Summer transfer window 2023 - rumours, links and discussion.

[nil_desperandum]

Not sure how you come to that conclusion when he’s played centre half his entire professional career

Not according to stats and reports.

[CoolClaret]

O'Shea has primarily played at Centre Back but has played at right back for WBA , as well as filling in at Left Back and in midfield at times.

‘Has played’ = an odd game or so in a fullback role that is vastly different to Connor Roberts’ role

There is a chance though that VK could be looking at City’s sort of 3-2-4-1 formation and wanting a bit of that here - hence the sheer amount of centre halves being linked

Who knows

[jojomk1]

Being reported by SSN that Curtis Jones could become surplus to requirements at Liverpool
Very good player who would seem to be ideal for our current player profile

[GodIsADeeJay81]

Love it when players are moved around just because someone has decided they'd be better there than an actual player for that position based on very little evidence/experience

[GodIsADeeJay81]

Being reported by SSN that Curtis Jones could become surplus to requirements at Liverpool
Very good player who would seem to be ideal for our current player profile

4 yrs left on his contract, so he won't be cheap.
Would potentially be a good signing, still young etc.

[claretburns]

Being reported by SSN that Curtis Jones could become surplus to requirements at Liverpool
Very good player who would seem to be ideal for our current player profile

Don't think we'll have £50 million spare.

[Woodleyclaret]

Loan to buy ?

[AGENT_CLARET]

Don't think we'll have £50 million spare.

His real value is 20m to 25m

Liverpool's value 60m to 80m

[claretburns]

His real value is 20m to 25m

Liverpool's value 60m to 80m

I say his real value is closer to £10 million, but with Liverpool wanting to replace him with Lavia for £50 million, then Jones is way out of our budget thankfully.

[Tricky Trevor]

Curtis Jones will have a great career and even now has to be valued at £40m. I’m amazed Liverpool are thinking of selling him.

[nil_desperandum]

Love it when players are moved around just because someone has decided they'd be better there than an actual player for that position based on very little evidence/experience

Maybe, but under VK (Guardiola) we need to leave behind the idea that there are set positions and roles in a formation. Things are more fluid now.
It's more than possible that we could play with 4 ball-playing "centre-backs" at times next season, though not playing centre-back in the sense that we understand the role.
(I give you John Stones as an example.)

[ArmchairDetective]

Jones would be a fantastic signing, but I fear he's already out of our budget. He looked great in the bits of the England u21 tournament that I saw and would be surprised if Liverpool let him go.

[GodIsADeeJay81]

Maybe, but under VK (Guardiola) we need to leave behind the idea that there are set positions and roles in a formation. Things are more fluid now.
It's more than possible that we could play with 4 ball-playing "centre-backs" at times next season, though not playing centre-back in the sense that we understand the role.
(I give you John Stones as an example.)

John Stones took several years at City to reach the standard he's at now....

Roberts will rightly be our first choice right back and will face City.
O'Shea may well be a back up option, but throwing him in against the best team on the planet on the first game of the season...

[Rick_Muller]

Maybe, but under VK (Guardiola) we need to leave behind the idea that there are set positions and roles in a formation. Things are more fluid now.
It's more than possible that we could play with 4 ball-playing "centre-backs" at times next season, though not playing centre-back in the sense that we understand the role.
(I give you John Stones as an example.)

^^^this^^^

the fluidity of our team against some opposition in the coming season is key and vital to our way of playing and we need more players who can have a fluid role in the team.

4-4-2
3-5-1
5-3-1
4-1-3-2

numbers mean bugger all these days - it is all fluid and it's how we're going to play. I'm quite excited by the prospect, almost as much as I was last season.

[fatboy47]

Curtis Jones will have a great career and even now has to be valued at £40m. I’m amazed Liverpool are thinking of selling him.

Pinches of salt required at times.

Plenty of muppet on brfcs claiming that young Wharton is worth north of £30m already, and they should hang on to him because he'll be worth far more next year..a lad with basically a handful of starts in the Championship who wasn't even first choice for half the season.

[AGENT_CLARET]

I reckon 3 to 4 announcements this week, looking forward to the videos

[Quickenthetempo]

Pinches of salt required at times.

Plenty of muppet on brfcs claiming that young Wharton is worth north of £30m already, and they should hang on to him because he'll be worth far more next year..a lad with basically a handful of starts in the Championship who wasn't even first choice for half the season.

Nixon said Blackburn will sell for 15m if someone comes in.

[jlup1980]

I'm pretty sure that VK has identified that we need to be much physically stronger in defence and midfield.
I think VK sees O'Shea as an upgrade on Connor Roberts, and I expect him to start wearing the No. 2 shirt against City
THB could still come on loan.

IMO Roberts was our best player post-World Cup. He was outstanding every single week. He's one of the only names I expect to see on the teamsheet vs City.

[jlup1980]

I say his real value is closer to £10 million, but with Liverpool wanting to replace him with Lavia for £50 million, then Jones is way out of our budget thankfully.

We're about to complete a £19m deal for a U21 GK without a single game of league experience above League One and you think Curtis Jones is worth £10m?!

[ksrclaret]

If we’re sticking with the same system as last year then Roberts will be the one that starts at RB and rightly so. He made that role his own after the WC and excelled at stepping in and out of midfield as required. O’Shea played mostly at CB for West Brom and wouldn’t be suitable for that.

If, though, we’re going to change the way we play and employ some big lads at full back like Man City, then I can see O’Shea taking on the RB role.

Interesting to see what happens.

[bumba]

I reckon 3 to 4 announcements this week, looking forward to the videos

Coulibaly, Palmer, Trafford & Townsend

[bumba]

Two loans?

Coulibaly and Palmer

[jedi_master]

Not seen anything about Palmer? Has he been linked now? I'd be happy with that. You don't play as often as he has for City over the last two seasons (36 games) under Guardiola at 21 years of age without being very talented. Possibly needs a move to start games more regularly and truly prove what he's about.

Where have you heard this Bumba?

[Cap]

If we’re sticking with the same system as last year then Roberts will be the one that starts at RB and rightly so. He made that role his own after the WC and excelled at stepping in and out of midfield as required. O’Shea played mostly at CB for West Brom and wouldn’t be suitable for that.

If, though, we’re going to change the way we play and employ some big lads at full back like Man City, then I can see O’Shea taking on the RB role.

Interesting to see what happens.

Roberts was excellent post WC. I'm not sure why so many people are looking at ways to replace him. He is also a regular starter for Wales.
I think people just look for ways to shoehorn new signings into the starting line up.

[claretburns]

We're about to complete a £19m deal for a U21 GK without a single game of league experience above League One and you think Curtis Jones is worth £10m?!

Absolutely, just because clubs pay such excessive fees doesn't mean the player is actually worth that much.

[Rileybobs]

Roberts was excellent post WC. I'm not sure why so many people are looking at ways to replace him. He is also a regular starter for Wales.
I think people just look for ways to shoehorn new signings into the starting line up.

He did look short of the required standard in the Premier League though, to the point where a number of people were calling for Lowton to be reintroduced. So I don't think that it's a given that he will be in the starting eleven that faces City on the opening day.

[RVclaret]

A decent interview with a Dortmund fan/German football specialist on Coulibaly in the Burnley Express today:

https://www.burnleyexpress.net/sport/fo ... ch-4213066

[Colburn_Claret]

He did look short of the required standard in the Premier League though, to the point where a number of people were calling for Lowton to be reintroduced. So I don't think that it's a given that he will be in the starting eleven that faces City on the opening day.

If you are referring to Roberts playing for SD, and Roberts playing for VK, I would suggest you are talking about 2 very different players.
Roberts came with a pedigree of going down the wing, putting in crosses and scoring the odd goal for Wales. In SDs system he didn't have the freedom to show us his best football. Not having a dig at SD, just pointing out the obvious.

[nil_desperandum]

Roberts was excellent post WC. I'm not sure why so many people are looking at ways to replace him. He is also a regular starter for Wales.
I think people just look for ways to shoehorn new signings into the starting line up.

I don't think anyone is looking at ways to replace him, but we are analysing Kompany's signings and trying to guess why some of these players have been signed, and where they might play. Surely that is the purpose of this forum and this thread in particular?
It's only an opinion but it appears to me that VK has taken more notice of our 6-0 defeat at the Etihad than all our Championship wins, and has identified that we need a bigger, faster and stronger defence. This is why I am by no means the only one who thinks that we MAY be signing additional centre backs with pace, good passing skills / distribution as our system evolves.
It will be harsh on Roberts if he's not first choice, but as we seek to strengthen and develop it might be that, along with Muric, he is a "victim" of our promotion and success.

[AfloatinClaret]

Absolutely, just because clubs pay such excessive fees doesn't mean the player is actually worth that much.

Football players, along with every other commodity or service are worth what the market will stand.

[ClaretTony]

If we were to get relegated the player may not want to stay. What happens then? I suppose we'd have a similar situation to Weggie.

He'd be under contract like any other player - Weghorst was a permanent signing in any case.

[Big Vinny K]

It's only an opinion but it appears to me that VK has taken more notice of our 6-0 defeat at the Etihad than all our Championship wins, and has identified that we need a bigger, faster and stronger defence.

Really ? You think VK is basing next season on how we did against probably the best club side and best centre forward in the world ?

[Rileybobs]

If you are referring to Roberts playing for SD, and Roberts playing for VK, I would suggest you are talking about 2 very different players.
Roberts came with a pedigree of going down the wing, putting in crosses and scoring the odd goal for Wales. In SDs system he didn't have the freedom to show us his best football. Not having a dig at SD, just pointing out the obvious.

Well it’s the same player but playing in different systems and at different levels. Without a doubt Roberts flourished more in VK’s system last season - although even then he was poor in the first half of the season and would have been my second choice behind Vitinho up until the WC break. But we don’t know whether VK will adopt the same or even a similar system next season as obviously the challenge is completely different.

Maybe the system under Dyche didn’t give the freedom for Roberts to show us his best but by the same measure the drop in standard last season was a big factor. I’m not sure whether he’s defensively great in 1v1 situations or at defending the back post and it wouldn’t surprise me if we went for a more robust option at RB at least at times next season.

[alwaysaclaret]

Not sure I’m overly keen on signing Townsend tbh. Right winger when we’ve already got Benson. Was hoping for a Tella/Diallo/Palmer to compete with Benson there. That’s without mentioning he’s not played football for over 12 months.

Could be a very useful addition on a payp or 12 month deal, not least for he's experience, always rated him and if he can prove his fitness I'm sure vk could get the best out of him.

[nil_desperandum]

Really ? You think VK is basing next season on how we did against probably the best club side and best centre forward in the world ?

I think VK is bright, intelligent and very ambitious, so yes, he will want us to be as close to Man City as possible.
That doesn't mean we can reach this standard, (of course not), but he will have learnt far more about our players and future needs in the Cup defeat than he will when we thrashed the likes of Wigan, PNE and Huddersfield at home.

[Big Vinny K]

I think VK is bright, intelligent and very ambitious, so yes, he will want us to be as close to Man City as possible.
That doesn't mean we can reach this standard, (of course not), but he will have learnt far more about our players and future needs in the Cup defeat than he will when we thrashed the likes of Wigan, PNE and Huddersfield at home.

Just don’t see that game as a yardstick for hardly anything in terms of our players.
The United game was probably more of a measure tbh - it showed that Benson was more than capable of giving defences problems and also showed that despite Maatsen having an excellent game against Rashford that most PL teams have a few players capable of brilliance at any point in a game.
But VK is as you say extremely intelligence but even more important he’s played in the league very recently so he’ll already have strong views on what he believes is needed over and above what we had in the Championship.

[Cooclaret]

If we’re sticking with the same system as last year then Roberts will be the one that starts at RB and rightly so. He made that role his own after the WC and excelled at stepping in and out of midfield as required. O’Shea played mostly at CB for West Brom and wouldn’t be suitable for that.

If, though, we’re going to change the way we play and employ some big lads at full back like Man City, then I can see O’Shea taking on the RB role.

Interesting to see what happens.

My opinion; Roberts isn’t good enough, he’s too slow in transition. He also doesn’t have the raw pace of a Walker to cover himself.

He’s a poor man’s TAA. Has fantastic attributes, but they need to be deployed in the right place. I don’t think we have a spot as a starter.

[jedi_master]

I wasn't a fan of Roberts, and at the start of last season I thought he was certainly one of our weakest links. The turnaround in his performances from his return from the World Cup onwards was absolutely superb. I would put him up there with Cullen, Beyer, Tella and Benson as one of our very best overall last season from that point till the end of the season. I would be really shocked if he isn't given ample opportunity in the Prem for us. He struggled there last time (big time) but its a new system, new demands on him and he has improved so much as a player. I think he'll step up.

[KRBFC]

He'd be under contract like any other player - Weghorst was a permanent signing in any case.

Do we know if Weghorst featured in any of the friendlies? I assume he’s been training here.

[ClaretTony]

Do we know if Weghorst featured in any of the friendlies? I assume he’s been training here.

Can't confirm either - but there has been little sight or mention of him from the stuff the club has put out

[Bordeauxclaret]

Doubt he’ll be back given how late his season finished compared to most of ours.

[Vegas Claret]

My opinion; Roberts isn’t good enough, he’s too slow in transition. He also doesn’t have the raw pace of a Walker to cover himself.

He’s a poor man’s TAA. Has fantastic attributes, but they need to be deployed in the right place. I don’t think we have a spot as a starter.

that's the reason he plays for us and not Man City or LIverpool !!

[CrosspoolClarets]

The fascinating thing about this window is we are now back in training and there have been virtually no photos or interviews yet, and the friendlies have been equally cagey in terms of what has come out. Very unusual.

That keeping cards close to the chest is fascinating and frustrating in equal measure. It suggests to me we are about to burst into action with a few things on a knife edge, and I bet in 3 weeks time we will be viewed very differently to Luton and Sheffield in terms of prospects.

[northeastclaret]

With the imminent announcement of Trafford due, I just wonder with all things being equal if VK thinks he is potentially the best keeper from him and Bart and was the first choice.

Obviously, size of fee and therefore value for money, availability, readiness for the premier league all come into it. Read somewhere as well that he tried / considered signing Trafford on loan before.

It would be good to think that VK ultimately persuaded City to sell him Trafford who he really wanted above Bart.

What do you think?

[Socrates]

My opinion; Roberts isn’t good enough, he’s too slow in transition. He also doesn’t have the raw pace of a Walker to cover himself.

Because Roberts isn’t as fast as the fastest player in the league he isn’t good enough?

That’s quite a take.

[Claret Toni]

With the imminent announcement of Trafford due, I just wonder with all things being equal if VK thinks he is potentially the best keeper from him and Bart and was the first choice.

Obviously, size of fee and therefore value for money, availability, readiness for the premier league all come into it. Read somewhere as well that he tried / considered signing Trafford on loan before.

It would be good to think that VK ultimately persuaded City to sell him Trafford who he really wanted above Bart.

What do you think?

My view, and its with no real knowledge just perception, is that VK saw them both as potentially top class keepers. Based on experience Verbruggen, and the fact our interest was in the public domain, was seen as 1st choice. As the price rose VK moved onto his 2nd choice, Trafford.

[Silkyskills1]

My opinion; Roberts isn’t good enough, he’s too slow in transition. He also doesn’t have the raw pace of a Walker to cover himself.

He’s a poor man’s TAA. Has fantastic attributes, but they need to be deployed in the right place. I don’t think we have a spot as a starter.

Getting very technical now but for someone who still sees football as basically a simple game can you please explain to me what you mean by 'he's too slow in transition'?
Oh, and secondly what are your views on the potential cost of a TAA/Walker to a club like ours? Just asking out of curiosity and some wonderment.

[jlup1980]

Absolutely, just because clubs pay such excessive fees doesn't mean the player is actually worth that much.

He's worth what a club is willing to pay for him and I can't see him moving on for anything less than £25m in the current market. We all know it's crazy, we all know it's not sustainable, but we also know it's true!

[SirBob]

Seem like we valued Bart at 12/14 million and Trafford at 19m and decided to go for Bart as a cheaper option. Then when Brighton came in and pushed up the price for Bart we decided to bite the bullet and go for Trafford.

[Elizabeth]

There’s been a lot of in the know information locally about Palmer and that has been the case since before the recent U/21.
I suppose now that that competition has finished things will become clearer.
Talksport and one of these media sites have mentioned a loan to Brighton