Hard to believe here we are again talking about the summer transfer window. This year I find myself scratching my head - repeatedly.
I have absolutely no idea what direction we are going to take between now and deadline’s end.
Last year it seemed our needs were more straight forward. We had an obvious need for support at striker. We needed more heft in the midfield and we lacked an attacking midfielder capable of making a difference. With the exception of Victor Wanyama (and what an exception he turned out to be), we didn’t fill voids with our summer window activity. Janssen never quite caught on, GKN failed to impress, and for the now, Sissoko appears a high-priced disappointment whose time at Spurs may be short-lived (Mick The Geordie did warn us after all).
As for this window, I’m not sure what we really need. If Walker is indeed off to Manchester then we are certainly going to need to do something at right back. Do we still need a flair player/difference maker with the likes of Eriksen, Alli and Son? What role does Lamela stand to play for us next year? Is Janssen going to stay? Lastly and maybe most importantly will transfer fees and wages continue to escalate to mind-boggling levels?
I just don’t know.
What I do know is that thanks to a number of folks making recommendations we have a large list of players to take a look at - 50 all told, covering all positions with exception of goalkeeper. They range from ages of 19 to 34 and they can potentially be ours for a variety of prices.
The biggest change to this year’s work is that you should find the data easier than ever to manipulate. Want to fund the best RBs under 30 who can tackle and make a key pass? Go right ahead. The sort features enable slice and dice to your heart’s content.
All player performance data is generated from the good folks at www.sqwauka.com Transfer value estimates (which I fear may prove too low this year) along with contract data is supplied by www.transfermarkt.com
Have any questions then please feel free to email me at ztranche@gmail.com or hit me up on Twitter @ztranche. I’m also happy to add new players if you think there are others worthy of taking a looking at.
For what it’s worth, a few players stand out for me. Thomas Lemar from Monaco, Nice’s Wylan Cyprien and Ricardo Pereira and, believe it or not, Cedrice Soares from Southampton.
Play around with the data. You might see why they appeal to me. You may very well think I’m nuts and find a completely different collection of players you like.
I hope you do and I hope you have fun doing so.
Happy window to all.
COYS
Sam Z