⚽ Football Transfers Speculation, Odds and Predictions

[punk.zink]

I thought that because Barcelona were going through a very bad period, they didn't look for Benzema's absence. I mean, Spanish La Liga was an easy league for them. But they won the Champions League trophy without Benzema and without a new signing to replace Benzema. That's what I can't explain. Undoubtedly Vini and Bellingham had great performances. But without a striker, they performed extraordinarily well. I think Ancelotti has the most important share in this. He turned Real Madrid into a great team.

Carlo Ancelotti is a great coach, he is good at rotating and setting strategies, so it is not surprising that Real Madrid was able to win the Champions League title even without a pure striker. He really made a great formation with Vinicius Jr, Jude Bellingham and Rodrygo being players who can be relied on throughout last season.
Carlo Ancelotti seems to have deliberately used Real Madrid players when they didn't have a pure striker. He wanted to try out how Real Madrid would perform if they didn't have a striker like Benzema, but it turned out that he was able to do it and even unexpectedly won the Champions League title.

Real Madrid's brilliant achievements last season cannot be separated from Carlo Ancelotti's expertise in concocting his strategy. Even though there is no pure striker in their starting lineup, that is not an obstacle for Real Madrid to continue playing well and achieving lots of wins. Real Madrid even became the team with the most goals scored last season in La Liga (87 goals).

I think what keeps them productive is that every player feels comfortable with the strategy given by Carlo Ancelotti, and they can quickly adjust to circumstances when there is a transition from 4-3-3 to 4-3-1-2 or vice versa.

[Strongkored]

He probably will be paid less than what he got from Real Madrid but I believe that football players pay lower amount of taxes in these smaller region countries so yeah that kinda make sense for him if he wants to make extra cash from his few last seasons playing. Aside from that, it seems unlikely that Spain will call him up for World Cup 2026 so yeah playing in smaller league seems to fit pretty well for him

one of the media said he would receive a bigger salary than he received at Real Madrid, but of course he would not receive as much as what is offered to European players who play in the Saudi pro league because clubs in the Qatari league do not do the same as clubs in SPL
https://sports.yahoo.com/real-madrid-veteran-sign-three-183200963.html

Hold on, I didnt even know Nistelrooy is a coach lol. That doesnt really fit in for his profile, I mean most of the top striker usually ended up as horrible coach though so I never expected him to be one

Maybe because he was not a manager at PSV for long and also because the Eredivise is not as famous as other European leagues so Van Nistelrooy as a coach is not well known to many people, moreover he did not complete his duties at the club because before the 2022-2023 season ended he decided to leave because he felt he did not get enough support at the club.

[bering]

The candidates to replace Salah are rumoured to be these players:



If I were in their place, my choice would be Kubo. He is a really talented player and I see him one step ahead of the others among these names. He is mainly RW but can be used as AM or LW when there is a need.

Kubo is good if projected to replace Mo. It would be wrong to decide to leave Anfield. Kubo plays with his left foot as his main foot. He also has speed which can cause difficulties for opponents if played in his main position.
Apart from Kubo, Bryan Mbeumo is also a good choice. He is also still 24 years old. Mbeumo has good statistics with Brentford for the 2023/2024 season, both passing and shooting statistics.
I think of the 5 players, Kubo and Mbeumo would be my choices.

What i liked from Takefusa Kubo is he is the player highly disciplined and hardworking and when he was bought from Yokohama Marinos to Real Madrid many asian people has been thought he will be success in Real Madrid but in fact during his 3 years in the team Kubo never made his debut and spent that time on loan from several different teams but he didn't give up because during loaned Kubo has good progress and on 2022 finally he has decide moved to Sociedad and in this team Kubo has been change became an important player and this makes some of European Clubs were interested want to bought him from Sociedad

Besides Liverpool it says Kubo also will into Manchester United radar but until now there was no further news about this rumour whether Manchester United will bid Kubo or not and indeed Kubo is talented player moreover he is still categorized as young player because Kubo current age is 23 years old and potentially he still can develop his skill but i am quite pesimistic about Japanese players in Liverpool because before him there was some players just like Minamino and the latest Wataru Endo but these players were failed to performing well and only became an substutition players so that's why although Kubo is good player i think he might be will not suitable for Liverpool

[Bobrox]

I recall Joselu being linked to Manchester United before, and United seems to have lost interest in him. I was hoping for him to go to the united, and it seems that narrative is unlikely to happen. Moreover, although Joselu's release clause is only around 1.5 million euros, and his contract is about to expire very soon, but Madrid has not shown any interest in permanently signing him.

Madrid already boasts too many attackers; Moreover, adding more striker is not possible. I would like to remind you that gharafa is a Qatari club, not a Saudi team. Joselu will be in a different division, although he may face Ronaldo in the AFC Champions league.
After winning the UCL and La Liga, Joselu should finish his European competition journey; considering his nationality, this is not too bad.

Unbelievable with Joselu linked before will join Manchester United finally becoming Qatar Stars League (QSL) Al Gharafa, I think Joselu seems want to get more minutes playing by accepting offer from Al Gharafa than accept Manchester United offering will make him not difference position such as with Real Madrid as substitutes players only.
Deal final about transfer fees until payment salary receiving by Joselu will announce soon maybe waiting the Euro 2024 over because Joselu is the part of Spain national team players.

Leaving by Joselu, Real Madrid likely not get much problem because next season signed two central forward Mbapep and Endrick, seems Joselu departure will make Endrick get automatically promote to senior teams difference with Rodrygo and Vinicius Jr have start his career with junior teams firstly before promoting to senior team.

[karabiber]

Joselu has made the decision to leave Real Madrid and join Al-Gharafa in the Qatari league, he knows he will not be the first choice at Real Madrid and moving to another club even though it is in a smaller league than Laliga could give him more games and opportunities get a bigger income, but I don't know for sure how much he will get at the new club.
Carlo Ancelotti reportedly wants to keep him because as a reserve striker, he can be said to play a very good role, appearing several times to make Real Madrid's as a winner. With his move, Real Madrid will look for another reserve striker who is of course cheap but can perform well.
https://twitter.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1805213101131796541

With the arrival of Mbappe, Joselu had no chance to play for Real Madrid, even if he remained as a substitute. Joselu, who had a below average performance throughout the season, was Real Madrid's savior in the Champions League. Joselu signed for Real Madrid at the age of 34, which is a late age for an average center forward. Joselu is the lowest paid player at Real Madrid, earning 2.5 million euros a year. With perhaps two more seasons left in his career, Joselu's best option would be to leave Real Madrid. Finally, football is a very strange game. Joselu had a really below average performance during the season and his finishing was incredibly bad. maybe he can be played in a mid table team but definitely not at Real Madrid's level.

[Jatiluhung]

Real Madrid's brilliant achievements last season cannot be separated from Carlo Ancelotti's expertise in concocting his strategy. Even though there is no pure striker in their starting lineup, that is not an obstacle for Real Madrid to continue playing well and achieving lots of wins. Real Madrid even became the team with the most goals scored last season in La Liga (87 goals).

I think what keeps them productive is that every player feels comfortable with the strategy given by Carlo Ancelotti, and they can quickly adjust to circumstances when there is a transition from 4-3-3 to 4-3-1-2 or vice versa.

Carlo Ancelotti always seems to know how to make players adapt quickly. Even Vinicius Jr, who was initially someone who focused on the left wing position. It turns out he can also play like a main striker. And actually, the formation that Ancelotti used to cover the shortcomings of their team, which had not yet found a suitable striker, was to use a 4-3-1-2 formation. With this formation, Ancelotti succeeded in making every wing midfielder and attacking midfielder able to play comfortably even though they were positioned as attacking players. But with the arrival of Mbappe the formation will use more formations like when Benzema was still there. Where Mbappe will be the spearhead and keep Vinicius Jr in his original position and in his usual position, namely the left wing. Even with the arrival of Mbappe, I still feel that all the players will remain comfortable with the positions they will be given.

[Helena Yu]

Another stupid decision by Chelsea, they spend 57 Million Euros just for this unknown 17 years old kid played for Palmeiras. He's not perform really good in Palmeiras and he's not joined in Brazil's senior team, he's not Endrick.

We shouldn't forget that Chelsea last year signed Deivid Washington from Santos for 17 Million Euros, but he didn't give any contribution to Chelsea.

Source: https://sports.yahoo.com/chelsea-sign-palmeiras-prodigy-estevao-155400154.html

[Oluwa-btc]

I recall Joselu being linked to Manchester United before, and United seems to have lost interest in him. I was hoping for him to go to the united, and it seems that narrative is unlikely to happen. Moreover, although Joselu's release clause is only around 1.5 million euros, and his contract is about to expire very soon, but Madrid has not shown any interest in permanently signing him.

Madrid already boasts too many attackers; Moreover, adding more striker is not possible. I would like to remind you that gharafa is a Qatari club, not a Saudi team. Joselu will be in a different division, although he may face Ronaldo in the AFC Champions league.
After winning the UCL and La Liga, Joselu should finish his European competition journey; considering his nationality, this is not too bad.

How can you even link a player like Joselu to Manchester United? SMH! I'd be gutted if you're Manchester United fan saying this honestly because how can you even settle for less?
On a good day, Mason Greenwood and Marcus Rashford ( Although I dislike the fraud ) would do better than Joselu. For your information, he was never linked to Manchester United, believe me when I say that it was all speculations and rumours completely. He could even be a free transfer but Manchester United will never make such plans to get him. He is not worthy wearing the Manchester United badge.

Yes I understand he is a Champions League Winner ( I mean no disrespect ) but the lad will never be a Manchester United player evens if he was much younger than this.

Whenever he takes a peep backwards and look at his journey, he'll never regret joining Real Madrid. He had a standout performance against Bayern Munich in the Champions League Competition. Los Blancos fans will never forget it.

[arimamib]

Another stupid decision by Chelsea, they spend 57 Million Euros just for this unknown 17 years old kid played for Palmeiras. He's not perform really good in Palmeiras and he's not joined in Brazil's senior team, he's not Endrick.

We shouldn't forget that Chelsea last year signed Deivid Washington from Santos for 17 Million Euros, but he didn't give any contribution to Chelsea.

Source: https://sports.yahoo.com/chelsea-sign-palmeiras-prodigy-estevao-155400154.html

Chelsea are trying to make their attacking line dangerous next season by gathering talented young players, surprisingly when Madrid spent almost 72 million euros to get Endrick who has indeed been quite prominent with Palmeiras so far, Endrick who managed to break through the first squad and even managed to score 14 goals is of course one of the young talents who deserve to be valued expensively , But to be honest, like you, I didn't expect Chelsea to gamble by signing Estevao at a very high price for a player of his age, Palmeiras has often produced many Brazilian stars over the years and of course it is an attraction for many big teams to continue to monitor each of their players.

Estevao in my opinion is not very prominent in his performance at Palmeiras but many predict that he will be able to become a big star in the future, so indeed Chelsea are offering him a long contract at the moment, but I think the arrival of Estevao will actually add to the number of players who are in the attacking wing position in the current piling up in Chelsea squad, so it is likely that Estevao fate will also be no different from Mudryk later because he lost the competition with Palmer, Raheem Sterling and Noni Madueke.

[rendravolt]

Even though it's not much, Barcelona can gain fresh funds this summer from the sale of its academy players. There are three players who will earn 30 million euros for the club and two of them are still in the negotiation stage at this time. Chadi Riad has joined Real Betis for a fee of 9 million euros.

Meanwhile, Mikail Faye and Marc Giui are currently in the negotiation stage with the relevant teams and it seems that Barcelona does not want to delay their departure because the team currently needs funds for financial refreshment. Here it is clear that Barcelona is very open to various offers for their academy players, but unfortunately they do not dare to open deals to main players who can make more money as has been widely rumored.

[Palakka]

Even though it's not much, Barcelona can gain fresh funds this summer from the sale of its academy players. There are three players who will earn 30 million euros for the club and two of them are still in the negotiation stage at this time. Chadi Riad has joined Real Betis for a fee of 9 million euros.

Meanwhile, Mikail Faye and Marc Giui are currently in the negotiation stage with the relevant teams and it seems that Barcelona does not want to delay their departure because the team currently needs funds for financial refreshment. Here it is clear that Barcelona is very open to various offers for their academy players, but unfortunately they do not dare to open deals to main players who can make more money as has been widely rumored.

To balance finances and also get money for star player shopping, of course, the only solution for Barcelona is to sell its current academy players, the money from the sale of the three players can of course help Barcelona support Hansi Flick in buying new players next summer, currently Barcelona continues to urge Crystal Palace and also Chelsea to complete the deal so they think of releasing the two quickly of course It is possible for Barcelona to look for other players before many rivals from the team team who have strong finances at the moment, Hansi Flick has reportedly given several player names to Laporta to be able to strengthen their squad next season.

I think Hansi Flick is getting more financial support from Barcelona now than when Xavi was coaching, so I think it has silenced a lot of people who say that Hansi Flick will still be able to bring the Barcelona squad to compete with Madrid and other teams without bringing in new players and will focus more on maximising the current players and also their academy players if he coach.

[makishart]

Another stupid decision by Chelsea, they spend 57 Million Euros just for this unknown 17 years old kid played for Palmeiras. He's not perform really good in Palmeiras and he's not joined in Brazil's senior team, he's not Endrick.

We shouldn't forget that Chelsea last year signed Deivid Washington from Santos for 17 Million Euros, but he didn't give any contribution to Chelsea.

Source: https://sports.yahoo.com/chelsea-sign-palmeiras-prodigy-estevao-155400154.html

The bad news is that Estevao is two times more expensive than Deivid Washington, which surprised me. I must admit that Chelsea is not a good place for a Brazilian talent, and I was aware that Willian was the only successful Brazilian talent who played for Chelsea. Todd once again demonstrated how he was always recruiting random boys to join Chelsea. 

But I'd like to remind you that Chelsea has changed their philosophy to focus on developing young, talented players to become superstars, after which they will sell them. And this time, Chelsea does not pay players to compete in the top competitions. Finally, in Todd's hands, Chelsea's golden era came to an end, and it is most likely that Estevao is another failed Chelsea transfer.

[KTChampions]

I think that this is not a decision by Joselu, but a joint decision with Real. Joselu has been repeating for a long time that he wants to stay in Real (obviously, he was satisfied with even the role of a rotation player), but taking into account the fact that Real now has Mbappe + the role of a striker can be played by Rodrigo, Vinny, Guler, Diaz, Joselu simply does not have a place in the lineup.
I expected that he would end his career after Real (it’s difficult to go to a regular club after winning the Champions League and La Liga with Real), but he chose Saudi Arabia in order to change the situation and earn money. A good choice.

I recall Joselu being linked to Manchester United before, and United seems to have lost interest in him. I was hoping for him to go to the united, and it seems that narrative is unlikely to happen. Moreover, although Joselu's release clause is only around 1.5 million euros, and his contract is about to expire very soon, but Madrid has not shown any interest in permanently signing him.

Madrid already boasts too many attackers; Moreover, adding more striker is not possible. I would like to remind you that gharafa is a Qatari club, not a Saudi team. Joselu will be in a different division, although he may face Ronaldo in the AFC Champions league.
After winning the UCL and La Liga, Joselu should finish his European competition journey; considering his nationality, this is not too bad.

Yes, you are right, this is a Qatari club, when I read the news I noticed the name was unknown to me but did not clarify the details, and in fact I don’t think that for those who follow European football there is a difference between Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
Joselu had an amazing journey (11 different clubs lol) and the fact that he ended up with a golden double (plus the Spanish Super Cup) looks like the end of the stories that happen in books.

[$weetne$$]

Chelsea are trying to make their attacking line dangerous next season by gathering talented young players, surprisingly when Madrid spent almost 72 million euros to get Endrick who has indeed been quite prominent with Palmeiras so far, Endrick who managed to break through the first squad and even managed to score 14 goals is of course one of the young talents who deserve to be valued expensively , But to be honest, like you, I didn't expect Chelsea to gamble by signing Estevao at a very high price for a player of his age, Palmeiras has often produced many Brazilian stars over the years and of course it is an attraction for many big teams to continue to monitor each of their players.

Brazil has the best talent in football because they are a football loving country that almost everybody in the country knows how to play soccer, the young kids grow up watching their favourite footballers win the world cup for their country and they will want to do the same thing therefore the country will always produce very top footballers and Estevao Willian is one of them in the making. But did Chelsea have to sign an underage player that they are still gambling on young talents that did not go as they planned last season. I thought Chelsea will change their signing strategy and go for more experienced players to increase their opportunities to win something this season before they begin to lose fans or their relevance in the premier league and Europe that they have not featured in for sometime now.

[TopT3ns]

Real Madrid's brilliant achievements last season cannot be separated from Carlo Ancelotti's expertise in concocting his strategy. Even though there is no pure striker in their starting lineup, that is not an obstacle for Real Madrid to continue playing well and achieving lots of wins. Real Madrid even became the team with the most goals scored last season in La Liga (87 goals).

I think what keeps them productive is that every player feels comfortable with the strategy given by Carlo Ancelotti, and they can quickly adjust to circumstances when there is a transition from 4-3-3 to 4-3-1-2 or vice versa.

Apart from Carlo Ancelotti's intelligence, which was able to provide strategies to achieve victory last season, teamwork was also an important influence. As long as the players still have Carlo Ancelotti and respect the orders he gives, Real Madrid in the coming season I am sure will always win. We can wait until next month the competition that many people are looking forward to will start. The match between Barcelona and Real Madrid will be very exciting.

[Antotena]

With the arrival of Mbappe, Joselu had no chance to play for Real Madrid, even if he remained as a substitute. Joselu, who had a below average performance throughout the season, was Real Madrid's savior in the Champions League. Joselu signed for Real Madrid at the age of 34, which is a late age for an average center forward. Joselu is the lowest paid player at Real Madrid, earning 2.5 million euros a year. With perhaps two more seasons left in his career, Joselu's best option would be to leave Real Madrid. Finally, football is a very strange game. Joselu had a really below average performance during the season and his finishing was incredibly bad. maybe he can be played in a mid table team but definitely not at Real Madrid's level.

Maybe you have not been following Real Madrid news but it has been announced that Joselu will be going to Al Gharafa this season and he is done with Real Madrid for good, you can see the reference news here from Fabrizio Romano here, not just that the document are about to be sealed with 2 years deal wiyh Al Gharafa till 2026. So, Mbape pplace for Real Madrid looks like a full game for him now, he will have exact at time like Rodrigo and Vinicious.

The age is what I don't like about him in Real Madrid and is better that he left early when he is still been praised for last season performance and he wouldn't look controversial for been always bench for another season or use in the last minutes of Real Madrid matches. In Al Gharafa, he would be able to play professional Saudi Arabia and meet with the likes of his ex players who are entertaining them over there there.

[Silence Scream]

I thought that because Barcelona were going through a very bad period, they didn't look for Benzema's absence. I mean, Spanish La Liga was an easy league for them. But they won the Champions League trophy without Benzema and without a new signing to replace Benzema. That's what I can't explain. Undoubtedly Vini and Bellingham had great performances. But without a striker, they performed extraordinarily well. I think Ancelotti has the most important share in this. He turned Real Madrid into a great team.

Carlo Ancelotti is a great coach, he is good at rotating and setting strategies, so it is not surprising that Real Madrid was able to win the Champions League title even without a pure striker. He really made a great formation with Vinicius Jr, Jude Bellingham and Rodrygo being players who can be relied on throughout last season.
Carlo Ancelotti seems to have deliberately used Real Madrid players when they didn't have a pure striker. He wanted to try out how Real Madrid would perform if they didn't have a striker like Benzema, but it turned out that he was able to do it and even unexpectedly won the Champions League title.

Real Madrid's brilliant achievements last season cannot be separated from Carlo Ancelotti's expertise in concocting his strategy. Even though there is no pure striker in their starting lineup, that is not an obstacle for Real Madrid to continue playing well and achieving lots of wins. Real Madrid even became the team with the most goals scored last season in La Liga (87 goals).

I think what keeps them productive is that every player feels comfortable with the strategy given by Carlo Ancelotti, and they can quickly adjust to circumstances when there is a transition from 4-3-3 to 4-3-1-2 or vice versa.

Real Madrid and Carlo Ancelotti are in complete harmony. It is very difficult to score 87 goals in La Liga and do this without a quality striker like Kane. Real Madrid shows that they got high efficiency from every player. They got high-level goal efficiency from Bellingham. This will go even higher next year with Mbappe.

[rahmad2nd]

~snip~
https://twitter.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1805213101131796541

With the arrival of Mbappe, Joselu had no chance to play for Real Madrid, even if he remained as a substitute. Joselu, who had a below average performance throughout the season, was Real Madrid's savior in the Champions League. Joselu signed for Real Madrid at the age of 34, which is a late age for an average center forward. Joselu is the lowest paid player at Real Madrid, earning 2.5 million euros a year. With perhaps two more seasons left in his career, Joselu's best option would be to leave Real Madrid. Finally, football is a very strange game. Joselu had a really below average performance during the season and his finishing was incredibly bad. maybe he can be played in a mid table team but definitely not at Real Madrid's level.

Even though initially Joselu was willing to become a permanent player at Real Madrid, even though he was an option as a substitute. however, over time, Joselu was linked with several other clubs and eventually joined the Al Gharafa club. unexpectedly, he previously said that he wanted to stay at Santiago Bernabeu. however, considering Real Madrid's current situation, it seems Joselu has given up on his plans. moreover, Real Madrid's option to make this Spanish striker permanent never came. maybe that's why Joselu received offers from other clubs. moreover, it is very likely that he will get a bigger salary than staying at Real Madrid or Espanyol if Madrid does not make him permanent.

Talking about Joselu's performance, this player is actually not ideal if partnered as a striker. Joselu is a pure striker type, and has the advantage of his header. after all, Joselu is rarely given more opportunities in terms of playing minutes. Plus, he tends to be a backup player with a minimum average of 49 minutes played. that's also why Joselu's performance has not been consistent. moreover, he is not young like other strikers. however, he has an important role especially in the Champions League. without Joselu's goal against Bayern Munich, maybe things would have been different. Now Real Madrid is only focused on Mbappe, or maybe Ancelotti has other options. the reason is, we don't really know what system and pattern will be implemented next season. Finally, Joselu has achieved perhaps his dream of lifting the Champions League and La Liga trophies. It's time now, he plays for a very decent fee plus maybe playing full time with his new team. by the way, will Ancelotti bring in a newcomer as another option. or, Madrid is enough with just Mbappe. well, it's interesting for us to follow.

[Nheer]

Another stupid decision by Chelsea, they spend 57 Million Euros just for this unknown 17 years old kid played for Palmeiras. He's not perform really good in Palmeiras and he's not joined in Brazil's senior team, he's not Endrick.

We shouldn't forget that Chelsea last year signed Deivid Washington from Santos for 17 Million Euros, but he didn't give any contribution to Chelsea.

Source: https://sports.yahoo.com/chelsea-sign-palmeiras-prodigy-estevao-155400154.html

I also think spending all these money to sign young players is getting too much, they just keep signing these players probably with the intention of developing them into great players who knows it’s the decision of the owners and they own their money so they should do whatever they please i am just so tired about all these signings. What i know is that not all these players will included in the first team yet a lot of them will have to be loaned out to other teams while some will join the youth team.

If they should have used all these money to sign a more experienced player i think it would be more beneficial than signing bunch of kids who would be of no use to them now.

[Jaycoinz]

Joselu has made the decision to leave Real Madrid and join Al-Gharafa in the Qatari league, he knows he will not be the first choice at Real Madrid and moving to another club even though it is in a smaller league than Laliga could give him more games and opportunities get a bigger income, but I don't know for sure how much he will get at the new club.
Carlo Ancelotti reportedly wants to keep him because as a reserve striker, he can be said to play a very good role, appearing several times to make Real Madrid's as a winner. With his move, Real Madrid will look for another reserve striker who is of course cheap but can perform well.
https://twitter.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1805213101131796541

With the arrival of Mbappe, Joselu had no chance to play for Real Madrid, even if he remained as a substitute. Joselu, who had a below average performance throughout the season, was Real Madrid's savior in the Champions League. Joselu signed for Real Madrid at the age of 34, which is a late age for an average center forward. Joselu is the lowest paid player at Real Madrid, earning 2.5 million euros a year. With perhaps two more seasons left in his career, Joselu's best option would be to leave Real Madrid. Finally, football is a very strange game. Joselu had a really below average performance during the season and his finishing was incredibly bad. maybe he can be played in a mid table team but definitely not at Real Madrid's level.

Well he has no option because as it stands now Real Madrid team is filled with competition and the even player isn't up with his game then the bench is probably where he is gonna end up. Mbappe arrivals has caused so much hype for this Madrid team and the worse part is that their is not even 100% guarantee that he is gonna perform well because the game of football sometimes can be filled with suprises.