Clay Davis

If we’re in sell to buy mode having spent f*** all then we’re really buggered.

Particularly if a large part of the reason you didn’t qualify for the CL was because you didn’t improve your ageing, injury prone midfield. The club is giving off hubris-y vibes to me after last season.

Assuming he’s given us assurances about choosing us, if we don’t challenge for any trophies this year, even if we come top four, is he still going to want to come? There’s a lot being said about waiting for the right player. But for these “really top players” that Lijnders says we’re reserving ourselves for, if you’re not willing to pay the world in wages (which we’re clearly not) you also have to act when your stock is highest. Timing is everything, for the player but also for the club. I feel like we ignore the latter sometimes. It’s super risky.

Putting the red card aside, he keeps getting into great positions and then mis***ting or slicing it. That’s purely confidence and trying too hard. Needs to calm down in general - not only will it mean he doesn’t headbutt someone again, but it might mean he strikes a football properly too.

Having said that… Keita could just march there for free next season though. And they’d get a better fee for Bellingham. And Keita for free. Doesn’t really make much sense from Dortmund’s side unless Bellingham is asking to leave this summer.

It’s the only way I can see it working to be fair. Keita was so so good in that league, and if he recaptures that (because he’s playing against tripe) he’ll be incredible. Their fans will also remember how good Keita was too, so maybe is a salve for that “losing two best players in the same window” sting. They bag Naby plus Chukwuemeka… it isn’t inconceivable. There’s no way it’d be Keita + £40m though. Naby has a year left, it’d be double the money.

For real? Or has this ITK thing has gone to your head?

Bad News Bear

Was thinking this too - you’d think they’d be keen on Keita and it may make it affordable for us. Doesn’t help with depth but should help with quality.

And he’s played with Jamie Mackie and Rob Hulse.

I went on the same mission. Go back to the first few pages of that thread, and then to around the middle (before the transfer talk). They’re incredibly positive.

He’s not a proper target man.

Exciting this if it happens. It won’t be €100m obviously if we do it but probably something like 60 + 20 in bonuses, and this is the local press inflating it. Feel like this would be the perfect response to Mane leaving, City signing Haaland AND the likely need to reinvent our style slightly for life beyond Mane, Salah and Firmino. Seen a lot of the stats moths poo-pooing his build up play, passing, decision making etc, which is probably valid, but he’s 22. You’re pretty sure you’re buying goals straight away, but in terms of all round contribution he is going to be a project. I’m not sure Lewandowski, Kane, Torres etc were perfect all round strikers at 22. There’s also the “one season wonder” concern which is also valid, but he’s playing for his country regularly, he’s scoring in the CL against top European teams, he had me (and our defence) s***ting ourselves for 180 minutes, and I trust van Dijk’s view of what a good striker is. Suarez also recommended him to Barca, something I doubt he’d do if he wasn’t convinced by what he’s seen. Not that it should matter but it’d stop United signing the above too.

Considering Bayern’s opening bid was 21 I doubt we’ll get 45. 35 maybe. But even then I don’t think the club look at it like that. It’s a players’ value in isolation. Total conjecture now but I reckon they’d probably pay max 65 for Nunez. That won’t happen.

Benfica showed with Joao Felix that they will squeeze every penny out of their sales. They’re not in any financial trouble, and they know with Haaland already gone and Mbappe staying, they have the most valuable striker on the market. I predict we’ll be priced out. He’ll probably go for 90m. There’s absolutely no way we’ll pay that.

It is - he’s obviously saying that to Trent because his delivery was so good in training.

Yep. As much as I love Mane I’d take that now tbh

Sound when given time and space to play. Needs to up his level when it’s tighter and he’s getting pressed.

Philomenas isn’t terrible.

If we get there.

“Carnage” was what the then Auxerre manager Guy Roux described the potential partnership of Cisse and Owen as. Obviously we never got to see that.

FSG are obviously tight and will never pay top dollar - for fees or for wages. Anyone thinking of a Mbappe/Haaland-type signing next year, it’s simply not going to happen. They 1) would go elsewhere before us anyway, and 2) even if they wanted to join us for footballing reasons, we won’t pay what others would - therefore see 1). The only thing I can say about this window/hold on to is that at least we didn’t let Salah go. Might’ve happened if it wasn’t for COVID. We’ve lived through a transfer window where we sold Suarez and signed Lambert and Balotelli - so we’re not quite at that level of idiocy, it’s just Very, Very Bad rather than Atrocious.

Playing against 11 house robots. Can’t pass a ball in the warmup but as soon as it kicks off they’re on Dyche’s rails

Playing against Burnley is like playing against the computer on FIFA. They feel pre-programmed.

Is this back when we had Jesus as Executive Chef?