I agree he was overpriced at £30m. Almost like Maresca did his old club a favor for PSR.blueToffee wrote: ↑Sat Aug 02, 2025 2:33 am Sorry, I wasn't making a comparison to Cleverley the player as such. They aren't the same. It was more a comment of I'm not sure he's worth the premium price tag that a top 6 club like Chelsea would likely want for him because I don't really think he's top 6 quality. Chelsea and others (Liverpool for example) buy players it feels at times because they can effectively launder them if it doesn't work out because if they play a season or two for them however sporadically they can ask for that price bump or at least make their investment back even if they're a couple of years older and not really performed.
My only intended comparison to Cleverley is I'm not sure he's that high calibre to warrant paying what Chelsea seemingly want for him (rumour of 30 mil when he was linked to West Ham recently). Stats wise, yes he had his best season in the Championship, but I'd probably argue the seasons that might be closer relevance might be his 21/22 and 22/23 PL seasons with Leicester where his best return was 2 goals and 2 assists. He's a decent player, but decent isn't something I think we should be entertaining if they're asking for 30 mil or thereabouts.
I do think he’s probably a £20m player in the right system. He plays quickly, he moves the ball forward aggressively, good first touch and dribbling ability, willing to scrap a bit defensively as well.
I think the discrepancy in output between PL and Championship is probably mostly down to role. Rodgers had him playing like a more traditional midfielder, Maresca seems to have used him like a left attacking mid, basically playing in that left half-space all the time.
I’d be interested in a loan with a pre-negotiated fee (somewhere in the £20-25m range) to see if Moyes can work with what he brings to the table, especially if other options don’t materialize.
Everton and Leeds are both pushing to sign Josh Brownhill who is a free agent.
