The Overlap Breakdown: One Perfect Signing For EVERY Premier League Club

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1:32Hello everybody, welcome back to the Overlap Breakdown channel. I'm joined as always by my co-host, Umair, who's a professional football scout and analyst. And we're here to pick one perfect transfer for every single Premier League club this January transfer window.

1:49Just in case anyone's curious, we have no idea who we've picked for each club. So we could have, obviously, players who we both picked for one club, which is going to be interesting. But I guess I'm going to start right from the top because I've got number one, which is Arsenal. And just for everyone, we were recording this on Monday after the FA Cup third round tie against Manchester United. And this player that I've got is very interesting in terms of what we saw from that game. And I've gone with Alex Bainia. so I just I think me and Imi have spoke about this a lot going into the season he's a 23 year old midfielder from Villarreal who's played mostly as a left centre midfielder but has also had time out on the wing and I'm not going to say he's a left winger but I think we had a conversation quite early on in the season about how Arsenal were going to this like bulldozer approach and had a lot of big lads and set pieces and duels and stuff and I actually think they've almost lost a bit of that technical flair within their team.

2:53Yeah, they've given a big space to you. They've lost ability. Yeah, yeah, they've lost ability in the pockets and without like Martin Erdegaard and Mikhail Saka on form and combining with like Timber and stuff, I feel like they've really missed a bit of fluidity, especially on that left-hand side. So I have picks by Nia. I think I've watched him quite a lot. He's got four goals, five assists, and 16 La Liga appearances. He's second in the league for expected assists and second for most key passes in La Liga too, behind in both metrics only to Rafinha who's been one of the best players the best in the world at the moment honestly he's been incredible we're coming off the Al Clasico Super Cup where he was absolutely incredible again and I think this is just a player that I look at and I think that Arsenal need I actually thought Fabio Vieira was going to be that player who was going to play these really risk-taking high volume chance-creating passes and it just hasn't played out like that and I look at a player like Bruno Fernandes from Manchester United who in these big games recently for United and historically in his Manchester United career can create something out of nothing and I'm looking for a player who wants to take risks who's good in the pocket who's got an eye for a pass maybe even takes a set pieces and just be really aggressive on the ball and I think this is the perfect sort of player I like the fact that he's a left centre midfielder but he's also comfortable rotating with a left back and a left winger and you know swapping positions and being really nippy inside the pocket and And yeah, I just look at this player and I think he's, I don't think he'd be ridiculously expensive.

4:25I think Arsenal have signed, not old players, but I think he also brings the average age of the squad back down. He's only 23 years old. And in La Liga, he's a first for passes into the penalty area, which is what Arsenal want if they're facing low blocks. And I think Martin Erdegaard has come under a lot of scrutiny by Arsenal fans because he's not a player who's going to play them risk-taking passes. And he's not a player who's going to constantly break down he's blocked he's more of a fluid player in the pocket who's really good really silky on the ball and I think they just need a volume high I've always I've always said this but I think Declan Rice is just a number 6 I don't like the the number 8 experiment I've said this to you before but I just I just don't see how you get how Rice is used best as an 8 I think he's I think he's a number 6 in front of a back 4 I think you play two split 8s ahead of him I think you drop in Martin Erdegaard when you need him to beat the press and take the ball and you leave a player like Alex Bain you're high and that's the way I look at it I think another player who's in this type of mode I kind of overlooked him but Xavi Simons I think he's or Xavi Simons brilliant footballer he's similar to you know goals, assists high quality high volume chance creating smart yeah that's the type of player I want and I think I understand a lot of people saying they need a set forward and a winger but this is yeah that's who I'd go with so yeah I mean I'm not sure do you have him anywhere in the ADO no no not in mine and by the way there's so many there's literally so many players to choose from and also we we made our lists at about I would say midnight 1am so he's not even a player that crossed my mind but he's a brilliant player and I've heard you know people who I respect and people whose takes that I appreciate mention him as a potential option for for Arsenal as well so um if not him directly certainly that sort of profile so yeah good child like i'm not mad at it at all so all right on to you now i've got uh aston villa i think i just kind of went through the teams that i i'd been given and tried to pick a position that they could improve on most um and then you know think of what sort of player what sort of profile um in that position would work and you know some of these names aren't the most realistic but you know they're probably pushing the boundary of being feasible and we've seen crazier transfers happen but for Aston Villa I've gotten Jeremy Frimpong I know it would be a downgrade possibly a downgrade on you know his current team in fact he's in the Champions League and they're pushing high up on the table and things like that but if I was to go through my rationale I think one there's always the allure of moving to the premier league and i'm sure that there's uh teams doing a little bit better than aston villa who would be interested in frimpong but for aston villa needing that sort of right-sided player whether that be um a fullback or a winger i think he facilitates both and if he were to play as a right back the ability to push forward and be that sort of high and wide right sided width and then you bring in your right winger a little bit to play a little bit more narrow or you can just simply just almost just put him on that sort of right wing um from the start of giving us a quality and also like Unai Emery he likes moving between a four and a five I know I know he's played both um you know in the past as well I just think he really suits that side the way that they play Watkins up top um you know Durant in the side whether he stays or whether he goes we don't know but yeah that side in general for me um you know in around those sort of Europa League spaces or pushing Champions League spaces in the Premier League, I think it really suits what they need.

8:19Yeah, I think he's incredibly fast. He's one of the fastest players in the Bundesliga football stop and probably one of the fastest players in Europe. I think what you said there, having the ability to play him as a right midfielder and as a right back is so good because I think in the bigger games, they could play him as a right midfielder. He's played high for Leverkusen. I actually watched Leverkusen against Dortmund at the weekend and he played as a right midfielder with Alex Grimaldo as a left midfielder in a 4-4-2 block. And it was like, that's where I'm probably seeing, you know, just dropping into right wing, back on the block.

8:50We've seen United Embry move into almost these, six at the back, set of defensive loops. So even if you do play like a 4-4-2, which is what Aston Villa kind of, you know, their team suits playing that sort of 4-4-2 formation. When you do drop in defensively, you've got Frimpong, and I'm not saying Grimaldo, but someone like Grimaldo, left mid, right mid, and you've got a back six, that looks like that. You know, it's almost six natural defenders, but also your left back or... The attacking quality. Yeah, yeah, they're very attacking, your flank players. So yeah, someone like that for me, but Frimpong, I think, you know, if you do go big, it would be really ideal for that Villa side.

9:25That's a strong start from you, I'm not going to lie. Right. I've got Bournemouth. This was really tough because I actually looked at Bournemouth's team and I didn't really see many holes. Obviously, they've got two strikers who've got big injuries, but I think signing their centre-forward just the colour for injuries is a bit... You've got two good centre-forwards there. You've got really good defenders. I looked at goalkeeper, but I think Kep has just come in and he's okay. I've actually gone with a midfielder, and I've gone with Lamine Kamara from Monaco. 21 years old, 2022 AFCON young player at a group stages.

10:03and I think for Iriola this is a player who I think is exactly what he needs I think we've often seen people talk about the next Kante and the next big ball winner and I actually think this guy's probably going to be the one to be that kind of player he's a boxer, box midfielder he's very active between both boxes he's actually really good at going forward as well like scarily good at going forward but he's got the fourth most tackles in Ligue 1 he's a physicality first player but he's really good technically. Very springy in the press. You know how Iriola likes his midfielders to be. And I'm looking at Tyler Adams, Ryan Christie, Lewis Cook and players like that and I'm looking at what they're missing.

10:46And I think an agile, small, volume, ball-winning midfielder to add to that midfield to stodge it up in there. And I think he could also be one of them players who can win the ball and drive forward for like metres and metres of grass. And I just think he's really, really good. and I watched him against Arsenal at the Emirates and he was really sound, like really technically sound, doesn't really lose the ball too much. I think at Arsenal, he had like 45 out of 46 passes. Like he barely misplaced anything. And he was just, he's just really good. For 21 years old, he's played at AFCON in 2022. So that's three years ago.

11:22So he's got top flight experience, got minutes under his belt. He's playing in a really strong physical league. Yeah, I just love this player. I actually think he could possibly go a step higher than Bournemouth I actually think he could play in Europe for a Premier League team but 21 years old he's one of them players that I could see Bournemouth signing integrating into the team letting him grow not putting too much pressure on him they've got really good midfielders already he doesn't have to deliver straight away and I'm not sure about with all these transfers by the way I'm not sure like if a player's being linked to a certain club like if they're already like under negotiations with another club or how much money certain clubs have to spend but Lamine Kamara for me isn't just one for Bournemouth but I think if anyone wants a very good, pressing midfielder who's really good between both boxes, both on the ball and off the ball, then this is the one.

12:12Yeah, I think most of the players on my list as well, on your list, there'll be players who we think can make the step up to Premier League quality and if we're going to dream transfers or ideal transfers, they're probably a slight step just above what will probably happen but yeah, they fit perfectly and I've not watched too much of him but in terms of what you're describing I think he fits into the philosophy of an Areola team and I think people don't really appreciate or clubs even at this highest level don't really appreciate almost the role and the profile of players moving into a new philosophy and how that translates so I think that's where good players end up making the wrong move but yeah given that consideration I think yeah certainly a good shout who do I have?

12:55I've got Brentford yeah I've got Brentford Yeah, Brentford's tough I think they're an interesting team Because they've been We've mentioned this before But home and away form It's almost sort of yo-yoed Between two extremes With Brentford I think Their back line could do With a little bit of reinforcement You know, got some Less experienced players In that back line I think their midfield Is okay, their front line, good So I looked for a centre back I know that they tend to play with three at the back at times as well. And with that being said, you need a player who's fairly versatile positionally, but somebody who's physical enough to handle the Premier League.

13:39And, you know, with Brentford, they like to play on those long balls, those set pieces. How can you marry all of those qualities together? So I went for Sam Buchamer from Bologna, six foot two tall able to invert into sort of midfield positions and carry the ball really well he's played sort of in the three at the back system in the past I think he's got a nice long pass on him decently paced as well so yeah when you combine all of the attributes and I think he's at a good age as well I'd need to check but I think he's 26 27 yeah so yeah I think natural tendency to be quite aggressive in his play and quite front-footed which is something that Brentford have lacked a little bit I think when we look at the teams like Nottingham Forest for example with their centre backs you kind of need like sort of a leader somebody to hold the back line and then somebody to push forward and be a bit more aggressive and he's certainly somebody who can push forward and be that player with some other leaders in the back line and yeah I think he fits the philosophy of that team really well and it's probably around about the time where he gets that move to the top level because he's worked his way up the ranks.

14:54He's kind of proven himself now in Serie A and yeah, it'll be nice to see Thomas Frank work with a player of that quality. That seems like a really niche market opportunity like 26 at Bologna. It seems like one of them that Brentford would actually go for. Do you know what I mean? Yeah, I feel like with players, I mean, it depends on how many minutes you play as a young player but teams kind of don't like making the signings where it's like sort of 27 28 and on the edge yeah yeah because they want to you know sign a project player or sign the like the the star signing kind of thing and yeah i think in the championship that's another league where that really becomes an issue in the sense that like there's 26 and 27 year olds in the championship who could do a really good job in the premier league but because they're at that age they're almost kind of uh yeah you know shoehorned into being at that level for the next few years.

15:50So yeah, anyway, that's a play who I think would make sense for Brentford. Probably higher, again, like you mentioned, but yeah, one that's impressed me. Right, so moving on to the next one. For me, I've got Crystal Palace. This is a bit of an interesting one. So obviously the signing SA from Millwall, it looks like, and he's going to probably play as the right 10 or one of the 10s. So that's going out the window. I think the standout position in this is left wing back. And I've actually gone for Maxime Di Kuyper from Bruges, a player who's already got five caps for Belgium. He's one of the most exciting players in Belgium at the moment, one of the most attacking wing-backs in the division.

16:29He's third for expected assists, but he's only got two assists from 6.1 expected assists, which basically means he's feeding really high-quality chances to strikers who aren't finishing them. So obviously pairing him with better-quality players, you will only really expect the return on them numbers to go greater. He's third for chances created overall. he's an attacking first player overlaps for fun he can play both sides of the wing back as well and I think it's a position on the left side of the wing backs where Crystal Palace really needs some depth there some strong depth and the fact that he's he's capable of playing both sides is really good and I think they just need energy on the ball pace behind the last line and someone who can go between the boxes similar to Manchester United with that wing back so Maxime de Kuyper is definitely is definitely one to keep an eye out not just for Crystal Palace but it just in going forward and he's 24 years old and he's really starting to come into his own now in the last few years and seasons.

17:24So that's what I've got for Palace. Who have you got? Who are you, mate? I've got Chelsea. Bit of a rogue child, but I looked at their team and I thought, look, they're balanced, but a true number six is kind of what they need or what they'd excel with. I really like the pivot of Laovia and Caicedo. Obviously, Laovia has his injuries and he's also somebody who probably makes sense as being that second defensive midfielder rather than that sort of sitting number six. So I've gone for a little bit out of the box, Ruben Neves, I know he's at Saudi. Wow. But he's, yeah, he's somebody who, I think his contract is very, not at the end of this season, but perhaps at the end of next season.

18:06He's come out and said, look, he's happier in the Saudi league and he'll probably stay there. But as a player who's not massively old, as somebody who is really assured as that sitting number six i think it would be foolish for teams not to try and entice him back um to play at the highest level as a city fan um you know i would be happy to see him come and play for us um in that number six role with rogery being out at the moment but i think yeah if i'm looking at the team in general um yeah i think he would suit that and we know his quality shots from the edge of the box ability to switch play ability to receive the ball and dictate play from deep um and you don't lose that quality it might take some time to get back up to speed but we've seen in the international tournaments the players that have moved to Saudi still have it and still have the quality to play at the highest level Kante, Laporte etc so for me I think yeah he would really be impressive in that position and yeah I hope to see him in the top division this season next season at some point when his um contract does expire at the very least.

19:12Yeah, I just checked. He's aged only 27. I thought he was a lot older than that. In his prime. Yeah, no, it's really good. I like how you're going for market opportunities and you're going for players who maybe wouldn't be available next year or the year before for the similar price and stuff. It's a good shout. I like the range on that.

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21:37Right, next up I've got Fulham. I've actually gone for a centre-forward. So Jimenez, he's 33 years old and I think there's doubts about him signing a new deal. And if he does, obviously he's 33 still. And Rodrigo Munez hasn't hit the heights at the back end of last season. So I'm looking for a centre-forward. I actually had a look at the two Serie A lads, Lorenzo Luka and Esposito for Empoli. but I've actually just gone with one who's just like never really been picked up. I've gone with Jonathan David, the 25-year-old from Lille. Like, honestly, I don't know how. Yeah, I don't know how no one, like it sounds stupid because it seems to be like a grey area on this signing where like he might not be as good as he is but like his goal return season on season, his completeness, like he's really good with his back to play, really technical in the pocket, stuff like that in front of the defence.

22:29And he's very different to what Fulham have used with Jimenez and Muniz. I think that's very much true. But I also think that Fulham this season are trying to do a lot more playing between the lines and they're trying to develop their style. And I think a signing like this, 25 years old, the goal return, the stature he's got, not just in Ligue 1, but in the Champions League as we've seen it. I think if the clubs in the Champions League aren't going to take a bite at this, I'm looking at the teams just below that. and I'm looking at teams who need a centre forward and I think this just sort of fits especially if Fulham can maintain a really good place in the top half of the table and yeah it just seems that some of the bigger clubs in the Premier League are just passing up on this opportunity and West Ham been linked and stuff like that but this seems more of a levelled fit in terms of where Fulham are at where he's at and if he plays well in the Prem off the back of that move then maybe he can go again but it does seem to be a grey area in this signing I'm not really sure what it is yet I can't quite figure it out but even if he's half the player he is in Ligue 1 with Lille I think he's still a really good signing and his contract's running down as well so he's going to come at a cut price so yeah that's just a market opportunity that I think Fulham should be looking at in particular but yeah who have you got?

23:50I've got Everton this is my horror shout before we started recording and I mentioned look I'm changing my answer so literally about two minutes before we started I changed my answer and I'm not glad I feel like it's a little bit of a cop out but I've gone Thomas Suchek obviously David Moyes David Moyes by the way isn't the title something like Dream Signing or something so apologies to all the Everton fans out there but this is almost just like who was your original answer way worse James Ward Prowse

24:25this is a 2am this is a 2am babies on the side do you know what I mean we gotta we gotta get the list done but listen hear me out it's okay look you need your David Moyes lamppost in the team who's trusted you're trusted man you got your Fellaini you got your Suchek who did you have for Everton you get Suchek again in my head I just think Graham Potter's not necessarily going to use him he's 29 he's got a couple of seasons you can probably entice you can probably entice them to part with him at the moment and he gets you enough in the set pieces, enough in both boxes to win you three six points that help keep you up, so it's less so a dream signing but it's more so sensible, it's a practical one yeah a practical one, you know Moyes has managed him before, I think he's a piece that moves the needle he's not you know he's not gonna change the philosophy of your club and drive home you know uh a transformation into the top half but can you do the job now from january onwards and i think yeah he makes sense and he he brings you points now um so yeah that's my rationale and i thought of it two minutes before the podcast so uh i'm not gonna lie i laughed here but you kind of like sort of convinced me the points thing is like he probably does win them about four or five points maybe six points and that's probably enough to keep them up so in theory if you were going to sign a perfect player in january for for where they are and the price is going to come out i reckon that he doesn't moist strikes me as a type of guy who's going to get his trusted players in people who know how to work to do the job isn't it so uh yeah for now i think it makes sense we're taking the context of the team into account aren't we um and and they'll need longer to rebuild so bring so check to to everton that's obvious um so for the next one i've got leicester city i don't know why but i feel like i'm really cooked to this one um so i had to throw in i had to throw in a couple championship players in this somewhere because i absolutely love the hit rate from that i've got iran cashing from derby counter a 23 year old left centre half I've actually watched quite a lot of Leicester mostly under Steve Cooper but even now under Riva Nisselroi and they do the lopsided build up where the left back becomes a left centre half on the ball Aaron Cashin is the perfect player for that role he's played left back before he's only 5 foot 11 but think of him as like an Irish Martinez where he's really aggressive in duels he's first to everything but his quality on the ball is undeniable like it's unbelievable and I watched him a lot in League One last season I was scouting Charlie Hughes and Ronnie Edwards who've gone on to have a big move Charlie Hughes went to Hull Ronnie Edwards went to Southampton and I'm now looking at Aaron Cashin at 23 years old lying in and around that vicinity looking at him going right so who's going to be the club to get him and I'm looking at Leicester City who are probably going to go back down I don't think he'll cost you that much money he fixes your defensive problems in terms of the aggression but he brings quality on the ball to go into the championship and dominate possession and play with the ball.

27:41His long-range passing, I'm telling you, is ridiculous. The variety he has on the ball, it's so good. But Martinez is more of like a zipper or a carrier, like everything is on the deck. His switches of play, his clipped balls, his fizzed balls are just so, so good. I think there's concerns about him defending wide and spacing behind. He's not the fastest, same as Martinez. But I think what he offers you he's a really really good solid player on the ball and yeah I just really like this signing I have to throw in a few players from the championship but this was the one that stood out to me this is the one that stood out to me that I was like I'm looking for a player who Leicester are going to go down who can they get who's going to excel in a championship who's been there good age good price and that's mine so go on bear in mind Leicester City Leicester City is very hard by the way and Leicester that is such a hard one but yeah I've got Ibsen I've got Ipswich next so I probably struggled equally but with Ipswich I think they've got a philosophy they've got a transfer strategy that makes sense and it's easier to find someone that kind of fits into that I've gone for Alex Robertson of Cardiff and I know Cardiff are lower down the league we've talked about Alexander Robertson he's somebody who's come through and played at Manchester City's academy he had a brilliant campaign at Portsmouth before he got injured and he's a very unique player at Manchester City and he played more high up he played in the front line and then you know for Portsmouth to play more of a box to box midfielder that's probably more his role now probably second DM box to box midfielder ability to crash the box and chip in with goals ability to carry the ball really well great technical quality to receive the ball under pressure good shot on him from distance great ball striking ability so as this all action box to box midfielder with some versatility and a good height in there he boosts that technical floor a little bit for Ipswich I think Ipswich it's harder to pick in or narrow in on a single position but I think Morsey aside that defensive midfield area you know you've got Calvin Phillips in there who's I think he scored just this game gone past but I think you look towards young players and you look towards players who can kind of establish you in the league a little bit and whether or not you need someone more senior in the short term to make sure you stay up, that's another question but I do think somebody like that fits in really well again of a similar ilk and a similar pathway to someone like Liam De Lappe from Manchester City as well which is probably why I did make that connection in the first instance but a really good player and somebody who I think at least in a few years should be establishing himself in the Premier League as a solid player.

30:38I think if we fast forward in a year from now or even six months and Ipswich stayed in the Premier League and Middlesbrough didn't come up I'd say Hayden Hackner outright. I think that player suits Ipswich so much because I think you're talking about someone who's a bit more technical in midfield and him on a half turn he's absolutely brilliant and I think if you were looking at someone who could do that then it would be him but with Middlesbrough season the way that's going it's like you know what I mean but no it's a good shot I like the championship stuff because you've got to tap into the market opportunities man I've got Manchester City this was so Manchester City have been active in the market which doesn't help me at all so they've signed a lad from Lons at centre half.

31:30I can't pronounce his name in me. I'm not sure if you want to try. I don't want to try. Maybe in the next podcast I'll try. Signed a young centre half from Lons for€50 million it looks like. I think they're looking at a couple more market opportunities. I've actually looked at the centre of midfield. I don't know why City have kind of abandoned this in the market so far. I thought it would be the first cause for concern. I think centre half is a good cause for concern but I think they've actually got quality there where in midfield I think they've got deteriorating physicality and I'm going to go for Samueli Ritchie from Torino and you got linked to him in the summer and he almost looked like it was going to happen as an emergency signing but he's got long legs, he's mobile, he's a great passer at a ball on both feet, he can play as a single six and has played as a single six.

32:27He's kind of an old school Italian dictator at play, but he's really tall. He's got really long legs. He's lean. He's strong. He can receive on both feet. I just think this is a perfect fit. I think he's being linked quite heavily to some of the big dogs in Italy. And he's been pending a move for like two or three years now. I thought he's actually a really good signing for Liverpool if they couldn't get Zubemendi. I actually said that in the summer. But I think this guy will move in the next six months. and I think he will move to a Champions League, Europa League club and I think it would be really hard to pinch him off one of them clubs come a year's time, two years' time if you're looking for a number six.

33:03I think in a market where you've got your Carlos Beliebers for£100 million and these players like this, you're really looking for them niche opportunities where you can see how, if that player moves to City, how good they could become. And I look at Samuel E. Ritchie and I look at a player who wants the ball, who knows how to play with the ball, who's good off the ball and I just think he would be perfect as someone who could play second fiddle to Rodri but also have undeniable quality to step in when needed and take the load off him and not really pressure him too much. But yeah, that's my pick and I'm not sure if you approve as a City fan.

33:39No, I hear it. I think that's certainly a position we need to bolster a little bit. I think with the plays that we've signed at the moment, the one position that is missing and there's sort of rumours that we might try and get someone in is in that midfield. with you know we're loading up heavily on the defense and whether or not Pep's plan is to move one of the defenders into midfield that's yet to be seen but I would certainly try and get a midfielder regardless and I think it's a good shout all the same.

34:08So I've got Liverpool next Liverpool's a hard one because obviously they're doing so well I think you know in the summer there was always those talks about trying to get a number six in I like how they've set up and I I do still think they need a number six, but I thought, look, ideal signing, dream signing, who would I go with if I was the ball? I've gone Ray and Cherky, a bit out of there, but brilliant footballer. You know, especially in the last couple of games, I've been watching him and, like, I don't want to sound outlandish, but some of these like clip passes that he's playing in behind, they're passes that, you know, the all-timers play.

34:44Like, you know, there's criticisms about his game out of possession but one thing we know from Arnie Slott is one there's the ability to accommodate that especially with Mo Salah if Mo Salah is a player that's leaving you could in theory accommodate a player like Cherki and his lack of out of possession work with a right winger that works a little bit you know more intensely but on top of that I do think Liverpool in the few games that they have not played to the best of their ability have struggled to unlock really deep set of defences particularly teams that play five at the back and Cherokee is a player who can create chances out of nothing he's brilliant at carrying it in big space he's not the fastest player but his technical quality the skills the angles at which he exits when he is dribbling the ball mean that he suits sort of the big space play but also the really stubborn low blocks and I think as a creative number 10 he would suit and elevate that Liverpool side on top of that this Liverpool side aren't one that pressed as high and as intensely as a Jurgen Klopp side did there are good periods where they do sit back a little bit and manage space through their structure rather than through their individual jewels for me I think his on-ball quality is of such a ridiculously high level that you accommodate him and I think Arnislot is a manager who is best primed to get the best out of him at a level that he deserves to play at.

36:21No, yeah, I thought you were actually going to say Kavara at first, Kavara Schellier. Yeah, I mean, they're linked to Kavara. That's what I thought it was going. Yeah, yeah. I thought it had been like a cheap one. Yeah. I thought it had been an easy one to pick. Yeah, like just get the list through. Yeah, that was good. Nah, I enjoyed that. He was going to pop up somewhere, so I'm happy that you said it. Yeah. so next I've got Brighton and I did the same thing what you said before where I just looked at the team and I just went where have they not got the individual quality that they've got in other places in the team and I've settled on a ball playing centre-half for Brighton I think Ego Van Hek is what they've been playing recently but I think we've seen a little bit of a decline in Lewis Dunk over the last couple of months last season-ish and Ego's not really set the world alight for me Van Hek's kind of coming to his own good on the ball stuff like that but I've looked at the market and I think if they want to replicate something similar to Carlos Belieba's transfer where he took a relatively low minutes fresh player from Lee Geun I think they should look at Nathan Zizi from Nance he's absolutely brilliant like when people talk about Lenny Oro having these really long legs and big stature and great on the ball he's left footed he's fast he's decent enough on the ball he's physical enough to go touch tight I think when we talk about Brighton I think they've had a lot of scrappy moments in the box they've given up a lot of really crap goals he's really physical he's 6 foot 3 he's long legged he's good at defending the box he's only 19 years old which is obviously a main question mark but he's played his first season in professional football on the top flight of French football and I think he's I think he's just brilliant and I think if Brighton wanted to do something where they bought him and then loaned him back to Nantes for the rest of the season, I wouldn't put that out of the realms of possibility for a club like Brighton they're smart, they know what they're doing and I think he's been linked to a lot of moves in Turkey for a very, very low fee like a very like 10 million, 15 million and I think this is almost a risk-free buy that Brighton can platform in a year's time and all it takes is three, four good games and that price is sky high so I think he's really good and I think he's decent enough to to take up what Brighton want to do with their centre-half.

38:43So, yeah, that's what I've gone with. Okay, so I've got United and, you know, you having City and me having United is really, whoever done that, that's bad. Poetic, isn't it? It's poetic, but it's bad because now, if you make a take about United, it's fine because you can kind of just say, I'm a fan. It's in good faith. If I make one and people don't like it, it's like, oh, you're a City fan. It's a bad take. But with anything, I'm going to save my player and then people are going to think it's a bad decision and then I'm going to explain it and then people are going to think, oh, you know what, that kind of makes sense.

39:13So I've gone with, and I don't think they'll sell him, but I've gone with Dwight McNeil. Hear me out, okay? Oh, fuck. Because I love Dwight McNeil. I think he's a brilliant footballer. And the fact that he's producing on Scraps for Everton is massively impressive. But I've gone, I'm rimmed team, Premier League proven. I think Dwight McNeil is like a very old school Sir Alex Ferguson signing. Quality in the number 10 positions, especially in those counter-attacking situations. is top, can play left turn, right turn, play left wing back, play right wing back. So you take four positions there. He's ex-United, so he knows what it means to represent a club like that.

39:52He's United through and through. He's United through and through. Mentality-wise, I think he would relish playing for United at the highest level, which is something that Amrum has been banging on about the last few games. And we've seen that in that performance against Arsenal and the game prior as well. and on top of that brilliant final ball quality brilliant at carrying the ball yeah Premier League proven I think he's a really good player and I think he he'd be good for homegrown as well yeah homegrown as well and I think he would want to come as well that's the other thing I know United are not in the best situation and they can attract big talent even when they aren't in the best of positions but I think you've got to buy some astute players to raise the level in the meantime I know you know wing back positions can be at the moment they're defensive players Ahmad played on the right and he was good but now he's playing in the number 10 positions but on that left side do you have anyone who can do that again you can play on the right side initially I had Kudus and I think Kudus is like an ideal right number 10 for Manchester United dream player under that one single game for Green Party he basically played a role that Amrin might use him in or could use him in and he looked unbelievable but I just thought this transfer window or you know someone like that in in uh over a shorter time frame that that's probably a little bit more feasible dwight mc neal would would raise the level of this squad but if i'm saying like unlimited budget like nothing um you know no holes barred i would go could have spot yeah those two players nah yeah i kind of i kind of hear the justification for it i think we we always talked about him being like a good simeone player like he was like a simeone winger he'd be perfect like he's a 4-4-2 winger which is obviously what United were built on so right next I've got Newcastle United and I looked at the team and I think it's painfully obvious that you need a right winger I think Jacob Murphy has done really well since coming in but I think the conundrum with Harvey Barnes and Anthony Gordon both playing on the left hand side and then them having to rotate and swap wings they just need a right winger I think it's that simple now I wanted to go with a bit of a different dynamic to Gordon and Isaac who are runners I wanted to give a bit more stability to the front line a bit more ball playing technical inside the pitch kind of player so I've gone with Eden Zagrova from Lille it sounds funny because his name's Eden but he actually plays quite similar to Eden Hazard close to the floor, low centre of gravity really good shot from range he scored multiple goals this season just smashing one from 30 yards he's got insane ball striking I think he's really technical he's a goal first player yeah just dribbles outside to inside comes in off the right hand flank he's a typical right winger I actually had Johan Bakayoko from PSV before this but I think that would be too I think it'd be too much running in behind like I want someone who's going to probably come to get the ball a bit deeper Yeah you need your Laminio Malt to the Rafinha kind of Yeah do you know what I mean I need the balance in the front line.

43:03So I think I was going to go for a runner straight away, but then I thought about it and I went for a bit more of a technical player. And I think Eden Zagrover is ready for the move. I think he's shone at Lille so far this season. He's improving year on year. I think he is quite lazy out of possession, which is my only concern about him in an Eddie Howe team. I think he's quite weak, like shoulder to shoulder strength-wise. But in terms of technical, for Newcastle to make a jump from a pressing team to a possession team, if they want to go higher up in the league, I think a player like that would really sort out that attacking shift in terms of their focus so yeah Yeah you know just to touch upon that when you mentioned that profile and that kind of player I don't think he would move and I don't think it's super feasible but I think someone like Harvey Elliott would be ideal Yeah that's the type of player I mean yeah that's exactly what That in swinging cross but yeah it just came to mind I thought I'd mention it in case he ever did make the move and I could clip it Yeah that's good cool so I've got well I've got Nottingham Forest next I've just gone off what Nottingham Forest fans have been telling me in the sense that their team is looking for a striker if Chris Wood gets injured which you know is 50-50 to me because you'll know I'm a huge fan of Taiwo Awani look he's dealt with his own injury struggles and things like that but look I suppose he's at a point now in his career where he kind of needs to gain the trust back of his manager and perhaps he's not trusted to play you know second fiddle to to Chris Wood immediately I think in an ideal situation he gains his confidence he scored recently um night third night fourth minute tapping and maybe that you know helps kick kick him on a bit but he's a brilliant player in my opinion with brilliant potential that aside if I'm going off of what Forrester are actually looking for which is the number nine I think Pedro from Flamengo um the Brazilian Pedro would be a top signing I've said this for for years I don't know how he's not got to move up he had a he had a stint I think for Fiorentina maybe three years or four years ago I can't remember now but it was a while back he had a stint in Fiorentina that didn't go didn't go well and from what I can remember there were external factors that played a part into that and whether that was sort of the team style itself or just sort of a lack of an adaptation but I think that's put a lot of top European sides off of him as a player for me a few years ago a couple seasons ago I was watching Flamengo and I came back thinking Yao Gomez and Pedro were what Premier League quality players and like decent high level Premier League quality players Yao Gomez obviously moved to Wolves I think the season after and he's been brilliant as well but pedro for me he's in the ilk of someone like girou the way he brings the ball down he's massively technical in um controlling it and then feeding it off playing the passes in behind to wingers who are running off him he's great in the air and he's got brilliant movement in the box so in a way he's almost like a chris wood girou type of player he's brazilian so he's got that natural technical quality um to you know um marry those two sort of ideals i think a graham potter side would be good to utilise a player like that but if I'm going for a specific individual you know, play that Nottingham Forest need I would love for him to play and not have the pressure of being that number you know, that main striker straight away but again, he would be leaving Flamengo and Brazil where his herald does like you know, like a huge favourite and one of the league's best so whether or not he does it, who knows but a top quality player and I'd love to see him in the Premier League yeah I think that's I like how you've gone with like a Brazilian league signing like Nottingham Forest has got a lot of Brazilians yeah good point profile of him yeah no it's good that I think I've gone with something actually quite similar for Southampton like in terms of the culture of the club and like what they do yeah this is a bit of this is a bit of recency bias and my next two signings are loans so this is a bit weird but I've gone with Jadon Dans for Southampton I I think Liverpool and Southampton have got a really good connection in terms of negotiating in the transfer market.

47:20And I don't think they've got a lot of money to spend anyway, Southampton, and they've been really looking for niche market opportunities in Ligue 1. He's got three goals in 100 minutes for Liverpool. He's really complete. He can play as a second nine off Paul Onowachu, who seems to be the number nine to favour in under Ivan Djuric. He's a short-term fix. Dans can get some minutes in the Premier League, which is where I think he should be looking to play football. higher end championship lower tier Prem and I just think he's really technical he's good between the lines he's mobile he's physical and I think it will really give him some time to get some minutes under his belt playing in a not a stress-free environment obviously the bottom of the league and stuff but it will give him a chance to experience the Premier League properly and really work himself into the Prem and get a feel for it and I think if Liverpool aren't going to give him the minutes that he deserves which they haven't so far this season then I think this is a really good fit for him if not a higher tier championship club.

48:15But I think he's just mobile, technical. He's got lots of energy. He's brilliant with the ball to his feet. He's a big lad. He can bounce off players in the box. He's capable of scoring goals. He's got really good nous. I think he captained England's youth teams when they go to international tournaments when he was there. I think this is a really good opportunity for Southampton to have a player that the fans can get behind, connect with Tyler Diblin and stuff and build a young core. So yeah, I think that's... I didn't really know what to do with Southampton and I thought they're missing goals and they're missing enjoyment.

48:44And I think Tyler Diblin's been the most important player for them in terms of watching him play. And Jadon Danz, I think, would have that feeling on the team as well. Good shout, man. I'm really a big, big fan of Danz. Yeah, I mean, I think sometimes you look at players or strikers who are in the Premier League getting minutes and quality for quality, I think he's up there. I think obviously age-wise you want to protect the player a bit, but yeah, good shout. I think Southampton would use him too much almost, but no I really like it good to have it mentioned I've got Spurs next Spurs defensively I think question marks obviously the issue in my head is when your defenders are back and they're fit as in Van de Ven and Romero like is it still worthwhile signing a centre back for me I still think it is because obviously they're playing they're playing full backs and midfielders in there at the moment but I've gone with Castillo Luqueba we we've spoken about him we know him um as a top quality player he could probably play for you know league um contending teams whether that's in spain whether that's in the premier league um but for me i've gone for him as a player because i think given the way that angie postacoglu plays first and foremost there's a huge onus on the center backs i think you need a player like conate or you need a player like saliba you need a player in there who can show or van deyck shoulder that responsibility um when you do sort of have two defenders left at the back because this is what you know we've talked about they almost got two one seven at times um with luke but i've gone for him because obviously he can play sort of as a left back if he if he needs to um and then you can still keep van de ven van de ven as well can play sort of left back positions as well so with those two there is that sort of there's potential to play them both together obviously Romero um it's sort of a mainstay when he does play as well Lukeba great on the ball um and great at defending wide channel areas I think in general his quality it's just sheer quality in the back line isn't it and it gives you that little bit of um sort of competitiveness in that back line as to who who plays you don't want well I mean it's nice to have a set defensive pairing but if you know that there's somebody there um no van de van van to end challenging Luqueba for example or the left back position I know they like to push their left backs high and wide but it does open up the option of having three at the back and just assuring things up a little bit more in possession so a top player would do well for any side but yeah in my head I think that's where they need to show things up and he's an opportunity in the market for a lot of these top sides Yeah I know great shot as you said we spoke about him a lot so yeah I actually think he could play for Arsenal City Liverpool.

51:32He could play for anyone really. Really good ceiling on him. I've actually got my last signing which again is a loan one like I said and I've actually robbed you of this one. I'm not going to lie. So I've got West Ham and I've gone with Evan Ferguson on loan like you said. It's a good shout isn't it? Mate it was such a good shout. You know when I heard it I was like he must have had that like brewing for ages because it was such a good shout. I was looking at loads of West Ham obviously Fulker got injured in the cup game against Villa. Evan Ferguson's not getting a sniff at Brighton because he's low in confidence.

52:05He's not getting a minute. He's coming back from injury. Where else better to go than under a really good coach in Graham Potter, a side that looks to be playing more possession-based football like a Brighton wants to do. But they're also going to use Evan Ferguson to his strengths, which is hitting the ball into him, using him as a target man, but also letting him be more mobile. In the Graham Potter piece, we spoke about how mobile he likes his centre-forwards to be, not just using him as a target man, but can you be a target man, but can you also be a false nine and drift into the pockets and then still run the channel as well?

52:35I look at Evan Ferguson and I think, with confidence under his belt, this is one of the best centre-forwards in the league, potentially. I absolutely love this bloke and I think he's a top, top centre-forward. Easily Champions League quality. The environment that Potter's trying to build there, what he's currently going for at Brighton, I think it's just an easy move to make and I've already seen him linked to Bournemouth and stuff. and stuff like that. So, yeah, definitely one for West Ham to watch out for. But I'd like you to finish up on our last team, which is Wolverhampton Wanderers. Wolves is a tough one.

53:10Again, I kind of went off of what their fans were saying. I think Blackline needs to be improved. When I looked at the Wolves team, actually, I thought, I thought, I'm not sure why they're struggling as much as they are because I think they have a really good side. You know, good attackers, Cunha. you know the standout obviously and you know I'm surprised actually we've not mentioned it for one of the other sides but yeah I really like their midfield as well their wing backs perhaps is you know an area that you can look at but I've gone for a centre back look whether or not it moved the needle immediately I'm not sure it's more probably of a project signing rather than idealistic sort of dream transfer but somebody who I think is good and somebody who I think would do well for Wolves is I've got Callum Doyle of Norwich Callum Doyle is obviously again ex-City which is where I know him from I still think actually City are his parent club I think he's on loan at Norwich and he's been good he's been playing in a in a sort of a difficult set up at times he's been playing left back and obviously I think naturally his position is as a left centre back I think with Wolves playing with a three at the back at times you know Him playing in that left centre-back role kind of marries the two positions and one provides him a little bit of cover, but two allows him to express some of that quality with regards to his ability on the ball.

54:36Obviously left-footed and I think as a left-sided defender of a back three, it's always a position that's kind of in demand but hard to find. He's somebody who has a high ceiling on him. Again, similar to the Tommy Doyle move to Wolves and he's a player who Wolves fans have sometimes asked for him to play more. But that Manchester City connection from the academy kind of makes sense to me as well in terms of embedding a player and getting him to excel. But certainly a top quality player, very technical. And the ability to break lines with his passing. I think I really want to see him get some minutes now in the lower half of the Premier League and whether or not Manchester City end that loan with Norwich and loan him out to one of those clubs before he makes that move permanently.

55:23We've kept him on loan at all these various clubs, so we must trust that there is kind of the quality in there for him to potentially skyrocket. And yeah, done great for the English youth setups. I'd really like to see him in the Premier League somewhere. And Wolves is where I kind of fit him in, in my list. Right, thank you very much for watching this transfer special here on the Overlap Breakdown channel. If you did enjoy, please don't forget to like, comment and share it around. and let us know who you would sign for your Premier League club in this January transfer window. Thank you very much and we'll see you again.