Premier League Ready? - The Great League 1 Minus 10 Player Review of Season 23/24

GOALKEEPERS

Gavin Bazunu
The first thing that anyone ever says about Baz is that he is “good with his feet and you need that in a Russell Martin team”.  Whilst this statement is undoubtedly true, the question is whether the fact that he is good with his feet override the fact that he is not particularly good with his hands?  In days gone by, a professional footballer with Baz’s skillset would not even be a goalkeeper and even in this evolved version of the game that we have now, it’s still a bit of an issue if you have a goalkeeper who doesn’t save very much when it really matters. To have the worst expected goals against (letting in shots you should have saved) in the Premier League for a team that got relegated is perfectly understandable but to have it again a season later in the Championship, when the team is one of the best in the division, is not really acceptable. Nearly 12 more goals conceded than he should have... not good and no amount of good passing really makes up for that.  As I said at the end of last season, he is still so young for a goalkeeper and could certainly benefit from learning and improving without the pressure of being in the firing line every week.  All this is a moot point with regards to next season of course because of the achilles injury that he got which is basically going to rule him out for the entire season. Premier League ready? Not as a first choice, even if he was fit.

Alex McCarthy
Well here’s a story. Alex had basically been employed all season to take corners in the warm-up and that was it, bar one early season Carabao appearance against Gillingham, where no one tried.  He never played for any of the team is below the first team and he was never on the bench for the first team, just there, in the warm-ups, crossing balls in for Bazunu and Lumley to catch and clapping encouragement.  Such is the life of the third choice keeper.  I had severe question marks over his attitude seeing as he seemed perfectly happy to be picking up his money and not playing and then all of a sudden, he was playing.  It remains one of the great unexplained calls of the season by the manager but bloody hell, was it the right call.   Macca came back into the team after Baz got injured and has been pretty faultless as the goals-against dried up in the main (barring the Leicester debacle), and we surged through the playoffs and into the Premier League.  It was previously an absolute inevitability that he would leave at the end of the season regardless of where we ended up, but a combination of the Baz injury and us being promoted, means that it’s now not certain.  I am certain that he will be offered a new contract and it will just be a case of whether the money and the number of years on it stacks up for McCarthy.  At 34 years old, most goalkeepers will be looking for a two-year contract at least and he won’t be keen on a drop in money either. So, it will be interesting to see how that one plays out and should he be here next season, will he be able to cope with the demands of using his feet in the Premier League where everything is that much quicker. Premier League ready? Yes as a goalkeeper with his hands, not sure about with his feet.

Joe Lumley
Second choice all season until it was time for him to step into the team and then he remained second choice with McCarthy parachuted in ahead of him. I can honestly say that if I was Joe Lumley I would’ve gone absolutely fucking mental at that point and have been demanding a transfer in the summer.  It was especially weird given that he had just signed a new contract extension as well. Sadly for Joe, it was proven to be 100% correct decision to parachute McCarthy in ahead of him. Joe proved in a couple of cup games this season that he had something about him, despite letting in a laughable goal at Watford when he decided not to use his arms and tried to save a free-kick with his teeth. Premier League ready? As a starter – no, as a back-up that never plays other than cup games we don’t particularly care about, yes.

FULL-BACKS

Kyle Walker-Peters
When we look back on this season in the future, we will still find it amazing that KWP stayed with us after relegation from the Premier League. A full England international a few months previously who never at any point seemed to be angling for a move or throwing his toys out.  A season of great consistency of performance and the best right back in the division by some considerable distance.  His attacking threat was always there, whatever the tweaks in his role that Russell Martin applied, as he played as a conventional right back, left back, a right winger, a right wing back and inverted right back in central midfield at times, all handled impeccably. The attacking side of his game is always been seen as better than defensive side but when it really mattered, against the likes of Leeds, he was right on it and didn’t give the Championship Player of the Season Crysensio Summerville a kick. We certainly missed him the one game he didn’t play, away at Ipswich when all the goals came down the side he would’ve been playing. I think he’s only got one year left on his contract but having been promoted we have a much better chance of keeping him than we did before. Premier League ready? Of course he is.

Ryan Manning
A free transfer arrival at the start of the season and spend the whole season as our only natural left back. Clearly more suited to playing as a wing back than a full back but ironically, when we switched that formation at the end of the season, Ryan Fraser was preferred. Always seem to be the scapegoat if things went wrong earlier on in the season and some of his performances were a bit ropey but he was never as bad as he was made out to be. A regular criticism was the Manning Chasm which appeared usually when he was far too far infield.  It was clearly a tactic for the back four to defend narrow but there were times when Manning seem to take it to extremes and be stood next to the left sided centre back. When he is on it and concentrating on defending I think there’s a player in there but his lack of consistency is a worry going forward. Premier League ready? You’d have to say no on the evidence of this season but it will certainly help him if we play with a back three and he naturally will be stationed wider on the pitch. I can see him being the back-up left back behind a new signing

James Bree
Came into the team at left back when Ryan Manning was struggling and proved to be a bit of an improvement, certainly from a defensive aspect. Was also switched to the right with KWP on the left which allowed him to play on his best side and get up the pitch and get the occasional cross in. A hamstring injury, picked up when he tried to match a winger for pace, left him out of the side and he got back in the team for the odd game at the end of the season and had an absolute stinker away at Ipswich when he made mistakes leading to the first two goals and then got himself sent off by repeating one of his earlier mistakes. That game highlighted what a dreadfully passive defender he can be, terrified of pace so he stands off and he’s never close enough to the winger when you need him to be. We signed him when we were in the Premier League and he wasn’t good enough and now we’re back in the Premier League and he still isn’t good enough and he’s not going to be either. Seems like a nice lad and he always tries his best but it’s time to move on for all parties. Premier League ready? Just not good enough.

CENTRE BACKS

Jan Bednarek
Jan the redemption man. Having returned for the second half of last season with his tail between his legs having stunk the place out on a loan spell Aston Villa, he repaired quite a lot of the damage last season by putting in some decent performances despite the team going down the pan and getting relegated. The fact that a 40 cap Polish International is prepared to stick around for this season says a lot for the man and he basically has an excellent season. He is the most consistent of our central defenders and when he plays in the middle of a black three, his organisational skills stand out, as does his ability to spot problems and cover for the other defenders. One of the few good things that Nathan Jones did was to call him ‘Janny B’, which of course, fits in the song ‘Daddy Cool’, which is not sung enough.   A slight question mark over the fact he is entering the last year of his deal but I assume a new contract is in the works and he will undoubtedly be a starter in the Premier League next season.  Premier League ready?  Yes.

Taylor Harwood-Bellis
For the life of me I have no idea how we secured a loan deal for this guy because he should have been in the Premier League already. It’s unbelievable that Burnley didn’t make much of an effort to sign him for their Premier League campaign but their loss was our gain as the Jason Wilcox factor enabled us to get him in on loan from Manchester City and thus preventing Mason Holgate from having to play. After a shaky start coming to terms with playing Russell Martin ball, he absolutely excelled throughout the season with a range of long passing that offered a real option rather than just trying to pass our way through teams.  In addition to that of course, he is a properly committed defender and an absolute leader of men, hence he has been captain of the England under 21s. He will play for England one day and it’s absolutely wonderful news that we managed to get a deal which meant we had an obligation to buy in the event of the team being promoted.  I guess we can call that Jason Wilcox' farewell present. THB is absolutely ready to be a starter in the Premier League next season and the big offers will be coming in next summer.

Mason Holgate
I've only included him here for a laugh.  When we signed Holgate on loan, a mate who is an Everton fan sent me a text which read “he is an absolute liability and you will regret it“.  Good knowledge.  His debut was a 5-0 defeat at Sunderland where he was directly responsible for two of the goals and that kind of set the tone for his entire stay. With Jack Stephens injured he got in the team for one game against West Brom at home and played really well and was man of the match in many peoples eyes.  His next outing came at Preston where rather than doing his job, he decided to be the big man and try and start a fight with a Preston substitute which ultimately led to us conceding two goals and being very fortunate to escape with a point. His final game for us was in the FA Cup away at Watford where he look like a good player for half the game and an absolute fucking clown for the other half.  Basically, he could do it when he wanted to but there’s something wrong in his head.  It was a masterstroke to bin off his loan deal and Sheffield United had a shocker by taking it over.  It’ll be really interesting to see where he ends up next season. My money is on the lower half of the Championship or somewhere like Turkey.  Premier League ready?  Not our problem mate.

Jack Stephens
Named captain of the team just before he got injured and had to watch Jan Bednarek and THB form what was clearly going to be our best centre back pairing.  Awkward.  Upon his return, Russell Martin found any opportunity possible to shoehorn him into the team, often to the detriment of someone who is a natural left or right back and he became the Cornish Beckenbauer for a few games playing a hybrid left back/midfield role, which never really looked convincing. Jack was one of the players that Russell Martin 100% wanted in the team and it took to the last game of the regular season for him to set up with three central defenders, thus allowing three of our best players to all start in something approaching their natural positions. With us now playing three at the back, Jack excelled as the team got stronger and stronger throughout the playoff campaign. Jack will be back in the Premier League next season, probably as a starter and if that’s the case, he will be captain.  Premier League ready? Has the experience so it won’t be a surprise to him.  If we stay with a back three then I think he’ll be fine.

MIDFIELDERS

Flynn Downes
Most Saints fans will be keeping an eye on social media and mainstream media all summer to see what happens with regards to Flynn Downes and whether we sign him or not. He has been the single biggest reason why we’ve got promoted this season with some absolutely superb performances in midfield.  He makes the whole team work. When he is there we have been a match for anyone this season but when he’s not, the stats rather starkly tell you how much we relied on him. Teams need characters as well as good footballers. Teams also need chefs who cook food for the players as well and don’t let idiots like Flynn give themselves E.Coli poisoning. Never fall in love with a loan player they say? Too late for that.  If he stays at West Ham then I hope they use him and give him the run of games the player of his ability deserves. My hope is that at 25, he fancies starting every game in the Premier League instead of just a few. West Ham changing their manager has put a little bit of a different slant on it but with West Ham being the club they are and Lopetegui being the manager that he is, I would imagine that Flynn is not the sort of player that they will go for. Premier League ready? Abso-fucking-lutely.

Shea Charles
A season that started well for Shea has somewhat tailed off as Russell Martin seem to lose a bit of faith in him as the season went on. It looked like he was going to be the regular number six at the start of the season until Flynn Downes arrived and once he stopped shitting out raw liver.  Then it was assumed that Shea would be his back up with versatility meaning he got the odd chance at centre back, right back or at number eight. A couple of dodgy performances at centre back early in the season left him on the bench when players got fit but he was criminally underused when Downes was unavailable which in my opinion cost us a few points.  His passing can be a bit loose at times which I think is what counted against him but if anything, the change to 3 central defenders is probably going to help his game time next season because he’s an option in a back three as well as his usual defensive midfield position. Premier League ready? Not as a starter but will be a decent squad option.

Will Smallbone
Wasn’t involved in the relegation shitshow of course because he was out on-loan at Stoke and so was well prepared for the division that Saints found themselves in upon his return. Overall, it’s been a decent season for Will.  The question was always about his physical capability of playing week after week but he has largely answered those questions this season. He has had some average games but not always his fault because Russell Martin had it in his head for a while that Will could play is a number six when he absolutely cannot unless we are playing a team that has no pace or anyone who can tackle in midfield and who are going to just let us have the ball and knock it around for 90 minutes. His lack of pace is an issue if the midfield is strung out as he seems incapable of sprinting anywhere.  Concentrating on his strengths however - his best games have all come in the number 8 position where he keeps the ball moving and has developed this priceless knack of arriving at exactly the right moment to slot the ball into the net. His finishing has improved as the season has gone on as he’s realised that sometimes you do need to put your foot through it rather than just try and roll it into the corner. Premier League ready? If you’d asked me around Christmas I would’ve said absolutely not. I still think he has a lot to prove but he is a young player who is going to be better for the experience of the season so like with Joe Aribo, if he can adapt to the pace of the Premier League, then maybe.

Joe Aribo
You’ve got the power to know, you are indestructible, always believe in, Ari-BO. No one would’ve given a solitary shit if Joe had left last summer, but he stayed and was nowhere near the team for the first three months of the season apart from one appearance against Ipswich, where he was terrible. He got given another chance around November time when the team was playing well and he slotted in, looking fitter and stronger and he had a defined role as a number eight which seemed to suit him more than any of the other myriad of positions he has played in his career ranging from winger, centre forward and even left back on some occasions for Rangers. Just when things were going well, he went off to the AFCON to largely be a substitute for Nigeria in January and when he came back he seemed to have lost a bit of spark but regained it in plenty of time for the important end of the season when he became one of our most consistent and influential players, becoming especially important after Stuart Armstrong got injured. I will never forgive him though for making me, a confirmed punk rock fan, sing Spandau Ballet songs at the football. No mean feat. Premier League ready? I feel that he can definitely give it a much better go than he did in his first season.  The question is whether he can adapt to the pace and I think that will become apparent pretty quickly.

Stuart Armstrong
It was a sad sight when Stuart Armstrong limped out of the game against Cardiff, thus ending his season and his time at Saints.  As I write it has just been confirmed that he is leaving for destination unknown.  His last season in the Premier League was pretty average so it was good to see him put in a regular run of decent performances in the Championship, where his level of intelligence and ability stood out and he still has magnificent hair as we all know. There had been no real mention of a potential new contract being on the table so him leaving is not a surprise and I think that’s getting promoted to the Premier League probably made that more unlikely.  For me, bearing in mind his last Premier League season and his age, there was a big question mark over whether he would be capable of being much of a factor next season anyway and I’d be surprised if the link to Fulham comes to pass.  The other rumour has been Fiorentina and that makes much more sense to me – I can imagine Stu playing in Italy and thriving. As he leaves, I expect he’ll be remembered fondly by all Saints fans. I always like intelligent players with ability and that’s Stuart Armstrong.  He was certainly one of our better signings of that period post-2016 when the golden age of the black box was largely over.  £7 million for well over 200 appearances is a hell of a bargain.  Premier League ready? Not applicable (for us anyway)

Joe Rothwell
The first of the two players to arrive on loan from Bournemouth. Bournemouth fans were arsed about Brooks but Rothwell? Not so much.  He had a good reputation at Championship level through spells at Bournemouth and Blackburn but was not cutting it in the Premier League.  Initially, was very difficult to see what sort of midfielder he was and then he scored an absolutely ridiculous goal against Huddersfield which was part of a two-goal salvo that rescued that particular game. He then repeated the trick game against Sunderland with another two goals. Other than that though he was very underwhelming. The closer he got towards our own goal, the worse he was and he couldn’t deal with receiving the ball in tight areas with his back to play, at all. A horrific performance against Hull saw him solely being used as Stuart Armstrong‘s understudy thereafter, but when Armstrong picked up his season-ending injury, Rothwell was not used.  Overall, he’s provided an extra body in midfield in the squad but even if we hadn’t gone up, I don’t think we’d be looking at a permanent move.  Some players are never going to be suitable for Russell Martin’s style of play and maybe that was the case with Joe.  Premier League ready? It will be up to Bournemouth to answer that.

WINGERS

David Brooks
We were very fortunate to be able to sign a player of his ability in January, on loan from Bournemouth. The feeling about this from the start , was that Bournemouth were acting in the players, rather than their own interests by letting him come on loan to us. It’s quite funny to think that it would’ve boiled the piss of quite a few Bournemouth supporters, intent on stoking the fake rivalry. Bearing in mind the journey that Brooks has been on with cancer, the loan spell has been incredibly important for him to get his body used to playing regular football again. His performances have been a bit patchy with sometimes him looking ridiculously good and other times not quite being on it but given the journey he’s been on, I think that’s perfectly acceptable. He wouldn’t be the player you'd choose to win a tackle for your life and he never will be, but he works hard, is clearly very intelligent in the way he plays football and there’s always room for players with ability.  Overall, on balance, I hope that we sign him as he has a very high ceiling and will only get better as he builds up. Nothing has been mentioned as yet to whether we are going to try to sign him and the only reason I can think of is that Bournemouth have categorically decided that he’s not being sold. If that’s the case, one thing I do hope is that if he plays against us for Bournemouth next season, we give him a good reception and don’t give him a hard time like idiotic fans Stoke did with Will Smallbone for example. Premier League ready? On ability, definitely.

Sam Edozie
Sam has had a strange season. Got himself in the team early on and then found himself bumped down the pecking order with the arrival of Ryan Fraser. Also found himself behind Kamaldeen Sulemana because at that particular time, we hadn’t given up on him actually providing something for the money that we paid for him.  Sammy got back in the team around December time and started rattling in goals at a decent rate but his season was interrupted by a dreadful tackle by Norwich’s Jack Stacey, who hitched a ride with his full weight on Sam‘s ankle. I think overall this season he has been very unlucky but there is definite promise there and the manager clearly likes him. It was good to see him have a bit of an impact at the end of the season and play a significant amount of time in the Playoff Final at Wembley.  One to watch for next season. Premier League ready? Bench option I feel but a lot of scope to keep improving.

Ryan Fraser
Wee Man has been an absolute revelation. There were many people who were not enthusiastic about the prospect of him joining the club back in the summer, due to the questions that had been asked over is attitude in the way he left Bournemouth. His career had gone down the pan a little bit when he got his move to Newcastle at a time when Newcastle were soon to be taken over by a sovereign state and suddenly go stratospheric with the type of players they were buying. Not only that, the manager he’d walked out on at Bournemouth, ended up as Newcastle manager as the Karma Gods had a bit of a laugh with Wee Man.  Russell Martin told us to trust his judgement on his old Scotland team mate and he came on-loan to us and made an immediate impression with late goals at Hull and Millwall to turn two points into six. As the season went on, the goals dried up a bit but by the end Russell Martin was using him as a wingback to really good effect, so much so that he started the play-off final against Leeds and did a brilliant job. It should be an easy deal to do with Newcastle to get him here next season and he is a player who hundred percent really wants to be here. Wee man - Premier League ready? Valuable squad player.

Kamaldeen Sulemana
£25 million quid and after a season and a half - fuck all. For context, Sekou Mara has done more and he cost half as much. Has not looked like he has wanted to be here since the moment he arrived and is one of those players who would’ve been off in a heartbeat at the end of last season if anyone had come in with the money, which no one was ever going to do because he hasn’t done anything.  A classic Catch 22. Probably didn’t want to stay and play in the Championship because he thought he was too good for it but when he played, it turned out that he wasn’t good enough for it. Towards the end of the season Russell Martin said he wasn’t going to play any players who didn’t really want to be here and since then, Kamaldeen has barely played a minute, which I think, tells you everything you need to know.  We’re going to take a massive loss of his transfer fee and wages paid out, but it will be worth it to get him out the door. Premier League ready? He probably thinks he is but no one else does.

STRIKERS

Adam Armstrong
Ultimately, he has scored the goals that have fired us back to the Premier League, including of course, the winner at Wembley against Leeds. I find myself in the ridiculous position of still being frustrated with a player who has scored 24 goals for us this season because of the amount of chances he misses, the first touches that go astray and the lack of strength when within close proximity to a defender.  However, that's just focusing on the negatives and without him this season, we would not have got promoted, so whatever happens at Premier League level, he has totally paid back the transfer fee that we spent on him three years ago. He is unquestionably better in the wide positions, away from most of the traffic, where he can concentrate on finding spaces between full-backs and centre backs. He has 100% earned the right to have another crack at the Premier League and if he starts well and gets confident at that level, then he can answer all of the “can he cut it in the Premier League?” style questions. To be honest, we need him to. His two seasons in the Premier League were distinctly underwhelming but the extenuating circumstances are that Ralph Hasenhüttl apparently never rated him and didn’t want to sign him in the first place, which put paid to his first season after he got dropped round about Christmas time.  The second season was the Ralph/Nathan/Ruben shitshow in which everyone was dreadful and we didn’t use any player to their strengths.  Let’s hope that playing to his strengths, the style of play and playing for a manager who actually rates him, will mean he has a better go at it this time. Premier League ready? Jury is out on that one but it would be brilliant if he could bang in the goals at a higher level.  Needs a good start.

Che Adams
In the words of The Clash - Should I Stay or Should I Go? On the one hand, here is a player who has had a contract offer on the table all season and has decided not to sign it and waited to be a free agent. He has contributed enough this season for him to leave with our best wishes, should he decide to do so. On the other hand, you could never fault his effort even though his contract was running down and he stepped up to the plate when it mattered in the second half of the season when we needed him to. Che is now of an age where he should have some consistency in his performances but even within the same game sometimes, he can look like a Premier League ready forward and five minutes later, look like someone who has never kicked a ball before. If he could play at his best level for 80% of the time, instead of the 40% that he currently manages, he would never have been in the Championship last year in the first place and everybody would have been looking to sign him for the relatively paltry £15 million that we were asking for him last summer. We are undoubtedly a better team with him in it and if he leaves, we have to try and replace him with someone better. If he stays however, he has to do better than he has in his previous three Premier League seasons. I feel that I will accept what happens either way, should he stay or should he go.  Premier League ready? I can’t imagine he’ll be any better than he was in previous seasons there.  He’ll be ok, no more no less.

Ross Stewart
Well what can you say about Ross Stewart? Not a lot really as he has barely kicked a ball this season. Brought in to score the goals to fire us out of the Championship but we are now in a position of hoping that a good half a season in the Championship for Sunderland, will see him step up to the Premier League. It’s a bit of a stretch to expect him to do that but you never know, he might. He is so incredibly highly rated by anyone who has seen him play with any regularity that it just may turn out as a player who we signed for the season just gone, turns out to be the godsend that we needed at a higher level. He looks like a player – with physicality and pace and a decent shot on him – but a) can he stay fit and b) can he step up.  We can but hope.  Premier League ready? Wouldn’t it be fantastic if he was but there is absolutely no way of knowing.

Sekou Mara
Two seasons in for Sekou and all he has really proven that he is a player to bring on when you are 3-0 up against a team who have given up, when the game is dead. Quite simply, he didn’t prove that he was even Championship level during the season and our promotion to the Premier League will mean that he has to go, either back to France permanently or out on loan to someone. Seems to have no idea about what it takes from the physical sacrifice point of view, to be a serviceable footballer in England. Despite being quite a big lad he’s not prepared to put himself in harms way and there’s just nothing there.  More hairstyles than decent performances.  Premier League ready? Not in this lifetime.

OUT ON LOAN

Mateusz Lis
So far, he was signed by us to loan out and there has never been any indication that he was ever considered to be a first team keeper for Saints.  So, did we sign him just to bring in loan fees every year or are we watching his development with a view to bring him back?  Still only 27 and on loan at Goztepe last season and winning promotion with them and very highly regarded.  There is absolutely no way of knowing what the plan is for Lis.

Romain Perraud
In a season where loads of players didn’t give a shit, that allegation could never have been levelled at Romain. Apparently though, he didn’t get on with Russell Martin for the moment he walked in the door so the exit was always on the cards. Has not been a massive success back in France but even with our lack of Premier League level options at left back, I can’t see it being him who comes to the rescue. Premier League ready? I don’t think so.

Lyanco
Spent the season playing in Qatar for a club I’ve never heard of. Apparently, there was a deal in place for him to join them permanently, but he doesn’t want to do that, so he will be coming back, to be shipped out again no doubt, hopefully permanently. He’s a good lad who provided some light relief in the relegation season but there is a feeling that all his heart and passion is an attempt at hiding the fact that he just isn’t very good. Premier League ready? Nowhere near.

Duje Caleta-Car
Left because he didn’t want to play in the Championship and in his case, as an experienced international player, that’s enough for me to say that he can go.  If you think that playing badly in relegated side is reason enough to declare that you’re too good for the division below, then I think your attitude needs to be questioned and we don’t need any bad attitudes in what is going to be a very tough season. A slight caveat on his one season with us is that it was the Ralph/Nathan/Ruben shitshow but no. Premier League ready? On ability he probably is but on attitude definitely not and I’m not sure he’d have the ability to play the way Russell Martin wants his centre backs to play.

Armel Bella-Kotchap
There is obviously a good player in there and Russell Martin said at the start of the season that he would like Armel to stay but like Caleta-Car, Armel didn’t want to stay and so went off to PSV in the oh-so-challenging Dutch league. Armel is built like Tarzan and fights like Jane and is clearly made of biscuits because even a move to the less physical Dutch league, saw him pop his shoulder out and miss about seven months of the season. Premier League ready? I think that if he wants to come back and is prepared to get his head down and work then he could be re-integrated into the squad as he plays a position where we are going to need bodies next season and there’s a player in there if he gets his head and body right.  At his age he’s not beyond redemption and it would be cheaper to keep him than to buy a replacement.  I feel that he will go if we get a half decent offer and if that’s the case, I can’t see myself crying myself to sleep about it.

Charly Alcaraz
Stayed after the relegation and signed a new contract and was then loaned out a few months later when Juventus took an interest in signing him.  He went with an option to buy that Juventus were never going to pay and like ABK, he got injured and didn’t do much at all. A lot of noise has been made in the media from Italy about Juve wanting to sign him again but I am firmly of the opinion that we should tell them to get serious or fuck off.  Put some money on the table and then we’ll talk. The implication was that he didn’t have the learning capacity to take in what was wanted in our team and I doubt his comprehension of English has improved whilst on loan in Italy. Premier League ready? Has the ability but I think we will be looking to cash in and spend the money elsewhere.

Paul Onuachu
Has undoubtedly been the most successful of the players that we loaned out, banging in goals all over the place for Trabzonspor, who like Juventus are really taking the piss with the noises they are making about wanting to sign a player that we paid £20 million for, for nothing. What’s “fuck off” in Turkish?. There is a parallel universe where Tall Paul comes back and bangs in the goals in the Premier League but we don’t live in that universe. We live in the universe where there is a player who is not suited to Russell Martin style of play. I would love him to be a success for us as I believe he was badly treated but I don’t think it’s going to happen in this lifetime. Premier League ready? Even if Che Adams leaves, I really can’t see it.  He'll go to raise funds if a proper offer comes in.

PREMIER LEAGUE READY?

Lots of work on the squad to do.  Here's my wish list... assumptions are that no one unexpected leaves (KWP, Bednarek, Arma, Stephens in their last year etc) and that Che goes.  Another assumption is that this is about survival and not about qualifying for Europe etc.

A first choice goalkeeper is a priority.  Maybe someone on loan with McCarthy and Lumley as the backups for the season. Highly unlikely that Baz is going to play for the first team at all next season or that Mateusz Lis is an option.

Full backs... I make it we have KWP for the team and Manning for the bench meaning that we need a left back who is a starter first and foremost. We'll also need another right back to cover KWP as Bree is simply not good enough.  Perraud to be moved on.

Bednarek, Stephens, THB are fine but we need another central defender which could be ABK or it could be someone else. No way back for Caleta-Car and Lyanco.

Le God willing we'll have Flynn Downes in midfield but Aribo and Smallbone will need proper competition and we'll have to replace Stuart Armstrong and Rothwell.  So, two midfield players.  Alcaraz to be moved on to raise funds.

We need a winger to replace Sulemana with someone who might actually contribute.  Maybe try and  turn Brooks loan into a permanent deal.  If we want to play with three up at any point, we will probably need two wide players to be signed.

Assuming Che leaves or even if he doesn't, a striker is priority as Arma in the Premier League is a question mark, as is Ross Stewart being able to stand up for long enough. Tall Paul to be moved on to raise some cash.  Sekou Mara to be moved on because it's never happening. 

So much to do and so much money and so little time.  Bring it on.