woodsaint1

This thread is getting just like the one when we were linked with Danny Ings initially. Not good enough, injury prone, not really proven at PL level etc..... Why dont we wait until we actually sign somebody and reserve judgement until we see them in a saints shirt. In fact given some of the left field signings we've made so far, it'll likely be a striker that the experts on here have no knowledge of (bar wikipedia or transfermrkt which they'll base all their assessments on)

Agree, I think around 15 million would be a fair price for him considering he has 1 year left. We're clearly testing Blackburns resolve because the longer it goes into the window the more his value will drop

Been in advanced talks with Palace and ourselves. Problem is nobody has met Blackburns valuation yet

Where did I say Armstrong wasnt promising? He looks like he would be a good addition, but to ask him alone to replace Ings is a big ask imo. Europe was just an example, but think theres better value in those leagues compared to Championship. We're being quoted 20mill for a player with one year left so to chase another english based player would see the Ings money gone in no time

If we could guarantee 'excellent' replacements then yes, but we cant. Leaving the Vestergaard situation aside, would like to see two strikers (Armstrong plus one other) as Obafemi could go the other way and Long is...well Long. Its a big risk to rely on a Championship striker to replace Ings' goals/contribution. Hopefully we can pick up another promising striker from Europe to give more depth. Would also like to see Delaney sign, or another DM

Blackburns price for Armstrong just went up a few mill

All well and good wanting to move Long on, but there needs to be interest in him. Age, wages and poor goalscoring record does not work in his favour of getting a permanent move. Can see him going out on loan but thats the extent of it. We've a strong interest in Armstrong and it appears that Blackburn are interested in Obafemi so a deal would make sense. Would be disappointing to lose Obafemi as I think he has more to give, but could I see it being a sale that we would come to regret - no I dont. Could see him forging a career as a decent Championship striker

They're annoyed it seems. A sign of how far they've come....yet still finished below us last season even after we couldnt win a game in 2021.

Must be alot more european clubs interested in him, or perhaps hes set his sights on playing in the PL. If we're genuinely interested I would hope we could get it done over Palace or Norwich (Vestergaard putting a good word in or his awareness of Ralph from his time in the Bundesliga). Would bring another dimension to our midfield and has plenty of experience.

Its the SWF way. Write the teams chances off before the season has even started 🤪

The usual drivel on here whenever players who are linked with a move away. Can Ings not have an off day without claims that hes not trying?

I cant see him going anywhere for anything less than £50m, and I cant see Villa stumping up that much imo

I'd be worried if we werent trying to address the gaps in our squad, but its clear we are trying and theres been plenty of links. I still expect us to make another 2 signings but they may come near the end of the window when the market develops. Other teams will likely be leaving it late also

Who around us are improving? Newcastle have signed nobody, Palace have lost half their team/their manager and face a race against time to get signings in before the season starts. Brighton are losing their best defender and may lose Bissouma also. Wolves have done no real business/lost their manager and theres talk Neves is on his way also. Burnley just plod along doing little to no business of note. Then you've got the three promoted clubs who will have a difficult time staying up.

No mention from Ralph tonight about us pursuing an attacker, but then you see this. All very bizarre. An exciting talent, but not sure we would want anything to do with this circus

Would be a good signing on a free. Wages will likely be a stumbling block and for that reason I could see him ending up at Palace or elsewhere

Sounds like sour grapes that hes leaving, bit like us at the moment with Ings tbh. Buendia had the most assists in the league, Olise was second. And one of those strikers on the wing was a certain Sam Gallagher, who had a grand total of 3 assists all season. Honestly wont know if hes PL quality until we see him in the PL. Thats the risk with Championship players, same as we had with Adams (who has given us a decent return imo). Think hes worth the risk, but closer to 15m than 20+m

They're also going to have new players making up a large part of their squad this season. Sometimes too many signings at once can be a hindrance and it affects the continuity (like Fulham a few seasons back) Throw into the mix that they've a new manager who hasnt managed at this level before. Although their business to date has been decent (not convinced with Guehi though), I would still rather be in our position than theirs. They'll be one of the contenders for relegation from the outset

Its like we're the only club who've made mistakes across multiple transfer windows. Plenty of other clubs are in the same position as us, but they either have an owner willing to invest further money or have sought out cheaper alternatives or loans. WHU a good example of the latter with the signings of Coufal, Lingard, Soucek and Dawson last season. Those players made a significant difference and contributed to them going from relegation candidates to EL contenders in one season. Those cheaper alternatives are out there but we seem to be haggling over every penny

That experience in La Liga is all well and good, but he also needs to adapt to the physicality of the PL and quick. Salisu was badly bullied by Calvert-Lewin last season, it was actually hard to watch at times. If Vestergaard goes, I dont think Salisu is ready to lead our defence (great potential but has he even hit double figures in appearancesnyet?). Jury is also out on Bednarek after his performances last season. Thats why a good replacement for Vestergaard is imperative. We should be looking at somebody who will improve our defence straight away and move Bednarek to third choice. If Simeu is good enough he'll be putting pressure on those ahead of him. As others have posted, two injuries/suspensions at CB and we could be down to Bednarek/Stephens and Simeu. Yikes.

Looks a promising player. Im all for adding further depth to CB and hes one that can be developed further (we dont have many under 23s beating the first team door down). I would be firmly against moving on Vestergaard and not replacing him just because we've signed Simeu. We would essentially be replacing an established PL and international CB with an under 23 player. Thats taking our CB depth backwards, and in case we all forgot, our defence shipped 68 goals last season. Even Sheff Utd conceded less

And 'for your information' 4 of those 7 appearances were for a whopping grand total of 22 mins. He only played 90 minutes twice, for a struggling championship club. In fact, when Bowyer came in and he wasnt involved they improved dramatically. Hes just not good enough

😂😂😂 Chill out Yan. You're not good enough, best you move on because you're just not PL quality

The fact that we were prepared to shift him out on loan for the remainder of last season and not replace him (despite trying with both Williams) or recall him when we got injuries says it all. Ralph didnt rate him then so whats changed now? Yes he may be applying himself well in pre season training, but in games he will get exposed like he has previously. The only reason I can see him staying is if we're unwilling to pay Brandon Williams loan fee and need to divert funds towards other positions. Again it would be a sad reflection of our current finances, because if we had any money about us Valery would be replaced as hes not a good enough squad option. He has regressed badly since his decent 18/19 season, which could be due to off field issues

Hes really not, hes pure shite. Couldnt even get a game at Birmingham. If we keep him its a sad reflection on our current finances