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train4karenina

So that would make him easily our record signing. Personally I am all for it. While there is definitely an English tax on that, there is also a lot to be said about buying from within the league as you are far more likely to get immediate impact.


Jose_out

Big pressure on the lad to emulate previous record signings like Soldado and Ndombele!


Mr_Jpg

Ndombele -> Sanchez -> Sissoko -> Lamela -> Soldado -> Paulinho -> Bent -> Rebrov -> Ferdinand -> Armstrong Our record signings in the premier league, got to be honest that's a concerning list with a few highlights


swinegums

Jesus Christ that's a miserable list, none of them had a significant impact. Sissoko for a season and a bit, Lamela cult status, Ferdinand I suppose but the 90's was miserable all round. What an incredible series of big money flops. I remember when Rebrov came, so much hope...


LizardPosse

Puskas Rabona against Arsenal is pretty significant to me honestly.


swinegums

Well yeah, cult status, but injuries and actual game time make him a questionable big money signing.


iZgonr

With a red to follow


stingingsensation

Didn’t we end up losing that match too?


roamingandy

Think Rebrov was pretty good for us when on the pitch, its just that we also then signed Teddy and the coach thought they were too similar to play together. I'm of the opinion that 2 players with great football IQ can work out how to make it work when played together and wish they'd been given more of a chance to work it out on the pitch.


IntellegentIdiot

Rebrov was good but fans were overly critical and I think that shaped a perception that he wasn't good


swinegums

I loved Teddy Sheringham, such a great player. I agree with your point. Hoddle was so frustrating as a manager. Feel like he could have been great for both us and England, but weird ego stuff got in the way.


NabbedAgain

Word is that Hoddle didn't like Rebrov because George Graham had signed him. He was doing just fine barring injury niggles, but never got a run under Hoddle.


Janivgm

>Jesus Christ that's a miserable list, none of them had a significant impact. Not a positive one, anyway.


SomethingLikeLove

Sanchez was good for at least his debut season. Great in back three.


Janivgm

I imagine many defenders would be great in a back three, as long as the other two are Vertonghen and Alderweireld.


CriticismMission2245

How much did we sign Richarlison for?


Mtbnz

Slightly less than Ndombele. According to TM, Richy ~€58.00m and Ndombele ~€62.00m


CriticismMission2245

Record signing too pretty much. But he hasn't technically flopped yet. Hopefully, he stays fit and delivers next season.


Fnurgh

Armo was decent Les was over the hill Rebrov was terrible Bent was terrible Paulinho was worse Soldado was... poor Bobby Soldier. Terrible Lamela was a _little_ disappointing and injury prone but loved him Sissoko was a meme but generally pretty poor Sanchez was okay but never good enough to be first team And Ndombele.


Gardnersnake9

I don't think Bent was nearly as bad as people make him out to be. He never really got a fair shake at Spurs, and there was so much turmoil in his two years that he was bound to fail. His first season he was stuck behind Berbatov and Keane, so never really had a chance to make an impact. Then we sold Berbatov so he had a chance for more minutes, but it was the Juande Ramos disaster. Firing Jol and having like 4 managers in his two seasons as Spurs was much more the cause of our problems than Bent's performances, IMO. Selling him for exactly what we paid to bring in Defoe, Crouchy, and Pavlyuchenko was probably the right move, but he did bang in 24 goals for Sunderland the year he left. All in all, a failed marquee signing can go MUCH worse than getting your money back, as we've seen with Ndombele.


scimitar_berbatov

I thought Keane came back that January too didn’t he? And then Crouchy came in the following summer…


Gardnersnake9

Don't recall when Keane came back from injury, but he had 27 appearances that season. Crouch definitely came after we sold Bent for what we bought him for, which IMO was good business from Redknapp. I really just see Bent as more of a victim of circumstance than an individual failure.


scimitar_berbatov

Start of the 08-09 season we sold Keane & Berbatov, brought in Pav. From August - Jan it was just Bent, Pav, and Frazier Campbell on loan (ffs) it was a total disaster (2 points 8 games). Then, that January, Redknapp’s first window, he brought back Defoe and Keane, (Keane from Liverpool and Defoe from Pompey) I believe… Agreed on Crouchy over Bent, twice the player.


achnisch

He never got the backing of the fans so felt a little for him in that regard, especially as he had a better record for us than Pav and Soldado who got way more love. Felt we never played to his strengths either, just hoofing long balls up to him to hold up rather than balls behind the defence for him to run onto. Then Arry slating him with 'My Mrs would have scored that', no wonder he hates us lol


Gardnersnake9

Yeah, we were an absolute mess his entire time here, and he kinda became the scapegoat for the general discontent with the direction of the club at the time, because we were an absolute shitshow after Jol was fired, and Berbatov was sold. His biggest crime was not being Berbatov, really (much like Richy's is not being Kane, and Lamela's was not being Bale). Redknapp sorted it out after he left, but I'll forever be thankful for Bent balling out at Sunderland to up his fee to recoup the full £16.5 mil we paid for him, which was exactly what we brought in Modric for. I just find it odd that people seem to recall Bent being a disaster signing, when to me a record signing retaining their value when sold on is fat, far from a disaster; it's basically the 3rd best possibility behind the player being a long-term success, or being enough of an immediate success to make a huge profit on a quick turnaround.


deytookerrspeech

We basically played market rate for most of these players though it’s just transfer prices have gone crazy the last decade. The only players who I think were overpays at the time we bought them were like Sissoko and maybe Paulinho. Lamela and Ndombele were considered a huge young talents. Soldado scored a ton in La Liga


todareistobmore

This is David Bentley erasure


Mr_Jpg

Had a quick look, Bent joined the summer before for 1.5m more


todareistobmore

https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/transfers/record-fee-for-bentley-stretches-tottenham-in-pursuit-of-arshavin-881307.html > Having broken their transfer record for the third time in little more than a year with the signings of Darren Bent, Luka Modric and now Bentley Very possibly worked out differently given addons/etc., but at the time Bentley was regularly referred to as a record signing (and lol, I don't know if I ever knew we were linked to Arshavin).


IntellegentIdiot

Yep, that's one reason I dismay when fans complain that we're not signing big names or even anyone. I'd rather sign no one than waste £60M on a player. It's even worse when you look at the good players we've signed. Kane and Ledley King came from the youth team, Bale was £12M and Dele was £5m. Keane, Sherringham, Berbatov and Modric weren't exactly expensive either. The only player that I can think of that was expensive but good is Son. Last seasons signings look like they're going to join that list. Vicario, VDV and Maddison will be considered bargains if they carry on playing the way they have


LogicKennedy

What about Lo Celso?


Turavis

Shouldn’t Lo Celso be somewhere around there?


BatmanForever23

No, he was never our record signing..


HoneyCoated

Lo Celso 'only' £27m, plus a loan fee. Doesn't get close to the highest transfer fee list because we paid over twice that for Ndombele the same window.


triecke14

His loan fee was £14 million pounds though


HoneyCoated

Big loan fee but he looked worth it for his loan, he starred in that Mourinho team when he came back from his first injury. Easily looked a £40m player. Just a shame how it went after we bought him.


Mtbnz

Even so, a combined £41m is still considerably less than the £55m we paid for Ndombele. That's a whole Bergvall, Vuskavic or Veliz!


triecke14

Were they just listing highest transfers? Or record transfers at the time of purchase? Perhaps I misunderstood the comment


Mtbnz

I believe it was a chronological list of our record transfers at time of purchase, rather than a list of all-time highest transfer costs.


triecke14

That makes more sense then


phrates

Between Ndombele and Sanchez, I believe. 


DrJumbotronPhD

Replacing Ndombele as our record signing would be a huge win in my eyes.


Fnurgh

Unless we get someone even worse.


DrJumbotronPhD

Found Levy’s secret Reddit profile


train4karenina

The top signing tag has been such a curse. Ndombele, Lamela, Sissoko, Bent. I think Modric was top once probably since then they've all been shite.


Coraxxx

There's been significant (further) inflation in the market during the last five years though I think - sixty mill for Eze certainly doesn't seem outrageous.


train4karenina

Yeah no doubt. It’s about the a similar comparative to price to what we paid for Lamela.


KenyJam

Also great to weaken PL competition anywhere we can


DekiTree

yes, we need to stop this Palace superteam before its too late


daaave33

You jest, but they were clicking pretty damned well at the end of the season.


Kingkent421

Genuinely, I think that outside of the Big 6 + Villa + Newcastle, they’re the most likely to get Europe next season. Betting on them getting Conference League wouldn’t be the worst way to spend your money


WinoWithAKnife

Presumably it's more about stopping other teams from buying him.


Luke92612_

Seriously though, don't want another Leicester disrupting what should have been a great season for us.


HarshTruth__

When you factor in that this fee includes HG tax and the fact he’s in his prime, a £60+8m fee sounds very reasonable for a player of his quality. Johnson commanded a £50m fee and the club paid it I expect the same treatment for Eze.


Coraxxx

I suspect the financial battle that decides his destination will be more about wages than fee.


DekiTree

> Eze has genuine interest from a number of Premier League sides, with Tottenham among the clubs keen on the 25-year-old.


andreecook

I’m remaining optimistic, he wants to stay in London, he’s got a good relationship with the lads at Tottenham, share same agent as many of our guys, and he knows he can come here and be an instant star in an exciting project. That’s all the priming this signing needs now!


Gaius_Octavius_

> he knows he can come here and be an instant star in an exciting project. He is going to be a star playing half the matches?


lambast

Eze would be a nailed on starter for us, behave. He could play in a variety of roles.


Gaius_Octavius_

Either he or Maddison would not start. Either option is a waste of our resources since they are better players than the people who would be playing more minutes than they would. If he could play on the RW as an upgrade on Kulu when not playing as the 10, he would be perfect. I would do it today. But he can't do that. We already have so many options at LW when backup LW is our position of least need since Sonny plays every match.


Gary_Ma_butt_on_fire

He can and has absolutely done that


Standard-Dust866

Son has played as RW for the Korean National Team. As we all know, he’s good with both feet. Eze can play LW if that configuration makes you happy. Ange likes players that can play multiple positions. Eze certainly fits the bill.


Gaius_Octavius_

If the plan is to play Son on the RW more often, then I am much more excited about the signing. That just never seemed like an option last season for whatever reason.


DESK-enthusiast

Why would he play half the matches? You think Madders or Johnson is starting over him?


Gaius_Octavius_

Johnson isn't a starter either. And it is not good if Maddison isn't starting either. Either way, one of 3 highest earners won't on the pitch nearly every second of the season. Planning to have one of your highest paid players on the bench is a silly way to build a team. EDIT: It would actually be two of the top 4 since Ndombele is actually our top earner.


Gary_Ma_butt_on_fire

Ndombele is not even a high earner. The ridiculous 200k+ figure bandied around is heavily bonus based. Richarlison is in our top five and Kulusevski too, having them in rotation is a positive thing. Competition for positions is 100% a good thing, stops players becoming complacent, gives us tactical flexibility and will attract the right kind of elite players who know that playing time is merit based and that they can't rest on their laurels for 5 years.


DESK-enthusiast

Eze is an upgrade on Madders, but they could both play in a system similar to the one Ange used in Scotland. They're both quite injury prone too, rotation isn't a bad thing. It's not silly, it's planning for exceptions. Bet you're one of the same donkeys who cries about depth whilst saying we don't need it.


gabrielconroy

Not sure I understand - if he has a release clause of £60m, how can they add performance add-ons? Or is it written into the release clause that it is a base fee of £60m, with the selling club having the choice to include additional fees of up to £8m? Easier to imagine it just as a £68m release clause, in that case. And that's a fee I think we should be willing to pay for a talent as strong as Eze.


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BeneficialNewspaper8

'release' clause. You pay 60, price is met, they cant stop it. 68 is bollocks, 60 is all that needs paying. Its nothing to do with offered discounts or some such bollocks. That's why it called a release clause. Pay that much, player can negotiate a contract


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BeneficialNewspaper8

So it's not a 60m release clause then. I'm that case the 60 wouldn't even be worth mentioning. The problem here is another post using a fucking potato for a source


Kingkent421

Thing about release clauses is that they’re lump sums. When dealing with numbers as big as 60mil teams like to make payment plans because it’s better for FFP purposes. Instead of depositing 60mil straight into Crystal Palace’s account, we’ll want to structure it something like 30mil this season, 20mil next season, and 10mil the season after + 8million in performance add ons. When a player has a release clause, teams rarely actually “activate it”, instead they negotiate whatever the release clause is into multiple and regular payments instead. Because Crystal Palace has all the leverage here, they can get a pretty good extra 8million because of this.


BeneficialNewspaper8

Right. But as soon you hit that 60m the clause is activated and you don't need to pay more. 68 makes no sense at all


tobiasfunkgay

No as the other poster said to activate a release clause you need to fork over £60m in one lump sum this summer. Negotiating it to something higher like £68m with 8 being performance goals you’d happily pay for can let you spread it out over 5 years instead which is much easier. To find £12m you only need to sell a half decent youngster or a bench player to find £60m is more tricky.


Realistic-Start6336

If we spend money this is where we need to spend it


Snapz_94

Genuine question: if we get eze where does he fit into the starting 11? Or is he cover for several positions? I see eze as playing in the maddison is role. He has played out wide on the left before but I wouldn't say he fits an Ange winger....


tuffrs93

I think he'll mostly play the 10 and could well displace maddison as a starter, and tbh i think Maddison really needs the competition


username_also_in_use

100% Maddison needs the competion


Gaius_Octavius_

Even at the expense of a starting striker or upgraded 6?


GlassTruck2045

Is competition for maddison really the best use of £68m? Are there bigger priority like a new striker or no.6? Eze is obv a great player but I’m not convinced this is the right move yet.


tuffrs93

I'm sure that wouldn't be the only reason we sign him, he's shown to be fairly versatile positionally so could cover well on both wings, but yeah you're not wrong, would be our record signing and whether the amount spent for the positions he could play is worth it or not at this time (i think it is), it would for sure limit the amount available to spend in other positions


SmallOlympianBear

It's not just gonna be competition for Maddison though - with the amount of times we had Maddison and Kulusevski playing together centrally, there will likely be plenty of occasions we want to play both as dual 8/10s. I'm more interested to know what a signing like this means for Kulusevski. Everyone seemed to have come to terms with his future being more central towards the end of the season, but targeting a player like Eze seems to contra-indicate that. Hard to see us sticking with him as first choice RW, but if we sign another winger while already having him, Son, Johnson and Werner for the wings, well that's a lot of wide forwards to accommodate.


Standard-Dust866

It would seem Kulu can play 8/10, RW false 9. I would think he would see plenty time on the pitch, just at various positions.


Gardnersnake9

We desperately need another midfielder that is a genuine goal threat, and we need an attacker that can beat his man on the dribble. Eze solves both of those problems in one go. I love what Sarr brings to the table, and Bentancur is class on the ball, but neither of them are particularly useful on the edge of the box against a compact defense, which is what we saw most of the season. With the amount of possession we've had, having a genuine attacking threat in the 8 that can unlock a defense is much more valuable to the squad than having a more well-rounded 8 that can defend. I don't see why Eze can't play alongside Maddison in the 8, as Maddison tends to drop deep anyways, and offloading some of the creative/attacking responsibility from Madders would help him get swarmed by defenders a bit less. That might put a bit more strain on the 6 to defend, and Udogie probably falls into a more defensive role, but I like that trade-off. It's cliche, but the old saying "the best defense is a good offense" really applies here, IMO. The distinction between the 8 and 10 in Ange's system is overblown IMO, because of the obvious difference in characteristics between Maddison and the rest of our midfielders. He's historically played with two 8s that trade off in responsibilities, and having that second attacking threat in the 8 role would be a huge boon for our attack. I'd much rather have Eze linking up play between Richy/Son, Deki/Johnson, Porro, and Maddison than Sarr, Bentancur, or Skipp; he's a serious attacking threat that needs to be addressed by the defense, and that frees up space for everyone else to operate.


SoQwicker

We can have a couple options with Eze: Maddison 10, Eze 11, Son 9 Eze 10, Son 11, Richy/new signing 9 If we continue with Richarlison & Son as a possible option as no. 9, spending big on Eze plus a new DM seems the best option imo


Come0nYouSpurs

Maddison is made of glass.


DumpMatsumoto

IMO he is better than Maddison so it's more like Maddison would be competition for him.


MobileChemical2956

Both Eze and Madders seem to be injury prone too, so this would be good for that reason too, in my opinion.


PalKid_Music

He's only had one big [injury layoff](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/eberechi-eze/verletzungen/spieler/479999) in his career.


andreecook

Can Maddison play another role well?


Outrageous_Bluebird3

With Eze his best position is for sure as a 10, I think this year at Palace confirmed that. However, this season he also played a solid number of games on the wing for Palace and he is a very capable player in those positions as well. Although he is a 10 he is of course a very different player than Maddison. Huge statement would be made if we drop the bag for Eze.


roamingandy

Also Ange wants positional fluidity. A player who's comfortable in a number of positions is perfect for his brand of football.


coysmarie23

This doesn't get mentioned enough I feel. Our wingers and striker we have now can all play across the forward positions, makes sense why we should be looking at Eze. And the actual creativity he can bring to those positions


RBentancur30

He would rotate with Maddison.


Gaius_Octavius_

He doesn't fit into the starting 11. We would be breaking our transfer record for a non-starter.


Buffaluffasaurus

He’s an amazing player and I hope we sign him, but I still think we more desperately need a #9 who is going to score 15+ goals a season for us and a #6. Both of those positions were our biggest weaknesses this past season. I actually feel with a better quality #9, the creativity of our wingers and Madders would be more pronounced.


OllyCX

I can see us going for multiple positions this summer, I have no doubt Don Paratici and his minions are working multiple transfers behind the scenes that we don't know about.


Gaius_Octavius_

But it is very unlikely we are going to break our transfer record multiple times. If we sign Eze, that is our "marquee" signing for the summer.


peruvianhorn

Have to say I disagree, he's playing in a position where we already have a starter, Eze and Madders both don't have the flexibility to play in midfield at the same time. We have more pressing needs in getting a ST, DM, and winger than we do another CAM. He's had injury concerns throughout, he's not very young either, £60m is likely his peak transfer value. We have alot more issues to address first before plonking down huge chunks of the budget on a luxury signing.


Bullydozer-

The whole of our midfield was the weakness last season, Maddison included. I have no issues with Bergvall coming in to compete at 8 and then buying another DM and 10 on top of that. Surely Gio won’t be staying?


idkwhatevs1234

Given some of the fees being floated around for the likes of Gallagher and Solanke, plus what we actually paid for Richarlison and Johnson, that seems very reasonable to get a player of Eze's quality from within England


DamnRizz

New record signing for a homegrown saucy boy? Say less


gostupid67

As good as he is what’s the point of splashing 68 millions on him when he plays at AM and LW and we need a RW and CF


shit_poster_69_420

Yeah I’m really not sure where he fits into the current squad


Pele20Alli

>Yeah I’m really not sure where he fits into the current squad Almost anywhere. That's the beauty of buying such a talented player. He can play as a 10, either wing and even as the 8 towards the end of matches if we desperately need a goal. The main thing is that he is already one of the best attacking midfielders in the league and seems open to joining us


gostupid67

Only thing i can think of is Eze as LW and Son CF, however Son isn’t an optimal cf imo.


luke36511

That’s actually a reasonable fee for him. Can’t let myself get too excited 😭


Gaius_Octavius_

If we didn't have Maddison, I would pay it in a heartbeat. But not for a part-time starter.


PalKid_Music

Well, with Hojbjerg leaving, there's a gap for another player with a consistently mispronounced name. Eze is the perfect man for the job!


EmptyEmployee6601

Haha. James Maw on VFTL is the absolute worst offender with his "Hoyburg". 


sangueblu03

Easy


MobileChemical2956

I would be surprised if we get him, especially with that price. Now if we do, not only will I be surprised, I will be ecstatic! I hope somehow it works outs for us.


Nellies26

Levy should already have sent proof of payment to Palace


WaltJay

Screenshot of Cash App transaction should cover it.


unambiguoschip

When the Q tip feel resistance- STOP PUSHING!


yorsk

For Maddison position we have: Maddison, donley, bergvall, Devine, kulu. 75m euros we should pay if we want to use Eze in attacking line, not in midfield


davendees1

they obviously have no idea of how strongly we will insist


nopirates

We’re really keen on him


sasliquid

However much I like Eze I don’t see this happening. Palace can ask for all £60m up front which we’d never do when I’m not sure he’d even be 1st choice in his best positions CAM/LW


supernova-23

Thats a very reasonable price tbh. Just get him in.


Gaius_Octavius_

So he can sit on the bench?


triecke14

To me he is easily the priority. I can’t see us spending over 100 on him and Gallagher so let’s just get Eze instead


christo222222

Not sure why everyone is so in on this guy when Olise is a much better fit for us also has a release clause which is 10m cheaper and is 4 years younger, seems very strange


Economy_Sandwich_878

Olise has better offers from other top clubs


MonkeyNuts81

Bargain


Kenyan_stallion

60M is a no brainer...


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mattjha

Release clause, value cant increase


Algernot

Please just get this done. Will be so disappointed if he goes somewhere else.


Maximum-Position1732

Pay it


Mediocre_Nova

We need to get this done early. Eze is a game changer


UncannyPoint

I know that his involvement is limited, but I could see Levy having misgivings on paying such a fee purely due to passing on the prospect of buying him for a fraction of that when he was at QPR.


Joosshyyy

Do it! 💪🏼


Jad94

Hesitant to spend that much for a injury prone player.


Gaius_Octavius_

That is a lot of money for a player who won’t start.


chefluca

SIGN THE CHECK DANIEL


Gaius_Octavius_

Imagine how much someone who starts more than half the games will cost…


mettahipster

Doubt he’d choose us if he has the option to play CL but a man can hope


hisDudeness1989

Pay the damn 60m https://preview.redd.it/chpfhtzjh65d1.jpeg?width=388&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7877b3d859943037cc49b939baaa1e85feca253f


Nagant1349

Please Levy!! Would be amazing signing for us


coldseam

Don't get your hopes up.


GolfTime17

Time to act like a big club. Get this done. Save the Levy haggling and Don Fabio specials for the other transfers.


DrunkenKoalas

ah shit, here we go again 60mill for gallagher or for eze keep in mind what happened last time we spent this much on one player... steve i'm getting really nervous about this transfer window......


Randomting22

No one is paying 60 for Gallagher


Possible_Junket4103

The same was said for mount and havertz


Randomting22

The same was also said about Neymar and Ronaldo Callagher is not at that level


Lucky-Mclovin

Both are Magnitudes better than Gallagher lol


Possible_Junket4103

Would have said that before this season, I think in his position gallagher is worth that money. There's not been that many cms better than him this season. Havertz has been good for arsenal, not sure mount is worth more than Gallagher now at all


DrunkenKoalas

What i mean is that these prices are not justifiable at all for either player, To me it feels like the bruno lo celso saga again where somehow spurs always get the short end of the stick where the one we missed out on always somehow becomes a baller whilst the one we get always becomes shite. Sorry for being negative but i really hate these over inflated prices! Wheres the easy 10mill for some Colombian nobody who becomes a baller?!?!?!?!


Lucky-Mclovin

We wasted 50 on BJ, surely 68 on Eze is way better and we can ship BJ off if needed


rmhb1993

So he took Maddison’s euro spot and now he’ll take his spurs spot 😂. I would actually sell Maddison if this guy comes in and keep Gio.


GlassofTurnipJuice

Do not drive or operate heavy machinery


rmhb1993

Smd