Militant Canary

Great! How do you know?

Sale denied by his club, but Swansea''s interest is confirmed. Not sold.

Okay.

I''m sure they can attract higher profile players than we can, but ''better'' is debatable. High profile and quality are not the same thing - look at the England team! Granted, Bony looks a good player, but someone like Altidore (I know I''ve mentioned him before, sorry) has equal quality and an equally impressing scoring record, but not quite Bony''s profile. Similarly, Toivonen is a top (potential) signing with bags of quality and pedigree (if that matters to you?), but very little profile. All this aside, a player, who can have the highest profile and all the quality in the world, is not guaranteed to take to a club/league. Always a gamble.

True enough, Indy. Still tells me that we had better in mind. And still a lot of love for Kei.

Hmm. But still, I''d take some of his former Alkmaar team-mates.

Agree with that, Jimmy. We need pace and power to complete the strike force (tactically speaking). We could have signed Kei who fulfilled that role, but didn''t. To me, that means we have better lined up. Altidore for me, but more likely to be somebody we''ve never heard of before and who just happens to be awesome.

I''d take Maher here in a second. Hell of a talent and a hell of a coup. Take several of his Alkmaar team-mates too.

Raises interesting questions of Newcastle if he goes there. Newcastle (who are in the top 20 richest clubs in Europe) were meant to be all in for him. Now their interest in Bony is dropped and they''re supposedly close to Darren Bent''s signature! If this happens, then the smell of death about Newcastle is undeniable. Oh, and if Bony signs, good move for Swansea.

I don''t know. The pull of working with Hoots again will be enough, I think. From what I hear, Nathan is a very bright young man - I mean, unusually so for a footballer. Much like Hoots, in fact. If its a straight choice between us and Swansea, then he knows he''s going to be out in the wilderness a bit. It comes down to personal preference and, technically, all Swansea can offer that we can not is the Europa League. We can offer Chris Hughton and a number of backroom staff that he has worked with (including our new conditioning guy, who he worked with this season). I still think we have the edge in this.

Good post! At present, I''d say Toivonen and Redmond will be as expected - simply because we have rock solid interest and a realistic chance of getting both. The Kone link is tenuous for me. Personally, I think we had a look at him, perhaps made an enquiry, but opted against going in for him. Instead, I think the Kone rumour hints at us looking for a certain kind of forward... someone similar to Kone, who offers what he offers, but we opted out because there is someone younger/cheaper/better (or all three) that we will pursue. If/when that forward arrives, it may well be someone we had not heard of. Similar situation with Olsson.

Has anyone considered the possibility that the fee is for Vaughan alone, with Butterfield going there with him on loan? Has anyone considered the possibility that the rumour is bogus? Just asking.

Only moved to Corinthians in January. Just one of many, many reasons we will not sign him. Of course, if I''m wrong and he''s a Canary by the end of the summer, I may spontaneously orgasm. That is all.

Yes, I noticed that!

I''m disagreeing with you a lot today, JS. Almost every detail of that post I think is wrong. However, I agree that we could do with an injection of pace, as well as the general sentiment that Olsson would be a good signing.

So, £3 million would be accepted, but Palace bid £5 million in the naive belief that it would make them more appealing to the player. Wha...? And I don''t understand what you mean by that last sentence. Not having ago, just think you typed it a bit too quick.

We''ll get him. Of that, I am sure. But never go in with your strongest bid. Hughton knows how to get the best out of him and gave him his first professional contract. It will be the first move of his career, so going to a club where you know the management team is sensible for a young lad - and he is a sensible young lad.

So happy with this, if true. Been saying for a while that he is the obvious choice for our LB addition this summer. Real quality player and one of the few who can keep up with Walcott. Strong too. If the Naughton rumours are also true, then our defense - in terms of cover, competition and variation - looks quite remarkable, especially when compared to the defense of our first year in the PL. Every individual defender offers something different, but all provide great competition for each other. Anyone remember when Zak Whitbread was a good option? Lavanche: do you have any more info on Hetemaj? Has that gone quiet?

Christ! What a day. Now on to football! Kyle Naughton on loan (with view to perm perhaps?) represents good business to me. Hughton confirmed last season that he tried to get him back here, but Spurs wanted too much for him and were unwilling to let him go on loan again. That situation has obviously changed with Spurs looking for new players in the full-back positions. If true, it also reveals Hoots intentions. As many have wanted for a while now (and I am now not averse to the idea), it would mean that Russell Martin is now considered more a CB than a RB. Naughton, though he can play LB and had mainly been deployed there last season by Spurs, is a RB by preference (I don''t care what anyone says to the contrary). So, we''d have Naughton and Whittaker fighting it out for RB - one is smaller and rapid, the other more physically imposing (I''d imagine we have something similar in mind for LB, esp. if the rumours about Elderson Echiéjilé are true). Livermore, funnily enough, I see as less likely for a number of reasons. Mostly due to the fact that we are alone mentioned in connection with Naughton, but in competition with others for Livermore... almost like we were added on to the list of clubs that are genuinely interested to make the story more interesting.

Indeed he is, as is a number of the Tahiti side. Just not by us.

Paul Moy: We have.

Prem1: I completely agree with the content of you post, if not the sentiment. Just don''t see what the hype around Vydra is based on. Hooper has a much better record at Championship level... for Scunthorpe! Pity you had to include anti-foreign nonsense in your post (as per).

Every time I''ve seen him, I''ve wondered what the hype is all about. Nowhere near as good as he''s meant to be. I stand by this assessment. Just my opinion, of course.

Having looked in to this further, I have to agree with you, grefstad. I''m sorry I started a thread on it. Out of curiosity, where do you think he''ll end up?

I''m trying to find out more on this. It is worth noting that Molde want to keep him and are set to talk with him when he returns from Israel. However, I think he''s keen on moving on. Even within the Norway U21s he is up against Nordveit and Henriksen, who play for Monchengladbach and AZ respectively, and are the same age as him (Henriksen is a bit younger). So, a move would better serve in cementing a place in the U21s or, more likely, the senior Norway team. (Quick side note: The Norway team really has so much potential. I have a feeling that they will soon be mentioned in the same breath as the Belgians in terms of footballer revolutions or a "golden generation". Perhaps not quite as good as the Belgians, but still impressive.) The team mentioned most frequently in a move for Eikrem is Hannover - which would be a good move for him. However, a move to the Premiership, I think, would be even better as it is slightly higher profile. We are an up and coming team that would allow him time to grow with the team before he moves on. We also have Norway favourite Alexander Tettey - who will hopefully have an injury free season. Forming a partnership with him at club level could translate well for the national side. Just some thoughts on the matter. I''m trying to find out more certain information.