BBC Sport @ BBCSport 7m7 minutes ago
John Obi Mikel looks set to leave Chelsea to join the Chinese Super League
van Dyke is going nowhere in January according to Les…
Originally posted by @Optimus-trousers
Sourced from Daily Echo article
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He oversees the hiring and firing of managers, the club’s recruitment policy and the direction of the football side of things from the top to the bottom.
The Daily Echo’s chief sports writer Adam Leitch met him in his Staplewood office for a half term report on this season.
Here is what he had to say, starting with the January transfer window…
Virgil is not for the sale.
We haven’t had any bids and if we got any bids we wouldn’t consider them because it just doesn’t make sense to think we would release Virgil van Dijk in midseason when we have still got, we believe, all to play for.
There haven’t been any enquiries but certainly the status of him at the moment is that he is simply not for sale.
The way we operate in the transfer windows has always been the same.
January is a very difficult window because it’s a panic window, and players who are available in January are available for a reason.
Unless you are going to break all kinds of transfer records, or you’re the type of club that has the finances to do that, whatever you do you are going to pay over the top and probably for a player you would rather not have because the guy you want is not going to be available.
Our focus is that we don’t panic and we are not tempted to patch things up, but we do have a situation where if an opportunity did arise and we could improve the squad then we would consider it on its merits at the time.
We have a consistent 1,000 players on our database churning over that we are monitoring 365 days a year, so it’s not like we come to a window and go ‘right, who’s around?’
We know what we would like to do to improve this squad, both for now and from now on for the next few years, but it’s always a question of availability, and availability at the right price, and whether the player would come to the club.
Les Reed on whether transfer policy is dictated by potential Chinese investment in the club…
No. As I explained is exactly how we operate and we will continue to do that.
There is no other influence on us other than our own ambition and our own ability to get out of the January transfer window what we can.
It may be nothing because as I explained it is such a difficult window, and usually players are available because they are not wanted and therefore we don’t want to buy somebody else’s problems for a short term fix. We want to invest in our long term future.
If we can do that in January we are open minded to it. If we can’t we are not just going to throw money at something because we lost three games and feel we need to be seen to doing something.
You won’t see us on Sky Sports saying we are bidding for every player around the country and then land nobody.
If we do anything we will do our business quietly, under the radar, as we did with Charlie (Austin) last year. That’s our method, that’s our model, it hasn’t changed and it’s not going to change.
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POSITIVITY ALERT!
Could we perhaps now discover that VVD is fed up with carrying an underperforming Jose who moans all the time, and will be far happier without him there?
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BBC Sport
@BBCSport 5m5 minutes agoMoussa Dembele is on West Ham’s wishlist - but they’ll have to pay £30m for him
Panic buying in the January transfer window?? Paying over the odds??
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Well, we once had the Latvian Michael Owen, how about we sign the Senagalese, erm, Sadio Mané.
Linked with 26-year-old Osmanlispor attacking midfielder Papa Alioune Ndiaye (17 goals in 62 games from midfield) whose speed on the ball is said to be reminiscent of Mané’s.
His national manager said this of him…
We [Senegal] have players who have proved a great success in the Premier League but I firmly believe Papa could make a greater impact than the others.
Tancredi Palmeri @ tancredipalmeri 1h1 hour ago
Southampton have contacted Napoli for Gabbiadini. Wolfsburg being still ahead to sign him
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Interesting.
Well, he’s normally very well connected to Italian football.
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Here’s one from left field
Get French Football
@GFFN 1h1 hour agoSouthampton are heavily considering a move for Liverpool central defender Mamadou Sakho. More follows.
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According the Le Figaro, we’ve shown an interest in Liverpool’s Mamaduo Sakho.
Personally, I’ve seen him look both immense and like he’s never played the game before.
Not sure we need one of those.
Originally posted by @Optimus-trousers
Sourced from Optimus trousers’ RSS Feed rss feed
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| Saints ready to step up Gabbiadini interesta day ago |…laconically originated by Optimus trousers…beta v1.9 - now with EXTRA pictures!
Bletch, didn’t you check out Big Bletch-scooping Bob’s post before you posted yours? Standards, dear boy, standards.
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Hopefully
Maybe Bazza can confirm as he seems to be ITK these days apparently…
£30m. Didn’t Celtic get him on a free transfer only 6 months ago?
Sakho - please god no!
I have unaffectionately nicknamed him Mamadou ‘Second Touch Is A Tackle’ Sakho. He looks so ungainly and resembles a heavy weight boxer more than he does a footballer!
But then again, who am I to question the ‘Black Box’?!
bit of a racist nickname for the fella there, Simon.
How so?
Originally posted by @Simon-says
How so?
I think the hilarious chubby one is referring to your use of the quotes around ‘black box’.
But I’m only guessing.
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I presumed How So was some joke about a mate of Yoshida’s.
This place is going downhill faster than the Slimmer’s World bobsleigh team.
How high is a Chinaman?
Almost but not quite…
The Celtic striker joined the club from Fulham last summer for a compensation fee of £500,000, and has been in stunning form for the Scottish champions.
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If this happens, it’ll be difficult to swallow…
Originally posted by @Optimus-trousers
Sourced from Daily Echo article
GOSSIP: Ex-Saints star Schneiderlin to undergo medical at Everton
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Ex-Saints star Morgan Schneiderlin is set to undergo a medical at Everton later today, according to a national newspaper.
Schneiderlin, who could be reunited with his former manager at Saints, Ronald Koeman, if a deal goes through, has played just 11 minutes of Premier League football under Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho.
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