The January Transfer Window - 2021

[Lineker]

Quote

RB Leipzig are set to win the race to buy Red Bull Salzburg’s Dominik Szoboszlai, with the Hungarian attacking midfielder poised to sign a five-year contract at the Bundesliga club.

Arsenal and Milan were interested in the 20-year-old but he has decided to stay in the ‘Red Bull family’ and join Julian Nagelsmann’s side in January. RB Leipzig will pay the €25m (£22.9m) release clause and the transfer is expected to be announced next week.

Arsenal and Milan had contacted Szoboszlai’s representatives but the player had his heart set on Leipzig, who are third in the Bundesliga after drawing 3-3 with the leaders, Bayern Munich, last weekend.

Szoboszlai has long been considered one of the best young talents in Europe but has had his breakthrough this season with consistent – and match-winning – performances for club and country.

The Hungarian was on Arsenal’s shortlist of potential signings, together with Lyon’s Houssem Aouar.

 

Annoying because we were being heavily linked with him also. Still, at least I don't have to learn how to pronounce that surname now!

[Jimmy]

I'm not 100% sure where he'd fit for us, to be honest. I haven't seen enough of him - I know he's got a hell of a long-range strike. 

Jan will be interesting to see how we react to fringe players wanting to leave (Winks, Dele). Surely we'll cut the Gedson loan & Gazza will rightfully move on because he deserves much better. Can only really see us going for a well-timed bargain, or maybe the CB Jose wants if he moves Davinson on. 

 

[Hobo]

I'm amused by the story being "Red Bull owned team are most likely to buy player from a team owned by Red Bull."

[Szumi]

I'm just happy that Szoboszlai is leaving Salzburg because that means more playing time for the Medford Messi himself, Brandon Aaronson! I just want him to play as regularly as possible there and develop into a top quality player.

[Naitch]

I would quite like to ship out Kepa, Rudiger, and one of Emerson or Marcos Alonso permanently. Gilmour and Tomori could probably benefit from loans but the prospect of injuries piling up in the next month or so, and in the final run in, would make me hesitate on that. Not sure anyone needs to be brought in; I'd rather wait until the summer and think about finding a new backup keeper and deciding whether Thiago Silva and Giroud have another good season in them.

[Colly]

9 hours ago, Hobo said:

I'm amused by the story being "Red Bull owned team are most likely to buy player from a team owned by Red Bull."

Apparently the transfer fee is 200k cans of Red Bull. 

[Benjamin]

15 hours ago, Naitch said:

I would quite like to ship out Kepa, Rudiger, and one of Emerson or Marcos Alonso permanently. Gilmour and Tomori could probably benefit from loans but the prospect of injuries piling up in the next month or so, and in the final run in, would make me hesitate on that. Not sure anyone needs to be brought in; I'd rather wait until the summer and think about finding a new backup keeper and deciding whether Thiago Silva and Giroud have another good season in them.

How much would Chelsea get if they sold Kepa right now? Perhaps it’d be better if they sent him out on loan somewhere to rebuild his value a bit before offloading him? I mean how old is he now 23, 24? Karius sort of did that when he did really well at Besiktas, it’s unfortunate we loaned him out to another team to be the back-up instead of a starter this season, because by all accounts he was really gaining confidence in Turkey. 

[Naitch]

That's a fair point, I just don't see him ever recouping the amount we paid for him. I can see him returning to Spain or going to China/Turkey too, perhaps PSG as a long term replacement for Keylor Navas.

[Benjamin]

Oh yeah me neither, I doubt any goalie, even Oblak, would go for that amount right now, but to sell him this off season would fetch Chelsea, what, maybe 4x-5x less than what they got for him? Just an idea to might as well keep him around as a long term asset. 

[Roster Depth Sicko No. 2]

Honestly I'd rather they just took the sunk cost and leave him as the deputy, Mendy already seems to be a better goalkeeper so 1st choice is dealt with. Will save signing a new 36 year old every other season anyway.

I'm not hugely concerned as a Chelsea fan at the moment, we've bought a lot of names at once so getting them all to fit into the jigsaw and gel wasn't going to happen overnight. My dad and cousin were saying that they weren't convinced by Havertz yet but a. he's had COVID and b. he's 21 years old, he'll need more time. Give him a season and adjust to the physicality he'll be great next season. Same with Werner, the pair will prove to have been excellent signings by the end of next season, and if we didn't act now realistically they'd probably have just been absorbed by the Bayern Munich machine.

[Cymbols]

He’s here! Now, how do we say his name?

[Baddar]

Sob-oz-sly, I think.

[Cymbols]

I’ll just stick with Big Dom for now.

[Lineker]

 

[DFF]

Apparently we're in talks with Man U to loan Lingard for the rest of the season. 

[Lineker]

Quote

Manchester United are considering a move for Moisés Caicedo, with the 19-year-old Ecaudor midfielder fitting the profile of the best emerging global talent the club have recently pursued.

Caicedo plays for Independiente del Valle in his homeland and would reportedly cost €6m (£5.4m). He made his club debut in October 2019 and is primarily a forward-thinking midfielder though he can also operate in a more defensive mode.

Caicedo has four caps, his debut coming two months ago aged 18 in a 1-0 defeat against Argentina, and he scored his first international goal three days later against Uruguay in a 4-2 win.

His age and profile as one of Ecuador’s finest prospects are in line with United’s recruitment policy. Since last year the club have signed 19 young players: 16 of these have been 16 years old, one 17 and two – Facundo Pellistri and Amad Diallo – 18.

Pellistri joined from Uruguay’s Atlético Peñarol in a £10m transfer in the summer window and is part of Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s senior squad. Diallo, a purchase from Atalanta, is expected to arrive in the January window.

 

[The Lusophone]

Been speaking to an Ecuadorian in a discord server - that club, Independiente del Valle, is a millionaire's plaything who has decided to focus really heavily on youth development, and they produce a lot of the upcoming players for Ecuador's national teams. Expect to hear that name a bit more going forward.

[The Lusophone]

Urguayan midfielder and FM21 wonderkid Manuel Ugarte has joined Portuguese side Famalicao on a 5 year deal from Fenix.

[Gazz]

He's a FM21 wonderkid? He's my fourth choice central midfielder for Orient on FM20, on loan from Real Madrid.

[The Lusophone]

1 hour ago, Gazz said:

He's a FM21 wonderkid? He's my fourth choice central midfielder for Orient on FM20, on loan from Real Madrid.

Incredibly well rounded attributes with room to grow and a low price, basically a must buy.

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