Bosmania? The 2022 Winter Transfer Window Thread

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 2, 2006
22,345
Philadelphia
The winter window is typically a time for rumor sites and Twitter nerds to run wild, with very few actual deals occurring. That'll probably stay largely true this season, but with a twist. Summer 2022 will see by far the biggest and best class of players leaving on free transfers in the modern history of football, and those players will be able to sign pre-contracts with new teams as of January 1st. What's particular interesting is that there are players in many different brackets. Predictably there are a lot of older players in their 30s, but you've also got massive stars (Mbappe, Pogba), prime age top level starters (Brozovic, Rudiger, Freuler, Sule, Christensen, Romagnoli), and even a few intriguing younger players who just ran down their deals (Kamara, Nketiah, Onana, Zakaria). I'm not sure how many will actually sign pre-contracts in the month of January - I suspect not too many - but it will add a different dimension to the window and to the team planning process of many clubs throughout the spring.

This isn't exactly how I would choose to line up, but you could win the Champions League with an XI fashioned from this group of players.

47750
 

bosox4283

Well-Known Member
Gold Supporter
SoSH Member
Mar 2, 2004
4,673
Philadelphia
Any reason why there's this explosion in the number of big-name players who did not sign contracts?
 

PedroSpecialK

Comes at you like a tornado of hair and the NHL sa
SoSH Member
Dec 12, 2004
27,164
Cambridge, MA
I imagine players saw the windfalls of €15-20m+ as signing on bonuses for the likes of Aaron Ramsey, Emre Can, Gini Wijnaldum, Gianluigi Donnarumma, etc, and realized it's much more lucrative to run down one's contract (or use the possibility as leverage like PEA) than to re-up with > 1 year remaining, or transferring clubs normally.

edit: That, and the market for players this time last year was so depressed by COVID that I'm sure some of their clubs thought hanging onto them for another year of service was a better outcome than selling for below market value.
 

67YAZ

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 1, 2000
8,729
edit: That, and the market for players this time last year was so depressed by COVID that I'm sure some of their clubs thought hanging onto them for another year of service was a better outcome than selling for below market value.
And agents as well as the other sundry intermediaries had a hard time shaking deals loose last year.

I agree that players and their representatives are coming around to the fact that there’s a lot of benefits to moving on a free. The fees, bonuses, and salaries tend to be much better - so much so that they offer a kind of transfer protection. Clubs are over paying in wages because there’s no transfer fee involved, which makes guys like Can and Ramsey extremely hard to move.
 

Royal Reader

Member
SoSH Member
Sep 21, 2005
2,275
UK
And agents as well as the other sundry intermediaries had a hard time shaking deals loose last year.

I agree that players and their representatives are coming around to the fact that there’s a lot of benefits to moving on a free. The fees, bonuses, and salaries tend to be much better - so much so that they offer a kind of transfer protection. Clubs are over paying in wages because there’s no transfer fee involved, which makes guys like Can and Ramsey extremely hard to move.
Though that 'transfer protection' can be a double-edged sword if it leaves guys stapled to the bench, or having to go on a new loan every season. Think it's also possible some of the lack of movement at the height of the pandemic was player-related; it's tough to uproot your family in the midst of all that, probably harder to find a house you like etc.
 

bosox4283

Well-Known Member
Gold Supporter
SoSH Member
Mar 2, 2004
4,673
Philadelphia
Is there a reason why ManCity were open to selling Ferran Torres? It seems like a great signing for Barcelona. Was Pep just doing a favor to his beloved club?
 

teddykgb

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 16, 2005
11,016
Chelmsford, MA
Pep is unusually adamant about not keeping players against their will and honestly Ferran looked good only as a striker at City. He doesn’t have the pace or trickery to win duels as a winger in Pep’s system and City are obviously looking for a striker to play the 9 every week. There’s a player in there but he was going to struggle for match time very soon I don’t blame him for wanting the move
 

bosox4283

Well-Known Member
Gold Supporter
SoSH Member
Mar 2, 2004
4,673
Philadelphia
Rumors are heating up that Trippier is off to Newcastle. His departure will be a loss for Atletico. When Trippier is on his best form or close to it, he really helps the offense flow. Fingers crossed Atletico can find a replacement because I'd rather not see Simeone forced to use Marcos Llorente there.

There is also talk that Morata, who is on loan at Juventus from Atletico, will move to Barcelona. I don't want to see him back at Atletico, so I'm happy to see a solution that keeps him away on a permanent deal. I think he'll be fine at Barca, both for his leadership on a young team and his improvement over the other attacking options.
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 2, 2006
22,345
Philadelphia
Morata to Barcelona seems like a weird deal for a couple reasons. It seems like Juventus wants him out, but its not really their call if he is an Atleti player on loan, right? And why would Atleti want to help Barcelona when they could be rivals for a CL place? Probably Betis, Real Sociedad, and Rayo Vallecano all fall off the pace eventually and both Atleti and Barca end up in the top four but you never know. Finally, Barca apparently can't even register Ferran without freeing up some more salary space by selling other players so how are they going to afford to buy Morata and pay his wages right now?
 

Joe D Reid

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jan 15, 2004
4,208
No one out of the relegation zone wanted him? Oof.
He's 31 and I believe his contract is up at the end of the season; Newcastle are the only team willing to pay a fee now rather than wait it out. (Although we'll probably re-sign him to a 5-year deal that places him next in line to accede to the Earldom of Northumberland.)
 

Zososoxfan

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 30, 2009
9,209
South of North
Heard on a Spurs podcast that Dest may be on the move. This jives with Xavi apparently not loving Dest's game. Spurs buying a weakened Barca's RBs, name a more iconic duo!
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 2, 2006
22,345
Philadelphia
Ainsley Maitland-Niles will seemingly go on loan to Roma from Arsenal. Folarin Balogun seems likely to be loaned to Boro as well.

Lots of stories about Arsenal bidding on Dusan Vlahovic but I just don't think it adds up as a January transfer. Fiorentina are trying to get back into Europe for the first time in a while so their incentive to sell seems tenuous and Vlahovic himself has a lot of incentive to wait until the summer, see which big clubs lose out in the Haaland sweepstakes, and then gauge interest from them. Big players just don't move in January very often unless there's only one obvious bidder (like Coutinho moving to Barca) or something is really broken with their relationship with their current club (Aubameyang to Arsenal, Van Dijk to Liverpool).
 

67YAZ

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 1, 2000
8,729
Many ITKs linking Coutinho to Aston Villa on loan
I think it would be a huge mistake. Gerrard has rightly made McGinn the centerpiece of that midfield and his work rate and tenacity seem to be contagious. Having Coutinho hang out high up on the wing and offering no help tracking back likely won't be balanced out by whatever attacking skills he needs to regain through playing himself back into form.
 

67YAZ

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 1, 2000
8,729
The Athletic reporting GM hat Coutinho’s loan to Villa for the remainder is done. No doubt he’ll be a huge success because time and time again my predictions are shit.

Edit: the Guardian reports that Villa are paying 65% of his wages and still want to find another fullback and centerback. Hope Stevie G made a good bet on his old teammate.
 

DJnVa

Dorito Dawg
SoSH Member
Dec 16, 2010
53,840
Similar to in the summer the noise is ratcheting up on Spurs willing to meet the demand for Adama Traore. I'm not sure if he's exactly what's needed, but if Conte wants him, then I'm good. Some reports have Spurs sending Doherty back as part of the deal.

This report says no Doherty:

 
Last edited:

SocrManiac

Tommy Seebach’s mustache
SoSH Member
Apr 15, 2006
8,634
Somers, CT
Traore is not what anybody wants him to be. He has immense talent with the ball at his feet. His speed and strength are incredible. His passing accuracy is "somewhere roughly in the 18" level and his shot distribution is just about as random. It hasn't improved in years and I don't see that changing.
 

Dummy Hoy

Angry Pissbum
SoSH Member
Jul 22, 2006
8,232
Falmouth
Conte must think he can fix Traore like he did Victor Moses…I have my doubts but trust Conte.

The Patterson signing for Everton is real nice business, that should be hyped up more. I don’t know the Ukrainian kid but seems like a good signing too. Now to get in a manager
 

Kliq

Member
SoSH Member
Mar 31, 2013
22,668
Traore can do some things really well, but not sure he solves any real problems for Tottenham. I don't see him starting over Moura, so is he just a bench weapon you can bring in late in a game? He wouldn't be my top priority during this window. Tottenham need a true playmaker at midfield, and additional pieces at both FB and CB. Also have to figure out the keeper situation (either extending Hugo or bringing in someone better than Gollini).
 

Jimy Hendrix

Member
SoSH Member
Jun 15, 2002
5,846
Traore can do some things really well, but not sure he solves any real problems for Tottenham. I don't see him starting over Moura, so is he just a bench weapon you can bring in late in a game? He wouldn't be my top priority during this window. Tottenham need a true playmaker at midfield, and additional pieces at both FB and CB. Also have to figure out the keeper situation (either extending Hugo or bringing in someone better than Gollini).
As a winger Traore is just a cartoon version of Moura with the strengths & weaknesses wildly exaggerated. Spectacular dribbler, wretched final ball and goal output.

Victor Moses-style wingback project makes more sense to me, Spurs need a more threatening RB option than Royal for the appropriate game situations and Traore could well be that.
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 2, 2006
22,345
Philadelphia
I assume Traore would be the starting RWB. He would definitely be an improvement offensively over Emerson, who seems more like a traditional RB who is a bit out of place as a wingback.

I think he could thrive under Conte, as DH said sort of like a supercharged Victor Moses. On the other hand, what Spurs arguably need most in general is to improve the overall technical level of the side and he's not going to do that.

January is hard. My guess is that their top targets at CM and CB aren't available but Traore is a guy that improves them and is available.
 

Zososoxfan

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 30, 2009
9,209
South of North
Traore is not what anybody wants him to be. He has immense talent with the ball at his feet. His speed and strength are incredible. His passing accuracy is "somewhere roughly in the 18" level and his shot distribution is just about as random. It hasn't improved in years and I don't see that changing.
But I don't think anyone's wanted him to be a WB yet. It actually may be kind of brilliant if he can defend (no data on this), press, or cross (any Wolves fans or watchers care to chime in on those latter 2?). Since finishing is his most lacking talent trait, using him as a WB is interesting. OTOH, if he's being brought in to be a RW then this makes less sense to me, since Lucas has been quite good there and there are better RWs out there.

He would be a nice alternative to Emerson who is defensively sound but offensively limited. Not willing to send Doherty doesn't make any sense to me, since he doesn't have any place in this side when Sess is healthy--although it worries me that Conte does view Adama as a RW. In any event, in Conte I trust.

Edit: Oh us Spurs are all over this I see lol!
 

67YAZ

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 1, 2000
8,729
But I don't think anyone's wanted him to be a WB yet. It actually may be kind of brilliant if he can defend (no data on this), press, or cross (any Wolves fans or watchers care to chime in on those latter 2?). Since finishing is his most lacking talent trait, using him as a WB is interesting. OTOH, if he's being brought in to be a RW then this makes less sense to me, since Lucas has been quite good there and there are better RWs out there.

He would be a nice alternative to Emerson who is defensively sound but offensively limited. Not willing to send Doherty doesn't make any sense to me, since he doesn't have any place in this side when Sess is healthy--although it worries me that Conte does view Adama as a RW. In any event, in Conte I trust.

Edit: Oh us Spurs are all over this I see lol!
Nuno resurrected Traore’s career by putting him at RWB in 2018-19 before moving him up the pitch to be a ball progressing midfielder. Traore was a revalation with all the space to dribble forward from the back, but he wasn’t much of a defender. Conte would have a lot of work to do.
 

Zososoxfan

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 30, 2009
9,209
South of North
Nuno resurrected Traore’s career by putting him at RWB in 2018-19 before moving him up the pitch to be a ball progressing midfielder. Traore was a revalation with all the space to dribble forward from the back, but he wasn’t much of a defender. Conte would have a lot of work to do.
You do realize he's managing SPURS, right?


[/s] Thanks for the response
 

SocrManiac

Tommy Seebach’s mustache
SoSH Member
Apr 15, 2006
8,634
Somers, CT
Yeah, it’s not a question of his shooting being bad. His passing is absolutely comical. As a winger he’d bring the ball up quickly to return it to the opposition.
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 2, 2006
22,345
Philadelphia
Spurs struggle to pass the ball through the press and that won't change overnight because it ultimately requires a bunch of new midfielders and defenders. So a short term solution might be to buy the guy who could be the best in the world at knocking it past his man and carrying it down the field by himself.
 

DJnVa

Dorito Dawg
SoSH Member
Dec 16, 2010
53,840
Spurs struggle to pass the ball through the press and that won't change overnight because it ultimately requires a bunch of new midfielders and defenders. So a short term solution might be to buy the guy who could be the best in the world at knocking it past his man and carrying it down the field by himself.
And here's an article that talks about how sometimes it takes midfielders a while to *get* Conte's system. In this case talking about Lo Celso and Ndombele.

Fabregas and Eriksen thrived by following Conte's orders, not their instincts - could Ndombele or Lo Celso do the same? – The Athletic
 

mjs

New Member
Mar 30, 2020
36
But I don't think anyone's wanted him to be a WB yet. It actually may be kind of brilliant if he can defend (no data on this), press, or cross (any Wolves fans or watchers care to chime in on those latter 2?). Since finishing is his most lacking talent trait, using him as a WB is interesting. OTOH, if he's being brought in to be a RW then this makes less sense to me, since Lucas has been quite good there and there are better RWs out there.

He would be a nice alternative to Emerson who is defensively sound but offensively limited. Not willing to send Doherty doesn't make any sense to me, since he doesn't have any place in this side when Sess is healthy--although it worries me that Conte does view Adama as a RW. In any event, in Conte I trust.

Edit: Oh us Spurs are all over this I see lol!
As others have noted, Traore is exceptional at dribbling and doing so at high speed. He is strong and fast and defenders bounce off of him. He draws 2-3 defenders routinely and draws a lot of rough fouls (unfortunately, not in the box). He is one of my favorite Wolves players to watch because he is so unique and singularly good at what he is good at.

All that said, he is not a well-rounded player. It can be exasperating to watch him race forward on a stunning run, hit a screamer off the crossbar or make an errant pass or otherwise fail to finish the play positively. He thrived a couple of years ago as a winger -- before the league realized they needed to double team him and foul him -- he was able to put quality crosses into the box that Raul Jimenez would head home. They teamed up for 8 (no, make it 10!) goals in 2019-2020 (when I first stumbled on the Wolves, when EPL was the only thing to watch in late spring 2020). https://www.premierleague.com/news/1670669 https://theathletic.com/1919072/2020/07/14/traore-jimenez-premier-league-wolves-goal-assist-barcelona-messi-bayern/

As a wing back, he is adequate defensively. He has not been a good presser or end-to-end defender. He does not seem that motivated to make this part of his game. He is a sprinter who is best going forward in short bursts, then needs time to recover. Wolves fans find him fascinating and frustrating. But he does seem to be coachable, and even this season he has made short-term strides in addressing some of his weaknesses. https://theathletic.com/3017455/2021/12/16/meet-the-new-and-improved-adama-traore-now-with-added-pressing/
There’s something different about Adama Traore.
It’s not his hair, which remains perfectly manicured and blonde. It’s not his arms either. They’re still shiny, greasy and bigger than tree trunks.
He’s doing different things on the football pitch, things we haven’t seen him do much of in a Wolves shirt before.
Traore’s not necessarily a selfish player. If you’re arguably the best player in the whole damn Premier League at taking opposition players on, then that’s what you’ll do. It’s your USP and it’s what you do best. It’s eye-catching, it’s explosive, it’s extremely effective. The problem was there just wasn’t anything coming at the end of it (no goals and no assists this season, albeit with the caveat yet again that he’s about so much more than just those statistics… more of that later).
This was typified against Burnley at the start of the month when Traore ran 70 yards, didn’t pass to the unmarked Raul Jimenez and hit the bar with his rocket shot (admittedly, if this was six inches lower, we’d have been hailing a wondergoal but Wolves drew the game 0-0 and Traore’s poor decision-making was the main talking point).
He was great against Burnley, in the classic Traore human Road Runner style.
What we’ve seen in the last three matches since then is a hard-working, unselfish Traore, who’s put the team first. He’s been pressing. A lot. He’s been passing to his team-mates instead of just running into the nearest patch of empty grass. He’s been visibly thinking more about his decisions when in possession.
Against Liverpool and Manchester City, Traore played for 154 minutes (88 against Liverpool, 66 against City) and pressed the opposition on 27 occasions. In his previous 151 minutes, which took in games against Burnley, Norwich, West Ham and Crystal Palace, he pressed 14 times. So, roughly half.
Liverpool and City dominated play and possession for long spells against Wolves, sure, so Traore had more opportunities to press. But these two games saw his two highest pressing figures of the season, higher than even the first three games when Wolves played an intense high line and pressed like mad.
This is progress. He performed a hard-working, unselfish role. He was also the only attacking threat against Liverpool while at the Etihad, he led the line with intelligence and strength, brains and brawn, before being surprisingly withdrawn fairly early in the second half. He was also fouled to kingdom come, like he was against Jurgen Klopp’s side (Traore was upended 10 times in the two matches). To his eternal credit, he never reacts, never seeks retribution. He just gets up and, at the risk of going Forrest Gump on you, keeps on running.
I think he would be a positive for any team, but more as a specialist who can make an impact for 45-60 minutes. I hope he stays at Wolves, but they do not seem willing to pay him what he is asking for.

[edit: fix typos, correct combined goals in 19-20]
 
Last edited:

Zososoxfan

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 30, 2009
9,209
South of North
Cheers! good writeup. I'm an Argentina stan, but I really do think GLC should thrive under Conte. He's got the toughness and tenacity that Conte demands, he has excellent passing skills and technique, and from my Freudian armchair it seems like he actually might even benefit from automating some of his game. Tanguy OTOH just seems like he's had it with Spurs. Not to say he couldn't pick up the system, but just that he'd rather move on than try. I don't have a problem with that and I don't dislike him for seemingly taking that position, I'm just bummed it almost certainly won't work out because he's a pleasure to watch.

The interesting thing is that I doubt Spurs are able to move Tanguy in January. If so, he'll be an expensive bench piece while Skippy, Winksy, Hoj, GLC, and maybe others (Dele?) remain ahead of him. Spurs will almost certainly have to sell him lower than Levy wants in the summer or risk Conte's wrath. But since Conte's not guaranteed to stay beyond his initial 18-month (?) contract, Spurs have to go along with Antonio's plan or risk it blowing up more broadly.

I'll cross post this to the Spurs thread, and mods feel free to delete this here.
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 2, 2006
22,345
Philadelphia
Q: Should we buy established talent who can step right in and save us from relegation or younger players that we can build around for the future?

A: Neither. Let's spend 20m on Chris Wood.
 

DJnVa

Dorito Dawg
SoSH Member
Dec 16, 2010
53,840
I mean, it didn't exactly work with Mourinho at Tottenham, but whatever




I like Bergwijn, so I wouldn't like this

 

Cellar-Door

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 1, 2006
34,460
Q: Should we buy established talent who can step right in and save us from relegation or younger players that we can build around for the future?

A: Neither. Let's spend 20m on Chris Wood.
He's got a pretty solid history as a PL goalscorer. I wouldn't pay that for him, but I'm not a bottomless well of cash looking for goals either.
 

Kliq

Member
SoSH Member
Mar 31, 2013
22,668
Q: Should we buy established talent who can step right in and save us from relegation or younger players that we can build around for the future?

A: Neither. Let's spend 20m on Chris Wood.
I'm not sure about the amount of money, but Wood is one of the more reliable strikers in the EPL that won't cause you to break the bank, having scored at least 10 goals in four of the last seasons, and that is playing for a side that doesn't exactly dedicate a lot of time to scoring goals.

It also accomplishes another goal: Weaken Burnley, who they are fighting with in the relegation battle.
 

coremiller

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 14, 2005
5,846
I'm not sure about the amount of money, but Wood is one of the more reliable strikers in the EPL that won't cause you to break the bank, having scored at least 10 goals in four of the last seasons, and that is playing for a side that doesn't exactly dedicate a lot of time to scoring goals.

It also accomplishes another goal: Weaken Burnley, who they are fighting with in the relegation battle.
It's got to be pretty rare for one club in a relegation fight to sell one of their starters to another club they're fighting against for relegation. If I'm Newcastle, I would be concerned that Burnley knows something about Wood that I don't. Even if Burnley are strapped for cash, surely the 20m in the short-term isn't worth the increased relegation risk.
 

scott bankheadcase

I'm adequate!!
SoSH Member
Nov 1, 2006
3,057
hoboken
It's got to be pretty rare for one club in a relegation fight to sell one of their starters to another club they're fighting against for relegation. If I'm Newcastle, I would be concerned that Burnley knows something about Wood that I don't. Even if Burnley are strapped for cash, surely the 20m in the short-term isn't worth the increased relegation risk.
Is it a release clause? I'm not sure they have a choice.
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 2, 2006
22,345
Philadelphia
He's got a pretty solid history as a PL goalscorer. I wouldn't pay that for him, but I'm not a bottomless well of cash looking for goals either.
I'm not sure about the amount of money, but Wood is one of the more reliable strikers in the EPL that won't cause you to break the bank, having scored at least 10 goals in four of the last seasons, and that is playing for a side that doesn't exactly dedicate a lot of time to scoring goals.

It also accomplishes another goal: Weaken Burnley, who they are fighting with in the relegation battle.
I hear what you guys are saying. But he has also fallen off badly this year at age 30 in terms of both goals and XG and you also have to wonder how much his earlier goal scoring form for Burnley is going to translate to an Eddie Howe team. Beggars can't be choosers but it still seems like a pretty desperate move.
 

Jimy Hendrix

Member
SoSH Member
Jun 15, 2002
5,846
I hear what you guys are saying. But he has also fallen off badly this year at age 30 in terms of both goals and XG and you also have to wonder how much his earlier goal scoring form for Burnley is going to translate to an Eddie Howe team. Beggars can't be choosers but it still seems like a pretty desperate move.
They’re a pretty desperate team.The fans are thinking about all their world class fantasy players, but at this point their decision makers would probably be better focused on what players they can actually overpay for a Wolves-esque “walk the Championship” season to come back up next year.