TRon

He'll be identifying the players he wants. He won't be negotiating prices or contracts.

This is what I mean by a disconnect between Howe and the recruitment team. There might not be one, but you can easily imagine there might be.

Even if we were, we can't match Chelsea for wages. Even given we could match the wages, we have been told the player wanted to go to Chelsea. This is what is being reported, not that we couldn't afford the £55m+5m.

Depends if there's a disconnect between Howe and whoever is doing the transfer deals. We lost out on Pedro but that's as much because he wanted to go to Chelsea than any other reason. I'm not sure we can do much about situations like that if we are competing with the biggest spenders in the PL. If we start getting a bit more creative in the transfer market and look further afield we could probably get 3-4 decent signings but they might not be PL hardened. Is everyone on the same page with that though?

I think we want Elanga, but like with other PL based players we'll have to pay through the nose to get him. I'm hoping we've got some good alternatives lined up abroad who we can at least use alongside Murphy and who will have a higher ceiling.

He'll probably turn them down hoping Chelsea or Spurs swoop in.

On to the next one.

He's two footed as well. Seems a bit of a disservice to label him as just fast.

Just reading today that Spurs are in the market for a RW, and are interested in Semenyo and Kudus before anyone gets too excited at the prospect of us getting a free run. Oh and Chelsea are looking at Kudus too.

If Liverpool rated him that much I think the asking price would be a lot higher than £40m. From what I read Slot doesn't think he's got the physicality required for his football philosophy, and I think Howe won't want him for the same reasons.

Agree. He gets Newcastle, but as an outsider who has come from a smaller club, he will totally understand that the established big clubs have a bigger pull than the likes of us or Villa. We saw this early on with Ekitike, it's not something new.

Their own fans reckon he's not suited to the PL. He could probably do well abroad though in a slower league.

Completely agree. People saying £60m for a goalscoring winger is crazy....no, Palace asking for £70m for Geuhi was crazy.

It's better to get our bids in and rejected. Inevitably Spurs or Arsenal will come in if Chelsea don't, but at least it gets sorted one way or the other and we can move on.

Yes. Unless you've signed a prior agreement not to be a naughty boy before buying a club.

Obviously being used by the club to put other clubs off the scent of our real targets.

Hopefully we don't hear too much about any links with Kudus because it will guaranteed just turn into being walked up the garden path.

Do you know anything about this Romulo that Fulham are looking at? These smaller clubs have to be creative when it comes to signings, if they have good scouts we are in a position to blow them out of the water same way Chelsea are doing with our first choice targets.

Incredible to think we did all that under an Ashley regime.

This is why I just posted in another thread that winning trophies and competing in the CL is important from a PIF viewpoint. Chelsea were barely on the international radar before Abramovich's buyout. Winning the PL in such style with Mourinho catapulted them into the spotlight.

I think if PIF saw us as purely an investment, they could probably have picked an easier investment opportunity where they didn't have to jump through hoops for 2 years to finally get to own a British PL club. That too after signing certain waivers. As a sportswashing exercise, maybe you could argue the case, but it's only effective from their POV if they own one which allows them to compete at the top level. Yasir's intermittent attendance at home games does suggest that they take it seriously. I don't think they want to be associated with an also ran team.

I think he will be a great signing but we already have a good keeper in Pope so it wasn't the most urgent area we needed reinforcement. I think someone to rotate with Isak is a bigger priority, but can only hope that will come at some point in this window.

Colour me skeptical, but the PL nailing Man U to the wall? I'll believe that when I see it.

Mitchell might have been the wrong choice, but it's pretty clear we need someone to do what he was brought in to do. Source PL proven players before they are proven basically. If we are trying to fight Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea for players that's a losing battle.

I think they probably leave decisions on buying players to the football staff tbh. I doubt they are kicking it up to Crown Prince whoever to put his royal seal on it.