I would've 1000% agreed with you about TAM for Goretzka but that was before we moved Cuypers....my thought is since we are still talking to him I guess is he'll be the DP we bring in then if we get him to agree.
Upon further reflection, the “unrecovered cost” of Cuypers will be down to $2.1 million at mid-season so there will be be GAM made available given the price obtained.
Said Hugo asked for the move last week....so wasn't just the Fire, they also wanted to do right by the player which I respect.
if bringing him in hinges on making him a DP, I'm good with it, provided the club can transition him to a TAM player in the offseason
I just don't see that happening though considering the wages he was getting at Bayern.....I don't think Lewy has the kind of pull where players would take that big a discount to play with him like with a Messi.
Other ‘disappointments’ from the presser… No clear timeline for Franco and Barroso, both are working to get back to being able to play…with no discrete timeline.
Not likely to come on a TAM deal Juventus is kicking the tires and he's asking for 7mil a year: Juventus fire up Goretzka talks, despite €10m bonus demand https://share.google/BLF2aq5dT0eAhUP5H Article does say that the Fire are after him as well.
Franck Kessie is available too as a cheaper but decent consolation prize if Goretzka plans fail. EDIT: Kessie was a teammate of Lewandowski's during the former's one season at Barca.
After crunching the numbers a bit...Cuypers is probably going to make about 50% more money with Monterrey than with the Fire, assuming that's his next contract destination. Pete (is happy for him but still sad to see him go)
The Fire will be fine, but this is boardroom not in touch with locker room. And when Sporting Director is also coach, there’s no bad cop wiggle room. Let’s stop the master plan chatter nonsense. This is fallout. We go from here and should be fine … but Lewy better run! The additional Polish ticket revenue can’t play defense.
If we had 24-hour coverage of the Fire like we do for other sports, I have a strong feeling that this would have been covered as a "must trade" situation. Cuypers was a high priced player sitting 2nd in his position on an expiring contract and playing the best of his career so you can get top dollar on the remaining time on his deal, plus you probably can't afford to pay him what he's worth on his next deal and he is not super happy that you went and got someone else to play his minutes... Pete (should have seen this coming, but didn't)
Speaking for myself only, I was against the Lewandowski signing from the beginning. He's old, we didn't need him because of Cuypers, he's old, I felt that Franco coming back would fill the hole the Fire had, and he's old. That said, having him fill the Lod role was something I could live with, but the trade-off between him and Cuypers I truly believe makes the Fire worse. If it enables another signing, that's fine, but that has to happen now, in this window, as I don't think Lewandowski plays past the sprint season.
Exactly. Very well stated. If this was precipitated by Hugo Cuypers not wanting to play with Lewandowski, playing "second fiddle," that is on Cuypers. If Cuypers wanted (say from the beginning of the season) that he wanted to go elsewhere after the season, I am glad that we scored our third largest transfer fee for a guy who was going to be gone at the end of the season. And, as you stated, there is definitely likely more coming up in the near future.
As for your four questions: 1. Yes, he has been extraordinarily healthy during his career. 2. No, but he words damned hard. 3. We sign another striker, as someone younger (and, hopefully, better) than Cuypers. 4. That is the $7.5 Million question. We all wanted both of them on the team. I suspect we will hear more in the coming days.
QUOTE="overlap_old_coach, post: 43865970, member: 361205"]So...this probably won't pan out. The league’s brightest stars. ⭐Meet the First XI for the MLS All-Star Game pres. by @chime pic.twitter.com/DaefafwnkC— Major League Soccer (@MLS) June 5, 2026 But what if he pulls a Basti and plays 1 half for each team [/QUOTE]
We should be careful about presuming anything about ‘feelings’….this could just as well been instigated by his agent! He found him a higher salary where he will be featured….so turn he could turn that down, but not knowing what happens in December (mid season elsewhere) to play a few months with Lewy? Purely from a business point of view, this is probably the correct move for Hugo.
Going to agree with this. Maybe he was bummed and was on his last year (barring the option year) and with Monterrey sniffing around AND maybe the timing right knowing the Fire signed his replacement he decided it was time to exit. He's got a family and at 29 this is liable to be the biggest contract of his career and he's gotta make and take the money for his peeps. I just am super nervous Lewy gets injured in his first 15 minutes of his first match and this season is SUNK! This is all high stakes gambling.