JCRovers

Problem is, we´re not in a very strong negotiation position (despite Szmodics having two years left on his contract) given our very limited transfer budget, player potentially becoming unsettled + lacking match fitness and the fact that the team urgently needs strengthening in several areas (primarily GK, LB, CM and two pacey wingers on either side). If he gets injured in training or match that rules him out for a couple of weeks or even months, are we then supposed to fill those gaps with only loanees/free transfers? What kind of a squad will you have for next season given that many of our current players only has 1 year left on their contract? The more the negotiations drags on, the bigger the risk for the club given the situation. Only real signings so far has been Gueye and Ohashi; both unproven at Championship level but hopefully successful ones. The rest are just panic buys on a free to fill up the numbers (even if Weimann has the ability to chip in with a goal or two).

I would argue that we need more than 5 signings (loan/permanent) since there´s a lack of pace not only across the entire backline but throughout the squad, something that the club hasn´t really addressed for the past few years. Think the scouting department has done a decent job in identifying targets overseas that can do a job but the team responsible for contracts/negotiations (Waggott et. al) has been abysmal (McFadzean, Cooper, Szmodics, De Lange). They may have solved the experience bit but the team is still not able to play with a high pressing line against weaker opponents due to reason stated earlier. It´s a team being set up to defend with a low block with the hope that any long ball will reach Gueye and that any of the wide forwards/midfielders pick up the scraps that comes off it. Might work against bigger teams in the league like we saw at the end of last season but they will struggle to get any results against weaker opponents who prefer a more direct approach with low block + counter-attacks. An even more concerning issue is that the club/owners/CEO hasn´t been transparent as to why there´s no transfer budget this window; all reports from LT suggested that there´s no longer an issue with FFP after the Wharton sale and that there would be money to spend in the summer. Is the pending court case a factor? If so, why hasn´t it been communicated to the fans? Waggott says no according to today´s interview but I find that hard to believe given the fact that we weren´t even prepared to pay 2M Euros for De Lange (no surprise that the deal got hijacked by Marseille in the end). I also find it rather unbeliveable that the Szmodics situation hasn´t been resolved for over three weeks; not only does it stop us from replacing him but it has (probably) made the player unsettled and lacking match fitness ahead of the new season. Szmodics sale is vital for the club near term; if it doesn´t get resolved within the next week or so, they´re in for real trouble.