- Jul 23, 2014
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There's a post on Reddit today regarding the fact in the 17 league matches we've played against the current top 12, we've only managed 4 wins. In light of the embarrassment against Dortmund, that points to a real need for genuine improvement if we want to put together a respectable run in the CL and continue to challenge for the PL title moving forward.
When you consider the brilliant managers who are coming into the league and the massive sums that the likes of City, Chelsea, United, Liverpool and perhaps even Arsenal are likely to spend over the summer, we will absolutely have to make significant changes and investments in the squad if we are to keep pace at the top of the PL table. Tinkering around the margins and adding a young talent here or a rotation option there simply will not be sufficient, we need real quality and with the increase in TV revenue and CL we will have the requisite funds and pull to attract it.
So with all that said, here's the business I'd like to see us do over the summer:
OUTS:
Yedlin - He'll want better than being third choice, and if he stuck around he'd be blocking KWP's progression. We'll probably be able to turn a small profit on the tiny outlay we spent to bring him in. No brainier.
Fazio - Obviously on his way out.
Carroll - A serviceable squad player who has evidently earned Poch's trust. While I wouldn't be surprised if we kept him, at this point I think we can safely say that he'll never play more than a bit-part role for us, so it'd be in his best interests to move on. I think the club would be better served in the long run if his minutes were given to the likes of Onomah and Winks, anyway.
Mason - Basically in the exact same situation as Carroll in that Poch rates him but he has hardly set the world alight. When he's been good, he's been really good, but his performances are too inconsistent and his injury record too long for him to be counted upon. A full England international who was a mainstay in a side that finished 5th, we should be able to get a hefty fee for him.
Bentaleb - I personally still rate him and it sickens me to think that an academy product with his ability will be shipped out after one bad season, but it is blatantly obvious that something has taken place behind the scenes to cause Poch to lose trust in him, and we saw last summer that Poch is absolutely ruthless in those circumstances (as he ought to be). If his problems were purely fitness related, he wouldn't have been getting regular 90-minute run-outs with the U21s. It pisses me off, but he's gone. On the bright side he should command a very sizeable pricetag.
Chadli - While very productive, he either lacks the ability, the will, or both to play Poch's pressing game for 90 minutes. We can't afford to carry any passengers, and it's an opportunity to turn a tidy profit and bolster the transfer kitty.
INS:
DM: One of the major imbalances in the squad as it stands. I could see us going in for Wanyama, who Poch rates and should come cheaply given he'll be in the last year of his contract. Failing that I'd like to see us go in for Dendoncker, who is quality and would also be cheap coming from the Belgian league. Either one of those two would slot in and allow Dier to serve as Toby's backup, rounding out that part of the squad nicely.
CM: Our performances have dropped off massively when Moussa has been unavailable, and none of Carroll, Mason, or Bentaleb are good enough or trusted enough (in the case of the latter) to replace him. As such we need to make a big acquisition to provide genuine competition and rotation at this position. Pjanic reportedly has a €30m (£24m) release clause, Kroos is supposedly on his way out of Madrid, and Schneiderlin may be unsettled at United. While all of them are almost certainly out of our league, we are surely going to be an attractive prospect to players and it's worth a shot. In the likely scenario that none of those options materialize, hopefully we can bring in a young talent with the potential to reach the very top -- someone of the ilk of Tielemans, Kovacic, Bazoer, or Diawara.
Striker: We should do everything possible to get Lacazette, who is attainable and an absolutely perfect fit.
With those three acquisitions our squad we'd be left with the following squad:
CF: Kane, Lacazette, Njie, Son
AM: Eriksen, Lamela, Alli, Lacazette, Son, Njie, Pritchard, Onomah
CM: Dembele, Alli, New CM, Onomah, Winks
DM: Dier, New DM, Ball
RB: Walker, Trippier, KWP
LB: Rose, Davies
RCB: Toby, Dier, CCV
LCB: Vertonghen, Wimmer
GK: Lloris, Worm
It's a lot to ask, but as I said out the beginning of the post we need to be bold if we want to progress. There's no room for sentimentality or complacency, and the money should certainly be available from outgoings, TV, and CL to make a big splash in the transfer market.
Very goods post and well thought out points which state similar to mine. If, which is the intention we want to go up another level, we need to replicate that in the squad. Along with your post I believe we need 4 players( one to cover Toby, one to cover Dier, one to play alongside of necessary Kane, and another number 10 that will pose a massive threat, not only to our opponent, but existing first 11. I still question Davies whose pace exposed him massively. Trips I can give more time with KWP in the background.
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