04 Jun 2025 22:06:52
Hi Ed014. I'm with you in regards to feeling a bit underwhelmed by Zubimendi. You're a fan of Baleba, but I'd be all-in on Andrey Santos. There are some whispers that Arsenal are interested but nothing substantial. He seems to want regular playing time, which could be difficult with Caicedo, Lavia, Enzo ahead of him. Any info you might have on him? Cheers.
{Ed014's Note - Santos is more of a central midfielder where as Baleba is a DM.
Baleba is premier league proven, which is always a bonus.
Santos apparently wants to stay and fight for a place but like you say, he faces stiff competition, Lavia though appears to be somewhat injury prone.
I’d just prefer we got a younger midfielder with the experience we all ready have there.
05 Jun 2025 08:18:09
Rice is one of the best DMs out there. We're deploying him in a more advanced role right now.
Why'd we buy Merino? Isn't he a CM?
05 Jun 2025 08:37:52
We don’t have anyone who can receive the ball out of defence with their back to play. Zubimendi is excellent at this, Rice is better further forward or box to box.
Although Zubimendi transfer sounds less than certain after his comments about Real Madrid and Alonso, yesterday.
05 Jun 2025 09:19:50
I think this signing needs to be viewed as a perfect compliment to Rice. So a player similar to Jorginho rather than Partey. Zubimendi feels like a good fit to me.
Haven't paid enough attention to Baleba to determine if he would fit. I would quite like Adam Wharton if the deal for Zubimendi didn't materialize. If Partey were to leave and we wanted to have a similar role, surely Lewis-Skelly would be a good internal solution as well?
05 Jun 2025 10:00:23
Don’t disagree Sharpie - hope Merino grows into the team and EPL pace better next year. I like him but prefer him in Europe when game is a little slower. He’s got a great eye for goal and takes up some great positions but he’s a bit robotic in midfield and should never replace Rice. Not sure Merino and Rice give us the right balance as both like to get forward and only Rice is getting back to defend with any energy. If we pull Rice back, does that take too much away from his game. I thought I bought Rice as CDM and Merino was the CM. But we are pushing Rice further forward and don’t think merino has the athleticism to be box to box like thst. What do I know… I think I agree with you.