The Isak Saga

[Steveo]

I'd be going for Alvarez.. ALL IN>.

[sydenham red]

Going for Larsen ourselves crossed my mind the other day actually. With isak its just not just a matter of compromising on price with Newcastle, it's waiting on them getting someone in, medical etc official. I can't see there's enough time to do all that by Monday evening. Get Guehi done or we'll be sweating all the way to Jan that we don't get injuries and that those 2 players don't get lured by our old friends RM or City.

[Kev0909]

Going for Larsen ourselves crossed my mind the other day actually. With isak its just not just a matter of compromising on price with Newcastle, it's waiting on them getting someone in, medical etc official. I can't see there's enough time to do all that by Monday evening. Get Guehi done or we'll be sweating all the way to Jan that we don't get injuries and that those 2 players don't get lured by our old friends RM or City.

exactly there's other options that would still improve us.

then that leaves us about 80m saved from isak to spend elsewhere, like a CDM

[Kev0909]

I'd be going for Alvarez.. ALL IN>.

probably better value and play more over the season(s)

isak missed 9 last season, 12 before 18 before that, then 5...then 15...

what's stopping him going the way torres and owen did? and 150m down the drain

personally think it's a huge risk and would be better getting some players in, instead of splashing silly amount on one player, i'm not sure what's going on first wirtz then 150m isak?? this ain't how we do things normally.... don't get me wrong i'm glad we're spending but not silly amount on one player.... from signing just chiesa on the cheap to spending over 250m on 2 players? (if we sign isak)

[sydenham red]

exactly there's other options that would still improve us.

then that leaves us about 80m saved from isak to spend elsewhere, like a CDM

I think the masterplan is for Bajetic to be moulded into that CDM role or similar to rest Grav, thus saving a fee. And looks like Rio is the LW cover/competition. Trying to low ball Palace and sell Elliott and get the Greek off the wages too. The FSG low nett spenders haven't really changed their spots, have they?

[Kev0909]

I think the masterplan is for Bajetic to be moulded into that CDM role or similar to rest Grav, thus saving a fee. And looks like Rio is the LW cover/competition. Trying to low ball Palace and sell Elliott and get the Greek off the wages too. The FSG low nett spenders haven't really changed their spots, have they?

Doesn't look it no, false hope.

I know we've won the league lets sell everyone and count on Gomez to stay fit, grav to stay fit all season again, VVD to stay fit, Salah & ekiteke to stay fit

otherwise... lets hope chiesa becomes a stable fit player... and the kid keeps it up.. somehow play 90 often

See the issue? Saka & odegaard out for game against us, but they've got plenty of options.... imagine if salah and VVD was out for us, for example

we got tired last season, and that's with being rather lucky on the injury front.

[faridtoxteth]

I would also like Alvarez, maybe more so than Isak. Alvarez apparently wants out of Atletico but doesn't like the north of Engalnd. ffs.

[Steveo]

Can’t say I blame him on that

[Insidious]

I try not do quote too many bits separately as it can look overly semantic and nitpicky, but I did want to explore a couple of the individual points you made.

Great, this can be one of those 4 years we dont win it.

Isak, if fit, takes our maximum potential up a level. I get what you're saying about the 4-year spell, but (if possible) I'd rather be getting someone in while Salah and Van Dijk are still around for the last two years of their contracts. I certainly don't see both staying beyond that - Van Dijk might, but not both. If we have the funds (we do) then strengthening while those lads are here makes sense, to me at least. People can of course feel free to disagree.

They are taking us for mugs. The fact that no one else cares about him this much says alot.

I'm not sure that it does honestly. There are a number of clubs who don't have the PSR flexibility we have and/or already have a striker. Real Madrid won't try and fit him in with Vinicius and Mbappe, Man City have Haaland, Arsenal went and got Gyokores, Barcelona have (at times confusing) financial problems, Bayern Munich have taken an entirely different direction this Summer (might do a thread on that at some stage, or combine it with another thread I had in mind) and so on. I don't think that necessarily means that they wouldn't want Isak if he was a viable or logical option for them. This just seems a rare instance of us being best-placed through circumstances.

who's to say we spend all our cash, have more injuries and win nothing anyway.

Entirely possible, no dispute from me. Injuries can and do happen. It seems the club have identified Isak as "the one" that can move the needle a bit more towards our chances of a successful season. Only a few days left to see if it comes to pass. Injuries aside, he could come here and make us awesome and we still don't win - our "best" team under Rafa (08/09) could very well wipe the floor with the 04/05 team, but it won jack all. Equally, Isak could come and we do something like, for talk's sake, Champion's League semi-finalists and Premier League winners, which would more than cover the fee in one fell swoop and we'd still have him for coming seasons and (hopefully) the knock-on effect to other lads in training when it comes to being around another excellent finisher every day, the burden eased from Salah, etc.

For 130m+ we could get someone like alvarez, guehi and have change left for a young talent.
Or, we buy isak in Jan/end of season for far less.

I'd be up for Alvarez - who wouldn't? No guarantee that we get Atletico, who have their own ambitions, to part with him at this point. The club have clearly identified a "type" mind - there's a huge stylistic overlap in the data-sets between Isak and Ekitike (Sky actually showed a graphic, something like 84% overlap in playing style) and for better or worse, the club's methodology at present is very data-driven. They seem to think he is worth "big" money now, though what exactly our bid will be remains to be seen.

It'd be interesting to see how much less we would get him for. Let's say he is worth.....£135m now - is waiting for him to be, let's say, £90m, worth a £45m saving at present? A reasonable performance in the League phase of the Champion's League and reaching the last-16 would probably cover 40-50% of that saving - I'd personally be far happier we paid the premium and got him in right now. We have seen that Ekitike is being brought off early to protect him - the extra striker, especially one of Isak's talent, is worth a lot of money.

[Kev0909]

What do you think of the games he's missed last 4 seasons or so Sid?

you confident in him not turning into torres/owen - injury wise?