Nine

Shame as hes obvioulsy highly rated by Howe, on to the next.

Yeah, agreed. Thankfully the people in charge seem to be sticking to their guns on this approach.

Yeah I think it could be a double edged sword really, do it early and the seller will bump the price as theres still loads of time or do it late and the seller will bump the price as theres not much time. The longer Botman and Ekitike drag on IF we finally sign either of them I think it will just feel like relief to most fans rather than satisfaction, we'll see alot of wanting one more big one in. From the outside looking in it seems like it would make sense all round to just pay up a few million extra for Botman and get him early for the squads sake as well as the fans, get him integrated in the side early as possible.. just not sure the people in charge will see it that way.

To be fair the Spanish and French clubs will know the score already but it wont stop them trying their luck to squeeze a bit more of a fee out of us while its still so early in the window.

If he ever starts that many games then I fear for the goal posts

Yep, there was no way we were interested in this lad. Just doesnt match up with anything we've seen and heard about Howes philosophy at all.

Doubt it

Dont believe we actually wanted him at all, his character is the opposite of what Howe looks for

Dont forget he was at Inter until his incident cut that short, hes 30 and has a heart issue he'll thank Brentford for the chance and move back up to his rightful level for the money and a chance at winning trophies.

Tbf I hadnt watched a whole lot of him, had a look today and I see what you are saying.. I just hope there would be enough balance there with that combination of more forward thinking midfielders.

Putting this in this thread since it covers transfers. Everyone should watch this btw.

If the reports about stalling over moving here are true it makes you wonder why the dream they sold Bruno and Trips isn’t enough to convince this player or any other that’s at this sort of level, it obviously might be for personal reasons but I would love to know what’s actually being promised.

'Didnt want him anyway'

Its funny that all the hate that comes his way just helps him grow faster, lad knows what hes doing

We literally booked a medical in for a new signing today

No I understand that hes not a Ben Arfa type that we'd have to carry defensively but to be fair I didnt realise he was as much as of a work horse as you are saying here.

Woodman was on less than 5k p/w apparently, PNE highest earners are 20k+ so they likely paid a fee and are defo paying his entire wage.

That’s fair enough but that’s a stat that gets pretty inflated when teams play like we were the last 6 months of the season, Willock and Longstaff actually have higher numbers than Joe does per 90. Playing a 3 of Bruno, Longstaff and Willock wouldn’t exactly fill me confidence that we have enough overall in midfield to stay in it vs a high energy press that they would be up against a lot of the time in the PL, I guess all I’m saying is that I think it’s got to run a bit deeper than what those stats suggest on the surface of things. A 3 of Paqueta and Bruno ahead of a beast DM is dreamland stuff but also the most effective way to play them together imo.

I actually disagree with this. I don’t think that midfield 3 is industrious enough vs the better sides of the PL, it would probably work decently against the bottom 6-8 sides but would struggle against the rest. To play Bruno and Paqueta in the same midfield I think they need to both be the front 2 with a very good Fabinho type DM behind them, a lot of us have our heart set on Paqueta but for me I just can’t see how he fits into this side in his natural position if Bruno is to play as the DLP.

Rabiot is a non starter, horrendous record of bad attitude, huge ego and already on a big wage.

The DCL link doesnt add up for me, imo its more likely we are being used to flush out interest or hes after a new contract.

Absolutely no chance for us, hes currently on 300k pw and will have far more appealing (CL level) offers compared to the stage we are at right now. Great player though and would be a good fit for the club but realistically we are years away from this level of signing.

Did I hear him say something to the effect of 'If you go and watch them train you can see we have wasted alot of money' Wont be popular with the players

They’d really do best just avoiding engaging with anyone being negative at all, nothing good can come of it