Napoli want £34 million for Dries Mertens. In negotiations with Chelsea still.

- La Repubblica
 

If true - no wonder the club are struggling! 

33 minutes ago, JM7 said:

Napoli want £34 million for Dries Mertens. In negotiations with Chelsea still.

- La Repubblica
 

If true - no wonder the club are struggling! 

Everybody knows we’re desperate for a competent striker to support Abraham. We’re going to get shafted if we sign anyone with more than six months left on their contract.

It could be worse though. We’ve still got one good striker and it wasn’t so long ago we couldn’t even say that.

We’re not signing anyone.

32 minutes ago, dansubrosa said:

We’re not signing anyone.

I wonder if we’re setting up Lampard to fail. He looked really upset at the Press Conference today. Failing to seriously back a manager in the transfer window, when he explicitly asks for backing, usually means you’re on borrowed time.

Edited January 31, 20206 yr by Socrates

I didn't feel he was too upset. Just a combination of not getting any signings and media asking about it. If I was in his shoes I would feel like Sarri: ask the board.

 

 

52 minutes ago, dansubrosa said:

We’re not signing anyone.

Honestly, that is what I'm going to assume. I'm beginning to wonder whether all these news were just rumours and club actually didn't plan on buying anyone.

I’m not fussed we’ve not signed anyone this window the options don’t look inspiring.  Maybe Lampard was given options but decided they weren’t the right fit or good enough. Once you start filling your squad with dross you then have to get rid before you can replace them.

The quality of players available in the summer will be a lot higher and will improve the first eleven, which is what everyone was crying out for at the start of the window.

59 minutes ago, Frankie8Lampard said:

Honestly, that is what I'm going to assume. I'm beginning to wonder whether all these news were just rumours and club actually didn't plan on buying anyone.

Just rumours, noooooooo surely not 

2 hours ago, bluedave said:

Everybody knows we’re desperate for a competent striker to support Abraham. We’re going to get shafted if we sign anyone with more than six months left on their contract.

It could be worse though. We’ve still got one good striker and it wasn’t so long ago we couldn’t even say that.

If everyone knows right now how desperate we are, imagine in the summer...Price of Sancho up by 50m at least.

The transfer ban continues. I'll restate again that our approach to recruitment and scouting needs to be looked at very seriously. All well and good to say at least we didn't panic buy but there were any number of players who moved this month. Not least a striker who signed at Dortmund from Salzburg weeks ago who would have improved us.

I fully expect us to just drop back from the high press now and play a bit more conservatively. This tends to be our approach in the second half of the season. I hope that means we can use Pedro and Giroud because we need their experience.

What this does do is absolve Frank of any blame for not making the top four. He's done so well with a transfer ban and losing Hazard for six months now he'll have to do it with no signings of his own full stop. It will be an extraordinary achievement.

The club spent a lot of resources so that the transfer ban is reduced to just 1 transfer window, only to not sign anyone. Obviously it's still good to have the option to buy players but the way this window was done by the club has been underwhelming, there is no excuse for the lack of transfer targets because I'm not convinced that we will sign 4 players in the summer.

Lampard will need 2 years to rebuild the squad.

10 hours ago, Malcolm9 said:

Or it could be that our targets aren't available this window (Sancho, Werner etc) and we don't went to end up with dross like we previouly have gone for.

Fernandes to Utd is probably the best deal done so far as he could potentially give them vital goals and assists, early days though. 

Agree, Giroud isn't mobile enough for our style of play, that lack of pace really kills our attack (which isn't amazing as it is), so we need someone more clever and mobile with an eye for goal. Short term that could be Cavani or Mertens, and then move for Werner in the summer.

But how do you know these are our targets. Has there been any announcement that we have approached any of these players or clubs

There might have been 2-4 realistic targets and none them materialised. Lets get on with the season.

There was money from the sale of hazard and morata. 
we sold lamptey. Fair enough but lose a promising young player

we will have RLC and pulisic coming back but both are injury prone and have to run into form and in roc’s case get into the team. 
I think we have put the second half of the season at risk but there is of course further opportunity for the existing squad who may continue to grow into their job. Leicester don’t really have a backup striker and vardy is 33. So it’s self reliance for now for better or for worse. 

4 hours ago, Socrates said:

Yes it does. Lampard asked for signings to make up for the lack of transfer activity last Summer. Not necessarily first choice targets. But a couple of signings to deepen the squad, add more experience. Take the pressure off Abraham specifically. The Board had several weeks to bring in at least one option. To support Lampard. It was a test. And they couldn’t manage it. Says a lot about where we are as a club and where the Board are in relation to the manager. Really doesn’t bode well. 

We've actually reduced the size of the squad.

1 minute ago, ozboy said:

There was money from the sale of hazard and morata. 
we sold lamptey. Fair enough but lose a promising young player

we will have RLC and pulisic coming back but both are injury prone and have to run into form and in roc’s case get into the team. 
I think we have put the second half of the season at risk but there is of course further opportunity for the existing squad who may continue to grow into their job. Leicester don’t really have a backup striker and vardy is 33. So it’s self reliance for now for better or for worse. 

Nah, Rodgers is good enough to turn a back up in the club into the main man if needed. I could easily see Rodgers upgrade Barnes or Iheanacho should it become necessary.

35 minutes ago, WhiteWall said:

Nah, Rodgers is good enough to turn a back up in the club into the main man if needed. I could easily see Rodgers upgrade Barnes or Iheanacho should it become necessary.

 

Rodgers is a good example for Frank to follow, in my opinion.

1 hour ago, ozboy said:

There was money from the sale of hazard and morata. 
we sold lamptey. Fair enough but lose a promising young player

we will have RLC and pulisic coming back but both are injury prone and have to run into form and in roc’s case get into the team. 
I think we have put the second half of the season at risk but there is of course further opportunity for the existing squad who may continue to grow into their job. Leicester don’t really have a backup striker and vardy is 33. So it’s self reliance for now for better or for worse. 

I'd say that is a little harsh on Iheanacho. He has weighed in with some important goals for them this season and has been more consistent than our backup options.

Ighalo is heading to United! Clearly we’re better off with Giroud if that’s the best United can do

Well we best we can hope for is for all the players to step up to ensure we end up in the top 4.  Surprised we didn't dump more players, especially those out on loan to at least increase the cash flow going into the summer window.  We need to dump at least 10 players in the summer.  On another note lets hope we have built in a buy back clause re Lamptey.   Overall its been a pretty piss poor window all round although I am still scratching my head that there was not one player in Europe or South America that we didn't grab early in the window.

8 hours ago, Imran_CFC said:

Fingers crossed for Sancho, Zyech, Werner, Chillwell & Koulibaly in the Summer

🤞

Not a chance in hell. You reckon the board will hand him a 2 transfer window budget in the summer? Not a chance.

It will be an interesting summer.

19 minutes ago, ducavis said:

Not a chance in hell. You reckon the board will hand him a 2 transfer window budget in the summer? Not a chance.

It will be an interesting summer.

Iam sure our board will splash the cash and pay over market value for all our summer targets and secure all of them

 

#Sarcasm

Really disappointed with our board..

Seems like they dont want Lamps to stay beyond this season..

Needed a striker signing badly...

Cant understand the argument wait for the right player till summer..We need to be in the top 4 if we need to get those right players in the summer..!!!

9 hours ago, Imran_CFC said:

Fingers crossed for Sancho, Zyech, Werner, Chillwell & Koulibaly in the Summer

🤞

For them to want to come to us we need to be in UCL..

Wished the board got a striker now to make that very likely..

Yet another shocking and disappointing transfer window for the club IMO and no wonder Frank is pissed.  You would have thought that once , or if not earlier, the news of the transfer ban was lifted the club should have identified and had some pre agreements with players they wanted to sign in January, (calling tapping up, call it want you want...all clubs do it through various back channels) so that they could have signed them in the first few days at the start of the window.  It appears, on the surface at least, that no pre-work had been done and the Board throughout the window was fumbling around in the dark hoping to bump into a striker and a left back together with attacking scoring midfielder....instead of which they found a door leading into a wide open space and found sweet FA.   The club apparently had money to spend but would rather withhold the funds for the summer; and in any event, regardless of how much the player would have cost in January the club would get it back in very quick time in shirt and other merchandise sales as well at solidifying a CL spot; instead they have left the club and Frank in a very precarious position where losing a CL spot is very real.......ask Frank, he'll agree.