2016 Premier League Offseason Thread

[WeWonItAll(Most)]

Yeah, I'm a little surprised this seems legit. Personally, I'd rather cough up the cash for Morata. He's younger and less likely to be a one hit wonder. But if this happens, I'd be a big fan of the move. Hell, Vardy can't be worse than Giroud. Still lots of talk about Mahrez to Arsenal, too. Liverpool hit the nail on the head: Leicester is going to get some offers they basically can't refuse for these guys.

From everything I've read, this definitely seems like a very unusual move for Wenger. But someone made a point that made sense: Wenger doesn't splash the cash unless there's a deal that's basically too good to pass on. And 20M for the EPL goals runner up is an absurd deal. Plus Wenger is also widely known as having an eye for talent, so he obviously thinks Vardy can play and won't be a one-off. And a point that seems to be in his favor is that Vardy isn't your typical 29 year old striker nearing the washed up stage. He's still got plenty of life in his legs compared to most players his age.

Where the hell is Ref? I'm guessing he's crawled in a hole and died. Definitely going to have to keep an eye on Fleetwood now. It'll be interesting to see what they do with all their cash if this deal does indeed go through. You gotta think they'd upgrade the squad a little and try to push into the Championship.

I'm pretty sure Real Madrid has a buy-back clause on Morata where they essentially get 1st dibs on him if Juve sells him, although I could be thinking of a different player. But Fleetwood Town seemingly used the $1 million they got for Vardy in the original deal to jump from the 5th tier to League 1, another 6.8 to pump into a League 1 team would just be ridiculous. They've basically hit the lottery because of him for sure.

[War Machine Dawg]

I'm pretty sure Real Madrid has a buy-back clause on Morata where they essentially get 1st dibs on him if Juve sells him, although I could be thinking of a different player. But Fleetwood Town seemingly used the $1 million they got for Vardy in the original deal to jump from the 5th tier to League 1, another 6.8 to pump into a League 1 team would just be ridiculous. They've basically hit the lottery because of him for sure.

Yes, Madrid already announced they're exercising their buy-back clause with Morata. But they're expected to flip him for a quick profit. He was being heavily linked with Arsenal for about the last 6 weeks or more, then the Vardy news broke on Friday. Rumor I'm seeing today is that Chelsea is preparing to bid for Morata since it's being expected Vardy is coming to Arsenal.

[DudyDawg]

Dortmund and bayern with a little more business. BVB signed young holding midfielder sebastian Rode from the German Champs. Busy offseason already

[War Machine Dawg]

Dortmund and bayern with a little more business. BVB signed young holding midfielder sebastian Rode from the German Champs. Busy offseason already

Yep. And did we mention Ilkay Gundogan to City? Also worth noting, I'm seeing Walcott likely on the move if the Vardy deal goes through. Interesting story that's come out today is Vardy hasn't accepted yet because he fears leaving will trigger a mass exodus and he'll be blamed. Still lots of chatter about Arsenal and Mahrez, too.

A very reliable German news outlet is also reporting Dortmund could move Mkhitaryan this summer if he doesn't agree to a new deal. He's been linked with Arsenal for several weeks, too. I'm also seeing chatter of Chelsea being interested if Dortmund tries to sell him.

Wolfsburg have confirmed Ricardo Rodriguez wants out. He's been heavily linked with Arsenal for about 10 days or so and has gone so far as to say a move to Arsenal would be "exciting." He's an international teammate of Granit Xhaka, so there's little worry about him settling.

Looks like a really busy and fun summer is ahead.

[WeWonItAll(Most)]

Watching Argentina vs Chile, Argentina has the most absurd striker depth chart I've ever seen. Messi, Higuain, Aguro are 3 of the top strikers in the world and their 4th striker is Lavezzi. I wish we could borrow Carlos Tevez since they aren't using him, he'd be by far the best striker we have even at 32 years old.

[DudyDawg]

Christoph Kramer signed with Borussia Monchengladbach from Leverkusen. Busy so far in Germany.

As for Morata, apparently real madrid told juventus they will not accept any counters for them to keep Morata and will buy him back and sell. Apparently it has soured relations a bit. Maybe things will change if Paul Pogba gets involved. That will be an interesting story to follow until the Morata story is finished

[War Machine Dawg]

So Jamie Vardy has decided to wait until after the Euros to decide whether or not to move to Arsenal. New talk today is that now he's concerned about how he fits Arsenal's style of play and is "seriously considering" signing Leicester's counter offer.

WMD hopes we move on and sign Morata. I'm guessing that's still in play. Lots of chatter that Chelsea is trying to poach Aubameyang from Dortmund, which I'm assuming means they would no longer be in the Morata sweepstakes. Who knows what the hell to believe in the striker market right now? The only things that seem solid are: A) Arsenal have indeed triggered Vardy's release clause and are waiting on his fickle arse to decide and 2) Madrid is indeed going to buy back and flip Morata. After that, it's all speculation.

[Liverpooldawg]

I don't get too wrapped up in transfer business till it's done. It's as bad as college football recruiting when it comes to disinformation and rumors.

[War Machine Dawg]

Looks like I had my wires crossed. It's City that's trying to land Aubameyang. Supposedly they're in "advanced talks" with Dortmund. Don't know why they'd splash the cash for him when they have Aguero, unless Pep is looking to change formations and play something like a 4-3-3.

So in short:
1. Arsenal is having to wait on Vardy to stop being a drama queen.
2. Chelsea is preparing to beat Arsenal to Morata if the Vardy deal happens.
3. City want Aubameyang.
4. If Vardy stays and Morata winds up at Chelsea, Wenger better go splash cash for Lukaku. Otherwise, I'll be pissed if we have to live with the Giroud-Walcott shit show aGAIN next season.

[TheRef]

DON'T YOU TAKE VARDY FROM ME YOU GUNNERS.

[War Machine Dawg]

Ref, looks like you've got nothing to worry about. Latest reports are now saying that Vardy is 80% sure he's taking Leicester's latest deal. Honestly, I'm not that heartbroken over this. I'd rather have Morata.

In other Gunners news, we've got a deal in place for Bolton CB Rob Holding. We might have just found our new starter next to Koscielny. Still lots of chatter around us and Ricardo Rodriguez and Henrik Mkhitaryan. Looks like we're going to have some competition from United for Mkhitaryan, though. Still lots of chatter about us and Kante, too. But I don't really see that happening. Now that we've got Xhaka, we're pretty loaded at CDM. Adding Kante would be overkill and an embarrassment of riches at that position.

[DudyDawg]

Pep wants a striker bc the small rumbling rumor is real is going to splash out HUGEEEEEEE for Aguero. It's been a rumor for about 3 years, but I've never seen anything but the tabloids say it until these past few weeks

[War Machine Dawg]

Pep wants a striker bc the small rumbling rumor is real is going to splash out HUGEEEEEEE for Aguero. It's been a rumor for about 3 years, but I've never seen anything but the tabloids say it until these past few weeks

Who gets sold in that scenario? BBC + Aguero is one too many. CR7 isn't getting younger, but he's not falling off yet, either.

[DudyDawg]

Who gets sold in that scenario? BBC + Aguero is one too many. CR7 isn't getting younger, but he's not falling off yet, either.

Benzema. Cristiano will stay until they either have some falling out and he leaves angry, or pretty much to retirement. Florentino Perez will avoid selling his golden boy at all costs, but as long as he keeps scoring that's fine with me

[DudyDawg]

HUGE HUGE HUGE and I'm a happy man. Real madrid have offered 90 million euros for Paul pogba, and he wants to come. It's looking like we are getting him. Whether Morata, or possible Kovacic or Kross switches are made, will be interesting to see

[War Machine Dawg]

If Real gets Pogba.....DAMN. Just DAMN. Supposedly Ronaldo wants to play MLS at some point, maybe with the new Miami club that's coming. Don't see that happening any time soon, though. He's not giving up Euro money as long as he's scoring.

New rumor today is that Arsenal would target Cavani if (when) Vardy turns them down. Don't know how I feel about that. He'd be an upgrade on everyone we have, without question. But he's also gotten a rep for being anti-clutch. And it would probably cost a small fortune to land him. He's set to become PSG's top striker with Ibrahimovic leaving. Still think Morata and Lukaku would be my top 2 choices. Lukaku might actually be my top choice. He's the perfect fit for Wenger's system.

[DudyDawg]

Cavanni is the worst good striker on earth. Literally every time you see him play, you see how talented he is. But 90% of the time when the final whistle blows he has disappointed

[DudyDawg]

Mateo Kovacic loaned from real madrid to Roma. Guess he won't be a part of any pogba deal

[DudyDawg]

New news regarding a couple big moves for my guys. Real Madrid are buying back Morata for 32 million. According to Marca, they'll slap a 75 million euros price tag on him, if they decide to sell. Apparently they are about 50-50 on whether to sell him or keep him and convince him to fight for his spot. We will see.

Other big rumor (sorry ref) is that Leicester have offered Kante to real madrid for 25 mill euros.

[War Machine Dawg]

New word leaking is that Arsenal is abandoning the Morata chase. Madrid has supposedly set a 60M pound price tag for him. Supposedly we'll target Vincent Janssen in the Eredivise. I'd imagine the annual Benzema rumors will resurface now, too. There's been a little Higuain chatter, but nothing to make me think it's legit.

I'm still hoping we'll go after Lukaku. One of the club legends just said recently that's who he thinks we should target. And obviously, WMD agrees. Lukaku seems like the perfect striker for Wenger. Huge, good power, good with the ball at his feet, can create his own shot if need be. He's not very pacey, but that's not any different than Giroud. While I'd love a faster striker, I think Lukaku is the best, most realistic option out there that Wenger would consider.