-Bissaka ain’t that type of right back from what I’ve seen. He good but he isn’t dominant on that level. Crystal Palace is not serious with that valuation.
Let's add data: Kieran Tierney, Celtic 18-19.This we like. pic.twitter.com/EUNz5q9FYF— StatsBomb (@StatsBomb) November 30, 2018 Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Crystal Palace 18-19.How was this guy not nominated for all the awards?Awards are stupid. pic.twitter.com/5YUiWFQHB8— StatsBomb (@StatsBomb) April 23, 2019 I haven't seen Tierney play, but Wan-Bissaka looks like an athletic monster: he's not a 50m player right now, but he's the kind of player that could be a two-way monster for a decade. He's already really good defensively and gets into good positions in attack. If he gets better on the ball, he'll be worth significantly more than 50m.
Based on the stats, it looks to me like who you prefer depends on how you want to play. Wan-Bissaka is a better dribbler and had a higher pressures number. I assume the pressure number is at least in part attributable to coaching philosophy. Tierney's numbers for deep progressions and xG possession were higher, but this may in part be attributable to Celtic's dominance of their domestic league.