Whilst the club does do a lot of ridiculous things, you really think we'll give him a new 4 year deal just to release him in the summer?
There is a player in there somewhere . He was excellent away to Norwich last year , as were those who played that day , and if he could repeat that performance consistently then we would have a player on our hands
I do sort of understand it, there's definitely a Championship right-back there, he's had a few good performances such as on the first day, and when Andrews was suspended, I suppose we'll need as many players in the squad as we can get next season, but equally, he's of no use if he's constantly injured
Louza, if he continues his good form, will go for £10m or so I'd wager. The quality isn't the question but application and there will be clubs who think they extract that reliably, especially if he does well. Asprilla will be between £15m - £20m. He's not in good form currently (Much like the team) and lacks Pedro's strength of spirit at the same age but he also didn't have the same expectation Pedro did at this stage either and he does show there's a very high quality player there in underlying stats and can only get better. Koné we bought for £6.5m - £8m so would need to be a bid of at least £15m for us to consider letting him go and we have contract leverage to make that feasible. Agree re: Ince and Lewis (Both of whom are underwhelming) and with Bachmann and Andrews That being said, I do not disagree with your overarching point after splitting hairs over hypothetical fees. We have been a selling club traditionally to keep the wolves from the door but what we haven't done well since the Pozzo's took over is reliably cashing in at peak value and then re-rolling that into good quality replacements. Pedro and Richarlison (I do not count Dodi Lukebakio who was an early Bayat money spinner) are the only two times I would say we really made the right decision in selling at peak value and tat over the years like Oularé, Dahlberg, Penaranda, Success and many others mitigates the good decsions. Yes, every club has a good number of dud signings but we've done more than most in the last 4-5 Seasons. I think it's a good thing to call upon the academy to fill in squad positions though. It helps build a connection to the fans with the players and is a savvy and cost effective means of attracting and acquiring young talent if we show there's a pathway. That should be encouraged. Assuming selling Bachmann, Louza, Asprilla and Rajovic would be enough to manage our finances and allow for new signings next Season, we would need a new GK, LB, CB, CDM, RW and ST. That's a big shopping list and I doubt we'll recruit all those positions. Squad quality as I see it currently: Play-Off quality: Hoedt, Kayembé, Koné, Sema, Asprilla, Dennis Mid-table: Hamer, Andrews, Ngakia, Lewis, Pollock, Livermore, Chakvetadze, Martins, Relegation Fight: Bachmann, Morris, Porteous, Sierralta, Dele-Bashiru, Ince, Rajovic, Bayo, Adeyemo I am optimistic Shaq Forde will be pleasantly surprise people next Season and hopefully Grieves will finally be given a proper chance. I also can see the club jumping at the chance if we can wrangle a way to secure Dennis on a some kind of transfer either permanent or loan if he does decently here should Dennis pushes for it like he has done already. But we have too many players I don't think are of standard either technically (Morris, Sierralta, Dele-Bashiru, Ince, Rajovic, Bayo, Adeyemo) or mentally (Bachmann, Porteous)
Even though I’d love it to happen, I don’t see us selling Rajovic. We actually spent money on him so that usually binds a player to us for a very long time, especially if he’s crap. No one would want to buy him and we wouldn’t just release him from his contract. I’m afraid we’ve got this dead weight for the duration of his long contract. The shopping list will be extensive if we do things correctly, but we won’t. We’ll make do and mend trying to turn crap into gold. The Ngakia 4-year extension is a pointer to what the board are thinking.
Would (pleasantly!) surprise me if we got that much for him imo, and i'm with HB1 that I reckon around the £5m mark will do it. He's a good fit for most Ligue 1 clubs, but most Ligue 1 clubs (PSG/Marseille/Monaco aside) don't spend much money on transfers (same with La Liga which is another league he'd probably be a good fit for). We might be able to be lucky enough to get more if an English team comes in for him, but I can't really see that happening
I'm sure you've noticed I've changed where I previously rated players when I last posted something similar a few months ago,! Going back to the player in question, I personally like Chakvetadze. He is physically weaker than I'd like but in a midfield 3 I think he's a good ball carrier like Koné and shows flashes of high quality mixed with longer periods of quiet. Worth bearing in mind this is one of his longer periods of playing for a team since before his injuries so I'm not surprised with his inconsistency for now and like Koné he'll improve as he gets more games under his belt. He tries. Let me cope!
Apart from his debut against Brighton he didn't look out of place in the Prem, but he's not been worth £9m of anyone's money, let alone a club like us in our predicament
Oh dear, l have upset an elite member. This whole forum is about the fans opinions, but you appear not to understand that No one cares what l think, no player is upset, the club couldn't careless what we write on here. The fans don't own the club. This forum is our way of venting frustration or making complimentary remarks . It is a free shot at the club and that is all Fresh snow last night, it is not all bad
You have a strange perception of the word ‘upset’ it seems! Your ‘opinions’ are fine - but when you talk in facts that are easily disproved, then you should expect a certain level of ridicule if you refuse to accept the reality. The manager said we bid for a player more than once - and this has now been confirmed by that clubs owner. It is for an amount that you have said we can’t/won’t pay. You’ve also spoken to some random bloke in Switzerland and chosen to take their word of another transfer fee over several other, better, more well-placed sources. Of course this forum is a free-for-all on stuff that gets said - as it should be. But it baffles me and many others as to why you bleat on about things that are disproved. Easier to just accept your very likely wrong or dial down the certainty with which you speak surely?
The team has potential but needs to make some smart transfers. I support the idea of using academy players
Aah, that is chicken feed for a very good creative accountant to manipulate. Watford on sale, The Times have us down as an attractive purchase. I did read on this site that the US investors have pulled out.
Disproved? Not all of it. Let's take Fabrizio Romano, he just carpet bombs the media with rumours and alledged quotes. Most of what he states is total boll*cks. We can all do that with the right access . You throw enough sh*t and some of it will stick. I will have my yearly end of the ski season visit by a Premier League club executive. Of course l am not told about all the events, but some of the conversations regarding players/clubs is always interesting.
Although one thing to consider on this point, Peterborough's owner could easily have lied about the amount we bid to try and get an inflated fee in the summer. It's hardly unheard of for club owners to "leak" such things to the press.
