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

[AV84]

Yeah, the Sommerville one is odd. At least with Ngonge it sounds like he's trying to get a move up the table in Serie A. There seems no benefit to anyone to make up the Sommerville rumour, if he's happy at Leeds, and Leeds don't want to sell him.

Unless of course we have genuinely expressed an interest.

[chrisw1]

Also where the pausing of the ground expansion will seem short sighted in a few years.

Unless we're pausing for precisely that reason, to maintain revenue in the short term and strengthen now, rather than lowering commercial and ticket revenue for a couple of years.

How much do we take from currently the cheapest stand in the ground with the poorest boxes?  Enough to put off a transformational redevelopment?

[brontebilly]

January window for me - Throw money at Man Utd for Wan-Bissaka, ship Duran out (sale or loan) and get Agent Martinez to have a word with Dybala. Done!

AWB is dreadful I think. Carlos Cuellar esque on the ball

AWB was extremely highly rated when Man Utd snatched him off Palace, and he was one of the better players on the pitch when we played them Boxing Day - MUCH better than Cash imo, and he's always mentioned in transfer talk so sounds gettable. I think Unai would bring the best out in him.

Nah it’s quite well known that he struggles on the ball - good defensively, but not going forward. We don’t need that.

Don't even think he's good defensively. Woeful defending the back post when crosses come in, no appreciation of runners going behind him.

He's fine defending one on one the likes of Sterling trying to dribble past him but theres a lot more to modern full back play than that. Palace utterly mugged Man United off getting 50m or so for such a limited player.

[Smithy]

January window for me - Throw money at Man Utd for Wan-Bissaka, ship Duran out (sale or loan) and get Agent Martinez to have a word with Dybala. Done!

AWB is dreadful I think. Carlos Cuellar esque on the ball

AWB was extremely highly rated when Man Utd snatched him off Palace, and he was one of the better players on the pitch when we played them Boxing Day - MUCH better than Cash imo, and he's always mentioned in transfer talk so sounds gettable. I think Unai would bring the best out in him.

Nah it’s quite well known that he struggles on the ball - good defensively, but not going forward. We don’t need that.

Don't even think he's good defensively. Woeful defending the back post when crosses come in, no appreciation of runners going behind him.

He's fine defending one on one the likes of Sterling trying to dribble past him but theres a lot more to modern full back play than that. Palace utterly mugged Man United off getting 50m or so for such a limited player.

It's the classic tale of a team paying over the odds for a defender who - in their previous team - looked good while having do a LOT of defending. But is now in a team that does less defending and is expected to contribute far more going forward. 

It's like with goalkeepers.  The goalkeepers who make the "most saves" in the season are the keepers in goal for the bottom teams.  Making the most saves doesn't make you the best keeper. Just the busiest.  It's often same with defenders. Man Utd probably saw a raw-ish young defender, with plenty of pace, who had proven he was difficult to dribble past in his ONE full season in the premier league.  The fact is, he had little else about his game and hasn't really improved at all.  I'd be VERY disappointed if we brought him in.

If we're getting a right-back, I'd like a Moreno for the right.  Your move Monchi.

[Smirker]

Coots has scored 5 goals in 10 apps during his loan. Would you take him back for the run in? We might need him.

[Smithy]

Coots has scored 5 goals in 10 apps during his loan. Would you take him back for the run in? We might need him.

I would, but I also think the fact Emery let him go means there is zero chance of it happening.  I do think he's precisely the sort of player you need when up against a low block while having all the possession, but I also think that ship has now sailed - his position in the Emery machine now belongs to Buendia.  The fact he let Coutinho go AFTER Emi's knee injury says everything about his chances of coming back into the fold.  A shame, I think.

I suspect we'll be doing everything we can to get Coutinho off the wage bill and as close to a FFP write-off as possible.  He'll still have two years on his contract in May, so if we can get £10m for him, I think we'd take it.

[Somniloquism]

Nope. He has already had two obligatory injury layoffs this season. I would actually have expected him to be tearing up the league similar to Ronaldo has in SA. Also transfermkt only has four goals, two in the league and 2 in one loss in the Asian Champions League. (and one assist).

[AV84]

I've tried a few times to keep up with what he's doing in Qatar and I can never find any information for him past some point in early November. Maybe I'm just looking in the wrong places, but I was under the impression he just wasn't playing.

I was very much in the "keep him" camp over the summer but once he picked up the injury in the Everton game I came to accept what everyone else had been saying, he's made of biscuits. No point keeping someone on presumably big wages if they can't stay fit for more than 2 games in a row.

[TonyD]

How are our two new RBs settling in?

[OCD]

Given that FFP is a delicate balancing act, I'd expect us to be looking at Bosman signings. More likely signing them on a pre-contract for next season than buying them now. We've done it with Kamara and Tielemans.

[VillaTim]

How are our two new RBs settling in?

just checked into The Belfry and will be using the Belair Nightclub this evening

[Gareth]

How are our two new RBs settling in?

just checked into The Belfry and will be using the Belair Nightclub this evening

They can do the 1st part…might struggle with the 2nd part

[VillaTim]

How are our two new RBs settling in?

just checked into The Belfry and will be using the Belair Nightclub this evening

They can do the 1st part…might struggle with the 2nd part

i haven't been up since the late 80's , has anything changed

[Brazilian Villain]

i haven't been up since the late 80's , has anything changed

Thatcher's no longer the Prime Minister.

[Beard82]

i haven't been up since the late 80's , has anything changed

Thatcher's no longer the Prime Minister.

On the downside Marathon bars are now called Snickers