January 2022 Transfer Thread

[Alan]

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Ok, well that’s weird - and you don’t get a more reliable source than this.

Absolutely zero chance of him coming here in January, but these comments would indicate that perhaps we never were in for him?

Reads to me like Lille were using us as a way to try to convince Barca that Sanches was healthy enough to flog.

 

[Tony Towner]

Reads to me like Lille were using us as a way to try to convince Barca that Sanches was healthy enough to flog.

If they were then Wolves were happy to go along with it given they leaked the info to all the local journalists

 

[Alan]

If they were then Wolves were happy to go along with it given they leaked the info to all the local journalists

Admit I didn’t recall us being the source of the leak.

Suppose it’s possible Mendes was involved with that but don’t want to get too conspiratorial about it.

 

[Jinky]

What would have been the point of keeping Vitinha? He was here all last season, didn't show enough, now he's gone.

He can't have any complaints and using him as a stick to beat Shi with (no matter what we think of some of the other decisions Jeff has made) is highly revisionist, IMO.

He started 5 league games for us last season. Bit harsh to say he "didn't show enough". Equally, the club knew Nuno was gone, and Bruno - a manager with a very good history in developing young players - was on his way in, so surely a businessman would take that in to account too?

Fosun are an investment company. They are in business to make money. Vitinha himself, would have had to do something drastically wrong to lose value on £15m at his age/potential. It is a ridiculous business decision to send him back there, and that's without taking in to account the fact we have three senior midfielders going in to a season of PL football.

There is a worrying trend being set by Shi that he is not the right man for the job. There's nothing "highly revisionist" about it. The proof is there in black and white. Unless I imagined us signing an 18 year old player who is miles off being a premier league footballer for £35m, and completely handcuffing our transfer budget for the next 2-3 windows in the process, and the multiple other examples. He's not very good at his job.

I suppose we *could* have a stormer of a January transfer window and all will be forgiven, but I won't hold my breath.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

Jeff Shi isn't picking who we do and don't sign.

What if Vitinha didn't want to come and not play for another season?

 

[Alan]

He started 5 league games for us last season. Bit harsh to say he "didn't show enough".

Apologies for reducing your post to just these two lines, but clearly he didn't show enough in training to get more than those 5 starts, no?

I'd be surprised if Jeff is on a longer financial leash with Guo than he is with the public. If the bottom line starts being affected, Shi will be replaced. As you say, Fosun are in business to make money.

 

[Jinky]

Jeff Shi isn't picking who we do and don't sign.

What if Vitinha didn't want to come and not play for another season?

Isn't he? Who's deciding who we sign then?

I'm not best mates with Vitinha so I don't know for sure, but I'm pretty confident in saying if we had moved to sign him, he'd have stayed. Especially under a new manager.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

Isn't he? Who's deciding who we sign then?

I'm not best mates with Vitinha so I don't know for sure, but I'm pretty confident in saying if we had moved to move him, he'd have stayed. Especially under a new manager.

We still have significant input from Mendes, clearly, and Sellars has the title closest to Sporting Director.

There isn't any footballing input from Jeff Shi, as much as he annoys me with communication and several areas of the club that have been going backwards for a while.

It'd be like blaming Ed Woodward for all Man Utd's shit signings. I mean I suppose he appointed the managers who have wasted close on £1bn so by extension he has some responsibility, but he didn't go out and handpick the players. They have footballing people to do that (badly).

And I certainly don't see anyone patting Jeff on the back for finding Ait-Nouri, Sa or Hwang, if he is such an all-overseeing overlord (spoiler: he isn't).

 

[Alan]

Always more than one name on the signature line, so to speak.

 

[Jinky]

And I certainly don't see anyone patting Jeff on the back for finding Ait-Nouri, Sa or Hwang, if he is such an all-overseeing overlord (spoiler: he isn't).

Hang on, is this you praising Sa now then?

I suspect Jeff Shi has the final decision on all the signings, with some guidance/advice from Sellars/Bruno and the recruitment team. He then ignores all of that guidance/advice and goes with whatever his mate Mendes says*

* this may/may not be entirely serious

 

[Alan]

Didn't GFFH say once that Nuno had the final say on transfers? Obviously that may have changed with Bruno coming in.

 

[YoungWolf]

We won't be forcing players on the manager. In fact, it seems Bruno is extremely picky (which is good IMO), the players have to fit the 'profile' as he repeatedly said in the summer. The recruitment team need to find the right players with the right characteristics. The only bit I suspect we could be annoyed with Jeff about is budget/how much we are prepared to pay for players?

 

[WsWolf]

Players improve, sometimes very quickly. If we’d been offered anywhere above £10m for Kilman in the summer most, if not all of us, would have said we should snatch their hand off. Now we’d say treble it before we even start a discussion.

Fans may have done but how many of us have hours and hours of footage of him, along with analysis, knowledge of his personality. Players don't go from useless to quality in 6 months, even the example you've given is more to do with increased playing time than huge personal improvements.

 

[WsWolf]

Apologies for reducing your post to just these two lines, but clearly he didn't show enough in training to get more than those 5 starts, no?

I'm not sure this can be used as an argument. We all know that our line up was pretty set in stone, regardless of form. Nuno wasn't dropping Moutinho or Neves to play a kid. In the starts he had, he played well in 2 of them aswell, certainly showed ability enough for me to be disappointed we didn't pick up the option.

 

[Jinky]

More from Renato. Can’t say I’d be too happy with one of our own players talking this openly about other clubs…

 

[Alan]

I'm not sure this can be used as an argument. We all know that our line up was pretty set in stone, regardless of form. Nuno wasn't dropping Moutinho or Neves to play a kid. In the starts he had, he played well in 2 of them aswell, certainly showed ability enough for me to be disappointed we didn't pick up the option.

How can that not be used as an argument? Makes no sense to me. The lineup was set in stone because Vitinha (amongst others) clearly didn't show Nuno enough to warrant his trust in them starting.

Big Georg Margreitter energy off of the Vitinha opinions here, IMO.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

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More from Renato. Can’t say I’d be too happy with one of our own players talking this openly about other clubs…

It’s really odd behaviour. That quote says AC Milan and Arsenal haven’t contacted him or his agent but other clubs have.

 

[Johnny75]

Jeff Shi isn't picking who we do and don't sign.

What if Vitinha didn't want to come and not play for another season?

Both of those things could be true.

I would say Jeff Shi is the last signature on that contact and the ultimate decision maker.

If he doesn't want the player we won't sign him. If Mendes wants a favour doing and the manager isn't on board then the manager will wear that decision.

Happens in any type of business every day and football is no exception.

 

[WsWolf]

How can that not be used as an argument? Makes no sense to me. The lineup was set in stone because Vitinha (amongst others) clearly didn't show Nuno enough to warrant his trust in them starting.

Big Georg Margreitter energy off of the Vitinha opinions here, IMO.

Nuno played those two regardless. I could probably pull hundreds of posts where people clearly state that moutinho needed a rest had been poor for weeks and yet, nothing.

There's the obvious fact he probably wasn't really physically there to start in a 2 but unless he trains like a complete moron and is something like the player I've seen for Portugal u21s he should have been given a chance.

We are forgetting Nuno continually started Jose even though he was useless aswell. I take zero from the fact he didn't play.

 

[Alan]

If Moutinho needed a rest and Nuno still preferred him to Vitinha, that's not exactly a resounding endorsement for the junior midfielder, is it?

Of course, you could make the same argument re: Fabio Silva and Willian Jose... And I'd probably have to concede the point. Fabio not beating out Willian last season does not speak well of his ability.