If we go up, who are we poaching?

[Canaryboy]

Self-explanatory really. When If we win the league this season, which players from other clubs are we spending our Sky money on? 

My picks are:

Henri Lansbury - Don't really understand why we didn't sign him the first time around, is the best player at Forest and deserves better. I don't think we've replaced Leroy Fer, so he should be our Fer replacement. 

Matty Ritchie - Possibly the best winger in the division. A left footed winger who plays on the right as an inverted winger, a Snodgrass replacement? 

David Marshall - If Ruddy leaves? Proven himself to be a quality keeper and plays for Scotland with half of our squad. Didn't exactly bond with our fans the first time around, although it did come out that he didn't submit a transfer request when we got relegated in 2009, we just wanted the money. 

Sam Byram - If we go up then right back must surely be considered one of the key areas for improvement. This player is still only 21 and it would be funny to steal Leeds' best player, for the fourth or fifth time. 

Tyrone Mings - Sorry but this kids a bit good. 

I've left out the several Derby players that I like, because I think they'll go up with us. 

Who else in this division could step up? 

I thought about Ross McCormack, but not at £11m! 

 

[Fenway Frank]

Why would Ruddy leave if we got promoted ?

 

[Din]

Would love us to sign Alex Pritchard on loan from Spurs, which I think it's quite likely as well that they'd want to loan him out to a Premier League club, so if we go up I'd like us to go for him. Patrick Bamford from Chelsea as well, similar situation to Pritchard. And possibly Ibe from Liverpool, but he appears to be featuring in their first team so could be unlikely.

Bakary Sako as well from Wolves. Apparently isn't going to sign a new contract with them once his current deal runs out in the summer, because he wants to the Prem. Would be great business on a free.

 

[GJP]

Lansbury wasn't necessarily first choice when he was here so I don't think it's that surprising we didn't get him back.

Byram is the usual shout for an RB. But Simon Francis at Bournemouth is quite handy.

 

[Brian Fantana]

Byram is a good shout but he was touted with  move in the Summer and the number quoted was very big, in the region of £10m. If we are going to spend that on a right back we might be able to do better; it is a lot to spend on someone who may improve.

 

[Canaryboy]

Why would Ruddy leave if we got promoted ?

To play for a team fashionable enough to win him some England caps perhaps? 

He made it pretty obvious that he was willing to move to Chelsea in the summer of 2013. 

 

[Brian Fantana]

We accepted the offer from Chelsea but he turned it down because he wanted to play games rather than warm the bench, no 'top' team will guarantee him football so I can't see him leaving. Also the top teams have their keepers set so who would he displace?

 

[Canaryboy]

"The club didn't get an offer they deemed acceptable" Ruddy told the Pink Un.

 

[Brian Fantana]

You are right, they didn't get the required bid but to be fair his comments afterwards are hardly those of someone overly keen to walk away.

"But it wasn't to be. It was all sorted fairly early doors before we started pre-season, so I was ready to get my head down and work hard for Norwich, and to try and maintain my performances that I had last year."

Ruddy added: "It was very nice, very flattering, but it was something the club didn't want to look at and they were well within their rights. I've signed a long-term deal here and I wouldn't have signed that if I wasn't happy to see it out.

 

[Canaryboy]

Well I'm not saying that he strikes me as a player who is ready to jump ship at the first sniff of a big wedge, like Martin Olsson who I suspect would be at West Brom now if he'd been given a big enough pay rise, just that we do have to consider the possibility that players like Ruddy and Redmond will have their suitors again this summer and be realistic about the fact that every player has their price no matter what division we are in.

We shouldn't forget also that it was only a few months ago that Ruddy was going through a bad time here, lashing out on twitter etc and at one stage many of us thought he'd be off in January! 

If there are any players we'd struggle to keep hold of this summer post-promotion they would probably be Ruddy and Redmond, who are the two that are most likely to attract interest from the big dogs. Doesn't matter whether we're a top Championship club or bottom Premiership club really...... if Jose Mourinho or Brendan Rodgers decide to write a cheque with a sufficient number of zeros at the end then they can take our players. 

 

[KeiranShikari]

Well, I guess this is a better topic than talking about who would go if we don't go up.

 

[Brian Fantana]

Well I'm not saying that he strikes me as a player who is ready to jump ship at the first sniff of a big wedge, like Martin Olsson who I suspect would be at West Brom now if he'd been given a big enough pay rise, just that we do have to consider the possibility that players like Ruddy and Redmond will have their suitors again this summer and be realistic about the fact that every player has their price no matter what division we are in.

We shouldn't forget also that it was only a few months ago that Ruddy was going through a bad time here, lashing out on twitter etc and at one stage many of us thought he'd be off in January! 

If there are any players we'd struggle to keep hold of this summer post-promotion they would probably be Ruddy and Redmond, who are the two that are most likely to attract interest from the big dogs. Doesn't matter whether we're a top Championship club or bottom Premiership club really...... if Jose Mourinho or Brendan Rodgers decide to write a cheque with a sufficient number of zeros at the end then they can take our players. 

I think you are right but to be honest I can't see any of the established 'big clubs' going for Ruddy, a bigger spending average side is more likely - I hate to say it but a Sunderland or a West Ham type (shudder). 

I could see Redmond making the move to a 'big club' but he would have to continue his current improvement to attract a move.

I still maintain that our best player, when fit, is Howson, I could see teams being interested in him.

 

[Canaryboy]

We've got quite a few players who would interest Premier League clubs if we fail to gain promotion, Tettey and Hooper for example, but lets not think about that. 

 

[Tomasz Blazak]

Suppose it's not really poaching as not currently playing in England, but one player I would be desperately hoping we could sign would be Arkadiusz Milik off Leverkusen. 

21 (in 2 days) Year old 6'2 Polish striker, currently on loan to Ajax so we would realistically need to be in the Prem to have any chance of landing him. Scored 8 in 16 in the Eredivisie for Ajax this season (with 4 assists) and 9 in 9 in the cup. He is going to be better than Lewandowski in my opinion. The kid is legit, he is not lightning quick, but he is quick, he is strong, good in the air and his touch and technique are oustanding, and he is absolutely clinical. He is ideally suited for the Premier League imo and would thrive there.

He has scored for fun at every level of the national team (1 in 1 at U17, 5 in 7 at U19, 9 in 8 at U21, and 6 in 14 for the full squad including a goal against World Champions Germany which set us on the way to a famous victory over them for the first time ever!)

His record for club and country this season (including domestic cup) is 25 apps, 21 goals and 11 assists. 

 

[Salopian]

Perhaps RvW may prove to be a complete flop after all, despite improvement at St. Etienne. Otherwise our recent foreign signings have not been bad - Fer, Vadis, Olsson, Tettey. We may not need to poach from other British clubs if our scouting set up does its job! (I don't mention Hooiveld, who was surely a last minute panic signing, as perhaps Miguel and Cuellar were.)

 

[Monty13]

Maybe we could get that Daniel Ayala, he looks a good CB, or that Chris Martin if Derby don't go up! 

In all seriousness I would like to see us invest in hungry players who are used to the English leagues and we feel could make the step up, Olsson was bought from a Championship club and already had significant experience in England and the PL.

RVW was a significant waste of money, Fer was and continues to be inconsistent, Vadis has not really played so can't really be judged either way.

Unless I'm missing someone obvious I would say Tettey is our best (only?) example of our recent history of a player we brought from abroad and immediately made an impact/played consistently for us, whereas how many players did we buy domestically during our 3 seasons in the PL who made the step up?

I trust this manager to get the best out of hungry players against PL opposition, that's what his pedigree in Scotland was. I hope we have a transfer list with that in mind personally.

 

[Suffolk Canary]

Maybe we could get that Daniel Ayala, he looks a good CB, or that Chris Martin if Derby don't go up! 

I also hear Huddersfield have a couple of promising young players, i think they're called Butterfield and Vaughan ....

 

[Canaryboy]

In all seriousness I would like to see us invest in hungry players who are used to the English leagues and we feel could make the step up,

Agreed, which is why I think we should be taking a few other players up with us (if we go up).

It worked for Lambert, and abandoning that strategy and looking overseas failed us. 

Clearly we can't entirely discount the overseas market, especially when the price for a good Championship striker is £11m (quoted price for Rhodes, and actual price of McCormack!), and Swansea are pulling Michu's and Bony's out of Europe.

But I do believe that the nucleus of our squad should consist of British players + foreign players who have already succeeded in English football. 

 

[Monty13]

Lewis Dunk?  I've only seen him play once but Brighton seemed convinced he was off to the PL in January. Still young, tall but with pace and from all accounts good at playing the ball on the deck. Not sure if the PL might be a bit too much of a step up at this point though, similar to when we bought Bennett.

I'd agree with Ritchie and Byram shouts, would be excellent additions, pricey though.

 

[Surgeryman]

Isn't ths discussion a bit premature? Why don't we wait until we get there.

Sorry but always feel a bit edgy with threads like this. Can easily fall flat on our faces!