We won't be in for long term investments in this window, not for critical areas anyway. We need instant fixes, and these will only be proven first team ready players.......the best we can afford and attract. Pollock was our punt for a long term CB player.
Souttar is the best of the lot but out for the season. I don’t think Worrall is worth the £10m or so fee he’d command; he blows a bit hot and cold. Fry is quality but would be well advised to stick around under Wilder. Could do worse than Cooper. Can’t pass for toffee but actually decent. Rob ****ie is another one - actually good on the ball too but would imagine he’d be over £10m too.
Don't underestimate the gulf in standard between the champ and the prem. Our existing defenders and GK looked outstanding in the champ last season but are very poor at prem level. We really need someone who has shown they are up to prem standard, want to join us rather than another prem team, and won't cost the earth. The available list will not be long....
Each and every one of those players is the type of player you sign when you already have competent CB’s at the club and are trying to build better depth. They are not the type of signings you make when the player has to come in and immediately be PL class for half a season. Brighton can sign the above types and add them to their decent CB ranks and get away with it. We can’t add them to ours existing options and expect the improvement needed. Risk is too big.
I have absolutely no faith that the club will A. even sign a centre back or B. sign one that is capable of playing in the PL. I'd much rather take a punt on one from the Championship than sign an old clogger on a long deal. Hopefully Gino pulls one out of the bag but so far the rumours have been Cook and Vida.
Joe Rodon was another (far more compelling) rumour. The LB rumours have been a bit more mixed: Anthony Caci and Hassane Kamara are a good age and look decent yet affordable (while Kolasinac is more of the old school clogger variety).
If there was one single thing we absolutely don't do as an institution, it would be 'offer sensible contracts in length and terms, based on age and league status'. Besides, beggars can't be choosers, and whilst Vida is a particularly poor choice, we're still fairly unlikely to be able to convince him to set foot on our floundering ship by hard-balling him with an offer that uniquely disadvantages everyone involved, including him.
On the other hand, our defense is sooooo bad that maybe just maybe they'll prove able enough to keep us up if the attack keeps firing?
Yep. Article says we are ‘closing in’ on the move. Also says there is another signing close - that would make it 4 - but doesn’t name him. Suggests it’s a CB with his wording. I really really hope it’s a class CB - because Vida is ageing, coming from a poor league and isn’t good enough to facelift the defence to the standard needed.
I know virtually everyone has sneered at this potential signing, but I think he’s actually very good. Certainly a big upgrade on what we have. Not a long term solution, but he’ll get us through this season. He’s a right nutter too, so I’m sure fans will take to him very quickly.
Correct. If we can get 18 good months out of him then it'll be well worth it! Was a rock for Croatia in their run to the WC final in 2018.
32 really isn't that old for a CB. Whenever I've seen him in the past I've figured he'd probably be good enough to improve us, but the fact he's been most recently playing in the league where Tufan was doing well does give room for concern.
I do just think we are panicking with this one - which is kinda understandable. But it’s the club showing once again that it really doesn’t know how (or want) to scout CB’s of a good age etc. Hopefully this mystery 4th target is a CB that disapproves this. But we should probably be looking at Mogi Bayat’s client list instead…
I'm going to remind you again that were very keen on us signing a 33/34 year-old Gary Cahill (though it would have been a decent signing for 1 season). Vida will surely only be a short-term solution on a 6 or 18 month contract?
I haven’t said old players can’t do a good job? At least that wasn’t the point I was attempting to make.
If Arsenal let Nketiah leave then he'll surely be exactly the kind of player Newcastle would be all over.
He did look quite solid agaisnt Scotland in The Euros. He always stands out to me because we have been linked in the past and in the Scotland game I thought I would have him still.
I think we are happy because he’s a CB and will seemingly be in quickly too - but taking a step back, this is just the type of move we have seen too much of before and stinks of Gino just doing the absolute bare minimum to get by. It’s all just a bit ‘meh’ and I think most of us know that, we just would rather not admit as much as we will probably be labelled as entitled - ‘You wanted a CB, you get a CB, and you still aren’t happy!’ etc etc. Now imagine the reaction if we went and got Joe Rodon, Kim Min-Jae, Malang Sarr - it would be universally more positive and incredibly upbeat. Signings that would show we are serious about it.
Agree that feels like a bare minimum move. Perhaps they've decided Nkoulou + Sierralta is a good first choice pair, so it's about adding cover until Nkoulou is back and depth afterwards. Hmmm....
The ‘anyone is an upgrade’ nonsense is out and about I see. Covers up the ‘throw **** a wall and something might stick’ reality.
how do people feel about his hair? Has this important topic been discussed? I don’t like it much but perhaps it gives credence to the suggestion above, of him being a “nutter”.
Been linked to some big clubs in recent years, including Liverpool. But I guess you knew that. So, about his hair…
