To be fair pace has never really been part of his game so he might have increased longevity for that reason
I imagine Sean Dyche must be furious about losing Chris Wood. I wonder how much they screwed out of the Toon owners? I still hope Burnley survive and Newcastle go down. Sadly I think Wood might really help them though
Love it if Newcastle had screwed up, and had actually just spent £25m on ancient England goalkeeper, Chris Woods.
Transfer piece from The Athletic - This month, The Athletic will be running a piece for each of the clubs we cover, looking at which positions they need to strengthen and using insight from our reporters and data from our analytics team to consider players who might fit the bill. Next up in this Sensible Transfers series are Southampton… Normally, if a club is dabbling in the winter transfer window, it’s because they find themselves in one of two scenarios. One is a desire to move away from the relegation zone, and the other is to solidify a position in one of the top spots. Injuries can play a part, but that is a far more nuanced situation. Southampton, though, don’t fall into either category and have worked hard in recent windows to ensure panic buying isn’t a necessity when they get to January. Manager Ralph Hasenhuttl and the club’s hierarchy have added much-needed depth to the squad, working their way towards achieving director of football Matt Crocker’s vision of having three players competing for every starting position. Despite this, there is no denying Southampton could do with another No 10 to help them create and score goals. Just over halfway through their 38-match Premier League season, James Ward-Prowse and Armando Broja lead the club’s scoring charts with five goals each. Che Adams (four), Adam Armstrong and Mohamed Elyounoussi (two each) have scored eight more between them. As it stands, Southampton will only contemplate new signings if they are a clear upgrade on what is already at their disposal, or if another Tino Livramento-type deal presents itself. Using data and video, The Athletic has drawn up a list of players who could match Hasenhuttl’s needs. To help assess their strengths and weaknesses, we will use Smarterscout, a platform that rates players between zero and 99 based on how often they perform a given action (for example, volume of shots per touch) or how effective they are at it (for example, how well they progress the ball upfield) compared to others who play their position. Even though Southampton are under new ownership following Sport Republic’s recent acquisition, there remains a desire to sign young players who carry potential sell-on value, rather than established big-name players. One rising star they could be wise to take a look at is Fabio Carvalho of Championship promotion chasers Fulham. Carvalho, 19, is set to be out of contract in the summer but has shown plenty of promise as Fulham have run riot this season — they have scored more goals (58) than any other club in English football’s top four divisions — and has already been linked with a move to Liverpool. He has racked up 908 minutes of on-pitch league action this season, but since Smarterscout compares players across positions, his pizza chart below only represents his data when he has played in attacking midfield. That sample size of 684 league minutes is small but the numbers, especially around the box, are impressive. please log in to view this image Carvalho’s xG from shot creation (92 out of 99) stands out, as does his link-up play volume (86). His progressive passing rating is low (five) but is less of an issue when you are receiving the ball higher up the pitch. And it would be foolish to overlook the defensive impact he is having at Fulham, rating 70 out of 99 for disrupting opposition moves when compared to other attacking midfielders. Best of all, that aspect is paramount to being a successful No 10 in Hasenhuttl’s 4-2-2-2 formation. Smarterscout also provides duel ratings for each player, assessing their ability at tackling, heading and dribbling. These scores are calculated by taking into account the quality of the opponent a player has faced in those duels. For example, a defender would receive more credit for tackling good one-on-one dribblers — let’s say, Lionel Messi — than they would if they did the same against mere mortals. please log in to view this image While his duel ratings for dribbling are weak, Carvalho is most comfortable playing in between the lines and will always be looking to slip a through ball to the strikers. There are plenty of creases in the teenager that Hasenhuttl would have to iron out, most notably his dribbling and work inside the box, but there is enough potential for him to work with. Carvalho is creative around the box and can exploit different angles of attack, while also showing a desire to press the opposition. The fact he is set to be a free agent in June as things stand presents an opportunity to try to usurp any competition this month by getting in early. Carvalho is inexperienced enough that Southampton shouldn’t expect a significant contribution from him over the rest of this season if they snap him up this month, but they could be the bridge club to take advantage of his expiring contract before he moves further up the footballing ladder. Another No 10 worth highlighting is Hamed Traore of Sassuolo in Italy. The 21-year-old, currently taking part in the Africa Cup of Nations with Ivory Coast, has been a Serie A regular for the last four seasons, and his share of game minutes from 2020-21 highlights that he has the versatility to play in any position across a club’s front three. please log in to view this image This season (see below) he has added another string to his bow by featuring further back in a central midfield role. Hasenhuttl makes no secret of the fact he wants Southampton players to be versatile. please log in to view this image Last season, Traore’s Smarterscout numbers fell short of Premier League standards — particularly when it comes to attacking metrics (the ones in blue on his pizza chart below). please log in to view this image They have shown signs of promise since the start of the current one, most notably his ball recoveries and interceptions (97 out of 99) and xG from ball progression (84 out of 99). please log in to view this image One sticking point with Traore is that he is slow to recognise pressing triggers and isn’t great in the tackle — a key part of Hasenhuttl’s system. His contract doesn’t expire until June 2024, meaning he could soon be out of Southampton’s price range if he continues to progress and Sassuolo, currently mid-table in Serie A, are under no pressure to sell at the moment. The most experienced player on our list is Eintracht Frankfurt’s Daichi Kamada. Aged 25, the right-footed attacking midfielder stands out for his progressive passes and the progressive passes he receives, which shows he uses intelligent movement to offer a passing option to his team-mates when they have the ball. His Smarterscout numbers project him to be near Premier League average in almost every department. Kamada is yet to hit the heights of last season, when he had 17 Bundesliga goal involvements (five goals and 12 assists) in 32 appearances. Midway through this campaign he has scored one goal and made another in his 17 games, and you can see from his profile below that there’s clear room for improvement in those blue attacking metrics. please log in to view this image The 16-cap Japan international scores 83 out of 99 for dribbling duels, which is a sign of how he likes to lead a quick transition after winning the ball. And as duel ratings are weighted based on the quality of opponent, his high score in that metric is noteworthy, especially as Southampton aren’t blessed with players who can carry the ball forward. please log in to view this image Kamada would be a safe option but is unlikely to add the spark Southampton want to bring to their starting XI. Sofiane Diop of Monaco presents a younger alternative at age 21, and his spread of minutes per position highlights his versatility in attack. please log in to view this image Given he’s recently signed a new deal with the Ligue 1 club, however, it would be an expensive deal for Southampton to complete. Southampton are comfortable with the squad at their disposal and if they make a transfer splash in January, it will be on their terms. There is no feeling from within the club that they need to enter the market in a big way in this window. You would expect loanee Broja to be their top attacking target if they did decide to boost their forward line, whether that’s now or in the summer. But if they can’t sign him from parent club Chelsea, there are plenty of other options available to them.
A useful investigation would be who we can get if we cannot get Broja for at least one more season Of the above I assume Carvalho is the most cost effective.
Carvalho is an interesting option, and has been linked to us a few times, but we're at something of a disadvantage...he can sign for free anywhere else in Europe if desired. I'll also throw out a bit of a left field one: Noa Lang at Brugge. He's an Ajax product that stalled out a bit but is having a massive season in the Belgian league, and played pretty well in their murderous CL group with Man City/PSG/Leipzig. There are two downsides. The first is that he only signed there in the summer, having been on loan the year previous. The second is that he's apparently an absolutely enormous idiot. Even by footballer standards. Just a mouthy sack of rocks. But that might make him less likely to get a move to a big club (unless that big club is in Italy, because Serie A seems to be where all the talented miscreants end up).
Yeah, I'm pretty iffy on it. Star qualities, but basically, he'd be a player that you'd bring in to have a major impact for 18-24 months, and hope to sell him on before the lit fuse reaches the powder.
Apart from the blindingly obvious reason, I would really like us to sign Broja for a sensible fee (even with first refusal, buy backs etc) partly because all the Chelsea glory hunters on Twitter will have a complete meltdown They are out there quoting 45m, 50m, 60m just because he has a five year contract. That’s not purely how it works I am sure I guess it isn’t too different from the fees people on here were saying for JWP. But at least those were usually in reference to existing fees either real (like Fred) or quoted in the media (Phillips and Rice) How many strikers have actually moved within the premier league for 45m plus? It can’t be that many surely? Of course maybe they are right.
