17 Dec 2016 05:39:20
This is purely hypothetical, as I cannot imagine it actually being remotely realistic, BUT how many of you would transfer out Barkley if it meant recruiting van Dijk?
17 Dec 2016 07:30:35
That is a really hard question. and a good one. We do need a dominant center half like Van Dyke, but the squad is already woefully short of creative midfielders. I have been saying it for over 3 seasons now and people who criticised me for going on and on about it are also saying it now. Barkley and Davies are really the only creative ones we have who can play centrally so it would be like cutting off your right hand so that you could learn to be ambidextrous with the left. I would prefer to keep Barkley AND sign Van Dyke. Fund it by selling/ releasing Niasse, Gibson, McGeady, Barry, Cleverly and maybe Mori? Note: these are all Martinez signings. It might also be worth looking at how bad the injuries are to Bolasie and Besic. will they ever recover? That would be a lot of wages off the pay bill. but I don't know what we would get in as fees.
17 Dec 2016 09:20:16
Degs player injuries are covered by insurance. Releasing them would actually cost us a lot of money. Plus, do we really want to be a club that doesn't stand by its players when they need it most? Although I understand evaluating the value of keeping players who constantly pick up injuries, to be honest I find it strange that you would consider releasing bolasie. A new player who has had a decent affect on the side who picked up one really bad injury.
17 Dec 2016 11:01:59
Barkley is becoming an enigma, at 17-19 he was so promising then suffered a tragic leg break, he recovered and up to 21 was full of confidence and was scoring great goals, he started to make inroads into the England squad and was playing well, it was a choice him or Alli now there's no choice! At 23 now he seems to lack confidence and seems unsure of his role in the team I'm not sure what has gone wrong perhaps its just a mentality issue, but he needs to really start to up his game I'm sure RK will be patient but this cannot carry on regardless, he cannot be promising forever!
17 Dec 2016 11:04:47
It's a strange question for me. You use a transfer window to redress any imbalance to the team. Getting rid of Ross and bringing in a defender, albeit a very good one just creates more imbalance for me.
But if we were to find a suitable improvement in an attacking midfield position too, then it's a yes for me.
17 Dec 2016 14:10:08
Cropper16, I agree about Bolasie. I was really suggesting we look at the long term prospects of a full recovery with him. My point was that we need to keep Barkley. but we also need to get a cebter half. So ways of funding that would be to "get rid" of dead wood in the squad that is unlikely to ever be needed again. Hence Niasse, McGeady, Gibson, Cleverly and Mori (assuming we are signing the center half that this discussionis based on) . I include Cleverly in that list because the more I watch him. the less use I think he is to us. Besic may well make a full recovery. I am not so sure about Bolasie. The squad is getting thinner and thinner.
17 Dec 2016 14:56:27
Toffee ace: I agree about the need for "balance" in the squad, but my question was about which fans would "sacrifice" Barkley if it meant securing a top-class player like van Dijk.
You may recall years ago when NUFC let Andy Cole join ManUtd; the barcode fans were in despair, but manger Keegan told them it was a necessary step in their club's development - and the following year they brought in Alan Shearer. Not quite a comparable scenario to Barkley and van Dijk, but - especially in these days of financial fair play - club's will have to wheel and deal with their spending on fees/ wages and on meeting the squad size limits.
17 Dec 2016 21:24:47
I suppose we could let Barkley go and sign Messi next year as a replacement based on that theory Cowpat. lol.
18 Dec 2016 00:17:54
Degsypulford: if you're not ambitious enough to EVENTUALLY be signing players of the calibre of Messi (which I grant you ain't going to happen for years and years - if ever) , then what's the point of existing as a professional football club? We can but dream in vain! ;-)
18 Dec 2016 19:12:21
Barkley is getting better under Koeman and after the Arsenal game has improved more than most players.
Kev, Ged, Lennon and most others don't look like they've improved. It's been the addition of players that's improved the team.
For me Koeman is making Barkley hungry again. He also started looking like a leader against Arsenal. He stood up to Lukaku when he started moaning and was waving and screaming to push up and press higher. The next 6 months are important but he now appears to be listening to the manager.