Solitude20

Why does it feel like we signed Elanga ages ago? This transfer window’s dragging on like mad.

Feels out of character for Isak to go about it like this. Completely burned bridges, didn’t even inform Eddie he was heading to Spain, let alone ask for permission. Based on Gordon’s latest interview it sounds like he knew the club would never agree to the move if he just asked outright. Poor move from Isak and very unprofessional.

We signed Isak when he also was 22 and at that point he had 9 goals for Sweden and 45 in his club career. Sesko already has 16 international goals and 68 at club level. Yes, 29 of those club goals were in the Austrian league, but still worth pointing out.

He just scored an own goal.

And Isak’s groin gets magically healed once he leaves us.

Just had a look at his injury record. He hasn’t had a single injury in over 3 years. Only two injuries in his entire career, both around 30 days each. That’s already more reliable than Isak.

Would him and Isak work out in a 4-4-2?

There was a tweet last week claiming that Yasir would be handling the Isak situation personally. No idea how true that is, though.

I reckon our response probably put them off. They might have expected us to come back with a higher asking price or at least open negotiations. Instead, we may have just told them to get lost.

In the first few windows after the takeover, the squad lacked quality across the board. So any half-decent signing felt like a major upgrade and naturally got fans excited. But we’ve gradually moved past that stage. As Eddie Howe said last summer, we’re now at the point where every new signing has to be the right one. Because of PSR, we simply can’t afford to splash cash on players that may not succeed here like Man United or Chelsea and end up with big-money players sitting on the bench. We need to do proper due diligence and make sure any player we bring in fits perfectly. That’s why things feel a bit different now. Our option list is smaller now, and negotiations for those players will be tougher with more competition from the six cartel clubs.

PIF should tell Liverpool they will take Nunez off their hands for a ridiculous fee for the Saudi league, but only if they back off Isak.

Isak stays, and we get Wissa, Gallagher, and Ghehi. On top of already securing Elanga and Ramsdale, that would be a great window.

Looks like he will be our striker against Aston Villa.

So back to DCL I suppose?

You’ve got this backwards. Winning trophies and regularly qualifying for the Champions League is the ultimate goal. That’s the true measure of success for any football project. Improved training grounds and flashy signings in every window are just tools to help get there. Strange how some are ignoring the actual results and getting hung up on the means. We’ve got the right manager and the right players to achieve that, and they’ve all come as a result of this project. And just to be clear, I’m not defending this window. I think it’s been utterly embarrassing. I’m saying the project as a whole is ahead of schedule based on what we’ve achieved.

Eddie Howe is part of the project. He works miracles on the pitch but he’s also part of the reason we’re a bit slow when it comes to signing players. It’s the full package. Go back and read his press conference from last summer where he explained why things were moving slowly. I’m not blaming him at all, I hope he stays for years to come. But if we’re giving him credit for the success, we can’t ignore that his desire to have control over other areas also plays a role in how things operate

Exactly. I think the project is well ahead of schedule to be honest.

We can fix him.

Why would Sesko see all this and still choose to go there? If Hojlund starts performing and Sesko needs time to adapt to the Premier League, he could find himself warming the bench in no time

Start more of those, please.

Actually, we can. Manchester City are a perfect example. Their owners in Abu Dhabi are as distant as it gets, yet they’ve built the most successful English club of the past decade. The key is delegation, day-to-day decisions are made by their CEO and football execs, not by the owners or chairman. Seems to be working just fine.

Didn’t expect this summer to be so stressful.

never said he’d be left out. My point is, if he spends the season before the World Cup not giving his best, he won’t be in top form when the tournament comes around

It’s a world cup year. He has to play well to prepare for it. He isn’t the first player to be denied a transfer. There are many examples out there.

Another EPL target.