Nine

Parish will take our third offer if the threat of walking away from the deal is real and there are no other serious takers at that price, and if there were I think we would have heard about it by now This gets done by the end of the week imo

Hopefully we can do the same in the long term

There will be encouraging signs that it’ll get done, it’s not like we are chucking them lowball bids which suggests they can’t be to far apart on a valuation. Even if it does drag on, I think wasting time is a bit of an overstatement. The next target on the list is likely a fair step down from Guehi, and it’s our priority position.. understand we leave ourselves at risk if we gamble on getting it done late in the window but I don’t think that’ll be the case.

That could end up being a good long term upgrade on Zouma

Howe had said they have tracked him for 3+ years as well, they have looked alot deeper than last seasons stats alone as is expected under this management. The meticulous level we seem to be at in terms of scouting the right young players now is an absolute joy.

I’m not going to act like I have anything other than surface level knowledge of this kid, but management obviously see him as another potential gem that we have unearthed. I usually like these type of signings more than splashing massive money on bigger risks as if you get one wrong in these PSR days its likely to end up a huge setback, and although I wouldn’t expect him to get many significant minutes outside of a crisis this season Howe will have his chance to mould Osula into the player they feel he could become for a minimal fee.. great business again. Also, being an apparent physical beast will never go amiss in our system.

So harsh on Longstaff, people are quick to forget he started 30 something times in a side that finished 4th and made a cup final. He carried an injury for 2/3 months towards the end of last season in a team already massacred by fitness issues.. he has his limitations but is no where near as bad as some make out.

For those of us not around back then which young midfielder are you referring to?

It’s the most ridiculous link yet

He couldn’t fill the massive void that Minteh has left anyway, pass

To be fair he does seem like he could be a Chelsea signing on the surface, a devalued ‘name’ type signing. Think Joao Felix.

Rice was homegrown and gave them massive PSR room to play with, although yeah after this window you’d expect them to be cutting it close by now

Rice

That’ll stem the flow of anxiety on here

Yeah that’s fair, but styles fit systems and it was clear that although he functioned okay in terms of his overall output with us we didn’t necessarily get the best out of him goal wise.. imo he also struggled with the pressure and expectation here. I think Forest suit him a lot more than we did and that’s why they paid up, his goal return for them proves it. Fair play to them as most of us on here thought we robbed them at the time.

Just to make the point I’m not sure we conned Forest out of anything, Wood bagged 15 PL goals for them last season which kept them in the league and Anderson could well turn out to be a solid player at this level

Hes had one season in the Dutch league? How have you come to the conclusion he’d be better than both of them?

Mbeumo would be my pick of the bunch, he’s a near perfect fit for our RW spot in terms of how he would be able to contribute to the system overall as well as offering a genuine threat. Im not sure how realistic he’d be though, as I doubt Brentford let both him and Toney leave in the same window. I get the feeling we may end up with an out of the blue signing for this position, someone we have seen no link to yet.

There’s a whole lot of assumption going on in here at the moment We need a solid link, half of you lot will be crawling up the walls soon

Only they could manage to sign a Colombian called Ian

I think he needed a move to a side that has less emphasis on physical output than the top 7 or 8 sides in the league, could be a decent move for him in that regard.

Hes 19 and has started how many games there? Howe hasn’t felt like he’s ready to earn than spot yet, I think that’s fair.. he’s seen far more of this lad than we have. He did look good at the end of the last season but he was played there more of a needs must due to the injuries across the back line, he has some work to do on his defensive side of the game for me. We all want him to succeed and with time he likely will, let’s not try and force it though.

Kelly will be starting most of our games as LB this season imo, he has all the attributes that Howe likes in Burn there and more.

Don’t rule out Chelsea or a move outside the PL

There are teams who would be considered a step that he’d start for, it’s a case of who seriously wants him.