CSA96

Very kind of West Ham to agree to pay us a £10m per season loan fee before returning him back home

Er, no Far more likely that Saints looked at his weekly salary and have said we're only comfortable to afford half your wages but we could stretch it over two years so you're getting the same amount and get an extra year's security before you're a free agent. West Ham don't want to be subsidising wages so they are accepting a nominal fee and JWP signs for Saints on a Champ salary for 2yrs vs sitting on a PL salary for 1yr and not playing

Wolfsburg only went down this summer and Vranx was out on loan in Serie A when it happened, so I assume he's one they can't afford to keep / sees himself at a higher level

https://www.bild.de/sport/fussball/vfl-wolfsburg-aster-vranckx-vor-wechsel-zum-fc-southampton-6a9020ec8a7786c19f335ff5

His teammates, ex managers and guys who have reported on the club for years said he was a leader of the dressing room which probably means more than someone on a forum talking about hair flicks, in fairness On the second point, not sure he will know a lot of the squad really? He'll know Bree, Stephens and Edozie as they played together for a bit and he'll know Manning because they did a preseason together but I don't think there is anyone else from back when we got relegated from the PL in 2023 that will still be here after the deadline

By all accounts we are planning to invest c. £10m in Henrik Falchener if THB leaves

Bolton in for Gavin Bazunu, according to Alan Nixon (I know... but he's decent enough on NW English clubs usually)

I think that's pretty much the perfect summary I have a few question marks but I think we ought to stop thinking of JWP as a direct Charles replacement. That assumes that JWP will be asked to fulfil the exact same role as Charles, which I think it's very likely that he won't be and Tonda may be asking something different of him. Tonda made use of Charles last season in a couple of different roles but given the profiles of the midfielders we have currently and the profile of the one he is looking at signing (JWP) he is looking for something different to Charles I think it's easy to assume that when a player leaves the club just looks at 'let's find a like for like replacement' when if Eckert/Spors actually want to look for something a bit different to change the composition of the squad then the person who comes in might have different strengths/weaknesses to the one who has moved on On that note, in our opening games I've felt like our ball retention and positional discipline in CM have been poor/sloppy. Those are two areas I think JWP still confidently addresses, plus he brings a level of leadership and veteran experience that you don't get from Matsuki and Bragg, or even Jander at this point. Downes probably has that in his locker too at this stage of his career. But ball retention and positional discipline aren't really what I associate with Charles, who was more of a bundle of energy who would contribute at both ends of the pitch but could be pretty sloppy too (as those midfielders tend to be) I do look at a midfield group of Azaz/Matsuki/Jander/Downes/Ward-Prowse/Bragg and think it looks a bit one-paced and, apart from Downes and Jander, lacks on the aggression front (although JWP did add this to his game under Ralph, so let's see). Ultimately, we'll have to see how it comes together and it's reasonable to expect that the way Eckert wants his midfield to work this season isn't automatically the same as last season

He also wasn't called Keven /MLG mode deactivated

Watford agreed terms with Panathinaikos earlier today I think

Viking aren't going to do anything in the UCL. He can play some group stage games but otherwise play Eliteserien games every week, or he can get a big payday and be playing just below the Premier League in a far better league where he has eyes on him from the start

Doubt it. Just bank the prize money, cash in on Falchener and put a sell-on clause in there and reinvest on making their team stronger for the league stage

Would be fun to see the blue few losing their minds over JWP playing/celebrating for Saints in the derby

Might not even have to forfeit the money. If West Ham have to subsidise slightly it's still better business for their beancounters than paying the full whack for somebody Nuno can't get along with

I've been thinking about it and think I'd summarise it as: Is he a decent signing for a Championship club that already has its first choice CMs nailed down? Yes Is he a plug and play replacement for what Shea Charles brings to the table? No Does he need to be? Not necessarily, it depends on how the manager intends on playing I would prefer a bit more athleticism, height and physicality in the midfield personally but I can see the logic in it, especially as JWP and Schlotterbeck would add some more leadership to the team

And now a fresh incident… https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4gmrz8d31mo

6ft2in CB Left footer Spent most of career in Bundesliga, over 150 appearances 29 years old

Saints signing 29yo Bundesliga CB called Keven Schlotterbeck from Augsburg https://www.saintsweb.co.uk/topic/62244-keven-schlotterbeck/

Tonda set up to try and start strong and take advantage in the first half. Nuno set up to be able to roll his big hitters on for the last 20-30 minutes. We messed up by only being one in front going into the second half really. Poor goalkeeping, poor defending and the momentum swung their way - as you'd expect when you look at who they were able to bring on. Not going to overreact to a Carabao Cup game but we definitely need more than just two new faces in the next six days

Scienza!