24.08.2016: Departures and Arrivals
Das Original findet ihr auf fmbolton.wordpress.com (https://fmbolton.wordpress.com/)
The board gave me a 30M € transfer budget to go shopping for survival in the Premier League. With still 145M € of debts I wanted to approach the market in a cautious way and look for quality players to strengthen the squad without spending too much money on fees and wages. I further constrainted myself to look for players not older than 25 years and with at least some basic English skills. Unfortunately, we neglected our scouting in the last season due to the transfer embargo so that I didn't have access to a comprehensive database.
With one more week to go in the transfer window, let's have a look at the departures and arrivals so far.
Departures
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Liam Feeney was one of the best players last year, but quite early in 2016 I made the difficult decision to not renew the contract due to his exorbitant wage demands. Maybe his agent doesn't make the best moves for Liam because at the end of August he is still without a new club.
Dean Moxey was a solid left back in the Championship, but he is already 30 years old and in the last year of his contract, which I didn't plan to renew anyway. The decision to use the last chance to cash in on him and sell him to Hearts was made after two new left backs had arrived.
I expect 2-3 more players to leave before the end of the transfer window because I don't have any plans for Francesco Pisano and can't guarantee Oscar Threlkeld the minutes he wants and needs. I promised Derik Osede to let him go to another club for an appropriate transfer fee because he played only a few matches last season, but despite interest from some sides from the Football League and Italy, so far he hasn't found anybody to meet his wage demands. The agent of our prima donna, Zach Clough, made it clear to me that his client won't sign a new contract with Bolton Wanderers and wants to leave to a bigger club as soon as possible, but it seems that other managers don't see what I see in him because I haven't received any offer for the young lad.
Arrivals
Despite promotion, my attempts to bring real quality to Bolton have been frustrating in most cases. Our best player of the last season, Wellington Silva, didn't receive a new contract from his parent club Arsenal, but instead of rejoining us, he prefers to insist on outrageous wage demands and enjoys his time as a free agend like Liam Feeney. I publicly declared my interest to sign Bournemouth striker Benik Afobe, who would love to join our side, but the relegated Cherries don't want to negotiate a transfer. Arsenal accepted my loan offer for Jack Wilshere, but it was beneath his dignity to play for Bolton again. Fulham striker Cauley Woodrow snubbed my offer and joined West Bromwich Albion. Hull City accepted my offer for Uruguayan striker Abel Hernandez and we even agreed on reasonable contract terms, but then he didn't receive a work permit!
However, I was still able to negotiate some good transfers.
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24-year-old Paul Dummett joined us for a fee of 1.1M € from Newcastle United, where he was only a backup and therefore happy to hear from my interest in his services. Paul was one of my favourite choices to strengthen our defence because he is a versatile defender, who can play as a left back but also as a central defender.
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Since the squad depth on the left back position was one of my major worries during last season, I wanted to not only sign one new player but two to have more options and ignite competition for the starting formation. Dummett's competitor for the first team will be 25-year-old Scott Malone, who arrived from freshly relegated Cardiff City for 1.4M €. In comparison to the Welsh international, Malone is slightly more attack-minded.
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The young Scotsman Ray Grant was released by Norwich City on a free transfer and turned out to be a real bargain. I originally planned to include him directly into the first team and use him as a backup on the left back position, but with our new arrivals Dummett and Malone and lots of quality options in midfield, I decided to loan him to St. Johnstone in the Scottish Premiership.
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Our vice-captain Jay Spearing had to play almost all matches last season due to a lack in good alternatives in the defensive midfield. Tom Thorpe is supposed to fill this gap. We had to transfer 1.5M € to relegated Rotherham United, but Tom is worth it because he can take almost every role from central defender to central midfielder.
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Serbian whizkid Jovan Nisic is an investment into the future or our club. The highly-talented 18-year-old midfielder joined Bolton for 750,000 € from Partizan and was directly loaned to sc Heerenveen in the Dutch Eredivisie because he didn't receive a work permit. I am a big fan of his and once he is allowed to play for Bolton, he will be a central part of our midfield in the years to come.
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Johann Berg Gudmundsson is the only player for which I decided to splash out (successfully). Charlton demanded 5M € for a transfer but in comparison to many other players his wage demands were more than acceptable. The 25-year-old Icelander, who can play on both wings and in the center is meant to become the successor of Wellington Silva.
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How do you rate my transfers and what do you think will happen during the last week of the transfer window? Will Clough stay or force his way out? Will I manage to sign one more quality player?