Summer Transfer Window 2024

[revolution saint]

Seems like Mateus Fernandes is a goer at 12.8M.  Depends what else we do in the window but still seems a strange one.  Find it hard to believe that we think he's starting 11 material and nearly 13M is a lot (for us) to drop on a prospect when there's other more obvious deficiencies in the team. 

I'm not convinced these types of signings are good for the player either - to improve he needs to be playing regularly in the same way Charles needs a spell on loan.  Just gotta hope he steps up like Lavia and Livramento.

[hypochondriac]

1 minute ago, revolution saint said:

Seems like Mateus Fernandes is a goer at 12.8M.  Depends what else we do in the window but still seems a strange one.  Find it hard to believe that we think he's starting 11 material and nearly 13M is a lot (for us) to drop on a prospect when there's other more obvious deficiencies in the team. 

I'm not convinced these types of signings are good for the player either - to improve he needs to be playing regularly in the same way Charles needs a spell on loan.  Just gotta hope he steps up like Lavia and Livramento.

The hope has to be that he is a Tino or Lavia type player who is an obvious upgrade immediately. Thays the only way spending this much could be justified. 

[Farmer Saint]

Tbf, we didn't lose yesterday because of McCarthy, we lost because we missed some sitters. 

[Chewy]

9 hours ago, HarvSFC said:

I like this, hopefully the club is thinking of building the squad in a similar way, as beyond the starting 11 we are quite light, not in numbers, but in quality. But, there is always one position that gets neglected at the end of every window. For the last few it has been striker and goalkeeper, before that it was full-backs and wingers. 

I've never heard of this Fernandes before this evening, but he does smell like a SR, Rasmus Ankersen punt signing who we hope we can turn a profit on. And, these signings haven't been too successful in the recent past. Russell Martin's also shown during his time here that he likes and trusts a certain profile of player and has no issues leaving a player out if they don't fit that profile/play the system well even if they have signed for big money like Charles, Onuachu and Sulemana. Does a 20 year old from Portugal fit the profile? We'll see.

Either way, lets hope that the club have learned from two years ago and aren't expecting Fernandes to be an instant success in the Premier League. He should be a rotation option at this moment in time in his career and we still need to add the experience.

The dream for the end of the window is O'Riley and Ramsdale. Anything else is a bonus and hopefully Fernandes is one of those bonuses. I guess Adam Blackmore did say that we wanted both Carvalho and O'Riley before the former moved to Brentford, so hopefully this is our Carvalho alternative. O'Riley's clearly been a top target for us this summer, Martin knows him already and Brighton and Atalanta have been two of the best recruiters in world football in recent times, so if they were after him...

I actually fundamentally disagree with your position that the first 11 is good, we just lack depth in quality. We have over 30 first team squad members of which I’d say only KWP is proven premier league quality. 
Everyone will have different opinions on individuals but I guess you could make a case for the following to be acceptable as premier league starters

Suga, THB, Bednarek, KWP, Downes and (from what we’ve all read but not witnessed) Lesley

Behind that there’s 25 or so who are either definitely not good enough, unproven, permanently unfit or proven to be squad level but not starters. We have enough of those and in pretty much every position though funnily enough our weakest area for squad depth is central midfield.

What we definitely don’t have is premier league level in the two most important positions (gk and cf) despite needing to prioritise here for 4 f*cking years. Or anyone proven in the chance creating positions. This is what we need. 
Of course I’m not averse to any transfer that brings in a good player that improves the squad, so long as a) we can afford it and b) it’s not at the detriment of other higher priority transfers.

Given the noises and signs we appear to have limited funds so I am nervous about spending £15m for a nice to have when we desperately need to fill some essential positions. Hope I’m wrong and we get all of it, but I’m not convinced 

[revolution saint]

Just now, hypochondriac said:

The hope has to be that he is a Tino or Lavia type player who is an obvious upgrade immediately. Thays the only way spending this much could be justified. 

Yeah, his profile looks more similar to Downes than anything else.  Here's a quick scout report

"Mateus Fernandes is a rising star in Portugal's Primeira Liga, a midfielder who inked his name in the hearts of Estoril's fans this 2023-2024 season. In a concise scout report, the youngster impresses with exemplary ball recovery, placing amongst the top echelon of his peers - a testament to his tireless engine and robust defensive prowess. Just as laudable, his progressive carrying ability suggests a high-tempo style of play. A fearless presence in one-on-one situations, Fernandes has shown a knack for maneuvering the ball through tight spaces to launch attacks. Despite his young age, he's shown an above-average capacity for chance creation and goal efficiency, positioning him as an exciting prospect for the near future. However, his threat towards the goal is a noticeable chink in his armor - he's far from being a significant contributor in the goal-scoring chart. This, coupled with a somewhat lackluster showing in progressive passing, indicates a room for growth in dictating attacks more productively. Fernandes is most comfortable and impactful in the middle of the park, asserting his influence primarily in midfield areas. His excellent duel win percentages are both a testament to his physical prowess and combative style of play, equally adept on the ground and in the air. However, he may be prone to giving away fouls considering his higher percentile score in this area. To conclude, Mateus Fernandes is a young midfield dynamo with a defensive bedrock and commendable ball-carrying abilities but has room for growth in his offensive output and disciplinary record. As a player who's constantly involved in the action - reflected by his high frequency of touches - the potential for further development should not be overlooked."

Not sure we're crying out for a player of that profile, particularly with Big Les.  

[Whitey Grandad]

3 minutes ago, Farmer Saint said:

Tbf, we didn't lose yesterday because of McCarthy, we lost because we missed some sitters. 

Eh? We lost because we conceded an unnecessary goal. Without that we might have drawn.

[AlexLaw76]

6 minutes ago, Farmer Saint said:

Tbf, we didn't lose yesterday because of McCarthy, we lost because we missed some sitters. 

We might have drawn, yes?

[AlexLaw76]

https://twitter.com/thesaintcentre/status/1825082651713126488?s=46

[Hopper]

Skipp on his way to Leicester as per Fab.

[Miltonaggro]

18 hours ago, trousers said:

Despite a good overall performance (so far) vs Newcastle, it's put a spotlight on  the two positions we haven't upgraded yet during this window.... i.e. keeper and centre forward... Address that in the next two weeks and we're comfortably a mid-table side i reckon...

Oh, and we need to keep KWP... Worth much more to us this season if he goes on a free next year than if we get a few bob for him now....

Exactly this.  Lots of pundits and posters pointing out we were on a hiding to nothing at 2pm yesterday, would be lucky to get away with 4-0.  As it worked out we were unlucky not to have come away with a 1-3 win.  We are very close to being a competitive side, but it is absolutely crucial that we bring in a keeper and (assuming Archer @£15m is the forward) a creative option up front - Ramsdale / Johnston and O'Riley would likely transform this side, but these gaps have been clear to the fans for an age.  If the Board fail to recruit they will have been negligent rather than merely reckless.  

[saintant]

33 minutes ago, Tom & Gerry said:

If we sign a new goalkeeper he will hopefully cut down on the number of errors playing out from the back, but don't expect them to be eliminated altogether. There is no super keeper that makes no errors. As Downes said, it's the way we play. If Ramsdale, for instance was so good at playing out from the back he'd be in the Arsenal team. The hardest thing in the Premier league is scoring goals as we saw yesterday when the goalkeeping mistake shouldn't have been crucial.

Getting that right should be our number 1 priority.

The goalkeeping mistake was absolutely crucial in this game. It came just before half time and lifted the Geordie crowd and gave their team something to hold on to in the second half.  Without it we'd have almost certainly got a point and possibly all three. 

[Whitey Grandad]

2 minutes ago, saintant said:

The goalkeeping mistake was absolutely crucial in this game. It came just before half time and lifted the Geordie crowd and gave their team something to hold on to in the second half.  Without it we'd have almost certainly got a point and possibly all three. 

Add to that the atmosphere regarding the sending off.

A team with ten men can defend reasonably well but their attacking options are limited. Gift them a goal and they don’t even need to worry too much about the attacking.

[Midfield_General]

31 minutes ago, revolution saint said:

Yeah, his profile looks more similar to Downes than anything else.  Here's a quick scout report

"Mateus Fernandes is a rising star in Portugal's Primeira Liga, a midfielder who inked his name in the hearts of Estoril's fans this 2023-2024 season. In a concise scout report, the youngster impresses with exemplary ball recovery, placing amongst the top echelon of his peers - a testament to his tireless engine and robust defensive prowess. Just as laudable, his progressive carrying ability suggests a high-tempo style of play. A fearless presence in one-on-one situations, Fernandes has shown a knack for maneuvering the ball through tight spaces to launch attacks. Despite his young age, he's shown an above-average capacity for chance creation and goal efficiency, positioning him as an exciting prospect for the near future. However, his threat towards the goal is a noticeable chink in his armor - he's far from being a significant contributor in the goal-scoring chart. This, coupled with a somewhat lackluster showing in progressive passing, indicates a room for growth in dictating attacks more productively. Fernandes is most comfortable and impactful in the middle of the park, asserting his influence primarily in midfield areas. His excellent duel win percentages are both a testament to his physical prowess and combative style of play, equally adept on the ground and in the air. However, he may be prone to giving away fouls considering his higher percentile score in this area. To conclude, Mateus Fernandes is a young midfield dynamo with a defensive bedrock and commendable ball-carrying abilities but has room for growth in his offensive output and disciplinary record. As a player who's constantly involved in the action - reflected by his high frequency of touches - the potential for further development should not be overlooked."

Not sure we're crying out for a player of that profile, particularly with Big Les.  

Up to £16m fee, plus wages, for a promising but raw player on a perm in a position we don’t need when we’re apparently low on funds and utterly desperate for a starting keeper, attacking mid and goalscorer. When the price of getting it wrong is the hundreds of millions it’s worth to stay in the PL.

Righto. 

I’d love to think this means we’ve got those other three positions covered and we’re going to unveil them this week, so this lad can be the luxury on top, but somehow I’m not sure that’s the case. 

Don’t ever change Saints, you bunch of absolute mentalists 🤣 

Edited August 18 by Midfield_General

[Wade Garrett]

29 minutes ago, Midfield_General said:

Up to £16m fee, plus wages, for a promising but raw player on a perm in a position we don’t need when we’re apparently low on funds and utterly desperate for a starting keeper, attacking mid and goalscorer. When the price of getting it wrong is the hundreds of millions it’s worth to stay in the PL.

Righto. 

I’d love to think this means we’ve got those other three positions covered and we’re going to unveil them this week, so this lad can be the luxury on top, but somehow I’m not sure that’s the case. 

Don’t ever change Saints, you bunch of absolute mentalists 🤣 

It does seem rather fucking stupid at the moment.

Hopefully it won’t by the end of the window.  It just looks like we’re buying another Shea Charles.

[Luke SkyWalker-Peters]

I like the look of Fernandes. A complete CM. Good with the ball, athletic, can dribble past players and has some bite to him.

I think he is an upgrade to both Smallbone and Aribo.

If Alcaraz goes, then I could see the club signing O'Riley too. We are a bit short at CM at the moment with Charles looking like he is going out on loan, considering we usually play 3 in midfield.

I suspect we will get a striker once Mara is gone and a goalkeeper on loan just before the window closes, from a team hoping to sell their extra GK.

[pimpin4rizeal]

2 hours ago, Chez said:

We have bought two in this window. Not sure Archer was the right one myself. Hope I am wrong.

I’m genuinely excited by archer as he looks a real natural finisher 

But I think his success may be down to how much russ wants this type of striker as a starting option .. from what I gather he’s the type that is not gonna hold the ball up so much or be a physical presence like che, instead archer is a fox 🦊 in the box.

i think if russ gives him starts every week he will probably do double digits for us but if he’s more like the Mara squad player then it could end up the same way as Mara did 

[egg]

1 hour ago, revolution saint said:

Yeah, his profile looks more similar to Downes than anything else.  Here's a quick scout report

"Mateus Fernandes is a rising star in Portugal's Primeira Liga, a midfielder who inked his name in the hearts of Estoril's fans this 2023-2024 season. In a concise scout report, the youngster impresses with exemplary ball recovery, placing amongst the top echelon of his peers - a testament to his tireless engine and robust defensive prowess. Just as laudable, his progressive carrying ability suggests a high-tempo style of play. A fearless presence in one-on-one situations, Fernandes has shown a knack for maneuvering the ball through tight spaces to launch attacks. Despite his young age, he's shown an above-average capacity for chance creation and goal efficiency, positioning him as an exciting prospect for the near future. However, his threat towards the goal is a noticeable chink in his armor - he's far from being a significant contributor in the goal-scoring chart. This, coupled with a somewhat lackluster showing in progressive passing, indicates a room for growth in dictating attacks more productively. Fernandes is most comfortable and impactful in the middle of the park, asserting his influence primarily in midfield areas. His excellent duel win percentages are both a testament to his physical prowess and combative style of play, equally adept on the ground and in the air. However, he may be prone to giving away fouls considering his higher percentile score in this area. To conclude, Mateus Fernandes is a young midfield dynamo with a defensive bedrock and commendable ball-carrying abilities but has room for growth in his offensive output and disciplinary record. As a player who's constantly involved in the action - reflected by his high frequency of touches - the potential for further development should not be overlooked."

Not sure we're crying out for a player of that profile, particularly with Big Les.  

Seems a complete waste of money. Big Lesley is surely here for that role, with  Charles either giving cover or moving on. 

What we needed was obvious yesterday. He isn't it. 

[Chez]

2 minutes ago, pimpin4rizeal said:

I’m genuinely excited by archer as he looks a real natural finisher 

But I think his success may be down to how much russ wants this type of striker as a starting option .. from what I gather he’s the type that is not gonna hold the ball up so much or be a physical presence like che, instead archer is a fox 🦊 in the box.

i think if russ gives him starts every week he will probably do double digits for us but if he’s more like the Mara squad player then it could end up the same way as Mara did 

we have replaced Adams, who did his best work with his back to goal, with a guy that looks to play on the shoulder, make runs into space and be in the box more. That might help us, but there is bound to be games where we are crying out for some hold up play. 

[Midfield_General]

19 minutes ago, Luke SkyWalker-Peters said:

I like the look of Fernandes. A complete CM. Good with the ball, athletic, can dribble past players and has some bite to him.

I think he is an upgrade to both Smallbone and Aribo.

If Alcaraz goes, then I could see the club signing O'Riley too. We are a bit short at CM at the moment with Charles looking like he is going out on loan, considering we usually play 3 in midfield.

I suspect we will get a striker once Mara is gone and a goalkeeper on loan just before the window closes, from a team hoping to sell their extra GK.

I really hope you're right 🙏

[St. Neil]

The picture was about how we are skipping over Skipp it's so obvious.

[Smirking_Saint]

8 minutes ago, egg said:

Seems a complete waste of money. Big Lesley is surely here for that role, with  Charles either giving cover or moving on. 

What we needed was obvious yesterday. He isn't it. 

The game has changed as far as the blueprint around staying in the prem is concerned, for clubs at our level its getting more and more difficult but ultimately you have to attempt to follow Brightons blueprint, educated gambles on undervalued players with a sprinkling of experience 

Fernandes is highly rated and reinforces a position we are weak in, the hope is the club can make long term profits in the likes of Fernandes, Edwards, THB etc whilst they make an impact in the team… this is how Brighton have solidified themselves as a Prem top 8 side… its also how we survived last year, by being able to drag in significant profits

Our BIG problem right now is we have a bloated squad, of what were regarded ‘prem ready’ players from two years ago… all players are a gamble, but young players are slightly less because financially they tend to maintain value

[trousers]

18 minutes ago, Turkish said:

I didn’t start the thread. No one has to read it But people do. No one has to comment but people do. 28 pages long for a reason. 

Indeed. The thread only continues to thrive because of the usual suspects that react to it, not because of the jolly japes posted by those fishing for bites...

#cause #effect

Edited August 18 by trousers

[spyinthesky]

11 minutes ago, Chez said:

we have replaced Adams, who did his best work with his back to goal, with a guy that looks to play on the shoulder, make runs into space and be in the box more. That might help us, but there is bound to be games where we are crying out for some hold up play. 

Or someone who can actually cause problems in the air and head the ball with purpose towards the goal!!

Ross Edwards would be a good shout. Whatever happened to him, I wonder?

[Smirking_Saint]

13 minutes ago, Chez said:

we have replaced Adams, who did his best work with his back to goal, with a guy that looks to play on the shoulder, make runs into space and be in the box more. That might help us, but there is bound to be games where we are crying out for some hold up play. 

Thats was BBD is here for

[Turkish]

1 minute ago, trousers said:

Indeed. The thread only continues to thrive because of the usual suspects that react to it, not because of the jolly japes posted by those fishing for bites...

#cause #effect

It’s currently in the top 20% of posts in the main board first page ones above it have been running for months in some cases years more. Post per length of thread existence it’s the most popular thread on the forum. Not bad for a thread no one cares about and is full of bollocks spouted by attention seekers with no clue what’s happening about transfers. Still along with most genuine lol emoji reactions and poster most ignored on here it’s another achievement to add to my growing list 

[egg]

2 minutes ago, Smirking_Saint said:

The game has changed as far as the blueprint around staying in the prem is concerned, for clubs at our level its getting more and more difficult but ultimately you have to attempt to follow Brightons blueprint, educated gambles on undervalued players with a sprinkling of experience 

Fernandes is highly rated and reinforces a position we are weak in, the hope is the club can make long term profits in the likes of Fernandes, Edwards, THB etc whilst they make an impact in the team… this is how Brighton have solidified themselves as a Prem top 8 side… its also how we survived last year, by being able to drag in significant profits

Our BIG problem right now is we have a bloated squad, of what were regarded ‘prem ready’ players from two years ago… all players are a gamble, but young players are slightly less because financially they tend to maintain value

I don't disagree with any of that. However, we dominated midfield yesterday (before the sending off as well) but didn't penetrate enough. This lads scout report suggests that he's a midfield ball recycler, offers little creativity, and little in an attacking sense. That's a million miles from what we need. 

We need PL ready players - BD, Lesley, Downes, THB, Taylor, and arguably Archer, are there or thereabouts.

We need a creative midfielder to make the chances and a proper striker to score them. Plus a keeper. A promising ball recycler is not what we need with limited funds imo. 

[Chez]

8 minutes ago, Smirking_Saint said:

Thats was BBD is here for

OK. I thought so too, but people on here have been saying he's more of a left sided attacker, like Rodriguez was for us, rater than a Lambert (positionally).

[for_heaven's_Saint]

8 minutes ago, Chez said:

OK. I thought so too, but people on here have been saying he's more of a left sided attacker, like Rodriguez was for us, rater than a Lambert (positionally).

I think we probably won’t find out if BBD can be that central number 9 until we play with 4 at the back. Perhaps we’ll do that at home to Forest?

[Smirking_Saint]

10 minutes ago, egg said:

I don't disagree with any of that. However, we dominated midfield yesterday (before the sending off as well) but didn't penetrate enough. This lads scout report suggests that he's a midfield ball recycler, offers little creativity, and little in an attacking sense. That's a million miles from what we need. 

We need PL ready players - BD, Lesley, Downes, THB, Taylor, and arguably Archer, are there or thereabouts.

We need a creative midfielder to make the chances and a proper striker to score them. Plus a keeper. A promising ball recycler is not what we need with limited funds imo. 

Unfortunately I doubt we’ll get a striker now, because we effectively have 4.. 5 including Mara

I do agree in regards creativity, that said, we did have 5 on target yesterday, we weren’t ’uncreative’, just wasteful

We desperately need a GK, and as much as Im contradicting myself.. we do need more creativity although Im not sure how much AL is going to feature 

Again our problem is bodies.. Onuachu, Manning, Aribo, Mara or Stewart, Sulemana, Bree, Stephens/ABK, Alcaraz even potentially Lumley are all names that we probably need to move on to streamline the side

[S-Clarke]

Fernandes is your pretty typical number 8 style player. If you think last season we had Stu Armstrong and Rothwell who could play that role. This season we have lost both of those and gained Charly, so there is a gap for another 8 in my opinion. I wouldn't prioritise it over GK though, but maybe the club aren't - best to judge that one at the end of the window.

In isolation it's a position we've lost numbers in. The only way O'Riley still comes in is if Charly goes as we need a big sale for that to happen, so we'll see how that pans out in the coming weeks.

Striker wise we're probably waiting to see what happens with Sekou and Onuanchu - if we lose both of those, we almost certainly need an alternative up there as it wouldn't leave us with any natural number 9's as such (I discount Stewart, he's irrelevant as far as I'm concerned)

Edited August 18 by S-Clarke

[beatlesaint]

2 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

Fernandes is your pretty typical number 8 style player. If you think last season we had Stu Armstrong and Rothwell who could play that role. This season we have lost both of those and gained Charly, so there is a gap for another 8 in my opinion. I wouldn't prioritise it over GK though, but maybe the club aren't - best to judge that one at the end of the window.

In isolation it's a position we've lost numbers in. The only way O'Riley still comes in is if Charly goes as we need a big sale for that to happen, so we'll see how that pans out in the coming weeks.

Striker wise we're probably waiting to see what happens with Sekou and Onuanchu - if we lose both of those, we almost certainly need an alternative up there as it wouldn't leave us with any natural number 9's as such (I discount Stewart, he's irrelevant as far as I'm concerned)

Isn’t it a sad state of affairs when the words Mara and natural number 9 appear in the same sentence. Thats barely manageable in the Championship let alone this league. His absence yesterday hopefully means he’s ready to board the plane back to France imminently 

 

[SaintsFan86]

9 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

Fernandes is your pretty typical number 8 style player. If you think last season we had Stu Armstrong and Rothwell who could play that role. This season we have lost both of those and gained Charly, so there is a gap for another 8 in my opinion. I wouldn't prioritise it over GK though, but maybe the club aren't - best to judge that one at the end of the window.

In isolation it's a position we've lost numbers in. The only way O'Riley still comes in is if Charly goes as we need a big sale for that to happen, so we'll see how that pans out in the coming weeks.

Striker wise we're probably waiting to see what happens with Sekou and Onuanchu - if we lose both of those, we almost certainly need an alternative up there as it wouldn't leave us with any natural number 9's as such (I discount Stewart, he's irrelevant as far as I'm concerned)

We have lost Rothwell and stuey and soon to lose Charles and Alcaraz, so we will need 4 midfielders to replace them. 

Big Les, Fernandes, Lallana plus A N Other.

[SuperSAINT]

1 minute ago, SaintsFan86 said:

We have lost Rothwell and stuey and soon to lose Charles and Alcaraz, so we will need 4 midfielders to replace them. 

Big Les, Fernandes, Lallana plus A N Other.

Ideally need 1 MoR.

[SaintsFan86]

Just now, SuperSAINT said:

Ideally need 1 MoR.

I really like what you did there.

[Master Bates]

People moaning we have too many keepers.

For the record, they're called Keepers for a reason........ 😉

Edited August 18 by Master Bates
Added a winky thing just incase

[S-Clarke]

1 hour ago, Smirking_Saint said:

The game has changed as far as the blueprint around staying in the prem is concerned, for clubs at our level its getting more and more difficult but ultimately you have to attempt to follow Brightons blueprint, educated gambles on undervalued players with a sprinkling of experience 

Fernandes is highly rated and reinforces a position we are weak in, the hope is the club can make long term profits in the likes of Fernandes, Edwards, THB etc whilst they make an impact in the team… this is how Brighton have solidified themselves as a Prem top 8 side… its also how we survived last year, by being able to drag in significant profits

Our BIG problem right now is we have a bloated squad, of what were regarded ‘prem ready’ players from two years ago… all players are a gamble, but young players are slightly less because financially they tend to maintain value

I'd agree to a point that we're a bit bloated - Charles, Charly at a push, Sulemana, Onuachu, Mara, ABK are 6 players that are expendable in my eyes.

Get rid of those and use that to reinforce the two areas we are lacking, after yesterday it looks even more obvious if it didn't already.

We need a 'star' attacking player, all the teams in the league have someone. We also need a GK who has the ability to keep us in games when we're having tough moments. Get those two positions sorted and I think we're a mid-table side. Might be a bit premature, but had we had those two elements yesterday we'd have won that game 2 or 3.

Edited August 18 by S-Clarke

[Saint Fan CaM]

Assuming Charles and Alcarez go, I can see us having Downes, O’Riley and Fernandes in a middle three triangle which interchangeably rotates but with Downes the primary defensive cover role. They all bring something different, with Fernandes providing the box-to-box CM role we've not seen since Schneiderlin.

I am hoping to see Stephens dropped in favour of a front three, certainly at home - AA…B-Diaz…Archer. With the above potent midfield and a mobile front three we might actually get to see some goals scored in our favour.

Keeper-wise I stand by my comment yesterday - fail to sort this position out could be a huge mistake. However, I feel certain the club are pinning hopes on Bazunu being ready sooner rather than later and McCarthy (+Lumley) will be relied on until that time. Personally I tend to think that Lumley has better judgement than McCarthy and so wouldn’t be any more concerned with him in goal.

[BERMUDASAINT]

We played very well against the richest club in the world! Everyone was expecting toon to destroy and embarrass us, but we stood up and looked as good as them. (Should have won)

The majority of our players are prem quality, the starting 10 coped very well and did not look out of place against a very strong newsaudicastle.

Speaking of lots of monies, we dont know where we are with finances, but we are in tbe business end of the transfer window. This is where the big pounds are spent!! U think we would enter this with no casholla to spend????

Speaking about spending....

The 2 big ones we have been linked to very strongly.

I think we are deff in for MOR and will get him with Charles going other way.

I think we are deff in for JC and will use Stewart as a sweetner

As for big les and Fernades, both are huge talents and look like they can handle the PL. But both need alot of time training in RM style and dont expect either to feature for some time.

I think Fernades is a good purchase, young and talented and one for the near future, looks a great price for his pontential.

I think big Les is a hopefull loan for a player with huge potential that needs to get back on track. Mersca knows RM is a great PB coach and will hope we can mold him into a player Chesea can use. Our hope is he likes it so much he wants to join. 

Having a good relationship with a club who own half of the players in the universe is not a bad thing (hey Joe, since ya got your dream job using us as a stepping stone, would ya throw us a bone)

 

 

 

[Saint_clark]

3 hours ago, revolution saint said:

Seems like Mateus Fernandes is a goer at 12.8M.  Depends what else we do in the window but still seems a strange one.  Find it hard to believe that we think he's starting 11 material and nearly 13M is a lot (for us) to drop on a prospect when there's other more obvious deficiencies in the team. 

I'm not convinced these types of signings are good for the player either - to improve he needs to be playing regularly in the same way Charles needs a spell on loan.  Just gotta hope he steps up like Lavia and Livramento.

This seems to have legs. I like the look of him. 

[S-Clarke]

Just seen that Ivan Tony looks like he's off, not included in the Brentford team today due to 'transfer interest'.

Brentford already replaced him with Thaigo, but he's injured for 7 months - could be a killer if he leaves.

[Patches O Houlihan]

1 minute ago, S-Clarke said:

Just seen that Ivan Tony looks like he's off, not included in the Brentford team today due to 'transfer interest'.

Brentford already replaced him with Thaigo, but he's injured for 7 months - could be a killer if he leaves.

Ivan Toney with AA and BBD playing off him. Would be amazing, but seems too much to hope for

[Bad Wolf]

11 minutes ago, Patches O Houlihan said:

Ivan Toney with AA and BBD playing off him. Would be amazing, but seems too much to hope for

Yeah maybe just a bit...

[Saint Fan CaM]

Would imagine Toney will be upwards of £40m having England 1st team place now. We’ll not be in that market.

[davefizzy14]

Fernandes having a medical. Looks a talent.

[egg]

25 minutes ago, Patches O Houlihan said:

Ivan Toney with AA and BBD playing off him. Would be amazing, but seems too much to hope for

He's out of our price bracket but I'm not sure who'll buy him and play him regularly. Feels a bit West Ham to me. 

[CB Fry]

NO. SIGNIFICANT. WEAKNESSES.

Basically we're signing the perfect footballer.

Well done Saints and thanks for the confirmation WhoScored dotcom 👍👍👍👍👍

 

[Polegategavin243]

13 minutes ago, Midfield_General said:

Up to £16m fee, plus wages, for a promising but raw player on a perm in a position we don’t need when we’re apparently low on funds and utterly desperate for a starting keeper, attacking mid and goalscorer. When the price of getting it wrong is the hundreds of millions it’s worth to stay in the PL.

Righto. 

I’d love to think this means we’ve got those other three positions covered and we’re going to unveil them this week, so this lad can be the luxury on top, but somehow I’m not sure that’s the case. 

Don’t ever change Saints, you bunch of absolute mentalists 🤣 

Why does everyone think that we will sign a further CF when we bought Archer. People need to appreciate that was the business we did for this position. The remaining business will be a goalkeeper (on loan) and an AMC and winger (probably Fraser). This would mean only needing to spend transfer budget on the AMC.

[Ex Lion Tamer]

Sounds highly rated

[washsaint]

As others have said, seems like a very odd signing as we have plenty of midfielders and is very unproven.  I imagine Charles not being in the squad yesterday means he's off.

I'd be sad to see Alcaraz go as he looked great when he came on and, unlike most of the team, offered a real attacking threat by running at players and trying killer passes.

Stand by my comment yesterday that if we don't have a new GK in by the next game it will be criminal.  McCarthy was never the answer.

[HKsaint]

3 hours ago, Whitey Grandad said:

Eh? We lost because we conceded an unnecessary goal. Without that we might have drawn.

We might have won. If not the unnecessary goal and conceding 0-1, they wouldn’t have parked the bus and they would have tried to come out and win, which would have left us some more spaces for our attack and we would have been more likely to win as they had only 10 men.  Once 0-1 and they resolved to defend for life, we didn’t have any chance.