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Yevhen Konoplyanka
- Thread starter Gutter Boy
- Start date
stinkfoot
Eidur Gudjohnsen
You've got to go with the guy that would be working with him every day imo.
SpurMeUp
Jimmy Cantrell
I agree Jord in that I don't think he's much of an upgrade on what we have. Hard to tell from youtube clips of course! Is he an upgrade on Townsend and Lennon or Lamela? Lamala has a kind of cult status, where most fans back him, despite some pretty 'Arshavin like' performances. Lamela is younger to be fair and looks to be growing into the team.
The reality is, you can't just buy a Hazard, Willian or Depay. We have to hedge our bets on Lamela or someone like this guy if we think they have the raw materials and could develop. Does Konoplyanka have those attributes? From the limited things I've seen he could turn out to be an upgrade on Lennon and Townsend.
The reality is, you can't just buy a Hazard, Willian or Depay. We have to hedge our bets on Lamela or someone like this guy if we think they have the raw materials and could develop. Does Konoplyanka have those attributes? From the limited things I've seen he could turn out to be an upgrade on Lennon and Townsend.
Gutter Boy
Tim Sherwood
Apparently he's signing for Stoke
Maltese Falcon
Niko Kranjcar
Interesting post... disagree with the first paragraph but then agree, somewhat, with the second.
Konoplyanka is the closest we can get to an Eden Hazard - looking at him during yesterday's game I thought: poor man's Hazard. But then - as you say - we are a poor man compared to the money other clubs can throw at players. His main attribute seems to be his ability to unlock crowded defences with mesmerising dribbling. Unlike Lamela he does not beat one player and then lose it when facing the next. Sevilla had three players on him at times and yet he still managed an end product.
On a free transfer? To me it's a no-brainer because he will provide us with an option no other player in our team possesses. And to me that is the key to a great squad; having players who can give you a plan B, C, D...
As for those saying:
by all means tell us who those players are....
Gutter Boy
Tim Sherwood
Ayew, Lavezzi
Gutter Boy
Tim Sherwood
Lavezzi is a big player though. I think it would be like rescuing Rafa from Madrid - it would give him a new lease of life
Ayew is the perfect Bielsa/Poch wing forward. Energetic, hardworking, direct but not unintelligent. A bit like Rodriguez
I just think Kono is a bit flaky. The type of player we'd've signed between 1994-2004. A Rebrov or an Arshavin, rather than a Modric or Krancjar.
Finney Is Back
Luka Modric
On what do you base your opinion on Konoplyanka being a bit flaky? Do you watch a lot of Dnipro/Ukraine games?
I can only confess to having seen him play in our two games against Dnipro last season, two England vs Ukraine games and the recent Europa League semi final and final. But on each occasion Konoplyanka was one of the best, if not the best player on the pitch. What is it about him that is 'flaky'?
I too would just about favour Ayew if it was a straight choice between the two players, but I wouldn't just dismiss Konoplyanka who I think is a far better left sided option than any player we currently have in our squad.
Gutter Boy
Tim Sherwood
I've watched pretty much the same 6 or so games. I thought he was pretty poor last night to be honest, though good in the semi.
It's mainly reports I've read that says he's quite a primadonna - gives up and sulks at the halfway line when things aren't going his way. Seeing how quickly Poch marginalised all our other players with questionable attitudes, I think it's a recipe for disaster.
So we should sign him because he's a big player. Maybe it would re-juvenate him a little but at 30 we don't have time to let him acclimatise and I'd rather Lamela or Eriksen were given game time in the middle over him.
Rorschach
Sonny Walters
I thought he was Dnipro's best attacking player by a distance last night. He wasn't that enthusiastic about tracking back but no worse than say Chadli for instance. I could see a role for him as an impact sub especially, or depending on his end product and work rate he could oust Chadli from his position.
Anyway he's probably off to Chelsea so time to move on.
Finney Is Back
Luka Modric
I tend to ignore reports and instead go with what I see and every time I have seen the player he has looked v good. I thought that last night Seville doubled (and even trebled) up in Konoplyanka as they were so concerned about his threat).
The bolded bit sounds a bit like Chadli (although you could remove the 'when things aren't going his way' bit). Again I can only judge what I have seen and his work-rate hasn't concerned me at all in any of the games that I have seen.
If we get Ayew then happy days!.... But if we miss out on Ayew and Konoplyanka goes elsewhere then I won't be impressed at all.
Gutter Boy
Tim Sherwood
It would be like a Naybet/Davids/vdV signing. A good old pro who knows how to win and is very streetwise. Someone to galvanise the 'youngest team in Europe'. I don't mean to stereotype, but Argentineans are quite tough and often settle quickly (Lamela is particularly young so a bit different)
He's principally a LWF, so would be competing with Chadli for the spot
He drifted out of the game for considerable periods
He's probably off to Stoke, which says it all. He's free (and has been since January), but no big clubs are going near him
Lemonade Money
Steffen Freund
Not saying we should go for him, but isn't this why we managed to sign Berbatov, Modric & Eriksen?
Finney Is Back
Luka Modric
The difference being that coming from PSG Lavezzi will likely cost a pretty high transfer fee and want an extremely high wage. He has also been a bit of a failure at PSG (which neither Naybet or VDV were when coming to Spurs).
If Stoke are interested in Konoplyanka I think it does indeed say it all.... As they seem to have a decent track record of finding bargains who are suited to playing in the PL.
Interesting that you'd like us to sign Lavezzi instead of Konoplyanka because you think the latter might be a bit flaky. Lavezzi is 30 years old and hasn't really been great the past couple of years in France. Also I always thought he was a player that relied a lot on his pace - and I'm not sure it is a good idea to be signing a 30 year old who relies on pace (especially when we'd be talking a reasonably large outlay on transfer fee and wages).
I would say that Lavezzi would cost approx. £10 million + £80k a week in wages. With zero sell on fee after 2 or 3 years.
Konoplyanka would probably cost a similar amount in wages with no fee up front and is likely to still have a decent transfer fee in 2 or 3 years. They both represent the same gamble in terms of coming to England from overseas. However even ignoring the £10 million fee, Konoplyanka's gamble is probably a better one to take as he is not 30 years old and on his way down. There is also the fact to consider that one of the players is performing at a level that sees him being one of the best players in his league, whereas the other has largely disappointed in his league.
As an aside - weren't you an advocate of us getting rid of Lennon because he was a player that relied on his pace and that was likely to start going (even though he is only just 28 now)
Rorschach
Sonny Walters
I think this was more to do with him being double and sometimes treble marked (especially towards the end of the match) to keep him under wraps. He looked the one player that could hurt Seville and they knew it. Listen I not saying he's the next Hazard but from what I have seen of him he looks a real game changer. He's not perfect but if we get him on a free then certainly he's a low risk gamble I would think.
Gutter Boy
Tim Sherwood
We paid relatively big fees for Berbatov and Modric. They were risky signings, but Comolli's team had done their due diligence
Eriksen I think people left alone because of his inconsistency/tendency to go missing in big games. It's not something he's ironed out even two years later, which is why big clubs still aren't circling
Lavezzi is a tough battling player, he doesn't especially rely on his pace.
My problem with Lennon is that orthodox wingers aren't effective anymore and that he's made no obvious attempt to develop/improve/adapt his game in the last decade.
I think it's more a case of proven quality in top European leagues (and 40 caps for Argentina) vs someone who plays in a pub league and has had a few good EL outings. We've already got better equivalents of Kono (Lamela and Townsend), whereas we could do with a senior/experienced player in our front 4.
Finney Is Back
Luka Modric
So let me get this straight.... You want this player because he has 37 caps for Argentina at the age of 30 and played to a good standard 3 years ago in the Italian league?
Konoplyanka already has more international caps than Lavezzi despite being 5 years younger.
You then criticise the league that Konoplyanka plays in, but discount his EL outings where he has performed well against teams that are not from 'pub leagues'.
Additionally after how many years of disappointing seasons does a 'proven' player lose the 'proven' tag?.... After all one could argue that Soldado also counts as a player of 'proven' quality. He is also 30 and looking like his best years are now behind him.
Personally I wouldn't want us to go anywhere near Lavezzi. I fear that he would be an expensive mistake to add to the ones that AVB collected while at Spurs. I can also remember an episode where Lavezzi returned back to PSG late after the Christmas break, thus missing their tour. Isn't that the exact sort of behaviour we are trying to eradicate?