goodymatt

Gillingham, Valciennes and Espanyol behind closed doors. Then Brighton at St Mary’s.

He’s not really being tested but Quarshie looks absolutely huge.

We look better this half, Robinson has impressed which is great to see. He might be a real option this season on that left hand side.

Medical emergency stops play, all too often these days.

Suggests their offer will be close to our £25m valuation and that in principle he has confirmed he would be willing to move to the north east.

This is a good analysis of why Jack isn’t what we need at PL level. By all accounts he did very well at Bournemouth on loan , whilst our alternatives failed us. I maintain he’s good enough to play for us at Championship level and if this new contract is on lower terms it might financially just make sense to extend by 2 years rather than 1. Valid question if we needed to extend at all, but by doing so his wages might be lower for our finances this year. When/if we get promoted, we need to be starting a much better quality of player to give us any hope.

Hope the surgery went well and your recovery is quick!

That’s lovely.

Think we are playing Eastleigh, Valenciennes, Gillingham, Espanyol and Brighton. Middle three all BCD.

Could be a loan, as Dragan suggested we are looking at options to allow him to come back if we go up.

Reading through the replies with translation and pretty much all are unhappy to see him go and wishing him well. Usually a good sign when the fans of their former team hold them in high regard.

I’ve said it before and I’ll repeat, I highly doubt we have added 2 further years onto his contract, paying him the same wage we were doing up to 34 years old. This is most likely going to be a deal that gives him security and lowers our wage bill. Provided that is the case, then that could be justification for it being a 2 year extension to his existing contract, rather than 1 year. If the salary is sensible (reflecting his expected position over the next few years in the squad), this will keep a perfectly acceptable squad player in and around the team, that cares more than most. I can’t get too upset about that. Jack will play a fair bit this season I’d imagine, the championship is relentless and he’s good enough for this level when not being asked to be a FB come CM floater. If I’m wrong and it’s a 2 year extension of the same terms for a player that we know isn’t good enough to be a starter in the PL (where we aim to be during the next 3 years), then it is a Forster x McCarthy type nonsensical extension. In that case the general frustration about this announcement would be more logical.

You’re not wrong, we need a balance of speculating on young players that have less financial risk and getting what the team needs to be competitive now. Brighton have done an excellent job of this is recent times. Sole reliance on young potential resulted in our relegation from an established position. Transfer strategy has raised some funds to help paper over the cracks since but we will need investment in proven premier league players to get back to where we were.

Surprised he’s not got PL interest.

Is it a pay rise though? We are in the championship and he’s 31-34 for this deal. I expect a pay reduction but extended duration, finances of which could actually suit all parties.

Fully agree with this. The financial risks in terms of player trading are low with high potential ceilings. However, we have seen high financial impact due to 2 relegations. A balanced squad that provides the right environment for young talent to flourish is the preference/ideal but harder to build that from our current championship position.

Interesting to look into our recent track record buying young players: Mara - €11.5m, sold for €12m Sulemana - €25m, sold for €17.5m up to €21.5m SAA - free, sold for €8.5m Charles - £10m, worth more now. Edozie - €8m, would likely get a slight profit. Meghoma - free, sold for €6m ABK - €12m, received €2m loan fee so far, €12.5m sale fell through. We want €10m to more or less break even but could lose €5m or so here. Larios - €7m, likely to lose quite a bit of this fee. Fernandes - €15m, will go for treble that. Lavia - £12m initial but €22m including sell on, sold for €62m Livramento - £5m but €26m including sell on, sold for €38m Bazunu - €14m, one we might lose on if we sold now. THB - £20m, worth at least that today. Edwards - £3m worth more now Wood - £3m, expect a small profit. Quarshie and Downs are the next ‘gambles’ but are well informed by Lederer and Spors. Have I missed anyone? Some of these talents have been very good for our first team like Lavia, Tino, THB and Matty, but one thing for sure is they aren’t too risky in terms of financial investments. We are definitely up on the youth gambles. Players like Carillo £19m (sold for nothing), Onuachu, £16m (sold for £6m) are the bigger types of gambles that have cost us big time. ABK looked initially to be a potentially big sale but injuries have broke his mentality. Bazunu probably the most frustrating of the young buys, we expected more and his return has been statistically awful.

I have a good feeling about this one, to be joint top scorer when only making 13 starts for a title winning team in the German equivalent of the championship is quite impressive. He offers many attributes we’ve not had since Pelle. Spors and Lederer know what they are buying too, it’s not as big a gamble as it first seems IMO. Looking forward to seeing him play for us and hopefully it turns out to be a key signing. I echo the thoughts that we have a lot of experience and goals in our side at championship level, I’m hoping the ones that stay will compliment well with Downs.

Wonder if this extends his contract but reduces his wages? Might help from a PSR perspective. We are going to be left with young CBs only when Bednarek leaves, so I’m not massively against retaining him as a squad option, leader and emphasis on club captain. We don’t have too many players that are Southampton through and through. Last seasons 9 game suspensions let us down and he may have struggled to be a LB come CM roamer but at championship level playing sensible tactics he is a decent enough option IMO.