Nicolò Zaniolo

[Delphinho123]

10 minutes ago, romavillan said:

Hate to be the bearer of bad news but I have a mate who has done three ACLs, twice right knee, once left knee. The third time they couldn't take tissue from his hamstrings so they asked him if he wanted ligament from a cadaver or a horse. He went for horse.

Not wanting to be repetitive but he can play 10, wide forward on the right, CM (but a bit wasted there IMO), up top (wasted there too, not a natural 9) or AM on the left. For my money we should be playing him as a 10.

If the rumours are true that it's €4m loan fee, option for €24m with €7m add-ons... then that's less than half price if he shows his potential with us.

Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d hear the word ‘cadaver’ used during this transfer window. 

That’s made my evening, that. 

[Steero113]

13 minutes ago, romavillan said:

so they asked him if he wanted ligament from a cadaver or a horse. He went for horse.

I mean this categorically as no slight to your friend, but this is not a sentence I ever thought I'd read. Ever. 

Edited August 14, 2023 by Steero113

[Steero113]

3 minutes ago, Delphinho123 said:

Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d hear the word ‘cadaver’ used during this transfer window. 

That’s made my evening, that. 

I've just woken my wife up in the next room on the sofa because I laughed so hard at that sentence. 

Now I feel bad, because the scenario that was being described was horrible. 

[JAMAICAN-VILLAN]

14 minutes ago, romavillan said:

Hate to be the bearer of bad news but I have a mate who has done three ACLs, twice right knee, once left knee. The third time they couldn't take tissue from his hamstrings so they asked him if he wanted ligament from a cadaver or a horse. He went for horse.

Not wanting to be repetitive but he can play 10, wide forward on the right, CM (but a bit wasted there IMO), up top (wasted there too, not a natural 9) or AM on the left. For my money we should be playing him as a 10.

If the rumours are true that it's €4m loan fee, option for €24m with €7m add-ons... then that's less than half price if he shows his potential with us.

Stupid question, is Horse ligament stronger than human ligament?

For some reason I feel it is.

If it is, we need to sign a few horses and replace all our players knees in advance. lol

[andyjsg]

Just now, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

Stupid question, is Horse ligament stronger than human ligament?

For some reason I feel it is.

If it is, we need to sign a few horses and replace all our players knees in advance. lol

It certainly is, but the problem is if it goes again they shoot you and turn you into glue

[lexicon]

24 minutes ago, Monkeypuzzle said:

Where has this "second striker" phrase come from? Never heard it before Emery came in. It is basically a rebrand of centre forward (the deeper lying striker, such as Bergkamp, who plays behind the main striker) so what is the point of this new name?

 

[AshVilla]

7 minutes ago, Delphinho123 said:

Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d hear the word ‘cadaver’ used during this transfer window. 

That’s made my evening, that. 

Well if he does his ACL while on loan at least we can say he's got the moves like cadaver...

 

[Sulberto21]

4 minutes ago, andyjsg said:

It certainly is, but the problem is if it goes again they shoot you and turn you into glue

You bast…. That made me laugh more than it should have.

[nnock1984]

53 minutes ago, OutByEaster? said:

------------------------------Watkins-------------------------

Moreno--------Zaniolo---------------------Diaby----

-----------------------------------McGinn------------------

--------------------Kamara------Luiz--------------------

Also Moreno-----Pau-------Konsa---------Cash

-----------------------------Martinez----------------------

I think he fits that Buendia position perfectly.

We really, really miss Moreno - tactically, because he's our left back and our left winger, he's irreplaceable.

 

I like this but the need to replace Cash sticks out like a sore thumb. 

[allani]

1 hour ago, Delphinho123 said:

Just out of interest, where do you think he plays in our best XI? 

Maybe I'll rephrase that. If he had to start on Saturday, where would you fit him in?

I don't think he will start on Saturday.  But I think the options are to play him as 10 and Diaby as a wide player, those two but the other way around or play with Ollie up front and Diaby (right) and Zaniolo (left) but as narrow inside forwards.  The latter probably uses all three in the closest to their preferred positions but is a departure from our usual approach.  On Saturday I think we'll play Ollie as 9 and Diaby as 10 and maybe have Zaniolo on the bench.

[Xela]

32 minutes ago, Delphinho123 said:

Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d hear the word ‘cadaver’ used during this transfer window. 

That’s made my evening, that. 

Used to play for Inter. 

Oh. thats Candreva!

[Wezbid]

48 minutes ago, romavillan said:

Hate to be the bearer of bad news but I have a mate who has done three ACLs, twice right knee, once left knee. The third time they couldn't take tissue from his hamstrings so they asked him if he wanted ligament from a cadaver or a horse. He went for horse.

Not wanting to be repetitive but he can play 10, wide forward on the right, CM (but a bit wasted there IMO), up top (wasted there too, not a natural 9) or AM on the left. For my money we should be playing him as a 10.

If the rumours are true that it's €4m loan fee, option for €24m with €7m add-ons... then that's less than half price if he shows his potential with us.

That's genuinely stunning that your friend could get a horse ligament. 

I thought they were all reserved for all the Tesco budget lasagne's. 

[Made In Aston]

1 hour ago, Tom13 said:

Yep, I cannot wait until Moreno is back! Gives our game a whole nother dimension.

Takes our game to another dimension  

[allani]

1 hour ago, OutByEaster? said:

------------------------------Watkins-------------------------

Moreno--------Zaniolo---------------------Diaby----

-----------------------------------McGinn------------------

--------------------Kamara------Luiz--------------------

Also Moreno-----Pau-------Konsa---------Cash

-----------------------------Martinez----------------------

I think he fits that Buendia position perfectly.

We really, really miss Moreno - tactically, because he's our left back and our left winger, he's irreplaceable.

 

In that formation what would probably happen (based just on the natural tendencies of the players involved) is that Watkins will drift towards the left and then Zaniolo would be looking to move inside Ollie into the more central position vacated by Ollie (rather than also drifting wide to stay outside Ollie).  Which could work effectively.  We'd need Moreno to provide the width for sure.

The alternative is maybe to switch Diaby and Zaniolo as it probably gives McGinn a bit more cover defensively, Zaniolo can be a bit wider and then cut onto his left foot.

Zaniolo will be looking to ideally play at least 10 yards further up the pitch than Buendia - he wants to be on the end of the through ball from Luiz not the player threading the ball through for Ollie / Diaby. 

[allani]

1 hour ago, TomC said:

So in other words something like...

Watkins Zaniolo

Diaby-Doug-Kamara-McGinn

I haven't seen Zaniolo play so somebody tell me...does he have the eye for the killer pass like Buendia does?

 

He tends to have been used more as the player to get the ball and try and dribble past the defence and / or break past the last man for a through ball than as a passer.  So more like Jack (but normally on the right and starting from higher up the pitch).  With him, Diaby and Ollie we'd be very good at exploiting the space in behind the opposition - a bit like how Newcastle were against us.  If the opposition drop deeper then Zaniolo is the kind of player you want to have with the ball at feet trying to break through and into the box to create chances.  I think his passing / laying the ball off is better than some of the stats imply because Roma did use him more to run at and attack the back line.

[romavillan]

48 minutes ago, andyjsg said:

It certainly is, but the problem is if it goes again they shoot you and turn you into glue

But you **** love carrots in the meantime 

[OutByEaster?]

From what I know about him and have seen, he sounds a similar sort of player to Alvarez at Man City in terms of where and how he plays.

[Follyfoot]

56 minutes ago, JAMAICAN-VILLAN said:

Stupid question, is Horse ligament stronger than human ligament?

For some reason I feel it is.

If it is, we need to sign a few horses and replace all our players knees in advance. lol

Reading all, this makes me understand that I have obviously had this procedure but  on a different part of my anatomy

[Follyfoot]

4 minutes ago, OutByEaster? said:

From what I know about him and have seen, he sounds a similar sort of player to Alvarez at Man City in terms of where and how he plays.

A bit like Gary Shaw

[villan-scott]

Galatasaray loaned Zaniolo to Aston Villa for 7 million euros. 22.5 million euro compulsory purchase option... There are also 7.5 million euros available bonuses.
He needs to play around 15-20 matches for the forced purchase to kick in.
There are also hard-to-reach bonuses of 10 million euros (like winning the Premier League and Conference League). If the forced purchase does not take effect; Aston Villa will pay another 2.5 million euros to Galatasaray
Official signatures are awaited.
 

Sounds like a good sensible deal. I’m happy with this.