02 Jul 2026 23:19:43
Expecting the signing of El Mala to be announced within the next 5 days.
Someone I know that works close to the club told me this earlier.
El Mala and Wharton are Iraola's preferred targets right now.
03 Jul 2026 03:03:17
Gutted if this is true. I hope your mate is pulling your leg.
03 Jul 2026 03:57:39
Why would you be gutted at a new manager getting his preferred targets?
03 Jul 2026 04:20:34
@Shughes, you should email the club and let them know that they might be getting it wrong if @Skezza's info is accurate.
Maybe, just maybe, the club performs due diligence on potential targets and makes decisions based upon the character and capabilities of the player and the likelihood of him fitting into the coach's plans.
Then again, maybe they just pull names out of a hat to antagonise us.
03 Jul 2026 05:55:05
WDW, why don't you just respect other people's opinions? Your constant sniping and writing off people's views is boring
03 Jul 2026 06:20:21
He's got better stats than Diomande in terms of goals and assists given their time on the pitch. It makes sense we'd be linked with him.
03 Jul 2026 07:26:24
Both Wharton and El Mala make sense based on our stats based approach.
Only strange thing with El Mala is he plays on the left, I think, and we're looking for someone on the right. Does that mean he's a replacement for Gakpo or is the plan to move him or Rio to the right.
03 Jul 2026 08:24:19
They're both very mediocre players at the moment.
Maybe Iraola can unlock some hidden potential in them. If he can, he's a genius.
I don't think either player would get on the bench for our current squad. I don't see what they're adding that we don't already have.
03 Jul 2026 08:36:55
Ron, Wharton has progressive and line breaking metrics that are best in Prem and best in Europe. That's what he offers that's different.
El Mala offers speed, dribbling, goals and creativity. Walks into our starting line up at the moment if he replicates what he's done in Germany. Big 'if', but if he does, he walks in.
03 Jul 2026 08:53:41
As I pointed out the other day, a lot of El Mala's games have been at CF so he can cover for lw and Isak. Go watch him at the Euros last year. Germany's standout player.
03 Jul 2026 07:23:37
Wharton is ridiculously over priced and doesn't remotely fix our midfield issues. After last summer we should have written off negotiating with that cretin Parish.
03 Jul 2026 09:19:33
Flange. Maybe Wdw is fed up of the constant sniping and writing off of players we are being linked with.
The facts are we are connected to 100s of players and none of it matters unless we sign someone and then give them a full season to see how they do.
Perhaps all of us can agree on that point.
03 Jul 2026 09:21:10
We have Rio, Gakpo and Munoz who are primarily left wingers and we have no players who are primarily right wingers. Why would we buy another predominatly left winger!? Whilst he is young and his stats (albeit in the German league) are impressive, surely this is a position that we really do not need to focus on right now - even if he can provide decent cover for Ekitike whilst he is out injured.
03 Jul 2026 09:38:53
If Said El Mala is coming in, I would wager that is confirmation that Cody Gakpo is off.
As for Wharton, I totally agree with posters that are concerned about his mobility/athleticism, but I can also see the vision for his Trent-like ability to assist from anywhere on the pitch. If we add the speed demons to the wide areas, as expected, and put a beast of a RB behind Wharton so he doesn't have to cover channels, it could be the ticket.
It is clear that the Premier League has become really risk averse with these horseshoe-shaped press baiting systems building slowly through the phases. Players/coaches are petrified of transition. A risk-taker like Wharton might be really suited to Iraola's think-forward first style of play.
03 Jul 2026 10:39:10
Long term view:
If you're judging players on stats, then you need to reference Curtis Jones's stats. Statistically, one of the best midfielders in the Premier League in possession.
{Ed025's Note - stats can be very misleading Ron..
03 Jul 2026 12:40:23
Wasn’t Wharton the standout England midfielder a few years back that everyone and his dog wanted, but due to injuries has been leapfrogged by Anderson? Not sure he’s that bad a signing could potentially boss the midfield if we play Grav deeper a la 2 years ago when he was touted as one of the best in Europe for that position, plus give me someone who can play more than a 5m side pass sometimes.
Not saying he’s the messiah, but maybe a little piece of the Iriola puzzle. I wouldn’t be unhappy if we signed him, just hope it’s not ridiculous with these mindblowingly overinflated prices.
03 Jul 2026 11:47:14
Precisely my point ed025.
"Progressive and line breaking metrics".
Yeah but can he play football to the requisite standard? ❌
{Ed025's Note - its a no from me Ron..
03 Jul 2026 14:18:13
Maybe Iraola wants a right footed right winger to actually cross the ball to Isak, who's actually pretty good at heading.
Maybe we're going against type from the last few seasons in that we want more goals from the centre, actually using the Number 9 to score the goals that most likely won't be coming from the wings as they've done for the longest time.
03 Jul 2026 14:37:58
@Flange, what if I think someone's opinion is a pile of b*******? Do you respect all the opinions that you have ever heard? Have you always agreed with everything everybody has ever said?
03 Jul 2026 16:06:32
Does anyone remember when we signed Mane? Didn't he play on the right? Then we signed Salah. Who also played on the right. Maybe moving one of our left attackers would be a hood move?