I recently had expectations that this will be it 
What made it more believable was that photo, I think it was Livi? That posted it in todayās match thread.
Ali is shaking hands with Dom, it looks something like yes bro, you are vice captain next season.
Would be the right choice obviously and if it helps him stay for more years to come then bring it on.
Also, incredibly sad, as that means the big man Becker could be saying his goodbyes 
If it was Ā£100 million would people prefer him over someone like Anderson who would also be homegrown?
Anderson over Baleba for me.
Those are some ambitious numbersā¦
You really think we could recoup or actually make a profit on Chiesa this summer? Get that much for Stephenson? Beck? Who has played 40 minutes of U21 football this season?
I doubt itāll be Ā£100m for Baleba this summer. But I also donāt think Iād spend Ā£100m on Anderson or Wharton either.
Last summer Lamine Camara was a player Iād have loved us to get. See heās now getting linked with a big move this summer for about twice what heād have cost last summer.
I think you can split our summer business down to two phases. Essential additions to plug gaps, and improvements over what we have.
The first phase is really all about pace and wingers. We need at least two pacy wide players who can take on their player and provide an outlet for the midfield, and actually fucking press the opposition defence.
There is actually a strong argument for three of them, especially if Gakpo is going to be expected to play through the middle more while Ekitike is out, and Ngumoha is still going to be considered to be on a developmental pathway.
Thatās the bare minimum this summer.
After that we can look at improving what we have.
I have a feeling Ali is going to go this summer, with Mamardashvili taking the number one shirt. I would have Jaros back at two, and keep Woodnan around.
If Konate signs a new deal, central defence looks OK. We have the two right backs, and Tsimikas to come back for Robbo. We might want to look at another right back, given the issues Frimpong and Bradley have had, but I donāt think itās essential and I would not be letting Gomez go anywhere.
I think, having spent the money, you have to play Wirtz at ten, and I would see if Elliott would be willing to cover this position for a year. It could be brilliant for him to rebuild his career in this way.
This means we would be looking for two robust, physical midfielders behind a ten. Szobozslai is that, Gravenberch is also that (and weāve just given him a huge contract) and Jones can certainly do that. Mac Allister is the one I have serious doubts about, and I think on many occasions this year his lack of fitness, his physicality, his stature, and his energy have be not up to what we require. So I would be looking to move on Macca, and get another big, dominating midfielder.
So in summary.
Essential
Important
Nice to have
Highly doubt weāll be signing as many as 3 wingers.
What would be the quality of those be then? And then money needed? And how would our team structure look like?
I think a new starting right back is mandatory for me. It will be the easiest upgrade in our squad.
My wish list if we have 150 M:
The key for me is to give the current group time to bed down.
As an asideā¦
Reckon if one of them is Diomande then that might well be our one and only and we rely on Frimpong and Wirtz as options.
But if we come down a price level to someone like Bazoumana Traore or a good deal on Barcola we might do a second but itād be more like a Malik Fofana or Summerville type where itās a bit of an opportunistic one and clear theyāre a squad player initially.
Jaquet
Ideally an out and out midfield 6
At least one, ideally two wingers.
If Konate goes then a CB and if Gomez goes then a RB/CB type but Iād be doing what I could to keep both.
Thatās probably Ā£200m right there. Sales wise we might be able to rustle up Ā£100m or so from selling a midfielder (Jones/Mac Allister), Chiesa, Elliott and possibly Alisson depending on his wishes. Salah, Robbo, Jones/Mac Allister frees up a chunk of wages, even more of Ali goes too.
Then itās looking at what other opportunities there might be. Would like to see what McConnell, Morrison and Koumas can offer us and if thereās any chance we can keep Danns healthy. All could help fill out some squad depth. If we can find replacements for Endo and Chiesa from that group, and by replacement I mean Slotās bench fodder only used in case of emergency, then weāre not spending on depth that he doesnāt want to use.
We will see what happens during the summer transfer window.
Chiesa is a solid fotballer and he used well his limited chances at our club. He is still 28 yeras old and for Italy that is a pretty tender ageā¦ Juventus already inquired about him this winter. And teams such as Roma, Como, Milan have the necessary finances and will need reinforcement for their future participation in Europe. Even Bologna, Atalanta and Lazio can easily afford to pay 15-20 mln. euro for Chiesa.
Stephenson was Dundee Unitedās best player, currently injured. There are strong rumours that Celtic and Rangers want to sign him. And several days ago āāThe Courrierāā wrote that there is a strong interes in Luca /incl. from teams in the Championship, who are promotion candidates/. Luca played mostly as a right wing back or central mdifielder in 3-5-2 system and has 5 goals and 5 assists /1st in assists and 2nd in goals for Dundee United/
And Owen Beck went on loan at Derby /I think that they paid a loan fee/, but he had a very bad injury and practically missed the whole season, so Derby sent him back to Liverpool to recover. But last season Owen was very good for Blackburn, playing under a decent manager /John Eustace/. By the way, he is the manager of Derby County this season. And the season before he was fantastic for Dundee, leading them to top 6, while being chosen in PFA Scotland team of the year. https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/sport/football/dundee-fc/4955373/dundee-loan-star-owen-beck-named-pfa-scotland-team-year/.
He can be sold in Scotland or in the Championship, if healthy, his reputation there is not bad at all.
In Marcottiās round up of the weekend last week there was a nice section on Diamande that would interest @RedOverTheWater
9. Yan Diomande delivers again and RB Leipzig takes huge stride toward UEFA Champions League: Iāve raved about him before, but Diomande, at 19, may be the most productive non-Bayern player in the Bundesliga. Nobody ā other than the Bavarian trio of Harry Kane, Michael Olise and Luis Diaz ā has more goal involvements (goals+assists) than Diomande does (18). His opener against Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday was highlight-reel stuff, cutting from right to left, all the way across the penalty box, evading tackles along the way and then unleashing a right-footed finish. Diomandeās skill set ā quick, close control, mazy dribbler and two-footed ā has had scouts drooling for a while, but he was seen as a āraw talentā a year ago and there were doubts whether he could go to the next level. I think his production has already answered that question. Whether he stays there, or how much higher he goes, remains to be seen, but itās worth remembering that less than 18 months ago, he was at an academy in Florida. Give him time to grow. In the meantime, Leipzigās 3-1 win in Frankfurt all but guarantees theyāll be playing their European football on Tuesdays and Wednesdays next season.
I think weāve left ourselves in the position where three are needed really. If we are looking for two for each position,
We have nobody on the right, unless weāre counting Frimpong, in which case we need a Right Back.
On the left we have Ngumoha, who Slot will not use because he isnāt ready. And Gakpo, who will be required to cover through the middle.
So weāve basically got half a player for the wings. Maybe two halves if Ngumoha gets more time.
I just donāt see how we get away with singing fewer than two. Iām not sure how we are going to manage without three players.
I think there is a difference between what we āneedā and just how much business we can realistically expect to do in one window - particularly when ādoing too much in one windowā is considered one of the mitigating factors behind our poor season.
It does appear that Arne doesnāt really trust Jeremie at RB so bringing in someone to play in that spot makes sense. That would also buy time for Bradley to get himself fully fit and see if he can get through a season without serious injury.
It really depends on how flexible Arne (or his successor) is willing to be. You have suggested Elliot be a back up for Wirtz, if he is open to that, there is no reason why Elliott couldnāt also get games as back up option for who ever is the starter on the right wing. Alternatively, a system where Wirtz plays on the right (as per @sweetingās suggestion) would be another potential resolution. Dom could also be a further option for the right if we bring in more centrally focused midfielders.
Given the frequency of links to Diomande, it would appear that he is our top target. A second player who can cover multiple roles like Semenyo does make sense. I canāt see us go for a third wide player for the first team without a lot of sales first.
Its difficult to tell. He has been so desperate for players in attacking areas who can run past a defender that he has often preferred him at RW as an alternative to Mo and so maybe part of it is wanting to protect his hamstring so heās available to play further forward when needed.
In terms of balance you could see how Wirtz in an ostensible RW role played in a way that leaves a lot of room for an up and down RB to run into, especially is backed up by a Hendo like presence at RM to provide protection, something Dom looks well positioned to playā¦that could make a lot of sense.
We suffer way too much with injuries to keep ploughing through with 20-21 senior players season in season out. Lads like Rio are great but they canāt yet be counted upon as theyāre not viewed to consume the minutes a senior player otherwise would.
For squad depth and balance itās vital we sign 2 RWs and 1 LW, we donāt need nor want them to all be big money signings. The recruitment guys need to go back to being inventive and not being drawn into chasing the soundbite of hyped up players.
If someone like a Leao or Conceicao is available for Ā£40m or an equally talented lad like Bazoumana Toure, then it makes no sense why weād chase Diomande for whatever absurdity Leipzig are looking to fleece.
Fair enough assumption for club to go this scenario. Letās see where they go on this?
If someone has to be getting sold? Then MacAllister you would expect to be starting for Argentina and itās looking like they make it through to the knock out rounds as facing Algeria, Austria, Jordan. A good tournament for him surely adds player value.
I would just get that homegrown premier league right back in anyways and not tempt fate on more injuries, otherwise Dom is gonna be the next one running his contract out for a free transfer.
Regarding bringing this tipped 19 year old non-homegrown winger in, (heās basically played 33 games in less than one year for the team finishing 3rd in the German league) I would also wait for after the World Cup to see how Ivory Coast fairs? Considering they also have a good chance to get to knockouts. If he puts in a good showing against Germany (players heās faced already) and beyond, then maybe. But they shouldnāt be estimating it at like a 60m plus type of signing as he has basically done fuk all, career wise!
I would also be looking to bring in a 2nd rate homegrown experienced goal scorer. If you base it on the last match, recently turned 18 Will Wright was on the bench. He then plays and loses today in U21ās against Crystal Palace along with other bench players pecsi and nyoni. He scored 2 goals which is very impressive, but that doesnāt scream out a senior squad player for next season if they canāt beat the junior players over at Crystal Palace.
2 wingers for me, if one of them is Diomande who can play both sides. Add Rio and it is three players for two positions, backed up by Frimpong who can play on the wing and Wirtz who can too. Gakpo can also cover, but he should be central as an understudy for Isak while Ekitike is out.
2 wingers signed this summer should be enough.
Then put me down for a robust midfielder coming in with Macca going out. Obviously they have to have quality too. Wharton, Anderson, Camara, there are options there.
Arguably a right back if thereās not a lot of confidence in Bradley or Frimpong being able to take hold of it.
Definitely another central defender if Konate leaves, but if he signs we have enough.
Three or four good signings and I think we will be in business again, crucially under a new manager. If Slot somehow stays on (I donāt expect it to happen) then a few new signings in the summer will not address our issues.
Barcola has two years left on his contract and he doesnāt seem to start most games at PSG.