While not confirmed, the club TWITTER this morning is certainly making it pretty clear what's coming Wouldn't be surprised if Ben Davies also gets one, given he's getting bigged up too
Great news that Udogie's getting an extension, but it emphasises the need for suitable cover. It'll be very hard to bring someone in to fill that role for a variety of reasons.
I know he's no world beater, but he offers stability as a cover both at LWB and CB as he has proved. Never gives less than 100%, is seldom injured and is a great ambassador for the club. Didn't realise he had been with us so long, but I'd be happy for him to be committed for a few more years.
It’ll probably also depend on what we make of the LB market in January. And, as much as people will roll their eyes at this, what Ange makes of Sess if he ever gets and keeps fit (big, big IF). I think Davies’s contract runs out in the summer so we don’t need to make a decision until the latter part of the season as to what we think we need and is achievable in the market.
Also worth noting that he's done his coaching badges, so perhaps we're looking beyond his playing days
Think it’ll be down to how cut-throat Ange is gonna be and how “all in” on his system both he and the club are willing to go over the coming windows. I agree with everything you’ve said of Davies but he’s nowhere near the style or quality of Udogie at LB, nor like van de Ven at CB. The likes of Davies, Hojbjerg and Skipp for instance are all decent players in my opinion, Prem quality at various levels but none of them are fits for Ange going forward if we’re being brutally honest. Even if we extend Davies’ contract by a year or two, I think over the windows we’ll be adding depth at CB and LB (amongst other positions) and once they’re in, Davies’ game time goes from being a trusted squad player to a fringe player. Hard to say if the player himself would want to stick round for that.
Yeah it’ll be down to him too of course. I think getting him for another couple of years might be smart if we can’t find a player who can immediately come in and back up Destiny. If we end up taking another young player who might need more moulding and adaption then having Davies around is useful. But he’s definitely one I expect to phase out a bit in the coming seasons. Another name that has resurfaced is Conor Gallagher, who came up in the summer and apparently might not sign a new deal at Chelsea. He’ll have 18months left in January I believe. While he’s obviously a HG option and I think fits the Sarr role very well because of his energy (making him a good January signing as Sarr will be off to AFCON), I also don’t really know how good he actually is at football, and have mixed feelings about signing a childhood Chelsea fan. I also think he’s a bit foul happy and we already have Bissouma, Romero and Destiny who are prone to that.
Yeah that’s my fear haha, and I think he’s a bit of a labrador. I’d worry about discipline, both when tackling and positional. He’s the right type though. Same with Alex Scott, who went to Bournemouth. Good physicality, covers a lot of ground, technically sound. That’s what we want for a Sarr backup. Bentancur can do it but he’s obviously injured again and he might also be our best 6 so we need another and them being HG would be a big bonus, in terms of long-term squad building.
It's the Bissouma role I really want to see us getting cover for in January, as Skipp and Hojbjerg don't have the skillset for it Last time I checked, the names we've been linked with are Andre Trindade (Fluminese) Federico Redondo (Argentinos Juniors) Adam Wharton (Blackburn)
Yeah true. We need a 6/8 hybrid really. Gallagher would be 8/10. I’ve watched clips of Wharton but know even less about the others than I know of him, though Redondo was featured on a podcast I listened to earlier in the year about the youth international tournaments. Comes from good stock!
Of the three Andre's obviously the most polished as he's got four seasons worth of football in his legs, although he's also got a lot of suitors ranging from Liverpool and Man Utd scouting him, while Fulham are reportedly trying to sign him before letting Joao Palhinha leave in January Of the other two it's an interesting decision given how similar they are to one another: Redondo potentially has the higher upside plus the Hispanic contingent seem to be very good at helping players settle as demonstrated by Cuti, Bentancur, Lo Celso and Porro already looking after Veliz, though he would need time to acclimatise plus has an entire Argentine season in his legs so wouldn't be able to have a run of games on arrival - on the other hand Wharton could go straight into matchday squads on arrival and has the potential to cover for both Bissouma and Sarr, but he's definitely a raw talent at this stage so signing him would feel more like a landgrab for a season or two down the line
If Paratici is still doing the consulting and helping Ange and Lange then I’m pretty confident we could find a decent fit. Pre-Don Fabio we were up (or down) there with the worst for transfer successes over about a 5 year period but since Fabio we’ve barely had any misses. Ironically two of our failures in the Paratici era weren’t even his signings - Richarlison is a Conte/ Levy one and Spence is a Levy one. I’ve got little issue with Davies staying, I’ve long backed him up over the years but equally if Ange is to succeed we can’t make compromises on players that don’t really fit his ethos and style. We’ve seen results and performances dwindle in recent months when relying on the squad players who simply can’t play Ange-ball and so going forward we need to make sure that if we get injuries, suspensions or need to rotate, those that come in will be able to play as required. As for Gallagher, meh. I think it’s a non-starter. Chelsea and us don’t do business and I can’t see Gallagher wanting to make the switch either, partly because he’s “proper Chelsea” and partly because he’d have a lesser role here than he would at Chelsea, he’d be cleaning Maddison, Bentancur, Bissouma and Sarr’s boots most weeks.
Tottenham Tiers just posted players with 6 and 18 months left on their contracts. By summer 2025, if not earlier, we really will be able to trim a lot of fat. Son’s the only player in these lists we’d be desperate to renew. So 12 players possibly out the door and freeing up wages and spots. 6 months: Perisic Lloris Dier Austin 18 months: Ndombele Son Hojbjerg Lo Celso Sessegnon Davies Reguillon Tanganga Rodon
It’s the whole 19/20 nightmare as it goes. Ndombele, Lo Celso and Sessegnon all to be goners in 18 months or less. Don’t think we’ve ever made three monumentally disastrous signings in the same window like those three. Circa £120m pissed down the drain and they set us back years too.
