Who should we buy in January?

[Canaryboy]

i'd like Toffolo to be given a go but is out on loan (anyone know when his loan ends?) 

He is there for the whole season, it was renewed last week. 

Odd that we agreed to renew before replacing Olsson (we were already talking about him leaving when it was extended), can only assume that the club is 100% certain of bringing somebody in? 

Extended the Toffolo loan and then played Whittaker at left back a few days later  :huh:

 

[Din]

Is that all  :wacko:

Doesn't buy much these days unless you have a manager who is good at plucking gems out of League 1, which hasn't been Alex Neil's style at all so far.

Suspect it may have been more about what we save on his weekly wage than the transfer fee though? 

Edit: Didn't realise Olsson was out of contract in the summer, player forced the transfer then?

He signed an extension about a month ago. He was contracted to 2019. To be honest I reckon the club probably told Olsson he could leave this January as long as he signed a new contract, either that or he'd have to stay here another 6 months before leaving for free and by then he might not have any Premier League suitors. At least this way we get some sort of fee for him.

I don't think Olsson's head has been right since that Brighton game where he had a shocker and a couple of run-ins with their players. His performances have been ok but nothing more (although to be fair that could be said for quite a few). The fact he wanted to leave combined with him being 29 this year means we couldn't really demand too high a fee for him. I do think Swansea have certainly got the better end of the deal though. Alex Neil calling it "very good business" is just plain wrong, especially considering he's our first choice left back, and our only other option there is likely off this window as well.

 

[Canaryboy]

Can't call it good business until we see the replacement.

If we can somehow sign a decent 23/24/25 year old left back and the club looks like it is actually attempting to build for the next 5 years then we can call it good business.

Easier said than done though isn't it, I sincerely hope the club at least has a couple of targets?!?

There is a reason why Brady is bang average but will go back to the Premier League in this window, its because decent left sided players are scarce. 

 

[Canaryboy]

QPR are rumored to be trying to sign Luke Freeman, a left winger, only 24 and highly rated. Out of contract at the end of the season so they are forced to sell and aren't playing him at the minute.

Its the type of player Lambert would have been signing for us, if we are set to be left with no left footed players then why wouldn't we be in for him? Presumably Alex Neil isn't interested in players who are proven in this league and knows some left winger from the Scottish 2nd division who is a dead cert to be a success, just like McGovern and Andreu 

 

[Keckers]

I am mystified as to why this is being called good business for us. If that fee is correct it is very low when you consider some.of the fees out there. Maybe the good bit of business is freeing up a large wage bill somewhat but I am still unsure if that would qualify as good business considering how it leaves us. 

I would much rather we shed a lot of the dead wood and he wasn't one of the names on that list. 

I've been pretty vocal about how I view AN, so I won't go into it again, but the transfer dealings by the club during his tenure have been poor to say the least. A bloated squad full of players we don't want to play and a first eleven full of players who most of the time don't seem to want to play. Most worryingly I do not see this turning around and I fear we are on the brink of a heavy slide. I hope I am wrong and I hope AN does turn it round because I don't see the board getting rid of him anytime soon and I want my club to be successful (and I want to shed this feeling of apathy, even objective ambivalence as though I am on the outside looking in and not really caring, that I feel at the moment). 

 

[morty]

We have reportedly made an enquiry about Bradford City left back James Meredith.

 

[Din]

We have reportedly made an enquiry about Bradford City left back James Meredith.

Looked him up expecting him to be a young prospect, but he's 28! Never played above League 1 level either. Would be a seriously underwhelming signing.

Admittedly have never seen Meredith play, but tbh I would sooner we recalled Toffolo.

 

[Canaryboy]

Looked him up expecting him to be a young prospect, but he's 28! Never played above League 1 level either. Would be a seriously underwhelming signing.

Admittedly have never seen Meredith play, but tbh I would sooner we recalled Toffolo.

It is a bit odd isn't it because although people seem to be missing the fact that a Brady departure means two vacancies not one (left winger + backup left back, he does both roles), it is an odd one because if we are signing 2 left backs then that would leave us with 3 when Toffolo is back.

Unless we are writing off this season and the plan is for Toffolo to step up next season, so Meredith is a short term solution and then will compete with Toffolo who it is hoped will breakthrough into our first team?

Got to be better than Whittaker at left back, I'll give him that. 

 

[Canaryboy]

I would much rather we shed a lot of the dead wood and he wasn't one of the names on that list. 

Easier said than done unfortunately. 

Only option for our deadwood will be for us to pick up a large proportion of their wages for them to go out on loan until their contracts expire.

It does feel like we are writing off this season a bit whilst we wait for Turner, Lafferty, Mulumbu, etc. to drop off the wage bill. Bet there is something like £4m a year in wages right there. 

Then again, Alex Neil has added our next generation of deadwood. Can't see anybody taking McGovern and Jarvis off of our hands, we've got Andreu for another season after this one has finished, and I'll probably go out and have a few ales to celebrate if we could shift Naismith on a permanent by the end of this window!

 

[Din]

It is a bit odd isn't it because although people seem to be missing the fact that a Brady departure means two vacancies not one (left winger + backup left back, he does both roles), it is an odd one because if we are signing 2 left backs then that would leave us with 3 when Toffolo is back.

Unless we are writing off this season and the plan is for Toffolo to step up next season, so Meredith is a short term solution and then will compete with Toffolo who it is hoped will breakthrough into our first team?

Got to be better than Whittaker at left back, I'll give him that. 

To be fair though I don't think we'll be looking to bring a left winger in, and even if Brady goes I don't think it's a huge priority. In recent games Hoolahan has been playing as a sort of left sided player with freedom to come into the middle which worked brilliantly against Derby. Pritchard, Naismith and Canos can all play that role as well plus we have Jarvis coming back from injury who should be a lot more threatening at this level (although he has been out for a long old time). That all said though, part of the reason playing Hoolahan in a left sided free role sort of thing worked so well against Derby was because Olsson is so good going forward, and can give us a genuine attacking threat. If we're not going to bring in a natural left winger should Brady go then we need to at least bring in a left back who is great going forward. Apparently Meredith is pretty good going forward though, but we'll just have to wait and see. Brady might not even end up leaving.

 

[Din]

We've put in a bid of £1.5m for Angus McDonald, 24 year old Barnsley centre back who has been pretty good for them this season. Would be a good signing tbf, certainly an upgrade on Martin/Bennett/Bassong and relatively young.

 

[Din]

We have former Reading and Galatasaray centre midfielder Jem Karacan on trial, and he's going to play for our under 23s tonight.

 

[Canaryboy]

We have former Reading and Galatasaray centre midfielder Jem Karacan on trial, and he's going to play for our under 23s tonight.

He has been a sicknote for 5 years, so just ripe for a 3.5 year contract.

At least he's a midfielder, we desperately need another one of those. Will allow us to us ship out all the old deadwood players like Maddison and Thompson 

I just pray that if we sign him its a 6 month deal as cover for injuries and suspensions. If he signs a long contract then that's proof enough that we are on a downward slope, this is precisely the type of bargain basement signing that Mick McCarthy is forced to make year after year. 

 

[GJP]

Can't see us getting Diego Costa after he scored for Chelsea yesterday. 

 

[Din]

Costa is just a poor man's Oliveira anyway to be fair.

 

[Din]

£9m bid from Palace for Brady has been accepted apparently.

Meanwhile, Sporting Lisbon left back Marvin Zeegelaar is having a medical with us.

Quote from a guy on another forum I'm on who follows Sporting:

"****ing hell good luck mate  that's a cracking bit of business for us

Not gunna lie to you he's been awful this season, started off well when we signed him last January but he's been a constant issue in the team and I feel quite sorry for you"

I asked him if he could do a job at Championship level, his response:

"I'm honestly not sure, it's not just like he's just been poor against the likes of benfica, Porto etc it's been against sides much lower down in the table he's still look totally exposed and many many goals we've conceded have come from the left hand side when he's played. I do wish him well and hope he's better for you but he just hasn't cut it here. If he plays like he did when he first signed last season then he should do a job for you but I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you"

 

[SussexYellow]

To say that does not sound promising Din would be an understatement. Worrying if he us to come in as first choice. No wonder his game time during his career has been limited.

 

[SussexYellow]

Looks like this is not happening now. Whilst this is initially disappointing it may prove to be a bullet dodged in due course. Problem is though that we desperately need a left back.

 

[GJP]

Sounds like he'd have fitted right in.