Have we just bought Marcelino Núñez for $4 million?

[canarybubbles 1,915]

At last, some reasons to be optimistic (assuming this goes through). After last season, I imagine no one is getting too gung-ho, but if Sara and Nunez can adapt quickly to English football, we seem to have recruited exactly what we need this time, especially with Hayden as a DM. Just a pity he will possibly be missing for at least the first ten games.

[Newtopia 517]

The signings, assuming Nunez comes are very exciting, just wish they were made earlier in the transfer window.  I felt Norman was good enough last season, it was his injuries and critically how late in the transfer window he arrived.  This new midfield is very exciting.

[horsefly 4,300]

8 hours ago, The Great Mass Debater said:

Teemu I think we rather stumbled upon. I dont think anyone looked at him and thought 'aha, now there's a 30 goal a season striker'. 

Free punt really I think rather than inspired scouting, his record previously never suggested what was about to come - just ask Celtic fans.

Erm...! That's exactly what Celtic thought, and what their supporters thought before his season went to crap.

We had very limited funds at the time we brought him here, and there were undoubtedly any number of players upon which we could have taken a "free punt". Why are you so desperate to begrudge recognising that the signing of Pukki represents one of the most inspired deals in NCFC history and reflects tremendously on the all those involved in pulling it off. Ditto Buendia.

[AJ 1,221]

31 minutes ago, horsefly said:

Erm...! That's exactly what Celtic thought, and what their supporters thought before his season went to crap.

We had very limited funds at the time we brought him here, and there were undoubtedly any number of players upon which we could have taken a "free punt". Why are you so desperate to begrudge recognising that the signing of Pukki represents one of the most inspired deals in NCFC history and reflects tremendously on the all those involved in pulling it off. Ditto Buendia.

Pretty much every player signed in those first two seasons was a "punt". Who thought any of Pukki, Stiepermann, Buendia, Vrancic or Zimmerman would come good? Considering we paid around £3.5M for all 5 of them!

Edited July 29, 2022 by AJ

[rock bus 851]

Looks very exciting and should bring some much needed excitement to the start of the season.

but are we all getting excited a bit prematurely? Is there any concrete evidence he is coming or just  journalists picking up on each other after one tweet?

[horsefly 4,300]

21 minutes ago, AJ said:

Pretty much every player signed in those first two seasons was a "punt". Who thought any of Pukki, Stiepermann, Buendia, Vrancic or Zimmerman would come good? Considering we paid around £3.5M for all 5 of them!

Farke, Webber, and various scouts, that's who.

Edited July 29, 2022 by horsefly

[Mason 47 1,379]

RE Pukki and Buendia etc, I was under the impression that we looked for players who create a high percentage of a certain type of chance, and a forward very good at scoring that certain type of chance. The whole squad really was built around doing Plan A as best as possible (which works at this level but not really the level up, so it would see )

[Feedthewolf 4,846]

11 hours ago, Jason Shackell’s Limp Tack said:

Just remember there's no such thing as 'Curry Empenadas' anywhere... let alone in Chile. 

Ha! Well I've never been to Chile (although it's definitely on my bucket list), so I'm judging purely on my tastebuds rather than cultural authenticity. I know the lady who runs it is a native Chilean, though!

Their sopaipillas were really tasty too, and they've got a new menu for a collab they're doing with Sir Toby's Beers (another of the market's absolute gems): https://www.cocinamia.net/casita-menu

Anyway, let's get back on topic. Can he do the Fozzy Flick?

[shefcanary 2,408]

13 hours ago, TeemuVanBasten said:

Where are we getting all this money from

Not sure if that was a joke, but if not the fee from selling PLM is close to the fee Nunez will cost. So, overall impact is probably saving of salary paid to Nunez compared to PLM.

[Ken Hairy 3,772]

7 minutes ago, Feedthewolf said:

 

Anyway, let's get back on topic. Can he do the Fozzy Flick?

Nope, but he can do the Nunez nutmeg...... 

[Darth Vadis 151]

7 hours ago, Canario said:

Love that we are looking more in the Americas. The one thing that needs checking is personality...the talent is everywhere but just a case of getting the right ones in. Basically those who are disciplined and don't believe they are CR7 in disguise!! 

Surprised we aren't also looking here in Mexico, since we are obviously browsing the MLS. 

Don't think we'll have any personality issues with Núñez. This fascinating thread & video should explain why.. 

 

[horsefly 4,300]

10 minutes ago, Mason 47 said:

RE Pukki and Buendia etc, I was under the impression that we looked for players who create a high percentage of a certain type of chance, and a forward very good at scoring that certain type of chance. The whole squad really was built around doing Plan A as best as possible (which works at this level but not really the level up, so it would see )

Indeed! The idea that there wasn't an awful lot of thought that went into each acquisition just defies reality. They weren't just lucky "punts", nor did we just "stumble" into them. When you're shopping around at the lower end of the transfer market it becomes even more important to think very carefully who you bring in to transform the team into genuine promotion contenders. People need to remind themselves that Farke's and Webber's future careers depended very much on getting these calls right. 

[Nuff Said 5,141]

1 hour ago, horsefly said:

Erm...! That's exactly what Celtic thought, and what their supporters thought before his season went to crap.

We had very limited funds at the time we brought him here, and there were undoubtedly any number of players upon which we could have taken a "free punt". Why are you so desperate to begrudge recognising that the signing of Pukki represents one of the most inspired deals in NCFC history and reflects tremendously on the all those involved in pulling it off. Ditto Buendia.

It does sound similar to the attitude you see on here that when the club fails, it’s the fault of the board, I.e. the majority owners AKA Delia. When the club does well, it’s despite them.

[Nuff Said 5,141]

9 hours ago, The Great Mass Debater said:

The most underappreciated aspect of Emi's game (perhaps not by Norwich fans) was his defensive contribution. Even though we played him as a right winger, I tend to think of him more as a central midfield playmaker, as often you would find him dropping deep to collect the ball and playing Pukki in. He wasnt a player that was waiting to receive the ball on the wing. That might have been hs starting position in the formation, but he played very deep a lot of the time, which was perhaps what affected his goalscoring until he ultimately added goals to his game. Id be interested to see his heat maps from peak Buendia with us. I have no idea how he is being utilised at Villa.

But if you look at his defensive stats from when he was with us, they're really not what an outside observer who knew little more than his position and his stature would expect.

Fabulous player. Such a shame we werent able to keep him a bit longer

For me, the thing you’re missing is that Emi added that side to his game after joining us. He was young, with flaws, and we coached them out and added additional skills. Nunez is only 22, and has the capacity to learn. We don’t just buy players and plonk them on the pitch, we coach and mould them. Look at the potential on top of what he already brings and he could be another player spoken about like Emi and Teemu in years to come.

(Equally, he might not, but the potential is undoubtedly there, especially because of his age. And I’m a glass half-full person so that’s how I choose to see it.)

[Van wink 2,994]

Is he injured?

[The Great Mass Debater 1,090]

1 hour ago, horsefly said:

Erm...! That's exactly what Celtic thought, and what their supporters thought before his season went to crap.

We had very limited funds at the time we brought him here, and there were undoubtedly any number of players upon which we could have taken a "free punt". Why are you so desperate to begrudge recognising that the signing of Pukki represents one of the most inspired deals in NCFC history and reflects tremendously on the all those involved in pulling it off. Ditto Buendia.

Because I think we got lucky with Pukki rather than it being the result of inspired recruitment. Buendia on the other hand happy to give out the kudos

[The Great Mass Debater 1,090]

12 minutes ago, Nuff Said said:

For me, the thing you’re missing is that Emi added that side to his game after joining us. He was young, with flaws, and we coached them out and added additional skills. Nunez is only 22, and has the capacity to learn. We don’t just buy players and plonk them on the pitch, we coach and mould them. Look at the potential on top of what he already brings and he could be another player spoken about like Emi and Teemu in years to come.

(Equally, he might not, but the potential is undoubtedly there, especially because of his age. And I’m a glass half-full person so that’s how I choose to see it.)

Nunez is a full inernational though, he hasnt been plucked from relative obscurity in the same way Buendia was. But imagine if he does have similar potential....

Even though Emi was a winger/attacking midfielder, as I said above I tend to think of him more as a CM. So it is quite possible we could see Nunez doing a very similar thing to Emi, even though they officially play different roles.

The lack of creativity in our midfield last season was dire. So here's to the thought this is an attempt to rectify that

[Capt. Pants 4,234]

9 minutes ago, Van wink said:

Is he injured?

Not yet, but apparently he's playing Saturday night so every chance he can meet our criteria and shread his knee.

PS the fact he's playing then suggests this is not as close getting over the line as we thought?

[Jim Smith 2,317]

Like the look of this chap. Video reminds me a bit of Emi but hes also supposedly close to becoming a key player for a pretty decent international side so he comes with a bit more established pedigree. I hope we can get this one over the line. Looks a different type of player to anything we currently have (although nobody seems to know yet what sort of player Sara is).

[ricardo 7,395]

24 minutes ago, Van wink said:

Is he injured?

Will probably do his knee in while coming through customs.

[Gordon Bennett 783]

Folk banging on about last season need to recognise the chasm between the Prem and the Champs, the success anf failure of our recruitment since Stuart Webber has been here is a reflection of that.

[sgncfc 1,228]

35 minutes ago, The Great Mass Debater said:

Because I think we got lucky with Pukki rather than it being the result of inspired recruitment. Buendia on the other hand happy to give out the kudos

At the time we bought Pukki he had 70 international caps for Finland and had scored 15 goals. In league football he had scored 72 in 164 for Brondby. Since then in addition to his record for us (78 in 167), he has had another 36 caps and scored 21 goals. 

I don't think we got lucky. We did the research and took the chance.

[The Great Drinkell 50]

13 hours ago, SwearyCanary said:

Nu-Wes 

do you mean he only uses one foot!!  

[Dean Coneys boots 1,400]

Very excited about this on paper and video link. But last season taught me a lesson in that regard- so let’s wait ten games and see! 

[AJ 1,221]

1 hour ago, horsefly said:

Farke, Webber, and various scouts, that's who.

Well, obviously, I meant outsiders.

That's the entire point though, we have to trust the setup as it has bought some very good success in recent years. Yes we've signed some dogs as well, but any transfer is a risk to some extent unless you're a top club able to handpick your targets and afford to be able to get them. 

[jaberry2 550]

Stats wise he looks very similar to that of Sara. I wonder whether they could play together or are too similar in that regard. Both seem to have good engines and like to dribble into advanced positions. They both like to shoot, with Nunez probably getting stuck in a little more. Nunez looks like he likes to aim for the stands rather than the goal 🙂 He should fit in well.

[horsefly 4,300]

1 hour ago, The Great Mass Debater said:

Because I think we got lucky with Pukki rather than it being the result of inspired recruitment. Buendia on the other hand happy to give out the kudos

Yes! We all know that's what you think. Meanwhile in the real world the experts (Farke, Webber, and various scouts) had a choice of very many footballers available at the bottom end of the market. The very future of their careers depended upon the choices they made, and you want us to believe they just "stumbled" upon some  random picks. Funny how they are considered completely responsible when an acquisition goes wrong, but not remotely responsible when one goes right.

[Michael Starr 519]

14 hours ago, Block Y Seat 176 said:

Or a bluff🤔 they never wanted Kone😲

I'm thinking this also. We never usually hear about targets from Webber until it's a done deal and Kone had an air of publicity around it. Perhaps we used the Kone interest to get Nunez over the line. I'm sure Kone was on the list also.

[jaberry2 550]

Judging from targets it looks as though it will be Nunez and a new winger coming in. Providing we can secure both.

[horsefly 4,300]

10 minutes ago, AJ said:

Well, obviously, I meant outsiders.

That's the entire point though, we have to trust the setup as it has bought some very good success in recent years. Yes we've signed some dogs as well, but any transfer is a risk to some extent unless you're a top club able to handpick your targets and afford to be able to get them. 

Well you're actual words were: "Pretty much every player signed in those first two seasons was a "punt"".  The point is they weren't just "punts"; Farke, Webber, and the scouts selected their acquisitions very carefully. Otherwise you may as well describe every acquisition as a "punt" and the word loses any sort of worthwhile meaning. Pukki was signed from the Superligaen with a record of 45 goals and 14 assists in 111 games, Buendia excelled in poor team, and Farke was well aware of Zimmerman's talents from working with him. They weren't just punts in the ordinary pejorative sense of that word.

However, I couldn't agree more with your sentiment that, "we have to trust the set up as it has brought some very good success in recent years".