I think Watford have already bought someone who could be his replacement.
I reckon there’s something in this. He fills a glaring hole in our squad.
We don’t have any strong runners who can transition the ball at pace from one area of the pitch to another quickly.
Doucouré ticks that box and if he comes in he gives us a different option we badly need.
A lot of the rhetoric of their fans is different at this stage, seem happy enough to let him go (albeit not to us) and for a fee of around £60 million.
The shape of transfer windows is changing in my view. It used to be prices held, and in many cases increased as the window went on. It's very much a buyers market now and the prices decline the closer they get to deadline day. If clubs needs to sell, or have planned too, or have guaranteed a player a move then the pressure of not having a buyer seems to bite as the window goes on. Prices continue to stumble and fall.
To me Brands has played this excellently, he has driven down Kean's price to below 30 million with no release fee (apparently) or at the worst a much much higher one. Gomes price was driven down to 22 million. Gbamin was £22 by all accounts too. Really pressuring the asset.
For lads like Doucoure (and to a degree Zaha) there's no way either their plan or their clubs plan was to sell to Everton this late. However the "top" teams I.E the elite teams haven't bought them, so they are in a really tricky situation. In such a situation flexibility comes into it. We are one of the few viable buyers left for them.
The other point in this, is that we are now being viewed as far more seriously than we were even 12 months ago, never mind 3 years ago. Sides in that "2nd tier" are started to reluctantly accept they need to sell to us as a business plan. It's probably been helped by the professionalism of Brands and how he doesn't ram people faces into the dirt with it in doing so.
Brands is a very astute operator and gets this. I can't imagine Doucoure was plan A, he probably wasn't seen as viable but he has come onto the radar. It's too good to turn down. I like he's opened up with £32 million, unrealistic and low but a clear signal of our intent but also we won't be taken for a ride.
I expect Zaha may re-emerge that week as well. If we can get Doucoure for close to £40 million (or anything under £50) it will be a very good deal for me. The lad is an absolute machine. Zaha at around 60 million + a player could be a useful buy too. We will see. As you say, seems something in this though.
I wonder if players will start leaving quickly next week too.
www.express.co.uk
