Ralph Fastenbüttl

Nothing we've seen from SR thus far suggests this will be the case. I'm positive they're aiming for Delap as our main option with Mara to come on from the bench - whether that's alongside Che or instead of remains to be seen.

Like many here I initially completely dismissed the idea of us moving for Broja at a price of £35m-£40m, but thinking about it a little more I'm not so sure. SR's ethos is to buy young, develop, sell at a profit. If they forked out £35m for Broja and he becomes the player many of us think he has the potential to be, we could realistically be looking at anything from £50m-£75m in two or three years time. Which is a perfect fit for the model, no? It's a bigger gamble, of course, but having already forked out over £50m this window, SR is clearly not afraid to spend and gamble on returns. I dunno, perhaps I'm being daft?

Well, it is if you're doing it regularly...

I've hired people into my team who, despite my not liking them personally, I've known are good choices because they have a certain skillset or fulfil a particular role we need. It's called being pragmatic.

This. 1,000x this. Just calm down, people. This game, and the other pre-season games to follow, mean literally nothing, as is always the case.

Do you think Salisu is nailed on then and there's no prospect of him being forced onto the bench by Colwill/Kotchop? Presumably as he better fancies his chances of fighting for starts at Saints. Which would surely be the case.

I must admit that the thought of Broja returning doesn't fill me with a huge level of excitement. He's obviously a class player, but he was very average for a long period with us. There are a hundred reasons why that might have been the case, and there's every reason to hope that whatever caused the downturn wouldn't repeat itself if he returned. But it might. I personally find the idea of a fresh prospect like Delap a bit more juicy. As far KWP, I can't help but think that there's no smoke without fire at this stage. There's so much noise on this one that I sadly think we may well lose him. But at least £30-40m is a good sum to get a decent replacement IF we reinvest the money into that position. 'Post of the Year' winner right here 😂

Fuck me, really?

I must admit I'm not really sure what to make of Diallo. My wife asked me to describe him as a player and I really struggled. "He's just kinda like this guy who plays in midfield and sometimes receives the ball and sometimes then passes it." How would others assess him?

Kyle Walker-Peters already knows 'right choice' as Tottenham and Man Utd transfer links emerge https://www.hampshirelive.news/sport/football/football-news/kyle-walker-peters-tottenham-transfer-7319249

There's an amount I'd be happy for us to sell Che for, but it certainly isn't £20m. Double it maybe and perhaps that's the sort of cash that could get you a striker with a 15-20 goals a season at Prem level record. Anything less than that and we'd lost too much if Che left.

It's not the first time I've seen his name dropped in here, but I don't understand it myself. Any amount would be too much imo.

Of all the accusations you could chuck at Turkish, I'm not sure masquerading opinion as fact is one of them - virtually every post on here is an opinion, no? Are we all not here to exchange opinion?

Personally I think Redmond would be Ok as a squad player. Lots of experience, is able to make an impact off the bench and has a goal in him, all while not having to rely on him consistently - which is exactly his problem.

It's nice to be in a state where season kick-off will at the very least be cause for excited curiosity, as opposed to the more regular oppressing dread. With all the business done so far you have to believe that the owners are also seeking to answer the striker problem. If we can get that over the line and, if it's not too greedy, add another attacking midfielder, then we really will have good reason to be cheerful... at least until we're dragged into a possible relegation battle in the spring!

I love that away kit tbh. Wish I could say the same about the home strip...

Presumably this means we'll be getting some sort of replacement.

Not that I need to explain myself to you, but I was mainly referring to headline links on social media. Oddly enough I am indeed familiar with the internet and am capable of choosing categories, but even then it's not ideal because my interests aren't limited to a single league or indeed a single country. But for all my ideological support of the women's game, I'm yet to encounter a site that allows you to broadly isolate men's and women's football news from one another. There's no need to bite my head off, son - we're on the same side. All I'm saying is that from a consumer news perspective, I understand the gripes.

I'm a leftie and I'm feminist - and I mean in that the truest sense in that I believe males and females should be treated equally. I'm all for women's football, and think the quality of the women's game has increased exponentially in recent years. I'm pleased about the growth of the women's game, and am all for female commentators and officials when said individuals are suitably qualified/talented to do the job (I could listen/watch Alex Scott all day long). But at the same time, I do not follow the women's game so it's a right pain the arse that the women's football news is intermingled with men's. It's not uncommon for me to click a link only to find that the news I'm reading is of no interest to me. Surely the clear differentiation and segregation of men's/women's football news is in the interest of absolutely everybody because everyone wants to be able to quickly identify what they are and are not interested in?

Ralph's Runts

This is infuriating. Oh behave.