Keegans Export

Would be an alternative to Botman presumably, rather than to play alongside him?

I'd argue going back to Spurs wouldn't technically be a "new" challenge...

Talk of us and Sangare? Or just in general?

Spending all summer chasing Hamsa Choudhry on loan then telling SSN that we are "closed for business" at 10am on deadline day is boring.

Peter Beardsley. The '93-'97 version (I wasn't born until after his first spell). If you'd asked the 8-year-old me what position I played, I'd say "just behind the centre forward". Obviously I didn't know what this meant but I had asked my dad where Beardsley played and that's what he told me! Obviously a shame how things ended with him at the Academy etc Non-Newcastle player was probably '98 Ronaldo. The first International tournament I was fully aware of and invested in and he just seemed to be everything you want in a footballer, almost a caricature. Surrounded by all the names - Cafu, Carlos, Rivaldo, Denilson. Plus that advert in the airport!

"Dad, I thought you had come down to see me?" "Course I did son..." "But you left at half time" "Ah, yes...erm...about that..."

I think our order of priority is CB - RW/CF - CM - GK All reports were that we want 4-6. Well we've got Targett now so I think that'll be a CB, a forward and a winger to make four. The other two would be a CM and a keeper. I also wouldn't be too surprised if at least one of those was a loan, with or without option/obligation to buy.

Sarr would actually be pretty high up on my shortlist. Great attitude too by all accounts.

He was supposed to be going to Barca, depending on their financial situation...

It's worth remembering that the only time Botman has gone on record (that I know of) about Newcastle United was after the January transfer window when he said; Newcastle is working on a great project and I thought it would be fun to be a part of it. Especially if you look at where Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain once started. Milan may be his first choice. But I can't read those quotes above and think "That's a guy who will come reluctantly, unmotivated and probably flop as a result"

I'm sure we were linked to Tosun before he ended up at Everton

And if Lyon had bids accepted from Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea, would we have still been Bruno's first choice? Probably not. It's daft to have the attitude that if we aren't someone's first choice, we don't want them, or that they won't have "desire and spirit". Its not an all or nothing thing.

Who was it who Ashley brought in around the same time as Wise? Jimenez? According to KK he pulled the plug on the Modric deal because he was too lightweight

Diaby I'd say is a definite no-go. Clearly Leverkusen don't need to sell, they made the CL this year didn't they? And I don't get any impression that Diaby himself is trying to force anything. If they get knocked out of the CL and aren't doing well in the league, we might start sniffing about in January I reckon.

Bruno and especially Paqueta are well ahead of Botman imo Paqueta is a regular for Brazil, Bruno gets sub appearances here and there, Botman hasn't got a single senior cap.

Came in to post exactly this basically. I trust the current regime. If they think he does like the idea of coming here, he just prefers Milan, then we'll make the move. If he is essentially being forced to come here, I trust them to understand that and move on to another target. If he was so desperate to join Milan over us, he wouldn't be setting a deadline (which he is, according to some reports), he'd just wait until there is absolutely no time for Milan to get their shit together.

Might not be more time as such, just in the hope that we'll be negotiating a new sponsorship deal next summer as a top 7/8 club rather than this summer as a team that eventually finished 11th after battling against relegation for much of the season.

Nunez to LFC will either be a total flop or he'll get about 20 goals a season. Would love to know how much Tarkowski is being paid. Was talk he wanted over 100k?

That's it basically. They don't need to report every rumour, make stuff up for clicks etc.

Don't knock it 'till you've tried it...

You can always tell which way Botman is going because he is so slow and has the turns like a WW2 tank. Or, he's an underrated athlete with reactions and instincts that allow him to operate at an elite level despite his lack of speed. Depending on whether we are signing him or not.

His appearances in PL seasons (starting this season and working backwards) - 18, 26, 35, 30, 28, 20, 13 Compared to Harry Kane (just picking someone who is a nailed-on starter) - 37, 35, 29, 28, 37, 30, 38, 34 I'd say someone who has only managed more than 30 appearances once in seven seasons can't be fully relied upon.

That does make sense. Basically have some deals lined up (Targett, Hayden) and just put them to him, "Any issues you can see here?"

It is pretty similar to most other mid-table teams which, until we prove otherwise, is what we are. This maybe isn't 100% accurate or up to date but - https://www.totalsportal.com/money/premier-league-kit-deals/

It'd be DCL + about £40m to play with too. So DCL + most of a Paqueta or Nunez?