I'd say north of £10m now to sign him. He's had a decent season in a struggling team. You could put him in a mid table side and he certainly wouldn't look out of place. He's quick, reads the game well, reasonably comfortable with the ball at his feet and is a threat in the opposition box. Has 60 Premier League games under his belt now and is a great age too. It depends whether Burnley want to cash in or want to keep him as part of a team looking to bounce straight back up again.
If you were someone like Everton, who might need to cash in on Branthwaite who could go for about £40-50m. I think O'Shea would be a very good replacement at a fraction of the cost...
Wonder if there's any chance he might be on Bayern's radar if Kompany goes there. Quick, plenty of top level experience, has won over the Burnley fans in a difficult season. Might not be as mad as it maybe first sounds.
Rumours that Celtic are interested in O'Shea. I'd say there's more chance of Parrott making it at Spurs than Celtic paying the money likely needed to sign O'Shea.
Seems like a step back for O'Shea in any event?
Summer rumour stuff ~ Nothing new with that.
I think a few posters here suspected O'Shea would have Premiership options. Looks like he had Ipswich in for him too.
Talks that the fee is around £7m but it will surely shove up past that. Really good business.
Pity he could split a handful of games or more with Collins but they have a couple of aging options at centre half that may not always be available or in favour like Pinnock and Jorgensen.
Jorgensen (aka 'Zanka') is as good as gone, back to FC Copenhagen in his homeland. Tbh, at 34 y.o. he was past it, even as a mere squad member, making up the numbers.
Meanwhile they still have:
Collins - If he can avoid injury, I'm expecting big things from him this season, just needs to add consistency, which should come from experience and regular games;
Pinnock - 31 in May, he was absolutely immense last season, Fans' POTY I think, despite being disrupted by injury. When fit, he's their nailed down No.1 CB;
Mee - Will be 35 in September. Was a revelation when he signed on a free, and was Fans' POTY after his first season (2022/23), even ahead of Toney (20 x PL goals), However, he got a bad injury just before last Xmas, which saw him out for the season. At his age it's unsure he'll regain his previous form after such a long lay-off, but a super pro whom the club will want to keep around;
Ajer - This will be his 4th season after signing from Celtic. The first two were disrupted by injury, also he was often required to fill in a RB when Bees used a four - he's lightening quick, something the club increasingly looks for, despite being 6'5"! Really began to show what he can do last season (28 PL games) and this could season could be big for him;
Kim Ji-soo - 19 y.o, 6'4" Korean, inexperienced and yet to make his 1st team debut. Not expected to feature this season, even if Bees suffer the same crippling injuries as last season, but v.highly rated and as ever, signed with an eye to the future.
Where does that leave O'Shea? Bees alternate between 3 or 4 at the back, depending on the opposition. If it's the former, O'Shea might possibly feature, at least from the bench and depending on the form/fitness of the other choices. But if it's the latter, he may be held back for Cup games etc or v.late PL sub appearances, at least for the first half of the season.
All that said, Bees' scouting and recruitment is absolutely top notch, so they'll know exactly what they want from him from the start, with a clear path to regular football mapped out for him individually. My guess is that 2025/26 may be his "breakthrough" season, esp if Pinnock starts to fade.
So assuming he signs, this can be a big opportunity for the lad, after scooting around with WBA, Exeter and Burnley.
Last edited by EalingGreen; 08/08/2024 at 10:39 PM.
Okay. So they do have a few aging options that may not be in favour or be injured. Pinnock and Mee are aging and have had injuries. And I do recognize Pinnock has been good. And O'Shea can cover full back.
Great move overall. Sounds like Ipswich are or were in for him too. More guaranteed games but O'Shea might be weighing up the prospect of a third relegation which is surely a greater possibility at Ipswich than Brentford.
Bees aren't a club who think: "Ah, we've got a problem in defence/midfield/attack etc, who can we sign to solve it?"
Rather they always have an eye to the future. So my guess is that if signed, Dara will be a long term replacement for Pinnock. In the meantime, he'll be vying with Pinnock, Collins and Ajer for a starting place, with the fact of his being the new boy meaning (I guess) that he'll normally be 3rd or 4th choice CB.
(Btw, don't write off Pinnock too soon, for since he came right the way up from non-league, he won't have the same "hard miles" on the clock as most other PL players, even at 31 - think eg Jamie Vardy)
Absolutely.
Off the mark as Burnley beat Luton 4-1 in the battle of two of the relegated teams.
Ogbene, Cullen and McNally also played (McNally as a late sub). No sign of Obafemi though.
https://kesslereffect.bandcamp.com/album/kepler - New music. It's not that bad.
O'Shea was great. Ogbene's pace is frightening. Surely he's worth a punt to a Premier League team in need of a winger who can run at full-backs for the last twenty minutes of a match?
O'Shea looks to have developed to the point that he has pretty much outgrown the Championship now, which is some going for a lad who was sent to the seventh tier of English football for his first loan because he wasn't seen as a particularly outstanding youth prospect.
At this stage I don't think there are many teams that he couldn't do a job for, either as a starter for a mid table team in a Top 5 league, or even as a squad player for someone higher up the table. No harm scoring and winning player of the match on the live Monday night Sky game the week before the Premier League starts either. I'm almost surprised there has been no mention of Kompany coming back in for him, even as a squad player.
Bookmarks