3 radars that made us go 'hell yeah'

While perusing the transfer rumours today, I came across three players who I have not had much of a chance to watch play, but who have stats that jump off the page. I’m now very much excited to watch them play more, and interested in their proposed transfers. So let’s talk about them.

Ardon Jashari, CM — Rumoured bid from AC Milan

AC Milan have bid €25m for Ardon Jashari from Club Brugge, and he has the profile of a perfect Tijjani Reinders replacement.

Obviously Jashari is not scoring Reinders-level goals, but very few deep-lying midfielders are, which is why Manchester City paid €70m for Reijnders. But Jashari appears to have elite deep-lying playmaker skills, both as a dribbler and a passer, and his defensive contribution wasn’t terrible either.

The Swiss international just moved last summer from Luzern for €6m, and shoutout to the Brugge recruitment department for nailing it on this one. Brugge is going to make 5x their money after just one year.

Andreas Schjelderup, winger — Rumoured bid from Como

Tiny sample size and sub effects alert, but this looks ridiculous. I do not think that Schjelderup could maintain this level of output as a starter at Serie A or similar level, but someone who can do this in any playing time needs to start getting a lot more of it.

Because Schjelderup isn’t getting a lot of starts, Como think they can steal him out from under the nose of richer clubs. But if I was running Benfica, I’d try to get him a great loan without an option to buy, in the event your coach didn’t want to start him. This looks like someone who could increase their value significantly with just one solid season as a first choice player somewhere.

Kota Takai, CB — Rumoured bid from Tottenham

Spurs seem to think there’s some great value in signing players directly from leagues in Asia instead of waiting for a middle man from the Netherlands or Belgium to test them out in Europe for you, then jacking up the price. Spurs bought Yang Min-hyeok for £5m from Gangwon in Korea, and they’re reportedly paying the same price for 20-year-old Kota Takai from Kawasaki Frontale in Japan.

That’s a high-quality ball winner.

If you’re wondering if a player coming from Japan will have trouble with the physicality of the Premier League, I think that’ll be the least of Takai’s issues in adjusting to a new country. He’s 6’3” (193cm) and built like a brick house. He’s already got the body of a top Premier League center back, but time will tell if he can develop the other skills.

More transfer rumours

• Really enjoyed this Darwin Núñez update. He’s given the “green light” to Napoli, but no one knows if the deal is financially feasible. Liverpool want a big fee that Napoli might not be willing to pay, and Darwin wants big wages they also might not be willing to pay. David Moyes says Man United need to work on defending, creating chances, etc.

• Barcelona getting Roony Bardghji for €2m is nuts. I’m uncertain he’s good enough to ever play for Barca, but his value will go up 10x after one decent loan so good for them.

• Welcome to the USWNT corner of the newsletter. Bayer Leverkusen are looking into Malik Tillman as a replacement for Florian Wirtz, which I would enjoy quite a bit. Tillman had a ridiculous season at PSV.

• Nottingham Forest have apparently agreed to fees for both Tim Weah and Samuel Mbangula from Juventus, though both players have declined to discuss personal terms while actively playing in the Club World Cup. I’m wondering if this means Forest are willing to accept a big offer for Anthony Elanga?

• Welcome to the insane swap deals corner of the newsletter. Juve are willing to include Douglas Luiz or Dusan Vlahovic in a deal for Jadon Sancho, because those players are currently dead wages to them. United should decline to take either.

• Another proposed United swap deal is slightly less insane. Apparently Chelsea would like to send Christopher Nkunku to Old Trafford for Alejandro Garnacho. While both players could certainly benefit from a change of scenery, I’d want to come out ahead financially if I was United. Nkunku is 7 years older and has a higher wage.

• Teams keep asking about Bradley Barcola, PSG keep saying they want to extend him. I still think that given his current situation where he’s not exactly first choice, someone can convince him to make a move and PSG to take the money.

—KM

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