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The only issue I have with Coutinho so far is the timing of his transfer request. If he wanted out, he shouldn't have done it at the end of the transfer window. And especially not the same day we have a fucking CL qualification match. That situation reeks of an agent telling a player to time it like that to cause a disruption of the club. And the fact there's stories out now saying he believes he's played his last game for the club indicates that he wants to force the move now as he failed to force the move in the summer. There's not a lot of incentive for us to let him go now, unless Barcelona are going to pay a premium for a CL cup-tied player. If he refuses to play, he probably fucks over his world cup chances. But it doesn't make sense for us to let him leave unless the fee right now unless the fee is absolutely outrageous. But with the rumours that they want Ozil on a free as an alternative might have Coutinho worried. The stories coming out now about Coutinho trying to convince the club to let him go for a record fee seem to fall in line with the fact that he and his agent have been told it's now or never for the Barcelona move. Again, like Suarez, it's hard to begrudge a world class player for wanting to play alongside players like Messi and compete for the CL year in year out. But I can begrudge a player for putting in a transfer request before an important match and if he does pull a Mascherano and refuse to turn up to training and say he's unavailable to be picked in order to force his move to Barca, that will firmly solidify him as a bastard. Especially if he's going to do that before an FA cup match against our local fucking rivals. I think the club should seek to sign his replacement during this window and fuck him off to Barca for as much as we can. And we should let Real Madrid and PSG know that for whatever fee Barca might be able to land him, they can also land him. I'd prefer to sell to one of them over Barca.

I got it now. Anyway, welcome back!

@Danny will defend this.

Leon is having individual training sessions at the moment to try and get fit after his recent injury. The management have offered him an improved contract which will make him the highest paid player if he stays, but he seems to have set his mind on Bayern - despite Spain still showing interest. He is also somewhat still upset by what has happened recently at 04 and seems determined not to go with a large fee being paid to the club and will stay until June to make sure he is free. It is very messy (not Messi) at the moment!

Unlike players such as Douglas and Marlon, who were strange signings and made no sense, Yerry Mina is an actual talent who has already proven a lot out in South America and also has experience playing for his country. So I don't see this one as being a strange signing or a risk, especially when you consider that he's not going to cost a ridiculous fee. He could well end up being a steal and I think he could adapt his game well to Spanish football, as talented Colombians seem to often do well there. It's all about him getting the minutes really. Umtiti is currently injured and it remains to be seen if Vermaelen(who is doing well lately, it has to be said) can stay injury free for the rest of the season, which is unfortunately doubtful when you consider his track record. Either way, with Mascherano off, a 4th choice defender is a must and Yerry Mina will definitely get the pitch time I'd say. It might not work out for him, but there is definitely a strong possibility that it will and for the low price he will cost, it's not really a risk in a financial sense. The Dutch league is terrible in this day and age and more players going from that league to the Spanish one seem to struggle more than ones going from South America, specifically the Brazilian and Argentine leagues. Some players who have gone directly to Spain from South America and are still active:- Neymar, Aguero, Higuain, Marcelo, Dani Alves, Godin, Miranda, Casemiro, Filipe Luis... Obviously it doesn't work for everyone, but there isn't a bigger risk buying players from Brazil or Argentina for a Spanish club than buying them from Holland, or even some of the other countries mentioned. Holland in the past was one of the breeding grounds for talent and some top players left for Spain(some very influential figures at that), but South America has always been a go to continent for talent when it comes to Spanish clubs. If not in Spain itself, then Brazil, Argentina, France and Portugal are great countries to find bargains and players that are suited to the Spanish game. Obviously England would be a great place to buy quality as it's ready made talent, but when Van Dijk is going for 75 million, it doesn't make sense to shop there. England is a bit different due to the cultural differences, but players going directly from South America to Spain works out a lot and it has been common theme since even before Di Stefano's days. As I mentioned in my post to Balon above, players such as Marlon Santos and Douglas didn't work out, but neither really came with high potential or after doing anything, they were simply outright nonsense signings and nothing was expected from either of them really. Mina on the other hand, is actually one of the stand out talents in Brazil right now, is already an international for Colombia and the price he will cost isn't ridiculous. It's worth taking the risk on him if you ask me.

Why even do this? Why not wait until the summer to negotiate? If we agree and announce a deal now for July, we're back to the old problem of every club in the world knowing we've got however much cash Barcelona have given us and raising their prices. They'll do that anyway because we're a big English club and we've shown we're willing to spend on VVD, but we don't want to give them a reason to do it further if we don't have to. There's also the risk that Coutinho will check out mentally for the rest of the season and his performances will suffer. If we wait til the summer to negotiate, there are no distractions to our season and there's every chance his price will go up, especially if we can initiate a bidding war with Real Madrid and PSG. By all means promise him that he can have his move in the summer, but there are risks and no benefits to setting it in stone now.

So - it's official, I have got a new job! Got the call just now, and have accepted the offer given. I have been with the same company in the same industry for 10 years, and I've been wanting to move out for awhile, so it looks like come early February, I will have a new career!

Werde mir jetzt die Leber marinieren. Wünsche Euch allen einen guten Rutsch und ein frohes neues Jahr!