SpartyBlue

Curious how the deal is structured. No reason to buy him in January over the summer if it’s the same price.

What he said. We are not getting the finished product. The only way we are getting really high end talent at this point is bringing it through the academy or taking a gamble before a true breakout.

I think if you’re a winger you have to be good at crossing the ball and/or heading the ball if you’re not just banging in double digit goals. Gordon is doing none of those things at the moment and is also an inconsistent presser/defender. I think the desire is there but you only get so many games before we want to see some progress in those areas. Still time of course.

The thing I worry most about is that he’s just not physically up for it. He needs to keep improving his body. Towards the end of last season he wore down badly to the point he was played less. When asked to play striker he was pretty easily bullied out of the game. I think the desire is there but adding some muscle (and he should) would improve all aspects of his game. Richie wasn’t huge either but he’s strong enough to hold position and really make himself a handful to deal with.

I’m about there as far as current value. In regards to McNeil, important to remember he’s just 22. I think he has some attributes Gordon hasn’t shown and vice versa.

He has pace and decent technical ability. I’m not sure his footballing brain is as advanced as you suggest. His wastefulness often comes from making the wrong choices in the final moment. Given that he’s not particularly physical, doesn’t cross or defend that well, isn’t great in the air..he will have to really be clinical in the final 1/3 to be worth that price. Can he develop into that? Sure. But for every one who does there are 10 like Gordon who never do. Consider that Richie is probably better than Gordon is now at every aspect of the game and he’s a 60m ish player. From a pure business standpoint I think it’s a no brainer deal for us. Of course, there are other factors.

I think that shows you what a good deal it is. Chelsea is allegedly paying pretty close to the best case scenario price. He would need to develop quite a bit in many areas to be worth that sort of money. Personally I think 30m is even a bit generous for what his game is right now. It’s always far more likely a player like Gordon never realizes his full potential.

Out of curiosity what do you value Gordon at in a vacuum? Not potential, or factoring in that he’s English or that he came in through our academy. In terms of what he provides as a player right now, what do you believe he’s worth?

Probably the best finisher we have at the moment.

I would suggest Juventus is in a different class than those you mention on a couple of different levels

Might mean he will play for Davies on the weekend. Or simply that if he played today he wouldn’t be available on the weekend due to not being fully fit.

But why would he come here over Juventus?

It has to be that we aren’t sure we can bring in someone this window on such limited time. That or the deal is structured in a way where we wouldn’t have that much money available this window. In a raw sense I don’t think Gordon is worth half of 60m right now. English, potential etc.. but for what he provides now..def not. It’s actually quite a statement from the club given how much this would do to put our finances right.

From a business perspective it would be a very good move. Perception, not so much. Also, if we are bringing in a replacement I imagine we’d want to play them.

60m is an insane price for Gordon even if some add-ons won’t be met. It’s possible he will be worth that one day but I think the odds are against. You’ve gotta be banging in 10+ every year from the wing to be worth that and/or be a wizard crossing the ball. We haven’t seen anything to this point to suggest he has that. It could develop but not many get to that level.

We were never getting a like for like replacement for Richarlison. In the same way we didn’t for Lukaku. The idea is you use the money to improve your team in a variety of other positions and overall you get better. Whether that happens remains to be seen but we shouldn’t be upset we didn’t sign a 60m winger as that wouldn’t have been best for the team even if it was possible.

Agreed. The agility is noticeable and Doesn’t have anything to do with the level he’s playing against.

Not with isolated skills. For instance the confidence and technical ability in taking that volley off the bounce for his goal vs PSV is impressive in any league.

Given his injury and his lack of game time at higher levels he might be too far away from their lineup at the moment. He will want more minutes and they will want to see more from him. Let’s be honest, if he progresses they might just be able to buy him in 2-3 years

Definitely a few wow moments in there. Some of those the level doesn’t matter, just good skills.

Dunno on the injuries but he seems to have moved up to the first tier in the Netherlands during the season and had a lot of off the bench appearances. Not too surprising for a 21 year old making the jump. We aren’t in a position to get the finished article so this is what it looks like if we want to try to find a real star. Gambling on a young talent before they really break out.

Yea. Gordon’s would probably be based around appearances and he might not get that many in the league this year if he made the move.

If they end up going down it’s going to be quite the mess there. Gambling that they can integrate everyone enough for it it work.

Depends on the add-ons. Would make sense for Chelsea with a player as unproven as Gordon. Obviously we would prefer more guaranteed.

I enjoyed American Gods though I didn’t finish it so maybe that tells you something. I’d love them to give the Sandman/Good Omens treatment to Neverwhere which was his first work that I read. I know that one had an odd history as it was a poorly done series before it was a book.