van Hanegem

Brexit will mean that the other countries will have to cover the loss of the British contribution, according to journalists the Dutch will have to pay an extra 750 million euro's. Of course the Dutch government says this is not going to happen and that Brussels has to cut costs and of course the Eastern and South European countries object to cutting costs as they will get less money. It's not difficult to foresee the outcome so thanks guys for raising my taxes in the nearby future... Speaking of taxes: the EU ordered Apple to pay 13 billion euro's to Ireland for paying far too less taxes. The EU wants to end these taxdeals from it's member states with multinationals so the UK could step in order to get more jobs.

You can remove Ziyech from your list, he signed a 5-year contract with Ajax. Remarkable, there were foreign clubs like Swansea and Sunderland willing to pay a hell of lot more (including wages) but Ziyech preferred to stay in Holland and earn a lot less. There still are a few aficionados who love the game more than they like money. Though I reckon Ajax will sell him in two or three years time for at least 25 million to a big club...

Swansea is believed to be willing to pay the asking price (est. 12 or 13 million pounds) for Ziyech which is a lot more than the opening bid from Ajax of 7m. However, it seems Ziyech prefers to play for Ajax.

Boufal and Ziyech are both creators and finishers. You could play Tadic from the left, Ziyech from the right and Boufal at the top of the diamond. Of course there will be whiners who'll say there's no balance in the team with those three but who cares about them? Anyway, Ziyech is going to Ajax or Swansea so it won't happen.

Thanks for the info AR-10, Boufal is a great signing! Another 10m for Ziyech would be just fine, thank you. Imagine Boufal, Tadic and Ziyech playing together for Saints... Nah, that's just a wet dream. I guess the next player will be someone who can run fast.

At this moment the Saints play like Puel talks: boring. However, it does take time to adjust to a new system, especially after playing the long ball on Pelle for a couple of years. Besides, it doesn't appear to me that players like Austin, Davis, Long, Redmond and J-Rod are that smart when it comes to tactics but I could be wrong there of course... Anyway, hopefully some enforcements will arrive soon, players who don't need long to adjust to the PL and this diamond system. Let's see in a month or two if things have improved before writing Puel off.

For the Ziyech watchers amongst you: there's panic in Amsterdam as Ajax plays really awful and already lost 5 points in the league and didn't qualify for the CL so now they decided to go for Ziyech where they didn't want him at first because they have some talents from the youth coming in next season. As Ziyech is a very proud person (he chose to play for Morrocco as the stupid Danny Blind didn't contact him fast enough to play for Holland) it remains to be seen if this transfer will happen. Rumour is also that Ziyech already personally agreed with Advocaat to choose for Fenerbahce. Just another few days before things will be clear...

Milan and Prague, nice trips for the fans! Great teams to play against also, it won't be easy but when the Saints get back in form they should make it to the next stage.

That's pretty cool SB but it looks Ziyech has been instructed to tell everyone he doesn't know anything at all, wether it's a fan or a journalist... Maybe you should twitter him: luister niet naar die klootzak van een zaakwaarnemer maar naar je hart. That might get you a better answer.

You didn't say that, it was a question... I didn't believe Saints are willing to spend 20 million pounds or more on a player but it looks like that's going to happen with Boufal. It's a new era.

Sure, Davy Pröpper would be a great player for the Saints but do you really believe PSV would let him go for 9 million euro's like Transfermarkt estimates he's worth? I don't. Pröpper has more potential than Wijnaldum for example so I reckon the asking fee will be 20 million euro's at least. Though the Saints do have that kind of money, I can't see them actually paying it.

He's still young and could improve of course but imo Saints need to aim higher.

Haller is a good player player for the Dutch league but too slow for the PL. Right now there's only one player in Holland available and affordable for Saints who could really do a gooed job at SMS: Ziyech from Twente. He would really add some creativity the Saints are desperate for.

Hopefully there will be a new attacker soon. One that will make you forget Pelle...

Do they have winter in China also? http://www.goal.com/nl/news/5333/video/2016/08/21/26738062/video-heerlijke-treffers-pell%C3%A8-in-china

What's wrong with America according to Ben Garrison...

Yup, I was not impressed either with his tactics in that game. But I for one would like to give a new coach time to work on his ideas. Allthough somehow I have a gut feeling that it will take Puel more time than many on this forum will allow him...

Maybe a good beating would speed up things on the transfer front? With Mourinho at the helm I expect a boring ManU, controlling the game rather than pushing for goals. As the Saints do not have real killers up front (nor in midfield), it will be easy for Pogba etc. to control the game and just wait for the couple of chances which they will surely get. Or will Puel have "a cunning plan"? That would be a nice surprise...

I rate Ziyech even higher than Tadic when it comes to creativity and creating chances. Maybe PL-clubs believe he's too fragile to play in the PL? It can't be the asking price (give or take 10 million pounds) as British clubs are loaded with money.

I agree, you need a player like Ziyech to deliver the crossballs for a player like Dost. It's really weird that Ziyech is still at Twente...

Boëtius is a former left winger from Feyenoord who mostly sits on the bench of FC Basel nowadays. IMO he's not fit for playing in the PL.

You're welcome Charlie, let me know when you need an update on what's happening in Europe...

Hard to say what to expect this season as I don't know if Puel is a tactical genius and I don't know if there are reinforcements coming. After the loss of Mane, Pelle and Wanyama the current squad doesn't impress me much so hopefully Puel is able to let the team play in a system that will be difficult for any opponent to play against. It looks like all the creativity has to come from Tadic and that's really poor in my opinion. Hopefully he's able to deliver the quality needed and won't get injured too fast. It would be very wise to buy some more creative players who will give Puel more options when it comes to creating chances and also make the game more attractive to watch.

Well SOG, you're dining room table must be a great place to live!