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Jhon Lucumi - Transfer Rumour


Scorer said:
I’m not convinced we’d still go for him to be honest. Hasn’t been that good, now injured and still a big fee. I reckon we might look elsewhere.
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Agree about the fee. The club won't look too much into recent performances if they've been keeping an eye out for a while
 
Baxter the maestro said:
There appears to be several reservations about signing Lucumi. Perhaps they should be addressed in turn.

Firstly, there is the suggestion that good players will be unhappy and discontent if the signed player (or the player they replace) is only on the bench. I don't think that this is true. The modern footballer seems to accept that it is a squad game these days, with clubs rotating players to manage the workload and thereby keep people fresh. This now sits alongside the developing strategy of 'Starters' and 'Finishers' (which Le Bris is an advocate of), where players get game time each week, through the use of the subs. bench.

Also, no player should be signed with a guarantee of a place in the starting line up or matchday squad. That is something that needs to be earned through performance.

Any 'unhappiness' is likely to be assuaged by players checking their bank balances at the end of each week. In the phrase - 'Professional footballer', the key word is 'professional'. They do it for money. They may love the game and they will get to play every day in training, but in the end it comes down to money. For example, Lucumi would only sign for Sunderland if he (and his agents and advisors) are satisfied that the remuneration will be better here than he could get elsewhere.

Secondly, others have said that signing Lucumi will marginalise Geertruida and making his permanent transfer more unlikely. I don't think that this is true either. Geertruida is very much a right-sided player (right-back, right centre-back or right side of central midfield). By contrast, Lucumi is exclusively a left-sided centre-back. The two players are not competing for the same place in the team/squad. Geertruida should certainly be signed as a priority. But the signing of Geertruida and/or Lucumi are not mutually exclusive alternative options. Both can (and should) be done.

As other posters have remarked, the club can't have to many good players. After the revolutionary and generally fantastically successful changes brought about by the Summer transfer window, the objective must surely now be a continuous incremental improvement in the players in the squad, with the 'least good' being marginalised and replaced. Geertruida would seem to pose an threat to O'Nein's and Neil's playing time. Lucumi would seem to be a threat to Hjelde's place in the squad. But they are not in competition with each other.

Thirdly, there is the suggestion that the transfer budget should be spent on other positions. None of us knows what the 'transfer budget actually is, beyond the need to remain within the parameters of PSR, which doesn't appear to be problematic.

Clubs don't sign players in a strict priority order. There is far greater opportunism involved. If a good player is identified, is available and will sign, then he will be brought in at that time. The club can't include a "Just hang on for a bit, we will get around to signing you, but we've just go to sign a right-winger/central midfielder/left-back/striker first" as part of the negotiating gambit. Signing Lucumi would not mean that the club wouldn't or couldn't also sign players in other positions.

Of course we don't, we've got Hjelde waiting in the wings.
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TLDR
 
Gloopy20141 said:
Seen him play about 4 or 5 times this season. Personally i'd give this one a miss for the price, he's definitely not better than what we already have.
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Not better than Hjelde ? not better than the perma-injured Alese ? Not better than O'Nein ? We have these players too.

Given the choice, which would you have - an international, with Champions League experience and who has played in Serie A for over three years or Hjelde, Alese or O'Nein ?
 
Baxter the maestro said:
Not better than Hjelde ? not better than the perma-injured Alese ? Not better than O'Nein ? We have these players too.

Given the choice, which would you have - an international, with Champions League experience and who has played in Serie A for over three years or Hjelde, Alese or O'Nein ?
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We need other positions before this. I'd trust o'nien if it came to it, not saying O'nien is better just i'd trust him and we need other positions before this. From what i've seen of this lad he's decent but not on Ballard/Alderete/Mukiele levels
 
Idlewild Mackem said:
Totally disagree. He gives us way more in an attacking sense from right back too
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Absolutely this, his engine and willingness to get up and down the right flank is immense. He might look awkward at times on the ball (maybe a harsh phrase? but not as silky as others at least) but the positions he ends up in causes all kinds of bother. Every so often he crosses a peach also.
 
Gloopy20141 said:
We need other positions before this. I'd trust o'nien if it came to it, not saying O'nien is better just i'd trust him and we need other positions before this. From what i've seen of this lad he's decent but not on Ballard/Alderete/Mukiele levels
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Football clubs do not sign players in a strict priority order. It is far more opportunistic than that. Signing Lucumi would not mean not signing anyone else in other positions. Both things are possible and they are not mutually exclusive or competing alternatives.

Ballard, Alderete and Mukiele are excellent players. However, they are not immune from injuries or suspensions or, indeed, loss of form. Should any of these happen, perhaps simultaneously to more than one of them, then you are not only relying on the admirable (but limited) O'Nein, but also Hjelde and/or Alese (if fit). I'd be far less confident about maintaining momentum in such circumstances.
 
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