Summer 2024 Transfer Window - hopes, speculation, rumours etc.

[eamonn]

He had pace as a youngster though and was always a decent finisher.

[Garyth]

I just think we'll see a recalibration, with two deep midfielders really staying deep more often.

Alternatively, playing Maatsen at LB could mean in possession he moves into the 'Luiz' position, vacated by Tielemans/Barkley as they advance. 

If Konsa starts out nominally as the RB, it would leave a defensive structure of Konsa/Mings/Pau behind Maatsen & Onana/Kamara.

[paul_e]

I just think we'll see a recalibration, with two deep midfielders really staying deep more often.

Alternatively, playing Maatsen at LB could mean in possession he moves into the 'Luiz' position, vacated by Tielemans/Barkley as they advance. 

If Konsa starts out nominally as the RB, it would leave a defensive structure of Konsa/Mings/Pau behind Maatsen & Onana/Kamara.

That would mean picking a left winger who stays wider though, whic would mean Iling-Junior or Philogene rather than Rogers or Ramsey.

[chrisw1]

I'd be utterly shocked if we signed Lukaku.  He seems like everything we don't need at a salary we'd be daft to pay.  Whether he's fat or not is debatable, but he must be stones heavier than he was at his peak and he just comes across as a bloated, lumbering, arrogant mess. 

[edgysatsuma89]

He had pace as a youngster though and was always a decent finisher.

Well that's the issue, his build now is different to his build at West Brom and Everton.

It's not debatable whether he is fat, he isn't, he's just fucked himself, like Gabby did. I don't know why they allow it to happen.

[PaulWinch again]

And most pertinently he wouldn’t come here to be reserve striker.

[edgysatsuma89]

And most pertinently he wouldn’t come here to be reserve striker.

Yeah, there is that.

[OCD]

Vinnie said on here ages ago that we wanted someone who could either play alongside Watkins or instead of him, not a perma-sub.

After being linked with Mateta and now Lukaku, it might be that we want someone with good hold-up skills, which would make sense as it's not one of Ollie's strengths. Someone who's good at the things Oliie isn't good at would mean Emery can pick and choose to suit his tactics game-to-game.

[Toronto Villa]

It would be a very different style of play going from Ollie to Lukaku. I don't have an issue with Lukaku. His record is actually quite good. He just misses more than he should but he gets into a lot of good positions to score. But he's not going to chase and pressue like Ollie. I'd prefer to keep up the intensity and sign a second Ollie style forward.

[coreyfeldman]

pls note that zero of the links to either lukaku or mateta are credible in any way whatsoever

[john e]

Neither barkley nor tielemans are Luiz quality I'm afraid, and neither are capable of posting Luiz's numbers from last season.

Hopefully the goals will be spread amongst our attackers but it's a worry imo

I disagree with that. Luiz got 5 goals in the league (excluding penalties) and Tielemans is well capable of matching that. If you put him on penalties he'd be even better than Luiz at them i reckon. I think Tielemans is a better player than Luiz, on the whole.

Tielemans is not in the same league as Luiz, even when playing on empty in the second half of the season he would still offer more than YT
Luiz was a class act and if we’ve replaced him with either YT or Barkley we will struggle

[ChicagoLion]

pls note that zero of the links to either lukaku or mateta are credible in any way whatsoever

Yes it’s completely bollox

[Ian.]

Neither barkley nor tielemans are Luiz quality I'm afraid, and neither are capable of posting Luiz's numbers from last season.

Hopefully the goals will be spread amongst our attackers but it's a worry imo

I disagree with that. Luiz got 5 goals in the league (excluding penalties) and Tielemans is well capable of matching that. If you put him on penalties he'd be even better than Luiz at them i reckon. I think Tielemans is a better player than Luiz, on the whole.

Tielemans is not in the same league as Luiz, even when playing on empty in the second half of the season he would still offer more than YT
Luiz was a class act and if we’ve replaced him with either YT or Barkley we will struggle

I don’t think there’s too many players on the level of Dougie when he’s on it. He’s bloody brilliant and Kamara was the perfect partner for him. He’s going to be hugely missed. His form from the moment Emery arrived to December was outstanding and one of the main reasons we was as good as was in that period.

[eamonn]

Luiz wasn't crap for the second half of the season as seems to have been taken as truth - that sublime assist at Bramall Lane was late-January. The goal and celebration-shimmy against Yanited was February. Assisted for Watkins at Luton in March.

McGinn's red against Spurs at VP was the biggest reason for that collapse but Dougie and Youri controlled things at home to Wolves on the 30th of that month. It wasn't really until April that he wobbled, worn-out and without his partner in the middle.
 
He's going to be a huge loss. Barkley and Onana will bring stuff we lack but I worry that they won't have much of what Dougie had.

[VillaTim]

Tielemans is your Luiz upgrade then you have Onana and McGinn as enforcers . I don't know where Barkley fits in , maybe an impact sub .