The January 2015 Transfer Rumour Thread

[Chris Smith]

I'm not convinced £3m would really make that difference though. If we wanted a really good player for £12m, but the club wanted £15m, I really doubt the chairman would be shaking is head until suddenly brightening up and saying 'Of course! We sold Fabian Delph!'. Cheap sarcasm aside, I'm just not sure that's how the transfer funds would work.

As to his motivation, Delph never really struck me as some moping Anelka, whinging and sulking until he gets his way. He's a very good professional, and if he's leaving anyway then there's nothing to sulk against. In fact, he's played perfectly well - when fit - since it became apparent that he'd probably leave come May. All in all, I think it would be better to have him for four and a half months than to have £3m.

I agree and in addition I am not sure he will be in any hurry to jump at the first offer that comes in, far better to wait and assess options in the summer.

[not3bad]

True, but he's by some distance our best midfielder when fit, and we don't know yet how much we may need him. £3m won't replace him any better than £0 would, in my view, so we might as well just keep him for as long as we can.

I take your point but on the other hand how much use will he be if he genuinely doesn't want to be here?  It's a difficult problem.  Particularly as £3M could be the difference between mediocre and half decent.

The rebuttal of that is that nothing is officially agreed yet (even if agents have been talking) so fucking about and not putting in the effort could put a summer move at risk and he's not yet established enough with England to be guaranteed a place regardless of form so if he has international ambitions he can't really afford to risk those by playing like a chump for 6 months.  I genuinely can't see a situation where we'd be better letting him go that doesn't involve a player coming the other way.  Without that (and it being a player who wants to come and who will improve us) we're better off keeping him on the grounds that the summer will be 6months closer to a takeover and new manager and we just need to keep the side as strong as possible until those events occur.

I imagine Delph would be hoping that Spurs or maybe Arsenal would be coming for him at the end of the season. Therefore he needs to play up for the rest of this year.

[Damo70]

At the end of the season he can take his pick of clubs and hike up his signing on fee by a couple of million due to the fact he is a freebie.

[mr underhill]

Lambert's looking to tempt Swiss ace Andre Muff out of retirement, but is concerned about his diving record. Also rumoured to be looking at Andreas Wank, who Paul believes always copes well with the sticky No 10 job in hand.

[hilts_coolerking]

I'm not convinced £3m would really make that difference though. If we wanted a really good player for £12m, but the club wanted £15m, I really doubt the chairman would be shaking is head until suddenly brightening up and saying 'Of course! We sold Fabian Delph!'. Cheap sarcasm aside, I'm just not sure that's how the transfer funds would work.

As to his motivation, Delph never really struck me as some moping Anelka, whinging and sulking until he gets his way. He's a very good professional, and if he's leaving anyway then there's nothing to sulk against. In fact, he's played perfectly well - when fit - since it became apparent that he'd probably leave come May. All in all, I think it would be better to have him for four and a half months than to have £3m.

What I mean is that the £3M could be the difference between a Cissokho and a Sanchez.  Notwithstanding the fact that we're not in the market for a £12M player, you're right that £3M wouldn't make a difference but at the level we seem to be stuck at it would be.

I agree with Paul though, I think that the best option for us would be to take a player in exchange.  That way we'll get more for our money.  We could get double value for store credit, as it were.

Delph may be playing well now but if he wants to go in January and we block him it could be a different story.  As was always said in defence of us continually losing our best players, there's little point in keeping someone if they really want to go.

[Richard E]

French papers reporting we are after  Bordeaux's Algerian  attacking midfielder Terrib Leshit.

And his team mate Youzlez T'Osseur.

[Dave]

True, but he's by some distance our best midfielder when fit, and we don't know yet how much we may need him. £3m won't replace him any better than £0 would, in my view, so we might as well just keep him for as long as we can.

Agreed.  Why would Spurs want another midfielder to the countless number they already have?  It's not as if Levy will be able to offload that many due to the price they ask for players.

They may have loads of them, but Delph is probably better than anybody else that Spurs seem to have there at the moment.

[Richard E]

True, but he's by some distance our best midfielder when fit, and we don't know yet how much we may need him. £3m won't replace him any better than £0 would, in my view, so we might as well just keep him for as long as we can.

Agreed.  Why would Spurs want another midfielder to the countless number they already have?  It's not as if Levy will be able to offload that many due to the price they ask for players.

They may have loads of them, but Delph is probably better than anybody else that Spurs seem to have there at the moment.

They'll probably try and off load one of their more rubbish midfielders on us. No thanks. I agree we may as well keep him.

[LeeB]

Lambert's looking to tempt Swiss ace Andre Muff out of retirement, but is concerned about his diving record. Also rumoured to be looking at Andreas Wank, who Paul believes always copes well with the sticky No 10 job in hand.

Any truth we're in for former actor David Kossoff's Spanish grandson, Juan?

[brontebilly]

Scott Sinclair must be one of the worst professionals in the league. A multi millionaire whose career achievements can be summarised as a promotion from the championship and getting Rosie Webster up the duff. If he wasn't English he would never have got near a top four club, highlighting the damaging nature of the homegrown rule.

If ever there was a player to avoid...

[sirlordbaltimore]

Not really sure what to make of Sinclair, he's obviously got talent but whether he has any desire any more is the key point. He may do a job or he may be another broken footballer like N'Zogbia. Gomis doesn't really excite me either. I am intrigued in the link to Palace's Jonathan Williams though. Saw that in the Sun and Mail now and although not likely to get any headlines i rate him. Good with both feet, young, nippy without being fast and has an eye for a pass. Needs a break from injury though as he's become a target for cloggers over the last few seasons. Can play wide but I think he's better in the middle with a free role

[pauliewalnuts]

Sinclair just makes me think "Stephen Ireland", which makes me think we shouldn't be touching him with a ten foot bargepole. Or even a ten foot telescopic bargepole which can increase its length to 15 foot.

[Monty]

What I mean is that the £3M could be the difference between a Cissokho and a Sanchez.  Notwithstanding the fact that we're not in the market for a £12M player, you're right that £3M wouldn't make a difference but at the level we seem to be stuck at it would be.

I agree with Paul though, I think that the best option for us would be to take a player in exchange.  That way we'll get more for our money.  We could get double value for store credit, as it were.

Delph may be playing well now but if he wants to go in January and we block him it could be a different story.  As was always said in defence of us continually losing our best players, there's little point in keeping someone if they really want to go.

But a Sanchez wouldn't really replace Delph either, much as I like him. Delph is an unusual player, a real all-rounder, who gives us some burst and thrust, conspicuously absent when he's injured.

It's true that it's not much use keeping a player who doesn't want to be here, but then Barry was really good the season between the Liverpool saga and the Manchester City move. Besides, it's not that long for Delph to move, and the only clubs who'll come in for him now will likely be panicking ones without much of a long-term strategy - and those moves tend not to be that enticing.

[PaulWinch again]

It's very disappointing that we appear to be losing Delph at some point over the next 6 months. He is someone we should have tried to tie down a long time ago.

[RussellC]

Sinclair is a strange one. When I first saw him at Swansea I thought he'd be the ideal replacement for Ashley Young. However, as others have said, he's done the square root of fuck all since leaving them, and that includes a highly unimpressive loan-spell up the road. Surely there are better (and more financially viable) options abroad than this one?  If not, and there is some cash available, and Aaron Lennon or a Nathan Redmond would not just represent a signing that would improve us, but would also probably put a few extra bums on seats too.