woodsaint1

Given that he played quite a few PL games before his injury and also the work hes seemingly putting in before pre season begins (although could all just be for his social media), its a kick in the dick to be told you're off to the Turkish second division. Think hes ok, nothing better, nothing worse. Moving him and Bednarek on and then bringing in another starter to compete with Salisu and Kotchup wouldnt be a bad thing if thats what the club are thinking

The austrian soccer board, a colleague on the extended board (whatever that is but doubt that they would aware of bids on players)..... think I'll wait for a legitimate source that we've bid for him before getting excited

Who is SaintRob and how informed is he?

The links with Chris Richards seemed very strong, some indicating it was nearly a done deal and then this signing comes out of nowhere. Did we consider both and choose ABK, or do we still remain interested in Richards? Would be very strange to sign another young CB. What must Simeu be thinking - clearly sold on a pathway to the first team and now we've just went and signed another CB who is the same age as him but will be ahead of him in the pecking order (both have Cameroon links). Certainly spells the end of Bednareks time here, maybe even Stephens as well. Although I would not be entirely shocked to see Salisu leave given his contract situation and current value - ABK could be the like for like replacement in terms of playing style (although different footed)

Thank god for that. We have a temendous record with south american signings

I would let him go. He makes too many mistakes, is very often caught out of position and is poor playing the ball out from the back (remembering his reaction to the boos last season for being too cautious and constantly passing it sidewards/backwards). Not to mention the OGs and he was key to both 9-0s. We as fans should expect more than that from a young CB with 100+ games in one of the top European leagues who also has 40+ Intl caps for a decent nation (although tbf Poland doesnt have many decent CB options). With 3 years left on his contract we could easily get 20m+ for him. That can be fully reinvested in a replacement

Welcome Gavin. Hopefully the number 1 for years to come. CB and CF next please

Pretty sure thats last seasons GK kit

No signing is a sure thing, particularly not at GK where mistakes are magnified. Kepa when Chelsea signed him was seen as the next big Spanish prospect, next Casillas etc. A few mistakes later and his stock has plummeted. Bazuna will make mistakes, all GKs do. Hopefully he is given the necessary time to develop. I still think having a strong CB and DM contingent in front of him will make the world of difference. He can be the best GK around but if we're allowing upwards of 10 shots on target per game then its going to be difficult for any GK

Not sure if you're on the wind up or not as defending Long is a bizarre stance. His goalscoring record since Koeman left is 13 goals in 138 PL appearances which is a whopping 0.09 goals per game. The fact he dropped down to the championship with Bmouth and did nothing of note also shows that might not even be his level. But sure hes good to have around because hes a great lad in the dressing room.

Absolute nonsense this argument that Long 'is great for the dressing room' or 'good to have his experience around'. Hes a striker paid to put the ball in the net and has been woefully bad at doing that ever since Koeman left. He doesnt deserve an extension, didnt deserve one last time either. Could have done with getting his wages off the books. We already have Walcott, McCarthy and Stephens, all seemingly good for the dressing room, but not good enough for the pitch. Absolutely baffling from Ralph and we're going to trust his judgement when deciding on transfer targets 🤦🏽‍♂️

Bazunu is an established internatinonal and needs first team football. Theres no chance hes agreeing to come here to compete with McCarthy for a place on the bench. Ideally we signed Pope and moved McCarthy on. Pope and Bazunu would be great upgrade on Forster and McCarthy but its not going to happen. It will very likely be Bazunu and McCarthy competing for the no1

Think most big PL and European teams have been doing it for years now for any young talent moving on. No brainer really and lessens the risk that all those years of developing them wasnt for nothing. When i was contrasting him with Gunn it was more so the fans views

They werent. Gunn signed summer 2018. Sparkes joined July 2019 with Crocker returning in November 2019

Very pleased with this. Seeing quite a few City fans unhappy on socia media. They wanted him to compete with Ederson the next few years, cant believe its less than 20 million and are demanding a buy back clause. Dont remember similar when we signed Gunn. The 'L1 keeper' comments are ridiculous. Its clear hes way above that level based on pompey and city fans views. Given his performances at international level (watch the game against Portugal) its likely hes PL quality now. Lets hope we can nurture that talent and push him even higher. Our GK coaches werent able to do that with Gunn, but with most of them out of the picture now lets hope for a different outcome.

'Serious investment'? Relatively speaking, for the Turkish league that wont require as much £, but I dont recall hearing this language when the takeover went through for us

Upwards of 25 million for a player who cant get a game at Wolves and was on loan in the Championship last season. Hope there isnt much substance to our interest

Critchley and Gerrard know each other from Liverpool u18 and u23s. Still leaving a mid table championship managers job for an assistant role at a mid table PL side is hardy a step forward in his career

On the face of it a very good signing, but I think the same was said when Villa signed Buendia, Digne, Bailey and Ings last summer. Also added Coutinho mid season and finished an impressive 14th. He'll also turn 30 next season

Was worse than that. 14th. A mere 5 points ahead of us - when we could only muster a mere 5 points in the last 12 games. Gerard did an average job, nothing more. You're right though, the likes of Ings, Buendia, Bailey and Digne have all flattered to deceive for the best part of 120 million

Hopefully the majority of these latest transfer rumours are bullshit. Was getting my hopes up with the coaching shakeup, to then see links with Harry Wanks for 25 mill, some polish keeper who is allegedly 'one for the future' and Ryan Fredericks. We need players who can improve us right now, not more average squad fillers. Impressive to see what Villa are doing. I dont expect us to be throwing that sort of money around, but hopefully we can start seeing some quality links soon

Like the sound of this. I have images of a Serbian task force dangling players agents over a high rise balcony until their client signs for us 😂

A 5 year deal 🤯

Much of a muchness between Lyanco, Stephens and Bednarek. All three are very very average for PL standards (Bednarek the better imo). In fact, Salisu the last few months hasnt been much better but obviously has a higher ceiling that the other three. Ideally we would sell all three in the summer but thats not going to happen. Would look move Bednarek and Stephens on and think we could get decent value for both. Bednarek been linked with a few Serie A sides and his international experience is a big selling point. I could see Stephens getting picked up by a top Championship side or even one of the promoted sides. Still dont understand why we opted for Lyanco over Worrall, although likely due to finances. If Forest dont go up I would go back in for him.