03 Jul 2026 19:43:06
A new rumour of a player were where interested in a year or two ago El Bilal Toure do you know much about him bluenose?
03 Jul 2026 23:26:21
I remember El Bilal Toure from when we were linked with him before. He's basically a powerful, direct forward who can play off the left or through the middle. Proper quick, strong in the press, and he loves running in behind. He's not one of those fancy wingers who stands out wide and does stepovers, he's more of a wide forward who drives straight at defenders and gets himself into good scoring positions.
Strength wise, he's rapid, physical, works hard, wins a lot of duels and he's decent in the air as well. He's good at carrying the ball and he's always looking to attack space. Weakness wise, he's not the most clinical finisher and his decision making can be a bit hit and miss, but he still causes loads of problems just through how direct he is.
With the squad we've got now, Dibling on the right, George drifting inside and Ndiaye more of a technical link player than with Rohl, Hackney, KDH and Garner, who can all sit behind them, he actually fits the one gap we've still got. We don't really have a proper left sided runner who can stretch teams and give us that pace and power down that side. Ndiaye's more of a creator and George and Dibling are better on the right.
Toure would basically give us that explosive LW option we're missing. Someone who can press, run channels, and give the forwards more space to work. He'd add a different dimension to the front line. So yeah, he'd fit our current setup a lot better than he would've a couple of years ago.
03 Jul 2026 23:37:55
It isn't actually a new one for us, Toffebwoy1, not in this window at least, mate.
We were linked with him about 3 years ago when we had DCL, Maupay and Simms to choose from up top.
The lad had scored 7 in about 20 games for Almeria. He would have been around 20 then, so that always gets hyped up at that age.
I remember having a good look at him back then and not really seeing what all the fuss was about. Pacey, yes, but erratic in front of goal and didn't appear like a decent footballer. Needless to say, we missed out on him and he went to Atalanta as Hojlund's replacement and stunk the place out. In his defence, he did suffer a pretty serious injury in his first Serie A game for them and was out until the New Year.
He then moved to Stuttgart, where again he put up identical numbers in terms of goals, with 2, and he suffered a reoccurring foot injury, limiting him to 11 appearances.
That takes us to last season where he went out on loan to Besiktas. He managed double the games and double the goals.
Italian clubs are notoriously difficult to deal with when it comes to transfers, so there is no chance that he will leave for cheap, especially when Atalanta made him their record signing. Even though he has done everything he can to destroy his value, they will still be looking to recoup most of that.
It is a huge no from me, mate. He can't cut it in the lesser leagues, so he doesn't have a hope in hell to flourish in the PL.
04 Jul 2026 07:34:30
Don't think we've had Optimum and BN disagree in the past..
It's a no from me.
04 Jul 2026 11:51:54
I get where BN is coming from. His career's definitely stalled since that Almeria spell and the injuries haven't helped him at all. I'm not pretending he's been flying, because he hasn't.
My point was more about profile than pedigree. We've finally built a squad where a player like him actually fills a gap rather than being another random punt. Back when we had DCL, Maupay and Simms, he'd have been a weird fit. Now, with Dibling, George, Ndiaye, and the midfield we've put together, we're missing that one thing, a left-sided runner who stretches teams, presses hard, and gives us proper pace in behind.
That's the only reason I said he'd make more sense now than he did then. Not that he's a guaranteed success story, just that his style is something we don't currently have.
Whether he's the right player to fill that role is a different debate entirely, and fair play, his numbers and injury record don't exactly scream "safe bet". But the type of forward he is? That's still something we're lacking.