Keegans Export

I assumed it would have a V-neck rather than the round collar we have this season. Can @JonBez comesock confirm either way? Won't be long before we get some leaks if they're at the promo photo stage.

I don't think they'd see the potential backlash as being worth £5m after all the effort they've made in connecting with the fans so far

Konstantinos (former Arsenal CB). Has had a couple of good seasons in Germany, comfortable on the ball & good range of passing. Could be an affordable option for the RCB spot.

The problem with Rice/Bellingham is that we aren't one key player away from having a top-four squad - at least not one that can compete for top four while also playing in Europe. We need to build the squad with 4-6 key additions, then we can start adding one or two superstar signings. Pre-FFP it wouldn't be an issue obviously, but as it is we can't do both.

I agree. Put it this way, if he's available for what we could afford (fee + wages) there'll be a very long queue of clubs we'd have to battle our way to the front of.

Lovely direct running, neat finish. Nice.

Ticks too many boxes for us not to make a move for him. Can play across the front three, 21yo, a season of PL experience under his belt. No guarantees we'll get him but wouldn't be surprised if he's the #1 forward on our list this summer.

There is absolutely no way the Premier League would leave a loophole like that open.

This is why I think that their preferred option would be a new stadium, probably on Leazes Park. Obviously there are a lot of hurdles to overcome there but you're right that corporate income is one area where we are miles behind and adding an extra 8k seats for Joe Public at £35 a pop isn't going to be a difference maker. I reckon they'll look at these options, in order of preference; 1. Expand SJP including substantial increase in corporate facilities 2. New stadium, close to or on current site 3. Expand SJP without substantial increase in corporate facilities 4. New stadium away from current site 5. Stick with what we have now

It's based on "fair market value" so basically you can't artificially inflate the value of your sponsorship deals. It's the reason why most reports put our next shirt sponsorship at around £20m - behind the "established" top 6 but ahead of the rest of the 14. Could end up being more if we end up in the CL obviously.

Actually I think you're right, looking at the pictures of the Cambridge away fans at the FA Cup tie, they go all around the corner and that was 5k(ish)

We knew he was a little radge when we signed him. It was clearly an unprofessional outburst but shouldn't be a massive issue provided it's all sorted out behind the scenes and he learns to keep his emotions in check.

Surely more than that, isn't it nearer 5,000? The away allocation never goes round the corner and I'm sure we've seen 5k away allocations in the past

There's no doubt we like him. Hopefully that pricetag is true and is enough to see us move on to other targets. Trust our scouting team to find our next Botman, Bruno, Isak.

I thought us vs Villa would be a season-long battle for 7th - didn't account for how good we'd be or the Gerrard effect but they're starting to look like the team I thought they'd be. Big game for both teams, they have to prove they're the real deal and not just flat-track bullies. A draw wouldn't be a bad result but a top-four team should be looking to win this game.

Absolutely, they had faith in their assessment of him and the poor season just brought his price down to a level we could do business. Could genuinely be a pivotal moment for the club.

That's kind of my point though - you're bringing in a CM to do what our CBs do now (win the ball, give it to Bruno) but then you're going to lose one of Willock/Longstaff/Joelinton who all also offer something at the other end of the pitch? If we were lining up more as a 4-2-3-1 then having someone alongside Bruno would make sense, but we seem to mostly have him there on his own (because he's good enough) and Willock/Longstaff operating either side & further up the field.

This is one thing that I think we'd miss if we went with an out-and-out DM with the aim of pushing Bruno forwards. I was all for it last summer but I don't think there are many DMs who can do what he does with the ball under pressure (like you say). If we brought in a more classical DM, obviously Bruno would be able to offer more in and around the oppositions box which is great but I think we would lose that link between attack and defence and potentially make us weaker overall. Obviously if we can bring in another Bruno who can do it all then great (my knowledge of footballers outside the PL is limited so I'm sure they are out there) but it seems that most of the DMs we've been linked with have been more in the classic destroyer mould?

Group stages, two wins & two draws, plus three 50k home games is £25m+ and that's not including additional sponsorship money. No wonder these teams who qualify year after year can keep spending so much!

I can guarantee you my fantasies do not involve the buying and selling of football players, let alone Maxi Either way the point stands. Maxi is a sellable asset that I can envisage us being willing to let go if we need to claw some money back and if the price is right (price tbd). Most of the others either won't command a decent fee (Richie et al) or are unsellable (Bruno, Botman etc) or are too handy too keep around (eg Longstaff, Burn, Murphy for the homegrown quota).

The only issue with Maxi is that he's one of our few sellable assets. If the plan is to top up the kitty with sales then a £20-25m offer from abroad might tempt us.

Its a bit like when Cabaye & Tiote were bossing it, doing the job of three CMs between them and allowing us to play 4-4-2 without being overrun in midfield.

Not to make this into the Official Serie A thread, but I've just had a look at the Serie A table there - looks like quite an exciting battle between 3rd and 6th.

These are, ultimately, the most relevant parts of the article. Everything else we already knew - that PIF/KSA are intertwined but in a complex fashion (legally speaking), that the UK Government didn't want KSA to turn off the tap and stop that steady flow of cash, that the PL were only really bothered about piracy and didn't ultimately have the heart (or possibly the cash) for a protracted legal fight and that the other clubs arguing against the deal were doing so purely from self-interest. I don't know exactly how it would work but I imagine stopping a takeover taking place would be considerably more straightforward than removing a sitting ownership from a club, especially when the links between the "official" ownership and the alleged "shadow" ownership are so murky. The Abramovic thing was inevitable (and easier for the PL) because he was sanctioned by the Government and the PL were just towing the line, rather than leading the charge as they would be in a case against PIF/KSA/MBS.

And only if they're needed. Hopefully the starting XI can do the heavy lifting and those three can be raring to go at the weekend.