QuincyAbeyie Clrnc feels like both situations are subjective in how you interpret them. Ultimately, I'd be surprised if Nico Williams joins us.

preparing to advance fc.

given how dusty partey looks, skimping out on midfield might not be the best move

I've been thinking for a while that Johan Bakayoko will end up being our forward signing just from process of elimination.

Gazza M what you mean skimping out?

Claudius He means not reinforcing adequately in midfield. "Skimpy" is a synonym of "scanty" with a rich tradition of use as a noun to refer to half-dressed women bartenders down under.

Burnwinter Or might Claudius mean that signing Merino doesn't represent skimping out, in his opinion?

Coombs I think he’s an excellent addition. And will age out as our young guns mature into starters. The signing makes a lot of sense in terms of present quality and signalling to Ethan and Skelly

Coombs True, Claude might've meant that.

Seems the elite regista everyone agrees we'd benefit from isn't really on the market, so it's all a bit moot.

Gazza M okay, so who is available

God no

Claudius ah the old 'if the tolly scouts don't have a name, then there's no-one available' chesnut

Gazza M actually, there is so much information on transfers (even shared here daily) that we have a very good understanding of who is in play and who isn’t. For example, we know the 5-6 first team players from our team who are potentially available for transfer.

So who is available that you guys believe we should secure ?

Gazza M

It's a perfectly reasonable question. If you want something, name it.

varela could be an option

Gazza M if you can't then Merino is surely the best available midfielder on the planet.

Line of logic doesn't make sense - even if there's no one else available, it still doesn't change the fact that we're missing a critical ingredient and will have to somehow circumvent the issue.

Mirth

Sure, but it can stop the fanbase from using it as a stick to beat management with.

QuincyAbeyie

Now we've got Rice himself, the remaining "Rices" for our midfield are a very short list.

Better at 6 than Jorginho or Partey, or worth shifting Rice to 6 to bring in at 8, or (hollow laugh) somehow better than Ødegaard at 8. League ready, as far under 30 as possible, with low overheads and risks of adaptation and development.

Zubimendi, De Jong, Kimmich, Locatelli, Guimaraes are almost (if not entirely) ruled out as unavailable, disinclined, crocked or too old, unless we do a madness like offering PIF £150m: the Gulf monarchy equivalent of shipping coal to Newcastle.

The "Trossard" is someone like Merino, or could've been a player like Luiz and Onana but they've already moved. Good squad depth but quite likely not starters. I'd be happy to sign Merino but it'd be a benefit, not a transformation.

The "Salibas" might be a broader category. Fellas like Wharton who are already overpriced, or random tyros I just wouldn't know of, or Nwaneri. None of them would be highly likely to help us win the title in 2025.