He has an aversion to heading the ball, which is a bit of a drawback for a big centre forward unfortunately.
Sounds a perfect match! When's the last time got a decent cross in and scored from a header in open play?!
Rose released by spurs. Free replacement for Bertrand but wages may be an issue. Also Gazzaniga for those wanting another keeper at the club.
Football Insider: Leicester City have agreed to sign Ryan Bertrand on a free transfer from Southampton. Leicester have been informed Bertrand has accepted their contract offer.
Can't sell that many players. That's what the likes of Fulham do when they come up to the PL - dump everyone and get a new bunch of players in. No one gels, no one cares, and they get relegated.
It’s also going to be another tough summer when it comes to selling. For everyone. That’s just reality. It’s already hard for PL clubs to sell players that they don’t want because the contracts are generally higher than anywhere else in the world. Who can you get to take on those liabilities? Especially if the reason you’re trying to shift them is that they aren’t good enough. Other leagues have been hit much harder by COVID so it’s going to be work to clear the decks without just paying off contracts. That doesn’t make sense if you have the option to save a bit of money through loaning out for a year and kicking the can down the road (Hoedt, Lemina). There’ll always be a market for an Ings or JWP and our better players, but the squad players remain tough to deal with. I think we’ll sign 3 or 4 this summer but the idea that the squad is getting a total revolution isn’t realistic.
I also want to go back to this point on the academy. The people responsible for the current academy output are no longer at the club. It’s often said that changes in youth football take five years to be reflected because that’s how long things take to implement and for the younger players to age up. It’s very much the same in education. If I made big adjustments to early years curriculum as they want to greater emphasise problem solving in KS2, it’s not until those Reception kiddos get to Year 3 that we even have the faintest idea that it worked. Crocker most definitely knows what he’s doing. His CV is imperious when it comes to youth development on a national and club level and he’s been spending money on facilities for them too. Ralph has clearly made a commitment to using young players where possible and also to ensuring he’s getting the right ones produced with his “style guide”. Crocker has barely been in the job a year. It’s going to take significant time for things to happen there. I’ve seen lots of posts criticising the academy and its ability to provide players but it’s given us a genuine, new first team option this year in Tella and anything more than that is going to require patience and time.
The fact we gave him a 2 year extension at 34 and then loaned him out to the championship is embarrassing. Just another few million a year we are losing.
Hopefully not a big operation, but certainly a signifcant one. Being ITK on this I can confirm that the 'nerve issue' causes sudden and uncontrollable muscle tremors in both legs, and is brought on when he is within 20m of white, rectangular, netted structures.
To be fair just before he signed a new contract he looked rejuvenated but afterwards he looked like he was off the pace.