AKCJ

My issue is that he’s not good enough to come in and make the required difference right now so we shouldn’t spend a year developing him for Brighton. If we need shorter term loans then we should aim for underutilised players that have proven their worth at this level. If we plan on getting a starting number 10 and using Buonanotte in the same way we used Akgun then no problem. But I think it’s a bad deal for us right now.

Think that's a tad harsh. 25 g+a in 4000 minutes (about 45 lots of 90 minutes).

The issue is it's incredibly unlikely.

I think he's more likely to come in and make an immediate difference as opposed to Buonanotte who I think needs time to develop so I don't have as much of an issue with a flat out loan for Toure.

Knowing our luck we'd get bought by a berk like Mike Ashley

Who are those lads they've got in the studio?

I imagine we asked about him because we were thinking that Hermansen might go.

I've was watching some 19/20 highlights the other day and we played exactly the sort of football I like to watch. We dominated teams and never took our foot off the gas. We held the ball, pinned teams in and had the individual quality needed to unpick locks. That 9-0 against Southampton summed the mentality up. We'd have won that 3-0 with Maresca.

Same here. I just wish we had the option to buy. This deal is much more beneficial to Brighton than it is for us although I won't be as disapointed if we're going to sign an attacking midfielder that's ready to start Premier League games and make differences now.

Just to have the option would be nice.

Really disappointing that we haven't got an option to buy.

Yeah I don't disagree. Only pointing out that Kristiansen and Thomas aren't our only left backs.

Because it's important to control football matches and not be open to the counter attack. I get that scoring a goal on the counter attack is wonderfully exciting and a pleasure to watch but playing that football these days means you get swamped in midfield and cannot get out of your own area. Look at all the top teams these days. They have incredible athletes that play in defence to make sure they aren't open to the counter attack. The game has simply moved on and it's not sustainable to think "oh we'll just play like we did in 2016". Teams have realised you don't need technically brilliant defenders any more and defenders that are fast and strong are much more important. Being able to hold the ball and keep it is clearly important but I sincerely hope that Cooper doesn't think that a kick and rush style is the way forward. That's not to say that I want us to pass the ball 3000 times a game between the defence but there's a balance to be found.

James Justin will 100% be our starting left back.

Everyone that negotiates with Ruskin seems to manage just fine.

I think Cooper and Shakespeare are cut from the same cloth. I think they'd have got on well with each other.

Not sure what you mean by "not so subtle switch to the long term". It's always been about the long term. It's the sole reason for buying a young footballer like Buonanotte. What do you mean shelling out for an option to buy? It would be free. An option we either take or don't take. I don't understand why you think it's reasonable for us to take this punt on a teenager for a year in a position we need to get right with absolutely no long term benefit. If you think we should be signing players exclusively for this season then there is a longer list of players I'd be looking at first who have already proven that they have what it takes to make a difference at a Premier League level. Players that won't get a look in at their club but would do an almost guaranteed job for us. Someone like Emi Buendia for instance. Won't start for Villa but would probably instantly be our best midfielder. Buonanotte is a needless punt on a player that is untested and unproven. I could stomach it if we were getting something long term from it but we're likely not going to.

He's not a creative midfielder and would only be our best number 10 through default of being our only number 10.

The way I see it there are 3 potential outcomes for the season. 1. He's shit and we won't want to keep him. 2. He's decent, shows potential and is one to keep an eye on. 3. He's sensational. Big reason he's kept us in the league. I would imagine that it's most likely he'll be a '2'. My aggrievance is that we've not got the option covered on the off chance that he becomes a '3'. So we take all the risk on taking him ahead of other options, we play him 20-30 times next season and yet we stand to gain nothing long term from it. I don't see any point in taking youth on loan if there's no chance of signing him in the next season. I get it if we're taking the jewels of the crowns of elite academies but we're not. We're signing a lad from Brighton that was signed for **** all and has had one moderate season and who plays in a position they're actively looking to strengthen in. They hold all the cards. It's just typical of life under John Rudkin.

Just to make it clear. I’m talking about an option to buy as opposed to an obligation.

Then move on to other players that are more likely to make a difference this year.

I'm saying that he almost certainly won't be our best player - but there is always the chance that he might be. We should have negotiated a buy-option for the off chance that he becomes a star here. Otherwise we'll not really gain anything from this loan when a bit of ingenuity in negotiation would see the opportunity for making money. Brighton look likely to spend big this summer on O'Riley who plays in Buonanotte's position so the opportunity to ask for a buy-option is clearly there. No buy option only helps Brighton.

Buonanotte isn't the creative type. Having the option is what we should be asking for in return for giving him a years worth of development. A likely scenario this season is that he shows moments of brilliance and shows a real willingness and determination but ultimately he doesn't deliver on the pitch regularly enough to make a consistent difference but we'll be able to see his potential. So even if that option is say £25m, it's worth negotiating because without it we take all the risk from having him but outside of 38 Premier League games worth, we get none of the reward.

Hermansen Ricardo Okoli Faes Justin Winks Ndidi Buonanotte Fatawu Mavididi Vardy

No problem with wanting players who work hard but ultimately football is about putting the ball in the back of the net. I would imagine we'll need to find 45-50 goals from the squad this season in order to stay up. The defence simply isn't good enough to rely on like Everton did where they only managed to score 40. To me that means we need 3 players to score 8 or more league goals. and given we look to have a fairly defensive midfield I just don't see it.