KegCity

Both Roberts and McCrorie are predominantly full backs/centre backs and I don’t particularly want to see square pegs in round holes. Benarous may be a bonus but until he is back playing first team football can’t be relied upon. We were a player light in midfield when HNM went out on loan last season, we’ll be in the same position when Scott goes now Knight has arrived. I don’t expect us to go out and spend big but we need one more in there.

Newman is down the gate a lot for a variety of reasons. Scott and Semenyo were both on their radar since January. If they won't pay over 30 for JWP, who has bags of Premier League experience I'd be very surprised if they pay similar for a player who doesn't. West Ham's priority will be players to keep them in the Premier League over potential.

Surely we will? Lacking numbers in centre mid and the numbers we have got aren't the most reliable. We need 30+ games from James and Williams each, that's assuming Naismith is playing in midfield. All it takes is Williams' hamstring to go again and we're seeing Andy King play every week.

Quite happy with 25 million, just hope we bring in another midfielder otherwise I think we're lacking some depth.

It might be nostalgia but I always liked the Puma kits. I think Adidas made ok kits as well but their supply issues were awful.

That’s the problem though, it is essentially the same as several other clubs. It’s bland and not particularly unique. If we’d just used the robin from the design I think it would be a lot better.

Tanner is a great player, seems to go under the radar a little bit with our other young players. Great to have competition for places but was looking forward to watching him again this season.

Scott is low down the list for West Ham. He won’t be going there.

Having read that HMM is a waste of space for the last 12 months I really am shocked that Burnley offered him a deal. Must be more to playing centre midfield than scoring goals!

It's off topic but I really liked Taylor Moore when he first arrived, looked competent and keen to take responsibility which is a great trait in a young centre back. Didn't he ask to be captain after wearing the armband in a cup match? Agree about confidence, became scapegoat for a lot of defensive errors that were really those of other players (he was a victim of Kalas's defensive leadership). Not sure if he'd have made it here but like many of the young players we signed in that era, such as HNM, he certainly wasn't helped by the people around him.

Had plenty of time to go on holiday before pre season started, it’s unprofessional.

Agree. There’s been a lot of talk about player commitment and “being on the bus” since Pearson’s arrival and Kalas clearly isn’t fully committed to the club. Completely understand why he wants to assess his options but he’s missing out on preseason because he’s looking for a better deal.

That’s what’ll happen, whether it’s wolves or Bournemouth that break first. Think it was worth holding on to see who else would get involved.

It’s off topic but Semenyo wasn’t really carrying us while he was here was he? Had brilliant moments but was up and down.

Comments like this, his idea that the fans thought he only played because his dad operated on Gary Johnson, and him not being arsed enough to write a goodbye message when he left, shows he doesn’t hold City in the same regard as the fans do him. Thanks for the goals against the Gas and Swindon, hope he gets a bit of stick when he comes back (as any opposition player should).

I see. So nothing that actually forces our hand.

Genuine question: what can Scott do about it if we reject a bid?

After spending 8 years with the club (in his most recent spell) and being part of a transfer saga every summer where Palace put a price tag on him and stuck to their guns, so yes it is.

They are, and if Bayern meet Levy's extortionate valuation (100+ million for a player with one year of their deal left!) then he will go. Last summer we saw Man City refuse to meet Spurs' valuation. Despite Kane not turning up for training and trying to get his move Levy didn't budge, Kane decided it wasn't prudent for his career to not play for a season and got on with it. They're a bigger club than us but still have their place in the chain of selling players. Again, would wish Scott well if someone meets our valuation, would be disappointed if we fold to an offer much lower than 25 million when there's plenty of time in the window and he has two years on his deal.

I'm not silly enough to say we shouldn't sell anyone, I understand the financial climate etc, but it's all down to the contract length. Bigger players than Scott have thrown their toys out the pram for a move but when the club have the contract on their side there's not a lot a player can do. Zaha has tried and failed (with Phil Alexander as the clubs' CEO), as has Kane. Don't think Scott would do that mind and I think Bournemouth will get close enough to our price tag to get the deal done so it doesn't matter.

God forbid we play hardball with big clubs.

Exactly. If he decides the first team isn’t for him anymore, and nobody submits a suitable bid, he’d be welcome to kick rocks in the under 23s. We’ve seen bigger players such as Kane try and force moves by not training etc but when they have years on their deal it’s down to the club alone. I don’t think it would ever come to that though.

By doing what? Refusing to play?

I guess we just have different views on it. I think that that sort of fee would be much more beneficial to the squad than keeping Alex, I also think a 30% reduction in price would be poor business from the club when he has two years on his deal and there’s plenty of time in the window. Phil Alexander has been in a similar situation when at Palace with Zaha, nobody met their valuation and Zaha is still with Palace. I would be surprised and disappointed if he folded this early in the window but we’ll see how it plays out.

There's room for negotiation, say to 22, and then there's giving around a 30% discount on a player to 18. We don't need nor want to sell, it would be very disappointing and a strange business decision to fold to a considerably lower fee than the one repeatedly quoted in the press with this much time left in the window. 6 hours left? I get it. 6 weeks? Makes no sense and reeks of desperation to sell which I haven't seen any evidence of so far.