John Percy (most accurate journo around) linking us with a £6m move for Bristol City left wing back Joe Bryan.

Bizarre one unless Ward is leaving...

He looked really good in their cup run but I agree strange one given Ward and Taylor quality in that position

Can also play left midfield/wing so could be a good fit.

But what about Brady coming back ?? But I suppose we do need a bigger squad and who are we to doubt Dyche if its true !. Then how does the link with Phillips fit?. And then again good left footed players are worth their weight in gold. Don't know much about this lad

Taylor could be shifted to left-sided CB

He's of the Trippier mould but left sided. Means we can play three at the back, 5 in midfield, 1 up top, etc. gives us more flexibility.

Very reliable journo. I'm sure he broke the Walters story (amongst many others). Very switched on....

I'm sure it's the fact he can play a couple of positions which SD sees as attractive. If he was just a left back I'm not sure SD would see strengthening that position as overly urgent.

Jakubs Tash wrote:Very reliable journo. I'm sure he broke the Walters story (amongst many others). Very switched on....

I'm sure it's the fact he can play a couple of positions which SD sees as attractive. If he was just a left back I'm not sure SD would see strengthening that position as overly urgent.

Slight surprise if he's being signed as a full back, but I think he's played more as a wing back this season which may well translate to a left side midfield berth in our system.

With Arfield leaving, and potentially NKoudou too, there's a vacancy for another wide man, particularly on the left given Lennon and JBG both prefer the right.

Outstanding player in the Bristol City cup run.

Left wing back in a new 3-5-2 formation option for next season?

Ward has been brilliant this season, but he has looked pretty knackered in the last few games. He will be 33 next season, and we'll be playing a lot more games. I'm not surprised we're looking at strengthening that area. Signing a player like Bryan makes sense.

Mala591 wrote:Outstanding player in the Bristol City cup run.

Left wing back in a new 3-5-2 formation option for next season?

Given a back 4 has been the bedrock of our success, i'd be flabbergasted to see us move to a back 3.

If SD is looking to have him as a keeper I wouldn’t question it. In SD I implicitly trust.

ClaretAndJew wrote:Taylor could be shifted to left-sided CB

Very doubtful. I don't think even SD believed himself when he suggested it.

FactualFrank wrote:Very doubtful. I don't think even SD believed himself when he suggested it.

I don't think it's any less likely than the Ben Mee switch was at the time.

At £6m - can't argue. In Dyche we trust.

As others have said I'm not really sure where he would fit into the greater scheme of things. We only have three spaces in the 25 to fill, not taking into account any departures during the window. On the up side he is very versatile though.

If Taylor is progressing well with his transition to Centre Back then I could see a need for a new left back. Alternatively, playing further up the pitch like he did against Man Utd could make him a good replacement for Arfield. And he could probably play in central midfield if we were pushed as well.

Really good player and a top bloke by all accounts. Chipping in to pay for the medicals bills of the guy that got injured the other year showed an extra touch of class. I would be happy with this one if it is true and we have a specific role for him in mind. Good age and development potential as well.

I'm hoping the links with Matt Phillips and James McClean are nonsense generated by the West Ham fake news team at the HITC. In the past few days they have been going overboard trying to plant the seeds for ridiculous swap deals that would see dead wood depart in return for quality players, along with spurious interest stories designed to shift players like Carroll (who no team in their right mind would be interested in) and links encouraging teams that could be viewed as competition to sign the expensive old flops (sorry aces) that West Ham normally sign themselves.

I'm not including Jay Rod and Dawson in that, even though I think we can do a lot better than Dawson in terms of price, wages and development value.

It's all a bit sad really, I'm crossing my fingers that West Ham go down and Huddersfield stay up.

BleedingClaret wrote:I don't think it's any less likely than the Ben Mee switch was at the time.

Except that Mee had already spent a reasonable amount of his career playing as a centre-back (more than he'd played left-back) whereas Taylor has never played centre back.

aggi wrote:Except that Mee had already spent a reasonable amount of his career playing as a centre-back (more than he'd played left-back) whereas Taylor has never played centre back.

Yup. They're both very different situations.

Taylor played for leeds a fair few times as a left sided CB. That's why Dyche mentioned it.

Long Time Lurker wrote:
I'm hoping the links with Matt Phillips and James McClean are nonsense generated by the West Ham fake news team at the HITC. In the past few days they have been going overboard trying to plant the seeds for ridiculous swap deals that would see dead wood depart in return for quality players, along with spurious interest stories designed to shift players like Carroll (who no team in their right mind would be interested in) and links encouraging teams that could be viewed as competition to sign the expensive old flops (sorry aces) that West Ham normally sign themselves.

I'm not including Jay Rod and Dawson in that, even though I think we can do a lot better than Dawson in terms of price, wages and development value.

It's all a bit sad really, I'm crossing my fingers that West Ham go down and Huddersfield stay up.

I don't understand why West Ham fans would generate nonsense transfer rumours about us signing James McClean and Matt Phillips? I'd take Phillips all day long, very good player.

Jakubs Tash wrote:Very reliable journo. I'm sure he broke the Walters story (amongst many others). Very switched on....

I'm sure it's the fact he can play a couple of positions which SD sees as attractive. If he was just a left back I'm not sure SD would see strengthening that position as overly urgent.

Far more switched on journo than any of our local journos, when was the last time boden or Marshall broke news on a transfer that hadnt already been reported....i could do their job......far to cosy with bentley, both of them.

Grumps wrote:Far more switched on journo than any of our local journos, when was the last time boden or Marshall broke news on a transfer that hadnt already been reported....i could do their job......far to cosy with bentley, both of them.

Maybe that's because John Percy is a journalist at one of the biggest newspapers in the country, not a provincial backwater rag making tuppence a month.

Matt Phillips would def suit the style and ethos of SD - McClean maybe

Get them both before West Ham step in !

UpTheBeehole wrote:Maybe that's because John Percy is a journalist at one of the biggest newspapers in the country, not a provincial backwater rag making tuppence a month.

In recent years the local rags in leeds, Nottingham and brighton have known more about our transfer dealings than the two i mentioned

We do only have 3 wingers. A fourth is definitely needed. Especially with Europa
We only have JBG, Brady & Lennon.
Arfield out and George to return to spurs.
Hope it’s true!

Ward will be 33 in august so possibly this may be his last season . Taylor becomes left back and joe bryan becomes reserve left back and waits for his chance like everybody else has to . He can play in midfield aswell

Grumps wrote:In recent years the local rags in leeds, Nottingham and brighton have known more about our transfer dealings than the two i mentioned

City newspapers with populations of 780,000, 321,500 anfd 155,000 respectively.

Burnley has a population of 73,000.

Yes please looks good in side that underachieved and worth a bid

UpTheBeehole wrote:City newspapers with populations of 780,000, 321,500 anfd 155,000 respectively.

Burnley has a population of 73,000.

Still local rags,with journos doing the same job,allegedly,with links to the clubs they report on...ours just report what the club want them to.

Many think that it's a very good thing that our club is tight-lipped on targets

makes sense.

Dont mind the club being tight lipped, not sure its a journos job to go along with it,unless they like their cushy little job,with morning calls to sean to keep them sweet. If i was their editor i wouldnt have been happy when news of seans new contract was reported on this message board a full week before the locals reported it after their special lunch with the manager....

Seems an odd target to me but I don’t question things anymore as far as Dyche’s transfers are concerned, it always bites you on the arse (except with Nahki Wells).

jedi_master wrote:Seems an odd target to me but I don’t question things anymore as far as Dyche’s transfers are concerned, it always bites you on the arse (except with Nahki Wells).

Watch him go and bag 20 goals next season

DCWat wrote:
Watch him go and bag 20 goals next season

For Fleetwood!

jedi_master wrote:Seems an odd target to me but I don’t question things anymore as far as Dyche’s transfers are concerned, it always bites you on the arse (except with Nahki Wells).

And Lukas Jutkiewicz & Marvin Sordell

SD has had more hits than misses. Also, during some of the earlier recruitment, the purse strings were closed. Looking at our top 4 most expensive signings, I would say Wood, Defour and Brady were excellent and Hendrick has been ok.

Spijed wrote:And Lukas Jutkiewicz & Marvin Sordell

And Vossen and Hennings .....

Oh and that Reid fella too

Grumps wrote:Dont mind the club being tight lipped, not sure its a journos job to go along with it,unless they like their cushy little job,with morning calls to sean to keep them sweet. If i was their editor i wouldnt have been happy when news of seans new contract was reported on this message board a full week before the locals reported it after their special lunch with the manager....

Maybe it's the editor giving the instruction to keep it cozy and not rock the boat

CharlieinNewMexico wrote:Maybe it's the editor giving the instruction to keep it cozy and not rock the boat

Its not....but if it was, what sort of a journo would put up with that......somebody looking for an easy life?

Grumps wrote:Its not....but if it was, what sort of a journo would put up with that......somebody looking for an easy life?

Pretty much, imagine the Burnley Express' football section in the newspaper without any permission to speak to Dyche/Players for breaking promises and leaking information given to them in good faith.

This guy is quality and would add to our squad. Does seem as if Charlie Taylor is being groomed for CB - from what I’ve seen his defensive work has been much better than his offensive

I’d be staggered if we got Bryan for 6 million. City are run by one of the top brokers in the country. If I’m wrong then party time

I thought we were taking their centre forward or has that gone dead?

MACCA wrote:And Vossen and Hennings .....

Oh and that Reid fella too

The greatest manager in the history of football signed Bebe, **** happens

JohnMcGreal wrote:Ward has been brilliant this season, but he has looked pretty knackered in the last few games. He will be 33 next season, and we'll be playing a lot more games. I'm not surprised we're looking at strengthening that area. Signing a player like Bryan makes sense.

Well at least two extra

Vegas Claret wrote:The greatest manager in the history of football signed Bebe, **** happens

I'm aware of that, it's just nice to add balance when someone says he has only made 1 bad signing.
Of course every manager makes bad signings, good signings or gets lucky every now and again, it's just unfortunate that generally our bad signings are genuinely forwards.

Lordlucan wrote:I’d be staggered if we got Bryan for 6 million. City are run by one of the top brokers in the country. If I’m wrong then party time

I think he's going into the last year of his contract so £6m isnt a bad fee for Bristol City when all considered.

Also, reading what Lee Johnson has been saying it sounds very much like he may need the funds to strengthen and has aleady conceded that Bryan is likely to be sold.

It’s being reported on the press that this signing will signal the end for Charlie Taylor. I find this astonishing as I thought that he had played really well. I know that his appearances coincided with a mini slump but that was also down to Wood being out for a few weeks.

2 and 2 = whatever the papers decide for the day.

dermotdermot wrote:It’s being reported on the press that this signing will signal the end for Charlie Taylor. I find this astonishing as I thought that he had played really well. I know that his appearances coincided with a mini slump but that was also down to Wood being out for a few weeks.

I think "reported in the press" is a stretch isn't it? I've only seen it suggested by HITC and I'm not sure they are even pretending it's based on any intelligence.

Think SD has a certain type of left back in mind. He very nearly signed Andy Robertson from Hull last summer. That would have been some coup and the lads going to be playing in a Champions League final later this month.