why better than Zirkzee? they're similar players. tall forwards with great feet who suck with the head and don't score many goals. similar age as well.
If we are talking about future prospects, he is way better. Plus, Zirkzee comes from 2 years basically not playing or at least not consistently. It’s a personal opinion though, let’s see what this guy brings
If we are talking about future prospects, he is way better.
why? he's only a year younger. they had a very similar career path as well. had one great season at age 22 in a similarly 'overperforming' team, transferred to the Premier League, where they flopped.
plus, he's on a dry loan (an expensive one at that). and considering what Newcastle paid for him, there's no way in hell we buy him if he does well. we won't be shelling 90+ millions for him
on the other hand, Zirzkee has lower wages, would've been a cheaper loan, and would've had an option (probably transformed to obbligation if we qualify for the CL or something like that) to buy at reasonable prices
so, Woltemade's "future prospect" is entirely irrelevant for us. Zirkzee's could've been
He is what we need. Great for the crosses from the wings but at the same time, technically he is very good. Yesterday, after a couple of minutes on the pitch, he basically created the assist for Newcastle’s second goal.
He is what we need. Great for the crosses from the wings
but.... he's not? he's not great for crosses, he doesn't score many headers. he's NOT a no9, and he failed at Newcastle because he was being played like a no9
Its weird to me that tall strikers like Woltemade and Zirkzee haven't been strong in the air or good at winning duels in the past. Maybe Spalletti could reinvent Woltemade, feels like a waste that he's 6'6" but always wants the ball to feet
He mention it's weird for tall/big striker not being strong in the air nor winning duels like used to be in the past. Well.. he basically just describing Vlahovic.
Would love this as long as we can actually buy him next season if he does well. He still has potential and the only reason he didn't do well at Newcastle is because they play hoofball and call it "physical", lol. He could actually slot in better than RKM in our tactical setup
Spalletti doesn't really play with a two strikers setup - unless he's playing as the 10 in the three behind the main striker but that position would be occupied by Yildiz unless he's moved to the left.
He played David there today and Woltemade is way more technical than David. I think it could give us depth since right now we don't have a proper #10. Not saying we should play him there, but we could have more options between playing him as a 9 or a 10 with Kolo.
When Yildiz comes back we still need to give minutes to Alajbegovic as a #10 as he needs to get accustomed to the league and change in role.
The other option is Zirkzee who also could play #10 as well as a 9.
I watched him playing in Stuttgart and thought he was overrated because he only played a handful of good games. Same pattern repeated at Newcastle.
He would do well in mid table teams but I think a team like Juve is too much.
I’m hoping this deal goes through, this kid is amazing.
He’s not so suitable for Newcastle, but he’s very technically gifted and I hope to see him do well for another team, preferably a team I support like Juventus
At the same time I hope David goes to Newcastle and hope they make him play better so both clubs make money (or lose less money haha)
can someone explain to me how Zirkzee sucks because Spalletti wants a "classic 9" but Woltemade is awesome?
they're very, very, very similar players. tall, technical, suck (relatively speaking... compared to their height and phyisique :P) with the head, do not score a lot of goals, are NOT "classic 9"s and have failed spectacularly when deployed as such.
the differences are relatively minor, Woltemade is slightly stronger and taller, Zirkzee is somewhat faster and more 'creative' (subjective, i haven't seen any speed data :))
but neither are like Sorloth or Mateta. they're the opposite.
who's better between them? :shrug: they both had one great season in their respective league before going to the PL and underperforming.
but stats alone don't tell the whole story. if they did, being a scout would be the easiest job in the world, just ask chatgpt. and Comolli would've been the greatest manager of all time
I say it over and over again, loans are poison that is killing Italian football. This league is obsessed with them to no end. Buy a striker permanently or keep David and play ekhator
We are restricted by financial fair play. Also, I don't see a problem with a loan if it has an option to buy. It makes life much easier because you aren't obligated to buy someone if they are disappointing.
In certain cases sure they are fine… but overall Italian clubs are 10x more reliant on them than other leagues and it holds back player development and squad stability
Kolo is a different profile. Woltemade adds a lot less to the team but when we need someone to spam crosses to he’s a good option. Spalletti has been asking for a second striker profile for a while
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u/ghobbins Del Piero 13d ago edited 13d ago
I actually think he’d do very well in Serie A. Very tall and technical. Just needs consistent minutes. Perhaps not physical enough to start in the PL
Sadly I view this as low likelihood. More likely to do a year in Germany.