13 Nov 2023 19:20:06
I'm intrigued by these Inacio rumours.

We certainly need a new CB and he is already among the best in the world, but does he tick enough boxes?

• Arguably, our 2 best and most reliable CBs are, albeit both injured, primarily left-footed - Inacio is primarily left-footed.
• Like Martinez and Shaw, Inacio isn't particularly tall and no better in the air.
• Inacio plays best as part of a 3-man defence, something ten Hag is yet to try.

He is an incredibly good progressive CB though and will play at the very top very soon, do we tick enough boxes for him?

What say you Eds?

1.) 13 Nov 2023
13 Nov 2023 22:22:12
Inacio looks a very good player, with many players coming from Liga Nos and adapting well to the EPL.

That said I'm a little concerned by his relatively poor aerial ability. Both in terms of us already being a little weak in that regard and with the EPL being a more challenging league in terms of aerial battles.

Although his ball playing ability would massively lift us as a team.

That said I'm not fully convinced he'd be the best option for us. Certainly he'd be an upgrade on what we have. Yet he'd be a very expensive signing and I think we could find a player better suited to what we need for less. Which given the sheer amount of players we will need to replace over the next few years we really do need to be looking for value for money with our signings.

2.) 14 Nov 2023
14 Nov 2023 11:48:45
Pretty sure everyone was concerned about Martinez and his aerial ability and he ended up with some of the best stats in the league in that department. If he's aggressive then he'll be ok, I haven't seen much of him to make that judgment.

3.) 14 Nov 2023
14 Nov 2023 13:17:55
Sporting have got some very good defenders in Inacio (left sided), Diomande and St Juste (both more right sided) to name 3.

4.) 14 Nov 2023
14 Nov 2023 13:27:45
Shappy

If money was no object, I'd go for Silva of Benfica all day, maybe Tapsoba as second-choice.
However, as we're shopping for the more astute acquisitions, I'd say Scalvini would be my top target, perhaps with Todibo as second-choice.

Ports
Martinez is very much a different animal. Where Licha will absolutely launch himself into the mixer with a snarl, Inacio is more likely to avoid such a contest.
Not everyone watched Martinez in the Eredivisie, but those who did knew there was little reason to worry.

Inacio is certainly a very good player, but I don't see him being a fix.

5.) 14 Nov 2023
14 Nov 2023 17:54:59
Know very little of him and seen probably less than most.

We are very weak defensively particularly against the better teams.
We are also very weak physically.
You don't hand to be tall to be physically strong by any means but 2 small cbs would be a bigger concern in the epl than any other league.

6.) 15 Nov 2023
15 Nov 2023 06:12:44
I like Tapsoda best out of all off them. He is a unit and gets forward to and scores not just from headers. He has extended his contract at Leverkusen and they are flying so will be very pricey.

I can't see us buying any one major in Jan if Shaw and Martinez are truly back. Unfortunately we are not city who can afford to buy pricey defenders on a continuous basis.

I am sure we will add in the summer and see some guys leave. We definitely need someone reliable on the right who is better than what we have and has pace to play a high line.