Re: Gareth Bale
I agree with you on our spending potential, but I don't think after this summer we would keep Bale for another 2 years. If we get him for this season we will have done very well, and then he will be on his way.
Just thinking out loud here...
I think Bale is gone. I know it's a tired subject, but we've already spent 50+ million on 3 players and apparently are looking to get Lamela and Ericksen as well?? Do people think we've turned into the Mancs over night? The stories about Joe wanting to spend 50 mill are great and all but you've got to admit the timing is a bit funny. Just think back over the last couple of transfer windows when we've been in dire need of a striker and nothing... (cue arguments about Levy not wanting to invest in Harry's players and now wanting to invest in AVB). So now Joe wants to spend it all?? If we'd had Soldado last year surely we'd be Champs league, no? I just dont get it.
Well, firstly, it depends. Even though Bale's head has been turned, I don't believe that he can't be persuaded to stay till 2015 once the window shuts. Stranger U-turns have happened, and if we strengthen the way I think we will and achieve both (This is critical) a trophy of some sort and CL football, his desire to leave won't really be as intense as it reportedly is this season. Plus, we can probably offer him a record contract to sweeten the deal: again, given our savings on wages should the likes of Ade and Bentley leave, offering him 150k a week doesn't seem inconceivable.
And in reply to VolSpur, firstly, I don't think we'll go for Eriksen and Lamela. One of the two. Not both. Secondly, I believe Paulinho was 17 million, not 19. And thirdly, Lamela would cost more than 28 (Roma bought him for a reported fee of 17 million quid, so they'd be looking to at least double that). And when you add a new centre-back, back-up striker and left back to the mix, then it does get a bit excessive, granted.
However, consider our squad for a moment. We've sold Dempsey, Caulker and Hudd, and are on the verge of selling Parker. But, like I mentioned before, that leaves a lot of players with decent sell-on value that we don't particularly need. Ade, for one, who the Besiktas president has repeatedly confirmed that he's bid 5.5 million for. Townsend or Lennon, either of whom I can't see netting us less than 9-10 million quid in any deal. Rose or BAE- more likely BAE, but weren't Sunderland quoted earlier on as saying that we wanted 8.5 million for Rose or something similar?
Gomes, Falque, and our youth talents we won't be likely to use (Kane and Coulibaly) also come into the picture, as does the 3 million sell-on fee we got for Dos Santos. All in all, there's a lot of squad weight we can shift without affecting squad depth, and I can't see us not wanting to do so but selling Bale instead. If we can raise 50 million from all that lot (including the already concluded Dempsey, Caulker and Hudd deals), spread across installments over a few years, then we'll have effectively covered the spending done on Paulinho, Soldado and Chadli. Then, if the money from the new TV deal comes into play, plus any alleged spending money allocated by Joe Lewis, then like I said before, it isn't inconceivable that we could keep Bale and spend some 50 million more than we already have.
Lloris
Friedel
Archer
Walker
Naughton
Daws
Kaboul
Verts
back-up CB
BAE
new LB
Sandro
Capoue
Paulinho
Dembele
Holtby
Sigurdsson
Chadli
Lennon/Townsend
Bale
Lamela
Soldado
back-up striker
Defoe
That's a 24 man squad including our projected buys and excluding the squad players I've mentioned previously. And that looks fine to me. Hell, you don't need the new LB particularly, so if you stick Rose back in that spot you will have reduced transfer expenditure while still allowing for us to go ahead and get Lamela, a new CB and a new striker.