Considering our only attacking central midfielder in senior squad and primavera is Napolitano, who is not a starter for primavera, and we are expecting to play 4-2-3-1, then we need 3 attacking midfielder, and here Muños is perfect as number 3. Sure primavera, but one injury and he is with the first team, and might be subbed on. I would also point out that it is 4 players. We signed Bordon, who was on loan at primavera, which might be important to the structure of our squad. We effective need 2 senior and 1 talent for every position. I see the number 3 behind Rovella and Cataldi for defensive central midfielder as Bordon. Just like Guendouzi, Vecino and Sardo are the lively midfielder (Sardo was something midfielder os the year in the primavera league? Not just for Lazio, but for all the teams). With Muños we have now at least one attacking midfielder. Pedro is probably better as number 10 or false-9 these days, as he is getting too old to be a winger. Taty should actually play this position as a false-10 (Jon Dahl Tomasson did this for Denmark for nearly 100 games, at it was tactically amazing for overloading the box, when another striker came in late from the number-10 spot). And with Muños we have an alternative if Pedro and Taty (Noslin nad Tchaouna) all fail in this position, and we are not able to get a proper replacement for Luis Alberto (since Stengs was our priority, but Feyenoord was being weird about Isaksen). This is great cover, and with Muños in Auronzo, then we can also buy the new attacking midfielder at the end of August, because in Muños we have a temporary solution besides playing others out of position. With Muños and Bordon it should also be pointed out, that primavera have been playing 4-3-3, but the midfield has one very defensive (Bordon), and seemingly one very attacking midfielder (Di Tommasi I think he is called and Napolitano fight for the position, but neither are as good as Sardo and Bordon - which is why primavera needs Muños), and one balanced (Sardo). Another reason why Muños is good is that if you are replacing a star, you usually by two players to replace him, because likely one is a flop, and the other might be a new star. And if you are replacing an experienced star with talents, you might need 3... Muños is number 3. We are looking to buy possibly Dele-Bashuri (I think you spell it like that) and Samardzic. The former is making person terms negotiations difficult, the later was a nightmare for Inter last summer. If we are really looking at those two, then it could go all the way horrible without an emergency option. And last (on Muños), we might be starting a u23 next summer or the summer after. He would be a perfect player for such a squad. In general SF, Gonzalez, Balde, Sardo, Bordon, Dutu, Ruggeri, Magro, and now also Muños seem like the perfect generation to start a u23 squad around. He will only go to primavera if he fails to impress at Auronzo (which likely means that he needs time to adapt to Italy). This is the perfect not-senior-ready-talent for us right now. And with the primavera, then Lotito must have made some demands to Baroni to keep and eye on them, or maybe Baroni was selected as part of a strategy to bring primavera players into the senior squad. I am extreme happy with us signing this kid.
Finally you guys dealing mercato topic! I really like the signing of Noslin and Tchaouna really much. They are young, and goal scorer and strong Jewels. Dele Bashiru also I like that he have physique we need and good ball carrier in midfield. Cabal can be good LB, CB versatile And for Luis alberto replacement I prefer Gudmundsson or Samardzic but it seems club tracking Greenwood. Let's see. Forza Lazio!
I disagree on the fullbacks. Lazzari was gradually destroyed by Sarri to a point Tudor could not bring him back to form. Sarri wants 10 playmakers, and Lazzari is not a playmaker, he is a runner. Give him a season to recover while being second choice and he will be fine. The same goes for Pellegrini, these type of backs need freedom to play their way. I think you are extremely unfair to Marusic. He is a warrior and often looks bad, because the rest of the team are trying to hide their mistakes, when the team is playing bad. Marusic does not care about aestetics, he cares about winning. Under Tudor he also played really well, and he was tactically often (in one of Tudors 5-15 min formations) really playing as a fullback. It was clear that the players yearned for the freedom of expressing themselves instead of Sarris philosophy on the pitch. I simply do not feel a fullback can be judged on the last season, as Baroni is a world apart from Tudor and Sarri. Hysaj was great in the run of games that got us to the Champions League, and I will still spend 3 hours arguing for that Marusic was player of the year that season, as his attitude of fighting against impossible odds got us a lot of results, which were much more critical to getting second than any individual attacking player. We also have RFM and maybe the primavera back, who can maybe help out. I cannot see a point in trying to sign more than a left back, before Baroni has had all of July to test players at Auronzo, and then analyse the data. If we got someone like Cabal (I do not know Cabal well enough to say he is the right one, but he seems good for the specific needs), then we have our defenders for July. Then Baroni can figure out at Auronzo, what he wants to do. If Hysaj gets the right offer, and he wants to leave, then sure, leave (he is not worth the 2.5m a year contract he has). Also both him, Marusic and Lazzari are something like 31, 30 and 29? And Marusic and Hysaj expire in 2025. So unless a good offer comes in, then we are not in a position, where we need to sell, but these are also not the long-term solutions. And we will be buying right backs next summer (if not this), but I think that can wait until the end of August. We need to sign Cabal (or similar), then sign 2 attacking midfielder, figure out what we are doing in attack, and first then (in that order), we need to look at replacing Hysaj, Marusic, Lazzari, Cataldi (apparently we are looking to get rid of him, although he is free to register in our squad, as only Furlanetto otherwise seem to be relevant and "trained in Lazio" - otherwise we are talking RFM and Bertini/Marino, and then we would only bearly fill the 4 "trained in Lazio" spots, and this would be with RFM and Bertini/Marino, who really need another loan before we can judge them properly), Cancellieri, Isaksen, Taty...
I would normally be concerned with the fact we are shopping around for talents at Salernitana and Verona. Especially given the type of players we have lost in the last 2 years. But honestly these guys Noslin and Tchouana don't look half bad. Given the sorry state of our attack they should be an improvement. They are fast and physical. They have a goal in them. And they are both likely to improve and hit the next level. Tchouna is young and played on the worst team in Serie A. Not that Lazio are world beaters, but given his natural improvement because of his age, along with the fact that we are a better team than Salernitana...He is likely to improve on last year's numbers in a Lazio shirt. Noslin is already familiar with Baroni and did pretty well with Verona in that 6 months. He should also improve a bit. Aside from the sheer goals and assists, what I like is that these guys will offer other qualities even when they aren't scoring or assisting. They will put in a shift and play hard. They will press and pressure defenders. We will become a faster and more athletic attack. They look to have an upside and a higher ceiling imo than some of our recent attacking purchases. Hopefully we also pick up Samardzic because we need a new midfield maestro as the quality of our midfield has been depleted with the departures of SMS, Luis Alberto, Kamada. The one huge negative is that the club seems to be refusing to sell Castellanos back to Girona. I mean, this was as great of a "get out of jail" card we could have ever hoped for after the disaster of a season which he had. It's a miracle anyone is willing to pay us pretty much what we paid for him to get this failed experiment off our hands. It's a golden opportunity to recoup and reinvest that money on a actual useful player. I have no faith in Castellanos. I didn't like the move from the get go and thought he's a sub par player, and last season only cemented that belief. But overall it's not a bad start. We're making moves. We're adding some interesting players who have an upside and who know the league already. Hopefully everything works out. We're in a transition state right now.
I think your opinion on Taty is a bit harsh, I understand it, but you seem impatient. Imho he will change your mind next season but he has to play no use to keep him on the bench. No Saudis called Ciro?!
33:39 I’m proud of you hahahaha great podcast!
Considering our only attacking central midfielder in senior squad and primavera is Napolitano, who is not a starter for primavera, and we are expecting to play 4-2-3-1, then we need 3 attacking midfielder, and here Muños is perfect as number 3. Sure primavera, but one injury and he is with the first team, and might be subbed on.
I would also point out that it is 4 players. We signed Bordon, who was on loan at primavera, which might be important to the structure of our squad. We effective need 2 senior and 1 talent for every position. I see the number 3 behind Rovella and Cataldi for defensive central midfielder as Bordon. Just like Guendouzi, Vecino and Sardo are the lively midfielder (Sardo was something midfielder os the year in the primavera league? Not just for Lazio, but for all the teams).
With Muños we have now at least one attacking midfielder.
Pedro is probably better as number 10 or false-9 these days, as he is getting too old to be a winger.
Taty should actually play this position as a false-10 (Jon Dahl Tomasson did this for Denmark for nearly 100 games, at it was tactically amazing for overloading the box, when another striker came in late from the number-10 spot).
And with Muños we have an alternative if Pedro and Taty (Noslin nad Tchaouna) all fail in this position, and we are not able to get a proper replacement for Luis Alberto (since Stengs was our priority, but Feyenoord was being weird about Isaksen).
This is great cover, and with Muños in Auronzo, then we can also buy the new attacking midfielder at the end of August, because in Muños we have a temporary solution besides playing others out of position.
With Muños and Bordon it should also be pointed out, that primavera have been playing 4-3-3, but the midfield has one very defensive (Bordon), and seemingly one very attacking midfielder (Di Tommasi I think he is called and Napolitano fight for the position, but neither are as good as Sardo and Bordon - which is why primavera needs Muños), and one balanced (Sardo).
Another reason why Muños is good is that if you are replacing a star, you usually by two players to replace him, because likely one is a flop, and the other might be a new star. And if you are replacing an experienced star with talents, you might need 3... Muños is number 3. We are looking to buy possibly Dele-Bashuri (I think you spell it like that) and Samardzic. The former is making person terms negotiations difficult, the later was a nightmare for Inter last summer. If we are really looking at those two, then it could go all the way horrible without an emergency option.
And last (on Muños), we might be starting a u23 next summer or the summer after. He would be a perfect player for such a squad. In general SF, Gonzalez, Balde, Sardo, Bordon, Dutu, Ruggeri, Magro, and now also Muños seem like the perfect generation to start a u23 squad around.
He will only go to primavera if he fails to impress at Auronzo (which likely means that he needs time to adapt to Italy). This is the perfect not-senior-ready-talent for us right now. And with the primavera, then Lotito must have made some demands to Baroni to keep and eye on them, or maybe Baroni was selected as part of a strategy to bring primavera players into the senior squad.
I am extreme happy with us signing this kid.
Finally you guys dealing mercato topic!
I really like the signing of Noslin and Tchaouna really much. They are young, and goal scorer and strong Jewels.
Dele Bashiru also I like that he have physique we need and good ball carrier in midfield.
Cabal can be good LB, CB versatile
And for Luis alberto replacement I prefer Gudmundsson or Samardzic but it seems club tracking Greenwood.
Let's see. Forza Lazio!
And I like next season home kit also!
Forza Lazio, my Italian team!
I disagree on the fullbacks.
Lazzari was gradually destroyed by Sarri to a point Tudor could not bring him back to form.
Sarri wants 10 playmakers, and Lazzari is not a playmaker, he is a runner. Give him a season to recover while being second choice and he will be fine. The same goes for Pellegrini, these type of backs need freedom to play their way.
I think you are extremely unfair to Marusic. He is a warrior and often looks bad, because the rest of the team are trying to hide their mistakes, when the team is playing bad. Marusic does not care about aestetics, he cares about winning. Under Tudor he also played really well, and he was tactically often (in one of Tudors 5-15 min formations) really playing as a fullback.
It was clear that the players yearned for the freedom of expressing themselves instead of Sarris philosophy on the pitch. I simply do not feel a fullback can be judged on the last season, as Baroni is a world apart from Tudor and Sarri.
Hysaj was great in the run of games that got us to the Champions League, and I will still spend 3 hours arguing for that Marusic was player of the year that season, as his attitude of fighting against impossible odds got us a lot of results, which were much more critical to getting second than any individual attacking player.
We also have RFM and maybe the primavera back, who can maybe help out.
I cannot see a point in trying to sign more than a left back, before Baroni has had all of July to test players at Auronzo, and then analyse the data.
If we got someone like Cabal (I do not know Cabal well enough to say he is the right one, but he seems good for the specific needs), then we have our defenders for July. Then Baroni can figure out at Auronzo, what he wants to do. If Hysaj gets the right offer, and he wants to leave, then sure, leave (he is not worth the 2.5m a year contract he has). Also both him, Marusic and Lazzari are something like 31, 30 and 29? And Marusic and Hysaj expire in 2025.
So unless a good offer comes in, then we are not in a position, where we need to sell, but these are also not the long-term solutions. And we will be buying right backs next summer (if not this), but I think that can wait until the end of August.
We need to sign Cabal (or similar), then sign 2 attacking midfielder, figure out what we are doing in attack, and first then (in that order), we need to look at replacing Hysaj, Marusic, Lazzari, Cataldi (apparently we are looking to get rid of him, although he is free to register in our squad, as only Furlanetto otherwise seem to be relevant and "trained in Lazio" - otherwise we are talking RFM and Bertini/Marino, and then we would only bearly fill the 4 "trained in Lazio" spots, and this would be with RFM and Bertini/Marino, who really need another loan before we can judge them properly), Cancellieri, Isaksen, Taty...
Fast mercato. It’s because of the pressure building.
I would normally be concerned with the fact we are shopping around for talents at Salernitana and Verona. Especially given the type of players we have lost in the last 2 years. But honestly these guys Noslin and Tchouana don't look half bad. Given the sorry state of our attack they should be an improvement. They are fast and physical. They have a goal in them. And they are both likely to improve and hit the next level. Tchouna is young and played on the worst team in Serie A. Not that Lazio are world beaters, but given his natural improvement because of his age, along with the fact that we are a better team than Salernitana...He is likely to improve on last year's numbers in a Lazio shirt. Noslin is already familiar with Baroni and did pretty well with Verona in that 6 months. He should also improve a bit.
Aside from the sheer goals and assists, what I like is that these guys will offer other qualities even when they aren't scoring or assisting. They will put in a shift and play hard. They will press and pressure defenders. We will become a faster and more athletic attack. They look to have an upside and a higher ceiling imo than some of our recent attacking purchases.
Hopefully we also pick up Samardzic because we need a new midfield maestro as the quality of our midfield has been depleted with the departures of SMS, Luis Alberto, Kamada.
The one huge negative is that the club seems to be refusing to sell Castellanos back to Girona. I mean, this was as great of a "get out of jail" card we could have ever hoped for after the disaster of a season which he had. It's a miracle anyone is willing to pay us pretty much what we paid for him to get this failed experiment off our hands. It's a golden opportunity to recoup and reinvest that money on a actual useful player. I have no faith in Castellanos. I didn't like the move from the get go and thought he's a sub par player, and last season only cemented that belief.
But overall it's not a bad start. We're making moves. We're adding some interesting players who have an upside and who know the league already. Hopefully everything works out. We're in a transition state right now.
I think your opinion on Taty is a bit harsh, I understand it, but you seem impatient. Imho he will change your mind next season but he has to play no use to keep him on the bench. No Saudis called Ciro?!