02 Jun 2026 11:22:17
To be honest, never saw Ederson play, so trusting our new recruitment team, Fernandes is very good, young and Premier experience. If we sign both, I think that will be it for midfield, some young players coming through. We could get both for 100million. We already have Mainoo, Bruno, Dorgu etc.
I can see Urgarte, Zirkzee, Onana, Sancho, Rashford all going too. Should have money to look at defence and maybe an experienced CF. While many have critised Ineos, they inherited a mess and are slowly getting the finances in better shape, got to give some credit for that.
02 Jun 2026 12:14:07
It's risky. Replacing Casemiro's presence and know-how with these two players is risky. I like the look of Fernandes as a signing. Could be excellent. He lets his head drop sometimes, but playing for West Ham will do that to you.
?
Ederson, I can, hand on heart, say I've never seen him play a game. But I agree, if we get these two, that'll be it, I think, for midfield.
Love to see us go for Morgan Rogers next.
02 Jun 2026 12:29:42
If we only buy Ederson and Fernandez for mf, we should absolutely have plenty to spend elsewhere. I can see us forking out £300m gross over the summer. They have £250k on the credit line, revenues that could be as high as £800m next season (+£135m on this year's projected revenues) with a decent Champions League run, and no PSR or financial fair play issues.
I agree. Ineos inherited a deep mess. They've made some missteps on the way, but they have had the courage to fix them quickly.
They have a vision, which, unlike the period under Woodward, actually includes managing a football club to win titles rather than just sponsorship.
Interesting to see whether anyone is prepared to meet the £130m release clause to buy Rayan from Bournemouth. Liverpool, perhaps, if, as seems likely, they hire Iraola. Major upgrade on Amad.
02 Jun 2026 13:48:23
I don't see why we'd be looking to sign Morgan Rodgers. His best position is as a number 10, and we have Bruno. He can play on the right, but we already have Cunha, who is a similar type of player.
Better to invest in areas where we are lacking, like central mids, centre back, and left back. Even a more direct rw forward would be more useful to us.
02 Jun 2026 15:18:11
Bode Glimt have a very good CB in Odin Bjortuft apparently. With a name like Odin, he could end up being a Man Utd god.
02 Jun 2026 16:34:32
I have said before I really do like Ederson. I have seen him play for Atalanta a number of times over the last few years.
In particular, I remember them playing Liverpool at Anfield in the Champions League a couple of seasons back. They won 3-0 and it should have, and could have, been much more. Ederson was fantastic and dominated the game, both defensively and when carrying the ball.
I only saw him a couple of times last season, but he has always looked good, is physical and can also dribble with the ball. A bit of an all-rounder, and I think he is a terrific squad addition at £35m.
I have also said I really think we should make a big effort to go for Mateus Fernandez from West Ham. I think he is a fantastic prospect. He can play 6, 8 and 10, all to a good standard. He was the best player at Southampton last season and West Ham's best player this season. The only problem is both went down. It would be a major achievement to follow 2 relegations with a league title (have to have your dreams).
I am basing going for Fernandez on not getting Anderson.
It does seem that all sources are saying he wants City. If so, his choice and we should move on. I don't think we would be getting a lesser standard at all. Also, he has seemingly stated he only wants to join us. Exactly the attitude you want to see.
I don't think we would just get those two. I think we will go for a 3rd midfielder as well. We need 4 good players to cover those midfield 2 places. Midfield has to be the top priority this summer.
No doubt everyone has their favourites to go for. I would like a top, top, quality centre back with genuine pace. Seemingly MC wants a left winger, with Morgan Rogers being talked about. If he was wanted then he could also cover Bruno in the 10 position.
Back-up striker would be good, but obviously depends on cash availability as to what can be done.
This is shaping up to be a pivotal summer. Would love 2 or even 3 deals done before W.C. We shall have to wait and see. I am optimistic as to the future. Look at the last 5 players bought - Dorgu, Mbeumo, Cunha, Sesko and Lammens. As good as it has been for quite some time.
02 Jun 2026 16:42:44
Where do we all think Ugarte is going? Ie. who is going to pay for him. We are all presuming he's leaving but I've not seen any links etc. yet, and so could he be the 4th alongside the Fletcher's?
02 Jun 2026 16:57:09
IWOTB, I was surprised to see your name at the bottom of that post, as I kept reading, I was sure it was gonna be signed Shappy. ;)
02 Jun 2026 16:57:27
JD, he made the Uruguay squad, so hopefully he gets a bit of game time there and impresses a few.
I did read about interest from Turkey. He will be a loss maker, hopefully a loan move will materialise for him at the worst.
When you look at the 8 we want out, Sancho, Cas and Malacia go on frees. It will be hard to sell Zirkzee and Ugarte, and Rashford only wants a club that won't offer a fair price. Onana won't be easy to sell, and so the outs are looking a bit troublesome, as usual.
Bayindir seems most saleable for a small fee.
We still have the best part of 10 weeks to get those 8 out.
Maguire, Mount, Dalot, Martinez, Shaw and Maz all look like they will stay for next season, unless something extraordinary happens. I don't think any are being actively sold, but if a good offer came in for any of them, I think they would give it due consideration.
It's going to be a long summer, I think.
02 Jun 2026 17:26:19
I say Rogers as he is a totally different prospect to Bruno. While Bruno is a passer, Rogers is a more direct ball carrier, who I think, would supplement our attacking line.
Maybe throw in Rashford to soften the blow for them.
02 Jun 2026 17:26:28
It has been strongly reported that his representatives have been informed he has no future with us, and they should find him a new club.
Galatasaray are strongly linked with him, and Atletico Madrid and Napoli have also been mentioned.
We are supposedly looking for about £25m for him.
I suspect any club looking to buy him will come in for him very late in the window, obviously looking to get the price reduced.
02 Jun 2026 17:28:54
There is also a world where we may have to keep one of Onana, Rashford, or even Sancho? Out of all of them, maybe Onana as backup keeper to do the least damage.
Ugarte had been linked with Turkey for a while now.
02 Jun 2026 17:55:02
Sancho is out of contract, and we won't be taking the iron if a year more, I assume, Eric.
Rodgers is a fine player, and multifunctional across the attack.
Big price tag, and a few will be interested.
We are in the realm of 'must' fill positions, and Rodgers, for me, would be a nice to have, but not a must have.
We must buy 2 cm minimum, ideally 3.
And, imo, the cb, fbs, and striker are a bigger priority than a Rodgers type.
Today's just the way I see it, but obviously Carrick & Wilcox will see things their own way.
02 Jun 2026 19:05:48
mbd, maybe an occasional touch of surprise is good for us all!
Thinking about it, not sure whether to feel I have been complimented or insulted.
02 Jun 2026 19:31:09
But, where is Rogers going to play, Eric?
He's not going to keep Bruno out of the team.
He can't play as one of our two central mids.
The only position he would start in is on the rw. He's a similar player to Cunha in that he takes the ball on and looks to shoot. But we already have Cunha.
Is Rogers better? Possibly, but there's not much between them.
That's a huge amount of money to spend on a marginal upgrade, at best, when we have far more pressing transfer needs. I honestly think that anything above £60m for Rogers is too much, and can guarantee that Villa will be looking for more than that. Let Arsenal sign him to add to their hoard of attacking mids that don't get to attack.