Summer Transfer Window 2019

[verlaine1979]

Don't see why not, other poor teams seem to be able to sign good players. Just need to pay them enough money.

 

Bearing in mind the whispers from the club about our financial situation, I'm really hoping RH has made enough of an impression already to be a deciding factor with the kind of players we're allegedly going to bring in. God knows the current squad look a million miles away from being able to play the kind of high energy, quick passing, quick pressing game he was known for before he came here.

[John B]

Just need to pay them enough money.

 

Cant see that happening

 

 

Hampshire are doing well with home grown players and a few imports decently paid

[adriansfc]

You might be right, but we have had some success signing players from 'lesser' league in the past- Mane, Pelle, Tadic, Van Dijk etc. Then you look at the likes of Carillo, playing in a better league but not great.

 

I think either way it is a gamble and very much depends on the quality of your recruitment department.

 

The difference, and what we should get back to IMO, is signing players who are doing well and on the way up. That won't be possible with prem players, or top leagues. So you look at lesser leagues.

 

Mane, Tadic, Pelle, VVD, Wanyama were all doing very well and full of confidence when signed, and they carried that on and grew. Won't always work, Elyousnossi has been trash and Boufal didn't work but it's worth sticking to that strategy.

[adriansfc]

We are hardly likely to get any decent players wanting to come to SFC at the moment

 

Yeah good footballers from other countries hate coming to premier league clubs for big wages and top training facilities.

[Heisenberg]

I wonder if Fabian Delph will be on the move this summer?

 

Still only 29 and seems to be a leader type we need.

 

Completely phased out since Christmas at city.

[Nolan]

I wonder if Fabian Delph will be on the move this summer?

 

Still only 29 and seems to be a leader type we need.

 

Completely phased out since Christmas at city.

Certainly fits the 'young player who we can use on his path to the top' mould that is been said we want.

[saint1977]

Retain - Redmond, JWP, Bednarek, Ings (we have to but remember how good he was in the first half of the season before the Conference South training standards pre-RH caught up with him after being used to Liverpool), PEH, Valery, Bertrand, Gunn, Romeu, Sims, Slattery, Obafemi, Yoshida as back up.

 

Undecided - McCarthy, Vestergaard (realistically we won’t sell the latter, and not sell the former through choice), Reed.

 

Realistic prospect of selling/mutual termination - Lemina, Cedric, Jordi, Charlie, Targett, Stephens, Long

 

Sell if buyer can be found, if not loan out - Moi, Hoedt, Forster, Gallagher

[Roger]

Retain - Redmond, JWP, Bednarek, Ings (we have to but remember how good he was in the first half of the season before the Conference South training standards pre-RH caught up with him after being used to Liverpool), PEH, Valery, Bertrand, Gunn, Romeu, Sims, Slattery, Obafemi, Yoshida as back up.

 

Undecided - McCarthy, Vestergaard (realistically we won’t sell the latter, and not sell the former through choice), Reed.

 

Realistic prospect of selling/mutual termination - Lemina, Cedric, Jordi, Charlie, Targett, Stephens, Long

 

Sell if buyer can be found, if not loan out - Moi, Hoedt, Forster, Gallagher

 

Keep ings and get rid of Vestagard? Don’t think so mate.

[alpine_saint]

I hope these rumours of his return are just that - rumours.

 

I could never forgive what he did.

[SuperSAINT]

I hope these rumours of his return are just that - rumours.

 

I could never forgive what he did.

 

Another who seemingly doesn’t remotely fit Ralph’s sort of target.

 

Young, fast & potential.

[Heisenberg]

I'm pretty sure every club in every league in every country wants "Young, fast & potential"

 

Would I want Lallana back? No. Too injury prone now it seems.

 

Now Les Reed has gone the Liverpool favors will hopefully dry up.

[beatlesaint]

Now Les Reed has gone the Liverpool favors will hopefully dry up.

 

Not to mention nobody in the current squad is remotely good enough for what they want now

[stevy777_x]

I'm pretty sure every club in every league in every country wants "Young, fast & potential"

 

Would I want Lallana back? No. Too injury prone now it seems.

 

Now Les Reed has gone the Liverpool favors will hopefully dry up.

 

Well it didn t seem to be our priority over the last few seasons...

[angelman]

He's 31 now. Knowing Liverpool, they do sell well, and would want far too much for him. That's before the "politics" of it.

[Saint]

Why do people always forget about wages when discussing players returning? There's been rumours of so many players returning. Lallana, Ox, Chambers, Shaw, Clyne and more. We can't match the wages that they're used to.

 

Supposed quality of said players and/or injury proneness is irrelevant when we couldn't afford them in the first place.

[John Boy Saint]

Not to mention nobody in the current squad is remotely good enough for what they want now

I thought that was all part of the cunning plan to stop us being picked off each summer.

 

Back to the thread subject, why would we want Lallana back here? He doesn’t offer anything special, would probably pollute the dressing room too, and he seems to be broken most of the time.

[SNSUN]

Okkkkkkk, end of the season. Phew. So now we look to the summer activity. A 25 man squad needed and some of the youth like Sims will now qualify as part of the 25 man squad if we want to keep them in there.

 

So this is my squad for next season, including transfers in and out. Obviously Ralph's will be different and of course it is dependent on finances but this is what I'd like to see. OUTS would be loans if we can't sell. I think I have the youth ages right.

 

GK: Gunn, McCarthy, (Lewis - youth) OUTS - Forster/Rose

 

RB: New RB (Valery, Ramsey - youth) OUTS - Cedric

 

LB: Bertrand, Targett. OUTS: McQueen

 

CB: New CB, Bednarek, Yoshida, Vestergaard, (Alfie Jones - youth) OUTS: Hoedt, Stephens

 

DM: New DM, Lemina, Hojbjerg, Romeu, (Slattery - youth) OUTS: Reed, Clasie

 

AM: New AM, Ward-Prowse, Redmond, Armstrong, Sims (Johnson - youth) OUTS: Boufal, Elyounoussi, Hesketh, Davis

 

STR: New STR, Ings, Long, (Obafemi - youth) OUTS: Barnes, Austin, Gallagher, Carillo

 

That's 21 senior players backed up by youth, with 5 incoming signings as part of that 21 as I doubt we'd sign more than that. Which leaves four spots for players we can't get rid of! So we refer to the OUTS: As I figure we will probably be stuck with Stephens and Elyounoussi, then they can pick up 2 spots, and I would give Boufal a go under Ralph's guidance too, which takes us to 24. The 25th spot I would either give to Reed or Hesketh, and because of his versatility, I'd go for Reed.

 

So the final 25 senior players are: Gunn, McCarthy, New RB, Bertrand, Targett, New CB, Bednarek, Yoshida, Vestergaard, Stephens, New DM, Lemina, Hojbjerg, Romeu, Reed, New AM, Ward-Prowse, Redmond, Armstrong, Sims, Elyounoussi, Boufal, New STR, Ings, Long.

 

That should at least provide us a stepping stone for a better placed finish next season, with a view of completely getting rid of the deadwood/rot next summer. Of course I've not factored in players that could be wanted by other clubs - Redmond, Bertrand, Ward-Prowse and possibly Lemina will probably have their admirers, with either of the goalkeepers, Hojbjerg or Bednarek possibly left field transfers too. But I feel it should be more about adding to the group this summer, not dismantling it and starting again. However those 5 incoming players would need to be of better quality than what we have already...

 

RB - Needs to be of first choice quality, or very near potential first choice quality, irrespective of Valery's promise. He needs competition and it will only be good for us in the long term. (Especially if Valery becomes our most sought after player next summer. (Like Wan Bissaka at Palace.)

 

CB - No brainer we need a first choice, someone that is equally comfortable in the back 3 or in a back 4, and dominant. (In a similar vein to VVD, Alderweireld et al if possible)

 

DM - A mobile tank - more Wanyama than Schneiderlin. Someone that can shield the defence but get forwards if needed.

 

AM - A playmaker with goalscoring capabilities. Someone that can change a game. (Even though I've included Boufal, who could still prove a disappointment, I still feel a signing here, even a younger player, would adequately equip us for a full season.)

 

STR - Someone that can frigging score more than he misses! A target man with mobility. (We can't rely solely on Ings, Long and Obafemi for goals all season!!!)

 

So there we are - that's my 25. I'm sure it's wildly inaccurate as to what will actually happen but we shall see...

[dellboypete]

Bournemouth must be favourites surely

[beatlesaint]

Bournemouth must be favourites surely

 

Thats where his heart always was isn’t it ?

[S-Clarke]

Agree with most of what you say above, we do need some big surgery. Sadly, it will mainly depend on who we can shift as Gao will have no intention of putting finances in for us, or releasing the wage bill - so we will have to generate it.

 

I think Clasie will end up going on a minimal deal, couple of mill. However, the likes of Ely, Hoedt, Cedric, Carillo, Forster, Boufal, Stephens, Austin will be where our headaches are I think. It's not so much the fees they will bring in, it's the wages they consume at the moment.

 

So as much as I'm excited by what Ralph can do, I'm also prepared for him to start becoming very frustrated when it's evident he really won't be able to do what he needs to do with us. I have no faith in the ownership or scouting and recruitment at this club.

[Saint Garrett]

Yup pretty much agree with SNSUN. Wouldn't be upset with getting rid of Armstrong and Lemina either, as the latter should have some sell on value and large wages. Think we'd be ok with one more first choice DM/CM and then Romeu, Hojbjerg, JWP, Reed to fight for 2 of the other positions.

 

Would like the AM to be a quick player too, probably more in the mould of Mane than an Armstrong/Elyounoussi type. Any news on that Senegalese chap we apparently bid £20m for?

[rooney]

Would agree with SNSUN above with the proviso that the new midfielders have pace. JWP, PH and R look lumbering at times especially towards the end of the game. Ralph has also indicated that coaching staff will change and based on performances over the season a GK coach seems a priority for starters with a good sports physcologist that can overcome the lack of concentration/errors that has cost us so many points.

[Useful Idiot]

Yup pretty much agree with SNSUN. Wouldn't be upset with getting rid of Armstrong and Lemina either, as the latter should have some sell on value and large wages. Think we'd be ok with one more first choice DM/CM and then Romeu, Hojbjerg, JWP, Reed to fight for 2 of the other positions.

 

Would like the AM to be a quick player too, probably more in the mould of Mane than an Armstrong/Elyounoussi type. Any news on that Senegalese chap we apparently bid £20m for?

 

Djenepo is from Mali not Senegal, no updates on him in the media recently.

[Crab Lungs]

Agree with most of what you say above, we do need some big surgery. Sadly, it will mainly depend on who we can shift as Gao will have no intention of putting finances in for us, or releasing the wage bill - so we will have to generate it.

 

I think Clasie will end up going on a minimal deal, couple of mill. However, the likes of Ely, Hoedt, Cedric, Carillo, Forster, Boufal, Stephens, Austin will be where our headaches are I think. It's not so much the fees they will bring in, it's the wages they consume at the moment.

 

So as much as I'm excited by what Ralph can do, I'm also prepared for him to start becoming very frustrated when it's evident he really won't be able to do what he needs to do with us. I have no faith in the ownership or scouting and recruitment at this club.

 

Sums it up nicely.

[Neef]

I'm expecting 3/4 players in and nothing more. And if recent years are to go by, they are going to be relatively cheap. I don't have a problem with that. We're in the business of 'polishing gems', and that's worked for us in the past.

 

I think we need to distinguish between what we want to happen this summer, and what is likely to happen. 'Realistically, we aren't signing a new CM, GK or more than one CB. An addition to Romeu would be great, but with JWP, PH, Lemina, Slattery (even Armstrong), it's one of the positions we're stocked in. Can't see us putting a chunk of our budget to a position that we don't desperately need.

 

I think it will be RB, CB, ST. A new AM will depend on whether Ralph takes to Boufal (and vice-versa).

 

Every decent team has a strong spine. Our CM is pretty good, but we need to harden up central defence and upfront. Under Poch it was Lovren/Fonte - Wanyama/Schneiderlin (Cork) - Lambert (Hit or miss Osvaldo). With Koeman it was Fonte/Toby/VVD - Schneiderlin/Wanyama/Romeu - Pelle.

 

We need to get that right in the summer.

[doddisalegend]

I can't see us bringing in loads of players people wanting 5 or more new signings are going to be disappointed I think the club are already committed to buying Ings and I doubt there will be loads in the kitty after that. There are plenty to move on but that's easier said than done given PL wages and how poor most of them are. I suspect we are only going to get a couple of new signings this summer if that's the case a good striker is the main one for me after that we need another right back I quite like Valery but if he gets injured we are reduced to playing JWP (or Stephens) there.

 

Personally I think midfield is OK especially if Lemina can get fit, a back three of Vest, Yoshida and Jan Bednarek is workable, the goal keepers are good enough. Upfront we are gash though Ings is ok but can't be relied on, Long and Austin are past their sell by date that leaves Redmond is our main attacking threat and we need more up front.

 

In an ideal world their would be a lot of outs and some good quality players coming in. In the real saints world, I suspect, Ralph will have to perform miracles again with much the same team with a couple of new faces.

[saint1977]

Keep ings and get rid of Vestagard? Don’t think so mate.

 

We might not have choice re: Ings and I was saying getting rid of Vestergaard, just suggesting that he lacks mobility given the current line up of CBs for RH's preferred system. He's better than Stephens certainly, but would need a quick partner in a four. Yoshi has decent pace but would need an upgrade if we can move Stephens on with Yoshi as the cover (he has to be first XI at present). Given that we seem to have to sell to you, Vestergaard might be an asset to use if Stephens can't be moved on quickly.

[adriansfc]

I hope these rumours of his return are just that - rumours.

 

I could never forgive what he did.

 

Forgive a footballer for going to another club. Yeah, terrible.

 

Remember hearing the same pathetic crap from grown men about Alan Ball until he died.

[RedArmy]

Forgive a footballer for going to another club. Yeah, terrible.

 

Remember hearing the same pathetic crap from grown men about Alan Ball until he died.

Wasnt quite just “going to another club” was it?

 

He was captain and said he wanted to retire a saint a few weeks before throwing a strop and forcing a move to Liverpool, but refused to hand in a transfer request.

[Baird of the land]

Alot of the players we want rid will be loans you'd think.

So then you've got to think where we generate the hard cash to improve the team especially as we've likely already spent a large chunk of next season's money on Ings.

 

We might small fees for the likes of reed/Gallagher.

Targett, I think he's an ok backup player but he'll 24 by next season he may be moved on with someone like Vokins progressed if we get another bid for him like we did from Fulham.

Stephens, If we are after another centre back and unless he has a redmond style bounce back you'd think he's the someone that will be moved on if we can cash for him.

Mccarthy, If Ralph has decided Gunn's his first choice, having a player in his prime, who's been called up for england in past may well entice a juicy bid from someone

 

 

Top 3 priorities

No 1 (striker)

No 2 (centre back)

No 3 (attacking mid)

[Instant Classic]

Double post.

Edited 13 May, 2019 by Instant Classic

[Instant Classic]

Do we know he even did that? Football is a business and he's an employee. I'd welcome him back at a reasonable price.

[bpsaint]

Wasnt quite just “going to another club” was it?

 

He was captain and said he wanted to retire a saint a few weeks before throwing a strop and forcing a move to Liverpool, but refused to hand in a transfer request.

 

Lets not forget the photo of him signing a Liverpool shirt whilst still under contract to us.

[SuperSAINT]

Do we know he even did that? Football is a business and he's an employee. I'd welcome him back at a reasonable price.

 

Is he fit? Or does he keep getting injured?

[Lighthouse]

Am I missing something, what rumours?

[Heisenberg]

Am I missing something, what rumours?

 

Think benali was recently asked about his potential return and the papers have picked up

 

https://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/football/775076/Liverpool-transfer-news-Adam-Lallana-Southampton

[RedArmy]

Do we know he even did that? Football is a business and he's an employee. I'd welcome him back at a reasonable price.

Seeing as he’s publicly said he regrets the way he left, I’d say it was all true yes.

[Lighthouse]

Think benali was recently asked about his potential return and the papers have picked up

 

https://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/football/775076/Liverpool-transfer-news-Adam-Lallana-Southampton

 

It's basically some journalist asking if it could happen and Benali saying no. Hardly a rumour.

[Whitey Grandad]

It's basically some journalist asking if it could happen and Benali saying no. Hardly a rumour.

 

"Never believe a rumour until you hear it officially denied"

[Dark Munster]

I think we should wait until 1 minute before the window closes to get him on loan, with an obligation to buy one year later for £20 million.

[alpine_saint]

Am I missing something, what rumours?

 

In the Express today

[trousers]

In the Express today

Case closed...

[Lighthouse]

Had a look, seems to be just some journo filling column inches with a load of made up hypotheticals, with about 5 different clubs listed for a whole bunch of Liverpool outcasts.

 

I’d be amazed if ended up here, personally.

[Forester]

Retain - Redmond, JWP, Bednarek, Ings (we have to but remember how good he was in the first half of the season before the Conference South training standards pre-RH caught up with him after being used to Liverpool), PEH, Valery, Bertrand, Gunn, Romeu, Sims, Slattery, Obafemi, Yoshida as back up.

 

Undecided - McCarthy, Vestergaard (realistically we won’t sell the latter, and not sell the former through choice), Reed.

 

Realistic prospect of selling/mutual termination - Lemina, Cedric, Jordi, Charlie, Targett, Stephens, Long

 

Sell if buyer can be found, if not loan out - Moi, Hoedt, Forster, Gallagher

Agree with all of this other than I would retain Vest and Long (the latter has one year left on contract and would tell him he has until Xmas to get an extension)

[DT]

Chances of a firesale to reduce Gao's debt further, with a few average sops brought in for peanuts? Mid to good.

[DT]

I'm expecting 3/4 players in and nothing more. And if recent years are to go by, they are going to be relatively cheap. I don't have a problem with that. We're in the business of 'polishing gems', and that's worked for us in the past.

 

I think we need to distinguish between what we want to happen this summer, and what is likely to happen. 'Realistically, we aren't signing a new CM, GK or more than one CB. An addition to Romeu would be great, but with JWP, PH, Lemina, Slattery (even Armstrong), it's one of the positions we're stocked in. Can't see us putting a chunk of our budget to a position that we don't desperately need.

 

I think it will be RB, CB, ST. A new AM will depend on whether Ralph takes to Boufal (and vice-versa).

 

Every decent team has a strong spine. Our CM is pretty good, but we need to harden up central defence and upfront. Under Poch it was Lovren/Fonte - Wanyama/Schneiderlin (Cork) - Lambert (Hit or miss Osvaldo). With Koeman it was Fonte/Toby/VVD - Schneiderlin/Wanyama/Romeu - Pelle.

 

We need to get that right in the summer.

 

Yep, and a decent CB (or two) is for me the biggest priority

[wild-saint]

Chances of a firesale to reduce Gao's debt further, with a few average sops brought in for peanuts? Mid to good.

fire sale? not sure who / how much we would get once you factor in replacements and agents fees for buying / selling so pretty pointless to be honest.

[Danbert]

Linked by the local paper to a Lincoln City midfielder as one for the future

 

https://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2019/05/15/report-southampton-and-derby-want-to-sign-lincoln-star-ellis-cha/

[Saint Billy]

Totally pointless speculating on future signings seeing that we are all pretty much in the dark as to whats happening within the club, and the new sponsorship deal makes the water even more muddier.

[ashnats]

Peter Crouch is out of contract. could be worth a punt, if only to make sure he doesn't play against us, I hate playing against him, always causes havoc in the area. could be good for our defenders to train against too.

 

I think I might even be serious.