Ayite and Kebano, what now ?

[Riversider]

Ayite and Kebano have both played a part in getting us to where we are today, but have they gone as far as they can go ?
It's worth mentioning to those that don't know, that you can only name a 25 man squad for The Premier League (this can be enhanced by youngsters  I.e Sessegnon)
Every player in that 25 man squad has to be good enough to play Premier League football, are Ayite and Kebano ?
You need two players for each position as a rule of thumb, we don't currently have that in any position !
I keep seeing people on here saying that we should sign Piazzon as part of a deal for Kalas, in my mind he falls in to the same bracket as Ayite and Kebano, and indeed Fonte, those 25 places are precious and you have to be in that squad on merit and not sentiment,
There are going to be a lot of players arriving over the next two weeks, but equally there are still a lot of players to depart as well.

[MJG]

You just cannot have 25 players all at the same level, there will always be squad fillers.
I have doubts on both of them, but think they are worth there places in a 25 man squad for sure.

[Lighthouse]

What do they offer? What do they bring to the squad that we don't have? These are the only two questions I ask about players. Both Kabano and Ayite add pace and we need that especially the way we play. Even as an impact sub. Piazzon pops up with goals but he and Fonte are the same type of player. Best as a number 10 type player. Kalas I don't think is good enough but we certainly need a central defender as priority.

[bencher]

Unlike perhaps Fonte, Ayite (and to a certain extent Kebano) has shown (albeit not always consistently) that he is good enough to play at a higher level. I think he deserves the chance to show he can cut it at the next level, no less than say Kevin McDonald or Tim Ream. In my opinion, the only thing holding Ayite back is his injury record.

[Riversider]

You just cannot have 25 players all at the same level, there will always be squad fillers.
I have doubts on both of them, but think they are worth there places in a 25 man squad for sure.

You "have no doubts on both of them" which is fair enough as that's your opinion,  but the man that matters, Slavisa Jokanovic,  clearly has doubts on Kebano, as he was reluctant to use him in The Championship,  can't see that changing in The Premier League.

[hovewhite]

It will be interesting to see who is in that 25 man squad
Think Floyd will be there myself.

[MJG]

You just cannot have 25 players all at the same level, there will always be squad fillers.
I have doubts on both of them, but think they are worth there places in a 25 man squad for sure.

You "have no doubts on both of them" which is fair enough as that's your opinion,  but the man that matters, Slavisa Jokanovic,  clearly has doubts on Kebano, as he was reluctant to use him in The Championship,  can't see that changing in The Premier League.

as usual misquoted me.

[S.F.Sorrow]

There's no way we will have a squad of 25 top quality PL players before Aug 9th. I would personally keep Ayite and Kebano and focus on strengthening other positions but I have a feeling Kebano will go. Not one of Joka's favourites.

I agree on Piazon, decent player but he never seemed to unlock his full potential with us. Always looked like he was playing out of position. He's certainly no winger, always cuts inwards which messes with our shape. We should aim to strengthen the starting 11 rather than going for quantity. If/when we have a strong starting 11 sorted out I would consider Piazon for cover, nothing more.

We currently only have 11 players that may (or may not) be good enough for the PL:

Bettinelli
Odoi
Ream
Christie
Sessegnon
McDonald
Kebano
Johansen
Cairney
Ayite
Kamara

The rest weren't good enough for the Championship so it's very unlikely that they suddenly will be ready for the PL. And even within those 11 there's a few question marks.

IMO the minimum we need is:

GK to challenge Betts
2 strikers (one definite starter, like Mitro + decent backup/impact sub)
At least one quality CB
LB
Cover for KMac
Cover for Cairney/Johansen

That's assuming we keep all of the 11 above. Anyone leaving and we need more.

Add a couple of youngsters for cover and we could be ok. Still a thin squad but I don't think we can realistically expect more within our budget. This season will be all about surviving.

The next couple of weeks will be crucial. I fear we are already a bit late. It's not relevant that other clubs haven't made lots of signings yet either IMO. They don't need the massive rebuild we are facing. If we don't get a couple of key players signed before the pre-season games I fear we won't be prepared for the start of season.

[Woolly Mammoth]

I would keep both Kebano and Ayite, they both have something to offer, and are at least squad players, even if they do not start, and at the moment, currently we need them to field a full team.

[toshes mate]

You just cannot have 25 players all at the same level, there will always be squad fillers.
I have doubts on both of them, but think they are worth there places in a 25 man squad for sure.

I agree that the same level is just not possible even in a first team eleven for there'll be stars, budding stars and those who support them with, for example, consistencies in the things coaches demand.  Odoi showed us what it takes to hold down a position even when you are 'out of position'.   For what it is worth I do believe the budding stars are priceless because they'll shine so brightly at times on their way to becoming full time stars.  Football is a team game and it isn't always the likely lads that get to win games, it is often the team that plays best as a team.  SJ and his staff will produce the best from whatever he is given and I hope they get the goods this time in this window and do not spend wasted weeks trying to produce the best they can from scraps.

[rogerpbackinMidEastUS]

No doubt some of  the 'youngsters' will be included in the squad.

[MrFFC]

Quite like both of these players. Can't see either being regular starters in Premier League but both very decent wide players with good players will be useful to have in squad & needed from bench when chasing a game

[Classic94]

Useful squad players but neither are good enough to start consistently in the Premier League.

[filham]

I thought Kebano was unlucky not to get more game time last season and that unless a big comes in for him soon he deserves a place in our squad.