I would suggest that a FB on loan is probably the easier of our requirements to obtain - but that it'll most likely not happen until the very last minute, when desperation/willingness of player and parent club are at their greatest. Whether you rate them or not, some PL options potentially include Bellerin, Cedric, Guilbert, Emerson, Williams, Lewis, Ritchie. I guess you could also stretch it to say that CHO is an option in a wing back system. But tbh, if we were to somehow convince him to come on loan to us, it would feel like a bit of a waste to then stick him at WB.
Now "leading the race". Hopefully Leicester don't budge on Forfana and Chelsea refuse to send them CHO due to pity.
Its probably fake PR from the club to try and cheer the fans up. Make it look like we have a chance of signing someone decent just after a heavy defeat - classic
BREAKING NEWS!!!!!! 05.00 St Badger is at Bournemouth International Airport en route to Spain with a view to securing a permanent transfer. Talks are ongoing and could take a few more weeks to complete, but will hopefully be concluded before the transfer window slams shut. Also, hopefully, it won’t come down to a fitness test.
Been thinking about Che and could it be possible that a deal is already really close and that's why he didn't take part yesterday? Really can't rationalise why else he wouldn't have played a single minute given our lack of options. Got a feeling we'll get some news on it this week. If I'm right then never have we had such pressure to make the correct signings as there will be on the two strikers required.
Yeah I think it’s what a lot of us assumed. But it feels suicidal to me. Imagine selling your only good striker now. Ridiculous.
And to a relegation rival. We all know how that's going to end. "Che Adams scores on final day of season to keep Leeds/Forest up at Saints' expense."
If Che is to be sold, And its to Forest... They have Already said to put a bid of £35Million for Gibbs.. Perhaps the bid was too good to turn down.
Which would be fair enough. He isnt exactly prolific, so if someone offers stupid money for a decent striker it makes sense if that allows us to bring in someone top quality that will get 15 goals rather than 7. Always a risk though as we know what Che's level is.
True, Cannot think of any rational Reason as to shy S.Armstrong came on over Che yesterday. Just sounds bonkers.
Isn’t that how Ralph rolls? I have to say I’ve never in my time supporting Saints have I seen a manager make some strange decisions.
I'm totally fine with us selling Che (should it happen). Yes of course we would need to sign a striker, but we already do. Another £20m added into the transfer kitty can be massively important on that front. As I said last night, I liked that midfield trio of JWP-Romeu-Lavia. So given that 4-3-3 seems like the best formation for that, and assuming that Aribo and Stuey will be regular starters too (when fit), that only gives space for one striker to start anyway. I'd have said that a new signing being that player, with Adam Armstrong and Mara in reserve, is sufficient. If we really did want a fourth, we could get a loan.
We're going to struggle if the CB crisis is not sorted before September and it is holding back the whole team if they can't do the basics in defence well. Everybody can see that the current options in central defence are not good enough and it simply has to improve if we are to avoid a relegation battle this season.
I see Zagadou still doesn’t have a club, would be a good addition to our defence. Is young as well so assume the club would be happy with him too. Must be a reason he still is without a club though, was linked with some big teams in the past year or so
Absolutely. Which is another reason I'd be fine with us selling Che. None of know how much money is still available for us to spend, but what we can be fairly sure on is that a decent CB and a decent striker probably won't come cheap. So any money we can raise from player sales can only be a good thing - the more we have, the more we can spend. In an ideal world we'd do that through cashing in on the likes of Theo, Redmond and Stephens. But realistically, even if we could find buyers for them, it would be for fairly low fees. So if Leeds or Forest want to offer us £20m for a striker who has never made it into double figures for us, I'd be willing to speak to them.
I am amazed at how casual people are feeling about selling Che. He is our only good striker. He can hold it up, is quick, good vision. He is a premier league player for sure. It would be catastrophic to sell him before bringing in a replacement, and even then a big gamble. Scoring goals in this league is the hardest part (except when teams play us). We can’t get rid of our only proven striker. It’s insanity. What if the replacement is Carrillo-esque?
