The Pre-Summer-2017 transfer rumours and hearsay all inclusive Thread

[JFK-1 1,693]

... we have supposedly offered 800k for Walker, but Hearts declined.

 

At the end of the day Walker himself will force their hand. It's more than obvious he doesn't want to be there even for the same money he might get with us. They would be foolish to hold on to a player who doesn't want to be there and would potentially play at less than 100% then go for free.

 

I think they may be dragging it out to satisfy their followers that every last possible penny was squeezed out of it.

Edited July 18, 2017 by JFK-1

[Dave M609 100]

... we have supposedly offered 800k for Walker, but Hearts declined.

Yeah I would leave it at that, that's enough for a player you can get for nothing in January, as JFK has said, the player can now force Hearts by putting in a transfer request and they will probably sell, either that or they are going to be paying for a guy for a whole season that doesn't want to be there and they have a stand to pay for

[Darthter 542]

While I agree with your opinion to a great extent there's also a bit of me that feels if the manager thinks Walker could be the final piece in the jigsaw then we have to get him in before the start of the season.

 

What is he worth? Say 500K? Transfer market rates him at 750K So for the sake of another 250K we could be going into the season weaker than we otherwise might have been. We seriously need to hit the ground running hopefully taking all points before the visit of the unmentionables and if Walker is the key to that an extra 250K is worth it.

 

But is one single player THAT imperative to the whole team??? Could Walker really be the missing link, that turns a team into league winners??? What happens if he gets injured/suspended???

 

There has to be a balance between requirement & cost. For the sake of a few month, the team that PC has assembled SHOULD be strong enough to perform until the new year, where we get Walker on a Pre-Contract, then offer peanuts for him.

[JFK-1 1,693]

But is one single player THAT imperative to the whole team??? Could Walker really be the missing link, that turns a team into league winners??? What happens if he gets injured/suspended???

 

I don't know if he's that imperative, above my pay grade as Warburton might say. But there are many teams out there who aren't the same machine when one key player is missing. From a Rangers perspective the loss of Terry Butcher with a broken leg one season very possibly cost us 10 in a row.

 

And if it turned out he was that imperative to what the manager has in mind and were injured then that's the breaks because as it stands we don't have the resources to bring in equivalent or near equivalent quality for every position.

 

But I think if the extra cost amounts to little more than a couple of hundred K we need to bite the bullet and go for it. Can't afford to be lacking a player who may make a title challenge feasible for the sake of relatively little.

 

The first half of the campaign will be crucial. We need to be still in it by January and if Pedro thinks Walker may be key to that another 200K is worth it.

Edited July 18, 2017 by JFK-1

[cooponthewing 1,139]

But is one single player THAT imperative to the whole team??? Could Walker really be the missing link, that turns a team into league winners??? What happens if he gets injured/suspended???

 

There has to be a balance between requirement & cost. For the sake of a few month, the team that PC has assembled SHOULD be strong enough to perform until the new year, where we get Walker on a Pre-Contract, then offer peanuts for him.

 

100% agree with you Darthter. We should have no hesitation in waiting a few months and give Hearts peanuts. They have tried to milk this for all they can. The offer of 800k was way above what he is worth in the last year of his contract imo.

 

I would actually withdraw the offer and go back to 500k. If they don't want it, fine. They can take 250k in Jan or nothing in the summer.

[Dave M609 100]

Its difficult to say if he would be worth the gamble, 12 goals last season, that can be invaluable from a player, I would leave the 800k on the table if that's what we offered, don't go any higher, I see they are in the papers saying how good he is trying to generate interest to drive up the price, if there is only one place he wants to go then it will be difficult for them.

The thing that is worrying is our complete ineptitude in front of goal, the bounce game is still 0-0 at HT and by the sounds of it, rangers have been average with a strong team, I'm hoping that its just a case of building the players up in time for the start of the season but I would prefer a striking option to be priority

[jhunter 0]

While I agree with your opinion to a great extent there's also a bit of me that feels if the manager thinks Walker could be the final piece in the jigsaw then we have to get him in before the start of the season.

 

What is he worth? Say 500K? Transfer market rates him at 750K So for the sake of another 250K we could be going into the season weaker than we otherwise might have been. We seriously need to hit the ground running hopefully taking all points before the visit of the unmentionables and if Walker is the key to that an extra 250K is worth it.

 

christ if he thinks that we're in even deeper shit than i first thought

[craig 5,199]

Northampton have just confirmed the signing of Crooks

[Tannochsidebear 2,429]

I can't opine on whether anyone is doing their jobs properly or not in terms of contract negotiations or fees paid, but I do agree we seem to have a poor track record in getting decent fees for players.

 

In the case of McKay however, it seems we are selling a player who has proven he's not good enough to play for us. By the same token, we appear to be taking a risk on a player who may be good enough. I think that's probably worth more money on the face of it. The problem with the McKay situation is that we all know he has the potential, but for some reason appears to be disintersted in too many games. I thought he'd turn out to be a real star for us and I'm bitterly disappointed at his apparent poor attitude. I think most other teams have identified that too, and hence the reason for the low transfer fee. Really disappointing though!

 

I disagree on McKay, I think he is the one player who was in our squad that was capable of producing something last season. Granted it didnt happen often enough, but that happens with 21yo wingers whose best days are most certainly ahead of him. I think it was hard for him to focus when so many assists he set up were missed, or when he was ready to put the ball into a scoring area, nobody was there. This happened dozens of times last season under 3 different managers.

 

I thought McKay last season was like watching Lewis McLeod in his final season with us, he was the only player on the park who was going to entertain you on any given matchday, and looked head and shoulders above the other players. Another we sold for nowhere near his value (value at the time, injuries have of course changed that since).

 

I would say Walker has shown nothing to indicate he MAY be good enough FOR US. Of course if he comes in, I wish him all the best and will give him my full support, but I dont think I am going to see a better player than the one we let go, even though we paid more for him, and he will be on a lot more wages than McKay was offered to stay. If he signs, and he makes me forget about McKay, I will be a very happy bear indeed!

[Tannochsidebear 2,429]

Northampton have just confirmed the signing of Crooks

 

Good. Hopefully we can now get rid of the rest of the lower league dross that should never have been signed.