Personally, I think it goes something like this: Asprilla--£10m Kone--£6m Louza--£4m Ferreira--a paper £2m Hoedt--£1m Bachmann--£1m Ince--nominal Kalu--nominal Outside of possibly Andrews I struggle to see anyone fetching much interest! With our parachute payments running out, we'll really need to rummage around the back of the sofa this summer...
Hmmmmm.... Asprilla--£10m - yes he'll probably go but that's far too low - it'll surely be more like £15-20mil. Maybe even a bit more if someone like Barca really are interested. If we only get £10mil offers we likely wouldn't even sell. Kone--£6m - why would we sell him for less than we paid for him lol?! I don't think he's done enough yet for anyone to make a big offer for him anyway. Hoedt--£1m - he's one of the few players I'd be most worried about us losing, with surely there being some Bundesliga or Seria A clubs he'd do well at, but again why the heck would we sell such a key player and our captain for such a low fee?! Louza, Ferreira, Bachmann, Ince and Kalu can and likely will all go for whatever someone will pay for them. I'd listen to offers for Porteous if there are any clubs out there willing to offer a good fee based on his international reputation. As well as Hoedt I'd also be concerned about us maybe losing Sema with him only having 1 year left on his contract. I know he was poor today but he's also only just back from injury and doesn't seem fully fit again yet. But when he's at it he's still one of our best players and I'm sure he probably has a couple of decent seasons left in him at this level.
Would leave us with our squad looking like this: GK: Hamer Marriott/Roberts/A. N. Other RB Andrews Ngakia (TDB) CB Pollock Sierralta Porteous LB Morris (Sema) CM Livermore Kayembe Chakvetadze TDB Wingers Sema Hurtado Baah (Chakvetadze) Strikers Forde Bayo Rajovic Well, my prediction would leave us short all over the pitch, but particularly at LB, CB, out wide and up front...
Our bargaining position will be even weaker this summer compared to last summer, plus I think the list of clubs who both have the money and would be improved by our players is small. For example, I think a middling European power would suit Asprilla well, but I don't know if those types of clubs would have £15m to spend on a player who might not be an absolute star for them immediately Kone we obviously overpaid for, he definitely wasn't worth £8m a year ago, and probably still isn't, even taking into account our pretty perilous situation. He's more likely than most to attract interest, but I feel if we get anywhere approaching the fee we paid for him, we'll snap their hands off. Hoedt is one of our better players, but at 30 is towards the end of his prime, and I don't think he'll want to stick around when he could get top flight football somewhere in Europe (think £1m would still be a profit for him too). Good point on Sema, he might wangle us a million or so, but I reckon he stays, he must be pretty settled in the area and there are probably no other clubs who would cover his wages (not to mention a transfer fee) Is there anyone I've forgotten? Genuinely don't know if the likes of Pussetto and Fletcher will be contracted to us by the summer lol
You've still got players like Gyokeres getting sold by Coventry to Sporting for £20mil and Wharton by Blackburn to Palace for £20mil and Alex Scott by Bristol City to Bournemouth for £20mil+. £10mil for Asprilla would be peanuts and we just wouldn't sell him for that little. Asprilla has also been linked to Sporting and Everton, so if either of them come in then we would be understandably holding out for more than that. Yes as per my post maybe Hoedt would want to leave for a Serie A or Bundesliga club if one came calling, but also maybe he likes the UK considering he's played most of his football here? But again even if a club like that came calling we're not just going to let our captain and possible PotS go for £1mil! I don't know who would pay a good fee for Kone yet and I don't know why we snap our hands off for any offer just yet either. Unless he's just thrown his toys out of the pram today we'll probably want to keep developing him, as based on his earlier season form he still has room for his stock to rise with us.
Lewis, Dennis and Martins obviously, since their loans expire. Hamer and Livermore because their contracts expire and they’re a hundred years old. Asprilla definitely, since he’s got two years left on his contract and is wanted everywhere. Hoedt maybe, since he’ll be on his last year and is sellable. Other than that I think everyone stays. Ince and Sema will have one year left on their contracts, but at their age and wages I doubt anyone will buy them. TDB also has one year left but nobody will buy him. We’ll probably keep Kone for another year as he still has three years left, same with Porteous. Bachmann and Louza are also on long contracts. They could be loaned out or, if the next head coach fancies them, they might stay. Either way, since our squad is already 3-4 players short, we need a huge influx of new players in the summer.
We are negotiating new deals for Hamer and Livermore as per Leventhal, so I didn't include them. They have been arguably our two best players this season, will they be so good next season at their ages? I'm not so sure...
Gyokeres scored 40 goals in 2 seasons for Coventry, and Wharton and Scott are both homegrown youngsters, Asprilla is both non-HG and hasn't quite been as convincing as Gyokeres (plus we are probably in a more precarious position than any of those selling clubs as we have big debts and an owners who can't eat them up). Very much doubt an English club comes in for Hoedt as he wasn't convincing for Southampton, we might get a bit more for him, but he wouldn't go for big bucks. As for Kone, I'm really struggling to think of assets we can sell, we will be under pressure to sell someone like him who actually has some potential to improve
Asprilla will be more than £10m I'd think. He's young and as with JP will be a lot more effective with good players around him. As was pointed out on the shoutbox we paid £7m for Kone so can't see us selling him for £6m even if we're desperate for cash.
People living on a different planet if they think we get £16m combined for Asprilla & Kone!! Why on earth would we sell so cheap? As pointed out, £6m is LESS than what we actually paid for Kone! Also don’t Asprilla’s former club have a 30% sell on? He’s one of the hottest properties around Europe at the moment!
Asprilla is a great prospect but he’s struggling to make a first team place his own at present. Yes he could become a great player but there’s no guarantee and he would still represent a punt for a prem side.
I think a better club will pick up Ryan Andrews as well. Probably had offers and don't want him to get injured, hence him not playing.
Because we have sold players for less than they cost us before? Asprilla is undoubtedly a talent and will have more than a few suitors - but I suspect the market is the wrong way around for him. He should be aiming for a club like Brighton who will nurture him correctly etc - but I doubt they will pay £25m say for someone who likely will initially play a big part or even be sent on loan. A move to someone like Sporting Lisbon or Ajax would be decent and he’d obviously play most weeks…but they don’t have £20m-£25m to spend. But we all know the stark reality - we could have to sell players for cheaper than we would like as we will be a mid-table Championship team with no more parachute payments to prop us up. So it’s hardly ludicrous to suggest we may sell for less than fans believe these assets are worth.
Of course which is why no club pays the value of the player they may become one day. I wouldn’t rule out us selling for £10-15m with a sell on clause.
Gyokeres was a striker and is 5 years older than Asprilla. Being HG will not literally double a player's fee and Asprilla is better than Scott imo. Though if we really thought it mattered Asprilla would become HG next Jan. Sporting paid £20mil for a Championship player in Gyokeres. Not having parachute payments didn't stop Coventry, Bristol City, Blackburn etc getting very good fees for the players I've mentioned that have been sold in the last year.
We paid £8m for Kone. You think we can afford to spend £8m now? Just because Sporting paid it once, it doesn’t automatically mean they can spend it again. In fact, the reports linking Asprilla to Sporting specifically state they can’t afford to.
I think it will be a short list and of goings, but all to generate funds Bachmaan for £2m Louza for £4m Asprilla for £25m Sierralta - not getting game time or that good £1m A few loans or offloads Baah Fletcher Rajovic (loan) Morris (loan) Going back Lewis Dennis Martin's 12 incomings, pretty much like Nani did when he came 1st time round.
If that was the case then tlit surely still supports that his price will be more than 10mil, as otherwise they could surely afford it.
Admittedly we could improve our loan business (we haven't even filled our matchday quota this season), but we won't have much money to sign another 7 players...
Speaking of which, who was the last loan star we had? Geri if he counts (since we signed him with a view to a permanent deal), if not him, Ake?
Didn't say we hadn't! However, we only signed him 12 months ago on a 5 year deal and he's only, what, 21, 22? He has uncapped potential, the same as Asprilla! In fact, I would go as far as to say Asprilla is a little further down the line than JP10 was at the same age? He's starting to really blossom now and will only get better. To sell two young players we've only just bought for considerably less than what they're worth would be pure and utter madness!! I can see clubs queueing up to sign both this summer. A bidding war is great news for us!
There's no such thing as a 'bidding war' in football anymore. A player has a price, his agent touts him around privately, unsettles them and they move for somewhere around that price. The deal is often 90% done by the time the bid is made and the player knows where he wants to go. I don't think Asprilla is further down the line personally - an exciting player but his decision making isn't always as good as it could be and he still needs a summer in the gym IMO. Joao Pedro kicked on when he increased his strength and filled out a bit and I think that is something Asprilla will need to do as well. It may read as though I'm talking him down and saying he's not good or exciting - that's not the intention. He will undoubtedly be a top player. I just think expectations of a huge money move this early on should be tempered somewhat. He still isn't even starting every week for us. And I don't think anyone is suggesting we should sell for 'considerably less than what they're worth' - obviously that isn't a great move. But we are looking down the barrel of a gun financially which may dictate certain moves we have to make. Holding out for top dollar on players has been far easier in recent seasons - this summer will be a reckoning that fans should be prepared for.
Why are people so baffled by the idea we could sell Kone for less than we paid? It completely ignores so many different levels of context. Firstly we obviously overpaid for him, just because we paid £8m for him that doesn’t mean that’s what he’s worth, see Sarr for reference, we paid £32m for him but we sold him for less, it happens. Secondly, next season will be the first season in a decade when we’ll be receiving £0 from the PL, we have debt to service and we will need to sell players to survive, that is an unavoidable fact. If people are saying if we don’t get offers above £10m for Asprilla then we just won’t sell, what do we then do if someone offers us £6m for Kone, refuse and go into administration because we paid £2m more?
Development isn't linear, and it's hard to compare exactly because when JP was Asprilla's age we were in the Prem, but for reference, they both had their debut Championship seasons at the same age and JP's was better
If Martins turns his brain on for one moment, he rushes Furlong and he doesn't get the shot off or at least makes it harder to score. He does that, we win that game. If all he did that game was to block that shot he would done a good enough job to ensure we won the game today. I like Martins, he's a good player with some nice technique on the ball, but he let the side down badly today. Yes you can look at Bachmann again for the positioning, but Furlong had way too much time to get that angle. It's a shame, but it still points to some players just not keeping their head in the game at the most vital of stages.
The whole is greater than the sum of its parts . Or so the saying goes. Make of that what you will .....
Clev edition: GK: Bachmann has been up and down since he's come back, Hamer didn't really put a foot wrong but as it stands is yet to sign a new deal is getting on a bit. Could definitely do with upgrading, but with the sheer amount of work the squad needs, I wouldn't be surprised if goalkeeper is not considered a priority L(W)B Lewis is to return, which, despite his form over the last two games, won't be much of a loss, Sema hasn't been at his best this season but has always done a job at LWB, the fear is that he's getting on a bit and injuries are starting to get the better of him. Morris can do a job at LB, but in a more advanced role you wouldn't think he'd excel, so we definitely need at least 1 fresh option here R(W)B We've had enough trouble this season at RB with Andrews and Ngakia having injuries and suspensions, whereas TDB filled in at RB, I don't think he'd be asked to do so at RWB. The need might not quite be as drastic as at L(W)B, but we could do with one CB We have enough to scrape by if we want to play a back 4, but surely if we play 3ATB, we'll need at least one more CB, ideally left-footed CM In the past we've seen our CMs struggle at times without a clearly defined role for them, but I feel Kayembe and TDB have begun to show us what they are capable of. Kone too has shown flashes, more so than last season, but has also stunk the place out at times, but I do wonder if he'll be one of the first players we cash in on. Chak could also do a job there, but would probably be needed further up the field as Asprilla will surely be one of the first out the door and Kone has been woeful there, and I suspect Livermore doesn't have much of a future here, even if he has been a pleasant surprise. Definitely need at least 1 new face in the middle of the park, two if Kone leaves AM We've not seen Chak play there yet under Clev, but you'd think he'd be the main candidate out of the options we have at the moment, although we'll need at least 1 more CF Bayo stays, he's good enough to do a job here but not good enough for anyone of a similar level to fork out any sort of sum that would interest us. Don't think anyone will want Rajovic, so I think he'll stay as a Hail Mary option even if he's absolutely hopeless at closing the oppo down. Dennis has looked better now that he's getting back to match fitness, but I'd be very surprised if he's back here next season, so we'll need at least 1, probably two options here (Forde might benefit from another loan away, Hurtado definitely will)
I get what people say about Rajovic, but you can't argue with the 12 goals he has scored so far!!! For this reason I would keep him, because goals win games, end of!!!
Well I think we will keep him, but there's a reason that both our managers this season have had him as 3rd choice...
