pmcla26

Left back should be VK/JJ tucking in and being defensive like last season - both their strengths lie in their defensive ability. Then Ricardo should be right-back all day long whenever he's fit, either inverting or have full-backs on both sides support a single pivot without going super high, and build in a 2-3-4-1 as opposed to 3-2-4-1. Surely Cooper can see this? Feels a bit muddled at the moment. Asking couple of players to do roles they're not as good at. It's like he has the same ideas as we did 2 years ago about some of this squad until we realised last season that others are better at performing in different capacities (Vestergaard, Ricardo, Ndidi being the obvious 3).

I don't know about that, I think with Ricardo, Vestergaard and Winks building attacks in Enzo's style we could do it much better than how Rodgers had Amartey, Faes and Ndidi pass the ball between them.

That’s how I think it will line up, too.

Injured in open training session.

Really excited to see what he can do for us. After KDH left, and with Vardy winding down, it's important to have a talisman figure that can take responsibility - something not enough of the 22/23 squad did.

Hlozek in mean no Fotis deal?

Perfect player to bring the best out of Fatawu, Mavididi and Zaha.

If he doesn’t play Ricardo whenever he is fit then we might as well just not bother.

They'd already signed a left back on a free before they sold Calafiori. He's not good enough for Juve - that's a pretty high bar. He's 21 years old and I think he'll come good in time, personally.

He didn't sign for Bologna because 1, they're skint, and 2, Thiago Motta went to Juve.

Kasey McAteer?

He played 1,393 minutes last season (equivalent to 15.5 90s). I'd say it has more to do with the fact they have signed Yankubah Minteh and seem to be getting O'Riley for big money rather than he can't get in the side.

But you play to your players strengths, in Ricardo and Winks you have two players who can do it very well and who have played at the highest level and performed in their career - neither of them were ever Championship level footballers. It also got the best out of Vestergaard (if he is to be a starter this season for Cooper). I don't see us having a single full-back on the squad with the ability to be effective whilst getting up and down the line (apart from maybe Kristiansen - we will see after his spell at Bologna). It also doesn't make us any more exposed defensively. By inverting, you get a 3 at the back and 2 at defensive midfield in your defensive "rest position". It's the same as when 1 full-back bombs down the line. The other stays and you get a 3 at the back and then a 2 in holding midfield from the double pivot that replaces the inverted full-back. It's more in possession that worries me than defensively by removing the inverting full-back. You won't see one of Mavididi or Fatawu as high this season when we have the ball if they are having to link play with an overlapping full-back.

Slow/properly regulate immigration (slow/properly regulate being the key words), create a country where people who work hard are rewarded financially and feel stable to support their families, and show some humility and relatability in the party running the country (that goes for current and past) to the average UK citizen and none of this happens.

Both have similar skillset in that they are hard-runners who put up decent defensive numbers for offensive players (same as Saelemaekers, who was linked). Seems that was a profile we had been looking at.

PSR trade off with Chelsea. They got us out the shit with KDH sale but we needed to help them out with £5m profit to balance out the amortisation for this seasons books for them.

We might have asked and they either said no or silly money, we don't know.

Alves and Buonanotte are very different players, too. Alves is more flair and technical, good at taking people on. He's also right footed and is better suited cutting in from the left when out wide. Buonanotte is a player that runs hard and does a lot of good defensive work, is good at passing and receiving the ball in tight spaces, but unlikely to take players on quite as much. Left footed and more suited to playing from the right when he's outside. They're not really fighting for the same spot/role in the side.

Hopefully just a cheap back up to Fatawu and we can sign a few more.

I’d like Skipp in the sense that I’d trust him more next to Ndidi or Winks (should one of them be out) than Soumare or Hamza. I think he’d expect to start for us, though, and don’t like the idea of a midfield 3 of Skipp, Winks and Ndidi. No attacking threat.

Think there’s good chance we asked about him when we thought Mads might be off, Mads is no longer off, and therefore this won’t happen.

James McAtee (loan) and Elijah Adebayo. £15-20m in total? Not glamorous but decent players.

Not sure it is miles off if you put in a striker and number 10 of sufficient quality.

Ipswich, Southampton & Forest

I'd be surprised to see Faes not start