The Deuce: Trophies.

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Should he be?

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Zubimendi got the HERE WE GO official yesterday, which... fine. He's essentially 8-years-younger-Jorginho. I don't think he's a needle mover, but he will provide much needed quality depth in the midfield. To me, he's diet coke Declan- can play the 6, better suited as an 8. I don't know that he can be the midfield sweeper that Partey has been and the CL run showed how valuable that piece is to this team. But depth was clearly an issue for this team all over the field. Singing good players entering their prime windows is never a bad thing.

The bulk of the improvement this summer has to come on the attack. Having a holding midfielder play striker for the last four months of the season when you're "a contender" (MASSIVE quotation marks there) is inexcusable. Buy a real striker. Or two. I don't think we have a single one on the healthy senior roster. At best, Havertz and Jesus are decent false 9s - their best traits being link up play and willingness to work their asses off on the press. If you played two up top, both would be best at being the 2nd striker. Saka, Martinelli, Tross- all wingers. Nwaneri is probably best as a right winger, though I really would have liked to have seen more of him as a 10. Sterling was a used band-aid.

I think you need at least one striker and one more dynamic option on the left side. So which one or ones? I've seen so many "links" (which can be real or fanfiction- mostly the latter). Of the names I've seen, I'd have Isak at the top of the list. Big, fast, young, two-footed, and most importantly has proven to be a 20+ goal scorer twice in the Prem. I'd have Gyokeres right behind him. Really fast, big and strong. He's slightly older than Isak and hasn't shown he could translate his prolific scoring in the Portuguese league to the Prem, but I'd definitely be happy with the signing. Sesko was another option. I'd be least interested in him. Has a ton of upside but hasn't even proven it yet in Germany. I saw Jonathan David linked. Not too sure about that. He seems much more of a Gabby Jesus style player who is best through the build up, pressing, and counter vs. being a target man.

On the wing, I think Nico Williams is the main focus, but there will be a ton of competition for him. Rafael Leao would be an out of this world signing but is likely cost prohibitive. He would be my first, second, and third choice at winger.

Beyond that, the #1 priority needs to be getting a long term extension done for Saliba and Saka and a shorter one for Partey.