ExiledGeordie

His through ball play to strikers on the counter is quality to be fair

?

Im sure I read that the price and wages were possibly a stumbling block for the Hungarian lad which makes an early purchase or one in general quite difficult I’ve seen some stuff on Facebook and Twitter with people going down the “no other player is good enough other than Szoboolai” or whatever he’s called similar to Paqueta last summer ?

Have a missed something, has there been some concrete new information?

His interaction with our current England players at the England camp seemed to hint towards him being keen really. I mean from a purely footballing decision it seems a no brainer for him if it’s a choice between us and Spurs. What I like about him is he’s pretty versatile and in games where we’re trying to break teams down at home (and there’ll be plenty of those) and need to switch formation eg 4231 he’s ideal for that.

I think if they think they can genuinely get him then he’ll be one of the star signings and a player they’d probably choose over someone like Maddison. That’s just a hunch and not based on anything.

Like the fat Man United fan from the South coast transfer news oracle “Crooky”. Aye right

Aye I heard that, probably as reliable as me making up a rumour though ?

Yes it may come down to some personal stuff, wife wanting to move to London or whatnot plus I agree Spurs will throw more money at him fee and wages wise because that’s the only way they’ll get him. To be fair if he goes to Spurs then it kind of simplifies things, he didn’t want to come to us anyway and maybe we aren’t that arsed. Footballing wise it seems a no brainer to come to us at the moment, in champions league, stalwart England players already here, on the up, immense home atmosphere. I think if we genuinely want him we’ll probably get him if he wants to come because Spurs are a damp squib currently.

He does seem like he’s our Isak type signing for midfield. Mind Maddison also seems tailor made for us and I doubt we get both. It’ll be interesting to see how this develops

Maddison makes perfect sense to me with his adaptability in a 433 or switching to 4231 in a game to break teams down. Mind it sounds like the Hungarian lad can play anywhere attacking other than number 9.

? Exactly. People need to chill, have faith, they’ve done pretty well so far haven’t they. Just think back to the windows under Ashley, that should brighten moods.

?? No. listen I’m definitely not ITK either. Just reporting likely bullshit I’d heard

Haha well this is probably complete bullshit too but my pub friends’ Northern Irish mate was in the boozer yesterday and he said he is friends with Barnes Dad and Howe has already spoken with him. Make of that what you will as I said ?‍♂️

Exactly this. Pre-season training specifically under Howe will increase his fitness, performance as well as understanding tactics further. This will be on top if being involved in the under 21 euros. He’ll be a totally different player for next season I reckon and more confident with all that too.

He’s a very solid back up, no reason to move him on.

If he makes a purely monetary decision then he’s probably not the player we want. We’ll give him a solid contract and the potential to play in the champions league in a massively unified side in front of a mental home atmosphere. If that’s not enough for him, move on to next target.

Maybe as 1 of a front 3 either side, maybe in a 4231 type attacking formation at home, who knows. I’m sure if Howe wants to sign him he’ll already have an idea where he could play or how he might be able to adapt his positional options.

I reckon there’ll be a couple of deals which will we’ll get done relatively quickly.

Once this weekend is out the way the rumour mills/genuine activity is going to go into proper overdrive ? Can clubs announce deals before June 14th transfer window, how does that work, I forget?

I would take a fair bit of what he says with a pinch of salt

However much we spend I think CL qualification removes some of the haggling for top players. As in some might’ve been waiting to see if we get top four (some might come irrespective as with Bruno, Botman etc). Europe league might’ve meant a bit more convincing for some players with options in front of them. CL qualification changes the dynamic too though in that we now HAVE to bring in quality and a fair bit of it. That doesn’t mean we’ll necessarily spend 200m but we’re going to have to shell out a fair old whack to be competitive on all fronts and maintain CL status next season in the league.

We need more ruthless finishers in the team and players who can open up defences at home, that’s where the heaviest outlay will be imo. The likes of Maddison, the Hungarian attacking midfielder and a Diaby type winger. We need more potency to go to places like Anfield or Old Trafford and win not to mention the champions league.

Kudus certainly fits the bill in terms of the age and potential as does K Thuram as an no6 signing. Our summer signings will blend this type of player with the likes of Maddison, Tierney I’d say. That’s a good mix of premier league ready with exciting potential to go with the players we’ve already signed who now have some premier league experience. We’ll be able to maximise our transfer kitty too.

Lascelles is out with a calf injury