Transfers so far

We'll get neither as neither will want to come here but £30 for Wilshere and Delph in total would be great. Half a season from each and we'll perhaps actually have a single player worth that sort of fee.

We're signing Charlie Adam from Stoke for £6m once they've finished buying better players.

 

I bet they would. There's only a year of his contract to buy out. They'll get nowt for him in 12 months time and he won't go anywhere if they want £20m. I would think £8m would be fair but if there is a lot of competition for him it will be more.

In fairness he's always been a bit of a knob and he strikes me like the kind of person who would say "Noocarsel is too far norf" so not sure he'd come here anyway. Injury-wise he more or less made it through last season although he missed the last 5 games with a "hairline crack in calfbone". I'd be more worried if it were a recurrence of a muscle injury.

 

I guess if you take the £6m we're supposedly due for Gibson, then we'd be looking at about £4m for him (if he would come, fair point) - not bad for a decent upgrade in the middle of the team

 

I would seriously consider putting Shelvey in the ACM/#10 position if we can't sign a decent #10. I think he's the best option we have there from what we currently have - someone with a bit of quality who can split defences, plus it forces him to be involved more as he can drift out of games in the middle. Yes there's De Jong but as I have stated before I'm not convinced on his strength or pace for this league (definitely has quality though). 4-1-4-1 with Shelvey and another ACM in the centre would also be an option, so Delph or Wilshere would fit perfectly in that sort of set up.

 

Think I could live with that

 

Being linked with Ryad Boudebouz again.

 

Saw that a few weeks ago too - don't know that much about him to be honest

 

Can't fool me Windy, you know exactly who's coming in....

 

I heard the only thing holding up the Fabregas deal is that he still can't decide whether to buy a house in Jesmond Dene or Darras Hall.

 

I thought the club said they couldn't complete this until Windy got back from his holidays.

 

I actually have a lot of sympathy for the club. I think we're in a tricky situation. We don't have much pull and do seem quite far down the pecking order. Sadly I think we'll have to take a chance on a few unknown foreign players or simply hope to pick up a loan or two. I'd have liked to see us go for the likes of Chaboloah, Hughes, Loftus-Cheek, Charlie Taylor, Maguire, Ake, Zouma, Traore - harsh reality is the likes of Watford, Bournemouth, Palace, Stoke, Leicester, Burnley probably all do have better pull than us and this is why these players have made those moves. I'm sure we probably had a cursory interest in most of them just like Abraham. Its just tricky for us as a promoted club.

This is where the manager, his network earn their corn. As tricky as it is they are of course accountable. In the past managers haven't really had a lot of say in transfers. So you could maybe blame Carr etc. Now Benitez has openly said there is money and he has input. He is still dependant on Charnley getting the job done and Ashley backing up with funds.

So all in all I don't have a clue mate. I think we just have to hope those in charge do. I just see little point in going for the likes of Delph and Wilshere who are likely to have better options (so we'd be wasting time on a wild goose chase where we are used to get them better deals). More than anything I hate paying these types of players to sit in the physio room - and those two are virtually guaranteed to do exactly that.

I assume Rafa has given them the names and it will include some from these shores and some from abroad. Some will have chosen elsewhere already, hence his open frustration. We are in a bit of a fingers crossed situation. Most promoted clubs suffer the same fate.

 

As a Moderator I feel it is my duty to save your time General and summarise Hanks response for you with a simple touch of the Bold key!

 

He's an extremely skillful little player - burst of pace and dribbling a bit like Ben Arfa (but a better attitude), very good awareness and passing, ok shooting. Very good set pieces. Sadly can sometimes be greedy and decide to try and beat two or three men rather than play a simple pass (though not as often as HBA). Also a bit lightweight... Depends if he can adapt - could be a Mahrez or could be another Cabella.

He has been consistently very good in France season on season whilst playing for weaker teams - most assists of any player since 2010, more chances created per game (3.5) than any other player in the top 5 European leagues last season, most key passes from open play in Ligue 1 since 2014 etc. With his consistency he should turn out better than Cabella. Also isn't injury prone - consistently makes over 35 appearances per season.

Overall I would be excited if we were to take the chance on him. He could make an excellent number 10.

 

Looks like we might be making a move for Clucas too.

 

Sounds like a decent prospect

 

The noisiest currently active rumours:

Clucas (looking likely) - Left wing/Central midfield (£4million - £8million)
Peter Gulacsi - GK
Boudebouz - Number 10 (£8million - £12million)
Fernando - Defensive midfield (£3million - £5million)
Riza Durmisi - Left back (£10million - £13million)

All reasonable fees in today's money. Covers most of the areas that everyone is agreeing need strengthening. No striker there though...


Also, Mbemba has been transfer listed according to the Northern Echo - due to poor English and inability to follow instructions.

 

To be fair if I got a job in another country working with many people who spoke the native language I'm pretty certain I will be very good after a year and would be disappointed if I wasn't pretty much fluent in 2. It depends how bad 'poor English' really is but may suggest he isn't bothered about hanging around. He's a good player though so would be a shame to see him go.

 

Apparently we have offered Riviere to several clubs and no-one wants him. The club are considering paying off his contract.

 

Christ I would hope we'd been offering him to every club, professional or non, for the last 3 years

 

Graham Carr's legacy. What the hell was he thinking.