Sad to see JWP leave but I think we have had the best out of him and £30 million is a staggering price for someone who has not been as effectual the last few seasons. He have effectivey fleeced West Ham - especially if they are expecting him to step up and be a captain there. Not convinced he will win over the affections of the Hammers fans. I would not be too surprised if Smallbone looked to leave. The post-match interview by Russell Martin last night alluded to players having an attitude and I do wonder if there is a culture of entitlement within the playing staff that previously undermined Ralph. Sending Smallbone out on loan at a time when we were happy to recruit some decidely average players in his stead would probably not have been well received. However, as someone said on this thread last month, most the reports / tweets, etc in here are nonsense. I agree about the likes of KWP, Alacaraz,Lavia Kamaldeen, Adams, Tella. etc have suitors and would suggest that there is a degree of kidology in here with people assuming players of this ability would want to remain playing second tier football. We probably do not need to sale , especially if the money comes in from Liverpool for Lavia but I am not sure Russell Martin will be keen to retain a squad with egos, many of whom are probably going to be under-whelmed by his credentials.
Your comments on players staying would have something to them were it not for players staying at the other two relegated clubs having come down. Now maybe more will move on before the end of the window. But look at the attackers Leicester have retained so far Sure Maddison and Barnes have gone but I’m not sure the players mentioned for us are of that level. Leicester catastrophically under performed. Notably in defence. And weirdly it is the defenders who mostly have managed to get moves (it seems)
Not sure what the price for Maehle was but I’d have gone for him over Aarons. He has always looked quality and can play both sides. Maybe he’s a bit too attacking and needs a wing back system ideally and that is the issue
Everyone is expecting West Ham to be profligate. I worry that the same will happen to us when we get money in for Lavia although I am not convinced that we will invest in this window. If we do better than expected, I can see money being thrown at players n January but I am expecting nothing radical until the next campaign.
Shame that we've missed out on Aarons, but at least he's going to the PL rather than a rival Championship side. (And if we can somehow hold onto KWP, we won't really need him anyway. But I struggle to see us holding him.)
Not at all but Saints have seriously under-performed during the last eighteen months and I would struggle to see how things can quickly improve when we sell our best players. I do not see us getting relegated bit too much repair work required to ensure an immediate return. I think the meltdowns last night were not necessarily balanced but there is no doubt Martin has his work cut out.
Sounds like we had been beaten to him anyway which isn’t the best of signs but I guess not surprising in the Leeds vs Southampton decision
Yeah, looks like the order was: 1. PL money and PL football 2. Working with Farke again 3. Move to Saints 4. Stay at Norwich
