Polarboy

Berge is surely done then if Shelvey has been confirmed. It would be uncharacteristically cavalier for Howe and Ashworth to let Shelvey go without somebody definitely lined up regardless of how much sense the deal made otherwise for the club and the player.

Franca was reportedly on the bench for a big Brazilian cup match tonight and he usually starts, so that might indicate he's on his way, or at the very least his head wasn't right. Howay will obviously pay no heed to the not starting possibly being an indication of anything of course 😂 👍

Gordon, Ashby, Berge and Franca would be a very nice mix of ready to start and massive potential. Franca and Ashby would likely be bench players or at least in the squad, but Gordon and Berge would be pushing to start. And obviously Berge would be the oldest as someone who'll be 25 soon so Howe could really work his magic. Partly theoretical at this point of course in the cases of Berge and Franca.

The problem with the Franca deal is we don't have much leverage. If we're not willing to pay the release it's no skin off Flamengo's nose to keep him until at least the summer. He's only 18 so there's no rush for them to do anything. The only thing that might push them to sell is if Franca's head has been turned.

He's right more often that not, but he did have a bit of mare with the protracted Pedro deal off Watford that never happened for us.

Berge is highly rated and seen as a much better player than Championship level. He'll be 25 next month so he's still fairly young as well. There was talk that Liverpool were interested recently, and as I said on the previous page I distinctly remember him getting a lot of praise last time Sheff Utd were in the PL. Berge could be a very useful player for us, if not our number one choice for the defensive midfield role. He'd certainly provide very decent competition to whoever we do eventually get for that position.

Sheff Utd are owned by a Saudi Prince, so auld MBS might get on the blower and threaten him with a trip to a hotel for a few months, like when Bin Salman rounded up a few Princes and imprisoned them until they submitted to his rule. I was going to include a smiley face at the end of that previous statement but as it went along it no longer seemed appropriate 😂 On a side note, for the deal to make sense for Sheffield United it would need to be a large loan fee and an obligation to buy I'd imagine. Otherwise why would you just loan arguably your best player when you are trying to get promoted, you know apart from the Saudi connection as mentioned. When Sheff Utd were in the PL I do recall plenty of pundits waxing lyrical about Berge. A defensive mid with a bit of class and who can chip in with the odd goal. He's also like 6'4 so him Joelinton could absolutely dominate for us.

Given that Chelsea are supposedly trying hard for Enzo Fernandez off Benfica, and Benfica are playing hardball, it could be that us loaning a player off them depends on whether Chelsea manage to submit an offer they can't refuse. Chelsea may not want to strengthen us, but if there's a lack of options they may have to offload a player to us for FFP purposes if Fernandez signs.

You'd imagine if we can't get anyone Shelvey will be staying. With regards to availability of players we like I wouldn't be surprised if it's the Chelsea lads we want and Chelsea have told us to do one. Plus if it's Gallagher specifically he seems to want to stay at Chelsea.

If Shelvey heads to Forest surely that means we have midfield reinforcement lined up. Howe was talking about needing numbers in midfield well before he was even aware of Forest's interest, or at least that's how it seems if this Forest interest is last minute.

Jones in the background of the office at about two and half minutes taking in every detail to get a proper sense of Gordon.

Mitoma yet another Ashworth find for peanuts. He looks a player given his goal output and general play these last few months for Brighton.

https://www.newcastleworld.com/news/newcastle-united-fan-shows-anthony-gordon-geordie-hospitality-4005622 😂 Gordon got stuck at the metro centre with no taxis about and a random fan gave him a lift back to the Hilton he was staying at.

One more sneaky one before Tuesday would be nice. Don't know much about Ashby but Scotland seem to churn out class full backs, so I'll trust Ashworth and Howe's judgement. If Lamptey wasn't so injury prone he'd be a very good example of Ashworth's ability to pick up a class full back on the cheap.

Ashby has reportedly removed all the West Ham insignias etc from his social media. So if this falls through and he has to stay at the 'ammers until the summer he's going to look like a bit of a tit.

Probably his mum, but you never know with these scousers 😂

It's really isn't a massive assumption, it literally happens all the time. A common indication that people look for after heavy speculation is if a player isn't included in the starting eleven and sometimes even squad. There's literally no manager who has absolute control of ins and outs nowadays. Some have more say that others, but again none have total control. But yeah agree to disagree.

It isn't just down to Rogers. If he's told from the higher ups that a player is being sold because it makes financial sense, he doesn't have final say only an input that they may or may not listen to. And I'm sure there are some instances where a player has played and then has been sold not long after, but the norm is that the play is wrapped up in cotton wool if they're most likely on their way out.

It's my understanding that if you think a player might be going, and part of the reason for him going is likely because you need the funds to reinvest, then you aren't going to risk tens of millions of pounds when the player has to pass a medical before joining a new club.

It seems unlikely that Rogers would risk Maddison today in the FA cup if he was leaving as someone said above. He's just played 60 odd minutes for them before being subbed.

Apart from Ashby I have a feeling we'll get somebody in on loan or loan to buy. Probably not Ziyech given what Chelsea are supposed to have said about not strengthening rivals, but maybe someone from a foreign league.

https://www.caughtoffside.com/2023/01/27/player-with-48-goal-contributions-arrives-in-england-ahead-of-a-potential-move-to-newcastle/ Don't know if anybody mentioned this yet, but we're taking a 17 year old Jamaican striker called Dujuan Richards on trial. He was at the same academy as Bailey who plays for Villa.