I’m going to look on the bright side if we end up signing Ross Barkley, and that is that for the midfielder with “Prem Experience” Giaretta said we were after, it was Barkley and not Fabian Delph.
Barkley is a good player. Certainly talented and has the ability to do things in an advanced CM position that no one else in our squad can do…. The big issue with him is consistency. His form fluctuates massively which leads to questions about his attitude. I was against this type of signing earlier in the window but I’ve seen us add plenty of gritty types in midfield and think we need to add something different. That said, Barkley could easily become another example of the type of player Duxbury said we were avoiding - an expensive passenger. Guess it would be one that would split the fanbase a bit if it happened.
Further to above - I asked the question of someone on Saturday evening if there was anything to report in terms of incomings/outgoings. Didn’t mention Barkley/Hughes/Chalobah at all. Just said about the club trying to find league experience for youngsters and everything else is fluid and can change because the ‘market is now wide open’. Did say an unnamed Championship club have had a loan bid for Ngakia on the table since the beginning of August and that’s potentially why he might not kick a ball between now and the end of the window - but he won’t be let go without a replacement coming in first. Suggested we asked after a PL right-back who is out of favour but we won’t get him unless his clubs stance changes on how they want rid of him (screams Bellerin to me). I followed up asking about Doig and Ferguson and was just told to ‘not bank’ on them being Watford players.
Has Larsen left Udinese yet? Wouldn't be surprised if he joined and Ngakia left on loan. Plus with Kiko picking up an injury every other week we'll need some experience in that position.
Ngakia needs that loan opportunity. Most PL wingers are quick and Cathcart was quite lucky to be against a 36 year old for most of the game. Stryger would be an excellent acquisition.
I like Ngakia but there’s no point him sitting on the bench all year. Last year he looked more competent defending 1-on-1s than Femenia but there’s no denying he struggled against Zaha in pre-season. I’d still prefer not to write him off after that though and would welcome him getting some game time in the PL, but if the club have seen weaknesses to his game and know the performance at Palace isn’t a one-off then a loan may be for the best. It just seems like none of our youngsters are ever considered good enough. Either we are terrible at recruiting/developing them or we have serious issues trusting them to make the step up. I worry it’s the latter.
I think if you're battling for promotion, battling to avoid relegation and your head coaches have a very short shelf life then youngsters are less likely to be used.
Depends on what you mean by youngsters. Louza, Cucho, Sarr, Dennis, Joao Pedro are all 23 or under. Sierralta has only just turned 24 this summer. We actually seem to recruit youth quite well at first team level. It’s bringing through U23’s who are good enough where we have struggled but let’s see what this restructuring brings. Must admit I’m not hopeful because it’s just not in the Pozzo DNA despite the changes they are making.
Lol, Inter Milan were trying to sign Bellerin a few days ago, I very much doubt he'll be coming to us.
Oh dear. I hope not. Some other ideas/possibilities who fit the criteria of heading out of their current club but with some sort of preferred alternative sale/disposition option sought by their club: Aurier Diogo Dalot Neco Williams Brandon Williams Zappacosta Frederic Guilbert JonJoe Kenny Yan Valery Ryan Fredricks
I think some clubs are better than others. Southampton, West Ham, Everton and Palace always seem to have a youngster or two in their squads.
Could be Jonjoe Kenny either Also noticed that Yan Valery has been given the number 43 by Southampton this season so he's definitely being pointed towards exit door.
Valery is gash. He'd definitely be surplus to requirements there though as Southampton signed another young attacking right-back in Livramento who is ace.
When you look at what the likes of Benrahma, Bowen, Eze etc. have all gone for that's pretty par for the course.
Admittedly he had a horrible time in the Prem (was he injured?), if not for him, Bournemouth would have been absolutely nowhere. He's also a Dutch international too
Just out of interest, does the EFL window end at the same time as the Prem window? If we get the Tufan and Lyanco deals tied up soon, I reckon that's probably it in terms of incomings, but how long would we have to sort out outgoings for the deadwood?
https://twitter.com/glongari/status/1428101774708203520?s=21 This window keeps getting better, another report linking Success to Udinese.
True, but if it's been made clear to him that he won't be included in our squad, I suspect Udi would be preferable (to him) than a loan to a championship club.
