Dele is a senior option by virtue of the fact that he has always been involved in our senior side rather than our u23s. As you say - I expect him to be loaned out but we will see. I think Zinc did a passable job in midfield but obviously wouldn't want him doing it with any regularity so I wasn't including him. He does offer cover though if we have an injury crisis. No issue with us adding quality but I am not sure Ferguson is that - he is more "one for the future" along with Dele and Quina surely? I just don't see Ferguson getting regular game time ahead of what we have which is a sure fire way to stall a young players development.
I would be fairly confident Quina will be leaving this summer so Ferguson (or someone like that) looks like a decent replacement for him.
I’m not alluding to either of them. I just don’t think we should be assuming 100% that they will both be here (Chalobah/Hughes) next season and their contracts renewals may not be the formality we all think. So in the debate of how many CM’s do we need etc, we should be remembering that losing one/both of them is one option when we discuss the incomings. For instance, if Leicester came back for Chalobah and offered £10m - and the club know that Chalobah has been asking for £50k a week in negotiations, they may well think that Chalobah’s time here is over and that’s a good deal with his injury record - and he can be replaced with a signing like Louza for £8m and half the wages.
I can't see Quina or Dele-Bashiru being here next season. The former sold and the latter on loan somewhere. Wouldnt surprise me if Gosling is a 'shock' departure either.
Good shout on the shock departure although I don't think he'll be going anywhere, as he did sign a three year contract. He'll now be on Premier League wages, and I don't think there would be too many takers for him from the EPL. But, I think he'll quickly become the 6th choice selection, once TDB has proved his fitness. He was very useful to us last season, but I'm not convinced we really need him now.
We're pretty good at "shock" departures. Vydra, Forestieri, Angella and Layun could all have done as well if not better than the players we signed. That'd be like us selling João Pedro, Sierralta and Zinckernagel (there is no replacement for Forestieri of course).
Gosling would be great for someone in the Championship chasing promotion, as he's shown with us and Muff. I think his overall game is pretty poor though despite chipping in with a few goals, I can see him leaving towards the end of the window even on loan if it becomes clear he's set for a season in the stands.
You may well be right. I know Quina has largely disappointing for most of his career with us to date, but replacing Quina with Ferguson feels fairly underwhelming. Dont think we should be doing it until Xisco has at least had a proper look at him in pre-season.
A fair point. But they may also think ‘I’ve stuck around and got them back up, proved my worth - and I want paying for it/want to take up the interest in me’. One thing is for sure, they will want a pay increase. And I am pretty sure there would be interest in both players from other clubs given their contract status - and those facts may well muddy the waters a bit. And let’s be honest, I don’t think the club will be in the business of letting them run their deals down or getting to January with 6 months left etc. No new deals this summer and I reckon they will be out of here. I hope it doesn’t happen. And I don’t think it will. But the option that it could perhaps needs to be something we talk about more when we discuss who we buy etc.
If we sign him it's because the club think he's good enough to make a mark in the squad now. Whether that's right or not is another matter. He's also nothing like Quina or Dele-Bashiru. He's made 140 appearances in senior football, won young player of the year in his country once and been shortlisted a second time. Quina and Dele-Bashiru have accomplished nothing in their careers to date.
I believe Hughes has said he's happy and that talks were on going. Nothing about Nate though and if Leicester make a move I reckon he's off.
I don't debate that Ferguson is more proven than both but it is at a substantially lower level than Quina / Dele Bashiru have ever really played at. He is probably better than both at this point in time but not convinced he is currently good enough to have a significant impact on our squad.
Well I don't know if he's good enough or not. I just can't see the club spending £3m+ on someone just as 'one for the future'. Dele-Bashiru has played 64 minutes of senior league football in his whole career and that was in the Championship so don't think we can really say that he's played at a higher level than Ferguson. Quina has only made 16 league starts in his whole career and has never held down a place in a team. Granted, they were at a higher level but he hasn't yet cut it anywhere.
Neither can I although I thought watford's bid was closer to £1.2m and it was Aberdeen's asking price was more like £3-4m. I am not saying that -I am only trying to say that it is harder break through at Man City / Watford than it is at Aberdeen where the standard is pish. I am sure that both would have played a lot for Aberdeen if they were there.
I agree, Quina would have played as a regular for a team of that standard. Not so sure about Dele-Bashiru though. Not convinced at all that he’s gonna make it here.
If we're planning on sticking with a 433 then I don't think Louza rules us out of also signing someone like Ferguson. Louza seems more of a Doucoure-type #8, whereas Ferguson seems to provide more of a goal threat and would likely compete for the Gosling/Cleverley/Zinc advanced midfield spot. I think Louza would be more likely to compete with Chalobah for a spot as a #8 or the more right-sided of a double-pivot. As with Louza though, if Ferguson is our only new signing in their role then I'd be slightly underwhelmed given they're probably still a bit of a way from the level of polish we'll need to survive next season.
Given this chart reids posted wouldn't he be more likely to be the right-sided player as a #8? Especially if he's alongside Hughes. If he's going to be doing a bit more attacking than defending than the left would be more understandable as it would give him more of a direct goal threat. Either way, yeah I wouldn't be surprised if Chalobah is somehow who he comes in for (which would still prob leave room for Ferguson).
Would be a frustration though - the green shoots of a return to his pre-injury form are there now and he also emerged as a leader on the pitch. Yet it would be someone else who gets the payoff for the amount of time we waited for it to happen....
Yeah it would be. I want him to stay, but thought we would have heard something by now with his contract situation. If Leicester are still interested then he will go there. European football and all that. Also @Filbert stated that failure to reach CL would hurt them financially and they would most likely lose 1-2 key players. Tielemans is already being linked away. So I can see Leicester needing to fill one or two holes with cheaper options. Chalobah fits that unfortunately. After all we’ve done for him, would love him to sign a contract extension, but there’s no loyalty in football nowadays.
Leicester have all but confirmed Soumare from Lille haven't they? I expect that ends any interest in Chalobah unless they lose players as you say.
Yeah that’s what I would have thought. That would have been a compelling move for him - European football and linking up with Rodgers. But the other clubs who would be interested surely wouldn’t be much of an upgrade - and I doubt he’s shown enough to command a significant enough fee. Also, he’s always been based in London. In short, while the contract situation might make selling him wise, who are we selling him to and for how much?
I still reckon they could go for Chalobah if they shift Choudhury. Ndidi, Mendy, Soumare, Tielemans, Praet and Chalobah would be a disgustingly good set of midfielders to choose from!
In his last year of his contract, so his fee will be very cheap for the type of player he is, especially as we could lose him for nothing in 6 months. West Ham, Newcastle, Leeds, Villa, Wolves and Southampton would all benefit from having him in their team. They can also offer him higher wages than what we can.
With any player in the last year of their contract, the price will depend on the number of clubs wanting to sign him. If they think he's worth £15m but can get him for £5m in the final year as no-one else is bidding then great for them. If we can get a few clubs bidding then in theory they should be prepared to go up to £15m to sign him unless they can pick up another final year bargain elsewhere.
Or if only Leicester want him and he subsequently won’t sign a deal we have to sell him for whatever they’ll offer.
Might not be about an upgrade in our eyes - but it could be in his. Palace, Southampton, Brighton, West Ham...all probably capable of paying him more than we will offer and he may see them as a more stable bet for PL survival too. I reckon £8m - £10m would probably get him if there's no new agreement. Wouldn't be massively surprised if there was some European interest in him either.
He’ll also more than likely get a sizeable signing on fee if he goes for anything below market value due to his contact situation.