What I'm going to say is probably going to sound harsh. Yes, they do try the approach but their results are a real mixed bag. There are obviously big success stories but there are major flops too. They signed Mo Eisa for a club-record fee (more than £1.25m) and it hasn't worked out. The simple truth is that if they recruited well, they'd be an established Championship club by now. They always have money to spend (because of sales) & most L1 sides don't, so it really does make it easier to get out of the league. I like Grant, intrigued to see how he does in the Championship. In the games against us, I thought he was really quiet and easy to mark out the game, so it'll be interesting to see how he does in the higher standard. I actually thought he was a lot younger than 26, for them to sell him for a profit, he's going to have to hit the ground running. But he & Marriott are decent replacements for Dembele.
This is the player that wanted to move from Cambridge to be nearer his family in Merseyside? His geography is as good as Ehab’s.
Don’t worry, I strongly suspect Charlton will have given him a free transfer move to Tranmere in time for Christmas, after one goal in 13 starts for the Londoners.
The best player in League One, Aiden McGeady (in case you'd forgotten), has signed a new one year deal at Sunderland.
Manchester United have agreed a fee in principle with Borussia Dortmund for England winger Jadon Sancho. It is understood United will pay Dortmund 85m euros (£73m) for the 21-year-old, who joined them from Manchester City in 2017. Personal terms are yet to be finalised and a medical completed but neither are expected to be a problem. The news will be welcomed by manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who wants to build on United's progress last season. They finished runners-up to Premier League champions Manchester City and reached the Europa League final, losing to Villarreal. The United boss has identified four key positions he wants to improve: right side of his midfield, then the central defensive, midfield and attacking areas. Sancho fills the first of those. The news brings to an end a long chase for the Londoner, who shone in Watford's academy. United expected to sign him last summer but could not agree a fee.
Someone was skeptical he would re-sign with them, forget who it was, but looks like he's stuck around after all.
Hes ancient, ****, blows after 30 minutes but has some creative quality. If there were any championship takers he'd have bailed. There werent. Obviously he would rather stay put than go to China, MLS orlA-league for a last payday so fair play to him for that, but the idea Sunderland have pulled off a coup by his signing on is laughable. They've obviously re-signed him on a massively reduced contract. Considering his previous contract nearly bankrupted them for little return.
He had the most assists in England last season and he never kicked a ball until halfway through December No Sunderland supporter has ever been aware of McGeady nearly bankrupting Sunderland. Could you elaborate on that? Or just admit that you made everything up. Whatever.
Manchester City, Paris St-Germain - this is not a drill. One of the world's greatest players is now officially a free agent. Yes, 12 months on from his aborted attempted to leave Barcelona, Lionel Messi is now out of contract. The Argentine superstar's deal expired at midnight and despite months of rumour and conjecture, he has failed to commit to an extension. Talks over a new contract are believed to be ongoing, meaning Messi may well decide to stay at the Nou Camp. But, for now, he is available for absolutely nothing. BBC
He’s certainly not ****, I’d love to have him in our squad and he won’t have been on a fortune, he only signed his last deal in 2019 (high for League One, but not ridiculous).
Fits our bill then? Now that would blow my socks off, and feet, and legs ..... Decent back up to KLP.
Martin Samuelsen has completed a permanent transfer to Norwegian side FK Haugesund for an undisclosed fee.