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[Albion] Alfonso Pedraza



b.w.2.

Well-known member
Jan 8, 2004
5,189
Lewis?


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Braggfan

In the beginning there was nothing, which exploded
May 12, 2014
1,982
Gotta agree versatility is a Potter-loved attribute, so this one seems likely. Still don’t understand what Bernie has done to be so out of favour


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I think it's more about what Bernie hasn't done, such as successfully pass to a team mate.
 




Hugo Rune

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Feb 23, 2012
23,674
Brighton
We've been linked with Lewis?

Only in my mind!

Liverpool failed to get him but they’ll be a host of suitors set on plucking him out of the Championship. You’d have to hope we’ll be one of them.

However, due to the fee, I think we’d have exchange someone like March or Bernardo to get that deal over the line.
 


b.w.2.

Well-known member
Jan 8, 2004
5,189
I think it's more about what Bernie hasn't done, such as successfully pass to a team mate.

Harsh


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Braggfan

In the beginning there was nothing, which exploded
May 12, 2014
1,982
Harsh


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Yeah it was a bit harsh, sorry. But he does have very poor passing stats. His pass completion is one of the lowest in the squad
 












Badger Boy

Mr Badger
Jan 28, 2016
3,658
Our recruitment team must be wondering why they bother at times they identify plenty of players within the budget who then go on to sell for millions a season later :facepalm:

I'm sure our recruitment team understands that not every player they identify is going to be a realisitic signing for us. This guy is playing for Villarreal, not some tiny little provincial club we can flirt with any drop some cash to. Not every player is desperate to chase the bundles of cash offered by the EPL. Would you choose to leave Villarreal and European football in order to move to an English team fighting relegation on an annual basis?

The recruitment team presumably understand their role rather well and will take any suggestion they were right about a player as a very positive endorsement of their scouting prowess.
 




Badger Boy

Mr Badger
Jan 28, 2016
3,658
The same Chelsea that spent 50m on Chilwell last summer.

Chelsea certainly have a very narrow scope of focus in the transfer market. It's all very immediate for them, there's very little squad building going on. It's a very strange model and it's a shame in a lot of ways that they're able to keep themselves at the top of the game. Or as close as they are, at least.

They spent big money on Chilwell, despite already having Marcos Alonso and Emmerson still there. Neither moved on.

Not to mention being linked with a huge bid to bring Romelu Lukaku back to the club, to replace the £50m striker they signed last summer in Timo Werner.
 




blue-shifted

Banned
Feb 20, 2004
7,645
a galaxy far far away
Chelsea certainly have a very narrow scope of focus in the transfer market. It's all very immediate for them, there's very little squad building going on. It's a very strange model and it's a shame in a lot of ways that they're able to keep themselves at the top of the game. Or as close as they are, at least.

They spent big money on Chilwell, despite already having Marcos Alonso and Emmerson still there. Neither moved on.

Not to mention being linked with a huge bid to bring Romelu Lukaku back to the club, to replace the £50m striker they signed last summer in Timo Werner.

Hmm, well they do have handy youth teams, plus even more players loaned out than we do
 


Badger Boy

Mr Badger
Jan 28, 2016
3,658
Hmm, well they do have handy youth teams, plus even more players loaned out than we do

Is it a youth team? Or is it a farm for young players? I appreciate that we're taking a similar approach to developing younger players but I feel like there's a chance of them playing for our first team. Mason Mount is a real exception to the rule at Chelsea, Abraham was a key player last season but he's out of the picture now - which is incredibly harsh considering his goal return is better than Werner. Otherwise, young players can't break through at Chelsea but I feel like they can here.

If you're a young player at Chelsea, I'm not sure playing for their first team is the real ambition. I think they know that simply being a young player at Chelsea gives you opportunities that you wouldn't get at lesser clubs and you're likely either to have a contract at Chelsea to give you security, albeit with multiple loan spells along the way, or you're able to get a club through having played in Chelsea's youth structure.
 


macbeth

Dismembered
Jan 3, 2018
4,172
six feet beneath the moon
I'm sure our recruitment team understands that not every player they identify is going to be a realisitic signing for us. This guy is playing for Villarreal, not some tiny little provincial club we can flirt with any drop some cash to. Not every player is desperate to chase the bundles of cash offered by the EPL. Would you choose to leave Villarreal and European football in order to move to an English team fighting relegation on an annual basis?

The recruitment team presumably understand their role rather well and will take any suggestion they were right about a player as a very positive endorsement of their scouting prowess.

Obviously we don't know the ins and outs of why the deal wasn't done but, let's not rewrite things and say that he was an unrealistic target for us.

He wasn't even playing for Villarreal last season, the club he was on loan at, Betis (who finished 15th), had an option to buy for 8 million which they couldn't afford. It's all in the original Argus article.

We know cash was a bit tight last summer, and it might have been the case that he just wasn't interested at all, but if we're chalking up potential transfers like this as unrealistic, we may as well pack up and go home.
 


Machiavelli

Well-known member
Oct 11, 2013
17,770
Fiveways
Is it a youth team? Or is it a farm for young players? I appreciate that we're taking a similar approach to developing younger players but I feel like there's a chance of them playing for our first team. Mason Mount is a real exception to the rule at Chelsea, Abraham was a key player last season but he's out of the picture now - which is incredibly harsh considering his goal return is better than Werner. Otherwise, young players can't break through at Chelsea but I feel like they can here.

If you're a young player at Chelsea, I'm not sure playing for their first team is the real ambition. I think they know that simply being a young player at Chelsea gives you opportunities that you wouldn't get at lesser clubs and you're likely either to have a contract at Chelsea to give you security, albeit with multiple loan spells along the way, or you're able to get a club through having played in Chelsea's youth structure.

Agree with this and your previous post, although I'd add that Reece James is another to come through of late. As a related aside, Mount is a cracking player, and Southgate has struck gold with him and Foden shining at the same time.
Back to the Chelsea thing, the contrast between Loftus-Cheek when on loan at Palace who tore us apart, and the pale shadow that has been in evidence this season is striking. His career has gone backwards, and the Chelsea farm situation seems the prime culprit for this.
 




Badger Boy

Mr Badger
Jan 28, 2016
3,658
Obviously we don't know the ins and outs of why the deal wasn't done but, let's not rewrite things and say that he was an unrealistic target for us.

He wasn't even playing for Villarreal last season, the club he was on loan at, Betis (who finished 15th), had an option to buy for 8 million which they couldn't afford. It's all in the original Argus article.

We know cash was a bit tight last summer, and it might have been the case that he just wasn't interested at all, but if we're chalking up potential transfers like this as unrealistic, we may as well pack up and go home.

I didn't say I thought he was an unrealistic target. Personally, I think that we offer Premier League football which is a huge draw for any footballer. We have an infrastructure at the club which is top class, our City is an attractive place to live and I think we absolutely should compete to sign any player we deem worthy. We have a lot to offer any player so there's no reason why we shouldn't compete but my point was more that we can't expect every player to be falling over themselves to sign for us.

Edit - Actually, I re-read my original post and I did say that "not every player they identify is going to be a realisitic signing for us" which was clumsy wording given I went on to say why I thought Pedraza might not be keen to join us. I wasn't clear in my wording so I understand your point - I hope I clarified mine a bit better in this post.

Agree with this and your previous post, although I'd add that Reece James is another to come through of late. As a related aside, Mount is a cracking player, and Southgate has struck gold with him and Foden shining at the same time.
Back to the Chelsea thing, the contrast between Loftus-Cheek when on loan at Palace who tore us apart, and the pale shadow that has been in evidence this season is striking. His career has gone backwards, and the Chelsea farm situation seems the prime culprit for this.

I had forgotten Reece James. I don't rate him overly highly, although he is clearly a good young player. Mount on the other hand, I think is a brilliant player and a future England 100 cap player. Loftus-Cheek really needs to settle into a position to recapture his form, I think he's a very good player indeed but his versatility is preventing him really settling into a team. To be fair to Chelsea, they are certainly producing a good number of players who play in the Premier League but I think the transition to Tuchel as manager makes it less likely young players will get a chance going forward.
 
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