2023 Summer transfer window - hopes, needs, expectations and rumours.

[pauliewalnuts]

Smirker's summer wish list:

New goalkeeper

Pau Torres
Ferran Torres
Mauro Icardi
Guendouzi

Mine:

Pau Torres
Ferran Torres
Fernando Torres
Fawlty Towers
Blackpool Tower
Eiffel Tower
Tower Ballroom
Leaning Tower
The (London) BT Tower
The (Birmingham) BT Tower
Police Academy's Moses Hightower

[Hookeysmith]

I see the links have resurfaced about the South Korean kid from FC Mallorca

Kang-In Lee - very impressive YT montage

[Drummond]

Mine:


Police Academy's Moses Hightower

Good at corners.

[Risso]

Kang-In Lee - very impressive YT montage

Aren't they all?!

[aldridgeboy]

We could get quite a bit of money come in
I’d hate it but Martinez could go, there’s £70 m

Equally we could get offers for Ollie/JJ, there’s £60-80m

He may move on the likes of Bailey, cash , Buendia , and there’s another £60-70m

We could easily be getting £150m in the coffers.

What would be the point of that?

There's a big difference between "spending £150m" and "selling £150m worth of players and then spending £150m"

Yep , I don’t disagree. And Bailey aside I wouldn’t want any of them to leave. But it’s possible some of those will.
I was just making the point (badly) that if we get £150 million in sales , we could easily be spending £200 million plus in the summer.

[Brazilian Villain]

Police Academy's Moses Hightower

Good at corners.

Not any more.

[Brazilian Villain]

Mine:

....Fawlty Towers
Blackpool Tower
Eiffel Tower
Tower Ballroom
Leaning Tower....

You'll probably just have to settle for a bottle of Black Tower.

[Toronto Villa]

We need to find some players like this kid. On his way to Bayern. Foot like a… you know the rest

https://twitter.com/stoolfootball/status/1654492248476721154?s=46&t=0-BUXD66ovTcofwrbTW4Ag

[Rudy Can't Fail]

He won't last five minutes showing off like that, he'll rip his hammies to shreds.

[Brazilian Villain]

He won't last five minutes showing off like that, he'll rip his hammies to shreds.

He would if he came to B6, plus he's too one-footed for my liking.

[Brend'Watkins]

We could get quite a bit of money come in
I’d hate it but Martinez could go, there’s £70 m

Equally we could get offers for Ollie/JJ, there’s £60-80m

He may move on the likes of Bailey, cash , Buendia , and there’s another £60-70m

We could easily be getting £150m in the coffers.

There's no chance Martinez is going. Zero.

He's a player you build a team around, even though he's a goalkeeper. We're already acutely aware of the difference between an elite keeper and a reserve. Replacing a goalie like Emi probably means either rethinking how the defence works or hoping the new fella does the very few things Martinez doesn't do well.

What would those things be?

His goal scoring record is abysmal.

Didn’t think of that one. All I could come up with was that he’s too one footed.

[Toronto Villa]

He won't last five minutes showing off like that, he'll rip his hammies to shreds.

Only if he is playing for us.

[Sexual Ealing]

I have been thinking about how much we'll spend in summer, and I'm hopeful it could, or should, be towards £200m. If we mean business.

So I was thinking I would like those players but wouldn't want to blow it all on them.

How much do you think we'll spend? Is £200m too much?

Good question. I would guess £200m-300m given we spent relatively little last summer and in January. I'd be surprised (and disappointed) if it's less than £150m given we're in the market for high quality additions in a number of positions, including a forward and an attacking winger. Especially as the arrivals of Unai and Alemany means this feels like a pivotal moment.

I'd be absolutely staggered if we spend more than £150m.  I doubt we'll spend more than £100m and even that would be a huge splash.

I agree. I’ve seen £200m being touted about but unless we get half of that in by selling a few I really can’t see it. I go back to what the owners said when they came in. It was to invest initially and then the club would become self sustainable. The last few windows have shown that this will be the case and the heavy investment in the youth set up also tells the story of their belief in promoting young players from our academy. I expect a few shrewd signings from Europe and that’s it. I hope I’m wrong and we go for it but that would mean a big about turn from the owners.

I suspect (based on no evidence) that the strategy might be to sell the academy players before they get near the first team, which might explain the two goalies on the bench thing while we've been struggling for numbers. The model could be how Chelsea used to be before they went mental, that the youth team and the first team are separate entities that are run to achieve very different goals.

Obviously, if there's a kid coming through the academy with outstanding potential for our first team, then all the better.

[Mister E]

I suspect (based on no evidence) that the strategy might be to sell the academy players before they get near the first team, which might explain the two goalies on the bench thing while we've been struggling for numbers. The model could be how Chelsea used to be before they went mental, that the youth team and the first team are separate entities that are run to achieve very different goals.
Obviously, if there's a kid coming through the academy with outstanding potential for our first team, then all the better.

That's certainly a view expressed by Canadian Pete in his podcast of yesterday.
Which doesn't make it gospel, of course.

[ChicagoLion]

I suspect (based on no evidence) that the strategy might be to sell the academy players before they get near the first team, which might explain the two goalies on the bench thing while we've been struggling for numbers. The model could be how Chelsea used to be before they went mental, that the youth team and the first team are separate entities that are run to achieve very different goals.
Obviously, if there's a kid coming through the academy with outstanding potential for our first team, then all the better.

That's certainly a view expressed by Canadian Pete in his podcast of yesterday.
Which doesn't make it gospel, of course.

So if the players coming through are not good enough for the first team we move them on, it they are we keep them. Not exactly radical thinking.