Why would his value have plunged? He had a very good season in a Blackburn squad providing only scraps for him. I doubt BB would part with him for less than £10m or equivalent.
It would be interesting to know what CH is thinking about CB now. It seems strange that City were trying to sign Davies in January but not now, unless the performances of Bennett and Martin have convinced him that Ayala is sufficient as the 4th CB (or even 5th behind Martin). Perhaps he thinks Martin alone is enough after his performances against ManCity and Croatia for Scotland? That could perhaps explain the Livermore loan, as there is an extra place available in the 25 man squad.
I reckon that CH is pretty happy with what he has. Would Davies add a huge amount to the team compared with Bennett or Martin playing as back up CB to Bassong/Turner? I think that priorities given a limited budget will lie elsewhere in this window. We have a good CB partnership with two very capable players to back them up. I see no merit in stunting Bennett's development by putting him further down the pecking order as I think he could become a very significant player for us in the coming seasons.
True he had a decent season, but I think Blackburn paid over the odds for him before, and if he was to move on it would probably be for closer to his true value, particularly when I doubt he wants to be there any more, and if he tries to force the issue he could lower the price.
It's still a high price for a striker who has never played in the PL, IMO. RvW hasn't either, but he has played in the top leagues in the Netherlands and Portugal, as well as the CL.
Could it have been because there were injury concerns in January that we didn't know about? It emerged later that Bassong was struggling and being nursed through to the end of the season. Whatever, it does look as if CH is happy with his current resources at CB.
Why are we only looking to get a million or so for vaughan when strikers at championship level with a similar goals to game ratio are moving for 3-6m?
Korey Smith to Oldham on a two year deal, hope he gets his career moving in the right direction there
Probably because of his injury record. This last season he managed 34 League appearances, the most he has ever managed in a single season. If he has put his proneness to injury behind him, his value will rise, but without another full season there remains a big question mark. Could be Van Persie Mk II in that sense, but then maybe not.
that's actually a very good question! the problem is his injury record (edit. as robbie has already pointed out )
I am so impatient! I just want it to be July 1st and for us to sign 5 players, is that so much to ask?!?! I also want them all to have been playing for teams playing in europe on a regular basis. Why is it taking McNally and co so long to sort this out?!?! For those who take everything seriously I am joking. However, I hope I dont end up underwhlemed!
how can anyone end up 'underwhelmed' after we've signed someone for £8.5m? this is the stuff of dreams at the moment. maybe some fans will need to get back to the real world if they are underwhelmed after that!
i guess we want to see signings so (a) we get them integrated into the squad early, a la Lambert (b) we have something to talk about, and (c) we don't get drawn into bidding wars by delaying but we are where we are! Apart from chelsea, Fulham and Villa, i don't think many other clubs have been that active. maybe something will happen next week
Yeah, the window hasn't opened and this also means that Lambert's signings haven't joined. If we announce another two or three signings on July 1, as well as RvW, then our players will have had just as much time to bed in. The difference is that Villa have announced their confirmed signings, whereas we haven't (if any are actually confirmed yet).
Maybe a good time to remind ourselves how our senior squad currently stands (24 in total): Goalkeepers John Ruddy Mark Bunn Defenders Russell Martin Steven Whittaker Sébastien Bassong Michael Turner Ryan Bennett Dani Ayala Leon Barnett Javier Garrido Midfielders Bradley Johnson Alexander Tettey Robert Snodgrass Jonny Howson Andrew Surman Anthony Pilkington Wes Hoolahan Elliott Bennett David Fox Jacob Butterfield Forwards Grant Holt Rikki Van Wolfswinkel Luciano Becchio James Vaughan Have I left anyone out?
