16 Jul 2014 17:10:33
Heard very strong rumours that our officials will hold talks with Roma officials when the teams play whilst in America regarding The Keving Strootman transfer.

1.) 16 Jul 2014
Apparently he is back in training. Could be lined up for a late summer move?

2.) 16 Jul 2014
If not summer then very probably January

3.) 17 Jul 2014
17 Jul 2014 11:40:24
Fair enough, and yes, against players who combine really scary speed with control and skill, he would be exposed.

But the premier league doesn't have a lot of players like that any more. Bale and Ronaldo are in Spain now, and most of the really super-fast players left here don't have that kind of skill. most of them also play wide, so they would be the fullbacks problem primarily.

Sure Sanchez is bringing a bit of that speed and skill combo to arsenal, but only a couple of others here have it, so I don't see it as a huge problem.

Hummels may not be the fastest centrehalf around, but he's not usually that slow, tiredness and a ridiculously high line were part of the problem for him against Argentina.

More importantly, I don't see any centrehalfs even close to his level, who are significantly faster, being available.

4.) 17 Jul 2014
Thome, I do agree Hummels would be a good signing. Its true the game against Argentina, high line + the opposition, is not something he will have to deal with week in week out. I think it needs to be acknowledged though that there is a potential weakness there, and it has a higher chance of being exposed in the premier league, especially in a team that has aspirations to attack in big games.

Firsly, I think there are a lot of explosive forwards in the premier league. Aguero, Sturridge, Sanchez. Even mid table teams have players with pace and skill up front. Loic Remy, Lukaku, Benteke, Bony.

Its not just the centre forwards either. A lot of teams are playing three attacking midfielders behind the striker. U don't see that as much in the Bundesliga, but it certainly makes the exploitation of space a greater threat for centre backs to deal with. There are a lot of pacey/skillful players in these areas too. Ramsey, Strerling, Toure, Townsend, Willain, Oscar, Hazard types. Mid table teams also have good players in these departments. Ben Arfa's, Mirallas's.

The question for me has to be at what price is Hummels available? I would pay up to 20m for him, considering we may have to restrain the way we play in certain games, to accomodate his qualities. For other sides who play a deeper line, and more defensively, perhaps Mourinho's Chelsea for example, I would have to say he is worth 30m. Personally I get the feeling Dortmund will start listening to offers of around 30m (?.)

I thought Andyreps made a good suggestion in Shawcross. If we could sign a Shawcross for 7m, you have a player that is experienced and can perform a decent job in the first team, even if he won't blow us away with his brilliance. If he could do something similar to what Gary Cahill has done at Chelsea, we would then have some time and the resources to wait for a marque centre back, - that suits the system we want to play. We can use the huge reinvestment funds we presently have (- that we might not see again by the way, depending on the glazers long term outlook, ) to sign players that best suit an attacking system.

I want to see players that give us the ability to be successful, but also, to play as a team worth watching. With the funds we seem to have at the moment, and our reputation still intact, we have the ability to do that right now. We shouldn't waste this opportunity.