"The Sun" newspaper today carried the story that AW is considering an £8m bid for West Ham's DE FOE when the transfer window opens as a partner for TH14. Apparently "new funds" are going to be made available, with a potential German bidder preparing to put some money into the club. All I can say is..."Wait and see"?
I like DeFoe a lot, but West Ham has already said that they'll do everything they can to keep him. Plus you have Man U looking at him as well, so I'm not getting my hopes up. Jeff, any idea who this German investor is?
i'd rather see someone else, JD is a decent youngster, but id rather see a stiker that would bring something different. Ideally i think a player like beattie would be ideal. Not that we will go after beattie, but someone like him would be a better buy and give us more options. Personally im a huge fan of Kluivert, hope he does *#*#*#*# for the next few months so barca can sell him to us
I think I mentioned on these boards a while back about someone I know talking to Frank Mclintock, who said this was a done deal, so who knows
I heard that AW was goin to try and get Miraslav Klose during the transfer window. Is that still in the works or, have they moved on to DeFoe or someone else?
Defoe? Hell no! Why bring in Defoe? He's a VERY light version of TH, except he's not good in the air at all, not strong, not a particularly good passer, can only use his right, and he doesn't have a regular scoring record in the premiership. Why bring him in in the middle of the season, and for 8 mil at that? We need a strong box-man as a foil for TH14's all around creative game. Klose for 3 mil? Do it!
What it says really, basically the clubs have come to an agreement. Mind you many of these have come ' Undone ' in the past
Re: Defoe? Hell no! Amen! We don't really have any threats from in the box, off the cross, ie. HEADERS! Klose is very tough in the box and plays quite well for a poor 1FCK (Kaiserslautern) in the Bundesliga. Plus would give Lehmann a fellow countrymen to bond with and Klose was also on the German National side with Jans.
I absolutely love Defoe's game personally.. however, with just about everyone else we go after, someone else will sack up just a little bit more than what we can afford.. these are facts of life unfortunately.... really surprised to hear people rip on JD9 game.. a great youth player who is certainly ready for the premiership~~ phishy
he is good, no doubting that, but he isnt really what we need. He wont give us another dimension that a player like klose or kluivert would. Personally i would go for Kluivert, he will be cheaper, may cost more in wages but hes only 26!!! Hes one of these that have seemed to be around for ages yet is still only 26. We could give him a lifelife to kick start his career like we did to DB10 when we brought him in from Inter
before the summer i was hoppping that an other west ham player was going to come (Fred Kanoute) but as he went to tottenham I can't see him coming to arsenal.
Kluivert (26) for 1.6 mil? Yes! Klose (24) for 3.5 mil? Yes! Defoe for 8 mil? Um, no. I'm not saying he's not a good player, but as someone said before, he just not what Arsenal needs. Plus he would cost more than double in transfer fees than Klose, more than 4x Kluivert. Personally I say bring in Kluivert. A change from the constant chaos that is Barca would do him good. The fans don't treat him well at all, plus there's all too many racial tensions in La Liga. I know he's no saint, but he's matured somewhat since his Ajax days. I think if you put him in the highly competitive, stable environment that is Arsenal where there are many established Black players (probably the most regularly contending for a starting spot outside of France) he would absolutely be able to rekindle his career. Arsene is a master at helping world class talent achieve their true potential (Vieira, TH14). And the price is right.
True Defoe doesn't have the same qualities of a kluivert, but his wages might be 1/75 of paddy's.. there is a reason the transfer fee is so high on the kid... Kluivert looks to be an absolute steal but, we aren't the only team looking at his services.. i truly see him going somewhere else.. klose,,, ehhh.. i reckon he goes to another team as well.. dang it.. what was our last big buy? it seems ages ago we brought in someone of value.. surely we arent talking pires or wiltord.. i dont count sol due to the bosman... phishy~~~~~ hey coach, wtf happened to the stars??? boy do we miss hatch ya? where is mo??? ugh...
Where else do you see Kluivert going? He's not going to Italy--the fans there are the most racist in all of the top level leagues. He desperately wants to play in the Premiership, but with a top quality team. That leaves Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, Man U. and Newcastle. He's not going to Chelsea--too much comp. He already snubbed Newcastle. He definitely isn't going to ManU--have you seen the controversy between Kluivert and RVN in the national team? He's not going to Liverpool, they suck and they're probably bringing in Cisse either at the opening of the window or the end of the season. Kluivert doesn't have a whole lot of options. He's already said he'd love to play in London. For who then? Tottenham--please, Charlton--hell no, Fulham--i don't think so. It almost seems as if he's angling for a move to Arsenal. As for wages, I figure Defoe will get around 15-20K/week. Kluivert will probably get 80-90K, but I think his pedigree warrants it. Plus if Kluivert signs a 3 year deal with a 2 mil signing bonus at 90K/week, the total capital outlay for Arsenal will be around 6.3 mil--well under the 9 mil in wages and transfer fees it will take to get Defoe. Plus Arsenal will be able to pay Kluivert's wages over time, while I'm sure West Ham will demand the 8 mil up front. So the wage argument doesn't hold water with me. It just makes so much more sense (financial and tactical) to bring in Kluivert. Only bad thing I see is he's cup tied.
OK my math was wrong. I was calculating by the month instead of weekly. Kluivert transfer -- 1.6 mil signing bonus -- 2 mil wages -- 13.5 for 3 years TOTAL -- ~17.1 mil Defoe transfer -- 8.5 mil signing bonus -- 1 mil wages -- 3 mil for 3 years TOTAL -- ~12.5 Kluivert would cost more in the long run, but I still think he's worth it.
solid points for sure... For the now, i take kluivert no question.. its just that i have heard these rumours about him too many times to believe he is going to the arsenal... defoe is a guy for the now and future! I truly haven't seen enough La Liga to understand what has gone wrong for PK9 in barca.. 2 goals?? that is an absurd number for someone of his talent... a defoe signing certainly sends a message to aliadiere doesnt it? who are we kidding.. we dont deal in massive transfers....
fickle fickle barca fans Barca's in shambles. The newly elected leadership at the club is a mess. First they promised Beckham, no dice. Now they say they are looking at bringing in TH14--not in a million years. The club actually has no transfer funds, and any deal to bring in new talent will have to be financed by a bank. Risky business. All the turmoil that the management is dealing with has spilled onto the pitch. And when the players don't perform on the pitch, the fans become bloodthirsty. Plus the fact that Kluivert is Black helps none. He's regularly heckled by both home and opposing fans, but it's racial heckling (monkey calls, and the like). You'd think he was in Slovakia or something. People underestimate the effect this can have on a player's game. But the way he has dealt with the situation has impressed me. Pat's a sensitive guy but he hasn't complained or asked for a transfer. He just plays. Granted, not up to expectation, but he goes out and does his job. Recently the situation has gotten better as Barca have moved up the table, and he actually said he wouldn't mind staying, but I think he's already set on getting out of there. As for goals, Barca is actually using PK in a withdrawn role usually just behind Saviola. So it's more of a creative role. But he should be scoring more.
[Only bad thing I see is he's cup tied. [/B][/QUOTE] How is that? They didn't qualify for the Champions League last year. Don't tell me he's cup-tied for UEFA Cup play which is a DIFFERENT competition...
I was under the impression (apparantly mistakenly) that once a team registers a player for either UEFA comp, that player is unable to reregister upon switching teams even if the 2 teams are participating in different comps. I think it had something to do with the teams getting dumped in the early rounds of the Champions League getting a 2nd chance in UEFA. But you would know better than I would.
Can we get an official ruling on "cup tied"? I was under the same impression as BayouGooner, that when you are submitted on a roster for a UEFA comp then you are barred from participating for any other club in a UEFA event for that season.
Yep, i believe the ruling is once you are registered for a team in any UEFA competition, (e.g. Intertoto cup, Uefa Cup or Champions League.) You cannot not be re-registered for another team for a UEFA competition if you are transfered until the next season.
Didn't Kluivert opt to stay at Barca despite having the chance to go abroad in the summer? He even took a pay cut to stay at his club. Maybe the circumstances have changed, but why would he suddenly decide to go to Arsenal?
It's actually Barca that are wondering what to do with him. His run of form (although better, lately) was at such a low that Barca were considering moving him. It also might serve Barca to try and move him to Arsenal so that Arsenal might be inclined to make the GvB loan permanent. Personally, with Kluivert's wages, I just don't think he fits w/ Arsenal at this time. Arsenal needs to save up for the Rafael van der Vaart sweepstakes this summer...aaaahhh, to dream....
Van der Vaart would be nice (especially since Pires is getting on in years), but midfield shouldn't be a priority right now. As much as Vieira is the heart of the team, TH14 is the soul. Arsenal can win games without Pat, but I suspect that without TH14 we would lose our fair share. His extreme pace and creativity is what makes Arsenal go, but for the past 3 years he's played without a suitable foil. Chances are if TH14 isn't scoring, he's setting them up. But he deserves a regular partner, and I can't help but imagine how much better Arsenal would have performed over last year and this year (especially in Europe) if he had someone regularly playing off of him, living off his scraps. So I hope when the transfer window opens up, I hope AW recieves his "present from Jesus" and I hope it's a striker.