Van Dijk

[KunDB]

STORY LINK

Telegraph claiming fee good as agreed and on his way to City.

Believe the papers or not, I mostly do not, but let us hope this rumour is true as we need a central defender added to the squad. If not Van Dijk then someone else January.

[gavin]

Whether you believe the papers or not, there is no way I believe that we are resting on our laurels even being so far ahead. It is clear that we are still trying to strengthen a few areas of the team.

[KunDB]

BBC Breaking News -VD going to Liverpool for £75m

I think they are welcome to him at that price, hopefully we can get better for less.

[lee]

75 million....holy shit

[Swiss]

They're welcome to him. His positioning this season has been woeful.

[nimrod]

They're welcome to him. His positioning this season has been woeful.

which end of the bench would you prefer him to sit ?

[nimrod]

75 million....holy shit

Yeah please have him...

oh hang on does that mean JFE ?

[goat]

pep turned delph into a sort of player, theres hope for evans

[nimrod]

pep turned delph into a sort of player, theres hope for evans

Trouble is him being about 40

(half Brendans age)

[zacc]

couldn't be happier for the  'pool

[Ludo]

Vinny's probably a write off now and Mangala will most likely be gone in the summer so we'll need two centre backs by the start of next season. Getting them both in January is almost impossible so a player like Evans might not be such a bad idea dependent on the price.

Leaving aside the utd connection he's a decent enough defender with a wealth of premier league experience. Less of a concern about getting to grips with a new league in a new country, he's not cup tied for Europe and more likely to be happy as a back up than a player like van Dyke.

[Rowley Birkin QC]

I can think of may things to describe Evans, but I'm afraid "decent enough defender" certainly isn't one of them.

[Ludo]

Bit harsh but I know what you mean.

He has undergone a bit of a renaissance recently and his international form has been excellent. As a back up to Stones and Otamendi he's certainly better than Mangala and has more experience than Tosin. He's no Baresi though I'll give you that.

[Swiss]

With the high line we play, I would worry about his pace (JFE).
He's 30 in January.

I'm quite liking the Stones/ Otamendi partnership.
If Vinny can't stay fit :-( and we replace him with another top CB. Then Mangala can go and Tosin should come in as 4th choice.

Inigo Martinez (26) has been mentioned. I don't know anything about him.

[Rowley Birkin QC]

He has undergone a bit of a renaissance recently and his international form has been excellent.

I'll bow to your better knowledge on that - admittedly I've not watched him that closely recently.

I never rated him when he was with the rags (and not just because of that - just thought he was rubbish)

[bluebrendan]

Trouble is him being about 40

(half Brendans age)

Oi, have you learned sledging since you were transported over there!

Anyhow I reckon even I could give Evans a run over 30 or 40 yards.

[Swiss]

This Umtiti fella from Barce looks tailor made for our system.
City rumoured to be interested and with a buyout clause said to be £53m, looks a steal in this market!

Although he's out with a Hamstring injury atm (4 weeks left) and Barce are 9 point clear at the top of La Liga, doesn't seem like a goer this one.

[nimrod]

pep turned delph into a sort of player, theres hope for evans

We dont need a CB, once Mendy is fit Delph could fill in when required, he could also take Bravo's role

[lee]

I can think of may things to describe Evans, but I'm afraid "decent enough defender" certainly isn't one of them.

rag wanker springs to mind ken