A club going into a transfer window with identified key targets and seemingly ready to make signings happen. What is this madness?

Fulham and Bournemouth only went up 3 seasons ago and now in the top 10 cos of good quality signings but having a good head coach and shown how it should be done

probably not but they can grow their squad and improve it. I think Leeds will probably stay up I think next season and I think Sunderland might surprise a few teams next season

One of the most recent policies that did work was spending as much as Forest did. The gap is getting bigger.

That is Nicko's story that PNE will go big for Small and he is one of their key targets. Probably will play one of their wing roles there.

I wouldn't agree but you need to know how to manage them and get the best out of them. I think selling McTominary was a mistake and you look at his impact at Napoli and their title win.

Contributing more than Hedges is not a very high bar.

this shitshow of a window is off to a brilliant start

Small will sign for Preston i think. Really good player who i think if played on the right wing would contribute more than Hedges.

Buying young and developing them will just not work in the Premier League. If that is their policy they will at best be another yo-yo club.

Sancho is terrible. And Rashford is bad news.

Small is a a left back who has been playing right wing this season, whilst he can play at right back, it would be a very strange decision to sign a left footed player as a first choice right back. Personally think he would be a decent option further forwards, but unless someone is leaving at left back, signing him as a full back option makes little sense. Unless he has a burning desire to move back up north (He was born in the midlands but was originally a youngster at Everton before moving down south to Southampton then Charlton), I imagine he will sign for Millwall or similar

Alan Nixon saying that Rovers are close to sorting out a new contract for Brittain so us looking to sign Small from Charlton less important. Derby are battling Rovers for Batth signature

Guehi should be playing for top 6 team. Konsa has done well at Villa. Colwill and Branthwaite are developing and getting better. Tomori is playing for AC Milan and surprise a PL team hasn't looked to sign him

Fulham and Bournemouth only get promoted 3 seasons ago and what they have done is brought quality players and have a plan of what they would do. I don't get think Southampton bought well and I think Leicester seem not be able massively in the squad due to PL FFP. I expect Leeds will target 6 or 7 quality signings that fit into the current squad. Burnley need a couple of quality strikers. I suspect Sunderland will stick to their model of buying young players and developing them. They didn't spend loads of money around 5 mil last summer and in the winter window they turned Idisor loan into a perm move and signed Le Fee on loan which now they are promoted will turned into a permanent transfer for £20m I think Sunderland should stick to their plan which they had since their owner bought the club and appointed Speakman as Director of Football who background is youth development at Birmingham. I think they will spend around £40m after this permanent move for Le Fee for £20m cos of their promotion but they will buy young and develop them

Four seasons, Forest the year before Luton. Imagine if our seasons hadn't been routinely sabotaged half way through.

He did say the right things and he promised this disaster would happen before this summer when he can bring in specific players to fit his own system. He said things would get alot worse before getting better this summer, lets see if he is right. Just be clear, I wouldn't have appointed him in the first place cos his style of play, formation require a specific type of signing instead I would have appointed someone with PL experience and someone who mainly plays 4-2-3-1 formation whilst making a number of changes this summer squad wise but Sancho, Rashford and Mainoo would be part of my starting line up.

I honestly couldn't see Sunderland winning this match but Sheffield United seemed to go to pieces when Hamer went off injured. Credit to Sunderland for seizing the initiative but the game summed up the Championship to me. A few incidents aside there was very little quality with poor ball retention. I wasn't really bothered who won but good luck to Sunderland - they'll certainly need it. Their dilemma will be whether or not to throw money at it or just to be conservative and consolidate. It's a dilemma I'd love to have for Rovers.

All the talent in the World.Shame to see him now.

They are fortunate when it comes to support, good luck to them on that, but as one of only three league clubs in the whole north east of England it can’t lead to anything but a big fanbase. Compare and contrast to hemmed in Blackburn Rovers.

Made up for Sunderland fans...great level of Support,great History.

‘How much cheaper can we go’? We can always go cheaper here. Look at the absolute dross we had on the pitch in the late Bowyer era or under Coyle (him included).

Gav didnt say it was ‘impossible’ without parachutes, but he did say wasn’t going to happen ‘9/10’. However, last three seasons Luton, Ipswich and Sunderland have all done it without them. So, of course, it’s a very unfair system, but doable, especially for those clubs that spend year after year around the top end of the leag…oh

He is 16 years old, and last season (whilst still at school) was fairly regular for our U18s and also played for our U21s as well as being called up for Italy U17s, (although I do not think he has actually played at that level yet) For comparison, Harvey Higgins (who is also 16 and was still at school last season) played slightly less games at both U18 & U21 level, and is playing at England U16 level So purely looking at the stats, their development/potential/hype, are similar, albeit in different positions. wth us getting lucky with Higgins signing a scholarship deal, probably at least in part because he is a local lad who has been with us since U7s level, whilst we snapped Eze up from Accrington less than 7 months ago For a further comparison, both Igor Tyjon & Rory Finneran, featured more at all levels in the previous season (when they were both the same age as Higgins & Eze are now *) * obviously not perfect comparisons, as they play in different positions and 2 separate years

Or you deliberately string it along, saving yourself a few grand. As you say, it was ages for his signing to complete - but his contract expired at the end of June. I wouldn't be surprised if the board deliberately took as long as they did to save £20k or whatever he would have received in those weeks