24 Jul 2024 19:12:32
Hi Ed, which teams are interested in Scott McTomminay and do you think he will stay or go.

Many thanks.

{Ed002's Note - Galatasaray - perhaps Fulham, Outside chance of Sprurs. Will leave if an acceptable offer is made.}

1.) 24 Jul 2024
24 Jul 2024 23:08:28
Thanks Ed! Rumours of a move to Fulham are starting to gather momentum.

2.) 25 Jul 2024
25 Jul 2024 09:15:27
He would do very well at Fulham, would get 10 goals a season.

3.) 25 Jul 2024
25 Jul 2024 09:32:32
Personally think he’s with keeping.

Eriksen will undoubtedly move on, and possibly Cas so we will be light in midfield.

4.) 25 Jul 2024
25 Jul 2024 10:06:17
Thanks ed,

I agree Eric i would be happy to keep him.
I think our main issue is who else we can sell that is actually going to make a profit for the club.

5.) 25 Jul 2024
25 Jul 2024 12:50:34
Think Erickson and casimiro should be moved on first

Then promote collyer from the youth and get ugarte in

Only thing with selling mctominay is that it gives us more in terms of psr to buy this summer.

{Ed002's Note - It is nothing to do with PSR.}

6.) 25 Jul 2024
25 Jul 2024 12:56:40
For me there are three categories of players in our squad:

1. Those we should definitely keep (a very small group with this squad) .

2. Those that we should prioritise selling ASAP (half a dozen players maybe) .

3. Those that we should sell if a good enough offer comes in (these players offer something to the squad, but aren't long term options) .

The issue is that we might not be able to sell all of those players in that second category. Greenwood has gone, the others I'd include in that group are Sancho (bad attitude), Casemiro (expensive and declining) and Antony (not good enough, expensive, questionable attitude) . Others in that category include Lindelof, AWB Hannibal, Pellistri and Eriksen (all out of contract next summer meaning they'll leave for free while none will seriously add anything to the squad this season) .

You then have players like McTominay and Maguire who have contracts that expires next summer, but also have a one year option that the club could exercise. They also offer something to the squad and would be useful to keep around.

However, if a good offer comes in then the club should consider it. Likewise if they are unable to shift find buyers for players like Casemiro and Lindelof for example, but have offers for McTominay and/ or Maguire then the club has to consider whether it's better to sell them this summer, keep Casemiro and Lindelof as back up and use the money made to improve the team further.

Which is probably a better option than keeping them all, raise no funds and be unable to further improve the squad. All while these players probably leave for free next summer.

If you are making decisions purely based on ability and impact they can have in the squad then you probably keep both Maguire and McTominay this summer.

However, that needs to be balanced with what is best from a financial point of view, what is best for the long term progression of the squad, what offers you get, and what the players want to do.

It's a really tricky summer this year, and to be honest I think the club are doing a really good job so far. It won't be perfect, and there will likely be things we reflect on and say it was a mistake in hindsight. But that's life. Next summer the club should be in a much better position to know what they are doing, who is leaving and who they are signing with much more certainty.

As for this summer, while I can understand the fans and even people at the club wanting to keep McTominay. Whether he stays or goes might be the deciding factor on whether we sign a midfielder or not. Or possibly the difference between signing a first choice like Ugarte or having to make a short term cover option like Amrabat.

In which case I'd imagine every fan saying they want to keep McTominay would probably change their mind.

7.) 25 Jul 2024
25 Jul 2024 15:14:54
I’d be happy to let McTominay go for £25M. Think that would be a fair price for him. I’d look at replacing him and Eriksen with Collyer and Oyedele. Get Ugarte in for Casemiro and then that’s a good midfield ion of Ugarte, Fernandes, Mainoo, Mount, Collyer and Oyedele.

Premier league a consistent 3 of Ugarte, Fernandes and Mainoo with Mount rotating with 1 and then Collyer and Oyedele picking up minutes where they can and in League Cup and Europe I think we’ve got a bright future for Midfield IMO.

8.) 26 Jul 2024
26 Jul 2024 02:29:21
If that was our midfield options going into the season we will get nowhere near top 4. Too thin on the ground and a massive lack of experience. 4 snr midfielders (including mainoo) for 3 positions antis an entire season? It would be negligence to go in with those 6.

9.) 26 Jul 2024
26 Jul 2024 06:14:22
Completely agree with Ken. I think collyer would be great as 7th choice or there is a lot of pressure on youth! Wouldn't be surprised to see an experienced player come in on loan in August to help take the pressure off the younger players. I think oyedele might get minimal minutes this year but would gladly eat my hat if both get decent game time alongside senior pro's. I don't think ETH will play them in a way that sets them up to fail.

10.) 26 Jul 2024
26 Jul 2024 11:19:26
Ports, while I'm a massive advocate for giving our youth players a chance, I don't think we can really go into a season where we have only three midfield players with more than 12 months experience in senior football.

Especially when one of those has spent most of last season out injured and the other would be completely new to the team and the league (he may take time to settle) .

I like the look of Collyer and think he should get some minutes this season. While I hope he can grab his chances like Mainoo did last season, the reality is that very few academy players have a debut season like Mainoo had last year. That was a meteoric rise to prominence.

If Collyer makes 10 appearances and plays more than 500 minutes he'll have had a good season.

Personally I think we either need to bring in two midfielders, or one if we keep one of Casemiro or McTominay around. Ideally both leave and we bring in two new guys who suit the style and have potential to become key first team players.

Ugarte seems most likely, and we have been linked with Youssef Fofana who looks like he'd be a good second option to bring in along side Ugarte.

I think McTominay is most likely to leave at this point. He will likely want more game time at his age, will have more interest, and as a academy player the funds raised from any sale are more beneficial financially in terms of potentially realising more funds to bring in players.

I expect we'll see McTominay leave and Ugarte sign, then depending on whether we can shift Casemiro or not will depend on whether we can bring in a second midfielder. At the start of the summer I'd have said it was 70/ 30 that Casemiro would leave, now it's looking more like 40/ 60 that he'll leave.

If we change shape/ tactics a bit from last season and play with a more compact side with a double pivot in midfield rather than a single pivot then I think Casemiro could still be a useful player. Albeit an incredible expensive squad option in terms of wages.