Bénie Traoré

[Deadbat]

I think there's a lot of emotion in the prices you've said you'd take there.

Shows the size of the task when you've listed 6 starters and I'd say there's big question marks over whether 5 of them will be at the club next season.

I can see the first half of the season feeling like an early round League Cup tie with 11 players who aren't used to playing together struggling to gel. Having said that, I hope we don't use that as an excuse to keep more players than we should.

What do you think we will get for Anel and Souza -genuinely interested? The rumours of teams wanting to pay 15 mill surely was nonsense? He has been part of the worst Prem defence in hisotry. If we get 6-8 million we have done well.

As for Souza, ditto. I think he will go on loan for a season somewhere. Italian/Spanish/French clubs may not be able to afford his wages and we wont take a huge loss yet so may punt he goes somwhere and does well.

Noone is going to want to sign any of the others I have listed so my low fees are simpy to take them off the books but I get the club may not take losses on Grbic and Trusty so quick but Brewster will leave for free next summer so may have to make some tough decisions and write a fair bit off.

We need personalities and characters here - not just ability and the lads we signed last summer are just not up to it as men aswell as footballers as harsh as that sounds. Getting them out will be addition by subtraction.

 

[cooperblade]

What do you think we will get for Anel and Souza -genuinely interested? The rumours of teams wanting to pay 15 mill surely was nonsense? He has been part of the worst Prem defence in hisotry. If we get 6-8 million we have done well.

As for Souza, ditto. I think he will go on loan for a season somewhere. Italian/Spanish/French clubs may not be able to afford his wages and we wont take a huge loss yet so may punt he goes somwhere and does well.

Noone is going to want to sign any of the others I have listed so my low fees are simpy to take them off the books but I get the club may not take losses on Grbic and Trusty so quick but Brewster will leave for free next summer so may have to make some tough decisions and write a fair bit off.

We need personalities and characters here - not just ability and the lads we signed last summer are just not up to it as men aswell as footballers as harsh as that sounds. Getting them out will be addition by subtraction.

Total guesses - don't think we'll get as much for Anel as we could've got in Jan as he moves closer to the end of his contract but maybe £12-15m. Souza, I think you're right that he may end up going on loan with an option to buy but wouldn't be at all surprised if someone was willing to pay £6-8m given his physical stature and tackling numbers (honestly think he'd do well in a side which gave him simpler responsibilities - just stay there and tackle people - rather than playing on the right of a 3).

Trusty, maybe £2.5-£3m and Traore similar, maybe a little less. Grbic, £500k-£1m - he might have one more failure left in him given his height and the clubs on his CV.

 

[crooked bladesman]

Did anyone take you up on your bet?!

Ha ha - no one suggested placing any money.

 

[crooked bladesman]

Our leading attacker next season

I’d get more goals than him….and I’m 53.

 

[Hamandcheese]

I’d get more goals than him….and I’m 53.

You'd get more than 30 goals?

 

[Tony_Kaufman]

What do you think we will get for Anel and Souza -genuinely interested? The rumours of teams wanting to pay 15 mill surely was nonsense? He has been part of the worst Prem defence in hisotry. If we get 6-8 million we have done well.

As for Souza, ditto. I think he will go on loan for a season somewhere. Italian/Spanish/French clubs may not be able to afford his wages and we wont take a huge loss yet so may punt he goes somwhere and does well.

Noone is going to want to sign any of the others I have listed so my low fees are simpy to take them off the books but I get the club may not take losses on Grbic and Trusty so quick but Brewster will leave for free next summer so may have to make some tough decisions and write a fair bit off.

We need personalities and characters here - not just ability and the lads we signed last summer are just not up to it as men aswell as footballers as harsh as that sounds. Getting them out will be addition by subtraction.

We should've sold Anel in January when we had the chance and an alleged £10mil on offer. I don't want that sulky, mardy, ungrateful waster in a Blades shirt ever again.

 

[KiwiBlabe]

We need personalities and characters here - not just ability and the lads we signed last summer are just not up to it as men aswell as footballers as harsh as that sounds. Getting them out will be addition by subtraction.

This is so true. Give me 11 men on the pitch giving everything and I will happily take what comes our way. The routine acceptance of defeat has been very tough to take this year. Get some leaders in, Wilder has aluded to this already so he can see it too.

 

[Champagneblade]

I agree

Worst case scenario if we keep McBurnie then it’s going to be him and hoping just one of Osula, Jebbison (if here), Brewster, Traore or Marsh clicks alongside him.

You’d really hope one of them could do a job.

Though I appreciate not all are sold on McBurnie.

 

[Bladezz]

If he's here, he needs to start with a L1 loan, along with Osula.

Arblaster took a few Port Vale games for it to be clear he was miles too good for that level. If either of them bangs goals in, they come back in January, full of confidence.

We did this… we sent him to Derby and he didn’t do anything. In fact he did poorly.

Arblaster we sent to League one and they said he was excellent.

 

[Racing Blade]

We did this… we sent him to Derby and he didn’t do anything. In fact he did poorly.

Arblaster we sent to League one and they said he was excellent.

We did indeed and there's an argument he might have developed since then (not that I necessarily subscribe to it myself). Someone definitely thinks so, given the PL game time he's been given.

For the sake of their own careers, both need to find their level quickly, yet we can't afford the luxury of hopeful experiments in the Championship. L1 loans, maybe at a club with lower expectations than Derby had, would give both of them the possibility of a run of starts.

 

[jt64]

For the sake of their own careers, both need to find their level quickly, yet we can't afford the luxury of hopeful experiments in the Championship.

Can we afford not to? If you're going to run a Championship club even remotely sustainably, you need to have some number of younger players who are not yet on huge wages - particularly up top, where if it works the upside is orders of magnitude higher, simply because of how much strikers can cost in the transfer market. Being shit scared about unrealistic levels of downside and thinking that unless we bring in (e.g.) Kieffer Moore we're going down is awfully expensive and inefficient

 

[Ndiayewillalwaysloveyou]

We should've sold Anel in January when we had the chance and an alleged £10mil on offer. I don't want that sulky, mardy, ungrateful waster in a Blades shirt ever again.

Just watched highlights. He looked over the moon when he scored.

 

[Panini]

Some of the valuations being banded about here are a decade or two out of date.

Anel should go for £10m without us breaking sweat. He wants out, so that lowers things a bit, but he knows we're not going to cut our losses. He's an asset and should be treated as such.

Souza, while he boils everyone's piss, is close to winning The Bladesman's Player of the Season poll on Twitter for a reason. It's difficult this season but fans aren't able to easily separate a player's abilities from whether they like them or not. The same goes for Ramsdale - his fee was no surprise even though some would've released him on a free.

We'll definitely make profit on Souza if we sell, so that's £20m+ for the pair.

 

[Balham Blade]

Some of the valuations being banded about here are a decade or two out of date.

Anel should go for £10m without us breaking sweat. He wants out, so that lowers things a bit, but he knows we're not going to cut our losses. He's an asset and should be treated as such.

Souza, while he boils everyone's piss, is close to winning The Bladesman's Player of the Season poll on Twitter for a reason. It's difficult this season but fans aren't able to easily separate a player's abilities from whether they like them or not. The same goes for Ramsdale - his fee was no surprise even though some would've released him on a free.

We'll definitely make profit on Souza if we sell, so that's £20m+ for the pair.

Posters would also do well to remember that a player's performances in this team won't translate directly to another team. I think I saw an idle link for both Ahmedhodzic and Souza to Fulham. They'd do well there; Souza replacing Palhinha and Ahmedhodzic is an upgrade on Ream. Give Souza a defined role and better players to pass to and Ahmedhozic a strong partner and they're both PL players.

I've said it before: one thing which is clear is that we've got set valuations for our players which need to be met before they're sold, which is why Arsenal had to nearly double their initial bid to land Ramsdale and why Burnley ponied up £15m for Berge despite him only having a year left on his contract.

Sticking my neck out: I wouldn't be at all surprised if it was £25m for both.

 

[Tony_Kaufman]

Some of the valuations being banded about here are a decade or two out of date.

Anel should go for £10m without us breaking sweat. He wants out, so that lowers things a bit, but he knows we're not going to cut our losses. He's an asset and should be treated as such.

Souza, while he boils everyone's piss, is close to winning The Bladesman's Player of the Season poll on Twitter for a reason. It's difficult this season but fans aren't able to easily separate a player's abilities from whether they like them or not. The same goes for Ramsdale - his fee was no surprise even though some would've released him on a free.

We'll definitely make profit on Souza if we sell, so that's £20m+ for the pair.

Why will we make a profit on Souza? To make a profit on a player they need to have performed better than when they first arrived and show consistency and influence. I'm curious as to your logic on this one.

 

[coolasanidiot]

Posters would also do well to remember that a player's performances in this team won't translate directly to another team. I think I saw an idle link for both Ahmedhodzic and Souza to Fulham. They'd do well there; Souza replacing Palhinha and Ahmedhodzic is an upgrade on Ream. Give Souza a defined role and better players to pass to and Ahmedhozic a strong partner and they're both PL players.

I've said it before: one thing which is clear is that we've got set valuations for our players which need to be met before they're sold, which is why Arsenal had to nearly double their initial bid to land Ramsdale and why Burnley ponied up £15m for Berge despite him only having a year left on his contract.

Sticking my neck out: I wouldn't be at all surprised if it was £25m for both.

Souza replacing Palhinha - I've seen some ridiculous stuff on these boards but that BB is right up there with the daftest thing I've ever read on here.

 

[IdLiketoRogerMoore]

It's not just his height , it's his frame too.
He's gonna get brushed off the ball so easily.
Pray that Nantes take him.

When you consider we have One, Marsh, Osula - all very similar players - it really does look like an awful purchase.

 

[Balham Blade]

Souza replacing Palhinha - I've seen some ridiculous stuff on these boards but that BB is right up there with the daftest thing I've ever read on here.

I've seen some ridiculous stuff on these boards but that CAAI is right up there with the daftest thing I've ever read on here.

 

[dexter101]

The fact that people kept signing players like Ravel Morrison shows that clubs buy on potential in the most part.

So the fact Souza has been doing his night fever routine each game, won't put buyers off when actually (and I still stand my this) I think he has the potential to be a good player.

Same with Anel, We know he can perform at Championship level, but he clearly doesn't want to be here any more and he has the potential to be more than a championship defender so someone will come along and take a punt. Just who and when.

 

[HarryHaslam]

Souza replacing Palhinha - I've seen some ridiculous stuff on these boards but that BB is right up there with the daftest thing I've ever read on here.

I once saw someone say on here Sousa would go for £60 million, only thing I’ve seen coming close to how ridiculous that was is someone said Jude Bellingham is not good enough to play at the top level.

 

[Lord Eddard Muir]

Maybe if Man City still rate Souza they could do us a swap for McAtee.

 

[IdLiketoRogerMoore]

Maybe I'm being a bit too armchair fan/playstation manager about it, but as we're already relegated and still getting tonked every week, I'm all for not playing anyone who isn't going to be here next year and letting some young lads have a run about...

If we lose 7-1 instead of 5-1, then so what. Send the message out there early that these are the players we're building around.

Let's see Peck, Marsh, One. Much rather be cheering them on than. McAtee or Archer who we know will be in their Bentley's as soon as the final whistle is blown never to be seen again....

 

[SE1Blade]

Why will we make a profit on Souza? To make a profit on a player they need to have performed better than when they first arrived and show consistency and influence. I'm curious as to your logic on this one.

Maybe because on top of what we paid last year when he had zero experience of English football, he now has a season as a regular in the best league in the world. He hasn’t got that ‘settling in’ period to do.
Should be worth a small profit in reality.

 

[71Blade]

Think the big question is especially around Souza is does he want to be here? Not many Brazilian players in the championship who he can rush over to at half time full time to swap shirts with. Seriously I'd like to see Benny and Slimane given a chance in pre season see how they fare unless they are commanding daft wages and them leaving could the wages be spent better?

 

[Berkshire Blade]

Maybe because on top of what we paid last year when he had zero experience of English football, he now has a season as a regular in the best league in the world. He hasn’t got that ‘settling in’ period to do.
Should be worth a small profit in reality.

He's a 5 million quid quality player. If we can trick someone into paying what we did we will have done very well.

 

[Pintor75]

He's a 5 million quid quality player. If we can trick someone into paying what we did we will have done very well.

Like arsenal did with Trusty

 

[Tony_Kaufman]

Maybe because on top of what we paid last year when he had zero experience of English football, he now has a season as a regular in the best league in the world. He hasn’t got that ‘settling in’ period to do.
Should be worth a small profit in reality.

By that logic we should be able to sell Grbic for a profit as he's now got Premier League experience and that's just not going to happen because he's dreadfuk.

Playing in the Premier League doesn't automatically add to a players value. Lots of things come into players values, age, contract length, how regularly they play, what league they are in when sold, their potential to improve and how they have performed over a season.

Souza is 24 so too old to be considered young now, nor seen as having potential, as at this age you should he playing regular first tean football. Yes, he has had some Premiership League experience but on the whole he has been poor. He may be up there for a high tackle rate, but his passing etc is poor and he regularly gets subbed on or off. He doesn't contribute much positively. Lastly, like it or lump it, we are a Championship team now so clubs will pay Championship fees. The fact we have been relegated has automatically dragged Souza's value down as he hasn't done enough on the pitch to show that he had gotten better during his time with us, nor is likely to get any better. He's a lazy, toxic turd of a player and we'll be lucky to get close to our fee back for him, if indeed we can sell him.

Hamer, on the other hand, has shown that he can play in the Premier League as he has contributed with goals and assists, one third of our teams total, playing for the worst team in the league who struggle for possession. We could easily sell him for a profit and he's arguably our most valuable player with Arblaster (age, contract length and potential). The profit on Hamer wouldn't be much because teams would pay Championship prices but I'm sure we'd make back what we paid plus at least £5mil.

 

[FinBlade]

He is bit like Archer, but more like Benie
I hope he developes good for us

 

[crooked bladesman]

You'd get more than 30 goals?

He ain’t got one pal and not likely to either.

 

[William Large]

No! but also maybe.... Burke certainly isn't a footballer, but would you like to chase that fucker for 90 minutes?

In fairness there were a few games where his pace caused defenders some issues.
Once they realised that that there was zero requirement to mark him as he would tackle himself / spoon the ball into the crowd / fail to control a simple pass, his game was up.