Problem with Levy is that he hurts his own club out of stubbornness and takes transfers too personally when he should be using a business brain to move forward, surely if HK wants to leave with one year left and a club are willing to stump up the best part of 100m he should take it and give his new manager a decent transfer budget, the other option is having a disgruntled player who puts little effort in over the next year and happily leaves for free in 12 months.
I don't think he's (DL) much of a pragmatist and as you rightly say takes it too personally ("I'll show you Mr. Kane, you aren't leaving until I say you can leave and for where, and for how much and if I feel like it....") as you rightly said.
But with HK he trades on the fact that the player has been so (too?!) loyal to the club and that Kane's brother, Charlie, is his agent (and the only client of CK66 Ltd) so I very much doubt he's got much of a chance negotiating with someone like Levy......
Personally I'd love to see Kane at a top flight club where he can shine. If he can score 30 goals in a season for Tottenham imagine what he could net at a club with better players all around him. And even though he's 29 I reckon any club would get another good 3-5 years out of Harry.
Last edited by Gareth-W; 22nd June 2023 at 17:16.
Some noise that Rice has indicated he prefers the Arsenal option due to the plan Arteta has to make him captain and build a side around him, plus commitments he gave to Arteta. If true Arsenal need to pony up the readies.
I must be the only person who sees Rice as overpriced. He’s certainly no replacement for Gundogan, not even close, so don’t understand why City would be interested. If, as it seems more likely, Bernardo heads to Saudi, City need someone more creative.
They need to keep midfield numbers and quality high so yes, signing Rice is understandable. Arsenal shouldn't have pissed about trying to get him on the cheap. They know the price and his worth as a top English young player. If Arsenal were serious then Edu would have gone to Sullivan and said "what will it take to get the deal done today?"
Looks like they've missed out. Let's be honest though, we'd all (apart from Arsenal fans) go to City before Arsenal.
He'll be our new Giroud (only Kane and Haaland scored more headers last season*) and matched Xhaka for goals last season (7) so he'll continue to be wasteful and do the Giroud finger slapping pain thing. We do like having at least one German at Arsenal.
Thomas Partey agrees personal terms with Juventus over £17m move from Arsenal after snubbing Saudi Arabia offers- that's some piss poor business for someone with 2 years left on contract and was one of our best players last season. I'd rather him on in a wheelchair than Vieira who is far too lightweight for the EPL so far.
*I saw that on some clip, no idea if that stat is correct (as only 3 in EPL) so maybe all competitions or the clip was created by his agent
Yep I suspect you’re right. I thought the same thing.
On the one hand I’d happily go to Arsenal and try and help them win trophies and would be really satisfying being the difference maker.
But if Pep came and seduced me with almost guaranteed trophies and a promise of lots of games then I’d follow him to the Etihad.
I doubt Rice would sit on the bench but we often see that with some signings that just don’t work out. I hope it doesn’t with Rice.
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Rice hasn't gone to City gents, Arsenal still favourites to get him. Re asking West Ham for the 'do it now price', dealing with Sullivan like that will be like nailing jelly to the wall, he was always going to try and get into a bidding war. And contrary to popular opinion City can't outbid Arsenal as easily as some say - they have FFP restrictions, have signed Kovacic and will probably need to spend £80m+ on Gvardiol plus City actually have a recent history of not going past their own set limit on a player- examples being Maguire who went to United and Cuccarella who went to Chelsea.
So it depends on what they will get to bid wise, plus whether the lure of working for Pep and being alongside world class players overrides being part of a great project, staying in London etc. We will see.
Latest offer from Arsenal for Rice is apparently £105m plus add on fees. Madness.
What quality ?
He’s not a goal scorer or assist maker.
105m for a combative CM is absolutely mental.
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Yeah, he's crap all right. Scores important goals.
https://youtu.be/uKQM1o3NhhU
Cheers,
Neil.
I think most observors would rate him as a quality player even if he doesn't rank highly in terms of goals and assists. West Ham had a pretty average domestic season and that has a massive impact on the ability of those stats.
There will be plenty more stats like tackles, no of passes, pass completion, chances created, dribbles, distance covered that all add up to (probably) very good player.
FWIW he's ranked 13th in the FPL Midfielder rankings in terms of Influence just behind March, Neves and Madddison and above Son, Rhodri and Xhaka.
1. Influence
Influence evaluates the degree to which a player has made an impact on a single match or throughout the season. It takes into account events and actions that could directly or indirectly effect the outcome of the fixture.
At the top level these are decisive actions like goals and assists. But the Influence score also processes significant defensive actions to analyse the effectiveness of defenders and goalkeepers.
Overall though I agree that the price being talked about it too high and its being driven by a bidding war rather than actual 'worth'. If Bellingham is £88MM plus add ons I don't think Rice will have as much impact whatever stat you may bring.
He is a quality player and will make Arsenal a better team and West Ham will miss him, don't think he's worth 100mil, 60-70 maybe, but then we did pay £72mil for Pepe so 100mil for Rice is a bargain!
Problem for Rice is he looks good in a below average Prem team, put him with equal players and I dont think he'll be quite as impressive, I'm sure he'll blossom in a big club but 105m has a massive England player tax in that price..
Well he has the choice between joining a club with history and class or joining a soulless plastic club with 115 charges hanging over them for being cheats.
Choices, choices.
I know it’s the Italian league but just watching Tonali’s goals and assists from this season gone on YouTube.
If Rice is worth £90M+ then Tonali is a ‘bargain’ at €70M.
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Tonali is quality, my Italian colleagues say he is a superb player but Milan have no option but to accept an offer of that magnitude. And my Dutch colleagues are saying Jurrien Timber is a fantastic player as well and he seems inbound to the Emirates with strangely little attention from other clubs.
Apologies, I should have been more specific and said a history of winning things without financial doping.
Anyway let's see, looks like West Ham have accepted Arsenal's latest bid.
As an aside Partey was one of the best defensive midfielders in the PL last season and arguably Arsenal's best player for all but the last 6 games when he went off the boil (like pretty much the whole team did). 2 years left on his contract and it seems he will go to Juventus for 20m Euros. That seems ridiculously underpriced. Without getting into hot water I suspect with some of the alleged crimes hanging over his head that has reduced the asking price quite a lot but I had him down as a £40-£50m player
Yes I think one of the reasons Arsenal started last season so well is they got their transfers done quickly and had a full pre season to bed the new players in. United were the opposite last year and I fear for them this season also if the takeover drags and they end up having to pay over the odds for the last turkeys in the shop.
Liverpool seem to have done some good business early this window and Newcastle also are buying smart and fast. People talk about the pull of the 'Arsenal Project' as an alternative to Man City but for me the Newcastle Project is the most exciting out there - to be a part of a real transition. Interesting times.
Don’t rate Rice and wouldn’t be keen to see him at City. Doubt they will pay the figures being banded about. Could be another Pep master move to push the price up for Arsenal. A la Cucurella and Fred and Sanchez
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Based on all those summer signings I can see Everton competing for Europe next season.
In the same dream Goldsmiths phoned me and said come in and collect your Daytona
He excels in nothing. 120m is absolutely mental.
He’s a 50m player max, it’s honestly baffling. It would make him the highest fee ever payer for an English player and the highest premier league transfer fee ever by 20m.
It’s absolutely round the bend.
You could buy March, neves and Maddison for the same price as Rice.
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Interesting on the Mount vs. Rice debate. They both seem to be going this summer, but for very different values.
Who would you take over the other for your team?
Personally, don't think either of them are world class level at the moment but perhaps Rice would have more of an impact on a team than Mount?
Grealish went for £100m and he's not an England starter so I guess price has been established there. Sure, he plays in a different position but Rice is probably more elite level than Grealish and with more potential.
Still think both are £60m players. I think of £100m as Mbappe level but I guess times have moved on.
Being an an England starter is no gauge of a players value Ryan. I think that many outside of Manchester (the blue half) may have a view on Grealish that doesn’t tally with his value to our team now. That for me is the value that is a players true value….. how he will impact and better my team. I didn’t initially see this with Jack, but that is why we have far better informed people than me recruiting and putting the pieces of the jigsaw together.
I think Rice is a decent midfield player, but I genuinely don’t understand the value being placed on him. I also don’t see how he will better my team, but as noted above, better people than me may see that. Hammers fans who watch him every week tell me he is worth it, but I still can’t see it. He isn’t a patch on Rodders, who looked like a bull in a china shop when we initially signed him. As did Fernandinho. Both turned out to be fantastic for us. In fact what I would term club legends. One of the strengths that people don’t recognise in Pep is how he can improve players and make them work within the system. I still don’t think we need Rice, but I have learned to trust in our recruitment process. I also think Kelvin Phillips will come good. For all the nonsense spoken about him last year, he is a top player and was injured when qe bought him. Then suffered another serious injury. If he stays he will come good.
What I hear about Rice is that he has true leadership qualities as well as on field abilities. He's a captain in waiting for a big club and probably England.
Whether City need him or not I don't know - I think you have a great chance to win the PL with or without him. If Arsenal got him would he make it more likely they would win the PL next year (even if City would remain favourites)? Absolutely. So I guess he is worth more to Arsenal than he is to City.
I think Declan Rice is a good player. Is he worth £100 +? I don't think so! There again I don't think any player is worth that sort of money! The prices players get sold for nowadays is mental! So what do I know!
I also dont think if he went to Arsenal , that they would win the league either. As for a choice between Man. City or Arsenal? Its a no brainer ! Triple winners, or a side that won nothing last year? If it were me, I know where I would go! (and Im a Man United fan!).
As for the comparison between him and Mason Mount? They play different roles. Mason Mount would be a million times better than Fred or Mc Tominay...Casemiro is great but he hasn't got the legs, plus too many bookings/red cards, so maybe with Mount alongside him, he would be would get less bookings! as Mount would help out more than Ericsson (who also hasnt got the legs! but a great player anyway!).
Hope United get a keeper as well. De Gea has been great, at saving with his legs. In my opinion though, he has always been rubbish at crosses, rubbish at commanding the area, cant play the ball out and is physically too weak. All that said, hes been a great servant to the club, with fantastic wages being paid to him.
Rice is one of the best technically, he keeps it in the locker at West Ham as he has to be the more measured, organising, dependable player in that team. A 6, a holder.
If he went to City, I think he would be playing more like Bernardo Silva, Gundo, KDB, rather and Rodri or Phillips, so more an 8, a box to box midfielder.
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Last edited by xxnick1975; 24th June 2023 at 14:54.
Seems like Rice has made it clear he favours a move to Arsenal over City and West Ham are urging Arsenal to make a 3rd bid to finalise quickly