Enzo Fernández and Transfer Deadline Day Deals!

26:58Too many French. Too many French.

27:05Yeah, I mean, we need a centre-back. We signed the young guy, Jacque. You could argue that he's not experienced enough, but he's had a decent start. Bacala, obviously, is a fantastic signing, but, you know, he's not going to solve the problems that are going on behind him. So, yeah, it's hardly been inspiring. What were they crying out for? What were you upset that they didn't address? I think they absolutely need somebody else in the middle of the park. Somebody with strength, somebody dominant, somebody who's going to organise everybody. Because as good as the players they have, I don't get the feeling any of them are in charge.

27:46And you need somebody right in the middle, right in the spine. And they don't have to be the greatest player ever. But if they're strong and they're a leader and they can bring together the talent that Liverpool has, is because, you know, Liverpool's got some talented players. They just don't, they just seem to have lost their way. And I think a real leader in the middle, kind of what Van Dijk used to be at the back, somebody like that in the middle of the park would have made a huge difference to both the back and the front. Will you finish top four? I don't think so. Meanwhile, Arsenal have impressed, haven't they, since they started the season?

28:24Just to remind you what they've done this summer, did their business, seems to be early-ish, Bruno Gimeraich being one of the latest additions to the squad. Ticking over nicely, isn't it, for Arsenal, James?

28:39Yeah, I mean, there's been a bit of a negative reaction, I think, amongst some of the supporters about the fact that they've not strengthened the forward line. And actually, you know, they've got one in in Solis and three have gone out in Jesus, Trossard and Martinelli. and I think this kind of comes back to a statement that Mikel Arteta made straight after the Champions League final where he talked about we need to be ambitious in the market and we need to really push ourselves, try and go to the next level and that was sort of interpreted as go and get a superstar basically because it's the one thing that Arsenal are missing in that forward line.

29:16I think Bukayo Saka's got the potential to be that. I'm not sure he's quite there yet but I think that's why they then spent the summer talking about Barcola never really got anywhere with that one Vinicius Junior they were they were there ready to go if if he didn't sign the contract at Real Madrid although you always got the sense that was probably going to happen and then of course Julian Alvarez is the other one which they've been sort of just quietly waiting in the wings to see if they would be the compromise option for a player who wanted to leave but obviously Atletico didn't want to sell him to the club that he wanted to go to which was Barcelona so So I think they've strengthened incredibly well, as I mentioned, as at Villa Park.

29:55And at that game, they started with one midfield and they ended with a completely different midfield. They brought on Gimaraes, Zubimendi and Marino and they started with Rice, Louis Skelly and Odegaard. And I think that is a collection that no other squad can match in the Premier League. You might maybe argue City with what they've done today. But in terms of settled, established understanding with each other, that kind of cohesion, I think Arsenal are light years ahead of the rest. And defensively, they're clearly very strong as well. It's just that forward line where you just think, in a tight game where you need a bit of magic, we're talking the finest margins.

30:35They're already Premier League champions, but to retain it to maybe win their first ever Champions League, You just think those big games where you think about the stars in the forward line that you've got at Bayern Munich, PSG, Real Madrid, Barcelona. They don't quite have that. And, you know, they bought Victor Jokeres last summer to be an upgrade on Kai Havertz. And yet, look what's happened this season. Kai Havertz has started the first three games, including the Community Shield. In the last two, Victor Jokeres hasn't had a kick, even when they're 3-0 up at home to Coventry. And that just, I'm not saying there's alarm bells there, but you just look at that and you think, yeah, you're not, I don't think you're entirely convinced by the guy you signed as the main man last year.

31:16And the fact they haven't gone back to it again just makes me have a little bit of doubt about that forward line and the depth to it. But clearly they're the team to beat in the Premier League regardless. Reality TV shows about clubs are very much the in thing at the moment, but they're all kind of club run, propagandary. If you do a proper reality TV show on any club in the Premier League, surely it'd be Spurs, considering what has happened this summer. And who knows what's going to happen if all these new players are going to mix and improve on what we saw last year. It's been a disastrous start to the season.

31:51Tosin looks like he will be the last piece of the puzzle. That has been confirmed right at the deadline. Mudrik, of course, joining today as well. where do you even start with Spurs?

32:06Well, with the price tag, with the fact that they've spent almost£400 million, I mean, it's as if they've tried to sort of correct the last 20-odd years of underinvestment in one summer. I mean, it's a remarkable, it's just a remarkable transformation. And clearly the owners have listened to the criticism, the long-standing criticism from the fans that they don't put their hand in their pocket, that they don't gamble in the market. but I mean this is a big gamble all of it really I mean some of them are quite calibrated I think the Van Hecker deal makes a lot of sense when you think about the De Zerbi link Savinho or Savio as he's now rebranded you know he's a player that they were looking at for a couple of years so that's not a kind of reactionary one but they've paid a big fee for him but then when you look at things like the left wing situation and they were looking at Cody Gakbo and then they were looking at Ileana Ndayi and then they've signed Mikhailo Mudrik what on earth connects those three players as the profile of those players except that they play on the left wing?

33:12There's nothing that connects them. You know, there's not that is not a recruitment team having a clear list and saying, okay, this is the profile of player we want. If we don't get him, we go to number two, we go to number three. That is quite scattergun. That is we need a body we need someone okay the manager knows this guy mudrick i've seen a clip today he's been doing the rounds of um because de zerbi worked with mudrick at chatard and then when mudrick went to chelsea de zerbi was at brighton and he got asked about mudrick and what chelsea were buying and he said you know i think he could win the ballon d 'or one day well i mean he he's a he's a hundred miles away from that at the moment but clearly he believes in the player the point is though, all of this is on De Zerbe now to make this work.

33:58When you spend that kind of money and you've listened quite obviously to the manager with the Mudrick deal, with the Van Hecker deal, and I'm sure there are others in the mix as well that he's had a heavy, heavy input into, he's quite a volatile character, De Zerbe. This has got to come together quite quickly because, I mean, I was at the game where they lost to Newcastle at the weekend and there were a few boos at full time and there wasn't the fans' protest towards the ownership because they spent the money. There wasn't the fans' protest in the direction of Daniel Levy because he's not there anymore.

34:26So it's only going to come back on the manager if this isn't pulled together and there's not some cohesion fairly quickly because when you spend that money the pressure intensifies. Will it work, Ali?

34:40I'm going to go with a very conservative... No! Oh, really? No! Look, James just mentioned these things don't seem to add up. and I will continue and echo the words of James Olley, who in the world, and I just stopped that, what in the world are you thinking with Mihaly Mudrik? Where do you think, what is he going to give you? But that's just focusing on one player. All the other players that you had on that list, yeah, okay, Savio, artist formerly known as Savinho, yeah, he was a part-timer at Manchester City, a part-timer. And even when he did get his time to be on the field, wasn't all that successful nor that impressive.

35:28And then you make the sort of investments. And so this seems to be like, OK, we've been told that we haven't been spending. So now we're just going to spend forever and ever. But it doesn't seem to be with a plan in place. And beyond all of that, I am most concerned and most discouraged by the press conference of Roberto Disseri following their defeat against Newcastle, in which he went back to the well, the very used well of the mentality of Spurs is a problem. The mentality is the issue. Antonio Conte was utilizing that years ago. At some point, it is your job as a manager, as a new manager, to address the quote-unquote mentality, this sort of undefined concept.

36:16And you are bringing players in. And part of that reason is because you must think that these players have a different mentality. The players that were around for Antonio Conte are no longer around now. So this whole mentality thing doesn't stick for me. This is now on this manager and on these players to find results on the field. Everything else sounds like an excuse. The deadline has passed. What's going on with Kamara, James? Well, this is a bit of breaking news here. I'm being told by somebody at Chelsea that after reaching a full written club-to-club agreement with Monaco for the transfer of Lamine Kamara, Monaco have subsequently gone back on their word.

37:04The deal has now collapsed because Monaco have renegotiated the Balogun deal with Everton and Monaco have reneged on the agreement with Chelsea for Kamara. So it looks like that deal has collapsed, which is a big problem for Chelsea when we're talking about the midfield situation and the fact that they've allowed Enzo Fernandes to leave partly on the basis that they were getting Kamara in. And from what I'm told here, it looks as though the Kamara deal is off. Right, let's redo the whole Chelsea segment. There it is, bloomin' egg. At the end of the day, you get rid of a rotten egg and you get 125 mil.

37:42And it's not ideal that this guy doesn't come in. but I tell you what they'd be better off having a club there we go they'd be better off there you are lovely Stephen I don't want to hear I want to talk about Balogun Frank I don't want to talk about anything else not here not here so we're going to talk about Balogun going to Everton that was the big discussion 24 hours ago suggestions were that he failed a medical James but as you just alluded to that is now very much back on yeah sorry bear with me I'm trying to literally trying to get an update on that one right now. I don't want to go to Frank.

38:16Yes, it appears... Do you collapse? No, no, no.

38:22It appears that earlier in the day, Balogun may have failed part of his medical, and I think that was one of the reasons why they then, Everton, appear to have looked to have renegotiated the terms of the deal on the basis that they had some concerns about Balogun's fitness. I don't know what the details are, why that may have been the case. but because there's been this back and forth about that deal and Monaco don't want to let them both go they'd agreed to do the Camara deal on the basis that the Balagan deal wasn't happening and now the Balagan deal is on the Camara deal is off so it appears but this is very much happening in real time as I'm getting this information through it now appears that Balagan is going to go to Everton and as I say the Camara deal is off and he will stay in Monaco.

39:09Has that been a phone call from the White House? Oh, no. Is that what's done it, Jane? Is that why we're back on? Thank you very much, James. Much appreciated. The Football Reporters podcast is always a great listen, especially on weeks like this. It is available now to check out. That is available on ESPN FC.

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40:37It's official then. In La Liga, Gabriel Jesus has made the switch from Arsenal to Barcelona. We knew this was going to happen. Of course, he was in the stands yesterday for Barcelona's 5-2 victory over Raya. He's joining quite the attacking line-up at the moment. Just a confirmation of what Barcelona have done this summer. Anthony Gordon was the early switch, wasn't he, from the Premier League. Rodri then joined late on Adeyemi and Gabriel Jesus. The big names that have come across. Alex Kirkland joins us from Spain. Overall, Alex, we knew that Gabriel Jesus was going to get done. The big talking point, and we've talked about one player more than any other over the last few weeks, and that's Julian Alvarez, who said during the World Cup that he wanted to leave Atletico Madrid.

41:19Barca was very much where he wanted to go. Atleti have stood firm, and they've got their way, and he was back training today.

41:29Yeah, and the big question, Dan, is what happens now, of course, because Julian stays, as you say, trained today, trained yesterday, available for selection. What the reaction is going to be from teammates, from Atletico's fans, to him staying is yet to be seen because it's been such a difficult situation for Julian this summer. It sort of climaxed last week when he had a few days off feeling unwell, the club said, because of this whole row around his non-signing for Barcelona. He put himself out there publicly earlier in the summer, said he wanted to go. It hasn't happened. And it's a really difficult situation for a player to be in.

42:03He stays, as you say, Barca went in a different direction in the end and signed Gabriel Jesus. They needed a forward when they weren't getting Julian. Atletico have moved in the market for a forward as well today, signing Jonathan David on loan. But Julian, like I say, let's see how he tries to reintegrate Atleti. Is there going to be some sort of public statement, some sort of public apology? Does he just get his head down and play football? I think how difficult the situation's got. Sometimes a move doesn't happen, a player stays. They score a few goals and it's forgotten about, right? With Julian, it feels to me at least from talking to people, Atletico fans and people at the club, that this has been more serious than that.

42:44And it's going to take more than just a few goals for this to be forgotten, if at all. How are you feeling as a teammate, Ali, in this situation? I don't think as teammates you get involved all that much. You recognize that these are things that happen. Of course, you would want the best players in your team available for selection and available to be on the field because that makes you a better team and that translates into better results. I don't believe as a teammate you hold grudges. I don't think you... Really? The fact that he hasn't trained, is that a strop? Yeah. He's got a mystery illness.

43:18Look, these are things... If Julian Alvarez was unpopular within that locker room, then these are things you hang on to and use against him in that locker room. But if he was just one of the guys and he was going through this thing and it was his wish to leave the club and he made that public and he's done that on his own. As a teammate, you usually don't get involved with this. And the moment he shows up and he's back in training and he is in your team and your training drill and you're giving him the ball and you're just wanting that guy to give you the ball back or do something positive with the next pass.

43:51You're not concerned as to whether he's put out an apology statement. You're not concerned as to whether he was here late or wasn't here or wasn't feeling well. You're living day to day and day to day you need your best players on the field. And I think as a teammate you want this guy on the field if you're Atletico Madrid. The safest place, apart from in his house, is going to be training with the players. Right. Players are not bothered. What about fans booing him? His problem is going to be the board and the fans. And it's up to him to face it and get through it. Right. And the truth is, goals will change that.

44:27Winning games will change that. But in terms of the rest of the players, no. One of his safest spots is going to be with the boys, with the players in the middle of training. Alex, you mentioned it. Jonathan David seems a bit... It doesn't scream Atleti to me.

44:48They needed somebody. They needed somebody because they've had Julian hasn't been involved. Solos been injured. So far this season in the league, you've had Ademona Lukman playing as a kind of centre-forward. Alex Baena playing as kind of a centre-forward. Simeone, the coach, even apologised to Lukman for playing him out of position, saying, look, he can't really perform there. The results have been okay so far, but they had to bring in someone. Solos should be back relatively soon. Julian, look, he's available now for selection. But they needed someone else, I think. Simeone kept saying, look, we need forwards, we need goals.

45:22Jonathan Davids, I mean, he's got a pretty good goalscoring record the last five years or so, you know, top-level clubs in Europe, and he has scored goals pretty consistently. Look, with Atletico signings and Simeone, you never quite know, because we've seen quite often Simeone get players in and take a look at them and decide pretty quickly that he doesn't fancy them and almost kind of discard them. That's happened with some pretty high-profile players and centre-forwards as well. or he's a big fan and he buys in. Let's see how he gets on. I think he will get minutes, especially, like I say, in the next few weeks because they need a centre forward because Julian, let's see if he's ready to start.

45:57Solov not starting yet either. Meanwhile, we talked a lot during the summer about Barcelona and how they needed somebody up front. Blah, blah, blah. We were wrong. They're brilliant. Scoring goals are fun. 12 goals and they're opening three games. And a very different narrative around this side that there could have been two or three weeks ago in the fact it would have been all about missing out on Julian Alvarez. That kind of seems a long way away now.

46:23Yeah, the results have certainly helped. I mean, when you see them, like you said, they're kind of free-flowing attacking football. They've been playing with Rafinha as a force nine, scoring goals, Laminia Maas scoring goals, Gordon fitting right in, scoring goals, creating goals as well. Yeah, it doesn't look like goal scoring at this stage is a concern. Let's not forget, though, they lost Lewandowski, they lost Ferran Torres. Those two players between them scored, I think 30 league goals last season. That's a lot of goals to replace. You know, Gordon will score a few. Let's see if Gabriel Jesus can stay fit.

46:51He'll score a few as well. But it's an awful lot of goals to make up for. So far, as you say, it's been fun. They won their games, they scored lots of goals. Goodness me. It's very early. It's like talking to Sid Lowe. Let's see at Christmas time. It looks good, but it's very early. Is it too early to get excited if you're a Barca fan? Let's see. Well, OK. I mean, you've scored 12 goals. in three matches and you look good doing it. And I think the one question that you may have is Rafinha struggled with injuries all of last season and into the World Cup. And he seems to be, as of right now, the answer to that position.

47:30It is likely that he may get injured again. But even as I try to make that argument and say, well, how are Barcelona going to deal with a potential absence from Rafinha? then you begin to recognize that this is a team that frankly depends a lot on the rotation and the place interchange they have in the final third. So when Rafinha doesn't appear in the middle, you have Fermín López who's a willing attacker. You have Anthony Gordon getting in behind. Laminya Amal is coming from the right-hand side. Pedri appearing top of the 18-yard box. Dani Olmo can also chip in with a goal or two. They look great, not just because Rafinha has scored goals, but they look great because of the plays interchange and the rotation they have in the final third that makes everybody an option and everybody dangerous inside the 18-yard box.

48:17Meanwhile, Real Madrid were busy in the summer. Yeah, Alex, it's the three big players that we're still talking about, Vinicius Jr., Bellingham and Kylian Mbappe. The latter two have started fantastically so far this season. We've yet to really see any of the signings kind of make their mark on the team, with the exception, of course, of ESP scoring that winner against Espanyol?

48:41Yeah, ESP's goal, match-winning goal, as you say, was one of the biggest, most high-profile contributions so far. But they've all featured. You know, Conor Tay started two out of the three games. Denzel Dunfrees started two out of the three games. Bernardo Silva started two out of the three games. They've all had a role to play. Maybe the one who hasn't made least impact so far might be Yann Diomande. Jose Mourinho's talked about that and said, look, you know, ignore the money that we pay. It's a club record signing. he's not quite match fit. He didn't really have the right pre-season because he was going to be on the move.

49:12He's adjusting to a new club and a new system. Diomando has come off the bench for a few minutes in each game so far and shown some flashes and some moments, but he's the one that's going to take a bit of time. But otherwise, I think the signings have all contributed. Basically, it's not just about the team with Real Madrid. Those signings have made them have this incredible strength in depth now, where you can swap out Carreras for Cucurilla, Conate or Rudiger right back Dumfries and Trent they've got pretty much with the one exception maybe in central midfield let's see what impact missing out on Rodri has long term they've got two really good players in every position I think that's what we've seen from those three games so far So positive about Real Madrid Thank you very much And negative about Barcelona Real Madrid in action on Friday taking on Real Betis that game live on the ESPN app I'm coming, Stonis, at Safe Eddie Easton.

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51:42Extra time always available over on YouTube where we address some of your questions and a lot of that content ends up on Best of the Month.

51:54Stevie, are you considering taking yoga classes to help you with the possible frustration with Liverpool again this season? If you saw me in the morning and try to get me socks on then you would completely shove yoga to the side. Little downward dog. I do remember the first game I played against Vinnie Jones at Sellers Park against Wimbledon. I remember it was a free kick and it came over to me. It just saw me in my face and then he said, RAAA! You go to yoga classes? Do I look as though I go to yoga class? I mean, I don't know. Do you think for one second I go to yoga class? It doesn't smell.

52:34I was just thinking if it was match water, it doesn't smell like sweat. Somebody came and instead of taking the ball, headbutt me, and I had a bum like that, and they scored the goal, and Vinnie came to me and said, welcome to England, Frankie. I was watching a documentary on the flight back from the UK last night. It was the Mourinho documentary. Hey, shut up, Burley. Every time I've ever talked to you about a football documentary, it's like, oh, sat in your pants in your basement watching football, you sad man. And there's you on a plane watching Jose Mourinho. If you've got any questions about the Mourinho documentary...

53:09Should we try one yoga class? Just one. Let's just go to one. Seriously. Are you having a laugh? Come on, let's do it. And I'll even buy you dinner after. You can buy me a pint. If Liverpool win the next two games on the bounce, you've got to do it. Oh! I have no problem with that. We've seen you flip-flopping as to who is going to finish second. I've got Liverpool. Final answer. What? Liverpool, final answer. I'm sorry, what? My God. Liverpool, final answer. Now, what were you doing in England? Have you seen Liverpool? The question is for me, Steve, so can you read it? I'll read it. OK, here we go.

53:41The last one, Steve. Ali. Yeah! This one's for you, Ali. Oh, well, thank you. If pineapples shouldn't be on pizza, is it okay to have it in your hamburger? Well, I don't have a problem. I don't know why this is addressed to me. I don't have a problem with pineapple on pizza. Actually, I forgot I was meant to be listening to you. Yes, yes. Stephen, our colleague, has, I won't call it a problem, a flatulence problem. Yogurt is not good for that. I think that could be a worry for the other participants. You had that bet and you definitely don't have to fulfill it now, wouldn't it? If Liverpool won back-to-back games, you won back-to-back games.

54:23You won a good class with Alexis. Correct. And the only reason I said I would do it is because there was no way possible that we were going to do back-to-back.

54:35Xhaka saying Liverpool will finish second. I think it's the funniest thing of all of those. How about Don's glasses? Yeah. A little weird. His hair's gone blonde, hasn't it? I don't know what's going on with Don. We never have. In general. We never have. That is it, that brings us to the end of today's exciting transfer deadline show. Be sure to stay tuned, Frank Leboeuf returns to answer some of your questions.

55:02Welcome to the latest edition of Extra Time. Frank, how does players like Saar and Julian Alvarez return to their team and perform after the bitter disappointment of not getting their dream move? isn't it likely to affect their performance and likely reduce their value?

55:21It's a good question because I've never been in that situation, but it must be very, very hard. And I don't know how... I think he must feel awful because he started it. He said that he wanted to leave and he's staying. So... For some, I don't really know, But for Alvinia LaVariz, it's a real, real big deal. I mean, fans will be very unhappy to see him. I think he will have to apologize, work hard, say I'm very sorry. I'm going to give my best. He has to talk to the fans. He has to talk to the fans and say maybe I'm sorry. What I did was maybe inappropriate and I will show you that I can come back to my best and serve you the way you expect me to do so.

56:05So that's the only way he can work out and keep the value and keep the level that he showed last season. But it's going to be hard to come back and to be as good as he was. You OK? I'm laughing because I'm going to go with Stevie with this. OK. Biggest winner, biggest loser from the transfer market, Stevie. Any under the radar or less splashy moves that will have an impact this season? You've been keeping an eye on everything. Oh, I'm having a crossing a lot. A lot. Who's at the best transfer window? Well, can we start with the loser? Of course. It's got to be Spurs. Seriously. But they've got new faces.

56:46They've spent money. Who else was going to sign Tosin or Mudric? Who else was... Please tell me, who else was going to sign that? Right. Obri. And he spent 85 million on Matthias Hernandez. Fernandez. Fernandez, biggie. Really? I'm sorry. I mean, even Tonali, who I think is a good player, has been bang average so far. Van Hecker, who seemed to be a good signing, has been bang average as well. I mean, who actually has done anything decent? At least they're trying. At least they're making the effort. Spurs fans have been begging for signings for decades. If I own Spurs... It's not called trying, it's called spending.

57:34Yes, that's true. If I'm the owner and I give over a cheque for 400 mil, I want a bit more than what we're getting. Right. Big time. So Spurs have had the worst. Oh, I think Spurs have had the worst. Who's had the best? Who's had the best? Have to look past Arsenal. Oh, really? Guimaraes and Konza. I mean, you can argue he didn't need another centre-back, but you know what? Nobody else has got him. And he's absolutely, he will carry on in the vein that Arsenal centre-backs have done the last three, four years. Okay. and Guimara makes him better and stronger. I don't think anybody else has done any better than that.

58:09Ali, best, worst, where would you like to go? Or have you gone under the radar? I'll go under the radar. And while perhaps the player himself is not under the radar, he is well-known and a well-known commodity, I think in the market of all the things that have happened in the transfer window, Marco Curella may just be the most important player for a big-time team. And the reason I say that is it's not just what he brings to the back line of Real Madrid and his presence and the attitude, the personality, but what he does on the field offensively. It gives variety to what Vinny Jr. does in the attack because Cucurella will be overlapping.

58:47He'll do underlapping as well. He'll work the inside channels in. It gives variety to Vinny Jr. and it forces Vinny Jr. off the line, which then gets Vinny Jr. then combining with Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham. and so far that has worked really well for Real Madrid. Frank, where would you like to go with this question? Well, I agree with Stevie. If I stay in the Premier League, I would say that Spurs are the worst and Arsenal did very well. Solis, great. Chimaraes, great. Konza, great. And they really... They really... Great. ...aimed what they needed to improve. So it's why I think they did it very, very well with few did it very well and they're very compact and they have the depth on top of it so it's perfect can i can i just say in terms of the words i'm not going to focus on a team i'll focus on an individual julian alvarez he he put himself out there yeah and he said i'm going and i want to go and that's it i'm putting all the chips in i'm going all in in the middle and it turns out that he didn't go anywhere and it makes for his personal situation very difficult and while I I think on the show we discussed that the players will welcome him back in the locker room and that wouldn't be an issue it has created a nightmare situation for him in which he's just gonna have to be apologetic and and and he doesn't want to because he he said it he wants to leave so but in in In the meantime, he sort of has to play this role of like, I'm here to give everything for Atletico Madrid, but I'm giving everything from Atletico Madrid for the time being because I still want to leave.

1:00:33For him, I think it has been the worst transfer window. I'd love to know if it was his idea or if somebody else was. I know, but he was at the forefront of it. He spoke out, didn't he, in the World Cup? He said he wanted to leave. Is somebody poking him? Is somebody pushing him? Well, he's a big boy, Steven. Well, he's not. He's the same height as you. And as popular. When Daniel calls you Steven, that's a statement. Who now is the best midfield in the Premier League, Frank?

1:01:11You know, I'm sorry, but I still think last year he should have won the trophy of best player, like everybody knows, you know, and I love it. But Declan Rice, for me, is the best midfielder in England. What about the best midfield collectively? So you've got what, Rice with Gimera-Reich, Odegaard, compared to, we've got a City now, Jerky, Enzo, Anderson. Well, your boys are. I love Caicedo. I love Caicedo. Caicedo is very good. Yes, but it's not the best midfield, the best midfielders. No, I was right the first time. The best midfield. Who has got the best midfield? Oh, who goes the best midfield?

1:01:54Ah, yes. There we go. Arsenal, Arsenal. 100 % sorry. 100 % Arsenal, sorry. Stephen? You've totally confused the whole question, haven't you? I don't think I have. You absolutely are. I don't think I have. To be fair, Caicedo, Rodgers, Palmer, Charles Pedro. Well, that's not a midfielder. He's a striker. Who am I missing? Why is this such a difficult question? Who am I missing? You said Rhys James, who's not a midfielder. No, you're right, I did I. Well, you confused the question. How you confused the question, Frank? Yeah, you confused the question, Frank. OK, I'm sorry. My bad, my bad. Arsenal.

1:02:41Arsenal? Arsenal. OK, good. Stevie, Liverpool didn't address the right-back and defensive midfield issues. Breaking news. They basically gave the most imbalanced team to Areola and set him up for failure. As angry as I am now, I think Areola deserves the support from us to try to fix these issues. So please be more supportive and positive for a while. There's a couple of things. At no stage I've ever pointed the finger at Areola. In fact, anything I've ever said about Areola is... Iraola. He is... Him as well. He has been put... Exactly what the question says. He's been put in a position to fail.

1:03:26So he is absolutely, in my opinion, pretty much blameless. Until when? I don't know. OK. That's way too early to be looking at that. They're just trying to be a bit more positive. The other thing is, I get that. Now, if you're just a fan of a team and you're just going to the games or if you're watching at home, whatever, then 100 % you try and look for the good and you're positive and you try and support them. Your son's like that, yes? Aye. Your son's like that. The problem is, when I'm sat here and you ask me what's going wrong, what are we supposed to do? Am I supposed to give the supporters spiel and say, well, Cody Gagpo's doing really well And he scored a great goal And he set a great one up For Izak So it's my fault And you're going to go Oh hold on What about the rest of it Yeah So I've got I have to be honest And when When they stink the place out I've got to say They stink the place out It's just That's just the way you are So I'd love I'd love to sit here And just try and pull out All the positive things All the time But That's not me An occasional positive thing I think this person's Looking forward to say anything I think what I understood to that is that it is Dan's fault overall.

1:04:38Usually is. Yeah, sounds right. I blame Frank. Usually is. Okay. Always. What do you make of Gordon at Barca so far, Ali? Oh. You weren't convinced by the transfer when it happened. Are you beginning to see now why Barcelona made the move for him? I wasn't convinced not because of the player. I wasn't convinced because keeping Marcus Rashford would have cost Barcelona, a team that has had a history over the last few years of having some issues financially. Marcus Rashford would have caused Barcelona half what it cost to bring Anthony Gordon for a similar player with a similar skill set. That's where I questioned it.

1:05:12As for Anthony Gordon and his performances so far, he has been great. He has been outstanding for Barcelona. The element of speed down the left-hand side, his willingness to get in behind, his combination play with Rafinha and Laminya Mal and Fermín López and Dani Olmo, He has looked as good as you could possibly would have hoped for if you're a Barcelona fan. And seemingly, and I think this was a surprise not just to me, but to anybody watching, this is a guy that has been preparing for this move apparently for years, given the fact that he showed up to his press conferences speaking in Spanish and said, I am ready for this.

1:05:47And while some people may not think that that's a big deal, it makes a big deal and a difference to the fans. It's your introduction to the fans. I can see that you couldn't care less about what I'm saying. No, I do care less. No, I do definitely care. No, no, don't pick on me. No, you don't. I was just thinking how long it got. Let's have a shot. Yes, shut up, Dan. Ali, I agree with you. I think Anthony Gordon has prepared everything and he's been spot on speaking Spanish. But also the first chance that he had to score, He gave a beautiful assist to one of his teammates and that was so clever because you play for Barcelona and you know that passes are quite more important than scoring a goal and that's what he made and fans are in love with him.

1:06:40He understood everything and I think he is really, really clever. Final question. What was your definitive I've made it to the top flight moment? Great question. I've said this before. I was playing in a Merseyside derby at Anfield. It was season 83-84. We won 3-0. And I scored with a diving header. And I remember right after the goal thinking, I deserve to be here. Right. I deserve to be here. That was it. For me, that was the moment where I belong. Yeah, no imposter syndrome. This was it. I belong. Cool. Ali? When I received my first national team call-up, and I don't know how it's done nowadays, but back then you would receive a fax from the Venezuelan Soccer Federation with my name on it, calling me for whatever the games were at the time.

1:07:51I received a copy of that. My team at the time, the LA Galaxy, received a copy of that. When I saw that and I saw my name and I saw the emblem of the Venezuelan Federation and the flag, and it's me that they're calling, it's, uh, okay. Yeah, all right. I've done something here. That was significant. Uh, Frank? Uh, two moments. When I scored the 19th minute against Leicester and we won, and I shot with my outside of the foot, like 25-30 yards away, top corner, 90th minute, we won 1-0. I felt like the king of Stamford Bridge and I said what a great moment. And of course the 94th minute of the 98th World Cup when I went on my knees and I said, oh I'm champion of the world, how is that possible?

1:08:39That's great. It's incredible how you've never mentioned it since. Yeah. Never, first time. Final point, James Oli has tweeted out that Chelsea had the opportunity to stop the Enzo deal after the Camara move collapsed but they chose to honour their agreement with Manchester City. Do you like that, Frank?

1:09:04Do I like that, what? They could have stopped the Enzo Fernandes move? Yes, with Camara collapsing. No, I'm happy, I'm happy, I'm happy they let him go. Yeah. I'm very happy. Yeah, no problem. I'm sure everyone's listening is happy to let us go. As we say goodbye, ESPN FC returns tomorrow. They'll be sweeping up all of the straps, I imagine, and everything that happens in the aftermath of the transfer window closing. ESPN FC live with you tomorrow.

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