Which striker would you rather sign?

Yesterday, we included a bit in the news and rumours section about Nottingham Forest reportedly being interested in both Feyenoord striker Santiago Gimenez and Arsenal’s Eddie Nketiah.

Since then, Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that the club made bids for both strikers, and both initial offers were rejected. Forest is continuing talks about both players, but will obviously only sign one of them.

I noted that I’d go for Gimenez if the fee and wages for both were equal, and discussions about that got mildly heated on Twitter, mostly between Arsenal fans who would like their team to get a large return for Nketiah and opposing fans who don’t like Arsenal.

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You will be unsurprised to learn that Gimenez’s radar looks a little nicer and more filled out than Nketiah’s. This is (probably?) mostly the product of Gimenez playing in a weaker league. If you squint, you can see some similar skillsets. Gimenez would probably be better at setting up chances for his teammates in any league.

But as mentioned above, Eredivisie attackers often bomb hard in the Premier League. Nketiah may not emerge as a star when given a starting role, but Forest can be pretty certain he’s not going to suck. Even though I think Gimenez has the higher upside, Forest is a team whose main aim is not getting relegated, and I can see the argument that Nketiah is more likely to help them accomplish that goal.

So, I ask the readers: Who would you sign? Assume the fee and wages are exactly the same. We’ll reveal your answers in a couple days.

News and rumours

• Leicester City have signed Oliver Skipp from Tottenham for £20m + £5m in potential add-ons, and I don’t love it for the Foxes. Skipp is a hard working defensive midfielder who is a respectable ball-retainer, but his game is very limited. He’s not terribly athletic, doesn’t carry the ball forward and doesn’t have a wide range of passing. They’ve bought a Renault at a Mercedes price.

• In other Tottenham outgoing news, Giovani Lo Celso has been shopped to Aston Villa, Real Betis and AS Roma for about £13m. I get that he doesn’t fit Ange Postecoglu’s wide-open style, but I think he’s an underrated player and someone’s getting a bargain at that price.

• Barcelona want to offload Ilkay Gundogan’s salary. City want him back, but don’t want to pay a transfer fee for a 33-year-old they know Barca are desperate to offload. This could lead to City getting a player as good as Gundogan for free. The mega rich get mega richer.

• The Joao Felix/Conor Gallagher swap is expected to finally get worked out this week. Felix is on his way to Chelsea for a medical, and if he passes, everyone will be announced on Wednesday. I would like to reiterate that Chelsea should simply play Raheem Sterling instead of doing all this.

• After having a bid rejected for Scott McTominay, Fulham have decided to go for Sander Berge instead. He’s expected to be announced today after they agreed a £20m move with Burnley. I don’t love Berge, but this deal doesn’t upset me either. Much better move for Fulham than it would have been for Man United.

• Speaking of, the Red Devils can’t responsibly afford Manuel Ugarte this year without selling McTominay for a big fee, so they’re now discussing a loan with an obligation to buy with Paris Saint-Germain. Seems like it would be a decent outcome for all parties. We previously went in depth on Ugarte here.

• O Globo says that Everton are considering paying the €60m release clause for Atletico Mineiro striker Alisson Santana, but here’s the thing: No they are not. They are broke.

• NWSL was busy yesterday, with two trades announced. Left winger Alexa Spaanstra moved from Kansas City to Portland, which makes me think the Thorns would really like to move USWNT star Sophia Smith back to center forward. Spaanstra’s numbers at KC this year don’t look great, but I really liked her at youth national team level.

• Seattle has sent striker Bethany Balcer to Louisville for defensive midfielder Jaelin Howell in a move that I think makes sense for everyone. Seattle has recently signed a couple of forwards, but is badly lacking an athletic ball-winner in the middle. Racing’s forwards are all a similar profile of run in behind types, and they needed one with some aerial presence and back-to-goal ability.

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