[Albion] You're in charge of the summer rebuild: who goes, who stays and who joins?

[Lenny Rider]

Do we know if Clarke is better than Duffy?

Is Welbeck too expensive a luxury or an important tool in developing the younger players?

 

[Blue Valkyrie]

Do we know if Clarke is better than Duffy?

Is Welbeck too expensive a luxury or an important tool in developing the younger players?

I suspect both Clarke and Duffy will leave this summer.

Our strike force next season must surely be Welbeck + Undav + 1 or 2 others ( maybe Maupay is 1 of these ). I suspect, with no proof though, that Undav is Maupay's replacement.

 

[amexer]

Interesting read all these opinions. I think many are getting carried away with Utd game and great away results and of course 7 goals in 2 games.. Fact is we are one of lowest scorers in the PL and to improve this has to be put right. If we think our new CF will solve these problems great . It was not long ago we didnt even look like scoring , March and Gross were getting stick.and our midfields did not score. Amazing after a few great results how many now think our squad is all but ok.

 

[Beanstalk]

I think you're probably right on pretty much all of that. I'm not sure about Duffy but the rest I think you've more or less got spot on.

What are the Ostigard Napoli rumours? If they're after him for their first team squad I'd assume he must be good enough for ours although the appeal of playing for Napoli is probably a bigger pull than playing for us.

From Naylor in The Athletic:

Ostigard signed a one-year contract extension prior to the Stoke loan, stretching his Brighton stay until June 2023. The likeliest outcome, given his desire for regular first-team football and how well he has taken to life in Italy, is a permanent move to Genoa or to another Serie A club. Napoli are reportedly admirers.

Corriere dello Sport reported that Tuanzebe is going to head back to United when his loan ends at Napoli and they see Ostigard as an option.

 

[GT49er]

Do we know if Clarke is better than Duffy?

Matt Clarke's record at Championship level is as good, if not better than Duffy's before he joined us - plus he's five years younger. I'd go for Clarke - I think Duffy's time here is done, unless he is kept on for emergency back-up.

Is Welbeck too expensive a luxury or an important tool in developing the younger players?

Welbeck is the best striker/CF/No.9 at the club. Yes, we keep him, please.

 

[Wellesley]

Interesting read all these opinions. I think many are getting carried away with Utd game and great away results and of course 7 goals in 2 games.. Fact is we are one of lowest scorers in the PL and to improve this has to be put right. If we think our new CF will solve these problems great . It was not long ago we didnt even look like scoring , March and Gross were getting stick.and our midfields did not score. Amazing after a few great results how many now think our squad is all but ok.

I think it's because, like me, many didn't realise that we already had at the club, in Caicedo and Mwepu, the pace and power we've been missing in midfield which seems to have transformed us as an attacking threat. I agree we still need another striker though.

 

[Garry Nelson's Left Foot]

From Naylor in The Athletic:


Corriere dello Sport reported that Tuanzebe is going to head back to United when his loan ends at Napoli and they see Ostigard as an option.

Grazie!

What a move for him Napoli would be.

 

[boik]

Matt Clarke's record at Championship level is as good, if not better than Duffy's before he joined us - plus he's five years younger. I'd go for Clarke - I think Duffy's time here is done, unless he is kept on for emergency back-up.


Welbeck is the best striker/CF/No.9 at the club. Yes, we keep him, please.

I think the only time I've seen Clarke in the flesh was in the pre-season friendly against Crawley. i thought he looked very solid and composed but maybe lacking in pace?

 

[Garry Nelson's Left Foot]

Interesting read all these opinions. I think many are getting carried away with Utd game and great away results and of course 7 goals in 2 games.. Fact is we are one of lowest scorers in the PL and to improve this has to be put right. If we think our new CF will solve these problems great . It was not long ago we didnt even look like scoring , March and Gross were getting stick.and our midfields did not score. Amazing after a few great results how many now think our squad is all but ok.

I think it is down to a number of reasons. We have a decent squad baseline now. There is nobody in the squad that isn't premier league quality.

That we've struggled for goals is undeniable. However it's also undeniable that for the past couple of seasons we've often created plenty of very presentable chances which we've failed to take. If we had we'd have been comfortable mid table last year like we have this. So having a striker that can take more of those simple chances than he misses would push us up the table. Whether we have signed him in Undav time will tell.

We've also had the emergence of Caceido and when fit Mwepu. They've both added an extra bit of pace and power to the midfield which had been missing. Previously we had been at times a bit slow and ponderous, now we're not. They also both add a goal threat.

Couple that with MacAllister who can score the odd goal and Trossard who has had a really good season and scored 7 times there is hope that we might have actually solved the goal scoring issue. At least to an acceptable degree.

Then going back to the first point about the squad. We have circa 20-22 decent players all capable of playing in the first team. To improve it will take a lot of money on individual players. We're not going to bring in half a dozen players that will improve the team, that would cost way too much money. We might bring in one or two players but anymore than that will probably depend on outgoing players.

We're two wins away from guaranteeing our best ever league finish and probably a top ten finish to boot. Lets be positive the team and squad!

 

[GT49er]

I think the only time I've seen Clarke in the flesh was in the pre-season friendly against Crawley. i thought he looked very solid and composed but maybe lacking in pace?

Slower than Duffy? Slower than Dunk?

 

[boik]

Slower than Duffy? Slower than Dunk?

Probably not, but I'm not sure that we can play with too many slow defenders. Webster and Veltman are fine with Dunk, but adding Duffy or another slower defender into the mix might leave us a bit exposed. There's a reason that Dunk'n'Duffy are famed for their last-ditch blocks. I'd rather Cucu was kept for the wing-back role.

To be fair to Clarke, it was his first game and pre-season friendly, and I thought he looked like a good addition. He may have improved a lot since then, but my gut feeling is that van Hecke might be ahead of him (based on nothing but highlights).

 

[GT49er]

Probably not, but I'm not sure that we can play with too many slow defenders. Webster and Veltman are fine with Dunk, but adding Duffy or another slower defender into the mix might leave us a bit exposed. There's a reason that Dunk'n'Duffy are famed for their last-ditch blocks. I'd rather Cucu was kept for the wing-back role.

To be fair to Clarke, it was his first game and pre-season friendly, and I thought he looked like a good addition. He may have improved a lot since then, but my gut feeling is that van Hecke might be ahead of him (based on nothing but highlights).

Don't disagree that Van Hecke might be ahead of him (and 4 years younger) - but he's more CB/RCB, so the pair of them would be more complementary than in competition. Do we need 6 CBs? If we're playing three at the back then yes, we probably do - so Dunk, Webster, Veltman, Cucu, Van Hecke and Clarke would be a pretty strong line-up.
Shame Blackburn missed out on promotion really - we could have loaned them Van Hecke for another season, to cut his PL teeth (and make the inevitable mistakes and learn the hard lessons) playing with them, all the while increasing his value!

 

[Perkino]

Not many players will remain at a club and give 5 good years. To have a competitive 25-man squad we will need to recruit 5+ players per season, we cannot afford to buy ready made superstars so will continue to purchase youngsters full of potential and hope they develop into first team quality. I expect the main focus will be 1. Striker (Possibly Undav), 2. Wide Attacker & 3. Any absolute bargain opportunities such as Veltman for £900k in any position. 4. U20's that will hopefully make the jump in the future. Two new signings per season gives us the freedom to develop talent and the opportunity to improve the quality of the squad.

 

[Mellor 3 Ward 4]

IF - and whilst it's improbable but not impossible, that all three of Biss, Trossard and Gross leave then we'll certainly need to get in replacements.

 

[schmunk]

2. Wide Attacker

 

[WATFORD zero]

Started reading through but there's a lot of posts on this thread, so (probably already been said)

Potterball in now prevalent across the whole club, so next season's squad is quite simply


on players already contracted to BHAFC

As far as I remember the last players we signed for significant sums for the first team were Webster and Maupay, sometime ago and long may that continue



So

Striker, Defender (maybe 2) who are currently out on loan, hopefully one or two step straight up from U23s into squad. Caicedo, Mwepu establish themselves as regulars (which would be far quicker than Biss, Tross and AliMac took). Moder and Sarmiento back into first team squad.

Biss may go, extend Welbeck and hope we have fixed his hamstring (a 31 year old fully fit Welbeck signed for nothing will be brilliant).

3 or 4 U23's signed for between £3M - £8M.

Pretty boring summer, almost as if it was planned

PS Hope Pascal gives us another year but there are more important things than football

 

[RM-Taylor]

Lars Dendoncker and Tom McGill - the first two confirmed as leaving

Dendoncker out of contract and not offered new terms
McGill choosing to try and chase first team football, presume either at Crawley or Conference level, or potentially a move to the USA to have a chance to be involved with the Canada squad at the WC

 

[GT49er]

Lars Dendoncker and Tom McGill - the first two confirmed as leaving

Dendoncker out of contract and not offered new terms
McGill choosing to try and chase first team football, presume either at Crawley or Conference level, or potentially a move to the USA to have a chance to be involved with the Canada squad at the WC

Thought McGill looked OK playing for the U23s. Not had a lot of luck with his loans - Basingstoke was the only one where he got a run of games.

Dendoncker was a strange one - we only signed him a couple of years ago, and didn't seem to do much with him apart from a just about OK-ish half-season loan to the SPL. Shame we couldn't raise a few quid for them - but hey, we can't keep loaning out everybody for ever.

 

[Blue Valkyrie]

A lot of players to return from loan and some U21s now over 21 means our 25 man limit is bursting ( not even counting Groß and Băluţa as out of contract ) :


1. Sanchez ( HGP )

2. Steele ( HGP )

3. Scherpen

U21. Rushworth

4. Lamptey ( HGP )

U21. Karbownik

5. Cochrane ( HGP )

6. March ( HGP )

7. Cucurella

8. Veltman

9. Webster ( HGP )

10. Dunk ( HGP )

11. Duffy ( HGP )

12. van Hecke

13. Østigård

14. Clarke ( HGP )

U21. Offiah

U21. Roberts

[ Băluţa ]

15. Mwepu

16. Bissouma

U21. Caicedo

U21. Jenks

17. Moder

18. Alzate ( HGP )

19. Lallana ( HGP )

U21. Kozlowski

[ Groß ]

20. Mac Allister

21. Richards

U21. Khadra

U21. Sarmiento

22. Mitoma

23. Trossard

24. Maupay

25. Welbeck ( HGP )

26. Undav

27. Andone

28. Zeqiri

29. Connolly

U21. Sima

U21. Ferguson



This to me suggests minimal summer recruitment :

1) Enciso
2) Another player for future seasons to be then loaned out
3) A striker ( only if Maupay leaves )
4) A keeper ( only if Scherpen and Rushworth go out on loan )
5) An attacking midfielder if 2 of Groß, Trossard and Mac Allister leave ( top priority to retain at least 2 of these IMO ).

and that most of the following leave :

Østigard
Clarke
Cochrane ?
Richards ?
Andone
Zeqiri
Connolly

 

[GT49er]

A lot of players to return from loan and some U21s now over 21 means our 25 man limit is bursting ( not even counting Groß and Băluţa as out of contract ) :


1. Sanchez ( HGP )

2. Steele ( HGP )

3. Scherpen

U21. Rushworth

4. Lamptey ( HGP )

U21. Karbownik

5. Cochrane ( HGP )

6. March ( HGP )

7. Cucurella

8. Veltman

9. Webster ( HGP )

10. Dunk ( HGP )

11. Duffy ( HGP )

12. van Hecke

13. Østigård

14. Clarke ( HGP )

U21. Offiah

U21. Roberts

[ Băluţa ]

15. Mwepu

16. Bissouma

U21. Caicedo

U21. Jenks

17. Moder

18. Alzate ( HGP )

19. Lallana ( HGP )

U21. Kozlowski

[ Groß ]

20. Mac Allister

21. Richards

U21. Khadra

U21. Sarmiento

22. Mitoma

23. Trossard

24. Maupay

25. Welbeck ( HGP )

26. Undav

27. Andone

28. Zeqiri

29. Connolly

U21. Sima

U21. Ferguson



This to me suggests minimal summer recruitment :

1) Enciso
2) Another player for future seasons to be then loaned out
3) A striker ( only if Maupay leaves )
4) A keeper ( only if Scherpen and Rushworth go out on loan )
5) An attacking midfielder if 2 of Groß, Trossard and Mac Allister leave ( top priority to retain at least 2 of these IMO ).

and that most of the following leave :

Østigard
Clarke
Cochrane ?
Richards ?
Andone
Zeqiri
Connolly

No worries - 29 names to be trimmed down to 25. Andone will be off, Scherpen, Richards, Connolly out on loan again, Bissouma likely to go, and one or two out of Clarke, Ostigarde and Van Hecke. Cochrane - another loan, or more likely off. Gros back to Germany? The jobs a good 'un, squad pared down to 25 no problem.

Don't expect much incoming - just a few youngsters probably.