Summer Transfer Window 2025/26

[Holmes_and_Watson]

1 minute ago, SW11_Saint said:

But young players can, and do, improve. Goalies in particular mature more slowly than outfield players. No idea if Gav has improved enough to be a true #1 yet? (his loan spell at SL and injury may suggest otherwise). It is one big decision that Still & Spors need to address though, and quickly. McCarthy thankfully came good in the playoffs but was unconvincing last year (putting it mildly). 

Should have bought that Rotherham goalie a couple of years ago. Think Birmingham got him for a snip….

I heard we struggled to attract 'keepers, because we insisted on getting them in for a snip. 🙂

[Pamplemousse]

Viktor Johansson, he went to Stoke. Named their player of the season last year.

Given how much he was available for (£1million apparently) surprised a Prem team didn't snap him up as a number 2 option. I assume we were looking at ball-playing goalkeepers under Martin, I wonder if we have moved on from that sort of profile and will focus on ... shot-stopping and commanding the box...

[SW11_Saint]

30 minutes ago, Pamplemousse said:

Viktor Johansson, he went to Stoke. Named their player of the season last year.

Given how much he was available for (£1million apparently) surprised a Prem team didn't snap him up as a number 2 option. I assume we were looking at ball-playing goalkeepers under Martin, I wonder if we have moved on from that sort of profile and will focus on ... shot-stopping and commanding the box...

Ah yes Stoke. Played a blinder at SMS I recall. 

[Wade Garrett]

3 hours ago, Farmer Saint said:

Maybe I just shouldn't make Physics jokes...

That would be a good start.

[suewhistle]

5 hours ago, Farmer Saint said:

Maybe I just shouldn't make Physics jokes...

Yeah, you'll only get a reaction. Equal and opposite obvs.

[verlaine1979]

With Quarshie, Charles and Downs in the side, we might actually have a bit of physical presence on the pitch for the first time since Lavia left.

[Barsiem]

 

 

[hypochondriac]

25 minutes ago, Barsiem said:

 

 

Norwich are building a dedent team. I reckon they'll get playoffs. 

[Wade Garrett]

27 minutes ago, Barsiem said:

 

 

Wish they were keeping an eye on Manning.

[goodymatt]

Do we really need another CB?

[lambtiss]

20 minutes ago, Wade Garrett said:

Wish they were keeping an eye on Manning.

I thought he was one of our better performers last season

[hypochondriac]

9 minutes ago, goodymatt said:

Do we really need another CB?

Not a chance are we signing another cb. 

[gio1saints]

5 minutes ago, lambtiss said:

I thought he was one of our better performers last season

Low bar but you are right. Above average performer in our EPL squad I’d say last year.
And, considering his baseline ( and many fans  expectations of him) it would be not be unreasonable to say he had a fair to good season- all in context and with that caveat of course - before all you mr Disappointed from Totton tell me how rubbish he is. For his limitations he played well. Compared to others with whom we had a higher expectation of performance he essentially did better.  THB good example. Ditto Flynn.Ditto Adam.  😁

[coalman]

17 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

Not a chance are we signing another cb. 

But then we can continue our glorious recent tradition of stuffing the team with centre backs playing out of position.

[Lighthouse]

18 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

Not a chance are we signing another cb. 

We don't know who's planning to leave. Bednarek and ABK look like reasonable bets, but we may also choose to cash in on Edwards or allow Wood to leave for first team football.

[revolution saint]

6 minutes ago, Lighthouse said:

We don't know who's planning to leave. Bednarek and ABK look like reasonable bets, but we may also choose to cash in on Edwards or allow Wood to leave for first team football.

That's true although even if Edwards or Wood goes that would still leave us with 5 CBs plus Taylor and Bree who can do the job at a push.  That's fine.

Five CBs is probably about right so to get another one in then we'd need to move on Bednarek, ABK, THB and then sell either Edwards/Wood or loan out Sanda.

[Convict Colony]

1 hour ago, hypochondriac said:

Norwich are building a dedent team. I reckon they'll get playoffs. 

Can i be the first this year.

I wish we were norwich.........

[qwertyell]

1 hour ago, goodymatt said:

Do we really need another CB?

He gets knocked down, but he gets up again.

[Holmes_and_Watson]

1 hour ago, goodymatt said:

Do we really need another CB?

CBs are the new LBs. 🙂

[Saint86]

1 hour ago, goodymatt said:

Do we really need another CB?

For me, it implies THB is off if we sign another CB.

[revolution saint]

1 hour ago, hypochondriac said:

Norwich are building a dedent team. I reckon they'll get playoffs. 

Yeah, they've got a good manager and seem to have recruited fairly well although losing Sainz and Sargeant (assuming they go) will be a big loss.  For all their recruitment so far, they've not spent much more than the amount they got for Jonathan Rowe so it's not like they've broken the bank yet either. 

[Appy]

2 hours ago, hypochondriac said:

Norwich are building a dedent team. I reckon they'll get playoffs. 

Losing both of their best players? Yeah, cracking 

[sockeye]

2 hours ago, hypochondriac said:

Norwich are building a dedent team. I reckon they'll get playoffs. 

That will be a big achievement. The league is strong this year.

[hypochondriac]

13 minutes ago, Appy said:

Losing both of their best players? Yeah, cracking 

Leeds did the same last year and it didn't harm them. It's about building a tram and they look to be recruiting well. Obviously losing those two isn't great but it doesn't mean that they aren't building a decent team that could be up there for promotion. 

[Turkish]

1 minute ago, hypochondriac said:

Leeds did the same last year and it didn't harm them. It's about building a tram and they look to be recruiting well. Obviously losing those two isn't great but it doesn't mean that they aren't building a decent team that could be up there for promotion. 

lets hope it comes off the rails then 

[Wade Garrett]

2 hours ago, lambtiss said:

I thought he was one of our better performers last season

He’s garbage.  Can’t defend for shit and does fuck all with the ball.  

[John B]

5 minutes ago, Wade Garrett said:

He’s garbage.  Can’t defend for shit and does fuck all with the ball.  

But still earns thousands every week  I can’t defend for shit and do fuck all with the ball and I am on a measly pension

[Gloucester Saint]

36 minutes ago, Turkish said:

lets hope it comes off the rails then 

Blackpool aren’t in our division which will help

 

Edited Monday at 11:55 by Gloucester Saint

[trousers]

 

 

[Patrick Bateman]

8 minutes ago, trousers said:

 

 

In the opposition's goal hopefully ... 

[imadirtyurchin]

31 minutes ago, trousers said:

 

 

Between the sticks, picking the ball out of the net. 

[hypochondriac]

31 minutes ago, trousers said:

 

 

Replacing Bazunu is for me the acid test of this regime. Do they have the ruthlessness required to do what everyone knows needs to be done? If we keep him and McCarthy with no one else then there won't be the proper change needed. 

[trousers]

5 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

Replacing Bazunu is for me the acid test of this regime. Do they have the ruthlessness required to do what everyone knows needs to be done? If we keep him and McCarthy with no one else then there won't be the proper change needed. 

Yep, totally agree 👍🏻

[sockeye]

Sadly I don't see Bazunu going this season. I think it is likely they try to sell him next summer, especially if we are promoted as his stock will be higher. Please prove me wrong Saints.

[West end Saints]

Their view could be - we were promoted with these keepers, and a manager who took risks at the back / not great at organising a defence - with more protection and a couple of years older why couldn't he be part of a promotion side again?

Not saying that's my view as clearly Ramsdale would hugely increase our chances

 

 

[Charlie Wayman]

15 minutes ago, sockeye said:

Sadly I don't see Bazunu going this season. I think it is likely they try to sell him next summer, especially if we are promoted as his stock will be higher. Please prove me wrong Saints.

Of course he won't be leaving, the guy has been out injured for 12 months so will have no suitors unless or until he can prove that all that is behind him.

[Saint Fan CaM]

21 minutes ago, sockeye said:

Sadly I don't see Bazunu going this season. I think it is likely they try to sell him next summer, especially if we are promoted as his stock will be higher. Please prove me wrong Saints.

Can you imagine the heyday the skates will have when dear Baz flaps around and gifts them a winning goal or two? It’ll be too painful to watch.

 

2 minutes ago, Charlie Wayman said:

Of course he won't be leaving, the guy has been out injured for 12 months so will have no suitors unless or until he can prove that all that is behind him.

I thought he’d gone off on loan to prove his fitness following injury? And actually ended up proving he’s actually quite shit.

[Turkish]

31 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

Replacing Bazunu is for me the acid test of this regime. Do they have the ruthlessness required to do what everyone knows needs to be done? If we keep him and McCarthy with no one else then there won't be the proper change needed. 

of all the transfer decisions we've made over the last few years his one is up there with being the most ridiculous. Note i say transfer decisions, not signings. As a promising young keeper, a year playing in league one a handful of international caps and a reasonable fee, as a signing it made sense but as a back up to develop and eventually take over from your current keeper. I mean we paid less for Baz than we did Angus Gunn when we already had Forster and McCarthy. To throw him into the premier league and expect him to excel was just utterly stupid. I said as much at the time and a few others did whilst the stats geeks went on about how many clean sheets he'd kept for Ireland. You have to wonder if being so clearly thrown in at the deep end when clearly wasn't ready has ruined him as he wasn't even a particularly competent keeper at championship level let alone Premier league. 

[Chez]

10 minutes ago, Saint Fan CaM said:

Can you imagine the heyday the skates will have when dear Baz flaps around and gifts them a winning goal or two? It’ll be too painful to watch.

 

I thought he’d gone off on loan to prove his fitness following injury? And actually ended up proving he’s actually quite shit.

He went out on loan but suffered a second new injury in April 2025 having played 8 games.

Edited Monday at 13:19 by Chez

[Ken Tone]

4 hours ago, goodymatt said:

Do we really need another CB?

No! Not unless several leave

[Doctoroncall]

46 minutes ago, West end Saints said:

Their view could be - we were promoted with these keepers, and a manager who took risks at the back / not great at organising a defence - with more protection and a couple of years older why couldn't he be part of a promotion side again?

Not saying that's my view as clearly Ramsdale would hugely increase our chances

 

 

The lottery of the playoffs last time. If the new regime mean business in going for promotion this season, top two finish has to be the target. Bazunu doesn’t strike me as a top two performer, McCarthy as a back up. A number of teams will also be wanting to challenge for a top two place. Why take the risk?  
 

If Ramsdale leaves a new number one keeper is needed as a replacement. So need a decision on Ramsdale sooner rather than later to help find a suitable replacement. 

[BarryVenisonsHair]

5 hours ago, goodymatt said:

Do we really need another CB?

Seems like the type of profile we would be going for, huge, strong and fast. 

[vectraman]

1 hour ago, Chez said:

He went out on loan but suffered a second new injury in April 2025 having played 8 games.

Bad back from picking the ball out of the net?

[revolution saint]

Interesting career so far has Xavier Mbuyamba, has been at both Barcelona and Chelsea but hasn't had the best of luck with injuries.  Was out for ages with a torn miniscus whilst at Chelsea and when he moved to Volendam they discovered he had a heart issue and sounds like he's got defibrillator fitted.  He's played at right back occasionally too.  if you're into lazy comparisons then fill your boots as he's been compared to VVD.

Kind of player I'd have expected us to be looking at prior to signing Quarshie but not so much now unless we're really going to be shedding loads of CBs soon.  

 

[Danbert]

3 hours ago, hypochondriac said:

It's about building a tram

🚋

[Doctoroncall]

4 minutes ago, revolution saint said:

Interesting career so far has Xavier Mbuyamba, has been at both Barcelona and Chelsea but hasn't had the best of luck with injuries.  Was out for ages with a torn miniscus whilst at Chelsea and when he moved to Volendam they discovered he had a heart issue and sounds like he's got defibrillator fitted.  He's played at right back occasionally too.  if you're into lazy comparisons then fill your boots as he's been compared to VVD.

Kind of player I'd have expected us to be looking at prior to signing Quarshie but not so much now unless we're really going to be shedding loads of CBs soon.  

 

He was captain at Volendam, which is a plus. Fits the current profile. 
 

There were other clubs named so no idea if Saints were seriously interested or as you say was down the list from Quarshie. Still plenty of young CBs at the club at the moment who need playing experience and will not be able to at Saints this season. 

[Gloucester Saint]

1 hour ago, Turkish said:

of all the transfer decisions we've made over the last few years his one is up there with being the most ridiculous. Note i say transfer decisions, not signings. As a promising young keeper, a year playing in league one a handful of international caps and a reasonable fee, as a signing it made sense but as a back up to develop and eventually take over from your current keeper. I mean we paid less for Baz than we did Angus Gunn when we already had Forster and McCarthy. To throw him into the premier league and expect him to excel was just utterly stupid. I said as much at the time and a few others did whilst the stats geeks went on about how many clean sheets he'd kept for Ireland. You have to wonder if being so clearly thrown in at the deep end when clearly wasn't ready has ruined him as he wasn't even a particularly competent keeper at championship level let alone Premier league. 

Agree with 99.9%, the only detail is that I’m fairly certain Forster was finally out of contract that summer.

Even so, we waited five years for Reed’s folly of a mega unwarranted contract extension to go off the books and then replaced it for another 5 years with Shields and Rasmus’s who is 10% of the keeper Forster ever was. 

Bungling incompetents #decadeofdickheads

Edited Monday at 14:51 by Gloucester Saint

[sockeye]

Wonder if any of these young tall centre backs will be heading to Goztepe.

[Turkish]

50 minutes ago, Gloucester Saint said:

Agree with 99.9%, the only detail is that I’m fairly certain Forster was finally out of contract that summer.

Even so, we waited five years for Reed’s folly of a mega unwarranted contract extension to go off the books and then replaced it for another 5 years with Shields and Rasmus’s who is 10% of the keeper Forster ever was. 

Bungling incompetents #decadeofdickheads

i dont remember Forsters contract situation but we signed Gunn in 2018 Forster left in 2022

[HarvSFC]

Isn't it impressive that when searching Manchester City for goalkeepers, we identified Gunn and Bazunu, but missed Trafford.