Summer transfer rumours, speculation and out-and-out b*ll*cks.

[john e]

he'd cost to much in ripped shirts

[dutchvilla]

If Cuellar goes, we need cover at centre back

Other than that, cover out wide is the priority. The Verhoek rumour seems to have gone away, but if our new Dutch scout can identify a decent winger at around €3M, that should be within our budget.

I'd also be happy to lose Beye and Heskey. If our main formation is 4-2-3-1 then Bent, Gabby, plus Fonz and Weimann would be enough in terms of strikers.

[PeterWithe]

Haven't Birmingham got 'a once in a generation' winger coming through their ranks?
No idea what his name is. Alex should use his inside knowledge to raid their youth set up.

Jordan Much?

[KevinGage]

Heskey did OK today, but yes, if the chance to jettison him is there I'd take it. Not getting any younger and ridiculous salary for the amount he generally contributes season to season.

Someone like Zamora (who Big Eck did try to sign whilst at B-lose IIRC)  would be a younger, fitter, more mobile and prolific version of Ivanhoe. If he was in the last year or so of his contract and was available for say, circa £7 million, maybe.  If Fulham were looking for mental money (and he is an England international) look elsewhere.

[spangley1812]

Haven't Birmingham got 'a once in a generation' winger coming through their ranks?
No idea what his name is. Alex should use his inside knowledge to raid their youth set up.

Jordan Much?

Nathan Redmond

[olaftab]

From BBC Sportsday

1425: FOOTBALL - Sky Sports News reports that Porto have rejected a staggering €80m (£70.6m) bid for Brazilian striking ace Hulk from an undisclosed club, according to his agent.

I reckon its us !!

Shame they are after Hulk because if they wanted Bulk  they could have had Dunne for £10m!

[olaftab]

Apologies for posting this here but its about NRC's move to Bolton.  I love they way he says that there was interest from team playing inthe Champions league!  lol!  I smell some bull.....

He mis-heard his agent who said "Some teams in the Championship are interested Nigel".

[eastie]

Boss Alex McLeish admitted it is unlikely he will add any new faces before the start of the season after seeing his Aston Villa side edge out Blackburn Rovers 1-0 to reach the final of the Barclays Asia Trophy.

Aston Villa 1-0 Blackburn: Daily Mirror match report   

Darren Bent scored the winner three minutes into the second half at Hong Kong Stadium with a trademark finish as he escaped the Rovers defence to convert Barry Bannan's cross.

With a deal for Charles N'Zogbia almost done, McLeish conceded the Frenchman's arrival will probably be the last before the end of the summer window.


"You can never say never but at the moment if we get N'Zogbia, which is looking good, then it's unlikely we will do anything unless there's more trading with the players we already have in the squad," he said.

"At the moment we don't plan to do any more business, I believe we've got some great young players and we've got one or two sleepers in there that could emerge.

"I know Ashley Young's boots are big ones to fill but there are one or two players that could emerge as a result of Ashley leaving the club."

Club owner Randy Lerner has one eye on UEFA's Financial Fair Play regulations, which will be implemented based on clubs' financial results from the upcoming season and the 2012-13 campaign.

And McLeish acknowledged: "We're watching the wages don't spiral out of control. Even bringing in free transfers, everybody thinks they don't cost you anything but they could be 50-60 grand a week in wages and it just escalates the wage bill out of all proportion.

"Randy Lerner has already stated that he wants to keep it tighter and work within a means and that's normal, especially with 2013 coming up, and I believe a lot of clubs will follow suit.


The game itself proved a keenly-contested affair, with Bent's clinical finish ultimately the difference between the two sides.

"I said that before the game that because it was a Premier League game there was a little bit of an edge, a few meaty tackles but I was pleased with the performance of the lads in intense heat and humidity," said McLeish.

"I take a lot from that game in terms of seeing my players and creative moments like Barry's fantastic cross for Bent's winner and also some really solid defending, when we had to we were up to the mark."

The Scot deployed striker Gabriel Agbonlahor in a deeper role with Bent and Emile Heskey also in the line-up and was pleased with what he saw.

"I thought he did very well. He was a threat, got into some good positions and there's a lot of food for thought in that position," he said. "The reason we played that way was that Blackburn were loaded in midfield and we didn't want to get overpowered and Gabby did a good job.

"We'd like to think that we could play guys like Gabby and Benty, both England players, together every week but that won't happen, it'll be horses for courses. It's a long season and you can't always play 4-4-2."

"There are lads that are already there, they're on big wages and I can't just discard them."

[eamonn]

Flexibility in formation...refreshing.

No further incomings ''unless there's more trading with the players we already have in the squad'' not so refreshing. Villadawg will be wolfing down that quote to add fuel to his ''sell to buy strategy'' argument that he's impressively versed in.

[garyshawsknee]

Its a shame the cheque book has been closed,especially with the fire sale on down the road. A cheeky 5 or 6 million bid could get Dann. Though we may be ok for defenders this season(i dont think we are)we should always have one eye on the future,as Dunne is in his 30s,Dann is early 20s.

      Sometimes if theres a bargain to be had,you should go out,or at least try and get it.

[supertom]

Unfortunately it's gonna be the case that players like Beye will need to play to attract suitors. Not only that, play bloody well to look worth the exorbitant wages they're on. Unless a few of these players drop they're wage demands, I can't see them being sold. Beye would only be useful in the championship and there's no one who'd take him on for 40k a week. Ditto Heskey.

I'd keep Cueller to be honest. Clark is still young but in addition he covers left back and DMF too, so he may already be in the side if one of our senior CB's get injured.

But yeah, unsurprising news to be honest. We've enough quality to compete though. I'd love to see the younger players kick on. It's a big year for Bannan, Albrighton and Delph. They've got to fill the creative void left by our two departures. Likewise we need Ireland to step up, because getting rid of him isn't an option right now. He has no one interested, but thankfully not for the want of talent.

[garyshawsknee]

If were not gonna spend anymore,I cant see the point of selling Carlos. He's worth more to us having him in the squad,than having 2 million in the bank,and a years worth of wages.

[citizenDJ]

Hmm. Well, if we take him at his word then the current squad is the one we're going into the season with, plus N'Zogbia I hope.

Should be an interesting season. I really hope the youngsters are as good as some think. Bannan and Albrighton look good enough, and Clark too. I'm not too sure about the others, but I suppose we'll get the chance to see them in action in the coming months.

I still reckon we'll see another arrival or two after N'Zogbia though.

[Clampy]

Its a shame the cheque book has been closed,especially with the fire sale on down the road. A cheeky 5 or 6 million bid could get Dann.

The way things are looking over there we might get him cheaper than that.

[garyshawsknee]

Its a shame the cheque book has been closed,especially with the fire sale on down the road. A cheeky 5 or 6 million bid could get Dann.

The way things are looking over there we might get him cheaper than that.

 2 million plus Beye,take it or leave it!!