Not even 3 weeks until the new PL season is upon us. Transfer talk has been minimal with the Euros on and the Copa America, but still some deal floating through:
Arsenal have signed Italian defender Riccardo Calafiori. Looks to be a good signing and adds depth to an already strong rearguard.
Chelsea are looking to sign Napoli striker Victor Osimhen, trying to send Romelu Lukaku (yes, he’s still on Chelsea’s books!) the other way.
Connor Gallagher could be part of the exits for Chelsea, apparently having talks with Atletico Madrid.
A potential deal for Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon has fallen through for Liverpool, looking to send Joe Gomez to St. James’ Park as a makeweight in the transfer.
Fulham have agreed a £27M transfer with Arsenal for Emile Smith Rowe, pending a medical and personal terms being agreed.
It’s been interesting to listen to comments from Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliott about him. Jones said he’s never been “more excited” and that the playing style suits him more, and Elliott said it’s a more “elegant” way of playing. No criticism of Klopp, but it appears as if more build up play through the midfield, greater emphasis on possession, more intricate passing might be the go. See Elliott’s 2 assists this morning, beautiful, especially the 2nd for Carvalho’s goal. Elliott might be one that really blossoms this season…
It’s difficult to know what to expect. We played some beautiful games last season, and some atrocious ones. Klopp’s style may have been wearing thin on the players, but he’s still one of the greatest managers in the world.
Slot won’t be as good, but he will be a breath of fresh air. Some more consistency from guys like Elliott, Nunez and Diaz will go a very long way to securing a CL spot.
Spurs have had a couple of hit outs so far in Japan and Korea - Tokyo when I live in Osaka, and then Seoul when I was just in Busan for a couple of days. Oh well.
Plenty of kids to get excited about this season - Bergvall from the Swedish league, Archie Gray from Leeds heading it up. Ange knows they’re a project and need to build up strength and fitness, but should get a lot of time out there. No marquee signings as yet, not even many whispers it seems.
Picked up a Spurs beer in Busan at 7-11. Not that great
One thing that really interests me is whether the sheer amount of injuries we’ve had pretty much since we won the title reduce by a noticeable amount under the new management. I think Klopp’s style is very taxing physically, both the way they play but also how they trained. Whilst Slot’s teams still have a high intensity pressing game, in possession it’s a bit more controlled. That might help with injury and maybe we won’t be so wide open at the back either. Arsenal did have the better of the 2nd half, mainly due to us making some subs and bringing younger players on, but they managed to hold firm at the back. Who knows. It would be nice if we could get a signing or two in the door…
We don’t really have a proper #6. Heard that Endo could be on the move. Might simply be a player Slot doesn’t rate that highly. I think someone like Gravenberch will get more of a role. He’s not strictly a DM but he is good on the ball. Szoboszlai played a deeper role as well rather than up in the advanced midfield roles. Elliott might end up playing in a split 8 role with MacAllister, Dom a deeper lying playmaker. Gonna be so interesting once the full squad is together.
You can’t write this ■■■■. Season hasn’t even started and the two players im literally looking forward to watching are both out to start the season.
I read somewhere today that Yoro has only been injured once in his career so far. With us for one week and BANG…3 months out
Endo is too valuable, despite his age. We only have Baj as a replacement 6 and he’s been injured for too long to be relied upon. Mac can fill in in a pinch however that’s not his best role.
Gravy has potential, but we didn’t see much improvement last season. He’s a wildcard heading into this season, I’m cautiously optimistic about what he can do.
