ponsaelius

Personally hate the obsession with CBs at full back. Calafiori has moved inside and flourished because of it. Moving him back out to fullback sucks.

Yes and also some of the reports have said Mitchell has been working informally with the club on targets for a little while anyway.

Could up it in a better team, like Jota. And he gets plenty assists. Cracking player IMO - but I think far too brittle to go near at the price they'd want.

I don't think we can justify the funds for Neto considering his injury record, as good as he is. If we were signing a player from Wolves I think I'd rather get Cunha as a versatile forward option.

Embolo under Eddie Howe? I genuinely reckon he'd be retired/dead within 18 months.

Yes this is exactly it. The two outward deals have clearly been lined up for ages - if Bruno's release clause wasn't activated. Anderson going to Forest seemed panicked because it didn't break until fake deadline day, but that's just because it wasn't in the public realm like this deal wasn't.

Was it though? I thought it might have been, but now I'm not sure given the wider picture. Certainly not to the extent that was made.

It's like everything has slid into play over a week or so. I think less than chaotic, it has been more cold and calculated. The fees we got for two young players will allow us to reinvest this summer. This is also a model that this new DOF will be entrusted to continue to deliver on - especially given it's exactly what Leipzig/Monaco/Southampton have done. It's one way we will be trying to bridge the FFP gap over next couple of years.

For all the talk about us being panicked and chaotic over the PSR deadline, we're suddenly starting to look quite slick again. I wonder if things have been overplayed.

Age and wages. Not having a go at you in particular but it's always surprising to me how many people are still struggling with the economic element of signings in the modern era. Paulinha might be at his peak now but in 4/5 years time at end of his contract he will be 32/33 so becomes an effective dead weight financially. Still worth it to a club like Bayern who have the money to burn and are looking for instant impact. Anderson will likely improve or at least be the same by year 4 of his contract, and will be only 25. Value either the same or more at that point. His wage package will be very reasonable for a PL player hence the high fee is more reasonable for a club to pay. The economics of the market is why we are able to find interest in our young players but almost none for those in their late 20s - even if they're good.

I'm not even now convinced that it was Bruno's side that pushed for the release clause. Given the timing of it before the PSR deadline, and our subsequent relatively panicked sales, I think we arranged it as a potential PSR solution that would be palatable from a PR perspective due to the clause.

Ah fuck sake

An Ilicic winner and I could die tomorrow happy I reckon

This is a terrible game but it's fantastic melodrama.

Not really my kind of player but I've thought he's looked canny.

Sesko was more than decent first couple of games IMO. It's hardly an easy task playing upfront in this side.

France are extremely solid to the point that you never really feel like they're threatened, but also prosaic in attack. Makes for very dull watching.

He's not the right signing for sure, IMO.

I'll have you know I have an almost full head of (greying) hair I am a cunt though

It's not just that your position in a team/ squad dynamic is much clearer in the summer - but on a personal level the logistics are totally different. In the summer it's a lot easier to make a big life decision like that. Kids can finish up school and move over summer holidays, you've got time to sort everything out logistically in terms of moving house etc. Moving in January means you're straight over there and into a matchday squad. And like I say - you're 6 months further into a contract so there's more incentive to secure the next big one.

I'd say it's quite different to move in the summer as opposed to in the middle of a season, tbh. Plus you're another 6 months into a contract.

Only 2 more years. He'll be sold within 12 months imo.

Considering our penchant for 'long termism' in the transfer market I could still see us signing Trafford and loaning him straight back out for a year, tbh. It was always slightly uncomfortable a signing given we have a first choice in Pope and no European football to share game time. However it's possibly more likey we've decided to kick the can down the road for a year and invest in other positions instead.