Let’s keep our emotions aside for a bit.
ESR was injured half of his career with us, and we still managed to get Fulham to the line for £35m. That’s a very handsome fee if you are trying to offload a player who is not able to make into the playing XI and has been side-lined due to injuries. On top of that, Edu has managed to put a sell-on clause in that deal! Still sad to see our boy go though.
We made another £4m when we sold Mika Biereth to Sturm Graz earlier in the window. We have seen players whom we thought ‘very highly’ leave for free. 4m for a U23 player is a good business.
Nuno Tavares was a prospect when we got him for 8 odd million in 2021, he was used for some games but then we sent him on loan in last 2 seasons. His Marseille loan was an average one and the previous one at Forrest can be considered a disaster. Edu has shipped him to Lazio on loan for 6m with an obligation to buy if certain criteria are met, and have inserted a sell-on clause in case Lazio encashes him in future.
Lokonga couldn’t cut it at Arsenal. His loan spells were average at best. He is joining Sevilla on a season long loan with an ‘option’ to buy for £10m. If Sevilla decides to trigger that, we will reserve a whooping 25% on his future sell. I’m sure Edu managed that because Sevilla didn’t accept an ‘obligation’ but it’s still a decent deal for us.
Now, lets talk about Eddie Nketiah and what’s happening with our aim to sell him. Merseille agreed with Eddie on personal terms and the player prefer that move mainly because of De Zerbi and we have recently dumping our gross to OM. They came up with a £17m offer which the club and Edu deemed insufficient. They even had an improved offer if we go by the rumours but it still falls short of the £30m we are asking for Nketiah. Edu feels that’s the right price for a player having more than 100 appearances for one of the biggest clubs in the world and one who is side-lined because ‘we’ are just too good for him. We often talk about how the striker market is saturated and why it’s so difficult to get a prolific goal scorer. Nketiah will do well with any team if he plays consistently. I would not be wrong to say that he will make any of the bottom half Premier League teams better. We can’t ask the club and Edu to stick to our valuation of a player and then complain the buyers try to negotiate a much lesser deal than that.
We stick to our valuation, we put a sell-on clause if we think a player can do much better in coming years and we let the clubs know about that. It can go both ways, the buyer club gives up and agrees or they move on. We win sometimes (ESR, Lokonga, Tavares), we lose sometimes (Eddie, transfer window still has time). Sticking to our ask is what matters.
Btw, the reason why Edu is able to do it is, that, we are a much better team and the ‘players’ we are selling may not be good enough for us, but they certainly are more than capable of playing in a Fulham or OM side. We have seen him let go of Auba, who Barcelona sold for 12m to Chelsea a season letter, we have seen Guendouzi go for free when we could have made 30m off him, and we have seen some more bad transfers from our end. Edu is trying to put an end to it, and that’s a good thing for the club. If we sell well, we buy well.
Right, that’s me done. See you in the comments.
TRVL
Sorry to hear about your loss – people who aren’t animal lovers will never understand how much a cat or dog is really part of the family and the huge hole they leave.
Marc-in my formative years I took the actually import of this relationship for granted…that couldn’t be further from the truth during my adult life…sincere thanks to you
Ambarish—I saw an article or two regarding Edu’s recent interview where he spoke of his unsung “hero”/thankless task maneuvers…sorry I’m not buying it…he’s likely just exhausted by how everyone with a Kool-Aid mustache is heaping flowers at MA’s feet, yet he’s being largely ignored or even disparaged…I did read something that provided a much more commonsensical take of our present situation:
“The impression given is that of a club who failed to properly prepare for the summer and who underestimated the market – both in terms of the cost of the incomings and the amount they could fetch for the players they wanted to sell. The apparent breakdown of their attempts to sell Nketiah to Marseille aren’t an unfortunate sideshow but a part of the framework of issues Arsenal have had coming in to August.”
I wonder to what extent Edu is actually involved in the details of these deals. Garlick and Lewis (they sound like an 18th century purveyor of gentleman’s relish or some obscure crossover Worcestershire sauce) I suspect are pulling the strings if not actually conducting the negotiations. Edu on the other hand is the glamorous ex-player and Brazilian Bunga-Bunga bimbo who presses the flesh. Who knows?
But from the Kroenke’s perspective, they’d surely favour putting their cash and assets in the hands of the background operators in suits.
Typically nebulous, just like everything else the club does.
Good to see ESR got on his pre season, Fulham score sheet after 10 minutes against Saville I think. He looks happy, and then I remembered he’s got Leno and Iwobi, as a welcoming party.
I agree with TRVL Palace was the better option if it had been an option that is. ESR has a good experienced manager to work with who will improve him and play to his strengths.
He might get the odd cup final, but it’s a stepping stone and a window to star in. The more he shines the bigger stages he’ll play on. I think he can play at the top tier clubs comfortably.
He has the ability and nous, just hope he stays injury free and keeps the right mindset.
KP
I would hope it’s all Edu and not our Lovely Jubbly pair of suits who to be fair haven’t had a sniff of a real player to sell since Obi Martin to Manure where a medical is expected soon. El B is the dark destroyer – asset guzzler.
ESR at £27m plus add ons was criminal.
We can’t sell Eddie because he can’t score goals, so teams who want to invest in him as an asset, are taking a chance on his skills locker and more importantly attitude.
We bought mostly badly for 5 years and had a lot of crap to get rid, so the pay offs began.
Who realistically is going to buy 2nd hand cast offs in Jesus and Zinny: Fulham? I don’t think they are good enough now.
Saudi awaits I’d imagine.
Our not so dynamic duo had Wenger to contend with and then El B and Edu; the dream team took over with very compliant Josh who pulls the strings or at least some of the purse ones.
Now 5 years in and we look back I think Messers Garlick and Lewes could be operating with a “don’t care get it done” brief and other clubs know. Our guys need leverage, but everyone else has got it, so we’re waiting for some.
We had 7 players we wanted to sell and the good oner were snapped up because we need the money.
I think that is evident now so get it done no matter what!
Tony
Providing he can stay fit he has the opportunity to put himself in the shop window. Fulham are one of those clubs who have a habit of picking up a big scalp or two over the course of a season – if you’re pulling the strings in a game like that people will sit up and take notice.
Marc
Let’s hope so I’ve love to see the lad do well.
Zinchenko just got the number changed on his back to #17.
This only means that he is not going anywhere.
Not much out there but this caught my eye.
Forest for Edu? Has Edu had enough of pushing trucks uphill for El B.
Might add more spice to KP’s earlier perceptive thoughts.
I’ll go no smoke without fire on this one.
“Arsenal transfer chief Edu targeted by Premier League rivals in Mikel Arteta blow
Arsenal transfer mastermind Edu has been key to the Gunners’ recent success under Mikel Arteta and the Gunners might have some concerns over his future with a Premier League rival eyeing him”
https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/arsenal-transfer-artea-edu-nottinghamforest-33388821
For the love of whoever you pray to not another Zinny season.
What happened to him going to Munich?
Marc
Munich probably did a 2nd view of Zinny’s last 2 seasons with us and decided he’s not good enough for the costs involved.
Just another poor buy by El B when he ran out of options when players don’t want to play for him. Only average players looking for big pay days with their greedy agents want to play for El B, such as Merino.
Reported that the Chavs have pulled out on VO. Is Edu around?
Probably, busy with his future away from El B and who would blame him?
Although there are tough times for some of us; TRVL’s sad loss; I have just got through the worst virus/covid I’ve ever had to deal with. I’m sure other readers have their own trips of life.
This song always makes me smile and lifts my spirits for it’s simplicity:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-diB65scQU
Hi Tony
Very sorry to hear you’ve been ill. Have you fully recovered?
Take it easy mate and keep getting some rest (I know that for you, ‘rest’ means doing everything at 100 mph rather than 200mph!).
Just seen your email. Fucking hell mate. Good to know you’re coming out if it. Dr Kroenkephobe prescribes lowering your activities from 100 to 90 miles an hour!
Ambarish
The problem with selling Eddie at a desired price is he hasnt been in the shop window. Potential buyers will assess his potential through watching the player and video footage. All they can see is him picking splinters out of his backside.
Eddie was prepared to take a pay cut to get the transfer over the line but AFC are being stubborn. Already El B is talking about having Eddie in the ranks for the new season. The OM position has been filled by an alternative player. The Ipswich Manager is interested in Eddie but only on a loan deal.
Kompany knows Zinny well – well enough to know that he is not good enough for BM.
KP
Thanks on the mend. Going to drive myself to a cool hotel in Korat tomorrow, then Khao Yai and then BKK next weekend for teacher meetings.
Got meetings along the way but will be doing the bare minimum. Still got a nasty blood issue to deal with so being in BKK is the best place for that; for now it’s 12 tablets a day to kill the inflammation.
Tony—best of luck on your travels…take care
as for team matters, we’re a fucking mess…underwhelming incomings, mismanaging outgoings and now it looks as if both Calafiori and Timber are injured…no wonder Zinchenko is prancing around in our new kit with a new number to boot, as he knows he ain’t going anywhere…think about how it will look if MA’s first choice midfielder, Zubimendi, ends up at Pool, which just might be a very real possibility…not to mention, Merino is back at training, as if I give a shit…no one wants to come here without exorbitant wages and ironclad assurances due to the problematic manner in which our manager conducts himself…same shit different mix
https://youtu.be/dbFf44SEP_c?si=QYZbIRfm8mgXQpw3
In case not seen, highlights from the 4-1 against Bayer Leverkusen. Looks like a pretty impressive display with – wait for it – some of the younger lads getting game time.
KP—one thing that pleasantly surprised me was the fact that Havertz was being deployed in the left-side 8 role again…if this is the plan moving forward and, as such, we’re planning on making a big splash up top, I would be far more confident in our chances…now this would require much of Kai, who was largely a passenger last season in the 8, but I’m far less concerned about that, considering MA’s right-heavy scheme, than having to overrely on Havertz as our primary Striker
this could likewise mean that our Merino pursuit is more about shoring up our midfield depth than finding a plug-and-play starter, which would make far more sense, especially if we could get him in for less than half of his supposed release clause…on the other hand, maybe that’s been a bit of a stumbling block, as Merino might have no interest in competing with Havertz for minutes, especially after watching MA roll out our gangly German each and every night regardless of the circumstances