LAM09

No first team signings anyway. Not exactly awful considering James' imminent return and Sarr doing a decent job at LB (Kenedy being an option too?). If we weren't going to bring in first team quality, it's for the best.

Juve seem to snag most of the exciting talent in Italy, akin to Bayern in Germany.

His price tag seemed to drop quite a bit. Seems like very good business at that price. The difference between signings requested by a manager & ones primarily motivated by the board.

You have a fair point, but that's nothing more than a presumption (unless I've missed something key). My train of thought is, I presume the lack of a clause to be almost exclusive to fee originally agreed & would be a more probable reason as to why there wasn't one in this case. Recalled Kenedy & Gallagher/Gilmour had clauses depending on a games played quota. The lack of any concrete information, from what I've read, results in theories based on presumptions.

I agree, but he just isn't the answer; he really hasn't improved much from his days at Middlesbrough and still has the same flaws. Also, we don't need someone that will come on & offer little in terms of end product when it matters.

At the least the latter is still playing in a major league. Still remember Mastour making his debut for Morocco (youngest ever IIRC).

He's actually been a free agent since last Summer.

They're built up before even playing a game/doing anything of note. It happens far too often, especially in Italy. Anyone remember Mastour?

£30m~ for a super-sub? That doesn't make for good business to me.

Or having the smart idea of inserting a recall clause. Spending most of the window trying to "buy" back a player that we sent out on loan is beyond stupid.

That really came out of left field. Seemed cert to join Tottenham on a few occasions. So much for - "they can't afford anyone". 😄

Yet. It's not a matter of if, but when, at this point.

It's all noise. They might not be powering over the rest of the respective teams in their leagues, but they aren't strapped for cash either & normal business will resume. They just bought Torres & are linked with Morata. As @OneMoSalah mentioned, wages are the issue for them. Also, they have a few players that could rake in a decent fee for them, de Jong being one of them.

There isn't going to be a step up or a move to a team of similar calibre for CHO if he can't make it here, so he'll have to choose between being a bench player or a starter at a lesser club. Barcelona are seemingly broke but linked with players on a daily basis. If they really want to make a push, they'd find a way.

Money isn't an issue for Newcastle either way, so it's a win-win, tbh.

I think Leipzig or even Leverkusen could go for CHO if he became available. It's probably Bayern or bust, as you mentioned, where Werner is concerned & I could imagine Nagelsmann pushing for him if the chance arose. Pulisic is a weird one, as I'm unsure who could want/afford him considering the probable fee. He seems like someone I could see going off to Spain.

If we want to get rid of Cho & Werner, there would be a number of German suitors. Ziyech has been linked with a number of Italian clubs (mainly AC Milan), so I guess whether he can maintain some form will be the deciding factor.

It's almost a certainty there will be a notable clearance in regards to our attackers come the summer.

I totally forgot about that, as he hasn't played yet.

Atalanta have some exciting attackers. They'll need him right away with the number of absentees they have.

I couldn't believe he had the nerve to put his hands up after failing to connect with a perfect cross. There's one thing when Ronaldo does it but him?! He needs a real wake up call.

Competitive - FA Cup a friendly?

He scored against Chesterfield.

I agree. It's just nice to have another threat after recent seasons without one. Our overall attacking play would have been reward with a competent CF leading the line. Edit - We finally have some breathing room in a game. There's another few goals for us.

At least we have someone willing to shoot from outside the box.