The Arsenal FC - Related News and Development for 2018/2019

[anikulapo]

Much have been said about the Arsenal FC recruiting and scouting department, mostly by sections of the press, pundits, and many 'fans'.

One thing I've noticed though is that there are only very few players that these guys brought to the Arsenal, that left or were pushed out, and did not go on to either be successful in terms of trophies, or show that they are worth their wait in gold.

Arsenal fans (well at least the noisiest ones) are generally insatiable and deluded. They are largely responsible for pushing out most of these fine players in their prime.

Here are some examples:

Gervinho - still among the top scorers in the current season in Italy with Parma. Still doing his thing.

Schzesny - On his way to win a Scudetto, and has been very good for Juve this season

Fabianski - Has been among the top 10 keepers in the EPL over the past 5 years in my opinion. They ridiculed and called him Flappianski while he was at Arsenal

Ospina - Was deemed as not good enough, but has helped Napoli get to the 2nd position in Italy. If he comes back to Arsenal now, they'd still attack him and mock him.

Chambers - Has played very well in defence for Fulham, and filled in at midfield admirably as well

For me, supporting the players you have is much more practical and important than constantly mocking them and desiring what you don't have. I'm sure there are more examples. There are also some examples of players that were bought but didn't make it after being pushed out Denilson, Bischoff, Bendtner, come to mind.

Bottomline is that the Scouting department have gotten it right more often than they've been given credit for.

Einstein how did these guys do or how are they doing so far:

Chamakh

Denilson

Andre Santos

Nicholas Bendtner

Matthieu Flamini

And of course YAYA SANOGO



Oh I almost forgot Vito “Safe Hands” Mannone and Manuel “El Conquistador” Almunia




Jesu gbami ohhh ... what a failed post

I normally would read your stuff and pass cause you make empty noise most of the time, but sometimes, you do make sense.

The names you mentioned are good examples though I already alluded to that in my original post. Mentioning these names still does not negate the fact that they've gotten it right more often than not. They haven't been as bad as you have tried to paint them on here.

Oh so it’s now “you” eh? Why were you a coward hiding behind tags? If you want to address me do it like a man and stop hiding behind names and labels .

Anyway we could add names like Fran Merida, Ignacio Miquel, Park Chu Young, Densch Frimpong ...you wan make I continue

[Cally]

Much have been said about the Arsenal FC recruiting and scouting department, mostly by sections of the press, pundits, and many 'fans'.

One thing I've noticed though is that there are only very few players that these guys brought to the Arsenal, that left or were pushed out, and did not go on to either be successful in terms of trophies, or show that they are worth their wait in gold.

Arsenal fans (well at least the noisiest ones) are generally insatiable and deluded. They are largely responsible for pushing out most of these fine players in their prime.

Here are some examples:

Gervinho - still among the top scorers in the current season in Italy with Parma. Still doing his thing.

Schzesny - On his way to win a Scudetto, and has been very good for Juve this season

Fabianski - Has been among the top 10 keepers in the EPL over the past 5 years in my opinion. They ridiculed and called him Flappianski while he was at Arsenal

Ospina - Was deemed as not good enough, but has helped Napoli get to the 2nd position in Italy. If he comes back to Arsenal now, they'd still attack him and mock him.

Chambers - Has played very well in defence for Fulham, and filled in at midfield admirably as well

For me, supporting the players you have is much more practical and important than constantly mocking them and desiring what you don't have. I'm sure there are more examples. There are also some examples of players that were bought but didn't make it after being pushed out Denilson, Bischoff, Bendtner, come to mind.

Bottomline is that the Scouting department have gotten it right more often than they've been given credit for.

Einstein how did these guys do or how are they doing so far:

Chamakh

Denilson

Andre Santos

Nicholas Bendtner

Matthieu Flamini

And of course YAYA SANOGO



Oh I almost forgot Vito “Safe Hands” Mannone and Manuel “El Conquistador” Almunia




Jesu gbami ohhh ... what a failed post

I normally would read your stuff and pass cause you make empty noise most of the time, but sometimes, you do make sense.

The names you mentioned are good examples though I already alluded to that in my original post. Mentioning these names still does not negate the fact that they've gotten it right more often than not. They haven't been as bad as you have tried to paint them on here.

Oh so it’s now “you” eh? Why were you a coward hiding behind tags? If you want to address me do it like a man and stop hiding behind names and labels .

Anyway we could add names like Fran Merida, Ignacio Miquel, Park Chu Young, Densch Frimpong ...you wan make I continue

I will not get into your usual childish back and forth. If you feel you are one of those, as your response has shown, then you are one of those.

I've made my point.

[anikulapo]

Much have been said about the Arsenal FC recruiting and scouting department, mostly by sections of the press, pundits, and many 'fans'.

One thing I've noticed though is that there are only very few players that these guys brought to the Arsenal, that left or were pushed out, and did not go on to either be successful in terms of trophies, or show that they are worth their wait in gold.

Arsenal fans (well at least the noisiest ones) are generally insatiable and deluded. They are largely responsible for pushing out most of these fine players in their prime.

Here are some examples:

Gervinho - still among the top scorers in the current season in Italy with Parma. Still doing his thing.

Schzesny - On his way to win a Scudetto, and has been very good for Juve this season

Fabianski - Has been among the top 10 keepers in the EPL over the past 5 years in my opinion. They ridiculed and called him Flappianski while he was at Arsenal

Ospina - Was deemed as not good enough, but has helped Napoli get to the 2nd position in Italy. If he comes back to Arsenal now, they'd still attack him and mock him.

Chambers - Has played very well in defence for Fulham, and filled in at midfield admirably as well

For me, supporting the players you have is much more practical and important than constantly mocking them and desiring what you don't have. I'm sure there are more examples. There are also some examples of players that were bought but didn't make it after being pushed out Denilson, Bischoff, Bendtner, come to mind.

Bottomline is that the Scouting department have gotten it right more often than they've been given credit for.

Einstein how did these guys do or how are they doing so far:

Chamakh

Denilson

Andre Santos

Nicholas Bendtner

Matthieu Flamini

And of course YAYA SANOGO



Oh I almost forgot Vito “Safe Hands” Mannone and Manuel “El Conquistador” Almunia




Jesu gbami ohhh ... what a failed post

I normally would read your stuff and pass cause you make empty noise most of the time, but sometimes, you do make sense.

The names you mentioned are good examples though I already alluded to that in my original post. Mentioning these names still does not negate the fact that they've gotten it right more often than not. They haven't been as bad as you have tried to paint them on here.

Oh so it’s now “you” eh? Why were you a coward hiding behind tags? If you want to address me do it like a man and stop hiding behind names and labels .

Anyway we could add names like Fran Merida, Ignacio Miquel, Park Chu Young, Densch Frimpong ...you wan make I continue

I will not get into your usual childish back and forth. If you feel you are one of those, as your response has shown, then you are one of those.

I've made my point.

Er I made my point with facts. You can’t handle those facts and are now being churlish ... TYPICAL

[Waffiman]

Still missing the relevant bit eh!

Remember that bit you incorrectly claimed it was a 'done deal'.

Okay, I will help you out.

A number of names have been mentioned for the Technical Director role. Two of the criteria in place for that include, the person must be known and trusted by Emery or have a strong connection with Arsenal. Somebody who doesn’t tick either of those boxes is not going to be an ideal candidate. Of course, there are many other factors, I’m speaking broadly. That’s why Edu was mentioned, but I think he’s staying in Brazil where his family are based, even though he’s in Rio and they are in Sao Paulo, and he’s settled in his job with the national team. A few years ago I was told that because of the distance between Rio and Sao Paulo he was unsettled and looking for a new project that would reunite his family in the same place. There were people during the Wenger reign that would have liked him to come in then. Marc Overmars, for the same reason, has an Arsenal connection. On the flip side, a person with a link to Emery is Monchi [the AS Roma Technical Director]. I don’t know this for a fact but I have been told that he’s Sanllehi’s first choice and Emery’s first choice. There’s the Sevilla connection and things aren’t going particularly well at Roma, but he’s extremely highly regarded within the game. One person actually told me that it’s a done deal. I don’t know that for a fact and it’s not strong enough information for me to report it outright. That could be one that develops in the coming weeks. Arsenal really needs to get moving for the summer transfer window because other clubs are already holding their negotiations and doing their groundwork now.

Just this section is all you need to dismiss the whole Monchi story for the lies it truly is. The bottom line is you and TG are basing your Monchi story on this, especially the part of the so called done deal. I am not. I have given my thoughts and my reasoning.

I do not follow Arseblog, they are some Arsenal blokes who are good talking heads, it does not mean they know a thing. Just my opinion.

Unai Emery’s team is finally starting to progress, with consecutive wins last week and some overdue momentum, but away from the pitch Arsenal are as directionless as ever before.

The news earlier this week that Monchi has turned down Arsenal’s offer to be technical director, choosing to return to Sevilla instead, leaves their year of internal turmoil and turnover still unsuccessfully resolved. The sense that the club is still muddling its way through endures.

The reason that this is significant is that Arsenal were confident until very late in the day that they had secured the signing of Monchi from Roma. And that is why his late decision to reject them and return to Sevilla instead hurt so much. For Monchi it was a personal decision as much as a sporting one: Sevilla is his home and he wanted to go back. But it leaves Arsenal lost again, having failed to appoint their new technical director and wondering where to turn next.


This marks the continuation of the state Arsenal have been in all season, since Wenger was encouraged to step aside, and before Ivan Gazidis, the man who oversaw that transition, decided not to stick around for the aftermath and go and run AC Milan instead.

Back in November, after Gazidis left, Arsenal decided to create a new technical director role. The idea was that Raul Sanllehi would appoint someone before the end of 2018, who would oversee recruitment, the academy and the football side of the club. They could add more football expertise to a management team that sorely needed it.





TOP ARTICLES

The early favourite for the role was Sven Mislintat, the head of recruitment who arrived from Borussia Dortmund in November 2017, back when Wenger and Gazidis were still in place.

Mislintat had been in charge of signings in 2018 and had impressed in that role. Pierre Emerick Aubameyang and Sokratis Papastathopoulos had settled quickly into the first team while Bernd Leno and Matteo Guendouzi, picked up on the cheap from Lorient, were astute signings.


But in fact, Mislintat was surprisingly overlooked for the technical director role. After the departure of Gazidis, who had brought him to Arsenal, he was short on allies and had not built his own power base at the club. Having been passed over for this promotion, Mislintat left the club last month.

Mislintat was Arsenal’s third major departure in nine months, after Wenger and Gazidis, and still left Sanllehi looking for a new technical director for the club. Monchi had been popular for his work with Sevilla and Roma and was the leading external candidate.

mislintat-crop-0.png
Sven Mislintat was controversially overlooked for the role, leading to his departure (Getty)
The others in the frame for the role were two old colleagues of Sanllehi from Barcelona: Andoni Zubizaretta, who was Barcelona’s technical director from 2010 to 2015, overseeing the signings of Luis Suarez and Ivan Rakitic, and who was now at Marseille. And Roberto Fernandez, another former Barca player who had been a director there from 2015 to 2018.

Then there was Edu, the midfielder of the Wenger era, who has been working for the Brazil national team recently and was under strong consideration for the role. And Marc Overmars, who played for Arsenal in the late 1990s and was is technical director at Ajax, where he had overseen the club’s revival in European football. But just this month he has signed a new long-term deal to stay in Amsterdam.

Watch more

The inside story of Mislintat’s shock Arsenal exit
But now Arsenal have to consider going back to these candidates as they attempt to fill position. But there is a bigger question here than simply which well-paid football executive they are going to appoint. And that is what direction the club is meant to be going in. Without owners as ambitious as Liverpool and Manchester City, and without the experience of Wenger and Gazidis, the whole enterprise currently looks adrift.

There is a view is that the club lacks leadership or any sense of what it actually needs. With no clear plan, the club has been left making things up as they go along and is now finding that they are struggling to get other people to buy into it. Because until they know from the top what they want to be, and where they want to go, then how can they persuade anyone else to help them get there?

[Waffiman]

Much have been said about the Arsenal FC recruiting and scouting department, mostly by sections of the press, pundits, and many 'fans'.

One thing I've noticed though is that there are only very few players that these guys brought to the Arsenal, that left or were pushed out, and did not go on to either be successful in terms of trophies, or show that they are worth their wait in gold.

Arsenal fans (well at least the noisiest ones) are generally insatiable and deluded. They are largely responsible for pushing out most of these fine players in their prime.

Here are some examples:

Gervinho - still among the top scorers in the current season in Italy with Parma. Still doing his thing.

Schzesny - On his way to win a Scudetto, and has been very good for Juve this season

Fabianski - Has been among the top 10 keepers in the EPL over the past 5 years in my opinion. They ridiculed and called him Flappianski while he was at Arsenal

Ospina - Was deemed as not good enough, but has helped Napoli get to the 2nd position in Italy. If he comes back to Arsenal now, they'd still attack him and mock him.

Chambers - Has played very well in defence for Fulham, and filled in at midfield admirably as well

For me, supporting the players you have is much more practical and important than constantly mocking them and desiring what you don't have. I'm sure there are more examples. There are also some examples of players that were bought but didn't make it after being pushed out Denilson, Bischoff, Bendtner, come to mind.

Bottomline is that the Scouting department have gotten it right more often than they've been given credit for.

Einstein how did these guys do or how are they doing so far:

Chamakh

Denilson

Andre Santos

Nicholas Bendtner

Matthieu Flamini

And of course YAYA SANOGO



Oh I almost forgot Vito “Safe Hands” Mannone and Manuel “El Conquistador” Almunia




Jesu gbami ohhh ... what a failed post

I normally would read your stuff and pass cause you make empty noise most of the time, but sometimes, you do make sense.

The names you mentioned are good examples though I already alluded to that in my original post. Mentioning these names still does not negate the fact that they've gotten it right more often than not. They haven't been as bad as you have tried to paint them on here.

Oh so it’s now “you” eh? Why were you a coward hiding behind tags? If you want to address me do it like a man and stop hiding behind names and labels .

Anyway we could add names like Fran Merida, Ignacio Miquel, Park Chu Young, Densch Frimpong ...you wan make I continue

I will not get into your usual childish back and forth. If you feel you are one of those, as your response has shown, then you are one of those.

I've made my point.

Er I made my point with facts. You can’t handle those facts and are now being churlish ... TYPICAL

Incorrect. You hand picked a few players from Wenger 22 years at Arsenal. If you want facts list all Wenger's signings. What you will find as a fact is, you do not win 40% of the total trophies a club has won, build a stadium and compete with no money, if you are not very good in the transfer market.

Even in Wenger's absence, Emery's recent results have been built on at least 9 of the players under Wenger's tenure playing. It is how Emery overcame a run of bad results which could have been disastrous for him st the club. But you amongst others famously claimed Wenger left Emery rubbish players when we were not winning.

Wenger's greatness at Arsenal was built on his genius in the transfer market. If you want to have a full debate, I have all the signings at my fingertips all fully analysed objectively with criteria such as price, appearances, trophies won, etc.

[anikulapo]

Much have been said about the Arsenal FC recruiting and scouting department, mostly by sections of the press, pundits, and many 'fans'.

One thing I've noticed though is that there are only very few players that these guys brought to the Arsenal, that left or were pushed out, and did not go on to either be successful in terms of trophies, or show that they are worth their wait in gold.

Arsenal fans (well at least the noisiest ones) are generally insatiable and deluded. They are largely responsible for pushing out most of these fine players in their prime.

Here are some examples:

Gervinho - still among the top scorers in the current season in Italy with Parma. Still doing his thing.

Schzesny - On his way to win a Scudetto, and has been very good for Juve this season

Fabianski - Has been among the top 10 keepers in the EPL over the past 5 years in my opinion. They ridiculed and called him Flappianski while he was at Arsenal

Ospina - Was deemed as not good enough, but has helped Napoli get to the 2nd position in Italy. If he comes back to Arsenal now, they'd still attack him and mock him.

Chambers - Has played very well in defence for Fulham, and filled in at midfield admirably as well

For me, supporting the players you have is much more practical and important than constantly mocking them and desiring what you don't have. I'm sure there are more examples. There are also some examples of players that were bought but didn't make it after being pushed out Denilson, Bischoff, Bendtner, come to mind.

Bottomline is that the Scouting department have gotten it right more often than they've been given credit for.

Einstein how did these guys do or how are they doing so far:

Chamakh

Denilson

Andre Santos

Nicholas Bendtner

Matthieu Flamini

And of course YAYA SANOGO



Oh I almost forgot Vito “Safe Hands” Mannone and Manuel “El Conquistador” Almunia




Jesu gbami ohhh ... what a failed post

I normally would read your stuff and pass cause you make empty noise most of the time, but sometimes, you do make sense.

The names you mentioned are good examples though I already alluded to that in my original post. Mentioning these names still does not negate the fact that they've gotten it right more often than not. They haven't been as bad as you have tried to paint them on here.

Oh so it’s now “you” eh? Why were you a coward hiding behind tags? If you want to address me do it like a man and stop hiding behind names and labels .

Anyway we could add names like Fran Merida, Ignacio Miquel, Park Chu Young, Densch Frimpong ...you wan make I continue

I will not get into your usual childish back and forth. If you feel you are one of those, as your response has shown, then you are one of those.

I've made my point.

Er I made my point with facts. You can’t handle those facts and are now being churlish ... TYPICAL

Incorrect. You hand picked a few players from Wenger 22 years at Arsenal. If you want facts list all Wenger's signings. What you will find as a fact is, you do not win 40% of the total trophies a club has won, build a stadium and compete with no money, if you are not very good in the transfer market.

Even in Wenger's absence, Emery's recent results have been built on at least 9 of the players under Wenger's tenure playing. It is how Emery overcame a run of bad results which could have been disastrous for him st the club. But you amongst others famously claimed Wenger left Emery rubbish players when we were not winning.

Wenger's greatness at Arsenal was built on his genius in the transfer market. If you want to have a full debate, I have all the signings at my fingertips all fully analysed objectively with criteria such as price, appearances, trophies won, etc.

See Olodo

Still smarting from ya Monchi debacle eh?

Bushman ... he cherry picked players to make a point and I doubled his number to make my point ... so what again are you on about ?

I see you have unraveled from the slaps you’ve taken all week

Eh ya kpele ... learn to stop fibbing

[Rawlings]

Atletico star could be Fernandinho’s successor at City

Manchester - Manchester City are being linked with Atletico Madrid midfielder Thomas Partey as the search for Fernandinho’s long-term successor continues.

Fernandinho will turn 34 in a couple of months, and Pep Guardiola is keen to draft in someone who is capable of filling his boots at the Etihad Stadium for years to come.

After missing out on Jorginho, who signed for Chelsea last summer, the search has been stepped up with Wolves star Ruben Neves among the players to be linked.

Now reports are claiming that Atleti midfielder Partey is a top target and a priority for Guardiola as he continues to impress for Diego Simeone’s men in La Liga this season.

https://www.sport24.co.za/Soccer/Englis ... y-20190320

Transfer news: Inter want Atletico midfielder Thomas Partey
According to what has been reported by the Corriere dello Sport, Inter Milan are not solely after Atletico Madrid's Diego Godin but, as per the reports, are interested too in Ghanian midfielder Thomas Partey.

Partey is a rock in the heart of the Atletico midfield and consistently strong performances has led Ausilio and Marotta to pursue him as a target.

Although Inter are keen on Thomas Partey, they will face stern competition; reports from Spanish newspaper AS suggest that Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola wants Partey in Manchester as an heir to Fernandinho, who turns 34 at the start of May.
https://www.calciomercato.com/en/news/t ... rtey-21336

[Dammy]

Simeone is not treating Partey right.

[olu]

Partey is a solid 2 way midfielder. His runs are not quite as effective as Yaya's and he won't get as many goals, so I will slow down on calling him the next Yaya. I'm not sure why he doesn't start more games for Atletico? He needs to go to a club where he starts more games, not sure City is the right fit though.

[Rawlings]

Partey is a solid 2 way midfielder. His runs are not quite as effective as Yaya's and he won't get as many goals, so I will slow down on calling him the next Yaya. I'm not sure why he doesn't start more games for Atletico? He needs to go to a club where he starts more games, not sure City is the right fit though.

He starts 80% of their games (and in all important matches, e.g. real, Barcelona games)
Note: he was suspended for the lose in Torino

[danfo driver]

Why Is Guardiola only interested in Africans who can plays as DEFENSIVE midfielders and do the dirty work for his white players?

[Waffiman]

Einstein how did these guys do or how are they doing so far:

Chamakh

Denilson

Andre Santos

Nicholas Bendtner

Matthieu Flamini

And of course YAYA SANOGO



Oh I almost forgot Vito “Safe Hands” Mannone and Manuel “El Conquistador” Almunia




Jesu gbami ohhh ... what a failed post

I normally would read your stuff and pass cause you make empty noise most of the time, but sometimes, you do make sense.

The names you mentioned are good examples though I already alluded to that in my original post. Mentioning these names still does not negate the fact that they've gotten it right more often than not. They haven't been as bad as you have tried to paint them on here.

Oh so it’s now “you” eh? Why were you a coward hiding behind tags? If you want to address me do it like a man and stop hiding behind names and labels .

Anyway we could add names like Fran Merida, Ignacio Miquel, Park Chu Young, Densch Frimpong ...you wan make I continue

I will not get into your usual childish back and forth. If you feel you are one of those, as your response has shown, then you are one of those.

I've made my point.

Er I made my point with facts. You can’t handle those facts and are now being churlish ... TYPICAL

Incorrect. You hand picked a few players from Wenger 22 years at Arsenal. If you want facts list all Wenger's signings. What you will find as a fact is, you do not win 40% of the total trophies a club has won, build a stadium and compete with no money, if you are not very good in the transfer market.

Even in Wenger's absence, Emery's recent results have been built on at least 9 of the players under Wenger's tenure playing. It is how Emery overcame a run of bad results which could have been disastrous for him st the club. But you amongst others famously claimed Wenger left Emery rubbish players when we were not winning.

Wenger's greatness at Arsenal was built on his genius in the transfer market. If you want to have a full debate, I have all the signings at my fingertips all fully analysed objectively with criteria such as price, appearances, trophies won, etc.

See Olodo

Still smarting from ya Monchi debacle eh?

Bushman ... he cherry picked players to make a point and I doubled his number to make my point ... so what again are you on about ?

I see you have unraveled from the slaps you’ve taken all week

Eh ya kpele ... learn to stop fibbing

See as I dismantle your so called done deal.

[danfo driver]

Ornstein says on Arseblog podcast that his sources say Monchi to Arsenal is a done deal....

I have heard that too. But I wait and see. Something like this must happen or else, I see season tickets piling up unsold in the summer.

So less than a month later you now claim Monchi to Arsenal is a fable eh? What voices do you listen to bikonu

Waffi ohhh ... why do you make me do this to you

Read and comprehend. I heard the rumour. But it turned out to be BS.

Ornstien was spreading BS rumours. Arsenal were not interested in Monchi.

You are officially nuts

The whole world is wrong, even Monchi who thanked Arsenal for their interest ( the same interest you agreed to have heard) .... but Delusional Always Wrong Waffi should be believed instead???



You and Donald Trump are kindred spirits Two Nutters

[Rawlings]

Why Is Guardiola only interested in Africans who can plays as DEFENSIVE midfielders and do the dirty work for his white players?

Because, Africans are interested in Africans to do the dirty work for black players without pay.

Go ask our local players.
we don't even take care of our own.

[txj]

Mark Ogden, Moises Llorens
http://www.espn.com/soccer/soccer-trans ... ar-sources

Manchester City are closing in on a summer deal for Saul Niguez after moving ahead of Barcelona in the race to sign the Atletico Madrid midfielder, sources have told ESPN FC.

City manager Pep Guardiola has identified Saul, 24, as a long term replacement for Fernandinho, having failed to beat Barcelona to the signing of first choice Frenkie de Jong from Ajax. De Jong rejected interest from City and Paris Saint-German in January to sign a pre-contract agreement with Barca ahead of a €75m summer move to Camp Nou.

Despite capturing the highly-rated Netherlands international, Barcelona have also tracked Saul as they attempt to reduce the average age of Ernesto Valverde's squad. But sources have told ESPN FC that Barca have been made aware of City already making firm steps to seal a deal for the Spain midfielder.

Saul's representatives have been in contact with Barcelona for the last few months. "He can't stay at Atletico anymore, everything's complicated for him there," a source told ESPN FC.

Now, 10 points behind the leaders in La Liga and out of the Champions League and Copa del Rey, the midfielder doesn't see a future at the Wanda Metropolitano.

Barca have been fans of Saul's versatility for a long time. When they sold David Villa to Atletico in 2013, president Josep Maria Bartomeu ensured the deal included a first option on three players: Saul, Koke and right-back Javier Manquillo (now at Newcastle).

Saul had been open to a move to Barcelona but his people have now informed the Catalan club his final destination will be Manchester.

Atletico's elimination from the Champions League last week, suffering a 3-2 aggregate defeat against Juventus, has raised doubts over the futures of several key players at the Wanda Metropolitano.

Sources said that Atletico will need to raise funds in the summer through player sales, prompting Barca to pursue Saul. While Atletico are eager to hold out for around €120m, sources said a fee of €80m would be enough to finalise a transfer.

With City spending almost two years searching for a replacement for Brazil international Fernandinho, who will be 34 in May, they are now set to win the race for Saul at the end of this season.

As well as missing out on De Jong, City have also seen previous targets Fred and Jorginho move elsewhere, to Manchester United and Chelsea respectively.

Speaking about his Atletico teammate while on international duty with Spain, Chelsea's on-loan striker Alvaro Morata said: "The market is always like that. In every window big-name players are linked to top clubs.

"Saul is one of the best players in his position and he is also young. There's no doubt that anyone would be interested in having him. We are lucky to have him. I hope he stays because he is an asset to Atletico and he is a great person. We need him to stay."

[Rawlings]

Mark Ogden, Moises Llorens
http://www.espn.com/soccer/soccer-trans ... ar-sources

Fake News from the Lame Stream Media
Propaganda from an unemployed Naijaman

This is real news
https://en.as.com/en/2019/03/19/footbal ... 37982.html
https://www.teamtalk.com/news/guardiola ... rid-target

[txj]

@ Waffiman,

Disagree with your assessment of Monchi at Roma.

Next to Barca, Madrid, Dortmund; Roma have arguably the best assemblage of young talent in Europe.

Yes they have had a poor season and all. Yes, some of Monchi's big bets (Pastore) did not pay off..But they have a reservoir of high quality young talent that will serve them well for years. And in Di Francesco, they had one of the better young Italian managers.

I listen to the owner Paloschi here in the States a bit; a very emotional guy..simply lost his nerve and started firing everybody...

What I don't like about Monchi though, is how he's forced Sevilla to fire Pablo Machin in his first season...Really rate Machin...

[kalani JR]

Mark Ogden, Moises Llorens
http://www.espn.com/soccer/soccer-trans ... ar-sources

Manchester City are closing in on a summer deal for Saul Niguez after moving ahead of Barcelona in the race to sign the Atletico Madrid midfielder, sources have told ESPN FC.

City manager Pep Guardiola has identified Saul, 24, as a long term replacement for Fernandinho, having failed to beat Barcelona to the signing of first choice Frenkie de Jong from Ajax. De Jong rejected interest from City and Paris Saint-German in January to sign a pre-contract agreement with Barca ahead of a €75m summer move to Camp Nou.

Despite capturing the highly-rated Netherlands international, Barcelona have also tracked Saul as they attempt to reduce the average age of Ernesto Valverde's squad. But sources have told ESPN FC that Barca have been made aware of City already making firm steps to seal a deal for the Spain midfielder.

Saul's representatives have been in contact with Barcelona for the last few months. "He can't stay at Atletico anymore, everything's complicated for him there," a source told ESPN FC.

Now, 10 points behind the leaders in La Liga and out of the Champions League and Copa del Rey, the midfielder doesn't see a future at the Wanda Metropolitano.

Barca have been fans of Saul's versatility for a long time. When they sold David Villa to Atletico in 2013, president Josep Maria Bartomeu ensured the deal included a first option on three players: Saul, Koke and right-back Javier Manquillo (now at Newcastle).

Saul had been open to a move to Barcelona but his people have now informed the Catalan club his final destination will be Manchester.

Atletico's elimination from the Champions League last week, suffering a 3-2 aggregate defeat against Juventus, has raised doubts over the futures of several key players at the Wanda Metropolitano.

Sources said that Atletico will need to raise funds in the summer through player sales, prompting Barca to pursue Saul. While Atletico are eager to hold out for around €120m, sources said a fee of €80m would be enough to finalise a transfer.

With City spending almost two years searching for a replacement for Brazil international Fernandinho, who will be 34 in May, they are now set to win the race for Saul at the end of this season.

As well as missing out on De Jong, City have also seen previous targets Fred and Jorginho move elsewhere, to Manchester United and Chelsea respectively.

Speaking about his Atletico teammate while on international duty with Spain, Chelsea's on-loan striker Alvaro Morata said: "The market is always like that. In every window big-name players are linked to top clubs.

"Saul is one of the best players in his position and he is also young. There's no doubt that anyone would be interested in having him. We are lucky to have him. I hope he stays because he is an asset to Atletico and he is a great person. We need him to stay."

Saul Niggaz

[Rawlings]

Mark Ogden, Moises Llorens
http://www.espn.com/soccer/soccer-trans ... ar-sources

Saul Niggaz

Sour Niggaz

[anikulapo]

https://www.football.london/arsenal-fc/ ... d-16003868


Bukayo Saka keeps turning heads on the football field

[Siddonlook11]

@ Waffiman,

Disagree with your assessment of Monchi at Roma.

Next to Barca, Madrid, Dortmund; Roma have arguably the best assemblage of young talent in Europe.

Yes they have had a poor season and all. Yes, some of Monchi's big bets (Pastore) did not pay off..But they have a reservoir of high quality young talent that will serve them well for years. And in Di Francesco, they had one of the better young Italian managers.

I listen to the owner Paloschi here in the States a bit; a very emotional guy..simply lost his nerve and started firing everybody...

What I don't like about Monchi though, is how he's forced Sevilla to fire Pablo Machin in his first season...Really rate Machin...

They fired him ! and Monchi right after ( Monchi says he resigned )...

Roma gaffer is now Claudio Ranieri...

[King Futcha]

don't do it APOY.

[kalani JR]

don't do it APOY.

He needs to get out of dodge, Atleti is dying.