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10 years of FIF
Forum SupporterYou can't overstate how important this summer is for us. 12 expiring contracts. Every position on the roster is in flux. For once we seemingly won't have to make a huge sale to balance the books. Marotta needs to earn his keep and set us forward on a path to sustainable success this summer.
I want to keep Onana. He was our MVP of the majority of our Champions League matches. We can play a different style of football with him. I understand we'll sell him if we get offered something stupid (€80M) but he needs to stay. It's also time to let Handanovic retire. We need to appoint a new captain, and he just doesn't offer much anymore. I don't care who we bring in. Seppe is the name that was floated last week - more than good enough. We also have Radu under contract still. It would be nice to finally sell him.
The defense is a disaster. Renewing Bastoni needs to be priority number one. Then you have de Vrij and D'Ambrosio on expiring contracts, and Acerbi's loan expiring. It's time to move on from both de Vrij and D'Ambrosio. Both offer little on the pitch. de Vrij's wages are too high for a reserve player. So in an ideal world you're replacing Skriniar, de Vrij, and D'Ambrosio. You need one bonafide starter. Probably two, if you consider that Acerbi can't be expected to keep up his current form much more than a year or two. Congratulations to everyone reading this post; you've finally reached the end of the Dalbert era. Don't forget we're going to need to golden handshake Lazaro this summer.
The midfield should be set, but I have a feeling it isn't. My gut tells me we're going to try and unload Brozovic and make Calhanoglu the permanent regista. So assuming Gagliardini isn't renewed and one midfielder is sold, we're going to need two midfielders. I will blow my brains out if we sign Kessie. I want to sign someone who can offer some creativity and unlock attacks. Enough with the grinta merchants who recycle possession.
I suspect we're going to see some major changes at wingback. Dimarco will obviously be back, but I wouldn't count on anyone else returning. Bellanova's option is far too expensive. Gosens might want a starting position elsewhere to compete to be in Germany's Euro 2024 squad on home soil. I'm skeptical anyone will want to buy Dumfries, so I think he'll be back.
The reality of what I want to happen without attack and what will actually happen with our attack are two very different things. I want Lukaku, Dzeko, and Correa all out. I fully expect us to try and renew Lukaku's loan, renew Dzeko, and fail to loan out Correa. If yesterday's match wasn't the proof that we need some different characteristics in attack, then I don't know what will convince them.
My ideal squad would look something like this:
GK: Onana, Seppe, Cordaz
CB: Acerbi, Bastoni, Darmian, x, x
RWB: Dumfries, x
LWB: Dimarco, Gosens
CM: Barella, Brozovic, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, Asllani, x
ST: Lautaro, x, x, x
What I think we're going to get is more like this:
GK: Onana, Seppe, Cordaz
CB: Acerbi, Bastoni, Darmian, x, x
RWB: x, x
LWB: Dimarco, x
CM: Barella, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, x, x, x
ST: Lautaro, Lukaku, Correa, x
Regardless of scenario, we're looking at needing to integrate 5-7 first team players, which is a fucking ton. Busy summer ahead.
I want to keep Onana. He was our MVP of the majority of our Champions League matches. We can play a different style of football with him. I understand we'll sell him if we get offered something stupid (€80M) but he needs to stay. It's also time to let Handanovic retire. We need to appoint a new captain, and he just doesn't offer much anymore. I don't care who we bring in. Seppe is the name that was floated last week - more than good enough. We also have Radu under contract still. It would be nice to finally sell him.
The defense is a disaster. Renewing Bastoni needs to be priority number one. Then you have de Vrij and D'Ambrosio on expiring contracts, and Acerbi's loan expiring. It's time to move on from both de Vrij and D'Ambrosio. Both offer little on the pitch. de Vrij's wages are too high for a reserve player. So in an ideal world you're replacing Skriniar, de Vrij, and D'Ambrosio. You need one bonafide starter. Probably two, if you consider that Acerbi can't be expected to keep up his current form much more than a year or two. Congratulations to everyone reading this post; you've finally reached the end of the Dalbert era. Don't forget we're going to need to golden handshake Lazaro this summer.
The midfield should be set, but I have a feeling it isn't. My gut tells me we're going to try and unload Brozovic and make Calhanoglu the permanent regista. So assuming Gagliardini isn't renewed and one midfielder is sold, we're going to need two midfielders. I will blow my brains out if we sign Kessie. I want to sign someone who can offer some creativity and unlock attacks. Enough with the grinta merchants who recycle possession.
I suspect we're going to see some major changes at wingback. Dimarco will obviously be back, but I wouldn't count on anyone else returning. Bellanova's option is far too expensive. Gosens might want a starting position elsewhere to compete to be in Germany's Euro 2024 squad on home soil. I'm skeptical anyone will want to buy Dumfries, so I think he'll be back.
The reality of what I want to happen without attack and what will actually happen with our attack are two very different things. I want Lukaku, Dzeko, and Correa all out. I fully expect us to try and renew Lukaku's loan, renew Dzeko, and fail to loan out Correa. If yesterday's match wasn't the proof that we need some different characteristics in attack, then I don't know what will convince them.
My ideal squad would look something like this:
GK: Onana, Seppe, Cordaz
CB: Acerbi, Bastoni, Darmian, x, x
RWB: Dumfries, x
LWB: Dimarco, Gosens
CM: Barella, Brozovic, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, Asllani, x
ST: Lautaro, x, x, x
What I think we're going to get is more like this:
GK: Onana, Seppe, Cordaz
CB: Acerbi, Bastoni, Darmian, x, x
RWB: x, x
LWB: Dimarco, x
CM: Barella, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, x, x, x
ST: Lautaro, Lukaku, Correa, x
Regardless of scenario, we're looking at needing to integrate 5-7 first team players, which is a fucking ton. Busy summer ahead.
