21 Jun 2026 10:47:36
Transfer prices are rocketing this summer, Diomande quoted at £112m. Newcastle turn down £80m for Tonali, Add on the agent fees and taxes and that is serious investment, maybe our stockpiling of potential might turn out to be a good move after all. Too many out there having a knock before the full picture unfolds.
21 Jun 2026 13:00:01
Greenaway, according to some, we have "blown" £1.5bn ish. Still makes me laugh.
I hope we never find out how much a player is worth in the market, as I want them all to be successful and we never sell them. If only!!
21 Jun 2026 13:20:58
Remind me again, Tom, where we finished last season?
21 Jun 2026 13:25:42
Some of our signings will have added value, but those are the ones we should keep. Can't see any profit on players like Jorgensen, Garnacho, Gittens, Delap, Fofana etc.
21 Jun 2026 13:53:32
Bill, we finished where we finished last season because we lost Maresca, but let's just drop that one now.
21 Jun 2026 14:10:07
The term "blown" suggested the players must have "zero" value.
Some players will create a profit if ever sold and some will not.
We all judge player values differently and as fans we often forget any accrued loan fees.
I personally think we will show a profit on Delap and eventually Gittens, if we decide to sell. I wouldn't have a clue about the current book value of Fofana. I think Garnacho and, surprisingly, Jorgensen will both go out on loan.
21 Jun 2026 15:19:01
100% correct, Tom, those who choose to use terms like "blown" are generally looking for clicks or have agendas. The investment in a player is only realised on the sale of said player at some point, which was my original point. We have stock piled a lot of promising young talent at generally reasonable prices, bar the odd exception.
Take Jackson as an example, purchased for around £32 million, had one loan fee of £15 million, would likely sell for well in excess of £17 million, and yet I have seen numerous comments about money being "blown" on him. The list goes on.
21 Jun 2026 16:06:57
While we still had Maresca, we were 5th and 15 points behind Arsenal, and had hit bad form. Replacing him with Rosenior was idiocy, but Maresca wanted out and, frankly, put himself well ahead of caring about the club.
Far too early to know what our squad will finally look like after the window closes, but losing Cucurella is not a great start.
But, like others, I am hoping Alonso can be given the players he needs and wants for us to get Champions League qualification again this season. It already seems an age since we won it in 2021 under Tuchel and Abramovich.
21 Jun 2026 16:13:26
Personally, Greenaway, I would give Jackson another chance. I think there is a player in there, and Palmer would be happy to see him back.
I agree Maresca running out on the club destabilised us, but the SDs/owners did not help our cause by employing Rosenior, who was definitely not ready for a gig like ours.
On the players' front, we have some really talented youngsters that I hope Alonso can mould into a winning team.
With the amount of players we bought, there were obviously some that would not make it, but I believe we are selling for decent prices.
The team that has done well so far this window is Spurs. They have stabilised their backline for £52mil.
21 Jun 2026 16:27:25
I agree with you, Bill. We do have some very talented young players and now a very talented manager who played at the very highest level, toppled the mighty Bayern Munich in a one-team league, and gained good experience dealing with egocentric players and owners in Madrid.
With the addition of 3 or 4 top players, I can see us challenging hard for the Premier League, something we haven't done in 10 years, 6 under Roman and 4 under Blue.co.
21 Jun 2026 16:27:47
It is a matter of opinion if we have blown money on players. We have certainly spent money and wages on players who aren't up to standard. I'm not that fussed about that argument. I am more concerned about the players' contribution on the field, rather than the fee or wages.
However, if you are looking at value for money, Eden tops the list. He gave us joy on the pitch. We bought him for £32 million, and with the add-ons we got around £120 million from Madrid. That's what I call a bargain!
21 Jun 2026 17:48:29
Sad that football has reached a point where we judge a player on book value and amortisation as opposed to actual performance.
21 Jun 2026 17:54:49
Just thinking about the goalkeeper situation. I will be p**sed off if Sanchez starts as No 1 next season. There are links to Costa, but I doubt it will happen. If it did, where does that leave Penders? Alternatively, we could go for a short term solution by signing someone like Ter Stegen or Sommers on a short term contract, and let them fight it out with Penders for the No 1 spot.
21 Jun 2026 17:57:07
I'm with you there, Jimbo. What a player Hazard was, and what a bargain too. I remember, at the time, moaning pundits and punters saying we had only got him because no one else would pay his agent's fees! They were all left with egg on their faces, with the joy and trophies he delivered for us.
21 Jun 2026 19:01:16
Jimbo, what does "blown" mean? Is it what they cost or how they perform?
Cucarella looked like a very poor investment for a season. We got a further three seasons of tremendous playing performances, and then, apparently, a book profit when he decided to leave for family reasons.
We have different valuations about players
When we sign them, and then when we might see them.
As far as salaries are concerned, I believe our club has changed more of its player salaries towards PRP.
I think that was a sound move by our current owners. My guess is our average player basic salary is lower than at other clubs.
I think players have always been judged by fans on a value for money basis for a period of their club playing career. If they are performing well, it's hardly ever mentioned. Play badly, and it's a heavy burden for some players to carry.
21 Jun 2026 19:23:52
Tom, I didn't use the term "blown," I referred to the contributions by players on the pitch. If you believe players like Lavia, Fofana, Delap, Gittens, Garnacho, Gusto, etc. have contributed on the pitch, you are entitled to your opinion, but we still have the 5th highest wages bill in the Premier League to finish 10th.
21 Jun 2026 20:05:14
Jimbo, I deliberately didn't post the poster's name who consistently uses the term "blown" when referring to our transfer spend.
I have "never" mentioned any player's contribution on the pitch while referencing their reported transfer fee. I learned a valuable lesson when Cucarella proved me totally wrong about his abilities.
My reference to our wage bill was, as I understand it, more the owners including more performance clauses than there had been in the past, while being aware that performance clauses are in virtually all footballers' contracts.
Us now being the 5th highest salary payers in the Premiership is interesting, but given what I have been reading over recent seasons, I would assume we were recently close to the top salary payers. If that is the case, I see it as a move in the right direction. It will also be interesting to see if the player salary levels reflect us finishing 10th in next season's reported accounts.
21 Jun 2026 20:31:10
I would consider the right direction as competing for trophies.
21 Jun 2026 21:05:39
Jimbo, that would be nice, and as usual, I will start next season full of optimism, but as I've said before, the majority of my 60 plus years of supporting the mighty Blues has been disappointing.
Of course, we did get to a domestic cup semi and final last season, so I suppose in a small way we did compete for some trophies.