Only seen a couple times and i wouldnt be paying that for him but one of the scouts i work with loves him and thinks he is worth that No idea if that is the price like, just an educated guess
He’d be thrown straight into the first team squad just like the other bairns signed last summer, no doubt. Roll on the next few months of being linked with inexperience
Jonson Clarke-Harris I saw him mentioned and thought that I'd have a look at some of his data to see if there's still a player in there. An initial look doesn't read that good, he's 29 and about to turn 30, for the last 5 years he has consistently been one of the top scorers in League One and this season he dropped to 9 league goals. Just off these statistics alone it looks like he has went into decline. A further look though and it seems that might be a premature conclusion. He is still averaging a goal every 174 minutes ie 1 in 2. Interestingly he went from first team starter playing 90 minutes in most games to suddenly being benched in late October, this suggests to me a corner was turned in contract negotiations and the player told the club he will not be resigning, or at least the club believed his demands were beyond the threshold whereby the player is likely to resign. Now, my instinct here is that the majority of Sunderland fans would probably not be too thrilled to see him sign, due to his age (despite decrying the need for experience) and the fact he has spent most of his prime in League One and not the Championship, but hear me out. I think a deal could be done for the player for relatively modest term, probably in the £6-10k a week region, a one year deal with a +1 option should the club enact or he reaches an agreed milestone and most importantly the player gets to play for a big Championship club who could, if things go very right, end up in the Premiership. How would he do in the Championship? He had a Championship record of 12 in 41 for the 21/22 season and was playing in a relegated Peterborough team struggling for points (37) and goals (43). I also think his strengths are what we are missing, what is he good at? He's good at holding the ball up and bringing players into play and he's a good finisher, two things we have lacked this season especially. Now to conclude, I would never say he is a dream signing by any stretch, but if the club are going to look for a number 9 with a proven track record, that player is likely to cost us a few million at least and there are no guarantees of success. The club are not giving up on Mayenda and Hemir any time soon, they are our assets and we will give them more chances to improve and have an impact, that is just reality not my desire, bringing in an experienced head like Clarke-Harris for relatively low risk allows room for both of them to have a potential impact. EDIT:: Testing. I'm posting in the transfer thread despite being banned?
What if he’s good enough for the first team squad? Or have you written him off cos he’s 19 while wanting us to keep/play Rigg?
There’s a decent chance he would be, given our lack of quality in the middle of the park (other than Neil). He’s 18 too btw, but I get your point.
Middle ground is what we need, 23-27 year olds ready to slot straight in is the ideal, granted we don’t live in an ideal world
Wouldn't be against it but he's not a holding midfielder. I'd like to see a player of his calibre come in just not that position where we are already well stocked.
Absolutely but I’d love a couple of older heads brung in who’ve done it for many seasons in the past. Proper experience
This is an interesting debate. I would argue that the likes of Hume,Ballard,O9,Aji,Neil,Ekwah,Rigg,and others have gained lots of experience over this last couple of seasons in this division. If we take the striker role out for the minute....where,I agree we don't have any experience yet,....the rest of the squad must have learned loads. We don't necessarily need to look at 29/30 year olds for experience....we have intelligent younger players who must have amassed loads of it already. For example,a bit of an extreme to emphasise the point I know, but if Rigg stays,by the time he's 18,we'll have a very experienced player.
I agree. One or two perhaps. I think there's nowt wrong with us looking at 19 year olds though, as long as the first team is supplemented with 22-27 year olds and a couple of older heads.
Couldn't even get in their first team ffs. No thank you very much. Nobody came in for him in January despite being made available. Clubs linked now include Wrexham, Bristol Rovers and Mansfield. Peterborough fan at work reckons he's off to Turkey anyway.
