18 Jul 2026 22:52:36
Don’t quite know what to make of this Rodgers deal. The fee is fairly silly. However, having years for Cole and Morgan to play together could be an incredible attacking duo in the making. I’ve never been overly impressed watching Rodgers, but if Xabi sees a big role for him that’s enough for me.
Very interesting if he turned down CL at Arsenal to join us, but tbh, I can’t imagine being a creative attacking-minded footballer and choosing to go and train rugby with Mikel Arteta.
Would assume this means we have a deal close to selling Enzo. Interesting to see where he goes.
19 Jul 2026 09:01:10
Not necessarily Melbourne, we have lots of fring players to sell. I think Jackson will definitely leave, as will Desasi, Jorgensen, Delap, Guiu, Badishiele and Tosin, possibly, hopefully Fofana and Neto. We have already recouped over £100 mil with Santos and Cucurella, with a further £30mil on Chabs and a further £17mil on a little known player, Maresca.
19 Jul 2026 10:43:21
The Maresca one was great business haha.
I know we have plenty of players available for sale. I just don't expect we will sell many of them, especially if we are pricing them all similar to Gusto.
After the Santos sale, we would definitely be short in midfield if we let Enzo go, so I'd hope we would have a suitable replacement lined up.
Personally, I can see a world where Atletico try for Enzo, to attempt to keep Alvarez happy for a little longer.
19 Jul 2026 11:01:04
Or a swap deal between Alvarez and Enzo.
19 Jul 2026 12:04:27
The potential Badiashile sale is strange, as a mate told me that Alonso had historically shown an interest in signing him and rates the player. To be fair, the lad can play, but he just seemed to lack concentration, and, of course, he never got into a Premiership rhythm because of injuries.
The same mate told me that both Villa and Newcastle want Jackson.
As always, I love all the transfer rumours, but rarely the facts.
19 Jul 2026 12:08:55
Whilst selling Enzo would bring in our biggest fee of the summer, it wouldn't be the most profitable. Everything over around £80m would count as profit, so, if we get what we're asking for, that would mean only £40m profit. The sale of Chalobah to Como for £35m'ish would be nearly as profitable, and the sale of Andrey Santos to Man Utd was more profitable, as most of the fee we paid for him had already been dealt with via amortisation.
The purchase of Rogers, albeit for an eye-watering fee, doesn’t create a need to sell Fernandez, although he will obviously be sold if someone suitable to him stumps up the £120m. Candidates for that look thin on the ground.
19 Jul 2026 18:54:18
I get that amortization allows for some creative accounting within clubs. Didn't we post a loss of 400m last financial year? Surely that can't be ignored. We're not exactly starting from a level point, but I don't pretend to fully understand football finances, and it seems like no one at the club is too bothered.
20 Jul 2026 11:30:17
Melbourne, I am certainly not an expert on FFP or football finance, but I seem to remember reading that the club has now left our previous financial results behind. It's almost like this season becomes ground zero.
I have probably misunderstood the whole thing, but that was my sort of take on it.
{Ed001's Note - that is pretty much spot on. It is a year by year basis now.}
20 Jul 2026 12:07:20
Thanks for the clarification Ed, always appreciated. My memory isn't what it used to be particularly for names Charlie.
{Ed001's Note - very welcome.}
20 Jul 2026 13:17:08
Well that's good to know! Here's to another 1.5b spending spree.
20 Jul 2026 14:21:10
Melbourne, as I understand, we now have to balance the books annually. So, the sale of Santos, George, and Chalaboa (pending) would be near enough to cover the MG transfer.
Going forward, I expect us to sell about another six players, so this season we should comfortably balance the books. Unless we buy Yamal or another Arsenal target. ??