Diedhiou contract

[BLRed]

1 minute ago, Selred said:

Szmodics covers Williams fee and the rest are frees and loans. 

Wages will still be a big thing and Fam being one of our higher earners balances the books somewhat when it comes to wages. Williams, Martin, brunt, Mawson and sessegnon can’t be cheap when it comes to wages

[redpole]

If Famara leaves and it’s a big IF!, I would like us to tap into our Coaches contacts and knowledge and try and sign a great up and coming striker either on loan or permanent. Someone like Folarin Balogun who has said he wants to leave Arsenal. 

[bcfc01]

30 minutes ago, GrahamC said:

Take your point but just for reassurance last season Weimann featured in 45 games out of 46, with just the positive Covid test spoiling his ever present record, Wells in 43 (for us & for QPR) & Martin in 35 for Derby, so if replicated in 20/21 that doesn’t leave much space for Semenyo, let alone another striker.

Doesn't stop Semenyo having 15-20 minutes here and there and the odd start if all goes well ?

 

[General Zod]

I’d be disappointed if we lost Fam.  He’s won me over the last couple of seasons.  A consistent source of goals,  one of our best defenders at set pieces, a popular member of the squad and he seems a nice guy.

I’d rather he signed a new contract and stayed but if that looks unlikely it’s time to move on.

[Davefevs]

56 minutes ago, And Its Smith said:

Adams will get plenty of game time with Southampton this season I think.  

I would use the next few games to really give Semenyo a chance and then decide if a new striker is needed. 

Yep, think we have 5 games between now and the window closing.  Could be 7 games.  The players break for Internationals after the 3rd October, so our concerns will be those going off on international duty.  That gives us time to confirm whether Holden was serious about Antoine staying put.

Overthinking it slightly but if we were looking at some succession planning (Weimann 29, Wells 30, Martin 31), we could do a lot worse than look at Macauley Bonne at Charlton.  I don’t think it would take much of a bid to secure him from Lg1), and at 25 next month, would be around for his peak years.

But hopefully Antoine has regained his confidence and becomes that genuine 4th striker option, should Fam go.

46 minutes ago, BOSRed said:

I would say DH mentioning FD has been offered a contract is simply a sound bite to show the club tried at least, as to not upset the fan base. Reality, like NE, he will be gone to the highest bidder.

i genuinely think Martin is his replacement and the club will put more faith in semenyo as 4th striker behind wells and weimann.

I think so too.  Resigned to him leaving.

[Olé]

Like others I also sadly think he's going or at least is still being touted around - I read absolutely nothing into Dean Holden's feedback about what Fam told him since returning, as I can't imagine a scenario where Fam would say anything but positive things to appease and please him. It's the agent who is paid to do the uncomfortable stuff. 

With that said, I'm still not convinced by Ligue 1 as his destination. Watching some of the prior interviews from Senegalese TV and looking at the career arcs of players who have moved from France, I'm not sure going back to that league, particularly a smaller club, would look like anything other than a backwards step vs the hype.

The Championship was and is seen as a step up unless you're talking about PSG, Lyon and a few others. He told one Senegalese channel he was looking to make it to the Premier League. On another he was talked up as going to Fenerbache and playing in Europe. Will be a bit odd to then sign for a small club in the league he came from.

[Port Said Red]

1 hour ago, mozo said:

Settled family is important but Dijon would be a great place to live for an upwardly mobile young family. 

Well placed isn't it? Places like Geneva and Basel, and Lyon not far away either. As far as wages are concerned, he could buy a really nice place in that area for a fraction of what it costs here. General cost of living is lower too.

[Prinny]

I think the most likely scenarios in order are

1) He stays and runs out his deal.

2) We sell him now if he gets an acceptable offer.

3) He waits until the end of the season and we match whatever deal he gets somewhere else and he stays.

4) He signs a contract now.

We want him to stay, but being realistic we want him to go now rather than running out his deal, so that's why we're keeping Semenyo here until we know for sure.

I'm not really comfortable with our four strikers being Wells, Martin, Weimann, Semenyo though.

[Ska Junkie]

If Fam does go, I wonder if we could tempt Josh Maja from Bordeaux? Just a suggestion.

[Davefevs]

13 minutes ago, Prinny said:

I think the most likely scenarios in order are

1) He stays and runs out his deal.

2) We sell him now if he gets an acceptable offer.

3) He waits until the end of the season and we match whatever deal he gets somewhere else and he stays.

4) He signs a contract now.

We want him to stay, but being realistic we want him to go now rather than running out his deal, so that's why we're keeping Semenyo here until we know for sure.

I'm not really comfortable with our four strikers being Wells, Martin, Weimann, Semenyo though.

I don’t think 1 and 3 are options for Bristol City.

[maxjak]

2 hours ago, Sturny said:

I think if FD & O'Dowda were sold it would more than cover this summer window's expenses. 

I've never been a huge fan of how defensively we use Famara too 

Careful what you wish for?  Fam would be very hard to replace, especially at short notice, we really need him to stay.  I believe you do not know what youv'e got.....till it's gone.  Off the cuff, who would you replace him with?

 

[Sturny]

1 minute ago, maxjak said:

Careful what you wish for?  Fam would be very hard to replace, especially at short notice, we really need him to stay.  I believe you do not know what youv'e got.....till it's gone.  Off the cuff, who would you replace him with?

 

I'm not wishing for them to leave! Just seeing a positive side if they were. I feel those two don't want to be here. 

I don't think we need to fill Famara's exact role, I'd welcome a shift in tactics. We've got other strikers to fill that position so I'm not worried about that. As for COD, he brought nothing to the table anyways 

[Davefevs]

5 minutes ago, maxjak said:

Careful what you wish for?  Fam would be very hard to replace, especially at short notice, we really need him to stay.  I believe you do not know what youv'e got.....till it's gone.  Off the cuff, who would you replace him with?

 

If it does transpire that Fam leaves, I believe Martin is the replacement.  Not saying we won’t bring anyone else in, but I don’t believe it will be someone of Fam’s “type”.

[LondonBristolian]

40 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

If it does transpire that Fam leaves, I believe Martin is the replacement.  Not saying we won’t bring anyone else in, but I don’t believe it will be someone of Fam’s “type”.

I think the major problem with finding someone of Fam's "type" is he's quite an unusual player and hard to pigeon hole. I don't know how many players who are similar to him there are but I agree that, if he goes, it will either mean Semenyo moves up the pecking order or a different type of striker comes in. The one thing we don't have amongst our current forward options is significant pace and I wonder if that's what we'd look for if Fam left and there were funds for another forward...

[Prinny]

1 hour ago, Davefevs said:

I don’t think 1 and 3 are options for Bristol City.

We don't get a choice about 1

And if 3 is impossible, him signing a contact now basically is too. Unless se above for reasons he'd actually sign one. He'll know via agents what he can get.

I'd imagine what is actually happening, is we want to keep him so have offered him the max we'll keep him at to him. But really both parties know that contract won't happen, so we're trying to find an acceptable offer that gets him out the door now.

And if the best offer we get is deemed less than a years worth of him playing, he'll stay anyway. I don't think anyone is doing anything wrong here either.  Just we're back in the same issue where a player does well enough to be a saleable asset one year before their contract is up, instead of two years, and it f's us. Caus the alternative is offering longer contracts which can also be terrible. Ashton Gate 8 for instance.

[Jerseybean]

3 hours ago, Eastside Moonwalker said:

Dijon have had a few ex championship players/former prem players. 

Had that Cardiff CB who was pretty pricy and decent, had 2 of the same last name from Gabon. 

Also have a decent Keeper

I'm sure they had those 2 Sunderland lads who were kicked out of Sunderland for going AWOL. Seem to be a bit of a hub for French speaking African players. Could see this happening

 

 

And their keeper is from Senegal 

[Phileas Fogg]

35 minutes ago, LondonBristolian said:

I think the major problem with finding someone of Fam's "type" is he's quite an unusual player and hard to pigeon hole. I don't know how many players who are similar to him there are but I agree that, if he goes, it will either mean Semenyo moves up the pecking order or a different type of striker comes in. The one thing we don't have amongst our current forward options is significant pace and I wonder if that's what we'd look for if Fam left and there were funds for another forward...

I've always thought he's quite an unusual player because his playing style doesn't really suit his physique and stature. He almost tries to play like a much smaller player if that makes sense. He's absolutely not a Dele Adebola style target man necessarily. He almost has more in common (stylistically) with Matty Taylor in many ways. Very unusual player to pidgeon hole. 

[maxjak]

43 minutes ago, LondonBristolian said:

I think the major problem with finding someone of Fam's "type" is he's quite an unusual player and hard to pigeon hole. I don't know how many players who are similar to him there are but I agree that, if he goes, it will either mean Semenyo moves up the pecking order or a different type of striker comes in. The one thing we don't have amongst our current forward options is significant pace and I wonder if that's what we'd look for if Fam left and there were funds for another forward...

Yes..........a pacy striker would be a good addition.

[Lrrr]

4 hours ago, Phileas Fogg said:

I appreciate a 3-5-2 allows us to modify the formation and use the likes of Paterson/Palmer in a 3-5-1-1 which may suit us given our amount of midfield personnel. 

Think we'd go for a box midfield with two 10's behind a striker rather than 3511

[Mr Popodopolous]

A problem with 3-5-2 is if you are the opposition, then you can really hinder a side by pinning back, overloading or isolating the wingbacks- of course if you have players comfortable with pulling wider in other phases- perhaps Moore to help out RWB, maybe Paterson in CM to pull left and help DaSilva this will work around it.

Palmer won't be applicable to the latter. Wingbacks are integral to the success or failure of a 3-5-2 though.

[JamesBCFC]

5 hours ago, Davefevs said:

I think from the google translation they are selling Julio Tavares, have already bought Panzo and Assale so look like they are splashing the cash.

Anyone know why they might suddenly be in the money?

Panzo will be a good signing for them

[Davefevs]

1 hour ago, Prinny said:

We don't get a choice about 1

And if 3 is impossible, him signing a contact now basically is too. Unless se above for reasons he'd actually sign one. He'll know via agents what he can get.

I'd imagine what is actually happening, is we want to keep him so have offered him the max we'll keep him at to him. But really both parties know that contract won't happen, so we're trying to find an acceptable offer that gets him out the door now.

And if the best offer we get is deemed less than a years worth of him playing, he'll stay anyway. I don't think anyone is doing anything wrong here either.  Just we're back in the same issue where a player does well enough to be a saleable asset one year before their contract is up, instead of two years, and it f's us. Caus the alternative is offering longer contracts which can also be terrible. Ashton Gate 8 for instance.

I’m not saying they aren’t options, I just don’t believe City will let it happen.  I don’t think many players would want to take the risk of sitting out a season either, making themselves look like a trouble maker when there’s a nice signing on fee and wage on offer.

Your second para, is exactly what I think.

re third para, extending his contract by just a year saves us £650k in amortisation this year, albeit adds it to next year instead.  That is why we can probably offer him a decent wage to extend.

12 minutes ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

A problem with 3-5-2 is if you are the opposition, then you can really hinder a side by pinning back, overloading or isolating the wingbacks- of course if you have players comfortable with pulling wider in other phases- perhaps Moore to help out RWB, maybe Paterson in CM to pull left and help DaSilva this will work around it.

Palmer won't be applicable to the latter. Wingbacks are integral to the success or failure of a 3-5-2 though.

As Dean said the other night,(paraphrased)  you have to shift as a team.  Nottingham Forest were brilliant last season at forcing you to go side and then really condensing that half of the pitch, and winning it back.  

12 minutes ago, JamesBCFC said:

Panzo will be a good signing for them

What about dear old Lenin or The Great Elmyra?

[Prinny]

9 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

I’m not saying they aren’t options, I just don’t believe City will let it happen.  I don’t think many players would want to take the risk of sitting out a season either, making themselves look like a trouble maker when there’s a nice signing on fee and wage on offer.

Your second para, is exactly what I think.

re third para, extending his contract by just a year saves us £650k in amortisation this year, albeit adds it to next year instead.  That is why we can probably offer him a decent wage to extend.

I don't see him sitting out.  Running out is just letting his contract tick down as he continues to play his part in the team. He's at worst 3rd striker when Martin is fit so it'd be stupid of us to "punish him" by not playing him either. There's (probably - global finances excluded)  a better signing on fee and wage in a years time by not signing a contract. I'd be very surprised if the Callum O'Dowda and LJ situation happens again  between Holden and Fam? They're both better humans IMO!

[Davefevs]

35 minutes ago, Prinny said:

I don't see him sitting out.  Running out is just letting his contract tick down as he continues to play his part in the team. He's at worst 3rd striker when Martin is fit so it'd be stupid of us to "punish him" by not playing him either. There's (probably - global finances excluded)  a better signing on fee and wage in a years time by not signing a contract. I'd be very surprised if the Callum O'Dowda and LJ situation happens again  between Holden and Fam? They're both better humans IMO!

If that’s the case, sign a deal for an extra year with a mutually agreeable release clause next summer.  Protects player and club.  

I’ll happily eat a humble pie (made of of rice paper ) if we let him run his contract down.  It is not the City way, and Holden eluded to this on a Monday.

To use O’Dowda as an example, just proves that City won’t let players with value run down their contracts.  Least of all a player who was the club’s record signing and is worth at least a few million.  So we carry on and pay him £600-750k in wages for the rest of the season, to let him go for nothing next summer.  I get the theoretical option, I just can’t see it happening.  As I said, humble pie has been added to my online Tesco shop.  I expect it will go past it’s best before date, before I need to eat it.

[Prinny]

53 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

If that’s the case, sign a deal for an extra year with a mutually agreeable release clause next summer.  Protects player and club.  

I’ll happily eat a humble pie (made of of rice paper ) if we let him run his contract down.  It is not the City way, and Holden eluded to this on a Monday.

To use O’Dowda as an example, just proves that City won’t let players with value run down their contracts.  Least of all a player who was the club’s record signing and is worth at least a few million.  So we carry on and pay him £600-750k in wages for the rest of the season, to let him go for nothing next summer.  I get the theoretical option, I just can’t see it happening.  As I said, humble pie has been added to my online Tesco shop.  I expect it will go past it’s best before date, before I need to eat it.

I accept the random 1 year covid caused extension as a real possibility. That makes some sense though it ultimately leads us back to this one year from now.

[YorkshireSection]

Angiers. 

[Major Isewater]

4 minutes ago, YorkshireSection said:

Angiers. 

Bless you. 

[YorkshireSection]

29 minutes ago, Major Isewater said:

Bless you. 

Merci le major

[Major Isewater]

Latest news  from France , Footsur7 say that Dijon haven’t spoken to City but that he could be signed for 6 million Euros. 
 

Reading between the lines his agent has been in touch with Dijon and I expect they will make official contact soon as they have been keeping tabs on FD.

As a side note the signing of Celina  from Swansea has gone through . He has accepted a four year contract.

[westex red]

Don't want Fam to leave, would have to replace him with a striker and a top defender, he fills both rolls!!