Summer 2021 Transfer Window Rumours - Links - Discussion

[CnBtruntru]

No, I've no idea what we can afford.

I think nobody does and nobody knows for definite who we are chasing or in discussions with, we are all in the dark, it is all rumours and conjecture. I believe we all know as much as some of these online rags and daily rags. Hopefully we are after someone on the right under 40

[Jakubclaret]

I think nobody does and nobody knows for definite who we are chasing or in discussions with, we are all in the dark, it is all rumours and conjecture. I believe we all know as much as some of these online rags and daily rags. Hopefully we are after someone on the right under 40

Not to the exact penny but it doesn’t take the brainiest mathematician to roughly calculate what’s been spent in previous windows & already & some of the more knowledgeable posters regarding the finances on here won’t be a million miles away with a guesstimate.

[Newcastleclaret93]

Quite a strange link but Keiffer Moore for 8m no idea where link has come from just been sent the Cardiff forum where they are discussing it.

I am assuming it’s complete nonsense

[superdimitri]

We need 2 wingers.
Lennon in is better than nothing, but a bit of backwards step.
Lennon in and someone else (a starter, preferably) an improvement.

I hope the club doesn't think Gudmundsson can last it out...and I hope Lennon isn't going to be first choice.

[minnieclaret]

Deduct them 12 points.

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[Murger]

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[Woodleyclaret]

How Brighton haven't fallen foul of income v expenditure rules is beyond me
They pay top wages and have spent over £250m on players over the last 4 yrs
I know they have a rich owner with deep pockets but the rules dont seemed to be applied and so are meaningless to certain clubs

[GodIsADeeJay81]

We need 2 wingers.
Lennon in is better than nothing, but a bit of backwards step.
Lennon in and someone else (a starter, preferably) an improvement.

I hope the club doesn't think Gudmundsson can last it out...and I hope Lennon isn't going to be first choice.

I stated he wasn't good enough when we first signed him and he won't be good enough if he comes back.

Definitely a backwards step and not a signing I'd be happy with.

[superdimitri]

How Brighton haven't fallen foul of income v expenditure rules is beyond me
They pay top wages and have spent over £250m on players over the last 4 yrs
I know they have a rich owner with deep pockets but the rules dont seemed to be applied and so are meaningless to certain clubs

Are there any rules? I thought they were scrapped.

[Firthy]

We need 2 wingers.
Lennon in is better than nothing, but a bit of backwards step.
Lennon in and someone else (a starter, preferably) an improvement.

I hope the club doesn't think Gudmundsson can last it out...and I hope Lennon isn't going to be first choice.

I think that Lennon coming back would be more disappointing than nobody coming in. My expectations are zero at present the way things are looking so any signing will be more than my expectations. We are either really struggling financially or keeping our cards very close to our chest.

[Blyclaret]

When you set your sights …. Better than nothing
There is only one result.
We had a poor season last .. only survived because the 3 below were rank bad.
No improvements this season so far.
Im expecting us to be in bottom 3. With the squad we have presently.

[superdimitri]

I think that Lennon coming back would be more disappointing than nobody coming in. My expectations are zero at present the way things are looking so any signing will be more than my expectations. We are either really struggling financially or keeping our cards very close to our chest.

Aren't you worried about numbers?I mean I get being disappointed but if we don't have someone who can come in at all then we're basically doomed when the inevitable Gudmundsson injury comes.

I think it's unrealistic to expect two good wingers and as we get closer to the end of the window I'm beginning to lower my expectations even further. Hate to say it but In all honesty I wouldn't be surprised if Lennon was the only one.

[claretonthecoast1882]

When you set your sights …. Better than nothing
There is only one result.
We had a poor season last .. only survived because the 3 below were rank bad.
No improvements this season so far.
Im expecting us to be in bottom 3. With the squad we have presently.

Best approach, that way if we are in the bottom 3 you have already expecting this so it doesn't make you moan and be unhappy and anything higher is a bonus and makes you happy. It is like a win win situation

[clarethomer]

When you set your sights …. Better than nothing
There is only one result.
We had a poor season last .. only survived because the 3 below were rank bad.
No improvements this season so far.
Im expecting us to be in bottom 3. With the squad we have presently.

I think you are missing the fact that last season there were other factors at play to our poor season.

The importance of proper downtime in summer and proper conditioning etc to prepare is key.

We got neither - so for a team that has to work harder, run longer and be able to go longer periods of the game without the ball- it did hit us harder than other teams perhaps.

Our recruitment needs to deliver some more players - no doubt. However, I think your outlook is overly pesemistic

[Pearcey]

It will be interesting to see what happens with Lennon. It seems to be more than just helping one of your old players. Did Dyche want to keep him before?

[RicardoMontalban]

It will be interesting to see what happens with Lennon. It seems to be more than just helping one of your old players. Did Dyche want to keep him before?

I’m not sure how we can possibly know this. 30 minutes in one behind closed doors friendly doesn’t really tell us an awful lot. Especially when the noises that seem to be coming from the club suggest it was no more than helping an ex-player get back up to fitness. As he did with Jones.

Maybe Dyche and his staff will see enough that convinces them he’s worth a punt as a back up, if so that’s his call. That it seems to be fait accompli that he’s our new third choice winger feels wide of the mark.

[KRBFC]

Lennon was shite here, I assumed the post above about him being the trialist was a joke?

[Pearcey]

I’m not sure how we can possibly know this. 30 minutes in one behind closed doors friendly doesn’t really tell us an awful lot. Especially when the noises that seem to be coming from the club suggest it was no more than helping an ex-player get back up to fitness. As he did with Jones.

Maybe Dyche and his staff will see enough that convinces them he’s worth a punt as a back up, if so that’s his call. That it seems to be fait accompli that he’s our new third choice winger feels wide of the mark.

Jones was there for everyone to see. This one is more cloak and dagger at the moment.

[jedi_master]

Lennon was ready to be moved on when he was released last year, however, the reality is we need two wingers and are 10 days from our first game and seemingly nowhere near a signing (that we know of).

If it’s a case of Lennon or nobody, I’d take him to have at least some form of an option on the bench.

[minnieclaret]

Calm guys. We will get Cornet. Only appears to be us and Berlin in for him and we can top them if SD thinks he’s worth it.

[boatshed bill]

Calm guys. We will get Cornet. Only appears to be us and Berlin in for him and we can top them if SD thinks he’s worth it.

I'm not sure how signing a left (wing) back is going to solve our right wing problem TBH.

[minnieclaret]

I'm not sure how signing a left (wing) back is going to solve our right wing problem TBH.

Far better than just a LB.

[boatshed bill]

Far better than just a LB.

But we are strong on the left already.

[ŽižkovClaret]

Calm guys. We will get Cornet. Only appears to be us and Berlin in for him and we can top them if SD thinks he’s worth it.

Guess it depends on the ambition of the player. I know i'd rather live in Berlin than Manchester or Cheshire, especially as a young millionaire footballer.

As a purely football decision, we should appeal more than a frankly chaotic Hertha, but these things are never in isolation

[Burnley Ace]

Guess it depends on the ambition of the player. I know i'd rather live in Berlin than Manchester or Cheshire, especially as a young millionaire footballer.

As a purely football decision, we should appeal more than a frankly chaotic Hertha, but these things are never in isolation

Why would you (as a millionaire footballer) rather live in Berlin?

[Firthy]

If we don't sign anyone else will this be our worst transfer window yet? I know we've signed a good young defender but bearing in mind how desperate we are on the right wing it surely would show that the takeover and all the Pace promises is bullshit.

[ŽižkovClaret]

Why would you (as a millionaire footballer) rather live in Berlin?

Far more cosmopolitan place, better weather, and well, we aren't supposed to discuss political matters.

[matttheclaret]

If we don't sign anyone else will this be our worst transfer window yet? I know we've signed a good young defender but bearing in mind how desperate we are on the right wing it surely would show that the takeover and all the Pace promises is bullshit.

I think last summer's effort of Dale Stephens and Will Norris would trump this for our worst transfer window.

Still fancy a couple more to come in

[RicardoMontalban]

Jones was there for everyone to see. This one is more cloak and dagger at the moment.

Again, I think calling it cloak and dagger is overstating it a bit.

If we signed him and he was our only addition I’d be disappointed. If he was one of two and the other was a bit more exciting I’d probably just feel a bit meh.

[Burnley Ace]

Far more cosmopolitan place, better weather, and well, we aren't supposed to discuss political matters.

As a millionaire footballer not sure there is a huge amount of difference, museums aren’t normally on top of their “need” list!!
https://versus.com/en/berlin-vs-manchester

[RVclaret]

Jason Knight at Derby linked again this time in the Irish Examiner. Big us and Newc looking to pick him up cheap - despite the recent injury he suffered from Rooney’s tackle in training.

[Newcastleclaret93]

Adam Leventhal has linked us with Will Hughes

However he thinks wages could be a problem.

[Jakubclaret]

Adam Leventhal has linked us with Will Hughes

However he thinks wages could be a problem.

I mentioned this the other day but a couple of posters got shirty about the suggestion, it was only a matter of time, he ticks a lot of boxes. Upgrade on what we have or another option?

https://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2021/08/04/r ... ntact/?amp

[RVclaret]

I like Will Hughes. He is more of a RCM than an out and out winger which suits a Dyche system operating on the inside right. Upgrade on Brownhill there for sure. It wasn’t long ago he was getting suggestions for an England call up.

[Mattster]

Will Hughes is a good player, just not what we need right now.

[Iloveyoubrady]

Will Hughes is a good player, just not what we need right now.

Yes we need a right winger but Hughes is just the sort of player we need in the centre of midfield. As close to defour as we can afford.

[MACCA]

Hughes would give us 4 good Central midfielders , and potentially allow a 433 type situation.
He would certainly be an upgrade to what we have with that bit of quality and composure on the ball.
A good signing if we have 1 eye on next summer when surely it will be adios to Cork.

I've not counted Stephens as I dont think he will kick a ball any time soon, and I believe he is no where near the quality for the premier league and is finished at this level, even with us.

[RVclaret]

As per my above post, Hughes spent a lot of time playing on the right in a 4-4-2 last time Watford were in the Prem - not centre mid. Pretty confident Dyche would be using him on the right.

[Long Time Lurker]

I'm okay with signing Lennon as one of the two wingers that we need. I can't really understand all of the negative energy that is being directed towards the idea. Anybody would think that we were at the very start of the window, swimming in cash, with a first rate recruitment team and pouring over a mountain of potential players that all wanted to join us.

Our poor recruitment performances in the last 5 windows, followed by the emptying of our transfer kitty to facilitate a sale, have led us to this. I'm sure we would have all liked to see the first team refreshed with five or six 10m+ players this season, but that isn't going to happen - it was never going to happen.

Lennon still has games in the tank, he can play on either wing, he is available, he knows our framework inside out, he is familiar with the lads, he knows the league we play in, his character is good and he is at the club.

At the very least he is a better option than any of the players in our development squads. The idea of playing one of them out on the right wing makes me chuckle. Personally, I don't think any of the likely candidates currently have the skill or the experience to pull it off. However, a bigger worry that nobody has mentioned is what if they do ?

The contracts of Richardson, Thompson and Mancini run out at the end of the season. So if they did succeed in making a mark in the first team they could leave us prior to the start of next season for a development fee. If they fail to capture the interest of the bigger clubs then the lure of getting regular first team football might sway them towards a Championship team. The same will apply to Thomas if we have it in mind to use him as our fourth defender this season.

Another way to look at it is if we sign Lennon without a transfer fee ( albeit with a sign on fee and his wages ) it could allow us to direct more money towards buying another winger.

So, yes, two quality young wingers would have been the ideal signings to make in this window, but we are once again in a make do and mend scenario. In respect to one of the two wingers that we need, I can't see how we can be looking at anything other than a better than nothing option. For my money, taking everything into account, Lennon is a good short term option given our current circumstances.

Oh, but we don't have to pay everything up front, we can buy 10m+ players by paying in instalments over a number of years.

I agree, we can, but when you do that for 5 or 6 players the yearly payments add up. It isn't long before you have added a regular outgoing of 10-15m ( 2.5m per player over four years ). Add in our debt interest, paying down everything we still owe and even the sale of all our big value players won't be enough to cover the full cost of refreshing the team on the tick and staying afloat.

It is no wonder that ALK are actively selling everything that isn't nailed down, on multi year contracts. I think they are well aware that selling now, while we still have the attraction of a PL tag, will net them more money than if they sell later. A 5 year super box lease is arguably worth more now than it would be in the Championship. I expect the naming rights to the Turf will go next, along with all the land owned by the club and the concession rights. That is what happened when Checketts took over St Louis, he bolstered the clubs cash flow by selling everything that he possibly could.

Face facts guys, we are up **** creek and bereft of options. The season we qualified for Europe was our pinnacle. At that point we had positive momentum, we were going places, not rapidly, but steadily. Our recruitment needed to improve and we made the mistake of hiring Mike Rigg to do the job. During his time here that momentum evaporated, relationships at the club turned toxic, signings weren't made when they were needed and the club became exposed to the possibility of a full takeover ( instead of partial investment ). Now we are neck deep in the crap, struggling to stay where we are and in some respects the backward movement has already started.

It isn't a case of cutting our cloth to fit it is a case of pulling all the threadbare strands together and hoping they will take the strain without breaking.

Instead of criticising Lennon, a player who could still do a job for us, why don't all of those with a negative opinion about such a signing propose some realistic alternatives.

I will make it easy, here are some links to player lists for the position of right winger, you can order them by contract length.

Right Wingers - 27 years or under, market value of 1m - 5m ( according to transfermarkt )

https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/details ... e/29612674

Right Wingers - 27 years or under, market value of 5m - 15m ( according to transfermarkt )

https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/details ... e/29612769

Right Wingers - 28 - 32 years, market value of 1m - 15m ( according to transfermarkt )

https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/details ... e/29613015

Right Midfielders - 30 years or under, market value of 1m - 15m ( according to transfermarkt )

https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/details ... e/29614113

.... then

Remove all the players who are getting regular game time at bigger clubs than us.

Remove all the players that have recently moved to a new club or signed a long contract with their existing club.

Remove all the inverted wingers who can't play with their right foot.

Remove all the players that offer nothing at all defensively.

Remove all the players who aren't currently in the top league of a country or aren't in a team that was relegated from a top league last season, because they are unlikely to meet the GBE point tally.

Remove all the players who aren't at clubs with an excessive number of wingers, or young wingers ready to step us as suitable replacements, because clubs that can't satisfy such criteria might frown on the idea of bringing in a new player with only four weeks left on the clock.

.... then post your suggestions.

Alternatively, we could make Pieters the dedicated back up for Dwight and look at left backs ( I refer to them as wingbacks, because I think we need someone with the athleticism to cover the full length of the pitch like Taylor does ). Or we could play Brownhill out on the right for the season, in a similar way to how we used to play Hendrick and sign up a fourth choice central midfielder with potential. I doubt that Stephens will be given another contract so finding his replacement early might be a good move.

So I will take athletic left backs who can cross the ball or young central midfielders with potential as well.

[minnieclaret]

LTL mentioned the GBE points tally in his previous posts. For any insomniacs out there here is a link
https://www.thefa.com/-/media/files/the ... -2021.ashx

What a load of billhooks. In what is purportedly the best league in the world managers should not be banned from signing a player that they feel can do a job for them.

[KRBFC]

Our poor recruitment performances in the last 5 windows, followed by the emptying of our transfer kitty to facilitate a sale, have led us to this.


Lennon still has games in the tank

Our previous poor recruitment is based upon signing old shite like Lennon 2 years ago, wage drainers looking for a cushty final payday. Lennon was dreadful 2 years ago, after 36 games with 0 goals in Turkey, I highly doubt 34 year old Lennon has improved since leaving us. He will be on a fair whack too, just puts tissue paper over a serious water leak while draining precious resources.

Signing Aaron Lennon on a 1-2 year deal at £30k+ per week, just isn't the answer. It's an absolute waste of £1.5m+ a year

[aggi]

LTL mentioned the GBE points tally in his previous posts. For any insomniacs out there here is a link
https://www.thefa.com/-/media/files/the ... -2021.ashx

What a load of billhooks. In what is purportedly the best league in the world managers should not be banned from signing a player that they feel can do a job for them.

There's always been something similar in place for most countries. It's just been tidied up a bit and expanded out to cover the EU now (which is obviously unavoidable). The EU thing does mean no more Latin American players with Spanish passports or fast tracked EU passports which used to be a way round it.

[boatshed bill]

Our previous poor recruitment is based upon signing old shite like Lennon 2 years ago, wage drainers looking for a cushty final payday. Lennon was dreadful 2 years ago, after 36 games with 0 goals in Turkey, I highly doubt 34 year old Lennon has improved since leaving us. He will be on a fair whack too, just puts tissue paper over a serious water leak while draining precious resources.

Signing Aaron Lennon on a 1-2 year deal at £30k+ per week, just isn't the answer. It's an absolute waste of £1.5m+ a year

Correct.
If it's just a question of making up the numbers there must be a half decent L1 or Championship winger worth a small gamble

[MACCA]

I'm okay with signing Lennon as one of the two wingers that we need. I can't really understand all of the negative energy that is being directed towards the idea. Anybody would think that we were at the very start of the window, swimming in cash, with a first rate recruitment team and pouring over a mountain of potential players that all wanted to join us.

Our poor recruitment performances in the last 5 windows, followed by the emptying of our transfer kitty to facilitate a sale, have led us to this. I'm sure we would have all liked to see the first team refreshed with five or six 10m+ players this season, but that isn't going to happen - it was never going to happen.

Lennon still has games in the tank, he can play on either wing, he is available, he knows our framework inside out, he is familiar with the lads, he knows the league we play in, his character is good and he is at the club.

At the very least he is a better option than any of the players in our development squads. The idea of playing one of them out on the right wing makes me chuckle. Personally, I don't think any of the likely candidates currently have the skill or the experience to pull it off. However, a bigger worry that nobody has mentioned is what if they do ?

The contracts of Richardson, Thompson and Mancini run out at the end of the season. So if they did succeed in making a mark in the first team they could leave us prior to the start of next season for a development fee. If they fail to capture the interest of the bigger clubs then the lure of getting regular first team football might sway them towards a Championship team. The same will apply to Thomas if we have it in mind to use him as our fourth defender this season.

Another way to look at it is if we sign Lennon without a transfer fee ( albeit with a sign on fee and his wages ) it could allow us to direct more money towards buying another winger.

So, yes, two quality young wingers would have been the ideal signings to make in this window, but we are once again in a make do and mend scenario. In respect to one of the two wingers that we need, I can't see how we can be looking at anything other than a better than nothing option. For my money, taking everything into account, Lennon is a good short term option given our current circumstances.

Oh, but we don't have to pay everything up front, we can buy 10m+ players by paying in instalments over a number of years.

I agree, we can, but when you do that for 5 or 6 players the yearly payments add up. It isn't long before you have added a regular outgoing of 10-15m ( 2.5m per player over four years ). Add in our debt interest, paying down everything we still owe and even the sale of all our big value players won't be enough to cover the full cost of refreshing the team on the tick and staying afloat.

It is no wonder that ALK are actively selling everything that isn't nailed down, on multi year contracts. I think they are well aware that selling now, while we still have the attraction of a PL tag, will net them more money than if they sell later. A 5 year super box lease is arguably worth more now than it would be in the Championship. I expect the naming rights to the Turf will go next, along with all the land owned by the club and the concession rights. That is what happened when Checketts took over St Louis, he bolstered the clubs cash flow by selling everything that he possibly could.

Face facts guys, we are up **** creek and bereft of options. The season we qualified for Europe was our pinnacle. At that point we had positive momentum, we were going places, not rapidly, but steadily. Our recruitment needed to improve and we made the mistake of hiring Mike Rigg to do the job. During his time here that momentum evaporated, relationships at the club turned toxic, signings weren't made when they were needed and the club became exposed to the possibility of a full takeover ( instead of partial investment ). Now we are neck deep in the crap, struggling to stay where we are and in some respects the backward movement has already started.

It isn't a case of cutting our cloth to fit it is a case of pulling all the threadbare strands together and hoping they will take the strain without breaking.

Instead of criticising Lennon, a player who could still do a job for us, why don't all of those with a negative opinion about such a signing propose some realistic alternatives.

I will make it easy, here are some links to player lists for the position of right winger, you can order them by contract length.

Right Wingers - 27 years or under, market value of 1m - 5m ( according to transfermarkt )

https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/details ... e/29612674

Right Wingers - 27 years or under, market value of 5m - 15m ( according to transfermarkt )

https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/details ... e/29612769

Right Wingers - 28 - 32 years, market value of 1m - 15m ( according to transfermarkt )

https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/details ... e/29613015

Right Midfielders - 30 years or under, market value of 1m - 15m ( according to transfermarkt )

https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/details ... e/29614113

.... then

Remove all the players who are getting regular game time at bigger clubs than us.

Remove all the players that have recently moved to a new club or signed a long contract with their existing club.

Remove all the inverted wingers who can't play with their right foot.

Remove all the players that offer nothing at all defensively.

Remove all the players who aren't currently in the top league of a country or aren't in a team that was relegated from a top league last season, because they are unlikely to meet the GBE point tally.

Remove all the players who aren't at clubs with an excessive number of wingers, or young wingers ready to step us as suitable replacements, because clubs that can't satisfy such criteria might frown on the idea of bringing in a new player with only four weeks left on the clock.

.... then post your suggestions.

Alternatively, we could make Pieters the dedicated back up for Dwight and look at left backs ( I refer to them as wingbacks, because I think we need someone with the athleticism to cover the full length of the pitch like Taylor does ). Or we could play Brownhill out on the right for the season, in a similar way to how we used to play Hendrick and sign up a fourth choice central midfielder with potential. I doubt that Stephens will be given another contract so finding his replacement early might be a good move.

So I will take athletic left backs who can cross the ball or young central midfielders with potential as well.

Left backs should be the last place we are looking to recruit, I think they're both good, with each having their stregths which benefits the side when playing.

[cockneyclaret]

Correct.
If it's just a question of making up the numbers there must be a half decent L1 or Championship winger worth a small gamble

Jed Wallace at Millwall

[RVclaret]

Not quoting it as it would take up most of the message board but some real waffle in there LTL. Firstly suggesting Lennon is a good addition, a year and a half after he was absolutely useless for us and released. Secondly, suggesting we sign a left back so Pieters can be back up to Dwight. Christ.

[tiger76]

Jed Wallace at Millwall

Yes he'd be ideal, and his contract is up next year, so he wouldn't break the bank either, I'd far rather we put all our available dough towards nabbing him, than waste wages on Lennon.

TBH I'm staggered nobody else has made a move for Wallace, or maybe they have and it's just not leaked out, but if he's still with Millwall at the end of this month I'll be extremely surprised.

He is exactly the type of signing we should be making, and someone like him might actually get the punters off their seats.

[Superjohnnyfrancis]

Yes he'd be ideal, and his contract is up next year, so he wouldn't break the bank either, I'd far rather we put all our available dough towards nabbing him, than waste wages on Lennon.

TBH I'm staggered nobody else has made a move for Wallace, or maybe they have and it's just not leaked out, but if he's still with Millwall at the end of this month I'll be extremely surprised.

He is exactly the type of signing we should be making, and someone like him might actually get the punters off their seats.

Exactly, i cant see a flurry of season ticket sales on the back of Lennon resigning, it just shows we still don't know any decent right wingers after all this time!

[ClaretMov]

Jed Wallace at Millwall

I've been banging on about signing Wallace for two season's now, hes the type of right winger we need he scores goals and puts loads of crosses in also very strong on the ball, wages and fee wouldn't be a problem and I'm sure we could even do a cash plus player deal and get rid of one the squad player's like Barnes, cork or Bardsley

[superdimitri]

Have you considered that we may not be able to afford a player like Wallace?

I get that everyone wants us to make a better signing than Lennon.. and I do too but I think people are forgetting we're cash strapped. Even if a player has one year left he will still demand a fee.

If we have no money left for transfers then maybe Lennon is the only option.