2019 Summer Transfer Rumors

Well it is way too early to be sure on these things, but I’ll get it started with this one:

Luis Alberto coming back?

I wouldn’t want him at this point. He started well at Lazio but then slowly faded away and he was their worst player against us in 2 legs. Of course, the injuries have added to that and he’s a good player in overall, but I somehow can’t see a serious team being built with this player, at all.

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The return of Monchi has definitely brought back some transfer activity and we are linked with names familiar and new:

https://www.90min.com/posts/6330277-sevilla-set-to-beat-arsenal-and-tottenham-in-race-to-sign-as-roma-starlet-cengiz-under

https://www.tribalfootball.com/articles/monchi-wants-sevilla-to-nick-kovacic-away-from-chelsea-4274125#popup-sso

https://www.calciomercato.com/en/news/monchi-tries-to-tempt-milan-winger-to-sevilla-36969

N’zonzi has also been linked with a return but we really don’t need his error-prone ass.

The legend that is Dani Alves returned to club during the Puerta tribute and “neither confirmed nor denied” a return to Sevilla, now his return I would welcome with open arms.

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Please let that Kovacic rumour be true. I think he’s one of those players on a “too-high” of a salary to come here, but he’d be perfect for our midfield.

Clubs really do start their summer business in March, so the amount of rumours don’t surprise me. The Italian papers will exaggerate as usual. I don’t see Luis Alberto coming back here, nor Nzonzi for that matter. He couldn’t wait to leave. I’d put the Ünder link under that too, but it could also be out to put pressure on Sarabia. Either way, i’m here for all of it.

Come on Monch, this is your mission, find us a new Luis Fabiano to complement Ben Yedder. Tell Caparros that you can’t find anyone better than Bryan Gil, so he must play. Find us a free-kick specialist from Brazil or Croatia/Serbia, with top midfield and penalty box skills.

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Good results so far. Getafe lost 0-2 to Leganes. Alaves losing 0-2 after 10 minutes. We could go to 4th place tomorrow.

Just watched Celta come back from 0-2 to beat Villarreal 3-2, cracking game.

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Monchi considering Di Francesco as the next coach according to multiple media sources (who knows if they are accurate.)

Not convincing, his tenure at Roma was pretty underwhelming and his squad, while young, was built around Dzeko; once the Bosnian was injured the wheels pretty much came off for them. Italian coaches are pretty suspect in La Liga and Montella was nothing short of disastrous here.

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You’re so right about Italians in Spain. Except for Ancelotti, i can’t recall seeing Italian success, player or coach. Albeit he wasn’t given the time, there was Prandelli who wasn’t great at Valencia. Even Mudo started playing better when he was finally able to represent Argentina. :laughing:

However, if we were to get Gasperini (Atalanta coach), i would absolutely love it. Di Francesco i still feel was hard done by, but things weren’t going well with Roma. His 4-3-3 style would be great for how we played with 3 CMs this year, like getting the best out of Sarabia. I just don’t trust our recent history with Italian football.

Looking at it deeper, when has a signing (player or manager) from Serie A done really well in Spain? I’m wondering if it’s the same stigma the other way, cause Spanish players rarely used to go to Italy.

Looking at recent Sevilla signings: Muriel (flop), Correa (flop), Mudo (meh), Montella (flop). Gonalons only spent 1 year in Roma, but was a stud at Lyon.

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Ibra and Henry had good Spanish careers.

I have the same feeling about Serie A when it comes in comparison with La Liga. They are more tactical and there’s quite a difference in football philosophy, while Spaniards are more ‘freestyle-ish’ and play exotic football. Italians are more about results and defense, which of course doesn’t always work, while Spaniards are about the beauty of football, the touches, the movement and everything.

I delved into Wiki and got a list of Italian players who played in La Liga, aside from Vieri, Osvaldo and Rossi the others were more or less role players. Fabio Cannavaro played for Madrid but was constantly found out.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_foreign_La_Liga_players#Italy

Signings from the league have fared better, Zidane came from Juve and was great, Zambrotta and Thuram played briefly for Barca and were solid as well. Ancelotti’s Madrid is best remembered for winning the Champions League but their La Liga performance wasn’t that great.

Our Italian imports range from good (Maresca) to bad (Immobile?) to barely featuring (Cigarini, Guarente, De Sanctis and Sirigu). Imports from that league as a whole have also been so-so as listed by you, this is the main reason I’m using to curb any enthusiasm toward Duvan Zapata, guy has scored 20 for Atlanta this season but is 28 and this is the first season he has reached this figure.

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I don’t think Immobile was bad. He only played 8 games and scored 2 goals. I didn’t think he got enough run imo. He needed a second striker paired with him I thought.

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You’re probably right on Immobile, and regarding signings from Serie A a certain Abdoulay Konko came to my mind, signed to replace the legend that is Dani Alves and we all know how that turned out.

So yeah, the less signings from Serie A the better.

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I would agree; unless it’s a damn good CB.

There are whispers that the board are considering Laurent Blanc as coach for next season. This could be exciting but his time at PSG and the French National Team could have been more. As of now he’s the highest profile name we’ve been linked with so far.

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I’d be ok with that. Seems great quality; does he speak Spanish?

As a Western European, it’d be baffling if Blanc didn’t know a little bit of Spanish. It’s very similar to French anyway.

We always get linked to Blanc when searching for a manager, so this is the usual rollout. But i believe we need this caliber of manager to progress as a club — managers who have won titles. I’m not well-versed in Portuguese football, but Jorge Jesus is a name i like seeing cause he had success. In the same vain, i’d opt for Leonardo Jardim of Monaco. He would take top spot for me on the shortlist.

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Between Jardim and Blanc, I’d still take Blanc - not only because of more trophies won, rather because he has won a lot of trophies as a player as wall and was a decent player in overall compared to Jardim who hasn’t had a professional football career before becoming a manager (no record of that). So in overall Blanc knows the ins and outs of football much better, thus could be a much more viable option for a long-term ambitious and serious project led by our legend Monchi.

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Jardim was hot property 2 seasons ago when he led Monaco to the title and the Champions League Semis, not sure if this season is a blip in the radar so he needs to prove his credentials before taking over the club again. I’ve taken a look at the young managers (<50) who have coached some exciting teams this season and Adi Hutter (Frankfurt), Bruno Lage (Benfica) and perhaps Van Bommel (PSV) fit the mould? Chelsea will probably be looking for a new manager too so there will be competition.

Also on the loanees front, our Colombian Wonder has failed to find the net for three consecutive games after scoring in four consecutive ones and making us look like chumps. Fiorentina has appointed the tactical genius that is Montella as their new coach and I’m not sure he likes Muriel enough to sign him at the end of the season.

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