January Sales

Ravel49

The ☀️ On Sunday

Newcastle, Everton, West Ham and Leeds are not prepared to pay Blackburn's £15m asking price to sell Ben Brereton Diaz in January.

WHU_Champo_league_in_7_years

Don't trust the Sun but he would be a good signing

Good goalscorer and can play up top or on the left

Do think our issue is more getting into the final 3rd, think we need a better quality behind the frontmen

We have Scamacca, Antonio, Benrahma, Bowen, Fornals & Pacqueta for the "front four" we should've scored way more than we have

The quality of the crossing from our full backs is seriously wanting, no assists (or goals) for any of Cresswell, Coufal, Johnson or Emerson this season

Lukerz

I’m a little concerned with Antonio. I think he looks finished now at this level.

Whitehorsehammer

Lukerz. I agree that Antonio is below par and seems to have lost his sharpness but I'm hoping it is just a dip in form and that he will come good again, for the next year at least. If he really is finished at this level it is sad for him and us.

OutcastLondoner

I don’t think he is. Maybe that streak as a striker is done but I think he could still be a threat as a winger. He needs the counter attack as a striker IMO and we just don’t do that very well any more.

steve

If he ends up being a winger ,then he needs to look up before he pins a cross over

claretandbluesky

In theory he is a perfect sub for us. Scamacca is the main man, but if we are needing score in the final 20-25 minutes Antonio comes on with Scamacca staying on also. If we are protecting a lead and Scamacca has done his stuff Antonio come on as a fresh pair of legs to bully and push their back line just when they are needing push up on us. His game is all about power and pace so coming on against players who have already played an hours football should suit him well.

When this season begun I felt it was the first time that we actually had a strong squad and not just a strong first eleven. On paper this is very much the case, we just need find our ability to put it altogether consistently.

Bazshuayi

New manager might help

Anyway, Antonio has always been a very strong headless chicken capable of laughable control and misses but also of ridiculously good things. I dont think hes finished and even if he was I'd still love him.

We need to find a way to play that gets the best out of our players (stating the obvious) and I truly believe that virtually all players dont like playing in a hard to beat fashion (and making enough mistakes to get beaten anyway). Psychologically, I doubt it feels good or inspires anyone. When I played, I never even thought about passing the ball backwards. Always on the front foot and looking to start something. Believe it or not, as a youngster I took that inspiration from West Ham...

buffybegood

Bazshuayi said:

When I played, I never even thought about passing the ball backwards. Always on the front foot and looking to start something. Believe it or not, as a youngster I took that inspiration from West Ham...

Didn't realise you were THAT old 😂🤣😂

Bazshuayi

Unfortunately, despite my amazing genes, I am

Fortuneseeker

https://www.whufc.com/news/grace-garrad-departs-stabaek-fotball-kvinner

This means the Womens squad is now down to 20. I really hope there are some new players coming in very soon.

Ravel49

West Ham keen on Sevilla forward En-Nesyri | Potential deal difficult
West Ham are interested in Sevilla forward Youssef En-Nesyri as the Hammers look to bolster their attacking options in the January transfer window.
However, a deal for the 25-year-old is a difficult one to do as he still has two-and-a-half years left on his contract.
Sevilla are also struggling at the wrong end of La Liga - they are only above the relegation zone on goal difference - so may not be willing to let one of their key players leave this month.
En-Nesyri started all seven games for Morocco at the World Cup in Qatar as his country became the first-ever African nation to reach the last four. He scored two goals during that historic run in wins over Canada in the group stage and Portugal in the quarter-finals.
He has featured 12 times for Sevilla in Spain's top flight this season but is yet to score. He joined the club from Leganes in 2020 and has 40 goals in 125 appearances.

steve

Not that old rumour again

ASLEFshrugged

We have been linked with En-Nesyri every transfer window since summer 2019, it's not a proper transfer window without it

Bazshuayi

True, but this time its real because he hasnt scored in the league all season

#coming to London

OldCastleSwift

Thierry Nevers was recalled from his loan spell at League 2 Newport last month and has now been sent on loan to League 2 Bradford City.

We signed him from the Championship but only seem to have found him loans in the fourth tier; can't help but feel that we always undersell our youngsters when loaning them out.

alderz

OldCastleSwift said:

Thierry Nevers was recalled from his loan spell at League 2 Newport last month and has now been sent on loan to League 2 Bradford City.

We signed him from the Championship but only seem to have found him loans in the fourth tier; can't help but feel that we always undersell our youngsters when loaning them out.

We might have signed him from the Championship, but it's not like he was playing in the Championship. He only managed to get 5 starts in League Two, so it's hard to say he's being undersold, IMO.

Yeoldhammer

Didn't realise Sevilla are second from bottom. Rough season for them too. Can't see them sanctioning a loan of En-Nesyri

IronHerb

We could offer Antonio in a swap deal?

ASLEFshrugged

The Express and Star reporting that Wolves will try to sign Dawson again. His family still live in Manchester and he's had enough of the commute down to London several times a week.

https://www.expressandstar.com/sport/football/wolverhampton-wanderers-fc/2023/01/10/wolves-renew-interest-in-signing-west-ham-defender-craig-dawson/

Allegedly he's especially frustrated with spending a long time away from home for European games

No danger of that with Wolves...

IronHerb

ASLEFshrugged said:

Allegedly he's especially frustrated with spending a long time away from home for European games

No danger of that with Wolves...

I dont' get that. We normally fly out the afternoon before the game and return the morning after. Not too different from say playing Newcastle.

alderz

IronHerb said:

ASLEFshrugged said:

Allegedly he's especially frustrated with spending a long time away from home for European games

No danger of that with Wolves...

I dont' get that. We normally fly out the afternoon before the game and return the morning after. Not too different from say playing Newcastle.

It was reported somewhere in the summer that he was having to travel to London before travelling for away games, and then travelling back to London before going home

IronHerb

👍

PrestonHammer

He should have bunged the pilot a few quid and asked him to drop him off to Manchester afterwards hahaha

Ravel49

Wolves have renewed their interest West Ham defender Craig Dawson, whose deal with the Hammers runs out in the summer. The Molineux club missed out on bringing in the 32-year-old English centre-back last summer. (Express & Star)

OldCastleSwift

So the talk seems to be that Wolves are interested in Dawson and Antonio. Not against either going necessarily, but in our situation we would probably need PL-ready replacements lined up. With little money available (according to the reputed ITKs), we'd more than likely have to look at six month loans to cover them.

Dawson has family reasons for wanting to go, and I completely understand that, so Michael Keane wouldn't be a terrible short-term fix, assuming we won't be able to get better in this window.

Antonio has offered little this season, and seems to be on the decline, but I don't know who we can get to replace him with only 20 days of the window left. With only one other senior striker at the club, who himself is still adjusting to the league, we would need someone that can hit the ground running. Finding someone that can do that, that's available and willing to join a relegation battle is not going to be easy.

I'll have a look later at PL strikers not getting a look in at their clubs. I seem to remember a bit of talk about Ings being available recently, and he would be the perfect answer IMO, but I'm not convinced Villa will let him go.

Yeoldhammer

we're literally on the bubble of the relegation spots and looking at advocating selling them 2 players ? seems wild. To a team also just in the relegation spots one place below us.

alderz

We've also heard in the earl part of the season how big a miss Fredericks, Noble and Kral (oddly) were from the dressing room atmosphere. I can't see a world where Antonio isn't a big part of setting the tone in the dressing room. I would be gutted if either of them left this month - particularly as Dawson is out of contract in the summer anyway.

Whitehorsehammer

With Emerson, Cresswell, Aguerd, Ogbonna, Zouma, Kehrer, Coufal, Johnson now supposedly all fit, or very close, I think unlike the summer we could afford to let Dawson go now if he really wants to.

OldCastleSwift

alderz said:

We've also heard in the earl part of the season how big a miss Fredericks, Noble and Kral (oddly) were from the dressing room atmosphere. I can't see a world where Antonio isn't a big part of setting the tone in the dressing room. I would be gutted if either of them left this month - particularly as Dawson is out of contract in the summer anyway.

Again, it's only speculation, but it's been said that Antonio is unhappy with his current situation. If true, maybe he's not having the positive impact on the dressing room that we all assume he is. But yeah, I'd be surprised if Moyes lets him go this month, unless we have an Ings or similar lined up.

This is why big turnovers of players isn't a particularly good thing. Unfortunately our recruitment over the last few years has meant that we had to do it in the summer and, because of the number of players out of contract in June, will probably have to do it again this year.