KaKa

Will still be useful against lesser opposition I think, but this sort of game is just too much for him.

My God Trippier.

Love Gordon's energy but just too wasteful there. Don't have that luxury without a man up top.

Tonali had to shoot there. What a ball from Elanga after ... but no striker!

What was that throw in from Trippier man. So careless and ridiculous.

Telegraph article actually says the bid was made over the weekend.

Osula is not comparable to the level Strand Larsen is at man

At least this one is moving along very quickly. Should know either way by tomorrow at the very latest.

Yeah, that's fair if you prefer a different style of player. I think that we're prioritising a striker that can get the job done in the Prem due to not having Isak temporarily and perhaps even permanently going forward. If Isak does end up leaving I think we will then see another striker more in the mould of what you describe coming in. Also Strand Larsen is not some clunky plodding target man, and his link up and ability on the ball is way ahead of a Chris Wood.

Ah, right. So maybe we should drop our price for Isak since only Liverpool are in for him?

Another that has been on our list for ages. Think Chelsea gazumped us for him when they signed him right?

They're completely different types of players with different qualities. If Newcastle feel Strand Larsen will also score the goals they need in the current team and setup then they will deem him to be just as valuable. Has nothing to do with whether Chelsea are in for him or not. That would be a crazy metric to look at when determining what player to sign!

Yup. I think Wolves will be looking at the Joao Pedro deal and are after similar. He's pretty much the same age as Strand Larsen (just 1 year younger) and Chelsea have forked out £60 million for him i.e,. £55 million + £5 million in add-ons. A fee that we had also bid if I remember correctly. I think that's what it's going to take in order to strike a deal.

In a much worse side and all. I just don't think they feel comfortable with Jackson's finishing ability in the short term and are looking for someone that takes their chances better already. Don't think we're expecting anything from Isak for a while even if he stays, and so don't want someone that is so hit and miss in front of goal at the minute.

If any striker age 25 or under scores close to 15 goals in the Premier League you're paying upwards of £50 million nowadays. Wolves were just fortunate they had the obligation clause and fixed price already agreed in their loan deal for Strand Larsen from Celta Vigo to get him for what they did. The club is prioritising a striker that gets goals in the Premier League because of Isak's head loss and no idea of how soon we will be able to rely on him and that is if he even stays at the club.

Nathan Ake coming in to replace Targett? Some rumours doing the rounds but sources not worth posting.

Chelsea have unlimited funds and there'll always be some other young striker that pops up for them to go after. Next level hoarding if they are really blocking this guy from joining other clubs

If we're able to convince Emegha and he says he wants to join Newcastle then not much Chelsea can do in that circumstance. Also, we have a good relationship with Chelsea at board room level. Make the call and tell them to do us a solid on this one, as they already signed TWO strikers we were after this summer!

They need to qualify for the CL in the first place, and are going to need players that can do the business in the league to do so. Forest came one game short of qualifying for the CL off the back of Chris Wood for example. You can still have younger players in the squad still that will improve in the long term. In fact they are more likely to improve and progress with more experienced players in the mix that can take the pressure off them. I would love for them to keep taking flyers on these young inexperienced strikers though, without any experienced players in there. Lets see how many they have to sign before that pans out. They are now on number 3 in Sesko, after signing Hojlund and Zirkzee. With Hojlund already being made available for sale. Even when Newcastle were after Sesko, I only liked the signing because it looked like we were also going to be bringing in Wissa as well.

If they don't trust Rasmus or have much faith in Zirkzee then surely the striker you go and get has to be someone who you know will do the business and bring presence, aggression and fight aside from any goals, as they need some of that up top as well to help the team. last summer I thought they should have gone for Toney when they were linked and they went for Zirkzee instead. This summer now I thought they should have gone for Maeteta when they were linked and they've gone for Sesko. I just think it's very likely it all plays out the same way again.

£200 million spent and none of it on midfielders is pretty extraordinary really, after seeing the issues the current midfielders have had playing this system. If there's one thing this setup needs, it's two quality central midfielders with energy, composure on the ball and serious tactical nous. Instead they've gone into the season with Bruno and Casemiro in there again, and the backup options are Ugarte and Mainoo They went and bought two players to play in the two number 10 positions, where arguably their two best or most threatening players from last season should be playing in Bruno and Amad. Those two both now look far less effective in the positions they've been moved into, with Bruno in central midfield forcing passes and leaving all kinds of gaps defensively and Amad at right wing back not able to attack the spaces he typically prefers to because Mbeumo is in his way. As for that Sesko signing man ... I swear that was just an ego thing. They just didn't want to see the guy join Newcastle due to the relationship some people in house had with Sesko going back, and they've gone in for him to prevent that. He's no more experienced or equipped to perform in tough circumstances, than the likes of Hojlund and Zirkzee, and so while the manager is still trying to somehow make everything work he's unlikely to be able to help alleviate the pressure by making things happen out of nothing in key moments. If they go into the summer with that £200 million prioritising the midfield and lets say Baleba and Wharton as the new pairing to bring in there. They likely end up with a much better functioning team even with all of the other pieces remaining as they were. Going to be fascinating to see how this all plays out from here, because that central midfield is just not able to hold the team together and it all breaks down from there. Doesn't appear as though they have any more money to spend without sales, but every club showing interest in the players they have openly made available is taking the piss because they want to get them at knock down prices or on loan. I think this is going to end with Amorim getting sacked before the end of the year, and the pressure then to get the next hire right to fix all of this will be immense.

Will end up at Chelsea next summer.

Man United fans have been flexing about their new £200 million frontline, but now we get to play the games and it's time to actually perform. They thought singing Cunha and Mbeumo in particular, automatically meant that they would get the production those players had last season, but this manager, setup and approach is continuing to look very dodgy, and I don't think either player will replicate the form they showed previously. People were writing off Kudus after last season in Potter's West Ham side, but so far under Frank he's looked fantastic and is primed for a bounce back season, while Mbeumo so far has looked like he's missing his former manager. Not sure about this Amorim guy at all. Just not convinced. If you gave this team to Glasner tomorrow, who plays the same system, they'd be far more threatening.

As suspected, against a team that sat deeper and defended a bit more compact, Man United struggled to look anywhere near as much of a threat. The midfield continues to struggle to progress the ball up the pitch and so they end up hoofing it forward too often to relieve pressure. Thought Fulham moved the ball around much better and controlled the game. Think if ESR and Wilson start the game they might have got the win, as they added more quality. Sesko again very quiet and quite passive in 42 mins of play, so almost a full half. Looks a bit lost in their setup and has been an invisible man.

Tantalizing ball from Iwobi finally!