[Albion] Ambitious summer Transfer Window.

[tstanbur]

Jaden Philogence, yeah he’s a great player. I didn’t include him because I thought he was only on loan from Villa but they signed him permanently apparently.

 

[Javeaseagull]

Ansu Fati is an interesting one for me. I had never thought we had a chance of him staying with us until recently after he got injured again. I believe his last 3 seasons have been very disrupted with injuries which can’t enhance his reputation. Barca are still deeply in debt and he doesn’t seem to be much of a favourite there anymore. There seems to be a bit of a fire sale going on there at the moment but of course my only source of info is the media. Spanish clubs are much more political than any clubs in the UK which has to be taken into account. If they think they can get away with selling him, perhaps with a big sell-on fee, and not get too much backlash it could happen. It would be entirely up to him of course and if he could be convinced that in the long term it could work out for him it may happen. Their fans are just as fickle as any others and haven’t seen him lighting up the Bernabeu for several years. All I am saying is that it could happen whereas before I always thought no chance. If RDZ leaves in the summer I retain the right to retract all the above!

 

[dazzer6666]

Ansu Fati is an interesting one for me. I had never thought we had a chance of him staying with us until recently after he got injured again. I believe his last 3 seasons have been very disrupted with injuries which can’t enhance his reputation. Barca are still deeply in debt and he doesn’t seem to be much of a favourite there anymore. There seems to be a bit of a fire sale going on there at the moment but of course my only source of info is the media. Spanish clubs are much more political than any clubs in the UK which has to be taken into account. If they think they can get away with selling him, perhaps with a big sell-on fee, and not get too much backlash it could happen. It would be entirely up to him of course and if he could be convinced that in the long term it could work out for him it may happen. Their fans are just as fickle as any others and haven’t seen him lighting up the Bernabeu for several years. All I am saying is that it could happen whereas before I always thought no chance. If RDZ leaves in the summer I retain the right to retract all the above!

Imagine the’d prefer him to light up the Camp Nou first

 

[Javeaseagull]

Imagine the’d prefer him to light up the Camp Nou first

my bad

 

[Whitechapel]

Come on fella, that's a proper cliché. Fans of every club can say it in some form. Meaningless and No need for it.

We are not Palace.

We tried to sign a player from the champ less than a week ago.

We shop where there’s value. If we think there’s value there then we’ll shop there.

All the players I mentioned are technically excellent and very young. They’re definitely within our profile.

 

[GT49er]

Mwepu wasn't involved in that match. Duffy (unused sub) is the eighth player no longer at the club (Bissouma started).

 

[GT49er]

Mwepu wasn’t part of the squad the day we beat Man Utd 4-0.

6 of the starting XI have gone, Sanchez, Cucurella, Caicedo, Mac Allister, Trossard and Bissouma. Maupay came off the bench. Non playing sub Shane Duffy has also moved on and you’ll probably be able to add Steven Alzate to the list at the end of the season too.

The 5 staters that remain are March, Veltman, Welbeck, Dunk and Gross.

Fairy nuff. Still a mighty big turnover of players though!

 

[Clive Walker]

Think it’s a bit of self preservation by the club

I think we’re only 3 or 4 players away from a top four squad.

Replacing Fati, Milner and Lallana will be key. Perhaps a new right back who can stay fit, a left footed centre back and definitely a left footed right winger and central midfielder.

We could spend £200m+ if we had to and not worry about FFP. But I’m predicting a net break even window this time.

basically what we all wanted last summer. Think this is what RDZ wanted too.

 

[Clive Walker]

Without wanting to put a downer on things (I'm gonna put a downer on things), does anyone else think it's weird that we're basically telling everyone that we'll be chucking money about in the summer? That's very un-Bloom imo.

But on the other hand, this is from a source that seems well-placed with the club, as Bozza pointed out.

So what's going on? I suspect it's one of two things. Either the club are letting this story get out because they want to reassure RDZ that they're committed to helping him build a killer team for next season, or they're expecting to be searching for an RDZ replacement in the summer and this is a way to smoke out candidates who might be thinking "I fancy that job, but not with their usual transfer budget".

1/ the club would outline the strategy to RDZ privately and no need to communicate it via the press.
2/ if succession planning is really that key the club will know who they want to replace RDZ already.

No need to use the media for either.

 

[SeagullsoverLondon]

1/ the club would outline the strategy to RDZ privately and no need to communicate it via the press.
2/ if succession planning is really that key the club will know who they want to replace RDZ already.

No need to use the media for either.

It maybe a signal to those clubs who might think they can get our stars, Mitoma etc, on the cheap due to FFP cooling the market.
It's basically saying yes, we will sell, but not unless you stump up the cash. And as there will be potentially less buyers in the market, the chances of big sales will be lower
It doesn't stop someone, e.g. Man U deciding their main target is a wide man and putting a £50m+

 

[Clive Walker]

I can’t explain the timing of these reports. The strategy for the club was outlined before Christmas and is hugely ambitious. None of that was publicly released as far as I’m aware.

 

[JetsetJimbo]

1/ the club would outline the strategy to RDZ privately and no need to communicate it via the press.
2/ if succession planning is really that key the club will know who they want to replace RDZ already.

No need to use the media for either.

1/ A publicly made commitment can't be reneged on as easily as a privately made one, and all parties know this; so a publicly made commitment carries far more weight
2/ The club cannot talk directly with their intended successor if he is currently employed by another club

 

[chaileyjem]

Without wanting to put a downer on things (I'm gonna put a downer on things), does anyone else think it's weird that we're basically telling everyone that we'll be chucking money about in the summer? That's very un-Bloom imo.

If you read the story Bloom has really not said that. Either he or Barber or (someone who would know) has quoted something about our transfer window . That has been written up by Alex Crook as saying we intend to have an "ambitious" transfer window. You could read that as some have as "chucking money about" or as i did "what's new there ? ". Albion's transfer windows are always ambitious. We nearly signed Kudus for £40m last summer and spent £30m on a 21 year old striker from the CHampionship/Ansu Fati etc.

Again. I wouldn't read much into it at all. Albion will likely carry on as before.

 

[Oh_aye]

re: ambition . Isn't spending £30m on Jaoo Pedro , Ansu Fati's loan fee / wages, 23m on 19 year old midfielder, 17m on a Brazilian defender and so on - an "ambitious transfer window" . Or is next summer going to be a really "ambitious transfer window". I really think we're all getting a bit carried away here.

I agree. I think we've been really ambitious for ages! And the way we do things works. So we should stick with it. Regardless of what temporary managers may or may not think. Bloom always seem to find small, incremental 'next level's

I'm hoping we become similar to the Villareal of the UK. A regional Club that repeatedly plays good football, tries its best to get into Europe every year, finds diverse pathways for young talents and takes some big scalps regularly. That's fin and ambitious in and of itself.

Clubs that have done this in the past that aren't in that mega-bucks economic steamroller exhelon of club have always come a cropper when they split from their original plan and start getting players in on bigger wages and using terms like 'ambitious' euphemistically for pìssing money away.

Ambition can be whatever you want to define it as.