• The Fighting Cock is a forum for fans of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club. Here you can discuss Spurs latest matches, our squad, tactics and any transfer news surrounding the club. Registration gives you access to all our forums (including 'Off Topic' discussion) and removes most of the adverts (you can remove them all via an account upgrade). You're here now, you might as well...

    Get involved!

Transfer Other Team Transfers

Latest Spurs videos from Sky Sports

I would beg to differ in that one, towards the end of the season he was carrying that team, his defensive work, elite ball carrying gives them an energy and ability to dominate. He has weaknesses but Woolwich’s issue isn’t Rice, it’s the limited forward line and Arteta’s lack of adaptability with his forwards and when I say adaptability I don’t mean using Merino as a striker which is flexible but the lack of creativity in how they build up, their play just looks too robotic and that has been an issue throughout Arteta’s tenure as manager.

Partey and Rice is a top quality midfield, Odegaard can be improved upon though. Saliba doesn’t look anywhere near the player when he plays for France, Woolwich’s midfield gives him a lot of protection and Rice is a huge part of that.
Yeah rice is a top top player. I think the zubimendi signing makes sense as he is very progressive so it allows rice to do what hes best at without having to be a progressive passer.
 

Re ; The above .

I’m speaking from a position of self-acclaimed ignorance ( obviously ) ; but for those on here
who know there stuff ( and there are quite a few IMO ) ; just how can this kid be worth that kind of money ? Is it how the deal is financed etc ? I just don’t get it .

I’m sure plenty of you out there are clued-up ; any ideas ?

And how can we ever compete with this sort of transfer ( despite our income ; which , as I understand it , is not that far behind LFC ‘ s ) ?
 
Last edited:
If he's Kevin De Bruyne, that's a bargain. And those are the kinds of performances he's been putting in for club and country, and this contract would in theory perfectly cover his prime years as a player.

It's a big risk and will be an albatross if he's merely good in the PL, but if it hits it's well worth it.

OK ; I get it , it’s a punt ( with a huge upfront cost ) ; which obviously we don’t do . I get that .

It still seems like a lot of money to gamble on a 22 year old ; I don’t follow European Football that closely. Do you have any idea what LFC are paying him ?
 
OK ; I get it , it’s a punt ( with a huge upfront cost ) ; which obviously we don’t do . I get that .

It still seems like a lot of money to gamble on a 22 year old ; I don’t follow European Football that closely. Do you have any idea what LFC are paying him ?
Well the reports are now that they're discussing personal terms having agreed a fee. The wages reported are eye-watering but we'll see.

I think the important way to think about it is that EVERY signing is a punt. Even the most extraordinary, consistent, durable player on earth might falter or decline at a new club for whatever reason. It's about weighing those odds.

But Wirtz has been a superlative player at the most elite level for years now (lit up Euro 2024, unreal in the CL this season, etc) despite being so young, and his creativity, technical skill and footballing brain would seem to play in any league.

The very best performers are worth a lot more than their wages+transfer fee cost (like, Mo Salah was "worth" 100M to Liverpool this year without breaking a sweat), but the trick is finding who those very best performers are and actually being able to acquire them.

Wirtz is no guarantee, but he's as good of a bet on a player you can sign for age 22-28 as you're going to find.
 
Back
Top