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THB is a bit of weird one, captain of the u21s but seemingly little hype even with his England call up. £19m is peanuts for a young England international, is he just not very good?

Ain’t that fussed. Good player. Unlikely to be transformational. A lot of money. Would’ve been happy with him but there’s plenty more fish in the sea. On to the next one.

Be nice to get this 1 confirmed so we can concentrate on some outfield players.

By June 30th? Of course. It became apparent Minteh was going to be sold in the last week or two. Think he rejected Lyon at a higher price. Anderson was later and Vlad later still. But all before 30th June. We dealt with the PSR issue at the very last. Which is why we made such rushed and bad deals. Pretty much every other team had done the bulk of their business prior. Forst sold £50m worth of player to Lyon. Villa did their business earlier, Chelsea, Everton, Leicester etc. or at last the transfers were widely reported.

So just listing every transfer done so far and pretending they were linked with a move to us? Plus a few randoms pulled out of their fat arses. I see theyre still peddling that "stepped aside" bullshit trope from the Pardew years. Conveniently forgetting the signings of Isak, Tonali, Gordon, Trippier etc etc etc any one of which would comfortably be their best player in decades. Inferiority complex rules on wearside, not surprising when you see what a fucking hovel their town is.

How? The idea was that they would be forced to sell some type of prized assets to just become PSR compliant. And they wouldn’t have money to plug gaps in the squad. Thats not going to happen because their owners have been wily with PSR.

there were strong rumours we were selling someone. Gordon, etc

It's coping really. We wanted him, Howe would have improved him, he would have fit in nicely in a 4231 or as a direct Isak rotation option. For me it's just about sitting with how much I loathe Chelsea. They don't need him and their fans aren't that enthusiastic about the signing, and it stinks of 'we don't really want him but you can't have him' - but what pisses me off more than anything is players continuing to choose them. Yes the money, yes London, yes the contract etc, but still, awful club and fans.

Were there particularly strong rumours about Anderson and Minteh before we sold them? Can’t really remember tbh, and all the journos now report that it was ‘well known’ we had to sell to meet the deadline, but I don’t really recall there being a sense of panic on here or elsewhere in the days leading up to it?

Nah, think player buy in has a big say in most transfers, sounds like he's got his heart set on this one with terms being agreed months ago.

No one expecting a twist in the tail on this one? I guess of all the rumours this one has always looked the safest bet.

David's move to Juve being held up by his agents asking for a £13 million commission payment.

Highlights why they’ve got most if not all things right though. What bad calls have they ultimately made? Think Man Utd fans would wish their processes were as thorough as ours since their new owner came in and revised things for example.

Still will. Giving their business in Jan, they’re happy to gamble. So will probably gamble hard they can get top 4 (5) and play with fire. Selling women’s team is short term especially when their commercial revenue isn’t massive.

I like the cut of this man's (presumption 😉) jib

The rumour is they would fall foul of PSR if not for the sale. You would assume any sale would give them PSR cover and a bit of financial headroom. Even excluding the loan players - Villa have a deep squad. They might want to trade to fill in a few gaps but I was hoping not qualifying for the CL would make them significantly weaker like it did us.

Isn't this hard to nail down? I mean YAR loves spouting about being number 1, kind of a weird thing to keep repeating if we are just a portfolio company. In terms of these processes they have, I'm assuming these are more investment related than anything else, either way using investment related processes to run a football club sounds bizarre.

If true, they're needs to be more trust put into the people making the decisions at club-level. I assume this is why we've seen things slow down since Amanda and Merdahd left, as co-owners they were probably able to make decisions without going through that chain.

That is the consensus.

You're right imo and (sorry to sound smug) but I’ve said this all along. This doesn't look like the flashy, short-term sportswashing we’ve seen with the Saudi Pro League or Club World Cup. PIF were fully aware of PSR constraints and still went ahead, which suggests a longer-term, strategic investment rather than a vanity project. That said, it still contributes to improving Saudi Arabia’s global image; it’s sportswashing, just in a more subtle and credible form. This is in stark contrast to the in-your-face stuff that’s coming soon with the Saudi World Cup (I’ve talked to a few people involved and as usual they have wildly expensive and ambitious plans for that). Newcastle United clearly matters to PIF but likely as part of a wider global portfolio. It’s just not a top-tier national priority though.

We need a combative CEO don’t think PIF are devoting much time, or thought to this if I’m honest beyond just complying with current rules. Feel this CEO appointment is crucial for future direction.

Selling pieces at a time is a very smart way to do it. If you believe the loophole won't get closed and your not in need of massive money. The ownership of the women's team essentially becomes an overdraft facility (in financial terms).

I don’t even think Villa are breaking PSR? Thought it’s more very close and they can’t make any signings or new contracts to squeeze past. Still will need sales (or sell Women’s team) to enable some spending power this summer, but I don’t think they’re in a situation like we was last summer.