Keegans Export

Pope Trippier Botman Schar/Burn Targett Bruno Shelvey Joelinton Isak Wilson ASM Assuming that's our current first-choice XI, there are 6-7 out of the 11 there who didn't play for us eight months ago. Don't get me wrong, I'd love another CM/RW but it's hard not to be impressed with our business in January and the summer. Plus, this time in January I was fairly sure not bringing in Lingard could be the difference between going down and staying up so clearly I know absolutely fuck all about anything.

I'm going to confidently go with "not"

How does it work with work permits & the transfer deadline? Presumably as long as the contracts are all agreed and the PL/FA have all the relevant paperwork the work permit can just come later?

I reckon he would have been on the bench anyway tbf Good option to have though. If it's still close with half an hour to go...

I don't know much about him as a player but his lass is a very hot (female) professional footballer

I think the difference with Tielemans is that he's less than a year away from being a free agent and those deals can be very lucrative

If he really is available for £25m I reckon we might go for it. Major potential stumbling blocks - wage demands & interest from Arsenal and/or Liverpool.

We don't really play with "wingers" though. Not in the traditional sense. If he was to play on the right, he'd be lining up either between the LCB and LB (vs back four) or against the LCB (vs back three). If you compare heat maps, you'll see that Trippier occupies the classic right-winger space, Almiron is more central.

There's a certain synchronicity in signing one of Leicester's star CMs exactly one year on from the Hamza Choudhury debacle. Not that I think it's going to happen...

I might not be understanding exactly what all this means, but aren't we basically in the same position as we are now? As in, we increase commercial income = we can spend more?

Presumably that would see Bruno in the DM role, Tielemans is more advanced than that usually?

Interesting that Haidara has played <60mins in three games this season, no starts.

We've replaced all that annoying, flimsy EU red tape with a much more sturdy and tangled form.

Pulisic would be more productive over 20 games than Miggy/Fraser/Murphy would be in 38. Definitely worth the risk. Add AMN to that and you've added quality to the starting XI and added depth to the squad with two loans.

There may well be players who clubs originally wanted/planned to sell who become available for loan once we get closer to Thursday night. Maybe someone like Soumare if Leicester need to trim the wage bill?

Exactly. If you took a starting striker and two starting CMs out of pretty much any team outside the top six they'd start to look a bit threadbare. We don't have the luxury yet of just adding squad depth - we need more quality in the starting XI and we have to be smart with the budget.

Yeah he's still Chief Scout. Botman was one of his apparently.

I think it's a really important attribute. If there's any doubt, any chance you might over-think or look for a pass rather than a shot then it reduces your effectiveness as a goal scorer. The very best really only have one thing in mind and they never think they might miss.

Seko Fofana (FB ref)

Maxi retweet alert ?

Mark Douglas thinks one more in, on loan.

I thought that at first but after seeing the replay I think the defender was blocking his view until the last second. On the other hand, Willock should have buried the chance he had and I think we should have had a penalty for the pull on Longstaff.

Maybe he's just trying to sign players playing in places he wants to visit for a cheeky holiday? "Mandy, there's this cracking young DM playing in the Bahamas...his name? Erm..."

Shelvey. I think Howe sees out current first choice CMs as Bruno, Joelinton and Shelvey.

Out for three weeks with a broken heart after seeing his best mate on the operating table