Player transfers (expected, realistic, semi-realistic, etc.)

[Obinna]

I don't know if we have a general transfer thread for our players or not, but I was thinking about starting a topic where we can talk about expected, realistic, and semi-realistic transfers in the same thread. The individual player thread will always be the go-to spot when something materializes, but this space can be moreso for fun and maybe even borderline fantasy with plenty of speculation (although we can talk about imminent transfers here too if we'd like)

[Obinna]

To get it started:

David - So many clubs we can list here, but I will go with AC Milan. Serie A seems like the right step up and Milan has shown the most consistent and recent interest. Pulisic and Musah are already on the books, so it would be a fun follow from a concacaf perspective. Spurs was the other club I was thinking about, or I guess Napoli, but Tottenham are flying high without a Kane replacement and Napoli may be more pressure (to replace Osimhen) and less chance at silverware. 

Buchanan - Had I started this thread last week I would have gone with Atletico, the latest club to be linked with him at the time, but despite the La Liga interest I will go with Inter since those rumours are now back on. Would be cool to have Tajon on the opposite side of the Milan derby. Like AC Milan, they are obviously a massive club with silverware expectations every season. 

Davies - Real Madrid. I think it's time. Bayern has been fun and he's won a ton, but Madrid is the one club that would be a clear step up currently and historially. There'll be plenty of time for him to go to the EPL later (maybe Chelsea...his Dad's club), but how cool would it be to have a Galatico in our national team? They have a young core and just imagining in a few years all of these guys entering their prime...they could be multiple UCL winners for sure...which means more trophies for our boy.

Now for some less glorious names....

Loturi - Celtic...yes Celtic. He always seems to show up against them (and is facing them again this weekend) and in my little fantasy world Ross County get relegated and Celtic scoop up this young talent on the cheap. Victor has to bide his time and patient, but slowly he works his way into being a rotational player for the Scottish giants. Plus he gets to nutmeg Johnston in training now! Again, this one is a fantasy pick, but the truth is Loturi is going to outgrow Ross County sooner than later. Sure, he may need an intermediate move (like Motherwell) before such a leap, but this is my speculation based on little to nothing....go ahead and make a different one

Paton - Rangers. Why not? He first has to outgrow Motherwell and so far he is just a rotational player and occassional starter, but he looks to have a good football brain and now that he's getting integrated into Canada perhaps it gives him the push he needs to move up the ladder. Being a rotational player for Rangers is probably his ceiling, so I am going to pretend it happens ahead of 2026, giving him a real chance to sneak onto the tail end of the WC squad. 

Larin - Sticking with the Scottish theme, I am going to pencil Larin in for a Rangers move in the future. He's always wanted to play in the Prem it seems, but maybe Scotland is the closet he'll get. I don't think he is good enough on the ball for the EPL and while I think (hope) he turns it around at Mallorca and continues to have a productive La Liga career, he will also be on the wrong side of 30 when 2026 comes around. By then he may need to go to a club where the minutes and goals come easy and Scotland would be the place. I could have said Celtic here, but they seem a little ahead of Rangers and odds are their more likely to have their no. 9 situation sorted. 

Edited November 3, 2023 by Obinna

[Free kick]

One thing that I started to realize when looking at all these transfer possibilities is that, by looking at it with a magnifying lens on the Canadian players and all their possibilities, we miss the bigger picture which tells us a lot more about the prospect and possibilities of where these Canadian ultimately end up.   

Take the example of TB:  whenever there were stories (even from very legitimate sources) of certain interest or move, we picked up on it because we are focused (obviously) the Canadian player.  But that may have been one stories out of hundreds.  And, if you take time to start scouring though piles info and sources,  you realize that in the bigger picture there wasn't much buzz around those stories or rumors.   While we talked about TB moving to Inter,  most of the buzz around Inter was about other players.   I believe that "generating buzz"  is important and just as important or more so than actually abilities, talent and what player can contribute to the club who is buying.   In other words,  the transfer market (as far a big name clubs) seems to be a business in itself to get attention and raise awareness and (as a result) Canadian players are at disadvantage because of it. 

The example of Jonathan David seems almost identical.   I wonder how different this (the transfers situations) would all play out and look today if, all other things being equal, we:   1) would have been able to convert that PK against Belgium, 2) Gotten  2-3 key saves in Qatar or prevented 2-3 bad goals.  3) as a result of #1 and #2, gotten into the next round.

Edited November 4, 2023 by Free kick