STM

I meant it's certainly not a sign that they've accepted a bid.

The club briefing the press about having other targets isn't a good sign like.

Newcastle fans not understanding the concept of a squad never gets old.

That's not how these things work. There's probably ongoing discussion between 4/5 different parties and most notably everytime we make a bonifide bid we have to have it sanctioned from the Saudi end. At Palaces end you have: Parish Freedman Glasner Guehi himself, (Guehis agent) At our end: Saudis Eales Mitchell Howe Hoying another 5 million on every time isn't as straightforward as it sounds and even on the Palace end they can't flat out reject a bid without having a full on discussion because such sums can be fortune changing for a club. It's also worth pointing out that we might be talking to Palace through his agent. It's more than possible that Guehis agent himself is trying to put the deal together and the only time we directly communicate with Palace is when we formally place a bid. So many moving parts.

What if they say they want 1m more? You still walk away?

They haven't rejected it right? Otherwise it would have been known? We must be close.

If you regularly watch Keith you will get to know when there is a change in tone. What he's saying here is very much that he believes its going to get done. I'd even go as far as to say I think he knows something that he's not letting on. He's normally more cautious than this. I'd expect some definitive movement very soon.

I suggested Willock as a player that could be possibly sold, but now wouldn't be the right time because his stock dropped last season.

I'm going to need names and figures here KaKa. Also you have to bare in mind that a 20/30m deal now is 20/30m we won't have in the future too.

Madueke is the sort of player that will feed off the fans too. He's got that x factor when he picks up the ball, it would get our fans on their feet. Those sorts of players traditionally do well at SJP IMO.

Ah man I can't ever truly be on board with losing a Bruno or a Gordon. It's certainly not something we should look to do. It might happen, but it should only happen when all other alternatives are exhausted IMO. It's inevitable really but I can't ever be happy with losing our best players. I also won't kick off about it like. It is what it is.

Sorry yes, Madueke would be an amazing signing. I don't think that's what's being suggested above though. Madueke would cost us 50m. I think the working assumption is that after Guehi, we may not have that sort of money.

I'll guess 55m with 3/4m add ons.

How much did Everton reject for Branthwaite?

The opposite is true IMO. It's entirely unrealistic to expect us to sign a small upgrade on Miggy just to appease a frustrated fan base. This is where are long term strategy is vital or we are going to end up being lumped with more players who aren't up to the standard we want to reach. I'd rather persist with Murphy or Miggy for 12 months, if it meant that when we did sign a new RW that they were of a Tonali/Bruno standard. It's worth remembering that as a team, attack isn't a weakness of ours. I'm not saying that I don't want a Miggy upgrade, I just want the right upgrade and not just a upgrade.

100%. Gordon won't allow the fact he was back later than the rest as an excuse to not start him. He may be subbed off fairly early though.

I think it's fair to say Guehi won't start regardless if he signs before Saturday. Howe could quite easily play the old switcheroo with regards to Burn and Kelly but my instinct is that Howe really likes Kelly. Apart from in the air, he's a better player than Burn in every other area.

The only good thing about Chelsea is that while they are horrific when signing players, they are actually quite receptive to selling players. I've no doubt they'd sell Madueke if they received decent money.

Cheers, well I guess that answers that then. Seems highly unlikely that Burn will go to left back. I'd love Howe to give the nod to Kelly (CB) and Hall (LB) in the first game. Again, it's just nice to have options.

Reading between the lines, I wonder if he wanted to leave last summer and was asked to give it another season, similar to Olise. It seems odd that they seem so resigned to losing him. It's like they have openly accepted that he's leaving, which is odd given the reputation of their chairman.

Are we absolutely sure that Howe will start Hall? What position has Kelly played in his pre season games?

Feels quite significant that they've already got an eye on replacements. It more than confirms that they expect him to leave.

Ryan Fraser is still on our books right? He never actually joined Southampton. We've also got Dubravka, Lewis and a couple of others that we haven't shifted. None of this helps when we are looking wriggle room, even just in terms of wages.

It's such a shame that he will pick Longstaff over Willock. Thankfully with Joelinton and Bruno in the side our midfield will dominate most anyway. Fuck me, I can't wait to see the strength on our bench. Barnes, Osula, Willock, Miggy and 2 or 3 decent defenders depending on who he chooses.