Unbelievable

Regarding our transfer policy, I’d argue out biggest problem is that we aren’t a very attractive proposition yet. It will take a few years of sustained succes (read: European football at a minimum) to become a destination the players who will want to play at that level consider us interesting enough to pressure their club into allowing them to speak to us. All we represent today is moneybags and a history for being a bit of a players’ career graveyard, which if we’re not careful will attract exactly the wrong type of player. In any case our facilities are still laughable and any top player will turn us down until we have more solid foundations in place. FFP also dictates that our build has to be a slow and sustainable one. Our owners can’t just go around splashing billions to make us CL win contenders overnight. i have full faith in them to do the right thing and so far they have absolutely earned out faith by setting out a clear policy, getting the right people in place and planning for the future. It will take time to rebuild this club after more than a decade of willful neglect. Let’s treasure every moment and not act like spoiled bairns who need another new toy every other week.

Will definitely follow with interest. I think the likes of Madueke and (obviously) Antony are a clear step above Sinisterra currently, but I agree he was worth a punt at that price. Wouldn’t go so far as calling it a bargain though; 25m is probably about right nowadays for a young player with ability who is yet to be proven in a big league.

We’ll see. I have seen quite a bit of him and it ties in with what a Feyenoord fan I know who sees him every week has said about him: talented, but very raw. I personally don’t think he’s ready for the PL yet, but we’ll see.

Can’t speak for the others, but Sinisterra for 25m is hardly a bargain like.

I like Madueke a lot. Doubt he would even cost that much tbh. Probably closer to 20-25 I would have said. Main worry is he’s quite injury prone, which is not great for an explosive player.

Sinisterra is not that good like. A bit of a rough diamond, but I don’t think he’s ready for PL just yet. PSV’s Madueke on the other hand…

I suspect the presence of Kane and Son, both world class and undisputed starters, might have something to do with that. As for his performance level at Spurs, he's never really been given a proper chance there, has he? I mean, of his 25 appearances this year 21 were as a substitute and many not even for 10 minutes in a season with plenty of management upheaval. I don't think those are particularly fair conditions to judge him on.

One of Holland's best attacking players is "Brighton quality". Thanks, tells me all I need to know about a lot of your other football related opinions

I'd hazard a guess I've seen more from him than you have. On the right side of a front three he's easily a CL level player. He's also the right age, available relatively cheaply and has his head screwed on right. Someone is getting a bargain this summer.

I've argued his case before on here. For my money Spurs are bonkers to let Bergwijn go for pennies (available for <20m if reports are to be believed) and bring in Richarlison for 50m. We should be in there in a flash.

I approve, providing he pases a thorough medical.

Not a fan of Noa Lang. Not nearly as good as he thinks he is.

Yes, he’s very good. Hope he doesn’t join Man U though, because I want him to succeed.

There was plenty of talk on here about how we should walk away from the deal if he wasn't frothing at the bit to come here like like

Nothing is clear. None of us are privy to the finer details. All we have to go one is whatever info is leaked to the press, or what journalists pull out of their own ass. Let's wait and see what happens. The club's new owners and management have shown they can be trusted to do the right thing so far.

The task to create a squad worthy of Europe while not being able to actually offer Europe yet is hard enough as it is without being thin-skinned when one of our top targets decides to play the waiting game to see if better offers come their way. I mean, we could settle for third or fourth choice straight away to settle the nerves of a few impatient fans, but since it's not even pre-season yet what exactly is to be gained by this? In a way I could understand settling for Wood in January with Wilson out injured and the club staring down the barrel of relegation, but it's only June and the club have already brought in (almost) three targets who will all slot in into the first team. Time to chill and let the pro's continue to do their job.

I'm pretty sure Wood wasn't our number one target, and it's quite clear we were keen then and we are keen again now, so it seems indeed that he is our number one attacking target, just like Botman was our number one defensive target.

If we thought we could do better he wouldn't have been our number one target in January and again this summer, would he..?

I have news for you: Newcastle under its current guise isn't all that for the kind of player we are targeting to help lift us to the upper echelons of the league and into Europe. Most of these players would have better option available to them, and those who "actually want to be here" over clubs already competing for titles and in the CL will mostly see us as a very big paycheck. We can't afford to be butthurt and spiteful just because this next level of player may need some convincing to join us.

Me too. He needs a move to somewhere where he’ll play if he is to make the WC squad, so I could see him being interested too. Perhaps a loan where we pay only a part of his wages might suit both parties, if the Bahraini Qatari are open to doing a deal with us.

What would you propose? A player on a par or better than Wilson will take his place and may force him out the door. A young understudy may not yet be good enough. Ultimately, if we are to progress as a club, there needs to be competition for places and the players will have to welcome it or be replaced by better ones.

I wonder what their source is, but if true that sets a decent bar for what to expect from these PL "fair market value" tests.

6 year deal please