Reported by a few Spanish journalists, it sort of came out of the blue so I'm taking it with a pinch of salt. I know Ajax have watched him and they have a decent link to Barcelona, so it wouldn't surprise me if it turned out Barca learned about him that way.
I think the way we do things can, at least superficially, seem frustrating and slow, but our recruitment team does work non-stop. There were approaches and talks with players for the upcoming season as far back as Easter, it just doesn't come out in the media because it ultimately isn't newsworthy unless they can get their hands on names. And that's sort of a gripe for me with journalists, because they know this, they know that stuff is going on and they could do a piece about the work being done without going into specifics, they just don't because it costs them clicks and views. Football, like a lot of things in 2024, is now seeded with the expectation of instant gratification. So we want all the transfers done now while simultaneously wanting another striker or creative player lined up for deadline day while also releasing all the deadwood before the new manager has identified who constitutes deadwood. We demand to know everything at all times and yet seem baffled when the club don't reveal the nature of an injury or why a player left the club, so many people just invent their own reason instead in order to self soothe. I suppose as fans we feel like we are owed it as ultra loyal, paying customers but there seems to have been a big shift in expectation from 20 years ago, where you didn't get wind of transfers before they happened. I remember our first season in the PL, we were linked with a return for FC (remember that transfer saga? Makes the Seri U-turn feel almost insignificant!) and I think a double purchase of Aaron Ramsey and Ross McCormack from Cardiff. None of those happened and we then signed the likes of Zayatte, Gardener, King and Geovanni, signings that nobody saw coming. I thought this was interesting too, it's from the HDM in the Summer of 2022, the one following Acun's takeover and when Shota was still in charge. "Signing a striker remains a significant priority for the Tigers, particularly given their struggles in front of goal last season and Ilicali is determined to spend money on a player capable of firing the goals to help City challenge at the top end of the division. Ghana international Benjamin Tetteh is one player linked with a move to the MKM Stadium but Hull Live understands there is nothing in that rumour, nor the ones linking Gavin Kilkenny and Dimitrios Pelkas." And yet, there were people - some of whom are members of this forum - that knew those players were in fact coming and that the statement above was incorrect. The club tells people like Baz or James Smailes as much as they need to to keep the fans happy, but don't for a second think that they have a solid, reliable inside track. In fact the above is a very good example of the club feeding the press misinformation in order to prevent transfers from leaking out, which is what invariably happens when fans get wind of club business that hasn't been announced.
Equally would be even more ridiculous building another squad for a manager not wanted or supported so the managerial search couldn’t have been avoided could it?
Fabrizio Romano was talking about it last night so likely to be something in it. He said they have had two meetings.
Exactly. The entitlement of society now has led to people assuming they should know everything about everything at the club. It is madness to think there wont be months of work gone into the squad we end up with and much of it will be close to over the line. I'd be surprised if we dont reveal three or four players in the next week or so, including Giles.
They'd also complain if the club did leak its targets and we were gazumped by another club because of it.
100% correct. There is something to be said for the clubs who just go about their business. I hope this is Acun learning to keep his gob shut and not a sign that the worriers are right and we really dont have any irons in the fire ha ha.
Not really followed closely and not a chance I am going to trawl through lots of pages so why are we getting rid of Tufan?
Also gets his wages off the bill and potentially a bit of a back hander around the Omur deal, basically we will never know the full truth I suspect.
You mean the club will not tell us all the details involved in all outgoing and incoming transfers? Disgraceful!
In reply to this and the 'fanny flap' post. Tbf Jim, I don't think many / any on here are 'fanny flapping' yet. A few of us are voicing concerns about the sheer scale of the rebuild that's now needed, which could well get even bigger if / when Greaves goes (almost certain?), Philogene (sounding increasingly likely?), and maybe one or two more unexpected's (like Tufan was). Surely understandable? Then, it was the 1904 podcast were it was said, seemingly with some confidence, that even our first signing was likely at least a couple of weeks away and that no new faces would be there at the start of pre-season training next week. It didn't sound like there was much chance of "reveal(ing) three or four players in the next week or so". Things can of course quickly change and hopefully your expectations are correct or prove even to be pessimistic!
Not in the least bit surprised if this proves to be true. Predicted it could well happen the moment Tufan left. Would be gutted if this happens. Just read the other thread about non-City transfers, where other teams ARE signing players. At what point can our fannies start twitching please?
