Transfers, 2024-25 season

[Dr Gloom 24232]

10 hours ago, aimaad22 said:

Chicken nonce reckons we're in for Delap. Of course there must be other clubs interested but great deal if we can get him to sign. Cut price, different/complimentary to Isak, young, already shown he can score in this league. 

I think I’d prefer Ekitike as he’s a very similar profile to Isak and we wouldn’t have to change the way we play when they rotate.

 

Not that I’m turning my nose up at either option. I remember when we were fishing in the Shefki Kuqi pond 

[Holden McGroin 7896]

Ekitike has the whiff of a world class bellend, so I’d personally avoid him.

 

He does look handy though.

[RobinRobin 12883]

6 minutes ago, Holden McGroin said:

Ekitike has the whiff of a world class bellend, so I’d personally avoid him.

 

He does look very expensive though.

FYP

[RobElliott 1976]

32 minutes ago, Dr Gloom said:

 

Not that I’m turning my nose up at either option. I remember when we were fishing in the Shefki Kuqi pond 

 

[Dr Gloom 24232]

58 minutes ago, Holden McGroin said:

Ekitike has the whiff of a world class bellend, so I’d personally avoid him.

 

He does look handy though.

 

what is that based on  - the picture of him and his agent that was taken after he chose psg? he was a kid tbf to him. if he as a massive bellend, would our scouts have been interested in him in the first place given their no dickheads policy? i dunno. 

 

i've watched ekitike a couple of times this season for frankfurt and he looks the part. crucially, he looks very similar to isak - the way he runs with ball, drops off and gets in behind. i'm not saying he's as good as isak but who knows - he could be after howe gets to work with him. i like the look of delap too but he looks more a chris wood profile striker, albeit at a better age with more potential and a higher technical ceiling. i'm not sure he'd be as suited to the way we want to play. 

[David Kelly 1385]

Do we think that any of the top teams will be in for Delap as their first choice striker?  Obviously us (assuming we still have Isak) and Citeh wouldn't have him as first choice.  Liverpool and Arsenal I would personally see going for bigger targets.  Villa if they don't sell Watkins and don't get Rashford may be a more realistic option as first choice, same with Chelsea and Forest.  Otherwise he may be looking at a small step up the league like Man Utd or Spurs but both of them are more likely to ruin his career than make it.

Personally, I think we'd most likely be competing with Chelsea and Villa.

[Holden McGroin 7896]

12 minutes ago, David Kelly said:

Do we think that any of the top teams will be in for Delap as their first choice striker?  Obviously us (assuming we still have Isak) and Citeh wouldn't have him as first choice.  Liverpool and Arsenal I would personally see going for bigger targets.  Villa if they don't sell Watkins and don't get Rashford may be a more realistic option as first choice, same with Chelsea and Forest.  Otherwise he may be looking at a small step up the league like Man Utd or Spurs but both of them are more likely to ruin his career than make it.

Personally, I think we'd most likely be competing with Chelsea and Villa.

Villa is a good shout.

 

im sure he is waiting for who make the CL\europa spots.

[David Kelly 1385]

1 minute ago, Holden McGroin said:

Villa is a good shout.

 

im sure he is waiting for who make the CL\europa spots.

That will definitely impact a lot.  If we didn't make it, it would certainly increase the possibility that we'd lose Isak and then we'd be looking for a first choice striker.  If we didn't qualify and Isak did stay, the money we'd have available would change.  If Villa didn't qualify then they'd probably lose the opportunity to sign Rashford and could also possibly lose Emery which might increase the chances of Watkins staying and then they wouldn't need a first choice striker.  If Forest don't qualify I think that would dramatically decrease the options of signing players.  Chelsea are the big unknown as not qualifying should be a big financial issue for them but they way they spend who the fuck knows.  Man U or Spurs winning the Europa league (which looks worryingly likely) changes things massively for them.

[ewerk 34103]

1 hour ago, Dr Gloom said:

i've watched ekitike a couple of times this season for frankfurt and he looks the part. crucially, he looks very similar to isak - the way he runs with ball, drops off and gets in behind. i'm not saying he's as good as isak but who knows - he could be after howe gets to work with him. i like the look of delap too but he looks more a chris wood profile striker, albeit at a better age with more potential and a higher technical ceiling. i'm not sure he'd be as suited to the way we want to play. 

 

Do we want an Aldi Isak though? Or are we better going for a different profile so we can switch things up when games aren't going for us?

[Dr Gloom 24232]

4 minutes ago, ewerk said:

 

Do we want an Aldi Isak though? Or are we better going for a different profile so we can switch things up when games aren't going for us?

 

i think that's harsh. he has the potential to be a top player and he has been putting up the numbers in germany since signing for frankfurt. he also looks bloody good from what i've seen. he's quick and skilful so i can see why we were interested initially.

 

i'm not against signing a a target man as a wild card option up front if you're chasing the game and need to start going direct but that isn't really eddie's style. he doesn't often deviate from his preferred way of playing so signing someone like ekitike, who can slot into the system without making significant tactical adjustments when isak is injured or tired, makes total sense. 

[Dougle 3823]

4 hours ago, wykikitoon said:

Wasn't Ba here first and class. Then Cisse happened and wasn't. I.e the opposite of what you said 

 

 

Aye you are right he came here in 2011 and Cisse in 2012, I dunno maybe Ba was off at the African Nations or something because Cisse was playing up front without him when he was a goal machine.

[strawb 4731]

Delap is much more than a target man, and he’s rapid 

[Gemmill 52251]

Calvert-Lewin would be our mix it up option if the rumours that won't go away about us being interested are true. 

[Dr Gloom 24232]

20 minutes ago, strawb said:

Delap is much more than a target man, and he’s rapid 

yeah, and he’s proved he can score in the PL and has an affordable release clause so I can see why he has plenty of suitors. I wouldn’t be against signing him at all. I do like the look of this Ekitike kid though and he has been linked with us again. 

[Craig 7324]

2 hours ago, David Kelly said:

Do we think that any of the top teams will be in for Delap as their first choice striker?  Obviously us (assuming we still have Isak) and Citeh wouldn't have him as first choice.  Liverpool and Arsenal I would personally see going for bigger targets.  Villa if they don't sell Watkins and don't get Rashford may be a more realistic option as first choice, same with Chelsea and Forest.  Otherwise he may be looking at a small step up the league like Man Utd or Spurs but both of them are more likely to ruin his career than make it.

Personally, I think we'd most likely be competing with Chelsea and Villa.

I wouldn't rule out Forest either. Chris Wood is well into his 30s now and I don't think Awoniyi is all that. Can see them going for another striker.

[The Fish 11405]

I think we should let Dougle remember stuff more often, it's a wild ride.

[Andrew 5508]

9 minutes ago, Craig said:

I wouldn't rule out Forest either. Chris Wood is well into his 30s now and I don't think Awoniyi is all that. Can see them going for another striker.

Forest need to show that they can sustain some success before they can be in this conversation imo. Great season but they finished 17th last season and a lot tipped them to go down this time round. No one will be expecting a repeat of this run next season.

[Craig 7324]

I think they'll make efforts to sustain their Premier League status. A repeat of this season will be completely unexpected, but I think they'll follow it up with being top half or thereabouts. Depends what's important to Delap - being at a club which is challenging at the top end but his opportunities are few and far between, or becoming a mainstay figure in an established team and really putting himself on everyone's radar. 

Forest are within scope for him - and a far better option for him than Spurs or Man Utd. 

[David Kelly 1385]

13 minutes ago, Craig said:

I think they'll make efforts to sustain their Premier League status. A repeat of this season will be completely unexpected, but I think they'll follow it up with being top half or thereabouts. Depends what's important to Delap - being at a club which is challenging at the top end but his opportunities are few and far between, or becoming a mainstay figure in an established team and really putting himself on everyone's radar. 

Forest are within scope for him - and a far better option for him than Spurs or Man Utd. 

I didn't express myself particularly well but I did actually mean Forest and Chelsea could be strong options for him along with Villa.  I would imagine Champions League would be a must for them to be able to get him though whereas others may actually be better placed to sign him if they didn't make the top five.  I do actually think Man U and Spurs still have more pull than they should have will the way sky have rammed their names down everyone's throats for years.  The mess that they are they shouldn't be in the equation but I do think they are.  Winning the Europa league and qualifying for the Champions League would absolutely be a game changer for either of them.  I've been quite sympathetic to Bilbao for a few years since I spent a week between there and San Sebastian but I'm massively supporting them for the foreseeable.

[The Fish 11405]

Honestly think it depends on his advisors. If he's got good family™ he should end up nowhere fucking near Chelsea or Manchester United.

 

We should be able to offer good money, a decent amount of game time for a kid his age and we can definitely offer excellent development.  

[Ayatollah Hermione 15040]

8 minutes ago, David Kelly said:

I didn't express myself particularly well but I did actually mean Forest and Chelsea could be strong options for him along with Villa.  I would imagine Champions League would be a must for them to be able to get him though whereas others may actually be better placed to sign him if they didn't make the top five.  I do actually think Man U and Spurs still have more pull than they should have will the way sky have rammed their names down everyone's throats for years.  The mess that they are they shouldn't be in the equation but I do think they are.  Winning the Europa league and qualifying for the Champions League would absolutely be a game changer for either of them.  I've been quite sympathetic to Bilbao for a few years since I spent a week between there and San Sebastian but I'm massively supporting them for the foreseeable.

He’s also still young enough where a season or two playing well at Forest, even if they fall off, will hardly harm his chances  of getting a move to a top team eventually. Forest would probably make a tidy profit off £30m too 

[Meenzer 16784]

2 hours ago, David Kelly said:

I've been quite sympathetic to Bilbao for a few years since I spent a week between there and San Sebastian but I'm massively supporting them for the foreseeable.

 

Plus there's our well-documented special relationship with the club

[Monkeys Fist 46242]

24 minutes ago, Meenzer said:

 

Plus there's our well-documented special relationship with the club

Can’t argue with history, can you? 
 

[Kid Dynamite 7916]

4 hours ago, Gemmill said:

Calvert-Lewin would be our mix it up option if the rumours that won't go away about us being interested are true. 

One thing for certain is that Callum Wilson is NOT a mix up option. He struggles to even hold the ball up when he comes on as a sub these days.

[Gemmill 52251]

4 minutes ago, Kid Dynamite said:

One thing for certain is that Callum Wilson is NOT a mix up option. He struggles to even hold the ball up when he comes on as a sub these days.

 

Aye I think he's completely done now. I think he'd have signed a new contract by now if Howe thought he had anything left to offer.