£12m for Danny Graham?!

[flecky76 0]

Yes, yes, yes, it''s Talksport, but just passing on the fact that they have tonight reported that Villa are after Graham for £12m!!

Could be a load of old flannel of course, but if there was any remote truth in this, it would certainly raise a umber of different questions.

I think it would be safe to assume that amount would completely blow us out of the water, but that would be a shame as I rate Graham highly. Any striker able to score regularly in the PL is hard to come by and Graham is one of those. Anyone suggesting that he is not good enough for us is, in my opinion, living in cloud cuckoo land.

That said, I don''t think he''s worth that amount, but if we are to remain in the PL this season, we will have to pay big dosh for a proven PL scorer at some point. I would imagine £6-7m would be our very max however, though potentially in the summer rather splashing that amount this month.

As for Villa, I would imagine they need to focus on filling multiple positions, not splashing all their cash on just one position?!

[flecky76 0]

http://www.astonvilla.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=7514256

[Oz Canary 0]

Flecky, totally agree with everything you said.

Would gladly have DG to partner with Holty, would be magnificent but not at 12m.

I also feel that some people on this forum have no idea what they are talking about. No one really knows categorically how much the board have decided is available to spend but the amount of so-called experts in the know makes me smile.

I foolishly suggested (on another thread) that I would like to see DG, Gary Hooper and Mulenga added to our squad and with Holty I thought would be a pretty formidable forward line. But I was quickly put back in my place because all those players would cost 18m (how they knew that is beyond me) and we can''t afford that sort of number.

Anyway, I am sure that Hoots and MacNally are working overtime on getting some additional fire power but it sadly looks unlikely that it will be DG.

[York Canary 28]

No way he is going to cost £12m. Unless Sunderland are after him..they''ll pay that!

[Highland Canary 76]

Clearly, we can''t afford 12m. Equally, assuming this figure is accurate which I doubt, it demonstrates that we can''t compete with our relegation rivals.

[Yellowbeagle 0]

I like Danny Graham, but if any club is stupid enough to pay 12m let them.

[Bws Cat 0]

We''re not relegation rivals...

[Mahogany 0]

No one will pay 12m for Graham. I thought the 3m that was being reported last week was low but not that low. If he moves it''ll be for between 5-6m. Still more than we should be paying for someone of his quality though.

[Sussexyellow 55]

Sunderland apparently are considering a bid but at 4m, according to the Telegraph. Newcastle also in the running, and he is a geordie.

[York Canary 28]

He supports Newcastle as do his family. They''re quite passionate fans apparently and I can''t imagine a move to Sunderland would go down too well, but you never know! lol.

[pete_norw 0]

[quote user="York Canary"]He supports Newcastle as do his family. They''re quite passionate fans apparently and I can''t imagine a move to Sunderland would go down too well, but you never know! lol.[/quote]

Sky just said He is set for Sunderland Swansea agree £4mil deal. maybe we got a lucky break there

[whoareyou? 0]

I''m amazed Swansea seem so keen to let him go.£4 million sounds like a steal in the current climate.

[Highland Canary 76]

Superb value at £4m. Invest £4m to protect next season''s £64m. Good risk management from Sunderland.

[Joanna Grey 0]

[quote user="BWs Cat "]We''re not relegation rivals...[/quote]

I think highland was talking about his relegation rivals; Birmingham, Wolves, Peterborough, etc.

[lincoln canary (& Golden Coppel) 0]

[quote user="Highland Canary"]Superb value at £4m. Invest £4m to protect next season''s £64m. Good risk management from Sunderland.[/quote]

 

I find this statement to be a bit ridiculous. Graham is superb value at £4 million, if this fee is to be believed, but to say it gurantee''s their survival is nonsence. It''s not good risk management at all, its a risk they hope will pay off but can in now way be sure. I wonder if Fletcher was good risk management??

[whoareyou? 0]

Fletcher was a waste of money at £12million. His injury record is not good and you would never get a full season out of him.

[ron obvious 1,499]

pete_norw wrote the following post at 08/01/2013 8:38 AM:

Sky just said He is set for Sunderland Swansea agree £4mil deal. maybe we got a lucky break there,

Have you a link to this Pete? I can''t find anything about this.

[Highland Canary 76]

Apologies, I did not mean to imply that DG should be perceived as a panacea to solve all Sunderland difficulties but that such an acquisition *should* help in adding potential goals to a struggling team - in that sense is sensible risk management. Of course, in football we never quite know if a player will exceed or fail to match expectations for all the reasons of which we are aware.

[......and Smith must score. 1,334]

[quote user="ron obvious"]pete_norw wrote the following post at 08/01/2013 8:38 AM:

Sky just said He is set for Sunderland Swansea agree £4mil deal. maybe we got a lucky break there,

Have you a link to this Pete? I can''t find anything about this.[/quote]Haven''t got a link to that but the '' Times '' today reports he''s on his way to the North East to discuss personal terms after a £4m fee was agreed.Not sure their stories any more reliable than other sources though.

[Jim Smith 2,314]

If he is available for £4 million then i very much hope we are in the hunt for him even if wages may ultimately prove our downfall. if we can''d spend £4m on a decent striker this January then we are really placing ourselves at a huge disadvantage to the other teams in the lower 2/3rds of the table as they all will spend at least that.

[York Canary 28]

We must be in for him at around £4m. Without a doubt. I''d imagine that Sunderland would bump the price up nicely though and that''d push us straight out.

Might be a blessing in disguise, who knows. All hearsay at the moment though!