Saint_clark

I love that Walcott and Long are the prime examples of an experienced player when it's suggested we shouldn't only be signing players who haven't played any top flight games at all. I'm not sure he does, and I don't prefer him there either. We look so unbalanced with him at left back, even though he does play well. Perraud hasn't struggled, he had a very good first season in a new country adapting to a much tougher, faster league, and we looked much better in general when he played.

As much as people have worried about this, hasn't he still NEVER been sent off in his career?

Yeah, the issue is he could set himself up for life by the time he's 20 really. Get that million quid and get some smart people around him, invest it in stocks or property, or even just let it accrue interest and earn circa £20,000 a year just from it sitting there. He can do whatever he wants to further his career from that point forward.

Does anyone know what actual type of midfielder he is as I can't find anything about him. Is he a creator, a ball winner, is he just an all rounder who can shift the ball along...?

For all our talk of the pathway there hasn't really been much of one for youth team players for quite some time now. Smallbone is probably the best in the last 5 seasons at least and he's just turned 22 and is potentially going out on loan, so hasn't really done that well. Our pathway seems to be more of an on-ramp for youngsters from other teams.

Absolutely, but he's only recently stopped being a child. He won't be first choice right away.

He won't be starting, he'll be competing/rotating with Romeu. Its possible he falls behind Diallo at times next season. He's only 18.

Saw that as well, at least they agree with the fans that it's a bit of a joke situation.

People saying that selling him for £75million would mean we'd get 3x£25million players are forgetting that players in that price range all want £100k a week or more, so to cover those wages for one season we'd be using just under £16million of the transfer fee. Plus agents fees and signing bonuses, and probably banking some to cover the wages for more than one season, all of a sudden you're saying that we'd have £40million to spend on players with the other £35million used to pay their wages and bonuses for the next two seasons. So we'd be looking to replace JWP in midfield and then sign one or two more players for £40million...not likely to improve us. We'd probably sell him, buy Svanberg as a replacement and then get two £15million players in at AM and striker who aren't guaranteed to succeed. Keep him, for the rest of his career.

Never mind the mute button mate, use the "delete account" button. Twitter is a cesspool, deeper than other social media cesspools but they're all the same and people would be much happier and much more relaxed if they didn't use them at all.

Relieved about this, never got a good feeling off this potential signing.

Are you sure? I swear I read that uefa/FIFA are changing the rules to put a stop to the kind of player hoarding and mass loans that Chelsea and City have been doing.

For the last two seasons we've conceded 60+ goals, been amongst the most conceded in the league. I'm glad they've made keeper and defense the priority.

I've long thought 3 at the back and 3 up top would benefit his system and our squad the most. Our only threat from width is our fullbacks anyway so give them more license to get forward and add an extra player up front for blitzing the opposition defense.

Reckon we might still see Richards come from Bayern on a loan to buy deal. Would love to see a back three of: Salisu--Richards--Kotchap

Possible move to 3 at the back I reckon. Salisu left and Katchop right with Bednarek in the centre (although I'd prefer to see Salisu central and Bednarek left, where he plays for Poland and looks much better).

Alright chief, calm down. What he was referring to was how websites will commonly post headlines such as "City V Chelsea match report" or "new Liverpool signing for record fee" and then you click on it and it's about the women's game. They know what they're doing, you know what they're doing, let's just be honest about it and say it's not ok. And I'm someone who has been calling for Saints to drastically improve their coverage of the women's team, go full time and watched them whenever they were streamed online. Don't try and flip this around because it just comes across as disingenuous.

I think 3-4-3 is the perfect formation for us. Extra cover at the back to make allowances for CBs missing their high press interceptions, allows the fullbacks to get further forward (our biggest threat on the wings), and gets an extra player up front to initiate the press and put the back line under pressure. As for the CM issue, that's also helped out with the extra CB stepping up into midfield.

Whoscored rate him as being good at passing, tackling and aerial duels based on his stats. Bodes well.

It puzzles me because there are a lot of players out of contract every summer, but we don't sign dozens of them and loan them out "just in case" they are good".

So we pay him a full seasons extra wages so he can be number two next season?

This from the man that tells us head to head records between two clubs mean nothing as it's all in the past.

It's not the signing itself that's odd, it's the combination of extending McCarthy and caballero, signing a 20 year old "wonderkid" goalkeeper who you'd think will be expecting to start before long, AND then a 25 year old keeper who has been playing regularly for the last few years. If we had let McCarthy go it would have made sense, Lis as backup and Willy as third choice, but now it's just...odd. It reminds me of when I used to play football manager, I was so forgetful I would sometimes agree a contract with an expiring player from another club and then at the end of the season sign another player in the same position forgetting I already had one coming in.

100%. Look at his assists away at Spurs last season, he definitely has the ability to play a ball 30-40 yards and have it land exactly where he wants it to.

Wasn't aimed at you, was just aimed at the signing in general.