In the coming weeks I feel that we need to improve four areas in the squad:
RB
CM
LW/RW
ST
Below I have listed alternatives of players in those positions. I have used every player that has been rumoured and also a few that seem possible. I have listed them in four different categories; 1,2,3 and 4. Category 1 is the dream transfer in that position. These players will be extremely unlikely, but could by a miracle happen (Mo decides to splash a lot of cash etc.). Category 2 players are the ones that I would love to have in the team almost as much as the category 1 players. They are also very unlikely, but I think we could pull off a category 2 signing this summer. Category 3 is the category for good players who I could see us signing. Category 4 also has a few players who could do well for us, but these players have either seen their best years, or are not proven at a high level. Category 4 players are bigger risks, as they could do very good or very bad.
Right back:
Category 1: Lukas Piszczek, 27. Borussia Dortmund.
Category 2: Mathieu Debuchy, 26. Lille OSC.
Darijo Srna, 30. Shaktar Donetsk.
Category 3: Kyle Naughton, 23. Tottenham Hotspur.
Lorenzo De Silvestri, 24. Fiorentina.
Danny Simpson, 25. Newcastle United.
Mark Wilson, 28. Celtic
Sascha Riether, 29. Cologne. :047:
Category 4: Serge Aurier, 19. Toulouse.
Mouhamadou Dabo, 25. Toulouse.
Moritz Volz, 28. Free agent.
Center mid:
Category 1: Kevin Strootman, 22. PSV Eindhoven.
Category 2: Aaron Ramsey, 21. Arsenal.
Georginio Wijnaldum, 21. Feyenord.
Axel Witsel, 23. Benfica.
Rasmus Elm, 24. AZ Alkmaar.
Ivan Rakitic, 24. Sevilla.
Yoann Gourcuff, 25. Lyon.
Lassana Diarra, 27. Real Madrid.
Stijn Schaars, 28. Sporting Lisbon.
Category 3:Leroy Fer, 21. Feyenord.
Moussa Sissoko, 22. Tolouse.
Steven N'Zonzi, 23. Blackburn Rovers.
Clément Chantome, 24. Paris St.Germain.
Tom Huddlestone, 25. Tottenham Hotspur.
Mark Davies, 24. Bolton Wanderers.
Peter Whittingham, 27. Cardiff City
Category 4:Anthony Annan, 25. Vitesse.
Eyong Enoh, 26. Ajax.
Lex Immers. 26. Ado Den Haag.
Tomas Hitzelsperger, 30. Klubblös.
Winger:
Category 1:Jesus Navas, 26. Sevilla.
Category 2: Victor Moses, 21. Wigan Athletic
Nacer Chadli, 22. Twente.
Scott Sinclair, 23. Swansea.
Adam Johnson, 24. Manchester City.
Dries Mertens, 25. PSV Eindhoven.
Jakub Blaszczykowski, 26. Borussia Dortmund.
Jeffeson Farfán, 27. Schalke 04.
Juan Manuel Vargas, 28. Fiorentina.
Category 3:Matthew Phillips, 21. Blackpool.
Miralem Sulejmani, 23. Ajax.
Marko Arnautovic, 23. Werder Bremen.
Alessio Cerci, 24. Fiorentina.
Robert Snoodgrass, 24. Leeds United.
Jermain Lens, 24. PSV Eindhoven.
Ashkan Dejagah, 25. Wolfsburg
Matthew Jarvis, 26. Wolverhampton.
Category 4:Jay Emanuel-Thomas, 21. Ipswich Town.
Brek Shea, 22. Dallas City.
Wesley Verhoek, 25. Twente.
Kieron Richardson, 27. Sunderland.
Banel Niciolitja, 27. A.S.S.E.
David Bentley, 27. Tottenham.
Jerome Thomas, 29. West Bromwich.
Striker:
Category 1: John Guidetti, 20. Manchester City.
Category 2: Tim Matavz. 23. PSV Eindhoven.
Vedad Ibisevic, 27. Stuttgart.
Stefan Kiebling, 28. Bayern Leverkusen.
Dimitar Berbatov, 31. Manchester United.
Category 3: Luc Castaignos, 19. Internazionale.
Abel Hernandez, 21. Palermo.
Jordan Rhodes, 22. Huddersfield Town.
Wilfried Bony, 23. Vitesse.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, 23. A.S.S.E.
Nicklas Bendtner, 24. Arsenal.
Robert Acquafresca. 24. Bologna.
Ola Toivonen, 25. PSV Eindhoven.
Steven Fletcher, 25. Wolverhampton.
Mevlut Erdinc, 25. Rennes.
André-Pierre Gignac, 26. Olympique Marseille.
Hugo Rodallega, 26. Wigan Athletic. :047:
Guillaume Hoarau, 28. Paris St. Germain.
Patrick Helmes. 28. Wolfsburg.
Maxi Lopez, 28. Catania.
Marouane Chamakh, 28. Arsenal.
Jermaine Defoe, 29. Tottenham Hotspur.
Mohamed Zidan, 30. Free agent.
Mladen Petric, 31. Hamburg. :047:
Grant Holt, 31. Norwich City.
Alessandro Del Piero, 37. Juventus.
Category 4: Tony Vastic, 19. Bayern Munchen.
Wilfried Zaha, 19. Crystal Palace.
Tomas Pekhart, 23. Nurnberg.
Fraizer Campbell, 24. Sunderland.
Cameron Jerome, 25. Stoke City.
Tom De Sutter, 26. Anderlecht.
Billy Sharp, 26. Southampton.
Adrián Ramos, 26. Hertha Berlin.
Diemerci Mbokani, 26. Anderlecht.
Moa Abdellaoue, 26. Hannover.
James McFadden, 29. Free agent.
Vicenzo Iaquinta, 32. Fiorentina.
Srna and Debuchy should be Category 1 which should also be named 'Regardless of how much money Mo has, they'd never sign for Fulham'.
Has Srna even been linked with us?
chelsea looking at piszczek and debuchy.
Quote from: The King on June 30, 2012, 01:06:44 PM
Has Srna even been linked with us?
Yeah a couple of times but small links, no major ones.
:bump:
Sorry, but ibisevic now plays for Stuttgart and can pretty much be classified as category 2.
Quote from: themetaknight on July 01, 2012, 06:06:26 PM
Sorry, but ibisevic now plays for Stuttgart and can pretty much be classified as category 2.
Edited! :54:
nice work!
Have followed Wijnaldum since he was at Feyenoord, to get him would be an absolute steal. We'd buy him for 6m and sell him for 26m in a season or two. Mark my words he will be the name thrown around in 2014 to win the WC for Holland.
Voltzy!!!!
Very interesting list, obviously hugely ambitious but fun to read. Lots of Category 2 are dream signings.
Although Ruiz would have been a Category 2 in my opinion.
Nice list there Mr Terrier!
Some cracking work in there... :D
Quote from: Drake44444 on July 02, 2012, 08:01:31 AM
Very interesting list, obviously hugely ambitious but fun to read. Lots of Category 2 are dream signings.
Although Ruiz would have been a Category 2 in my opinion.
As I read back I notice that many of the signings would be quite remarkable, but obviously there are a lot more category 4 players than category 2 players, and we could sign just about anyone who isn't a huge prospect or already proven at a high level. That's why it was easier to find the category 2 players. Also I have to add that I'd happily take any of category 3 players on the list.
Quote from: Swedish Terrier on July 02, 2012, 09:35:39 AM
Quote from: Drake44444 on July 02, 2012, 08:01:31 AM
Very interesting list, obviously hugely ambitious but fun to read. Lots of Category 2 are dream signings.
Although Ruiz would have been a Category 2 in my opinion.
As I read back I notice that many of the signings would be quite remarkable, but obviously there are a lot more category 4 players than category 2 players, and we could sign just about anyone who isn't a huge prospect or already proven at a high level. That's why it was easier to find the category 2 players. Also I have to add that I'd happily take any of category 3 players on the list.
For me I think it's fair to say that we could sign all of them players bar Navas, Piszczek, Kuba (although we were interested), De Jong and probably Veloso because Milan are sniffing around him, as well as Lass.
Oh, and some have alread signed for other clubs e.g Assaidi & Siguardson
Quote
Oh, and some have alread signed for other clubs e.g Assaidi & Siguardson
I just removed Whittaker, Assaidi and Sigurdarson. Please comment if there are any others.
Another striker but Abel Hernandez of Palermo? Problem is that I think he's both category 2 and category 3 as I could see us signing him due to his ridiculous amount of talent.
Bendtner is contracted to Arsenal. He was on loan at Sunderland.
Quote from: themetaknight on July 02, 2012, 10:53:08 AM
Another striker but Abel Hernandez of Palermo? Problem is that I think he's both category 2 and category 3 as I could see us signing him due to his ridiculous amount of talent.
Very interesting player. I had to resist the urge of putting him in category 2 due to his lack of goals compared to the other strikers in that category. He scored 6 goals last season, and 8 two seasons ago. That is quite impressive for a 21 year old, but it doesn't mean that he would flourish in the Premier League. I think he will, but not next season.
We definitely need a new right back. Kelly is not the answer and needs to be replaced. No one mentions how poor he is and instead try to highlight potential problems with Senderos.
Quote from: Reindeer on July 02, 2012, 12:24:43 PM
We definitely need a new right back. Kelly is not the answer and needs to be replaced. No one mentions how poor he is and instead try to highlight potential problems with Senderos.
disagree, I think we all recognize that kelly is not top notch but played well last season.
We have a number of players who can play RB and I would prefer Baird to Kelly but there is not a lot between them.
Another option would be to convert Davies to RB or dare I say it Riise jnr.
As for Senderos he's an accident waiting to happen ;)
Quote from: Swedish Terrier on July 02, 2012, 11:58:52 AM
Quote from: themetaknight on July 02, 2012, 10:53:08 AM
Another striker but Abel Hernandez of Palermo? Problem is that I think he's both category 2 and category 3 as I could see us signing him due to his ridiculous amount of talent.
Very interesting player. I had to resist the urge of putting him in category 2 due to his lack of goals compared to the other strikers in that category. He scored 6 goals last season, and 8 two seasons ago. That is quite impressive for a 21 year old, but it doesn't mean that he would flourish in the Premier League. I think he will, but not next season.
I would pick him up now tbh.
Riether-category 3.
RB---- Tick :54:
Veloso signed for Dynamo. Should scratch his name off.
Updated. Hugo is the third signing in category three. As predicted, that's where most of our transfers happen.
A few more off the list now like Clyne, Gunter, Elia, Yilmaz and De Jong.
