Kooiman

I can't see this one happening personally, and I respect it. Brentford have lost a lot of notable folk this summer, and they want daft money to lose their top scorer. For me it's a classic case of him being worth more to Brentford than he is to us. I hope for Wissa and Brentford's sake they can put it behind them as I think they're in for a long season.

He gets me every time. I know he'll leave one day. They all have to. But the fact we got that moment with Burn on the scoresheet and him wearing the armband exorcised a lot of demons for this group. I'd hug him if he was stood next to me.

It's almost like his agent was trying to play us off Man Utd so we'd up our salary offer...

Usually I wouldn't indulge, but when it's a Slovenian journalist writing for a reputable Slovenian outlet it seems sensible to share.

https://www.delo.si/sport/nogomet/zdaj-je-jasno-benjamin-sesko-se-seli-v-anglijo

After weeks of hearing Liverpool praised as transfer grandmasters and shrewd operators, it’s both hilarious and slightly infuriating that their big move amounts to an offer we'd never contemplate accepting. I hope if anything this has shown Isak exactly what he's up against. If Liverpool were half as serious as the press briefings they've shoved up Fabrizio Romano suggest, they'd have started at an offer at least approaching our valuation. Instead they've tried to say with a straight face that Isak is worth less than Florian Wirtz and Philippe Coutinho. Ridiculous football club.

I'd echo this. There are some significant changes occurring at Liverpool this summer as they migrate towards Arne Slot's vision. Ignoring the silly stuff surrounding Trent Alexander-Arnold, he offered them a wonderful attacking outlet from fullback. Jeremie Frimpong plays that position very differently, while I'd argue sharing some similar weaknesses. Milos Kerkez on the other side has to get past Andy Robertson, which is no small feat, but he feels stylistically more similar to the man he intends to replace. The only issue I see with Kerkez right now is his habit of going to ground quite easily. You mistime a few of those and you're in bother. Striking the balance in the final third is also a tricky one. It doesn't seem like they'll be adapting the system to fit Florian Wirtz, more asking him to fit them. Hugo Ekitike will also need to hit the ground running. If I was putting a tenner on things, I'd be more inclined to bet Liverpool win the next Premier League, not the upcoming one. PSG haven't made any significant moves and they don't need to. That continuity should help them. I also feel like people aren't talking about Man City course correcting either. Maybe Liverpool blow teams out the water and I look daft, but the jury is still out for me.

I'd heard originally he was a makeweight for the Trafford deal (which Luke Edwards ran about a day later). The petty little twat in me wants to sell him to anyone but Burnley now

If they are such PSR wizards 150m shouldn't be a problem. If Isak is that bothered he can make the difference up himself.

Makes me sad to see Beardsley. Adored him as a player.

I seriously think the Mailick Thiaw makes a lot of sense. Milan are open to sell (having taken a bid from Como) and he's physically and technically good enough for this league.

Ouch.

I remember a comedian once having a bit about it not being admirable that you're faithful if you don't have opportunity to cheat. I don't remember even a whisper about leaving interest until recently. Even as recently as March he was happy to be here and challenge for titles. That said, if he feels the summer has shown our ceiling as it exists right now and his head has been turned by Liverpool so be it. I'd preach caution though. If he goes there for 120-150m, he's unlikely to go any higher unless it's facilitated by a bosman transfer. This is a bad summer to move if you're a striker. A lot of the big clubs have spent their money and the ones left who might want a new forward don't have any to spend. I don't think it's a viable option now, but had he waited 12 months, hit another 20 goal season, and a few in the Champions League, he could potentially have had his pick of clubs. Liverpool won the league last season, hats off to them. They also did it with a points total lower than all but one of the previous ten champions. A lot of things at the top are in flux right now. Man City may come roaring back, they may not, Arsenal may finally have the missing piece in Gyokores, they may not. He's joining a team that's added a marquee player in Wirtz and a high priced prospect in Ekitike. I won't for a minute make out like Isak isn't incredibly talented, but we also play to him a lot. He's the lynchpin. Can be be assured of that at Liverpool? I would argue Liverpool's issues last year weren't goals scored, it was goals conceded and yet they've not signed a centre back. I'm not convinced we're staring at a period of dominance.

If he's been cleared I don't see the issue? I think we all saw the toll it took on him, so even if he's got away with one, I can't imagine he'd ever do this again. He's touching his peak years, can play two positions, and put up decent attacking numbers prior to the betting stuff (in fact his numbers last year weren't atrocious once you dive past the superficial stats). This summer has shown we need to be nimble and a tad opportunist. Our rivals have done that to snatch targets from us. It would be funny to see an all Brazilian midfield, but if the lad needs a pick me up, nothing like a move away from the bright lights to live with two compatriots that love Jesus and working hard.

The board room struggles are undoubtedly a problem. I think one of Manchester City's shrewdest moves early on was getting the likes of Tixi Bergstein in place to oversee these things. Amanda and Mehrdad offered a lot of positives—consistent communication, strong personalties (more her than him—but their relationship as partial owners always made it tricky. I don't think anyone could have anticipated the carry on we'd have with these appointments. Dan Ashworth came with rave reviews and I think was quickly seen to be duplicitous and stupid in equal measure. Darren Eales is a far more personal situation and he has my sympathies as that's an awful situation to go through. If I was to criticize anything of the club it's the pace at which we've moved in the hiring process, but I have to acknowledge my own ignorance here in saying I've never hired for such positions outside of Football Manager. I do think once we've traversed this period of instability we should feel the benefits. Whether it's Yasser, the Reubens, whoever, they're learning a lot and it seems oftentimes the hard way. That doesn't often feel great in the moment, but it can be the catalyst for growth.

My God, I'd not heard the word Skinshies in years.

I saw an interesting Twitter post the other day suggesting he could be a centre back long term. I'm not sure if I see it personally, it feels more like speculation based on his height and the idea of him filling out physically. That said, I can't remember the last time I was this excited about a young player of ours (oooo errr). His ceiling seems incredibly high. It's mad to think that some folk claim he's not even the most talented of the brothers.

I've seen it floated that some of the reason they've spent big this summer is because Jurgen Klopp isn't with the club anymore and so the process is markedly easier. I'm not sure how true that is. I love Eddie. I had wobbles last season when we had a ropey period, but he showed resilience and ingenuity to turn things around and change how we play mid-season. That sense of reinvention is something I love, but I don't know if it would flood into transfers. Success has a thousand fathers, failure is an orphan, and it because of that it becomes to easy to pin a bad transfer on one person when it goes south. I would hope his attitude to transfers is not resistant to change. I don't know a top club that lets a manager operate like that in the modern day. It's simply too much work, and as with any leadership position, you have to empower those around you to make calls, regardless of whether you agree with them. Talk of a trophy in the first five years felt ridiculous, but it was achieved, and I wonder if the rate of that success somewhat skewed where we were in other departments. As I'd said previously, so much of this summer has felt like a failure, but I hope within the ashes of that struggle those in charge can see where we need to go as a club and how to build toward that.

Christ alive. I can't see him speaking publicly until his future is sorted definitively. If by some crazy turn of events he ends up staying here I can't even imagine how he'll walk any of this back. I never thought he had this in him tbh.

There's a couple of our former academy kids in that group too with Mo Sangare and Jack Young. He looks like if I got pissed and drew Ray Winston from memory.

It's just ridiculous. It keeps the club at a pointless crossroads where you either over reach on mediocrity in the hope it gets you there, or keep trying to find gems you know the top clubs will poach (if you can even get them). I can't believe we had to justify Saint-Maximin's fee and meanwhile Chelsea are shipping players to Strasbourg like it's a boarding school.

Dusting off the drum here for another session, but once again PSR proving it's a handbrake for clubs. In the same week Chelsea sell a player to themselves for 7m, we can't compete with Manchester United to replace the star player that Liverpool are buying for a British record sum. Yet the likes of Chelsea and Man City would never have this problem. They'd have gone out and bought 4-5 players to sit next to them. If PSR was around back then, would Frank Lampard have stayed at Chelsea for his whole career pretty much? What about Sergio Aguero? Mental.

I'd heard on the grapevine the insistence on domestic targets was built largely on the belief that 'we can't afford a big money foreign flop due to PSR'. It's likely the difference between trying to flog Chris Wood after a bad spell vs. Antony.

Joe Willock is done at the top level. He can't stay fit.

This is tough. The transfer droids are regurgitating press briefings. If it's coming from Sesko's camp then I'd say we're done here and need to move on. A record transfer that would actually prefer to move to Man Utd is a recipe for disaster. If it's Man Utd trying to save face because they feel they can't do the deal for financial reasons it's more palatable.