UpweySaint

Bit harsh. He's gone on loans spells at home and abroad in recent seasons to try and reignite his career. Hugo Lloris is prone to the odd poor spell and Hart might fancy he can push for starts should that happen and/or in cup competition. Depending on confidence/form I would certainly say he's technically a better keeper that Gazzaniga with more pedigree at a high level. He's not exactly in Lee Grant or Stuart Taylor territory.

Membership needed but Carl previously came on here gave out a few free trials, existing members also can dish out a few free trials too. Carl shared the updates in the article comments section, the full article gives a bit of background on Salisu's development and explains how he might fit into Ralph's system, good read - 'My understanding is the quarantine has delayed the announcement as there is no one to take official photographs yet.' Carl also puts a few Liverpool fans in their place who make the usual tired jokes about him playing for them in two years time.

Similar sentiment, also depends on wages. Lot of press that he was after big bucks.

Omar Elabdellaoui, previously linked in transfer windows gone by, is out of contract at Olympiakos and moving on. I wouldn't want him over KWP but a free transfer to add some depth/competition and allow Valery to go out on loan? Ralph's full backs get through a lot of work so good depth would be worth having even though it's certainly not a priority. He's an experienced player having played in the premier league, captained Olympiakos and has plenty of caps for Noway. At 28 he could well be worth a three year contract if the wage was right. He can play in more than one position too so adds a bit of versatility.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/53662774 BBC running the Watkins availability story too. Unless we hit the jackpot shifting our loan army I can't see us affording him/prioritising the forward positions but he would be a top signing at a reasonable price. If the stars aligned we could then look at loaning out Obefemi for consistent game time next season. I think he has enough versatility to be effective in the 2 behind the strikers for us too so maybe worth a look if Boufal moves on too.

Guillem Balagué has done some good write ups on it, worth scouting out from the BBC if you're interested. Bale would have left last season only for Real to change the terms of the deal at the last minute. In short now he's well paid, his family is settled in Madrid and he has a nice life. I expect there is a bit of a f*ck you Madrid/Zidane attitude going on too with the stubbornness. When people question is he still has the motivated by football just look at him when he throws on a Wales shirt, absolute world beater! If he fancies a Keegan-esque last hurrah I think we would all love it but there doesn't seem to be much to suggest he'll move on until the end of his contract.

I do feel for Danso a little, he didn't get many opportunities. Though he may have not demonstrated enough to Ralph in training/when he did play to warrant more game time I expect he will have been disappointed to have essentially lost this season. The fact he didn't even get a look in after safety was guaranteed shows our mind is made up on him not being able to cut it. When we signed him he did read like a player we could develop but evidently it's just not worked out for the lad.

If we have two in before August it's really impressive from the board (obviously this dips if they turn out to be dross!).

If the fee really is that low I would like to see us hold our ground. He'll want a 'big' move as a free agent next year so should still be a useful asset. I think we need to remember that, as much as we are loathe to lose players on a free, you're summary in your last sentence is spot on. If spurs honestly think they can land a proven prem CM, previous skipper and key international for pennies they need a reality check - despite many on here who don't rate him he stills holds value.

I would be happy to give them cash plus Hojberg for Winks and KWP, could see both developing under Ralph. Winks and JWP would be a really good centre mid pairing with Romeu and Reed for depth/tactical flexibility Throw in a decent CB, clear out the dross and I would actually be quite content with that as a window.

I think Valery is injured, sure somebody can confirm. Ramsey was young when he first got in but can't say I spotted much that made be think he would be a prem player. Vokins on the left hasn't done much wrong but we do miss Bertrand particularly going forwards.

I have the NBC coverage on and I've never heard such a good atmosphere at Old Trafford!

Could we do better than Harrison Reed? Yes. Can we afford to do much better while also improving more pressing areas of the squad? Probably not. There is a sliding scale of opinions on how effective he might be but I think we all agree with the above. Personally I've seen him once or twice this season and thought he could be a useful option for us. I'm a sentimentalist too and do love to see our academy products fulfilling their potential with us so I may be slightly biased! As others have pointed out it would be great if we could shift some of the dead weight (Hoedt, Lemina etc.) and this would change our outlook dramatically on squad building. it would be great to be able to give Reed his chance while also being able to dip into the market for the right player.

Fair enough, 9 times out of 10 kits looks better without a sponsor (some odd exceptions where it's added a bit of character). I was a big fan of the Huddersfield Paddypower kits and the PR stunt was pretty clever.

Really like the away. No sponsorship logo for Oldham?

Something very iffy has gone on, hopefully the truth will out ... Just another example of how toothless football league/prem are in filtering out awful owners. Such a shame that community assets are so vulnerable. I know there have been many a false dawn but hopefully in the aftermath of a new financial landscape more regulation will come into ownership/financial structures to allow clubs to complete without needing the backing of venture capitalists, oligarchs or morally bankrupt countries investment arms looking to sportswash horrendous human rights records. It would be great if this could happen without decent clubs going to the wall.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/53242351 BBC have confirmed done deal. Does seem strange to not have even tried to sell permanently, can only hope we are getting something out of the deal.

Elyounoussi + Forster for Ntcham or Ajer would do for me. Get both off the wage bill, take the hit on any fees, gain a good player in a position we need to strengthen. Celtic not having to pay fees for both should hopefully free up some room to pay them a competitive wage. It doesn't seem likely I know ... the big wages we have our outcasts in seems to be a real anchor in shifting any of them on!

Financially they are very well run, they've established themselves as a stable mid table side under Dyche and they're probably much cheaper to invest in than we are. Certainly you could argue we have more potential value in the long term though!

Seconded. Some real quality young players at Norwich but they are likely to be unwilling to/not need to sell anybody unless significant offers come in. I would like Godfrey, Aarons, Buendia and Cantwell but can't see any going for under £30mil even post Covid. It would be Ryan Fraser I would look at if we're being realistic. Reports he is asking for mega bucks but if better offers don't materialise for the lad a good wage could be offset by the lack of any fee. Could really see him flourishing under Ralph.

No point us publicly briefing we think he's dross and he won't have a look in if we hope to get a fee for him. Instantly weakens any negotiating position when we already have a poor hand as clubs know we've got plenty on big wages we don't want to pay. If honest I think between Gunn and McCarthy we are 'okay' and there are certainly areas on the squad I would rather we focused investing on particularly if funds are going to be as tight as we expect.

Fair to say we've lacked end product but f*ck me Arsenal are boring and rather average these days! Some job on for Arteta to get them anywhere near the Liverpool's and City's again ...

Fair point. I guess we're basically safe now so can afford to think long term.

I can't help but feel we're crying out for Djenepo but Boufal would have been good too, have to wonder why he's not even made the bench.

Fingers crossed if we can pick up three more points soonish we can give the young players plenty of match experience, especially with the need for rotation with such quick turnaround of games. Personally hoping to see what Jankewitz and Ferry can do before the end of the season.