With the window over, our biggest win appears to be a hopeful increase in squad togetherness by removing a disruptive influence. We have a tight-knit squad which Smith/Shakespeare are increasingly familiar with. Hopefully all players are prepared to work hard towards survival. Of those clubs around us, some have done good business, but our hope has to be that significant upheaval means it takes time for some clubs to settle. Brentford have made a couple of smart acquisitions. Burnley have bet heavily on Weghorst, and the RvW-style announcement video gives me hope. Their squad is very thin elsewhere. Everton have made potentially 5 first team signings plus a new manager. Their replacement for Digne looked out of his depth versus Norwich. Newcastle also made 5 first team signings, who will need to settle quickly. Heavily reliant on Saint-Maximin for creativity. Watford added 5, and most were in the squad already for the defeat by Norwich. New manager to bed in too.
Cantwell has said " I couldn't wait to get out of there " . No respect left for him from me. Good riddance. Edit. 14years at the club, where the facilities and staff turned him out to be, potentially, a very good player and that is his response. Odious little man.
If we get his loan fee plus £11m if Bournemouth are promoted that'll do for me. I'm not convinced he's a PL level player, especially with his limited defensive contributions, and we can't afford 'luxury players' in the PL. He'll do a decent job in the Championship though.
Even if he's a big success at Bournemouth, I suspect he'll hit the same problem: 'I'm too good for this club'. Football is a team sport, and even players with enormous talent often under-achieve if they are too egotistical (Mbappe? Neymar?). Compare Ronaldo. Massive ego, yes, but he works his ass off and he does his best to lift his team. Also, I don't think Cantwell is that supremely talented in the first place. Talented, yes, but good enough for the very top? I doubt it.
Are you seriously suggesting Neymar and Mbappe are underachievers ? Shame you chose to use such poor examples . I do agree with. the point that you are making, that talent alone will not guarantee you success . As for Cantwell, if only he was half as good as he thinks he is,then I might have been sorry to see him leave. A couple of members on this forum were quick to criticise Farke for not managing him well, and it was only after Smith took over, that the penny dropped. And as for him saying that he couldn't wait to leave our club , well , the feeling is most certainly mutual as far as I am concerned. Good riddance.
Jamal Lewis has been cut from the Newcastle 25 man squad to make way for the new signings along with Ciaran Clark
Perhaps indicates that sometimes our players are not as good as we think they are. I always thought he was very good but he has struggled from the outset at Newcastle. Might be a useful asset for us on a free if we go down and Williams returns to Man Utd. Cantwell never was as good as he thinks he was and has had numerous incidents of throwing his toys out of the pram. A bad pass to Maddison or Buendia meant they chased after the ball to try and win it back - Cantwell just stood there throwing his arms in the air like Ronaldo does!!
Sunderland are set to appoint former Preston North End boss Alex Neil as their new manager following a breakdown in talks with Roy Keane. (Northern Echo)
please log in to view this image Would absolutely love this to happen. Easy for him to say knowing how difficult it might be for Norwich, but still.
We need some Cantwell money first! Aarons more likely to be used to create funds I imagine. Rashica will have suitors too.
Cantwell has a fee agreed already providing Bournemouth reach promotion, I think it was around £11m. The same figure I think is what was quoted as being our option for Normann
One fee could cover the other, but time will tell if Normann wants to join us in the Championship. We'd have a solid squad to challenge for yet another promotion as it stands but that's assuming Rashica isn't snapped up. We normally need to sell off one top asset each season and it doesn't sound like Cantwell is going to be enough now. If we're buying Normann or another in the summer then likely Aarons and / or another rising player like Rashica could go the other way. It's a shame O'Dele hasn't been able to play. I think he could have been another bright star (read: asset) by the end of this season had he not got injured.
