The Afobe question

[White Wolf]

Hesitant yes but only as backup. Compared to the price for Hugill he seems a bargain and is a known quantity which helps. I was impressed by him against Bolton but most of the time he doesn't seem to fit the style of play but I think Nuno can improve him.

 

[AndyWolves]

We will be buying another striker in the summer and to have Afobe in the squad makes sense. As others have said, he knows us and we know him, he wants to be here which is worth something.

He gives us insurance if the new striker is bobbins or something else happens to him. If nothing else we end up with a pretty decent striker for cup games

 

[Aikiwolf]

I'm not sure tbh, I think he's performed well since returning to us, a lot depends on our budget for me. If we are going to spend the region of £100 mill then yes, if we are looking closer to £30/40 then probably not.

 

[Jinky]

Yes from me. He can certainly play a part in securing a mid-table finish for us in our first season back. Let’s be realistic here - we all know Fosun have big plans, but let’s learn to walk before we learn to run. Nuno has taken it game by game this season and has not got ahead of himself - our fans could do with taking a leaf out of his book when it comes to managing expectations for next season. As a newly promoted club, the first aim will be to stay up. Once we reach that milestone, we can continue to build from there and see where we end up.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

No way is "staying up" the aim (other than by default).

You look at the bottom half of the Premier League as it stands, and who'll come up with us, and the club will be aiming to finish above each and every single one of them.

 

[sycophantia]

I'd say yes provided he realises he will be mostly coming off the bench, we will surely be signing a top forward so that will mean Afobe, Costa, Cav, Jota and 'new striker' will be vying for the 3 forward positions......assuming we carry on playing the same formation as this season

 

[Trips]

No way is "staying up" the aim (other than by default).

You look at the bottom half of the Premier League as it stands, and who'll come up with us, and the club will be aiming to finish above each and every single one of them.

Too right. There is some absolute dross in the Premier League at the minute. Outside of the top 6, Boly, Jota, Neves & Costa walk into each of the others sides, (Neves could drop into anyone's but City's now) and that's before we strengthen. Top 10 needs to be the aim for me next season and that's before any signings have arrived.

 

[Alan]

Too right. There is some absolute dross in the Premier League at the minute. Outside of the top 6, Boly, Jota, Neves & Costa walk into each of the others sides, (Neves could drop into anyone's but City's now) and that's before we strengthen. Top 10 needs to be the aim for me next season and that's before any signings have arrived.

Don't forget Cav!

 

[leedswolf]

No from me FWIW. However, if Nuno believes that Ben has the required attributes then who am to argue?

 

[Jinky]

No way is "staying up" the aim (other than by default).

You look at the bottom half of the Premier League as it stands, and who'll come up with us, and the club will be aiming to finish above each and every single one of them.

I totally agree. But the club will be doing everything possible to keep a lid on expectations. Just like they did this season.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

I totally agree. But the club will be doing everything possible to keep a lid on expectations. Just like they did this season.

Yeah, and they don't kid anyone. I don't believe Nuno when he says he doesn't look at the table :icon_lol:

Will they take survival for granted, of course not. But we shouldn't be in any kind of danger at all. I would say in the last 4-5 years the quality outwith the top 6/7/8 has decreased dramatically, not sure why that is but looking back at 2009/10 (the last time we were "newcomers" to that league), Sunderland finished 13th on 44 points. They had the likes of Gordon (when he was very highly rated), Malbranque, Bent (when he wasn't a fat prick), Mensah and Cana in their squad, at the time they were all very good players indeed, some decent enough filler behind that (a young Henderson before he turned into the shitefest that he is now, Andy Reid turning it on every one game in five, Cattermole before he became a clogger with shorts up to his nipples, Turner fresh from excelling for Hull, Kenwyne Jones was alright back then too). Brighton are currently in 13th on 36 points, doubt they'll win another game all season and bar the leftfield hit of Groß I'd be hard pushed to say any of their current players are serious top flight quality.

Pushing into mid-table then was more difficult than it is now. I don't rate Bournemouth or Watford at all, neither have been particularly close to going down in the three seasons they've been up there.

 

[nimrod]

if we bring in the sort of quality to compete in the top half, I’d say I don’t see the point. that’s more a reflection of what I hope we’re aiming for and the system we play that any slight on Benik. but I could understand the club bringing him in and trust they’ll get the best out of him.

 

[Lupo]

Yes from me.

His goalscoring record has been pretty good since coming back and as you say, Nuno has been trying to improve his all round game.

People who were there yesterday say his general play was much better and looks like he is adapting to Nuno's style.

Can also factor in his enthusiasm for the club and popularity within the team.

He can be even better with a Nuno pre season under his belt and also has a point to prove in the PL.

 

[The Bear]

Yes. Purely because we have no idea who we are targeting or will buy. Until we know that it's a yes.

 

[Leigh Griffiths' Hairline]

A reluctant no. If you were asking any other time we previously got promoted it would be a definite yes. However, with the resources and the contacts we now have, we should be looking to spend on better quality than Afobe. I think spending £9m on him would be a waste. I wouldn't be against extending his loan to see how he does for a few months though. Can't see Bournemouth being interested in loaning him though.

 

[Siggy]

We will need more than 1 striker and for the money I think its a decent investment. I still think he can and will improve and he has a coaching team that can help him do that.

Its a yes from me.

 

[Norman Deeley]

It’s a definite maybe from me. On the one hand he’s scoring goals: there’s not much doubt that if Afobe had been with us since the start of the season he’d have scored 20+ goals. Could Nuno improve him? You only have to look at Conor Coady and Matt Doherty for the answer to that question. Is he worth £10m? Easily – and at 25 we’d be certain to get our money back on him if it didn’t work out. Derby, Villa… he’d have a list of suitors.
And yet he somehow doesn’t convince me. I can’t shake the feeling that he’s a top Championship striker who just doesn’t convert to the Premiership. And as has been said, if that’s the case, what’s the point of spending £10m? I think we’ll bring two top strikers in, so I don’t see Afobe as more than 3rd choice. I certainly wouldn’t want to just bring in one top striker, see him get injured early on and have to rely on Afobe.
I’m happy to leave the decision to Nuno and his coaching team. How good to have a manager you can absolutely trust on decisions like this.

 

[machin05]

I think with our lack of options, he'd be worth a place in the squad. He's looked pretty good, has improved over his loan period, and definitely still has an eye for goal. If Nuno can work on his first touch and link up play, then I think he'd be a fairly safe bet.

 

[James]

Yes from me.

Can finish and is still young enough to improve would compliment the big marquee signing we might bring in

 

[Carrotdude]

I think his pace and eye for goal is very important, I would sign him but he would mainly be used off the bench depending on what other striker we sign.