2021
Changing Times at International
Changing Times at International
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Changing Times at International
The Top100 has been a excellent experience, and an intense journey, which started on April 23, 2020, and Twente was my first adventure(it will always be a special team for me...and one day I would like to return to...but for now it is well in the hands of its coach). After that, 3 seasons leading Partizan, starting training in the 5th division...and reaching 2 consecutive promotions up to the 3rd division, the coach travels to the sun and wonders of Brazil, finding a team that was relegated from the 1st division, but with a high-level squad(my thanks to the previous coach for the work done). I chose to shake the whole structure, and that made us have an intense transfer market, and very busy(the objective was to get a strong starting 11...and good options to cover that 11)..but I think that from now on the market has closed for us. One of the priorities was to keep Szoboszlai (which I think is the biggest diamond we have in the squad)..although at a certain point we considered exchanging him for another excellent player, to make a stronger starting eleven, but in the end we were very happy to continue to belong to the Colorado family. We also kept Ricardo Pereira, Dendoncker, Torreira, Bensebaini, Mac Allister, Wissa, Le Fée, Alzate, Cabango and Piccoli, and a few more. We had to sacrifice some excellent players, such as, Insigne, Pulisic, Morata, Brozovic, Kovacic, and young promising Kumbulla , Adli and Schuurs, but we have achieved some targets that I think will help us in this Brazilian revolution (in the squad), in these new faces, Icardi, Nkunku, Gosens, Jorginho, Soyuncu, Politano and Rui Patrício will be the highest rate players, but Luis Diaz, Tomiyasu, Lucas Veríssimo, Koopmeiners, Claudinho, El Ghazi, Onuachu, in the end, give us more depth to the squad. Singo, Diogo Costa and Heitor, are the loudest signings for the young team. When I was hired, was given a objective, which was to fight for the playoffs, and I believe it's possible to achieve , and it's with this idea that we're starting the next season, but knowing that the 2nd division has excellent coaches and squad, and that it will be a very interesting challenge. Finally, I wish all Top100 coaches a successful time, and that they have fun, that in the end, I think it is the most important thing, that I will now enjoy the brazilian sun and caipirinhas, while we are still in the pre-season, because from next Sunday, rock and roll starts :)
Starting 11
(I hope this publication is well done, as it is the first time I do it)
Twente: Time is of the essence
I joined T100 on the 25th October 2020, more or less one year ago. I inherited a decent D5 team, with some oldies (Buffon, Ibra, Fonte) and someone with still something to demonstrate (like Milner).
I always appreciated young and talented players. Not having a too good first XI, my first idea was to create a good youth sector to make the youths grow and sell them in next years for a great price. Still didn’t really dip into the T100 mentality.
I have been forged by SM playing for years, discovering good leagues and meeting top managers. I built my own ideas of football management, I aspired to reach top leagues and so I did. I compared my ideas with different ones, I always have been better to learn and listen than to teach. Thought that building a good youth sector is always a winning decision, even if I had to sacrifice years before achieving important goals. Time has never been a problem for me, I’m a patient manager and I know that time rewards good intentions.
But not in T100, not for a D5 team like Twente.
Despite this, I started building my team based on my own ideas. So “out all the oldies, in the talented youths!”. I made some very good swaps (Spinazzola for Milner), other ones not at all (sold Ibra and Fonte for very low rated players). Anyway, I held on betting on youths and their talent, at the expense of the rating. Season 14 has been great for us, we have been 10th, 2 points away from the playoff zone. “Well achieved”.
So I was very confident for the next season, there may have not been problems continuing my project based on youths. We already had some very good youths (Velasco, Quaresma, Oosterwolde, De La Vega) but we wanted to improve the first team, fans deserved more. So we started dealing, first XI wasn’t too competitive, maybe last season we were lucky. We contacted more than half GW, but no one seemed interested in overpaying our youths. We were looking for 87+ rated players with still some future, we didn’t want to sell off them because we really believed in their potential. This clashed with my point of view, never had a similar situation. “So, no problem if we can’t get what we want, we had a decent season, this one will be similar”.
Season 15 ended with a 19th place. Complete disaster. We had plenty of unlucky matches, but this couldn’t be the only cause. During season 15 we came in contact with different and new mentalities, T100 attitude. Think we had it, but we were wrong. Season 15 demonstrated it! So in the last months we changed our way to see things, and we finally fitted with the GW. We sold our youths for the right price (Velasco, Quaresma, Oosterwolde & a not youth for Berghuis & Ferrari). 6 months ago this deal would have been out of our mind, now we are satisfied (and proud) for it.
I may thank T100 and his managers for this new experience, it’s always good to come in contact with new ideas and new point of views. I will keep my own ideas, that for sure, but I will guard this new T100 attitude for the GW of course, and never say never for other similar GWs. Today I’m a more experienced manager, today I will adapt my ideas in virtual, but not only, games.
FC Twente has only spent 2 seasons in D4, and has had an average place of 12.62 in 13 long D5 seasons, not enough. We can’t wait any more, time is of the essence at Twente. Now, time hasn’t (still) come, but I hope that our effort will be rewarded.
Twente, it’s time to grow up. Now, I think we are ready.
Napoli Chairman wants the Italian side to push for promotion
After three seasons of decline the Chairman of Napoli, now want's his side to focus on getting back up through the divisions. Napoli had been victims of asset stripping by previous management which left them with a squad value of less than £70 Million across 50 players and sitting 20 points adrift at the bottom of Division 1. Having appointed Glen Mullan when rock bottom of Division 1, with a Division 4/5 squad, it was inevitable the team would suffer a second relegation. Last season that slide down the divisions came to a halt, as the club managed a 12th place finish in division 3.
"Its been the best close season transfer activity we've has in a number of season's. We are actually trading for players who can come in and impact the first team, and increase our overall starting 11's rating. We go back three seasons, and we contacted most of the league asking the question if they had anyone they would trade for any of our players. 90% of the time it was either no response or a flat no, given the players we had at our disposal. We've had to be patient, we've had to try and find players from outside of the top 100 clubs and internal deals we managed to get over the line, we had to give away what was remaining of our best players in most cases taking 2 or 3 in return who we could potentially trade later. To bring in the likes of Vidal, Moutinho, Matic, Stindl and Costa this window is a clear statement from us, that we are slowly on our way back. The squad is starting to take shape, and we have to believe we can improve on 12th and push into play-off contention given the new players that have arrived. There is no guarantee's, a team takes time to gel, you need a bit of luck suspension/injury wise and you need to be able to manage the squads fitness. The players we have brought in are very experienced, and are the wrong side of 30. However we need to look at our surroundings. We are in division 3, and our priority was to stabilise the club, and then kick it on again. We have 35 players 25 or under, this shows we have implemented succession planning when building this squad. Yes, many of the under 25's are not going to rip up tree's in the future, but are still assets that can do a job for us, or another club when we ultimately have to trade again.
There is an air of optimism around the place, we still have Erlinc, Brereton and Bamford due to leave in pre-agreed deals. They are being replaced by Wood and Vinicius, which is good business for us given that Moutinho for example arrived as part of the Bamford sale too. I'm excited by a few of our young players too, I think Leighton Clarkson is going to become a massive asset for us, as are Arriagada, Burch, Luquinha and Joseph. Again when we've looked at what young players we bring in, its been a little more calculated, we've done our homework, highlighted the target and in these lads cases, have gone external and bought without getting into the bidding war/lottery. Time will tell, like with any youngster if they can push on, but we are confident we have some great potential here, which over the next 12 months we are going to be getting the messages asking for their availability.
Can we make the top 6 and ultimately get promoted?????? I think 20 managers will start off on Sunday hoping to get promoted regardless of their chairman's expectations. We have three strong teams coming down from Division 2, who will all fancy their chances of going back up. We've some impressive looking squads coming up from Division 4, on a high, in the habit of winning who will be looking for back to back promotions. Then we have the manager merry go around with new managers taking the reigns at new clubs, looking to make an impact. That's before we look at the established squads of West Brom, Sporting etc. Who should be up there pushing from the first ball kicked. Here at Napoli, we are certainly in the strongest position we've been in, since I arrived. We have some real quality in the middle of the park, and decent attacking options. Last season we just could not score goals and had one of the worse goal returns in the division. I'm hoping we have addressed that a little with the business we have done. Defensively we do look low on ratings, but this is the same defence which last season managed 14 clean sheets and finished the 4th best in Division 3, so I'm not overly worried on that front, and do have quite a number of potential improvers who could force their way into the back four next season.
On the whole, there is not much gulf in class from one player to another in our squad, we have players who if they get a plus 1 or plus 2, are suddenly starters, they are much closer to our first 11, than perhaps other clubs have with their squad players. I do think this will come into play a little this season, especially managing the fitness side of our squad. We will go into the weekends fixtures optimistic of a top 6 finish, we will need to show we've improved by 6 positions with our summer activity, but that's 6 points from last seasons total. Can this team win 2 more games than they did last season? 100% the squads best 5 players were not here last season, so on that basis I fully expect us to be hard to beat and to be one of the teams in that promotion mix.
GinoBet odds for Season 16
For Season 16 we have a new pre-season feature where TOP100 has teamed up with the renowned GinoBet to supply odds for the 5 Divisions. GinoBet has also outsourced the TOP120 divisions to present odds for that competition. GinoBet has previously supplied odds for some other game worlds.
GinoBet will not only supply the odds but will take limited fun bets using SM credits. These can be placed as single bets only and up to a maximum of 200 credits per bet.
Tonight we present the odds for Division 5 and will have another Division each night until Saturday night when the Division 1 odds will be published. If you wish to lay a bet for the season then you must, first of all, add GinoBet (Gino) as a friend and then send the credits along with a PM or What's App message stating your bet. In return you will receive a receipt stating your bet and how much it will pay in credits. After every six games, Gino will look at the bets and will possibly offer a 'cash out' sum in credits. Any questions can be PM'd or What's App'd.
Let's get started with Division 5. These are the odds for the Division 5 title:
DIVISION 5
7/2 SAO PAULO 3/1
7/2 SWANSEA CITY
8/1 RUBIN KAZAN
9/1 INTERNAZIONALE
9/1 SUNDERLAND
12/1 FC TWENTE
14/1 OLYMPIACOS
16/1 OLYMPIQUE LYON
18/1 TORINO
20/1 SPARTAK MOSKVA
25/1 CRUZEIRO
25/1 INDEPENDIENTE
33/1 SHAKHTAR DONETSK
40/1 ATHLETIC CLUB
40/1 MONTPELLIER HSC
50/1 BOCA JUNIORS
66/1 AZ ALKMAAR
80/1 MALAGA CF
80/1 VFB STUTTGART
100/1 AS SAINT-ETIENNE
Division 4 was very difficult to decide who were favourites, all the way down to the bottom club. The 20 clubs have very little between them so I had to add in another quality in each club. If you want to bet on an outsider or even just a longer odds bet then this is probably your division. Any one of the top ten, maybe even more, teams could probably state a case to be favourites but after adding in an extra requirement this is how it has come out:
DIVISION 4
5/1 LEICESTER CITY 9/2
11/2 LILLE OSC
7/1 CLUB BRUGGE KV
15/2 CELTIC
15/2 VFL WOLFSBURG
9/1 LOKOMOTIV MOSKVA
10/1 ATALANTA BC
12/1 SAMPDORIA
14/1 AFC FIORENTINA
14/1 1FC KOLN
16/1 DYNAMO MOSKVA
18/1 CELTA VIGO
18/1 WEST HAM UNITED
25/1 FENERBAHCE SK
28/1 OLYMPIQUE MARSEILLE
33/1 PSV EINDHOVEN
40/1 CSKA MOSKVA
40/1 GIRONDINS BORDEAUX
50/1 BESIKTAS JK
66/1 VILLARREAL CF
Division 3 is another league that has closely matched teams with little between the 20 competing sides. Deciding on how it will go over the next season was again difficult and other things that can impact the season were taken into account. Again, any bet here would be in with a chance so, if you are betting on this division look at what stats you think are important and you might get a very good price on the team that you fancy.
DIVISON 3
7/2 FLAMENGO
6/1 DINAMO ZAGREB
8/1 FC AUGSBURG
10/1 CRYSTAL PALACE
10/1 WEST BROMWICH ALBION
12/1 FK PARTIZAN
12/1 SPORTING CP 11/1
14/1 UDINESE CALCIO
20/1 FEYENOORD
20/1 HAMBURGER SV
22/1 SASSUOLO 16/1
28/1 DNIPRO DNIPROPETROVSK
28/1 SSC NAPOLI
33/1 TSG 1899 HOFFENHEIM
40/1 ZENIT SAINT PETERSBURG
50/1 FC BASEL
66/1 DYNAMO KYIV
66/1 BORUSSIA MONCHENGLADBACH
80/1 SS LAZIO
100/1 CHIEVO VERONA
Division 2 looks very competitive with the battle for promotion almost certain to go down to the last couple of games. I think any one of the top 8 could win the title but still can't rule out a surprise team to spring up from the bottom half. At the bottom, I am quite dismayed that my own team are favourites to finish bottom so work needs to be done. Santos look best value but winning the title will be beyond them.
DIVISION 2
5/1 EVERTON
6/1 ASTON VILLA
6/1 LEVANTE UD
8/1 SC INTERNACIONAL 7/1
14/1 SOUTHAMPTON
14/1 TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
16/1 MANCHESTER UNITED
18/1 RIVER PLATE
22/1 AC MILAN
25/1 WERDER BREMEN
25/1 GALATASARAY
28/1 AS MONACO
33/1 VALENCIA CF
33/1 FC SCHALKE
33/1 NEWCASTLE UNITED
33/1 LIVERPOOL
40/1 AJAX AMSTERDAM
40/1 SANTOS FC
50/1 AS ROMA
66/1 SEVILLA
Division 1 will be all about if anyone can wrestle the title from Barcelona. It will be a tough task for the challengers with only a couple, maybe three, teams looking capable. At the bottom, every point will be a prisoner but it looks like a long season for some
DIVISION 1
6/5 BARCELONA
9/2 CHELSEA
9/2 JUVENTUS
6/1 SL BENFICA
9/1 ARSENAL
9/1 FC PORTO
10/1 HELLAS VERONA
12/1 BORUSSIA DORTMUND
16/1 REAL MADRID
18/1 STANDARD LIEGE
20/1 BAYERN MUNICH
28/1 GENOA CFC
33/1 ATLETICO MADRID
40/1 RCD ESPANYOL
50/1 MANCHESTER CITY
50/1 RSC ANDERLECHT
66/1 HERTHA BERLIN SC
100/1 PARIS SAINT GERMAIN
200/1 BAYER LEVERKUSEN
200/1 STOKE CITY
TOP120
For the first time in the history of TOP100, there will be a feeder game world going by the name of TOP120 in which 20 teams will compete in two divisions. There is no promotion for the clubs to TOP100 but the managers of the 20 teams are all trying to impress enough to win a job in the main game world. GinoBet outsourced the betting for the two divisions of 10 in TOP120 to Paul Masters Fun Betting and he has produced these odds:
Division 1
Evens Young Boys of Berne
2/1 Brighton & Hove Albion, Stade Rennais
5/2 RB Salzburg, Union Berlin, Wolverhampton Wanderers, FC Midtjylland
4/1 Bologna
9/2 Real Sociedad
7/1 Sparta Praha
Division 2
Evens Crvena Zvezda, Real Betis
2/1 RB Leipzig
5/2 Leeds United, Palmerias, Nice
3/1 Fluminese
4/1 Eintracht Frankfurt
9/2 Rangers
10/1 Racing Club
In my view, considering the nature of TOP100 , these are very generous odds but it is only for fun. The odds are subject to change before the season starts on Sunday depending on moves in the transfer market. For instance, although it won't happen, if Ronaldo and Messi signed for Boca Juniors, you would no longer get 50/1.
I reiterate, it is single bets only for the title, however, if you see another single bet you would like e.g. Torino to reach the play offs, I will consider the bet and then, if acceptable, give you the odds for it to happen. You can then decide if you want to lay a bet.
Tomorrow night, the odds for Division 2 will be revealed as an edit to this post. Thanks for taking the time to read and show an interest.
Ciao.
First match, first win! But still feeling uneasy... #Top120 #Wolves
Wolverhampton Wanderers faced Real Sociedad in their first Top 120 match at Molineux, the match ended 4-2 for the host. Josh Sargent was the star that night with his brace, as two more goals coming from Adil Aouchiche and Alexis Mac Allister sealed the win for Dayo's side. The Wolves was pretty much dominating the match.
From your point of view, it looks like an easy win, right? But wrong! Believe me it isn't.
It was a comeback actually, we were 2 goals down in just under 20 minutes. And guess what, those goals were creations of Yuri Alberto, an 80-rated Brazilian attacker, who scored a goal and an assist. In addition, my team was finally able to equalize after a red card for the Basque's side, smh…
Is it a bad sign? NO, of course not!
Why? Because scoring 4 after conceding two goals is no small feat, also we were able to keep a clean sheet in the last 70 minutes and more importantly, in the end, the victory was ours.
Yeah, we still need to improve, we still need to develop. But still, we believe in ourselves. #COYW
Leicester City: Season 16 Transfer Window
In the last game of the season, Leicester clinched promotion with a 3-0 win over Athletic Club. We move back to D4 with a much stronger squad than what we left with. However, that doesn't mean that we are set with the team, and it has already been one of our most impressive "transfer windows" for a while with vast improvements across the squad, throughout the starting, cup and youth teams. So with that in mind, here is a round up of who is out and who is in...
Goalkeeper - First Team
Out - Koen Casteels - 29 - 89
After 2 and a half seasons of 87 rated keepers (Skorupski, Sepe, Mirante, Consigli, Silvestri and Blanco) the opportunity to bring in 89 rated Casteels was too much to turn down, so Blanco and Idrissi left with Casteels and Serdar joining. At 29, Casteels looked like he would be a good option for some time, especially with Wolfsburg impressing last season and gaining Champions League football. On top of that, Casteels averaged a 6.72 rating in his 32 league appearances, making him the 4th best performing keeper in the Bundesliga. If he is able to replicate this form, and Wolfsburg maintain their success from last season there is no reason Casteels can't rise further. However, we then had the chance to bring in a younger option, which we will discuss shortly. As such we looked to sell Casteels and struck a deal with Athletic Club which sees Guillamon, Chust and Tyukavin arrive in exchange.
In - Emil Audero - 24 - 88
Despite being rated lower, Audero fits my build much better. Being nearly 5 years younger, Audero offers us serious longevity between the posts, while also having great potential. Last season his average rating was 6.81 for Sampdoria, making him the 2nd best keeper in Serie A. This has caught the attention of many top teams with Lazio, Roma, Inter and Juventus all interested in bringing him in. His rating is probably limited whilst he remains at Sampdoria, but a move up the league will surely unlock higher ratings, matching his actual ability. I was really pleased with bringing him in, but he did cost us one of our most promising youths, with Thiago Almada leaving in exchange (he'll be looked at later).
Goalkeeper - Back Up
Out - Gautier Larsonneur - 24 - 86
Larsonneur is a solid back up option, and is high enough to be a starter in a few teams. He had a great 19/20 season earning a 7.02 average when breaking into the Brest 1st team. Last season, though, his form dropped as he registered a 6.55 in 35 starts, famously smashing the ball against his own post in what was nearly the ultimate own goal. Despite this, it looked a move was on the cards this summer, where he was an option for high spenders Marseille, but they ultimately opted for another option. That left Larsonneur with his role at Brest. This has been thrown into question though as Bizot has been signed and started all 3 league games this season. It's an unfortunate situation for Larsonneur, who really has the ability to be a starter. Things might look up though as Bundesliga Greuther Furth are rumoured to be interested in the 24-year-old. We let him go pretty cheap, taking a big punt on 17-year-old Bilal Ceylan who recently joined Besiktas in real life.
In - Robert Sanchez - 23 - 85
It's an odd position to be excited about, but this signing brought a smile to my face. In the 19/20 season he was on loan at League Ones 19th place Rochdale. Even 3 months into last season, fans had only seen him play once in all competitions as he played back up to Matt Ryan. However, in mid-December he won the starting spot and has held it since. Brighton would eventually finish the season 16th, but despite this they had the least goals conceded for teams outside of the traditional "Big 6" with only 46 throughout the season. Only 27 of these came from Sanchez's 27 games, with the other 19 coming from the 11 he didn't play. On top of this, Sanchez kept 10 clean sheets. After a fantastic season, he was rewarded with a call up to the Spain squad for the Euros. At Brighton, he should be able to hit 87 or so before having to move to continue his development. While there are no links yet, many bigger Premier League teams are, or will be, on the lookout for a new keeper in the near future, with both Tottenham and Leicester needing to think about replacements soon. While it's early days, Sanchez has shown that he has the ability to make it at a top team, and at 23 has a long career ahead of him. He joins us in exchange for Luis Suarez, who is a player I like a lot, but fell down my pecking order.
Goalkeeper - Youth back up
Out - Ersin Destanoglu - 20 - 83
This was a really tough one to let go. At 20, Destanoglu is already the Besiktas starting keeper and helped them to win the league last season. He has already made 44 league appearances, conceding only 43 goals and keeping 18 clean sheets. During the sale to Juventus, both DP and I agreed that he would likely hit 85 in the Turkish review. In typical SM fashion, though, the starting keeper of the league champions only got a +1 to 83, which was disappointing to see, even after I had sold him. Throughout the summer he was linked with a move to France, with OGC Nice very keen to bring him in. Lyon were also reported suitors, but it now looks like he will stay in Turkey, which is probably the best scenario as it guarantees him game time at a respectable club. He should already be higher rated, but will certainly keep rising in the future. In exchange, we received Sebastian Walukiewicz and Nehuen Perez, who will both boost our youth defence.
In - Dogan Alemdar - 18 -80
I remember looking at Alemdar when he was external and being limited by the squad cap. Now I am thrilled to be able to add him. He hasn't joined yet, but will next season and will play back up to Majecki in the youth team. However, at 18 he will be our youth keeper for several seasons to come. He started last season as the back up at Kayserispor, making his league debut in week 12, before becoming the number 1 option in game-week 16. In his 29 senior games last season, he kept 10 clean sheets, which was very impressive considering Kayserispor finished only 1 point above the relegation zone. His strong displays earned him a 6.76 average rating, making him the 3rd best keeper by performance in the league. Many bigger teams took notice of this and he has now completed a move to Stade Rennes, who are well renowned for their scouting and player development. Hopefully he can win the starting spot there and continue his development. We gave Yunus Musah in exchange for Alemdar plus Jack Harrison.
Centre Back - Back Up
Out - Filippo Romagna - 24 - 86
Romagna is a player I like a lot. As a graduate of the Juventus youth academy, there was a lot of expectation from his career. And it looked to be panning out well with 82 senior appearances in all competitions by the age of 22, 59 of which came in Serie A. However, a major injury in March 2020 kept him out for over a year, with his return expected to come early this season. Despite this injury, Sassuolo opted to exercise their option to buy in his loan, showing their faith in him. At 24 he still has time to reignite his career, and is well positioned at Sassuolo where he could rise if he gains a staring spot over the clubs older options of Ferrari and Chiriches. We gave Romagna and youth defender Pelmard for Friedrich.
In - Marvin Friedrich - 25 -87
Friedrich had been a target of mine for a long time. Partially because he is a player I like, and partially because he had been sat on concerns for a long time, hitting Level 4 just before we signed him. After doing well for Union Berlin in the 2.Bundesliga, he adapted well to the top division, earning 6.65 and then 6.93 average rating in his first two seasons. He was instrumental for the team last season as part of a defence which conceded only 43 league goals, this was less than both Bayern and Dortmund. His impressive performances made him the 8th highest ranked centre back in the league last season and he was one of only 3 outfield players to play every minute of every match last season too. Union Berlin also stunned many as they finished 7th, qualifying for the new UEFA Conference League. While he is technically my 3rd choice, he will compete with Mingueza and did start the last 2 games of the season where he scored 2 goals. He was loosely linked to Lille, Monchengladbach and Leverkusen in the Summer, but no formal moves were made. If Union Berlin can fight to another 7th place finish there is no reason he can't rise further. If they return to lower in the league, though, he may need a move to keep developing. As stated before, we payed Romagna and Pelmard for his services. As further depth options we have also added Walukiewicz and Guillamon.
Right Back - Back Up
Out - None
In - Mert Muldur - 22 - 86
We've been "back up-less" at right back this season. Mingueza has been deployed out wide when needed but I have been after a natural option for some time. I'm also very happy with Centonze as a started, but was hoping to bring in a younger option too. At 22, Muldur fill both my needs well. At Sassuolo he has settled well and developed a good competition with Toljan for the starting role. I'm confident that in the mid-long term Muldur will come out on top and continue rising. He also brings us versatility as he can play centre back if needed. He brings a lot of positive attributes, and bringing in a solid young right back proved to be a very tough task, so I'm very pleased to have this one done. Arsenal, Tottenham and West Ham have been linked with him this summer, but I wouldn't expect a move. While I like the move, we did pay big. Guilherme Pedro and Jacob Ramsey will head to Barca in exchange, but I'm hopeful that long term it will be a smart swap.
Centre Midfield - Back Up
Out - Sander Berge - 23 - 87
Berge was one of my first signings at Leicester, and one that I had great hope for. But he made a poor choice moving to Sheffield United and failed to really get going. While the club looked good when he arrived midway through the 19/20 season, their form dropped off and never came back with the team losing their last 3 games of the season, and failing to win in their opening 17 games of the 20/21 campaign. Berge himself had a tough time, earning a 6.43 average from his 15 total league games. He would also miss the other 23 through injury. With the club now in the Championship, they are yet to win any of their opening 4, however, Berge is strongly linked with a move away with Napoli said to be very keen on him. He had bags of potential upon his arrival at Sheffield, so much so that Man United fans were excited when they thought they had signed him (but it actually turned out to be a 15-year-old keeper), but it just hasn't panned out correctly for him with the clubs fortunes changing and him picking up injuries. A move to Napoli would certainly be a boost to him and should help him get closer to what was expected of him. Berge was involved in a big deal which saw him move to Cologne in exchange for Yusuf Demir, with Arribas and Martins also due to head to Germany next season.
In - Ibrahima Diallo - 22 - 85
This one seems like a clear downgrade when looking at the names. Berge is a big name on paper, while Diallo was a bit more under the radar when he joined Southampton. Despite being eased in slowly, he has featured in all but one of the last 12 games. While he didn't turn in any eye catching appearances, he was solid and gained good game time in a new league. This year he will hope to build on that, and look to establish himself as a solid league player, as many at Southampton do. He has already featured in both games off the bench. While it's hard to judge his potential at the moment, if he is able to push into the Southampton team then he could quite easily reach 87 by next summer. At 22 there is no rush for him, and I trust the scouting of the Saints to be right on this one. With Diallo I also received Pelmard, with Benrahma and Gunther moving in exchange.
Winger - Back Up
Out - None
In - Jack Harrison - 24 - 87
Staring last season we had a complete lack of width. Since then we have added Dudu, Balde, Serdar and Eze. On paper our back ups were Faivre and Sinisterra, who am very happy with, but Harrison brings a more immediate option, with the ability to challenge for a starting spot immediately. Harrison had a great season last year for Leeds, scoring 8 and assisting 8 in his first premier league season, earning a 7.05 average rating when playing from the left. If he is able to replicate this sort of form again this season then he will be on for another solid rise taking him further into starting contention for us. At 24, he is young enough to be considered in our long term plans, and will likely have a big role to play down the line. He came in with Alemdar for Musah.
Winger - Youth
Out - Thiago Almada - 20 - 85
When we signed Almada he was one of our top prospects and I hoped he would be with us for a long time. There were doubts from the start though. Some legal issues in Argentina cast big questions in my head before we confirmed the move. A move to Marseille then looked likely as the French team underwent a major rebuild. This fell through though, and he then looked likely to join Atalanta United, which also fell through, due to visa issues. He is set to join them in January though, leaving me unsure about my confidence in him. He is absolutely a promising player, but I don't know whether the MLS is the correct place for his development. From Velez, the most comparable player is Matias Vargas, who had a similar style of play and similar stats during his time at the club. He has failed to live up to his expectations in Europe, struggling at Espanyol. In terms of Atalanta, Barco was also a promising young Argentine, who hasn't panned out as expected. In the MLS, Almada could certainly rise, but he will need a move to Europe to really develop. He was sensational in game for us, scoring 5 goals and assisting 11 on the way to winning the Youth Shield (was very surprised to see him not make the top players list recently). He was swapped for Emil Audero.
In - Yusuf Demir - 18 - 82
We had been chasing Demir for some time, and the clubs change in management facilitated the move. After an impressive debut senior season in Austria last season, Demir has completed a loan move to Barcelona where he was due to join the B team. But after just a few weeks he had already impressed enough to be included in the first team, featuring regularly in pre-season and making his first league appearance off the bench against Athletic Bilbao. While he is only on loan, Barcelona have the option to make the move permanent, an option which already looks likely to be taken up. If he is able to keep a regular role in the team he should quite easily reach 87 by next summer and then onwards from there. He cost us a lot, with Berge, Arribas and Martin all going to Cologne in exchange.
We have a few other youths or lower rated senior players also joining, and will continue to look to improve the team at every opportunity. The team is looking great at the moment with depth that I am very happy with. We also have a "future" option at every position with either the current or potential ability to be a long term regular for us.
With the current squad, here is how our 1st team, Cup team and Youth team will line up next season.
Trofeo Italia
I am pleased to announce that from season 16, Top 100 will host the first edition of the Trofeo Italia. It is a pre-season friendly trophy between the three traditionally major Italian clubs: Inter, Milan and Juventus. The idea of this tournament is based on the Trofeo TIM, a competition which took place between 2001 and 2016 and which was mockingly considered the August Scudetto in Italy.
As the level of the three participants in Top 100 is not quite the same, we decided to define a rating cap of eligible players for this competition. For the first edition, it will only be possible to field players up to a maximum rating of 89, with no age limit.
Good luck to Inter, Milan and Juventus for what we hope will become a recurring tournament. For some of these clubs, this could be the only way to win silverware, so it's an opportunity not to be missed!
