Transfer requirements for this season.

[FulhamStu]

Last summers transfer dealings were quite odd.  At one point we seemed to recruit a winger every week.  Mollo, Graham, Ojo were all greeted with some enthusiasm but were actually not what we needed and I think many knew this.

What we needed was a centre forward and a centre back.

5 months later we got our centre forward, but had to convert a full back to centre half.

I see some people have been starting to worry about lack of signings and I get that.  What is most important however is not that we get a lot of new signings done as quickly as possible but those players we do sign, are those players the team really needs.

So, if we take our current squad, we MOST need a centre forward a centre half and a left back.
It's almost deja-vu..   

[General]

We've got a very small squad as things stand and need reinforcements all over the team.

A large chunk of our match day squad were loans

Piazon, mitrovic, kalas, target, Norwood, Ojo and we've also lost fredericks too. I get the premiership may make it harder to sign better players as it's more competitive and it's as world cup year but it'd be nice to see us wrap up some business soon as the window does shut early this year and it'd be nice to bed players in or at least have some resemblance of a squad to start pre season with.

[toshes mate]

It's almost deja-vu..   

Spot on - hence the worry - but hey ho it's all under control! 
The point you make about not being too quick out of the blocks is wise because false starts are not looked upon so kindly these days.  I am just hoping our recruitment team isn't stuck in the blocks with their own special brand of super glue that should have been disposed of a long time ago.

[FulhamStu]

For me, I could settle for the following which would require 4 new additions to the starting XI

Bettinelli
Christie - [KALAS/new CB] - Ream - [TARGETT/new LB]
McDonald, Johansen, Cairney
[AYEW?/new RW] - [MITRO/new CF] - Sessegnon

However IMO it's arguable whether Betts, Christie, McDonald, Johansen and even Sessegnon (at the moment) are true PL quality and some of them could be replaced as well. So all in all I hope 5/6 of those starting against Palace will have been signed this summer... Not to mention we need to pad out the rest of the squad

Agree with your team and then the need to add more squad players.
A Premier quality starting player will cost big money unless we get lucky so we need to spend where
the need is greatest.  If we can then still improve positions, great but it's all about priorities and we
must not go the way we did last summer which saw us sign too many players that were not required.

Of course we want as many in as quickly as possible but the above is more important than signing players quickly it they don't fit the need.

[filham]

It is going to be hard to get the right players, remember some of the players we signed last summer were not even good enough for the Championship, this year we are looking for premiership quality. I wonder how big the transfer budget is.

[Lyle from Hangeland]

Last summers transfer dealings were quite odd.  At one point we seemed to recruit a winger every week.  Mollo, Graham, Ojo were all greeted with some enthusiasm but were actually not what we needed and I think many knew this.

What we needed was a centre forward and a centre back.

5 months later we got our centre forward, but had to convert a full back to centre half.

I see some people have been starting to worry about lack of signings and I get that.  What is most important however is not that we get a lot of new signings done as quickly as possible but those players we do sign, are those players the team really needs.

So, if we take our current squad, we MOST need a centre forward a centre half and a left back.
It's almost deja-vu..

I would add a right-winger. Nigel Farage quality preferably.

[MrFFC]

I think Aboubakar Kamara will surprise a few this year think his pace will cause PremierLeague defences some serious problems as the season goes on

[MrFFC]

For me against Palace our team should be

                             Betts

Christie     New Player    Ream      New Player

         Cairney    McDonald  New Player

   Kamara            New Player       Sessegnon

[Andy S]

This is in an ideal world and I'm sure the club agree as well but getting those players and in budget is different. IE should we sign 4 players all on a three year contract and then get relegated we end up with a fair amount of egg on our faces. Yet we have to pay them well and pay their club enough to get them released. Lets also say that all the bottom clubs are all after similar players. It could be that we need to use a fair few academy players and build slowly

[Classic94]

For me against Palace our team should be

                             Betts

Christie     New Player    Ream      New Player

         Cairney    McDonald  New Player

   Kamara            New Player       Sessegnon

I mostly agree with this but, even so, it's debatable whether Christie and Kamara should command regular starts in the Premier League. Though incredibly harsh, even Betts and McDonald may need upgrading or, at the very least, stiff competition for their place. The consensus seems to be a handful of starters and a number of squad fillers. Work to be done.

[Woolly Mammoth]

For me against Palace our team should be

                             Betts

Christie     New Player    Ream      New Player

         Cairney    McDonald  New Player

   Kamara            New Player       Sessegnon

I mostly agree with this but, even so, it's debatable whether Christie and Kamara should command regular starts in the Premier League. Though incredibly harsh, even Betts and McDonald may need upgrading or, at the very least, stiff competition for their place. The consensus seems to be a handful of starters and a number of squad fillers. Work to be done.

I am confident that Christie, providing he gets the opportunity to have a run of preseason matches under his belt, could be a more than adequate replacement for Fredericks. Also there is the ever improving Steven Sessegnon to consider, I can see him getting more game time if he can stay clear of injury.
With Betts, of course there is room for improvement, yes he may not be the finished article yet, but let's remember his age and the best is yet to come, and I reckon he deserves to start as the Number One.
As for McDonald, I will not lose any sleep, as I feel he has the potential to hold his own anyway. But his leadership qualities added to his commitment in every game, his heart on his sleeve and his application will carry him through.
Providing he stays fit and sharp, after all he is at his peak, and will be an important cog in the wheel in our first season back with the elite.
But one things for sure all those players mentioned plus other regulars from last season will need the full support and the extra quality of any new recruits to be able to get the best out of themselves, and each other.
We cannot afford any shortcomings at the start of the campaign, Organization, preparation, conditioning, and ensuring they are physically fit, especially with our system of play, are just four key reasons why we have to be ready with new personnel fitting in like pieces of jigsaw.

[toshes mate]

This is in an ideal world and I'm sure the club agree as well but getting those players and in budget is different. IE should we sign 4 players all on a three year contract and then get relegated we end up with a fair amount of egg on our faces. Yet we have to pay them well and pay their club enough to get them released. Lets also say that all the bottom clubs are all after similar players. It could be that we need to use a fair few academy players and build slowly

On the whole I agree that negotiating the transfer market is not easy but it is the same market for all and there are strategies out there to be ahead of direct rival clubs.  Recruiting marquee 'proof of ambition' players is one such technique for gaining the attention of agents and other players and Mitrovic may be in that category.  Another technique is finding the potential lower league players have for playing in PL and swapping our own 'outgrown' for the 'new' which has the advantage of reducing the size of additional costs.  Release clauses can help to reduce the risks for players uncertain of our safety or security potential in the PL.  I am not sure the present recruitment team is doing all it can do but I am certain it needs to be a good twenty five percent more productivity efficient than it ever has been before.

[MrFFC]

For me against Palace our team should be

                             Betts

Christie     New Player    Ream      New Player

         Cairney    McDonald  New Player

   Kamara            New Player       Sessegnon

I mostly agree with this but, even so, it's debatable whether Christie and Kamara should command regular starts in the Premier League. Though incredibly harsh, even Betts and McDonald may need upgrading or, at the very least, stiff competition for their place. The consensus seems to be a handful of starters and a number of squad fillers. Work to be done.

We can't just change the whole team will take ages for us to settle down & for the new ones to settle in & we will struggle for sure. Brighton , Huddersfield, Newcastle didn't change the whole side & stayed up easily. Bettinelli & McDonald deserve chance in Premier League for me. Kamara is a bit raw but he made a huge difference to us at the end of the season I like him. Christie I agree with though as we haven't seen a lot of him but we brought him in knowing Fredericks May go so I'm sure they will give him a chance. We certainly need additions but we don't need to go crazy for starting team signings just a really good 3/4 & some decent options off the bench & I think we will be in a good place

[toshes mate]

As for McDonald, I will not lose any sleep, as I feel he has the potential to hold his own anyway. But his leadership qualities added to his commitment in every game, his heart on his sleeve and his application will carry him through.  Providing he stays fit and sharp, after all he is at his peak, and will be an important cog in the wheel in our first season back with the elite.

I agree about McDonald (and it also applies to others for whom this season is a window of opportunity) since he'll be seriously wanting to demonstrate how 'at home' this team is in the PL and his leadership ability is priceless.  He knows how to get his team mates in the right mood for battle and his passion is infectious.  I see similar battleground traits in Johansen although slightly understated in the Norwegian's case and he may be a shining light in the elite division.  The crucial things is not to be undercooked when the season starts because SJ deserves better than that after all his hard work.

[FulhamStu]

Re my post on the silly season thread about paying up to say £30M for Mitro, we have to remember the worth of a player as an asset.

Mitro, Sess, Targett, all players under 24 will most likely only grow in value and whilst a bit of a risk, on a long contract are players that will deliver on the pitch at the same time as adding value to the clubs worth.
Player value probably grows until around 28 years old and a while ago I talked about buying younger players that will only get better and grow in value.  Kamara May well be another example of this where as Fonte is not such a good investment.

Yes, you need a balance of experience and youth, however in terms of buying expensive players, that money is not being thrown away if you acquire the right ones.

[filham]

To get to the player level we finished last season we have yet to replace Fredericks, Tarrget, Kalas and Mitrovic.

[toshes mate]

Re my post on the silly season thread about paying up to say £30M for Mitro, we have to remember the worth of a player as an asset.

Mitro, Sess, Targett, all players under 24 will most likely only grow in value and whilst a bit of a risk, on a long contract are players that will deliver on the pitch at the same time as adding value to the clubs worth.
Player value probably grows until around 28 years old and a while ago I talked about buying younger players that will only get better and grow in value.  Kamara May well be another example of this where as Fonte is not such a good investment.

Yes, you need a balance of experience and youth, however in terms of buying expensive players, that money is not being thrown away if you acquire the right ones.

Mitro seems to have changed from the image he once attracted and at least some of that has to be attributed to our coaching staff not least SJ.  His assertive play has been changing since his loan spell and the key has been in finding him in the positions he now knows will get him more goals.  He was a good quality striker but he will get better.  However I take the price tags we hear of with a pinch of salt especially since we have been told of offers for Grealish of around £20-20m when, in fact, according to Villa there have been none.   I am now even more sceptical about the transfer market and reasons why we have had so many troubled windows than I was before.  None of us should believe what the gutter press print.