Armchair scout (UK)

[benstone12]

The transfer link thread is getting bogged down in tenuous links to "I think we should go for this guy instead" rather than the actual links to potential transfers. I thought it would be interesting to see what players posters are eyeing on a separate thread.

I've limited my search to domestic based players as this the most likely market we will be shopping in.

Which players do you think we should be looking at bolster the squad?

Centre Backs
Rob Dickie, Oxford, 24
Harry Souttar, Fleetwood, 21
Scott Wharton, Northampton, 22
Tosin Adarabiyo, ManCity/Blackburn, 21

Full Backs
Ryan Manning, QPR, 24
Matthew Cash, Forest, 23
Max Lowe, Derby, 22
Randell Williams, Exeter, 23 (can play full back, midfield or on the wing)

Midfielders
Cameron Brannigan, Oxford, 24
Josh DaSilva, Brentford, 21
Lewis O'Brien, Huddersfield, 21
Will Hughes, Watford, 24

Attacking midfielders
Ronan Curtis, Portsmouth, 24
Niclas Eliasson, Bristol City, 24
Eberechi Eze, QPR, 22
Jed Wallace, Millwall, 23
Bright Samuel, QPR, 22
Daniel Johnson, Preston, 27
Emiliano Buendia, Norwich, 23

Forwards
Tyrese Campbell, Stoke, 20

[Woodleyclaret]

Some decent talent in your list I always thought Wells for Eze might have been on but it was Brownhill who we wanted in,so we deal with Bristol instead of QPR

[ClaretTony]

Brannagan has just signed a new deal at Oxford

[Long Time Lurker]

This was my list prior to the window. A smattering of domestic and foreign players that I felt could be available for less than £10m. Players like Joe Rodon and Ben Davies might stretch that with any competing interest.

(F) Signifies a player more for the future.
(X) represent my top pick for that position.

Possibles without an ( F) signify a player I'm not fully sold on.

Keeper

(F) Alex Bass

I figured that Joe Hart had a contract extension option and we might trigger it. In the event of that not happening I had Loris Karius down for a loan + option to buy ( but his regular football desire knocked him off my list ).

Left Sided Central Defenders

Joe Rodon
Ben Davies ( Preston )
Scott McKenna

Robin Knoche - Signed by Vfl Wolfsberg on a free transfer
Waldemar Anton - Signed by Stuttgart for £3m (X)

Possibles - Rob Dickie, Jake Clarke-Salter

Left Wing Backs

Ryan Manning
Max Lowe
Omar Richards
Anthony Caci (X)

Possibles - (F) Demetri Mitchell, (F) Liberato Cacace

Right Wing Backs

Kenny Tete
Anthony Caci ( he is two footed and can play either side ) (X)

Possibles - Tom Edwards

Defensive Midfielders

Benjamin Whiteman

Niklas Dorsch - Moved to KAA Gent for £3m

Central Midfielders

Angelo Fulgini

Possibles - Cameron Brannagan ( New Contract ), (F) Matt O'Riley

Left Midfield - If We Sell Brady

Ryan Manning ( he can player here as well ) (X)
Kevin Stoger

Right Midfield

Angelo Fulgini ( he plays just as well here and this would be his primary role ) (X)
Jed Wallace

Possibles - Juninho Bacuna, Sergio Lopez Galache ( or maybe as a right wing back )

Strikers - If We Sell Vydra

Sam Cosgrove

Possibles - (F) Moussa Sylla ( could also play right wing ), (F) Danny Loader

I also had (F) Luke Woolfenden on my list as right sided centre back ( New Contract )

[benstone12]

Re Brannigan, I heard he signed a contract as that's what was agreed with the club prior to the play offs. He agreed if they went up he would stay and sign, if not (which they didn't) he would sign a new contract so the club could get a decent transfer fee for him.

Some great options on that list, LTL. I hope the club has these on radar.
I have some other great options from abroad, most of which would fit into the exciting marquee signing category. I will post them on a separate foreign transfer thread.

With all the knowledgeable fans we have, I am surprised there aren't more posters adding their player suggestions to this list.

[BOYSIE31]

Eberechi Eze, QPR, 22
Would love him here but will end up at West Ham

[benstone12]

Eze would be my stand out pick. He has really shone this season and has all the attributes to make a big impact in the Premier League.

[ClaretAndBlue94]

Some decent shouts - Who you have to believe are within our reaches.

I am still convinced we will end up with Vydra and Gibson leaving with Gosling, Francis and Deeney joining.

[ClaretTony]

Some decent shouts - Who you have to believe are within our reaches.

I am still convinced we will end up with Vydra and Gibson leaving with Gosling, Francis and Deeney joining.

Is that John Francis?

[claretonthecoast1882]

Is that John Francis?

Or Stu

[Longsidelenny1882]

Let’s crush a grape utc

[ClaretTony]

Let’s crush a grape utc

up the colne

[gandhisflipflop]

Kristoffer Ajer cb/cm - Celtic.

[BenWickes]

With all the knowledgeable fans we have, I am surprised there aren't more posters adding their player suggestions to this list.

One word. Apathy.

[GodIsADeeJay81]

Eberechi Eze, QPR, 22
Would love him here but will end up at West Ham

Palace for £16-19 million depending on who you believe.

[Long Time Lurker]

Oops, haven't been checking lately. Another five players have been knocked off my Tombola list in recent days.

Kenny Tete - signed by Fulham for £3m today
Max Lowe - signed by Sheffield Utd for ? ( the rumour mill suggests a total fee of 11m-15m for him and Bogle ).
Demetri Mitchell - Signed by Blackpool on a free transfer
Danny Loader - Signed by Porto on a free transfer
Rob Dickie - Signed by QPR for an undisclosed fee

Previous departures

Robin Knoche - Signed by VFL Wolfsberg on a free transfer
Waldemar Anton - Signed by Stuttgart for £3m
Niklas Dorsch - Signed by KAA Gent for £3m

When you look at all the other transfers in this window ( outside of the deals done by the big clubs ) the argument that quality players cost inordinate sums is getting a lot harder to sustain. Obviously, I'm not talking about stand out statistical headline grabbers that are known to everyone, but good young players that could be developed over the short term and play a minor role before that.

The other argument we frequently hear, that we always sign players late in the window, is also very difficult to substantiate when you look back over our transfer history.

We signed Gudmundsson and Pope in July of the 16/17 Summer window. In the Summer window of 17/18 we signed Taylor, Cork and Bardsley in early July. Since those windows, which aren't that long ago, we have gradually moved towards signing players later and later. I think it is also fair to say that some of the players we have signed late in the windows haven't been very particularly cheap or particularly good.

If you set out to dine early you can take your pick of restaurants. Even if the one you really want to eat at is fully booked you will still have a good choice. However, picking the ones that common sense tells you are completely unrealistic or waiting to see were everyone else goes will lead to you paying 4am petrol station prices for a packet of skittles or a stale pasty that everyone else has avoided ..... if you are lucky.

Of equal interest are the players we have signed in the ( far too hard to do any business in ) Winter window over the years. Tarks, Westwood, Brady, Lennon and Brownhill ( but I think he was more down to luck than design ).

The final fallacy that caught my attention, while I was looking through our transfer history, was the often quoted ( we have finished positively in the league so our recruitment is very good ).

However, when we look at our recent transfers very few of our new additions have actually played an active role out on the pitch. I'm not denying that strength in depth functions as an important insurance policy and that some valuable contributions have been made ( outside of overall playing time ), but the overwhelming majority of the players directly responsible for our ongoing success were all signed in the 17/18 season or before.

Apart from being poised and eager to play our recent in-comings haven't done very much on the active front. Jay and Pieters are the only ones who have registered a reasonable amount of game time, which occurred during last season. Although, Pieters should have been replaced by Taylor a lot sooner than he was and he only played post lock down because we were really short of players and we had a gap in midfield. Jays minutes have come at the expense of Vydra who has been held in the fourth spot and the injuries to Wood and Barnes.

All told our signings over the last couple of years have done very little to improve the first team out on the pitch ( the players actively responsible for our excellent results ) even though they have made a big impression on our wage bill. The argument that they might have contributed towards future proofing the squad or provided us with a conveyor belt of developing talent is also very thin. Our recent recruitment performance has been really poor and despite considerable investment in the last couple of years it seems like it is actually getting even poorer.

I'm tempted to think we have entered a comfort zone where we are simply regurgitating a developed repertoire of answers to important questions, without stepping back and questioning whether there is any actual truth currently underpinning them or whether there ever was. The relative ease with which we can all fill out our Media comment bingo sheets and quickly shout " Stadium " clearly highlights that as well.

[DCWat]

Oops, haven't been checking lately. Another five players have been knocked off my Tombola list in recent days.

Kenny Tete - signed by Fulham for £3m today
Max Lowe - signed by Sheffield Utd for ? ( the rumour mill suggests a total fee of 11m-15m for him and Bogle ).
Demetri Mitchell - Signed by Blackpool on a free transfer
Danny Loader - Signed by Porto on a free transfer
Rob Dickie - Signed by QPR for an undisclosed fee

Previous departures

Robin Knoche - Signed by VFL Wolfsberg on a free transfer
Waldemar Anton - Signed by Stuttgart for £3m
Niklas Dorsch - Signed by KAA Gent for £3m

When you look at all the other transfers in this window ( outside of the deals done by the big clubs ) the argument that quality players cost inordinate sums is getting a lot harder to sustain. Obviously, I'm not talking about stand out statistical headline grabbers that are known to everyone, but good young players that could be developed over the short term and play a minor role before that.

The other argument we frequently hear, that we always sign players late in the window, is also very difficult to substantiate when you look back over our transfer history.

We signed Gudmundsson and Pope in July of the 16/17 Summer window. In the Summer window of 17/18 we signed Taylor, Cork and Bardsley in early July. Since those windows, which aren't that long ago, we have gradually moved towards signing players later and later. I think it is also fair to say that some of the players we have signed late in the windows haven't been very particularly cheap or particularly good.

If you set out to dine early you can take your pick of restaurants. Even if the one you really want to eat at is fully booked you will still have a good choice. However, picking the ones that common sense tells you are completely unrealistic or waiting to see were everyone else goes will lead to you paying 4am petrol station prices for a packet of skittles or a stale pasty that everyone else has avoided ..... if you are lucky.

Of equal interest are the players we have signed in the ( far too hard to do any business in ) Winter window over the years. Tarks, Westwood, Brady, Lennon and Brownhill ( but I think he was more down to luck than design ).

The final fallacy that caught my attention, while I was looking through our transfer history, was the often quoted ( we have finished positively in the league so our recruitment is very good ).

However, when we look at our recent transfers very few of our new additions have actually played an active role out on the pitch. I'm not denying that strength in depth functions as an important insurance policy and that some valuable contributions have been made ( outside of overall playing time ), but the overwhelming majority of the players directly responsible for our ongoing success were all signed in the 17/18 season or before.

Apart from being poised and eager to play our recent in-comings haven't done very much on the active front. Jay and Pieters are the only ones who have registered a reasonable amount of game time, which occurred during last season. Although, Pieters should have been replaced by Taylor a lot sooner than he was and he only played post lock down because we were really short of players and we had a gap in midfield. Jays minutes have come at the expense of Vydra who has been held in the fourth spot and the injuries to Wood and Barnes.

All told our signings over the last couple of years have done very little to improve the first team out on the pitch ( the players actively responsible for our excellent results ) even though they have made a big impression on our wage bill. The argument that they might have contributed towards future proofing the squad or provided us with a conveyor belt of developing talent is also very thin. Our recent recruitment performance has been really poor and despite considerable investment in the last couple of years it seems like it is actually getting even poorer.

I'm tempted to think we have entered a comfort zone where we are simply regurgitating a developed repertoire of answers to important questions, without stepping back and questioning whether there is any actual truth currently underpinning them or whether there ever was. The relative ease with which we can all fill out our Media comment bingo sheets and quickly shout " Stadium " clearly highlights that as well.

It’ll be interesting to see how the players that you’ve highlighted have performed for their new clubs, in a year’s time.

It would seem that Dyche is after players ready to challenge the first time - do you think that your suggestions would have done this?

I don’t particularly know anything of the players listed. It certainly evidences that players are about for reasonable prices.

Whilst we’ve certainly done well on the pitch, I don’t think it’s unfair to suggest that our recruitment still appears to be something of a struggle (and not just from a financial perspective).

[Long Time Lurker]

It’ll be interesting to see how the players that you’ve highlighted have performed for their new clubs, in a year’s time.

It would seem that Dyche is after players ready to challenge the first time - do you think that your suggestions would have done this?

I don’t particularly know anything of the players listed. It certainly evidences that players are about for reasonable prices.

Whilst we’ve certainly done well on the pitch, I don’t think it’s unfair to suggest that our recruitment still appears to be something of a struggle (and not just from a financial perspective).

Out of those that have moved I think Anton, Knoche and Tete would have been pushing for a spot in the first team, after a short time to adjust to a new club and league. Lowe would have required less time to adjust, but I would say that he is slightly behind them in terms of playing ability.

Knoche is the oldest, well on the way to being a seasoned prob. A bit slow, but a quality defender. Anton reminds me a lot of Tarks and Tete is similar to Taylor, but with slightly less urgency going forward ( solid defender though ).

Even if they don't show evidence of being EPL quality ( although in some respects I think they already have ), £3m is peanuts. We could have expected to recoup that figure in the event of selling them to a Championship club or a Bundesliga 2 club somewhere down the line when things are more settled. And if we should experience relegation sometime in the future they would have definitely done well for us.

The others would have been development candidates, who might have made the step up given a lot more time.

This transfer window has been filled with opportunities and I could have listed many more players, but I stuck to the players I mentioned. My list had a couple of crossovers with benstone12, while some of the other players have been mentioned by other posters on the forum in the past, so they weren't all strangers. They were simply players who struck me as having a bit of quality about them who would move in this window for relatively little cash.

Looking back I made a mistake with Omar Richards, he was supposed to be in the possibles category.

[CharlieinNewMexico]

Fair play LTL at least you have players at a budget we like ( I notice free to 3m mentioned a lot)

But Dyches aesthetic is “28, proven, no risk” which is expensive.

If you added 2 of your type of players to the squad every year, given maturation etc, you’d have a nicely refreshing team on a pretty constant basis.

[Inchy]

Brannagan has just signed a new deal at Oxford

Well that’s us out the running then

[Long Time Lurker]

Fair play LTL at least you have players at a budget we like ( I notice free to 3m mentioned a lot)

But Dyches aesthetic is “28, proven, no risk” which is expensive.

If you added 2 of your type of players to the squad every year, given maturation etc, you’d have a nicely refreshing team on a pretty constant basis.

Kenny Tete joined Fulham for 3m

Max Lowe went to Derby for £3.5m

Scott McKenna is reputedly on the verge of moving to Notts Forrest for 3m

The figure of 3m seems to be the ballpark for my suggestions. I was aiming for estimated transfer fees of 4-5m or less when I put together my list, so I'm guessing that covid has had an impact on even my thrifty value assessments.

Not many left now, I might actually get a fully sold out clean sweep for this window.

[TVC15]

McKenna played for a crap club in a crap league and has just been signed by crap club who last made the championship play off places 10 years ago.

Maybe....just maybe Burnley and every other premier league club were not interested in him because he isn’t that good.