UpweySaint

I’ll give you Larios and ABK though I’m not sure that I would include ABK in that specific cohort as he wasn’t part of the City academy exodus. Baz I don’t think is as awful as some think and he is still young in goalkeeper terms. He has clearly lost confidence and may not come back from that. You did miss Lavia off the list too. Injuries have been a big issue but he is clearly top quality. He was the 2022 cohort right? I won’t be heartbroken if Edozie goes for the right fee but I do feel he is worth persevering with.

Yeah the Anderlecht loan spell was a disappointment, can’t argue that. I don’t know much of the context of the team, how he settled etc. Hard to know how definitive it is. I suppose the caveat is Club Brugge would have seen him in the Belgium league and fancy him based on that. They’re a decent side. If he does go hopefully it’s for a good fee and Still is given a quality replacement well suited to how he wants to set up.

I thought Edozie looked decent albeit a bit raw in our promotion season. If I remember correctly he got an injury just when he was getting in to rhythm with us. Unless we have a replacement lined up I would rather keep him - I think he could do a job at this level and has the potential to develop into a premier league player.

If we did it would be good business. I had been working on the assumption we wouldn’t get a fee for him so anything is a bonus. I would take a lower fee with a good sell on clause - just in case he kicks on.

Yeah fair point - that’s the risk. I think we overpaid a bit for Mara but can see why we took a punt on him. A few goals in a good league at a young age, youth international pedigree etc. Mara being sold on to BlueCo was a bit odd - they seem to be throwing a lot of cash at potential so even though he didn’t do it for us perhaps people in the game still see something - personally I never saw much for him in a saints shirt that made me think he would crack on. If you believe TransferMarkt we actually made a profit on him though which is strange…

No guarantees but we’ve seen other teams get more value from European leagues for a while. That price for an international striker with goals in a comparable league with his physical ability profile has the potential to be a good deal at relative low risk. You could say similar about Quarshie.

Maybe that’s why he is moving over the border?!? It all adds up now …

Interesting read, cheers. He sounds like the sort of full back Still likes - if he is on our radar it fits with the push for more athleticism. a few comments on that thread about Rudoni too who some have mentioned. A double raid would piss off some Cov fans for sure and in some ways they feel to be a ‘similar’ size club but it’s not entirely impossible and would make a lot of sense in terms of recruiting top championship players with scope to kick on if/when we go back up. I would feel a bit for Cov fans. Generally a nice bunch and have had a few almost moments after years of dross and uncertainty.

Before anyone has to leave. As in we would target them whether we made sales or not. Getting sales done early is a bonus all the same!

I think there is a risk of oversimplification at times. Some top championship players make the step up, some don’t. Some young foreign punts end up representing great value, some are Bella-Kotchap. Players aren’t signed into a vacuum. A player coming in to a good team with talented coaches and a defined culture in terms of tactics and the bigger picture stuff such as a strong dressing room with leaders are more likely to succeed than those coming in to a shitshow. Wanging on aside I like Sainz and Rudoni from what I’ve seen. I don’t know how realistic either is at this stage - Sainz apparently has admirers higher up and Coventry would likely see us as a direct rival so would want a sizeable fee for Rudoni. If Spors and his team can pull a Marty Fernandes type deal from abroad then I’m all for it!!

Hard to see past Ipswich as favourites. As others have said they are a settled side with quality and a good manager. Plenty of us questioned their squad depth last time around but it didn’t seem to be a factor. They probably need a centre mid (or two) and possibly a striker but otherwise they look strong. I’m confident we’ll challenge but if Ipswich fly out the blocks while rivals are still getting together- us included - they could be hard to stop.

Fair enough, game of opinions! There aren’t many players I’ve preferred watching for saints in the last decade or so but I get that he could infuriate. Your main point - Dusan at 37 isn’t right for the championship - yeah no arguments. I don’t think he would fancy it and I couldn’t see him being up for a 46 game slog. It would be fun to see him doing his thing back in a saints shirt against lower quality opposition but it doesn’t feel like a se sensible or realistic bit of squad building.

Nostalgia may play a part but I don’t think it’s revisionist to say that he was technically one of the best players we have had in the past decade. He gave the ball away but also tried to, often successfully, make things happen that others couldn’t. I don’t necessarily think he’s the answer in the championship at his current age but it doesn’t diminish his ability.

This. I would guess (we’ve established its guesswork at this point) they are also both on decent wages having joined us in the Prem so we can put that towards signing a forward who suits Still’s game. If we can shift ABK for any sort of fee too that would be great.

Hard to quibble with much of the interview. I know Martin splits the crowd and I think most agree his position became untenable but it’s interesting Solak cites the VAR decisions that cost us points. It’s all if and buts though I do wonder what our season could have been like with a few more points and the confidence that comes with that early in the season.

Fair point, difficult to justify carrying them both with the fitness risks. If Onuachu and Armstrong go and we bring in a younger striker on a lower wage who may need a bit of bedding in I could conceivably see us having Ings and Stewart in reserve with Archer the main man. If honest I don’t see Ings as likely but I wouldn’t be unhappy if we signed him.

Broadly agree - there is a finisher in Archer and he may yet come good. Ings in for me depends on who goes and how any wages are structured. He could be a good option in the squad - he’s not the player he was when he was with us but we’ve not really got close to matching him since…

Was he at Barnsley or am I confusing him?

Guardian have it as basically a done deal. I don’t really judge Selles on his time with us and he’s reasonably well since leaving but I feel less worried about Sheff Utd with Wilder gone. He did a really good job with them last season and the fans understandably hold him in high esteem. If Ruben doesn’t get off to a strong start things could get tense their way. The other interesting tidbit seems to be Rohl linked with plenty of jobs but still being at Sheff Weds. There has been speculation about him holding out for better offers or Chansiri not wanting to budge from a big buy out clause. Either way if he is still there when the new season kicks off it could be an interesting watch… Have to say I’m feeling more pleased we got Still and got him relatively early. Throw in Edwards at Boro, McKenna linked to Brentford and whatever Leicester are up to and it feels like a lot of the fancied sides will have had a lot of upheaval. I almost forgot Manning to Norwich from Bristol leaving them needing to find a replacement.

Come on, you know it’s not that simple. If he doesn’t have an agreed release clause (which is unlikely) then yes technically we can hold him to his contract but there are many reasons that is rare in modern football - many of which are clearly exacerbated by using being relegated. Sports Republic have got plenty wrong but they at least held out for decent fees for players last time around and I can’t see why it would be different this time. I hope nobody meets our valuation for him but if they do hopefully it helps us keep a competitive squad together.

We were linked in the Autumn, i don’t know if it’s genuine but you would think his price is likely within reach for us given the year left on his deal.

I guess wages might be a factor too. If he’s on a wedge clearing that and bringing in a okay fee may either help us get in somebody Still wants or get us closer to being able to retain one of the handful of players we would actually be keen to keep. Personally if the fee isn’t a complete piss take I’m not bothered. I don’t rate him particularly highly and think Stewart looks a better all round player - with a major caveat of ‘when fit’.

Johannsen also showed a lot of class in the Rotherham home game calling for the game to be stopped - as well as pulling off some really impressive saves.

Fair enough, good fishing! 😅

Really like him? I can’t see there being too many in that camp. He’s been distinctly average and I can’t imagine much more than a collective shrug if he stays or goes. If he goes you hope we can find somebody better- if he stays he is a good squad option and has demonstrable versatility. Nothing against him but I would be curious if there are reasons, footballing or otherwise, saints fans would have strong views on Aribo? Other than having a decent-ish song that’s easy to trot out …