I can see the upside in all of those players, but it seems that's the direction we're going. If that's what RLB wants then I think we have to trust it.
For me the priority is promotion over development of Mayenda. I see Isidor as competition on the wing so I'd like 2 strikers that reduce Mayenda effectively to 3rd choice. I think he'll get enough minutes as third choice but I'm not overly concerned if he doesn't. I'd be more concerned that a key player gets injured and we're suddenly relying on Mayenda to get us 15 goals.
Think he could defo be on our radar, looks a quality player as well, Fotmob has him at 5 mil which would put him in the bracket of player we're after atm
Fair enough. Personally I'm happy with the dual track approach. And I don't think SAFC under KLD will even fully pivot to 'win now' mode. Neither do I want us to. Natural evolution season by season will get us there eventually - and in my view it'll get us up in a state that gives us a better chance of sticking.
To add to what I said above. giving minutes to young players is absolutely fundamental to our identity as a club under KLD. And for me it's not something that we can turn on and off. For instance, we don't keep Rigg unless its fundamental. We don't get Jobe. We don't keep Watson or Young. We have to remain consistent in it. The through line is that it will mean that we have access to players that would otherwise either leave SAFC at a younger age, or never join us in the first place. Maybe that means that it takes us longer to get up. But I'm fairly certain that it increases our ceiling as a club fairly considerably. Without it, the best we can ever expect in modern football is a PL relegation battle IMO (depressing as it is).
We don't get Aleksic if we're not that club - there's numerous examples already and our reputation in that regard will only grow. I noticed on the comments on the Serb outlet that broke the Aleksic news, there were a lot of Serbs saying that it's a good move for him because it's a good competitive league and we're a club invested in the development of young players and give them a great opportunity to grow and showcase their talent. If casual football fans in Serbia are noticing then you can be sure that young footballers and their agents will be aware too.
Sounds a similar player to Rigg. "great ball-carrier, dribbler, line-breaking passer and has an eye for goal " Hope he's first team ready Need options if Adil and Ekwah are off
It's a virtuous circle. But it has to be maintained. I do recall chatter from our academy that the young lads from abroad had been seen to an extent as blocking the pathway for our own youth products. Seems like we're getting a little bit more clarity on that from this summer. It's a constant battle, though. Setting and raising the standards, but also making sure that we don't close off the route for players who come in to the club (at whatever stage) to find their way into the first team. Hell of a balancing act.
I'm keeping an eye on Salford this season. Young sitting on the bench for the league games isn't doing him or us any favours. Hopefully Fat Heed will stick him in the team soon enough
Celtic breaking their transfer record and paying £11m for a 20 y/o Belgian midfielder Arne Engels - he must be highly rated
Love to read that. We wouldn’t have gotten Lenz without that reputation either. Deep foundations being built here.
**** me this Serbian kid looks a proper prospect. 6 goals and 10 assists in 36 ‘big boys football’ as a teen, often playing deep? Those are really ****ing impressive numbers. Yes please.
Looks like they are after Odsonne Edouard from Palace. Better player IMO Liked him at Celtic. prolific. We couldn't afford him but he'd score for fun in the Championship
Agree. He is a better player. Surprised they’d loan him out he was decent last season. See Albrighton has retired, had a quietly excellent career. Boy done good.
