I doubt he'll be a back up player. He'll be part of the LW/CF rotation (in-game and for injuries, resting). I can see him getting just as many games / starts as Gakpo and Isak.
EDIT. That twat Stevie beat me to the post again.
Isakly what we need (AKA Isak Hunt)
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EDIT. That twat Stevie beat me to the post again.
Yeah - I guess it does depend on how well he can compete at LW and our shape - which with Kerkez providing width and Wirtz drifting wide in a deeper area could mean Ekitike going narrow towards the centre - dunno - but he seems like he has the skill set to play as a left forward rather than a more traditional “winger”.
It’s much of a muchness isn’t it - I don’t see 2 players for CF as overstocked, more like a minimum - we have more options at LW if you include the kids like Rio & Doak, with only really Danns in the centre.
Not sure about the “cheaper” striker - for me it’s a question of quality and there’s not a lot available out there - Ekitike may not be the one, but he looks a better bet than all the other available options a bit cheaper and then there’s the cost of a new LW’er - they aren’t likely to be any cheaper than Ekitike was and still be as good as Diaz.
If they take some of @Woland's ket.
We were not "unlikely" to get Isak, per se; more I think it was a belief by the club "well if we can't get him because he doesn't fancy the move, we need to have our ducks in a row".
We've tried to mitigate the risk of not getting him ahead of actually trying to get him. I'm fine with that. It's a little overcautious, but if getting Ekitike doesn't stop us getting Isak I don't overly mind it.
Equally if we don't get isak now, I'm sure we will go for a LW like rodrygo and another st, possibly a mateta.
I think there's a legit scenario where Slot watched Ngumoha in training and thought balls to Mateta (there was reports we met him) divert the chunk of the Diaz money towards two quality strikers instead, especially with Isaks niggling injuries. We'll never really know, but I do find it unlikely the club would release such enormous funds for Isak and operate in such an unplanned way. We've only been known to do that really with Caicedo out of desperation at the end of the window.
Alternatively they might have an eye on a cheaper winger that represents some serious value.
Alternatively they might have an eye on a cheaper winger that represents some serious value.
To me that reads like a fan putting themselves in the shoes of Slot having just watched Rio in pre-season.
I would hope Slot & co see Rio regularly and that the role of youth players factors into transfer plans much earlier.
It’s weird how that fee is inflated when someone wants to argue against the signing
Or denigrate the player (cf. Nunez)
Isak is excellent & is absolutely the best option now & for the foreseeable, there really isn't any perhaps about it. He's the ready made package. 54 goals in 86 Premier League games & I'd expect his numbers to improve with the quality he has around him here.
We're not sacrificing other positions to buy Isak. There are no eggs all in one basket or anything reckless here. We're one of best run clubs in the league with very shrewd & capable people behind the scenes. We're in a very strong position on & off the field which we're capitalising on. There's no way Fenway are putting us in financial jeopardy.
You say Salah won't last forever. Wirtz & Isak are the replacement for his output but for a while we'll see them all together, hopefully anyway.
Let’s talk after his hat trick tonight…
I know I should really stick it in the "other club's" transfer thread but it links to the Isak deal. a Temu Haaland going for 50% more than the price of Haaland
View: https://x.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1952478532292272442
View: https://x.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1952478532292272442
January window.
Suspect they'll get rid of him ASAP. Not sure Howe wants him around now that he's made it clear he wants out.
One assumes they'll need the money to cover their purchases? They'll likely use a short term loan to buy. Probably @Beamrider can tell us?
Per their 2024 accounts they had bank facilities totalling £75m that they could draw on, of which £50m was drawn at the end of season 2023-24.
Over the previous three years they'd had injections of share capital just over £300m and a further £50m since their last set of accounts. So, basically put, they've been spending beyond their means and the PIF has been funding them. I imagine they would do so again if needed.
To put things into a wider perspective, most clubs have some term of revolving bank facility that they can draw down and repay as needed - football cashflow is quite lumpy through the season so clubs need to have, effectively, an overdraft to deal with the troughs. Newcastle's £75m is pretty low to be honest, I think they could quite easily secure more. However, it may be that the PIF has decided they would rather put the funding in themselves because it's cheaper - they'll have cash on hand, likely earning a lower return than the bank would charge Newcastle, so it makes sense for them to fund (this was the rationale for FSG lending us the funds to build the Main Stand).
It would certainly be easier for Newcastle to sell first and use those funds to buy but remember:
1. They only need to find 1/3 of the fees spent as deals are generally in three instalments.
2. They will probably be cash rich at present as they'll have just collected all their season ticket and seasonal hospitality money, plus some advance general admission ticket sales and sponsorship money for the coming season. Generally speaking, none of those payments would have come in before their previous year end, which is why their debt would have been largely drawn at that point.
Man Utd "We will only bid if Sesko chooses us"
In the last few minutes reports that Utd have submitted a bid of €75m + €10m in add ons.
Leipzig rejected the idea of Hojlund going the other way apparently to reduce the cost.
Isak deal hinges on Sesko going to Newcastle.
In the last few minutes reports that Utd have submitted a bid of €75m + €10m in add ons.
Leipzig rejected the idea of Hojlund going the other way apparently to reduce the cost.
Isak deal hinges on Sesko going to Newcastle.
No but it puts it in major doubt. Newcastle have to find someone else and convince him to sign. What a fucking waste of time this has been. He was always going to Utd wasn't he.
Newcastle offer is better
I wouldn't be surprised to see Villa sell Watkins (and there's still rumours about Emi Martinez too). They sold their women's team to themselves to get around Premier League PSR (which suggests they were close to the £105m limit) and they need to get down to (at least) €60m for UEFA purposes, and I don't think UEFA will allow them to count the sale of the women's team, even though the PL will.
This is actually hilarious. I read that his agent was mental but this is funny.
View: https://x.com/philipphinze24/status/1952712722543435897?s=46
