Hazbro

Ethan and Myles committing their futures to the club is massive and cannot be overstated. These guys are 5 years younger than Saka, so their current deals basically take them until they’re that age. We’ve got the potential to have all 3 in our team for a decade. Let thank sink in. A decade.

Speaking of Madueke, I’ve seen a lot of “we could’ve signed Gittens for the same amount” talk as if the fact Madueke’s a lefty wasn’t part of the reason we wanted him?

Why is it Arsenal fans lose their shit over us signing players from Chelsea yet I’ve seen very little of the same reaction from Chelsea fans about them signing Garnacho from United?

There were reports he had doubts about that last summer, which is why he opted to stay at Leipzig. Still funny for United fans to brag about that, if that’s the case, because it admits we’re a better side than they are (which last season’s table confirms anyway).

I actually think the £150m is the key point. Newcastle have said throughout he’s not for sale and only an offer of £150m+ would make them reconsider that. And “reconsider” doesn’t mean they would accept it either. They were in the market for a striker this summer regardless, due to Wilson leaving.

It’s hilarious to see United fans claiming Sesko said no to Arsenal bc he was Arteta’s “number 1 target”. Let’s forget that Gyokeres was Amorim’s preferred choice and he’d been trying to get him to United since January. Fact is Sesko and Gyokeres both wanted Arsenal, it came down to the fee.

I think what I’m reading is even if they sign a striker they won’t sell because they needed to replace Callum Wilson anyway. And yep, they took a gamble on him when (you may recall) we deemed it too big a gamble to take. They have no pressure to sell, either time or financial.

If the talk that Newcastle are putting their foot down and not selling Isak no matter what are true, got mad respect for that. Unless you’re under financial pressures (like we were after the stadium move), it’s a good idea to discourage other players from following suit by showing it won’t work.

Affordability of many things tbh. Groceries are now getting to the point of being unaffordable for many.

It’s per 90

But much like the Saka v Salah comparison, I think the big lesson here is how much more “rest walking” between sprints other forwards in the league do and how that allows them to sprint more. If we become more direct to suit Gyokeres, there’s a chance for other players to evolve their games too.

I think what that data shows is Salah doing a lot of “rest walking” and saving his energy for sprints (where he also covers more distance than Saka). Which might be something Saka could learn from as the next stage of his evolution, to make him even more destructive in the final third.

Tbf those numbers do show Kai covering about 15% more distance per 90. That’s not insignificant. And while Jackson covers 66% more distance in a flat out sprint, Kai covers 28% more distance while running, so it’s not like he’s strolling about either.

New formation. No strikers. 4 goalies, 6 defenders and one defensive midfielder.

No, but I do think it puts pressure on his contract renewal (as his current deal has 2 years left to run).

I mean…it might not be bad news. If they keep missing out on their striker targets, they kinda have to hang on to Isak, don’t they? Even an unhappy player is better than having nobody to play up front.

Isn’t he going out on loan? Again? So we’re probably getting the square root of fuck all for him.

There is nothing stopping clubs signing a pre-contract with a player facing charges like this and awaiting the verdict. That’s what “innocent until proven guilty” may look like. Signing him (or offering him a new contract) is more akin to saying you believe he’s innocent. Big difference.

Kane scoring against Spurs will never NOT be funny.

Yep. And I see it in our fanbase too. I got into a debate with someone the other day and once it was clear we were not going to agree, I agreed to disagree, and even said I hoped he was right and I was wrong (bc it would mean we had been successful this season). Did he accept that? Nope.

It’s actually a theme of this window. Zubimendi only wanted us, Gyokeres only wanted us, Mosquera turned down a new contract at Valencia to join us, Norgaard broke into tears at his kid in the kit, Madueke seems to have a point to prove…and I love seeing that we’re targeting that kind of energy.

I was team Sesko from the start but my attitude was always that either would improve us. Stats made me lean Sesko but seeing Gyokeres against Saliba and Gabriel gives me hope. The only centre forwards to trouble them that relentlessly are Isak and Haaland.

Saw a United fan on the bad place comment that if they signed Sesko and Baleba they might win the league. So just the 40 league goals between Sesko, Cunha and Mbuemo and if Baleba could help their defence ship 20 less goals, that’d help too. No pressure lads.

And lo and behold our summer has involved:

1) buying a left footed right winger
2) using Ethan more centrally
3) adding more depth to the squad

Kinda like your opinion and that of the decision makers at the club is aligned here.

Chelsea’s plan to win every trophy simply by signing so many players nobody else can even field a team is going swimmingly.

Much happier with the idea of a loan bc while everyone else says they see an Alexis Sanchez to us type of player there, I see more of a Robinho to City kinda player.

It’s also more than a £20m loss, if reports are to be believed, as the Nunez fee was £64m, but one of the reported add-ons was £4.3m after 10 appearances. So it’s at least a £23.3m loss, if those reports were accurate. And maybe more if he hit other add-ons too.

Tbf if anyone is using getting £45m for Nunez as proof of Liverpool being good at selling they’re off their rocker. There are examples (£30m for Quansah, for example) but Nunez was a poor buy. Which is why there are a few concerns over Gyokeres and the value of goals in Portugal.

Not convinced he is available tbh. People more closely aligned with PSG saying he’s mostly happy at PSG, but wants an improved deal and PSG are open to extending it too. Could be his people leaking this or Liverpool using this to put pressure on Newcastle to accept their Isak bid.

Agree with the match fitness part tbh, but I think Mikel’s comments in preseason about having the players to tactically change based on opposition makes me think he might do it more this season than before, at both ends of the pitch.