With Idah and Josh Martin breaking into the first team, we're better off in that regard, but we could do with a few more.
Believe it's 7 in the matchday squad still in the Championship. For the Premier League it was a maximum of 17 overseas players in the 25 man squad, which is how many we named. So as it stands, we have Byram, Hanley, Krul, Aarons, Cantwell, Lewis (?), Idah (?), Godfrey. Then Thompson, Morris, Raggett, Oxborough (?) and presumably McCallum counts. Given mooted player sales and the injury records of Thompson, Hanley and Byram, I'm not sure I fancy our chances of finding 7 each week without signings. Last season in the Championship we already had situations where youngsters ended up on the bench to satisfy those requirements, wouldn't be surprised to see that again. Arguably it would be an interesting thing for the club to make a thing of. Make it clear to the academy that there's a spot on the bench available each week, impress and it could be yours. The likes of Adshead impressed in League 1, and with a year at Norwich and in the Championship, it's not such a step up.
Apparently City have now joined the race to sign a swiss striker from Hibs https://www.eveningnews24.co.uk/spo...-enter-race-to-sign-florian-kamberi-1-6746534 Hope he's better than Drmic if we get him, but would like to see us sign a no-nosense central defender, another Malky type player
I believe Lewis and Idah count as homegrown because their youth career has been in England (similar to Hanley and Krul). You could also add Josh Martin now that he's stepped up to the first team.
Part of the problem regarding numbers of home grown players is the shortage of them and the ludicrous transfer fees paid for any that are half decent. I have seen figures of £30m or £40m being mentioned for Godfrey. I watch a lot of French football and can say that £30m spent on a French young defender would buy you a far better player than Godfrey. Arsenal paid St Etienne £25m for Saliba and he is twice the player Godfrey will ever be.
Shows the importance of the academy I guess. As long as there's a premium on homegrown talent, it's very lucrative to develop it.
I fully agree. He does not have the height, build or speed to deal with the likes of Antonio but could be groomed as a replacement for Tettey. I seem to recall that he was described as a midfielder when we got him from York
He p He played CM on loan at Shrewsbury the season before last, I think it was only last season that he was moved to CB by Farke in pre season. I actually thought he and Zimmermann were a good CB pairing last season and we have missed the continuous pairing.
To be effective at DM requires pretty much the same qualities as playing at CB -- ability to read the game, precise positioning, pace, strength, accurate passing. Why do people think that a move from CB to DM would make BG any better in these respects? Or are they saying that his shortcomings would matter less because he'd have two CBs behind him?
Incidentally, anybody watching the Everton/Villa game last night would have seen 18 yr old CB Jarrad Branthwaite come on in the first half for the injured Holgate. Signed in January from Carlisle Utd. Looked really good. I wonder if he was on our radar. https://www.evertonfc.com/news/1571176/talented-young-defender-signs-for-everton
I think its a combination of factors, in DM his height and occasional positioning issues would not be so exposed, with as you say CB behind him. But i think there is a secondary rationale, he can offer driving runs and a more dynamic element to the midfield role, certainly more so than Tettey. A bonus also would be that he is bigger than both Tettey and Trybul so we would have one improvement for defending corners with two CB's too. Bah!
Michael Bailey believes deal for Placheta is essentially done, heading to Norwich for a medical. Also Carlton Morris apparently likely to go on a season-long loan to MK Dons next year. Given that next summer he'll be 25, out of contract with NCFC, and his scoring record so far in League 1 is nothing special, I'm surprised this isn't a permanent deal, even if it was a free transfer. Are we paying a (not-so) youth prospect so much money that MK Dons can't afford the whole salary?
If we are going to continue with simultaneously attacking FBs, the dynamism we need surely is disciplined touch-line to touch-line cover in front of our (preferably 3) CBs. The last thing I'd want to see is a DM with a propensity for making driving runs forward, leaving the CBs exposed behind him and no FBs to help out!
Admiration for Cantwell from Leicester and Newcastle. Also Man City sniffing around. If any one of these is really interested enough to make a £20m plus bid then I can’t see him staying. NewsNow website quoting the Daily Mail. This might be just another rumour to fill column inches.
