revolution saint

I actually don't think anyone is paying 25M for Clarke and the closer it gets to the end of the window the more the price will come down. Sunderland played hard ball last summer when Burnley were sniffing around but he had three years left on his contract then. I don't think they'll want to go to another window with less than two years and he's made it pretty clear he isn't going to sign a new deal. We've been linked quite a bit before so we may be interested but we've also been linked with fairly cheap winger options like Rak-Sakyi and the Norwich lad (albeit they prefer to play on the right) so I'm not sure how much we put a value on a winger. I guess if we can't afford O'Riley then we may have a bit more money.

Yes, agree with that. I think Dibling will develop into a similar style of player too.

Thought of that but presume Wolves wouldn’t have bothered bidding if that was the case?

Sunderland want 25M so almost certain to be rejected. Think Spurs have a 25% sell on clause. I quite like Clarke but there’s some doubts about whether he can make the step up and by all accounts didn’t show up fantastically well in the fa cup game against Newcastle last season

Maybe YouTube doesn’t do him justice or I watched the wrong videos but Hugo didn’t really impress me much. Fairly big fella so could probably handle the physical side of the game but also looked quite slow. Couple of decent goals but think I’d rather take the money.

Short(ish), powerful runner type of striker. Good that we're still being linked to forward options but he seems quite similar to Archer and would be nice to have an alternative that gives us something different. I guess we've got BBD to be a bit more physical and hold the ball up but he seems more comfortable on the left. This fella has apparently turned down Leeds and Forest when both in the premier league so not sure he'd be that interested in coming here either. Cheers for the link though.

I'm not sure we'll bring another striker in but if we were then I'd quite like Fotis Ioannides from Panathinaikos. Big lad, good scoring record and only 24. We were linked about a week ago, Leicester also linked and they've missed out on Adam Hlozek so a bit of competition there. Apparently 30M price tag but you'd assume that will come down the closer we get to the end of the window. Would definitely give us an added dimension in terms of physical presence and aerial ability. I don't think we will buy another striker but it would give us another dimension.

The deal is the same. Ipswich have taken a risk, all transfers are a risk. Reuniting the strike force from one of the worst teams in premier league history is a risk. If it comes off for them then it’s probably money (from next year) well spent. If it doesn’t then they’ve made a mistake but not one that cost them 30M. I really don’t know how I can explain that any better.

Yeah, don’t forget fires, floods and other biblical catastrophes. They could all happen too. Any player could get injured

I don’t know if he’ll be the same player he was either, no one really does, but it’ll be interesting to see how he gets on. It’s exactly the same kind of deal we did with THB so just seemed a bit strange to knock it.

Whilst it’s fun to knock other clubs, I think it’s quite a good deal. It’s 30m of next years money if they stay up, and if they do stay up then presumably he would have contributed to that.

Before my time but a quick google tells me you're right. Marvellous, isn't it.

Jumpers for goalpost eh? Isn't it? Marvellous, hmm?

shadow striker, or an 8.5

Nonsense, AA is a false 9. Do keep up!

Are we the only club that has a goals scored ration? It would explain a fair bit.

Except no one really is, people are commenting on links not the accuracy of them.

Yeah, does beg the question why we bothered with Taylor if we bring another LB in. Also puts the boot in on the idea that we'll be using the loan market for a high profile starter that can't get a game at big club. Probably bollocks though.

Matt Targett on a season long loan - Graeme Bailey. If true then KWP is probably off. Sun reporting interest "hotting up" in Jack Clarke with us and West Ham interested. Could see this happening. Sunderland want 25M but have a reported 25% sell on to Spurs. Fee would need to come way down but someone suggested yesterday offering Edozie on a loan which probably works for both parties.

Neither is Downes a DM and that's my point. Downes only really played that role because we didn't have any other options but when he played for Swansea it was Grimes as the more deep lying midfielder. Downes is a great all round midfielder and this kid maybe too. Let's be honest, none of us really know much besides what we've read and seen on the interweb but personally feel that we need someone more productive at the top end of midfield. Someone who can take on his man and either score or assist. Stuart Armstrong could do that but I'm not sure we really have that at the moment. Aribo possibly, and he did well on Saturday, but I'm hoping we get someone else who naturally plays that role.

He did and fair play to him. That was against 10 men and a team sitting back defending a lead though and I don't think we expect him to be doing that every week. Of course, and we don't know how much money we've got. If we end up with options that address the creativity and goals from midfield AND other options that leave us well covered then no complaints from me. Obviously judge it at the end of the window but the money on Fernandes seems to be quite a lot for someone that, on the face of it, doesn't offer much more than we already have.

Yep, 100%. It's all well and good bringing players like Fernandes in if we've got the rest of the squad sorted. Fernandes is basically Downes. We're still sorely missing a bit of creativity and goals from midfield.

TBH I didn't really notice him much. Think he had a shot around the edge of the area and fairly central which went over the bar but it was a snap shot and wouldn't class it as a gilt edged chance. By the time he came on Newcastle were mostly camped pretty deep and, while we had a lot of possession, we didn't create any really good chances and rarely did we have a chance for anyone to get much of a run at defenders. Not a great start but nothing to get too worked up about yet.

I'm going tomorrow and looking forward to it. I'm expecting it to be pretty derivative but it's a franchise and probably inevitable but if Alvarez can keep the tension and suspense up then I think I'll enjoy it. Least it doesn't sound like it's going to disappear up it's own arse like Prometheus and (to an extent) Covenant.

I guess so although can you do that in the same financial year (from a PSR perspective)?