Mid-window review: ins/outs?

[djhotspur]

Maybe, but still not worth the money he'd cost though. I also remember us talking to him before he went to Barca and we weren't overly impressed with the way his people dealt with things.

Agreed he’s barely ripped up trees in la liga. He runs down a lot of blind alley ways. If we are gonna spend 80m on a winger there’s better out there.

 

[Ghost Hardware]

Maybe, but still not worth the money he'd cost though. I also remember us talking to him before he went to Barca and we weren't overly impressed with the way his people dealt with things.

Fundamentally he’s just not a good enough upgrade on what we currently have. Similar skill set as well. He’s the sort of target I could imagine us liking pre Ange, but honestly it would make zero sense 27 & big wages. I’m genuinely surprised he’s on our list. I expect him to go to ether Saudi or maybe Arsenal, if they can afford him, come summer.

 

[Ghost Hardware]

Get Kelly in on a free. Covers (like Davies) cb and lb and has real pace.
Agree we need a HG younger back up GK but I guess forster can still do the job.
See how werner gets on and then make a call as he’s super cheap.
Gio, see if he can stay fit but I’d keep him as he’s cheap and adds real value when he plays. Would be an excellent option when we need a goal.
We absolutely need to go big on a winger, a Neto or equivalent, pay whatever it takes to get the player in we want, they need to be a real game changer and there’s no reason if we are in the champions league, can shift some players like hojberg, Gil etc we can’t spend big on 1 player.

I agree with pretty much all of this the only one thing is Kelly. It would certainly be a sensible option but everything I have heard about Phillips is that he's been impressing a lot since he's been on loan. If he continues to impress then I would really like to give him a shot at the 4th back up position because if not then why did we buy him. It also doesn't send a great message out to other potential youth players if we just side line them in favour of more developed players. Considering VDV, Radu, Kelly and Romero are all young Phillips would be right in thinking he is very unlikely to get a real shot here any time soon. It's a tricky balance obviously as you still want to challange but ultimately we should be utilising players like Donley, Devine, Hall, Phillips etc rather then ignoring their existence. Unless of course Ange doesn't think they are or will be good enough.

This season I can understand why Ange is maybe taking a more cautious approach to youth players as he is still trying to imbed his tactics on the senior team and trying to properly integrate young players at this point might be to disruptive. But next season I'm hoping they feature more prominently as it seems we have some rather promising ones.

 

[FrankSpencer]

I’d love Olise, but I see he’s done his hammy again! Very worrying.

 

[Tucker]

I’d love Olise, but I see he’s done his hammy again! Very worrying.

He‘d never be able to cope in our team.

 

[superted4]

I agree with pretty much all of this the only one thing is Kelly. It would certainly be a sensible option but everything I have heard about Phillips is that he's been impressing a lot since he's been on loan. If he continues to impress then I would really like to give him a shot at the 4th back up position because if not then why did we buy him. It also doesn't send a great message out to other potential youth players if we just side line them in favour of more developed players. Considering VDV, Radu, Kelly and Romero are all young Phillips would be right in thinking he is very unlikely to get a real shot here any time soon. It's a tricky balance obviously as you still want to challange but ultimately we should be utilising players like Donley, Devine, Hall, Phillips etc rather then ignoring their existence. Unless of course Ange doesn't think they are or will be good enough.

This season I can understand why Ange is maybe taking a more cautious approach to youth players as he is still trying to imbed his tactics on the senior team and trying to properly integrate young players at this point might be to disruptive. But next season I'm hoping they feature more prominently as it seems we have some rather promising ones.

Foe me, at his age, Phillips needs to be playing every week, not once every other week or in a cup competition, like he would been the 4th choice. Playing weekly, even if again at plymouth, will do more for his development that playing a bit part. I'd get kelly on a free and that gives phillips 2 years worth of growth elsewhere, as long as we pick the right loans for him.

 

[Nick-TopSpursMan]

Love Olise as a player but we should avoid him at all costs. He's having an absolute nightmare with his hamstring injury and I think Palace have managed his rehab terribly which could lead to recurring problems for the rest of his career.

Neto is far less of an injury risk imo because the nature of Neto's injuries have largely been bad luck and would hopefully not lead to as many recurring issues.

Someone mentioned we need a RW and that's definitely true but I still think we desperately need a LW too. Forget signing a striker and just concentrate on 2 quality wide players, 1 for each side.

Someone to potentially look at when he returns from injury is Luca Koleosho at Burnley. He was really impressing before he injured his knee. Only 19 too.

 

[felmani26]

Buying a CB - or one that can't adequately cover at LB - seems superfluous to me now and a waste of resources.

 

[Tucker]

Buying a CB - or one that can't adequately cover at LB - seems superfluous to me now and a waste of resources.

Spending big seems pointless. But getting in Kelly might be good succession planning for when Davies eventually leaves.

 

[bceej]

Love Olise as a player but we should avoid him at all costs. He's having an absolute nightmare with his hamstring injury and I think Palace have managed his rehab terribly which could lead to recurring problems for the rest of his career.

Neto is far less of an injury risk imo because the nature of Neto's injuries have largely been bad luck and would hopefully not lead to as many recurring issues.

Someone mentioned we need a RW and that's definitely true but I still think we desperately need a LW too. Forget signing a striker and just concentrate on 2 quality wide players, 1 for each side.

Someone to potentially look at when he returns from injury is Luca Koleosho at Burnley. He was really impressing before he injured his knee. Only 19 too.

CAA client too!

 

[felmani26]

Spending big seems pointless. But getting in Kelly might be good succession planning for when Davies eventually leaves.

I can see the virtue in this but preference would be a more dedicated LB in tandem with Udogie.

The only area we need to allocate the most resources to is WF.

 

[Tucker]

I can see the virtue in this but preference would be a more dedicated LB in tandem with Udogie.

The only area we need to allocate the most resources to is WF.

I think we’ll need to see if Richie can maintain his form before we commit to splurging on a wing forward.

 

[Ghost Hardware]

Love Olise as a player but we should avoid him at all costs. He's having an absolute nightmare with his hamstring injury and I think Palace have managed his rehab terribly which could lead to recurring problems for the rest of his career.

Neto is far less of an injury risk imo because the nature of Neto's injuries have largely been bad luck and would hopefully not lead to as many recurring issues.

Someone mentioned we need a RW and that's definitely true but I still think we desperately need a LW too. Forget signing a striker and just concentrate on 2 quality wide players, 1 for each side.

Someone to potentially look at when he returns from injury is Luca Koleosho at Burnley. He was really impressing before he injured his knee. Only 19 too.

Agree. LW is also going to need a lot of thought come summer. We probably need to asses it over the remainder of the season before making any final decision's but im certainly not convinced by our current options bar Son. Werner tbf has been looking positive and has already been involved in a few goals im just not yet convinced, given his skill set, that it would be the best use of money even if its a low fee. But he does need the rest of the season to adapt and may well go up a level once he has fully adapted. If he does than retaining him might be the sensible move. Time will tell.

Solomon for me tho is the really concerning one. I actually think if he was fit he would be an asset and help a lot with what has been lacking but his injury record is frightening. Over the last two season its probably the worst of anyone in the squad bar Sess. Also if you look further back in his career he is prone to injuries. I guess its something the club will know better then anyone but from an outside POV I would feel very nervous about being in a situation where we would have to count on him. Obviously if the club and Ange think he can and will get over his issues for a prolonged period then great, but if not do we really want to keep him for another season? It has nothing to do with with skill, im not doubting his ability or saying he isn't a good player.

I think there is certainly an argument to be made that come summer we might need to look for two WF. Logically it will probably more likely be one who can play ether side like Neto or Williams. But, like you say, I think getting one established player and then a younger option on the opposite wing makes a lot of sense. The reality is I don't think we have a single WF on ether side who is close to being able to replicate Son's impact for us and really we should have one on ether wing if we want to really challange on all front's.

 

[THOWIG]

Spending big seems pointless. But getting in Kelly might be good succession planning for when Davies eventually leaves.

Think we're fine in defence. Think only a Udogie alternative is needed. The rest is solid.

Think midfield is also potentially fine, but we have to see how Bissouma and Bentancur do long term and who we sell. I wouldn't begrudge us signing another top class midfielder.

 

[felmani26]

I think we’ll need to see if Richie can maintain his form before we commit to splurging on a wing forward.

Richarlison's form merely cements the need to bring in a top quality wide forward - he needs to be played centrally and not LWF.

 

[THOWIG]

Richarlison's form merely cements the need to bring in a top quality wide forward - he needs to be played centrally and not LWF.

Agree. He and Son are our central strikers. Son can occasionally play on the left, but don't think he's as strong there anymore. I can't see another viable striker option out there anyway. Ferguson is the only one, but he would be our entire budget.

Wide forwards are key.

 

[Nick-TopSpursMan]

I think we’ll need to see if Richie can maintain his form before we commit to splurging on a wing forward.

But we also have Son who proved he can play through the middle well in this system and was scoring goals. He will be less and less effective out wide as he is going to be 32 in July. His natural progression should be moving central, competing with RIcharlison and Veliz.

We have 2 players (plus a young player) who have proven or are proving they can play effectively as strikers in Ange system. They will also be even more effective if we actually had better wide players.

We don't have a single quality wide player who can actually contribute on the ball in possession, beat players 1v1, consistently create chances by dominating an opponent in duels etc. Our wide players are either terribly limited in possession and struggle to do anything from a standing start and/or receiving the ball to feet (Johnson and Werner) or don't have the pace and 1v1 ability out wide (Deki).

It's by far the biggest area of our team we are lacking compared to our rivals.

 

[THOWIG]

But we also have Son who proved he can play through the middle well in this system and was scoring goals. He will be less and less effective out wide as he is going to be 32 in July. His natural progression should be moving central, competing with RIcharlison and Veliz.

We have 2 players (plus a young player) who have proven or are proving they can play effectively as strikers in Ange system. They will also be even more effective if we actually had better wide players.

We don't have a single quality wide player who can actually contribute on the ball in possession, beat players 1v1, consistently create chances by dominating an opponent in duels etc. Our wide players are either terribly limited in possession and struggle to do anything from a standing start and/or receiving the ball to feet (Johnson and Werner) or don't have the pace and 1v1 ability out wide (Deki).

It's by far the biggest area of our team we are lacking compared to our rivals.

I can see him moving more and more centrally. Think he's looked good there.