Transfer Rumour Thread Season 2021/22

[chicken 2,604]

2 minutes ago, Terminally Yellow said:

Watford are interesting. 

They've been very busy in the window so far. Signed ... Five? Fletcher, lad from Grimsby, Rob Elliot, Louza, lad from Rochdale. 

According to Wikipedia, they have a squad of 35 with those signings. 4 further out on loan. Close to signings of Ashley Young and now Danny Rose.

That's a squad of 41 if all that comes to pass.

Surely there's going to have to be a massive cull of players there to make that work? 

I know that players U21 and homegrown don't have to be named, but is there a new rule for homegrown players over 30 as well?!!!

[Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man 3,777]

7 minutes ago, Terminally Yellow said:

Watford are interesting. 

They've been very busy in the window so far. Signed ... Five? Fletcher, lad from Grimsby, Rob Elliot, Louza, lad from Rochdale. 

According to Wikipedia, they have a squad of 35 with those signings. 4 further out on loan. Close to signings of Ashley Young and now Danny Rose.

That's a squad of 41 if all that comes to pass.

Surely there's going to have to be a massive cull of players there to make that work? 

It's Watford's strategy. They have a mass turnover of players every summer but it generally seems to work.

[Ken Hairy 3,759]

Ashley Fletcher is a terrible signing 😂. I'll be happier with our no signings than sign him.......

[king canary 7,579]

12 minutes ago, chicken said:

It'll be loaning him out to try and increase his value. No way is he getting past Wan-Bissaka. 

Yeah but his value doesn't increase from a season on Norwich's bench.

[chicken 2,604]

Just now, king canary said:

Yeah but his value doesn't increase from a season on Norwich's bench.

It'll depend on whether other clubs have come in for him and whether with us, it's in view to a permanent move too. Probably better to wait and see before trying to guess it all.

We loan out players who don't always start regularly yet are highly rated.

[Terminally Yellow 2,448]

17 minutes ago, Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man said:

It's Watford's strategy. They have a mass turnover of players every summer but it generally seems to work.

Apart from the season they were relegated from the Premier League? 😂

[Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man 3,777]

49 minutes ago, Terminally Yellow said:

Apart from the season they were relegated from the Premier League? 😂

Yep, so it's worked in seven of the eight seasons the Pozzo family have been there. 

[Terminally Yellow 2,448]

4 minutes ago, Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man said:

Yep, so it's worked in seven of the eight seasons the Pozzo family have been there. 

I think we'll have to agree to disagree on what we each consider "worked" to be 😂 

[Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man 3,777]

7 minutes ago, Terminally Yellow said:

I think we'll have to agree to disagree on what we each consider "worked" to be 😂 

Achieving the objectives they set out. Aside from the year they were relegated, they have met or exceeded expectations every year since the Pozzo family have been there, more or less. They started as an average Championship side and began by building towards promotion to the Premier League, then achieving it, staying up reasonably comfortably for four seasons including an FA Cup final, then relegation followed by going straight back up. 

Aside from one bad season which ended in relegation, I'd say the Pozzo strategy, whether you like it or not (and personally I'm not a fan of it), has worked.

[Mr Angry 1,545]

1 hour ago, Terminally Yellow said:

Watford are interesting. 

They've been very busy in the window so far. Signed ... Five? Fletcher, lad from Grimsby, Rob Elliot, Louza, lad from Rochdale. 

According to Wikipedia, they have a squad of 35 with those signings. 4 further out on loan. Close to signings of Ashley Young and now Danny Rose.

That's a squad of 41 if all that comes to pass.

Surely there's going to have to be a massive cull of players there to make that work? 

Elliott was already there, he signed in January until the end of the season, they’ve just given him a new contract.

They are also interested in Rafael Borre from River Plate-a striker, which is the position they most need to strengthen. 

The two signings from the lower leagues are similar to some of our signings-hoping they turn out to have potential.

Perica is apparently being sold to Barnsley.

[Ken Hairy 3,759]

13 minutes ago, Terminally Yellow said:

I think we'll have to agree to disagree on what we each consider "worked" to be 😂 

Of course its worked, especially when you consider the 1 season they did go down they bounced back straight away. 

[Terminally Yellow 2,448]

52 minutes ago, Ken Hairy said:

Of course its worked, especially when you consider the 1 season they did go down they bounced back straight away. 

**** me, we have a lot of Watford fans on this forum. Have I gone to the wrong place?

I'm not (surprisingly, for me) seeking an argument about Watford. I don't know nearly enough about them. Definitely don't care enough about them. A cursory glance would suggest that with the money spent, the high turnover of managers and players, to have only hovered above relegation to then be relegated doesn't appear to be a success to me. 

I wonder how many of you would  be so forgiving if it were NCFC in Watfords place? 

Edited June 11, 2021 by Terminally Yellow

[The Bunny 305]

13 hours ago, Bethnal Yellow and Green said:

I don't understand the negativity around Dowell - don't think anyone looked better than him at the end of the season once he got a few games under his belt. Not sure where the perception he is weak and slow comes from as he is no slower or weaker than Cantwell!

I suspect Dowell was signed last season as a potential replacement for Buendia, so if that happens a season later, after Dowell has had probably his best season of his career then it wouldn't be a huge shock surely. Remember, Dowell was very highly rated by Everton and won the U20s World Cup with England - he's a good player with a good pedigree.

Dowell is no Buendia replacement.

He was awful until the last 10 games, and then he did well against poor opposition (while still drifting out of games at times, and not bothering to get back).

[Dr Greenthumb 746]

3 hours ago, The Bunny said:

Dowell is no Buendia replacement.

He was awful until the last 10 games, and then he did well against poor opposition (while still drifting out of games at times, and not bothering to get back).

He wasn’t poor, he was injured 😂

[Terminally Yellow 2,448]

3 hours ago, The Bunny said:

Dowell is no Buendia replacement.

He was awful until the last 10 games, and then he did well against poor opposition (while still drifting out of games at times, and not bothering to get back).

I do so love how NCFC fans always find a scapegoat. 

Dowell played just 23% (933) of minutes of last season. He scored 5 goals. That's a return of just over one goal every other 90 minutes he played. 2 of those goals came against 7th place Reading. 

Most fan bases would be excited to see what Dowell can do when given a full season and having adjusted to Farke's methods and plans. 

Dowell, however, gets the same treatment as Todd Cantwell did just because he's not Emi Buendia. 

Without knowing who is going to be joining the club, I've no clue what part Dowell will play next season. But his performances in those last 10 games or so justifies him being part of the conversation, and most definitely justifies us supporting him.

[smooth 114]

We haven't seen the best of Dowell over a period of time, he will have a full preseason but with rupp and Marco as competition (and I put that loosely) we need another ready player for the 10 position.

When pukki is managed so closely we need to make sure we do have goals from this position and from Cantwell and others. It is an obvious statement. But with players in those positions we probably don't have enough

I am looking forward to our business

2 CDM, winger striker, centre half, number 10 and possibly a full back

Placheta I hope has a good Euros and comes back chomping at the bit and confident. Certainly the Norwich player in the championship I am intrigued to watch.

 

[horsefly 4,287]

5 hours ago, The Bunny said:

Dowell is no Buendia replacement.

He was awful until the last 10 games, and then he did well against poor opposition (while still drifting out of games at times, and not bothering to get back).

I don't think we spent enough time on here blaming Buendia for not being Lionel Messi. How he got off so lightly I shall never know.

[FatCanary 249]

17 hours ago, Hank shoots Skyler said:

But if Cantwell is on the left and Dowell is on the right (as believed by Bethnal), that's no number 10s at all. 

I think we need to sign a dedicated number 10 who can pitch in defensively, and we certainly need competition for that right side of midfield with no Buendia. Dowell and Placheta as our right sided options or Dowell and Hernandez are a good championship pairing hard to imagine in the prem. 

Would be a bit of a joke to sell Buendia and not sign anyone who can even play the same position, let alone trying to replace his level of quality!

I'm not sure you read my post tbh.

Bethnal knows some good stuff on NCFC but is not God.

I am simply stating that I believe the skill set is there for one of those two to take up the position behind Pukki. If we sign more 10s rather than wide forwards then the opposition know we are only ever inclined to drift centrally and they only ever need worry about the overlap from the full backs. 

Whereas someone who has the pace and power to drive outside as well as inside opens up the possibility of the underlap as well as meaning the opposition defence can't prepare as well for the way in which we will try to pull them out of shape.

Yes we can sign more 10s and keep trying to thread the needle with panache but I think whilst we may see Cantwell on the left and Dowell on the right, if we don't give ourselves the option to move one central and take the other off, replacing with an actual winger or wide forward who is comfortable going on the outside, we will be too one dimensional in attack and get found out. I believe Webber and Farke have this in hand.

Surely it must be the common consensus that we need a greater variety of attacking weapons? Isn't this exactly what we have Placheta and Hernandez for- i like them both but it is silly if we do not look to upgrade immediately and loan them out. I believe good, proper wide players is a dimension we need to add if we want to survive.

[Ken Hairy 3,759]

9 hours ago, Terminally Yellow said:

**** me, we have a lot of Watford fans on this forum. Have I gone to the wrong place?

I'm not (surprisingly, for me) seeking an argument about Watford. I don't know nearly enough about them. Definitely don't care enough about them. A cursory glance would suggest that with the money spent, the high turnover of managers and players, to have only hovered above relegation to then be relegated doesn't appear to be a success to me. 

I wonder how many of you would  be so forgiving if it were NCFC in Watfords place? 

You seem to be getting very wound up about something you "don't care enough about" 😉Normal for this forum I suppose though 😁

[horsefly 4,287]

Can't say I'm remotely convinced by the idea of Dowell on the right. He doesn't possess the speed, aggression, or recovery skills that Farke seems to require of an occupant in that role. What he does possess is a fantastic deftness of touch, and an excellent shot that makes him ideal for the number 10 role. Some of his first-time flicks last season were simply sublime, and could be crucial to unlocking PL quality defences in tight spaces. Similarly, our last sojourn in the PL showed up a lack of anyone willing or capable of striking consistently worthwhile efforts from outside the box, something he won't be shy of. No doubt we could do with serious competition for him in the number 10 role, but personally I think that's by far the best position to exploit his talents and avoid his weaknesses.

[Hank shoots Skyler 2,094]

1 hour ago, Terminally Yellow said:

I do so love how NCFC fans always find a scapegoat. 

Dowell played just 23% (933) of minutes of last season. He scored 5 goals. That's a return of just over one goal every other 90 minutes he played. 2 of those goals came against 7th place Reading. 

Most fan bases would be excited to see what Dowell can do when given a full season and having adjusted to Farke's methods and plans. 

Dowell, however, gets the same treatment as Todd Cantwell did just because he's not Emi Buendia. 

Without knowing who is going to be joining the club, I've no clue what part Dowell will play next season. But his performances in those last 10 games or so justifies him being part of the conversation, and most definitely justifies us supporting him.

I think it’s not so much a criticism of Dowell.

It’s just not an overjoying prospect to think that we’ve got promoted to a much harder division, lost our out and out best player for a record fee, and might seek our replacement as someone who was already in the team last season.

That’s a clear backwards step whatever way you cut it. But fortunately I seriously doubt that’s the route we will take.

[Terminally Yellow 2,448]

31 minutes ago, Ken Hairy said:

You seem to be getting very wound up about something you "don't care enough about" 😉Normal for this forum I suppose though 😁

You clearly haven't seen my posts where I do get worked up. 

[Hank shoots Skyler 2,094]

44 minutes ago, FatCanary said:

I'm not sure you read my post tbh.

Bethnal knows some good stuff on NCFC but is not God.

I am simply stating that I believe the skill set is there for one of those two to take up the position behind Pukki. If we sign more 10s rather than wide forwards then the opposition know we are only ever inclined to drift centrally and they only ever need worry about the overlap from the full backs. 

Whereas someone who has the pace and power to drive outside as well as inside opens up the possibility of the underlap as well as meaning the opposition defence can't prepare as well for the way in which we will try to pull them out of shape.

Yes we can sign more 10s and keep trying to thread the needle with panache but I think whilst we may see Cantwell on the left and Dowell on the right, if we don't give ourselves the option to move one central and take the other off, replacing with an actual winger or wide forward who is comfortable going on the outside, we will be too one dimensional in attack and get found out. I believe Webber and Farke have this in hand.

Surely it must be the common consensus that we need a greater variety of attacking weapons? Isn't this exactly what we have Placheta and Hernandez for- i like them both but it is silly if we do not look to upgrade immediately and loan them out. I believe good, proper wide players is a dimension we need to add if we want to survive.

Yep sorry just read your later posts in the thread, I’d agree it would be good to have such an option. Though Farke does also like the 3-5-2 formation as a plan b when he likes to throw the kitchen sink at the game - although I feel like he really moderated his use of this formation last time in the prem, not sure why as this has always been a good switch in the champs (lack of CBs available all season tbf).

I do however maintain that we should want someone a bit more steely to be our first choice no 10 than either of those two. Perhaps we will see an overlapping pacey type winger on the right as the Buendia replacement. 4 ‘first choice’ players competing across those positions would be good, particular as Dowell is untested in the PL.

[Hank shoots Skyler 2,094]

30 minutes ago, horsefly said:

Can't say I'm remotely convinced by the idea of Dowell on the right. He doesn't possess the speed, aggression, or recovery skills that Farke seems to require of an occupant in that role. What he does possess is a fantastic deftness of touch, and an excellent shot that makes him ideal for the number 10 role. Some of his first-time flicks last season were simply sublime, and could be crucial to unlocking PL quality defences in tight spaces. Similarly, our last sojourn in the PL showed up a lack of anyone willing or capable of striking consistently worthwhile efforts from outside the box, something he won't be shy of. No doubt we could do with serious competition for him in the number 10 role, but personally I think that's by far the best position to exploit his talents and avoid his weaknesses.

Agree with this HF. Unless Farke puts Dowell on the same stuff that he put Cantwell on before our last prem campaign! 

[Branston Pickle 3,637]

11 minutes ago, Terminally Yellow said:

You clearly haven't seen my posts where I do get worked up. 

Hmmm.

IMO it seems the main ‘criticism’ of Dowell is that he isn’t Emi...who clearly had a certain somoething about him (both good and bad).  FWIW I think Dowell will do well in the PL and he also has a good dead ball in him.

[Hoolahoop14 124]

So, moving on, what do we know for definite...

 

- Angus Gunn is close to being confirmed, good news in my book and certainly a signing that will strengthen the squad.

- A Brandon Williams loan deal is being actively pursued, which for me is again good news, as he would provide adequate cover for both Giannoulis and Aarons (providing he stays). PL experience at a big side is also plus point.

- Skipp is still one that we’re after however it all depends on whoever turns out to be the new Spurs manager. Not likely to be confirmed either way for a while, unfortunately. 

- Ajer from Celtic is still very much being worked on however nothing has yet been agreed between us and Celtic, and discussions haven’t been the easiest. No word on whether Ajer himself would even want the move.

- Josh King was one we were pursuing however his lack of enthusiasm for the move (aka, we wouldn’t pay him what he wants I suspect) meant that’s off the cards for now.

- Tosin Adarabioyo is a player that we’ve scouted heavily but no contact has yet been made with Fulham, and it would appear he’s behind Ajer in terms of top CB targets.

Any other players we’re actively pursuing are likely to have been kept under wraps for now, and also to re-confirm, unfortunately there’s no truth in the Periera rumours, nor the De La Vega and Loncar rumours.

[FatCanary 249]

Smart money says that most of our signings no one will have seen coming anyway. I admire the Archant lads for the way they fill virtual space with content but we probably aren't actually in for any of them except Gunn who is done (and let's be honest Bryan probably told them about that) and the Williams loan deal. Those two will get done but expect three or so out of left field.

[Fuzzar 1,702]

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/norwich-city-philip-billing-transfer-24304269

[Midlands Yellow 3,936]

3 hours ago, Terminally Yellow said:

You clearly haven't seen my posts where I do get worked up. 

I have, you let your feelings known and don’t sit on the fence. 

[Branston Pickle 3,637]

3 minutes ago, Fuzzar said:

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/norwich-city-philip-billing-transfer-24304269

Not a bad shout - not cheap though