Not Actually that Crucial a Summer as of August 2023...beginning to now think everything isnt fine!

When you see this sort of profile this is starting to shape up as a substantial rebuild. Like the 4 starters and 3 squad players @Blochairnbhoy mentions doesn’t really move us on much. If Abada, Kyogo and Hatate go plus one of the other names mentioned then four first team guys only really fill the space they leave.

With Welsh and Turnbull the only real issue is homegrown status as neither have contributed that significantly especially Welsh. Siegrist shouldn’t really have been signed to start with so no surprise there.

The other two who are not mentioned in the posts are Starfelt who Romano claimed there was interest in and one that I have been wondering is Mooy. Where Mooy has been effective for part of the season he has been plagued by injury really since just after the cup final. On his game he has real quality but is he capable of remaining fit and are we willing to pay him a decent wage if he is not?

You add in

Hazard
Barkas
Orhoghide
Scales
Soro
Shaw
McCarthy (hopefully)
Ajeti (hopefully)

Who appear to have no future you’re looking at around 12-15 players out all in. That’s going to bring in some amount of cash and hopefully save some amount of wages. However likewise to replace the first team guys going we will need to spend a bit on a few players too.

On top of that who knows what you do with Bernabei? If we sign another left back where do you play him but equally we need another left back as he looks awful and can’t be relied upon.

Hopefully in a far more controlled manner but this feels more like Ange’s first summer than last year.

 

Need a CB that improves on what we already have.

Need to replace GG up top. Someone who is strong and knows how to use it.

A wanyama type midfielder is essential. We have no one who can do that role at the moment and that was clear at Ibrox.

There's a lot of players who have been on the fringes that can be moved on for decent money and frimpong fee along with CL money, no reason why we can't go and get what we're missing and improve on what we have

 

Ideally every single fringe player will be sold but it never happens you need to have teams actually wanting them in the first place. Realistically around 2 or 3 fringe players will leave for a small fee or nothing and one of our big players will be sold for a good profit (hopefully). Its about what we do with that profit, I know we like to find cheap gems but we really need to go out and splash on one player who ticks every single box. Buying cheap limits the quality you bring in unless you strike lightning like we did with Dembele or VVD.

South America still has some amount if cheap talent over their aswell but we shouldn't be turning our noses up at the price tags. Benfica, Salzurg and Ajax make a fortune buying these kind of players but they don't spend pennies. They spend £10m-£15m on them which then leads them to being sold or mega money. We have to speculate to accumulate its that simple, shopping in the bargain bin every season will see us with more average players than good. It's time to level up in the transfer market.

Also Kyogo won't go, no chance he's the managers favourite, is 29 and has just stated last week he wants to stay and hit over 100 goals. Hatate and Abada will certainly have interest though and I'm hoping it's Abada we sell and not Reo (if I had to choose).

 

There are just so many variables and moving pieces that it’s difficult to predict. We could end up needing a big rebuild, or end up only losing one or two regulars.

For example, Brighton have shown a real interest in Hatate but it’s very difficult for us (and even Hatate himself) to know whether he’s number one on their wishlist or how far down he is.

What I would say is that, from the very little insight I have into our scouting, we actually appear organised and have a list of targets for every scenario. So I have full faith in Ange to make the best decisions to take the team forward.

 

That's no a rumour

He is daft enough to be a grass

 

I’m probably in the minority but I wouldn’t care if we lost Hatate as long as he is adequately replaced.

He’s been fantastic for us but still blows hot and cold all too often for me. You never get an ok performance from him. Either sugar or *. He’s far from irreplaceable.

 

£30m budget * it!

Potentially getting £18m to £20m if frimpong and KT move on plus the survival clauses from ajer and Christie.

Add into that the proposed departures let's push boat out and be aggressive like ange said 4-5 signings calibre of jota and CCV are what is needed to take us to next level

 

£30m should be the minimum spend in my opinion.

Hatate/Abada/O'Riley could be off and I would be wanting £40m minimum for all 3.
Frimpong and Tierney sell on clauses will bank us at least £10m.
Ajer and Christie clauses will be £2m.
Selling the deadwood and * can bring in another £3m.

That's £55m before we even get to the champions league money. I'm not asking for him to get the whole lot but give him £30m minimum to buy in 5 top quality players. Goalkeeper, Centre Back, Left Back, Midfielder and Right winger.

Then a couple of loan signings or bosmans to top up the squad. Another midfielder with legs and another striker.

 

Frimpong and Tierney I would hope closer to £15m its 15% straight on KT and its on profit over £11m on frimpong.

Squad players I would be hoping for another £10m plus tbh with all those on loan and welsh leaving

 

There's no excuse..

We should be going for some x factor type signings at least in the 6 mill Carter-Vickers/Jota bracket or even up to the Edouard region of 9 mill..

A box to box dominant centre mid
Left back
Right winger

Those 3 should be where we spend serious money..

Maybe a loan to buy with a keeper to ease in with Hart and see if he's up to scratch that maybe isn't getting game time at a big club. Same with another centre half like Jenz, but hopefully better..

Then add some bits with a versatile winger/forward
Another centre mid/10
Possible versatile player that can play right back..

 

Definitely need a new GK, left back, box to box creative midfielder and a right winger. I appreciate that a good standard GK might be hard to find but it's the one position I think we will need to splash the cash on if we are to progress in Europe as well as remain the dominant team here in Scotland.

 

We don't need to splash the cash on a goalkeeper, we just need to find a goalkeeper who is competent with the ball at his feet and competent between the sticks. Joe Hart, overall, has been a huge success. He's obviously got his weaknesses but we knew exactly what we were getting when we brought him in after the whole Barkas experiment.

I've went on about Noppert for months now. Final year of his contract, Dutch number 1. Playing for Herenveen in Holland and valued at £5m. We could get him for cheaper. Don't get me wrong, he's 29 now but that's relatively young for a goalkeeper. Completely competent.

 

I don't watch a lot of European football however, as you say, there may be a few GK's who could come in and do a job for us that wouldn't cost a fortune. I honestly thought Siegrist looked the part when he came and it's a bit strange how he's totally disappeared from the scene. If its an injury it must be a right bad one.

 

I want a big signing that’s already established, someone we can get really existed about when the whispers start. We have recruited well recently but feels like ages since we’ve had a proper big name even linked to us. A lot of the guys we hadn’t heard of like Kyogo, Hatate, Jota have all worked out better than I bet any of us expected and we will continue to find gems like them I’m sure. I’m just being a bit petty but I want just want that exciting rumour! £8/9m central midfielder or RW!

Serious note though we need alleast 5 again. GK, LB, CAM, RW and ST.

I reckon we could spend £20-25m if Abada and O’Riley leave along with a few fringe/ loaned out guys.

 

I honestly feel like we'll get 1 Edouard type fee signing and Carter-Vickers/Jota type for another. Just a hunch..

 

I really hope so. There’s no reason why we can’t either. Financially been in a really good place for a while now and only improving with back to back CL qualification. Profits on JJ and GG and probably going to take in 20m in on Abada & O’Riley and hopefully another few mil on Frimpong and KT moving on.

We need to step it up in Europe tooc domestic success is great but it’s getting tiresome failing in Europe and needs to change. We had some good performances in the CL but just not clinical enough and still to shaky especially if we do take a lead, we throw it away straight after.

Jota and CCV were a start in buying players knew were going to perform at a high level and they both have done that even in Europe. A couple more like that along with McGregor. Hatate and Johnson who are good enough will surely see us compete into the latter stages of the Europa.

 

I'd imagine the biggest outlays will be at centre mid and right wing..

Need a game changer in both positions to go to the next level..

I'd personally spend a decent amount on a left back upgrade as well..

Then as I said earlier possibly a loan to buy for a keeper as we don't wanna get burnt again with a barkas type signing as it's majorly important we get that right..

Then maybe same again with a centre half..

 

Yeah agree on them 2 positions. A keeper to is a must and yeah we don’t need to go mad a spend 5m again. Can get a decent one for free or as you say loan. Still think Siegrist could do a job now would’ve been the ideal time to give him game time. Just watching that Japanese winger for Sociedad, he would’ve done lol!

 

See being honest it is hard to tell where our biggest outlays on a player will be as it will all depend whose available, their contract situation and willingness to come.

Like if we are in for Matsuki, it is unlikely the fee will be that high and he would likely be the box to box centre midfielder. Much like if we went for Ito as a creative midfielder.

I wouldn’t be against what your suggestion with a keeper but the downside to that would be say he comes from a big 5 league and has a good season with us there’s a big chance he ends up elsewhere the following season and we get no fee for him but need a goalkeeper again. It does have the upside as you say of you don’t end up with a Barkas situation.

Again how much we spend on which position will also be influenced by who goes. If Kyogo did leave (hope he doesn’t) then a striker would be our biggest outlay I think.

For once I actually don’t think the fee being asked will be the real stumbling block to signing players. I believe it will be a combination of the wages being asked for and persuading top players to come to Scotland as we saw with Souza last year.

To compete on all fronts I think we need

1. goalkeeper
2. mobile and strong centre back
3. more athletic left back
4. box to box centre midfielder
5. creative midfielder
6. right winger

The above is based on

a. either Hart and/or Siegrist moving on along with Barkas and Hazard
b. Welsh, Scales and Urhoghide being moved on or loaned again.
c. Bernabei continuing to be poor
d. Hatate or O’Riley going along with Turnbull and surplus midfielders
e. Abada going
f. Kyogo staying, as if he leaves striker becomes a top priority.