CONFIRMED Will Osula sold to Newcastle United

[Bell4]

Fuck off.

 

[SGBlade]

I don't think that's even close to transformative money at this level anymore. The first thing you'd have to do is replace him. We don't want a squad full of loans replacing permanents - especially with our deficit of players and need for permanent signings. We need four or five permanents. The right full backs, centre backs, wingers/strikers

Job one: replace Osula with a permanent, top Championship level striker who would be an upgrade this season. Ideally young enough with development potential that allows him to be a saleable asset in the future.

Job two: Use any money left over to sign permanent signing in other positions.

If you don't bring permanents in and spend it all on loans you'll have nothing to sell next year if we don't go up. Big trouble.

I think you'd maybe get the striker. BBD, for example, is 7 million plus sizeable wages. That's almost the whole Osula fee gone.

Understand what you’re saying. 10m isn’t crazy money these days. But it currently looks like the difference between affording two or three decent permanent players or just getting some standard loans for this season. Right now I’d rather take those proven champ players. Cooper, in particular, is one I’d love to get and I believe he alone has a higher ceiling than Osula in terms of future value (obviously could go either way). Osula, for all his promise, isn’t currently an established core first-team member that we would need to replace (such as Hamer, Blaster, or even Anel).

Don’t get me wrong, I like Osula a lot and wouldn’t be all that surprised if he went on to be a 25m player one day. He certainly has all the physical attributes and seems a great lad with the right mentality, which goes a very long way. I can completely see why Newcastle and other top clubs would be willing to take an expensive punt on him.

But where we are right now, I just think we can use the 10m (if that really is what’s on offer) to end up with a stronger squad for the current season.

Caveat being that if I knew whether the takeover was a) imminent and b) bringing in significantly increased investment, I might think differently.

 

[Weasel]

Understand what you’re saying. 10m isn’t crazy money these days. But it currently looks like the difference between affording two or three decent permanent players or just getting some standard loans for this season. Right now I’d rather take those proven champ players. Cooper, in particular, is one I’d love to get and I believe he alone has a higher ceiling than Osula in terms of future value (obviously could go either way). Osula, for all his promise, isn’t currently an established core first-team member that we would need to replace (such as Hamer, Blaster, or even Anel).

Don’t get me wrong, I like Osula a lot and wouldn’t be all that surprised if he went on to be a 25m player one day. He certainly has all the physical attributes and seems a great lad with the right mentality, which goes a very long way. I can completely see why Newcastle and other top clubs would be willing to take an expensive punt on him.

But where we are right now, I just think we can use the 10m (if that really is what’s on offer) to end up with a stronger squad for the current season.

Caveat being that if I knew whether the takeover was a) imminent and b) bringing in significantly increased investment, I might think differently.

Exactly my thoughts on it. If... it's the difference between us getting 2 or 3 permanent top quality championship ready players for this season then begrudgingly I think we need to sell Osula.

Still makes me quite pissed off though re the money we wasted on bringing in Grbic in January when all we needed was a loan (or to give Davies a go) and Holgate when clearly after boxing day the game was up re staying up. Just money chucked down the pan. The funds for BBD i can understand a bit more as he added a little bit of sparkle on a totally dog shit season (though it's still questionable as we are short of funds now just few months later). We should have been saving those funds and making them go much further this summer. Poor judgement all round.

 

[Bell4]

Exactly my thoughts on it. If... it's the difference between us getting 2 or 3 permanent top quality championship ready players for this season then begrudgingly I think we need to sell Osula.

Still makes me quite pissed off though re the money we wasted on bringing in Grbic in January when all we needed was a loan (or to give Davies a go) and Holgate when clearly after boxing day the game was up re staying up. Just money chucked down the pan. The funds for BBD i can understand a bit more as he added a little bit of sparkle on a totally dog shit season (though it's still questionable as we are short of funds now just few months later). We should have been saving those funds and making them go much further this summer. Poor judgement all round.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing

 

[Le Cynique]

Exactly my thoughts on it. If... it's the difference between us getting 2 or 3 permanent top quality championship ready players for this season then begrudgingly I think we need to sell Osula.

Still makes me quite pissed off though re the money we wasted on bringing in Grbic in January when all we needed was a loan (or to give Davies a go) and Holgate when clearly after boxing day the game was up re staying up. Just money chucked down the pan. The funds for BBD i can understand a bit more as he added a little bit of sparkle on a totally dog shit season (though it's still questionable as we are short of funds now just few months later). We should have been saving those funds and making them go much further this summer. Poor judgement all round.

I’d love to know how we’re going to get two or three Championship-ready players, plus wages, for £10m

 

[Bell4]

I’d love to know how we’re going to get two or three Championship-ready players, plus wages, for £10m

Give Dozy a ring

 

[Weasel]

Hindsight is a wonderful thing

Wasn't hindsight at the time. It was just really poor judgement. Take a look at the posts at the time on here when we were bringing in Holgate. As for Grbic, words fail me. That was just a ridiculous waste of funds and I think it's been mentioned a few times that it wasn't even the recruitment team who were responsible for that one.

I have no issue with the club being self sufficient, but i do have an issue on the club not getting the most out of out limited resources. Whoever signed off on that transfer (when we knew we were going to need a big rebuild a few months later, and who thought the recruitment team didn't know best) has just wasted a large chunk of club money. Be interested to see who wanted this lad and just how much scouting work they had put in. Answer, hardly any, it was just a gamble and a very poor one at that.

That money that would have come in very useful now for Cooper. There is no hindsight in play for those January transfers, just poor judgement then.

If I chuck myself out of the bedroom window and break both legs when I land, I can't then say 'with hindsight'. No it's a feckin stupid decision made on my part at the time.

 

[Weasel]

I’d love to know how we’re going to get two or three Championship-ready players, plus wages, for £10m

Well your in luck then, as you will probably find out how it's done by CW, if/when Osula is sold.

 

[Le Cynique]

Well your in luck then, as you will probably find out how it's done by CW, if/when Osula is sold.

I look forward to seeing unmitigated success from those players then, and no one moaning about them.

 

[Weasel]

I look forward to seeing unmitigated success from those players then, and no one moaning about them.

Has anyone said they will be an unmitigated success ?? (as any transfer is not guaranteed to be a 100% success though you can do your homework to put the odds in your favour). Or are you making things up? Seems so.

 

[HeCanDoMagic]

News in the media about any bids etc seem to have gone quiet.

 

[jt64]

Exactly my thoughts on it. If... it's the difference between us getting 2 or 3 permanent top quality championship ready players for this season then begrudgingly I think we need to sell Osula.

With the aim of doing what?

 

[Lucky1979]

News in the media about any bids etc seem to have gone quiet.

Probably because it’s made up. Just like how Dortmund, Juventus and Munich all “wanted” Jebbo. Guarantee not a single one of them even knew who the kid was. Why would Newcastle, who have ambitions of getting back in to the top 4, spend £10m on someone that’s not scored a goal above League 1?

 

[jt64]

Probably because it’s made up. Just like how Dortmund, Juventus and Munich all “wanted” Jebbo. Guarantee not a single one of them even knew who the kid was.

I think you ever so slightly underestimate how extensive the scouting network of the biggest clubs in Europe are. The entirety of the Bundesliga is probably aware of who Ryan One is, never mind Jebbo

 

[Weasel]

With the aim of doing what?

What are you talking about?

Errmmmm.... to help strengthen the team overall this season and help us win more games.... I think you knew that anyway, but thought I'd better point out the blindingly obvious, just in case.

 

[jt64]

What are you talking about?

Errmmmm.... to help strengthen the team overall this season and help us win more games.... I think you knew that anyway, but thought I'd better point out the blindingly obvious, just in case.

Yes, it would strengthen the team, duh. Where do you think we finish if we retain Osula, and where do you think we finish if we offload Osula and bring in the players you want?

 

[Weasel]

Yes, it would strengthen the team, duh. Where do you think we finish if we retain Osula, and where do you think we finish if we offload Osula and bring in the players you want?

Well if you do ask silly questions... duh. You will get simple answers back.

No idea to your first Q.

Higher up the table in answer to your second.

 

[jt64]

Well if you do ask silly questions... duh. You will get simple answers back.

No idea to your first Q.

Higher up the table in answer to your second.

It's not a silly question in the slightest. Any bit of activity in the transfer market is always with the aim of doing something, usually with the purpose of progressing towards a short term or a long term plan. Hence my question - what do you think the actual aim is (or, as you seemingly don't want to guess as to what the club's actual targets are, what do YOU think it should be) for this season, how far off it do you think we are as of right now, and how much closer do you think we would be to it if you make the moves you are advocating?

 

[Le Cynique]

Has anyone said they will be an unmitigated success ?? (as any transfer is not guaranteed to be a 100% success though you can do your homework to put the odds in your favour). Or are you making things up? Seems so.

So we’re going to spend £10m — if we get it, and if we can reinvest all the money — on the transfer fees/signing on fees and wages (which will be more than Osula’s) on two or three players who will strengthen us more than keeping a striker with potential at the club?

If you’d have said replace him with one player who was going to make us stronger I’d maybe have had more faith. I just can’t see how replacing one potential talent with three mediocre players strengthens us as a team, and the odds are on them being mediocre with those kind of finances.

 

[Weasel]

It's not a silly question in the slightest. Any bit of activity in the transfer market is always with the aim of doing something, usually with the purpose of progressing towards a short term or a long term plan. Hence my question - what do you think the actual aim is (or, as you seemingly don't want to guess as to what the club's actual targets are, what do YOU think it should be) for this season, how far off it do you think we are as of right now, and how much closer do you think we would be to it if you make the moves you are advocating?

Yes it was a silly question. Now that you have qualified it, and made it a reasonable question for me to answer, then for what it's worth....

Promotion being the aim, obviously, as that is the aim for all clubs. I bet Ipswich didn't expect it last season but it would have been their aim last summer.

I can't comment in the targets as I'm not CW, I can only go on rumours. If we get 2/3 players in with the Osula money and they are of the right calibre (Cooper being one confirmed target) then they will have added value to us this season in playing squad. Add a few loans and I think we would go very well and be promotion contenders. Now enough about what I think, what do  you think?

 

[Weasel]

So we’re going to spend £10m — if we get it, and if we can reinvest all the money — on the transfer fees/signing on fees and wages (which will be more than Osula’s) on two or three players who will strengthen us more than keeping a striker with potential at the club?

If you’d have said replace him with one player who was going to make us stronger I’d maybe have had more faith. I just can’t see how replacing one potential talent with three mediocre players strengthens us as a team, and the odds are on them being mediocre with those kind of finances.

"So we’re going to spend £10m — if we get it, and if we can reinvest all the money — on the transfer fees/signing on fees and wages (which will be more than Osula’s) on two or three players who will strengthen us more than keeping a striker with potential at the club?"...
-

I don't know.... are we ??? You making stuff up again??

"Three mediocre players"...

Thats the spirit. Glad your not in out scouting team then.

Look I'm an ideal world we keep Osula. But we don't live in one and CW has to generate funds to wheel and deal as we don't have enough in the squad as it stands. A decent fee for Osula gives him that chance. I'd rather we sell Anel or Souza for big money rather than Osula, but if no one is currently offering the moolah for those two atm then sometimes you have to take what's on offer right now.

 

[Le Cynique]

"So we’re going to spend £10m — if we get it, and if we can reinvest all the money — on the transfer fees/signing on fees and wages (which will be more than Osula’s) on two or three players who will strengthen us more than keeping a striker with potential at the club?"...
-

I don't know.... are we ??? You making stuff up again??

"Three mediocre players"...

Thats the spirit. Glad your not in out scouting team then.

Look I'm an ideal world we keep Osula. But we don't live in one and CW has to generate funds to wheel and deal as we don't have enough in the squad as it stands. A decent fee for Osula gives him that chance. I'd rather we sell Anel or Souza for big money rather than Osula, but if no one is currently offering the moolah for those two atm then sometimes you have to take what's on offer right now.

If you’re going to cling to idea that we can buy three ready-to-go, good-quality Championship players for £10m (and also believe that all of that will be available for reinvestment in the playing staff) then there’s clearly not much I can say to dissuade you from that, so best of luck.

 

[jt64]

Yes it was a silly question. Now that you have qualified it, and made it a reasonable question for me to answer, then for what it's worth....

Promotion being the aim, obviously, as that is the aim for all clubs. I bet Ipswich didn't expect it last season but it would have been their aim last summer.

I can't comment in the targets as I'm not CW, I can only go on rumours. If we get 2/3 players in with the Osula money and they are of the right calibre (Cooper being one confirmed target) then they will have added value to us this season in playing squad. Add a few loans and I think we would go very well and be promotion contenders. Now enough about what I think, what do  you think?

OK, that's reasonable - if you think that such a set of transfers could be the difference between promotion and not promotion, then fine - it brings in a lot of cash which is always needed. The problem then comes with what you do in the Premier League - and here's where the kicker is, "Championship ready" players are usually referred to as that because they have decent experience in the Championship, but they have that because, with very few exceptions, they do not (and will not ever) have the quality to step up to the next level - otherwise they would have done so already. As such, you end up with a season like what we had last time, with a squad that is not good enough, primarily because you have zero cutting edge up top, go down, and are right back where we are now - and at that point, you had better have a very good idea of what you are going to do with what is left of the Premier League money so that you don't keep doing the same thing again.

What I didn't want to hear was "well, we're in a rebuild, consolidation in 24/25 is fine, if we can push towards the playoffs, that's a great bonus, this might give us a bit more of a chance" - to which my retort would be "ok, you've made the squad stronger right now by cashing out on a player whose top end outcome is Premier League-level striker, used the money to bring in veterans on higher wages whose likely end outcome is leaving on a free at the end of their contract, with the idea that, instead of finishing 10th, we might get into a four way lottery where, if we don't win it (as we always do), we're in exactly the same position we would be if we finished 10th?" Yes, you've made the first team stronger, but arguably the health of the club long term is worse. Thankfully I didn't hear that.

 

[Weasel]

If you’re going to cling to idea that we can buy three ready-to-go, good-quality Championship players for £10m (and also believe that all of that will be available for reinvestment in the playing staff) then there’s clearly not much I can say to dissuade you from that, so best of luck.

Yes, I think it will go a long way (if not fund it all) to bringing some quality Championship players. Thry dont have to eaxh cost a kings ransom provided you scout well and do good business. I have faith in CW doing well in the transfer market this summer with any monies raised. You clearly don't. That's your opinion.

By the way, its not me buying the players needed, so no luck on my part needed, and I didn't say that i believe that all of it will be reinvested in the team. I'd expect a large chunk of it to be reinvested though but as I'm not the owner or Steve Bettis..). There you go again, making things up....are you like Angry Frank from the Fast Show who would get himself into a frenzy after he made up all sorts of stuff that wasn't actually happening?

 

[Cheesebored]

So we’re going to spend £10m — if we get it, and if we can reinvest all the money — on the transfer fees/signing on fees and wages (which will be more than Osula’s) on two or three players who will strengthen us more than keeping a striker with potential at the club?

If you’d have said replace him with one player who was going to make us stronger I’d maybe have had more faith. I just can’t see how replacing one potential talent with three mediocre players strengthens us as a team, and the odds are on them being mediocre with those kind of finances.

Why must they be mediocre players? Based on fees and wages within that £10 million (no idea where this figure came from)? If Wilders time here has taught us anything it's that he's capable of picking up rough diamonds and polishing them (Duffy, Fleck, Baldock, etc). Admittedly there's also been a couple of flops. It's his big money signings that have been questionable (IMO).

 

[Weasel]

OK, that's reasonable - if you think that such a set of transfers could be the difference between promotion and not promotion, then fine - it brings in a lot of cash which is always needed. The problem then comes with what you do in the Premier League - and here's where the kicker is, "Championship ready" players are usually referred to as that because they have decent experience in the Championship, but they have that because, with very few exceptions, they do not (and will not ever) have the quality to step up to the next level - otherwise they would have done so already. As such, you end up with a season like what we had last time, with a squad that is not good enough, primarily because you have zero cutting edge up top, go down, and are right back where we are now - and at that point, you had better have a very good idea of what you are going to do with what is left of the Premier League money so that you don't keep doing the same thing again.

What I didn't want to hear was "well, we're in a rebuild, consolidation in 24/25 is fine, if we can push towards the playoffs, that's a great bonus, this might give us a bit more of a chance" - to which my retort would be "ok, you've made the squad stronger right now by cashing out on a player whose top end outcome is Premier League-level striker, used the money to bring in veterans on higher wages whose likely end outcome is leaving on a free at the end of their contract, with the idea that, instead of finishing 10th, we might get into a four way lottery where, if we don't win it (as we always do), we're in exactly the same position we would be if we finished 10th?" Yes, you've made the first team stronger, but arguably the health of the club long term is worse. Thankfully I didn't hear that.

Yes 'thankfully you didn't hear that' and my earlier post was 'reasonable'.

Phew. That was a close shave and I shall count myself lucky that you have given me a pass mark. We're you a failed teacher in a past life or just genuinely patronising? Just curious as when you get past that bit you are actually able to make a decent point or two in your posts. Keep up the effort though (my patronising bit).

 

[Berkshire Blade]

If you’re going to cling to idea that we can buy three ready-to-go, good-quality Championship players for £10m (and also believe that all of that will be available for reinvestment in the playing staff) then there’s clearly not much I can say to dissuade you from that, so best of luck.

We spent far less than that of the Brooks money and essentially built a premier league ready side with it

 

[Weasel]

I suppose it comes down to whether you think CW thinks he can make the team genuine promotion challengers (or just better all round really) with the money raised from any sale. I think he will. Others clearly not so sure. That's their opinion. I don't share it if we decide to sell as I think just bringing in Cooper alone makes us a much better team this season.

 

[Le Cynique]

Why must they be mediocre players? Based on fees and wages within that £10 million (no idea where this figure came from)? If Wilders time here has taught us anything it's that he's capable of picking up rough diamonds and polishing them (Duffy, Fleck, Baldock, etc). Admittedly there's also been a couple of flops. It's his big money signings that have been questionable (IMO).

The £10m came from the mooted transfer fee for Osula.

If he’s rated at £10m, does it not stand to reason that players rated at a third of that - at best - would be proportionally l as good than him? We brought cheap squad fillers last season

We spent far less than that of the Brooks money and essentially built a premier league ready side with it

The money we got for Brooks - £11.5m I think - went a lot further in 2018 than it does now, when even standard Championship players tend to command higher transfer fees and wages.

 

[Grandmanasty]

The £10m came from the mooted transfer fee for Osula.

If he’s rated at £10m, does it not stand to reason that players rated at a third of that - at best - would be proportionally l as good than him? We brought cheap squad fillers last season




The money we got for Brooks - £11.5m I think - went a lot further in 2018 than it does now, when even standard Championship players tend to command higher transfer fees and wages.

What did we pay for Norwood? Was it £2-3million? I’d be more than happy if we ended up with 2 Norwood, in his prime, equivalents . How much did Didzy cost? Again I’d be more than happy to find another like him. £10m can go a long way just because a player may be cheap doesn’t mean he’s mediocre.