2024 January transfer window - hopes, needs, expectations and rumours.

[Monty]

He'd do that for a lot of players that wouldn't cost as much and could be arsed to get to training on time as well thiugh

He's got to get Diaby back to his best, and Zaniolo into any form at all, so I wouldn't be bringing in anybody else with question marks over their form or temperament to be honest.

Whatever we've seen from our players on the pitch, there's never been any hint or suggestion that they have been anything other than, to a man, total pros under Emery. If you're not, you're not getting in his matchday squad. Sancho's been upbraided for laziness since the day he arrived up there. Big no thanks.

[Garyth]

Sancho's been upbraided for laziness since the day he arrived up there. Big no thanks.

question: Was it the same when he was at Dortmund? I recall him in seriously good form there, so wonder how much is a ManUtd problem.

But yeah, to your point: no dickheads allowed.

[Richard]

I actually think Unai would get Sancho playing at a higher level again. Man Utd have a really toxic culture around them.

[Holte L2]

I actually think Unai would get Sancho playing at a higher level again. Man Utd have a really toxic culture around them.

I remember watching Sancho for England whilst he was at Dortmund and didn't see what the hype was.

[OCD]

It's taken Bailey 3 seasons to start looking the part and that's with working with Emery for a year. Emery probably could get Sancho playing well again but that's no good if it's on loan. And his £350k/week wages would be a problem.

[Rigadon]

I actually think Unai would get Sancho playing at a higher level again. Man Utd have a really toxic culture around them.

I remember watching Sancho for England whilst he was at Dortmund and didn't see what the hype was.

Same.  I don't get it at all.

[Dave]

I actually think Unai would get Sancho playing at a higher level again. Man Utd have a really toxic culture around them.

I remember watching Sancho for England whilst he was at Dortmund and didn't see what the hype was.

Watching him for Dortmund was probably what you needed to do in order to see it.

[pablo_picasso]

It's taken Bailey 3 seasons to start looking the part and that's with working with Emery for a year. Emery probably could get Sancho playing well again but that's no good if it's on loan. And his £350k/week wages would be a problem.

Exactly this. No loan unless we are in control of it with clauses that suit us & not them.

Otherwise, we are just playing him into form, for ManU.

And fuck ManU...

[LeeB]

I actually think Unai would get Sancho playing at a higher level again. Man Utd have a really toxic culture around them.

I remember watching Sancho for England whilst he was at Dortmund and didn't see what the hype was.

I've never seen him play and thought 'wow'

[Holte L2]

I actually think Unai would get Sancho playing at a higher level again. Man Utd have a really toxic culture around them.

I remember watching Sancho for England whilst he was at Dortmund and didn't see what the hype was.

Watching him for Dortmund was probably what you needed to do in order to see it.

I've done that as well and still still didn't see it.

[Clark W Griswold]

Yep, i've literally never seen Sancho play well either, but i have seen zero of his Dortmund appearances.

[Drummond]

The rules say this:

"A "Home Grown Player" means a player who, irrespective of nationality or age, has been registered with any club affiliated to The Football Association or the Football Association of Wales for a period, continuous or not, of three entire seasons, or 36 months, before his 21st birthday (or the end of the season during which he turns 21)."

So he doesn't qualify, as his birthday is June, which is after the end of the season. He'll qualify as home grown next season.

But if he was registered with West Brom, then he has been affiliated to 'any club' affiliated to the FA?

[Risso]

The rules say this:

"A "Home Grown Player" means a player who, irrespective of nationality or age, has been registered with any club affiliated to The Football Association or the Football Association of Wales for a period, continuous or not, of three entire seasons, or 36 months, before his 21st birthday (or the end of the season during which he turns 21)."

So he doesn't qualify, as his birthday is June, which is after the end of the season. He'll qualify as home grown next season.

But if he was registered with West Brom, then he has been affiliated to 'any club' affiliated to the FA?

It's obviously got to be one club for the homegrown rule! Otherwise the rule for under 21 players who aren't homegrown applies.

[paul_e]

The rules say this:

"A "Home Grown Player" means a player who, irrespective of nationality or age, has been registered with any club affiliated to The Football Association or the Football Association of Wales for a period, continuous or not, of three entire seasons, or 36 months, before his 21st birthday (or the end of the season during which he turns 21)."

So he doesn't qualify, as his birthday is June, which is after the end of the season. He'll qualify as home grown next season.

That's the home-grown rule used in England but I don't think the UEFA rules are the same.

I went with them using the same logic as elsewhere. For example from here: https://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/champions-league-squad-rules-number-of-players-homegrown-quota-regulations-explained/blt14eefb4daa8bb717

How many players are in the Champions League squad list?
Each club must submit two lists of players to Uefa; List A and List B.

In List A, no club can have more than 25 players. However, a club can register an unlimited number of players on List B, who are born on or after January 1, 2001.

Moreover, since his 15th birthday, he must have played for the club for an uninterrupted period of two years, or a total of three consecutive years. He can have a maximum of one loan period to a club from the same association for a period not longer than one year.

So to be eligible for squad b is based on the year you're born in not date of birth (same as eligibility for U21 tournaments), but when you get to the home-grown stuff there's nothing like that in the description so if Villa signed 2 kids on the same day, 1 who turned 18 the day before and 1 who turned 18 the day after would only the latter count as club-grown? That feels like a really arbitrary break point that encourages teams to be quite predatory with 17year old kids but to then undervalue those players if they turn 18 before they join. It might be that simple but I'd always assumed they'd have a much sturdier definition than that which lined up with how they define a U21 player in every other instance.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

I'd be amazed if we're not interested in Serhou Guirassy of Stuttgart, he has a £15m buy out clause, 16 goals in eleven in the Bundesliga (18 goals in 13 games in all comps) and at 27 he knows the score. He can also play in Europe. Milan and Man U also said to be interested.