Bluebirds transfer rumours

[dml1954]

It is a bit mad isn't it. We're left with Watters, who Morison clearly hasn't fancied up to this point, so I'd be surprised if anything bar necessity has changed his mind now, and Harris, who is neither a striker nor a Championship-standard footballer. If we don't get someone with an eye for goal in next week, Norwich are likely to dick us I'd suggest.

Morison is playing Watters, who is doing well and scoring goals. How can you say Morison doesn't fancy him ?

[Nobody's Rep]

Morison is playing Watters, who is doing well and scoring goals. How can you say Morison doesn't fancy him ?

I like the fact that you are all positive re Cardiff don't necessarily agree with your style of delivery but that's up to you but....

Surely you can see Morison has no choice as regards Watters as he is our only senior striker at the moment - don't get me wrong I hope he comes good as I think there is a striker in there but I'm not sure he has it in him to play a press without the ball all season and that is what may let him down. Not sure what other options he has at his disposal apart from taking a big chance on youth

For me we still need two strikers to give us depth and options and then Harris could be let go as I'm not convinced with him at all

[Carl Dale's Mole]

You keep saying that we have no strikers but we have. Watters is looking better every game as well. You appear desperate to sign anybody, no matter who he is, how good he is or whether he will fit in to how we want to play. That is a recipe for disaster. There are 39 days left in the transfer window and everybody wants strikers. Also how we get on against Norwich is not going to be decided by who plays up front - it is midfield where it will be won or lost and we are looking good in that department. Stop panicking.

I'll stop the panicking. I've liked what I've seen so far and am fully on the Watters bandwagon.

I don't want us to sign anyone and everyone. I didn't want Michael Smith, Grabban or any of the over-the-hill strikers that WOL mentioned.

But when Morison mentions that he's been working on things since January and that striker was a position of importance, yet we're 6 days out from the season with only one actual striker in our team......

[the other bob wilson]

Steve Morison said after yesterday’s match that there were still a couple of deals on the go, but that matters were out of our hands at present.

[Rjk]

Ellis Simms linked again https://mobile.twitter.com/DarrenOWi...31770015334400

mentions Everton might let him go on a permanent for 500k.
that would be a good bit of business if so. much prefer that to a loan if possible

[City123]

mentions Everton might let him go on a permanent for 500k.
that would be a good bit of business if so. much prefer that to a loan if possible

Would be a good signing

I wonder if Everton can be convinced to let Nathan Broadhead go for similar? Very impressive for Sunderland last season

[Rjk]

Would be a good signing

I wonder if Everton can be convinced to let Nathan Broadhead go for similar? Very impressive for Sunderland last season

I wonder if a loan with a future fee would make sense?

or perhaps 500k is what they want for a loan fee

[the other bob wilson]

I wonder if a loan with a future fee would make sense?

or perhaps 500k is what they want for a loan fee

That’s what I was thinking, I would have thought we would have to pay a few hundred thousand pounds for him as a loan fee.

[jon1959]

Ellis Simms linked again https://mobile.twitter.com/DarrenOWi...31770015334400

A good profile of him here:

https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/sport...-town-24577153

Huddersfield Town are amongst a host of Championship clubs interested in taking young Everton forward Ellis Simms on loan this season. The 21-year-old has two years left on his contract with the Toffees and scored seven goals in 21 appearances on loan at SPL side Hearts last season.

He also impressed on loan at Blackpool during the 2020/21 season, reaching double figures for goals and scoring twice in the play-offs to help the Tangerines to promotion from League One.

Simms is also highly-rated at his parent club, with an excellent goalscoring record at youth level, and has shown in patches that his skills translate to the senior level. Huddersfield are in need of a goal-getter at the centre-forward position, and the 21-year-old could fit that profile.

Background

Everton picked up the tall young striker Simms in 2017 after he had been released from the Manchester City Academy at the age of 16. Before that, he had been at Blackburn Rovers. Simms has had a prolific youth career in the Toffees’ academy, scoring 58 times in 83 appearances for Everton's U18 and U23 sides. Still, he has yet to receive a real opportunity with the senior side.

Not necessarily a technically gifted player, Simms's raw speed and power worked remarkably well for him with the U18s, where the team played to his strengths as a supreme goal-poacher.

On the back of this remarkable record, Simms agreed to his first contract with the club in May 2019 and moved up to the U23 squad. Simms continued knocking in goals for the Under-23s the following season, scoring an impressive 8 times in 12 matches before a loan deal was completed with Blackpool for him to fulfil the next stage of his development in League One.

He would play out the rest of the season with the Seasiders in what turned out to be a very successful loan spell, helping them achieve promotion via the play-offs. He found a similar level of success on loan with Hearts in the second half of last season, scoring important goals in the Scottish Cup that helped them reach the final before losing to Rangers.

What has been said about him

Simms has done a lot of developing during his recent loan spells, slowly adjusting his game to the physicality of the senior level of football. His raw abilities were noted by the coaching staff at Blackpool during his time at the club.

"Maybe because of his age and stepping into senior football and getting thrown into the deep end, which isn't easy, sometimes he can have a tendency to drift out the game in his mind," said Blackpool's assistant manager at the time, Mike Garrity, of Simms.

“We need to keep him concentrated. We've been talking to him a lot about staying in the game, staying active, staying around it, staying alive and alert. Even with his profile and his physique, we don't want him to become a battering ram for us. We want to play football.

"So we're looking at ways and means to use his attributes to help us, because when he opens his legs and gets moving, he's quite pacey. So we're trying to concentrate on the strengths he possesses to use at this level."

During his loan spell at Hearts, Simms spoke to The Athletic about his play style and the confidence he has in his own goalscoring abilities as a penalty box striker.

“I’ve always backed my ability to score goals,” he says. “I don’t lose confidence if there’s a phase where I don’t score; I back myself for the next one. You have to keep putting yourself in the right areas.

[Pedro de la Rosa]

Would be a good signing

I wonder if Everton can be convinced to let Nathan Broadhead go for similar? Very impressive for Sunderland last season

Mega injury prone. He was Sunderland’s best player and only managed 20 games all season. Injured his hammy 4 times last season, one was for 3 months

[Rjk]

Photos on twitter claiming to be Ellis Simms outside the Huddersfield ground

[Undercoverinwurzelland]

Photos on twitter claiming to be Ellis Simms outside the Huddersfield ground

I saw those too. Apparently it's not him though
https://mobile.twitter.com/sidaley19...89506696069122

[Rjk]

I saw those too. Apparently it's not him though
https://mobile.twitter.com/sidaley19...89506696069122

Rotherham fans reckon they're signing Ellis Simms now

[Colin'sReversibleHat]

Morison is playing Watters, who is doing well and scoring goals. How can you say Morison doesn't fancy him ?

That's not what I said- I said necessity has forced his hand- he's not going to leave him out when he's our only first team striker is he?

[Colin'sReversibleHat]

Would be a good signing

I wonder if Everton can be convinced to let Nathan Broadhead go for similar? Very impressive for Sunderland last season

Rumours over the weekend linking him back to Sunderland unfortunately

[ccfcwelshlad]

It's quite possible we'll bring another non-striker in over next few days.

Can only hope we are not being led down the garden path with regards to strikers, we've pulled out of other deals taking too long so I presume we have assurances and it's just a matter of timing being right.

Sounds like the non-striker is close to being done..

[City123]

Sounds like the non-striker is close to being done..

One can never have too many goalkeepers

[Ninja]

One can never have too many goalkeepers

A centre-back would be nice to partner Kipre, not convinced with what we have outside of him and the currently unfit Sean Morrison.

[Pedro de la Rosa]

One can never have too many goalkeepers

[Pedro de la Rosa]

Sounds like the non-striker is close to being done..

Would guess winger, right back, centre back in order of likelihood. Or a keeper, as City123 says. Wonder if Whyte etc goes off the back of this.

[the other bob wilson]

I reckon it’s another winger.

[Ninja]

I reckon it’s another winger.

Could be. Do you rate Gavin Whyte Bob?
For me it's the obvious final ball problem, which is of course significant enough to consider other options.

[the other bob wilson]

Could be. Do you rate Gavin Whyte Bob?
For me it's the obvious final ball problem, which is of course significant enough to consider other options.

Don’t think he’s a Championship standard player, but I’m basing that on what we saw of him in his first season. He’s clearly a good player in League One and I think he’s at an age now where that could be the level for him through his career.

[Ninja]

Don’t think he’s a Championship standard player, but I’m basing that on what we saw of him in his first season. He’s clearly a good player in League One and I think he’s at an age now that could be the level for him through his career.

I think it's his age that does it for me too.
If he was younger then maybe you could have hope in him developing his ability to cross higher balls into the box, but as we both know, if you don't have that at this stage then it's unlikely to improve.
I do like him as a player, he works hard, has pace, and is a bit tricky. His end product is very inconstant though so I'm starting to think maybe move him on if we can get better.

[Trigger]

My cousin supports Charlton, apparently someone on their forum mentioned Dobson was seen in a city training top the other day.

Decent player for them but seems weird why he would be in a city training top around his current club and he's a cm.

I'm suspecting it was someone that thought it looked like city training gear.

But just mentioning so I can look itk if it happens.