In general it's a sign of progress that it's really difficult to find <£3m players who improve our squad and we need to make this kind of signing to hopefully takes us up a level. But equally, our club does not have the best track record of getting these signings right, which is especially worrying when we can only make one of them. The success of failure of Hayden and Sara is probably season-defining. Hopefully Sargent, Rashica, Tzolis, Cantwell, Idah can all look like £10m acquisitions this season and take the burden off Pukki. They should all be looking at 5 goals or less as an absolute failure, each are capable of 10-15 across 46 games.
I wonder if our association with Corritiba, just 100 miles South of Sao Paulo, was used to facilitate this transfer of Sara.
I'm looking forward to seeing more of Sinari this season. With 7 goals for Huddersfield last season he could be another player with 10 goal potential. Hopefully Sara will enhance the supply to the attacking players as well as scoring a few himself. Sinani could be another free transfer who comes good big time. Meanwhile EMI is battling for playing time at Villa: https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sp...news/aston-villa-emi-buendia-gerrard-24398347
Wonder if there are any other transfers on the way? Struggling to see where we need to improve in terms of Championship quality
Surprised Max hasn't been snapped up , he didn't have the best season so that may have put off a few suitors. Such a down to earth humble consummate professional since he made his debut on and off the field. I Hope we hang onto him a bit longer but if a £20m bid comes in then I wish him well
It's funny when you compare to Djed Spence, who seems to be the full-back most likely to get a big move from the Championship this summer. I always thought Max never really got the volume of goals or assists you'd expect from an attacking full back, but that doesn't seem like a fair criticism when you compare the two: Djed Spence, 21 years old, 100 Championship games, 4 goals 5 assists. Max Aarons, 22 years old, 86 Championship games, 4 goals 11 assists. Two full seasons of Premier League experience (70 games, 4 assists). I think Max's height and the opportunities that can present attacking teams could be something holding him back, and perhaps the fee Norwich would ask for puts teams off (but equally I think under Webber we've been fairly straightforward to enter transfer negotiations with). The fee for Spence seems to be £12.5m initially, potentially rising to £19.5m. That's not far off a fee Norwich would take. Not exactly in a rush to get rid of him, but does seem strange that the rumoured interest from Bayern Munich, Barcelona, etc has been widely reported, but none of it has ever resulted in anything serious.
We look very solid with a squad of 23 senior players and 6 U21s, 16 of whom are homegrown players (how things change). Also good to have 4 strikers and Sinani and Rashica who can play there as well. Possibly a young CM/DM option? GK: Gunn, Krul, McGovern FB: Aarons, Byram, Giannoulis, McCallum CB: Gibson, Hanley, Zimmermann, Omobamidele (Byram) (Sørensen) DM Hayden, Sørensen, (Byram) CM: Sara, Lees-Melou, McLean, (Gibbs) AM: Dowell, Cantwell, Sinani, Gibbs WR: (Dowell) Sinani, Hernandez, Springett WL: Rashica, Tzolis, (Cantwell) Rowe S: Pukki, Idah, Sargent, Hugill (Sinani)
Interesting that you have Byram as cover at DM, but not CB. I thought Smith said something about him possibly playing at CB. Sorensen can also play CB at championship level.
In terms of replenishing the squad from last season, we've lost 3 central midfielders (Normann, Rupp, Gilmour) and recruited two (Hayden, Sara), and lost Kabak and not signed a central defender. Whilst I wouldn't be again additional reinforcements in each position, Sorensen was barely used last season, Omobamidele missed most of the season, and we have Tomkinson and Gibbs currently in the squad. With the World Cup break offering a great opportunity for our squad to recuperate in November, then the January transfer window not far off, I'd hope we can manage til then? The advantage of holding off until then is that we'll have a clearer idea of need, and can perhaps make a signing like the Giannoulis deal which is with one eye on the Premier League. Much as we can't afford to get too far ahead of ourselves, I'm not sure it makes sense to add many players now who might struggle to make the step up.
Shouldn't there be a "so far" somewhere in there? Both SW and DS have spoken about trimming the squad, which Michael Bailey in a post-Marseille tweet still referred to as "oversize". At this point we are looking at a net reduction of just two. Given that this current transfer window is still quite young, there is plenty of scope yet for significant departures.
I fail to see how the squad is oversize. The squad limit is 25 senior players and we currently have 23, with 6 U21 players who can also play for the U23s. Hopefully Sara will prove to be a PL quality player but it's not easy to attract others when we're in the Championship. I agree with DH that we should stick with the present squad rather than signing players who may not prove to be good enough for the PL. If we need to strengthen further in January then we can, but if things are going well we can add PL players then or in the summer. Why send our own players out on loan just to recruit more players who may disappoint if we're promoted?
Iv not given up on him. He just has to be included in the list of big money signings who failed to make an impact. I really hope he comes good. Needs a shot of confidence and a couple of goals/ assists. As for the scorpion kick... even he must have known it was a bit flukey! The header for his 2nd was a better goal imo.
Re. the squad being "oversized", it's not just a matter of numbers. DS has several times stressed the importance he attaches to having real competition in the squad, which you only get when players in possession of a shirt know there is a real, equally trusted, alternative ready to take it from them. "Cover" isn't the name of the game.
I've always been an advocate of competition for places, but team spirit and willingness to fight for results are also key factors. My concern about trimming the squad is that it would make us very vulnerable to injuries, which we seem to have a lot of. Smith talks about the team spirit engendered in Germany and that's a key factor to getting off to good start. The competition and spirit are there now IMO. GK: Gunn, Krul, McGovern FB: Aarons, Byram, Giannoulis, McCallum CB: Gibson, Hanley, Zimmermann, Omobamidele (Byram) (Sørensen) DM Hayden, Sørensen, (Byram) CM: Sara, Lees-Melou, McLean, (Gibbs) AM: Dowell, Cantwell, Sinani, Gibbs WR: (Dowell) Sinani, Hernandez, Springett WL: Rashica, Tzolis, (Cantwell) Rowe S: Pukki, Idah, Sargent, Hugill (Sinani)
Of the 5 eligible to play for the U23s, only Idah and Omobamidele are proven enough to be first or second choice in their respective positions. So the question arises as to the best option for furthering the development of Gibbs, Rowe and Springett. Keeping them on the fringes of the first team with the expectation of minutes in Cup games plus appearances for the U23s? Or trying to get them serious amounts of competitive game time on loan at lower Championship, or promotion-chasing League One, clubs?
