I don’t think he’ll start initially, so the pressure will be on Areola to keep standards high & improve his distribution. Seems very highly rated by Leicester & £15m is the reported fee which is great value.
I think that is a great bit of business by Moyes and I would have loved to have got him.
I'm hugely glad we don't seem to be getting him, I really don't see the attraction. He's nowhere near the player he was, hasn't done anything of note for 2 seasons, completely the opposite of the sort of player we should be targeting, even on loan.
He was class when with Villa and I think he needs a team that look to put things through him and he just wasn't that important to City as they are a league above. He is just another player at City's level but at ours he is a star player. I don't think we have a player that City would be at all interested in, Bowen possibly aside, so in our group Grealish would be a standout. I won't mind not getting him if Paqueta can recapture what made Pep interested in him for the ten minutes he was, but that's a big if. We need a midfielder that can change a game and Grealish is that in my view.
He was class when with Villa and I think he needs a team that look to put things through him and he just wasn't that important to City as they are a league above. He is just another player at City's level but at ours he is a star player. I don't think we have a player that City would be at all interested in, Bowen possibly aside, so in our group Grealish would be a standout. I won't mind not getting him if Paqueta can recapture what made Pep interested in him for the ten minutes he was, but that's a big if. We need a midfielder that can change a game and Grealish is that in my view.
He might have been that a couple of years ago, but I'm far from convinced he'll ever be that player again. Everton are welcome to him, bullet dodged imo.
I have personally never seen what others see in him. No end product, hangs onto the ball too long nearly every time he gets it & no noticeable MOTM level impact in games. Aside from a season in the Championship - given his age now - I don’t think his career has really elevated past average.
Being reported concrete interest in Fernandes of Southampton (Steinberg, Guardian). 21 year old attacking midfielder. Signed for £15m last summer from Sporting.
I say attacking, 6 goals in 124 career appearances…
Being reported concrete interest in Fernandes of Southampton (Steinberg, Guardian). 21 year old attacking midfielder. Signed for £15m last summer from Sporting.
I say attacking, 6 goals in 124 career appearances…
Ex mentioned we were looking at him three weeks ago
He's actually got 11 goals and 19 assists in 134 although most of those were in Portugal at various levels. Since joining Southampton he's 3 goals and 6 assists in 43. 16 U21 caps
He played more as a CM than AM in Portugal and in internationals, good in defence, good on the ball, he pretty much fits the description of the young, pacy, energetic midfielder some on here think we need
At Villa Grealish was a big fish in little pond, when he broke into the first team they were in the Championship, the first season they were back in the Premier League he was top scorer and top for assists, following season he was top for assists again
At City he was just another player in a side that had Kevin De Bruyne, Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva, Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus
If he'd stayed at Villa he'd certainly have got more playing time and probably would have done a lot better
Comments
25, young for a keeper, previous championship goalkeeper of the year and apparently the one signing light for Leicester last season
Excited to see how he does, think this means Areola is likely on his way
I think that is a great bit of business by Moyes and I would have loved to have got him.
I say attacking, 6 goals in 124 career appearances…
Ill-disciplined and like Lukerz, don't think he's ever been as good as people have made out.
He's actually got 11 goals and 19 assists in 134 although most of those were in Portugal at various levels. Since joining Southampton he's 3 goals and 6 assists in 43. 16 U21 caps
He played more as a CM than AM in Portugal and in internationals, good in defence, good on the ball, he pretty much fits the description of the young, pacy, energetic midfielder some on here think we need
At City he was just another player in a side that had Kevin De Bruyne, Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva, Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus
If he'd stayed at Villa he'd certainly have got more playing time and probably would have done a lot better
C&H reckon we rejected Celtic's initial bid of £2.5m but would accept £3.5m