S-Clarke

To be fair, he had a pretty crud season.

I'm all for signing young players, but you can't just write off international/CL level players who aren't even 30 yet. The bonus with Cabaye is that he's proven in this league, terrific for Newcastle and highly sought after before his mistaken move to PSG. At 29, he's probably still got 4-5 years at the top. And his top level is a lot better than Clasie's at this moment in time. Midfield is such an important part of the team, and personally, I'm tempted to go with a bit of PL experience in there. You can't shrug at the potential signing of Cabaye.

If 29 is old, then I might as well retire myself.

....

But maybe we don't have the cash. Maybe we need the influx from the Clyne/Morgan deals first, before we commit to this deal - which will surely be one of the biggest financially we've ever undertaken. In my opinion, this will continue to run.

Juanmi wasn't, neither were Kelvin or Jay. They'll both be there.

No reason to doubt what you say to be honest, so an interesting twist. Will see how this pans out.

I'm pretty sure, if i look back through this forum, the exact same was said when we sold Lovren. The fact is that there are plenty of good players out there. Fabian Schar, aleksandar dragovic, Hector Monero - 3 very talented, top level CB's who have all previously been linked with us. So there are 3 names straight away. For what it's worth, I want us to keep Toby more than anything - ever. It would send such a signal. But...if it doesn't happen for whatever reason, then whilst we will be understandably gutted, the reality is that he's not the only talented CB out there.

Would imagine Stekelnburg, Juanmi etc will join up on Monday. Wanyama, Mane probably will. Tadic? He wasn't in the internationals anyway. Davis, Jay Rodriguez etc.

Monday as far as I know.

He's exactly the same profile as Clyne when we snapped him up from Palace. Young, highly rated, lots of potential. A very good signing for them.

Maybe they've confused the 2 clubs. Red and white stripes, both start with S.

He had a thigh injury for petty much the entire 2nd half of the season, coupled with general fitness problems. The real Tadic was the player we saw at the start of last season.

He would be a really, really good signing to be honest. Given that the Level of clubs interested seem to be the Newcastles's, Sunderland's etc - then I'd think we have a pretty sound chance if we agree a fee.

They have to, what else can they talk about on their 24 hour news channel otherwise?? The Sky Sources crap makes me laugh though. I noticed on their website that according to ''Sky Sources'' Toby has 3 options. Stay at Atletcio, Move to saints, or be sold to the highest bidder. Can anyone explain exactly why you'd need Sky Sources to confirm the most obvious of statements?

Well, exactly. Otherwise you end up with a squad full of Neilson's, Delap's, Van Damme's etc.

I think Clasie is Closie, but from what I read Vilhena wants to stay there now. Possibly personal issues?

Not sure what point you are trying to make really. Everyone knew that Morgan was going, they knew 10 months ago. It's just a formality and it always was. Same with Clyne really, he made it clear he didn't want to sign on here. So those 2 moves are kind of the worst kept secret really. Toby isn't our player, so it's not in our hands what so ever. I think he wants to come here, but Madrid are playing games with him. I don't think he'll stay there at all, and if he were to come back to England I'd like to think we'd be his preferred choice. There are lots of agent games being played with Toby at the moment. He wants it sorted as much as we do, but you just feel it will drag. Jaunmi isn't really a replacement for any of our players, is he? Just an additional option. Cedric will obviously come in and replace Clyne, I don't think it's fair to say he's untried, as he's a full international and has Champions League pedigree. Based on how we replaced Shaw, Lovren, Lallana last season, I have the up most confidence that these ''untried and untested'' players will come to the fore. In terms of expectations, I think fans need to be careful what they wish for, in terms of expecting more and more and more. I think 8th/7th/6th at a push is our glass ceeling. We will need major investment to grow from that, and if we don't have the owners to provide that then so be it. It's about finding other ways to get there. I've seen people state that when NC was here we didn't lose players - but think about that for a second. When NC was here we still had growth, we still had numerous places to rise whether that's leagues or PL places. As soon as we hit that glass ceeling he knew we needed to spend big, and he wanted to use someone else's money to do so. He ran as soon as he thought the going would become tough.

It was Sky who jumped on the done deal story, BBC never posted anything until that Ben Smith article today. The BBC were saying yesterday that stories of it being a ''done deal'' weren't the case. It will happen, obviously, but it's never really as sky claim. always jumping the gun to break a story.

The media are trying to create a new meltdown I see, even though it's common knowledge that he's been leaving for the last 10 months. ''Exodus'' for sure. and also lol @ that advert on the right, wtf.

He can, he can also cover CM. But he's primarily a centre back. He did have a storming season at Swindon, and I would imagine he'll be part of the squad to some degree next year. In my opinion, the '2nd' right back requirement rests on the Toby situation. If Toby signs, I don't think we'll get another RB. Sure, Toby isn't as influential at right back - but he's still bloody solid and does a job. I reckon if we get Toby, we've covered 3 positions in one shot. That's why I think he could be the most important signing of the summer.

Let the media play the crap games. The club know exactly what they're doing. We're in as good a position as we ever have been in terms of the quality we can attract, Cedric being an example of a very sought after player. Personally, what happens - happens. After last summer, I think the club deserve our trust. Whilst we were all panicking, the club clearly weren't and they had a plan. It's safe to say they have another plan this year. It already feels a lot calmer this year, a lot more settled. I think Clyne and Morgan have been the worst keeps secrets for months, I think they've both been off. So if we can get that done, get the £40m or so in and then go and secure our big targets.

Like we ended up with a Belgium, Serbian, Englishman and a Senegalese to replace last years departures you mean?

I think he's going to Inter. Shortest transfer speculation thread, ever?