Kooiman

He was a bit before my time, but certainly one you head about through the folk lore tales of older heads among the group. I remember him being introduced through a nickname, 'The Welsh Airforce'. RIP.

Fabrizio Romano is clearly a vessel for vested interests. For that reason, I'm inclined to think this story has come via Burnley in an attempt to pressure the club. The tweet itself is non-committal with very little meat to it and hangs on a giant if and dubious logic. This is one of the many reasons I preferred the transfer window before the digital age, or at least long before what exists now. Too much of the attempted brinkmanship is played out in public and I'm not entirely convinced it achieves a great deal.

On paper, Granit Xhaka would be a huge improvement. From talking to friends on Wearside, they've been linked with dozens of players, which most are finding quite exciting. I think if my team had been singing largely EFL free transfers for several years I'd be bowled over by a link to someone like Xhaka. I'm curious to see who else they add to the team. Right now it seems short of experienced heads, but I try not to judge these things until after the window is shut.

He strikes me as the kind of player Eddie Howe would appreciate; young, English, and equipped with the raw tools that make him easy to nurture into a new role or position. I looked at his career earlier this year and was shocked by just how many positions he's played in Man City's development teams. If I had one mark against him (from the limited opportunity I've had to see him play) it's that he appears slightly one-footed.