Chez

isn't this forum social media?

Strange. I don't think the BBC have ever used that term before for any previous huge transfer fee.

My guess is there was no deal agreed. We probably enquired about a transfer, but Chelsea perhaps wanted to wait until the summer before doing any deals. And here we are in the summer and they are now happy to sell, but the price they want is beyond us. We must move on, unless of course no one matches that fee. We probably would go to £20m, but not £30m. All guesswork of course.

I can't see us, Palace or Everton giving him first team football yet. So, if that's what he is after, that wont happen.

scored a lot of goals last season from midfield, and that's a skill in itself, but I am not sure he has the all round game to make the jump up to the Prem. I can see a Championship side taking him, but not sure a Prem side will. If they did, he'd be loaned out I suspect.

why on earth should we spend £20m on am wanted player Liverpool obviously rate less than the £5m right back they just signed from Aberdeen?

Hmm. Not 100% convinced by what I see in that video (certainly early on) - there is lots of being on the wrong side, desperate lunges and not a huge amount of comfort on the ball. Not easy to create an exciting video of a CB though, so I will reserve judgement until I see him live.

I really don't know what a football manager actually does these days, but in addition to tactics, man management and communication must be two of the most important elements. I don't have huge insight into his man management - I wasn't impressed with how he handled the McCarthy situation after the Brighton game, nor his handling of the forwards over the course of the season, but he seems to come across as a decent communicator...

Not impressed with him at right back at all, but if it was the odd game, no worries. He's been linked with Villa a lot, but Liverpool seem to want the earth for their rejects.

You have more confidence than me in our attacking prowess, but strengthening in every position is vital.

On leaving, he was complimentary, but I didn't get the feeling he thought he'd return.

the counter view would be, he missed the start of the season, but once he started he looked absolutely terrific, but lived off absolute scraps - as all the strikers did - in the final third of the season, which is why both he and they all failed to trouble the scorers. £25m is a lot of wedge to us, so maybe there are better options? Where's your £25m going?

It will be disappointing to see him sign for another Prem side. He is the ideal forward for a team like us - one that creates fuck all, so needs a guy like him that can out muscle/pace opponents. I think he'll go from strength to strength. It was clear from the way he `said his goodbyes' that he wasn't coming back, so no surprise. We are simply not attractive enough right now. Hope we can find someone equally impressive. Boy do we need more firepower.

There was about £26m of the loan left in the bank (in the last set of accounts). There was also outstanding money owed for some players. The Prem money is paid around now I suspect, so not sure cash flow would be an issue this summer, but balancing the books is a different story.

Has Willy actually signed a contract? It currently says on page 1 that he's here until 2023, but hadn't seen that announced.

I don't recall seeing any of the cavemen dojng handstands. Need to watch it again though, been a while.

If he isn't our number 1 come the start of the season, will you/everyone be disappointed and equally, would there be concern - i.e. if he ain't good enough to take McCarthys place now, then have we signed the wrong guy? It was February before Gunn started in the Prem for us I believe.

Blimey. Well I was wrong about that one then. I never thought we'd sign him and loan him straight out...I assume that is the plan, seeing as the journalists were right about the move they would also be right about the detail (the loan).

not exactly mystic meg, as it was only posted a week ago, but I've been saying it for a while now that we'd sign a young keeper to give balance to our ageing keeper group and provide us with at least one opportunity to make a `sell on profit'. Looking forward to seeing him in a Saints shirt. Hope he puts the issue we have had in that position to bed for the foreseeable

They give us absolutely no insight into what our kit will be as it is bespoke, but still interesting to see what `we could have won', the standard of other Hummel kits in 22/23 and have something to look at while we wait. It's pretty standard posting on this annual thread.

Are you talking about players on existing contracts they could not shift or new signings last summer? Sunderland were paying £70k a week to Rodwell in League 1, doesn't mean they'd sign a CB on £50k a week from Saints.

Championship sides don't pay circa £50k a week wages though. The Athletic suggested he signed a four year deal in 2020. He is here until 2024. He is going nowhere. No championship sides are buying him or even taking him on a free. We are not paying him £20k a week or more to play for someone else. Not a chance. And he will have no desire to drop down a league until he has n choice, which will be in 2024.

Wise was ancient. Grobbellaar was pretty old too.

of course, but who is gonna pay Stephens what we are paying him? Offloading unwanted Premier League players is almost impossible.

Joel Voelkerling Persson scored 12 goals in 26 starts for Roma U19s last season. He's a really big powerful lad, shoots with both feet, holds the ball up well and links the play. Not quick, like Broja.