Dusic

Excl: Saints might sign Ramos or might not and if we do sign him it will be at some point late in the window, i.e now onwards. There is "a lot going on behind the scenes". Source: @SaintRob__

https://gianlucadimarzio.com/en/atalanta-closing-in-to-rasmus-hoejlund-from-sturm-graz-details Seems like all our media linked striker targets are headed elsewhere. Hopefully have someone not yet linked lined up unless keeping Adams has impacted budget (£50m net spend).

For the kind of cash it would take to get him we could probably get Broja...will be annoying to see him going elsewhere. As per Ralph's comments today and as I have thought for a while, since Delap we havent had anyone lined up...wonder how far down our target list we will have to go and how much our plans were expectant upon an Adams sale?

AMN would be a low risk, solid signing, versatile player who also has something to prove in the PL. Personally for a CM role specifically would prefer Garner, I think he has a higher ceiling. Re Bednarek, for me its simple. If he goes then he has to be replaced as Lyanco & Stephens are 4th and 5th choices not 3rd and 4th. Hopefully Stephens goes too and we get a CB in still. Would imagine most moves, certainly big permanent ones, will be apparent by end of Monday.

He has one year left so will probably leave on a season loan then will be a free agent. Decent situation for him to be in if he does quite well wherever he goes on loan.

If Broja ends up at Everton that will be pretty annoying, especially if it ends up being a loan. Would hope there are some more concrete links by the weekend, but as I have said a few times - perhaps any incomings now depend on outgoing fees being generated? At £50m net spend that seems fair enough. Maybe a week ago we expected to be getting £20m for Adams? Can't underestimate how important it is to bring in an attacking player, ideally two, that make an immediate impact. Adams is not consistent, Armstrong is not good enough and Mara is still learning.

Jacob Tanswell said earlier that whilst The Athletic did the piece about our interest in Ramos, Wolves have also been very firm in their interest and obviously Lage managed him previously. Tanswell alao said he isnt personally sure on Ramos as watchers of Benfica said most of his best work is outside the box and he isnt really a no9 type. He added Everton still interested in Che and that its not impossible that he still goes. No to CHO as too much interest from better clubs. Club wouldnt stand in Romeu's way if a good offer was in but a couple of weeks ago Diallo more likely to go. Usual suspects available to leave: Walcott, Redmond, Stephens, Bednarek (possibly)

Any team coming in for Redmond is just going to want to loan him, with a year left on his contract. Probably suits the player too. See also Elyounoussi. With Armstrong, different contract status but similar, no Champ team is going to chuck £10m on him. A loan could suit us if he did well again at that level but only if we sign two attacking players which there is currently no sign of. Very difficult to offload average/poor performers who are on PL wages as there isnt a market for them in the PL or in the European leagues which can match their pay.

Agree with the OP, the bottom half looks like being a lot stronger than it has been previously. Forest may have signed a lot of players but quite a few are good, so sure Cooper will work it out fairly quickly. In addition, the WC break gives a great reset opportunity (and Jan window planning) for the sides near the bottom. Right now, Bournemouth aside there is nobody whose squad looks way below par and unfortunately some of the teams who have made a poor start are ones that will probably splash the cash in the next two weeks (Everton, Leicester with Fofana sale). Would say its a season where if you make a poor start over the first 10 it will be hard to recover because seems unlikely many sides will have horror runs. Due to the lack of proven PL quality in our squad we are obviously seen as a big candidate to go down and its hard to really argue against that, so we need to pick up some early points like we have done to keep us in a decent position for when our best run of fixtures is, just after the WC.

Wonder how much of our anticipated spend in the next couppe of weeks was based on bringing in £20m or so for Adams?

Hard to be overly optimistic about getting him. He has a likely option of CL football at Benfica, who surely have no huge need to sell him. Should he move there are at least three other teams desperate to sign a striker, all who pay bigger fees and wages than we do, one of whom has a huge portuguese influence. Some of those sides, Everton in particular, will be in full on panic mode as the end of the window approaches. By all means be in the mix, but big risk of being strung along and ending up with nothing, especially as they won't do anything until after the 2nd leg this week. Doesn't seem like the kind of transfer that is straightforward in any way.

No point in letting Bednarek out on loan really unless its with an obligation to buy. In a back four he is still better than Lyanco, Stephens or Valery so if he goes he needs replacing, and at this point it would be difficult for us to replace him on loan - any we gain very little from doing that really.

We definitely still need more in the final third, IMO a striker and a creative player - one good win doesn't change that. From yesterday neither Redmond or Stephens were in the squad, hopefully things will happen with them. Adams surely won't leave now, wonder how much that impscts what cash we have to spend? Can't believe we have another £40m to spend without recouping a big chunk of it, and Redmond and Stephens aren't going to do that. If we could get £15m for Bednarek that would be very handy...but he would need replacing.

If there is any interest from Wolves in Ramos then it would be a tough job to persuade him to join us over them. Used to be coached by Lage, seven Portuguese in their starting 11 and look like a decent side that are missing a no9. They will obviously sign a striker so hopefully they aren't in for him for some reason.

Sounds like Norwich have only really had loan offers, so doubt he would actually be that much and certainly nowhere near the £25m that used to be touted for him. Assuming KWP doesn't sign a new deal and leaves next summer then wouldnt hurt to have already signed his replacement, seeing as we could certainly use someone lile Aarons now. I believe he has also covered at LB on occassions too. From what I have seen of him as a player he is probably a similar profile to KWP style wise.

Probably positioning ourselves for him incase we are unable to get Ramos. Assuming Benfica wouldn't sell before the 2nd leg of their CL tie, any move for him would go down to the wire, if indeed he moves anywhere. Also...wonder if potential Ramos purchase is/was reliant upon selling Adams? Seems to have gone a bit quiet there, although noted he had a knock and didnt train for a few days this week...

Because in a year if he has done well in the PL he could pretty much move to any of the top clubs here or in Europe. Seems very clear we want him. Newcastle also mentioned but hopefully they will get Pedro - surely he will push to leave Watford if they keep turning down bids? Then there is Wolves, but they just signed Guedes, although Lage used to coach Ramos and spoke to him earlier in the summer. Supposedly some financial issues so maybe the MGW cash covers Guedes and Nunes rather than being available to spend? Everton worries me as they clearly need a striker and will be getting very desperate.

At this stage no point signing anyone who isn't going to be a starting player, aside from the cover full back (note full back, not player who sometimes does a job there).

Tough one for Ralph with Perraud out. No legitimate LB so hard to see him trusting Djenepo in a back 4 away from home, which probably means 3 CBs again. Of course most will moan, but he isnt exactly blessed with a huge amount of options and would get slaughtered if he did play MD in a 4 and he has a poor game.

Would be a good replacement for Romeu. But not sure Luckhurst is overly reliable (and Shields isnt following him on IG, he follow Ramos FWIW). Also...how can we afford all this assuming we spend £20m on a striker too? Even if we sell Adams and Romeu our net spend will be around the £70m mark. Although could argue that regardless of how this season goes SR would have developed a talent pool of higher value and then hopefully we can get to a point where we have a couple of £50m players to sell each summer. At the moment we could not do this without killing ourselves (selling JWP and KWP) whereas in future we could deal with it much easier potentially.

Free agent I think, so probably not bound by yhe transfer window, although of course our need is more immediate. On Ramos, wonder who the backup option is? Likely his move to the PL will drag in for a while so other targets will probably go in the meantime, assuming we have any real confidence of getting him. Will be interesting to see if Ralph comments at all today.

Any talk of Gomez is ludicrous given Liverpool's injuries, clear he will be starting the next few games for them. Regarding Ramos, never feel like the Portuguese sides are easy to deal with, and assuming they make the CL why would a.) They sell him and b.) He be interested in a relegation-threatened PL side? Not confident something like that will come to fruition, especially given competition. On Djenepo, seeing as we will clearly keep him, it wouldnt suprise me if he signs a contract extension. Would be a bit silly to lose him on a free at the end of the season given he is still so young. Might be silly not to sign a full back but maybe Livramento is on track to return after the WC and they feel we can get by til then rather than sign someone who won't even make the squad in January? Finally...props to @SaintRob_ for stringing so many along on #SaintsFC Twitter. The lad plays the percentages well and could teach a lot of the @AgentITK types a thing or two about how to build followership despite knowing fuck all.

Sarr is pretty injury prone but as a player would give that ball carrying ability in the final third that we don't really have. Really hope we get two attacking players rather than just one. Shame CHO doesnt fancy it as he would have been an ideal loan in addition to a striker.

Would imagine that player (possibly Orel Mangala who we have been linked with previously), has already moved. Garner, if interest is correct would fit the bill. A tough position to recruit for seeing as JWP plays 100% of available minutes when fit, plus we already have Lavia (who would be hard to shift from the team too) and Diallo. Any signing is probably going to spend a decent bit of time on the bench just like Diallo has. Romeu has been a great signing and everyone would wish him well if he does leave. That said, more 'experience' out the door and one of the few of those type who actually plays. Would leave a big gap IMO.

Anyone else get the feeling we don't really have a striker lined up and are probably doing what Man Utd are with central midfielders but without any media scrutiny? A bit like two summers ago when we clearly needed a central midfielder, didn't get Sangare and then were linked with a flurry (Veermans one if I recall) before moving for Diallo who was clearly a way down our list just before the deadline.