I dont think we are after Rashford. Just using him as a bagaining chip to say we have other alternatives if you feck us with Muani.
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Transfers January Transfer Thread 24/25
- Thread starter Billy Bob mate
- Start date
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This is what this greedy git Jorge Mendes does the best: squeeze the maximum and then a little more out of clubs, firstly for himself and then the selling club.
Of course, any club should have the right to sell their players at what they consider a fair price and no club is force to buy any player against their will. And if Man City is willing to meet their asking price, well, then well done by Lens.
Moving the "goal posts" is something Levy's also done in the past - and even at £30m+ I reckon Khusanov could be a (very) good deal.
But I am sure there is something sinister going on behind the scene when detested agentslike Jorge Mendes are allowed to operate the way they do and thus harming the game by (totally) controlling players and giving them bad advises which purpose is purely monetary.
www.dailymail.co.uk
Super agent Jorge Mendes, who used to manage Cristiano Ronaldo, has been put in charge of trying to sell Khusanov, as confirmed by Lens sporting director Pedro Lopez.
"We decided to do it (give the mandate to Mendes)," Lopez told L'Equipe
"We put all the options on the table. We analysed a lot and decided with Pierre (Dréossi, Lens’ CEO) to sign a mandate. It came from an analysis of the internal market, the price of a transfer, and lots of other factors."
tbrfootball.com
Srinivas Sadhanand
Wed 8 January 2025 17:45, UK
TBR Football can exclusively reveal that Newcastle United are far from happy about the nature of one of their transfer negotiations.
Eddie Howe’s side seem to be looking to bolster their squad this month, as TBR Football recently uncovered that signing Evan Ferguson on loan interests Newcastle. Similarly, Newcastle admire Igor Jesus as a striker option as well, as reported by TBR Football.
At the end of last year, TBR Football also confirmed Newcastle opened talks to sign Abdukodir Khusanov.
TBR Football understands that Lens would have happily taken a £16.6 million fee and proceed to sanctioning the 20-year-old’s sale.
The French club’s latest fee demands have ruled out both Newcastle and Tottenham out of the race to sign him, who are also dissatisfied by their sudden to decision to hike up their fee demands — TBR Football can now confirm.
Newcastle as well as Tottenham were worried about Manchester City eyeing Khusanov as TBR Football discovered that Pep Guardiola’s side had stepped up their efforts to sign him.
As Khusanov’s exit from Lens was confirmed by the club’s managing director Pierre Dreossi recently, TBR Football can now report that City have been discussing a prospective deal with the Ligue 1 side, who first asked about him in December.
Newcastle’s defending against Woolwich was praised while Tottenham have shipped as many as 30 goals in the Premier League this season.
As a result, the Magpies and Spurs could have done with Khusanov’s quality, who looks like he is Manchester City-bound now.
Of course, any club should have the right to sell their players at what they consider a fair price and no club is force to buy any player against their will. And if Man City is willing to meet their asking price, well, then well done by Lens.
Moving the "goal posts" is something Levy's also done in the past - and even at £30m+ I reckon Khusanov could be a (very) good deal.
But I am sure there is something sinister going on behind the scene when detested agentslike Jorge Mendes are allowed to operate the way they do and thus harming the game by (totally) controlling players and giving them bad advises which purpose is purely monetary.
Man City warned to up their game in race for £25m transfer target
The 20-year-old, who has Champions League experience and 18 caps for Uzbekistan, has also caught the eyes of Tottenham and Newcastle, with Jorge Mendes managing his transfer.
Super agent Jorge Mendes, who used to manage Cristiano Ronaldo, has been put in charge of trying to sell Khusanov, as confirmed by Lens sporting director Pedro Lopez.
"We decided to do it (give the mandate to Mendes)," Lopez told L'Equipe
"We put all the options on the table. We analysed a lot and decided with Pierre (Dréossi, Lens’ CEO) to sign a mandate. It came from an analysis of the internal market, the price of a transfer, and lots of other factors."
Sources: Newcastle and Tottenham 'not happy' as Manchester City close in on new January signing
Newcastle and Tottenham are privately not happy at all 🤬
Newcastle and Tottenham Hotspur ‘not happy’ as Manchester City close in on new January signing
Srinivas Sadhanand
Wed 8 January 2025 17:45, UK
TBR Football can exclusively reveal that Newcastle United are far from happy about the nature of one of their transfer negotiations.
Eddie Howe’s side seem to be looking to bolster their squad this month, as TBR Football recently uncovered that signing Evan Ferguson on loan interests Newcastle. Similarly, Newcastle admire Igor Jesus as a striker option as well, as reported by TBR Football.
At the end of last year, TBR Football also confirmed Newcastle opened talks to sign Abdukodir Khusanov.
Newcastle and Tottenham unhappy as Lens double Man City-bound Abdukodir Khusanov’s asking price
TBR Football’s chief correspondent Graeme Bailey can reveal that Newcastle as well as Tottenham Hotspur are “not happy” that RC Lens doubled Khusanov’s asking price from £16.6 million to £33.3 million plus add-ons — doubling their fee demands.TBR Football understands that Lens would have happily taken a £16.6 million fee and proceed to sanctioning the 20-year-old’s sale.
The French club’s latest fee demands have ruled out both Newcastle and Tottenham out of the race to sign him, who are also dissatisfied by their sudden to decision to hike up their fee demands — TBR Football can now confirm.
Newcastle as well as Tottenham were worried about Manchester City eyeing Khusanov as TBR Football discovered that Pep Guardiola’s side had stepped up their efforts to sign him.
As Khusanov’s exit from Lens was confirmed by the club’s managing director Pierre Dreossi recently, TBR Football can now report that City have been discussing a prospective deal with the Ligue 1 side, who first asked about him in December.
Newcastle and Tottenham have been tracking Abdukodir Khusanov for months
TBR Football understands Real Madrid, Juventus and Bayern Munich all enquired about the youngster in January but Tottenham and Newcastle were watching Khusanov alongside Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Brighton and Brentford as far as back in October.Newcastle’s defending against Woolwich was praised while Tottenham have shipped as many as 30 goals in the Premier League this season.
As a result, the Magpies and Spurs could have done with Khusanov’s quality, who looks like he is Manchester City-bound now.
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Levy is using Rashford as a bargaining chip against our fans
"Stop calling for new signings or il sign Rashford...I swear il do it..."
Did they though?
Tottenham made promise to Archie Gray to stop him signing for Man City
Tottenham beat Manchester City to Archie Gray deal by making a promise to him before he signed from Leeds United.
Clearly Ange isn’t fine with that
I think some fans are expecting us to sign 3 or 4 players in this window to address the injury problems we have. Some caution and clear thinking has to be applied. I do not think we are in any danger of relegation. I also think we will not finish in the top 4 given our league position, especially given that the CC, Europa League and FA Cup are now (or at least should be) higher priorities than the league. Importantly, we can only make 3 changes to our EL squad however many players we buy this window. One would have to imagine that we already have 2 changes identified:
WF:
With Richarlison and Moore's return to fitness, along with Son, Johnson, Kulusevski and Werner all able to play as a WF, you would have to think a WF is not as high a priority this window compared to CB. Even though we could de-register Werner to make room for someone like Muani, that would mean we cannot add a CB or a LB to the EL squad as we would have hit the limit of 3 changes.
Verdict: Reassess in the summer.
CF:
We do have Richarlison and Lankshear as back up to Solanke, but one is injury prone, and the other is not ready to start big games. And an injury to Solanke would derail our season. However Son, Richy and Johnson can all play CF, and we should not discount Kulusevski and Sarr playing as false 9's. This means that CF is not the most important position to add to in January from an EL perspective, especially as decent CFs are hard to source in January.
Verdict: Reassess in the summer.
DCM:
I think we are actually well covered in this area for now. Bissouma, Bentancur, Sarr, Bergvall and Gray give us plenty of options. A 'world class player upgrade' is one for a summer window. And I already think we have that player in Archie Gray, who in a couple of weeks should no longer be needed as an emergency defender and is ready to make the DCM role his own.
Verdict: Not a priority.
LB:
Spence can cover Udogie in the EL and Reguillon can be back up in the league that still leaves us very thin with games coming thick and fast. However, VdV and Davies should both be fit in 2-3 weeks and both can play there as well. Long term I am happy with Udogie and Spence competing for LB, although it would be preferable to have Spence concentrate on competing with Porro at RB and sign someone like Dorgu to compete with Udogie, but he is a player fro the summer window.
Verdict: Reassess in the summer in a primary target cannot be bought this window.
CB:
With VDV, Romero and Davies all due back in the next ~2-3weeks I am not sure this is as important as it has seemed for the last 2 months. Spence and Gray have proved to be decent emergency CBs, alongside Dragusin (or each other). We definitely need an upgrade at CB (preferably 2 to replace Davies and Dragusin in the summer with players who are faster and better on the ball).
Verdict: Reassess in the summer, overhaul needed.
Reviewing my assessment above it would seem that I do not think we need anyone, but we obviously do. It is just really complex to sign the right player for what we need given longer term squad building and squad registration limitations. Dragusin was a 'panic buy' last January as we badly needed another CB, and I would not like us to waste funds on another square peg for a round hole. Given the impending returns of Romero, VdV and Davies, and the emergence of Spence as a high quality defender, and Gray as a very decent CB (first back up to Romero / VdV ahead of Davies and Dragusin IMO), I do think we are about to be in a good place at the back. If a decent WF/CF is available, preferably on a loan deal, I would pursue that, as goals win games. Maybe Muani is our best option to strengthen the squad for the second half of the season as he can cover CF and WF, and would be an upgrade on a few of our existing players. I would prefer we bought proper CF competition for Solanke and a 1-v-1 specialist winger in the summer.
- GK: Kinsky in for Forster to supplement Viario and Austin in the EL squad.
- FB: Spence in for someone else (Odobert if his injury return is still months away?).
WF:
With Richarlison and Moore's return to fitness, along with Son, Johnson, Kulusevski and Werner all able to play as a WF, you would have to think a WF is not as high a priority this window compared to CB. Even though we could de-register Werner to make room for someone like Muani, that would mean we cannot add a CB or a LB to the EL squad as we would have hit the limit of 3 changes.
Verdict: Reassess in the summer.
CF:
We do have Richarlison and Lankshear as back up to Solanke, but one is injury prone, and the other is not ready to start big games. And an injury to Solanke would derail our season. However Son, Richy and Johnson can all play CF, and we should not discount Kulusevski and Sarr playing as false 9's. This means that CF is not the most important position to add to in January from an EL perspective, especially as decent CFs are hard to source in January.
Verdict: Reassess in the summer.
DCM:
I think we are actually well covered in this area for now. Bissouma, Bentancur, Sarr, Bergvall and Gray give us plenty of options. A 'world class player upgrade' is one for a summer window. And I already think we have that player in Archie Gray, who in a couple of weeks should no longer be needed as an emergency defender and is ready to make the DCM role his own.
Verdict: Not a priority.
LB:
Spence can cover Udogie in the EL and Reguillon can be back up in the league that still leaves us very thin with games coming thick and fast. However, VdV and Davies should both be fit in 2-3 weeks and both can play there as well. Long term I am happy with Udogie and Spence competing for LB, although it would be preferable to have Spence concentrate on competing with Porro at RB and sign someone like Dorgu to compete with Udogie, but he is a player fro the summer window.
Verdict: Reassess in the summer in a primary target cannot be bought this window.
CB:
With VDV, Romero and Davies all due back in the next ~2-3weeks I am not sure this is as important as it has seemed for the last 2 months. Spence and Gray have proved to be decent emergency CBs, alongside Dragusin (or each other). We definitely need an upgrade at CB (preferably 2 to replace Davies and Dragusin in the summer with players who are faster and better on the ball).
Verdict: Reassess in the summer, overhaul needed.
Reviewing my assessment above it would seem that I do not think we need anyone, but we obviously do. It is just really complex to sign the right player for what we need given longer term squad building and squad registration limitations. Dragusin was a 'panic buy' last January as we badly needed another CB, and I would not like us to waste funds on another square peg for a round hole. Given the impending returns of Romero, VdV and Davies, and the emergence of Spence as a high quality defender, and Gray as a very decent CB (first back up to Romero / VdV ahead of Davies and Dragusin IMO), I do think we are about to be in a good place at the back. If a decent WF/CF is available, preferably on a loan deal, I would pursue that, as goals win games. Maybe Muani is our best option to strengthen the squad for the second half of the season as he can cover CF and WF, and would be an upgrade on a few of our existing players. I would prefer we bought proper CF competition for Solanke and a 1-v-1 specialist winger in the summer.
Funny thing is...Werner scores a couple of goals and he's top of that list.
Well that graph is just based on xG and xA. And you want to be above and to the left of the line. But yes if he assists or scores a couple of tap-ins, and stops losing possession as often, then he would look decent.
He was decent last season, at (13.3, 0.37)
Yeah to be honest. He's had some good moments but disappointing on the whole. Can't seem to get any sort of confidence or rhythm going.
I really haven't watched enough of Muani, these stats look to be good and better than what we have.
Although his stats on FBref Vs wingers were worrying so hopefully it's a case of those that watch him know more and can vouch for him.
If he's up for sale (not loan deal only) then I'd like Spurs to be after him as well...
View: https://x.com/DeadlineDayLive/status/1877279394512920832
View: https://x.com/DeadlineDayLive/status/1877279394512920832
Agree with not panic buying but Levy should communicate on this basis - explain it’s a dip
I’ve kinda been thinking for a while that while the defence is as it is, we should try a similar midfield to last night with Biss, Bentancur abd either Sarr or Bergvall, and Maddison and Kulu either side of Solanke. A bit thicker and more robust while still maintaining Ange’s general principles.
It’s ok players coming back,that’s not the issue.The issue is if they get injured again, what then.
Now with Bergvall starring I'd be using madders and Kulu more on the wings. Johnson is not suited to our system unless he's coming in later, and Sons days as a left wing in this system are done. Using him as a backup CF solves 2 issues
View: https://x.com/fabrizioromano/status/1877273857285042575?s=46&t=fbqxNuG9CT4qTaiJx8mBjg
Looks like Khusanov to City might be off
We need a top left footed right winger.. That is the gaping hole in our squad currently. We only have Johnson who is extremely right footed and completely incapable of beating a man and then we have Kulu who cuts in well but cannot go on the outside and has no left foot. Also Kulu's being used more as a CM. A top quality tricky left footed right winger in the mould of raphinha, Kubo, Bakayoko etc would really lift us and allow Kulu to cover Solanke at CF.