It's about time we looked forward to the summer of fun. The roller coaster of if, buts and maybes, Will it be the sunlit uplands where unicorns gamble or the bitter arrows of unrequited love. Will he stay or will go, will he come or will he no. Don't let the truth get in the way of a good story.
I am sure it was discussed and was specifically noted how insanely expensive MLS franchises are - presumably relative to the benefit we could get out of them That doesn’t rule out lower division US or Canadian clubs I guess. But I expect they will start in Europe
Feels like our squad is reasonable now, but we have a few players getting short on contracts. This is a window for quality, not quantity. Priorities 1. First Team GK. 2. First Team Striker (if Broja isn’t possible). 3. First Team CB partner for Salisu. 4. Second choice GK/prospect.
I think it’s important but currently next season: 1. We have no first team goalkeeper contracted to play next season. 2. Our current strike partnership for next season is Che Adams and Adam Armstrong. 3. CB is a weaker position for us than the wings, Salisu aside.
McCarthy signed a contract extension according to Dan Sheldon. While I do think we will and should be looking at a new no.1 GK anyway, we do at least have a first team GK going into next season. We have no reason yet to doubt what Dan Sheldon reports, though granted it's very strange that we've not announced the extension. Definitely agree that we need to be looking at acquisitions that will come in and improve the starting 11, and this is our first real chance to see where we stand in the market now with the new owners.
I thought we extended McCarthys contract at the end of last season/start of this season? There was debate at the time about whether Forster or McCarthy should be given an extension. Then McCarthy got injured and Forster has done ok.
Agree with a lot of the above A first team GK, partner for Salisu at CB, goal scoring striker and another wide No10’s a minimum Just as important is who we can let go/sell too. We have a lot of players who should be moved on which would bring in small fees but more importantly fee up wages
I think a lot of it is going to be driven by who we can part with. We have too many at 10 right now and we’ll certainly need to move one out to get another one. Likewise at CB. We’re not overstocked there but I think our recruitment for that role depends a lot on what happens with Bednarek. We will need a striker and it’s clear we’re chasing GKs. That much is fairly indisputable.
Has Stephens officially signed a new deal? If not then that opens a space for a centre back without moving one on. Admittedly it might be hard to attract one with 3 senior centre backs already at the club
Same situation as McCarthy I believe. Stephens signed an extenstion according to Dan Sheldon, we just haven't announced either for whatever weird reason. Or he's wrong.
There will be a natural transition with one or two players leaving or out of contract. All 4 of our keepers contracts are up and I can see 3 leaving. My preference would be to retain Forster and bring in a new keeper but as he is likely to be the new first choice I can’t see Fraser wanting to stick around as a backup. Harry Lewis needs to be playing regularly so will probably want to move on. Same with Jack Stephens though he is a very decent utility player at CB, RB and DM. Shane Long gets fewer and fewer opportunities but could still be a really valuable player in the Championship. Great guy who I will be sorry to see go. Broja won’t stay and Moussa may get offers elsewhere but other than that I see no reason for others under contract to be offloaded. My preference would be to see all remaining players to continue improving under Ralph’s coaching. Other than the need for a striker, keeper and CB, I have every faith in the others.
For me the order of importance this summer is: 1. New striker (if/when Broja leaves) 2. New goalkeeper 3. New attacking mid 4. New centre back 5. New deeper centre mid That is probably all we really need. Obviously we could upgrade in virtually every position if the right player is available but those are the areas we should be looking to improve in my opinion. The first 4 on the list are must haves for me, 5th would be nice but not essential
Oh and if we can move on (not sure on contract expiry so some may already be off) Walcott Long Forster McCarthy Stephens Valery Djenepo Loan for Smallbone