Summer Transfer Window Thread 2016

[The Lusophone]

3 hours ago, Liam said:

Not that difficult when you are the main man (alright, they have Pelle to weigh in with some goals). A lot harder in a team where things get shared about - I mean, come on, you listed three players from Spurs.

Or when you list players who played solely in midfield/striker.

I mean, Pelle and Long scored 14 and 13 respectively to Mane's 15 and in less games too (Mane has a GPG of 0.34 to 0.38 to both of the others.

I'm not really sure what point I'm making, but its a point regardless.

[Rich]

It's all pretty pointless anyway

[Nerf]

8 hours ago, Jericode said:

Calling Mane 'phenomenal' for averaging 1 in 3 over two seasons is a load of bollocks when you've got Messi, Ronaldo, Suarez etc. averaging 1 in 1 or better over the past few seasons.

But no, Klopp sending scouts to watch him in Austria four years ago (when he was still playing in the French second division and got relegated no less) must make him a world beater

Yes, the 3 best players in the world are the standard we should set for all incoming transfers

[Lineker]

Crystal Palace have agreed a fee €38m (£31.6m) with Marseille for the Belgium striker Michy Batshuayi, with the Premier League club also hopeful of completing deals for the France goalkeeper Steve Mandanda and Newcastle’s Andros Townsend.

West Ham submitted an offer worth up to a potential €40m for Batshuayi at the start of May and remain hopeful of signing him, while Juventus have also made a bid of more than €30m for the player who scored 17 goals in Ligue 1 last season.

However, Palace’s co-owner Steve Parish, who was in Nice to watch England’s last-16 tie against Iceland on Monday night, appears to have stolen a march on his rivals for Batshuayi’s signature after making the offer directly to Marseille’s president, Vincent Labrune. It is understood that the deal includes a significant bonus payment and sell-on clause, with his former club Standard Liège due 35% of any sale through a previous clause.

It is also understood that Palace are close to agreeing a deal to sign Marseille’s Mandanda on a free transfer, although Chelsea remain interested in the 31-year-old. Palace could opt to move for Asmir Begovic if they miss out on Mandanda, although the lure of first-team football at Selhurst Park is believed to have tipped the balance in Palace’s favour.

On a busy day of activity Palace are also understood to have triggered Townsend’s £10.5m release clause, with the England winger currently weighing up whether he would like to move to south London from Newcastle.

Juventus have confirmed the signing of Dani Alves on a two-year contract, with the defender given the option to extend the deal by another 12 months.

[Baddar]

Fair play to Palace. Bit of a statement signing.

[Jimmy]

I doubt he'll agree terms -- everything I've read is that he's holding out for a team who play CL football, that's why he wasn't too interested in West Ham either. I read he wanted to join us, but we weren't willing to pay him 100k a week (and also unlikely to pay £31 mil for him), would be incredibly surprised if he ends up at Paris. 

[Roster Depth Sicko No. 2]

1 hour ago, PentaNerf Jr. said:

Yes, the 3 best players in the world are the standard we should set for all incoming transfers

Well if you can compare him to players with worse statistics in different positions for the sake of your point then why can't I do it the other way?

Besides, Dirk Kuyt had better stats than Mane last season also playing on the wing, so by that standard Dirk Kuyt is more phenomenal than Mane. Why not save £30m and just have him back?

And yes it should be the standard, I never get why the Premier League can claim to be the best league in the world when all the best players in the world choose to play in La Liga instead.

[Nerf]

1 minute ago, Jericode said:

Well if you can compare him to players with worse statistics in different positions for the sake of your point then why can't I do it the other way?

Besides, Dirk Kuyt had better stats than Mane last season also playing on the wing, so by that standard Dirk Kuyt is more phenomenal than Mane. Why not save £30m and just have him back?

And yes it should be the standard, I never get why the Premier League can claim to be the best league in the world when all the best players in the world choose to play in La Liga instead.

Your point being that... Mane isn't as good as Suarez, Messi, and Ronaldo? Okay then.

I... didn't do anything for the sake of my point. I listed a bunch of players in the same league and positions that he had a better output than. The players I compared him to were exactly that, comparable. I mean, if you'd like I can compare the merits of Mane relative to Tom Ince or something instead.

Kuyt isn't playing in England, that's why I discarded Mane's numbers in Austria, so that's a null point, even if I agree Dirk is phenomenal and would have him back in a heartbeat.

I'm not even sure if you're trolling me with that last line. The standard of every player should be Messi and Ronaldo?

[Whisper]

1 hour ago, PentaNerf Jr. said:

Yes, the 3 best players in the world are the standard we should set for all incoming transfers

When you're calling someone "phenomenal", yes.

For the record, I think Mane is a decent signing for Liverpool. Overpriced, but that's largely because Southampton don't need to sell.

[Nerf]

Okay, allow me to rephrase. His numbers are phenomenal relative to other widely considered top players in the league. Better?

And £25m isn't overpriced. It's 2016.

[Roster Depth Sicko No. 2]

My point was that saying Mane's figures are phenomenal is hyperbolic when there are players around the world with figures two or three times better. Surely they should be the benchmark for phenomenal?

Also, Mane's numbers in Austria were better than his numbers in England, it would have helped your argument to include them rather than discount them.

You've flipped from 'standard of all tramsfers' to 'standard of all players' which are two different points.

None of this matters now anyway because now you've rephrased yourself I agree with you.

[Nerf]

I mean, I didn't expect that you'd take the word 'phenomenal' to mean I was saying Mane was one of the top 3 players in the world :/

[Jimmy]

1 hour ago, PentaNerf Jr. said:

Okay, allow me to rephrase. His numbers are phenomenal relative to other widely considered top players in the league. Better?

And £25m isn't overpriced. It's 2016.

Everywhere I've seen has been £30+, right? 

Either way, I think it's a good signing. 11 in 37 is a very good return in the PL and he's obviously a player who causes teams a lot of problems. 

[Nerf]

I've seen stuff as high as £38m being tossed around, but the general consensus among those that would be more likely to know has been £25m + add-ons.

[Lineker]

#nerfintheknow

[Nerf]

Or just journalists with a track record of having some degree of insight into the club. Tony Barrett, James Pearce, Dominic King et al.

[Lineker]

No lean yet though, mind you.

[Nerf]

I'm not sure how he's going to live up to the standards of the #19 set by Stewart Downing, mind.

[Baddar]

Everything aside (the fee/whether Klopp has scouted him since he was 2 etc. etc.) I think Liverpool have got themselves a quality player there. When United were rumoured to be in for him last season, I wanted it to happen. He's good on the ball, got bags of pace, and is still very young. 

[Roster Depth Sicko No. 2]

Well compared to Downing he's phenomenal

Seriously though, good signing for Liverpool. I've been pressed with their business so far this summer.