Its the 1st of June, here's how I play the role of SD.....

A hypothetical one from me, but decisions are starting to be made.....

Good Afternoon Ladies and Gents,

Today I am playing the role of Sporting Director, its the 1st of June, the Premier League season has come to a close and I have some transfer activity to conclude….

Have we qualified for the Champions League or the Europa League? That plays a big part in these decisions, I am doing this on the basis that we qualify for Champions League football but I will provide an alternative transfer target for if we play in either of the lesser competitions.

Today I am building my squad for the 25/26 season, signing 6 players and selling a load more! I am trying to keep it realistic in terms of targets and fees paid/sold, also keeping to links/rumours where I can.

So here we go. Incomings;

Goalkeeper

The goalkeeper department as a whole is a shambles in the club right now and to be honest I am not massively thrilled by any feasible and realistic options.

Main Option; Mike Maignan

Maignan has had a bit of a dip this season but is still a world class keeper, he has 1 year left on his deal and could be available for a really good fee.

Alternative ; Jordan Pickford

He is very marmite for most people, the thing for me with Pickford is he makes defences feel comfortable as he isn’t afraid to take the pressure off, whether thats by a commanding piece of goalkeeping or a long ball to relieve pressure. A good stop gap in my opinion.

Centre Back #1

There are an abundance of options and players we have been linked with and to be honest I like all of the names we have been linked with in this position, but, my overriding my thought is that we need a dominant and physically imposing centre back that ideally has leadership traits as well.

Main Option; Jonathan Tah

Tah is the perfect defender for what I believe we require. Imposing, Physical, Tall, Strong, Good Passer, A Leader and Top Mentality.

Alternative; Jarrad Branthwaite

Branthwaite is superb and I would love to see us sign him this summer, he has everything you look for in a defender and albeit he is still very young he has loads of experience.

Centre Back#2

If we can sign the physically imposing and dominant centre back I crave, I still believe we need another to compliment our back line, I would be really happy with either Huijsen or Branthwaite, at this moment I believe Huijsen has the higher ceiling slightly but both will be top level centre halves for the next 10 years

Main Option; Dean Huijsen

He reads the game so well, steps in to intercept really cleverly and has adapted really well to the physicality of the premier league. His 50m release clause is also a huge plus point for a player of that quality.

Alternative; Jarrad Branthwaite

Mentioned above what I think of him.

Left Back

This is a tricky one because I still have a feeling that we will have a different manager come next season, but for now I am basing this on Maresca’s current system where the full back will either invert into midfield or part of the back 3.

Main Option; Castello Lukeba

A superb young defender, he has so many good attributes that would help him flourish in this role, plays LB or CB usually is 6ft1in, seems like a perfect fit.

Alternative; Jorrel Hato

Very similar profile to Huijsen/Lukeba, a multi-faceted defender who has the ability to play CB/LB. Btilliant at stepping in and winning the ball, carrying it forward and a top passer.

Left Winger (Right Footed)

The other position I really sutrggled with choosing a target, I’m just not sold massively by some of the options and a couple of the heavily rumoured players I know for a fact we wont sign so didn’t want to include them.

Main Option; Bradley Barcola

This is a pipe dream, but he has been stuck on the bench for PSG a lot recently and changed agents just last week, which is usually a big sign to someone who could be looking to move on. He is sensational and would be the perfect signing for us.

Alternative; Jamie Bynoe-Gittens

I am far from sold on Gittens yet to be honest, it seems likely to happen for a rumoured 35m fee, but more likely to be an unofficial swap deal including Chukwuemeka. A decent player with potential but not one that gets me off my seat.

Striker

Arguably the most important position we sign this summer, another position where there isn’t a wide variety of options in my opinion.

Main Option; Victor Osimhen

I think he is the most obvious candidate for multiple reasons, prior interest, box finisher, loves the club, the list goes on and on/

Alternative; Jean-Phillipe Mateta

The right profile of striker, I was tempted by the likes of Sesko, Delap etc but just having that bit more experience made me lean towards Mateta

Outgoings (reasonable/realistic fees)

Sanchez - 15m

Penders - Loan, Strasbourg

Kepa - 5m

Petrovic -30m

Chilwell - 10m

Disasi - 20m

Badiashile - 20m

Veiga - 30m

Chalobah - 20m

Anselmino - loan

Gilchrist - 10m

Humphreys - 10m (Obligation triggered)

Samuels-Smith - Good Loan required! 1st team year after

Wiley - Loan

Ugochukwu - 25m

Dewsbury-Hall - 20m

Chukwuemeka - 30m

Nkunku - 40m

Felix - 35m

Sancho - 20m

Kellyman - 10m

Amougou - Loan

Paez - Loan

Guiu - Loan

Broja - 10m

Sterling - 20m

Total sales - 380m

I am torn with what to do with Fofana and Madueke for two very different reasons, Fofana’s injury woes continue and at this point it looks really unlikely he will ever recover from them. I am willing to keep hold for another year as his value has already decreased so much that it cannot go any lower if more injuries are round the corner. That’s heart over head as I love the player when fit. With Madueke, there is certainly a player in there, but at the minute it’s a very inconsistent player who has attitude problems for me. For now I keep him but only because I dont think we get to a point where we’re making 7/8 signings this summer.

25/26 Squad

Maignan

Jorgensen

Bettinelli

James

Gusto

Acheampong

Tah

Huijsen

Colwill

Fofana

Tosin

Cucurella

Lukeba

Caicedo

Lavia

Santos

Fernandez

Dario Essugo

Palmer

George

Estevao

Madueke

Neto

Barcola

Jackson

Osimhen

I like to do one of these once every few months to take into account any changes or stories we hear and any players who change my opinions on them, this has been very similar to my previous ones, with 4 games to go its unlikely my opinion changes further.

There is obviously a hypothetical and football manager approach to this, but I dont see it to unrealistic to sign 6 players in these positions to make the squad really strong. I would argue we potentially could do with a more physical DM.

Watching the PSG game lats night really made me jealous of how good a young project can look, lets hope we can turn a corner and make waves like them!!

Let me know your thoughts and transfer suggestions on the players/positions as well as my suggestions!

Thanks for reading

Luke Rushbrook