Summer 2022 transfer speculation and squad discussion

[CHAPELALLMAN]

Someone bid £6m for Nketiah - though admittedly it was turned down. We paid £25m for James - so that's an indication of how badly the recruitment has been going in terms of spotting value for money.

Plus very soon we are likely to have an £18m bill for JKA...

[Kennyb41]

Seems a bit negative. The only way we can realistically hope to do well, barring selling out to Saudis etc, is to try to sign players relatively cheaply before they become great. The alternative is paying top dollar for average players. If we say pay £3 to £5m for a young player and he doesn't make it then it hasn't broken us like it would if we paid £30m+ for someone who then didn't really shine. Plus wages will be a lot less too. We need a combination of spotting and buying good talent and developing them (the Haalands, Bellinghams etc) and then also having enough left to be able to buy 2 or 3 first team ready players.

Don't panic we have Orta.

[1964white]

Seems a bit negative. The only way we can realistically hope to do well, barring selling out to Saudis etc, is to try to sign players relatively cheaply before they become great. The alternative is paying top dollar for average players. If we say pay £3 to £5m for a young player and he doesn't make it then it hasn't broken us like it would if we paid £30m+ for someone who then didn't really shine. Plus wages will be a lot less too. We need a combination of spotting and buying good talent and developing them (the Haalands, Bellinghams etc) and then also having enough left to be able to buy 2 or 3 first team ready players.

Apart from Pascal none of the U23's we've brought in over the last three years have cemented a place in the first team yet, even Struijk has struggled of late. The PL is a totally different ball game to playing at Thorp Arch or York Stadium.

We require players who are going to walk straight into the first team if we wish to improve on this chaotic season.

A couple more with a similar quality as Raphinha who wasn't expensive would be good.

I'm not asking LUFC to spend a fortune, just sign players who are consistently good enough to play regularly in the Premier League, other PL clubs do!

[1964white]

Don't panic we have Orta.

Precisely!

We sign Bate from Chelsea, Palace get Gallagher on loan who is a million miles ahead of Lewis imo!

[weasel]

Apart from Pascal none of the U23's we've brought in over the last three years have cemented a place in the first team yet, even Struijk has struggled of late. The PL is a totally different ball game to playing at Thorp Arch or York Stadium.

We require players who are going to walk straight into the first team if we wish to improve on this chaotic season.

A couple more with a similar quality as Raphinha who wasn't expensive would be good.

I'm not asking LUFC to spend a fortune, just sign players who are consistently good enough to play regularly in the Premier League, other PL clubs do!

To buy a young player to walk into the first team is gonna cost £30m upwards. That is why we have to shop around for the likes of Gelhart, Bate, Summerville, Greenwood etc. None were anywhere near ready when we signed them and that is why they cost a lot less. We're simply not in a position to buy a whoel squad full of new players. As such yes we require first team starters as well but realistically we can probably only afford around 3, even then it is a bit of a gamble as has shown with Rodrigo, James, Koch and Firpo.

It is all about having both a long and short term plan. Go back to Wilko's ten year plan with the youths and that was a huge success. Unfortunately the short term planning wasn't as good and unfortunately Wilko paid the price for a lack of investment by the board. Equally though if we'd been in a position to say buy 2 or 3 players per season but didn't have the 10 year plan players coming through then we wouldn't have had the evenful O'Leary years as even Ridsdale wouldn't have been able to buy the likes of Robinson, Woodgate, Kewell, Smith, Harte etc as well as the players he did bring in.

We're obviously trying to take a short cut in terms of the younger players by buying players such as Gelhardt, Summerville, Greenwood, Hjelde etc so that they are nearer to being first team ready but you don't go from being an occasional player for Wigan, loaned out by Celtic etc to going straight into the first team. However hopefully by buying those players we will soon see more knocking at the first team door - however it is a gradual process.

If we do start getting some coming through then it means instead of say having to buy 3 or 4 first teamers every season we maybe only need 1 or 2 and as such we then have more to spend on getting the right 1 or 2 so it is less of a gamble than having to split the avaialble money into buying 3 or 4 players.

[The Subhuman]

Precisely!

We sign Bate from Chelsea, Palace get Gallagher on loan who is a million miles ahead of Lewis imo!

We went after Gallagher, he preferred Palace. Not our fault unless he read twitter and the message boards about how he would be an underwhelming signing

[William]

We went after Gallagher, he preferred Palace. Not our fault unless he read twitter and the message boards about how he would be an underwhelming signing

Agreed.

[1964white]

We went after Gallagher, he preferred Palace. Not our fault unless he read twitter and the message boards about how he would be an underwhelming signing

What I'm inferring is we went for 2nd best or even 3rd best.

A player who will struggle to find a regular place in our first-team next season unless we continue with the trend of not signing a quality midfielder as has been the case over the last four years.

We have to start thinking big if we are to consolidate a permanent place in the Premier League.

As I posted earlier the likes of West Ham, Wolves, Leicester, Southampton, Brighton haven't spent a fortune, our ambitions should be looking to the level of the Hammers, Foxes & Wolves at the very least.

You won't achieve that level with a bunch of U23's who haven't even experienced championship standard let alone the highest level in Europe.

Just watch the U23s v Citeh & see how we defended & missed several good opportunities, then you may realise we are competing at a completely different level.

It's like reading Ben Parker thoughts on here, who reckons our U23s are "world class"

[whiteinfrance]

Gallagher didn't want to come up t'north and wanted to stay in London

[1964white]

Gallagher didn't want to come up t'north and wanted to stay in London

I know mate, my comparison is the difference between Bate & Gallagher.

[The Subhuman]

And we went for Gallagher.. We'd have still got Bate either way, there's no comparison to be made

[SG90]

Been linked to two teenagers by The Athletic so likely reliable.

18 year old Aberdeen full back Calvin Ramsey
And 18 year old Bristol City midfielder Alex Scott

I'd love Calvin Ramsay, but he won't come to play u23s. I think he'll join his mate Hickey at Bologna.

[weasel]

We have to start thinking big if we are to consolidate a permanent place in the Premier League.

As I posted earlier the likes of West Ham, Wolves, Leicester, Southampton, Brighton haven't spent a fortune, our ambitions should be looking to the level of the Hammers, Foxes & Wolves at the very least.

You won't achieve that level with a bunch of U23's who haven't even experienced championship standard let alone the highest level in Europe.

Although only a couple of seasons back West Ham were fighting against relegation, Leicester were scrapping against rleegation a few times before they got their act together, Brighton have had a good season but were fighting relegation last season etc. This is only our second season up and it takes time to build a squad. It doesn't help when building a squad to have so many key players out injured. Look at how poor Leicester are without Vardy, how poor Villa were previously in matches when Grealish was out (and how poor they'd be without Coutinho. Even how poor Liverpool were without Van Dijk.

Yes we need to keep improving but we need to do it on as many fronts as we can. Buy better players, improve the players we have and have good youngsters pushing through. Where would West Ham be without homegrown Rice? Likely same as us without KP.

All very easy to say we need to find a couple of Raphinha's every year but if it was that easy everyone would be doing it.

[1964white]

Although only a couple of seasons back West Ham were fighting against relegation, Leicester were scrapping against rleegation a few times before they got their act together, Brighton have had a good season but were fighting relegation last season etc. This is only our second season up and it takes time to build a squad. It doesn't help when building a squad to have so many key players out injured. Look at how poor Leicester are without Vardy, how poor Villa were previously in matches when Grealish was out (and how poor they'd be without Coutinho. Even how poor Liverpool were without Van Dijk.

Yes we need to keep improving but we need to do it on as many fronts as we can. Buy better players, improve the players we have and have good youngsters pushing through. Where would West Ham be without homegrown Rice? Likely same as us without KP.

All very easy to say we need to find a couple of Raphinha's every year but if it was that easy everyone would be doing it.

Our board have the cash to improve our squad, problem is will Orta bring in the right players for Marsch to work with? Imo, we wasted £40 million last summer. I have my doubts & fear for next season right now

[SG90]

Our board have the cash to improve our squad, problem is will Orta bring in the right players for Marsch to work with? Imo, we wasted £40 million last summer. I have my doubts & fear for next season right now

We will make the same mistake with Bamford that we made with Forshaw. We just never learn.

[SG90]

Although only a couple of seasons back West Ham were fighting against relegation, Leicester were scrapping against rleegation a few times before they got their act together, Brighton have had a good season but were fighting relegation last season etc. This is only our second season up and it takes time to build a squad. It doesn't help when building a squad to have so many key players out injured. Look at how poor Leicester are without Vardy, how poor Villa were previously in matches when Grealish was out (and how poor they'd be without Coutinho. Even how poor Liverpool were without Van Dijk.

Yes we need to keep improving but we need to do it on as many fronts as we can. Buy better players, improve the players we have and have good youngsters pushing through. Where would West Ham be without homegrown Rice? Likely same as us without KP.

All very easy to say we need to find a couple of Raphinha's every year but if it was that easy everyone would be doing it.

Tbh any side outside the top 6 will flirt with relegation at some point. Leicester,once Vardy and Schmeichel retire, will likely plummet down the table. The likes of Villa, Wolves and Brighton's owners won't be able to plough money in forever with no return.

[weasel]

Tbh any side outside the top 6 will flirt with relegation at some point. Leicester,once Vardy and Schmeichel retire, will likely plummet down the table. The likes of Villa, Wolves and Brighton's owners won't be able to plough money in forever with no return.

Schmeichel would be a huge loss to Leicester. Take the match against us and I think we would have won if he hadn't played.

[weasel]

Our board have the cash to improve our squad, problem is will Orta bring in the right players for Marsch to work with? Imo, we wasted £40 million last summer. I have my doubts & fear for next season right now

Would have been interesting to see how James would have done if Bamford had stayed fit. Definitely think he was bought more to be someone who got the ball in central midfield and could carry it at pace and then have the options of Harrison, Raphina and Bamford to pass to. Was probably exactly the sort of player we needed in that role but hasn't had the opportunity to play there.

Firpo so far has been £15m spent but with no improvement on what we had before (Alioski). Not as positive as Faaip is on him but similarly not yet ready to write him off yet although whether he is defensively good enough now our full backs are required to be more defense orientated is the biggest question mark over him.

Seems a strange situation given how we were told Marsch was similar to Bielsa formation wise yet looking now at most of our players I just don't see them suited to the way Marsch wants to set up the team. It may be different next season though as it may be his formation is a bit different when the pressure is off and he has a couple of round pegs bought for round holes.

[1964white]

Would have been interesting to see how James would have done if Bamford had stayed fit. Definitely think he was bought more to be someone who got the ball in central midfield and could carry it at pace and then have the options of Harrison, Raphina and Bamford to pass to. Was probably exactly the sort of player we needed in that role but hasn't had the opportunity to play there.

Firpo so far has been £15m spent but with no improvement on what we had before (Alioski). Not as positive as Faaip is on him but similarly not yet ready to write him off yet although whether he is defensively good enough now our full backs are required to be more defense orientated is the biggest question mark over him.

Seems a strange situation given how we were told Marsch was similar to Bielsa formation wise yet looking now at most of our players I just don't see them suited to the way Marsch wants to set up the team. It may be different next season though as it may be his formation is a bit different when the pressure is off and he has a couple of round pegs bought for round holes.

We didn't require James as Raphinha & Harrison are far productive, also we needed to spend the dosh in other imperative positions. We'd have been better off a buying a cheaper back-up striker to cover for Bamford rather than the £25 million spent on James.

Had we rewarded Ali with a salary increase & told him he'd get plenty of games, that would have been significantly cheaper than Firpo's fees/add ons/salary. Junior may come good but, I won't hold my breath.

[Kennyb41]

Most here Weasel haven't a fcking scoobie how Bert intended to use James in the future.

And it wasn't in a lone striker or any sort of fcking striker role.
And Gawd only knows what this out of his depth Yank is gonna do with him, or any of the other fcking halfwits for that matter.

KP NEEDS TO BE RUNNING THAT LINE ON HIS OWN JOHN WAYNE FFS !! .....STOP FCKING UP KP'S ROLE AND WE MIGHT ACTUALLY START TO LOOK AN ATTACKING THREAT YA DUMB YANK !