Who is your dream last-minute summer signing?
After the August we've had, I want nothing more than a stupid, big money, out of the blue statement signing.
Villareal's Yeremy Pino is one the most exciting young players in Europe (when have we heard that before?), and he would instantly improve our side in his preferred right-wing position. He has incredible physical and technical ability, and his directness and creativity is exactly what we need in the side. At 19, he already has 4 senior caps for Spain.
On the down side, we would need to break our transfer record, and he may not be particularly keen on joining a team on the brink of a 2023 rebuild who didn’t qualify for Europe. Stranger signings have happened though, and proving yourself in the best league in the world is often the preferred route to stardom for many young players (and their agents). Maybe he'd reach more than 37 Premier League games before being tapped up by a disgraced European Super League Club...
Matt Jedruch
My absolute dream signings are already signed up elsewhere and would not have been achievable even if they weren't; a centre back like Matthijs De Ligt, a winger like Filip Kostic and if they really were so desperate to offload him, who wouldn't take Frenkie De Jong off Barcelona?!
If we're trying to keep the dream realistic then it would be a centre back who is actually still available and wouldn't cost the earth. I'm not sure what Eintracht Frankfurt would be looking for, but both Evan Ndicka and Tuta are fairly young and could be paired with Evans' experience. Or somebody like Jonathan Tah from Bayer Leverkusen.
If Rodgers is going to persist with not using Soyuncu in the league then we need an alternative because the Evans-Amartey pairing so far is not convincing. Therefore I'd love us to generally be looking at the Bundesliga for talent as the transition doesn't seem so tough and you can get a good deal financially too.
Helen Nutter
To bend the rules of the question slightly, I’d say Graham Potter. Still technically a signing, but one I believe would have a far greater impact than any individual player.
The mentality around the club is toxic right now, and someone like Potter would provide an immediate boost. He’d also likely get more of a tune out of Söyüncü, Soumaré, Praet and Iheanacho, making them all feel like new signings.
Could the squad be improved? Absolutely. Is this current squad a lot better than they’re currently demonstrating? 100%. And a new manager could go a long way to addressing that.
Charlie Carmichael
My first thought was Callum Hudson-Odoi. I think he'd be great for us (finally filling a problem position with some real quality) and, I genuinely think we'd be good for him - somewhere where he'd play, have good people around him and let him chill out of London. He won't come to a team that's bottom though!
However, with a defence that looked like conceding 2 goals a game even with Fofana in it, the above feels like buying a two-seater Ferrari to be your main car when you've just had twins!
Therefore, we have to, have to, sign two defenders. The price of not doing so may well be a return to the Championship, it's that desperate.
Iain Wright
As much as I’d love the final piece of the attacking jigsaw to be completed with a right winger, the biggest issue is clearly at centre-back and we absolutely have to get someone who can help make our back line look vaguely competent.
Of the names mentioned in the usual circles, Edmond Tapsoba would be the standout for me although it’s more important at this point just to get someone good over the line.
The club has known for weeks now it was highly likely Fofana would be leaving. I’m not usually one to be expectant or entitled about transfer business but there’s no excuse with this - we’ve got the money and we’re in desperate need. We simply can’t afford what I believe is now enshrined in the English language as “a Ryan Bennett situation”.
David Bevan
The signing you’ve forgotten we needed is in goal. I’m not sure why we decided to ignore the ‘keeper situation in the first place, but so far Danny Ward is on pace to be the worst one in the league and to concede more goals than he makes saves this season.
Personally, I think the right wing issue is a little overblown. We have plenty of good attacking players and we can patch up that position for another year. What we can’t do is continue to concede two goals a game.
So in the absence of having researched goalkeepers in depth, I’ll say a last minute dash for That Greek Lad from Benfica we were linked with earlier in the summer. Pair him with a centre back and we might have a chance of winning the odd game.
James Knight
