Mohamed Sissoko

he's a player with alot of potential, he's very much in the vieira mould in his physical appearance and his technical ability.

great player would of love to see him at ashburton grove one day.

 

I wonder how old he is? If he's young enough, he could be a good replacement for Hamman in a couple of seasons. I don't think we're very deep in the holding positions. With Biscan's place being uncertain, that really only leaves us with J. Welsh.

 

He is still very young but has bags of potential. I wonder what his 'real' position is. Good signing. Hey Everton fans, how's your summer going?

 

Have we actually signed him yet? I can't find anything in the news that indicates it's official.

 

he's 20.

 

I've seen him play a number of times on GolTV. He is a large (better than six feet) player with pace and skill. Valencia played him at right back but he could play just about anywhere but striker, center half, or goal. If we get him it would be good business, and Rafa has already bought him once before. I think he would fit in well and give us strength in the squad. Plus we'd be screwing the Bitters. Two for one!

 

I remember when he had first signed with Valencia he was supposed to be a striker (he had scored a number of goals for Auxerre's U19 team or their top youth team)....eventually Raffa converted him into a center mid (seems more like a defensive mid) and yes like some people have said he's likened to Vieira in Patrick's earlier years.
He plays for Mali I believe (?), but holds a French passport.

 

If you want to have fun reading a poorly translated article featuring "the Liverpool" here it is.

http://translate.google.com/transla....com/&prev=/search?q=marca.com&hl=en&lr=&sa=G

 

I haven't seen him play too many times, but he's always impressed me. I've seen some ridiculous skills out of him and he's definitely got great touch when going forward. Due to his size, DM is the place I would see him at for Liverpool. He's been linked to us in the past (I think there was talk of a Baros-Sissoko swap) and I know Rafa like him a lot. I would be very pleased with this signing, especially if it meant he weren't going to Everton.

 

The deal is 99% done. He's not in the bag until he completes a medical.

 

great buy, trust me you're lucky to have him, he's one of the best young midfielders in europe at the moment.

 

Another central midfielder, eh?

I smell rotation. I smell trouble. But that's a whole thread in and of itself, which I will kick off as we near the season proper - for now, let's see what develops.

Signing Sissoko, in and of itself, is a good buy move however. Smart move? We shall see. But good buy? Definitely.

 

Safe to say that Diao's days are numbered.

 

Assuming someone can be persuaded to part with the £30k a week it would take to get him to agree to a move.

 

Surprised to see Boro linked with him earlier this week. I expect him to end up back in Ligue 1 next season either via loan or transfer.

 

Yeah, highly likely.

 

I think Sissoko must be the reason that we were so copasetic with Diarra's desire to leave the team. Between his being 20 years old and there being no role for Diarra and Diao - I don't think it is a bad idea to sign a physical, technically gifted midfielder. The only player I would suggest this not boding too well for is John Welsh.

We have also lost Smicer and Biscan, so we must have reinforcements at the position. If Didi's foot takes awhile to be 100% or he has more trouble with his shins/ankles, we would be in a bad place without a good backup.

Since we have Xabi and Steven as a holding midfielder and an all-around/attacking midfielder respectively, I might have thought Rafa would be more on the lookout for a Makalele- or Gilberto Silva-type player rather than a Vieira-type player. But I suppose he knows what he is doing.

The direction of this signing rather confirms to me his comfort with 3 central midfielders on the pitch at the same time. If so (and with all the rumors about Nunez leaving), where are the extra wide players we will need? I don't think Figo (whatever you think about him) and Zenden will be enough at that position (along with John Arne Riise, Luis Garcia and Harry Kewell).

 

I'd not even heard of the guy until I heard he;d signed today. Sounds Ok and has a good reputation.


another news article on signing
www.soccersaurus.com

 

Maybe he could go to Sochaux and be "the next Patrick Vieira" beside "the next Zinedine Zidane" (Bruno Cheyrou). I am thunderstruck that Houllier (much as I think fondly of him) didn't put in for these two (as well as Diouf). After all - he only has Juninho Paawerlajsdf (er Pernambucano) and Michael Essien in central midfield. Needs some shoring up there, don't he?

He could have gotten three world-class players for 1/3 to 1/2 what he got them for the first time!

 

A move to Liverpool is more likely to see every player as part of Rafa Benitez's rotation system.

The final piece in Benitez's masterplan is his strict policy of
squad rotation to keep the side fresh and the players on their
toes.

Benitez always builts teams where the defenders go forward and
the forwards defend, an has the ability to turn a
promising squad of individuals into an efficient team of winners, so things are looking bright for 'pool