The Championship 23/24 Thread

I thought Tella had no interest in returing and that Burnley were confident of getting a deal done. There was a Burnley statement quoting Kompany as being keen to retain Tella. Not aware of any statement from Tella
about returning to Saints. Amazed that he wants to come back, if I am honest.

 

He has been asked about his future and could not give a definitive answer, telling BBC Radio Lancashire: “I haven’t really thought about it, I know I’m contracted to Southampton so I’m looking forward to going back there and doing pre-season.

“I’m looking forward to seeing my family and friends and going on holiday with them, that’s it. It’s a very good question but one I don’t have the answer to right now.”

 

The reports I had read from the regional newspapers were all of the opinion that Burnely were keen to retain him and that Kompany had made some statement to the effect that the Burnley directors were going to discuss this with Sports Republic. The statement you have quoted does read like a diplomatic response.

 

So how did you make the leap to say he had fallen out with Saints?!

 

I am sure that I read in January than Saints had not made any contact with Tella and that there was a suggestion that Tella was surprise at the lack of interest the club had in him. The article was suggestive that he had no interest in quitting Burnley and returning to the south coast. The situation might have now changed but I think Burnley are a far more attractive proposition than Saints at the moment -eepcially with Kompany in charge.

Happy to be corrected but this was my understanding.

Cheers

Ian

 

Only time will Tella.

 

I think all of that is what was reported but I just think by framing it as “falling out with the club” suggests a very different relationship and just weakens any arguments you are trying to make. No worries let’s see what happens - I hope he does stay. Cheers

 

My impression with Tella was that they loaned him out so that he could play regularly and get enough game time to secure a permanent move elsewhere.

He out performed what anyone was expecting and we obviously got relegated. I’d be surprised if he is still here next season, and I’m also not overly fussed either way. As has been said before Adams and Armstrong both scored 25+ goals in the Championship for teams who finished bottom half, so scoring 17 for the team who walked the league doesn’t seem overly impressive to me. I’m fine with keeping him if it plays out that way, but if he does leave I’m not going to be gutted either

 

He’s not an out-and-out striker though is he?

 

I didn’t watch him that much for Burnley but I think he was used as their main striker a lot

 

Only four times according to WhoScored: https://www.whoscored.com/Players/395472/Show/Nathan-Tella

Based on that, he spent a pretty much equal amount of appearances on each wing and then occasionally played number 10 or as a central striker.

Three goals in those four appearances up top and through the middle, though!

 

Fair enough, as I said I didn’t watch him much but I’m sure every time I did he was playing centrally.

He clearly was an important player for Burnley so it would be surprising if they didn’t want to make the move permanent. Just a question of price and how much we want/they want to spend

 

And also if they think what he has will translate into the PL as yet. As we know to our cost, Championship goals don’t always mean PL goals.

 

When AA scored on his debut against Everton I thought to my self at last a striker from the Championship who knows where the back of the net is. 2 years and 3 more goals later it appears that I was wrong.

 

Saw them do that last time in the championship? Must of been us lot!

 

For what value there is in XG stats (which is questionable), Tella's actual goal tally last season was substantially more than his XG. Only one other player out-performed their XG by a bigger margin in the Championship.

But does that mean he was incredibly clinical, or quite fortuitous? The risk, particularly if it is the latter, is that he doesn't even repeat this season again at Championship-level, let alone at PL-level.

My view remains unchanged. If Burnley want to offer £20m or more, then accept. Anything under £12m, then reject. Between about £12m and £20m, then I'm not too fussed either way.

 

Ah ok didn’t realise.

Maybe we flog him for a good price and re-invest. But given our recent striker purchases (and lack of) I’m not convinced we will do better.

 

I’d be really happy for him to prove me wrong, but I just don’t see Tella making it as a premier league player, therefore I think his value this summer will be his peak worth. Burnley maybe the only ones in the market for him, but I think we could squeeze them for £14m and if that means keeping Charly, then even better

 

For 99% of players its about so much more than ability. Mentality, environment, happiness are all crucial. The physical outliers like Haaland, Mbappe etc can rely on bullying opposition players, for the rest its fine margins. So yeah, why and how he outperformed Xg will be interesting but the fact that he did will attract a lot of attention because agree with it or not, a lot of weight is attached to players that outperform Xg these days it seems.

 

We should be looking to keep hold of Tella, whatever it takes, in case he turns into a top-level goalscorer.

We shouldn't be looking to sell him, whatever it takes, in case he doesn't turn out to be a top-level goalscorer.

He's worth taking a risk on, because he is an academy product and he has a fantastic attitude. Oh and he's quick as f*ck, and can finish with both feet.

Can't fathom why we would look to sell him now. Absolute madness. Just as he's starting to look good. And then we'll complain that we don't have anyone who can finish, haha.