- Aug 18, 2017
- 603
- 2,148
Let's remember that, when it comes to ITK, the club have very effectively shut down avenues of communication from within the club over the last several years. There's a lot we don't know about what's going on (I'm aware that the ITKs share stuff with the staff that never makes it onto here, but still) and we don't have the full picture. Levy is, it seems, exploring the avenues for best value - as he should. Will he end up having to loan Sissoko to Bournemouth with 90% of his wages taken on by us, or however these things work? It could happen, but we're looking through a keyhole rather than getting the full Imax experience.
We don't need to clear out a huge number of players. We're looking to bring in 3, I think has been said - so Grealish and two more. That means losing probably Alderweireld and 1 or 2 others from the squad so everyone gets registered. I'm sure we'd like to clear out more, but no team in history has ever had a perfect squad.
Even allowing for us turning a substantial profit on Alderweireld (12m when he signed, I think?) we're going to lose money if two of Llorente, Sissoko and Janssen move on. Levy hates losing money, I think that much is clear, but he surely knows as well that the alternative is losing ground. We performed very well in most matches last season, we don't need the kind of investment/number of bodies that Arsenal and West Ham have brought in, but there does need to be a bit of turnover to address the most obvious issues.
There's still time, and things can move very quickly when they need to. We've all seen it happen, and it'll happen again this window. It's far from ideal, but it's what we do, what we've always done, and until the stadium starts bringing in pure profit, it's probably what we have to look forward to for the next few windows as well.
We don't need to clear out a huge number of players. We're looking to bring in 3, I think has been said - so Grealish and two more. That means losing probably Alderweireld and 1 or 2 others from the squad so everyone gets registered. I'm sure we'd like to clear out more, but no team in history has ever had a perfect squad.
Even allowing for us turning a substantial profit on Alderweireld (12m when he signed, I think?) we're going to lose money if two of Llorente, Sissoko and Janssen move on. Levy hates losing money, I think that much is clear, but he surely knows as well that the alternative is losing ground. We performed very well in most matches last season, we don't need the kind of investment/number of bodies that Arsenal and West Ham have brought in, but there does need to be a bit of turnover to address the most obvious issues.
There's still time, and things can move very quickly when they need to. We've all seen it happen, and it'll happen again this window. It's far from ideal, but it's what we do, what we've always done, and until the stadium starts bringing in pure profit, it's probably what we have to look forward to for the next few windows as well.