Even the deals that were “done” on Thursday are yet to be confirmed and I think we leave for the tour tomorrow. Morsy also linked with a move away but I would be astonished if he ended up at Derby
Agreed Gaffer, we've done some good business signing those two players. Throw in finally getting a Category 1 academy and it's been a great week for the club. At almost 6 foot 4, Kipre certainly fits the profile in terms of getting a more physical, taller presence in our backline. He was solid for West Brom and getting top flight experience in France has hopefully developed his game a little more. Although it's only a loan, the deal seems to be made permanent if we get promoted (for a relatively low £3.9 million fee too). The move should add power and pace to the defence - something we lacked over the last couple of years - and although he's right-footed, he often plays in the left centre back position - so Greaves will have his work cut out. I'm more excited about the Azor Matusiwa signing - although I admit, I hadn't heard of him before! 27, physical midfielder, again fairly tall, and he has an Ajax footballing education. Lot of talk seems to pin-point him as the long-term Morsy replacement. I imagine at £7.8 million and coming from a top flight French side, he'd be a nailed on starter. Addresses a position of weakness and he hopefully won't be the last central midfielder through the door this summer. Does the Matusiwa move spell the end for Morsy? I'd argue we need our club captain for the season ahead. However, Morsy is 34 in September and is in the last year of his contract. I see Derby have been strongly linked yesterday and a couple of Middle Eastern clubs also rumoured to be interested. If Morsy does go, and I'd be surprised if he does (as he's surely worth keeping as a squad midfielder) then we'd have to bring in another central midfielder and really shake up the area of the pitch. I imagine McKenna is likely thinking of a different system to play this season. The counter-attacking style that got us up in 23/24 is arguably going to waste the 'on paper' talent and abilities we now have in the squad after a year of Premier League riches. Could we maybe start to see us transition more to a possession-heavy side that expects to dominate and win most games, given the level of expectation and squad ability for this level. Or will McKenna have one eye on potentially competing in the Premier League again next year and work on something a bit more progressive so we're better set up for the near future, while still achieving promotion this year?
I agree Nuggets, 2 positive players in to strengthen key areas of weakness in the Prem. I guess we might retain Morsy as our Club Captn, a good role model who will inspire many aspiring youngsters tho perhaps not with his tackling techniques!
Agreed, think Morsy would be a fantastic player just to have around. Still think he has plenty to offer especially at championship level - think we can easily get 25+ games from him and also a great role model for the younger players. Don’t think we need that much more - 1 CM & 1 striker definitely and after that, it depends on whether Kmc is happy with Johnson & Clarke as the choice at rb
A someone short I like Nuggets assessment of 5ft8 being fairly tall!! Sounds like a couple of good signings. Is Kipre a replacement for Burgess and Tuanzebe in one go as I understand he's played right of a back 3 before and LCB. Or do we need to still replace Tuanzebe? I still think we need another at least another 2 CMs, I think we need to consider playing a midfield 3. Plus another 2 strikers. This is if we are going to seriously challenge for the autos.
Looking increasingly likely that Morsy will be leaving.If he goes I wish him nothing but the best for the future,he has been immense for us on and off the pitch.Without his drive I'm sure the back to back promotions would have been much more difficult to achieve.
The heart and spirit of the promotion winning team has well and truly been ripped out. I’m sure the new lads are good but we don’t have any time to bed them in and we are playing a very risky financial game. The owners don’t seem to understand that player values can go down as well as up. The number of players and back room staff to have left this summer is quite alarming. This one is particularly disappointing - the message is loud and clear now that all of our players are disposable. With that bond between players and fans broken, I don’t think the supporters will be forgiving of poor results in the upcoming season.
Morsy will go with my best wishes, cant blame him for going he's been in the lower leagues of English football for most of his career, had a chance in the PL for 1 season, something I'm sure he thought a few years ago was out of his reach and now has the opportunity to earn some money for his family. One of the best captains we've ever had...I cant help but feel maybe a season too early for us (maybe not him) as Hampy has said a bit more churn perhaps than we expected this summer. We've now got very few players likely to be starting for us next season who've played more than half a season under McKenna.
Interesting points raised. Lets see how we go before casting too much doom & gloom. But I am sad that Morsy wont get a right royal PR send off and farewell, which he well deserves.
