AjaxAndy wrote: ↑Tue Jan 13, 2026 6:12 pm I'd say Barry getting double figures in La Liga suggests huge potential... Apart from one horrific miss I also think his finishing has been pretty good, can't think of any real chances he's missed I'd expect him to have scored apart from that one. We don't create many opportunities for him but he looks a pretty natural finisher.
Rohl has barely played so I don't think any judgements can be made on him.
I think something people overlook is that the combined wages of Rohl, Barry and Aznou will likely be less or equal to what we were paying Doucoure. So we can afford some not to work out, we aren't going to be hamstrung by their wages like we have been with so many players on long term deals, and it only takes one to be a standout to break even or make a profit on the combined transfer fees.
Imagine in 2 years time if Rohl becomes a good solid squad player, Aznou develops in to a regular starter and Barry scores 12-15 goals that season and we sell for £70m... You can afford Dibling to be a flop because their combined wages were that of one or one and a half of a Doucoure and Tosun, yet we make a massive profit overall.
It's why I'm more than willing to give this approach patience and time to play out. You won't see results quickly but also the potential of long term problems is majorly reduced.
I think Barry is a good finisher. I agree there but I think the rest of his game has been pretty poor. I think hes the 1 im least confident about
Dibbling obviously has talent. Think some of his current problem is his game, like grealishs requires more from the player behind him. Think hes a premier league player. Not sure he'll make it much beyond what we paid though
I quite like rohl. Think his energy is something we desperately lack in the squad. Probably not going to turn out great but probably be useful squad player assuming he can stay fit
Aznou. Hes a cheap punt. I missed his performance in the cup but it appears hes definitely worth the small transfer fee we risked
I dont really have a problem with any of them individually. Not sure its the best scouting but probably won't lose much if anything on them as a whole. Do think all of them together for us at the moment isnt good for us and probably hasn't been good for them so far. I think 3 of the 4 will be okay but probably not good enough to justify the money, time and short term pain
Im most excited by armstrong