Honestly I have no desire to see Alcaraz leave. We should find a way to play him and create confusion in the opposing half and possibly some in our half, but the reward could be worth it, for me anyway.
Dara O'Shea to Ipswich is a rare transfer of theirs which doesn't make me at all jealous. Waste of money on a pretty useless CB. Shame that it seems to late to hijack their deal with Clarke. I'd have been very open to offering Edozie on loan to Sunderland as part of a deal.
I’d be letting them have Edozie for £5m in the Clarke deal. He has zero end product, perhaps that may come good - but this leagues doesn’t really wait for might come good, it eats teams up and spits them out in the Championship. A few people, think Laces int he main, (may be wrong) hoping Martin doesn’t get sentimental - I don’t think he will, I think very soon we will have Big Les, Fernandes in place of Aribo/Smallbone. If he is sentimental, i think he will be fastracked out - I don’t think SR will wait overly long to pull the trigger this time.
They need to pad their squad. Even if they get to a point where they have a new team their reserves will still be league one players. That doesn’t work over a season. What impact it has on squad harmony is another matter entirely
So Goztepe get a player on loan, whilst we accept a smaller fee for our player? This multi-club **** can do one, i really detest it. https://x.com/SaintsExtra/status/1827428738625085634?t=Lj3Fe_tiE52nvYKFN2lGQw&s=19
Consider that they couldn’t give any more by way of a fee and presumably just keeping Alcaraz was not considered an option here
Selling Alcaraz feels like a dreadful decision - he is the attacking midfield talent this mediocre team desperately needs
Thats not necessarily true. A multi club model takes time to work. All you need to do is look at Brighton and see it now bearing fruit for them.
With his injury record I was hoping for something like this. It makes perfect sense but didn't think they'd agree to it.
I get that, but we clearly have funds/financial/psr issues so spending money (or losing potential money) to aid another club in the short term just doesn't sit right with me. If we have to do this ****, we need to be financially stable and secure first. We certainly don't seem that at the moment! Walk before you can run and all that.
Trouble is, the fact that there aren’t lots of clubs queuing for him I think says it all. With us in two leagues, he hasn’t set the world alight at all. He went to Juve and the same happened. The whole of the EPL and all the top leagues are aware of him and his alleged potential, however, there are only two clubs in the footballing world that have seen fit to make an offer. I don’t believe for one second that if RM actually thought it would work out for Charley, he would have sanctioned him being sold. He is the one that sees him day in and day out and has done for over a year, he knows his strengths and weaknesses. The two offers are a) loan and purchase, no use to us at all and b) club record and league third highest ever purchase in (thanks DTLW) and that’s it…. Nothing…. No magical £25/30 million offer up front enabling us to do a Bournemouth, etc. There is a high chance that he flatters to deceive and he’s just not as good as we all want him to be. In the future, he may come back to Europe, but just can’t see him ever cutting it the EPL in the next 5 years.
I just don't agree with selling our player, and our asset, at a reduced price only for another club to benefit from us missing out on (probably) a few million. If they couldn't pay any more, then it's tough,that's their problem if they don't want to meet our valuation
I assume wage budgets are much tighter in the Netherlands and they can’t have a goalkeeper on first team wages on the bench. The other bonus is that his first team wages are not likely to be high by our standards The flip side is whether it impacts other loan potentials because I’m afraid no matter how many times people post the loan rules they still seem as clear as mud. I very much read it as two loans end of discussion doesn’t matter where they are from. Others say it’s two PL loans and up to four total. We might well know soon enough
