Unrealistic summer transfer wankfest III

[Remi Moses]

Either Hall is the last target and we're done (which would be worrying but a sign of where the budget is), or it's a negotiating tactic to add a bit on to players we'd be willing to sell whilst simultaneously not looking desperate and being taken to the cleaners like it looks like Spurs have been.

I think it's a negotiaing tactic. They likely have in the region of £100-120M left in the budget. I expect that to be spent on LB & CM with other positions dependent on outgoings or if an excellent "market opportunity" presents itself they will look down the back of the sofa.

Yoro has being playing RB and there are whispers that might be his future, so does that mean Dorgu at LB so we're throwing one properly forward?

I think Yoro will get some minutes at RB but expect him to be behind Dalot and Mazraoui

Chuck £40m at Fulham for Berge and see if they bite tbf.

Exactly. Hall and Berge would be about right for the remaining budget. Berge adds some much needed height also.

As for the forward line, there are options but Mbeumo and Amad are bang out of form.

I believe it was no coincidence that both of their seasons nosedived post-Afcon. I think they are both very good players. Amad showed it in the World Cup. I think they will both do well this season.

Honestly coming round to the idea of Rashford. Think he could be what's needed to put a rocket up their arses, bit of genuine competition.

The club want rid, but looks like they will be forced to have him back. How does he react to Cunha having his shirt / losing his place in the dressing room / being a squad option? How do players like Dorgu react to being on an equal footing football wise, but being on 1/3 of his wages?

Best case is he comes back wanting to prove himself again. When motivated he is excellent (especially with Hall behind him!)

[Felwin]

I’m not saying that I am dissatisfied by our business but it does feel a little like “is that it?” and I’m a little concerned. Look, I never expected Carrick to have a magic wand and to clear out all of the deadwood and then sign the best players in the world but the defence feels a little light and I’m not particularly interested in the reintegration of Rashford into the squad.

Maguire is probably on his last deal and it doesn’t look like there’s a succession plan if the new plan is to move Leny Yoro out to RB, we’re relying on the fitness of Shaw and Martinez to be reasonable throughout the season and expecting De Ligt to rise from his deathbed to be a mainstay in the side. Given the extra 8 games through the Champions League qualification, it seems wishful thinking to hope that Shaw, Martinez and De Ligt suddenly find fitness and retain a level of fitness across the whole season.

100%

Feels like we're betting it all on them staying fit. It's why Hall makes sense because then you have him as the starter, Dorgu as an option there or in the forward line and Shaw who can plug holes at LB and CB rather than be a starter.

I do think the idea is Martinez + Maguire (or De Ligt if he rises from the dead like you say), with Heaven and Yoro as backups. Maz and Shaw can do a job so in theory we have depth, but if Martinez, De Ligt and Shaw are all injured at the same time, then Maz and Maguire too (who both have had their issues at times) then it's thin as hell.

[Felwin]

The club want rid, but looks like they will be forced to have him back. How does he react to Cunha having his shirt / losing his place in the dressing room / being a squad option? How do players like Dorgu react to being on an equal footing football wise, but being on 1/3 of his wages?

Best case is he comes back wanting to prove himself again. When motivated he is excellent (especially with Hall behind him!)

To be clear, I'm coming round to the idea of having him as a squaddie for a bit. It's on him about having to accept that.

As for the wage structure, management can simply point to his contract being a mistake made by the previous regime. Dorgu, Cunha, Mbeumo have all been here 12-18 months and have been decent but they're not playing for a new contract just yet. They barely just signed and accepted the current structure as the way it's going to be, it'd be politically stupid of them to throw a tantrum. I imagine Rashford to be an option for a season at most if we're forced to keep him, he won't be offered a new contract.

[Remi Moses]

To be clear, I'm coming round to the idea of having him as a squaddie for a bit. It's on him about having to accept that.

Of course, it is in the interest of any clubs planning a move for Rashford to wait until late in the window to gain financial leverage on the deal. Being forced to accept him back, does not mean the club are not ready to accept ANY reasonable offer.

[JoelfuckingGlazer]

We need to form judgement based on what the club does, not what it says. Playing up squad strength, sentiment of players who we might be wanting to move on, playing down our desire to bring players in - all the right things to do in terms of negotiating leverage.

We still have gaps in the squad. No doubt. But I think where the club has landed on a conclusion that doing no deal is better than doing a bad one - whether that be materially over-paying for a player with no resale potential, or bringing in squad filler. And I think that's right.

If the season started now, the squad is in a better place than last season. Santos and Tielemans is better than Casemiro and Ugarte in my view. Rashford back into the mix is addition. Lacey looks ready to be a genuine first team option. Heaven has more games under his belt. Lammens and Sesko especially should be better for having a season here under their belt.

I still expect we'll add one or two more.

[Fuck the Glazers]

We need to form judgement based on what the club does, not what it says. Playing up squad strength, sentiment of players who we might be wanting to move on, playing down our desire to bring players in - all the right things to do in terms of negotiating leverage.

We still have gaps in the squad. No doubt. But I think where the club has landed on a conclusion that doing no deal is better than doing a bad one - whether that be materially over-paying for a player with no resale potential, or bringing in squad filler. And I think that's right.

If the season started now, the squad is in a better place than last season. Santos and Tielemans is better than Casemiro and Ugarte in my view. Rashford back into the mix is addition. Lacey looks ready to be a genuine first team option. Heaven has more games under his belt. Lammens and Sesko especially should be better for having a season here under their belt.

I still expect we'll add one or two more.

I think it's essential with our finances, and with the state of modern football. Two thirds of the football league is insolvent. Prem clubs are about to agree a bail out (after essentially being forced to by the gov) to keep the game going. But some prem clubs said they'd have to take out loans to give to the bail out fund.

To have owners show proper financial responsibility is important. I think in the future the club that keeps their spending sensible will be successful on the pitch. Clubs like Tottenham & Chelsea are spending themselves out of contention.

[fat maradona]

We need to form judgement based on what the club does, not what it says. Playing up squad strength, sentiment of players who we might be wanting to move on, playing down our desire to bring players in - all the right things to do in terms of negotiating leverage.

We still have gaps in the squad. No doubt. But I think where the club has landed on a conclusion that doing no deal is better than doing a bad one - whether that be materially over-paying for a player with no resale potential, or bringing in squad filler. And I think that's right.

If the season started now, the squad is in a better place than last season. Santos and Tielemans is better than Casemiro and Ugarte in my view. Rashford back into the mix is addition. Lacey looks ready to be a genuine first team option. Heaven has more games under his belt. Lammens and Sesko especially should be better for having a season here under their belt.

I still expect we'll add one or two more.

Don't forget Yoro has been decent at RB and Mount has looked more like the player he was at Chelsea, so yeh, I agree that if the season started tomorrow, we're in better shape than we were this time last year.

Still think fans need to temper expectations. As much as we want to win the league and cups, we have to remember we are still massively work in progress. I'd be overjoyed with a top 4 finish and a deep run in the cups and Champions League. That'll be a better stepping stone for future success as opposed to throwing hundreds of millions at players in the hope we'll win something.

[Remi Moses]

Still think fans need to temper expectations. As much as we want to win the league and cups, we have to remember we are still massively work in progress. I'd be overjoyed with a top 4 finish and a deep run in the cups and Champions League. That'll be a better stepping stone for future success as opposed to throwing hundreds of millions at players in the hope we'll win something.

Yeah, success will follow from stabilising in the Champions League spots for a few seasons, it will transform the finances and so massively improve the squad. We only qualified twice in the past five seasons. It's what Arsenals success was built on.

[nineteenninetynine]

Oh, I’m not expecting a particularly pretty or straightforward season. If I’m honest, I think we may struggle at times with the extra games from the Champions League and domestic cups, providing we don’t go out at the first time of asking again.

The squad looks light still. It looked light anyway but with departures factored in through Casemiro and not being able to shift Rashford as of now, we’re running light again. As easy as it is to play a hypothetical computer game and say we’d get rid of Shaw, Martinez or whoever, the reality is that it’s not as straightforward as that and we’d need clubs ready to spend money to take injury prone players off our hands.

One positive could be the amount of change that’s gone on. We’re going into a season where 9 managers are brand new at their clubs and so there are going to be periods where clubs are gelling and getting used to new ideas and approaches. Having a bit more stability could work in our favour in games that are tougher or at difficult places to go to like a Palace or a Fulham, for example.

I’d rip your hand off for top 5 if you offered it right now.

[nineteenninetynine]

£14m for Vitek to Boro. Not a bad deal.