Arteta and Edu Transfer Targets: Summer 2020

[Fewtch]

No thanks to Row-Zinho. We could get elite AM talents like Havertz and Ødegaard for that kind of money

 

[rich 1990]

Xhaka can also score from distance.

Xhakas shooting ability is a complete myth, I've made that point numerous times. Most of his goals have been deflected or a result of terrible goalkeeping.

 

[GDeep™]

Can’t think of many worse signings that Coutinho.

 

[rich 1990]

Coutinho is not even the type of player we need most. As T Junta said, we need power back in the team.

 

[Toby]

Imagine spending 150-200M for that line up. No thanks.

Dembele evidently has mentality problems since he got his first big move to Dortmund; there's source after source saying he's not up for it in training, has no discipline and wastes away eating fastfood and not adhering to doctors' advice when injured.

Coutinho offers almost nothing in regards to his price. Bayern loaned him to get more creativity, but he hasn't really improved them. He's far too costly for the 80m asking price. You could get better players for that amount of money.

 

[truth_hurts]

Coutinho and Dembele are capable of mesmerising brilliance. Albeit for not top10 world record fees, we used to be masters of bringing in elite quality at a ime that they appeared to be unfancied or off the radar. Bergkamp, Henry, Sanchez and Özil fit this description. Not too long ago Brazil seemed to be Neymar, Coutinho and others and he had a stint as the best player in this league. If motivated (Jury is out), he'd be an incredible signing. Dembele is a risk. He was as good as MBappe talent wise, but again there are questions over his motivation. I can see him leaving Barca and regaining his level a Dortmund.

The other approach is to hope that our youngsters are actually good or keep punting at higher mid-level signings such as Torreria (I rate him), Xhaka, Mustafi, Kolasinac and Lacazette and hope they find a new level here.

 

[Tir Na Nog]

Can’t think of many worse signings that Coutinho.

It would sum everything up tho, such a lazy signing. He scored a few goals for Liverpool. Let's ignore that Liverpool literally went up a gear when he left, was a flop at Barca, can't get into the Bayern starting XI and heck even Inter deemed him surplus to requirements when they were struggling post-Mourinho era. Even in the 13/14 season he wasn't really one of the standouts despite his late winner vs City. I honestly cannot remember times where he was anywhere close to being a consistent top player. The red flags are there for everyone to see, but knowing how we work we'll probably try and sign him.

The worst part about a player like Coutinho is that he doesn't really contribute in general play until he gets in and around the box and even then he'll take about 20 shots a game hoping one of them finds the net. He's incredibly wasteful at times in possession. He's the type of signing we should be avoiding at all costs.

 

[Hunta]

The only thing that matters to those involved is money though. Coutinho makes sense for them all, Kia gets a massive agent fee, Edu gets a big name for his CV and Raul keeps his book of contacts happy.

Coutinho will live in London, earn silly money and not have any pressure on him as one long range goal a month will make our fans happy.

 

[truth_hurts]

It would sum everything up tho, such a lazy signing. He scored a few goals for Liverpool. Let's ignore that Liverpool literally went up a gear when he left, was a flop at Barca, can't get into the Bayern starting XI and heck even Inter deemed him surplus to requirements when they were struggling post-Mourinho era. Even in the 13/14 season he wasn't really one of the standouts despite his late winner vs City. I honestly cannot remember times where he was anywhere close to being a consistent top player. The red flags are there for everyone to see, but knowing how we work we'll probably try and sign him.

The worst part about a player like Coutinho is that he doesn't really contribute in general play until he gets in and around the box and even then he'll take about 20 shots a game hoping one of them finds the net. He's incredibly wasteful at times in possession. He's the type of signing we should be avoiding at all costs.

Liverpool getting better and Coutinho leaving can be mutually exclusive. Did we get better when RVP left because we started winning trophies again? Oh and we registered a 2nd place finish post Van Rapist. If not, unconscious bias is in play.

Strangely at the moment, we seem to have much more defensive balance and structure but no spark in attack. Pepe barely gets the ball in dangerous areas, PEA has been playing like a high scoring wing back and Laca and Özil haven't been performing. I just want some magic in our team. The benefit with a Coutinho over a James Rodriguez for example is that he knows the league. The benefit over a Grealish or Maddison is that he has actually shown elite level performance.

I would happily not sign Coutinho, but our attack needs bolstering. I think Pepe being played behind a striker could be a shout, but if so we need a top winger.

We could sell Auba in theory and become a better team by buying a proper winger. That wouldn't make Auba a bad player though. Just reinforcing the point made on Coutinho and Liverpool.

 

[truth_hurts]

If we had of signed Coutinho last summer when linked, I doubt we'd be floating mid-table. The prices quoted were silly though.

At 50-60m now, he'd be a snip. Shift Özil and Mkhi, groom ESR for the role. Attack sorted.

 

[Tir Na Nog]

Liverpool getting better and Coutinho leaving can be mutually exclusive. Did we get better when RVP left because we started winning trophies again? Oh and we registered a 2nd place finish post Van Rapist. If not, unconscious bias is in play.

Strangely at the moment, we seem to have much more defensive balance and structure but no spark in attack. Pepe barely gets the ball in dangerous areas, PEA has been playing like a high scoring wing back and Laca and Özil haven't been performing. I just want some magic in our team. The benefit with a Coutinho over a James Rodriguez for example is that he knows the league. The benefit over a Grealish or Maddison is that he has actually shown elite level performance.

I would happily not sign Coutinho, but our attack needs bolstering. I think Pepe being played behind a striker could be a shout, but if so we need a top winger.

We could sell Auba in theory and become a better team by buying a proper winger. That wouldn't make Auba a bad player though. Just reinforcing the point made on Coutinho and Liverpool.

Liverpool became better because Coutinho was a square peg in a round hole for them. He didn't have the physical attributes to be the midfielder Klopp wanted and wasn't really a winger, he was kinda fitted into the team because of his ability like you said to come up with something. But they became much more dynamic when he left. The midfield functioned better, the front three were better than with him wide left.

We finished 4th after Van Persie left and with less points than when Van Persie was there in 11/12. It wasn't until we added quality in terms of Özil, Cazorla, Ramsey coming into his own that we eventually improved. With Coutinho leaving Liverpool it was much more immediate, the reached the CL final just months after Coutinho leaving, they became title contenders and won the CL the next season. With RvP there was a 2 tear gap between him leaving and us winning that FA Cup. There was plenty of players signed in that period to help us improve as a team.

Our attack needs bolstering but we need to be smart about this. Coutinho would not be a smart signing.

 

[A_G]

 

[hydrofluoric acid]

Leno replacement! Finally some good news!

 

[A_G]

Bumi Martinez replacement! Finally some good news!

Agreed.

 

[hydrofluoric acid]

I'm very happy we are looking to improve on Leno. It has been coming since day one!

Agreed!

 

[redwhiteAustrian]

 

[truth_hurts]

Liverpool became better because Coutinho was a square peg in a round hole for them. He didn't have the physical attributes to be the midfielder Klopp wanted and wasn't really a winger, he was kinda fitted into the team because of his ability like you said to come up with something. But they became much more dynamic when he left. The midfield functioned better, the front three were better than with him wide left.

We finished 4th after Van Persie left and with less points than when Van Persie was there in 11/12. It wasn't until we added quality in terms of Özil, Cazorla, Ramsey coming into his own that we eventually improved. With Coutinho leaving Liverpool it was much more immediate, the reached the CL final just months after Coutinho leaving, they became title contenders and won the CL the next season. With RvP there was a 2 tear gap between him leaving and us winning that FA Cup. There was plenty of players signed in that period to help us improve as a team.

Our attack needs bolstering but we need to be smart about this. Coutinho would not be a smart signing.

Think that is very unfair on Coutinho and disregards many factors least of all Klopp understanding the league and HUGE investment into the squad (I've bolded your RVP point). I agree that the team is much more balanced without him, but feel that you are ignoring how good he was for about 18 months.

I actually agree that Coutinho may not be smart signing, he's a risk. A measured risk though and a n improvement over what we have. Top, top players do not want to join us as we lack appeal. The last top player that we signed was PEA over 2 years ago.

 

[truth_hurts]

This is the kind of bollocks that makes me enjoy being forced into watching retro games. Most realistic link we've had for weeks.

 

[truth_hurts]

All of that said, I'm trying to think of a similar situation to this that has paid off in recent times for a Premier League club. Out of favour, big money player, whose career is on the wane.

 

[Goonger]

Can't deny it, I like Coutinho the player. We all agree we lack some pace & power but another area we have properly regressed is we lack good footballers, & despite people saying he's nothing but a pot shot merchant, he is a very decent footballer.

What I don't like, is how much he would cost. I can't see any transfer to us making any sense finance wise, even a loan would take a big chunk of money, so unless we somehow get a James style 2 year loan, I can't see how we could make the figures work.