Murillo really has been absolutely fantastic for us, phenomenal signing
No Tonali, really?
How do they do their ratings? Because Udogie has a 7.23 on FotMob. Not sure why they have him so low
Udogie > Gvardiol
No Szoboszlai is insane
JWP has been great for West Ham to be fair and assists give you a boost in any rating system. It is what it is.
I find it that people, and even our fans, relegate ward Prose to a set pieces merchant.
He has a great passing, good range, tries to vary short and longer passes, often goes to the easiest, yet efficient solution (compared to Paqueta who will try what looks crazy to him… and still succeed).
I really feel safe with him, he is not a proper DM and maybe plays a bit too deep but he is a really fine player. Our fans were crazy about Downes and how he was misused but he was the kind of lateral passing. Ward Prose is such an upgrade (and for the price, he has to)
Tbf, Downes is younger, and while he was great at Ipswich (watched him there plenty since it’s my dad’s team) it’s definitely a big step up (regardless of it from them or by way of a season at Swansea). The loan might do him a world of good and he could still prove a good squad player.
One big factor ultimately though is that Downes’ best attributes are his consistency in performances, ability to win the ball back and to retain possession, he’s not at all a creative player really. Ward-Prowse is all those good things but with a better range of passing and the x-factor of his set pieces. Maybe Downes can compete for the Alvarez style role post-loan (which I think would mean working a little extra on his defensive positioning), otherwise I have to admit he’ll never be a starter when Ward-Prowse is fit
I like ward-prowse but I can’t say he’s ever had a game where I’m like “wow he absolutely he ran that game” which is what you get with great centre midfielders. He’s single handedly won us games with his deliveries but his contributions outside of that are often pretty forgettable.
i love vicario so much
He’s been so unlucky this season. The number of absurd saves he has made, only to concede by some shitty deflection, bad decision, penalty, or just having Eric fucking Dier play a high “line” makes me feel bad for him.
And he’s such a lovely guy.
I thought we were going to really struggle with whoever replaced Hugo, I could see it taking a few years and maybe even two or three poor GKs before we had someone, but Dewey has been so good. It’s genuinely a good thing that we’ve not heard that much from him, because a lot of the time with goalkeepers you hear their name a lot when they’ve dropped a bollock. Like Hugo Lloris kept doing last season.
The last few times I’ve watched Forest this season I’ve been impressed by Murillo.
Ah premier league only. Spent too much time looking for Bellingham lol. I’m dumb!
3 chelsea players when they sit in 10th really? Surely if they’d been that good they would be higher in the table
WhoScored? More like WhoFarted! Amirite?
Declan Rice - fantastic player and one of the few +£100 million signings that didn’t flop. Puts in fantastic performances when he is on and gives his all till the last minute. He really is worth his price tag.
I can’t imagine being more satisfied with a new signing. He’s had a good argument to be MOTM in about half the matches he’s played thus far
I don’t remember him having a bad game either. It’s like you’re always going to get 7/10 at least from him.
There is about 1/3 maybe a little more, Arsenal supporters, who never realized how much Rice does on the pitch and how much he influences matches. The guy is transformative and it takes watching him play week in and week out to see the results. If we could actually start Saka, Martinelli and Jesus together for more than one fixture and have a healthy Timber well the possibilities are pretty damn high.
Really has been world class for the last 18 months. Had no doubt in mind that whoever got him would be getting an unreal player
The most expensive midfielder ever should be able to turn and play through a press, Partey was better last year.
Obviously he as elite at other things but I don’t think he’s been as good as some people make out.
Maybe a bit biased here but Szobo deserves to be included in this list, he’s younger then Rice, cheaper and had a massive impact.
Both really good signings but I would have picked Szobo. Also Chelsea has quite a lot of players on the list considering their current league position. Not to say in time these signings will prove very lucrative, they very well might, as Chelsea is starting to play interesting footbal and is picking up form.
Did Garth Crooks put this together?
Jackson?