Summer transfer window 2021

[sne]

He's not very tall thou...

[HanoiVillan]

1 hour ago, VillaChris said:

Almiron?!!!

He's just another Weimann.

An amusing thing on this forum is that sometimes posters are insistent on mounting a serious challenge for the top six, and then sometimes posters insist that we sign Almiron or Will Hughes or Philip Billing or somebody.

Maybe it's not the same posters, but it's a pretty funny contrast.

[Jas10]

Beautiful goals, the chip is delicious:

 

[Jas10]

[MrSmirch]

23 minutes ago, Jas10 said:

He grew up with posters of Carles Gil on his walls

[Jas10]

[KAZZAM]

You his agent Jas? Selling it hard. 

[Jas10]

Just now, KAZZAM said:

You his agent Jas? Selling it hard. 

Sorry, excited by this link.

I’ll give it a break for now.

[WallisFrizz]

1 minute ago, KAZZAM said:

You his agent Jas? Selling it hard. 

Hmm, most of us never heard of this bloke and now we’re desperate for him. Sounds familiar, nothing to go wrong there..

[Guest av1]

Good article about him Here

 

Fresh off the back of a historic league and Libertadores double with Flamengo, Giorgian De Arrascaeta was awarded the Charrua de Oro, given to the best Uruguayan sportsperson of the year.

The 26-year-old playmaker has been one of the best players on the continent for some time and the recognition of a fantastic 2019/20 was richly deserved.

Since breaking through as a star of the Uruguay squad that finished as runners-up in the 2013 U20 World Cup, where they lost out on penalties to a Paul Pogba-inspired France side, expectations for De Arrascaeta in his homeland have been high.

Blessed with excellent technique and vision, De Arrascaeta followed up his international exploits with club side Defensor Sporting as they reached the semi-finals of the 2014 Copa Libertadores. Dazzling displays against Cruzeiro in the group stage were enough to persuade the Brazilian giants to bring him to Belo Horizonte the following year for €4mil.

De Arrascaeta quickly became a fan favourite with his mix of skill, invention and goal threat from midfield.

Alongside the likes of Robinho and Thiago Neves, the Uruguayan helped a Raposa to Copa do Brasil glory in 2017 and 2018, as well as picking up the 2018 Campeonato Mineiro.

By now an established name in South America and with Russia 2018 threatening to propel his profile to the next level, De Arrascaeta looked to have the world at his feet.

Seemingly destined for a move to Europe, the Uruguayan instead ended up at the heavily bankrolled Flamengo for a Brazilian record of R$63m (€15m) in January 2019.

While the move left some scratching their heads at a perceived side-step, Flamengo were building an exciting project with the likes of Gabigol, Bruno Henrique and Rodrigo Caio also joining the Rubro-Negro.

The arrival of manager Jorge Jesus added further fuel to Flamengo’s credentials, as did the signings of Rafinha, Felipe Luis and Gerson.

Flamengo duly romped to an impressive double and De Arrascaeta, with 13 goals and 14 assists in 23 league games, seemed to have justified his decision.

Nevertheless, despite this pretty constant stream of success, there are still some fairly large question marks hanging over De Arrascaeta’s career to date.

How has such a phenomenally gifted player not made the move to Europe yet? And why has he yet to truly establish himself as a cornerstone of the national team?

2018 seemed to be the perfect moment to make the switch but a combination of Cruzeiro holding out for over €20mil and a total of 86 minutes across two games at the World Cup dissuaded anyone from across the Atlantic from taking a punt on him.

Their loss has been Flamengo’s gain and, after a slight wobble under new boss Domenec Torrent, the Mengão are once again challenging for the Brasileirão title. De Arrascaeta has been one of the best players in the league again, as displayed by his WhoScored rating of 7.44 being the third-best in the division.

De Arrascaeta, now 26, seems settled in Brazil at one of the best supported — and best paying — clubs on the continent.

Furthermore, given his age and the reported €25m fee it would take him to prise him away from Flamengo, it could be that no club is willing to splash out on his signature, especially given the current Covid-19 situation affecting finances.
 

As for the national team, some critics have accused De Arrascaeta of not replicating his club form.

The mercurial midfielder has 26 caps and three goals to his name for the senior national team but, given that only half have been as a starter and just 10 of these appearances have been official competitive fixtures, it shows how little a chance he’s had to show what he can do on a consistent basis.

What’s more, De Arrascaeta has often been played out of position.

Although best as a No. 10 in a central playmaker role, he has tended to be used wider for Uruguay which has limited his effectiveness.

While it’s true that De Arrascaeta has operated on the left for Flamengo, there he has the benefit of attacking overlapping left-back, allowing him to drift in-field where he can be more dangerous. When he has played on the wing for Uruguay he has had to fulfil a completely different function, with less freedom and more defensive responsibility and without as attacking full-backs.

The Copa America 2019 was arguably De Arrascaeta’s best performance for La Celeste and it was no surprise that this came when he was used in his more favoured role.

With Uruguay getting off to a poor start to World Cup qualification in recent games against Chile and Ecuador, finding a way to get the best out of De Arrascaeta will be crucial if Oscar Tabarez is to get Uruguay to a fourth consecutive tournament.

De Arrascaeta now finds himself at a crossroads in his career.

Can he be the missing link for Uruguay’s new generation that provides the link between defence and attack? Will he be another talismanic playmaker — like Luan or Juan Fernando Quintero — who remains an exotic ‘what-could-have-been’ for European fans? Or will he make a belated move across the pond to dazzle and wow a whole new fanbase?

Only time will tell but regardless of which path he takes, De Arrascaeta will continue to be one of the most watchable players and fascinating storylines in South American football.

 

[sharkyvilla]

The one thing I'd say is that I wish he was Brazilian, as he would then shorten his name to Bob or something like that.

[Jas10]

19 minutes ago, WallisFrizz said:

Hmm, most of us never heard of this bloke and now we’re desperate for him. Sounds familiar, nothing to go wrong there..

What’s with the killjoys?

Not allowed to be excited by potential signings? Something against obscure talent?

Would you prefer Barkley for £40m???

Are we only allowed to sign players from the same league or country?? 

Some of us are way too negative at times...

I’m very excited if we are looking further afield for the highest quality talents and maybe beating other clubs to the punch in acquiring these kinds of players (De Arrasceata is regarded as the best no. 10 in South America, plenty of goals and assists, why greet the link with negativity?).

I don’t get it.

We’ve really invested in the scouting department now and I don’t see why we shouldn’t be optimistic about the talent they are identifying...

[useless]

Cantwell is a good player.

[useless]

Abraham coming back as an air of inevitability about it.

[KenjiOgiwara]

3 minutes ago, useless said:

Cantwell is a good player.

Not for me.

[useless]

He's been brilliant for Norwich this season, and was good for them last season, he's underrated on here for some reason, perhaps because people only look at his stats, or because people like to pit players against each other and for some strange reason and think if you rate Buendia then you somehow can't rate Cantwell.

I hope we sign better to start, but he would probably get into our first eleven at the moment, and wouldn't mind him as back up.

[Jas10]

Cantwell???

 

The only Norwich player I would want and would perceive to be worth it is Buendia.

[KenjiOgiwara]

1 minute ago, useless said:

He's been brilliant for Norwich this season, and was good for them last season, he's underrated on here for some reason, perhaps because people only look at his stats, or because people like to pit players against each other and for some strange reason and think if you rate Buendia then you somehow can't rate Cantwell.

I hope we sign better to start, but he would probably get into our first eleven at the moment, and wouldn't mind him as back up.

I just think he has been cack whenever I've seen him and he always looked like a good championship player, but never even average in the PL. Some players just can't hack it in the PL.

[useless]

He was more than good enough in the premier league and will well next season with Norwich. If he's 'cack' then I'm afraid that doesn't say much for our wingers because he's probably better than all of them with the exception of Grealish. Telegraph who are normally reliable linked us with him last summer and I think he would have been a good option in Grealish's absence, but I think we'll interested in better this time.

[MrSmirch]

24 minutes ago, useless said:

Cantwell is a good player.

Agreed, he’ll be a good premier league player for most of his career. One who I’d get in should we ever lose Grealish. Couldn’t replace him like for like, but would go some way.