God knows but then I don't have a 6/7 figure scouting budget and team of analysts and scouts on the job
Fair enough - SR probably have a analysis paralysis on the striker situation. Even average strikers fetch a premium. Unless we use a loan, we’re unlikely to be able to afford anyone with premier league experience. there is no doubt a large group of players with huge question marks and big price tags It’s a tough call
I don't doubt it is, which is why those that are good at it get paid fortunes. My frustration comes from the fact fans have been patient and that time is running out. So often football fans demand the world and it just isn't realistic. But in this case, we all knew about our lack of goals at the start of the summer, it is piss poor that now have just 6 days of the january window left and still have no striker and are losing games due to missing big chances.
How many games has Mara started? Thought he looked lively today and if the chance had fallen to him rather than Adams then who knows. Id be starting him ahead of Adams now (hopefully we sign a striker as well but if we don’t then Mara should definitely be first choice)
We could spend £80m on a striker and if we stayed up because of it we would still be better off financially than not making the signing and getting relegated, not that I expect the club to do that. I don’t think we are bringing anyone in tbh.
What frustrates me is we used to find the diamonds in the rough and then ruin them (Gabbiadini); now we can’t even find them. Other clubs buy players that go straight into the team and look great, Saints seem to buy players (whether young or experienced) who sit and wait to get into a struggling side… so why do we buy them? Alcaraz looked good in parts tonight but with him and JWP carrying Diallo in there it is difficult for anyone in the midfield to look great and express themselves. Djnepo getting injured helped us - Armstrong had way more energy and impact. But once Che missed that chance it just felt like 0 was the best we could manage
The issue with Mara is that we never got into positions where he could shoot. Too often in the first half he held on too long when an easy pass was available which led to no shots. Adams on the other hand allows us a better chance of shooting but has woeful finishing.
Can't read the article so just purely going off that tweet. I would assume we slept on it because he's a backup option. If all our eggs were in his basket and we were just hoping they would back down and accept less money then we are beyond ****ing stupid and deserve to be relegated. He better not have been our first choice but we didn't want to 'overpay' by a few million for him. Blatantly ****ing obvious that you can't be that precious in January and particularly when you are in our position. For anyone that can read it, be interesting if the article gives an indication as to how high up our list Jackson was.
Basically we tried to put a structured deal together to make the £20m asking price. Bournemouth just came in, balls dangling, at £20.3m. Does say that both Jackson’s people and us see him as ‘one for the future’ though. I think we have enough of those…
Spoiler All it needed was a “sexy plan”. It was the first week of January and Southampton were plotting to buy Nicolas Jackson from Villarreal. With Sport Republic co-founder Rasmus Ankersen spearheading January recruitment, they had been made aware of the 21-year-old’s availability after he had fallen out of favour under new boss Quique Setien. Setien forged his coaching identity on building “pausa” in his team — a Spanish and South American term for players who put their foot on the ball and wait for the right moment, finding calm in chaos. Jackson’s style led to an ideological clash with Setien and the forward started just 33 per cent of Villarreal’s games this campaign. Predecessor Unai Emery was a great advocate of Jackson and viewed the verticality in his play as a benefit within his 4-2-2-2 system. Across all competitions last season, Jackson played 2,300 minutes, scoring seven goals in 36 appearances. This season, though, the landscape was different. Jackson’s contract ran until 2026 and while he did not make the largest dent in Villarreal’s wage bill, the Spanish outfit wanted alternative ways to reduce their salary outlay, which had been at Champions League level last year. It was inevitable, given the team were now in the Conference League. Southampton made their interest known in the first week of January, aware they needed to be bold, with a “sexy plan”, according to a source close to the deal who spoke anonymously to protect relationships. They discussed personal terms and worked out the deal. A six-month loan with a high option to buy at the end of the season was the initial proposal. Jackson was not in a rush, understanding the complex, ambitious nature of the deal would take time, even if Southampton wanted him as soon as possible to make an immediate impact. And he could have had an impact. Jackson is nicknamed the “Neymar of Senegal” for his similar characteristics to the Brazilian. His favoured position is on the left-wing so he can cut onto his stronger right foot to cross, combine or shoot. According to FBref, Jackson ranks in the 76th percentile for dribbles completed, averaging 1.08 per 90 minutes. In other words, only 24 per cent of forwards from Europe’s top five leagues are more effective ball carriers than the Senegal international. Significantly, his 57.9 per cent dribble success rate, which is in the 95th percentile, indicates his natural adeptness for taking players on. Those attributes, Jackson feels, are best displayed from wide or deep areas. Any notions of operating in the No 8 position are disputed, with Jackson’s physicality not seen to suit a box-to-box type of midfielder, but rather an archetypal No 10. “He also doesn’t have the nature to be a centre-forward,” said another source close to the deal, who also wished to speak on the condition of anonymity to protect relationships. “He looks for spaces deep, so he is certainly not an out-and-out striker.” When The Athletic revealed Southampton’s intentions to find a permanent agreement with Villarreal, the initial response from supporters was lukewarm. After all, buying a forward was the club’s priority area to address this window, having ruefully missed out on Cody Gakpo and Goncalo Ramos in the summer. Although Jackson’s three goals in 24 appearances this season is below his average, his record of a goal every six games over the previous two seasons did not appear especially alluring, either. During a recent press conference, manager Nathan Jones implied the focus was on acquiring a more versatile, multifaceted attacker. It was one of the reasons why Bristol City’s Antoine Semenyo, who Ankersen held face-to-face talks with last week, similarly appealed. Curiously, Bournemouth also registered an interest in Semenyo, with their financial package thought to be favourable. It served as a premonition of what was to come. Jackson ranks low for most decisive goal actions. In comparison to positional peers, his record of 0.20 goals every 90 minutes is in the 11th percentile, with his low volume of shots (1.76 per 90) in the bottom eight per cent. However, his proficiency from deep or wide positions gives him an assist rate of 0.20 per 90, which is in the 81st percentile. In addition, his goal-creating actions — an advanced metric that tracks the two offensive actions that lead to a goal — is in the top 18 per cent of forwards from Europe’s top five leagues. This was crucial for Southampton. From the start of January, Southampton kept in touch with Jackson’s representatives daily. The player and club were keen to finalise the deal and worked together to overcome roadblocks. Following Southampton’s win at Everton, sources in Spain were growing increasingly optimistic of a transfer. Jackson was in favour of the move and the two clubs were not far off agreeing. Drawing comparisons with Southampton’s deal to sign Carlos Alcaraz from Racing Club, the general feeling changed to one of confidence that it would be eventually done. Yet, in retrospect, the deciding factor was caused by the imminent departure of another Villarreal attacker, Arnaut Danjuma. When it became clear that the 25-year-old would leave on loan, the goalposts shifted for Southampton’s move for Jackson. Villarreal would not countenance two players leaving temporarily, insisting they needed a cash windfall to find a replacement. Talks switched to finding a permanent transfer for Jackson. Sources close to Villarreal, who wish not to be named to protect relationships, describe Jackson as a good character who is still maturing on and off the pitch. The same source says that, while Setien did not value him as highly as Emery, team-mates wished to keep Jackson at the club — unlike Danjuma. Villarreal, who were described as tough negotiators, set an asking price of €20million (£17.5m), with Southampton’s first offer falling below that figure. Jackson’s representatives and Southampton continued working to strike a deal, prepared for negotiations to enter the final week of the window. Southampton were resistant to paying Villarreal’s full asking price, deemed as prohibitive given the club’s precarious league position and Jackson, by the admission of people close to him, was seen as a player for the future, not now. Instead, Southampton and the player’s representatives looked at resourceful ways to reach the £20million mark, including various add-ons and clauses. Despite interest from elsewhere in the Premier League, progress was being made, gradually. However, the cautious nature of negotiations meant Southampton were always susceptible to getting overtaken. In short, it was they who laid the groundwork, both in regard to the player’s personal terms and the overall financial package. Bournemouth, who look like they may have missed out on Danjuma, were ready to strike. A key source involved in the deal, who spoke anonymously to protect relationships, described Bournemouth as “coming in very hot”. Director of football Richard Hughes was keen to move fast. Bournemouth had made it known they were prepared to exceed the €20million figure. Very quickly, they became Jackson’s likely destination. “Southampton have slept on this. Bournemouth have come in and closed,” said the same source. Ultimately, Bournemouth agreed a deal worth €23million (£20.3m) plus add-ons for Jackson. It was the type of “sexy deal” that appealed from the outset. Not sure how to react to that. I'm not sure he's what the team needs at the moment and the line "Southampton were resistant to paying Villarreal’s full asking price, deemed as prohibitive given the club’s precarious league position and Jackson, by the admission of people close to him, was seen as a player for the future, not now." suggests the club agree so I'm not too fussed about this. But then I wonder why the most expensive deal we've been linked to is a player for the future. We need players for the next six months not a year or two down the line.
You know it’s bad, it’s bad, you know it. And the whole world has to answer right now, Just to tell you once again, It’s bad.
Just got to look at the silver linings here. There's a lot in that article to suggest many would be unhappy with the transfer anyway - might well have been a complete meltdown by all manner of people if we paid over 20m for him, and that price looked steep for Saints given our league position and consequences if we go down - if he didn't turn out well, we'd potentially struggle to get him off the wage bill. It's not a game of Monopoly. Whether or not he turns out to be a saviour for Bournemouth, that article doesn't make me think too negatively about SR's approach. If you read the article (not sure if you have a subscription or not), you can certainly pick out things people might panic about: “He also doesn’t have the nature to be a centre-forward,” said another source close to the deal, who also wished to speak on the condition of anonymity to protect relationships. “He looks for spaces deep, so he is certainly not an out-and-out striker.” WhenThe Athletic revealed Southampton’s intentions to find a permanent agreement with Villarreal, the initial response from supporters was lukewarm. After all, buying a forward was the club’s priority area to address this window, having ruefully missed out on Cody Gakpo and Goncalo Ramos in the summer. Although Jackson’s three goals in 24 appearances this season is below his average, his record of a goal every six games over the previous two seasons did not appear especially alluring, either. Jackson ranks low for most decisive goal actions. In comparison to positional peers, his record of 0.20 goals every 90 minutes is in the 11th percentile, with his low volume of shots (1.76 per 90) in the bottom eight per cent. Jackson’s representatives and Southampton continued working to strike a deal, prepared for negotiations to enter the final week of the window. Southampton were resistant to paying Villarreal’s full asking price, deemed as prohibitive given the club’s precarious league position and Jackson, by the admission of people close to him, was seen as a player for the future, not now.
The line: Southampton were resistant to paying Villarreal’s full asking price, deemed as prohibitive given theclub’s precarious league positionandJackson, by the admission of people close to him,was seen as a player for the future, not now. Doesn’t sound promising
It doesn't and it makes me feel like it's not a huge loss. Though it does make me slightly concerned that we've spent all January chasing a highly priced attacker who we didn't feel was necessarily ready to come in and have a big impact.
