Mid-window review: ins/outs?

[Cornpattbuck]

Very pleased so far.

Kind of expecting a couple of Udogie/Sarr style deals, given rumours earlier in the window.

Would definitely take Gallagher if the price is right, but would be happy enough with a curve ball alternative too - within reason.

 

[Danny1]

Fantastic window so far. I just have to say that the way we have quietly built this squad in the last 2/3 years has been incredible. When you look at the state we were in and where we are now, with losing our best ever player, it really is testament to all involved.

 

[Thenewcat]

if we do nothing else it’s a great window. PEH should only leave if we get a replacement in, but I suspect the teams PEH wants to join won’t be the ones to pony up the cash. With everyone fit he shouldn’t get much game time anyway.

Reggie out makes sense, Perisic can be paid off or not registered.

On the ins my highest priority would be a youngster to buy and loan back. I love these deals. Kelly would be fine too, and he is homegrown. With Lloris leaving we will now have 4 goalkeepers rather than 5 in our PL 25 list, but that’s still too many!

 

[dontcallme]

Alex Scott has barely played for Bournemouth, why do people think he’s good enough for us?

I know he’s talented and a Spurs fan but come on. I feel like he’s being overrated.

Someone like Olise is the level we should be looking at

I’ve been reading the Up The Cherries site. They really rate him and he’s trying to find his place after an injury.

Sone think he should be a 10 and others a bit more of a box to box player.

None appear to doubt his quality.

But all a bit irrelevant for this thread as they’re not selling him 6 months after buying him.

 

[SirHarryHotspur]

Good window and deals done so quickly
Current 1st team squad numbers 25, that's not counting Austin, Whiteman, Perisic and Reguilon , not sure we will be making any more acquisitions unless there are some more outgoings.

 

[Roberts84]

I think even if nothing happens on the market now, we will be fine.

Would love to get another exciting high potential player on a buy+loan deal, like Nusa.

CM for Ange's mood would be decent with Pierre finding a new home, but don't think it is a must.

Don't see the need of Lloyd Kelly now, if two out of Van de Ven, Romero and Dragusin are available he won't get a lot game time anyway. Royal and Davies when fit again should be fine for emergency reasons. Maybe different in the summer when we are hopefully back in Europe.

If Davies is out for two months Lloyd Kelly would provide cover at LB or allow VdV to cover LB if Destiny gets injured or suspended

 

[robertgoulet]

Love the work we have done so far. CM would be icing on the cake.

Would also love to see a deal for Nusa (or someone similar) like we saw for Udogie/Sarr.

 

[bceej]

Feels like we’ve turned a corner and stuck with it. I’d be happy if this was our business. I’d be really happy with Højbjerg, Skipp, Gil, and Reguilón out the door, with Donley either being integrated or shipped out on loan, same for Dorrington and Santiago. Ins would be Alfie Doughty, Vermeeren, Hackney and Bardghi. We’d have such a great mix for selection and future development whilst future proofing against HG concerns.

 

[carpediem991]

If Davies is out for two months Lloyd Kelly would provide cover at LB or allow VdV to cover LB if Destiny gets injured or suspended

Nothing more than a nice to have.

We still have Sessegnon and Royal who could play there in any case. Probably not perfect, but who knows if Kelly would be even a better fit within the next two months.

Not against this signing, just not necessary for me right now.

 

[fishhhandaricecake]

So far id say its a solid 7 or 8 out of 10 depending on what happens towards the end of the window. With that in mind..

Obviously this is unrealistic in regards to the amount of moves BUT if we are doing ideal moves from here on out i'd go with something like the below. It also wouldn't require a lot financially -

Outs
Reggy - (probably best we can get is a loan but ideally with obligation)

PEH - (would trade him with Juve for ether Yildez or Soulé)

Gil - (Like the kid but I think Soule, Yildez and Nusa all look better talents. Would probably be a loan but ideally we get a obligation)

Donley - (LOAN needs constant first team football)

Skipp* - (i would actually keep him now but look to move him on come summer and give his spot to Devine)


In's

Lloyd Kelly - (Makes sense for a low fee)

Hayden Hackney - (for me makes more sense getting a youngster and the more I read and watch him the more I rate him and think he'd be perfect for the system) OR

Yusuf Fofana*** - (IF we decided we wanted to spend more on a CM/DM and don't mind him being from abroad then this should be the player we go for but Hackney is probably the more sensible move)

Matías Soulé or Kenan Yildez - (swapped with Juve for PEH and dependant on Gil going. Can stay on loan in Soule's case)

Antonio Nusa - (loaned back, would probably relate to the above as Yildez, who is also mega talented, plays in the same position. If we were to only add one WF its a hard choice as with Kulu looking more like a no 10 then a RW these days a RW might be the better move but Nusa & Yildez, both LW, look incredible talents)

That would leave us next season with -

(? = future up in the air & * = yet to be purchased)

CF - Richy?, Werner?, Son, Veliz
LW - Son, Solomon?, Nusa*, Werner?, Johsnon
RW - Johnson, Kulu, Soule*, Nusa*
AM - Maddison, Kulu, Gio?, Donley
CM - Bentancur, Sarr, Gio?, Hackney*, Devine?
DM -Biss, Bentancur, Hackney*
LB - Udogie, Davies, Sess?, Kelly*
LCB - VDV, Kelly*, Davies, Radu
RCB - Romero, Radu, Royal,
RB - Porro, Royal,

There are obviously still a number of question marks there, CF being a big one. Will Werner warrant being purchased and will Richy earn his spot going forward. Solomon who knows, he looks to have the skill set but we have no idea currently. Gio, big fan of him and want him to stay and sign an extension personally but with his contract and injuries it is a topic that will need to be discussed come summer. Sess, who knows, probably will need upgrading but maybe if he can stay fit and Ange can reinvent him then we are golden. Devine might need another loan but we could also give him Skipp spots if we are concerned about numbers. There is also the reserve GK question that probably needs to be addressed at some point.

Realistically im expecting Reggy gone and thats it. Im not convinced PEH will go this window as I don't think we will receive an offer we deem acceptable but in an ideal world the above or something similar is what i'd do.

Nailed it.

 

[Roberts84]

Nothing more than a nice to have.

We still have Sessegnon and Royal who could play there in any case. Probably not perfect, but who knows if Kelly would be even a better fit within the next two months.

Not against this signing, just not necessary for me right now.

Sess isn’t a LB

 

[Yid-ol]

Sess isn’t a LB

Our LB doesn't play as a LB so that's ok.

 

[Disco]

Some greedy greedy gooses in this thread

 

[Snarfalicious]

Sess isn’t a LB

Yeah, and Porro “wasn’t a RB in a back 4” about 5 months ago. Sometimes coaching and tactical tweaks can make all the difference. Sess is a very talented player, still young, and has a lot of great attributes (extra large caveat: when he’s healthy).

 

[Pistols At Dawn]

Probably should be cross-posted in the Unpopular Opinions forum but

…I’m curious why we haven’t at least kicked the tires w/r/t Marcus Edwards. He’s electric - completely destroyed us last time we faced Sporting in CL - *and we get a sell-on discount.*

 

[Bluto Blutarsky]

Probably should be cross-posted in the Unpopular Opinions forum but

…I’m curious why we haven’t at least kicked the tires w/r/t Marcus Edwards. He’s electric - completely destroyed us last time we faced Sporting in CL - *and we get a sell-on discount.*

Last time we "kicked the tires" on a player who completely destroyed us the last time we faced him, we were stuck with Sissoko in CM for too many years...

 

[leffe186]

It does feel like people are a bit giddy . We’ve spent a shit-ton of money and brought in a million players and I kinda think we’re looking at one more in at the very most. If we fail to get CL for the second year running that will have a significant impact on FFP etc. Feels like the key concern is outs rather than ins.

I’d echo what many have said. Son, Sarr and Bissouma are going to be back after, what, three more league games or so? What do we really need, and who can we realistically expect to get in in January? I’d like a centre-forward, cover for Udogie and maybe a replacement for PEH with a view to the longer term. “Homegrown” if possible. The forward will surely have to wait for Summer. Other than Gallagher I don’t see any obvious candidates for PEH and I’m happy enough for him to stick around. That leaves Udogie, and Kelly seems the obvious move.

I haven’t worked out precisely how many we need to move on, but a couple of those and Kelly in would be 10/10 for me. Getting Werner on the deal we did and Dragusin over Bayern Munich was unbelievable, and worth 9 on its own.

 

[Snuzzy]

Here's where Id say we are at.


Core Starter: Romero, Udogie, Porro, Maddison, Son

Integral First Team: VDV, Dragusin, Bentancur, Bissouma, Sarr, Kulu, Johnson, Richy

Rotation Player: Davies, Emerson, PEH/GLC, Werner

Fringe: Sessegnon/Reguilon, Skipp, Solomon/Gil


Out:
- either Sess or Reguilon (but don't let Reguilon go solely on loan - would rather Sess for just a loan as if there's no money Reguilon's the better 2nd choice lb)
- Gil
- PEH but not till after City match
(plus Perisic who I expect to go to Croatia at start of Feb)

In: no-one first team, unless a great opportunity comes up at CM, young LB, or ST (very unlikely to at ST I'd imagine), or a good option at backup GK (again, very unlikely)


Our injury+international situation means I think there's more significant downside to trying to integrate fringe/rotational signings into the squad mid-season, its too much churn and chopping and changing. And is committing money which then can't be spent in the summer so degrades our options then to some extent.

 

[robotsonic]

Feels like if we were done this Jan, that would be fine with me. Another midfielder would be the cherry on the cake. But the most exciting thing, is that even if we are done this window...we're within touching distance of having the entire squad sorted this summer, and going into next season with an actually fully prepared squad to aim to win something, for probably the first time in my life. It's all clicking into place, concerningly.

 

[Twizzle]

We've shifted Dier, Phillips, Sanchez (and Spence) from our defence and only replaced them with Dragu, surely Kelly or some one similar needs to happen.