sushimonster85

Yeah, but the striker is Haaland from the most recent FM game and he is basically a cheat code anyway.

He will likely not be involved in direct negotiations, but there won't be anything in his contract saying we can't sign players from Brighton or vise versa.

Yeah, think this is a negotiating position for Milan as much as anything now that Botman has tipped his hand that they're his preferred destination. And if anything it only seems to have woken up Spurs and Man U to the situation. You have to imagine (that for this window at least) they'd both be ahead of us in his thinking. Especially Spurs.

I still think these early couple seasons will see Ekitike get more time out wide, and that we will be looking to sign an out and out upper table level striker this summer.

Agreed, although there is a case to be made for him not needing to be great going forward when he is on the same side as ASM. Far more important to be solid defensively, which he absolutely is.

Got a DHgate special for last season

Not only do they still have him, they still all remained absolutely convinced he is the greatest manager in the history of football, despite scant evidence to show he is more than just a guy who did well in a 2 team league and has just lost the guy who does all his tactical work for him.

Just pre-ordered. First (non-dodgy) Newcastle kit I have bought in years. Want to say the last official one I have has Virgin Money on it. Regardless of the sponsor, figure this will be a top that carries good memories.

We also still have Jamaal Lewis, who (if he can stay fit and have a good pre-season) I remain convinced is someone Howe can improve drastically. He already looked better in the couple of games he played before getting injured.

Yeah, the man is a bit of a workaholic.

Great signing. Obviously heads get turned with the mention of the likes of Lodi, but Targett is solid, and has a huge amount of PL experience. Was always going to cause issues trying to play and ultra high, attacking full back on the same side of the pitch as ASM.

Looks good. It's not hard to do a nice Newcastle top, despite Puma's best efforts over the years.

Can we not all lose our shit when it's Fun88. In the grand scheme of things it really isn't the end of the world

Don't get me wrong, I think Diaby is special, but we can get Sarr for likely around 25m and spread the budget elsewhere.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think we will win the Nunez race, but I don't think its that outlandish that we're in the race. I think the owners (PIF specifically) have already shown with Bruno that, whilst there may be a set conservative budget, they will spend big if the right player becomes available.

Tend to agree with this. I love BDB, but Schar is the better all round defender. Burn is ideal backup if we can get someone like Botman in. Means we can make a sub at CB and not worry about what a Lascelles may do on the ball. Also ideal to bring on/play if you need a bit more aerial dominance.

I think Pep has always had something of a blind spot for players he trusts implicitly. Don't get me wrong, Fernandinho has been amazing for City over the years, but he has played in games out of position when he has had no right to at times this season.

Think that was similar to Coutinho pre-Jan. People putting 2 + 2 and making 19. Never seen one of the more trusted sources (Caulkin, Hope, Waugh etc) actually link us.

Think it's a little much, likely because it's us. Imagine they'd let him go to a European side for 30-35m.

Yeah, if someone had swooped in we would've heard about it. It will just be the international tournament. The kid does seem to have his head screwed on right. He turned down a massive pay increase in Jan to see the season out at Reims, knowing he would likely play more. That being said, not ruling out someone (more likely Dortmund) coming in for him between now and next week.

This is one of those transfers I've largely stopped following. Every day its something different. He is either leaning towards Milan, or Newcastle officials are confident. I will check back in when he actually signs with someone! Also, didn't clock on just how stacked the Dutch are at CB.

Damn shame about Diaby, if true. But spending £60m on one player always seemed outlandish this Summer. We just aren't there yet, need several £30m (ish) type players, rather than 1/2 £60m+ players.

Anyone got the text of Luke's latest?

Alvaro Morata is one of those players that's been moved about so much on both permanents and loans that I'm not sure even he knows who he actually belongs to. He is basically the Office Space Milton of elite European football.

Wonder if this is the Fabian Ruiz links getting some proper legs.