the Sun reports that AV are set to offer £3m for Russ. firstly, is this enough and secondly, could we let him go. there is a third consideration, would he want to leave. my response is that he is worth at least £5m. with Whittaker in our squad we COULD survive without him, but i hope he stays. and to the third part. this is probably the most difficult to assess. he has great respect for PL who rescued him from seeming obscurity, but i feel he is really at home with us.
I would prefer him to stay but I would also prefer to see him being allowed to make his menacing runs forward more often and that is where the decision may be based. RM by nature likes to attack and that may not necessarily fit in with the gaffers ideas of how he wants to play (god I hope I am so very wrong). I can see him being let go but I would not be best pleased. As for the valuation? I have no idea what his worth is tbh, 3 million might actually be quite generous all things considered.
He did start to support the wingers and get forward much more in the Swansea match, so maybe the recognition is dawning on CH that there is a need to play to the strengths of the players to get the best from the team. He is a great utility player and provides great cover, this makes him more valuable than if he could only play at RB. £3m sounds like a pretty good offer, given he may not be first choice next season, I think Whitaker could well be first choice and maybe is even better going forward. Having said that, AV can feck off
I think the price is fair but I wouldn't want to be rid of him. He also seems very happy here but if he is offered more money he might be tempted. I think is probably just baseless paper talk though.
No deal for me, he's a really useful versatile player. I liked last week with Russ and Whits playing thought we looked more dangerous.
On the same gossip column was Newcastle releasing Danny Simpson this summer. Previous with CH I believe?
I think valuation for our players is always tricky. We have done so well using lower league gems that when it comes to replacing them we have a clash of values. I would say between 3 and 4 mill is probably fair for rusty, but the question is how much would it cost to replace him. I know some will say we don't need to replace him we have Whittaker but we will at least need cover. Anyway, sory bit of a ramble.
I'm with Pablo, if we could get a Prem Class CB/RB for around the same money, then perhaps cash in, but not until we've got another player lined up. I don't think we can afford to start next season with only 1 recognised RB, and only 1 real LB.
Given Whits has injury troubles, he appares to be out of the squad today, i would be nervous with out russ.
1) He is a good RB, not amazing, but reliable (in addition, should Garrido be out/rested, Whittaker can go LB, while he goes RB) 2) He is good CB cover, would be concerned with only Bassong, Turner and Bennett as our remaining CBs 3) He provides a strong leadership presence on the pitch, in the absence of Holt If it ain't broke, why fix it? Besides why should/would we ever sell to Lambert? No guarantee at all Villa will still be in the PL next season...if they aren't they won't be spending money, rather having a fire sale!
No way, when holt doesn't play Hughton picks him as captain, he's a leader a player who when we break away always bursts a gut to be the one to get up the pitch, gives it his all. Wherever he plays he is reliable and I thought he was a class centre back last year. No way would I sell him he is an integral part of the squad. Unless a big team comes in I would be gutted to sell him to a team around us.
Should Holt be sold/used as an impact sub next year, I would like to see one of the following 3 as our Captain: R.Martin, Ruddy or Snodgrass. Each have various advantages (existing captain, brilliant at marshalling the defence and lifting the team morale, starts virtually every game and our best player)
£3 mill might be a fair price for Rusty but I don't want him to leave and if its Villa it's £5 mill anyway!
agreed. Although i wouldn't make holt an impact sub, he has less and less pace for that nowadays. Play him alongside some good quality (RVW?) and use someone one like kamara (or better) as impact. R martin is flexible, which is too good a quality to let slip. He can adapt to cover injuries in defense well, and gives seniority to a back line. Also, he the F@&KING NORFOLK CAFU! (i love that if you type 'norfolk cafu' into the address bar it automatically loads russ' wiki page!
