sushimonster85

I see Miguel is still angry the PIF didn't buy Man U a few years ago. 

20 minutes ago, TRon said:

 

I get the feeling Maddison would probably be Howe's preferred choice, he's a proven high class PL performer. But I think the club might be more tempted to go with Szoboszlai because he's about 4 years younger in age.

 

Maddison will be in his prime at 27 next season, Szoboszlai will be 23. Even if the Hungarian costs more in transfer fees, his value will probably increase if he does well.

 

 

Have to imagine Szoboszlai's wages will be lower as well. Maddison has already been on that PL money, so would likely want to be on the kind of money that would make him one of highest earners. 

He's obviously a big presence behind the scenes. Whenever I managed to get to games this past season I was always struck by how often he was 'warming up' all game, basically using it as a chance to bark instructions. Feel like he and Lascelles were both relied on by Howe and Tindall to get messages/coaching across to areas of the pitch they were too far away from. 

https://twitter.com/Scottwilsonecho/status/1664229936645779459

New Scott Wilson piece on Dom. Not much new it seems, just seems to reiterate that he has intimated he is leaving and Newcastle seem to be very interested. 

1 minute ago, SUPERTOON said:

Im the opposite, I think we get at least 2 of our main targets in by pre season and then others follow later on.

I actually don't think anything will happen, or at least be confirmed/finalised till after the new sponsorship deal is announced. 

5 minutes ago, Jinky said:

(They seldom feature unfounded gossip tbf)

I'd say it's more accurate to say they seldom feature gossip in general. Their track record on the rare occasions they have featured a transfer story can actually be pretty hit and miss. 

Not saying it will happen, but Barnes is very much a 'Howe' player. 

7 minutes ago, Matt1892 said:

 

We should be all over that for squad depth.

 

 

 

Apparently his wage demands are mental. I've heard talk he is after 200k p/w.

1 minute ago, Beth said:

How much is he on a week at the moment? About 120k?

Yeah, Trippier and Bruno are both on 120k as far as I know. The current high water mark for our wages.

I actually think two things will happen before any new players will come in

1. New front of shirt sponsor officially announced. Likely this week or next.

2. New contract for Bruno announced. Will make him our top earner and I think will put him in the 180k-200k p/w bracket. A new signing coming in and instantly being the highest earner would likely cause a little unrest among the lads. If Bruno is already established as the highest earner and someone comes in at 150k p/w I don't think its as big of an issue. Hard for anyone to argue Bruno isn't our most important player and most valuable asset. 

FFP is the deciding factor, but even the most cautious/pessimistic journos (Edwards, Hope etc) have come out and said they're hearing at least 100m, likely closer to 150m. Which feels about right given we were supposedly pushing our FFP limit, but then got CL and a vastly increased sponsorship deal. I do think this will be the last 'big' window for a couple years. Think at the end of the Summer they will be hoping to have a squad that can consistently challenge for top 4. Once we've spent a few seasons in Europe/brought in more sponsor deals/new kit manufacturer etc I can then see them going again to get the squad into a position where it can push for the league. 

13 minutes ago, Yorkie said:

I'd hate to help Chelsea out but based on what I've seen I think Gallagher would be a good fit for our midfield and general playing style. His high workrate, combative nature and general defensive contributions would make him a good foil for Longstaff in-particular. I'm not sure how unique those attributes are though and if he's costing the same amount as Bruno, you'd think we could find an alternative who is more reasonably priced. 

I think Bruno's price tag was such an anomaly that it can be a little unfair taking it into account when discussing players. Bruno's value pretty much doubled after his first few starts, and now he is already in the £100m+ bracket. 

Granted it's not a 'blow your socks of signing' but Gallagher would be good addition to the side. Assuming Eddie can get the best out of him, which he has a track record of doing, I think he could be real force. People seem to forget just how good he was in that loan spell at Palace. It's been rough going for him at Chelsea, but it's hard to really know what to make of that given how much of a basket case that club is. 

Just now, Kanji said:

Spurs even have a manager? 

Manager? They don't even have a DoF at the moment!

Felix would destroy our wage structure. If we're going to do that it's not going to be on a player who doesn't fit our system.

5 minutes ago, The College Dropout said:

I expect us to have European competition next calendar year. Unless the draw is very unkind, finishing bottom of the group would be a failure imo.

Aye, you look at most of teams in pot 3, and even some in pot 2, and I find it highly unlikely we will be in a group where we are the weakest side. I imagine we're the side in pot 4 everyone will want to avoid.

40 minutes ago, mighty__mag said:

If I'm Leicester I'd be trying to get Lascelles and/or Dubravka as a player plus cash deal, the experience Lascelles has at championship level, they'd do well to enquire about a couple of ours to support their title challenge, add Anderson on loan to that.

 

Could easily swing Maddison coming here.

 

Lascelles aye. Dubravka may not be a top 6 keeper, but he should be no where near the Championship. If Pickford does go as expected I can see Everton coming in for Dubravka. 

Don't seem to be able to afford wheelie bins anymore. Worrying. 

24 minutes ago, LV said:

This thread has currently got the feel of a fever dream

Aye, we need a signing in to settle everyone down. Or even just one of the more trusted journo's putting a name out there. 

42 minutes ago, SteV said:

Doubt Dummett goes anywhere. Ever.

Yep, Dummett is never leaving, at least not till our academy can be relied on to start regularly producing players good enough to get into the PL/European squad. 

Aye, can't see anything major happening till after all the European finals and internationals are out the way.

Player of the Season: Trippier. 

Most Improved Player of the Season: So many here. Over the course of the whole season probably Willock who, if he hadn't have gotten injured, would surely be in the England squad.

Most Disappointing Player: Feels harsh on anyone. Maybe ASM. Started so brightly this season (City and Wolves away) only to be derailed by injury. 

Signing of the Season: Isak. Missed a huge amount, but that insane run of form he had from Wolves at home onwards has turned out to be huge in getting us over the line for CL. 

Goal of the Season: Almiron v Fulham

Assist of the season: Willock to Isak v Spurs

Game of the Season: Toon 6 - 1 Spurs

Moment of the Season: First 20 minutes of the Spurs home game. Lucky enough for this to be have been one of the games I got a ticket for. Never experienced anything like those first 20 mins. 

Manager rating out of 10:  Has to be a 10. I know we have made signings, but I think we all expected/would have accepted upper mid-table, maybe 7th at best, at the start of the season. CL is an insane achievement for Howe and staff. 

Season rating out of 10: 9. If we had won the cup and finished 3rd (where we deserved to) then it would be an easy 10.

7 minutes ago, AyeDubbleYoo said:

Surely we can compete with the “big six” now? I don’t even know who they are now. 

Premier League is now the 'big 1' and then a group of 7 or so who will jostle for position and will likely interchange the other top 4 spots depending on who either has no European competition, or doesn't care about the one they're in.

Are people still talking about this? Thought it had been pretty much confirmed to be a wind up by a mackem?

Fuck me, lads! We did it! Shout out to Jennifer Aniston who, let's be honest, got us through these last couple of match threads.