Everton have lodged an offer for Almeria's Toure

Watched his YouTube clips, and he looks decent, both creating and scoring. Holds the ball up well. Get him in.

Mal,

Maupay looks good on YouTube clips.

More names, more rumours.

He may be decent, but €40M release clause? We haven't got anywhere near that to spend on one player so what could we bid? £15 - £20M max. That should scare competitors off!

Let's be realistic. Loans, players out of contract, youth team promotions, bargain basement buys who may or may not make the grade – that is the market we are shopping in.

I read today that Swansea were looking at swapping Piroe for Simms; I don't really get that. Maybe it's a contractual thing, but I wonder if there's anything we don't know?

It wouldn't surprise me if we ended up with some moblle lighthouse like Adams, Woods or Barnes on the last day.
Real Dyche players, them!

I'm glad he's not going to broadcast it on the media.

He scored seven goals in 21 league games last season as Almeria narrowly avoided relegation from La Liga.

We want a proven striker with Premier League experience, even for one season, to keep us away from the Bottom 6. Ain't going to happen at that price.

Agree with Stu.

We're being used as an agent's stalking horse on a player who might just turn out to be the next Ramirez.

We don't have that kind of money any more.

I haven't heard of this fella. All comments above seem credible but, by all accounts, any fee would be on the drip – 3 or 4 stage payments.

Notwithstanding that, my son, who tipped me off to this yesterday and who is quite savvy about some of the more obscure players floating around La Liga etc, also knows nothing about him, so I wait to be enlightened by the ToffeeWeb scouting team on here.

Certainly not relying on YouTube.

No-one on here knows exactly what our financial situation is. But I reckon it's not quite so grim as many would believe.

Any fee would be paid in instalments so probably only talking about £10M up front.

El Bilal Toure is an interesting young player who definitely resembles a young Calvert-Lewin in some respects though I'd say he's a bit quicker and not quite as dominant in the air. He's exactly the sort of player we should be chasing, young but not totally unproven and with high potential. I reckon he'd be able to contribute now and also improve with time. More Lukaku than Sandro.

He cost Almeria only £7M last summer and we really need to start finding talents before they have one good season and quadruple in price. That being said, if we could get him for nearer £20M, I think he'd prove a useful player. Plenty of options out there though.

Paul, who is this proven Premier League striker we're going to be able to sign? I cannot think of a single proven Premier League goalscoring striker who could possibly be considered a reasonable option.

No idea about this lad, never heard of him until this rumour, but guess that's what scouts are for.

Very likely anyone we sign is going to be paid for in various instalments, and that will push up the overall fee. But it's the boat we're in.

Also, any striker who has already proven to be prolific in La Liga, Ligue 1 or the like, is very unlikely to be a feasible target.

Anyone we get will either be: old, best years gone, last paycheck, or young, raw, and gambles.

How's his rectus femoris? The player does look like an excellent prospect but we have to be very careful to not sign someone who is going to have recurrences of injuries. He's had surgery in March and 3 months out recovering.

For someone who has pace to burn, it's a worry that this muscle or tendon in the quadriceps, the tendon attaching the hip, will fail again. Before we go splashing this kind of money, there needs to be a total confidence from the best medical consultants Moshiri can hire, that this injury can reliably be totally healed.

Where does this bollox come from? No way can we afford him, and if he's worth having, he won't come to a club that's always fighting relegation.

We couldn't even compete with Forest and Bournemouth last season for players. Sick of this club, it's slowly killing us over many years.

Sam, I love your optimism but, after decades of Kenwright, I'm done.

Rectus? Damn near killed us!

There are rumours that we are interested considering looking at the possibility of buying some players.

I wouldn't get too agitated with all this guesswork. Let them keep pulling the names out of their hats. Better for the blood pressure and sanity.

Wait till they're pictured in the shirt once they're confirmed!

Bit harsh Joe, but he comes from Mali, as you asked.

Tony,

I expect he will be bought to partner Calvert-Lewin…

On the treatment table.

Given our current management structure, just who will be leading the negotiations?

Doesn't fill me with any confidence; still, normal service as usual.

I don't know what all the angst is about, he's probably Championship-level at best.

If he's better than that, then our resident sages will say he's not going to come to Everton because like, well, it's not a very good club, is it?

I saw him before the injury and made note of his quality but cannot remember his skill set. This is our market I think. Young players proven at smaller clubs in Europe's better leagues

He is possibly moving from a la Liga yo-yo team to an underperforming Premier League club. I think his motivation and our market for moving him on makes sense here. It is a gamble as Tony points out, but I'm with this one if the physios approve.

Definitely worth the offer in my retarded opinion. Toure's release clause was £34M and we tabled an offer of £21M.

Can't see us bringing anyone in until early August, when other clubs are having their fire sales and loan out those no longer required after their busy off-season of purchases.

The window where we got Townsend and Gray for a sack of spuds and a punnet of strawberries will be the model once again.

Retracting that now that I'm reading a conflicting report that we are paying the £34M. Sorry bout that.

Looks like Fulham and Forest were also in for him so I still like it.

£21M was the offer from Atalanta that resulted in talks previous to this action.

Great, another prospective target with a serious underlying injury problem.

We should really push the boat out on this one, we need him to complete the set!!

Interesting quote from their CEO:

“There, a new owner has bought a part of the club, but it's not just them.”

Must be the MSP people he's talking about as if it's actually happened.

Something was said while structuring the fee. Sounds like it is up to Toure at this point.

Is Edin Dzeko still playing and is he available?

He could do a job for a season.

Ray, I'm reading “it's not just them” as reference to the other two clubs who have tabled offers for Toure, both of them Italian.

Who cares who we do sign - I can't wait to hear who we “almost” signed - we tried to sign Kane - Messi was up for it - We like the look of Haaland now but he's developed a Manc accent and wouldn't fit in 🥳🤷🥸🤡

Sounds like Chairman Bill's usual modus operandi, there's a €40 million release clause so we'll make a concrete offer of €10 million and say we tried!

Big Dunc's available. Maybe he could don the No 9 shirt again, and bring back the good times. I'm sure Mr Teary would approve, and it would suit our transfer policy

I'm in favour of looking for one quality striker to not only cover DCL but really compete with him. I actually believe over the next year we'll see a lot more of Dom. Call me a skeptic or an optimist (even I'm not sure which) but next summer he enters final year of contract so this year much more important to him and his future.

I think we can get by with just one because I also think it's time to give Cannon a real shot too. At least between now and January anyway. Whether he gets the shot may depend on how right I am about DCL I guess. However, the striker we bring in must be reliable and not injury prone. Some comments on here are concerning regarding this boy. Maybe a Beto or Balogun offers alternative.

Outside of that it's going to be about bargains and value. Can't see us paying £21m for a Gnonto unless Gray went to Saudi for similar sums. Maybe we can swing the £3m for a Rodrigo, or convince a Summerville/Ndoye (and their clubs) to come for reasonable fees. A diallo on loan, or a Adama Traore on a free would be good too.

That'd be right mid and covered, so for me just a LB on loan for a year, and a Begovic 2.0 to find for buttons.

Would be AWESOME if we could sort all this over the next week or two, but as always the big boys have distorted the market early. I don't expect any of it to be done (maybe with one exception) until last few days of window when selling clubs start lowering values…..and unfortunately demand and competition from buying clubs then goes through the roof.

It encourages me that at least we seem to be targeting and identifying the right type of players. Last summer we were supposedly close to Kudus and Gibbs White as well as Beto and Gyokeres. And this summer we've been strongly linked with Gnonto, Bilal Toure and Summerville.

Young talent with something to prove and able to make an impact straight away. On affordable wages. (It's the wages that have really killed us more than the transfer fees)

If we had focused more on this route than overpriced and overpaid ‘proven' players that Moshiri targeted when he arrived things might be quite different.

Last season he played 26 games and in only 11 of them, did he last more than 70 minutes. He's played twice since the muscle injury. The previous season he played 22 games, playing for over 70 minutes on 10 occasions. He was out with a hamstring injury for 4 games, though he was not in the squad for the next 5 games. He was also not in the squad for 3 earlier games in the season and in the very next game picked up the hamstring injury.

They bought him in September 2022 for £8m and less than a year later they want to sell him - hmmm.

Surely this is a loan to buy, situation, given his injury record. Maybe his fellow Mali international team mate can have a word - Doucoure.

Buyer beware !!

My post on Toure is based on his injury history and a report that he is not playing at the moment.

Other reports talk of a solid season, 7 goals, and Fulham and other Clubs after him.

Hopefully if he joins us, he can have a great season or two and we can flip him for a big profit.

As is the Brighton way, we need one or two big sales each year so we can kick on to the next level.

Can't say I'm too surprised but with just 5 weeks until KO it's amazing we've yet to sign a single player. The gaps in the squad were obvious many many months ago and plans could/should have been made a long time ago to get fresh legs in - transfer or loans.

Of the players gone, the first team hasn't really been impacted. Other than Mina the others were really just back-up or didn't contribute as injured. However, we really really need to get a striker in. Surely we're not going to get to the first game with no one new in?

Days go by and hardly any important news coming out of the club

Then again, needs were obvious 12 months ago and we signed Maupay!

We live in hope that positive improvements will be made but I doubt it will come from the transfer market.

The wage bill has been eased a little but as long as we are good enough to hold on to the likes of Maupay then we will never be good enough.

This may result in howls of disdain but I think we should offer Alfredo Morelos some sort of a deal.

Twenty points next season will be a miracle.

Laurie, you are quite correct in your prediction. My throat is red raw.

It all becomes pretty clear once you remember the innovation of our board and their 120-point plan, Nick!

We have taken £130 million in transfer fees from the sale of Richarlison, Kean and Gordon in the last 12 months. We have also removed £310,000 a week off the wage bill, and could remove another £290,000 a week if we can move on Alli, Gomes and Gbamin (big ‘if').

Therefore, I agree with Sam that I don't think our financial situation is a perilous as it was 2 years ago. That being said, transfer funds will be tight again this summer so we need to find value in the market and not pay extortionate fees.

The time to buy Toure was before his move to Almeria, and I am not sure he represents value at the level of his buy-out clause. If clubs like Almeria can find them, then I am sure they are on our radar.

I think the issue is a cultural preference for bigger names and more tried and tested young talent. For the supporters, if we do buy young players we have to accept that the transfers might not always pay off.

Steve #43. I agree from an FFP perspective we should be in a better position than the last couple of seasons, but don't forget we did spend £60m or so last season as well as the money we got on. The other financial issue over transfers beyond FFP is cash flow. I suspect the costs of servicing our debt means we have little spare cash to actually pay for a transfer

Steve@43. I think the 130 million raised will hardly scratch the surface of the financial crisis we are in.

I don't mind them actually and geographically if not emotively they are my closest PL club these days. I also know a few supporters who are decent people but reading post 36 I am saddened that we now have to aspire to the likes of Brighton.

Steve # 43

While our position may have improved over the past year, commencing with the sale of Charlie, I doubt if we are out the hole, black hole, that our owner and management team dug for us.

Steve 43, good points but the timing is due to our rebuild. We have enough in place to create value with Toure. One season ago we could have brought him in and stunted his growth. This is the part of the sequence we are trying to reclaim, buying players before the Premier League premium is attached to them. We have enough young talent and the right kind of manager but it will take a couple of windows.

And Steve if you are going to continue writing sensible posts you may need to get an article going.

Think the talk of a bid being made was all premature bobble reckons. Loads of big clubs interested too apparently, player has multiple agents too so deal just sounds too messy.

I am not excited by any of the strikers we are being linked with except maybe Gyokeres but it looks like he is off to Sporting (His choice) anyway.

None of them seems to offer more than a raw Ellis Simms and that is very disturbing. Remember Tosun, Ramirez and Moise Kean almost 100m wasted.

I hate to say it but an old and tired Lukaku would do a better short term job than some of these players that were being associated with.

The players we seem to get linked with are also wanted by a string of other clubs, and as sad as it is we are not going to be top of any players list currently.

I hope we get some bodies in soon so they can gel with the squad as much as possible, we need to hit the ground running.

Joe 49 we are one of three clubs who've tabled an offer meeting the release clause

Jay 50 I'm not often interested in la Liga play but this kid had me watching and cheering a team in a red kit. That is rare.

Swansea mate just texted. Piroe on way for 6 million and Simms. 44 goals in 2 seasons, 23yo, skilful and clinical but lacks pace apparently. Hopefully get him in for the bleep tests.

Anyone know if Ineahacho of Leicester is available? Maybe worth a punt if we could get him for a reasonable amount?

Stu, it sounds like he's Forest bound

Pity that Andrew.Forest more attractive than us again! Says it all.

Looked at Iheanacho's record the other day when there was talk of him going to Forest. 42 goals in 196 Premier League games, an even worse return than Maupay in the Premier League before joining us, so I don't see him being an answer.

John #57, I don't go by number of games... in his case lots of those were brief sub appearances.

Iheanacho scores a goal every 186 minutes on the Premier League pitch, which isn't a bad return at all. Certainly much better than Maupay, who before joining us was putting up a goal every 272 minutes in the Premier League.

Must admit that it's fun speculating about who we'd like to come to the club and who we'd like to leave. Who we'd sign and for what price. But, there's a couple of things that bug me.

Those who post saying 'we can't afford that much' or we're not going for someone. How are they so certain we can't afford them? I think that very few people are in on what we have to spend, and they are unlikely to post on here about it.

Those who say 'OMG we missed out on X' or 'We should have made an effort'. Much as I love the club, sometimes the player just doesn't want to come here, no matter how much we wanted him.

Also missing out on a player at the beginning of the window, doesn't mean we're going to get relegated next season. Wait till the window closes and then comment on what has happened — and not on supposition.

Sam at 32, I agree 100%.

Thelwell's targets have performed well, even if his signings have been mixed. The strategy is right, we just need to improve the execution.

Ineancho isn't a bad player, but he's not what we need, and he's never going to be sold for a significant profit. He's just another Wellbeck

Just saw this on the official site:

‘Everton have signed 25 year old striker, Piemonte, from AC Milan'. Although, I'd never heard of him, I thought he must be half-decent to be part of the Champions League finalist squad. The signings have started!!

However, turns out ‘he is a she' who has signed for the girls' team. When will the pain stop?

Only Everton could do that to you, John.

Headline news signing a women's team striker, for fuck's sake.

Fell for the exact same thing, John.

Didn't get excited as I'd never heard the name before but was still somehow annoyed when it was for the Women's team… haha.

It's not just Everton though, is it? I'm sick of reading headlines on various outlets that "this or that club, sign this or that player" only to find it's all about the women's teams. Why can't they be separated into Men's and Women's headlines?

I notice that the Women are trying to persuade the authorities to allow live televised games at 3pm on a Saturday in order to boost their gates.

Yours truly, Diana Saw, who has no objection to women playing the sport but does object to having the men's game being used to further the profile of the women's game.

We should try and get Mason Greenwood on loan for a year if United don't want to keep him.

I heard Roma are in for him and maybe he wants out of England for a year.

Sam at 32, agree 100%. Thelwell's targets have performed well, even if his signings have been mixed. The strategy is right, we just need to improve the execution.

Ineancho isn't a bad player, but he's not what we need, and he's never going to be sold for a significant profit. He's just another Welbeck.

Getting fringe players from other clubs just won't cut it.
We have had far too many in recent seasons who have failed miserably.

I know that finances don't allow Everton to compete for the class acts, especially strikers who come at a premium, but surely we have experienced scouting to unearth some gems like other clubs outside the Top ^ seem to do. (Or do we?)

Martin (#65);

We had someone called Martina under Koeman, didn't work out despite being the national team captain.

Paul at #2,

Maupay does look good on YouTube… but that's in the Comedy section.

The latest one doing the rounds, everyone ready for this?…. Ashley young on a free. Make of it what you will.

Joe Digney@84
Please tell me this a wind up?

Pete @86

I think certain people at Goodison would see Ashley Young as a marquee signing, I'm not one of them. His wage demands would be pretty high too, I would imagine, but surely at age 37, Young is a step too far even for Everton.

I never really took to him as a player, but I suppose if he had been playing for Everton at his peak I could have.

Barry, it's gets better as he's 38 tomorrow.

Alex Gray - hear hear.

Ashley Young and Jamie Vardy - and LDV arm bands. Who do you think you are kidding Mr Billy ??

We've already got Godfrey, Jones, Wilson and a Cannon and I'm sure Tony Hibbert could supply us with a Pike and a Mrs Pike. Then there's Mr Blewit aka Moshiri.

God help us. Have the other 19 teams stopped laughing yet ??

Ashley Young. Most will spit out their tea at the suggestion but if you dig deeper it's not quite so ludicrous.

He played 2000 minutes last year for a team that finished above us, playing at both right and left back. Most Villa fans seem to think he did well.

For £50k p/w on a 1 year deal he wouldn't be the worst back up full back. I actually think he could challenge Mykolenko for starting spot!

Not glamorous but we'll have to be canny this summer and I think this is a better option than you'd think at first glance. Even if it would give our full backs a combined age of 72!

In other news it sounds like Bilal Toure may be off to Atlanta.

Don't shoot the messenger Pete 😂. But yeh it's doing the rounds in the twittersphere.

Sam,

even though you technically have a point, and notwithstanding our predicament; sooner or later we have to break the cycle.

50k per week would certainly pay for a usable player or two with worthwhile potential - assuming our scouting team is up to finding them, that is...

Will, I think ideally we spend money on some young talents (Gnonto, Bilal Toure etc) and then find some cheap, reliable experience to plug the remaining holes. Young would obviously fall into the latter category. Not a dream signing by a long shot but just possibly a sensible one. If there's any truth to it, which there's probably not.

We'll have to see, Sam.

I imagine purchases will have to be limited, so very careful and considered. I hope the resulting balance has a forward look to it as you allude, so far as is possible.

Not much action so far!

Sam #92, if he's been that great for Villa why do they want to offload him to a rival club?

Can't edit but I see he's on a free.

Edit working again.

Ashley Young on a free.

Aaahahahahahaha. Big Blue Boys Pen Bill Kenwright's Everton shit show.

Takes him over 15 years on a “24/7 search” -
nobody could sell the club better than him - to find a billionaire investor and we end up with this clown cos he's the only one who would indulge the fucking fat parasites fantasy train set wank fest. And after all this time we're actually right back where we fucking started. I hope Goodison passes its safety certificate this summer cos at this rate, BMD will be getting mortgaged off a la finch farm to fund transfers.

So where are all the protests for fucks sake? I remember some people (he who shall not be named) saying they should be postponed from end of the season to now, you know…so it wouldn't upset our league form. Despite the three make-weights being chucked over-board so that Kenwright could save his skin, the despotic piece of shit, nothing, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING has changed.

Fucking desperation.

Reportedly, the offer is in region of 500k quid lol.

On his way to Atalanta:
Link

This is dragging on (if it's true). Are we sure it isn't a typo and it is really real?

Everton have offered a lodge for Almeria's Toure??

Burnley signing Zeki Amdouni… He looks useful, goals, assists, great work rate. Why aren't we in for players like this?

2 in, 2 out – according to Alan Myers who describes as being close.

No names, but I suspect 1 forward & 1 winger in, maybe Gray & Gomes outgoing but I am a little concerned with the lack of midfield cover once those eligible for the African Nations Cup leave.

I hope a Competent centre-back (left-footed ideally) is on the list too.

Beat me to it, Stephen! The two out I'd guess would be Gray and Holgate? The two in could be anyone's guess!

Boulaye Dia could be one of those names. The Senegalese forward playing in Italy, good stats last season.

Plays as a striker or right sided forward so he fits the bill and would feel at home with Gana and Onana's Senegal connections. Just maybe a rumour with some mileage to it this one.

Any info or thought on this player from those who have watched him?

Tony,

Dia would be a handy option especially as he can play on the right. Still a big risk though. He's strong (hard to get off the ball when running with it, albeit in a lesser physical league) and is fast too.

Any forward plays success coming in will depend on who else we bring in alongside them. The strikers are going to need good wingers to provide service and the wingers are going to need a reliable forward to create for!

A decision will have to made about Iwobi. It seems his wage demands for a renewed contract are more than Everton want to pay and he will be a free agent at the end of the season.

Pipe dreams I'm afraid. We still need to sell a few players to raise the necessary funds to buy a £10-15M player.

Gbamin and Gomes come to mind but I think we might have to flog those two for about £1.5M each.

Iwobi might fetch us £10M tops.

Fabrizio Romano says it is us or Atalanta for this guy.

Alan Myers reveals an insider says Everton have been working 'tirelessly' to get this deal over the line. It's amazing how much harder we work than other clubs to get deals over the line. It's good to know that we are pulling out all the stops to chat shit to the press.

I find it hard to believe that many young players would choose us over Atlanta but the fact that we are in the mix is exciting. Atlanta have one of the best scouting networks around so it bodes well to be competing for players with them.

El Bilal Touré would be expensive but I think he has a lot of potential and not many youngsters can match his power and pace. (My pick. Boniface, has been snapped up by Leverkusen, another club who scout well.)

If we can close the deal before Atlanta sell Hojland we may be able to steal a march and you'd think that we can offer better wages.

I'd be excited to get him. Gives me Watkins, Toney, DCL vibes which is exactly what we need (as opposed to another Maupay!)

If this window was Danjuma, EBT, Young and maybe a new centre back (assuming we sell Holgate) then that would be very solid indeed.

Sam #120

Some good comments but I think we'd still be 1-2 forwards short

If DCL out for any period of time then too much pressure on an unproven young player to this league. That's where we seem to always go wrong. We need an additional winger and an additional striker to what you've suggested in order to make me feel more comfortable

I agree Ben, we should try and land someone like Akpom, or even better, Ndiaye as another option.

We don't know at this stage, but Toure could easily end up like Kean in the Premier League - imagine if we were just relying on that guy for three quarters of a season!

Ben, don't forget Danjuma who has played a fair bit at CF and done well there. I think if we had DCL, EBT and Danjuma we'd be fairly well covered presuming Dyche is planning a system with just one striker. If he's planning 2 strikers then we'd maybe need another.

Given we managed most of last season having just Gray, McNeil, Maupay and Iwobi I think throwing in a (hopefully) fitter DCL, Danjuma and (hopefully!) Bilal Toure would be a HUGE upgrade.

I also think Bilal Toure is more than capable of hitting the ground running. He's played a decent amount of football for his age and has some fairly outstanding athleticism to bring to the table. No one would be expecting him to bang in 15+ goals especially given how low the bar was set last year!

If we sell Gray, as seems possible, then we may need one more. Though Young can also do a job wide as he showed at Wigan and it could be that one of Mills, Kouyate or Oronkwo has impressed Dyche enough to warrant a few opportunities as backup.

If and it's a big if we could pull off Toure, inneacho and Gnonto i'd be happy with our striking options. Toure for the future and Inneacho could hold the line when Dom isn't fit. Then Mcneil, Danjuma, Gnonto and Iwobi on the wings (assuming Gray gets sold) and we look significantly stronger up top. Probably a pipe dream to get all of them but the squad on paper starts to look a bit healthier.

keepers: Pickford, Virginia
Fullbacks: Coleman, Patterson, Mykolenko, Young
Centre backs: Tarky, Branthwaite, Keane, Goddfrey (assuming holgate goes)
Midfielders: Gana, Onana, Garner, Doucoure, Ali (tested for 6 games) (Gomes, Gbamin sold)
wingers: Mcneil, Iwobi, Danjuma, Gnonto
Forwards: Calvert- Lewin, Toure, Inneacho (Maupay, Simms sold, Cannon loaned out again)

Then the rest of the squad has space for youngsters?

Would you be happy with that blues?

Alex #124

I'd be happy with that

Being greedy (because I am!!!) I'd also like an experienced back up keeper + a dominant centre back because our combination of centre halves is suspect. And if Tarly gets injured or suspended we're in proper trouble there.

BUT, yes, that's a squad that I could get behind and feel somewhat confident about

Alex, I'd be more than happy with that but as Ben implies even if there was money for Gnonto, EBT and Iheancho i'd rather spend some of it on a CB. I think currently we may have the weakest collection of CBs in the division bar Luton and lots is currently hanging on Branthwaite's ability to step up.

EBT will not be cheap so i'd be surprised if there's much cash left over after him. Unless we make decent money from selling someone.

2 from EBT, Gnonto and Iheancho would be stellar. Don't think we need all 3 (unless perhaps we sell Gray and Iwobi)

I'm in the same boat of thinking we need another CB but thought if I put another name on there i'd get torn a new one on here. Luckily we still have 3 loans available!

We have five and a half (Holgate) centre-backs for two positions – Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Godfrey, Keane, Welch, and Holgate. Mykolenko can also play there, as could Coleman if push came to shove.

Sure, we could do with upgrading quality and experience of the backups (true of every position we have) but, until we sort right-wing and a striker, I don't see it as a priority personally. Not with a bit of faith in Branthwaite which I feel is what's needed.

If we sign El Bilal Touré for £30M+ then that could well be it, as far as any big money signings go. The rest will likely be smaller fees, wheeler dealering, and loans. If Gray is sold then he needs replacing, same with Iwobi.

It may yet happen with their contracts expiring next June. Although, I'd prefer them both to be given contract extensions allowing them to move for a fee in a year or two. We need more strength in depth and these two make the squad healthier without the need for buying and bedding new players in.

I agree, Dyche will have a centre-back in mind and the rumours will probably move on to this next.

Honestly, if we somehow managed to get both Gnonto and El Bilal Toure, I think it would be one of our best windows in a long time! These are two very talented young players with the potential to become real game-changers.

To get one of them would be exciting. To get both would be extremely unlikely, but stellar!

Gary @128, we've certainly got quantity at centre-back but we're very lacking in quality. I really like Branthwaite a lot but we just have to be careful not to place too much pressure on him. Personally, I'd prefer him to be first back-up to Tarkowski and a new 'Mina' type.

My ideal would be to sell Holgate and one of Keane or Godfrey and bring in a new centre-back who's strong and quick and crucially comfortable on the ball.

Anyone signed Mina yet? £40k pw for a season as other clubs seem to be thinking his demands are too high. Anyone know if Everton actually offered him a new contract?

Ieanacho may be on the cards. Scored 55 goals in 200 appearances for Leicester. 26 years old, in the last year of his contract, may be we can afford him of Gray goes.

Him and Toure and perhaps one forward and two more midfielders, may make a difference to us in the coming season.

I can't help feeling we're a body short in midfield. At the moment, we have Gana, Onana and Garner competing for 2 deep midfield slots with Gana likely to be unavailable after Christmas due to Afcon commitments.

I'd rather have Morelos, at least he's a free agent... or the lad up at Boro.

As for this bloke? Sounds like another mad Moshiri signing to me! Avoid.

Whew, I read EBT and thought it was a reference to electronic benefits transfers. I want to believe Gnonto prefers us and Leeds is waiting. If we can get Toure we've got a core to build on.

Who's this proven Premier League striker we should be targeting? Kane? Haaland? Salah?

The only Premier League striker we'll be buying will be one of the few-goals-a-season journeymen that'll have the same people frothing at the mouth in anger.

As someone who often defends Scottish-based players, I wouldn't go near Morelos.

Journeyman, for the short term, I'd say. If we had any serious ambition, we'd be scouting and buying the young talent that Brighton and Brentford find. They don't all work out but, at the prices they pay, it's far less of a gamble.

Looks like Gray is being sold, he's said no to a Saudi move, but Fulham and Palace are rumoured to be offering £7M to £12M depending upon what you believe. Funds for the Gnonto move?

Paul, the financial dial will be in the red zone if we sign Bilal Touré. A journeyman is what I'm expecting now too, someone like Che Adams in as part of a Holgate deal with the Saints maybe.

Maupay for £14 million, or a player on loan for £3 million?

That's one way of hopefully getting away from those Premier League journeymen, who we never seem to be able to get rid of, Paul T.

Apparently some Saudi club have bid £260 million for Mpabbe. Paying him £13 million a week. Crazy, crazy, crazy!!!

It does baffle me when people say things like Toure is another crazy Moshiri signing or he's just another Kean but then are all for the likes of Che Adams or Morelos (seriously?).

We can argue on the price tag but bar being young and black the lad plays nothing like Kean and there's a reason Atlanta are after him considering they're praised highly for their scouting. He's the sort of signing we should be after. Young with a lot of promise and if it doesn't work out he will have a resale value compared to the old premier league experienced failures we normally go after.

Just because you've not heard of him or bothered to watch him doesn't mean he's not good. As much as I hate the way the club have scouted and operated, the likes of Gnonto, Toure, Boniface being scouted are really encouraging signs that lessons are being learned.

Alex, very much agree, there seems to have been a shift up in the quality of our scouting; perhaps since Thelwell arrived? A lot of those targets (Kudus etc) have not been landed but at least we are looking at the right options.

You could argue that you and Robert pick out these players on a regular basis Sam, but we still ended up with Maupay, five games into last season

Tony, yes Maupay was obviously a bad call, but rumour is that he wasn't even on the initial lists but a last-minute grab for someone available.

And Maupay aside, it was one of our best windows for a while in my opinion. Obviously there's a way to go but it feels to me like we are heading in the right direction at least.