Ahh okay. I think we need 3 wingers but I doubt we'll get them. I just hope we don't end up with a forward line full of loanees again. Impossible, you can't sign players to replace yours until they're gone.
Just watched a few clips of him and it’s been a while since we’ve had such raw direct pace in the side. Would be a very smart addition, had a season to adapt to the level so will be one we benefit from next season too
Or you just grasp the idea that even a free transfer is multimillion wage commitment for the full length of the contract. So therefore it affects the preceding and proceeding ffp reporting periods. That's why the probationary conditions make a difference to us, specifically.
In fairness it seems we have sounded out replacements, they’re just of higher quality so deals take longer. You don’t spend £5m on Hughes before Greaves leaves just in case he gets injured for example
That works if those replacements sign. You could agree terms with Wigan and Hughes and hold off on signing the player until Greaves is ratified, for example, but it's now been two weeks? Since Greaves left without the deal done, which would suggest it wasn't particularly far along. Unless of course Wigan didn't sanction his departure until they had replacements in the building, which again, they've now done.
This is what I've been mentioning. We saw Morton, Delap, Philogene all develop very well last season because they had the experience of being in this league. It makes them much safer signings, and hopefully we can give the new ones a platform to really develop. Millar's numbers are solid, but if you can increase the output to 10 goals, 10 assists, you'll be able to get £7/8m for him. I'd love us to not fixate on the league table for a few years and focus on developing talent, reinvesting and building. I've been saying that for ages though and I don't think it'll happen. I've seen it's £2.25m for Hughes + add-ons so it's a bit of a steal. I'm not sure I'd describe either Hughes or Millar of 'higher quality', I think very good but they're sensible and rational so I don't think there's any reason we couldn't have had either deal done weeks ago. It's big money to a L1 club and I appreciate there's been the Copa America but it appears that Basel want rid of Millar.
Hughes is probably as good a replacement we could get all things considered. Suited to the ground for this style, sell on value and very good now. Millar though you’re right
If that's all it is up front for Hughes, spread as it is over a number of years, I don't think a Greaves knee injury should have stopped the signing, it would have just meant restructuring the budget, as Hughes' signing would never have been a bad one, and with a Greaves injury he would have been needed anyway!
Of course. If it was purely the delayed market from the euros, combined with the ffp stuff this is yet another contributing factor. Players move when they sure they've got the right deal, and not until. Clubs only start to get power in negotiations the closer the deadline gets. And even so, we're only a couple of signings behind last year's window. Now seemingly credible links are coming out, I'm sure there's a bit more confidence. The prior radio-silence and mass-cull combined though was understandably unsettling.
Absolutely true. Hughes for example is on a 4 year deal so maybe we weren’t expecting him to be available i imagine his owner has been sounding him out
Water under the bridge now, it's heartening to finally have some tangible and credible links to players. And not sure that these stories coming out should materially impact us signing these players.
I really ****ing hope not. Hughes will be worth £20m in a season. Clearly things have changed as we are supposedly close to quite a few players now. We simply can’t afford to be bringing the likes of Vaughan off the bench opening day.
Where have you seen that? Wigan fans are up in arms at the thought of £5m, they’ll be riots in the street if it’s £2.25m
I think so too, he'd be a great addition. But there's not a lot of money in the Championship this year, so I doubt there's many clubs that can put down that sort of money without a big sale. Even the parachute clubs aren't flush, Burnley have 400 players, Leeds need to sell, Sheff Utd are waiting on the takeover and Luton aren't big spenders either. I don't think either were 1st choice targets but they should have been. It comes down to this argument of targeting players that are too good, not signing them and wasting a lot of time.
I read it was £2.25m + add-ons to take it to £5m. Nobody is paying £5m guaranteed for a L1 centre back, Ronnie Edwards went for £3m
This is what people forget with their annual pre-season psychodrama. It's every year, so don't worry. Nothing new. Roll on Bristol...
