barry'sboots

I wouldn't disagree. It would probably have been better to get him to, say, Derby (if they could sign loan players) or a league one club for his first loan, let him prove himself and earn a loan to a better championship side next season. Having said that, I hope that he can force his way into the Stoke team and smash it there.

And I think he will get better as more quality comes in around him - as it is doing currently. If he can play off Buendia, Coutinho, Digne, Bissouma/Zakaria, then he will only get and look better!

We'd rip the heart out of Holyhead Hotspur if we did that!!

No different to us taking Konsa and Watkins from Brentford. If they still had them plus Benrhama they might be challenging for Europe?? However, like us with the sale of Jacky boy, without those sales they might also be struggling with ffp! Welcome to the football pyramid - just be glad we are much closer to the top than the bottom and even more so now we have NSWE on board! I think we are in a great position now where we don't need to sell but if we do it will be on our terms.

Agreed. I think he is excellent back up but deserves a chance to go and be a starter. I could see Nat Philips coming in for, say, £12m this window as right sided back up/3rd or 4th choice and then Hause leaving in the summer and a very good CB coming in to challenge Ty. However, if we could extend Hause's contract I would be more than happy to see him stay a lot longer.

Loving JJ but he is a very different player to SJM imho. I too was, last summer, hoping to see him playing in the championship and getting 30+ starts but it looks like he will get those with us now. I think they work well together in a midfield alongside a DCM ( come on down Yves!! Subject to the rape charges being cleared of course ). Two from four out of SJM, Sanson, JJ and Dougie is a really good place to be, with Bissouma/Zakaria (hopefully) behind and Marv as back up. Question is: do we let one of them go (lots of interest potentially in Luiz and he has yet to sign a new contract as I understand it) to create a space for Chukie to get regular game time and would we need to in order to get him to sign a new contract/convince him to stay? Probably need to unless we can secure European games? But SJM would be the last one I would let go and certainly not for the £40m that the press keep discussing!

Purslow, you are a genius!

Agreed. Unlike Jack, I can't imagine that there is a release clause in Emi's contract.

I can't agree. I would love to see Jack back at VP and mixing it with Coutinho, Buendia and Bailey - that would be some four options for Stevie's two "10's" and would allow for really exciting rotation/subs. Maybe in the next summer window - a cheeky £50m bid and Sasha in his ear telling him to get himself back to Brum! Still, loving Buendia as well and think his game is now starting to progress in the way we all hoped it would.

The kid looks petrified ... Probably thinking Suarez is going to bite him!

Ings is a fine finisher but is not mobile enough for Stevie G Ball imho.

He has to start for me but with two from Buendia, Coutinho and/or Bailey flanking him and Ings on the bench.

There have been times where he just looks like a rabbit in the headlights and appears to have completely lost any footballing talent he ever had. So much so, it is almost comical. I think that there may be a real player in there somewhere but that the PL may just be too big for him?

I think that probably describes him/his time at Villa as good as anything. Hard working - and that buys you time with fans - but rarely showed any football nous. I had such high hopes when he arrived on the back of an AFCON where he was described as having outperformed Salah!

I guess it depends what kind of loan fee you are getting. I saw AEG has a buy clause at £8.6m, which doesn't correlate with our supposed £15m valuation, unless they paid a £6m loan fee?

The way we are looking to play, Digne is probably considered an "attacking" option??

Loving this signing and thinking he will fit perfectly with Coutinho as the inside left in front of him. I thought Targett was great last year but is struggling to play Stevie G's way/without Jack. He's still a decent player but I expect him to move on next summer to a team that plays with wingers - maybe Citeh could give us £50m for him In my dream/fantasy football scenario we bring in Hickey in the summer as Digne back up!!

I think the signing of Digne could be perfect for Coutinho. I feel like we can now play the Gerard way with Digne and Cash comfortable operating as the wide players (Targett has struggled without a conventional winger to play with) allowing Coutinho and Buendia to drift in to the space behind Ollie's running (I do thin it's has to be Ollie in front). I also think Bailey is a great option to change it up on either side as he offers a completely different challenge for the opposing defenders with his pace. Just need a decent fourth option in the summer. Dare I say it, come back Jack for £50m! That would be a Champions League team four options for Stevie G's two "10's" imho. I do like the look of JPB as well but would love to see him given 12 months with a top Championship side to get 30+ games under his belt.

I'm really surprised that people saw El Ghazi as a "favourite". For me he is a bit of a one trick pony - comes inside and shoots - but he does have a good shot on him and takes an ice cool penalty. Good, well coached PL defenders will deal with this predictability comfortably. He was our wide version of Hourihane in my mind and, whilst he has played his part over the last few years, like Conor, I am glad he has now moved on and hope he doesn't return. I struggle to see him getting much game time for the toffees as Gray looks very decent on their left hand side and seems robust. I do feel he has done the wrong thing by staying in the PL - imho he lacks the intensity for our league and would have been much better suited to a more technical league like Serie A. I thought he could have done well at Roma when linked. I wish him well though - just not so well that he helps Everton get above us!

Saw an article that said they had an option to buy at £8.6m. Hopefully we got a decent loan fee in? Just got to get rid of Trez and Bertie now for me!

SJM gets replaced by Sanson. McTominay probably replaced by Magic. I think we have lost less than them??

Don't you mean: We don't know how to score and not get the perfectly legitimate goal ruled out by a corrupt officiating mechanism!

Maybe keeping steer and letting the two kids go out. We need three first team keepers.

Targett to Citeh for £50m then???

And many examples the other way ... Bale, can't remember the name of the Chelski defender a few years back and we've had a few e.g. McCormack/the infamous bomb squad. However, I don't think you can blame these players - the club's sign them on those contracts, they want the protection of the contract when things work and conversely have the downside when they don't. If we didn't have this the big club's would be free to go around offering stupid contracts to every signing with no risks attached so it is a useful balance.