Saint_lambden

We've 100% made a bid. I think the club are just trying to keep it under wraps as they are desperate to get the deal done on the quiet (hence nobody at the UK end carrying the story) before any other club has the chance to nip in. I think it'll be done within the coming days.

Know nothing more than what's been reported really - trying to agree personal terms with him and we're confident if that happens we'll agree a deal with Krasnodar. Bizare that it seems to be that way around so often nowadays but such is the game.

Wingers we’ve scouted recently: Fellows (WBA), Sima (Brighton), Abdoulie Manneh (Mjallby), Carlos Vicente (Alaves), Dominik Fitz (Austria Vienna), Tyreece Campbell (Charlton), Lewis Koumas (Liverpool).

Princewill Ehibhatiomhan off to Swindon on loan

He is. Primary one they want to tie down as his current deal ends in 2027.

Thought he was terrific out of possession today but sloppy in it. Still mentioned after the game about the sticky pitch (not that it should be an excuse) and he seemed to struggle to adapt to it in the first half in particular. For £3m though he looks solid enough and should only get better.

We (as fans) deserved that after the shit we had to endure last season. Nice to experience some limbs after so long without any! Didn’t feel like it was falling our way for so much of that game but got the job done in the end. Suspect it will be a bit like that for a few weeks like at the beginning of the last Championship season where futures of certain players are up in the air, we’re adapting to a new style etc so if we can grind out results whilst things settle then great. Wrexham will be fine this year if they can keep Kieffer Moore fit (got an ankle ligament injury today however), have Windass playing off him and O’Brien driving them forward from midfield. Should’ve put the game to bed with the two one-on-ones they had but brilliant save by Bazunu on Hardie’s one and O’Brien took too long on the other. Luck evened itself out in the end thankfully. Mixed bag of performances from us. Bazunu, Stephens, Manning, Robinson, Fraser and Charles decent but Sugawara, Damion Downes, Wellington and Quarshie all looked rusty. Fernandes wasn’t great either but suspect he’s not 100% mentally. Only criticism I would have of Still was not sacrificing a centre-back earlier to bring on another striker. It worked in the end but wanted him to make some changes earlier, even at half-time. Still missing creativity in central areas so Spertsyan signing can’t come soon enough really.

New Southampton boss Will Still has opened up on a year of turmoil for him and his Sky Sports host partner Emma, who was diagnosed with cancer, and juggling being Lens manager with being there for his sweetheart: 🗣️ “I moved to Southampton for both personal and professional reasons. Everyone wants to play or coach in the Premier League because it’s the highest competition. I’d been in French football for four seasons and met Emma two-and-a-half years ago. “Then she got seriously ill last year. As much as I love football there are sometimes more important things in life. I was going to games, travelling back and forth, thinking, ‘I shouldn't be standing on this training pitch. I don't even know why I'm here.’ I needed to be closer to home, and ultimately Emma is home. “I'm not going to pretend it wasn’t tough but was lucky my brothers were also working at Lens. They knew exactly what was going on. When Emma got the cancer news, they said: ‘Will, just go away, you shouldn't be here.’ But I kept coming to the UK two days a week. If there was a day off on a Monday I’d stay Tuesday and come back Wednesday to prepare for games. “It was too difficult not saying anything. That’s not the right thing to do. As soon as you open up, people go, ‘I'll give you a bit of time and space to be just a human being' and you realise there are much more important things than football. Football's great, pays the bills and it's what I love. But when Emma was diagnosed with cancer and then the brain infection in March, [football] was not that important. “It was draining because I also needed to be at Lens as that was my job and people were paying me a lot of money to do it. I was torn between ‘I know, I've got to do this but I know you're there.’ I tried my best and honestly finishing eighth last season was one of my proudest achievements. And doing it with my brothers was pretty special."

Not an issue, club have checked with all the relevant authorities. Krasnodar, unlike a fair few teams in Russian league, are not connected to the government nor is their owner/president etc. sanctioned by UK gov.

Yep. Dibling has one foot out the door but they're very relaxed with Fernandes. A lot of interest in him but nothing concrete with a many clubs put off by the price we want (£50m+ addons I believe). West Ham for example really like him but they're playing around with £30m odd for a new central midfielder so have no chance of getting him for that. His agent Mendes will keep whipping stuff up in the media throughout the window but at the end of the day, if nobody pays the price tag we've put on him them he'll stay. Gut says he will still go as I just can't see someone that talented in this division for long but we should just enjoy him for as long as we can whilst he's here.

Just read his piece in The Times and you'll see he's buzzing. Everything I hear from the training ground is very positive about his man management and the way he conducts himself - doesn't try to be everyone's mate all the time like Russell Martin did and constantly emotional. He's level-headed, someone who just adores football and is focused on the job in hand.

Agree on the timing front but the bid was genuine, though not sure how much it was actually for. Cov want at least £20m up front apparently plus add-ons so similar ballpark to what it would cost to get Fellows in. Both would be perfect for Still's system/style so hopefully we kick on and get them done rather than posturing.

They're up there with Newcastle, Arsenal and Liverpool fans for levels of delusion and self-importance.

---------------------Bazunu--------------- ---Edwards--------Stephens----Quarshie--- -Sugawara--Downes--Charles-------Welli- --------------Fernandes--Armstrong------- --------------------Archer------------------- Is what I would expect, but if we go 4-2-3-1 then Robinson must be included.

As per I said on here a couple of weeks ago, Jack Rosser confirming that we may shift on Smallbone and Aribo has interest too. Romeu has still been training with Barcelona even though he's not in their plans so doubt the story about him being at our training ground this week. Sounds like when he visited in Girona a few weeks ago he chatted with Spors, Bitcon and Still very informally about his next move but nothing more as he was waiting on his contract situation with Barca to be resolved. Asked my POC about Fellows - there's still an interest in him even since Martin left but nothing formal at this stage. Would likely cost around £20m mark. Number 10 still a priority, then x2 wingers and a central midfielder (or two depending on outgoings of WS/JA) and a 3rd senior GK to compete with Bazunu.

He's injured so won't be playing at the weekend

Nonsense

Should imagine we'll meet in the middle in the next few days as it's only a few million apart. We're calling their bluff and they're doing likewise with the old 'we're looking at alternative targets' trick but Dibling is the one they want.

Why would we cave in? They’re desperate for new signings and we know it. He’s their number one target that they’ve made x3 bids for in the last week. We hold the power.

Baffles me every year why people think the club are not working on deals just because every single move is not reported to them, but I guess we're living in a time of instant gratification. People would rather be fed a load of bollocks that has no substance to it than wait for deals to secured. Look at the Quarshie deal - nobody knew that was happening until it was basically done. That's how the club should be operating. Quality over quantity is still the mantra.

Donley. We still want him (amongst other Championship sides) but Maddison got a bad injury last night so I do wonder if Spurs will want to keep him now rather than loaning him out.

Yep, given our lack of wide men then we're relying on the width of the full-backs. Look totally devoid of any creativity otherwise.

Classic. 65% possession but massively lost xG and the shot count plus racked up 4 yellows. They'll get through next round of UCL v Plzen but he'll be hounded out soon enough.

Forest, West Ham, Fulham, Porto, Galatasary, Al-Qadsiah, Juventus, Inter, Atalanta (I wonder why) and Monaco are some of those I know of who have active interest, no idea how many - if any - have bid.

All of those apart from Harwood-Bellis I reckon. He’s apparently happy to stay and he’s only just coming back from surgery but I guess hard to say who may come in for him later in the window. The Porto bid story wasn’t all it was made out to be, sounds like they enquired about him when discussing Bednarek but it wasn’t a formal bid. Porto are actually interested in Fernandes but I’m not sure (just a hunch rather than knowing) he would join one of Sporting’s rivals. Fatawu is still there yes. Had a bad injury not long after the game at St Mary’s so only just back in training. Monga is the one to watch for them, only just turned 16 and been brilliant in pre-season. Their youngsters is probably what will get them through the other side of their financial situation. Foreign markets still. Sounds like they feel there is more value there than in England. We have done/are doing lots of scouting in Scandinavia but I guess that’s because their leagues have been playing through the summer compared to the rest of Europe.