The last time I blogged about this series, I had shown you the starting setup I had left Partizan with. By now, they have appointed a new manager and have progressed through the first transfer window since my departure. I want to see which transfer moves the AI has made, how it impacted their financial status and basically how the team is doing in general.

The financial status

As I mentioned last time, I need FMRTE to view the financial status, due to not actively being in charge of Partizan. This is what their financial status looks like as we wrap up the first transfer window.

Compared to the starting point, these are the main changes.

On their total finances, Partizan have spent/lost roughly 43 million. Transfer-wise, the team has spent 42,9 million of its available transfer budget. That would mean that outside of the transfers, they haven’t done that bad financially.

The transfers

Which brings us to the actual transfers. These are the transfers Partizan did during their first transfer window post Guido.

With all of these players being actual newgens, I realise that their names mean nothing to you. I will evaluate each incoming transfer deal and the major outgoing deals.

Lars Oertig. A goalkeeper. Really? The team needed another one? And apparently, they immediately dropped Oertig into the Teleoptik side, which means he’s not even in first team. They even transfer listed him again. They splashed 1.4 million on a 31 year old player, playing in a position where the club had three good players. They then proceeded to drop this signing into the reserve squad and immediately transfer list him. His one redeeming feature is probably his Siegfried & Roy hairstyle, which could land them an endorsement deal with L’Oreal. Because he’s worth it (or not…).

Guido’s rating of this transfer: 2/10

Vítor Monteiro. Another keeper. They really didn’t him. He’s not an immediate reinforcement for the first team. However, unlike Oertig, Monteiro has some redeeming features unrelated to his appearance. He is a young goalkeeper, he’s a talented player and having seen him come through the ranks at Benfica, which happens to be another of my former clubs, I actually know he was touted as a big talent at Benfica. Taking into consideration that he cost them no money and has signed a fairly cheap contract, he could actually turn out to be a decent signing in the future. They didn’t need to sign him, but this is a calculated gamble on a talented player and therefore not a bad deal on its own.

Guido’s rating of this transfer: 6/10

Abdelkader Laribi. Yeah, I get it, the AI doesn’t understand a strikerless setup. It makes sense they would go for some forwards. Gustavo was probably the only actual striker good enough for a CL-winning side at the club. Laribi was not a cheap signing and is not on a cheap contract, but he looks like a good signing. A talented player, coming into his prime and with a decent pedigree at PSG. They probably overpaid a bit for him, but it’s a decent deal.

Guido’s rating of this transfer: 8/10

Armin Süle. Another striker coming in to bolster the Partizan forward line. Like Laribi, he’s an expensive signing. Despite having a lesser record and playing for a less renowned club, he commanded a heftier transfer fee and demanded a bigger pay-check. Fair play to his agent, but I really don’t see why he’s worth nearly 30 million and 135k a week in wages. He is a good player, but the club overpaid for him in transfer sum and wages.

Guido’s rating of this transfer: 6/10

Kristóf Fedor. You’re shitting me, right? Another keeper… Again, a player not needed for his position and much like Oertig, the club apparently realised this soon after finalising the deal. Fedor was dropped to Teleoptik and transfer listed again. Maybe the new manager uses the backup goalkeepers for housekeeping chores? Either way, it’s a completely ludicrous deal.

Guido’s rating of this transfer: 2/10

Rens Poell, the third-choice forward worth 12 million. A decent backup to Laribi and Süle, but I reckon the club overpaid again. He’s a fast player, but is he that much better than backups already at the club, such as Maninho? I reckon he isn’t, but apparently the AI deemed it sensible to splash 12.5 million on this lad. Again, he’s not a bad player, but not at 12.5 million.

Guido’s rating of this transfer: 5/10

Much to my surprise, there were only two outgoing deals. Brazilian forward Gustavo left Belgrade for Munich in a deal that pretty much reflects his value. I guess it makes sense, since he was complaining about playing time even under my reign, so selling an unhappy player makes sense.

Guido’s rating of this transfer: 7/10

The other deal was the sale of Croatian defender Sime Krmpotic. A useful backup, but getting over 3 million for him was always a good deal.

Guido’s rating of this transfer: 8/10

So all in all, their deals have been what you can expect from an AI team. Some good, but overpaid signings paired with a few atrocious ones. We’ll see how this develops into the winter months.

Guido

Guido is the founding father of Strikerless and main nutjob running the show.