2021/2022 Forwards Rumours Thread

Lol 16 goals

Dzeko will be 3-4th striker. 10 goals would be amazing in my books.

Strale said:

@tonyclifton sorry I'm nitpicking and I get the point, bit I need to add Solari was big talent, unlike Ricky Alvarez et al. He had a lot of troubles iirc, but what I'm sure of he doesn't belong in that group imo

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In all fairness, Correa is a fine player. Like Lautaro, he has the abilities to wreak havoc on opposition's defense. But of course I'd prefer to have Lautaro who is already a better player than Correa, while being younger and improving too. Signing him is necessary ONLY if Lautaro leaves.

As it stands now, Lautaro is most probably gone and we'll sign Correa, which is also another factor of the Correa hate I guess.

Going from Conte, Hakimi, Lukaku and Lautaro to Inzaghi, Dumfries/Bellerin, Dzeko and Correa makes my soul cry.

We NEED to keep Lautaro.

RickyMaravilla'sRightFoot said:

These names we’re linked to are depressing. I just don’t see where the firepower is coming from. How are we replacing Lukaku’s G+A with any of these names above?

we aren’t. Guess I’m watching next season for the lols *sigh*

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This post sees the core of the problem. By selling Hakimi and Lukaku we lost 2 of our top 3 scorers. Lukaku had scored 30 goals and Hakimi had scored 7 goals last season. And now their most likely replacements seem to be:

Dzeko 13 goals in 2020/21
Correa 8 goals in 2020/21
Dumfries 4 goals in 2020/21

I can't see how these 3 could replace Lukaku and Hakimi goals. Best case scenario we get around 10 goals from Dzeko and a similar number from Correa but i don't think we could realistically expect more from Dzeko at the age of 36 and from 27-year old Correa whose career high is 9 goals. Dumfries is an unknown as he has never played in a top league. Perhaps we will get goals from him but only time will tell and i certainly can't see him having Hakimi contribution.

Some people say our playing style is going to be different which will allow more players to score so they could replace Lukaku goals. Let's see how realistic this is. Last season we had:

Lautaro 19 goals
Alexis 7 goals
Perisic 5 goals
Eriksen 4 goals
Darmian 4 goals
Barella 3 goals
Skriniar 3 goals
Gagliardini 3 goals
D'Ambrosio 3 goals

The only one who theoritically has big room for improvement in terms of scoring is Lautaro but he would have to make a major step up. Hakan could outscore Eriksen but i don't think we can expect double digits from him. Barella's career high is 6 goals back in 2017/18 so i don't think we can expect big improvement there and i can't see how the others could do much better. From the rest only perhaps Brozovic, a fit Sensi and the addition of Dimarco could give us few more goals but.

I’m expecting a good amount (4-5 goals each) from the wingbacks, Di Marco - Dumfries should be a goal threat IMO.

Again, what gives me hope is that we watched Inzaghi turn that bum Immobile into a world beater every time he put on a Lazio shirt.

Immobile is a limited striker but he isn't bad. He had scored 22 goals at Torino in 2013/14. He just had two bad spells abroad. If you want to give credit to Inzaghi for turning a nobody into a revelation then your guy is Luis Alberto.

Yeah 37 goals is an ENORMOUS task to replace. If Lautaro can improve his goal tally by let's say +30%, it would make it 25. That would be pretty good if we consider we get more goals from our 4th striker in Dzeko, maybe 10? (Pinamonti had 1?)

I don't know, just feels IF Vlahovic is really unreachable this summer, we should go for Kean on loan + option. I can't see Kean scoring less than 10, maybe 12 at minimum if he gets split minutes with Dzeko or bit more. He's not Balotelli even if he has had his bad behaviour. I'd be willing to take the risk at this point (I've been against him before).

And this is because we just don't have too many options. Blowing 40m€ load on Zapata just feels wrong in these times when we are in a "save money" mode. We get what, 2-3 top seasons from him? Other young strikers abroad cost probably like 60m€ or more. Don't want Tammy Abraham at 40m€.

Il Drago said:

Immobile is a limited striker but he isn't bad. He had scored 22 goals at Torino in 2013/14. He just had two bad spells abroad. If you want to give credit to Inzaghi for turning a nobody into a revelation then your guy is Luis Alberto.

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Immobile needs space to be able to do his job. Just look at Italy or his time at Dortmund or Sevilla. These teams are normally dominant and don't play reactive football therefore Immobile is useless. But indeed credits for Inzaghi because some players actually grew under him with Luis Alberto as best example. That's why I think there will be some players (Lautaro, Barella, Bastoni) who will become even better this season. Conte limited the players to his tactics and instructions, they were like robots in the field.(Don't say this is a good or bad thing just an observation). I have the feeling the players will have a bit more freedom with Inzaghi to develop themself to the next level.

With Inzaghi our midfielders will have to score more because that's what he expect them to do. And we saw it in the pre-season already. We aren't just reliable on our strikers to score.

Apparantly were still interested in signing John Carew and Tommaso Rocchi.
Free signing and low contract fees.

I really want Zapata. i think that on paper, Toro, Alexis, Dzeko and Zapata is better than what we had last season. We have more space to rotate and change our tactics. I agree that 40M is not what we should pay, but i believe that if Atalanta will find a replacement, we can get him for 30M and then its worth it.

Just please dont get Correa. I would take Kean, would love to see Belotti here, but not Correa.

javier_zanetti <3 said:

I really want Zapata. i think that on paper, Toro, Alexis, Dzeko and Zapata is better than what we had last season. We have more space to rotate and change our tactics. I agree that 40M is not what we should pay, but i believe that if Atalanta will find a replacement, we can get him for 30M and then its worth it.

Just please dont get Correa. I would take Kean, would love to see Belotti here, but not Correa.

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I don't think 30m is worth it for zapata either. I don't even think 20m is.

Zapata or Vlahovic. 30m or 60m. Fine with either. Not delighted, but it's not a bad roster to have. Just wrap it up quick.

No Correa, no Kean.

RickyMaravilla'sRightFoot said:

These names we’re linked to are depressing. I just don’t see where the firepower is coming from. How are we replacing Lukaku’s G+A with any of these names above?

we aren’t. Guess I’m watching next season for the lols *sigh*

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I am under zero illusions - this new squad is being strategically designed for 4th place. The ownership is not willing, or financially capable, to aim any higher.

Of course, the fact that this is largely self-imposed, makes this all the more disgraceful. All I hope is that the damage and stripping away that we deliberately inflict upon ourselves, in an attempt to lighten the financial burden, does not go too far, (mo)lest we see another banter decade like the one we just emerged from.

There's no question we've removed ourselves from any serious scudetto race, but we're still finely balanced for a top 4 spot. Any further "downsizing" however, and we may tilt the balance irrevocably.

I mean seriously. Replacing Lukaku with 40 year old Dzeko and the talented-but-inconsistent Correa. Is there anything more banter than that? That's exactly what we did with Eto'o and Forlan / Zarate. Every move we're making is straight out of 2014. Seems like we really want to go back there.

Universe said:

I am under zero illusions - this new squad is being strategically designed for 4th place. The ownership is not willing, or financially capable, to aim any higher.

Of course, the fact that this is largely self-imposed, makes this all the more disgraceful. All I hope is that the damage and stripping away that we deliberately inflict upon ourselves, in an attempt to lighten the financial burden, does not go too far, (mo)lest we see another banter decade like the one we just emerged from.

There's no question we've removed ourselves from any serious scudetto race, but we're still finely balanced for a top 4 spot. Any further "downsizing" however, and we may tilt the balance irrevocably.

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Yep. Inzaghi's defence has always been piss in lazio, so hopefully our better defenders help us there.

I think milan are going to be piss this season and will struggle for top 6. Napoli will be tough this season and will be top 4 most likely. Juve atalanta are locks for top 4 IMO. Lazio under sarri I don't know, probably.

vlahovic is more then 60, we will have to wait and see his new contract
there are reports commisso wants 70-80 mil and there are epl around the corner
its impossible to get him

raspadori is not for sell, again 40+ mil for him if we want to get him
its impossible too

zapata is not for sell, thats why 40+ mil price on him

belotti, they dont like marotta there, belotti dont want to be a dick and force a move, again tough cookies



and there is dzeko, the only easy, fast deal to make, and we got him

we got a player that nobody wants

hooray

No reason to seek to replace 37 goals scored.

All we need is keep the defense tight and the goals to be significantly more than the conceded ones. Not having a 4th or 5th goal in a dead match shouldn't be something we should be worrying about.

Each season is different. Hakimi is a huge loss for our attacking element, but whomever plays up front will still get a good amount of chances to convert if we stick to a 2 man attack.

Midfield is far more important and I'd rather we get someone great there if there's a concern of losing Brozovic.

brehme1989 said:

No reason to seek to replace 37 goals scored.

All we need is keep the defense tight and the goals to be significantly more than the conceded ones. Not having a 4th or 5th goal in a dead match shouldn't be something we should be worrying about.

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Good point. This is true, however I don't know how many matches we won by over 2 goals.

But indeed as long as the defence works, we can do with lesser amount of goals. And actually, if we are demanding around he same amount of goals we lost, we are close to winning the Scudetto again. At least I'm already conceded that objective (as a fan).

the problem is, we didnt buy any good player for midfield or wingback


but agree 100%, i dont give a fuck about our attack as long we will got top players for midfield and defence

CafeCordoba said:

Good point. This is true, however I don't know how many matches we won by over 2 goals.

But indeed as long as the defence works, we can do with lesser amount of goals. And actually, if we are demanding around he same amount of goals we lost, we are close to winning the Scudetto again. At least I'm already conceded that objective (as a fan).

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7 games with 3+ goal difference
9 games with 2 goal difference

That's 16/28 games won with more than 1 goal difference.

We're chasing results, not goals scored.