kingxlnc

Tbh Cornet and Dennis are both really good value at less than 20m each - given that next season is the 5 sub rule, may be wise to get rid of Murphy and Dummett and others and get cover like this in. One to cover ASM on left, one to cover Diaby on the right lol Dennis is actually a decent Ekitike alternative in that he can play RW and CF and has pace and is rangy. Don't think either would expect to start all the time but would be happy to provide competition for an increasingly talented squad. 20M today shockingly is only like the equivalent of the 5-7m transfer of the 2000's. Like Scott Parker or Emre level we bought at the time.

I hope they stay up, to be honest. It's been nice having Leeds back. Their manager is pretty decent too so I think they may surprise a few teams. Think Brentford might have second-season syndrome, Bournemouth look poor, Southampton haven't strengthened enough yet for me.

Trippier genuinely is top tier. Botman is like the equivalent of getting a Woodgate, such is his potential - Woodgate also didn't play for England much but was highly rated everywhere to the extent Real Madrid came calling. But you're right noone had heard of him a year ago, he wasn't even a FM wonderkid that everyone is normally aware of.

He hasn't gone anywhere yet. Chelsea and PSG are the strongest linked. But imagine if he was an option - between him and Diaby I'd go for Dembele all day. He'd not come to us though or would demand silly wages. But think about the 45M+ saving in saved transfer fee on Diaby and surely that could contribute to the increased wages for Dembele?

I read this elsewhere but if we missed out on Diaby and got someone like Pepe on loan (or buy for up to £20m) (from Arsenal) would that be terrible? Pepe has lost his way there, and is low on confidence but they paid £70M for him and he was hugely prolific there. Can't help but think someone like Howe could revive him. He can also take a decent free kick.

Man City look fearsome especially with Haaland replacing Jesus and Phillips replacing Fernandinho, with Grealish already Sterling's replacement. Liverpool are now without Mane who was first choice and integral to how they play, Diaz is his replacement but perhaps not as prolific. Nunez replaces Firmino and Jota. Salah is staying so they will be thereabouts but are prone to a risky transition season, especially as last year they almost peaked at aiming for the quadruple. Chelsea seem disjointed, will be a transitory season. Ditto Man U. Spurs under Conte will be challenging due to their attack which will be in its peak in terms of age plus the defensive solidity he brings to teams. All depends on his temperament. Arsenals youngsters will be a year older and more experienced. The Partey thing has potential to derail them and they still seem light on depth. If Jesus is injured there's only Nketiah. West Ham punched above their weight last two seasons, with only Antonio up front. Without addressing that I see them finishing much lower. Newcastle without any further changes i see them perhaps top ten, given the team still lacks goals (and last season's siege mentality will not be quite as intense). A Broja or back up striker will move them to 9th. A Diaby will get them to 8th. And a Pacqueta on top of that will get them top 7 and maybe even push 6th, barring injuries.

Yes totally Diaby and Pacqueta or even Sarr/Danjuma a instead of Diaby would allow you to even get away with only Wilson and Wood up front. If you needed cover up front, ASM or Pacqueta or even Joelinton could play false 9 if we only had money to buy one 40m plus target I’d go Pacqueta as I believe you could get a lesser Diaby such as Sarr for 25m or so. But to get a Pacqueta lite is pointless and can’t even think who would fit the bill in the same way.

If we were to play 4-2-3-1, couldn't he be the 1 in the middle of the 3, alongside ASM and Diaby? Joe and Bruno behind him, one breaking up play, the other progressing and passing through the middle.

Watching that video... oh man, I was happy to wait until Jan or next summer but now I want him in the starting XI immediately, him and Bruno's understanding would dominate and carve through teams!

Haha I'm from Nottingham so had to defend my local team!

I agree totally, these two plus a loan striker would be a perfect window. Next summer can be spent on a big CF.

Forest had a team with their key players all loanees, Spence, Garner, Davis, Lowe and Zinckernagel. Any team would miss their spine being ripped from them so they have to replace, the team is extremely weak otherwise. I’ve been quite impressed with the standard of olayer they’ve been trying for, Henderson, Williams, Richard’s, the striker from Germany etc. Gives them a fighting chance at least, and they are also buying young players that can grow with the team and not be too expensive wages wise. I think Bournemouth might be in trouble personally.

Almiron is actually decent, he transformed Rafa's workmanlike team in an instant to become a fast paced counter attacking team with flair. Some of his link up play with Bruno last season was very good too, they were on the same wavelength. Think he is hugely underestimated here - he just hasn't found a position, unsurprising given Bruce. This season he could have a similar redemption arc to Joelinton, if given half a chance.

It's unlikely we'll sign all three. But if we did this is what a first XI would look like. Pope (Eng international) Trippier (Eng int) Schar (Swiss int) Botman (one of Europes best young prospects) Targett (solid 7/10, even NI int Lewis could become first choice with work) Guimares, Joelinton, Pacqueta (trio of Brazillians, one int starter, one regular and one is our player of the year) Diaby and ASM (French wingers, both hugely fast, tricky and talented with best outputs of their career last season) Osimhen (1 in 2 fearsome striker). As backup Dubravka Krafth (Swe int, much improved), Lascelles (captain), Burn (solid performer), Targett/Lewis Shelvey, Longstaff, Willock (decent English players who would be excellent backups to the Brazillians) Fraser, Almiron (Sco and Par int) Wilson (top scorer) It's a very strong squad all round if it got to that stage and I believe it would certainly give the likes of Arsenal, West Ham, Leicester, Villa and even Man U a challenge for top 6. That first XI would probably be our strongest in the PL era. We may even top it up then with youngsters like Anderson, Sucic and the like to keep competition solid without taking up squad places. It shows we are potentially 3 first team players away from an extremely formidable team. P.S with Almiron, we're living in a time where Gordon is worth 35m, Almiron who has achieved more is certainly worth 20m. Can see Atletico Madrid or someone paying that for sure.

I think for Murphy, Almiron, Shelvey and Manquillo you could probably get there or thereabouts. The rest probably would be free transfers or on loan until the contracts run out. Almiron in particular is probably worth 20m in todays climate.

Osimhen would be the best signing we could make in terms of statement and to make the world take notice. Diaby is probably the biggest need in terms of current gaps in the team. Pacqueta is the perhaps least needed but most transformational on the pitch. All three between now and end of January would be insane and would make us top 6, easy. But that’s an additional 150m worth of players easy. Who would/could you sell to make up the shortfall? Murphy, Almiron, Shelvey, Hendricks, Gayle, Clark, Fernandez, Murphy, Ritchie, Manquillo. You might get 30-40m for that lot. That’s ten players out. Too much activity for two windows perhaps but is what I’d love to see by end of January.

This whole Gordon thing is worryingly like Andy Carroll who was also coming off the back of one good half season. We all know how that ended up. We don’t know if Gordon is professional enough etc to maximise his potential so it all seems a bit too much too soon. With Ekitike you could make a case for to beat off the competition and also because he plays for a tiny club in France who he is not necessarily loyal to so is bound to move elsewhere. Whereas with Gordon he already plays for the club he loves, is going to be overpriced English tax, plus not enough data beyond a good half season. I know Howe likes his Brits, if so I’d rather he sign Hudson Odoi as we’ve seen more from him over the years. Sarr seems an obvious alternative to Diaby though, not sure why we’re not all over that.

Looking at it logically, Man City, Liverpool are top 2. I think Spurs under Conte are going to challenge, he is formidable. Chelsea I'm unsure about under new owners but I rate Tuchel highly plus a strong base set of players. Man U will have a better season, plus Sancho and VDB are like new signings Top 6 could be doable, Arsenal are an unknown entity as of yet, they still seem too soft. So could definitely challenge for top 6 for sure.

Our team next season if all goes well this summer First choice, second choice GK - Pope, Dubravka RB - Trippier, Krafth, Manq CB - Schar, Lascelles CB - Botman, Burn LB - Targett, Lewis, Dummett CM - Bruno, Shelvey CM - Joelinton, Longstaff, Sucic AM - Pacqueta, Willock RW - Diaby, Fraser, Anderson LW - ASM, Almiron ST - Wilson, Wood, Zirkzee/Broja I actually think it's quite realistic - I do think there will be a big CM signing towards the end of the window, a Pacqueta or Haidara, depending on where they plan to play Bruno. The good thing is that a lot of the attackers are interchangable, Joelinton can play LW, Almiron AM, Diaby/ASM can switch, etc. For me, this is a top 7-8 side, better than West Ham, Villa and Leicester on paper.

If we get Diaby, I think the midfielder might be Sucic the 19 year old who won’t have to be registered, and perhaps Broja who is 20. Perhaps looking at those under 21 for the reason of registrations alone due to the overbloated squad. If we get CHO or Sarr or someone lesser for right wing, then we may go all out for a bigger name upfront (Isak, Osimhen) or in CM (Pacqueta, Tielemans) instead

I'd like to see signings this summer in these positions. In terms of order: RW: Diaby, Raphina, Zaniolo, Sarr, McNeil ST: Osimhen, Isak, Calvert-Lewin, Ekitike, Cornet CB: Badashille, NDicka, Botman, Demiril CAM: Paqueta, Eriksen, Fekir DM: Haidara, Sangare, Fofana, Zinchenko GK: Oblak, Pope, Areola, Kepa, Henderson Getting even 1 of the first-choice ones would be amazing and would constitute a successful summer, 2 would be a game-changer.

Give a deadline of say, 21 June - if not, sign Badashille or NDicka - options 2 and 3 in January.

Yeah it’s quite bad that Keegan and Shearer aside, there’s no one associated with the club primarily could be considered for such a role. You have native countrymen, eg for a young Peruvian Solano would have a word, Asprilla for a Colombian, Coloccini or Jonas for an Argentinian, Ba or Cisse for Senegal but there’s no one on that world class level that I can think of that is NUFC through and through that would genuinely represent prospects in the same way as Maldini does for Milan. Means that Shearer absolutely should be approached for the next few years at least, side by side with his media role.

Would anyone swap him with Fred at Man U? If no, then he is good enough

This is a very good point, same in the 90's, we had a plethora of top quality strikers whereas today we have Kane, then there's a big drop off to Abraham, Wilson, Calvert-Lewin, and then another big drop off to the best of the rest - who I can't even think of. Compare that to Shearer, Fowler, Collymore, Cole, Sutton, Ferdinand, Wright, Sheringham, Le Tissier.