DuncanRG

I notice that there's none of the usual 'my dream to play in the Premier League' stuff in the quotes. Might just be because it's not his dream of course (it was said that he would have preferred a move to Germany), but I wonder whether the club are trying to avoid repeating the sorts of phrases used when Lovren signed.

I like this. A good target, honestly shared without making unrealistic promises.

Kit fits nicely!

He said that things "aren't as rosy" at the club as they appear from the outside. This mainly centred around the suggestion that there isn't as much interest from the family now Markus has gone - which we've learnt is rubbish.

Stop being pigs, we're about to announce our first signing of the summer

If West Ham can get Konoplyanka there's no reason we can't. Haha, just a bit hopeful

All he'd have to do in that case is refuse to sign a contract with the other club, though.

I don't know what McDonalds' CEO is doing right now, but I can still walk in and buy a Big Mac. Stop trying to stir.

£25m is serious, serious money but we shouldn't accept it until/unless we're confident of bringing in a centre back of close to that quality. Doubt it'll end up that high, anyway.

You're right. We'll be very lucky if Tadic is as good as Lallana as a player, but it might be that Koeman's team, with his own personnel, works better than Pochettino's did in the final third last season. Maybe.

Thanks for everything Markus. Rest in peace.

Why would the Daily Mail want to annoy Artur Boruc?

We should seriously look at him if his wage demands are okay. I loved him at Swansea and if we could offer him something like the role he had there (i.e. free and central, not constrained as he is at Spurs) then he'd be great for us. I suppose Tadic will be our man for that job though.

His training at Feyenoord only tells us that the transfer isn't imminent. He'd be training today whether he's signing for us, signing for someone else or staying with Feyenoord.

#2 all day long. Even if we get someone like Marshall in and Boruc leaves as a result (very doubtful), we're where we were, with a great goalie and dodgy understudies. Thing is, keepers tend not to leave when competition is brought in - they compete. If Boruc doesn't get in the team all season then he might fancy a move next summer but right now I think he'll want to prove his worth here.

Well, the fact that he has scored an actual goal in his career makes him better than Altidore.

Have they been linked? Assumed if we were gonna sell anyone there it would be Lovren or Lallana.

I know they're not trying to hide that the players are photoshopped together but I can't help laughing at Fellaini in the background there

Just as well we've rejected the bid, then.

I think the Rodriguez situation changes that a little. If we can get a classy player, as this lad seems to be, for a season, I'd much prefer that to someone with less ability who we could secure permanently as cover/competition for Rodriguez. I expect the loans would end there, anyway. That said it looks like McQueen will be playing a bigger role this year, as might Ward-Prowse and Isgrove. Good news - I'd love to have Ben Davies here. Hope a wad of cash is more appealing to Swansea, provided we're willing to spend it! Ashley Williams has come out and said a transfer to Spurs would be a good move for Davies, so I assume the club are willing to sell. But then Swansea will see us as a direct rival for a top half finish...who knows? I'd also take Gylfi Sigurdsson if the price was right. Maybe a makeweight if we decide to sell Lovren to them.

The one advantage we have here is that Arsenal will be after better players than Morgan. I'd imagine Wenger considers him a back up option after Bender/Khedira (fair enough) but he wouldn't necessarily be cheaper.

I'd be made up with Forster or Marshall. Plenty of good keepers at the World Cup though you'd have to make sure they're half decent for their clubs. Keylor Navas?

He works for a news agency in the South - they create stories independently and newspapers buy them. Think a regional version of Reuters or the Press Association. No shame in it whatsoever.

He's played for two clubs in his career, so a journeyman he is not. And he has a bucketload of medals from his time at United. Don't pretend we're not a step down. Bear in mind Hernandez rejected us before we'd sold Shaw or Lallana, and long before this Lovren business started. In fact negotiations were probably going on before we sold Lambert. He saw/sees us as a step down regardless of player sales.

This is the hardest part to deal with for me. I don't mind too much if we don't do so well next season but it will take a while for it to feel like 'us'. That said I trust Koeman to build his own team with its own leaders and characters in the next few years. I hope he can nurture the same sense of collective purpose through the club. The ongoing strength of the academy helps with that. There's still no feeling like a homegrown boy scoring, so I hope we see more from Gallagher, Ward-Prowse et al next season.