Well if we are making a signing pre Ipswich, you would guess today is the day as I imagine the squad will travel down tomorrow.

Would anyone else be underwhelmed if it was Waghorn?

Easy way to work this out...which forwards play with number 7 on their back? (We can probably rule Ronaldo out).

When is the deadline for a player to be eligible for Saturday's game?

Apologies. I should have added the rolls eyes emoji!

Not having that pal -info is clearly wrong. Nixon said we were looking at a cheap deal and loans...

Not sure there are many out there that fit the young with potential and established at champ level. Points to Sam Gallagher IMO. Clear we aren't looking abroad if champ experience is a criteria.

Palmer an upgrade on any of the 4 attacking loanees last year. Rothwell/Davenport not direct replace ments. Still 3 attacking players down.

It will be carnage after the weekend fixtures- especially for those that lose!

Nope!

Did Hugill not move for £8 million last January? Imagine wages will be high based on that so doesn't fit with our remit. Type of striker we need though.

Also, with his world cup reference and criteria for spending on young players with potential, sound like he is after players from the premier league fringes. Probably ones into the last year of their contract. On a side note. Very surprised that no one has taken a punt on Maddison from Posh yet.

If we only get 3 as reported, lets hope its not BAD

A gamble for sure. Two players that offer directness and pace. Both with young England honours and integrated very well with the rest of the squad but unproven at champ level. I doubt they are deals that we would ever lose money on.

Unless they were loans?

I'm not convinced he wasn't taking the pee either. That said, he's a niggly little git who occupies defenders constantly. And has scored at champ level. The niggly bit is something we don't currently have. On that basis, he'd be worth considering. Wouldn't take him above Armstrong though.

Agree with the last bit. Those would be great as a back up plan lol That said it also indicates missing out on his A list which is what we summised. Hence the lack of incomings.

I would imagine Chapman's stats for assists/goals versus minutes on the pitch are decent though.

Not sure about that tbh. He's admitted that we've been outbid on some and he'd rather have his B list targets - than D list targets. That would indicate that we've missed out on the players we wanted. That said, if the likes of Chapman and Armstrong are on the C list, we should be better off!!

I enjoy reading you posts Mani - often written from a perspective of being more involved within the game than I. The buying the best value - be it loans or permanent - I get. I get the all encompassing budget and picking battles etc. However, surely any formulated plan/approach to procuring players with this budget, would start with the weakest area. By TM's admission, this has been top end of the pitch. The first 2 signings (which we have spent a chunk of our budget on) haven't addressed the weakness as we had players in those positions -not great but not the biggest weakness. The widely talked about keeper at the beginning of the close season - not a priority. The CB target that has rumbled on - not a priority (I think we need one but not essential - or wasn't until we loaned out Wharton!). So I would have thought we would have addressed the forward options before looking at any of these others. Spent what was needed/we could afford (even if loans) then move on to the 'lesser' positions. The longer the window goes on, the less we look like we have any kind of plan. Especially given he had a list of targets drawn up at the end of last season that were just awaiting budget clearance from Venkys. I understand the window has not closed and hope I will be pleasantly surprised - (along with the circa 1000 extra ST holders that Waggot believes our exciting signings will attract). But I just can't escape the feeling that somewhere over the last couple of months, this window/budget/list of targets/plan has gone tits up. Perhaps, as others have mentioned, we needed to offload a few and that hasn't happened?

Yeah...and none of them were loans?

Pragmatic ?

I agree with that last part. I think they expected to do better than they have transfer wise (so far).

I understand about the idea of quality we can't afford and agree to the logic to some extent. For me though, this comes back to the club being honest about the situation. As others mentioned, There have been attacking players out there that have gone for reasonable money. What do you class as 'forwards' as we seem reluctant to buy wingers/strikers. Or anyone that can't play midfield or defence. Last year (and this close season) we were told there is always the opportunity to pursue these players when the loan finishes (or words to that effect). Effectively, you are saying we could never afford them - in which case those statements are untrue. Following this point, if the manager/directors claim to be happy with the budget (it's competitive etc) thrn surely that budget should allow for the purchase of a permanent, contracted forward as well as any loans? You would also think, that whilst attacking players are more expensive to buy, the rewards financially are much greater in terms of resale. The owners will have seen this through Gestede, Rhodes, Cairney and Dack's current value. You told us that Venkys have always been willing to spend. So surely our model should be to pick up some of these higher value players along the way permanently? - by this, I don't mean players over £5 million but good value -like Armstrong. Ultimately, there is still a lack of transparency at the club. If we can't afford forwards, just say so. No need to spin it or cover up what is becoming increasingly obvious. Likewise you can't say the owners are willing to spend, as clearly there is a (low) limit on that.

On that basis and given how highly you rate Palmer, it's unlikely you will be impressed with any future permanent signing. Get behind the lads ffs ?