ClaphamFox

Long live the deal!

In this case, presumably because we’re sailing very close to the FFP wind.

His pre-Birmingham presser was a combined one for that game and tonight's game.

Sure, but I was referring to how much he's worth to us at this present moment, given our position in the league and the risk that losing him could derail our promotion prospects. Whether £40m (or whatever) is a 'fair' price is neither here nor there - it's about how much we'd require to compensate us for the risk of letting him go. Anyway, I suspect this is all academic as I don't see him leaving during this window. I'm not so sure about whether we'd let him go in the summer, but that's a discussion for another time.

Not necessarily. On the RL podcast last night, Ornstein basically said that Brighton likely offered £20m in the hope of getting KDH at a significantly discounted price because they thought we're in trouble with FFP and would welcome the money. It doesn't necessarily reflect what they think he's actually worth. And they probably couldn't afford £30m even if they wanted to pay that much.

Based on how much of a risk and inconvenience it would be for us to sell our best player in this window. KDH has contributed massively to us leading this division for most of the season. Allowing him to go wouldn't necessarily mean we'd fall out of the automatic spots, but it would increase the risk of us doing so. Transfer fees are less about market value and more about a player's value to his current club at a particular time.

Sensible World of Soccer was the reason I only got a 2:1 rather than a 1st. Probably.

Perhaps marginally

TalkSport reporting that our price tag has ended Brighton's interest... https://x.com/talkSPORT/status/1752282335603462466?s=20

One more sleep before we edge a little further on this deal!

I think this is what it comes down to. Some people seem very confident that if we sold KDH now we'd be able to replace him with somebody of comparable quality, either on loan or on a permanent deal. However, nobody seems to know who this mysterious quality player is or why his club will permit him to leave just before the window shuts. Personally, I'd prefer us to keep the known quality we get from KDH - if we do, I've no doubt that we'll get promoted. I can't have the same level of confidence in an unknown player who - if he's a loan from a PL club - would likely be completely unproven anyway.

If we accepted an offer now and banked the money to spend in the summer, who do you think would play in KDH's position from now until the end of the season? And are you confident they'd be good enough?

The fact that we're negotiating so hard over how to structure the pittance we're paying for Sensi seems to indicate that we currently have very little room for manoeuvre with regards to FFP. It does not mean that we need to sell now to avoid a breach - if we were in that position, as you say, we wouldn't have spent so much last summer. And we're clearly very reluctant to sell KDH, which is a strong indication that there is no need for us to do so.

January is a notoriously difficult window to do business in because so few clubs want to sell their prized assets midway through a season. Where would we find an attacking midfielder of Premier League standard in the next couple of days given that we're in the Championship and would have very little to spend? If we get promoted we'll be more of an attractive destination, would likely get a higher fee for KDH and would therefore have more money to spend on his replacement. If we're remotely bothered about avoiding relegation next season, it would make far more sense to wait until the summer to sell KDH, if indeed we have to - and that's not remotely clear either.

Not a chance. £30m is way too low. Plus, KDH apparently doesn't want the move anyway, so any discussion of the fee is pretty academic.

We're being lowballed NOW! Brighton offered £20m, which is a pathetic amount of money for a player of KDH's quality. Selling KDH during this window would mean the following: 1) We'd sell him on the cheap (because Brighton cannot afford what he is worth). In the summer, we'd very likely be negotiating as a Premier League club and there would be more buyers because there always are in the summer. Our bargaining position would be much stronger and we'd very likely get a much higher fee for him. 2) We'd risk derailing our season and missing out on promotion, which would be a disaster. 3) We'd have very little time to find a replacement of Premier League quality, which is what we'd surely be looking for if we have any ambitions for next season. If we sold KDH at the beginning of the summer, we'd have more time to find a replacement and would be more likely to attract a higher calibre of player if promotion had already been achieved. Selling him now makes no sense whatsoever, either in terms of our promotion ambitions or our long-term financial position. It would be such a profoundly stupid thing to do, which is why I'm convinced it won't happen.

“Almost there” 😂

Ornstein is not making it up, but it was very clear from his comments on the podcast that he hasn’t spoken to anybody at Leicester. His sources are from Brighton and the wider ‘football industry’ (as he kept referring to it) but when it came to discussing Leicester’s position, it was obvious that he didn’t have a clue - he kept referring to reports from other journalists (ie, Rob Dorsett). My takeaway was that there is no indication that Brighton will offer anything near enough to tempt us to sell. They were probably just chancing their arm because they thought we might be desperate enough to sell for a knock-down price, but it seems they were wrong. If the reports that KDH himself does not want the move are correct, then I’d be amazed if he leaves this window. Unlike you, I fully expect him to be in our starting eleven tonight and again on Saturday.

Thanks. That’s more or less what I expected…

Fettuccine al Pomodoro

Haven’t listened to it yet but I see David Ornstein was a guest. Was he standing by his claim that we’d flog KDH for £30m?

Don’t think so but you can pay £10 to watch it on foxes hub.

Ah ok. I thought you meant the other one.

What deal?

No