They won1-0 against us in the same fixture last season, and we've lost a lot of players since then. Gallagher started on the right and Brereton on the left but they swapped and Brereton got more involved, while Gallagher won more headers on the left. Dolan looks out of his depth. Hard-working, and can lead a high pressing team in that sense, but offensively he lacks too many attributes to become a player for me. Ayala and Travis were both excellent. Also good to see how fired up Brereton was after he scored, working tirelessly. Brimming with confidence, and I hope he can continue his development this season. The team looks up for it, and looks ready for a dogfight if needed each and every game. Vital that this young group get rewarded by points on the board early doors. Seems like the dressing room atmosphere is good, and if we can add a little quality to the squad then we have a chance against most teams.

If Mowbray wants to send a signal to Obafemi that he's wanted here, there should be at least a dozen missed calls from Tony to him or his agent. Not looking likely, might just go to the highest bidder. Remember how Ferguson hijacked the Keane deal...

Obafemi will earn good money wherever he ends up. Is Idah totally out of the question on a perm (was it always only a loan option?) now that Armstrong has gone elsewhere?

Villa are finding it hard to do deals now that everyone knows they have cash after the Grealish sale. Keep it tight-lipped, nobody needs to know how much we have to spend other than the ones handling the dealings.

9 in 21

It's not £6m...

Gallagher would play through the middle if he could hit a cow's arse with a banjo.

If we manage to sign Obafemi and he's eligible for the weekend, then he needs to be in the squad. He's had a full pre-season, and if Mowbray can chuck Ayala straight into the team, then there's no reason to leave him out. A free transfer I would probably agree that he should assess his fitness before playing him.

Central def, central mid, central striker needed. Central midfield I think we need a player with a bit experience who knows when to hold the ball up and when to release it. Central defender I'd like a pacy defender who's quick on the turn to cover for Pickering who doesn't seem the quickest. Lenihan has decent pace but Nyambe is the one who saves us half the time. Harwood-Bellis should probably play another season in the Championship and did very well last season,. Barry Bannan has always impressed me when I've seen him play, but probably not available.

Don't mind an early exit here, we don't have the numbers to challenge on multiple fronts and need all men on deck for the tough league challenge that's ahead.

I'm sure his agent will take care of that on his behalf.

How exactly would his price tag determine his signing on fee one way or the other? I highly doubt Southampton will pay £20-21m for Armstrong should Obafemi choose to run down his contract or play for a different club than ours. One would hope the lad wants to play and prove himself in the early doors of his career, same as Armstrong did.

Asking price is £20m I think. Would have been £25m or more with a longer contract.

We're not picking players from the top shelf. Reportedly more clubs than us are after Obafemi so guess they must have seen something they like, or are we the true experts here? It's where we set the bar going forward. Unlike last season, there's no talk about promotion this season, just 'let's see how we go'. We ended 15th last season and have lost some key players since then. Who can we realistically attract to replace Armstrong? I think going back to the success we had with him makes sense in trying to sign Obafemi.

I think that's speculation at this point. If we get both deal over the line we'll have a 20-year-old promising striker on a longer contract with some cash to bolster the squad or take care of contractual issues. Seems apparent that we're low-balling our established players and hiding behind covid-19.

Lenihan might be looking to test his luck in the PL or for a promotion chasing Championship side. Nyambe has been mis-managed, same as Rothwell.

The added fee to Armstrong would have to be agreed. I'm sure it will all be undisclosed anyway, but probably closer to £3m than £6m I would think.

I think some are getting too caught up in the fee for Obafemi. Not looking like we'll get the full £20m for Armstrong so the true value of Obafemi would be less than the £5m or £6m reported, agreed? As long as both parties are happy with the deal, then that is what counts. If he tends to suffer muscle injuries then that's a bit of a worry at such a young age. Josh King has had a lot of niggling muscle issues as well, but it tended to better through the middle and now the latter parts of his playing career. I personally like the look of Idah at Norwich better, he has the 'total package' but then again I have seen a little more of Obafemi. Would I expect him to score 20+ goals this season? Definitely not. But if our front trio of Breo, Gallagher and Obafemi can chip in with 10+ goals each then that wouldn't be too shabby. Khadra and Dolan would be decent alternatives. The contract situation of some of our key players needs sorting, and we need someone in to challenge Ayala, although Pike could play RB and Nyambe move in centrally if needed. Central midfield looked good vs. Swansea, but Bucko and Travis will both be card collectors it seems.

£18m would be a club record, no?

A lot of negative guesses from the usual doom merchants in here. Let's see how the deal is structured before passing judgement, eh? Rovers were playing hardball with the fee and have managed to get teams bidding a substantial amount for an unproven player at the highest level with 12 months left of his contract. We need a direct replacement and Ewood should be an attractive proposition for Obafemi considering how Armstrong has matured his game under Mowbray. How they value Obafemi in this transaction is also to avoid leaving Newcastle with too much of the pie, so it doesn't matter if it's £3m or £6m as long as he ends up wearing the blue & white shirt in a few days.

Watkins went to Villa for £28m rising to £33m, Rhian Brewster to Sheffield United for £23.5m. West Ham flop Sebastien Haller to Ajax for £25m (West Ham bought him for £45m). Armstrong doesn't walk on water for me, but £15m isn't crazy money in the modern game.

No, it's not.

Shouldn't it be the other way around? Edit: That's probably what you meant. Keep the Armstrong fee relatively low and Obafemis price high but in reality based on our own valuations Obafemis price is lower than reported. If that makes sense 🙂

Tbh Armstrong is already 'cheap' with 12 months left on his contract, and Mowbray's got a point; lower league clubs are struggling big time financially while PL clubs are haggling over what is 'a few quid here and there' for them. A few quid probably equals to a few mill. It's obvious we need the money, I'll eat my hat if Armstrong isn't sold before the window shuts.

They'll get £15m at least for him.