Summer Transfer Window 2021

[Kenilworthy]

7 hours ago, Badger said:

This stands out for me as something regularly overlooked. We've been overtaken by many of these we saw ourselves ahead of as recently as Koeman's time with the club (Leicester, West Ham and Wolves for example).

In terms of overseas players there also seems an arrogance that just being in the EPL will be enough. Whilst it may be a better payer than most leagues people tend to disregard the fact that the Bundesliga is a strong league and to many this and Serie A are equally attractive leagues to play in. How often are we left (rumoured) to be looking at players proven in those leagues, by which time they're out of our price range ?

I agree with what you say. But there is one factor we can offer which is that we are a well proven route for players to get established in the Premier League and to then get moves to the bigger clubs they really want to play for. You can say the same for Leicester - Kante and Mahrez for example. But for players who want a stepping stone we surely rank as at least equal with other clubs.

[Turkish]

4 minutes ago, Kenilworthy said:

I agree with what you say. But there is one factor we can offer which is that we are a well proven route for players to get established in the Premier League and to then get moves to the bigger clubs they really want to play for. You can say the same for Leicester - Kante and Mahrez for example. But for players who want a stepping stone we surely rank as at least equal with other clubs.

How often has that happened in the last 4 years? We were a great stepping stone club but you could say a lot of players careers have gone backwards since joining us in recent times. I don’t think Lemina, Hoedt, Boufal would be glowing in their praise of us being a stepping stone club, their stock was a lot higher before they joined us

[Chez]

9 hours ago, igsey said:

Walker has won the league with City twice, will almost certainly play in the Champion's League final, and will be starting for England at the Euros and likely the World Cup next year too. Rose was Newcastle's third choice left back. Of course he wasn't paid the same.

Irrelevant. When he asked for a wage rise it was 2017 and he was the England full back, and among the best left backs in the league. He was in the pfa team of the year. Walker went to City and got his 200k, while he remained at spurs and on 65k. He and walker were at a very similar level. Spurs underpaid their players compared to other prem clubs. He questioned that.

[saint1977]

38 minutes ago, Turkish said:

How often has that happened in the last 4 years? We were a great stepping stone club but you could say a lot of players careers have gone backwards since joining us in recent times. I don’t think Lemina, Hoedt, Boufal would be glowing in their praise of us being a stepping stone club, their stock was a lot higher before they joined us

Has to be shared responsibility between club and player. Also, the players leaving 2014-18 for huge fees hadn’t played at the really big clubs before (Celtic are a big club but limited league) and were on an upward trajectory whereas Lemina and Hoedt had been at Juve and Lazio. Boufal hadn’t but he didn’t suit the PL like Mane was obviously going to. Ely is clearly a good player but doesn’t suit the PL either. To have been at a big club and get back there requires a lot of hunger and willingness to understand why it didn’t work out, and listening to feedback. Doesn’t really chime with Mario or Wesley does it? Even basic research on attitudes would have flushed that out if Les and Ross could’ve been bothered in between sickening self-congratulation living off 2014.

The coaching and development is also questionable, Ronald had a team in place who had the depth of experience to work with emerging top players and get the best out of them. RH’s fitness and strengthening regime brought huge improvements in JWP, Stuart and Ings, and KWP has developed really well. I’m less certain on technical improvement, some of which is coaching but some is desire by the player eg JWP with set pieces and the right attitude to prepare and practice with intensity. There’s too many games last season where that intensity was missing for 30-40 minutes per game. Whether that’s down to the compressed schedule or that some players have run their course at SFC already I don’t know. 

[Turkish]

59 minutes ago, saint1977 said:

Has to be shared responsibility between club and player. Also, the players leaving 2014-18 for huge fees hadn’t played at the really big clubs before (Celtic are a big club but limited league) and were on an upward trajectory whereas Lemina and Hoedt had been at Juve and Lazio. Boufal hadn’t but he didn’t suit the PL like Mane was obviously going to. Ely is clearly a good player but doesn’t suit the PL either. To have been at a big club and get back there requires a lot of hunger and willingness to understand why it didn’t work out, and listening to feedback. Doesn’t really chime with Mario or Wesley does it? Even basic research on attitudes would have flushed that out if Les and Ross could’ve been bothered in between sickening self-congratulation living off 2014.

The coaching and development is also questionable, Ronald had a team in place who had the depth of experience to work with emerging top players and get the best out of them. RH’s fitness and strengthening regime brought huge improvements in JWP, Stuart and Ings, and KWP has developed really well. I’m less certain on technical improvement, some of which is coaching but some is desire by the player eg JWP with set pieces and the right attitude to prepare and practice with intensity. There’s too many games last season where that intensity was missing for 30-40 minutes per game. Whether that’s down to the compressed schedule or that some players have run their course at SFC already I don’t know. 

Lemina and Hoedt were on an upward trajectory. Lemina was considered to be a huge coup when we got him, Hoedt was playing for the Netherlands national team, both went backwards big time, we cant give them away. The the reality is whilst we can make all the excuses we like the facts are that a large number of recent signings careers have regressed since joining us. That means players wont automatically see us as a great stepping stone to bigger things.

[S-Clarke]

14 minutes ago, Turkish said:

Lemina and Hoedt were on an upward trajectory. Lemina was considered to be a huge coup when we got him, Hoedt was playing for the Netherlands national team, both went backwards big time, we cant give them away. The the reality is whilst we can make all the excuses we like the facts are that a large number of recent signings careers have regressed since joining us. That means players wont automatically see us as a great stepping stone to bigger things.

Sadly that seems to be the case recently, even beyond those too - Elyonoussi was considered a top European Talent when he joined us, he's ended up playing in Scotland for 2 years and we can't get rid. Boufal another player considered a huge coup at the time, didn't progress here and we had to give him away for free.

It's a combination of scouting and coaching failing. Scouting for signing players who are not great fits for this league in any way, and coaching because we've never seemed to be able to etch any return of the outlay from any of them and their careers just drift into the wilderness once they've signed for us. (and they were big outlays for a club like us)

Edited 28 May, 2021 by S-Clarke

[Saint Garrett]

Thing is, they clearly all have talent, but they don't have the desire to match their talent. Elyounoussi, Lemina, Hoedt, Boufal could easily have been a success in the premier league if they applied themselves.  It's a shame as we need these 20-25 year old internationals to work, otherwise we're relying on the academy which is very difficult at this level.

I completely get the business plan and what they're trying to do, but if you don't get the right players in, who have the desire to excel, there is no hope.

[S-Clarke]

8 minutes ago, Saint Garrett said:

Thing is, they clearly all have talent, but they don't have the desire to match their talent. Elyounoussi, Lemina, Hoedt, Boufal could easily have been a success in the premier league if they applied themselves.  It's a shame as we need these 20-25 year old internationals to work, otherwise we're relying on the academy which is very difficult at this level.

I completely get the business plan and what they're trying to do, but if you don't get the right players in, who have the desire to excel, there is no hope.

That's where it comes down to scouting failing in the main, part of the scouting process is to identify the characters and ensure they'll be a good fit for this league (As well as injury previous etc). There's more to signing a player than just looking at videos and seeing that he can pass the ball, or he can score an overhead kick etc. The approach we took, on paper, was the right one. It's all about how it's executed though. We were trying to follow the Dortmund model where we buy mid 15m's and then sell for 40-50m+ a few years down the line, sadly the people running that show got it all wrong.

Although coaching can be attributed to the failings as well, Elynomoussi, Lemina, Hoedt, Boufal etc were all with us under 3 or 4 different managers and coaching setups. Whilst neither setup got anything from them, we didn't exactly provide a great environment for development.

But at the end of the day It all comes back to Les Reed, Ross Wilson, Ralf Kruger and how they managed the football side of this club once Koeman left. (Managers, Scouting, coaching, players) Even Crocker has admitted the mess the academy has been left in.

Edited 28 May, 2021 by S-Clarke

[saint1977]

40 minutes ago, Turkish said:

Lemina and Hoedt were on an upward trajectory. Lemina was considered to be a huge coup when we got him, Hoedt was playing for the Netherlands national team, both went backwards big time, we cant give them away. The the reality is whilst we can make all the excuses we like the facts are that a large number of recent signings careers have regressed since joining us. That means players wont automatically see us as a great stepping stone to bigger things.

Lemina had just been a sub in the CL final but the feedback from Juve was that he was inconsistent when given opportunities. He started very well but quickly problems appeared with driving issues and other rumours about his lifestyle and level of focus. If Hoedt had starred at Lazio, he’d have been joining Everton, Leicester or possibly top 4. I’m not disputing your point that they have gone backwards at SFC, that’s evident for all to see. Lemina had a better season at Fulham which will help move him on with a year left on his deal, but they still were well adrift of safety. 

Hoedt’s attitude has been rank at other clubs which is why SFC are struggling to give him away for free. Ely is the mystery, not athletic enough for PL but clearly a good player. Boufal a similar issue I suspect, quicker and dynamic players like Mane are a better sell. Sofaine is more of a 10, if he’d have been fitter in Puel’s season it may have turned out differently for both, but Pellegrino got 10 behind the ball against all opposition, and he was never a Ralph player. To back up the recruitment point and getting the right players for the PL and pressing game, Gaston looked great under Nigel but lost under Poch and in other PL spells at Hull and Boro.

Redmond has been OK for the fee paid but regressed massively since being POTS after Ralph joined even though on his day he is well suited to how SFC play, more so than the 2016-18 signings. Djenepo was signed after that but hasn’t developed offensively, probably worsened although improved defensively. 

The facilities are amongst the best around so it has be down to human factors as to why enough players aren’t kicking on and developing their games. That could be down to coaching but also a culture at the club of continuous improvement, both your own technique and fitness, and the team. JWP is a better example - get everything you can out of yourself and stay on after training to work on his set piece delivery. Perhaps player motivation and lack of club leadership are linked, although if you want to move on to a top 4 club after 2 years self-motivation has to be a factor.

Edited 28 May, 2021 by saint1977

[Ex Lion Tamer]

2 hours ago, Kenilworthy said:

I agree with what you say. But there is one factor we can offer which is that we are a well proven route for players to get established in the Premier League and to then get moves to the bigger clubs they really want to play for. You can say the same for Leicester - Kante and Mahrez for example. But for players who want a stepping stone we surely rank as at least equal with other clubs.

Are our facilities still the best among clubs of our size? If so this is a genuine pull.

I can't imagine Burnley are any better. Didn't Palace have to close their canteen because of inadequate hygiene?

[Lee On Solent Saint]

13 hours ago, Chez said:

we needed cover because when Vokins got his chance he was found to be out of his depth. I repeat, why did we offer Bertrand a contract if we were so keen to upgrade? 

 

I suspect as others have mentioned, we wanted Bertie to take more of a backup role in the coming new season. We can only surmise and say that he wasn't happy with that, and maybe his people advised him he could be back up at a bigger club and pocket a tidy sign on fee in the process. I fully believe had we signed a left back in the January window, Bertie would have been quietly pushed aside.

[Disco Stu]

https://tbrfootball.com/southampton-eye-free-summer-transfer-of-watford-target-robbie-brady/

Apparently considering ex-claret and free agent, Robbie Brady. Could be a shrewd signing, able to perform that Armstrong role as well as offer us some experience (after Bertrand's departure). He can also play at left-back. Marred by injuries unfortunately but, given the affordability, this is the standard of signing I'm expecting this window.

Edited 28 May, 2021 by Disco Stu

[nta786]

On 22/05/2021 at 13:26, Matthew Le God said:

I said recent recruitment. How many Hasenhuttl era signings have been flops?

So MLG asked the question here "how many Hasenhuttl era signings have been flops?" - West Ham 3-0 Saints - Match Thread - Page 3 - The Saints - SaintsWeb

If we change the question to - "how many of his signings are players that the Big 6 want?" - then the answer to that would be zero.

Ings is the only one and I'd argue he was a Hughes signing given that there was a contractual obligation to sign him following season anyway.

I do acknowledge Salisu / Diallo are still young and have only been here a year, but they haven't ruffled feathers in the way Fofana has for example - but understandable when Leicester finish 5th and we finish in the bottom 3rd

Edited 28 May, 2021 by nta786

[Dusic]

7 minutes ago, Disco Stu said:

https://tbrfootball.com/southampton-eye-free-summer-transfer-of-watford-target-robbie-brady/

Apparently considering ex-claret and free agent, Robbie Brady. Could be a shrewd signing, able to perform that Armstrong role as well as offer us some experience (after Bertrand's departure). He can also play at left-back. Marred by injuries unfortunately but, given the affordability, this is the standard of signing I'm expecting this window.

No thanks. 29yo, with a recent history of big injuries, released by Burnley.

If our scouts can't find better then we really are in trouble.

Would be amazed if we signed someone like Brady.

[Turkish]

Just now, Dusic said:

No thanks. 29yo, with a recent history of big injuries, released by Burnley.

If our scouts can't find better then we really are in trouble.

Would be amazed if we signed someone like Brady.

Isn’t he shit as well?

[S-Clarke]

8 minutes ago, Dusic said:

No thanks. 29yo, with a recent history of big injuries, released by Burnley.

If our scouts can't find better then we really are in trouble.

Would be amazed if we signed someone like Brady.

Yeah, a move for a player released by Burnley - one of our main rivals - would scream major alarm bells for me.

I don't think there's anything to this.

[Nemi]

30 minutes ago, Disco Stu said:

https://tbrfootball.com/southampton-eye-free-summer-transfer-of-watford-target-robbie-brady/

Apparently considering ex-claret and free agent, Robbie Brady. Could be a shrewd signing, able to perform that Armstrong role as well as offer us some experience (after Bertrand's departure). He can also play at left-back. Marred by injuries unfortunately but, given the affordability, this is the standard of signing I'm expecting this window.

Will be a great signing for when we’re back in the championship in 2022

[woodsaint1]

Cant help but feel that come the season start we'll still be scouring the market for new signings after multiple knock backs, despite indications from the club that we'll be getting some deals done early. I understand that sometimes we need to wait to see how the market develops and what opens up, but with Ralph's high demands and style of system to learn, it would make alot more sense to get signings in early.

Depressing when you see clubs like Liverpool who have identified a shortcoming at CB and secured a replacement already. Yes their appeal is much greater than ours but the turn around in getting it done is impressive.

[Chez]

29 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

Yeah, a move for a player released by Burnley - one of our main rivals - would scream major alarm bells for me.

I don't think there's anything to this.

As Newcastle found out, Burnley don't have too many good players and Jeff Hendricks isn't one of them. Brady is an OK player, decent ability, but unless it's McNeil, Pope or Tarkowski being discussed, which it won't be, then its a big `no thanks' from me.

[Chez]

4 minutes ago, woodsaint1 said:

Cant help but feel that come the season start we'll still be scouring the market for new signings after multiple knock backs, despite indications from the club that we'll be getting some deals done early. I understand that sometimes we need to wait to see how the market develops and what opens up, but with Ralph's high demands and style of system to learn, it would make alot more sense to get signings in early.

Depressing when you see clubs like Liverpool who have identified a shortcoming at CB and secured a replacement already. Yes their appeal is much greater than ours but the turn around in getting it done is impressive.

not exactly comparable. Personally, I couldn't care less when we get them, as long as we do get the right players. VVD signed for us on the last day of the window. It was worth the wait. Good players don't need a long bedding in process. Good players just play and improve sides. They will all be doing fitness work for their current clubs. 

Expect lots of knock backs. It's normal. If united can fail to sign players with all their might and glamour, we have no devine right to get the players we want. Aim high, if you fail move on to the next best target.

Edited 28 May, 2021 by Chez

[WALK DMC]

1 hour ago, Chez said:

As Newcastle found out, Burnley don't have too many good players and Jeff Hendricks isn't one of them. Brady is an OK player, decent ability, but unless it's McNeil, Pope or Tarkowski being discussed, which it won't be, then its a big `no thanks' from me.

Brady is very good with free kicks, but not a role that we are lacking in  .....

[SKD]

We could do with a couple more Armstrong / Steve Davis / JWP types in my opinion. Maybe not the best players (good enough to hold their own), but a good old fashioned, hard working influence in the dressing room.

Get 2 or 3 of those in and it would transform the dynamic in the dressing room. 

[Dusic]

5 minutes ago, SKD said:

We could do with a couple more Armstrong / Steve Davis / JWP types in my opinion. Maybe not the best players (good enough to hold their own), but a good old fashioned, hard working influence in the dressing room.

Get 2 or 3 of those in and it would transform the dynamic in the dressing room. 

Whats the dynamic like in the dressing room now?

[SKD]

2 minutes ago, Dusic said:

Whats the dynamic like in the dressing room now?

Soft as shit 

[TWar]

3 minutes ago, SKD said:

Soft as shit 

Pony

[SKD]

2 minutes ago, TWar said:

Pony

Numerous leads thrown away, numerous collapses, 2 9-0 defeats, numerous non performances (including one in the FA cup semi final). 
 

Absolutely not ‘pony’. Many players who don’t care. No real leaders. When the going gets tough we roll over and give up. 

[TWar]

Just now, SKD said:

Numerous leads thrown away, numerous collapses, 2 9-0 defeats, numerous non performances (including one in the FA cup semi final). 
 

Absolutely not ‘pony’. Many players who don’t care. No real leaders. When the going gets tough we roll over and give up. 

I was just joking. That Duckhunter chap always talks about how soft we are, and always calls things pony. I amuse myself at least.

TBH I do agree we need to be more resilient mentally but I think us throwing games away is due to a mix between a high energy style, some players with questionable fitness, and a weak weak bench so we have to run our players into the ground and by the end they can't keep going as well.

[SKD]

Just now, TWar said:

I was just joking. That Duckhunter chap always talks about how soft we are, and always calls things pony. I amuse myself at least.

TBH I do agree we need to be more resilient mentally but I think us throwing games away is due to a mix between a high energy style, some players with questionable fitness, and a weak weak bench so we have to run our players into the ground and by the end they can't keep going as well.

I do think fitness and high intensity first half of games does play a bit of a part, however we’ve been like it for a while and a few managers now. Stephens aside, who just isn’t very good, we don’t have anyone overly vocal at the back organising. 
 

We need a Jonny evans type buy. Where we’ll find that I really do not know. 

[woodsaint1]

2 hours ago, Chez said:

not exactly comparable. Personally, I couldn't care less when we get them, as long as we do get the right players. VVD signed for us on the last day of the window. It was worth the wait. Good players don't need a long bedding in process. Good players just play and improve sides. They will all be doing fitness work for their current clubs. 

Expect lots of knock backs. It's normal. If united can fail to sign players with all their might and glamour, we have no devine right to get the players we want. Aim high, if you fail move on to the next best target.

We wont be signing anybody of VVDs calibre I can guarantee that so not sure how thats comparable. Our recent signings - Salisu, Diallo etc have been a few tiers below that and they certainly required time to get up to speed (accepting that Salisu was injured). You could argue neither is fully accustomed to the system as yet but needs must last season they were needed with injuries

[supersonic]

2 hours ago, SKD said:

Soft as shit 

So your advice is for us to sign more soft players? 

[verlaine1979]

2 hours ago, SKD said:

We could do with a couple more Armstrong / Steve Davis / JWP types in my opinion. Maybe not the best players (good enough to hold their own), but a good old fashioned, hard working influence in the dressing room.

Get 2 or 3 of those in and it would transform the dynamic in the dressing room. 

Leaving aside the relative merits of those three, which have already been hashed over endlessly, I'd suggest that the last thing we need to add to the squad are players lacking physical presence or pace. Games against the likes of Leeds, Wolves, Newcastle and even West Brom have shown we get absolutely bullied by teams with a bit of size and speed, and we don't have the ability to do it back to them. We practically walk forward on the break.

[le_tiss]

Palace list of out of Contract players

Hennessey

Cahill

Sakho

Dann

Pva

Kelly

Ward

Clyne 

Mcarthur 

McCarthy 

Schlupp

Townsend

Benteke

 

 

Would take Schlupp, PVA, Cahill, Guilta (who I met in my local David Lloyd Gym 😀 ) and Townsend 

 

Townsend, Redmond and Walcott

 

Edited 28 May, 2021 by le_tiss

[MarkSFC]

14 minutes ago, le_tiss said:

Palace list of out of Contract players

Hennessey

Cahill

Sakho

Dann

Pva

Kelly

Ward

Clyne 

Mcarthur 

McCarthy 

Schlupp

Townsend

Benteke

 

 

Would take Schlupp, PVA, Cahill, and Townsend 

 

Townsend, Redmond and Walcott

 

I'd take Benteke 

[SuperSAINT]

Just now, MarkSFC said:

I'd take Benteke 

Benteke suspiciously remembers he’s a striker when his contracts up.

[le_tiss]

everyone has been saying we need a Jonny Evans typr of player and there he is 

 

Cahill - we should have got him before Palace but I assume London and Wages talked

@SuperSAINThits the nail on the head - only plays well in final year of contract IMO

 

https://www.spotrac.com/epl/crystal-palace/payroll/

Edited 28 May, 2021 by le_tiss

[Lee On Solent Saint]

Benteke normally has his best game of the season against us. Ergo, would he be any good actually playing for us?!

[saintwbu]

10 minutes ago, SuperSAINT said:

Benteke suspiciously remembers he’s a striker when his contracts up.

And whenever he plays us, he’s got Olivier Giroud syndrome where he scores against us no matter how shit his form is. Even scored against us for Liverpool!

[saintwbu]

7 minutes ago, Lee On Solent Saint said:

Benteke normally has his best game of the season against us. Ergo, would he be any good actually playing for us?!

Maybe it’s playing on the same pitch as us that raises his game, maybe he’d been amazing every single game for us in that case.

[Whitey Grandad]

13 minutes ago, saintwbu said:

And whenever he plays us, he’s got Olivier Giroud syndrome where he scores against us no matter how shit his form is. Even scored against us for Liverpool!

At least he wouldn’t be playing against us

[MarkSFC]

1 hour ago, SuperSAINT said:

Benteke suspiciously remembers he’s a striker when his contracts up.

Haha!! I just think that for "free" (depending on wages) he would be a great addition. There's There's very good player in there somewhere!!

[Saint_clark]

2 hours ago, SuperSAINT said:

Benteke suspiciously remembers he’s a striker when his contracts up.

The ol' Saganowski effect.

[Ted Bates Statue]

46 minutes ago, MarkSFC said:

Haha!! I just think that for "free" (depending on wages) he would be a great addition. 

How about we finally get around to replacing Graziano Pelle with... a certain free agent named Graziano Pelle.

 

HCDAJFU 😇

[Badger]

12 hours ago, Kenilworthy said:

I agree with what you say. But there is one factor we can offer which is that we are a well proven route for players to get established in the Premier League and to then get moves to the bigger clubs they really want to play for. You can say the same for Leicester - Kante and Mahrez for example. But for players who want a stepping stone we surely rank as at least equal with other clubs.

But others can offer a more "scenic" route involving European football, and even the possibility of pushing the club on from where we are if you're midtable already. It must be a harder sell if you're perceived as perennial strugglers just managing to avoid the drop.

9 hours ago, saint1977 said:

 

The facilities are amongst the best around so it has be down to human factors as to why enough players aren’t kicking on and developing their games. That could be down to coaching but also a culture at the club of continuous improvement, both your own technique and fitness, and the team. JWP is a better example - get everything you can out of yourself and stay on after training to work on his set piece delivery. Perhaps player motivation and lack of club leadership are linked, although if you want to move on to a top 4 club after 2 years self-motivation has to be a factor.

Are they still though ? This was the publicity c 2014 but since then I thought many clubs had developed facilities . may be not as someone else mentioined Burnley and Palace, but a few years ago I thought we had started to measure ourselves  in higher circles. 

Mind you, part of our problem may have begun  when we started believing our own publicity.

6 hours ago, WALK DMC said:

Brady is very good with free kicks, but not a role that we are lacking in  .....

unless ..... [complete the sentence...]

[Chez]

https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/liverpool-can-raise-80m-selling-20697081 

Maybe the writer just has made educated guesses, but the suggestion is £10m for Minamoto.  I'm not advocating his signing, but I'd offer £7.25m max on principle. Why on earth Liverpool should make a profit from a failed signing, especially in a downgraded market.  Yeah, OK, I know why...

[Lighthouse]

14 hours ago, le_tiss said:

Would take Schlupp, PVA, Cahill, Guilta (who I met in my local David Lloyd Gym 😀 ) and Townsend

Shirley, you can’t be serious? We’re supposed to be clearing out our own garbage, not hoovering up other peoples’. I’d take PvA from Palace and that’s it.

[tajjuk]

Do people lose their sense of player judgement just because a player is a free or something? Most of those players are not good enough for Palace so won't be good enough for us. 

Most free transfers are because the clubs don't think its worth re-signing the player, you get the rare one maybe where the player is looking to move up and doesn't want to re-sign with his current club but if a mid table club is releasing a load of players then generally its because they are not good enough.

We need to tap the European market and the Championship, usually I'd say out £10-15 million sort of 'cap' would be crippling us, but this year not so much. The pandemic is going to cripple many clubs out there, even clubs like Inter are cost cutting and looking to sell. We still have the advantage of PL money and the now extended deal, whereas France's TV deal has collapsed, most Championship clubs are running wages at nearly 100% of turnover, Real Madrid and Barca both have around a billion in debt, I think our £10-15 million could be this summer getting players that would be usually in the £25 million plus bracket.  There is value out there in the market without going after PL reject freebies. 

I mean some our better recent signings like Armstrong, Bednerak, and KWP have been the cheaper ones. 

[Lee On Solent Saint]

29 minutes ago, tajjuk said:

Do people lose their sense of player judgement just because a player is a free or something? Most of those players are not good enough for Palace so won't be good enough for us. 

Most free transfers are because the clubs don't think its worth re-signing the player, you get the rare one maybe where the player is looking to move up and doesn't want to re-sign with his current club but if a mid table club is releasing a load of players then generally its because they are not good enough.

We need to tap the European market and the Championship, usually I'd say out £10-15 million sort of 'cap' would be crippling us, but this year not so much. The pandemic is going to cripple many clubs out there, even clubs like Inter are cost cutting and looking to sell. We still have the advantage of PL money and the now extended deal, whereas France's TV deal has collapsed, most Championship clubs are running wages at nearly 100% of turnover, Real Madrid and Barca both have around a billion in debt, I think our £10-15 million could be this summer getting players that would be usually in the £25 million plus bracket.  There is value out there in the market without going after PL reject freebies. 

I mean some our better recent signings like Armstrong, Bednerak, and KWP have been the cheaper ones. 

Agree with this. Some clubs need to sell more than we do. We need to adopt a Levy style when it comes to negotiating a deal. We get fucked over enough in transfer fees, it's time we used the same tactic

[SW5 SAINT]

2 hours ago, Chez said:

https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/liverpool-can-raise-80m-selling-20697081 

Maybe the writer just has made educated guesses, but the suggestion is £10m for Minamoto.  I'm not advocating his signing, but I'd offer £7.25m max on principle. Why on earth Liverpool should make a profit from a failed signing, especially in a downgraded market.  Yeah, OK, I know why...

It says we have held discussions. Hopefully Southampton not willing to pay as much as Liverpool want.......

[Lighthouse]

11 minutes ago, Lee On Solent Saint said:

Agree with this. Some clubs need to sell more than we do. We need to adopt a Levy style when it comes to negotiating a deal. We get fucked over enough in transfer fees, it's time we used the same tactic

Like when?

[VectisSaint]

1 hour ago, Lighthouse said:

Shirley, you can’t be serious? We’re supposed to be clearing out our own garbage, not hoovering up other peoples’. I’d take PvA from Palace and that’s it.

I guess at least PvA would fit in to our defensive system well, good understanding of getting a tonking at St Mary's and contributing an own goal in the process. He is almost as old as Bertrand. Shirley you can't be serious.