Pizy

Much like the left winger situation, I think it’s perhaps best that we wait until next summer to go for another CB. If Sterling & Mudryk have poor seasons again than they can be shifted. Likewise, if Badiashile & Disasi don’t improve and Fofana still can’t stay fit then we can go big for a top CB. Buying more players in positions were loaded in right now is just ill advised I think. Striker and maybe a right winger feel like they should be our priorities for the rest of this window. Not LW or LCB.

Genuinely one of the worst kits I’ve ever seen. Absolutely horrendous.

Exactly. We fought to keep him, adamantly rejected advances from not just Bayern but remember also Liverpool were sniffing around him. Plus Brighton wanting him back. We had to really convince him and reassure him of his prominent role or he otherwise would’ve asked to leave. To now go out and basically replace him with Calafiori would be detrimental to Levi’s development. If Badiashile wasn’t here and we had just Colwill & Calafiori pushing each other that would be one thing. But 3 LCB’s is indeed overkill because one of them would never se the pitch.

And he’s never going to get that continuity and development if we buy someone around his age and level.

I guess I just don’t understand where Calafiori fits in the squad currently. He’s the level of CB in terms of both talent and money spent that should slot straight into your first XI. But we have Colwill there as well as Badiashile on the left.

Imagine what a signing Mamardasvili would be for this team if we didn’t have Sanchez and Kepa on our books.

Hopefully Maresca is flexible and can change the midfield 3 depending on opponent. In games where a pure DM is needed to protect Enzo (like against City, Arsenal, and other big teams) we can play Lavia with Enzo and Caicedo. In matches against teams who are sitting and parking the bus and a DM isn’t as necessary we can have KDH in the side for more creativity and incisive passing.

I think this’ll be a signing that a few months in we’ll be saying he was a bargain for just £30m. Between Tosin and now KDH so far I think we’ve made a couple of extremely shrewd signings that are fully settled into English football and can hit the ground running with no trouble at all. We heard reports months ago that the club would like to prioritize signing players who were PL ready. And so far that’s exactly what we’ve done.

If João Cancelo were a few years younger he’d probably be a good, cheap signing who can play that inverted fullback role Maresca loves. But he’s 30 so that’s obviously a no-go.

What could be so difficult in the Dewsbury Hall negotiations that’s taking this long, I wonder? Not like he’s some £80m transfer with loads of potential add ons. This felt like it would be an easy, straightforward deal when Ornstein first reported it. Player so keen on the move that he blew up the very advanced swap deal Leicester had with Brighton (medicals already in progress apparently), Leicester badly need to sell to comply with PSR, and his transfer fee by today’s standards is small at only £30-35m. Are we really haggling so badly over such a small fee? I want this signing pretty badly now. Think he’ll be a big player for us under Maresca.

I was wondering if maybe we should hijack that kid from Leeds even though we don’t really need him at the moment. May be the last and best chance we get at him if he’s as good as the hype suggests. I’ve seen people on Twitter saying he’s the next Declan Rice. So if he goes to Brentford and has an amazing season he’ll be the next mega expensive English player that all the Big 6 will want. I mean, we were linked with him the other day for a reason. Maybe the club should convince him to hold off on a move until we sort of whether Dewsbury-Hall happens? Even though they’re different midfielders.

Looks like Newcastle have successfully gotten themselves out of the jam and won’t have to sell either of Gordon or Isak. They’ve sold two players I’ve literally never heard of before today for big fees apparently. I wonder if there’s some other smaller club we can take advantage of who are in PSR trouble….

Don’t buy that for a second. I genuinely do think Nico will take a step forward and be much better this coming season. And he’s someone who shoul fit the new manager perfectly. No chance we discard him already, even if Isak was coming the other way.

That highly rated kid from Leeds we were linked with Archie Gray is off to….Brentford? That’s a really weird decision from him if he has ambitions of going to a big club. I know Brentford are in the PL whilst Leeds remain in the Championship but this feels like a step down for him or perhaps a side step. Now if he develops into the star everyone expects him to for Brentford he’ll be price out of a move to a big club. They’ll be demanding £80m or more for him. Wonder how our teenaged wonder kid obsessed hierarchy feels about missing out on him.

Will we ever see Kellyman in a Chelsea shirt after preseason, I wonder… £20m and I have no idea.

Good question! 🤔

Isak is definitely NOT a £100m player. But in terms of fit he’s perfect for our team. Would I want the club to pay £100m+ in straight cash? Absolutely not. But if Newcastle are in a genuine PSR pinch and would accept a player going the other way for big money like we’re doing with Villa I think we should try.

I see one of our nearest rivals United are going for Ugarte and De Ligt. Two players who were hyped up as soon to be superstars and then flopped at their new clubs. People complain about us not going for “big names,” but it isn’t always necessary. I would be happy if they waste money on those two than get actual top class ones.

Carney going would indeed be tragic. He’s another who I’d prefer to see in the team than Gallagher.

Tbf, Leicester as an entire team were horrendously shit in their last PL season. So I’m not going to hold that against him in the same way I’ll acknowledge that he likely won’t be quite as prolific here as he was in the Championship.

Guess I’ll remain one of the few who think KDH is a good signing and a clear as day upgrade on Gallagher. Has the same work rate and tenacity that CG does but is miles better using the ball. For me he is very Kovacic-like in that he’s highly press resistant, an awesome carrier of the ball, and gets stuck in when needed. But unlike Kova, KDH has actually shown to be highly decisive in the final third.

Holy hell, the Leicester fans on their forum really, REALLY don’t want Casadei back. They’re all saying he was dogshit and completely out of his depth when he was there last season.

Definitely expected to wake up to a bunch of news. But nothing yet.

It’s fine to watch in when you’re miles off the pace and have nothing much to play for. But Conor wouldn’t get a look in a Guardiola team or an Arteta team. You need highly technical players in these midfield positions who are great in tight areas and who can make super quick decisions with the ball. Things Gallagher isn’t great at. Passion, energy, and intensity are all great attributes and if he were a CB I’d keep him at all costs. But in midfield we need top class technical players if we want to take the next step as a team.

In terms of player profile, Dewsbury-Hall makes perfect sense if CG leaves. Super tidy in the ball, was THE key player for Maresca already, not a teenager who will need to bed in. But Archie Gray is a puzzling link. Looks like a pure DM who sits in front of the defense. Don’t see a need for him at at all when we’ve got Lavia as a super young DM.