Summer 2024 Transfer General Thread

[Les Beeavinu]

Matias Soulé, forward for Frosinone on loan from Juventus.

Brentford have followed 20-year-old on ‘several occasions’ - Bees ‘must be watched closely’ in transfer race

Brentford scouts have watched Frosinone’s Matias Soulé on ‘several occasions’, according to a report from Italy. Juventus allowed the winger to join the Serie A side on a loan deal and he’s scored 10 goals and registered two assists from 21 league games. Tuttosport, relayed by TuttoMercatoWeb...

sportwitness.co.uk

Tutti pazzi per Soulé: mezza Premier lo cerca, anche in Francia interessati a lui

Matias Soule piace a tanti e sabato, nel match che il Frosinone ha perso 3-2 contro il Milan, c'erano tanti osservatori stranieri sulle tribune del Benito Stirpe per studiarlo da vicino.

www.tuttomercatoweb.com

Matías Soulé - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Matías Soulé - Player profile 26/27

Matías Soulé, 23, from Argentina ➤ AS Roma, since 2024 ➤ Right Winger ➤ Market value: €35.00m ➤ * 15/04/2003 in Mar del Plata, Argentina

www.transfermarkt.co.uk

 

[Gazza Bee]

Impressive stats but wouldn't Juve want to keep him when he returns from the loan spell?

 

[AB]

Matias Soulé, forward for Frosinone on loan from Juventus.

Brentford have followed 20-year-old on ‘several occasions’ - Bees ‘must be watched closely’ in transfer race

Brentford scouts have watched Frosinone’s Matias Soulé on ‘several occasions’, according to a report from Italy. Juventus allowed the winger to join the Serie A side on a loan deal and he’s scored 10 goals and registered two assists from 21 league games. Tuttosport, relayed by TuttoMercatoWeb...

sportwitness.co.uk

Tutti pazzi per Soulé: mezza Premier lo cerca, anche in Francia interessati a lui

Matias Soule piace a tanti e sabato, nel match che il Frosinone ha perso 3-2 contro il Milan, c'erano tanti osservatori stranieri sulle tribune del Benito Stirpe per studiarlo da vicino.

www.tuttomercatoweb.com

Matías Soulé - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Matías Soulé - Player profile 26/27

Matías Soulé, 23, from Argentina ➤ AS Roma, since 2024 ➤ Right Winger ➤ Market value: €35.00m ➤ * 15/04/2003 in Mar del Plata, Argentina

www.transfermarkt.co.uk

Most successful dribbles of any player in a European top flight in the first half of this season.

West Ham star & TWO Bayern wing wizards feature in Europe's top dribblers of 2023-24

Lionel Messi & Neymar may be playing their football away from the spotlight nowadays, but a new generation of exciting players have emerged to take their place as the dribble kings of Europe. Here are the 10 dribblers across Europe's five major leagues so far in 2023-24.

www.planetfootball.com

Particularly as Frosinone are 14th in Serie A and rather like us in proximity to relegation.

 

[Bumbling fool]

Inb4 anyone says "I think what we need this window is a striker, a left back, and a creative midfielder"

 

[brentfordfc4ever]

Interesting. I cant see any mention of a loan deal?

 

[hanworthbee]

Impressive stats but wouldn't Juve want to keep him when he returns from the loan spell?

I imagine they need to balance the books so will need a big sale this summer

 

[BFC1997]

We were linked loosely with Ibrahim Osman of FC Nordsjaelland in January.

He is their latest to come through the “Right to Dream” academy; a real success story - a thread on them here FC Nordsjaelland (Denmark)

Unfortunately, looks like he’s off to Brighton in the summer:


View: https://x.com/david_ornstein/status/1755152527006347513?s=46


We may have preferred targets (like Nusa) but frustrating if we are not “first in line” with FCN and their players given our Danish links and the other links we’ve had with FCN over the years.

 

[hardybee]

We were linked loosely with Ibrahim Osman of FC Nordsjaelland in January.

He is their latest to come through the “Right to Dream” academy; a real success story - a thread on them here FC Nordsjaelland (Denmark)

Unfortunately, looks like he’s off to Brighton in the summer:


View: https://x.com/david_ornstein/status/1755152527006347513?s=46


We may have preferred targets (like Nusa) but frustrating if we are not “first in line” with FCN and their players given our Danish links and the other links we’ve had with FCN over the years.

They did the same with Joa Pedro, signing him outside of the window, with the deal completed when the window opens. Still hoping for a similar outcome with the Nusa deal.

 

[BuzzingBee95]

Saw this thread had begun and felt slightly uneasy.

Don’t know why, but I can’t help but think next summer’s window will be critical in determining our foreseeable future.

Most likely Ivan will go, we’ll need a long term LB once Sergio returns, a replacement for Ben perhaps, decision to be made on Josh, Strakosha etc, in again for Nusa? and that’s not to mention putting these injuries behind us.

I want TF to stay for ever (and ever ), but it could also prove critical in how much further he feels he can go with us. Long term aspirations that sort of thing.

So for now, I’m gonna look away, and just concentrate on getting through this season.

 

[upnorthbee]

Its' a massive one isn't it , my guess would be below.

May need replacements for:

Mee- Getting on a bit, hasn't been at the same level this season
Zanka- Same as above
Rico- Backup for when he's injured
JDS- Even if he stays
Baptiste- YY may already be the replacement/ we may sell him
Toney- Seems inevitable
Maupay- My guess is we'd sign him

I've been a bit gutted so far that Dams hasn't been able to nail down that 3rd midfield position, so maybe we'll use some of the Toney money to invest heavily in that area. This sounds absolutely ridiculous but if we get 70 mill + for Toney we could see us spending over 100 mill in the summer with the CM, CF and 2x CB replacements needed if we find the right players. If not we may be looking at Schade, Mbeumo and Wissa as our front 2/3 and Dams trusted from the start next season but that carries a huge injury risk as we've seen this season.

I imagine best case next season would be a 433 with:

Flekken
Hickey Collins/New CB Pinnock Rico
New CM Norgaard Jensen
Mbeumo New CF Schade


Those gaps to be filled in will come at some expense and my gut is telling me in todays market its 100 mill+ for 3 first choice players to come in. This is all assuming we manage to keep hold of key players such as CN, MJ and BM (and of course we stay up!) What a wild time this is.

 

[davewfilms]

Wondering if we could see the return of Christian in the summer ?

Brentford open to re-signing Christian Eriksen from Man United

Christian Eriksen returned to the Premier League with Brentford before his move to Man Utd two years ago.

www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk

 

[upnorthbee]

Wondering if we could see the return of Christian in the summer ?

Brentford open to re-signing Christian Eriksen from Man United

Christian Eriksen returned to the Premier League with Brentford before his move to Man Utd two years ago.

www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk

I'd sign him for 2 years if we could, but I can't imagine we'd be able to afford his wages.

 

[Sianist]

Wondering if we could see the return of Christian in the summer ?

Brentford open to re-signing Christian Eriksen from Man United

Christian Eriksen returned to the Premier League with Brentford before his move to Man Utd two years ago.

www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk

What aren't quite carried across, is that it was somewhat of a chuckled aside comment, that didn't really was meant to carry much, if any. sense of belief that it would be realistic to actually think about at current

 

[Edmundo]

I'd sign him for 2 years if we could, but I can't imagine we'd be able to afford his wages.

The article also suggests that United will be looking for a fee, and there's no way we'd do that IMHO.

 

[brentfordfc4ever]

Yeah, feel like this will be an exciting Sunmer window.

 

[TorbayBee]

What aren't quite carried across, is that it was somewhat of a chuckled aside comment, that didn't really was meant to carry much, if any. sense of belief that it would be realistic to actually think about at current

take more water with it

 

[Les Beeavinu]

Yeah, feel like this will be an exciting Sunmer window.

? Oh, don't say that!

 

[brianbrent]

Its' a massive one isn't it , my guess would be below.

May need replacements for:

Mee- Getting on a bit, hasn't been at the same level this season
Zanka- Same as above
Rico- Backup for when he's injured
JDS- Even if he stays
Baptiste- YY may already be the replacement/ we may sell him
Toney- Seems inevitable
Maupay- My guess is we'd sign him

I've been a bit gutted so far that Dams hasn't been able to nail down that 3rd midfield position, so maybe we'll use some of the Toney money to invest heavily in that area. This sounds absolutely ridiculous but if we get 70 mill + for Toney we could see us spending over 100 mill in the summer with the CM, CF and 2x CB replacements needed if we find the right players. If not we may be looking at Schade, Mbeumo and Wissa as our front 2/3 and Dams trusted from the start next season but that carries a huge injury risk as we've seen this season.

I imagine best case next season would be a 433 with:

Flekken
Hickey Collins/New CB Pinnock Rico
New CM Norgaard Jensen
Mbeumo New CF Schade


Those gaps to be filled in will come at some expense and my gut is telling me in todays market its 100 mill+ for 3 first choice players to come in. This is all assuming we manage to keep hold of key players such as CN, MJ and BM (and of course we stay up!) What a wild time this is.

Media talk of Hickey going to a bigger club in summer

 

[Banana]

Media talk of Hickey going to a bigger club in summer

Pacha in Ibiza perhaps?

 

[brianbrent]

Pacha, Euros,Man United

 

[W5BeesFan]

Saw this thread had begun and felt slightly uneasy.

Don’t know why, but I can’t help but think next summer’s window will be critical in determining our foreseeable future.

Most likely Ivan will go, we’ll need a long term LB once Sergio returns, a replacement for Ben perhaps, decision to be made on Josh, Strakosha etc, in again for Nusa? and that’s not to mention putting these injuries behind us.

I want TF to stay for ever (and ever ), but it could also prove critical in how much further he feels he can go with us. Long term aspirations that sort of thing.

So for now, I’m gonna look away, and just concentrate on getting through this season.

You've summed up the sentiments myself and many are likely feeling really well. But I am thinking hang on its a wet February morning, we're hovering over the relegation zone and still riddled by injuries. So maybe to bring some positivity in play...even without Ivan we still have some amazing talent in a fully fit squad and we would surely be pushing for Europe. A dull season by our standards means much of our talent including Thomas might not be first in the shop window come Summer. We recruited some great young talent over January which will make our first team even more competitive and we have no issues with FFP to concern ourselves with. All we need now is for the Turmeric boys to renew their sponsorship and everything's golden (well yellow at least).

 

[brentfordfc4ever]

? Oh, don't say that!

Not sure if you're taking the piss

 

[Les Beeavinu]

Not sure if you're taking the piss

I shall spend the next 4 months carefully constructing my response to the million questions about the relevance of the prefixes.

 

[brentfordfc4ever]

I shall spend the next 4 months carefully constructing my response to the million questions about the relevance of the prefixes.

I'm confused haha. Nothing wrong with looking forward to the Summer window. Although agreed, it's very early.

 

[Bumbling fool]

Wondering if we could see the return of Christian in the summer ?

Brentford open to re-signing Christian Eriksen from Man United

Christian Eriksen returned to the Premier League with Brentford before his move to Man Utd two years ago.

www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk

Ehhhhhhh

I think he's maybe a bit of a defensive liability, the thing Mainoo McTominay and Mount all have over him is what they offer off the ball. Great player and would probably elevate the squad but for the amount he would cost I think he's unlikely to start every game when we rely so much on an intense press. I'd literally start Onyeka over him against the Citys and Arsenals of the world, no point having someone who's amazing on the ball but doesn't do enough off the ball in a game where we'll have 15% possession.

Only way I seem him working is if we move to a 4231 and have him play as a true number 10 (which would also benefit Damsgaard and Ghoddos) but that hamstrings Jensen a bit dropping him into a double pivot, and there's an honest case that Jensen is the better player these days.

 

[jlove]

No problem with raking over players, both outgoing and incoming, but I think we’ve come to the point of needing a ‘BFC PL Squad v2’. We’ve got where we are with essentially the squad assembled while in the Championship to achieve promotion and tinkered at the edges to give some incremental improvements. It’s time to think of how we step up over the next couple of seasons to get a firmer foothold in the Premier League.

We know there’s a decent amount of accessible funds (whatever that means) and probably another £100M net from Raya and Toney. That’s a pretty good start point. There’s a few players in the house that’ll do well for us in the next 3 seasons… but I don’t think there’s a lot. We’ve got an ageing set of centre backs, for example. We’ve also got a good few inbetweeners in who’ll probably be seen in the future cohort. I’m sure the recruitment team, including Thomas, have enough PL experience now to ‘design’ BFC PL v2. We saw last summer (sorry to bring this one up) that Johnson had the attributes – not really a replacement but an enhancement. We continue to be linked with young attackers, whether nominally wingers, strikers, attacking midfielders, in the same mould. Maybe, before this summer, one or two existing young players will be given new contracts to keep them in the v2.

I think there may be surprises based on opportunity. Players to replace existing regular starters where we’ve targeted them, possibly not for this forthcoming window, and the opportunity arises so we move. So, I think there’ll be exciting times on the roller-coaster, not just a few similar-but-better moves.

 

[Gazza Bee]

Its' a massive one isn't it , my guess would be below.

May need replacements for:

Mee- Getting on a bit, hasn't been at the same level this season
Zanka- Same as above
Rico- Backup for when he's injured
JDS- Even if he stays
Baptiste- YY may already be the replacement/ we may sell him
Toney- Seems inevitable
Maupay- My guess is we'd sign him

I've been a bit gutted so far that Dams hasn't been able to nail down that 3rd midfield position, so maybe we'll use some of the Toney money to invest heavily in that area. This sounds absolutely ridiculous but if we get 70 mill + for Toney we could see us spending over 100 mill in the summer with the CM, CF and 2x CB replacements needed if we find the right players. If not we may be looking at Schade, Mbeumo and Wissa as our front 2/3 and Dams trusted from the start next season but that carries a huge injury risk as we've seen this season.

I imagine best case next season would be a 433 with:

Flekken
Hickey Collins/New CB Pinnock Rico
New CM Norgaard Jensen
Mbeumo New CF Schade


Those gaps to be filled in will come at some expense and my gut is telling me in todays market its 100 mill+ for 3 first choice players to come in. This is all assuming we manage to keep hold of key players such as CN, MJ and BM (and of course we stay up!) What a wild time this is.

Not ridiculous at all when you see what we are prepared to pay for the right fit. Like you say this summer will be key - losing our best striker (one of the best in the PL in general) plus needing to lower the age of our CB unit realistically in the next 12 months plus a 3rd midfielder as a definite starter alongside CN and MJ adds up to a lot of business needing to be done. PG touched on the work in this window being beneficial for future windows so hopefully (well almost certainly) we have identified our top targets already of which Nusa is one.

 

[TOXIC BEE]

We may have preferred targets (like Nusa) but frustrating if we are not “first in line” with FCN and their players given our Danish links and the other links we’ve had with FCN over the years.

We sold their POTY last year for £5m. Spending £15-20m on someone that’s had half a good season for them and would take at least a year or two to be PL ready would be very questionable. Brighton, unlike us, are in a position where they can afford to take that risk and let him develop, if we spend £20m you’d want them immediately challenging for a starting spot.

 

[AB]

Its' a massive one isn't it , my guess would be below.

May need replacements for:

Mee- Getting on a bit, hasn't been at the same level this season
Zanka- Same as above
Rico- Backup for when he's injured
JDS- Even if he stays
Baptiste- YY may already be the replacement/ we may sell him
Toney- Seems inevitable
Maupay- My guess is we'd sign him

I've been a bit gutted so far that Dams hasn't been able to nail down that 3rd midfield position, so maybe we'll use some of the Toney money to invest heavily in that area. This sounds absolutely ridiculous but if we get 70 mill + for Toney we could see us spending over 100 mill in the summer with the CM, CF and 2x CB replacements needed if we find the right players. If not we may be looking at Schade, Mbeumo and Wissa as our front 2/3 and Dams trusted from the start next season but that carries a huge injury risk as we've seen this season.

I imagine best case next season would be a 433 with:

Flekken
Hickey Collins/New CB Pinnock Rico
New CM Norgaard Jensen
Mbeumo New CF Schade


Those gaps to be filled in will come at some expense and my gut is telling me in todays market its 100 mill+ for 3 first choice players to come in. This is all assuming we manage to keep hold of key players such as CN, MJ and BM (and of course we stay up!) What a wild time this is.

I hope and think this summer has been planned to be a 2019 when the sale of Maupay funded the big rebuild that brought us to where we are now and took us up from being a consistent top half Championship club to a serious promotion team.

The almost certain sale of Toney plus the significant PSR/FFP headroom we have from a third PL season and running profit over the first two years points that way. It’s also worth noting the club has been targeting and achieving compliance with the forthcoming UEFA cost/income ratio so is looking long term in its financial planning. Doing between window deals to get more new signings definitely done by the end of June and the relevant reporting period points that way. Like 18-19 TF will have had the chance to test the existing squad hard in the context of how he’d like us to be able to play going into the next 2-3 seasons and there may again be good current starters who get moved on as part of that. PG’s confirmation that both the reportedly linked players and others we worked on without it being noticed are in the frame also points that way.

It won’t be about our wishlist of positions as fans any more than any of us predicted them in 2019 but what TF, PG, LD and MB have as their aspiration for our next phase. That has pretty consistently been above what we think is realistic so it’s hopefully going to be another exciting few years.

 

[NZ Bee]

Based on performances/selections season, and making some assumptions about players out in the summer I think we have some guaranteed starters (if fit) and some great back ups;

Flekken (Hakon)

Hickey (New RB)
Ajer (Mee)
Pinnock (Collins)
Henry (New LB)

Jensen (YY, FTT, Saman)
Norgaard (Janelt, Trevitt)
New CM (Damsgaard, Konak

Schade (KLP)
New CF (Neal)
Bryan (Wissa)

Which makes me think the following will leave/loan out

Mads R
Strakosha
Goode
Zanka
Stevens
Cox
MPH
Maghoma
Ivan

 

[Bumbling fool]

Based on performances/selections season, and making some assumptions about players out in the summer I think we have some guaranteed starters (if fit) and some great back ups;

Flekken (Hakon)

Hickey (New RB)
Ajer (Mee)
Pinnock (Collins)
Henry (New LB)

Jensen (YY, FTT, Saman)
Norgaard (Janelt, Trevitt)
New CM (Damsgaard, Konak

Schade (KLP)
New CF (Neal)
Bryan (Wissa)

Which makes me think the following will leave/loan out

Mads R
Strakosha
Goode
Zanka
Stevens
Cox
MPH
Maghoma
Ivan

Interesting assumption that roerslev and zanka will be gone but Mee will get a new contract Don't think any of those things are more likely to happen than not personally

 

[NZ Bee]

Interesting assumption that roerslev and zanka will be gone but Mee will get a new contract Don't think any of those things are more likely to happen than not personally

Purely judged on playing time this year - Mee plays if fit, the other two don't, suggesting he still offers the team something and TF sees value in him.

 

[BFC1997]

Based on performances/selections season, and making some assumptions about players out in the summer I think we have some guaranteed starters (if fit) and some great back ups;

Flekken (Hakon)

Hickey (New RB)
Ajer (Mee)
Pinnock (Collins)
Henry (New LB)

Jensen (YY, FTT, Saman)
Norgaard (Janelt, Trevitt)
New CM (Damsgaard, Konak

Schade (KLP)
New CF (Neal)
Bryan (Wissa)

Which makes me think the following will leave/loan out

Mads R
Strakosha
Goode
Zanka
Stevens
Cox
MPH
Maghoma
Ivan

I don’t think I’d consider Ajer anywhere near a “guaranteed” starter at CB next season.

He has only ever played RB OR RCB for us, and right now he isn’t starting in either role.

I think the natural pairing next season is Pinnock & Collins if we are playing a back 4.

Also, you have Mee in your squad for next season but he’s out of contract. Zanka may leave, but is still under contract for next year. Unsure if either will be here next season, but Zanka is probably the more likely of the two, firmly as a backup / dressing room / training ground presence.

 

[jlove]

Ajer (Mee)
Pinnock (Collins)
… is the wrong way around for your assumptions, left and right-footed. I’m not convinced I’d want to see Pinnock with Mee as back-up, though but the Club will value Ben in the Zanka role.

 

[BFC1997]

Obviously the outcomes of the summer window will be very different if we go down, so my written assumptions below will be based upon staying up (?).

GK: The signing of Valdimarsson means we can let Strakosha go; most likely that’ll be on a loan with someone covering a % of that huge wage. We can rotate third choice with whichever of Balcombe, Cox & Winterbottom is still in the building.

FB: Henry is hopefully fit for next season, and Hickey is hopefully not sold if we stay up. Ajer covers right back well.

Beyond this we have bodies but not a lot of quality. Roerslev, Stevens, Oyegoke, Adedokun, McManus, Wilson - in varying degrees I’m not sure how close any of these guys are from being capable of performing to the level we aspire. Basically I think we need to see a breakthrough soon from 1-2 of these guys or maybe need to freshen it up, let 1-2 go and bring in a proper exciting young fullback to understudy in the Yarmoliuk/Konak mould.

CB: Well I think this summer should be a time to try to replace Mee and/or Zanka. Both old, both approaching end of contract.

I’d love to see one of Kim, Fredrick, Arthur and Crama step up as kind of 5th choice but still think we’d need to sign at least one established CB in there.

DM: Nørgaard, Janelt, Konak, Brierley. Think we are covered here.

CM: Jensen + AN Other. I think that AN Other spot is a hard one; we have so many players on the books.

Dasilva, Damsgaard, Onyeka, Baptiste, Maghoma, Trevitt, Yarmoliuk, Peart-Harris. PLUS, Janelt who plays there regularly.

I think if we can, we have to try to find a way of trimming the fat here to bring in one more capable of consistent performances at the same level of Nørgaard and Jensen. It’s the one position in the team, when everyone is fit, where you’d look and think there might be a gap in sufficient quality - especially in games where we want to have more of the ball. Onyeka and Janelt are fine when we are ceding possession but as Frank says it’s all about “adding layers”. Dasmgaard could be that man but between long-term injuries his performances haven’t quite been consistently the level you’d want.

LW/RW: I think it’s pretty clear we want another one. Let’s hope Nusa or another in that mould arrives. I also hope no-one leaves (except for maybe an Olakigbe loan).


ST: Toney will leave. I’m not 100% that we will trigger the option for Maupay, but even if we do, I like the idea of another 9 who is good aerially. Even if it’s a B Team+ type signing. Even relatively unproven “9s” are not cheap anyway. I know we have Schade with height but it wouldn’t hurt to have 2; KS can’t always be available and the aerial strength from set pieces to me is so important.

FWIW, I love Iwan Morgan in our B team but suspect he needs another year or more before stepping up.

 

[Isleworth_Bee]

The squad IMO needs an overhaul. Big window for us this summer.

IMO a striker to replace IT and our central defence and midfield needs a big upgrade.

Mee and Zanka are at the end of their careers, our midfield is still functioning on the mantra of hard fast strong players. We now need to look at players who will use the ball better when under pressure.

 

[readingbee]

The squad IMO needs an overhaul. Big window for us this summer.

IMO a striker to replace IT and our central defence and midfield needs a big upgrade.

Mee and Zanka are at the end of their careers, our midfield is still functioning on the mantra of hard fast strong players. We now need to look at players who will use the ball better when under pressure.

Yep, if we are to make the next step it has to be a big overhaul. Same for the B team I’d guess.

 

[abeeforever]

Wondering if we could see the return of Christian in the summer ?

Brentford open to re-signing Christian Eriksen from Man United

Christian Eriksen returned to the Premier League with Brentford before his move to Man Utd two years ago.

www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk

Hope not, We gave him a chance then he couldn't be asked to repay us and went for the big money instead, He's too slow now, Can't last 90mins, Can't defend/track back, Be too expensive, Money would be better spent on a younger player with a long term future in mind.

 

[Bees4life]

LB - Backup
MC - Starter
FC - Starter
Wing - Backup
+ Resign Mee (Leader/Mentor) & sign Maupay (Reward)
+ Release/sell the deadwood.

I'll be happy with that.
I also think Wissa needs to be sold whilst he has value.

(Reassess the preseason & season training methods, in regards to injuries this season. Although I know some were not via training before you bite my head off)

 

[Oxford Bee]

Wondering if we could see the return of Christian in the summer ?

Brentford open to re-signing Christian Eriksen from Man United

Christian Eriksen returned to the Premier League with Brentford before his move to Man Utd two years ago.

www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk

I took this to mean CE would be welcome as a visitor a la Jota rather than as a returning squad member.

 

[jlove]

LB - Backup
MC - Starter
FC - Starter
Wing - Backup
+ Resign Mee (Leader/Mentor) & sign Maupay (Reward)
+ Release/sell the deadwood.

I'll be happy with that.
I also think Wissa needs to be sold whilst he has value.

(Reassess the preseason & season training methods, in regards to injuries this season. Although I know some were not via training before you bite my head off)

Whilst I admire your ideas (FC?), I can’t imagine we’ll buy any players as backup. They’ll either be starters or future starters when they’re fully bedded in.

 

[TadB]

Hope not, We gave him a chance then he couldn't be asked to repay us and went for the big money instead, He's too slow now, Can't last 90mins, Can't defend/track back, Be too expensive, Money would be better spent on a younger player with a long term future in mind.

Whist I cannot argue with your post, at least not entirely, however, we are likely to lose Zanka and Mee in the summer, and possibly Maupay. I consider that a couple of older more experienced heads in the dressing room are invaluable, and Eriksen could provide that. Jensen's all round game was massively improved after Eriksen's brief four month spell, and he could have a similar effect again on our younger players. As always transfer fee, and wages could be the stumbling block.

 

[Bees4life]

Whilst I admire your ideas (FC?), I can’t imagine we’ll buy any players as backup. They’ll either be starters or future starters when they’re fully bedded in.

When I say backup, I mean future starters/ young players, like KLP, Konak, Hakon & Yarmo.

FC = Forward Centre

 

[Mr Cynical]

It feels like we've left ourselves a huge amount of work to do in the summer, which goes against our usual principal of evolution rather than revolution. Potentially significant changes to the first 11 could be required with Toney off and the possibility of Hickey, Rico and Mbeumo generating big money interest. This season has also shown us that we need to up the general level in the squad if we're to progress both in style of play and competitiveness. We're still at a point in our third season where we're heavily reliant on the players who came up from the Championship and there's a fair few fringe players who haven't stepped up when needed. Ideally we need a bit of a refresh but too many changes could be detrimental so it's a difficult balancing act for Giles and co. You'd imagine they would have hoped to have already got a few more replacements in over these last two windows and had time to bed them in but that hasn't quite happened for whatever reason.

It will be interesting to see if any of the current crop of fringe/ B team promotees get a chance next year. I suspect probably not, and they will likely either be sold (Maghoma, Crama, Oyegoke) or given another loan at hopefully a higher level (Trevitt, Olakigbe, Balcombe, MPH). Finn Stevens may be the one who might get a chance with the squad given the issues we've had with full backs and how well he's done this year. I'd like to see Crama and Trevitt given a chance but Crama is yet to make a first team appearance and with Kim and the two Bens coming in I fear that chance has gone for him. Trevitt's injury has also probably put paid to his chances next year, unless he can come back at the tail end of the season and get some impressive minutes in.

Will Kim be able to step into Zanka's shoes and become 4th choice CB? Or even better? Konak looks a really exciting prospect but will he get back in time for pre-season? We're desperate for a backup/successor to Norgs and he looks like he'll fit the bill. Fingers crossed he can make a big contribution next year. Valdimarsson will presumably step up as second keeper with Strakosha off and Balcombe and Cox out on loan again.

 

[jlove]

… with Toney off and the possibility of Hickey, Rico and Mbeumo generating big money interest…

I’m sure Toney will be on his way and that the Club have been running multiple scenarios for a couple of seasons. What comes out of it will be interesting but I’d put money on it not being an Ivan Mk 2. There’s rumbling about Hickey but he’d need to have a spectacular comeback to attract serious offers. I can’t recall anyone, anytime being linked to Henry. He may need to get back for a run of games, though, but I think he’ll remain as a fans’ favourite….

Bryan, on the other hand… if he’s seen as the key player in BFC 2024-25, we may offer him a new contract to make our eyes water.

 

[davewfilms]

Hope not, We gave him a chance then he couldn't be asked to repay us and went for the big money instead, He's too slow now, Can't last 90mins, Can't defend/track back, Be too expensive, Money would be better spent on a younger player with a long term future in mind.

He has never been fast,His spell was our best run of form we have had in the pl,10 games he played in 7 wins 1 draw 2 loses I think he is a world class player who can create from open play and set pieces which is something we dont have.

 

[Untouchable]

Does a GIF qualify for this thread?

 

[Edmundo]

Does a GIF qualify for this thread?

View attachment 44471

Not this one, no. But probably for the one you intended to post it in!

 

[Mr Cynical]

Keepers for next season (in both senses of the word!)

Flekken (keep), Strakosha (sell), Valdimarsson (keep), Balcombe (loan), cox (loan)

We seem to be in a pretty strong position with keepers (particularly now Flekken has ‘made a save’! ?) so wouldn’t expect anyone in. Fair amount of movement out with loans etc. Balcombe perhaps the one question mark? Do we loan him out again, keep him on as 3rd choice or move on?

 

[brentfordfc4ever]

New centre back, central midfielder, striker and winger.

Done.