Sean

If Howe, Ashworth et al still want Ekitike then so do I. Pretty sure they know a lot more about his quality, character and receptiveness to joining than any of us guessing. It's nice to have trust in those making the big decisions, for the first time in god knows how long.

Really excited about this signing. Really excited for the future of the club. (on a side note I'm really happy not to hate the club and to wish nothing but bad upon us as I did only a year ago too) Now I'm confident Paqueta and Diaby are in the clubs sights, along with a striker hopefully of similar quality. Whether we get them is a different matter but I have faith in the calibre of player we are trying, and managing in some cases, to attract.

I mean, I think it's more than obvious he's joking ffs.

What's with the policing of any over-optimism on here? Stranger things have happened than us being close to top 4 this season (not saying it's gonna happen so no need to jump down my throat) - Pardew getting us 5th for one

Looks like his dad dressed him and his son (if that's his son) the way you dress little kids in matching outfits

This is the internet..people need someone to abuse.

Whoever said he was gonna rival Sissoko for the most unhappy face looks to be correct going by that video Still think it'll prove to be a great signing though

Wasn't expecting to see this thread title. Good news. Has everyone saying they didn't want him as he's too slow or not suited to the PL started backtracking yet?

Just seen this news, it seems a bit of a waste to spend so long trying to sign him to not get a deal done now. I get not being ripped off by agents, however this is the same for all clubs, and most manage to get big deals done (as this is how football works nowadays, like it or not) or don't take six months to realise they are being played. I still think it'll get done tbh. It's not a positive if we have to go further down Howe's wishlist, however it might try to be spun.

Nice to see him practicing passing the ball in preparation for next season

Decent signing. We're back to being a normal PL club with 2 decent keepers again. I do have a feeling he will become the No 1, but would expect he's been given no guarantees about this. We want players who back themselves amid competition for every starting place. I'm not going to lie, I can't wait for us to actually make a more exciting signing though.

Dubs needs competition. I think a lot of us would rather a clear upgrade, or a younger keeper with room to improve. Not against this signing, but I just wish we could swap Wood for him rather than spend £10 million. Would be a win win

Without moaning, I really would have expected us to have made 1 or 2 signings on top of Targett by now. Hopefully whoever we do eventually sign will be well worth the wait though. I suppose we do still have 10 days or so until preseason training even begins.

Some were saying the same about Nunez. Until Liverpool bought him that is

Irrelevant to my post really.

Didn't someone accidentally tell a reporter that inside the camp the goal is to qualify for Europe this season? Or have I just made that up. We should try to take as big a stride forward as we possibly can. That's what ambitious clubs do.

It seems with the calibre of players we are looking to bring in, and us being at the very start of our project, the players aren't exactly desperate to be here. Can't really blame them, but it's a bit disappointing.

It does seem like painfully slow progress if we still haven't agreed a deal with Lille, as this seems to have been the situation for the last few weeks at least. Not to mention this actually goes back to January. A lot of time to find out what they would accept. IF they do keep moving the goalposts, it might be time to call their bluff.

Can't wait for us to sign an exciting player or 2 with a high ceiling (Botman/Ekitike/Paqueta or similar) I'll admit I actively tried to avoid watching Burnley last season (and every other season tbf) as they were grim to watch, so I'll defer to Howe's judgement on squad players I know little about. Although I'd still like to think we can do better than take half of their relegated team.

No idea how this can be allowed. Oh yeah, the "big 6" run the league so of course it is.

Might be Giggs but Saudi are taking anything rainbow-coloured off the shelves for "contradicting the Islamic faith and public morals and promoting homosexual colours targeting the younger generation" The rainbow laces thing seems a bit hollow in this context tbf. It will be a long time for them to change by the looks of things

We have 2 weeks until pre-season starts, is this correct? Seems a tad ambitious to expect our priority positions filled going by our movement so far if this is the case. As long as we get the right quality and characters (and numbers) in, we may have no choice but to accept waiting a bit longer, even though it's not ideal.

Whether you want him sacked or not (I really don't give a fuck either way as I don't care), it's undeniable he had easy runs to the SF/Final, which seems to be the main defence of him. I don't think there would be a rush of top clubs approaching him at all.

Hahaha, just gets funnier and funnier