By the end of this season at the moment contracts expire for:
Clyne
Cahill
McArthur*
Hennessey
Sakho
PVA*
Henderson
Guaita*
Townsend*
Kelly
Ward
Wickham
Meyer
Schlupp*
Mitchell*

Who would you offer new contracts too, for me only the ones with a *

“That’s a joke son, I say, that’s a joke.” “Nice boy, but he’s sharp as a throw pillow.” “He’s so dumb he thinks a Mexican border pays rent” “ “Son… I say, son, some people are so narrow minded they can look through a keyhole with both eyes.”__ Forhorn Leghorn

Too many left out. Way beyond this clubs resources to replace all those you have not seen fit to asterisk.

And I note you are proposing to dump 2 keepers. Wont

For meyer I suspect this year is his last to test his worth. Very depressing as we had so much hope in one so young with such natural class.

Kelly, Macca and Schlupp all signed extensions in August. Doesn't say how long for though.

If still fit I'd be happy with both extended. Great professionals and characters to have in and around the team. Supplemented of course by the addition of some more youthful prospects.

Sakho, Meyer and Wickham leaving are the key ones for me as they're taking large wages and contributing little to nothing (each for different reasons).

Also isn't Benteke due to be out of contract?

Edited by samprior (27 Oct 2020 12.40pm)

Edited by samprior (27 Oct 2020 12.41pm)

Edited by samprior (27 Oct 2020 12.42pm)

For me, it's more a question of which ones we DON'T renew.

As has been rightly said, we aren't going to spend much on replacements so we need to be careful about being too gung-ho.

Firstly, I believe Clyne's contract is only till the New Year. Also we have no idea if Ferguson will ever be fit enough to play again. Obviously we hope he will be and that he'll be as good as we are being led to believe. Also, he may be wanted as a CB option so we may decide to keep both Clyne and Ward.

Secondly, as to who to let go I would want to see the following moved on:
- Sakho in the Jan window if at all possible for a small fee.
- Wickham (no explanation needed)
- Henderson AND/OR Hennessey. Much will depend on how Butland shapes up. If he can get back to something like his best before the season end then I'd offload both the Hs and have Webber (our U23 keeper) as our 3rd keeper.
- Benteke, if someone will buy him (little hope of this I fear unless he can suddenly start putting them away in the PL like he did for the U23s yesterday)
The difficult one for me is Meyer. It would be good to get some money for him but unless he gets game time that's unlikely to happen given that he's behind Schlupp and Eze in the pecking order.

As has been said by another poster, our January dealings (if any) will give a pointer to who might be offered a deal.

I don't agree with extending the contract of a failure just to preserve their transfer value. For one thing it sends the wrong message to the squad, and for another I just can't see that the maths work. Even if we give someone like Meyer a two year deal on 'only' 30k p/w, we've invested up to £3.1m. In a post-covid world, a player who has done nothing for three years is going to do well just to get a free transfer somewhere. We certainly won't make a profit.

On the other hand, and as tempting as it is to clear out a load of 'deadwood', I completely agree that you need a replacement first. Cahill, Kelly and especially Ward should all be retained - that would save us millions in transfer fees for new players.

Finally, don't forget the possibility of keeping a player but on lower wages. They might not like taking a massive pay cut, but if our contract offer is no worse than anything they can get elsewhere they would probably opt to stay.

I did see a rumour that was what happened with Benteke, and might be an option for Sakho who, Chelsea game aside, has his uses but is just overpaid.

For me, we should release Wickham and Meyer regardless of anything else, but all the others could be retained if others in their positions aren't, or replacements aren't signed - and replacements should only be signed if they represent an upgrade. Otherwise keep who we have.

Edited by TheBigToePunt (28 Oct 2020 10.53am)