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Alex Hunt is BACK at SWFC!


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11 minutes ago, Bloxwich Owl said:

Paul Hurst, the Grimsby Town boss explained that the terms the Owls were looking for on an extension were more than the club were willing to pay.

"As we speak, he is back at their club," Hurst explained.

"At the minute, it's looking unlikely he will return. It's not absolutely dead but, at the same time, it would be wrong of me to say it looks like he'll be back with us very soon because that's not the case.

"The deal is not the same deal. I would like to do a lot of business this month if possible. We know for us it can stretch beyond that but we want to get deals done as quickly as possible whilst we have as many games left as we have.


deal is not the same deal? Wonder what he means by that. We want a loan fee? More towards his wages? 

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Would like to see him get some game time. Have seen enough of some of the signings brought in to allow Hunt (and others) to get game time elsewhere. Now’s the time to reverse the order and see what we’ve got.

Edited by sheffield_dave
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3 hours ago, NeonLeon said:

Hopefully we’re just looking at them.
 

Still, it’s poor form to do this before Grimsby have had chance to communicate the situation to their fans. Imagine if Corbeanu had turned out for Wolves Under 23s last week. 

As its a youth loan, you are allowed to turn out in friendly matches for your parents clubs academy. So we had done nothing wrong regardless.

 

Same with Galvin.

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Hunt has always been highly thought of by the footballing staff at Hillsborough and considering his inexperience, height and stature, he did not look too out of place in the games he featured in for us last season. I also liked the way he worked closely on free kicks last season, with Adam Reach and judging from the goal he scored for the U23's he might be a better bet than Bannan or Wing, from direct free kicks.

 

Bringing players up a level from U23s to first team has been a problem for us in recent years, with only our goalies and Palmer stepping up to get fairly regular games (and other young players preferring to move elsewhere). Wildsmith, Dawson and Palmer all took a big step up for us after playing away on loan, all three needed regular first team experience with Palmer also needing to build up the stamina levels needed, to be able to perform more consistently over a busy season. So maybe that is what Hunt needs. Less pressure, playing at a lower level, with the full support of the fanbase, manager and team mates, while knowing that his parent club wants him and are trying to get him to extend his contract.

 

That for me is the crux of the matter. We cannot let another player like him slip through our fingers. What does Hunt want to do? Facilitate that, get him to sign up for another 3 to 5 years and move on. 

 

The fact that Grimsby are quibbling over a hiked up fee for the second half of the season, does not sit comfortably with me though. If Hunt wants to see out the season with Grimsby and the experience is doing him good why are we upping the fee? Both clubs are benefitting from the loan and we should not be looking to fleece Grimsby just because Hunt is playing well. Would we give them a reduction in price if he was struggling? I doubt it.

 

The only other thing in the equation that I can see is the midfielder shortage we have had at times. Wing has struggled with the pressure of regular first team football for us, self imposed mainly, but if he goes back to Boro', with Byers and Luongo not featuring regularly, Bannan trying to do everything on his own and Adeniron not looking as strong as he was earlier in the season, there may be a temptation to hold onto Alex Hunt unless we get somebody other than Bannan playing a bigger part for us in midfield. Without a fully fit Luongo, a rarity in itself, a more consistent/fit Wing, Byers, or Adeniron, we look weak in midfield and I am less confident in our ability as a team while our defence and midfield are missing key players.

 

To maintain a forward push we definitely need at least one defender (Galvin is another possibility there), but could Hunt possibly do a job there for us and help stiffen up our midfield? If no other options are available, maybe he can, but I think for his and our long term developement, maybe it would be better if Wing, Byers and Adeniron step it up, Luongo comes back and makes a difference and just foncentrate for now on getting Hunt to sign up long term with a deal that shows him that he is wanted here more than in some bigger club's reserves. 

 

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3 minutes ago, Ante's Bubbly said:

Hunt has always been highly thought of by the footballing staff at Hillsborough and considering his inexperience, height and stature, he did not look too out of place in the games he featured in for us last season. I also liked the way he worked closely on free kicks last season, with Adam Reach and judging from the goal he scored for the U23's he might be a better bet than Bannan or Wing, from direct free kicks.

 

Bringing players up a level from U23s to first team has been a problem for us in recent years, with only our goalies and Palmer stepping up to get fairly regular games (and other young players preferring to move elsewhere). Wildsmith, Dawson and Palmer all took a big step up for us after playing away on loan, all three needed regular first team experience with Palmer also needing to build up the stamina levels needed, to be able to perform more consistently over a busy season. So maybe that is what Hunt needs. Less pressure, playing at a lower level, with the full support of the fanbase, manager and team mates, while knowing that his parent club wants him and are trying to get him to extend his contract.

 

That for me is the crux of the matter. We cannot let another player like him slip through our fingers. What does Hunt want to do? Facilitate that, get him to sign up for another 3 to 5 years and move on. 

 

The fact that Grimsby are quibbling over a hiked up fee for the second half of the season, does not sit comfortably with me though. If Hunt wants to see out the season with Grimsby and the experience is doing him good why are we upping the fee? Both clubs are benefitting from the loan and we should not be looking to fleece Grimsby just because Hunt is playing well. Would we give them a reduction in price if he was struggling? I doubt it.

 

The only other thing in the equation that I can see is the midfielder shortage we have had at times. Wing has struggled with the pressure of regular first team football for us, self imposed mainly, but if he goes back to Boro', with Byers and Luongo not featuring regularly, Bannan trying to do everything on his own and Adeniron not looking as strong as he was earlier in the season, there may be a temptation to hold onto Alex Hunt unless we get somebody other than Bannan playing a bigger part for us in midfield. Without a fully fit Luongo, a rarity in itself, a more consistent/fit Wing, Byers, or Adeniron, we look weak in midfield and I am less confident in our ability as a team while our defence and midfield are missing key players.

 

To maintain a forward push we definitely need at least one defender (Galvin is another possibility there), but could Hunt possibly do a job there for us and help stiffen up our midfield? If no other options are available, maybe he can, but I think for his and our long term developement, maybe it would be better if Wing, Byers and Adeniron step it up, Luongo comes back and makes a difference and just foncentrate for now on getting Hunt to sign up long term with a deal that shows him that he is wanted here more than in some bigger club's reserves. 

 

 

I do not mean Hunt could do a job for us in defence BTW! Only  as a midfielder.

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