BTW, how do you know if yogurt has gone bad? They become sweet instead of sour?
Easy, read the date on the package 
The date never lies
Yes I would.
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Contracts expiring in summer 2023
Ox, Keita, Milner, and Firmino
Contracts expiring in summer 2024
Matip and Thiago
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Nat Curtis and Kostas are all squad players, none of them would command a big fee.
Kostas we should 100% not be selling, he’s as good a back up as we have in any position.
Nat we shouldv’e took the 15m when we had the chance and Curtis we shouldv’e took the 25m when we had the chance, hopefully those offers are revisited and we can move them on. 1 it’s clear has no future at the club and the other I class as a peripheral player ala Ibe, Brewster, Neco…there or thereabouts but never really able to take the step up.
Approximately 60%. The other big european clubs generally have bigger and/ or more stable revenues and for those outside the England compete in leagues with less competition which makes it easier for them to sign players or to overcome the downsides from signings that don’t work out.
Our main issue this last window is more the lack of sufficient targets than it is money. The club can find the money to make deals happen for the right players and It’s unlikely that the club will leave itself short on midfield targets in a summer it is prioritising recruitment in that position.
I’m with @Zoran on this - let’s see if this group can function together first before seeing what happens next in the transfer market. We’ve never had this many players in our squad.
That said, it does look like the focus of our future dealings will be on midfield players.
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True, but there are 3 or 4 clubs that have a higher wage bill than we do. It is a fact we are behind those clubs in wages. I am absolutely fine with having the 4th highest wage bill…we obviously have quality players and pay a reasonably good wage. That is a fact.
Where we fall further behind to those clubs above us in the wage category is transfer fee/net spend. We don’t spend nearly as much money as City, United, and Chelsea. There are probably one or 2 more. That is also a fact.
So that combination is meaningful. I am not complaining. I happen to love the way our club it set up and believe it is a sustainable model. Our owners will shell out money when needed as we have seen in the past. But we do “spend less” than those above us by a wide margin. We have to accept that and not call it what it isn’t.
We are also a lot more efficient with our spending than they are. Lukaku anyone? Ronaldo, Pogba, the list goes on…
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This season will tell us a lot more about Curtis Jones. At present I would definitely not sell around the 25M mark. That’s a big no for me.
Milner will age out, Keita and Ox will very likely not be renewed, and all the others get a year older. Jones will be part of the new group of midfielders as it gets refreshed.
How far up the pecking order remains to be seen, but unless the offer is significantly more than 25M, it’s best to keep him around and see how we go.
Also, Jones doesn’t cost us much in terms of salary.
If you look at numbers and suspected quality we have a fair bit of depth. The issue is so many especially in CM are injured.
Our depth is better than most teams in this league, Spurs spent most of their summer buying depth and Man City’s is almost none existent, they had our injury crisis at any point these last three years they wouldn’t have coped.
If the quality of squad had dropped off I’d be concerned but it hasn’t, it fluxates at times and injuries expand that perceived gap.
The problem with the way Man Utd and Chelsea spend is it’s often replacing last years signings. They’ve finally found potentially a CB pairing after how much?
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Oh no argument there.
The Athletic reporting that two English clubs are interested in bringing in N’Golo Kante on a free next summer.
Think it could be Arsenal and Newcastle. Maybe Tottenham.
the bosman list for next year is massive, however not for big talents. notables that may be worth a cheeky punt in Jan if we are still hurting for midfield numbers:
Gavi (age 18)
Douglas Luiz (age 24)
Alexis MacAllister (age 23)
Noah Mbamba (age 17)
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Defo think 1 of them could be Tranmere Rovers, they’re still hurt over not replacing Jay.
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Need investment in the team. While the team isn’t performing at the moment, one can look wider. The midfield is lacking. The club has been too slow in improving the team. Plus not getting rid of certain players sooner.
Leagues will be paused from mid November on. We could look at players who are not going to the World Cup.
Try to do all possible negotiations from then on. The player would have 6 weeks to prepare and then officially bring him in on New Year’s Day.
Remember when we signed Davies and Kabak on the final that of the January window.
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