SpartyBlue

Could wait until Kean is done to do a two-fer although he’s such a marquee signing that perhaps they will want to give him the spotlight on his own tomorrow (or whenever).

From the little I have seen I'd also be more comfortable with him at CB.

It would be amazing but I think we are all grasping at straws here. There was never any reason for Chelsea to let him go given their circumstances. We all knew that. It would take him being unsettled there and it's fanciful, in my opinion, to think that his one loan season with us is enough for him to ignore a chance for serious game time with them.

He’s a good guy to bring up because, similarly to Palace, LC have put a “don’t want to sell” price on McGuire. There is a difference between true market value and what value a player has to a particular club. A smaller example would be someone like Baines. He’s worth considerably more to Everton than he would go for on the market.

I would think at this point the only chance of him leaving is if he hands in a transfer request. Given his relationship there, that seems unlikely.

Yeah for this reason I don’t think they have any intention of selling this window. Their fans would be livid. I think they just throw out a crazy number so they can pretend they are not blocking a player who would prefer to move.

Thanks

Lossl?

So he was speaking about a hypothetical where Palace is destined for relegation come the January window and they’ve been forced to significantly lower their Zaha price. In that circumstance I expect he’d become attractive to more clubs and we wouldn’t just be competing against ourselves. You think 52m is a crap offer? Really? He would become our club record signing for that price. There is a reason other clubs aren’t in for Zaha though.Palace values him significantly more than everyone else because he’s vital to their ability to stay up. Just because we haven’t met their valuation doesn’t mean our offer is poor. I do think players care that a club shows interest. We’ve just offered more for Zaha than any club ever has. He’s not likely to forget that. You often see that after players are signed they site the interest and appreciation they received from their new club as a factor.

For sure, although in that case the vultures might be circling and we could face a lot of competition. You're right that launching a reasonable bid is worth it. Even if that bid has little hope of succeeding it at least informs the player and his agent that we have interest and that can put us ahead of the pack later. We should never underestimate the value of making a player feel wanted.

I'm sure this is a major factor for their management. Zaha will be seen as vital to their staying up (Like Siggy w/ Swansea) so they can justify putting a crazy price on him. He's not worth that much probably but no amount of money they receive will make up for them getting relegated so their valuation is understandable.

Can’t be too mad at doubling our money on a player that never set foot on the pitch for us. Disappointing to never see him have a shot here but circumstances were against us. I imagine as we progress as a club we are going to have more incidents where we let go of promising players for one reason or another. It’s the reality of the bigger clubs. I’m sure some Barca fans wish they hadn’t let Digne go and we all know about the players Chelsea have parted with over the years.

Haha. Hopefully everyone will maintain their composure and give the kid time to settle in and develop at his own pace.

Good and thank you. That’s the way it’s been in my head. So we are set to have Keen and Dean and Keane. I have a feeling he’s going to go by Moy-Z or maybe Big Z to avoid confusion.

OK that’s reasonable. Now someone set me straight on Lucas for good. Is it “loo-kiss Deen” or “loo-kuh din-yay” or some combination thereof?

Yeah I’ve no doubt they could do a lot with the money. Cautiously optimistic if he’s been brought in to play CB, white knuckling it if we are gonna use him as a midfielder.

Ha. Maybe both my guesses were wrong then. “Moyses Ken” the best there has ever been.

I think I saw where we bid 23m or so and they wanted 27m. Still a lot but a bit more reasonable. He definitely has size and pace. Perhaps we want him for CB to compete with Mina and then Lemina for Gana’s position. If I’m wrong and he’s the replacement for Gana I’m going to be awfully nervous.

As I look at him more I wonder if he's our CB and not the Gana replacement. He seems a bit sloppy with his close control when he's dribbling but he has a lot of size and seems to like a long cross field pass. I'd be more confident with him in that role than DM based on the (admittedly little) I've watched.

I'm still trying to work out Lucas Digne. How does he pronounce his first name, Moys or Moy-z?

He looks awfully raw but I do agree M & M have earned some trust. I’d prefer Lemina but if this guy is the choice then I’ll reserve judgement and give him a chance.

I think something like 20-25m. Given his raw ability and relatively young age it seems like a low price but injury/attitude might factor in .

My Soton buddy says he has all the talent in the world but over dribbles a bit. Doesn't fit the style they want to play now.

Zaha would be nice but a winger is a bit of a bonus signing for us, in my opinion, and so I don't mind taking a shot and being done if its rejected. What it does tell us though is that by confirming a club record bid Everton is willing to spend well beyond our ability to sell.

Thinking about this from Juve's perspective it does make a lot of sense. No matter how good he is he's gonna struggle for minutes with who else they have up top. So they let him go to a good club and the world's best league where he will play. Of course they'd like to get a buyback clause inserted but if it's not possible then the "right of first refusal" is a decent option. Normally it wouldn't mean much but since he was a youth player for them and is Italian they give themselves a good chance to get him back if he becomes a world beater and (in their minds) outgrows Everton.