The January Transfer Scouting Thread

[dirtydave]

Contracted till 2026, could be one of those 2 year loans? Looks a promising talent and a good set of skills…

any idea what kind of style he fits, is he a creative option??

There's not a huge amount of coverage of Sassuolo on BT which is a shame as they play some great football. I watched them draw with Roma not too long ago. Frattesi played well, he is a forward-minded, aggressive, box to box player- think Bentancur but gets forward a little more. I'd say he's the best player at Sassuolo. He is really well thought of in Italy and seen as part of the new look Italy national side, he'll get a big move somewhere soon.



Here's some good analysis of his game.

Davide Frattesi: How close to a perfect box-to-box midfielder is he? - scout report

This is a tactical analysis scout report of Sassuolo midfielder Davide Frattesi, looking at how he fits into his side's tactics. Read this tactical analysis of Davide Frattesi to find out how he fits into his side's tactics.

totalfootballanalysis.com

 

[Nick-TopSpursMan]

A CM seems a crazy waste of our limited budget when we have 4 excellent players in that position already and badly need quality in defence and wing back, while also needing more depth at RWF.

 

[H-SF]

De Vrij would be a poor signing. People think he'd be a good addition because he's played for Conte before and is a 'leader' but in reality he'd perform worse than Dier and Davies do for us. We seriously need to do better.

 

[fecka]

A CM seems a crazy waste of our limited budget when we have 4 excellent players in that position already and badly need quality in defence and wing back, while also needing more depth at RWF.

I think we would have to look at what's available.
If we force ourselves to buy a RWF, CB, or RWB when there aren't any great alternatives available in the short-term we might end up with another player that shouldn't be starting and whom we cannot move on later.

 

[Snarfalicious]

And a midfielder whose name i cannot share here. 23 year old. Would be a smart, yet brilliant signing, if we were successful.

Wow, my first guess is Luka Modric!

 

[JayB]

A CM seems a crazy waste of our limited budget when we have 4 excellent players in that position already and badly need quality in defence and wing back, while also needing more depth at RWF.

Not if the idea is to get a No. 8 who can provide a bit of what we lack when Kulusevski isn't in the side, only from a 3-5-2 instead of a 3-4-3. We clearly need another player who can create chances and there's no shortage of creative CMs we could feasibly have some interest in.

 

[LukaMotion]

And a midfielder whose name i cannot share here. 23 year old. Would be a smart, yet brilliant signing, if we were successful.

Welcome home, Gedson Fernandes.

 

[King of the Lane]

De Vrij would be a poor signing. People think he'd be a good addition because he's played for Conte before and is a 'leader' but in reality he'd perform worse than Dier and Davies do for us. We seriously need to do better.

"In reality" meaning in your head. Nobody has a crystal ball to know how he would perform for us so that statement is a strange one to make. If he plays anything like he has in previous seasons for Inter then he will be our best defender/on par with Romero.

 

[Ghost Hardware]

Frattesi is 23 and we've been scouting him....

Hes a very intriguing talent but im not really sure why we would need him unless we are planning on shipping out PEH or Skipp. Maybe if Conte is planning on switching full time to 352 but i don't see it. CM is probably the only position in the squad were we don't actually need any new players unless we are looking a deep lying playmaker which isn't Frattesi. Wouldn't surprise me tho.

 

[Ghost Hardware]

I can see De Vrij happening.

Conte loved him as his CCB at Inter, he's a very experienced player and has performed at a very high level for a number of seasons for Lazio and Inter.

Contract running out, Inter looking for fresh defenders. I can see the fee being quite low and suiting us and Inter (£10-15m range).

I just hope he isn't past his best. His form has dipped and a lot of Inter fans think he's past his best now which could be a concern with him then coming to the high intensity PL.

However, his form also dipped when his contract was running out at Lazio and he then performed superbly at his new club Inter. Added to this, Inzaghi's system leaves the defence a lot more exposed than Conte's system does according to a friend of mine who follows Inter and this may have also contributed to De Vrij losing form (bear in mind that other defenders have also lost form under him, Bastoni for example).

Different situation tbh, at Lazio it was very clearly a focus issue as his situation at Lazio was rather uncomfortable for all parties. Now it is a physical one as i mentioned the other page. In theory i like the idea of getting a more experienced CD to instal confidence in our back line and help them settle but too many times in the last two season he's looked noticeably rattled and completely at sea. Not the mentality of a player that would add steel to our back line. Inzaghi's tactics are more aggressive but not by a whole lot and as much as Conte's defence is more protected that doesn't equate for the faster speed of the PL in general. Honestly think this would be a very very risky signing that could do more harm then good. Having seen him a lot I hope we stay clear tbh.

 

[brasil_spur]

Would anyone here take a punt on Ronaldo if he gets let go this winter?

I'm not sure he'll bring the work ethic we'd like, but if he's got a chip on his shoulder maybe we can harness that.

I would take a punt at him

Shambles of a personality to have in the dressing room right now.

 

[King of the Lane]

Different situation tbh, at Lazio it was very clearly a focus issue as his situation at Lazio was rather uncomfortable for all parties. Now it is a physical one as i mentioned the other page. In theory i like the idea of getting a more experienced CD to instal confidence in our back line and help them settle but too many times in the last two season he's looked noticeably rattled and completely at sea. Not the mentality of a player that would add steel to our back line. Inzaghi's tactics are more aggressive but not by a whole lot and as much as Conte's defence is more protected that doesn't equate for the faster speed of the PL in general. Honestly think this would be a very very risky signing that could do more harm then good. Having seen him a lot I hope we stay clear tbh.

Thanks for sharing. Im surprised by some of your insight tbh as the Inter fans I know have all said that his form only dropped off last season. Before that they all think he was one of the best CBs in the world over multiple seasons. A few have said to me that he wasnt even that bad last season its just that he was so good before. I havent watched him as much as you have though so I'll take your view onboard too and hope if we do get him that he can still perform at a high level.

 

[McFlash]

A CM seems a crazy waste of our limited budget when we have 4 excellent players in that position already and badly need quality in defence and wing back, while also needing more depth at RWF.

I think it's been said before that if a good opportunity presents itself, we'd be prepared to take a punt and somehow find the money.
Plus, it will all depend on what sort of quality is achievable in the required positions, as there's no point buying for the sake of it.

If we can't secure a decent option in a certain position but a little gem crops up elsewhere, there's no reason why we can't spend on somewhere that isn't a priority signing but is one for long term growth.
Kick the other can (position) down the road til the next window.

 

[mr ashley]

There's not a huge amount of coverage of Sassuolo on BT which is a shame as they play some great football. I watched them draw with Roma not too long ago. Frattesi played well, he is a forward-minded, aggressive, box to box player- think Bentancur but gets forward a little more. I'd say he's the best player at Sassuolo. He is really well thought of in Italy and seen as part of the new look Italy national side, he'll get a big move somewhere soon.



Here's some good analysis of his game.

Davide Frattesi: How close to a perfect box-to-box midfielder is he? - scout report

This is a tactical analysis scout report of Sassuolo midfielder Davide Frattesi, looking at how he fits into his side's tactics. Read this tactical analysis of Davide Frattesi to find out how he fits into his side's tactics.

totalfootballanalysis.com

Reading that, it feels like a fair comparison would be barella when he at Cagliari (and early on at inter)

 

[Locotoro]

If we're looking for a RWF we could do a lot worse than going for someone like Dani Olmo. Great output, hard working and tracks back

 

[Ghost Hardware]

Thanks for sharing. Im surprised by some of your insight tbh as the Inter fans I know have all said that his form only dropped off last season. Before that they all think he was one of the best CBs in the world over multiple seasons. A few have said to me that he wasnt even that bad last season it’s just that he was so good before. I havent watched him as much as you have though so I'll take your view onboard too and hope if we do get him that he can still perform at a high level.

Sorry if I wasn’t clear. I already mentioned in my previous posts that I’m purely referring to his fall off in the last season and a half, not his entire time at Inter. When he first joined he was excellent as you say. In the post you quoted I am responding to the original point which is comparing his current drop in quality to that of when his contract was running out at Lazio and pointing out it’s a different situation this time round.

 

[djhotspur]

Being linked to porro by a Portuguese journo now. Hopefully something in it

 

[Flobadob]

Being linked to porro by a Portuguese journo now. Hopefully something in it

Which Portuguese journo?

 

[WorthATry]

Which Portuguese journo?

Andre Bucho at Journal Noticias. No nothing of him/them, but tier 2 according to Reddit

 

[dontcallme]

Would anyone here take a punt on Ronaldo if he gets let go this winter?

I'm not sure he'll bring the work ethic we'd like, but if he's got a chip on his shoulder maybe we can harness that.

On pure footballing ability, no issue with him. But everything else makes him a no-go for me.