rubberman

Reading this page - dearie me... Obviously it would be better to do business early. Obviously it would be better to get bodies in for a full pre-season. Obviously even if this means a small premium it's probably still worth it. Do you really think everyone in the club isn't trying to do this? They aren't not signing anyone just to get this thread to 600 pages. It is not a simple process. Spending £100+ million quid takes a bit more than watching YouTube highlights.

Probably that we are, as per the last few windows, doing our work without leaking it to all and sundry. What makes you think we aren't deep into negotiations? As above. Signings will happen, and will be announced almost as soon as the word gets out. There have barely been any significant transfers apart from the odd free across the whole league.

Sure - easy and obvious. Unless other clubs also think they might be easy and obvious, or they don't want to come to the PL/Birmingham/Villa, or their wage demands are too high, or their agents want too big a fee, or they have an underlying injury, or they are on holiday, or they don't click with Dean, or any one of hundreds more reasons why it is not easy and obvious.

That would be a right bugger. I suppose £10m profit, but still...Guess it was always likely.

Happy new players week everyone! (terms and conditions apply)

Not true. There is a dispensation for elite sportspeople. Because they have specific testing regimes and work within a bubble the rules are relaxed for them. https://www.google.com/amp/s/mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKBN2370QX

Personally I think it would be a huge risk to get rid of too many. Would be OK with one of AEG, Trez and Samatta going, but trying to integrate complete first choice and back-up forward lines in less than 4 weeks would lead to disaster IMO. It's a short off season - we need to have some consistency in the squad. Don't mind losing the odd third choice (Jota, Lansbury etc) though.

'continues' is doing a lot of heavy lifting in that tweet.

Maybe. But there is an extra 10 day window after the regular window SLAMS shut for just deals with the EFL. I reckon a few will be holding out to use that.

...there's no limit!

I'd go for him, just so that we can have Marvelous and Blessing in the same team.

I agree with what you're saying, but transfers never happen in order of priority and it's likely that our main priorities are the hardest to get over the line. So we will probably see less 'urgent' signings happening first (cue meltdown of the 'wHeRe's oUr ceNtrE fOrwArd!!11!' variety). Getting Grealish to sign a monster new contract would be the best early bit of business we could do.

Exactly. We are (generalising) far too quick to write off players, especially young ones new to the country. He hasn't even had a full season. Certainly get in a baller first choice please, but Wes deserves more time and without the pressure of being a record signing and (pretty much) only choice, he could come good.

Yep - me too. Am disappoint.

Just saw a headline pop up on my phone about quarantine if you've been on holiday to Bahamas and Belgium and read it as Benrahma and Buendia. Got very excited for a second. Possibly been on this thread too much.

I have to admit that however long I look at these it means absolutely nothing to me. eg 52 disrupts. Before we even get to what a disrupt is and whether that's a good or bad thing, 52 what? 52%? 52 times a game? 52 times a season, 52 times ever? He's the 52nd best (or worst) disrupter? 52 minutes spent disrupting? Actually, while writing this I may have worked it out - is it like footballer Top Trumps - Wes's 52 just beats Wout's 47 disrupts, but he would lose on recovers? But 52 doesn't represent any actual things.

Probably comes with two strings attached. (niche comment, I know)

It's like one of Johnson's coronavirus briefings in here - Buy the best talents from the championship and relegated teams, but don't but them cause they can't cut it in the PL. Unless they can cut it in the PL, but then they are too expensive so don't buy them. Buy young and hungry foreign talent, but not like the ones we've bought in the past, except those ones we did buy in the past but bought at the wrong time and are now good, but were shit. Buy fringe players from the top teams, but not the reject ones, buy the good ones, but not the not-quite-good enough ones. etc and so on...

I wonder how much Jack will have a say in this. He prefers the middle and might need assurances that he'll be played there in order to stay? I prefer him out left, but you could well be right that with better options he will excel in the middle. Definitely need a decent CF and RW, the the other big spend IMO should be LW or Hourihane upgrade. I'll leave Dean and co to decide which way to go.

Sorry TRO - I don't understand this. They were objectively terrible for the league they were in. They came bottom and were relegated weeks before anyone else. Not much point being designed for any other league than the one you are trying to compete in! My point is Buendia shone in the PL this season, against the very best defenders, not in the championship. He had stats up there with Jack and was playing in an even worse team. I'm not particularly advocating him for us BTW, though he would definitely improve us, but you can't write him off as not being able to do it in the PL, when he has just proven that he can.

Buendia has just had a brilliant season in the Prem in a shit team.

Would want big salary then.

Buy all the Sarrs!

Random speculation has been fun and all, but can we have some proper links now please.

Maybe not wanting to be third choice with the euros (probably) to come next summer? He's not going to be pushing his England case from the bench. (I know he won't be coming really).