Transfer Rumours Pre-Season

[dishydave]

Askey says we're struggling to get a striker at the minute because they are to expensive. Doesn't look like covid will be resetting football finances after all

[JRC]

35 minutes ago, dishydave said:

Askey says we're struggling to get a striker at the minute because they are to expensive. Doesn't look like covid will be resetting football finances after all

Not for key players. Clubs only playing one up front also means there are fewer strikers available. I'm sure there will be an overall decline in wages but it will disproportionately hit what would be termed squad players.

[geoff1]

17 hours ago, Pennywise said:

Geoff’s on the piss it seems. 🤪 

no titanic iceberg! cheers😁😁😁😁😁😁

 

17 hours ago, Pennywise said:

Geoff’s on the piss it seems. 🤪

 

[Walka003]

Heard a very strong rumour that Rhys Oates from Morecambe is the striker that Askey is chasing.

[JRC]

2 hours ago, Walka003 said:

Heard a very strong rumour that Rhys Oates from Morecambe is the striker that Askey is chasing.

Was decent at times 2 seasons ago but very injury prone. Has mainly played as a winger. Clubs were looking at him last summer but 19/20 was a disaster for him. Certainly not a Tom Pope type players. Will keep Chris Banks busy if true. 

[Valearmy19]

Have heard from a close friend that Vale are confident of getting Jake back, he’s the one that told me also about him signing last August. 
 

We’re going to face completion of course but I really wouldn’t be shocked if he arrived! 
 

Not to sound a stalker or anything but he has taken out @NFFC of his twitter and Instagram bio’s 👀

[valeparklife]

I decided to check out Transfermarkt.com for strikers out of contract. There aren't many at all that I think would be decent!

I do think we'll sign a "traditional" centre forward this summer - big, strong, can hold the ball up etc. We already have Pope who's 34yo so I'd assume we'd bring in someone younger.

So, looking at the list of "realistic" strikers under 30yo, there would be:

• Devante Cole (24yo) - Rumoured to be going to Swindon and will likely stay in L1 unless someone in L2 can offer a good wage.
• Tom Nichols (26yo) - Prolific at Exeter but last 3 seasons with Bristol Rovers has yielded only 4 goals in 93 L1 games.
• Dominic Samuel (26yo) - Released by Blackburn but a rumoured target for Luton/Wycombe so out of our league currently.
• Frank Nouble (28yo) - Rumoured to be going back to Newport. More of a "wing forward" than a centre forward anyway and I can't see this happening.
• Jake Jervis (28yo) - 4 in 20 on loan at Salford last season. 2 in 23 the season before with Wimbledon in L1. 6"4, strong and mobile, based in Wolverhampton. Could fit Askey's system?
• Oli Hawkins (28yo) - 6"5 centre forward released by Portsmouth. Probably out of our wage budget and played a number of games at CB for Portsmouth. I'd love him but doubtful as there would be a ton of competition.
• Mason Bloomfield (23yo) - 3 in 23 for Crawley last season on loan. Not much League experience and feel he's destined for non-league so unlikely.
• Rhys Oates (25yo) - Fit's the centre forward profile but poor scoring record (never hit double figures yet in his career). Career seems to be on a downward trajectory.
• Ibrahim Meite (24yo) - poor record for Crawley (2 goals in 21 games in L2) and subsequently released. Was on loan in the NL at Woking and got 4 in 15. Too similar to Devante Rodney's profile for me.
• Alex Jakubiak (23yo) - has had 9 clubs on loan before being released this summer. Spent the first half of last season on loan at Gillingham (6 goals in 24), then moved on loan to St Mirren (0 goals in 7). Similar type of player to Cullen (small, nippy) so don't think we'll be interested.
• Joe Ironside (26yo) - decent first season in the FL (6 goals in 33) for a struggling side. I could see us being interested.
• Ollie Palmer (28yo) - Someone I'd love to see us sign but Burton are the latest club to be linked with him so unlikely in my opinion.
• Vadaine Oliver (28yo) - Never prolific at any of his clubs but always seemed one of those "works hard for the team" type strikers managers like. Just won promotion to L1 with Northampton but hasn't yet agreed a deal. Probably unlikely again.

Of those strikers, I'd say there would only be Jervis, Oates and Ironside that we would be interested in and could realistically sign? 

We all know Vale fans love to moan if we sign a striker that hasn't got a history of scoring 50 goals a season, so I think we might have to be creative and try and pull a rabbit out of a hat somewhere? Maybe agreeing to sign a player from another club currently under contract? 

As I've said numerous times before - systems make strikers. Hopefully we can sign someone that suits our system and turn them into a goalscorer, rather than saying "he's scored 20 goals a season with another club, so he'll score 20 with us".

 

 

[JRC]

1 hour ago, valeparklife said:

Of those strikers, I'd say there would only be Jervis, Oates and Ironside that we would be interested in and could realistically sign? 

We all know Vale fans love to moan if we sign a striker that hasn't got a history of scoring 50 goals a season, so I think we might have to be creative and try and pull a rabbit out of a hat somewhere? Maybe agreeing to sign a player from another club currently under contract? 

As I've said numerous times before - systems make strikers. Hopefully we can sign someone that suits our system and turn them into a goalscorer, rather than saying "he's scored 20 goals a season with another club, so he'll score 20 with us".

 

 

Agree with the overall assessment.  Jervis is tall, awful in the air, pretty weak holding the ball up and has played mainly as a winger. Oates has been used almost exclusively as a winger and has a woeful injury record. Doesn't leave many options if you want a player who can play with his back to goal and hold a ball up.

[TheSage]

I don't know anything about most of those lads but I'm imagine that we would want a player like Pope (or Bennett). Someone, in theory, who can play as a big target man and is decent in the air.

[Guitar Ray]

59 minutes ago, TheSage said:

I don't know anything about most of those lads but I'm imagine that we would want a player like Pope (or Bennett). Someone, in theory, who can play as a big target man and is decent in the air.

To be frank, I don’t think Bennett played “as a big target man”....”decent in the air”.

[PV1973]

I’d say we don’t want a player like Bennet. 

[JRC]

2 hours ago, Guitar Ray said:

To be frank, I don’t think Bennett played “as a big target man”....”decent in the air”.

There are only Hawkins, Oliver and to a lesser degree, Ironside who you would say are better in the air than Bennett on the list of available forwards.

[Jacko51]

Bennett wasn’t brilliant in the air. 

[Guitar Ray]

17 minutes ago, JRC said:

There are only Hawkins, Oliver and to a lesser degree, Ironside who you would say are better in the air than Bennett on the list of available forwards.

With the situation as it is regarding Popey, you would tend to think that we'd go for a striker in the mold of a traditional target man but it's not a given.  Plus there's also the option of a loanee, or a player not on the list, perhaps from the league below..

[Walka003]

When I heard the Rhys Oates rumour I did have a look on his wiki and wasn't overly impressed. Then I had a look at Jordan Slew, who has been given a new contract at Morecambe, how that guy is still a pro footballer is absolutely beyond me!