It would make no sense to sell Dunk in Jan!
... unless he decides he wants to go.
Because it may just be that he has ambition?
But whats that got to do with us, right now? We'd rather Dunk got a slightly improved chance at a world cup call up than Brighton stay in the premier league? Not for me mate.
But it's about the player not the club, do you not get it?
Back 3 at the moment. Which may be an issue, as it’s a system he hasn’t played in that often.
He signed a five-year contract not very long ago. You really think Lewis Dunk will go on strike if we decide to sell him in July rather than in January?
As others have said, I can't imagine the club will want to sell him in January, but it may be that they have little option.
What if we have at least 25 points come January? Potentially only another 10-15 points required to stay in the league, and will losing Dunk really prevent us from picking up these points? We could get a decent replacement in for a fraction of the cost and we already have two good back up options.
I think the key thing here is not the salary, but the World Cup. If the salary is the main reason for him wanting to leave, if his head is indeed turned by the speculation, then I'm sure he could wait until the summer and finish the season with us. If he feels that he'll increase his chances of making the world cup squad by moving to a top 6 team then that's a different story, and I would be very surprised if the club were to prevent him from doing so given the loyalty he has shown us over the years despite interest from other clubs.
But it's about the player not the club, do you not get it?
There would be a trio of attractions, wouldn't there?
- Salary - a significant, and potentially life-changing, pay rise.
- Playing for one of the big boys in the world's most famous league.
- A chance of forcing his way into the World Cup squad. Realistically he has 2 chances of that now in his career.
Dunk just signed a long contract, so it is very much about what the club wish to do. After certain decisions on players that left in the early years of TB's tenure, we've seen an increasingly emboldened owner prepared to stand firm on contracts he believes will ultimately benefit the club.
If Hughton tells TB that Dunk is the difference between us staying up or not, then I don't think Dunk is going anywhere ahead of the summer. If on the other hand, Hughton says that the £40m could secure an adequate replacement, a striker plus maybe another player and this will give us our best chance, then he may well go. It will be the club first though, not sure if you get that or not?
Where have I mentioned that? If someone comes in with a 30 mill bid, a top six side, he will ask to move, quite simply. The club won't stand in his way. This is about England and getting in the summer squad. He will be 29 come the next WC, so this may be one of two opportunities in his career. As I said, the club would not stand in his way.
But fair play if that's what you think we should do, I just hope that if Lewis Dunk does get to the World Cup with Arsenal whilst we get relegated, you'll be happy to come on here and say that the club made the right decision.
Who's going to offer to drive him to Arsenal?