Summer Silly Season Transfer Thread 2024

[Craven Mad]

From memory, one of our main stumbling blocks with Fluminese was the payment structure for Andre, with them wanting most of the fee upfront and us wanting to stagger payments.

They may have accepted a lower offer from Wolves if the fee was upfront-heavy, and we may not have the financial head-room to offer a deal like that.

Either way, I'm not going to get too hung up on this one. The squad is looking decent and we seem to be doing well financially too - safe on and off the pitch for another year and not much to complain about right now IMO.

[Drewry66]

I am really hoping it doesn't come back to haunt us. It could go either way.

We were definitely interested. As Jay points out Rutzler and other reputable journalists said so and they confirmed Ali Mac was there.

I watched 3 full games that he played and some other bits. His ability under a press was impressive as was his passing with a very high pass completion rate. Much of it was slow and safe however.

The more I watched of him the more worried I was defensively. Seemed to wander without much awareness of runners and this was at a dramatically lower level in Brazil. Challenges seemed to be a yard or two off as well. Perhaps in the city game he was knackered and perhaps in the recent games I watched he knew he was off so was avoiding injury but for me as decent as he looked on the ball he looked very suspect defensively and end of the day as a 6 kind of important! On top of that he is tiny of course and we lost a tonne of height.

Also from limited viewing and based on stats Berge is very good at carries but will offer more from an attacking point of view as he can be far more direct setting team mates up and scoring himself (he played as a 10 in the championship). He is not a massive tackler but has already shown at this level that he is solid defensively where Andre was a huge risk in this area. He has the height as well of course.

Personally I would have loved both but clearly either the budget didn't stretch that far or like other clubs we watched more of André had had concerns.

All of the football 'experts' in Brazil seem to think André is/was one of the biggest prospects in Brazil and better than the likes of Joao Gomez who had already done very well of course. If he storms it and goes for £80+ million it will of course be incredibly frustrating but a big if. I suppose not impossible that Berge performs brilliantly in a better team under a better manager and is also worth a lot more in a couple of years as the guy has a huge amount of talent but at 3 years older less likely of course. I think we have gone for the much safer option in a player of the season at a premier league club last year and I think that makes sense as you don't really want to gamble on trying to fill the massive void left by JP.

I like I suspect most FFC fans, will be watching him very closely to see how he does. Really hope I am right about his defensive frailties from the small sample size I have watched as naturally going to be gutted should he turn out to be amazing.

[jayffc]

I'm really happy with our window so far
A good winger would top off a great window. Yes Andre would have been a nice addition but when I look at our squad I'm very pleased

Tend to agreee. If last month we had been told of the players we would have in. I think most of us would have thought that it makes a strong squad. There will always be positions we could improve upon. But no doubt this has been a good window for us.

I think the forward options really does need dealing with. The backup aren't good enough and in Willian and BDR we apparently lost 18 goals/assists from last season. Its a bit much to put that responsibility on ESR, as we had Iwobi playing a decent amount.

I think, for all the good that has been done, if the 18 g/a being lost is true, then the successes will be tinged with a bit of failure. It is always a clearly important position to secure and have quality in and the transfer team have been very slow to improve that area of the pitch.

In fact, for two seasons in a row now, we've lost our main attacking threats and not replaced them. You can't keep doing that at this level and hoping to get by.

We mentioned how under Parker we had a defence that was mid table but a failure to score saw us relegated.

It's great having ESR in, but as things stand the club have let slip on our attacking options quite severely in my opinion.

Everyone acknowledges there are question marks over Jimenez, Muniz, Wilson and even Traore.. that leaves us with two attackers in esr and iwobi that have guaranteed quality, but even with iwobi, last season he really didn't score or assist that much.

We currently seem to be relying quite heavily on the ability to pass through the lines from Andersen, Berge and Esr being creative.

If any of them got injured or suspended then very few on here would feel genuinely confident about our attacking threat in the ways we have done when Mitro, Willian and BDr were here.

Something - something of genuinely quality needs to come in, not another youth prospect.

I hear your point but I think you're perhaps looking too literally at the g/a...

ESR doesnt have to score 18 goals and assists on his own, he has to generally improve our attack as a whole which I think he does, and can lift the level and linking of play with those around him. Add to that a defender who can play the defence-splitting passes (this shouldn't be understated, especially with players that like to make those runs like Adama) and a DM who can also progress the ball well, Periera a more creative CM alongside him too...and generally you are in theory creating a more attack-minded unit as a whole.

We lost BDR - but gained Stansfield who's already off the mark. BDR was our backup attacker.

Add to that a fit Adama who's already got an assist and has been threatening. Iwobi was already starting over Willian towards the end of the season as his form was tailing off...Has scored a winner too already.

Add to that another quality winger who can cause problems inbound and things look even better. This young Lyon winger has been a starter for them at 20. Many earlier in the window wanted to lower the age of the squad with exciting players with high ceilings, he appears to be one. Marcos worked wonders with many before,I personally would back Marco to get the most from an attacking player with the tools that kid seems to have.

The key point is generally whether we've put together a squad with more creativity as a whole not just on ESR and I think that we probably have.

Now it's a gamble of sorts to bet on Muniz, Raul and Stansfield to fight for that one place up top. But Marco seems to be very confident in what he has. Stanno deserves his shot if the others don't fire on all cylinders, if that doesn't work, we can reassess in January.

[Bal_13]

Not signing Andre and letting him go to Wolves is going to be a massive mistake

This one hurts after the melodrama of the last two months (not to mention the wider 18 month pursuit)

[karldutton97]

https://twitter.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1828889912365474177

Ah go on then

Might be the last one of the window after all!

Looks rapid, strong, direct and pretty raw. There certainly some talent and impressive altheticism there that looks like it could do with some refining but with plenty upside at only 20years old

He is good at dribbling, passing and crossing. Maybe the only thing I am not too convinced about is that he isn't a goalscorer sort of winger and also didn't see many assist in the video.

[Rambler]

I am really hoping it doesn't come back to haunt us. It could go either way.

We were definitely interested. As Jay points out Rutzler and other reputable journalists said so and they confirmed Ali Mac was there.

I watched 3 full games that he played and some other bits. His ability under a press was impressive as was his passing with a very high pass completion rate. Much of it was slow and safe however.

The more I watched of him the more worried I was defensively. Seemed to wander without much awareness of runners and this was at a dramatically lower level in Brazil. Challenges seemed to be a yard or two off as well. Perhaps in the city game he was knackered and perhaps in the recent games I watched he knew he was off so was avoiding injury but for me as decent as he looked on the ball he looked very suspect defensively and end of the day as a 6 kind of important! On top of that he is tiny of course and we lost a tonne of height.

Also from limited viewing and based on stats Berge is very good at carries but will offer more from an attacking point of view as he can be far more direct setting team mates up and scoring himself (he played as a 10 in the championship). He is not a massive tackler but has already shown at this level that he is solid defensively where Andre was a huge risk in this area. He has the height as well of course.

Personally I would have loved both but clearly either the budget didn't stretch that far or like other clubs we watched more of André had had concerns.

All of the football 'experts' in Brazil seem to think André is/was one of the biggest prospects in Brazil and better than the likes of Joao Gomez who had already done very well of course. If he storms it and goes for £80+ million it will of course be incredibly frustrating but a big if. I suppose not impossible that Berge performs brilliantly in a better team under a better manager and is also worth a lot more in a couple of years as the guy has a huge amount of talent but at 3 years older less likely of course. I think we have gone for the much safer option in a player of the season at a premier league club last year and I think that makes sense as you don't really want to gamble on trying to fill the massive void left by JP.

I like I suspect most FFC fans, will be watching him very closely to see how he does. Really hope I am right about his defensive frailties from the small sample size I have watched as naturally going to be gutted should he turn out to be amazing.

Interesting. Thank you for this

[jayffc]

I am really hoping it doesn't come back to haunt us. It could go either way.

We were definitely interested. As Jay points out Rutzler and other reputable journalists said so and they confirmed Ali Mac was there.

I watched 3 full games that he played and some other bits. His ability under a press was impressive as was his passing with a very high pass completion rate. Much of it was slow and safe however.

The more I watched of him the more worried I was defensively. Seemed to wander without much awareness of runners and this was at a dramatically lower level in Brazil. Challenges seemed to be a yard or two off as well. Perhaps in the city game he was knackered and perhaps in the recent games I watched he knew he was off so was avoiding injury but for me as decent as he looked on the ball he looked very suspect defensively and end of the day as a 6 kind of important! On top of that he is tiny of course and we lost a tonne of height.

Also from limited viewing and based on stats Berge is very good at carries but will offer more from an attacking point of view as he can be far more direct setting team mates up and scoring himself (he played as a 10 in the championship). He is not a massive tackler but has already shown at this level that he is solid defensively where Andre was a huge risk in this area. He has the height as well of course.

Personally I would have loved both but clearly either the budget didn't stretch that far or like other clubs we watched more of André had had concerns.

All of the football 'experts' in Brazil seem to think André is/was one of the biggest prospects in Brazil and better than the likes of Joao Gomez who had already done very well of course. If he storms it and goes for £80+ million it will of course be incredibly frustrating but a big if. I suppose not impossible that Berge performs brilliantly in a better team under a better manager and is also worth a lot more in a couple of years as the guy has a huge amount of talent but at 3 years older less likely of course. I think we have gone for the much safer option in a player of the season at a premier league club last year and I think that makes sense as you don't really want to gamble on trying to fill the massive void left by JP.

I like I suspect most FFC fans, will be watching him very closely to see how he does. Really hope I am right about his defensive frailties from the small sample size I have watched as naturally going to be gutted should he turn out to be amazing.

Interestingly your experience watching him was similar to mine the more I viewed and it's why I eased off my own thoughts on him, having watched a number of full games. Talented in many ways, but the more I watched I had increasing question marks arising too around the quality of the league and how it matched up and also noticed the positional stuff you mentioned and wondered how that go in the prem.

Agree I'd have loved both too, but budget wise we seem to have done really well and hopefully have some more in the tank to keep adding reliably in future windows. Lukic did well in the absence of Palhinha last year and has carried that on into this season which is great to see, long may it continue. Interested to see how Andreas-Berge can work out if that's what we opt for going forwards.

[jayffc]

https://twitter.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1828889912365474177

Ah go on then

Might be the last one of the window after all!

Looks rapid, strong, direct and pretty raw. There certainly some talent and impressive altheticism there that looks like it could do with some refining but with plenty upside at only 20years old

He is good at dribbling, passing and crossing. Maybe the only thing I am not too convinced about is that he isn't a goalscorer sort of winger and also didn't see many assist in the video.

Yeh early days though, only 20 and his first full year in a better league.
Scored 20 and assisted 5 in Denmark in 49 games as an 18-year-old.

[Arthur]

He is good at dribbling, passing and crossing.

Is that all?

[McBrideOfFrankenstein]

I might be the only one but I think our squad looks pretty solid as it is, and it might not be advisable to splash 20-30mil on another player just for the sake of making a move. It could be that saving bullets for January is the right course.

However, keeping Silva for as long as possible is my #1 priority, so if he was promised another winger he should get one. 

[karldutton97]

He is good at dribbling, passing and crossing.

Is that all?

Has only played 2 matches in Ligue 1 and hasn't scored or assisted, I don't think he is worth 18 million to be frankly honest.

[btffc]

He is good at dribbling, passing and crossing.

Is that all?

Has only played 2 matches in Ligue 1 and hasn't scored or assisted, I don't think he is worth 18 million to be frankly honest.

He played 29 games in Ligue 1 last year with Lyon and had 3 goals and 2 assists. Not amazing obviously but he was 19.

[jayffc]

I might be the only one but I think our squad looks pretty solid as it is, and it might not be advisable to splash 20-30mil on another player just for the sake of making a move. It could be that saving bullets for January is the right course.

However, keeping Silva for as long as possible is my #1 priority, so if he was promised another winger he should get one. 

Id certainly prefer to see how the likes of Stansfield and King whove earnt the right to minutes do before splurging another 25m on a player that blocks their oppurtunities in those positions. Thats how you end up with situations like matt o'rielly.

Weve already commented on how its tough to know who to drop on our bench as it is. One has to manage squad harmony too and I think one more versatile attacking player is a great shout and then we trust these players and marco to go out there and compete.

If indeed we need more firepower specifically up top, then as you say we have dry powder in January to still make moves without the need for sales.

[karldutton97]

He is good at dribbling, passing and crossing.

Is that all?

Has only played 2 matches in Ligue 1 and hasn't scored or assisted, I don't think he is worth 18 million to be frankly honest.

He played 29 games in Ligue 1 last year with Lyon and had 3 goals and 2 assists. Not amazing obviously but he was 19.

Why does it come up on Transfermarkt 2 games? I mean only by watching one video I'm not going to criticise much, but from what I have seen I am not overly impressed that's all. The guy can dribble and has skills, but doesn't look like he can score much, a BDR/Willian substitute is needed.

[LRCN]

Mates who have watched him and know ball reckon he is top. Number of mins at his age is good signal seems great at progressive the ball with work to do on final action

[btffc]

He is good at dribbling, passing and crossing.

Is that all?

Has only played 2 matches in Ligue 1 and hasn't scored or assisted, I don't think he is worth 18 million to be frankly honest.

He played 29 games in Ligue 1 last year with Lyon and had 3 goals and 2 assists. Not amazing obviously but he was 19.

Why does it come up on Transfermarkt 2 games? I mean only by watching one video I'm not going to criticise much, but from what I have seen I am not overly impressed that's all. The guy can dribble and has skills, but doesn't look like he can score much, a BDR/Willian substitute is needed.

Because it is showing the current season's stats. You have to click full stats then select 23/24 to get last season.

[St Eve]

Very annoying I think we need 3 players in by Friday
LW
CM
CF
And as a luxury a goalkeeper .
We are these positions away from a good season

Why a goal keeper - how many do we need ?

At least 8

[hopper]

So confirmation had we opted to wait till the end of the window hed have been cheaper than what we allegedly offered earlier (25m) and 10-13m euros cheaper than what fluminese allegedly led with in their counter offer (35m)

We opted in this case to go after a different target silva wanted and that weve equally been linked to before as we have andre.

Fairly reliable Brazilian sources reported in July that our rejected package was EUR 25m inclusive of add-ons and that got us close to an agreement. If the price has dropped, it's by a marginal amount, and no more than the small premium you'd expect to pay to secure a signing before other clubs start sniffing around in the late stages of the window. If we were still in this negotiation, Wolves now coming in and competing with our terms to the player would be a major spanner in the works. Not only that, but it's also way less than the premium we've paid for Berge being an established PL player. Keep banging that drum though - I thought we agreed to let it go, but guess someone has to try to retrospectively justify TK's last-minute approach to transfer negotiations circa 2018 to 2022. 

As it happens, and as I've said before, I'm inclined to agree with your alternative explanation that "We opted in this case to go after a different target silva wanted" and simply made a footballing judgment that Berge offered more quality or a better fit.

IF (big IF) Andre was our first choice, then of course I'd agree with others that letting the deal fall through for the sake of a few million, only to then spend the same on Berge whilst a rival secures Andre, would be terrible business.

I think jay is saying that the price has dropped from Fluminense's counter offer which was supposedly €10m or so more than what we offered.

Now the accepted offer is basically the same as what he had offered, hence the 'price drop'

[Willham]

All this talk on Andre has me thinking,
Often we complain that we don't get transfers over the line quick enough
But here we're complaining we were too quick to turn off from a transfer?

Can we for a second stop and think and acknowledge that no one way is the best way, sometimes you wait and the deal never gets done, sometimes you move on then a deal happens cheaper then your rejected one.

Swings and roundabouts

[RAY Rock]

We can still nab him O'Neil or silva I know who I would choose