January 2021 Transfer Window

[Boozad]

With the board already stating that they see this season as a ‘progression/transition/whatever’ season and will not be disappointed with a mid table finish then bringing Cutrone back makes perfect sense. We own him, he’s showed glimpses of talent before now and knows most of the players. It’s widely accepted that we’d be paying top dollar on a permanent deal and it’s rare the right ones are done in January anyway. As for the loan option Jovic hasn’t exactly been ripping it up at Real (although Benzema’s form may have contributed to that) so there are no guarantees he’d do any better than Cutrone.

It makes perfect sense to me, everybody was clamouring for another striker and we’ve got one without even putting a dent in our finances.

 

[Wilf Wolf]

Maybe leading the line will suit Cutrone more. Does anyone know the formation he played in at Fiorentina?

 

[Haggstone]

It’s difficult, when a club of our size has approx £85m worth of talent in a single position, we are going to be hard pressed to spend more on fees, even without taking COVID into consideration. As others have said previously, we aren’t getting into Europe or going to be relegated this season. Clearly we are going to muddle through as best as we can and see how things stand in the in the summer. Bit like life in general at the moment really.

Its not going to go down well of course with some fans, just getting by isn’t really their thing.

 

[prawnking]

Its not going to go down well of course with some fans, just getting by isn’t really their thing.

Tbf, Fosun have previously intimated it wasn't their thing either.

I broadly agree with Del and others that we're highly unlikely to do anything other than finish around where we are now, and although it's a shame we haven't been able to equal our previous seasons success-wise, I can see how deals would be difficult to push through...although I imagine we'll see some of our peers do just that.

 

[YoungWolf]

Tbf, Fosun have previously intimated it wasn't their thing either.

I broadly agree with Del and others that we're highly unlikely to do anything other than finish around where we are now, and although it's a shame we haven't been able to equal our previous seasons success-wise, I can see how deals would be difficult to push through...although I imagine we'll see some of our peers do just that.

Yeah, I'm probably about here. I wanted quick action in terms of addressing our needs. I guess loosely they have done this just not in the way I was expecting/hoping. Cutrone and Gibbs-White do have qualities that can help us in a system and style that is focused more on dominating possession and creating more chances, but it's a leap to expect them to come in and fire straight away. Fingers crossed they can perform quickly.

 

[Tony Towner]

Bit more nuanced than that in the article itself:

For the purpose of this response I'll take that as the truth in which case I'll pull out a couple of elements, which in the main are questions rather than criticisms

Firstly, they must know what the plan b later in the month is, will it still be available then, will the price be it loan or permanent go up along with the desperation?

We don't know what Cutrone will be, my guess is better than Fabio, but below the standard required, if that proves to be the case after 4/5 games is that successful in terms of the benchmark being set in the 'wait and see' approach? As we discussed yesterday, him coming back is a smart move in the current situation, but ultimately he was away for a reason

If one of the barriers to not bringing someone in is Raul's return next season and Fabio being a year older, then this infers that we'll go into next season with the same situation we entered this + the possible addition of Cutrone. If the latter has been competent all well and good, but if he hasn't and is off then I hope we don't go into next season in the same way as this, leaving ourselves vulnerable to another Raul injury.

I don't particularly want us to sign another teams player on loan, so no issue with Origi or Jovic not coming from those mentioned. I think not persuing King is a mistake though, he'd be a good option beyond just this season because of his versatility and although £10m is too much for a player with a few months left on his contract, it's a decent price for the player you'd be getting. I wonder if he'd prefer a Bosman in the Summer though and maximise his salary?

If this is the official sign off on a transitional season then I hope to see 1/2 formations nailed down and personnel gaining experience and drilled in it. Let's see more of Otasowie and Hoever, let's not be guessing on RAN and Vitinha in the Summer

 

[YoungWolf]

If this is the official sign off on a transitional season then I hope to see 1/2 formations nailed down and personnel gaining experience and drilled in it. Let's see more of Otasowie and Hoever, let's not be guessing on RAN and Vitinha in the Summer

I disagree on this part. RAN and Vitinha were not bought to be successes this season. I think the option (rather than obligation) is just to protect ourselves financially in case something really went wrong for the club in a money sense. I know some are saying have we seen enough to justify spending £18m or so on each. For me, yes, I can see the potential. RAN is a big talent IMO. Vitinha is clearly technically very good, but is still adapting to the speed of the game.

Hoever is only 18 himself, with less first team experience than those two. He clearly is going to be good enough though, so I'd be slowly drip feeding him more time. He'll start the cup games I would imagine, plus times where we have a bigger build up of games when we need to rest Semedo. Otasowie in a similar boat but as a midfielder may be afforded more time.

 

[sycophantia]

The thing with King is he wouldn't just be a stop gap or short term solution imo, he's a versatile player and as we appear to be going to systems which require more attacking options he would be ideal. Perfectly understand why the club don't want to spend big bucks atm, given the league might get abandoned at some stage

 

[The Bear]

No doubt we'll be keeping our eyes and ears open for any deals that might be able to get done, but obviously we're taking the stance that we don't need someone unless it's on our terms. Which from a negotiating standpoint is preferable. Maybe as the window nears closure, some players might not have moved and will be looking to us as a potential destination.

 

[prawnking]

If this is the official sign off on a transitional season then I hope to see 1/2 formations nailed down and personnel gaining experience and drilled in it. Let's see more of Otasowie and Hoever, let's not be guessing on RAN and Vitinha in the Summer

This is the key for me. If Nuno believes this is the right way let's back him, but I don't feel he can do it too conservatively.

We're closing on the halfway point of the season and, while I accept the huge disruption of Raul's absence as a factor, we've not exactly come on leaps and bounds yet.

We have another formation that looks like it has potential in terms of chance creation, and seen glimpses of promise in a few new players, but don't seem to have improved possession or goals scored/conceded tangibly.

It's a luxury for a manager to be given a season like this, so in an ideal world we start next season confidently after a summer transfer window that is on the same page as the style changes.

It would be a shame if next season the most visible transition is that of Soton, Villa and West Ham from also rans into the 'best of the rest' role we were starting to dominate

 

[BGreenWolf]

I’m sorry, but Cutrone hasn’t showed anywhere near the promise we need from him since he’s joined us for me to be comfortable with this strategy. He wasn’t the answer last season, and I’d be very surprised if he was this season.

I appreciate that the market’s difficult, but that’s on us for our summer recruitment. We have no one to blame but ourselves.

 

[Tredman]

Maybe because I’ve blocked so many ‘look at me rage’ #wwfc nobs on twitter in the past but the responses to Tim’s tweet are pretty reasonable on the whole.

 

[Kenny]

When you look at other clubs - Liverpool, lost every centre half and Klopp says they have no plans to sign another one and Arsenal taking a £120m loan to cover their cashflow, this stance makes sense.

However, it is a big ask for Cutrone to show in 2 weeks he is the answer. I hope we have an option lined up should Cutrone fail to live up to the required standards

 

[Loki]

I think Cutrone and MGW will be enough to see us through the rest of the season without having to worry about relegation. Perhaps Jeff and Nuno are thinking about the possibility of having to spend big in the summer for a top class striker. My worry is how this injury to Raul will affect him psychologically. I don`t think he`ll be the same player when he comes back. Fluck a duck, with all the recent talk of heading a ball and dementia, how would you feel if you`d had a fractured skull and had to face your first head to head challenge?

 

[Tyrannosaurus Dan]

You can see Fosun’s point if they didn’t want to sign another striker when we already had one that we weren’t using.

They’ve signed a striker in each of the last 3 summer windows at a cost of around £85m. You can understand why they’d be reluctant to pay for another one.

 

[Throbber3]

You can see Fosun’s point if they didn’t want to sign another striker when we already had one that we weren’t using.

They’ve signed a striker in each of the last 3 summer windows at a cost of around £85m. You can understand why they’d be reluctant to pay for another one.

Zero net spend though wasn't it? I just hope that MGW and Cutrone succeed. If not there will be much wailing in the twittersphere come the last few days of the window.

 

[GLASGOWOLF]

Living abroad when you're young and don't know anyone is fucking hard, I mean seriously one of the toughest things I've ever had to do and I've had my fair share of shite.

We all make mistakes, it's how we correct them, hopefully he can. He's not a rubbish player, I don't necessarily think he's the answer either (I doubt we'd have him on a list of potential signings if we didn't own him) but I'd rather have him than dirge like Oliveira or Origi.

Living abroad on your own is tough no matter what age.

I had my ex in Glasgow, i was living in Istanbul on my own and that was fucking tough at 40

 

[Keef]

Good job that knob from Bulgaria was banned on here, he'd just be telling Cutrone to man up and get on with it, because according to him moving abroad was no harder than walking up the stairs

 

[Kenny]

If not there will be much wailing in the twittersphere come the last few days of the window.

Lets be honest, most of those that will be wailing would have been wailing regardless. Its when the sensible people lose their shit its time to be concerned or as I view it, if Nuno loses his shit we should all be concerned

 

[Tony Towner]

If Nuno loses his shit we should all be concerned

That's the key. Let's see if he's still talking about rebalancing over the next week or so