UpweySaint

Just spotted Armel Bella Kotchap has moved this summer, £7mil fee. No idea if we had a sell on, if we did I don’t expect we’ll see much even if we did given the relatively low fee.

I expect so. 25-30 up front with lots of add ons would be my best guess.

The thing is I am struggling to see who is going to put down the sort of fee we would want for THB. Maybe Leeds now they have sold Strujk? I expect we value him pretty highly and I would be curious if anybody in the prem is willing to match it as he’s not yet proven himself in the prem so represents a modest risk - fwiw I think he is more than capable of playing at that level. If he does go it will be interesting to see how we replace him. It will be tough to replicate his leadership and experience as much as the playing ability. Hoping Spors can pull a European rabbit out of the hat.

I think he’s worth persevering with. He seems like a confidence player and I would back Tonda to get more from him. I liked him at WBA and his slaloming runs early in the season showed a glimpse of the type of player he could be. Just isn’t a bad shout though if we want another option - perhaps if Edozie moves on?

His assist record for West Brom would suggest otherwise.

This feels low but if Tonda doesn’t see a role for him there is probably a deal to be done to get him off the books.

Game of opinions I guess. He is still relatively young and does need more consistency but I think he has every about him to be top class. I would caveat this with the fact that I’m still waiting for Broja to be a top quality all round number nine 😅

Chelsea aside, which is a basket case of a football club/henge fund poss up, he’s not really failed to make the grade anywhere. He didn’t smash them in for Hull but looked okay and it was a development loan. Are you implying you wouldn’t have him at saints if offered?!

Pretty much this. I expect a back up keeper will be on the list, I can’t see Ramsdale or Bazunu being here at the end of the window.

That’s the one. I think 😅 I remember the young Irish lads too. I don’t follow the 21s and 18s enough to know how they’re all getting on and who has the potential to make a breakthrough. I thought we would see more of Sesay this year but he seemed to fall behind Williams and Bragg/had a shift of position. It will be interesting to see if any of them get a look in at preseason- hopefully we get to see more of Oyekunlu (sp?) too. Hopefully Robinson come crack on a bit too after stalling a little. I’ve gone a bit sideways. Tenuous link - an academy gem would be like a new signing?

It’s not the same but I feel like we signed a young player last summer from Scotland. We’ve also been linked with a few here and there, there was a lot of talk about Lennon Miller being a target IIRC

We need height and presence in the side but as you say it’s not always the same thing as physicality. Morris is a good example as is someone like McGinn at Villa - pint sized but he’s a nightmare to knock off the ball. Physical centre mid with height elsewhere in the side works for me.

Big call on Bragg. I rate him but I think Jander is a more complete player and will continue to develop before moving on to bigger and better things. I can’t see Bragg overtaking him but if he does we’ll have some midfield for this level!

With a longer contract and multiple interested parties, maybe. Personally I don’t see it. I think Hackney will likely go for the £20mil mark and he’s won player of the season, I can’t see many teams being willing to pay much more than that.

How much do you think he’s worth? I would probably take £20mil with some add ons and a sell on personally given his contract situation.

We may get better value abroad but loans for Lankshear and Moore - ideally with options, at least on Lankshear, could be some smart business. Moore can play in the 10 or on the wing and Lankshear could be a good option to compete with Larin. If we got them both I would say we’re possibly a competent second choice keeper away from having a very good squad though that’s before any likely departures.

He looked dross for us. No argument there. There is a but for me. He has scored goals at a reasonable level and got international call ups. There has to be something our scouts (and others in the game) have seen to suggest there is more to come from him. He’s not at the level yet, but I haven’t completely written him off either. For the money spent we needed more of an immediate impact that we got though 100%

Who is this? I feel like I’ve missed something….

I’ve made a similar point before, likely on this thread, but Charles for NI reminds me a bit of Bale for Wales. Not in terms of current ability but whenever I watch Charles for NI he looks a level above the player we see in a Saints shirt. It reminds me of Bale looking super human for Wales no matter his club form or fitness. I am not suggesting that Charles puts more in when he plays for NI but I find myself wondering what it is that makes the difference. It could be as simple as the difference between international football and club competition in terms of tactics, pace, fluidity and structure. It could also be a reflection of the leadership/talisman role he has in a very young NI team. He also seems to have more freedom on the pitch in the NI set up. I sometimes wonder if we are getting the most out of him? I’m not saying we should adjust a winning system to do so but it’s an interesting thought. i think the player he is for NI is a much a part of the reason bigger clubs are circling than his form with us. He’s been decent for us but I don’t look at him and see a player too good for the level - occasional worldie aside! If we keep him, great. I’m convinced he has levels yet and could have a breakthrough season where he really establishes himself as a standout with us next season. If not, we have reasonable strength in depth, I have some faith in Spors to identify a replacement, any fee will likely be sizeable to help with financial rules and squad building and it would also be genuinely interesting to see if he could cut it at a ‘big’ club. Utd have been linked a few times. It may be lazy journos but I expect Wilcox knows him pretty well and there is nothing to say he doesn’t fancy him to do a job at Utd.

We were linked with a young Croatian striker at the end of the January window. IIRC there were bigger fish circling but I wonder if we might go back in for him, especially if we see light up top.

I’m still on this season 😅 i was referring to 24/25. Fair point about talent being about though - the American forward Derby signed looked much better than Downs!

He was top quality last season, if the price is right I would happily take him

It’s a lot lower down the pyramid but Ollie Wright had a decent loan in League 2 at Accrington - I’ve not seen him play but I wonder if that suggests he has enough about him to be part of the group here? Ideally with an experienced second choice.

Boro breakdown feels very apt. Cry more Matt 😅

31 for a player who looks after himself isn’t necessarily an issue. Hard to know his current level with his lack of consistent game time of late. It may indicate he’s gone to shit or it might just be he’s not pushed his way into starting 11s. My guess is he would look very good in a championship side under the right manager. There is a bit of sentiment in there but it’s not exactly jobs for the boys. Taking his name out of the equation if you told me Jander and Charles would leave I wouldn’t be too gutted about signing a 31 year old centre mid with a lot of prem experience, an eye for a pass and the sort of dead ball delivery many of ours would potentially thrive on. We have been stung before ‘getting the band back together’ but some of the bashing he gets on here feels OTT. I do wonder if he suffers somewhat by association- he was the captain during some shite seasons. Quite how much of that he should be accountable for is up for debate but it certainly seems to impact some views on him.