CONFIMRED - Deniss Rakels

[RustyRoyal]

Apparently we pulled out of the Washingston deal to sign this guy. 23, 26 in 61 for Cracovia.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5M7iJsMbLA

[bluerinse]

He is Latvian but plays in the Polish League. I would have thought with a question mark against the last player we signed from the Polish League (Orlando Sa ) we should be wary of the standard of players coming out of that league.

[PistolPete]

Makes absolutely no sense at all.

[Tommio]

Fee is only €500,000 perhaps we'll get him and someone else rather than Washington for £3m

[LWJ]

Looks a bit on the video

[Oilroyal]

I think the Thais can do one. Not impressed by us pulling out of the Wickham deal for this guy. The tweet from the Posh chairman says all I need to know. This is gonna end ugly with the Thais.

http://www.getreading.co.uk/sport/footb ... d-10758909

[CholseyRoyal]

Going by comments on Twitter, this seems like an owner's choice, not Brian's

[RoyalJames101]

I think the Thais can do one. Not impressed by us pulling out of the Wickham deal for this guy. The tweet from the Posh chairman says all I need to know. This is gonna end ugly with the Thais.

http://www.getreading.co.uk/sport/footb ... d-10758909

Wickham?

What's to say McDermott wasn't in agreement with the Thais that we should waste all of our budget on an unproven League 1 strikers who has had one decent run?

No one had even heard of the kid last week

[Oilroyal]

I think the Thais can do one. Not impressed by us pulling out of the Wickham deal for this guy. The tweet from the Posh chairman says all I need to know. This is gonna end ugly with the Thais.

http://www.getreading.co.uk/sport/footb ... d-10758909

Wickham?

What's to say McDermott wasn't in agreement with the Thais that we should waste all of our budget on an unproven League 1 strikers who has had one decent run?

No one had even heard of the kid last week

Sorry Washington.. Just a bit FuKced off right now.

[Royal Bison]

He is Latvian but plays in the Polish League. I would have thought with a question mark against the last player we signed from the Polish League (Orlando Sa ) we should be wary of the standard of players coming out of that league.

What exactly has Sa done wrong?

[andrew1957]

To be fair to the owners if I were them and as the chance of promotion is now so remote, I would favour a 500K risk over a 3M pound risk. Save the rest from the Blackman sale to help the summer overhaul.

Washington is not proven and so is just as much a risk at Championship level as Rakels and who knows Rakels might turn out to be better. So if true I am in for this signing.

As for Sa it is all very mysterious. He looked ok to start with, but it sounds like for whatever reason he is unhappy and wants to go. Rather sad but most of SC's signings are beginning to look like a car crash (Quinn and McShane excepted).

[bluerinse]

Have a Polish friend in Reading who supports Legia Warsaw. He says according to Legias website they have agreed a fee of 500 euros with Cracovia for Rakels and he has agreed terms with them. Either Reading have come in very late on this one, or it is not going to happen.

[Royal_jimmy]

Wish people would stop moaning about this

[Royal Ginger]

I think the Thais can do one. Not impressed by us pulling out of the Wickham deal for this guy. The tweet from the Posh chairman says all I need to know. This is gonna end ugly with the Thais.

http://www.getreading.co.uk/sport/footb ... d-10758909

Wickham?

What's to say McDermott wasn't in agreement with the Thais that we should waste all of our budget on an unproven League 1 strikers who has had one decent run?

No one had even heard of the kid last week

Sorry Washington.. Just a bit FuKced off right now.

Why's that? Is Washington better? What aspects of his game have you seen that have impressed you? Get to many Posh games?

[Top Flight]

This guy Rakels doesn't look very convincing on YouTube....

Orlando looks a better player to me. Rather than take risks on guys like Washington and this guy Rakels. Why can't we keep Orlando?

[Maguire]

This guy Rakels doesn't look very convincing on YouTube....

Well, shit, better fold the club then

[loyalroyal4life]

Have a Polish friend in Reading who supports Legia Warsaw. He says according to Legias website they have agreed a fee of 500 euros with Cracovia for Rakels and he has agreed terms with them. Either Reading have come in very late on this one, or it is not going to happen.

500 euros is a bargain, I would hurry up and better that offer and go 600, no brainer!!!

[Sutekh]

I cannot believe that we would have pulled the plug on a deal for a player the manager wanted to sign a player the owner(s) wants instead.

If this was the case then Brian has to be on board and backing the decision otherwise he might as well leave the club now.

Perhaps there's more to the Washington thing e.g. unreasonable agent demands that caused Reading to rethink.

For the record what are the Thais ties to Poland. There must be some for them to want to go back there again (or perhaps JM saw the cheap option again and persuaded them otherwise).

[tidus_mi2]

If QPR were involved in the Washington deal before we could agree terms, there would be no doubt in my mind Washington's agent would have made large salary demands, knowing full well QPR would pay them.

[Nameless]

It simply beggars belief that anyone can suggest with a straight face that the Thais are going to come up with a completely obscure player from a backwater of Europe and insist our manager signs him ! In the same way I doubt SJM ever walked into a managers office and told them they had to sign a Latvian left back he liked the look of there is just no logic to suggesting the Thais are going to waste their time researching hundreds of players and then imposing a random choice on McDermott.
They may veto a player on the basis of cost but none of them are football geeks, their priorities are to have a successful football club and to explore ways of making money and neither of these involve meddling in the transfer market at such a micro level.
Given McD has just spent a couple of years doing extensive scouting work for a club that has one of the best networks around it would seem a much more likely scenario that he's brought his files with him, or been speaking to everyone he knows round Europe to find value players (hopefully this means players available for whatever reason at a fraction of their potential value). This may be because that is what the Thais ha e asked him to do, but that is very different to Sasima calling Brian into her office and showing him a player of FIFA with good stats and telling him to go get him.