I really hope we’ve got a testimonial planned too. Whether it be at the end of the season or at the end of Hugo’s playing career. 11 senior years at a club is almost unseen these days, it’s even more respectable when for a number of those years he was easily one of the best keepers in Europe and could’ve likely joined a bigger club had he pushed for it.
True and yet... I don't recall a single bigger club ever really testing our resolve. I think it's fair to say a club like Spurs was pretty much his level, and by the time the club started to possibly dip beneath his level, the goalkeeping game had firmly moved on with the arrivals of more modern players like Allison and Ederson, and Hugo was firmly left behind.
You could say similar about Dembele, Vertonghen and Son, even Dele to a degree, far as I can remember we never saw them linked with bigger moves either but if any of those in their prime put in a request to leave you could've been sure that bigger clubs would’ve been circling in an instant. We got quite lucky in that that particularly group really bought into Poch’s vision and gave their loyalty to him and the club because of it.
Brighton reportedly expect at least £120m for Evan Ferguson Somebody might want to sit Brighton down and show them what happened when clubs decided that, rather than pay the fees Leicester were assuming would be paid, instead they would simply bide their time and watch those players' contracts run down, because they are risking entering that territory pretty damn quickly
Isn't he under contract till 2028? Fairly sure they are expecting his value to increase and getting a few good seasons out of him.
Not all of their squad are contracted for as long, though Mitoma and Lamptey are contracted until 2025, for example, and if they don't renew this season that puts Brighton into the position where they aren't the ones dictating terms on the transfer as they would have hoped for
Sacha Tavoieri claims we're looking at Lorient CB Montassar Talbi One thing that stands out is that, of all our current CBs, the one his game is closest to is Eric Dier's as his role is to be the last man back and look for last-ditch blocks, albeit the difference is that Talbi is pretty damn good at doing it and can also carry the ball out from the back. He's also the bloke who tends to organise the back line, which is another comparison with Dier - and he can also chip a pass 30+ yards like Dier used to do. Basically he plays like the Eric Dier of 2014-15, but also has the composure and battling spirit of Michael Dawson - which is fitting, as his name translates into "one who doesn't give up" Does strike me as a stopgap for a season, but certainly a much better CB to be linked with that Maguire or Ibanez who would be a bloody disaster for a season and a drain on our resources for another couple after that
L'Equipe claim that Hugo has blocked his potential move to Nazio in spite a fee being agreed, which they claim is because he wasn't a guaranteed starter In other news, Charlie Eccleshare claims Luton are considering a loan move for Tanganga, though we prefer a permanent move with Inter and Galatasaray potential destinations - although the Gazzetta dello Sport claims Inter have cooled interest in Tanganga and are looking at Benjamin Pavard
From BBC Sport Spending in the last three windows Chelsea £857.3m Manchester United £374.4m Arsenal £372.2 Tottenham £319.7m Paris St-Germain £307.2m Newcastle £291.3m Bayern Munich £255.1m Manchester City £233.2m West Ham £223.1m Liverpool £214.5m
This list is a load of horse shiete though, Varpool for example have spent way more than £214m: Konate £36m Diaz £50m Gakpo £45m Nunez £85m MacAllister £55m Szoboszlai £60m Endo £19m Carvalho £5m Ramsay £4m Woolwich also have spent over £500m.
I haven't checked the figures, but the first two players you named don't count. They weren't signed in the last three windows, which would be last summer, last January and now.
