Winter Transfer Window Scouting Thread 23/24

[Trix]

Paratici is still hanging around in some capacity. While it certainly appears that his influence has waned, if the new setup targets an Italy-based player Paratici will still be useful in negotiating the deal.

We're not going to neglect opportunities in Serie A simply because Munn and Lange are in charge now -- it'd be stupid to do so when you consider how successful the likes of Romero, Kulusevski, Bentancur, Udogie, and Vicario have been. Italy remains fertile recruiting ground.

Indeed, it's just a case of how much influence he has. Pleat hung around for years advising on players so it's not out of the question..

 

[fishhhandaricecake]

Personally, I dont see the need for another ACM in January. Lo Celso is looking great, Kulusevski as well. I would sooner prioritise cover for Bissouma with Bentancur now out long term and a CB with a WF being 3rd on the list.

True.

I'd say the priorities should be in order:
1. CB e.g. Lloyd Kelly (*if he isn't injured, if he is still injured then a similar profile but different target*)
2. CM (a n.o6) on 6 month loan (crucial with Bissouma and Bentancur and Sarr going to all be missing from Jan-> part of Feb)
3. WF/ST e.g. Jota (crucial with Son off so Asia games and Solomon and Perisic out)

 

[King of the Lane]

I really hope we go for Johan Bakayoko. We have all seen what Doku is doing for City and Bakayoko is the closest in style to him. He has top tier dribbling especially in 1vs1 scenarios and would be a perfect winger for Ange and our system. Would be great competition for Kulu.

 

[mill]

I really hope we go for Johan Bakayoko. We have all seen what Doku is doing for City and Bakayoko is the closest in style to him. He has top tier dribbling especially in 1vs1 scenarios and would be a perfect winger for Ange and our system. Would be great competition for Kulu.

It’s being reported they won’t sell him until the summer and with the season he’s having he’ll be very expensive I expect

 

[Ghost Hardware]

One for you @Ghost Hardware

OMG OMG OMG OMG

 

[Ghost Hardware]

I’m going to view all these Italian links with a little suspicion now that we have a new recruitment team in place. If Paratici and Gabianini were still calling the shots then stuff in Calciomaercato might be worth paying attention to.

I suspect we’ll be going after different kinds of targets from here on out.

Shhhh don't ruin it.

 

[Ghost Hardware]

Paratici is still hanging around in some capacity. While it certainly appears that his influence has waned, if the new setup targets an Italy-based player Paratici will still be useful in negotiating the deal.

We're not going to neglect opportunities in Serie A simply because Munn and Lange are in charge now -- it'd be stupid to do so when you consider how successful the likes of Romero, Kulusevski, Bentancur, Udogie, and Vicario have been. Italy remains fertile recruiting ground.

Just to add to what you you say, statistically Soule is really really impressing in his age bracket. So even if we were to forget about Paratici and think about Lange's data driven approach I think he'd also tick a lot of box's. Plus when you add in the Paratici connection who obviously scouted him initially and stole him from under Monaco's noses plus our good relationship with Juve who are still desperate for money I do think there could be something in it. As i mentioned in my original post about him, he'd be perfect of Ange. Very exciting player.

 

[Nick-TopSpursMan]

A bit more on Soule here:

 

[Nick-TopSpursMan]

Just to add to what you you say, statistically Soule is really really impressing in his age bracket. So even if we were to forget about Paratici and think about Lange's data driven approach I think he'd also tick a lot of box's. Plus when you add in the Paratici connection who obviously scouted him initially and stole him from under Monaco's noses plus our good relationship with Juve who are still desperate for money I do think there could be something in it. As i mentioned in my original post about him, he'd be perfect of Ange. Very exciting player.

Can he play the wide right winger role? Does he have the explosiveness and dribbling ability for the PL for that type of role mate?

 

[King of the Lane]

It’s being reported they won’t sell him until the summer and with the season he’s having he’ll be very expensive I expect

Seen some of those reports whilst others say they wont sell unless a club bids over £42mill. This is the kind of price range we could afford if we wanted to. Seems like there are suddenly a number of young winger options that we could go for though - Bakayoko, Nusa, Illing Jr, Soule, Jota.

 

[Ghost Hardware]

A bit more on Soule here:

As mentioned previously Juve really need money, they can't even currently renew Chiesa's contract and they are very much in a tittle race and could do with reinforcements. If we can somehow turn this to our advantage and snatch Soule from them it would be phenomenal work. In an ideal world we could get Soule then grab Iling-Junior and convert him to a LB.

 

[Ghost Hardware]

Can he play the wide right winger role? Does he have the explosiveness and dribbling ability for the PL for that type of role mate?

He's not Johnson fast but he's fast, technically he is superb a really good dribbler. He is a bit like Dybala regarding his balance and ability to move past players. Extremely good 1v1 and loves to take players on. Also a plus is his finishing and passing inside the box, he's very good at finding space and can score from distance to. And he he can head, two of his goals have come from headers. He is already on 6 goals in 12 matches and has hit the post a good 3/4 times more. He only has 1 assist but he should have at least 4 more from the games i've watched where some truly awful finishing has let him down. Defensively he presses well also. Re positions, he is very much a RWF but he can play AM and SS. I got to be honest and say I don't remember him on the left and I wouldn't want to put him there.

Down side is he will sometimes run out of puff towards the end of the game but he really goes 100% for most of it and it's not something to be concerned about. IMO, and i said this in my long post about him a few pages ago, he is one of the most exciting young RWF around at the moment. He is already a key player for Frosenone which is saying something considering this is his first full season starting in the league. Honestly I think he is a special talent and i've kept my eye on him for a few years now.

 

[Ghost Hardware]

A bit more on Soule here:

For anyone that cares this is what i wrote about him back in November. It gives a bit more background on him...

Another young player I really hope we are keeping an eye on is 20 year old Argentinian left footed RW Matías Soulé. He is currently on loan from Juve at Frosinone who are sitting mid table after being promoted from Seria B which they won last season. Soulé originally joined Juve from Velez in 2020. He was very much a Paratici wonderkid pick at the time and Juve had to fight off others including Monaco to get his signature. He is a fast, very technical RW who also has an eye for goal. As I've said in the past i'm no Juve fan, in fact I can't stand them as I follow Inter in Seria A, but they have a good track record of picking up exciting players (Paratici is the man) and Soulé was exactly that. Unfortunately for him tho I feel that his development specifically over the last two seasons was handled poorly and he was never really given a chance to grow. It obviously doesn't help that Juve have been a mess of late in general but when Soulé did make it onto the pitch it was often as a last gasp hail mary in the dying minutes of a loosing game. Anyway it got to a point where this summer gone Juve, in desperate need for money (hence them putting Vlahovic and Chiesa up for sale) decided to offload him. Fiorentina were very interested and tried to come to an agreement but Juve wanted to insert a buy back and ultimately La Viola didn't have the funds anyway so he ended up on loan at Frosinone. When we had ITK about two Juve players I mentioned at the time that id be very happy if he was one of those we were looking at because IMO he has a huge amount of untapped potential and the Paratici link made me hopeful.

Anyway this season he already has 5 goals (two of which were headers) and one assist (although he should have at least 3 or 4 if it wasn't for some awful finishing) and has hit the post a further 3 times (one of which was a beautiful effort from outside the box). Suffice to say he is starting to look like the player many thought he could be. Now obviously its still very early and he might of course go off the boil but thus far he has been a huge part in Frosinone's very respectable start to the season. With that in mind I really hope we keep a close eye on him over the season as Juve's financial problems will not go away any time soon and if he continues to impress he could be another fantastic young addition to our front line.

For those of you that like a video here are highlights just from his time at Frosione thus far this season. And keep in mind this is his first full season playing regular first team football.

 

[aussiespursguy]

One for you @Ghost Hardware

Sign all the Argies!
To be honest would be a smart move. Plenty of countrymen to help him fit in.

 

[Ghost Hardware]

This is what Giuntoli, Juve’s DoF who used to be at Napoli, said about Juve’s Jan market. He was questioned during the European Golden Boy awards which was held in Turin tonight which sort of goes against the reports he was in the UK. Bolded the pertinent names,

“January market? We want to continue with sustainability and competitiveness. Nicolossi and Iling will give us a hand. Soulé is doing very well in Frosinone, we are happy. I don't know if he will be in the future at Juventus, we hope."

 

[Now it's Spursonal]

This is what Giuntoli, Juve’s DoF who used to be at Napoli, said about Juve’s Jan market. He was questioned during the European Golden Boy awards which was held in Turin tonight which sort of goes against the reports he was in the UK. Bolded the pertinent names,

“January market? We want to continue with sustainability and competitiveness. Nicolossi and Iling will give us a hand. Soulé is doing very well in Frosinone, we are happy. I don't know if he will be in the future at Juventus, we hope."

Any idea on what the loan situation with Soule actually is mate?

As in, could we potentially actually sign him in January or would we be just signing him on a pre-contract for the summer?

 

[Carson35]

soule is a good friend of velez...

 

[Ghost Hardware]

Any idea on what the loan situation with Soule actually is mate?

As in, could we potentially actually sign him in January or would we be just signing him on a pre-contract for the summer?

There was actually talk a few weeks ago that Juve might recall him. It would require Frosenone to agree to the early recall but Angelozzi, their director, said this when quizzed on it “We are friends of Juventus and if there is a chance to be all happy, then we can discuss it.”

There is some guesswork from the press that it might require a small fee or Juve sending another player on loan in replacement. Ether way it wouldn’t be an issue.

I would question tho if it would necessarily be in our best interest to ask for him now. His development this season has been incredible and at only 20, if we don’t plan to give him regular game time then leaving him there might be more beneficial in the long run for us and him.

 

[Ghost Hardware]

Finally on Soulé just a few quick whoscored stats…

Plus on top of that

“Soule’s out of possession contribution is an underrated part of his game. This is usually an aspect that most young players struggle with, but his impressive 7.2 ball recoveries per 90 put him in the top 2% of wingers in the league.

Add to that his 1.6 blocks and 3.2 tackles and interceptions per 90, and we see a player who has great positional intelligence and is willing to put in a defensive shift for this team.

Young wingers who are often very eager to impress usually get caught offside pretty often. Soule’s intelligence and maturity also shows in the fact that he has not been caught offside a single time this season.”

I’ll stop banging on about him now as I know it won’t happen but this kid really is special. I know some people want Bakayoko who also looks promising but this kid has significantly more potential imo.

 

[aussiespursguy]

Finally on Soulé just a few quick whoscored stats…

View attachment 134973 View attachment 134974 View attachment 134975

Plus on top of that

“Soule’s out of possession contribution is an underrated part of his game. This is usually an aspect that most young players struggle with, but his impressive 7.2 ball recoveries per 90 put him in the top 2% of wingers in the league.

Add to that his 1.6 blocks and 3.2 tackles and interceptions per 90, and we see a player who has great positional intelligence and is willing to put in a defensive shift for this team.

Young wingers who are often very eager to impress usually get caught offside pretty often. Soule’s intelligence and maturity also shows in the fact that he has not been caught offside a single time this season.”

I’ll stop banging on about him now as I know it won’t happen but this kid really is special. I know some people want Bakayoko who also looks promising but this kid has significantly more potential imo.

You had me "Soule".