Does Buendia still play in the Premier League? I remember when I joined this forum people were blasting Edu and Arteta for not buying him. Asking for a friend.
He is still a really good player. He was out injured the whole year. I wanted him then. But I preferred Odegaard during that window. I didn't agree with the strategy of waiting the whole window till last minute when Madrid decided to sell. Obviously worked out great for us. But we must not forget we offered to buy Buendia and Villa paid more.
Serie A getting 6 slots for the UCL next season is pretty wild though. A bad look on EPL if you ask me. The league has too much money not to take advantage of stuffs like this.
“City just never stop. They keep adding weapons to their arsenal every season. It is just relentless.
We just need to raise the level collectively. Get good rotational options for our attack. Add players that Arteta can trust ….”
Bingo!
Adding players who can be trusted to do the job is key.
People like to talk about City cheating and spending big to tip the scales, but Pep is still king at trusting players to do the job and not necessarily because they cost a fortune in transfer fees and wages.
Case in point, Ederson getting his bell rung by Tottenham and even after having been cleared by the team doctors, Pep yanking him out without hesitation and put Ortega* in, who just a minute later made a championship title save from Son**
Ederson continuesly going ape shit on the City bench over his early exit only further proving Pep right in his decision.
* valued at €9m on a free from Bielefeld
** Son missing that on purpose to sink Arsenal’s chances probably the worst take on football I’ve seen here since reading Legrove.
Lol. Sorry about that 😂. While I admire Olise's finesse and Eze's directness among other skillsets, I'm not sure we are going after them and neither should we.
Im not particularly sure that Eze is better than ESR and Olise better than Nelson. I think the difference between them is that 2 play at a lesser club and have been given plenty of opportunities while the other 2 play at a more pressure club and have had scarce opportunities.
If I had a choice I'd keep ESR and Nelson than sign Eze and Olise but then thats me
Only Nigel thinks Joginho is better than Bruno and that odegaard is a CM that should be compared to Bruno.
By the way I don't think Bruno is worth 100m. Hell, I don't even think any player, whether 19 (because of ceiling) or 24 ( and in prime performance) is worth 100m. No player is worth that amount. But if clubs are willing to pay that amount, it's because they see value in it and can cover it. I would never.
All my years playing FM for example, I have never signed a player for 100m 😂
Me neither. A lot of players aren't worth a £100 mil. May be a prime Zidane.
But it is either pay a £100 mil for a Rice and a Bruno or pay £60 mil for players that aren't level raisers. We are in between a rock and a hard place trying to displace this Man City side.
Oh, Bruno is a level raiser for sure. Hopefully we are after him and we get him. I'd be twice more confident of getting the league with him in the side.
Ben Jacobs (who is a very good source) just said we won't trigger the release clause for Bruno. And we will only target him if the price is right. And we might be after Zubimendi. I think City get him.
I really want a better CM than Zubimendi though. Search for Joao Neves of Benfica on YouTube, check out his stats. The kid is 19 and he is seriously top level. I would want him if we can't get Bruno. But benfica also have a £100 mil release clause on his head aswell. Really will be difficult to catch City if they get Bruno and we don't upgrade a lot of our positions if we aren't closing the gap in midfield.
I like his name. But I don't know anything else about him. I will watch some clips and read some analysis on him. It will be disappointing though, he most likely will not be ready off the bat and we will be back to lighting candles and praying that Party stays fit. 😢
City just never stop. They keep adding weapons to their arsenal every season. It is just relentless.
We just need to raise the level collectively. Get good rotational options for our attack. Add players that Arteta can trust and use as much as our starters. Then we will see where we are.
Last summer I had to defend Rice tooth and nail that he was worth the money. He is top drawer. I was arguing with a lot of people. I said he was going to be our Roy Keane.
But I still think in regards to passing and as a technical player, Bruno is a bit better. He is better at finding that ridiculous pass, or Thomas Partey esque breaking line pass.
What Rice excels at is the intangibles. He is alongside Rodri the best DM off the ball. He is a defensive monster. Bruno is weaker in that aspect. He can hold his own and he is better than a lot of other CMs but nowhere near Rice with leadership and the defensive ability.
Rice is better. But not by a country mile as you think. And if he moves to City or to Arsenal you will start to see why I and others rate him so highly.
Manchester City are still exploring a move for Bruno Guimarães having made contact with the player's camp.
Guimarães has a £100m release clause valid only until the final week in June, as
@FabrizioRomano
called.
Arsenal have no plans to trigger the clause. They will only consider a move if the price drops. Martin Zubimendi remains a more concrete possibility.
Guimarães has given every indication he's happy at #NUFC, but an exit can't be discounted due to the clause.
PSG are out the race for Guimarães. They still want Bernardo Silva. Gavi is appreciated, too, but is viewed as near-impossible to get. Barcelona view him as a future captain and don't plan to engage with any suitors.
PSG want a striker, wide attacker, central-midfielder and centre-back in what is expected to be a busy window.
Ben Jacobs is a trusted source and he just put this out a few minutes ago on twitter.
Man City want Guimaraes for that price and I am supposed to believe he isn't our level. If it came down to both of us triggering the release clause, he will choose City though.
Zubimendi will be underwhelming but if Arteta wants him, I will get behind it. I would prefer Joao Neves but Arteta's eye for talent had been astonishing. Especially when we have spent good money. Only Viera the failure so far.
If they get Guimaraes plus another level raiser, we will do well to beat them to the title.
We will have to spread the funds around to plug all the holes if we aren't spending a £100 mil on one player. RW, ST, CM, GK, LB all will be needed. We will have to sell well. We have sellable assets this summer. Edu has to get his reputation of not selling well behind him this summer. ESR, Ramsdale, Nelson, Eddie all at a good age ready for the market. Even Zinchenko and Jesus shoild have a market for them. Do that and we can raise the level of the squad.
I have seen some of his games. My problem with him just like Onana, is the fact that I don't think he is an elite passer. I wanted Guimaraes for that.
Zubimendi is a competitor in duels and is good at being a DM in defensive situations. But he isn't the best at progressing the ball. I wanted a Partey regen player. And he isn't that.
But I do trust Arteta's judgment now. If he says he is the guy for us, I do trust he has a plan for him. I just don't rate him that highly. I didn't with Havertz too so we will see.
He is a good passer don't get me wrong. He just isn't an elite passer that would provide us with the same things Partey used to do for us by breaking lines and creating spaces for attacking CMs and wingers.
Let me cut the suspense for you then, here’s Nigel after Arteta signed Bruno:
—II was against his signing originally but then I did a bunch of independent research and listened to experts ( not the clowns Legrovers listen to) and decided after careful consideration Arteta was right to sign him.
This btw proves again I’m willing to admit when I’m wrong ( Havertz?!?), unlike some other clowns who might’ve got it right first time around.
I mean, it's all very good eyeing up Guimares who will cost around £100 million to buy, but we also need to buy a CF.
And that can easily cost from £60 million right up to £100 million, easy.
I really don't see Arsenal blow potentially £200 million on just 2 players.
Or are we?
Yes, I know we will be counting on player exits such as with Ramsdale and Nketiah, 2 players that are 100% going to be sold as they will have a market. But we must make sure that other players like Partey and ESR are sold.
I am curious to see how we juggle this and whether we will look at adding to the bench as well to help rotate, as it is crucial that Arteta has a trusted bench he can rely on. Will this only happen if they are funded by the sale of other players like Viera maybe, for example? Quite possibly.
Intrigued to see what ArtEdu have up their sleave.
Bruno is twice the player Caicedo is right now, Rich.
We just lost the league by the narrowest of margins so not sure ceilings are the main criteria Arteta is looking at to make the next step, inflationary valuations aside.
Bro Zubimendi is levels below. He is a good player but he isn't what we need to elevate us more. Guimaraes is literally twice the player. Even Joao Neves is better. I would even take Ugarte at PSG who wants to leave before Zubimendi too. Zubimendi for me is a last resort option alongside the Onana's of this world. The guy isn't top level yet.
If you had a chance to sign Rodri, would you decline because he is 28 years old?
We need a midfielder at the prime of his career to help us get over the line, better still we have one that is premier league tested available. There's a reason city want him too.
The age fixation is selling on fees. City didn’t need to worry about this until 115 charges come their way. Nor did some other teams till they saw things are getting serious.
I suspect we will tend to max out money on 24/25 year olds who have proven prem experience or are just seen as incredibly good.
I just don’t see Bruno on our plans but willing to be wrong etc
It is a release clause for clubs in the UCL. Newcastle want to keep him and build around him. But when he agreed a new contract they put in that release clause. So pay that or he isn't going anywhere.
Not with the caceido again, you are relentless haha. Look if we buy him and he’s as good as you think he is you will have massive respect from me, but I just don’t see it. Love your determination though
You still haven't given up the Ricedo dream huh 😂. Chelsea aren't selling. They will sell Gallagher, Matsen, Omari Hutchinson and the like for pure profit to circumnavigate their financial issues. So give up on him. And he has shown he has a lot to go anyway.
And I do believe if we have to go for a young CM, I would rather Joao Neves now. 19, already looks a superior player technically. And Benfica are actually willing to sell.
Oh I see and agreed. Every other team on the planet wanted Gvardiol and would have started him at CB, which is what he is. City scoop him up and he gets shunted to the side where his massive quality only helps them win the league anyway.
Chelsea is the only team to enter and exit the Europa League without playing a single match.
The City performance yesterday was the one we were hoping for just once in their last 10 game run.
On the positive side long balls over the top seems to work
Does Buendia still play in the Premier League? I remember when I joined this forum people were blasting Edu and Arteta for not buying him. Asking for a friend.
He is still a really good player. He was out injured the whole year. I wanted him then. But I preferred Odegaard during that window. I didn't agree with the strategy of waiting the whole window till last minute when Madrid decided to sell. Obviously worked out great for us. But we must not forget we offered to buy Buendia and Villa paid more.
Guimares is the only midfielder that comes close to Partey at take ons, thats the attribute this team needs most.
Serie A getting 6 slots for the UCL next season is pretty wild though. A bad look on EPL if you ask me. The league has too much money not to take advantage of stuffs like this.
“City just never stop. They keep adding weapons to their arsenal every season. It is just relentless.
We just need to raise the level collectively. Get good rotational options for our attack. Add players that Arteta can trust ….”
Bingo!
Adding players who can be trusted to do the job is key.
People like to talk about City cheating and spending big to tip the scales, but Pep is still king at trusting players to do the job and not necessarily because they cost a fortune in transfer fees and wages.
Case in point, Ederson getting his bell rung by Tottenham and even after having been cleared by the team doctors, Pep yanking him out without hesitation and put Ortega* in, who just a minute later made a championship title save from Son**
Ederson continuesly going ape shit on the City bench over his early exit only further proving Pep right in his decision.
* valued at €9m on a free from Bielefeld
** Son missing that on purpose to sink Arsenal’s chances probably the worst take on football I’ve seen here since reading Legrove.
Absolute comedy gold.
Fabrizio Romano
@FabrizioRomano
·
14m
⭐️ Chelsea and Manchester United are the two clubs pushing for Michael Olise, one to watch in the summer.
😂😂😂
The two targets I wanted us to pursue ruled out by top tier sources. Welp. Hope Arteta pulls off some miracle on the market again.
Olise has managed 22 games in 2 seasons we don't need another crock as talented as he is
Lol. Sorry about that 😂. While I admire Olise's finesse and Eze's directness among other skillsets, I'm not sure we are going after them and neither should we.
Im not particularly sure that Eze is better than ESR and Olise better than Nelson. I think the difference between them is that 2 play at a lesser club and have been given plenty of opportunities while the other 2 play at a more pressure club and have had scarce opportunities.
If I had a choice I'd keep ESR and Nelson than sign Eze and Olise but then thats me
Olise wouldn’t look out of place on City let alone this United.
He’s levels above Nelson even if 2 years younger.
Big, big talent.
Man city players had to foul him to stop him when faced Palace.
Only Nigel thinks Joginho is better than Bruno and that odegaard is a CM that should be compared to Bruno.
By the way I don't think Bruno is worth 100m. Hell, I don't even think any player, whether 19 (because of ceiling) or 24 ( and in prime performance) is worth 100m. No player is worth that amount. But if clubs are willing to pay that amount, it's because they see value in it and can cover it. I would never.
All my years playing FM for example, I have never signed a player for 100m 😂
Me neither. A lot of players aren't worth a £100 mil. May be a prime Zidane.
But it is either pay a £100 mil for a Rice and a Bruno or pay £60 mil for players that aren't level raisers. We are in between a rock and a hard place trying to displace this Man City side.
Oh, Bruno is a level raiser for sure. Hopefully we are after him and we get him. I'd be twice more confident of getting the league with him in the side.
Ben Jacobs (who is a very good source) just said we won't trigger the release clause for Bruno. And we will only target him if the price is right. And we might be after Zubimendi. I think City get him.
I really want a better CM than Zubimendi though. Search for Joao Neves of Benfica on YouTube, check out his stats. The kid is 19 and he is seriously top level. I would want him if we can't get Bruno. But benfica also have a £100 mil release clause on his head aswell. Really will be difficult to catch City if they get Bruno and we don't upgrade a lot of our positions if we aren't closing the gap in midfield.
I like his name. But I don't know anything else about him. I will watch some clips and read some analysis on him. It will be disappointing though, he most likely will not be ready off the bat and we will be back to lighting candles and praying that Party stays fit. 😢
City just never stop. They keep adding weapons to their arsenal every season. It is just relentless.
We just need to raise the level collectively. Get good rotational options for our attack. Add players that Arteta can trust and use as much as our starters. Then we will see where we are.
Nigel
Last summer I had to defend Rice tooth and nail that he was worth the money. He is top drawer. I was arguing with a lot of people. I said he was going to be our Roy Keane.
But I still think in regards to passing and as a technical player, Bruno is a bit better. He is better at finding that ridiculous pass, or Thomas Partey esque breaking line pass.
What Rice excels at is the intangibles. He is alongside Rodri the best DM off the ball. He is a defensive monster. Bruno is weaker in that aspect. He can hold his own and he is better than a lot of other CMs but nowhere near Rice with leadership and the defensive ability.
Rice is better. But not by a country mile as you think. And if he moves to City or to Arsenal you will start to see why I and others rate him so highly.
Rice isn’t my “type” of player
I prefer silk over power and physical attributes
But he’s not just a defensive monster
His goals and assists tally in his first season tell that story and could be more
He reminds me a bit of gerrard in how he powers all over the pitch and has a fantastic technique when striking the ball
Ben Jacobs
@JacobsBen
Manchester City are still exploring a move for Bruno Guimarães having made contact with the player's camp.
Guimarães has a £100m release clause valid only until the final week in June, as
@FabrizioRomano
called.
Arsenal have no plans to trigger the clause. They will only consider a move if the price drops. Martin Zubimendi remains a more concrete possibility.
Guimarães has given every indication he's happy at #NUFC, but an exit can't be discounted due to the clause.
PSG are out the race for Guimarães. They still want Bernardo Silva. Gavi is appreciated, too, but is viewed as near-impossible to get. Barcelona view him as a future captain and don't plan to engage with any suitors.
PSG want a striker, wide attacker, central-midfielder and centre-back in what is expected to be a busy window.
--‐-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ben Jacobs is a trusted source and he just put this out a few minutes ago on twitter.
Man City want Guimaraes for that price and I am supposed to believe he isn't our level. If it came down to both of us triggering the release clause, he will choose City though.
Zubimendi will be underwhelming but if Arteta wants him, I will get behind it. I would prefer Joao Neves but Arteta's eye for talent had been astonishing. Especially when we have spent good money. Only Viera the failure so far.
City didn't have a good summer transfer in 2023, it was an academy player [Foden] that made the difference for them this season.
If they sign Guimaraes and make 2-3 similar caliber signings this summer, then they become even harder to beat next season.
It’s Pep.
It’s always been him regardless who they sign.
We laughed at Akanji signing, ditto Ake, Walker.
Gvardiol for 90m, or whatever it was, who came through for them in the run in.
People said Gundogan, Mahrez leaving, KDB getting older and injured would be the end of City.
Wasn’t.
City, Arsenal, Pool was the standings, but incidentally this was also the injury table from healthiest to most injured, with Pool by a lot.
People going Gaga over Saliba playing every minute in the league are completely missing the point.
It’s not a good thing.
Sounds like we really must go all out on Guimares then. Interesting to see if we do this.
If they get Guimaraes plus another level raiser, we will do well to beat them to the title.
We will have to spread the funds around to plug all the holes if we aren't spending a £100 mil on one player. RW, ST, CM, GK, LB all will be needed. We will have to sell well. We have sellable assets this summer. Edu has to get his reputation of not selling well behind him this summer. ESR, Ramsdale, Nelson, Eddie all at a good age ready for the market. Even Zinchenko and Jesus shoild have a market for them. Do that and we can raise the level of the squad.
I have seen some of his games. My problem with him just like Onana, is the fact that I don't think he is an elite passer. I wanted Guimaraes for that.
Zubimendi is a competitor in duels and is good at being a DM in defensive situations. But he isn't the best at progressing the ball. I wanted a Partey regen player. And he isn't that.
But I do trust Arteta's judgment now. If he says he is the guy for us, I do trust he has a plan for him. I just don't rate him that highly. I didn't with Havertz too so we will see.
He is a good passer don't get me wrong. He just isn't an elite passer that would provide us with the same things Partey used to do for us by breaking lines and creating spaces for attacking CMs and wingers.
Do you rate Zubi more than Bruno?
Nigel
One reason why I want us to sign Guimaraes is I want to observe how you wriggle out of your immovable dislike for the player.
He's going to end up at a big club because he is that good, either us or city
Better to have him "thugging" for us than our rivals
Let me cut the suspense for you then, here’s Nigel after Arteta signed Bruno:
—II was against his signing originally but then I did a bunch of independent research and listened to experts ( not the clowns Legrovers listen to) and decided after careful consideration Arteta was right to sign him.
This btw proves again I’m willing to admit when I’m wrong ( Havertz?!?), unlike some other clowns who might’ve got it right first time around.
His hit rate is still 99% though unlike me that gets everything wrong.
The Saudi league market has reset the way we see player's ages.
You can still get top money from a 30/31 year old departing player and the Brazilians are very wiling to take those Saudi deals.
I mean, it's all very good eyeing up Guimares who will cost around £100 million to buy, but we also need to buy a CF.
And that can easily cost from £60 million right up to £100 million, easy.
I really don't see Arsenal blow potentially £200 million on just 2 players.
Or are we?
Yes, I know we will be counting on player exits such as with Ramsdale and Nketiah, 2 players that are 100% going to be sold as they will have a market. But we must make sure that other players like Partey and ESR are sold.
I am curious to see how we juggle this and whether we will look at adding to the bench as well to help rotate, as it is crucial that Arteta has a trusted bench he can rely on. Will this only happen if they are funded by the sale of other players like Viera maybe, for example? Quite possibly.
Intrigued to see what ArtEdu have up their sleave.
Guimaraes is a quality player.. But considering he’ll be almost 27 by the start of next season..
I’m not convinced he’s a £100 million player, maybe if he was performing at this level, and was 2-3 years younger.
Even if we offset the wages, and some of the fee, say £15 - £20 million each from Partey + Sambi leaving?..
£100 million still feels steep.. Zubimendi’s release is €60 million (£53million)..
Bruno is twice the player Caicedo is right now, Rich.
We just lost the league by the narrowest of margins so not sure ceilings are the main criteria Arteta is looking at to make the next step, inflationary valuations aside.
Bro Zubimendi is levels below. He is a good player but he isn't what we need to elevate us more. Guimaraes is literally twice the player. Even Joao Neves is better. I would even take Ugarte at PSG who wants to leave before Zubimendi too. Zubimendi for me is a last resort option alongside the Onana's of this world. The guy isn't top level yet.
What's with this age fixation?
If you had a chance to sign Rodri, would you decline because he is 28 years old?
We need a midfielder at the prime of his career to help us get over the line, better still we have one that is premier league tested available. There's a reason city want him too.
The age fixation is selling on fees. City didn’t need to worry about this until 115 charges come their way. Nor did some other teams till they saw things are getting serious.
I suspect we will tend to max out money on 24/25 year olds who have proven prem experience or are just seen as incredibly good.
I just don’t see Bruno on our plans but willing to be wrong etc
Guimiraes 100 million !!! I am missing something?
It is a release clause for clubs in the UCL. Newcastle want to keep him and build around him. But when he agreed a new contract they put in that release clause. So pay that or he isn't going anywhere.
Struggling to see his quality apart from being a thug
Sounds like the Bruno Guimaraes rumour has some legs, but we’re competing with City again for his signature.
The £100 million in his release clause can apparently be paid in 3 instalments.
I hope we can do a bit more.. But the one area I want a quality player is midfield.
If we’re prepared to spunk £100 million on a midfielder, I hope we at least explore the possibility of Caicedo first.
I like both.. But Bruno is almost 27.. Caicedo is 4 years younger.
Has the longer shelf life, the higher ceiling, superior physical profile, more versatility, can play 3-4 different roles in our system.
£100 million for a midfielder for 4-5 seasons, who’ll hold no release value is a lot..
Caicedo would potentially sit in our team for the next 7-8 seasons, or still hold value in 3-5 seasons time.
Not with the caceido again, you are relentless haha. Look if we buy him and he’s as good as you think he is you will have massive respect from me, but I just don’t see it. Love your determination though
I don't believe it if we wanted him we would have bought him for 34m when he was flirting with us before signing for Newcastle
Rich
You still haven't given up the Ricedo dream huh 😂. Chelsea aren't selling. They will sell Gallagher, Matsen, Omari Hutchinson and the like for pure profit to circumnavigate their financial issues. So give up on him. And he has shown he has a lot to go anyway.
And I do believe if we have to go for a young CM, I would rather Joao Neves now. 19, already looks a superior player technically. And Benfica are actually willing to sell.
Absolutely no idea on Joao Neves… But I’ve seen enough of Caicedo to recognise that he’s got a huge ceiling.
Nigel, it could be said that Gvardiol won them the league. He will only get better
Oh I see and agreed. Every other team on the planet wanted Gvardiol and would have started him at CB, which is what he is. City scoop him up and he gets shunted to the side where his massive quality only helps them win the league anyway.
Oh & let’s not forget Xavi over at the Barca Bandits.Another odious little man.Delighted to see he’s been dumped with his over inflated ego.