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Eberechi Eze

Albertbarich

Well-Known Member
Jul 4, 2020
7,320
28,238
Ok but what about striker and RW. I’m not so sure that if we spend 60m on eze these two starting positions will be upgraded too.
My thoughts too.

When we need a starting striker, we clearly want an energetic midfielder with defensive attributes and back up in numerous positions I struggle to see us spending so much on a back up/rotation option or even competition for one of our star players.
 

Cochise

Well-Known Member
Aug 8, 2019
5,877
15,301
I just assumed this wasn't going to happen now we have signed Werner. That and the cost.
 

kd2000

Well-Known Member
Aug 29, 2012
1,985
6,509
Ok but what about striker and RW. I’m not so sure that if we spend 60m on eze these two starting positions will be upgraded too.
We don't imo need to upgrade RW. Johnson pulled plenty of great balls across the 6 years box and no one was there to put them away.
We need someone to do that.
A good striker and another creative type could make a massive difference
 

Ghost Hardware

Well-Known Member
Aug 31, 2012
21,791
86,689
I would love him here but I’m struggling to see where he starts for us in the team?
Can he play RW? Or are we looking at him being son back up?
Or madders back up ?
I just can’t see it.
Agree completely. I like Eze, he’s a quality player but when you look at our front line currently

LW - Son/Werner/Solomon*/Moore/Santiago*
CF - Richy*/Son/Scarlett/Veliz*
RW - Johnson/Kulu
AM- Maddison/Kulu/Donley/Devine*/Moore

I struggle to see the logic in spending 60+ mil on Eze a AM/left wide playmaker when to me CF and RW is quite clearly the weakest part of our front line given how badly Kulu fits the wide role in our system and Richy’s injury issues.

Beyond that Werner was obviously brought in to be Son’s back up. Son is our only world class forward and our club captain so will obviously be the starter there. If we hadn’t kept Werner then I think it would have been a more logical move. Or if Eze could also play naturally on the RW. But he can’t, he’s played there 14 times in his career and it would be a massive stretch to see him as a viable option RW. Much like Johnson isn’t a LW. One has to remember that whilst we may not have payed a fee for Werner he is still going to cost us between 8-10 mil (depending on bonuses) in wages for the season. That’s a lot for a third choice WF which he would be if we got Eze one assumes. If we retained Werner and paying him the wages we are it’s because we expect to play him a lot.

And as I’ve said elsewhere with his injuries and social media postings I don’t think it’s a certainty we manage to find a buyer for Solomon. Maybe we end up shifting him on loan but I could certainly see him being here come next season. Plus there’s Santiago and Moore as youth options.

Then when you look at AM we have Maddison who was our marquee signing last summer and we have Donley waiting in the wings who has huge potential and I have a sneaking suspicion that Moore may be better suited to the 10 role in Ange’s system long term. Ether way we don’t want to overpopulate the AM position and cut off their root to the first team. And that is completely ignoring Devine or the fact Kulu really doesn’t suit RW.

It is however very true Maddison has been incredibly off form of late and there is certainly justified concern about him going forward. With Gio likely off I 100% get the argument for another more developed AM being brought in to compete with him. I just don’t see, when looking at our front line overall, it is a position we should be splashing 60+ mil on.

When you look at the RW position I find it is clearly the weakest. For a start Kulu isn’t comfortable in the role. He really doesn't suit it and that’s fairly obvious. His over reliance of cutting onto his left makes him far too predictable without a FB overlapping to keep defenders on their toes. I actually don’t really know what we do with him tbh as I’m not convinced by him at AM ether. As I’ve said before I’d maybe consider trying him as an 8 alongside the 10 when we want to be more attacking.

Aside from that we only have Johnson. Now Johnson‘s numbers are very impressive. You can’t really debate that. When you watch him however there are clear weaknesses. He is inconsistent and goes missing for large parts of games. Some matches he will be very present others you will forget he’s on the pitch. Perfectly natural for a young player and nothing out of the ordinary. Thing is he just isn’t very technical, he’s not particularly great with the ball at his feet. He certainly got better in this area as he grew in confidence but not to the degree you consider him strong 1v1. There is no doubt he has potential, and he could well be an excellent player in time (although personlly I don’t ever see him be world class but you never know) but to me we clearly need another quality option there, someone who has a different skill set and ideally left footed and not a squad filler.

In general I have the same concerns about Eze as I have about Baena if we brought them in to play consistently on the wing. They aren’t touchline wingers when played wide. They are wide playmakers When played on the wing. When you compare their positioning and movement to to that of Werner say, (even Eze under Glasner. Theres an opta a link a few posts above) they are incredibly different.

Now maybe they can adapt to the role required, one would assume that if we are looking at them with the left wing in mind we believe they can. But it would be a significant change of role and that shouldn’t be underestimated. And that also goes for the defensive side of things as well, something Eze would need to work on.

If Eze could play naturally as a touchline winger on both sides of the pitch as well as 10 then he’d be an absolutely fantastic addition, I’d very happy getting him as he could rotate with Johnson, Maddison and give further depth to the left wing. He’s quality. Maybe even If he was a left footed RW/AM. Although I would have the same concerns over his tendency to sit deeper and drift central. But he isn’t, he’s a right footed AM/left wide playmaker not a right winger unfortunately. In reality the only two players I have seen recently who could cover all three roles and are available is maybe Albert Gudmundsson who is completely off the table now he’s being taken to court for assault (he is also more a wide playmaker anyway so it wouldn’t even be a perfect fit regardless) and Désiré Doué who whilst being excellent as a touchline winger is only 18/19, still raw and ultimately we clearly aren’t going to spend 40 mil on someone that age at this point even if personally think we should. So it’s somewhat moot.

Now what is obviously true is that we will have a lot of games next season. Loads. So obviously there will be a lot of rotation. For me tho I kinda of see the Europa league and cups a good opportunity to play players like Donley, Hall, Phillips, Moore and Santiago etc in amongst more developed players. Many of them are extremely highly rated after all. Our prospects are better than they have been in years and should not be overlooked imo. That does however also mean tho that Kulu will be playing a lot at RW as we have no other option there currently.

Essentially i really like Eze, I get why everyone is so desperate to get him. He’s a classy player and if he ends up here I’m hardly going be upset. But if we put on our logic glasses and strip emotion out of it, to me the most obvious place to spend heavily (aside from a CF) is a right winger who ideally can also comfortably play left. Essentially someone like Neto, if he didn’t have injuries, who is left footed but just as comfortable playing off the left as he is on the right. Then if we still want another AM and we don’t have money to part exchange for a Baena and we don’t consider keeping Gio for another season while the youth adapt then we look in the loan or bargain bin similar to how we were with CHO or Edwards.

Essentially I think we are currently more in need of a top class winger then a top class playmaker at this stage of the squads rebuild but i get I’m in the minority here judging by this thread. And as I said I get the obsession over him completely and I’m certainly not criticising those that want him.

The irony being I actually see us ending up getting Eze, probably near the end of the window. I did originally think City would move for him once Paqueta fell through but I’m not so sure that’s the case anymore. I think Olmo who will be cheaper might take precedence for them. The last ITK re sitting on our perch makes complete sense. Essentially we will deal with other things first and see where things lie. Maybe it’s the Base connect but I just have this feeling we go for him later in the window if nobody else does and as long as we can keep costs down in all other areas.
 

brasil_spur

SC Supporter
Aug 25, 2006
13,408
18,944
I really like Eze and for me he’s the type of player that would be perfect for Ange’s team. But I think we’re more urgently in need of a new ST and I agree with others that if we spend £60m on Eze I struggle to us spending that again on another ST.
 

mill

Well-Known Member
May 21, 2007
11,020
39,859
Agree completely. I like Eze, he’s a quality player but when you look at our front line currently

LW - Son/Werner/Solomon*/Moore/Santiago*
CF - Richy*/Son/Scarlett/Veliz*
RW - Johnson/Kulu
AM- Maddison/Kulu/Donley/Devine*/Moore

I struggle to see the logic in spending 60+ mil on Eze a AM/left wide playmaker when to me CF and RW is quite clearly the weakest part of our front line given how badly Kulu fits the wide role in our system and Richy’s injury issues.

Beyond that Werner was obviously brought in to be Son’s back up. Son is our only world class forward and our club captain so will obviously be the starter there. If we hadn’t kept Werner then I think it would have been a more logical move. Or if Eze could also play naturally on the RW. But he can’t, he’s played there 14 times in his career and it would be a massive stretch to see him as a viable option RW. Much like Johnson isn’t a LW. One has to remember that whilst we may not have payed a fee for Werner he is still going to cost us between 8-10 mil (depending on bonuses) in wages for the season. That’s a lot for a third choice WF which he would be if we got Eze one assumes. If we retained Werner and paying him the wages we are it’s because we expect to play him a lot.

And as I’ve said elsewhere with his injuries and social media postings I don’t think it’s a certainty we manage to find a buyer for Solomon. Maybe we end up shifting him on loan but I could certainly see him being here come next season. Plus there’s Santiago and Moore as youth options.

Then when you look at AM we have Maddison who was our marquee signing last summer and we have Donley waiting in the wings who has huge potential and I have a sneaking suspicion that Moore may be better suited to the 10 role in Ange’s system long term. Ether way we don’t want to overpopulate the AM position and cut off their root to the first team. And that is completely ignoring Devine or the fact Kulu really doesn’t suit RW.

It is however very true Maddison has been incredibly off form of late and there is certainly justified concern about him going forward. With Gio likely off I 100% get the argument for another more developed AM being brought in to compete with him. I just don’t see, when looking at our front line overall, it is a position we should be splashing 60+ mil on.

When you look at the RW position I find it is clearly the weakest. For a start Kulu isn’t comfortable in the role. He really doesn't suit it and that’s fairly obvious. His over reliance of cutting onto his left makes him far too predictable without a FB overlapping to keep defenders on their toes. I actually don’t really know what we do with him tbh as I’m not convinced by him at AM ether. As I’ve said before I’d maybe consider trying him as an 8 alongside the 10 when we want to be more attacking.

Aside from that we only have Johnson. Now Johnson‘s numbers are very impressive. You can’t really debate that. When you watch him however there are clear weaknesses. He is inconsistent and goes missing for large parts of games. Some matches he will be very present others you will forget he’s on the pitch. Perfectly natural for a young player and nothing out of the ordinary. Thing is he just isn’t very technical, he’s not particularly great with the ball at his feet. He certainly got better in this area as he grew in confidence but not to the degree you consider him strong 1v1. There is no doubt he has potential, and he could well be an excellent player in time (although personlly I don’t ever see him be world class but you never know) but to me we clearly need another quality option there, someone who has a different skill set and ideally left footed and not a squad filler.

In general I have the same concerns about Eze as I have about Baena if we brought them in to play consistently on the wing. They aren’t touchline wingers when played wide. They are wide playmakers When played on the wing. When you compare their positioning and movement to to that of Werner say, (even Eze under Glasner. Theres an opta a link a few posts above) they are incredibly different.

Now maybe they can adapt to the role required, one would assume that if we are looking at them with the left wing in mind we believe they can. But it would be a significant change of role and that shouldn’t be underestimated. And that also goes for the defensive side of things as well, something Eze would need to work on.

If Eze could play naturally as a touchline winger on both sides of the pitch as well as 10 then he’d be an absolutely fantastic addition, I’d very happy getting him as he could rotate with Johnson, Maddison and give further depth to the left wing. He’s quality. Maybe even If he was a left footed RW/AM. Although I would have the same concerns over his tendency to sit deeper and drift central. But he isn’t, he’s a right footed AM/left wide playmaker not a right winger unfortunately. In reality the only two players I have seen recently who could cover all three roles and are available is maybe Albert Gudmundsson who is completely off the table now he’s being taken to court for assault (he is also more a wide playmaker anyway so it wouldn’t even be a perfect fit regardless) and Désiré Doué who whilst being excellent as a touchline winger is only 18/19, still raw and ultimately we clearly aren’t going to spend 40 mil on someone that age at this point even if personally think we should. So it’s somewhat moot.

Now what is obviously true is that we will have a lot of games next season. Loads. So obviously there will be a lot of rotation. For me tho I kinda of see the Europa league and cups a good opportunity to play players like Donley, Hall, Phillips, Moore and Santiago etc in amongst more developed players. Many of them are extremely highly rated after all. Our prospects are better than they have been in years and should not be overlooked imo. That does however also mean tho that Kulu will be playing a lot at RW as we have no other option there currently.

Essentially i really like Eze, I get why everyone is so desperate to get him. He’s a classy player and if he ends up here I’m hardly going be upset. But if we put on our logic glasses and strip emotion out of it, to me the most obvious place to spend heavily (aside from a CF) is a right winger who ideally can also comfortably play left. Essentially someone like Neto, if he didn’t have injuries, who is left footed but just as comfortable playing off the left as he is on the right. Then if we still want another AM and we don’t have money to part exchange for a Baena and we don’t consider keeping Gio for another season while the youth adapt then we look in the loan or bargain bin similar to how we were with CHO or Edwards.

Essentially I think we are currently more in need of a top class winger then a top class playmaker at this stage of the squads rebuild but i get I’m in the minority here judging by this thread. And as I said I get the obsession over him completely and I’m certainly not criticising those that want him.

The irony being I actually see us ending up getting Eze, probably near the end of the window. I did originally think City would move for him once Paqueta fell through but I’m not so sure that’s the case anymore. I think Olmo who will be cheaper might take precedence for them. The last ITK re sitting on our perch makes complete sense. Essentially we will deal with other things first and see where things lie. Maybe it’s the Base connect but I just have this feeling we go for him later in the window if nobody else does and as long as we can keep costs down in all other areas.
Completely agree st, rw, dm and lb are all more important than another am
 

bbunc

Well-Known Member
May 11, 2019
1,923
7,923
This is going to sound like a “FFS” comment before the window is even officially open, but you’d think if we had this grand master plan you’d start to see the most critical lynchpin pieces coming together from the off vs this wait and see approach.

maybe there are enough dominoes that we need Sesko and Oshimen to fall 1st before we get the pick of the litter amongst whatever scraps are left.

but a little surprising to me that our top CM and RW don’t seem to be out there and in process yet given how glaring the needs are.
 

dontcallme

SC Supporter
Mar 18, 2005
37,250
97,736
This is going to sound like a “FFS” comment before the window is even officially open, but you’d think if we had this grand master plan you’d start to see the most critical lynchpin pieces coming together from the off vs this wait and see approach.

maybe there are enough dominoes that we need Sesko and Oshimen to fall 1st before we get the pick of the litter amongst whatever scraps are left.

but a little surprising to me that our top CM and RW don’t seem to be out there and in process yet given how glaring the needs are.
It’s May and we’ve already made one signing.

We have no real idea what is going on behind the scenes.
 

npearl4spurs

Believing Member
Sep 9, 2014
5,110
14,413
The irony being I actually see us ending up getting Eze, probably near the end of the window. I did originally think City would move for him once Paqueta fell through but I’m not so sure that’s the case anymore. I think Olmo who will be cheaper might take precedence for them. The last ITK re sitting on our perch makes complete sense. Essentially we will deal with other things first and see where things lie. Maybe it’s the Base connect but I just have this feeling we go for him later in the window if nobody else does and as long as we can keep costs down in all other areas.

but a little surprising to me that our top CM and RW don’t seem to be out there and in process yet given how glaring the needs are.

I suspect we do have a plan. Ange actually spoke about us having one and that he was happy with it. Werner was obviously now the first step in the plan, and I believe we are confident on securing targets high up on our wishlist in needed areas. I don't think there is absolutely any reason to panic about not knowing names at this point - ITK has already divulged a few names that are exciting so things are being scouted and worked on behind the scenes.

Related to Ghost Hardware's comment above, I actually think Eze could be the perfect cherry on top at the end of the window if there's a chance. I'm doubtful about it, but maybe he wants to come to us and at the end of the window we are the best offer at closer to 50m with add-ons than 60m or more upfront. And with sales we should achieve, I would think we could make the financials work for other targets.
 

bbunc

Well-Known Member
May 11, 2019
1,923
7,923
I suspect we do have a plan. Ange actually spoke about us having one and that he was happy with it. Werner was obviously now the first step in the plan, and I believe we are confident on securing targets high up on our wishlist in needed areas. I don't think there is absolutely any reason to panic about not knowing names at this point - ITK has already divulged a few names that are exciting so things are being scouted and worked on behind the scenes.

Related to Ghost Hardware's comment above, I actually think Eze could be the perfect cherry on top at the end of the window if there's a chance. I'm doubtful about it, but maybe he wants to come to us and at the end of the window we are the best offer at closer to 50m with add-ons than 60m or more upfront. And with sales we should achieve, I would think we could make the financials work for other targets.
The problem with that is Palace aren’t going to sell Eze at the end of the window. They are only going to sell if someone meets their price early. By the late window, they’ll have done their selling elsewhere and won’t have any incentive to sell him nor time to replace him. Players of that quality do not move late unless they are literally in the last year of their contract.
 

Nick-TopSpursMan

Well-Known Member
Aug 4, 2005
4,994
27,897
Agree completely. I like Eze, he’s a quality player but when you look at our front line currently

LW - Son/Werner/Solomon*/Moore/Santiago*
CF - Richy*/Son/Scarlett/Veliz*
RW - Johnson/Kulu
AM- Maddison/Kulu/Donley/Devine*/Moore

I struggle to see the logic in spending 60+ mil on Eze a AM/left wide playmaker when to me CF and RW is quite clearly the weakest part of our front line given how badly Kulu fits the wide role in our system and Richy’s injury issues.

Beyond that Werner was obviously brought in to be Son’s back up. Son is our only world class forward and our club captain so will obviously be the starter there. If we hadn’t kept Werner then I think it would have been a more logical move. Or if Eze could also play naturally on the RW. But he can’t, he’s played there 14 times in his career and it would be a massive stretch to see him as a viable option RW. Much like Johnson isn’t a LW. One has to remember that whilst we may not have payed a fee for Werner he is still going to cost us between 8-10 mil (depending on bonuses) in wages for the season. That’s a lot for a third choice WF which he would be if we got Eze one assumes. If we retained Werner and paying him the wages we are it’s because we expect to play him a lot.

And as I’ve said elsewhere with his injuries and social media postings I don’t think it’s a certainty we manage to find a buyer for Solomon. Maybe we end up shifting him on loan but I could certainly see him being here come next season. Plus there’s Santiago and Moore as youth options.

Then when you look at AM we have Maddison who was our marquee signing last summer and we have Donley waiting in the wings who has huge potential and I have a sneaking suspicion that Moore may be better suited to the 10 role in Ange’s system long term. Ether way we don’t want to overpopulate the AM position and cut off their root to the first team. And that is completely ignoring Devine or the fact Kulu really doesn’t suit RW.

It is however very true Maddison has been incredibly off form of late and there is certainly justified concern about him going forward. With Gio likely off I 100% get the argument for another more developed AM being brought in to compete with him. I just don’t see, when looking at our front line overall, it is a position we should be splashing 60+ mil on.

When you look at the RW position I find it is clearly the weakest. For a start Kulu isn’t comfortable in the role. He really doesn't suit it and that’s fairly obvious. His over reliance of cutting onto his left makes him far too predictable without a FB overlapping to keep defenders on their toes. I actually don’t really know what we do with him tbh as I’m not convinced by him at AM ether. As I’ve said before I’d maybe consider trying him as an 8 alongside the 10 when we want to be more attacking.

Aside from that we only have Johnson. Now Johnson‘s numbers are very impressive. You can’t really debate that. When you watch him however there are clear weaknesses. He is inconsistent and goes missing for large parts of games. Some matches he will be very present others you will forget he’s on the pitch. Perfectly natural for a young player and nothing out of the ordinary. Thing is he just isn’t very technical, he’s not particularly great with the ball at his feet. He certainly got better in this area as he grew in confidence but not to the degree you consider him strong 1v1. There is no doubt he has potential, and he could well be an excellent player in time (although personlly I don’t ever see him be world class but you never know) but to me we clearly need another quality option there, someone who has a different skill set and ideally left footed and not a squad filler.

In general I have the same concerns about Eze as I have about Baena if we brought them in to play consistently on the wing. They aren’t touchline wingers when played wide. They are wide playmakers When played on the wing. When you compare their positioning and movement to to that of Werner say, (even Eze under Glasner. Theres an opta a link a few posts above) they are incredibly different.

Now maybe they can adapt to the role required, one would assume that if we are looking at them with the left wing in mind we believe they can. But it would be a significant change of role and that shouldn’t be underestimated. And that also goes for the defensive side of things as well, something Eze would need to work on.

If Eze could play naturally as a touchline winger on both sides of the pitch as well as 10 then he’d be an absolutely fantastic addition, I’d very happy getting him as he could rotate with Johnson, Maddison and give further depth to the left wing. He’s quality. Maybe even If he was a left footed RW/AM. Although I would have the same concerns over his tendency to sit deeper and drift central. But he isn’t, he’s a right footed AM/left wide playmaker not a right winger unfortunately. In reality the only two players I have seen recently who could cover all three roles and are available is maybe Albert Gudmundsson who is completely off the table now he’s being taken to court for assault (he is also more a wide playmaker anyway so it wouldn’t even be a perfect fit regardless) and Désiré Doué who whilst being excellent as a touchline winger is only 18/19, still raw and ultimately we clearly aren’t going to spend 40 mil on someone that age at this point even if personally think we should. So it’s somewhat moot.

Now what is obviously true is that we will have a lot of games next season. Loads. So obviously there will be a lot of rotation. For me tho I kinda of see the Europa league and cups a good opportunity to play players like Donley, Hall, Phillips, Moore and Santiago etc in amongst more developed players. Many of them are extremely highly rated after all. Our prospects are better than they have been in years and should not be overlooked imo. That does however also mean tho that Kulu will be playing a lot at RW as we have no other option there currently.

Essentially i really like Eze, I get why everyone is so desperate to get him. He’s a classy player and if he ends up here I’m hardly going be upset. But if we put on our logic glasses and strip emotion out of it, to me the most obvious place to spend heavily (aside from a CF) is a right winger who ideally can also comfortably play left. Essentially someone like Neto, if he didn’t have injuries, who is left footed but just as comfortable playing off the left as he is on the right. Then if we still want another AM and we don’t have money to part exchange for a Baena and we don’t consider keeping Gio for another season while the youth adapt then we look in the loan or bargain bin similar to how we were with CHO or Edwards.

Essentially I think we are currently more in need of a top class winger then a top class playmaker at this stage of the squads rebuild but i get I’m in the minority here judging by this thread. And as I said I get the obsession over him completely and I’m certainly not criticising those that want him.

The irony being I actually see us ending up getting Eze, probably near the end of the window. I did originally think City would move for him once Paqueta fell through but I’m not so sure that’s the case anymore. I think Olmo who will be cheaper might take precedence for them. The last ITK re sitting on our perch makes complete sense. Essentially we will deal with other things first and see where things lie. Maybe it’s the Base connect but I just have this feeling we go for him later in the window if nobody else does and as long as we can keep costs down in all other areas.

Brilliant post mate as usual. We see things pretty much exactly the same way.
 

npearl4spurs

Believing Member
Sep 9, 2014
5,110
14,413
The problem with that is Palace aren’t going to sell Eze at the end of the window. They are only going to sell if someone meets their price early. By the late window, they’ll have done their selling elsewhere and won’t have any incentive to sell him nor time to replace him. Players of that quality do not move late unless they are literally in the last year of their contract.
Agree with that. Depends on how much he wants out and there's no indication he really does that I've heard.
 

Ghost Hardware

Well-Known Member
Aug 31, 2012
21,791
86,689
The problem with that is Palace aren’t going to sell Eze at the end of the window. They are only going to sell if someone meets their price early. By the late window, they’ll have done their selling elsewhere and won’t have any incentive to sell him nor time to replace him. Players of that quality do not move late unless they are literally in the last year of their contract.
I think in general things will be different this window due to the Euro’s, Copa America and even the Olympics football tournament. It regularly puts a lot business on hold for 3 or 4 weeks not just if a player is directly involved but also if the selling club is looking at a player that is involved as a replacement. It can have a knock on effect throughout the market.

It’s why it’s incredibly helpful to do business before if possible unless the player would rather wait until after the tournament, see Olmo ITK.

Whilst normally I’d agree with you re a player like Eze the fact there’s the Euros and he could well be involved could mean any move for him comes after England’s involvement finishes.

That probably suits us as one would assume we would likely need to cut some corners in other positions in order to accommodate it. It sort of feels like a ducks in a row sort or signing.

I’ve already spoken as to my concerns about the transfer above but regardless of my feelings on the matter I most certainly can see a late move for him materialising depending on how our other business plays out. When I say late i don’t mean deadline day but still in the overall latter part of the window. The fact we have the Base connection as well would probably help quite a lot with making it go smoothly were we to firm up our interest.

For now our priority will probably be offloading those we can, trying to find some cheaper, ideally HG squad fillers for positions we need back ups in like L/RB and a CF. I do however really hope I’m wrong as really we should start with our primary targets that we think will ether immediately improve or challenging for a first 11 spot. Ether way the next two weeks will be interesting and likely busy for many clubs.
 

DenverSpur

Well-Known Member
Sep 25, 2011
2,841
7,302
Agree completely. I like Eze, he’s a quality player but when you look at our front line currently

LW - Son/Werner/Solomon*/Moore/Santiago*
CF - Richy*/Son/Scarlett/Veliz*
RW - Johnson/Kulu
AM- Maddison/Kulu/Donley/Devine*/Moore

I struggle to see the logic in spending 60+ mil on Eze a AM/left wide playmaker when to me CF and RW is quite clearly the weakest part of our front line given how badly Kulu fits the wide role in our system and Richy’s injury issues.

Beyond that Werner was obviously brought in to be Son’s back up. Son is our only world class forward and our club captain so will obviously be the starter there. If we hadn’t kept Werner then I think it would have been a more logical move. Or if Eze could also play naturally on the RW. But he can’t, he’s played there 14 times in his career and it would be a massive stretch to see him as a viable option RW. Much like Johnson isn’t a LW. One has to remember that whilst we may not have payed a fee for Werner he is still going to cost us between 8-10 mil (depending on bonuses) in wages for the season. That’s a lot for a third choice WF which he would be if we got Eze one assumes. If we retained Werner and paying him the wages we are it’s because we expect to play him a lot.

And as I’ve said elsewhere with his injuries and social media postings I don’t think it’s a certainty we manage to find a buyer for Solomon. Maybe we end up shifting him on loan but I could certainly see him being here come next season. Plus there’s Santiago and Moore as youth options.

Then when you look at AM we have Maddison who was our marquee signing last summer and we have Donley waiting in the wings who has huge potential and I have a sneaking suspicion that Moore may be better suited to the 10 role in Ange’s system long term. Ether way we don’t want to overpopulate the AM position and cut off their root to the first team. And that is completely ignoring Devine or the fact Kulu really doesn’t suit RW.

It is however very true Maddison has been incredibly off form of late and there is certainly justified concern about him going forward. With Gio likely off I 100% get the argument for another more developed AM being brought in to compete with him. I just don’t see, when looking at our front line overall, it is a position we should be splashing 60+ mil on.

When you look at the RW position I find it is clearly the weakest. For a start Kulu isn’t comfortable in the role. He really doesn't suit it and that’s fairly obvious. His over reliance of cutting onto his left makes him far too predictable without a FB overlapping to keep defenders on their toes. I actually don’t really know what we do with him tbh as I’m not convinced by him at AM ether. As I’ve said before I’d maybe consider trying him as an 8 alongside the 10 when we want to be more attacking.

Aside from that we only have Johnson. Now Johnson‘s numbers are very impressive. You can’t really debate that. When you watch him however there are clear weaknesses. He is inconsistent and goes missing for large parts of games. Some matches he will be very present others you will forget he’s on the pitch. Perfectly natural for a young player and nothing out of the ordinary. Thing is he just isn’t very technical, he’s not particularly great with the ball at his feet. He certainly got better in this area as he grew in confidence but not to the degree you consider him strong 1v1. There is no doubt he has potential, and he could well be an excellent player in time (although personlly I don’t ever see him be world class but you never know) but to me we clearly need another quality option there, someone who has a different skill set and ideally left footed and not a squad filler.

In general I have the same concerns about Eze as I have about Baena if we brought them in to play consistently on the wing. They aren’t touchline wingers when played wide. They are wide playmakers When played on the wing. When you compare their positioning and movement to to that of Werner say, (even Eze under Glasner. Theres an opta a link a few posts above) they are incredibly different.

Now maybe they can adapt to the role required, one would assume that if we are looking at them with the left wing in mind we believe they can. But it would be a significant change of role and that shouldn’t be underestimated. And that also goes for the defensive side of things as well, something Eze would need to work on.

If Eze could play naturally as a touchline winger on both sides of the pitch as well as 10 then he’d be an absolutely fantastic addition, I’d very happy getting him as he could rotate with Johnson, Maddison and give further depth to the left wing. He’s quality. Maybe even If he was a left footed RW/AM. Although I would have the same concerns over his tendency to sit deeper and drift central. But he isn’t, he’s a right footed AM/left wide playmaker not a right winger unfortunately. In reality the only two players I have seen recently who could cover all three roles and are available is maybe Albert Gudmundsson who is completely off the table now he’s being taken to court for assault (he is also more a wide playmaker anyway so it wouldn’t even be a perfect fit regardless) and Désiré Doué who whilst being excellent as a touchline winger is only 18/19, still raw and ultimately we clearly aren’t going to spend 40 mil on someone that age at this point even if personally think we should. So it’s somewhat moot.

Now what is obviously true is that we will have a lot of games next season. Loads. So obviously there will be a lot of rotation. For me tho I kinda of see the Europa league and cups a good opportunity to play players like Donley, Hall, Phillips, Moore and Santiago etc in amongst more developed players. Many of them are extremely highly rated after all. Our prospects are better than they have been in years and should not be overlooked imo. That does however also mean tho that Kulu will be playing a lot at RW as we have no other option there currently.

Essentially i really like Eze, I get why everyone is so desperate to get him. He’s a classy player and if he ends up here I’m hardly going be upset. But if we put on our logic glasses and strip emotion out of it, to me the most obvious place to spend heavily (aside from a CF) is a right winger who ideally can also comfortably play left. Essentially someone like Neto, if he didn’t have injuries, who is left footed but just as comfortable playing off the left as he is on the right. Then if we still want another AM and we don’t have money to part exchange for a Baena and we don’t consider keeping Gio for another season while the youth adapt then we look in the loan or bargain bin similar to how we were with CHO or Edwards.

Essentially I think we are currently more in need of a top class winger then a top class playmaker at this stage of the squads rebuild but i get I’m in the minority here judging by this thread. And as I said I get the obsession over him completely and I’m certainly not criticising those that want him.

The irony being I actually see us ending up getting Eze, probably near the end of the window. I did originally think City would move for him once Paqueta fell through but I’m not so sure that’s the case anymore. I think Olmo who will be cheaper might take precedence for them. The last ITK re sitting on our perch makes complete sense. Essentially we will deal with other things first and see where things lie. Maybe it’s the Base connect but I just have this feeling we go for him later in the window if nobody else does and as long as we can keep costs down in all other areas.
Why do you want a RW who’s left footed? Isn’t the big problem we have with Kulusevski is he won’t use his right foot. Surely we need a RW who can beat the FB get to the byline and put a cross in?
 
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daveduvet

Well-Known Member
Oct 6, 2008
6,327
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Why do you want a RW who’s left footed? Isn’t the big problem we have with Kulusevski is he won’t use his right foot. Surely we need a RW who can beat the FB get to the byline and put a cross in?
Funny how we interpret posts. I felt @Ghost Hardware saying the opposite; ie, kulu is easy to read as a RW with left foot, and we need someone who is two footed in that position to go to the byline and cut back… (very tired so my reasoning could be WELL off)
 

Nick-TopSpursMan

Well-Known Member
Aug 4, 2005
4,994
27,897
Why do you want a RW who’s left footed? Isn’t the big problem we have with Kulusevski is he won’t use his right foot. Surely we need a RW who can beat the FB get to the byline and put a cross in?

It’s absolutely fine to have an inverted winger, they just have to be capable of 2 way dribbling and able to go outside sometimes.

Cutting inside also has value because that’s where you can cut in, link play, try to shoot, try to play quick passing combos and pass and move etc.

The reason Deki doesn’t work there isn’t because he’s left footed for example, it’s because he has no explosiveness and can’t create proper separation to go on the outside. So he has to cut inside and he’s easier to defend against. If you really watch Deki he does try to go outside, he just gives up because he can’t physically do it.

If Bale was RW in our team, he’d cut inside a fair bit and combine with teammates but he’d also be able to go on the outside with his explosiveness. Players like Bakayoko, Neto etc would be excellent on the right for us, despite being left footed.

The ability to just go outside sometimes would actually create more space on the inside too, as it would make the defender worry about which way our winger is going.
 
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Gardham90

Junior Member
Aug 2, 2010
577
1,246
Maybe I see things differently. Sure, an elite winger would be great. But when Maddison isn't firing - and he isn't the most consistent - we desperately need a player who can unlock a defence, specifically a low block. I think Eze brings those qualities tbh. But ofc it all depends on the price as our budget is finite.
 
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