Thumbheed

Good point, well made

I'm at the point where I dont think there's a single signing that could excite me.

Our strategy isn't fit for purpose. What is a fact is that there's an entire generation of world class players coming through every single year. We engaged Sesko, Pedro and Ekitike 2 years ago which is exactly what we still should be doing now. The idea that theres only a small pool of players who could improve us is nonsense and we're paying heavily for that single mindedness.

Ffs

If we sign Wissa, which seems likely then Isak goes, if we don't then Isak stays for a year, has a blinding World Cup and adds an extra £30m to his price tag.

They've known the price for fucking years now. If they've bidded lower then fuck em, add another £10m everytime they fuck us around.

Overall, this is a very good signing. Good keeper? Yes Good age? Yes Adds a quality we've been desperate for? Yes Good price? Yes Freedom to upgrade in the future? Yes This is about as risk free as it gets. Not sure what the fuss is about tbh.

I actually think £150m is a low figure tbh. Was surprised when that figure got bandied about. He's an absolute unicorn of a player who is proven at the very highest level in a position that is becoming increasingly sparse in quality. You pay double for being premier league proven, then you pay a premium on top of that for how rare a player they are. Isak is about as rare as it gets.

They identified those players knowing full well the big clubs would be after them as well. Ambitious? Yes. Realistic? No. Unrealistic? Also no. You can't go shopping in a Billionaires market with Millionaire money and come out the least bit surprised you didnt end up buying anything. The club released snippets about there not being much value abroad, and yet 3 weeks before the season is about to start it looks like that's where we'll be doing most of our business.

Any other club - £130m Liverpool- £160m If Liverpool aren't happy with that, then that's theirs and Isak's problem, not ours. There should always be a path back to the club and I'm certain Howe will be thinking the same, but should he not wish to tread it, then it's on Liverpool's head to make his wishes a reality. He can then blame them for not wanting him enough.

No ones excusing his behaviour or actions, but some are just a little empathetic with them. He's a £150m player - pay him £150m player wages. I'm not gonna excuse his actions but conversely I don't think punishing him to that extent is reasonable either - it's undermines everything Howe's built with the team. The guy will still be friends with alot of the players and the staff etc. The blame lies firmly with the club and Mitchell in particular, they're thr ones who need to be held to account.

Agree with what you're saying in the main, but - and this is the most frustrating aspect of all this - we knew prices would be inflated by 'richer' clubs because that pool of players is so small. It seems like common sense that we might have ti pay more to get them than a club with a proven rate of success.

Find it harsh punishing Isak for his conduct - the blame lays firmly with the club on this one but I see no reason with keeping him for a year and making the point we'll sell him on our terms.

When he said our recruitment structure/strategy "wasn't fit for purpose", is this what he meant?

Think I've just about come to terms with the fact the squad as a whole could and should be stronger with the money that it'd be without it. That's about the only positivity I can muster with this whole situation.

Like with Elanga, it's not the most inspiring transfer, but if the question is: would the player help us qualify for CL again next year? Then the answer is yes. In terms of secondary strikers out there, he's right the way up there, if not as the 1st or 2nd best one. Luckily, we have the best striker as well.

Then pay the money for Trafford?

Gutted we missed out in Pedro and will be gutted if we miss out on Ekitike, but if the net result is Isak stays and signs a contract then its a win overall, not to mention the profile of striker we're after is seemingly top tier so plenty to still be excited about, I'd say.

Would hate to jinx this, but my take is we're in a really strong position here and have played a bit of a blinder. We've forced Liverpool to show their hand, whilst not actually shutting the door to the sale, meaning Isak can't hold us to account for preventing a move he may or may not want. It's tied both Liverpools and Isak's (agent) hands here. This is why I think they are releasing info about being willing to pay 120 if we pick up the phone, I feel like theyre trying to publicly put us as the reason this isnt/wont progressing, when the reality is they wont spend the £150m

His opening gambit was Wissa and Watkins, which couldn't be further from the truth. He had no idea about Ekitike until news broke.

I'm still optimistic. Wages aside, how do you sell a move to a club that's clearly used you as a pawn to try and force through a move for their preferred target? Furthermore, there's history their with a club that's tracked you for numerous years, clearly rated you extremely highly and is signing you to play first team football alongside arguably thr best striker in the world.

Inclined to believe Ornstein on this one. Seems he edited his original tweet to include the fact we want to play him alongside Isak which makes me think his source is closer to the club.

I'd love Scalvini but I'm pretty certain this has been put out by the club to force Man Utd's hand.

Nailed it.