Summer 26 Transfer Window - hopes, speculation, rumours etc.

[VILLA MOLE]

According to Indykalia there's bombshell news being broken at 10am.

Apparently, we are ‘in talks’ with Curtis Jones.

Fucking hell, I thought it might be interesting news.

Be still my beating heart

obviously had a chat with Harvey Elliott

[Beard82]

To be honest I couldnt tell you anything about him - other than he is english and plays for liverpool.   Looking at his goals and assists Im guessing he is not the Bailey / Sancho / Guessand upgrade I am hoping for

[LeeB]

I've liked what I've seen if him, he can play, but they've just turned down 25m euros for him from Inter as they want £35m, it's too much and he's only got a year left on his deal.

[paul_e]

My biggest problem with Jones is that he's got the same problem as Kalvin Phillips of being a better offensive player when he plays at 6 but offering very little defensive cover there. I just don't see how he fits because we often let Tielemans play that way but he's earned the right by being fucking brilliant.

[Beard82]

Ah so if he is a 6 / 8 I think were well covered there.  Or at least not a priority

[VILLA MOLE]

Yes priority has to be wingers and right backs please

[Monty]

Slightly playing devil's defence here, but it's a position we're so well covered in that one injury threatened to burn our season to the ground? I don't know if Jones is the answer, but especially with Doug on the way back to Turin we're not fully covered in there. And the way we play under Unai, with so much concentrated through the middle, it's always going to be the position in which our matches are likely to be decided.

[chrisw1]

Lucas Bergvall informs Tottenham Hotspur of preference to seek new challenge elsewhere. 20yo midfielder targeted by clubs in PL + Europe & #THFC aware of wish to leave this summer for fresh start. #Sweden int’l contracted until 2031
@TheAthleticFC

Villa not mentioned but we have been linked for a while.

If he were to join, which player would he replace/be phased in for?

Luiz initially and then challenge Tielemans.

I think he wants to leave due to lack of gametime.  I don't think he'll want to swap Spurs bench for our bench.

I do think he has great potential though.

[paul_e]

Slightly playing devil's defence here, but it's a position we're so well covered in that one injury threatened to burn our season to the ground? I don't know if Jones is the answer, but especially with Doug on the way back to Turin we're not fully covered in there. And the way we play under Unai, with so much concentrated through the middle, it's always going to be the position in which our matches are likely to be decided.

It wasn't 1 injury though, it was Kamara, Tielemans and McGinn all out for 6weeks+. Added to that you had Onana out with a couple of niggles, Barkley struggling for fitness and Bogarde struggling for form. It was just terrible bad luck as much as anything.

Also Arsenal and Man City have suffered similar slumps when Rice and Rodri are out so we're not alone in fiding things more difficult when a key midfielder is missing.

[Monty]

Kamara is our most important player still, if you look at the points-gained stats. I accept that that's true about Rodri and Rice as well, but I also cannot blame Unai for trying to amend that given Kamara's history of, well, having no knees.

[paul_e]

Kamara is our most important player still, if you look at the points-gained stats. I accept that that's true about Rodri and Rice as well, but I also cannot blame Unai for trying to amend that given Kamara's history of, well, having no knees.

Absolutely agree, but Jones isn't that player. In our system he's, at best, competition with Barkley to be cover for Tielemans. I'm not completely against a player like that coming in, but not for the sort of fee they want when he's so far behind the player he'd be cover for.

The sofascore comparisons do a good job of explaining what I mean, Jones in green in both:

[Monty]

Yeah I'm a bit sceptical of Jones himself. I was just responding to the idea that we Don't Need More Midfielders. But Jones himself? Hmm.

Nevertheless I'm hoping this isn't an Elliot 2.0 situation, for the simple reason that it's Olabe there not Monchi. Judgement reserved and all that.

[LeeB]

Yeah I'm a bit sceptical of Jones himself. I was just responding to the idea that we Don't Need More Midfielders. But Jones himself? Hmm.

Nevertheless I'm hoping this isn't an Elliot 2.0 situation, for the simple reason that it's Olabe there not Monchi. Judgement reserved and all that.

Maybe it was Jones that Emery wanted last summer, Monchi couldn't pull it off and thought Elliot would do instead, and was wrong.

[Bent Neilsens Screamer]

Jones has played right back for Liverpool so can cover that position too.

[Dante Lavelli]

Jones has played right back for Liverpool so can cover that position too.

They were missing both Frimpong and Bradley for that period and often preferred szobazlai in that position anyway, so I wouldn’t be that keen to focus on that part of his CV