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Armel Bella-Kotchap


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Loved the way he whipped the crowd up late on after blocking another attack. Our penalty area is a different place with him around - he just doesn't look as though he has a mistake in him though he's bound to make a few. It's almost as if he is the more senior partner to Salisu which is a credit to him. Who knows what he'll go for when we sell him if he continues on his current trajectory. The young lads around the place seem to have reignited the team spirit which was sadly lacking towards the end of last season. Very happy with what I am seeing so far and honestly didn't see us getting more than maybe 3 points from those tough 5 opening fixtures.

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1 minute ago, Saint Garrett said:

Be gone in 2 years, can’t see him signing a new contract. Enjoy him while he is here because the bloke is sensational. 

If he keeps up his current form all season then I can see some "too good to turn down" bids coming in at the end of this season. That said, I guess we need to bear in mind Salisu was earning similar rave reviews during a purple patch last season but then tailed off somewhat, although I think it's already clear that ABK has more potential to become world class. 

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I said on the match thread, he reminds me of the CB Ralph had at RB - Dayot Upamenco. Physically imposing, quick, good touch. Seems to have a great mentality and genuine leadership qualities too, and for 20 years old that's usually a sign that he's destined for the very top as long as he keeps his head screwed on.

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He was immense tonight. Love watching him play, so commanding. I think salisu was easily his equal tonight, the first 20 mins or so he kept Chelsea at bay. The two of them are formidable and I think will win us more points than the forward line this year if they stay fit. 

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That tackle on Sterling when they were 3 on 1 was ridiculous! 

He was picked up in the Guardian as one of their transfers to watch this season. Normally the Saints youngsters they pick out on there do nothing. Not this time. He will be a superstar. Can already see him at Bayern, or one of the big Spanish clubs, he is that good. 

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6 minutes ago, david in sweden said:

.......kinda running short on superlatives for AB-K at the moment.  If he's still playing like this in November, he could be included in the German WC squad.

I'm looking forward to seeing the Germany CB's play if they've got two better than ABK - he just looks like he has the confidence and the temperament to step up at WC level....at 20!

Agree with Redkeith too - Bayern, Barca, Real Madrid.....he looks destined for a Club like that.

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FYI for everyone. His agent says he is a two year project with us ( expected) and also, here comes the bad bit - he has a 40m buy out. Apparently one of the terms of the deal which is I suppose the way we operate now so let's enjoy him for the next two seasons. If he lasts that long !

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1 minute ago, Hawkswood said:

FYI for everyone. His agent says he is a two year project with us ( expected) and also, here comes the bad bit - he has a 40m buy out. Apparently one of the terms of the deal which is I suppose the way we operate now so let's enjoy him for the next two seasons. If he lasts that long !

Forgot to mention, I'm mates with a good mate of his agent so not quite first hand but he has no reason to BS me. After that take what you want from the info.

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15 minutes ago, Hawkswood said:

FYI for everyone. His agent says he is a two year project with us ( expected) and also, here comes the bad bit - he has a 40m buy out. Apparently one of the terms of the deal which is I suppose the way we operate now so let's enjoy him for the next two seasons. If he lasts that long !

At this rate he'll be gone in the next transfer window 😳

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1 hour ago, FairWeather said:

Why did we only sign him on a 4-year deal - almost guarantees he’ll be gone in 2 at most. 
 

Salisu too was only four years.

 

Do we only offer 4-years for some reason, or do they prefer 4 over 5 so they are less likely to get tied down?

 

He's into his 5th game with us, why do we have to worry about the length of his contract and him leaving already?

He will leave within the next 2 years, so just enjoy him playing for us and stop panicking that we've not tied him down for 20 years.

Edited by S-Clarke
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31 minutes ago, Hawkswood said:

FYI for everyone. His agent says he is a two year project with us ( expected) and also, here comes the bad bit - he has a 40m buy out. Apparently one of the terms of the deal which is I suppose the way we operate now so let's enjoy him for the next two seasons. If he lasts that long !

@The Cat

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2 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

He's into his 5th game with us, why do we have to worry about the length of his contract and him leaving already?

He will leave within the next 2 years, so just enjoy him playing for us and stop panicking that we've not tied him down for 20 years.

Same was said about Salisu last season. 
also @The Cat

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28 minutes ago, Hawkswood said:

FYI for everyone. His agent says he is a two year project with us ( expected) and also, here comes the bad bit - he has a 40m buy out. Apparently one of the terms of the deal which is I suppose the way we operate now so let's enjoy him for the next two seasons. If he lasts that long !

I think this is just something our support will need to get used to. This is our model now going forward, it’s also the way we’ll be able to attract potentially top players - we’re not their final destination, only a stepping stone on the way up.

Accept it, enjoy it while they’re here and don’t get bitter when they move up - it’s how we’ll be able to continue to compete at a good level in the PL.

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3 minutes ago, alehouseboys said:

I think this is just something our support will need to get used to. This is our model now going forward, it’s also the way we’ll be able to attract potentially top players - we’re not their final destination, only a stepping stone on the way up.

Accept it, enjoy it while they’re here and don’t get bitter when they move up - it’s how we’ll be able to continue to compete at a good level in the PL.

Agree. Any player we sign who excels is ever only going to be with us for a couple of years. The big boys are always watching and looking at clubs like us because they know we turn over these gems from time to time. We can only appreciate watching them play for us and wish them well when they inevitably move on to big clubs. Better than buying a bunch of journeymen who are only looking for their last big pay deal. These youngsters are hungry to see what they can do and they generate a great team spirit and camaraderie in the camp which is already clear to see. Like all of us I'm loving what I'm seeing and putting one over on the London posh boys and their super arrogant fans last night was pure magic.

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12 minutes ago, alehouseboys said:

I think this is just something our support will need to get used to. This is our model now going forward, it’s also the way we’ll be able to attract potentially top players - we’re not their final destination, only a stepping stone on the way up.

Accept it, enjoy it while they’re here and don’t get bitter when they move up - it’s how we’ll be able to continue to compete at a good level in the PL.

Exactly. It's going to be really tiring if we spend our time worrying if he's going or not, he will be going at some point but it's not on the radar yet so I don't get the fuss about it already.

I get bored reading these articles ''what a team Southampton could have had if they didn't sell!'' - but they always fail to take into account that Tadic, Mane, VVD etc wouldn't have arrived had we kept Lallana, Lambert, Lovren etc. We just have to get our scouting on point so we can get over the loss of these players, but the bonus is that if they do well for us they will improve our league position and thus open the market to a higher selection.

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1 hour ago, redkeith said:

That tackle on Sterling when they were 3 on 1 was ridiculous! 

He was picked up in the Guardian as one of their transfers to watch this season. Normally the Saints youngsters they pick out on there do nothing. Not this time. He will be a superstar. Can already see him at Bayern, or one of the big Spanish clubs, he is that good. 

I think Man City will pick him up, he is everything Mangala was meant to be but wasn't. 

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13 hours ago, Hawkswood said:

FYI for everyone. His agent says he is a two year project with us ( expected) and also, here comes the bad bit - he has a 40m buy out. Apparently one of the terms of the deal which is I suppose the way we operate now so let's enjoy him for the next two seasons. If he lasts that long !

Going to come back to bite us these buy out clauses. Him and Lavia would be going for £80million each in a couple of years if they keep up these performances, let alone improve on them. 

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8 minutes ago, Saint_clark said:

Going to come back to bite us these buy out clauses. Him and Lavia would be going for £80million each in a couple of years if they keep up these performances, let alone improve on them. 

Yeah. But I’m sure the logic is, that we wouldn’t have signed them without one. If you’re making 400% return in 2 years happy days, just gotta get your scouting right. 

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3 minutes ago, Saint Garrett said:

Yeah. But I’m sure the logic is, that we wouldn’t have signed them without one. If you’re making 400% return in 2 years happy days, just gotta get your scouting right. 

I get it but my worry is if transfer fees continue to inflate at an absurd rate then the money we get back wont help us much with reinvesting.

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5 minutes ago, Saint_clark said:

I get it but my worry is if transfer fees continue to inflate at an absurd rate then the money we get back wont help us much with reinvesting.

I don't get the stress and worry about selling players who have played a grand total of 5 games for us.

Let's just calm down, enjoy the season.

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2 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

I don't get the stress and worry about selling players who have played a grand total of 5 games for us.

Let's just calm down, enjoy the season.

True, but when you're signing players with buy out clauses then that means you're thinking about selling them before they've even signed...

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1 minute ago, Saint_clark said:

True, but when you're signing players with buy out clauses then that means you're thinking about selling them before they've even signed...

The club are, but as fans we don't need to worry about that. We've got them over the line, they're here for at least the next 2 years. We will make a profit no matter what and go again.

If they improve our league positions (which they could do), it will open up the market to better players if/when we replace them.

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22 minutes ago, Saint_clark said:

True, but when you're signing players with buy out clauses then that means you're thinking about selling them before they've even signed...

That’s literally the club’s business model, they’ve stated it countless times, we offer ourselves as a stepping stone for brilliant young players to get to bigger sides. It’s shit but it’s reality. Chelsea just spent more than our summer budget on a 21 year old centre back who is coming back from a broken leg, it’s not a level playing field. I’d rather have the likes of Bazunu, Lavia, ABK for a short while then lose them than not have them at all. Trying to make top class players stay at our club isn’t going to work. Look at Leicester, won the league and now they’re in disarray despite paying massive wages.

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1 hour ago, The Kraken said:

That’s literally the club’s business model, they’ve stated it countless times, we offer ourselves as a stepping stone for brilliant young players to get to bigger sides. It’s shit but it’s reality. Chelsea just spent more than our summer budget on a 21 year old centre back who is coming back from a broken leg, it’s not a level playing field. I’d rather have the likes of Bazunu, Lavia, ABK for a short while then lose them than not have them at all. Trying to make top class players stay at our club isn’t going to work. Look at Leicester, won the league and now they’re in disarray despite paying massive wages.

I'm not talking about trying to keep them, I'm talking about not limiting the amount of profit we can make on them. We may end up selling them at less than 50% of their value.

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6 hours ago, Saint_clark said:

I'm not talking about trying to keep them, I'm talking about not limiting the amount of profit we can make on them. We may end up selling them at less than 50% of their value.

We wouldn't have them to sell if we didn't agree to buy back clauses or release fees. Personally, I like the model. It's attractive to these kids, gets us cracking talent, should lead to a profit, and everyone knows where they stand. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Yeah he’s the real deal I think, Van Dijk-esque in the sense that I reckon he’d transform a defence of average players. I hate the fact we’ve been conditioned to expect good players to not be here long, but i think it’s fair to say, he’s not gonna be here long. 

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59 minutes ago, saintwbu said:

Yeah he’s the real deal I think, Van Dijk-esque in the sense that I reckon he’d transform a defence of average players. I hate the fact we’ve been conditioned to expect good players to not be here long, but i think it’s fair to say, he’s not gonna be here long. 

It could be ABK is now better than Van Dyke who is showing signs of decline. I wonder if , under this ownership and management team, top players will be less inclined to move on 

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1 hour ago, ozzmeister said:

Could he be the VVD replacement at Liverpool in 2 years. The Saints Liverpool connection and all that. 

I really hope not--anyone but Liverpool! Maybe Man City is the new connection. I wouldn't mind that so much because they are also providing for us.

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1 minute ago, Dellman said:

Well, Lambert, Lovren, Van Dyke, Lallana, Mane and Clyne all went there within two years. Sounds like a very hot connection to me. I really hope it's gone cold

The last one being Virgil, which will be five years ago when the January window rolls around.

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  • Lighthouse changed the title to Armel Bella-Kotchap

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