M1tche

Not having to rush players back is one of the best things about how we are as a club now. Would love to see him playing ASAP, but love going into games still feeling confident of a result when he needs extra time

Its an 8 for me, would have loved to get at least 1 more in at CM, but now for me when fit we have a potentially brilliant front 3 in ASM, Wilson and Isak, a very good middle 3 with Bruno, Big Jo +1, a solid back 4 as long as Trippier plays and a great shot stopper in Pope. They said slow build from the start and I think signings like Bruno (I know that was Jan) Botman and Isak are ahead of the curve I expected tbh. We're making taking time and making educated decisions rather than rolling the dice and I like it.

Scared the life out of me when he went down

I think 7th, as long as Bruno stays fit and we dont have a load of starters out injured all at the same time.

Im thinking the same, especailly with Bruno being next to him as well. With him knowing the role better, confidence being high and that partnership we'll definitely see a few more levels from him

Not sure about Ben Arfa, but he looks a very talented player and hit some big tackles in that as well. Looks abit stuck between a 10 role and the more attacking of a double pivot. Good mixture of skill, technique and loving a tackle

From the few small clips i've seen of him he looks to be releasing the ball more so far, loving some of his reverse passing. If that becomes a consistent trend he could really move to the next level, him dragging his full back out of position and then playing a reverse ball into the runner that's filled the gap would cause teams all kind of trouble.

Always hoped he'd turn it round and come good and am so glad he has. Especially in 1 of my favourite roles in a team, the way he plays is like an old school CM and I love it!!

Bruno , Joelinton and Paqueta would be a exceptional midfield 3. You wouldn't really need a DM that just sits and wins the ball because between the three they cover enough ground, win enough tackles and get enough interceptions for them tmo share the ball winning side of the game between them. All three are what I would call proper CMs that seem to be pretty comfortable doing every aspect of the game needed in midfield instead of beminig pigeon holed like alot of todays midfield players are.

If we do somehow end up signing Paqueta we should most definitely looking up and thinking about top 4-6, he'll improve us as much as if not even more than Bruno did in Jan. He's an excellent player and as much as we've talked about it, I always just thought he was out of reach in this window.

Im not sure what people are seeing in Dubs, but he heas never been the 1st player i'd want upgraded in the team. Apart from a few mistakes (in about 3 years) and looking shaky getting back up to speed after his injury he's been a very good keeper for us. Pope and him are a very similar level so it should be whoever grabs the spot over pre season starts the season and either way i'm not sure it'll make all that much difference to us.

He's got the mouth from a BN biscuit

I think a move should only be consdidered if the current stadium is somehow holding up our progression as a club, but I dont see how that would happen tbh. St James' is iconic and should be expanded where possible.

I wouldn't be looking to sell him even if we get an upgrade. He's currently our 2nd best wide man and still think he could do a job as a 10 if we go that way sometimes. Looked like he was starting to recapture the performance levels he had under Rafa and I dont think we've seen the best of yet

I dont hold wanting to go to Milan over us against him at all, It's a logically instant choice really. Bigger club, league champs, champions league football, Maldini, theres so mant factors that make the more appealing right now. It's not like he sadi he didnt want to join us, it's just Milan was his 1st choice, most players we sign atm will likely have a dream club to join that isnt us.

If he was up for it and had enough left for it he'd be a great impact sub for us for at least 1 season, if St Max starts looking tired or it's not his day then who better to bring on. If it becomes any more than that then happy days.

I've been trying to get this message across for a long time now, but hardly anyone whats to hear it because we got to a semi and a final. Losing 2 games when really we should have won at least one of them if not both.

As much as it is a worry 3 strains in a few months, i'd be more worries if he was a few years older or even shorter and no longer growing. Muscles are weird at that age and height especailly if he's had a growth spurt over the last few years and has now made the jump from playing youth football to the pro game. I know people who have had similar and have experienced myself that after a growth spurt you can pull things alot easier at that age and you muscle have changed and you need to be a little more careful and manage you muscle until that have fully settled to the new length.

As much as I was excited that it seemed we were looking for players that the club thought were better players. I was also quite disappointed that we were looking past him after how good he was since Jan.

That's the obvious choice, but someone who seems quite highly rated, supposedly with a few decent options aswell coming to sit on the bench probably isnt something he's looking after a breakthrough season. It's bloody exciting to be discussing these sort of options though.

I not doubting St Max's quality at all, I think he's class and hope he can also push onto the next a become a really top player. My point was in our current system having him, Ekitike and Paqueta 1 would have to ben on bench and they would rotate in and out as and when. We're not at the stage for that kind of luxury yet and could see any one of the 3 getting frustrated with the lack of game time.

Also looks to be abit of a give and go merchant, which I love in a player. Its old school, but can be so hard to stop,

If the rumours are ture and we're looking to sign Paqueta and Ekitike then i could see us looking to cash in on St Max this summer. Both those 2 look like they use the ball really well and also have that can beat a man x factor about them, where I think St Max is more exciting, but his ball usage is lacking at times and sometimes tries 1 trick too many. I'd love to have all 3, but i dont think we're at the stage of having players of that quality not playing week in week out unless we switch to a 4-2-3-1.

From abit of Dennis Wise scouting i'm really excited about this signing. His 1st touch, movement, use of his ball and knowledge of when to pass the ball seems to be class for someone so young. 1st half of 1 of the videos i watched I was frustrated when he didnt get a shot off a few times, but then the 2nd half he smashed a few in from distance, he seems to be one that likes to catch people out with the unexpected. Him left, St Max right (interchangable) and Wilson through the middle would be a pretty dangerous 3 by the looks of things.

I personally think DCL would be brilliant here. Yes he's had a bad season full of injury, but he's a monster physically and we've seen that once he gets his form he scores goals in the league. On par if not slightly better than Wilson for me