Gallowgate Toon

People have faith in Romano because he's well connected to Watford and some agents. Our journos will be speaking to 'sources' who are likely to be a step away from the deal, tbh, if they're not one of the negotiating or senior team (seems like the latter has shut up shop). We also appear to have a chain of command to SA which likely means we can't say much at all until everything is well lined up. I don't think what Romano is saying is particularly outlandish and he made claims over the weekend about verbal offers which nobody on the NE journo side seems to be able to confirm or deny which doesn't exactly paint their sources in a good light.

It's a fine balance but I've got to admit that I'm not very keen on quibbling about how a £5m add-on is paid for Pedro, as an example, if that's genuinely the hold up there. Hardly going to massively impact our FFP down the line and you've already admitted that you value the player at that amount to a large degree.

"Look, Dan, Fabrizio has done a 'here we go' now..."

Wasn't Luke behind on Botman too? I think we're a pretty closed shop now, in terms of leaks. Presuming our local journos are primarily using NUFC sources, there's a good chance they're a bit behind the curve. Nobody knew about the first bid for a start.

Fucking yessssss

Deal agreed?

Miggy will definitely have his most productive season for us this year. Whether it's going to be good enough is a different question.

He has us playing some absolutely brilliant football. Fucking class watching us steam forward in numbers against the best.

Although I think a deeper lying role doesn't utilise his best talents, he did very well yesterday for a very tough job. What a player.

This bloke's an absolute monster. I like Dubs but he's a level below Pope.

I thought he was pretty good overall. That was one hell of a fast-paced match for a player brand new to the league, like, and he hardly looked out of place.

Getting points from 'elite' teams this season is purely a bonus compared to our aim. We need to find ways to play against these sides, we'll take some humpings along the way but also nab some points the other way too.

I think this is a decent thread. If Targett is fit then I agree with the starting lineup. Would have Botman in the middle to keep on Haaland though. I think we should focus on trying to keep possession in spells tomorrow, as a starting point, and a back 3 who are all comfortable might just be our best foundation for that.

Didn't Mitro start the PL campaign a few years ago very well and then spectacularly drop off? Feel like he had 8 by December and then finished on 11.

Watford have had a torrid time with detached, demotivated players. They can't carry that weight for a promotion campaign. If he wants to go, they'll look to shift him.

Arsenal have some great players but they'll hit a patch where they need to grind results out and will flounder. Fancy them to get CL though.

Scoring 9 in a season from out wide/withdrawn in the Championship at 18 really isn't to be sniffed at, like.

Agree that on paper it looks well balanced. Gallagher is a real grafter too. Feel a bit for Willock but he's shown very little attacking instinct since his scoring run - we need that from midfield. Most of his good work since has come box-to-box.

Can't wait for the Chris Wood redemption arc.

Out of all the Chelski lot, Gallagher's the one I'd take.

Aye. It's very easy to hone in on outputs but it's hardly that indicative of the potential of a 20 year-old (and you're paying for the future when targeting players that young). I'm not saying he's going to turn into Vini Jr but, using him as an example, he'd scored 3 league goals the season before last and then had his huge upcurve. There are good indicators that Joao Pedro could become a very handy player in the right environment.

Has there ever been any real indication we're after Ramos, apart from that one journo (which then got parroted by a bunch of news curation feeds)? Seems like agent talk, more than anything, as multiple clubs have suddenly taken an interest in the lad at the same time.

Sounds like the player isn't happy about the move being blocked which I think has led to the leaks. Just looked at the highlights of their match last night and he seemed involved in the better bits of play. Got past 2 to get to the byline and put a good cross in on his left, lovely dinked ball over the top for the striker with his right. Should've done better with his chance at the end, like, but he's shown he can score goals in that league. Seems like he was playing all across the front line at various points? His style makes it look like he's a lot older than 20.

I don't think we're going to see anymore through the door until the last week of the window.