Winter mercato thread 2016-17 (46 Viewers)
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starting to wish we signed Belotti instead of Higuain. Don't get me wrong, Higuain is world class, but I like the idea of developing the next Italian generation, and Belotti's movements are top notch. He is also a workhorse. And for the price, obviously Belotti could offer more bang for the buck.
In a vacuum, you get Higuain of course, but when you consider the money that buying Belotti vs. Higuain would free up, I would probably look to buy Belotti. That being said, nobody knew Belotti would be this clinical.
In a vacuum, you get Higuain of course, but when you consider the money that buying Belotti vs. Higuain would free up, I would probably look to buy Belotti. That being said, nobody knew Belotti would be this clinical.
If you're unwilling to give domestic talent a chance, you'll never find out if they could start for us. We're not galacticos. It is INCREDIBLY important in the long run to develop domestic talent because those are the players unlikely to be tempted by superclubs.
I'd bet many last year if asked straight up would have retained Morata over Higuain. Well Belotti is probably pound for pound the best Italian striker right now...Belotti is a highly touted, young Italian forward with a great strike rate, and a solid all around game. There is no reason why a Belotti, Mandzukic partnership wouldn't have done the job. Is Higuain better? sure. But if I was offered Higuain for 95 or Belotti and James for 25+75, I choose the latter every time. The second pair also lasts for 5-6 years. Don't misunderstand me here though - I'm not saying if we were going to spend 95 on Higuain vs. sign Belotti and pay a dividend to shareholders, I would choose Belotti. I am saying that I would take Belotti, use him with Mandzukic and build out the rest of the team. Do I think Higuain was a good signing? yes. Do I think it was the best option available when considering cost, definitely not.
Also let's be honest, if Belotti played in La Liga or the Bundesliga we would all absolutely clamoring to sign him. 22 year old with a steady development curve and absolutely lighting it up? No thanks, he plays in Serie A and is Italian... It's absolutely insane.
It's good to by established players, but it isn't a sustainable strategy to neglect domestic players, and unfortunately, this is becoming acceptable . There is no reason a player like Belotti can not be as effective as a player like Morata. And quite frankly, we're in a tough place right now - italian teams other than Sassuolo basically won't sell to us, and we seem unwilling to give young italian talent a chance for the most part. If this continues, every year is going to be bandaid after bandaid as the annual foreign player moves at the chance to play for Madrid. A domestic strategy fortifies you here. That is why Bayern remains successful, and they still lose players to Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Anyways my 2 cents.
I'd bet many last year if asked straight up would have retained Morata over Higuain. Well Belotti is probably pound for pound the best Italian striker right now...Belotti is a highly touted, young Italian forward with a great strike rate, and a solid all around game. There is no reason why a Belotti, Mandzukic partnership wouldn't have done the job. Is Higuain better? sure. But if I was offered Higuain for 95 or Belotti and James for 25+75, I choose the latter every time. The second pair also lasts for 5-6 years. Don't misunderstand me here though - I'm not saying if we were going to spend 95 on Higuain vs. sign Belotti and pay a dividend to shareholders, I would choose Belotti. I am saying that I would take Belotti, use him with Mandzukic and build out the rest of the team. Do I think Higuain was a good signing? yes. Do I think it was the best option available when considering cost, definitely not.
Also let's be honest, if Belotti played in La Liga or the Bundesliga we would all absolutely clamoring to sign him. 22 year old with a steady development curve and absolutely lighting it up? No thanks, he plays in Serie A and is Italian... It's absolutely insane.
It's good to by established players, but it isn't a sustainable strategy to neglect domestic players, and unfortunately, this is becoming acceptable . There is no reason a player like Belotti can not be as effective as a player like Morata. And quite frankly, we're in a tough place right now - italian teams other than Sassuolo basically won't sell to us, and we seem unwilling to give young italian talent a chance for the most part. If this continues, every year is going to be bandaid after bandaid as the annual foreign player moves at the chance to play for Madrid. A domestic strategy fortifies you here. That is why Bayern remains successful, and they still lose players to Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Anyways my 2 cents.
Higuain definitely was the best player we could have bought last summer. Someone like James is nowhere near Higuain in terms of quality or need for our squad.
I do agree that when possible we should look to add Italian talent to our team but that doesn't mean they should somehow have any advantage against other nationalities if there are clearly better options available. Being Italian or Colombian should not be the main criteria when signing players and I do remember you suggesting signing the likes of Destro last summer just because he is Italian. You need to remain objective when evaluating players.
This is not to say I don't rate Belotti at the moment but if we'd have signed him instead of Higuain last summer this place would have exploded of hate towards Marotta as it should have. We pretty much signed all the players we wanted last summer apart from the Matuidi/Witsel move and even the extra €70M on Juve's bank account wouldn't necessarily have changed that.
Haha aw shit, I'm sorry.
Fair enough yeah, that explains your depressed tone. Keep in mind though we only sell when they ask to leave, not because we need the money. They want to leave to win the CL, and don't think Allegri can do it. If we get a new manager, this might change.
I don't think Sanchez would come here though, not unless Allegri is gone and we have an exciting project made by a CL-capable manager. Moratta would try to get Sanchez, but we'd probably end up with someone like Bonaventura or someone of similar quality.
Would be amazing to get Verratti, and I'd say we're in the best position to do so - as long as Real, Barca, and Bayern Munich don't want him. Not getting him would be absolutely embarrassing.
Fair enough yeah, that explains your depressed tone. Keep in mind though we only sell when they ask to leave, not because we need the money. They want to leave to win the CL, and don't think Allegri can do it. If we get a new manager, this might change.
I don't think Sanchez would come here though, not unless Allegri is gone and we have an exciting project made by a CL-capable manager. Moratta would try to get Sanchez, but we'd probably end up with someone like Bonaventura or someone of similar quality.
Would be amazing to get Verratti, and I'd say we're in the best position to do so - as long as Real, Barca, and Bayern Munich don't want him. Not getting him would be absolutely embarrassing.
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