They are probably planning to come back for him next summer.
Shame really, when its better players out there for half the price.
I would try to sign a CB now, and try to get Guehi on free in 18 months time.
Printable View
I understand your frustration and my earlier confidence that we would get a top CB and RW in has completely disintegrated.
However...how are we weaker than last year?
I cannot see how.
We have Tonali back. The two young fullbacks have more match experience. We have a third choice striker. We have upgraded Dummet with Kelly.
Again... shocking window really, but let's not be hyperbolic.
Tonali was here this time last year as well, before we lost him again...
But if you just look at the squad and dont count suspesions and injuries we have basically got:
Kelly, Osula and the Greek guy in for Dummet, Ritchie, Anderson and Karius - that isnt really a upgrade. Certainly not in numbers.
And if we loose Trippier tomorrow on top of that business, we are FAR weaker than last season.
Allright, we have less games this season, but if we go through to the finals in both cups, wich has to be our goal, its just a couple of games in difference to this season.
So, I dont see any reason to be optimistic about our squad doing better this season. And the same sicknotes is still filling up our injury list again this season.
All in all, a very poor window with some very weird priorities.
Whilst I get what you're saying, as the team stands, in terms of who we can put on the pitch, I'd say we are weaker. no Botman for another couple of months and no Wilock for, I suspect, a couple of months and anderson gone, too.
The other thing is that we're effectively weaker given that everyone who finished ahead of us and immediately below us has improved their first team and we haven't.
Unless we pull a couple of deals out of the bag tomorrow, it's been an absolute shocker, I'm afraid.
Part of me suspects that, to salvage something out of the window and to keep Eddie happy, we'll end up going back to Palace and saying 'go on, then'.
We're screwed both ways, tbf. If we do that, we'll look weak and will have massively overpaid and if we don't then we won't have improved the first team.
The way that we WANT to play dictates high intensity, high pressing and in order to deliver on that, we need a deep squad with quality in rotation. We keep hearing that we want the right player for the right proce but quantity is what we're lacking at the moment. 3 players could have come in and done a job for the same price we're offering for Guehi.
Look at Brighton. Yet again, build a huge squad who will eventually generate hundred of millions in transfer revenue while also competing in the league.
I'd say that a minimum of 2 in the door tomorrow is a must.
I saw some reports that Guehi was priority target for Howe and he didnt want anyone else.
Honestly I dont know what to think. Of course money should be spent wisely, but nowadays it looks like in Alice in Winderland - “here we must run as fast as we can, just to stay in place. And if you wish to go anywhere you must run twice as fast as that.“
The difference between us and Brighton is the Mike Ashley era.
No, the first year of the 3 year ROLLING WINDOW has been wiped clean.
So our worst ever ‘Ashley income / First year PIF spending’ balance has been taken off the books… but the 2nd year still had a lot of spend against a slightly better income… then last year income jumped but we spent also… it’s still going to be a few years before we have had a THREE YEAR ROLLING WINDOW… with a good income to offset the kind of spend we need to reliably compete at the top.
I’m kinda biased to believe that, I’d love to believe that the DOF had the ultimate authority… but after Howe’s ‘frank’ interview with the press from Germany I worry that confessions have been made and Eddie is pushing for his man at the expense of the club.
This summer has been shocking, we obviously have around 70m to spend at the least, probably a fair portion of that up front… so if we fail to sign anyone AND do badly… I can see Howe or Mitchell leaving before the end of the season, and that will tell us who made/forced the big calls this summer.