January 2022 Transfer Thread

[Alan]

We've hit a bit of a wall in terms of the profile of player we can get to improve the first team. That calibre of player will naturally want to sign for a bigger club than Wolves.

One way to get around that would be to pay over the odds in wages, but I'm glad we're not doing that. The approach of trying to pick up hot prospects we can flip later at a big profit is the best way to go about growing the club in the long term, imo, as long as the money from player sales is reinvested in the squad. When you see other clubs signing players, there doesn't seem to be much of an overarching long term strategy, whereas with Wolves there is. Whether you agree with the figures spent on certain players or whether they are any good, there's a strategy there.

It sounds counter intuitive, but the best chance of us kicking on as a club is probably by selling one of our best players for mega bucks and then spreading that money around to improve numerous positions within the squad.

That will be the crucial bit. If we don't use that windfall wisely the whole project could implode.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Quite. Get one right and you could suddenly have a huge sale and a massive amount of FFP wiggle room. 39m euro for Adama is a good start if we don't go for Trincao. If we do its a big signing in without handing money out of the summer coffers, whatever they may be.

I don't expect us to do vast spending in any window in the short to medium term. I just don't think it will happen.

 

[Tony Towner]

Seems Jeff has done a good job convincing people that the only way we can improve our squad is by selling players...it isn't.
You'll be buying into Vinny's ticket prices are value for money due to our benchmarking line next

 

[Carsy]

We've hit a bit of a wall in terms of the profile of player we can get to improve the first team. That calibre of player will naturally want to sign for a bigger club than Wolves.

One way to get around that would be to pay over the odds in wages, but I'm glad we're not doing that. The approach of trying to pick up hot prospects we can flip later at a big profit is the best way to go about growing the club in the long term, imo, as long as the money from player sales is reinvested in the squad. When you see other clubs signing players, there doesn't seem to be much of an overarching long term strategy, whereas with Wolves there is. Whether you agree with the figures spent on certain players or whether they are any good, there's a strategy there.

It sounds counter intuitive, but the best chance of us kicking on as a club is probably by selling one of our best players for mega bucks and then spreading that money around to improve numerous positions within the squad.

Agreed. We will need to sign the occasional ‘older head’ then just kids though probably.

The key is how the money is reinvested as you’ve said. Case and point being Spurs following the sale of Bale.

 

[Alan]

Seems Jeff has done a good job convincing people that the only way we can improve our squad is by selling players...it isn't.
You'll be buying into Vinny's ticket prices are value for money due to our benchmarking line next

Only way, no. Most pragmatic way, probably.

We're just trying to reason out the club's actions, I don't think any of us are drooling and nodding our heads along to everything Shi and Vinny say.

 

[Carsy]

Seems Jeff has done a good job convincing people that the only way we can improve our squad is by selling players...it isn't.
You'll be buying into Vinny's ticket prices are value for money due to our benchmarking line next

I don’t people are saying that? Well if they are I’m certainly not.

I think we are two or three ‘right’ signings from it not being a surprise that we are kicking around the top 6/7 (Europe places). I’m just unsure that we are a club who can have 50/60m net spend a season for example to achieve this.

You can Ofcourse keep all your players abs build, or sell and re invest. Just people discussing options

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Seems Jeff has done a good job convincing people that the only way we can improve our squad is by selling players...it isn't.
You'll be buying into Vinny's ticket prices are value for money due to our benchmarking line next

I don't believe I have said that at all in my post. What I have said is that to inflate potential spending in an individual window above normal projected levels is where the sale will come in. So more a big step change improvement than only way to improve, if that makes sense.

 

[PuntsWolf]

Seems Jeff has done a good job convincing people that the only way we can improve our squad is by selling players...it isn't.
You'll be buying into Vinny's ticket prices are value for money due to our benchmarking line next

Exactly. Saying it’s nigh on impossible to improve this squad but then saying if you sell a player you can improve multiple positions!?

 

[Tony Towner]

I don't believe I have said that at all in my post. What I have said is that to inflate potential spending in an individual window above normal projected levels is where the sale will come in. So more a big step change improvement than only way to improve, if that makes sense.

My post wasn't aimed at you tbf, more the ones above yours. FWIW do I think selling Neves for £60m and signing 3 players for £20m each improves the team? Probably not, the first will be to replace the man himself so that'll very likely be a downgrade as a starting point. I don't think we should stand in his way if the money is right, he deserves to play in the CL, but I wouldn't be strategically trying to manipulate it

 

[Deano]

Not sure why people keep going on about FFP wiggle room. We aren't close to breaching FFP and we have never really come close whilst in this league. Buying younger players at smaller sums and then trying to flip them for big profit is very nice in theory, in practice it's very hard to do consistently and I don't trust that Wolves have the recruitment team in place to make a model like that work. The other issue is if you get anyone at that next level they'll be unlikely to want to stick around at a club showing limited ambition. Neves would be absolutely mental to sign a new contract with Wolves now for example.

 

[Carsy]

My post wasn't aimed at you tbf, more the ones above yours. FWIW do I think selling Neves for £60m and signing 3 players for £20m each improves the team? Probably not, the first will be to replace the man himself so that'll very likely be a downgrade as a starting point. I don't think we should stand in his way if the money is right, he deserves to play in the CL, but I wouldn't be strategically trying to manipulate it

It would depend on how the 60m was spent.
Personally selling neves would weaken us full stop as I don’t see how we would get a replacement of the same standard entertaining coming to us?

Unsure if I was clear on my point or you’ve just misunderstood. In no way shape or form is selling players to raise funds the only way we could improve, but it is one way if the funds are spent correctly. It all depends on what you think we need to spend to be improving the team

 

[WolfMan]

So are you two saying there is some way, that only you two are aware of, that would enable Wolves to sign top 6 quality players on mid table wages?

Let's say we sell a player for £80 million and sign 2 for £40 million, would you not say the squad would stronger, if it money was spent wisely?

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

I know it wasn't really aimed at me Tony. It just seemed a good post to reply to hang my point I was trying to make on, that's all.

 

[Carsy]

Not sure why people keep going on about FFP wiggle room. We aren't close to breaching FFP and we have never really come close whilst in this league. Buying younger players at smaller sums and then trying to flip them for big profit is very nice in theory, in practice it's very hard to do consistently and I don't trust that Wolves have the recruitment team in place to make a model like that work. The other issue is if you get anyone at that next level they'll be unlikely to want to stick around at a club showing limited ambition. Neves would be absolutely mental to sign a new contract with Wolves now for example.

There’s ‘wiggle room’ and there’s
Having 30/40m net spends every year. It depends what people want to see/think we should be doing

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

It would depend on how the 60m was spent.
Personally selling neves would weaken us full stop as I don’t see how we would get a replacement of the same standard entertaining coming to us?

Unsure if I was clear on my point or you’ve just misunderstood. In no way shape or form is selling players to raise funds the only way we could improve, but it is one way if the funds are spent correctly. It all depends on what you think we need to spend to be improving the team

Sell Neves for £60m (I absolutely hope not). Sign three players for £20m each on five year deals. You would still have £48m left in FFP calculations.

Amortisation is fun.

 

[Tony Towner]

Sell Neves for £60m (I absolutely hope not). Sign three players for £20m each on five year deals. You would still have £48m left in FFP calculations.

Amortisation is fun.

Which goes back to Kieran's misunderstanding at the weekend it's not about FFP, it's about self imposed spending limits

 

[Del Woppio]

You only ever talk about the first year tbf pad. That £48m wiggle room is only of any use if you've got the ongoing cash/investment for the continued book spend

 

[Carsy]

Sell Neves for £60m (I absolutely hope not). Sign three players for £20m each on five year deals. You would still have £48m left in FFP calculations.

Amortisation is fun.

I understand amortisation. FWIW I’d want more than 60m for neves.

Year after we make 3 more signings 20m each 5 year deals (5 year deals aren’t a cert) it decreases. Factor in the risk of signings not working out and being sold at losses etc.

Just saying it’s not as simple as ‘amortise the crap out of it’

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

You only ever talk about the first year tbf pad. That £48m wiggle room is only of any use if you've got the ongoing cash/investment for the continued book spend

Oh, of course that is the case Del. You do have the amortisation bills for the remainder of the contracts to take into account. I'm just talking about creating immediate wiggle room to do a squad revamp, if that makes sense.

 

[Tony Towner]

Giles to Blackburn happening.