January Transfer Window 2024

[LVFox]

I've switched from wanting to cash in on Wilf and keep Kelechi to the other way around.

 

Creative 8 and a CF for me this window. 

 

Nanasi and Brereton-Diaz would be perfect 

[coolhandfox]

12 hours ago, Lambert09 said:

well there’s 2 reasons, 1 is that he may drop off, which i think is very realistic as he was performing above his level in a role like that imo. 

 

The other is purely financial. if someone will pay 5 m for a player they can get for free in 6 months i feel like it’s worth it. 

 

There’s every chance that once he knows he’s leaving the effort level drops. I like to think it wouldn’t but we’ve seen it before. If the going gets tough and we start sliding you don’t really want to be relying on players with nothing to lose. 

 

Who is replacing him who cost 5m? 

 

We have lost 3 games, 2 when Wilf was missing. 

 

 

[Lambert09]

1 hour ago, coolhandfox said:

Who is replacing him who cost 5m? 

 

We have lost 3 games, 2 when Wilf was missing. 

 

 

if you read my previous post, i’m suggesting that we pool the money from a group of our sales.  

Its the same as questioning who’s going to replace him for free in the summer. 

 

We should able to get promotion without him and personally I think if he doesn’t want to sign a new deal then  we move on. 

 

Tielemans put in some good displays before January as well, I just know how these things can go. 

 

If 10m can get you a Harry Winks then there’s business to be done. 

 

 

 

 

Edited 4 December 2023 by Lambert09

[coolhandfox]

1 hour ago, Lambert09 said:

if you read my previous post, i’m suggesting that we pool the money from a group of our sales.  

Its the same as questioning who’s going to replace him for free in the summer. 

 

We should able to get promotion without him and personally I think if he doesn’t want to sign a new deal then  we move on. 

 

Tielemans put in some good displays before January as well, I just know how these things can go. 

 

If 10m can get you a Harry Winks then there’s business to be done. 

I did, it is just unrealistic, why would Nacho or Wilf pass up the chance of moving for free in the summer for starters? Rather than a club paying us they get a nice big signing-on bonus and a bigger choice of clubs. 

 

If we did manage to sell Nacho, we would need to buy another CF so that money wouldn't be pooled for Wilf's replacement. 

 

How many suitors are going to be put off by the fact they are going to have to wait until after AFCON for the services of Daka, Nacho and Wilf, which they will want to see reflected in the fee?

 

We have tried to sell Praet for 2 seasons, we will be lucky to get a loan fee or a nominal fee of a couple of a million. 

 

The only chance of a decent fee is Daka in my opinion.  

 

I also argue that we already need another 8 on top of Wilf, so we would need to buy 2.  

 

[scinnell]

17 hours ago, Lambert09 said:

well there’s 2 reasons, 1 is that he may drop off, which i think is very realistic as he was performing above his level in a role like that imo. 

 

The other is purely financial. if someone will pay 5 m for a player they can get for free in 6 months i feel like it’s worth it. 

 

There’s every chance that once he knows he’s leaving the effort level drops. I like to think it wouldn’t but we’ve seen it before. If the going gets tough and we start sliding you don’t really want to be relying on players with nothing to lose. 

 

I understand the financial argument, but that 5m could be very costly if we don't get promoted after selling one of our best players. In my opinion we keep the squad and momentum/confidence that has got us 8 points clear. Add some quality if it's available, but do not weaken the core team.

 

As for levels dropping, I can't see that when a title is within touching distance, even with the players out of contract in the summer. Football is all about opinions though 😊

[Lambert09]

2 hours ago, coolhandfox said:

I did, it is just unrealistic, why would Nacho or Wilf pass up the chance of moving for free in the summer for starters? Rather than a club paying us they get a nice big signing-on bonus and a bigger choice of clubs. 

 

If we did manage to sell Nacho, we would need to buy another CF so that money wouldn't be pooled for Wilf's replacement. 

 

How many suitors are going to be put off by the fact they are going to have to wait until after AFCON for the services of Daka, Nacho and Wilf, which they will want to see reflected in the fee?

 

We have tried to sell Praet for 2 seasons, we will be lucky to get a loan fee or a nominal fee of a couple of a million. 

 

The only chance of a decent fee is Daka in my opinion.  

 

I also argue that we already need another 8 on top of Wilf, so we would need to buy 2.  

 

well it’s all hypothetical, but to get 20m for the 4 would be realistic imo.

 

And whilst i agree it’s unlikely the players would leave, if they have good deals on the table. But when you see the type of terms put on the table for lingard, would it be really unrealistic to think a side like forest would not give them what they want, as well as paying a small fee? Would they want that move.. that’s the question. But it’s not completely unrealistic. 

 

I think i’ve just moved into a place where i understand that financially we have to be astute and to lose 2 more big name players for nothing, is pretty risky. Especially if we end up missing out on promotion. 

 

Im not saying your take is wrong. But I think in a business like football, there’s always different paths that can work out. To me, getting someone hungry in , for the future, would be more desirable than holding onto someone who has no future. But it depends how risk averse you are. 

 

im happy either way. 

Edited 4 December 2023 by Lambert09

[mozartfox]

Hopefully Barnes puts a good word in for Danny Boy.  Eddie - come on get it done.   

[ClaphamFox]

On 04/12/2023 at 00:04, Lambert09 said:

I really hope in the first few weeks we see the following out the door:

 

Praet

Daka

nacho 

wilf 

 

It’s sad but if we can get any money for the last 2 i think we just take it and move on. I still get the feeling that whilst ndidi has proved us all wrong, he was still riding a wave of form. I think if we shifted him and could bring in a replacement it would be best for everyone. 

 

I wouldn’t be surprised to see bids for both our nigerians from forest as they slowly get drawn back into a relegation battle. 

 

I’ll be sad to see nacho go. But this was his first real chance to put his stamp on things and he’s just not done it. Always better off from the bench, which i guess tells a story. 

 

if we could get 20m for the lot that would be good business at this point and big wages off the books.  replace them with 2 10 m players on lower wages and we’d likely be improved. A lot will come down to whether cannon steps up but if he handles himself well. Then why not just get a proper #10, a striker suited to the system and a promising player on loan. 

 

that would be enough for the squad to get us over the line imo 

Literally no chance we'll sell Ndidi and Maresca loves Praet, so it's unlikely he'll go either. Daka will likely go and Nacho might too if we find a striker to replace him.

[brookfox]

Feel like we've got enough 8s with KDH, Wilf, Casadei, Praet, Alves (hopefully!) and I'd include Yunus in there as well. We're obviously short of a LCB with Doyle out and for me I'd like to see a younger high potential understudy for Mavididi. Similarly for Faes if we can move Souttar on and bring in a more mobile replacement.

 

Then it's a case of moving on some GKs, replacing Souttar and finding someone willing to take on Daka. I also feel at this stage of his career that Albrighton should be getting pitch time somewhere. Can't see anyone coming in for Wilf or Nacho so may as well keep to the end of the season and try and re-sign Wilf if we go up (though I suspect he'll be off).

Edited 5 December 2023 by brookfox

[ClaphamFox]

2 hours ago, brookfox said:

Feel like we've got enough 8s with KDH, Wilf, Casadei, Praet, Alves (hopefully!) and I'd include Yunus in there as well. We're obviously short of a LCB with Doyle out and for me I'd like to see a younger high potential understudy for Mavididi. Similarly for Faes if we can move Souttar on and bring in a more mobile replacement.

 

Then it's a case of moving on some GKs, replacing Souttar and finding someone willing to take on Daka. I also feel at this stage of his career that Albrighton should be getting pitch time somewhere. Can't see anyone coming in for Wilf or Nacho so may as well keep to the end of the season and try and re-sign Wilf if we go up (though I suspect he'll be off).

We probably don't have enough of sufficient quality, though. It's plain to see how much weaker we are when Ndidi and/or KDH are missing. Praet's return is welcome, but do we really want to gamble on him staying fit for the rest of the season? 

I'll personally be amazed if we don't try to sign a creative midfielder in January.

[Jazzy_Jeff]

In January I’d be over the moon with a left footed defender who can play LB and CB (that Brazilian ba5tard would be ideal) and creative 8 and left winger (jack Clarke would be the dream with Chair if not)

 

then in the summer we would need a GK, CB, 2 x CM, winger and striker 

 

(assuming we go up) 

Edited 5 December 2023 by Jazzy_Jeff

[CloudFox]

1 hour ago, Jazzy_Jeff said:

In January I’d be over the moon with a left footed defender who can play LB and CB (that Brazilian ba5tard would be ideal) and creative 8 and left winger (jack Clarke would be the dream with Chair if not)

 

then in the summer we would need a GK, CB, 2 x CM, winger and striker 

 

(assuming we go up) 

With you almost all the way there, except for one part:

 

Why a goalkeeper? 

[Jazzy_Jeff]

1 hour ago, CloudFox said:

With you almost all the way there, except for one part:

 

Why a goalkeeper? 

If Hermansen picked up an injury similar to Pope for example I would want a more established number 2 as cover 

[dbtcity]

15 hours ago, Jazzy_Jeff said:

If Hermansen picked up an injury similar to Pope for example I would want a more established number 2 as cover 

I mean we’re hardly going to go out and snap up a back up keeper of similar quality to Hermansen… surely 1 of Ward/Stolarczyk/Iversen/Smithies is more than than adequate cover… I’d even say that most if not all of our back up keepers would expect to be numbers 1s at the majority of other championship clubs!

 

I do agree re a left footed cb able to offer what Doyle does and a creative 8 though

Edited 6 December 2023 by dbtcity

[brookfox]

21 hours ago, ClaphamFox said:

We probably don't have enough of sufficient quality, though. It's plain to see how much weaker we are when Ndidi and/or KDH are missing. Praet's return is welcome, but do we really want to gamble on him staying fit for the rest of the season? 

I'll personally be amazed if we don't try to sign a creative midfielder in January.

See I'll be amazed if we do! Lets assume Wilf and KDH are the starters, can't see us getting a better back up option (who is happy to be second choice) than Praet, Yunus and Casadei, plus we have Alves who we hope will be getting some pitch time soon. Also Braybrooke who should be a bench option by the end of the season in the midfield position. If we went up I'd definitely be looking to upgrade but as options in the Championship they seem good enough to me. Yes, we'd carry the risk of getting a few injuries but every team in the division has that.

[RowlattsFox]

Left footed defender is a must. Even if Doyle comes back soon. I think we need another wide option ahead of a another option at '8'. It's Enzo's job to use what we have if Ndidi or KDH are missing, and maybe adapt style. Wingers are crucial to the way we play and I feel we are one short. 

[ClaphamFox]

22 minutes ago, brookfox said:

See I'll be amazed if we do! Lets assume Wilf and KDH are the starters, can't see us getting a better back up option (who is happy to be second choice) than Praet, Yunus and Casadei, plus we have Alves who we hope will be getting some pitch time soon. Also Braybrooke who should be a bench option by the end of the season in the midfield position. If we went up I'd definitely be looking to upgrade but as options in the Championship they seem good enough to me. Yes, we'd carry the risk of getting a few injuries but every team in the division has that.

Wilf and KDH are having great seasons, but both are more high-energy, box-to-box players rather than creative midfielders in the true sense. Even when both of them are playing, we can sometimes struggle to turn our domination of the ball into clear chances - especially recently as other teams have figured out how to play against us. There are times when we need an injection of creativity and unpredictability, and we don't have many options in that regard apart from possibly Fatawu. Yunus is a tidy player and we know Maresca loves Praet, but his fitness can hardly be relied upon. Alves and Braybrooke are as yet untested. 

We were trying to sign McAtee on deadline day and prior to that we were apparently interested in Gustavo Hamer. In the end, both went to Sheffield United (who have scored the fewest goals in the PL, so neither player seems to be having a major impact). This tells me that the club realises we are short of a genuinely creative midfielder and is trying to rectify it. It will only happen if the right player becomes available - I don't think we'll sign a player for the sake of it who we then have to get rid of in the summer. But I think we'll be in the market for one.

[brookfox]

15 minutes ago, ClaphamFox said:

Wilf and KDH are having great seasons, but both are more high-energy, box-to-box players rather than creative midfielders in the true sense. Even when both of them are playing, we can sometimes struggle to turn our domination of the ball into clear chances - especially recently as other teams have figured out how to play against us. There are times when we need an injection of creativity and unpredictability, and we don't have many options in that regard apart from possibly Fatawu. Yunus is a tidy player and we know Maresca loves Praet, but his fitness can hardly be relied upon. Alves and Braybrooke are as yet untested. 

We were trying to sign McAtee on deadline day and prior to that we were apparently interested in Gustavo Hamer. In the end, both went to Sheffield United (who have scored the fewest goals in the PL, so neither player seems to be having a major impact). This tells me that the club realises we are short of a genuinely creative midfielder and is trying to rectify it. It will only happen if the right player becomes available - I don't think we'll sign a player for the sake of it who we then have to get rid of in the summer. But I think we'll be in the market for one.

100% get the need for it and rationale, I’m just thinking about the practicalities of bringing in another midfielder to compete with the 5 or 6 we already have. If we could swap out Praet or Casadei for a more creative option I’d be all over it. We do have Wilf going to AFCON though so there may be a bit more room, albeit for a relatively short period.

[LVFox]

I could see Praet leaving if we bring in a more creative 8.

 

Winks, Braybrooke, Ndidi, KDH, Casadei and a new 8 would be fine for us. Especially as we can plug Hamza or Akgun into those positions too.

 

I can see Enzo looking at Alves as more of a wide man, similar to how Pep has viewed Foden and Grealish.

[Jazzy_Jeff]

4 hours ago, dbtcity said:

I mean we’re hardly going to go out and snap up a back up keeper of similar quality to Hermansen… surely 1 of Ward/Stolarczyk/Iversen/Smithies is more than than adequate cover… I’d even say that most if not all of our back up keepers would expect to be numbers 1s at the majority of other championship clubs!

 

I do agree re a left footed cb able to offer what Doyle does and a creative 8 though

I would agree that they are decent goalkeepers for this level. I just think that in the event of promotion we would really suffer if any had to play for a prolonged period of time. I would like to think that we could find an upgrade to them that could come in and push Mads and fill in if required. 

[Steve Earle]

2 hours ago, ClaphamFox said:

Wilf and KDH are having great seasons, but both are more high-energy, box-to-box players rather than creative midfielders in the true sense. Even when both of them are playing, we can sometimes struggle to turn our domination of the ball into clear chances - especially recently as other teams have figured out how to play against us. There are times when we need an injection of creativity and unpredictability, and we don't have many options in that regard apart from possibly Fatawu. Yunus is a tidy player and we know Maresca loves Praet, but his fitness can hardly be relied upon. Alves and Braybrooke are as yet untested. 

We were trying to sign McAtee on deadline day and prior to that we were apparently interested in Gustavo Hamer. In the end, both went to Sheffield United (who have scored the fewest goals in the PL, so neither player seems to be having a major impact). This tells me that the club realises we are short of a genuinely creative midfielder and is trying to rectify it. It will only happen if the right player becomes available - I don't think we'll sign a player for the sake of it who we then have to get rid of in the summer. But I think we'll be in the market for one.

Not disputing your belief, but do we know that? Evidence?

[ClaphamFox]

2 minutes ago, Steve Earle said:

Not disputing your belief, but do we know that? Evidence?

Maresca is on record as describing Praet as the most technically gifted attacking midfielder at the club and has also hinted that Praet and KDH are his first choices for the attacking 8 positions.

[Steve Earle]

1 minute ago, ClaphamFox said:

Maresca is on record as describing Praet as the most technically gifted attacking midfielder at the club and has also hinted that Praet and KDH are his first choices for the attacking 8 positions.

Again, I'm sure you've read that somewhere, I'm not sure I have. But I'd agree and expected them to be our no. 8s this season. Obviously Praet's wet-biscuit-like muscular skeletal system undermines that a bit. Still though he'd make the bench at Wednesday & WBA when declared fit in the two pressers...

[ClaphamFox]

3 minutes ago, Steve Earle said:

Again, I'm sure you've read that somewhere, I'm not sure I have. But I'd agree and expected them to be our no. 8s this season. Obviously Praet's wet-biscuit-like muscular skeletal system undermines that a bit. Still though he'd make the bench at Wednesday & WBA when declared fit in the two pressers...

Praet's physical fragility is one of the reasons I think we'll likely try to buy another attacking midfielder next month. It's great that Maresca rates him highly, but if he gets injured again in the first week of February we're back to square one.

[volpeazzurro]

3 hours ago, RowlattsFox said:

Left footed defender is a must. Even if Doyle comes back soon. I think we need another wide option ahead of a another option at '8'. It's Enzo's job to use what we have if Ndidi or KDH are missing, and maybe adapt style. Wingers are crucial to the way we play and I feel we are one short. 

In Mavidivi, Fatawu, Akgun, Mcateer and Albrighton we've got 5 to choose from? Think there might be other priorities first 🤔.