What do we need in the Summer?

Don't see much happening until we know what European competition we will be playing in next season. I know we are in the champions league qualifiers so I am meaning will we be in the Champions league group stages or will we be in the Europa league again.

Suspect we will lose a couple of the big hitters as well so I'm guessing some of the money made from them being sold will be made available but for me we need to upgrade the midfield area. If Alfie goes then need a replacement for him as the options we have don't offer what he does and don't think we can rely on Roofe given his injury issues.
 
It really depends on several factors.

I honestly think the only reason we kept Morelos was because of the pandemic. Clubs were unwilling to part with and serious money due to the unforeseen circumstances.

Kamara still has two years left, so if he doesn't sign a new contract it is likely we will be cashing in on him.

Barišić could potentially be a target for some clubs due to the position he plays and quality he possesses. I think his deal expiresin 2024, so it is really up to the player and the club what happens if any potential bids come in.

I think both Goldson and McGregor will sign extension once the league has been concluded.

For all Tav has done for us, I would be happy for him to leave on a free if he wants to one last big sum of cash from some EPL club before he retires.

When it comes to areas we need to strengthen, I think we need some serious investment in the midfield. We can't keep relying on Davis to put in a performance at his age, we also can't have our best players being out with injuries without equal quality replacements. The forward line is probably somewhere we will also look the reinvest once Morelos goes in the summer.
 
JD65 said:
I like Balogun but he is 32. Unbelievably he had only played 155 games in his career, prior to Rangers.

I would add a quality CB, centre mid and striker, assuming Alfie leaves.
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Quite possibly explains why he has so much pace relative to his age, low mileage.
 
This is purely guesswork on my part...

At some point, we need to start balancing the books. If we were able to get to the Champions League, great, but as that lot have shown in recent seasons and us in decades past, budgeting to do so is a risk when qualifiers are involved.

Here's my thinking with that in mind for this summer.

We're set with regards goalkeepers as McGregor will almost certainly stay.

In defence, again there's nothing really required unless someone leaves. We'll need to do something with the centre halves to trim that a little.

In midfield - Zungu will be away, and Jack isn't able to play 50-plus games a season now. It's arguable that Davis and Arfield would struggle there too. Ofoborh is coming in, and I'd like us to promote Kelly as well. That would give us 7 options there, maybe one too many, but probably what we need given the individual circumstances of a few.

Attacking positions - let Jones, Barker, Stewart all move on. Cash in on Morelos - he wants to play in one of the big leagues, and we absolutely need guaranteed cash. Sign someone of the profile of Sakala, available under freedom of contract and of a very good age with plenty of potential. Defoe will probably retire. That would leave us with Roofe, Itten, Kent, Hagi, Wright and the new signing. We know Aribo can step forward as well.

I'd then add either McPake or Kennedy to the squad, whichever is deemed most ready, and loan the other out again.

So that's no cash spent on transfer fees but a good squad largely retained and loads of players of a young enough age to improve as they've shown this season. I think we could still do well domestically and in Europe with that sort of squad.

I don't think that will happen, but with the financial effects of Covid, I wouldn't blame the club if we decided to do something like that.
 
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We need players who will benefit our system. No point in spending on a big player if he doesn’t fit or is not a team player. Gone are the days of getting a marquee signing.
 
Depends who leaves.

Depends who is available in our price range.

I don't think we have a particular position that needs bolstered, but players will go and will need replaced.

And we should never turn down the opportunity to upgrade if a better player becomes available, and we can afford him.
 
Not sure how long Alfie has on his contract but I doubt he’ll sign another so I’d look to sell rather that loose him for nothing. I’d spent the money on a replacement first choice striker.
 
No room for complacency. At least 4 or 5 new starter level players. Striker, wide attacker, centre mid and full-back must be priority.

Most teams across Europe are crumbling financially whilst we'll have Europa League cash and another huge season ticket cash injection. There will be bargains to be had.
 
strider said:
This is purely guesswork on my part...

At some point, we need to start balancing the books. If we were able to get to the Champions League, great, but as that lot have shown in recent seasons and us in decades past, budgeting to do so is a risk when qualifiers are involved.

Here's my thinking with that in mind for this summer.

We're set with regards goalkeepers as McGregor will almost certainly stay.

In defence, again there's nothing really required unless someone leaves. We'll need to do something with the centre halves to trim that a little.

In midfield - Zungu will be away, and Jack isn't able to play 50-plus games a season now. It's arguable that Davis and Arfield would struggle there too. Ofoborh is coming in, and I'd like us to promote Kelly as well. That would give us 7 options there, maybe one too many, but probably what we need given the individual circumstances of a few.

Attacking positions - let Jones, Barker, Stewart all move on. Cash in on Morelos - he wants to play in one of the big leagues, and we absolutely need guaranteed cash. Sign someone of the profile of Sakala, available under freedom of contract and of a very good age with plenty of potential. Defoe will probably retire. That would leave us with Roofe, Itten, Kent, Hagi, Wright and the new signing. We know Aribo can step forward as well.

I'd then add either McPake or Kennedy to the squad, whichever is deemed most ready, and loan the other out again.

So that's no cash spent on transfer fees but a good squad largely retained and loads of players of a young enough age to improve as they've shown this season. I think we could still do well domestically and in Europe with that sort of squad.

I don't think that will happen, but with the financial effects of Covid, I wouldn't blame the club if we decided to do something like that.
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Some good assessments as always from you mate.
I agree with the GK and defence,really just a question of who we let leave either permanently or on loan.
The midfield I'm more concerned about,Ofoborh is struggling to get a game at Wycombe which suggests he's not ready to me-I could be wrong of course.
I'm keen for Kelly to be part of the squad,I think he's earned it given his performances at County.
I think we need to sign at least one in the engine room,possibly even two if Kamara leaves.

Forward line is a tricky one,Alfie goes we need someone of similar style imo.
Is Hagi,Kent,Wright and if necessary Aribo enough in the wider attacking roles?
I honestly don't know.

Sakala looks exciting though,I certainly wouldn't be against him on a free even if we have to pay a very decent signing on fee to get him.

It's the midfielder we need could be the most difficult to find,thankfully we seem to have a very capable man in Ross Wilson.
 
A rest and a replacement for Zungu. We could probably offload Stewart, Jones, Barker on permanent transfers and bring in some youth prospects (assuming everyone stays and Hagi/Kent/Roofe/Itten are our wing cover).
 
cav said:
Noticed that last week on transfermarkt.co.uk but haven't seen him play for a long time so unsure of form/fitness/likelihood of him going elsewhere.

You'd think in a very general sense,that your typical Dutch style of player should suit our current way of playing.
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Still only 29, like you say I don’t know his injury situation but used to be one hell of a player.
 
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For me we need to improve quality in key positions. So after our European games we need a upgrade CH, one of existing starters needs to go probably Hellander and or Balogan. We need an upgrade in midfield. A midfielder who can replace Davis eventually.

Anything other is only if someone leaves. We ideally do not want radical surgery on the team.
 
Anyone think fleck could step in for Davis and could we get him obviously easier if Sheffield get relegated
 
depends who goes but would really like a steve davis type centre mid big money signing to bolster us and to rotate with davis for next season
 
Defo need a replacement for Davis in the summer . I would also take The Israeli midfielder who played for Antwerp last night . I know he’s 35 but he’s out of contract and I think he could elevate the quality in our midfield for a year or two and also won the golden last season and has a combined total of 20 goals/assists this season . I see it as a signing that can add us some real quality for the champs league but also not costing us anything except wages so we can put transfer fees on a couple other players of similar quality to help challenge next season
 
I’m expecting bids for a good few of our players this summer and I’d like to think we maybe limit the outs to 3 first team players - most likely Borna, Kamara & Alfie.

In addition to replacements for each of them, I think we’ll need an extra striker & centre half

That aside, if it’s not a Champions League side that’s coming in then I think they should stay.
 
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Sapien said:
I think it depends on who leaves. Some of our players have really drawn attention to themselves recently and we might get some bids we can't turn down.
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I agree. Our budget and needs could be drastically impacted by who is potentially sold.
It would be awesome for the club to be able to use the money from players sales to fund our next recruitment drive.
 
Davger said:
I think this will be the summer that Morelos leaves unfortunately. We will need to recoup money from players sales........the money we make from winning the Europa league and subsequent champions league money could off set it tho.
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Possibly. CL will be a big attraction for him.
Of course he could move to a CL team...

Imagine he left and we come up against him !!
Ouch.
 
I worry it would be very difficult to sign someone that replaces the balance Borna gives the team.

Ditto the class of Alfie and Kamara.

As well as buying replacements maybe the Gaffer could pull some strings and get a quality loan or loan-to-buy signing.

Would rather we balanced the books with CL money if possible.

Bedding players in does seem to take a varied amount of time too.
 
strider said:
This is purely guesswork on my part...

At some point, we need to start balancing the books. If we were able to get to the Champions League, great, but as that lot have shown in recent seasons and us in decades past, budgeting to do so is a risk when qualifiers are involved.

Here's my thinking with that in mind for this summer.

We're set with regards goalkeepers as McGregor will almost certainly stay.

In defence, again there's nothing really required unless someone leaves. We'll need to do something with the centre halves to trim that a little.

In midfield - Zungu will be away, and Jack isn't able to play 50-plus games a season now. It's arguable that Davis and Arfield would struggle there too. Ofoborh is coming in, and I'd like us to promote Kelly as well. That would give us 7 options there, maybe one too many, but probably what we need given the individual circumstances of a few.

Attacking positions - let Jones, Barker, Stewart all move on. Cash in on Morelos - he wants to play in one of the big leagues, and we absolutely need guaranteed cash. Sign someone of the profile of Sakala, available under freedom of contract and of a very good age with plenty of potential. Defoe will probably retire. That would leave us with Roofe, Itten, Kent, Hagi, Wright and the new signing. We know Aribo can step forward as well.

I'd then add either McPake or Kennedy to the squad, whichever is deemed most ready, and loan the other out again.

So that's no cash spent on transfer fees but a good squad largely retained and loads of players of a young enough age to improve as they've shown this season. I think we could still do well domestically and in Europe with that sort of squad.

I don't think that will happen, but with the financial effects of Covid, I wouldn't blame the club if we decided to do something like that.
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I'm pretty much the same as you Morelos to be the big sale this summer and see what we can bring in for Katic Edmundson Stewart Barker and Jones I do think we would go for two strikers rather than 1 though maybe Sakala +1 Gerrard highlighted the fact that having 4 strikers really paid off this season
 
Top priorities for me

1. Playing surface
2. Steve Davis repalcement. Would go again with a tried and tested, not a position where you take chances.
3. Direct replacements for Tav, Goldson, Alfie , Kamara should any move on.
 
Dadosgotabrandnewbag said:
My thoughts are turning to what we need to keep our momentum and evolution under Gerrard in this summer window.

I think priority should be another central midfielder and a centre back. Aribo has been outstanding but I feel can be found out defensively so I would ideally see him and Hagi as the right forward position. I hope Davis signs for another year but we need to be identifying an 'orchestrator' to replace him in time.

A center back to cement as Goldson's partner. We don't yet know how or when Katic will recover. Balogun not a long term option for me and Helander I'm not completely convinced.

Front three and wingbacks we have at least 2 quality players for each position.

Thoughts bears?
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I’m happy with Helander and Balogun and feel comfortable with either of them playing, add to that we will have Katic back and we have signed Simpson who we are yet to really see, I don’t think CB will be a priority.
 
I suspect we will sell one from each of the front, midfield and defenders. Most likely Morelos, Kamara and Barisic as the most marketable.

We may also need one extra in the middle and front due to aging, injury or retirals.

So, secure the key personnel on longer deals, one or two development opportunities in and one or two straight replacements in. Would still love to see us go in for Andreas Skov Olsen or Isaac Atanga but think that may be Scott Wright's position to own and he has looked good so far.
 
A couple of players with power, physical presence and aggression. Sometimes I look at us and think we are pretty lightweight, especially in the middle of the park.

That’s me splitting hairs btw.
 
Euro Scooter said:
I suspect we will sell one from each of the front, midfield and defenders. Most likely Morelos, Kamara and Barisic as the most marketable.

We may also need one extra in the middle and front due to aging, injury or retirals.

So, secure the key personnel on longer deals, one or two development opportunities in and one or two straight replacements in. Would still love to see us go in for Andreas Skov Olsen or Isaac Atanga but think that may be Scott Wright's position to own and he has looked good so far.
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Skov Olsens value will have dropped again after this season. Not made many appearances. The lad needs a fresh start.
 
For me, we don’t really need a Davis replacement as yet - domestically he is still good enough to play for another season no problem. What I think we lack in the midfield is a proper athletic defensive midfielder - this would only really be for European games and shoring up the defence in the latter stages of tight games. I don’t think we’d get away with playing Davis (or even a younger version) in that deep role against CL standard opposition.
 
Vony Tidmar said:
Might be an unpopular opinion but I think we should look for a replacement for Jack he is injured too often unfortunately, I like him as a player but would happily let him go.
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Shouldn’t be unpopular - even without any knowledge of injuries, it’s clear ryan Jack is not a 30 games a season midfielder. I’d be looking to replace within the next 12 months.
 
Kampbell said:
New contracts for Tav & Goldson.

A first choice striker to replace Morelos if he goes and a first choice midfielder as Zungu will go, Jack is injury prone and Davis is another year older.
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Agree with all of these but I’d say two central midfielders are needed for the reasons above plus the fact that Arfield another year older and Aribo can be hit or miss in the middle of the park.
 
strider said:
This is purely guesswork on my part...

At some point, we need to start balancing the books. If we were able to get to the Champions League, great, but as that lot have shown in recent seasons and us in decades past, budgeting to do so is a risk when qualifiers are involved.

Here's my thinking with that in mind for this summer.

We're set with regards goalkeepers as McGregor will almost certainly stay.

In defence, again there's nothing really required unless someone leaves. We'll need to do something with the centre halves to trim that a little.

In midfield - Zungu will be away, and Jack isn't able to play 50-plus games a season now. It's arguable that Davis and Arfield would struggle there too. Ofoborh is coming in, and I'd like us to promote Kelly as well. That would give us 7 options there, maybe one too many, but probably what we need given the individual circumstances of a few.

Attacking positions - let Jones, Barker, Stewart all move on. Cash in on Morelos - he wants to play in one of the big leagues, and we absolutely need guaranteed cash. Sign someone of the profile of Sakala, available under freedom of contract and of a very good age with plenty of potential. Defoe will probably retire. That would leave us with Roofe, Itten, Kent, Hagi, Wright and the new signing. We know Aribo can step forward as well.

I'd then add either McPake or Kennedy to the squad, whichever is deemed most ready, and loan the other out again.

So that's no cash spent on transfer fees but a good squad largely retained and loads of players of a young enough age to improve as they've shown this season. I think we could still do well domestically and in Europe with that sort of squad.

I don't think that will happen, but with the financial effects of Covid, I wouldn't blame the club if we decided to do something like that.
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I don’t think that squad would do much in champions league. A squad to compete at that level would need to be developed in a similar way to the present one has been.
 
sirstevefleming said:
I don’t think that squad would do much in champions league. A squad to compete at that level would need to be developed in a similar way to the present one has been.
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Agreed. I think we are a centre half upgrade, two central midfield upgrades and a goal scorer upgrade away from a first XI that could be reasonably competitive in the CL group stages. But in reality can we afford that? And more to the point, should we?
 
A player we have been trying to find since Gerrard came in, A Patrick Viera type midfielder.

Hard to come by (think so far we have tried Ojo, Zungu ,Ejaria and Coulibaly) but that is the type of player we need to finalize our system imo.

Finding quality at the right price is going to be the struggle.
 
Desert Loyal said:
A player we have been trying to find since Gerrard came in, A Patrick Viera type midfielder.

Hard to come by (think so far we have tried Ojo, Zungu ,Ejaria and Coulibaly) but that is the type of player we need to finalize our system imo.

Finding quality at the right price is going to be the struggle.
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That’s one definitely. A second is a 26-28 year old Davis replacement or Barry Ferguson equivalent. A clinical centre forward at the top level would be another but that would be crazy money and we can’t afford that.
 
I think we will need to sign a couple of quality midfielders to replace Kamara & Davis, a goalie to replace greets & a striker to replace Morelos at the very least.

we are going to have a battle keeping a number of players this summer I feel.
 
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