Hughesy

Is Samaris any good? Not seen him play.

I don't have a list of names for you - although I could give it a try later on - but with the money in the PL, Rafa's name etc, I thought we'd be setting our sights a bit higher than Tom Lawrence and Tammy Abraham on loan.

Something a bit weird about the 'lawyer' - not listed on the law society website (that I can see) so can't have a current licence to practise. Not that that makes a huge amount of difference but makes you wonder what his actual role is.

Still waiting to be excited by transfer links - think Gray would be a good signing, but have to confess that I thought we might be linked to players with a slightly higher reputation.

When you see the price for a PL player (and being a PL player is in no way at all any guarantee of success in any event), buying abroad is entirely logical. No problems at all with this approach. Seems to be this slightly odd view that we must buy PL players and I don't really get it. 17m for Maguire after 1 season? Delphi for 15m after not playing for a couple of seasons? 15m for Rodriguez after 2 serious injuries? Absolutely ridiculous to go near those

I'd always got the impression that Aboubakar was pretty highly rated when younger but hadn't quite hit the heights expected at Porto. Could be wrong though.

Gonalons would be a pretty good signing at that price - although a decent article as to why he might be available here - https://www.getfootballnewsfrance.com/2017/feature-maxime-gonalons-an-unhappy-decline/

It definitely was an odd statement to make.

£20m on Cairney would be ridiculous. He's 26 and hasn't proved himself to be anything more than a good/very good Championship midfielder.

Be interested to see how good Tierney is - would be a decent option at left back.

Probably would have kept him - versatile, decent on the ball, good enough back up in the PL. In today's market, will cost a fair bit to replace.

Such a good player on his day. Just immense at times.

Absolutely tragic. Just shocked by this.

Was looking through the best left backs around - would Ricardo Rodriguez ever be an option or is he firmly in the unrealistic category? Surprised he hasn't left Wolfsburg yet.

Think Gibbs is fine, but I think we could get better for £15 million to be honest. Or the similar level player for a fair bit less.

Think he'll be a great signing - just the kind of striker we need. Quick, strong and mobile with an eye for goal.

Would definitely take Abraham. Would love it to be with an option to buy, but unlikely Chelsea will give us that.

He seems to be have been linked to pretty much every PL team for the last 3 years. Can't say I've seen much of him - is the fact no-one has bought him yet relevant in any way?

Streaky? He scored in 22 games this season. Harry Kane scored in 20. His record against top 6 clubs isn't too good apparently. If you're Chelsea you have to consider that. Very few strikers do have a good record against the top 6 - http://www.football365.com/news/the-nonsense-of-the-flat-track-bully-criticism Pertinent section (correct as of mid-April): The fact that every elite striker in the Premier League this season has endured such criticism at one time or another is enough to deem the accusation itself as nonsense, but let’s prove it so anyway. Judging the six top-scoring strikers in the country on the number of non-penalty goals scored in starts against the top six produces the following results (non-penalty goals is the only fair way of comparing penalty takers against non-penalty takers: Lukaku – 3 non-penalty goals in 9 starts Ibrahimovic – 2 in 5 Aguero – 2 in 6 Costa – 2 in 8 Defoe – 1 in 9 Kane – 0 in 7

Would have kept Anita - going to cost a fair amount of money to get in a player to replace him when we've got far more important issues to resolve. As others have said, hopefully it means Rafa has a lot of money to spend.

Gary scored 1 against Liverpool, 1 against Middlesbrough, 3 against Sunderland, 1 against Arsenal, 2 vs Swansea, 1 vs Palace. Of which 2 were penalties. Deeney scored 1 vs West Ham, Man Utd, Bournemouth, Palace, Bournemouth again, Arsenal, Burnley, West Ham, Southampton and West Brom. Of which 3 were penalties. Having said that - even Kane and Lukaku scored most of their goals against teams outside the top 6.

Had previously thought that Gray might be a decent option, but reading some of the Burnley fans' comments (http://www.uptheclarets.com/messageboard/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=13578) hardly fills me with confidence. 9 goals (3 against Sunderland) this season - exactly the same number as Mitrovic in 15/16 and Gray played more minutes. Like the idea of having a quick, mobile striker, but Burnley fans seem to think he has a pretty awful first touch. Can't say I'm delighted by the prospect of Deeney either. Would hope we could set our sights a bit higher than him.

Fully agree - would much rather see him go elsewhere for a year and see if he can get his confidence back before we get rid permanently.

Nolito supposedly on his way back to Spain for 3.4 million. Assume his wages would be pretty hefty but he'd be a decent addition at that price.

It always seemed to me as if Bailey did have a bit of a route into the Ashley camp, but could be wrong.