Transfer Rumour Thread Season 2021/22

[Alex Moss 2,165]

2 minutes ago, Bethnal Yellow and Green said:

West Ham were linked for a £15m - £20m move for him just before the Euros started. He’s certainly out of Norwich’s price bracket. 

Yep, since read that, Bethnal - thought he was around £10mil or so which i would guess is probably the top end of our spending bracket on an individual player. You never know though with Webber, he’s pulled some real rabbits out of the hat since he’s been here.

[TheGunnShow 5,940]

Considering that Rashica was mooted at £20 million plus and we've paid out less than half that to start with, I do wonder what other players Webber has found with clauses or weak financial situations we can exploit.

[cambridgeshire canary 6,718]

12 minutes ago, TheGunnShow said:

Considering that Rashica was mooted at £20 million plus and we've paid out less than half that to start with, I do wonder what other players Webber has found with clauses or weak financial situations we can exploit.

Ajer signing for us on a free when his contract expires would be fun..

[Indy 3,300]

36 minutes ago, Bethnal Yellow and Green said:

West Ham were linked for a £15m - £20m move for him just before the Euros started. He’s certainly out of Norwich’s price bracket. 

I believe he has a 10 million release clause.

[chicken 2,624]

31 minutes ago, TheGunnShow said:

Considering that Rashica was mooted at £20 million plus and we've paid out less than half that to start with, I do wonder what other players Webber has found with clauses or weak financial situations we can exploit.

I think I read it either on the PinkUn or The Athletic in an article about Gunn signing that it is £2.5m up front and adds on that could mount to £10m. However, it seems that many of those add ons are deemed highly unlikely and the article said something along the lines of "Southampton would be happy to get £6-7m in total out of the deal".

That's incredibly shrewd if you ask me. Southampton paid £10m for him with add ons to take it to £13.5m. Especially when you consider he is not a player that will take any time to settle in already knowing his surroundings and the area and the league. If the majority of the rest of the £5-5.5m is next summer, it's even better, the dent is reduced.

[Alex Moss 2,165]

1 hour ago, cambridgeshire canary said:

Ajer signing for us on a free when his contract expires would be fun..

It’ll be interesting to see if this really is completely dead in the water as has been suggested, or is in actual fact still a game of chess if you like. Got a feeling we might get one or 2 other surprises this week alongside tonight’s positive update regarding Billy Gilmour.

[Newtopia 517]

I think Webber steps away the moment the media circus gets involved.  Hence purchases which take us by surprise, and are done quickly.  I hope he has switched targets or left the deal on the table for the player / club and agent to discuss.

[Yellow and Green 334]

3 minutes ago, Newtopia said:

I think Webber steps away the moment the media circus gets involved.  Hence purchases which take us by surprise, and are done quickly.  I hope he has switched targets or left the deal on the table for the player / club and agent to discuss.

It's not so much the media circus. It's just that SW knows the valuation of the player and won't be messed around.

Celtic know a few clubs are after Ajer and they're hoping that will drive the price up.

Norwich (and assumedly the other clubs) know that Ajer wants to leave, 12 mil is too much and his price will decrease the nearer the transfer window gets. Especially if Ajer makes his feelings known.

[chicken 2,624]

40 minutes ago, Alex Moss said:

It’ll be interesting to see if this really is completely dead in the water as has been suggested, or is in actual fact still a game of chess if you like. Got a feeling we might get one or 2 other surprises this week alongside tonight’s positive update regarding Billy Gilmour.

There's been mixed reports though haven't there?

Supposedly the player is upset with the valuation Celtic are trying to get for him having had bids tabled for him with some suggesting he has indicated he would like to come to us.

Then we have had the odd but unconfirmed suggestion that he failed the "personality test" - I wonder if this involves being locked in a dark room with Grant as he screams at them? Would love to know how that works so we have decided to look else where.

Then there are other noises that the deal isn't dead but the stumbling block is the fee which apparently is £12.5m, so £2.5m more than we are rumoured to have offered. So we have decided to look at other targets to see if they can be landed for cheaper.

Then there is the deal is dead rumour.

If one was to try and tie this altogether it is possible that they are all true to an extent.

I'm imagining a scenario where the two clubs are negotiating on a fee and it is reaching the ball park for Celtic to be happy. At this point they allow Ajer to speak to Norwich and discuss terms etc. He represents a bit of a gamble, he's not had the best season ever and he is still young at 23 so has a fair bit to prove and grow into still. Then another club comes in and also puts an offer in around the same sort of amount. Celtic switch to hard ball mode, ask for a bit more. Webber decides you know what? We're not convinced by his mentality at this point, he needs to be really up for it, we have a limited budget, that's our offer, we'll look elsewhere - offer's on the table, give us a call if you want to revisit it, we'll check back in a week to see if you've changed your mind.

Kind of fits all of the rumours using a bit of imagination.

[Yellow and Green 334]

3 hours ago, chicken said:

There's been mixed reports though haven't there?

Supposedly the player is upset with the valuation Celtic are trying to get for him having had bids tabled for him with some suggesting he has indicated he would like to come to us.

Then we have had the odd but unconfirmed suggestion that he failed the "personality test" - I wonder if this involves being locked in a dark room with Grant as he screams at them? Would love to know how that works so we have decided to look else where.

Then there are other noises that the deal isn't dead but the stumbling block is the fee which apparently is £12.5m, so £2.5m more than we are rumoured to have offered. So we have decided to look at other targets to see if they can be landed for cheaper.

Then there is the deal is dead rumour.

If one was to try and tie this altogether it is possible that they are all true to an extent.

I'm imagining a scenario where the two clubs are negotiating on a fee and it is reaching the ball park for Celtic to be happy. At this point they allow Ajer to speak to Norwich and discuss terms etc. He represents a bit of a gamble, he's not had the best season ever and he is still young at 23 so has a fair bit to prove and grow into still. Then another club comes in and also puts an offer in around the same sort of amount. Celtic switch to hard ball mode, ask for a bit more. Webber decides you know what? We're not convinced by his mentality at this point, he needs to be really up for it, we have a limited budget, that's our offer, we'll look elsewhere - offer's on the table, give us a call if you want to revisit it, we'll check back in a week to see if you've changed your mind.

Kind of fits all of the rumours using a bit of imagination.

Webber has spoken about how he's not afraid to walk away at certain times during a negotiation. He did it during the Dennis Man discussions and it didn't work out. He also did it during the Buendia negotiations and it worked.

Celtic will be forced to lower their demands eventually otherwise he'll go for free in the next window, so patience is a virtue here. 

As the reports state, Norwich are moving onto other targets. If another option makes sense, they will go down that route instead. If Celtic lower their demands and we still need a CB, then I'm sure SW will swoop in.

[Bethnal Yellow and Green 1,558]

8 hours ago, Indy said:

I believe he has a 10 million release clause.

That’s less than he was signed for by Spartak Moscow so can’t imagine it is true.

 

[PurpleCanary 5,562]

8 hours ago, Newtopia said:

I think Webber steps away the moment the media circus gets involved.  Hence purchases which take us by surprise, and are done quickly.  I hope he has switched targets or left the deal on the table for the player / club and agent to discuss.

If that was always true we would not still be in for Gilmour.

[Indy 3,300]

1 hour ago, Bethnal Yellow and Green said:

That’s less than he was signed for by Spartak Moscow so can’t imagine it is true.

 

Indeed from what I know he was bought for around 12m euros two years ago, so you’re probably right, I’m trying to find the article which mentioned the £10 million which was linked to West Ham bid about a month ago. As you say it doesn’t make sense…..👍

[Bethnal Yellow and Green 1,558]

7 minutes ago, PurpleCanary said:

If that was always true we would not still be in for Gilmour.

Yep, would be a ridiculous policy to not go for targets just because the press got wind of it. Norwich under Webber have tended to avoid the long, drawn out transfer saga's we've seen previously though. Although the Ben Gibson one did play out over quite a long time as Burnley didn't want to send him out on loan initially and the Jordan Rhodes move seemed to have been trailed a long time before it happened.

I think Norwich have largely managed to keep their signings quiet as doing business in secret in Europe can be much easier, especially if you are shopping in lower tier leagues where transfer speculation isn't so ripe.

 

[1902 1,167]

4 minutes ago, Bethnal Yellow and Green said:

Yep, would be a ridiculous policy to not go for targets just because the press got wind of it. Norwich under Webber have tended to avoid the long, drawn out transfer saga's we've seen previously though. Although the Ben Gibson one did play out over quite a long time as Burnley didn't want to send him out on loan initially and the Jordan Rhodes move seemed to have been trailed a long time before it happened.

I think Norwich have largely managed to keep their signings quiet as doing business in secret in Europe can be much easier, especially if you are shopping in lower tier leagues where transfer speculation isn't so ripe.

 

This pretty much hits the nail on the head for me. Whether we keep it quiet is more closely linked to the profile of the selling club than anything else.

[Bethnal Yellow and Green 1,558]

8 hours ago, chicken said:

There's been mixed reports though haven't there?

Supposedly the player is upset with the valuation Celtic are trying to get for him having had bids tabled for him with some suggesting he has indicated he would like to come to us.

Then we have had the odd but unconfirmed suggestion that he failed the "personality test" - I wonder if this involves being locked in a dark room with Grant as he screams at them? Would love to know how that works so we have decided to look else where.

Then there are other noises that the deal isn't dead but the stumbling block is the fee which apparently is £12.5m, so £2.5m more than we are rumoured to have offered. So we have decided to look at other targets to see if they can be landed for cheaper.

Then there is the deal is dead rumour.

If one was to try and tie this altogether it is possible that they are all true to an extent.

I'm imagining a scenario where the two clubs are negotiating on a fee and it is reaching the ball park for Celtic to be happy. At this point they allow Ajer to speak to Norwich and discuss terms etc. He represents a bit of a gamble, he's not had the best season ever and he is still young at 23 so has a fair bit to prove and grow into still. Then another club comes in and also puts an offer in around the same sort of amount. Celtic switch to hard ball mode, ask for a bit more. Webber decides you know what? We're not convinced by his mentality at this point, he needs to be really up for it, we have a limited budget, that's our offer, we'll look elsewhere - offer's on the table, give us a call if you want to revisit it, we'll check back in a week to see if you've changed your mind.

Kind of fits all of the rumours using a bit of imagination.

I'd ignore the reports that were talking about a 'personality test'. They seemed to have got most of the information wrong stating that a fee was agreed and Norwich were in talks with the player - which from sources in both Norfolk and Scotland has been shown to be wide of the mark.

In the vast majority of transfers clubs agree personal terms with the player before agreeing a fee with their parent club. Agreeing the fee is usually the hardest part of any deal and clubs won't waste time and energy on it if the player isn't interested in a move. 

Always be dubious of a rumour that states "a fee has been agreed and now the club are trying to agree personal terms". 

[Feedthewolf 4,846]

52 minutes ago, Bethnal Yellow and Green said:

I'd ignore the reports that were talking about a 'personality test'. They seemed to have got most of the information wrong stating that a fee was agreed and Norwich were in talks with the player - which from sources in both Norfolk and Scotland has been shown to be wide of the mark.

In the vast majority of transfers clubs agree personal terms with the player before agreeing a fee with their parent club. Agreeing the fee is usually the hardest part of any deal and clubs won't waste time and energy on it if the player isn't interested in a move. 

Always be dubious of a rumour that states "a fee has been agreed and now the club are trying to agree personal terms". 

Good to know, thanks Bethnal. My extensive experience of old-school Championship Manager games would imply that the reverse is true... 🙂

[Bethnal Yellow and Green 1,558]

22 minutes ago, Feedthewolf said:

Good to know, thanks Bethnal. My extensive experience of old-school Championship Manager games would imply that the reverse is true... 🙂

Technically clubs are not suppose to do it that way around - it is regarded as tapping-up of course. The finer details of the contract are not all agreed, but the basics such as length, wage and clauses are generally all agreed before a fee has been accepted. It helps a buying club to complete a deal as quickly as possible once a fee has been agreed and stop a gazumping. 

The way it is justified is that the club is only speaking to the agent, not the player directly and thus it is okay. Clubs will also appoint the player's agent to work for them in the transfer negotiations, which helps to bisect any claims of illegal tapping-up.

There is also an increasingly common clauses inserted into players' contracts that they can speak to other clubs whenever they like as agents look to circumvent the accusations of 'tapping-up'. 

(Even football manager has now changed to reflect this happens and added a 'ask agent about availability' option for players - which gives a ballpark wage and fee the selling club would want).

[Nuff Said 5,141]

So the whole “tapping up” thing is effectively history? If clubs can approach agents at any time without speaking to the owning club, it’s basically open season.

[PurpleCanary 5,562]

12 hours ago, chicken said:

I think I read it either on the PinkUn or The Athletic in an article about Gunn signing that it is £2.5m up front and adds on that could mount to £10m. However, it seems that many of those add ons are deemed highly unlikely and the article said something along the lines of "Southampton would be happy to get £6-7m in total out of the deal".

That's incredibly shrewd if you ask me. Southampton paid £10m for him with add ons to take it to £13.5m. Especially when you consider he is not a player that will take any time to settle in already knowing his surroundings and the area and the league. If the majority of the rest of the £5-5.5m is next summer, it's even better, the dent is reduced.

The pink un journalists seem to have gone backwards and forwards on this, but are now listing the basic fee as £5m before add-ons rather than £2.5m.

[cambridgeshire canary 6,718]

38 minutes ago, Nuff Said said:

So the whole “tapping up” thing is effectively history? If clubs can approach agents at any time without speaking to the owning club, it’s basically open season.

What if I told you nobody really cares about 'tapping up' and everybody did it regardless?

[Bethnal Yellow and Green 1,558]

1 hour ago, Nuff Said said:

So the whole “tapping up” thing is effectively history? If clubs can approach agents at any time without speaking to the owning club, it’s basically open season.

Yeah, it is pretty much an accepted part of football - no club is prepared to challenge another club on tapping-up, as they themselves are probably tapping-up another player elsewhere. Southampton are the last team I can remember threatening action when Liverpool were being pretty brazen with Van Dijk. Klopp was spotted taking the player out for dinner, which is a bit OTT. If the buying club is being discreet and respectful, then the parent club generally won't kick off about it. 

There is also the disparity with FIFA and EPL rules. FIFA rules state that a buying club must 'inform' the parent club if they are discussing terms with them, while the EPL says they must get consent. As international transfers are done under FIFA rules it means Norwich are permitted to go straight to Ajer without Celtic's consent, as long as they have told Celtic they are doing so. 

[Alex Moss 2,165]

A tiny bit more on Adam Armstrong today, Blackburn want £20mil for him but with his contract running out in under a years time, they can’t risk him going for nothing.

https://www.lancs.live/sport/football/transfer-news/blackburn-rovers-armstrong-future-transfer-20918569
 

Also, do the vast majority of our players not report back for pre season training in a couple of weeks? Not sure of the date, but you would think therefore that the bulk of our transfers will be concluded by then, as we know Webber and Farke like to get them in early so they have the benefit of the whole pre season. The next 2 weeks should see things speed up a bit I would guess?

[Bethnal Yellow and Green 1,558]

25 minutes ago, Alex Moss said:

A tiny bit more on Adam Armstrong today, Blackburn want £20mil for him but with his contract running out in under a years time, they can’t risk him going for nothing.

https://www.lancs.live/sport/football/transfer-news/blackburn-rovers-armstrong-future-transfer-20918569
 

Also, do the vast majority of our players not report back for pre season training in a couple of weeks? Not sure of the date, but you would think therefore that the bulk of our transfers will be concluded by then, as we know Webber and Farke like to get them in early so they have the benefit of the whole pre season. The next 2 weeks should see things speed up a bit I would guess?

Southampton are very keen on Armstrong apparently and doing the same as Norwich and just waiting for Blackburn to see sense over his price (which with the Venkeys as owners is a debatable prospect). Suspect getting Armstrong is a real outside opportunity for Norwich and wonder if it is even something they are still considering now Rashica is confirmed.

Norwich can want whatever they want in regard to signing players, but they aren't really in full control of it. I'm sure they'd love to have all their business done yesterday, but will have to wait for other clubs/Euros/players and the 100 of other factors that determine when a transfer gets completed or not. As players finish their holidays and start to focus on next season things might speed up a little, but as Webber has said this window is likely to be a slow one and I wouldn't be surprised if we see players coming into Norwich even after the season has begun.

[Nuff Said 5,141]

1 hour ago, Bethnal Yellow and Green said:

… I wouldn't be surprised if we see players coming into Norwich even after the season has begun.

How long is the overlap between the start of the season and the window slamming shut this time? I thought they’d narrowed it this season?

[Essjayess 307]

Window shuts at very end of August. Trying to view things as they stand i think looking at strikers such as Armstrong is probably lower in the list of priorities compared to other issues. With all of Hanley, Gibson and Zimbo all trying to recover from injuries a CB is of course top priority. With Gimour incoming on loan one would think 1 more midfielder is needed to.  While things are quiet right now there could of course be a scenario where Aarons leaves so a position to be filled there...solely relying on Byram to have a fully fit season is a very big risk.

So with the limited budget City have, assuming they  have around 10 mill-ish set aside for a CB, and maybe needing another midfielder, i see little room for much more to be spent on another striker. We need to remember that Klose, Drmic, Leitner and Trybull are all still on the payroll  so that must be a sizeable chunk of  money going on wages to players who play no part in City's forthcoming season. Yes to, likely fringe squad guys like Plachets, Hernandez, Hugill etc..will there be any action involved with those guys?

This week will see Ben Gibbo, Dimi and Gilmour sign in, two permanent and one loan, but beyond that still a lot of potential action to come, but i dont see a striker as a priority in the near future.

[Alex Moss 2,165]

https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/aston-villa-norwich-city-to-battle-it-out-for-efl-starlet/

[cambridgeshire canary 6,718]

17 minutes ago, Alex Moss said:

https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/aston-villa-norwich-city-to-battle-it-out-for-efl-starlet/

Football leauge world..🤮🤮🤮

[birchfest 397]

Long way to go yet, but just starting to get a little nervous we are hedging our bets on a youngster from Chelsea... don't get me wrong an extremely talented one, but I don't know, he seems a little bit of a luxury at the moment without the CDM and CB sorted. Not trying to be negative, I'm just hopeful that we will see some moves to address those positions hopefully before preseason starts. No doubt these are being worked on, but its just when I read the pinkun journalist and some of the others linked to the club saying we are after another midfielder and a CB, its hard not to feel a little underwhelmed that we are not looking to try and get a couple more bodies through the door in addition to that. I understand its the reality of our situation but still, I think we need 2 midfielders and a Pukki style striker to give him some help.

 

I just keep thinking about what Webber said about 'judge me and the window off if the starting 11 is better than the one we had last season'. At the moment i'd say we are still behind without Buendia and Skipp. Fascinated to see what Raschica can bring, but also just a little bit nervous that we are going to be depending on him to hit the ground running almost immediately in the best league in the world.

[Bethnal Yellow and Green 1,558]

10 minutes ago, birchfest said:

Long way to go yet, but just starting to get a little nervous we are hedging our bets on a youngster from Chelsea... don't get me wrong an extremely talented one, but I don't know, he seems a little bit of a luxury at the moment without the CDM and CB sorted. Not trying to be negative, I'm just hopeful that we will see some moves to address those positions hopefully before preseason starts. No doubt these are being worked on, but its just when I read the pinkun journalist and some of the others linked to the club saying we are after another midfielder and a CB, its hard not to feel a little underwhelmed that we are not looking to try and get a couple more bodies through the door in addition to that. I understand its the reality of our situation but still, I think we need 2 midfielders and a Pukki style striker to give him some help.

 

I just keep thinking about what Webber said about 'judge me and the window off if the starting 11 is better than the one we had last season'. At the moment i'd say we are still behind without Buendia and Skipp. Fascinated to see what Raschica can bring, but also just a little bit nervous that we are going to be depending on him to hit the ground running almost immediately in the best league in the world.

Signings don’t come in the order of priority. As you said there is another CM (beyond Gilmour) and a Centreback yet to come that we know of. 

Personally I think Rashica is the wide attacker/striker that Norwich were reportedly trying to sign. Which suggests that a Buendia replacement is yet to come. 

There won’t be another striker unless a Norwich sell a few players I suspect. Pukki, Rashica and Idah will be expected to cover the position. Which makes sense as getting a dedicated backup to Pukki will cost at least £10m for a player who’ll spend most of his time on the bench. 

While it would be great to have a large variety of options for Farke on the bench, I just don’t see how that is possible on Norwich’s budget. I expect a core of 16 players to cover about 90% of the minutes next season - the way Burnley do. 

Norwich have a big squad at the moment, even if you disregard the quartet of Trybull, Klose, Leitner and Drmic. There won’t be too much room for incomings until it is thinned out a bit.