Abacus

Agree with this. I was excited by having a ball playing keeper, but not for £40m. In a year or so there must be others coming through. So fine he can pass to Man City's sideways team all he likes, it wouldn't have the same impact on them. We've just got to get used to our targets being looked at by others and also us not budging when it gets too much. But on a different note, funny how this hasn't moved for a while, and then suddenly there's interest from elsewhere when Burnley probably need to make a few moves.

Who knows? Doesn't necessarily mean that. You could guess they wouldn't want their hands tied by big long term decisions made before they arrived, though that doesn't make that complete guess correct. It's also not to say the spade work isn't already done or that the owners haven't already decided which way to go and are just sorting things in the background re stadium etc and that announcements might drop any time regardless. Not worth worrying about now since a stadium move / expansion is likely years away. Personal take is that I'd want a new CEO to come in to both share and then to own a vision for the club, since ultimately they are PIF's custodian for their asset. We've kind of lacked that since Staveley left as she seemed better at making decisions, whether you agree with those decisions or not, and with engagement in general.

Hopefully the current exec have any new deals lined up ready for the new CEO to sign off on, should they agree. Either way, not sure it makes much sense to announce any new deals, if there were to be any, while the transfer window is in full swing.

There's been a change of plan; they're staying in the St Enoch hotel.

We need new transfer tactics in that case.

Entertaining, though. Italy next, right?

Get in! That was mint!

Scalvini is a player I'd love to get. Yes it's on the back of major injury so there's that concern, but he's a huge prospect and isn't that pretty much how we landed Livramento?

It's all so we can flush out Man City's interest in Livramento and then tell them no so they have to buy Savona instead in a game of treble bluff, or something.

I'd have left a second bid on the table, then gone on to other targets elsewhere in the team. Maybe we are. Point being, if Liverpool don't get him and Ekitickle is left on the shelf towards the end of the window, unless they genuinely want him Liverpool will have already moved on and Frankfurt's bargaining power dropped massively, especially if they've bought his replacement.

I think they are blocked and still waiting on the two WhatsApp ticks to come through.

What was the first official answer? No.

They've been taking ransom lessons from Dr Evil.

Or Isak on his own for £200m, come to that?

Aye, let's push Liverpool and their agents all the way with this. Worst case, they have to pay more for someone they're pretending not to be interested in. And with Isak, we still hold all the cards either way, for now.

Even if we got £100m headroom this year, we probably couldn't replace him with 4 or so players, because the intent is to shift to squad costs at some point, as already is the case with UEFA.

What I meant was, you don't sell Isak and gamble on getting a replacement in the same window as well as Ekitike. You get Ekitike first rather than bringing in two new strikers. Probably didn't phrase that right, we do need two strikers who could be first choice and Isak is not one I'd lose. Well, given the choice.

Which is why that move would make no sense to me. Another striker when they are the most risky things to get right and we already have one of the best in the business?

IF (big if) Hope is close to being right there about the contract, then that's so stupid and I'll be delighted Mitchell is gone. Looking forward to seeing who both him Eales are replaced with. Just employ all the Howes instead, I say.

He was quite happy to go to Frankfurt after PSG and he obviously now wants the premier league, plus the manager has wanted him for a while and will have a clear plan for him. Hopefully he's learnt from PSG that he needs that for his career. Yes, if other teams come in for him it would be annoying but we don't automatically step aside. We're a champions league and cup winning side and this should be a statement of intent to him and the rest of the squad if we pull it off. Regardless, so excited about the ambition we seem to be showing here and so should the squad be.

Agree. The idea usually is that a SD sets the vision for the club but they rarely seem to stay around that long. They are also kind of unaccountable because they aren't directly responsible for what happens on the pitch. What you need is someone with a vision for the club who is directly accountable. I feel we have that already and it's not like we're going backwards

Correct. But it's also a valid response even then. He's maybe one we'd move on, much as I like him when he's fit and on form.

Let's get this done, Scalvini and Trafford too, and then win the bloody league. Who's leaving then?

Delighted with this, I think he'll be superb

I hear Chelsea are interested.