I think everyone has their price at the moment, there aren’t any sacred cows.
I said it months ago, it wouldn’t surprise me to see a “surprise” departure or two in midfield, to make way for a more suitable No.6.
Endo, Gravenberch, Jones and Bajcetic (loan) were the possible options in my head. It’s still entirely possible that none of them leave, and we stick with them,
With the Marseille bid for Endo, there’s no way they’d have made a bid for him without a hint that we’d consider selling him for around what we bought him for. Although I still think it’s not a very balanced midfield, and thankfully, it seems that’s been recognised by the club.
Once a player or two leaves in midfield, it wouldn’t surprise me to see us announce someone, as it’s too bloated and unbalanced in that midfield.
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Only if we don’t bring someone else in. No way I see Endo going without an addition at DM.
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I think people need to temper their expectations a little. I don’t think anyone will be sold, nor are we going to be desperately trying to fill a hole (because we don’t have any, strictly speaking).
There will probably be opportunistic transfers, either to invest in the future (like Elliott when we bought him or to a lesser extent Gravenberch), or because someone met our valuation for a player and we saw the opportunity to essentially upgrade for cheap.
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Of course there is. He is a player on the wrong side of 30.
I’d be disappointed if this proved to be the case. I like Endo as a player, and his performances since signing make a great story.
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I think there’s a world where Endo is a perfect squad player in this team. Using his experience and leadership and on pitch attributes to close out games and occasionally come in to start and give others a rest. A little bit like a Japanese Milner but not quite at the same level (or age).
Unfortunately, he started 20 league games last season in a midfield with loads of bodies but either short on top level quality, experience or fitness.
So instead of having like 3/4 lads we can trust to control a midfield and then Endo filling in, we’ve got Mac allister and then loads of good players who haven’t quite shown consistency or who can’t stay fit. Probably too many to be able to bring in the high quality, consistent player we need in there without letting someone go.
So it’s a bit of a catch 22. Personally I’d keep him, bring in another and loan Bajetic out to get a full season. But who knows.
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That is true, but I just can’t see them wasting their time, or ours. We’re not the Mancs or Chelsea. Clubs know how we operate. Given that the bid was weeks ago, why was the news leaked now? Something must’ve changed i.e. we’ve agreed a deal with another midfielder, and so we’re inviting bids now.
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Selling Endo would be a stupid move, like a really dumb fucking stupid move. It doesn’t even need an explanation why.
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Id have no issue in letting Jones (injury prone), Endo (not getting any younger) or Grav (very inconsistent) go if we bring in quality to replace them of course.
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Would rather sell Graven if we can recoup everything we paid for. His decision making is bad. Doesn’t pass when free, keeps waiting to be tackled and inevitably loses the ball.
Agreed, unless we have a younger, better replacement lined up.
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I wouldn’t sell him either, he showed enough promise. Sure he’s got a lot of improving to do but he’s been here 1 season and just turned 22. If we’re in a position where we HAVE to sell a player or 2 for whatever reason, then he maybe 1 you look to.
As far as I’m concerned, it’s the start of a fresh era…everyone should have the chance to prove their worth to Arne and likewise Arne should have the chance to see what he can do with the players already here & go from there.
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I get the feeling Arne is happy to be getting his hand on some of our younger players. Some cracking kids coming through.
If we didn’t replace him, yeah fully agree.
But if it’s because we’ve identified a better solution and suspect Endo’s legs are about to go like Fabinho’s did then it’s an astute move.
Time for us to be ruthless again when it comes to the market. No more long term deals for players on the decline like Henderson. No more letting their legs go on our watch like Fabinho. No more keeping them round until contracts run down like Origi, Ox, or many others. No more hedging bets and hoping on fitness of players proven to be brittle as Weetabix.
He was never THE guy they wanted last summer and whilst he did well enough it’s not as if he made himself indispensable to a point where we can’t now replace him with a longer term solution.
It’s the Edwards way. Sentimentality is dead, long live the data.
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Just like I said last autumn after a first few games.
He might be gone within a year.
Best if he sticks to coaching them
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I regarded the Endo signing as similar to Ragnar Klavan; a solid professional who could come in and do a job for us but not seen as a long term solution.
We kept Klavan for two seasons and he is someone I always respected as a solid squad player. I can see Endo staying for another season if we have younger players in that position who need a bit of experienced backup.
At the moment, there is no visible movement anywhere. I’m wondering if this is like a chess game where an unseen pawn will be sacrificed that suddenly reveals checkmate in 3 moves?
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Gravenberch’s ability on the ball is rare and shouldn’t be taken for granted. The guy has bags of talent; If he could reach his potential, he would be a special player.
I wouldn’t sell, but I would be actively looking to loan him somewhere where he would develop.
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I do believe Edwards allowed players to run down their contracts and leave for free. And I don’t disagree with the strategy per say.
He also bought brittle players like Keita and Oxlade… so not sure his way of data management is what you remember.
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