Nicolò Zaniolo

[Trix]

This bit worried me a little.
If we were seeing going for Zaniolo as backing Conte, it may not actually be the case but will be made to appear as though it is.

Ah fuck, these recent weeks have made me a paranoid wreck! ?

It's hardly odd we were looking at a player who a couple of years ago was Serie A young player of the year before Conte arrived. It's also not odd that an Italian manager coming from Serie A would also want a player who a couple of years ago was Serie A young player of the season.

 

[Finchyid]

It's hardly odd we were looking at a player who a couple of years ago was Serie A young player of the year before Conte arrived. It's also not odd that an Italian manager coming from Serie A would also want a player who a couple of years ago Serie A player of the season.

I would say to those that think he is not good it would be odd...haha

 

[Trix]

I would say to those that think he is not good it would be odd

I'll be honest when I say I've been underwhelmed when I've seen him but I'll keep referring back to previous conversations I had in the Summer where it was put very clearly that Conte believes he's not being used correctly, and hasn't been for a while. That tells me Conte has a specific plan for him, so if Conte wants him and we can get him we very much should.

 

[spursfan77]

I'll be honest when I say I've been underwhelmed when I've seen him but I'll keep referring back to previous conversations I had in the Summer where it was put very clearly that Conte believes he's not being used correctly, and hasn't been for a while. That tells me Conte has a specific plan for him, so if Conte wants him and we can get him we very much should.

because it means Conte is staying as well I suspect. At least till the summer anyway. The player wouldn’t want to come would he if he thought Conte was off.

 

[ComfortablyNumb]

because it means Conte is staying as well I suspect. At least till the summer anyway. The player wouldn’t want to come would he if he thought Conte was off.

Zaniolo wouldn't know any more about Conte's intentions than we do, which is close to nothing...

 

[Timberwolf]

Zaniolo wouldn't know any more about Conte's intentions than we do, which is close to nothing...

If I was a young Italian player moving countries - in itself fairly unusual for Italians - to play under an iconic Italian manager I'd be looking for assurances that he wasn't going to piss off after 5 months.

I mean, money talks and maybe he'd join us regardless, but it's pretty normal for a manager to speak to a player during negotiations, and I imagine the future of the project and Conte's contract situation would be key to those talks.

I guess Conte could always just lie to him, though...

 

[double0]

I'll be honest when I say I've been underwhelmed when I've seen him but I'll keep referring back to previous conversations I had in the Summer where it was put very clearly that Conte believes he's not being used correctly, and hasn't been for a while. That tells me Conte has a specific plan for him, so if Conte wants him and we can get him we very much should.

.

 

[aliyid]

I’ve not seen much of him but it does make me worry when you see links saying that we’re competing with West Ham & Nottingham Forrest for his signature (hardly attracting the big teams is he)

 

[SandroClegane]

I’ve not seen much of him but it does make me worry when you see links saying that we’re competing with West Ham & Nottingham Forrest for his signature (hardly attracting the big teams is he)

Just ignoring the Dortmund links then? Guess it doesn't fit the narrative

 

[mil1lion]

With our fantastic medical staff history, what could possible go wrong ??

He'll go to the physio "I have a problem with my ACL" and get referred on to our IT department

 

[Timberwolf]

People laugh when I say this kid has similar profiles to Moussa Dembele who too was an attacking player converted to play central midfield. Anyway i could be way off - won't be the first time .

I can kinda see what you mean - both big guys who have a knack of gliding forward with the ball past players but aren't actually great finishers when played high up the pitch.

Looking at the stats, in his current role Zaniolo is in the bottom 1% for passes attempted in Europe's top 5 leagues, though, and gives the ball away quite a lot, whereas Dembele basically just ticked it over all game and almost never lost the ball (in admittedly a much deeper role).

Maybe Zaniolo would adapt his game to a deeper role, but it would be quite a drastic change and I don't see that freakish Dembele ability to shield the ball in any situation and practically never give it away.

 

[Trix]

Zaniolo wouldn't know any more about Conte's intentions than we do, which is close to nothing...

He'd almost certainly be asking Conte personally where he saw him fitting in, and how he was planning to use him going forward. They aren't all as naive as Djed Spence.

 

[Frozen_Waffles]

Honestly at this point I just want us to sign him because we will be more entertaining to watch with him on the pitch. The football has been god awful this season and without Kulusevski almost unwatchable.

It would just be nice to have a player who, when he receives the ball, I am actually going to enjoy what happens next.

Apart from Kane and Kulusevski, the rest have no creative entertainment value.

 

[Cochraam]

One thing I keep thinking about with Zaniolo is that since Conte has been here we've been linked with all sorts of players who are strong, fast dribblers. There's obviously the on-again off-again saga with Traore, some tenuous links with Saint-Maximin in the summer, I think, and I believe some other players (Ounahi this window, Ousmane Dembele briefly, Leao passingly) who are dribblers. So, powerful dribbling seems to be a skillset Conte is interested in and certainly is something that we don't have in our team now. I like Zaniolo from this perspective because he's really young and seems relatively affordable due to his contract.

 

[Frozen_Waffles]

He'd almost certainly be asking Conte personally where he saw him fitting in, and how he was planning to use him going forward. They aren't all as naive as Djed Spence.

Not the thread for it, but a massive red flag when Conte came out in a press conference and said it was a 'club buy'. Should be no signings that are made without approval of the manager. That is just idiotic, yes Paratici brings options but Conte must agree, otherwise what is the point? He won't play them.

I even get the feeling that Paratici was roped into it by arguments such as homegrown and cheap and no downside.

 

[arunspurs]

I'll be honest when I say I've been underwhelmed when I've seen him but I'll keep referring back to previous conversations I had in the Summer where it was put very clearly that Conte believes he's not being used correctly, and hasn't been for a while. That tells me Conte has a specific plan for him, so if Conte wants him and we can get him we very much should.

In his youth years at Inter Milan, he was playing through middle as no10 , dribbling past , taking on players- that’s where he got rated in Italian setup.

At Roma RW was the available Position when he broke through . So won’t be surprised if we buy him and Conte play him through the middle in a 3-5-2

 

[Trix]

In his youth years at Inter Milan, he was playing through middle as no10 , dribbling past , taking on players- that’s where he got rated in Italian setup.

At Roma RW was the available Position when he broke through . So won’t be surprised if we buy him and Conte play him through the middle in a 3-5-2

Indeed, and I think once we have proper quality at WB we might well see Kulu doing similar. I honestly think he's sticking with 3-4-3 because it's the only way we have any threat from wide.

 

[aliyid]

Just ignoring the Dortmund links then? Guess it doesn't fit the narrative

Can't see Dortmund on there...

 

[ikky]

I’ve not seen much of him but it does make me worry when you see links saying that we’re competing with West Ham & Nottingham Forrest for his signature (hardly attracting the big teams is he)

Wasn’t it only Villa who were heavily linked to Bentancur? We got him in the end and that didn’t turn out too bad did it.

 

[Flobadob]

Can't see Dortmund on there...

He’s linked by Di Marzio to Dortmund.