Jota

[Nick-TopSpursMan]

Do you guys have beef in other threads? If not, what's the point of these comments against someone who is just trying to contribute to the discussion of a potential transfer?

I don't even know the poster but it's fine mate, if people want to insult me that's their prerogative. I'll just give my opinions and debate with posters who wish to have constructive conversations about the club we love, no problem.

 

[Trix]

Maybe he wants both? A wide attacker who has elite pace and can develop a real goal threat and threat in behind, and a winger who is the 1v1 specialist and go to attacker as the other option. The one that play gravitates towards for attacks, like Saka, Doku etc. They can also play in the same side, rotate etc.

We are early in to his reign, perhaps he felt that was the easiest addition to get in the short term while he builds the team?

It's possible, sure. I just don't see it personally otherwise I think we'd be hearing more about them. Ange has set up differently everywhere he's been pretty much. I don't think we can use Celtic(and the SPL) as a blueprint for anything as it such a different league in terms of ability and disparity between Celtic and those below.

 

[Ron Burgundy]

I don't even know the poster but it's fine mate, if people want to insult me that's their prerogative. I'll just give my opinions and debate with posters who wish to have constructive conversations about the club we love, no problem.

How dare you say that!

Having initially made an irritatingly rational statement, rightly jumped on, you now go and fan the flames with that kind of psychotic nonsense. You got what you deserved.

(I'm joking, obviously...just in case)

 

[Nick-TopSpursMan]

It's possible, sure. I just don't see it personally otherwise I think we'd be hearing more about them. Ange has set up differently everywhere he's been pretty much. I don't think we can use Celtic(and the SPL) as a blueprint for anything as it such a different league in terms of ability and disparity between Celtic and those below.

I wonder if he just sees it as the next step for the summer for example. I would be very surprised if some kind of 1v1 specialist isn't on his radar. Everything he's done has been incredible, his tactics are unreal, his eye for a player is great and he has similarities in play style to the likes of De Zerbi, Guardiola, Playmobil Pep at Scum etc. They all have 1v1 players, it's pretty much the only profile of player we are missing so I'm confident Ange will see the gap and address it. Pretty much every tactical analyst out there is talking about it being our biggest gap too. TIFO IRL did a great piece on it previously. I'm sure Ange is aware, he's an unbelievable coach.

Perhaps he feels like he needs a very specific player of that type with the right ceiling and so he's being very picky about who we go for there. We had ITK in the summer that both Doku and Williams were being strongly looked at for example. It could be he doesn't think Jota is good enough for the level he wants to get us too, which is fair enough, he would know best having worked with him before.

 

[Viking78]

Tbh I’m struggling a bit, like others, with the idea of a forward who can play across the front three. There are not many WF who are comfortable at CF so it usually ends up with a CF or second striker who can also play out wide. Problem with second strikers tho is that they are often best playing off a CF rather than ether out wide or as a lone striker and generally CF aren’t great with the ball at their feet plus don’t tend to hold width when out wide.

In general to answer your question I would have loved Kvaratskhelia (dream signing, probably the perfect wide player for our system but way way too expensive), Neto (would fit in really well imo but his injuries are obviously a big issue plus price probably), Nico Williams (but he just signed a contract extension and no chance we pay the release fee which requires a lump payment) beyond that I would have loved to have also gone with someone younger less experienced players with potential like Nusa, Soulé, Bakayoko etc. There’s a lot of great young WF talents coming through at the moment but none of those I mention are also comfortable playing CF.

As to who actually matches the criteria I honestly can’t think of many who would elevate us. Marcus Thuram (unavailable), Mathys Tel (unavailable) Kolo Muani (unavailable) Joa Felix (unavailable and Porro) Dybala (available for cheap but injury prone and more comfortable as a SS then out wide or as a lone CF) Chiesa (quite similar to Son, can play across all three spots although better out wide but again injuries are unfortunately a concern) Jonathan David (never been a fan and isn’t having a great season but supposedly we have had long term interest. Likely too expensive for this window tho and really think he’d struggle in the PL. fits the criteria tho).

The one name I wonder about is another Genoa player who we have been linked to in the past and that’s Guðmundsson. Scored 6 goals this season and has been played on the wing and up front, all be it in a two rather than a one. At 26 I think he’d be a risk but will probably be cheap. Idk, not a thrilling addition as he’d be more a depth signing but probably more plausible than any of the names I’ve mentioned above.

Essentially finding a versatile CF/WF is actually very tricky and when looking around the market I really struggle to see who is available out there of the required level. At least who is available within our budget. My assumption on this one is it could drag out over the window and we will see what options become available. A lot of players have contracts running low (Chiesa for example) so more opportunities could arise towards the tail end of the window. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if we don’t end up getting one this window.

I've only see highlights but Andrea Colpani of Monza seems like a top player. He may not have the 1v1 trickery but he has great passing range and can shoot. Plus he's 6ft.
Inter and Juve are monitoring him.

 

[Singaspur]

I wonder if he just sees it as the next step for the summer for example. I would be very surprised if some kind of 1v1 specialist isn't on his radar. Everything he's done has been incredible, his tactics are unreal, his eye for a player is great and he has similarities in play style to the likes of De Zerbi, Guardiola, Playmobile Pep at Scum etc. They all have 1v1 players, it's pretty much the only profile of player we are missing so I'm confident Ange will see the gap and address it. Pretty much every tactical analyst out there is talking about it being our biggest gap too. TIFO IRL did a great piece on it previously. I'm sure Ange is aware, he's an unbelievable coach.

Perhaps he feels like he needs a very specific player of that type with the right ceiling and so he's being very picky about who we go for there. We had ITK in the summer that both Doku and Williams were being strongly looked at for example. It could be he doesn't think Jota is good enough for the level he wants to get us too, which is fair enough, he would know best having worked with him before.

Yeah I agree. I certainly don't think Ange has deliberately decided he DOESN'T want such a player in his squad/team. He's often spoken about wanting a mix of different skills. Actually one of the reasons we may not be jumping on Jota is that we already have Solomon who is - perhaps a poor man's version of - that sort of player, and with Gil still in the squad as well, getting a 3rd such player would be a death knell for Solomon and/or Gil. Solomon especially though hasn't had much opportunity to show us what he can do in that LW spot.

 

[yido_number1]

Yeah I agree. I certainly don't think Ange has deliberately decided he DOESN'T want such a player in his squad/team. He's often spoken about wanting a mix of different skills. Actually one of the reasons we may not be jumping on Jota is that we already have Solomon who is - perhaps a poor man's version of - that sort of player, and with Gil still in the squad as well, getting a 3rd such player would be a death knell for Solomon and/or Gil. Solomon especially though hasn't had much opportunity to show us what he can do in that LW spot.

Gil would be the one we'd replace and probably to a loss into the Spanish league.

More likely someone that could go in the summer. Can see the rationale of signing a player that can play CF and winger to give us more options for injuries and play styles. Deki, Richy and Son can all play in a few roles and I think that's vital to fit everyone in and have cover.

 

[Dunc2610]

Do you guys have beef in other threads? If not, what's the point of these comments against someone who is just trying to contribute to the discussion of a potential transfer?

Not having "beef" with anyone, and its not just me that's questioned his posts, maybe ask them if they have "beef" too?

 

[Ghost Hardware]

I've only see highlights but Andrea Colpani of Monza seems like a top player. He may not have the 1v1 trickery but he has great passing range and can shoot. Plus he's 6ft.
Inter and Juve are monitoring him.

Having a fantastic season and he does look a talent. He's very much an attacking midfielder tho, if we were looking for rotation option for Maddison then he could be interesting but not for the WF/CF role. I know Inter have been interested in him for a while as a rotation option for Mkhitaryan but they would probably need to loose some CM's as they would be bloated with another addition.

 

[rawhide]

How dare you say that!

Having initially made an irritatingly rational statement, rightly jumped on, you now go and fan the flames with that kind of psychotic nonsense. You got what you deserved.

(I'm joking, obviously...just in case)

Well… that escalated quickly!

I’m sorry, with your user name, it had to be done.

 

[Trix]

Yeah I agree. I certainly don't think Ange has deliberately decided he DOESN'T want such a player in his squad/team. He's often spoken about wanting a mix of different skills. Actually one of the reasons we may not be jumping on Jota is that we already have Solomon who is - perhaps a poor man's version of - that sort of player, and with Gil still in the squad as well, getting a 3rd such player would be a death knell for Solomon and/or Gil. Solomon especially though hasn't had much opportunity to show us what he can do in that LW spot.

I don't think that either I just think perhaps it's not that important to him as long as they are producing one way or another.

 

[Singaspur]

I don't think that either I just think perhaps it's not that important to him as long as they are producing one way or another.

Fair enough. Impossible to anticipate how the squad will develop but let me put it this way: if we are 4/5 players away from Ange's ideal squad mix, I strongly suspect that a player of that 'Jota' ilk would be in that ideal squad. Maybe not at the forefront of his thinking now. Fine if Solomon develops into a top quality player of that sort. Fine if he plays on the right rather than left. Great if we find someone who can do that as well as play central. But I think he'd want a player with those qualities.

 

[Singaspur]

Gil would be the one we'd replace and probably to a loss into the Spanish league.

More likely someone that could go in the summer. Can see the rationale of signing a player that can play CF and winger to give us more options for injuries and play styles. Deki, Richy and Son can all play in a few roles and I think that's vital to fit everyone in and have cover.

Yup, agree Gil is the one we'd probably let go. And sure, someone who can play winger and CF would be great - but as others have said, that's a rare breed. More realistically perhaps, someone who can play either wing albeit clearly better on one side or t'other. Like Johnson but in the style of Doku.

 

[SpartanSpur]

It's possible, sure. I just don't see it personally otherwise I think we'd be hearing more about them. Ange has set up differently everywhere he's been pretty much. I don't think we can use Celtic(and the SPL) as a blueprint for anything as it such a different league in terms of ability and disparity between Celtic and those below.

We have definitely been linked to and have been confirmed to be scouting players that do fit this profile to be fair to Nick.

I'm sure we had ITK stating we were looking very closely at Doku before City swooped in, and our scouts have been confirmed to have been watching Nusa. Eze is another with good 1v1 ability we've wanted albeit one who plays more central than wide. There have also been links to Soule at Juventus as well which would not be surprising with Paratici still lurking in the shadows.

Granted we seem to have cast our net quite wide with attacking targets as Gimenez for example is totally different to this profile, so I can see where you are coming from Trix.

I personally think we need to unearth another top class attacker to really give Ange the squad he'll need to compete for top honours. I think that position needs to be LW personally as I think Son is best as a striker now. I don't think it needs to be a 1v1 specialist per se (although it would be my preference) it could also be a pacey/powerful runner or a goalscoring inverted forward, although the latter would need Udogie to change his game a bit more towards overlaps than what he is doing currently.

 

[kd2000]

I think that some in here may well be a little fragile to grown ups having disagreeing points of view.
I was always brought up to attack a statement, not the person.
That's what I see here. Disagreeing with the contents of the post!!

My own personal opinion, Ange, like everyone has an ideal plan. Nick may well be right that usually Ange has shown he likes 1v1 wingers. Yes it appears that was one of the 'pieces of his Celtic jigsaw'
Trix may well be right in that maybe Ange thinks the actual pieces of the jigsaw aren't important, it's the picture at the end that is.

Another of my personal opinions is I don't think Jota is good enough or shown he is better than Manor Solomon. Solomon hasn't had enough of a chance and we want to replace him with Jota. For me it's another example of shiny new player syndrome.
Thankfully, the club seem to be taking a more long term planning view to signing for the short term

 

[kd2000]

We have definitely been linked to and have been confirmed to be scouting players that do fit this profile to be fair to Nick.

I'm sure we had ITK stating we were looking very closely at Doku before City swooped in, and our scouts have been confirmed to have been watching Nusa. Eze is another with good 1v1 ability we've wanted albeit one who plays more central than wide. There have also been links to Soule at Juventus as well which would not be surprising with Paratici still lurking in the shadows.

Granted we seem to have cast our net quite wide with attacking targets as Gimenez for example is totally different to this profile, so I can see where you are coming from Trix.

I personally think we need to unearth another top class attacker to really give Ange the squad he'll need to compete for top honours. I think that position needs to be LW personally as I think Son is best as a striker now. I don't think it needs to be a 1v1 specialist per se (although it would be my preference) it could also be a pacey/powerful runner or a goalscoring inverted forward, although the latter would need Udogie to change his game a bit more towards overlaps than what he is doing currently.

Potentially upsetting and polarising opinion alert.

I wouldn't be surprised if the club are succession planning for Son leaving.
We've seen a drop off and although there are still the Son fanboys who see him do no wrong, the stark reality is he is wildly inconsistent and more often than I am comfortable with his 3rd touch is correcting his 1st.
I am not in any way saying he isn't good enough.
I just think long term, in the next year to 18 months we need better than good enough

 

[Ghost Hardware]

Potentially upsetting and polarising opinion alert.

I wouldn't be surprised if the club are succession planning for Son leaving.
We've seen a drop off and although there are still the Son fanboys who see him do no wrong, the stark reality is he is wildly inconsistent and more often than I am comfortable with his 3rd touch is correcting his 1st.
I am not in any way saying he isn't good enough.
I just think long term, in the next year to 18 months we need better than good enough

Son is 31 and only has a year and half left on his current deal, I hope that we are very much succession planning and have been for a while. For what its worth I think Son still has more time here and I wouldn't be adverse to him signing a new contract but he doesn't have many seasons left as a WF. His technical finishing ability means he can continue to be an asset to the squad as a CF but realistically he will start to loose his pace at some point and his ability to press will also diminish. Essentially there will probably come a time in the future that he won't be a guaranteed starter but that doesn't mean we should be moving him on, its just about adapting his role. His numbers this season prove that he still one of the very best forwards in Europe so im not overly concerned at the moment.

Regardless of Son's age tho we need another good addition to the front line. I think we have a solid group of attackers but I think it still needs work. Obviously Solomon is still an unknown commodity in this system so what exactly we need is still a little up for debate and in that regard even tho I personally don't necessarily agree with it I can understand the desire for a more adaptable forward rather then a niche one. Ether way I am going to be very curious to see what names start coming out in the press. Its been well covered that another attacker is something we are looking for this window but thus far I haven't seen any mentioned that play WF and CF.

 

[Trees]

I think that some in here may well be a little fragile to grown ups having disagreeing points of view.
I was always brought up to attack a statement, not the person.
That's what I see here. Disagreeing with the contents of the post!!

My own personal opinion, Ange, like everyone has an ideal plan. Nick may well be right that usually Ange has shown he likes 1v1 wingers. Yes it appears that was one of the 'pieces of his Celtic jigsaw'
Trix may well be right in that maybe Ange thinks the actual pieces of the jigsaw aren't important, it's the picture at the end that is.

Another of my personal opinions is I don't think Jota is good enough or shown he is better than Manor Solomon. Solomon hasn't had enough of a chance and we want to replace him with Jota. For me it's another example of shiny new player syndrome.
Thankfully, the club seem to be taking a more long term planning view to signing for the short term

I’m pretty sure we have an option for an extra year with Sonny. Can someone correct me ?

 

[luRRka]

I know he had an injury but wasn’t he very underwhelming when he did get minutes? I thought that was the case but could be completely wrong tho, haven’t really kept up with our loans this season.

PoK suggesting Scarlett is preferred to veliz (possibly/probably opinion just thought I'd mention as we discussed the other day)

 

[luRRka]

Dunno where else to put this as can't create threads but pretty reliable source and if true wtf