It won't be easy, but it's not unrealistic. We are not talking about Hazard, Vidal, James here.
Boufal should be attainable if you are willing to put up the cash. Last March, people would have said there is absolutely no chance we are going to get Bacca. But look.....30 mil on the table and you can have him.
Kovacic may be the most unrealistic out of those players because Real paid 35mil for him and even though he hasn't played too much I don't think he'd lost his value a lot. They won't let him go for less than 30 and I just think there is better options for that kind of money.
Boufal is realistic, and he would accept Milan in a heartbeat......the question is will we pay.
Oliver had a good year at Porto last season but he has hardly been an integral part of this Atletico team. He is yet to play 90 minutes in La Liga this year and I believe he's only started 7 games or so. Also, since the turn of the year he's only appeared in 6 games and the last 3 he played he was only on the field for 15, 2, 11 minutes each. He was not even in the squad for 5 games since the new year (and I can't find any injury info and don't remember reading anything so I don't think he was injured) and was on the bench for 3 without making an appearance. Most of his minutes this year came in the beginning of the year but slowly he has been marginalized and as the year has gone on he has been less and less relevant in their squad.
So he is not unrealistic at all. I don't even think money will be a problem in his eventual transfer. I don't expect him to go for more than 25mil or so. The biggest block for us will be the interest he may attract. But this is why you move early and quietly.
But I agree with you that the summer won't be as good as we all want it to be (and the club needs it to be). I can see us bringing in Vazquez and making him the "big money" move, but that won't solve our midfield issues. Most of the blame will be put on the coach and we will get a new one while talking about HE is the biggest signing of the summer and our team is competitive, we have quality, etc.
EDIT: By the way, I meant to write about this and forgot until I saw the Russia 2018 thread. Lucas Lima entered Brazil's game last night during the second half and I gotta say....what a player. He's got great pace on the ball, is able to take on players, works hard and I was very pleasantly surprised at his vision ability to pass the ball. I remember us being linked to him....I wonder if we are still keeping an eye on him.
Boufal should be attainable if you are willing to put up the cash. Last March, people would have said there is absolutely no chance we are going to get Bacca. But look.....30 mil on the table and you can have him.
Kovacic may be the most unrealistic out of those players because Real paid 35mil for him and even though he hasn't played too much I don't think he'd lost his value a lot. They won't let him go for less than 30 and I just think there is better options for that kind of money.
Boufal is realistic, and he would accept Milan in a heartbeat......the question is will we pay.
Oliver had a good year at Porto last season but he has hardly been an integral part of this Atletico team. He is yet to play 90 minutes in La Liga this year and I believe he's only started 7 games or so. Also, since the turn of the year he's only appeared in 6 games and the last 3 he played he was only on the field for 15, 2, 11 minutes each. He was not even in the squad for 5 games since the new year (and I can't find any injury info and don't remember reading anything so I don't think he was injured) and was on the bench for 3 without making an appearance. Most of his minutes this year came in the beginning of the year but slowly he has been marginalized and as the year has gone on he has been less and less relevant in their squad.
So he is not unrealistic at all. I don't even think money will be a problem in his eventual transfer. I don't expect him to go for more than 25mil or so. The biggest block for us will be the interest he may attract. But this is why you move early and quietly.
But I agree with you that the summer won't be as good as we all want it to be (and the club needs it to be). I can see us bringing in Vazquez and making him the "big money" move, but that won't solve our midfield issues. Most of the blame will be put on the coach and we will get a new one while talking about HE is the biggest signing of the summer and our team is competitive, we have quality, etc.
EDIT: By the way, I meant to write about this and forgot until I saw the Russia 2018 thread. Lucas Lima entered Brazil's game last night during the second half and I gotta say....what a player. He's got great pace on the ball, is able to take on players, works hard and I was very pleasantly surprised at his vision ability to pass the ball. I remember us being linked to him....I wonder if we are still keeping an eye on him.
