Filipe Luis

[Brwned]

15 million is a snip. Why have we suddenly become so efficient at transfers and money? Is this all since we actually made a profit one season and managed to sell unneeded players for upwards of 90 million?

I think he's a great player and a very good signing but this is a typical Mourinho signing and not something I'd call a "value" signing. Particularly when you compare it to the amount you paid for two players he's essentially replacing - Cole and Azpilicueta. Azpiliceuta for £7m was a steal, Filipe Luis is just good business in comparison. You could probably get Ricardo Rodriguez for £5m more and he has a good 7 years on Filipe Luis.

You paid what you had to pay to get top quality in and ignored the long-term value of the signing - something which I think some managers don't do often enough and Mourinho does better than most. It's got the potential to be the best fullback partnership in PL history if he settles down quickly. Very well-rounded pair.

 

[TheShedEnd]

I think he's a great player and a very good signing but this is a typical Mourinho signing and not something I'd call a "value" signing. Particularly when you compare it to the amount you paid for two players he's essentially replacing - Cole and Azpilicueta. Azpiliceuta for £7m was a steal, Filipe Luis is just good business in comparison. You could probably get Ricardo Rodriguez for £5m more and he has a good 7 years on Filipe Luis.

You paid what you had to pay to get top quality in and ignored the long-term value of the signing - something which I think some managers don't do often enough and Mourinho does better than most. It's got the potential to be the best fullback partnership in PL history if he settles down quickly. Very well-rounded pair.

Well, Cole was part of a swap deal when Gallas was at his very best, and at the time many considered Arsenal to be getting the better half of the deal. Azpilicueta isn't being replaced, he's moving back to his natural right back role.

Let's be fair here, how many other top left backs are you going to find for the £15m we've just paid for Luis? Try for players with potential and that rises further, see Luke Shaw's obscene fee to Utd. Three or four years down the line i'm sure there will be someone else available making a name for themselves around Europe, and currently there aren't too many who even warrent paying £20-30m for.

 

[Brwned]

I don't have much interest in transfer fees but I imagine a top, top fullback at 25/26 would cost £25-30m so one who is 29 (by the time the season starts) would be £15-20m and probably at the lower end of the scale seeing as it's particularly rare for a top fullback to stay at the top of their game past 32/33 (as seen with Cole, Evra, Maicon etc. in recent times) due to the demanding nature of the role.