Happy Birthday Luca he said in an interview the ideal present would be a win at D Leeds then celebrate his birthday today,scoring a brilliant winner should mean extra celebration (always good to sit Leeds their a*rse)

Special is this young man.

A full season at this level, with brilliant performances, will see him being sought after next summer
Potentially he could go for more than McNeil

GodIsADeeJay81 wrote: ↑

Sun Sep 15, 2024 10:27 pm

A full season at this level, with brilliant performances, will see him being sought after next summer
Potentially he could go for more than McNeil

I think we’ll be looking for more like Odobert money than McNeil money.

GodIsADeeJay81 wrote: ↑

Sun Sep 15, 2024 10:27 pm

A full season at this level, with brilliant performances, will see him being sought after next summer
Potentially he could go for more than McNeil

If he stays fit he’ll be our biggest ever sale. We are a slow blunt team without movement at the moment- until you add Koleosho, he’s our biggest asset by a long way.

Still prefer him on the left but he's absolutely crucial for us on either side. As much defensively as offensively, look how hard he worked to try and rectify his 1st minute error. It's rare to find a winger like him who's as diligent in his defensive work as he is.

We need to be careful with him as well. Players with such explosive pace can be prone to hamstring injuries and we cant afford to lose him.
If Parker decides to bench him occasionally during 3 game weeks I wouldn't be against it too much. He's already cramped up twice this season.

He's better than McNeil and Odobert.

Good reason he was in ahead of Odobert last season. It now seems he's adding the end product which was lacking after his mazy runs.

At his age and with another good season and a half under his belt we could realistically be looking at a £50m + price tag.

Unbelievable.

what_no_pies wrote: ↑

Sun Sep 15, 2024 10:56 pm

He's better than McNeil and Odobert.

Good reason he was in ahead of Odobert last season. It now seems he's adding the end product which was lacking after his mazy runs.

At his age and with another good season and a half under his belt we could realistically be looking at a £50m + price tag.

Unbelievable.

3 different players but Odobert probably has the highest ceiling I think. Koleosho will do brilliantly as well but he's a bit more reliant on his pace.

Stayingup wrote: ↑

Sun Sep 15, 2024 9:48 pm

Special is this young man.

Thanks for that, Yoda

Goliath wrote: ↑

Sun Sep 15, 2024 10:37 pm

Still prefer him on the left but he's absolutely crucial for us on either side. As much defensively as offensively, look how hard he worked to try and rectify his 1st minute error. It's rare to find a winger like him who's as diligent in his defensive work as he is.

We need to be careful with him as well. Players with such explosive pace can be prone to hamstring injuries and we cant afford to lose him.
If Parker decides to bench him occasionally during 3 game weeks I wouldn't be against it too much. He's already cramped up twice this season.

Still prefer him on the left?

After he just scored a great match winner at Leeds, from winning the ball on the right and running 70 yards plus to slot away his goal!

chipbutty wrote: ↑

Sun Sep 15, 2024 11:36 pm

Still prefer him on the left?

After he just scored a great match winner at Leeds, from winning the ball on the right and running 70 yards plus to slot away his goal!

Taking a conclusion from one single action doesn't really work. What about the evidence we had from last season?

Luca has an awful long way to go to justify our valuation of him. Let's hope he listens to advice and learns the attributes needed for him to get the most out of his talent. He could be really really good.

what_no_pies wrote: ↑

Sun Sep 15, 2024 10:56 pm

He's better than McNeil and Odobert.

He’s not.

He’s quicker than them…but when it comes to footballing ability they’re currently in a different postcode to him.

As I’ve said previously, he’s young and has loads of raw potential but he’s far from a ‘good footballer’ right now.

I also would prefer him on the left where he could go either way a bit easier without having to think too much. I’m still yet to really see him beat a man from the right - he tends to end up running into the full back as he doesn’t seem to have a plan as to what he’s going to do.

He was our standout player last season until he got injured.
Same again this season.
Without him we have no pace or movement - just need to manage him carefully so he stays fit.

I don't think he's as good a footballer as Odobert, but he is possibly the fastest player I have ever seen play for us. Quicker than Tella in full flight I would say. To say he has just turned 20, the potential is frightening. The things he can work on (touch, decision making, passing) will continue to improve, but his athleticism cannot be coached. The sky is the limit for him, but he needs to continue to improve on his weaknesses to ensure that limit isn't just Adama Traore-level (which...wouldn't be that bad, I mean, he played for Barcelona and Spain!). None of that is intended to sound critical because I really believe he could reach the level of someone like a Martinelli. The concern will be there though around injuries with someone who uses so much of their tank every game - he needs carefully managing.

chipbutty wrote: ↑

Sun Sep 15, 2024 11:36 pm

Still prefer him on the left?

After he just scored a great match winner at Leeds, from winning the ball on the right and running 70 yards plus to slot away his goal!

Due to his incredible pace he didn't have a man to beat, but it was a brilliant finish. He's far far more dangerous from the lhs. I'd like to see it and what Anthony can do from the right or Sarmento.

Is he quicker than Steve Kindon

Steve Kindon is 73, so I'll take a stab at Luca being the faster of the two.

Very very raw. Showed he is getting better with how he took his goal. Still runs into to blind alleys at times and doesn’t know when to cross but he is only going to better and I’m in no doubt he will go for more money than odabert

blatherwickstattoos wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 16, 2024 1:17 pm

Very very raw. Showed he is getting better with how he took his goal. Still runs into to blind alleys at times and doesn’t know when to cross but he is only going to better and I’m in no doubt he will go for more money than odabert

Agreed. It's hard to tell whether he will end up as a goalscoring attacking winger with flair or a hardworking winger/wing back that just gets up and down all day.

He already has the attributes for the latter but he has a lot to improve on if he is to become the former. There was a lovely cross he put in first half that he composed himself for and weighted perfectly which made me think there's already been some improvement on that side of his game.
I also doubt he'd have finished that chance last season so the signs are good

Also to add to this. Kompanys recruitment got absolutely slated but he brought us Odobert and Koleosho for under 15 million last season. They could well bring us around 80 mill in sales.
Add that to Tella, Maatsen, Foster, Berge, Muric and O'Shea to name a few. My concern is once we lose those players we will really struggle to sign that caliber of player without a name such as Kompany, like him or not, players all over Europe wanted to play for him

well lets hope that after Koleosho has set the championship on fire that VK comes in and buys him for Bayern for £50mil and was he the £100 million player he referenced ?? wouldn't be surprised either if he gets a call for the Italian national squad , not saying he will play every game, but they will look at his talent and think in maybe 2 or 3 years he could do a job for them

Goliath wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 16, 2024 1:38 pm

Also to add to this. Kompanys recruitment got absolutely slated but he brought us Odobert and Koleosho for under 15 million last season. They could well bring us around 80 mill in sales.
Add that to Tella, Maatsen, Foster, Berge, Muric and O'Shea to name a few. My concern is once we lose those players we will really struggle to sign that caliber of player without a name such as Kompany, like him or not, players all over Europe wanted to play for him

He wasn't slated for those types of signings. He was rightly slated for spending a fortune on too many gambles like Trafford, Tresor and Ramsey when we didn't sign a left back or a dcm to replace Cork. Add the suicide tactics and refusal to change and it was an inevitable outcome.

Took his goal extremely well on Saturday but as others have mentioned he is still very raw. His pace is always going to be an asset, his decision making though needs a lot of training ground work on it and I include his defensive work in that.
Mention of McNeil and I watched the first 45 minutes of their game on Saturday at Villa and he looked a very polished player. Seen performances like that earn many a player international recognition.

He is 20 years old and probably played about 20 1st team games in his career yet some seem surprised he is raw.

Can anyone name a footballer who after about 20 games wasn't raw

claretonthecoast1882 wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 16, 2024 3:41 pm

He is 20 years old and probably played about 20 1st team games in his career yet some seem surprised he is raw.

Can anyone name a footballer who after about 20 games wasn't raw

No, its rare.

summitclaret wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 16, 2024 2:51 pm

He wasn't slated for those types of signings. He was rightly slated for spending a fortune on too many gambles like Trafford, Tresor and Ramsey when we didn't sign a left back or a dcm to replace Cork. Add the suicide tactics and refusal to change and it was an inevitable outcome.

Of course but there's a lack of balance. His record in the market for us was pretty exceptional. He just made a couple of disastrous signings in Trafford/Ramsey and possibly Amdouni.
Tresor needn't have been a disaster if they hadn't played him in the 5 games to trigger the transfer. They should have made their mind up earlierm

claretonthecoast1882 wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 16, 2024 3:41 pm

He is 20 years old and probably played about 20 1st team games in his career yet some seem surprised he is raw.

Can anyone name a footballer who after about 20 games wasn't raw

Agree but with that high expectations from him is unfair and unnecessary. We know when he gets the ball out of his feet and in front of him it can be very dangerous for the opposition but he is likely to have poor and indifferent games for us too. A young man trying to make his way in a very competitive business.

LincsWoldsClaret wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 16, 2024 7:56 am

just need to manage him carefully so he stays fit.

Just need to manage him carefully so he stays.

Much quicker than Odobert, that has a value in itself. Not as good an end product, granted, yet.

When comparing to McNeil sale fee, inflation has to be factored in of about 20% since then, so maybe Dwight and Wilson didn’t go for hugely dissimilar sums, though there is still a gap.

Goliath wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 16, 2024 3:46 pm

Of course but there's a lack of balance. His record in the market for us was pretty exceptional. He just made a couple of disastrous signings in Trafford/Ramsey and possibly Amdouni.
Tresor needn't have been a disaster if they hadn't played him in the 5 games to trigger the transfer. They should have made their mind up earlierm

Personally I think there is a player in Ramsey. Out of his depth when chucked in last season and hung out to dry for a couple of mistakes. But providing he can bounce back from his injury, I think he will suprise a few.

Goliath wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 16, 2024 3:46 pm

Of course but there's a lack of balance. His record in the market for us was pretty exceptional. He just made a couple of disastrous signings in Trafford/Ramsey and possibly Amdouni.
Tresor needn't have been a disaster if they hadn't played him in the 5 games to trigger the transfer. They should have made their mind up earlierm

Trafford isn’t a disastrous signing, a season the championship will do him the world of good
Ramsey needs game time to develop, but injury has halted that at the money
Amdouni is out on loan, we’ll get our money back on hi

Tresor - let’s see what he sells for, or if he knuckles down and shows what he’s got first before writing him off

We’ve definitely had worse signings at Burnley in regards to what they’ve given on the pitch, or not as the case may be

GodIsADeeJay81 wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 16, 2024 5:59 pm

Trafford isn’t a disastrous signing, a season the championship will do him the world of good
Ramsey needs game time to develop, but injury has halted that at the money
Amdouni is out on loan, we’ll get our money back on hi

Tresor - let’s see what he sells for, or if he knuckles down and shows what he’s got first before writing him off

We’ve definitely had worse signings at Burnley in regards to what they’ve given on the pitch, or not as the case may be

I mean disastrous in the context of last season and what we needed in the market. They might still turn out to be good signings in the long term.

Goliath wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 16, 2024 3:46 pm

Of course but there's a lack of balance. His record in the market for us was pretty exceptional.

I’m not sure how you can claim it was exceptional. Surely the primary purpose of signing players in the transfer window is to build a team that can challenge to achieve its objectives. Considering the enormous sum of money Kompany spent to improve a team that absolutely walked the Championship we should have avoided relegation. As it was, we finished behind Luton Town.

He identified some good individual players, I’ll grant you that, but a bunch of individuals don’t make a team.

what now ! wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 16, 2024 1:43 pm

well lets hope that after Koleosho has set the championship on fire that VK comes in and buys him for Bayern for £50mil and was he the £100 million player he referenced ?? wouldn't be surprised either if he gets a call for the Italian national squad , not saying he will play every game, but they will look at his talent and think in maybe 2 or 3 years he could do a job for them

He got olise for that amount although a release clause was triggered I don't think he'll go for the same amount. Olise was doing it at the top level something LK hasn't done yet maybe never will.

Rileybobs wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 16, 2024 8:03 pm

I’m not sure how you can claim it was exceptional. Surely the primary purpose of signing players in the transfer window is to build a team that can challenge to achieve its objectives. Considering the enormous sum of money Kompany spent to improve a team that absolutely walked the Championship we should have avoided relegation. As it was, we finished behind Luton Town.

He identified some good individual players, I’ll grant you that, but a bunch of individuals don’t make a team.

It's hard to argue anything but. He might not have got the best out of them, that's a different story. But he found some incredible talents for small fees. Wingers like that are usually the most in demand so to get them for the fee's that he did was impressive, Koleosho especially.
Couple of million was it and had never played a first team game, I think I recall being said at the time. That's up there with the Arfield, Duff, Heaton signings for me in terms of value

This is the £100m player VK mentioned. An exceptional talent whose worth the admission money on his own

Can we stop blaming or praising VK for these signings - he was a factor but it wasn’t all down to him

Very unlucky was Luca last year. Up until his injury he was our one and only shining star. In hindsight a good thing for us now. I think a couple of years under SP's tutelage and he'll be a top 6 player. Raw pace is something you can't put a price on. I'd like to see him switch wings during games, as last year he was effective on the left.

GodIsADeeJay81 wrote: ↑

Sun Sep 15, 2024 10:27 pm

A full season at this level, with brilliant performances, will see him being sought after next summer
Potentially he could go for more than McNeil

Or we could keep him as part of our prem team!

Does he track back?