Summer Transfer Window 2025/26

[Chez]

11 minutes ago, Fitzhugh Fella said:

Good Morning - I hate to rain on your parade but I don't think the information you have been given is correct. Southampton have done everything possible (and more) to hang on to Dibling but he has declined to sign a new contract and so the club have no choice but to sell before he runs it down. I believe his parents are separated and not really singing off the same hymn sheet which means his agent is calling the shots and encouraging him to move. I was given this info about 4 months ago from a impeccable source.

Things might have changed but the contract remains unsigned so I don't think so. Personally I like him and would like to keep him because there is a unique talent just waiting to burst out with the right manager but hands are tied unfortunately.

What agent would instruct their player to sign a new contract for a team that has just been relegated? Dibling would have to be mad to tie himself to us for longer at this point. Sit tight for a year and then make a decision. 

By getting relegated, the club lost the opportunity to tie him down. Fucking annoying. We have a talent, and like you say, they can't afford to see the value drop after a year or risk losing him for nothing after two.

[Gloucester Saint]

3 minutes ago, Farmer Saint said:

What do you mean, too late? The transfer window doesn't close for a month. Why do you think we're not going to get promoted? Currently we have a far better squad than under Martin, and as we were told anyone is a better manager than he is.

Season starts next Saturday and the fixtures are harder at the start. We got some early points in August against weaker teams last time and then a horror September which meant we were always chasing. Possible we do the play offs but a big ask to go all the way. 

We don’t agree about squad strength - Downs has a lot riding on his young shoulders, hopefully the Espanyol cameo is a portent of what’s to come. KWP was a big attacking as well as defending factor last time. If THB was fit I’d be more comfortable but the defence lacks experience and goalkeeper doubtful. Downes injury hopefully is short-term.

If Still can wring a couple of wins out of what is there in August and a draw, that keeps in the top two picture if there’s some quality starter incomings and a #1 keeper, Ryan will do nicely, for this level. 

[wild-saint]

13 minutes ago, Fitzhugh Fella said:

Good Morning - I hate to rain on your parade but I don't think the information you have been given is correct. Southampton have done everything possible (and more) to hang on to Dibling but he has declined to sign a new contract and so the club have no choice but to sell before he runs it down. I believe his parents are separated and not really singing off the same hymn sheet which means his agent is calling the shots and encouraging him to move. I was given this info about 4 months ago from a impeccable source.

Things might have changed but the contract remains unsigned so I don't think so. Personally I like him and would like to keep him because there is a unique talent just waiting to burst out with the right manager but hands are tied unfortunately.

Not doubting you source but there is Lots of ITK bullshit on this forum but i would say from the outside this looks like you version sound much more credible. 

[Gloucester Saint]

24 minutes ago, Matthew Le God said:

That won't help much. If we don't go up this season, there'll be 3 more clubs with parachute payments joining us. Plus our parachute payments would be reduced in 26/27 and any decent player would want to leave next summer.

Didn’t hurt Ipswich, won’t hurt Brum this season if you have an owner who wants to have a proper go. Also, I’ve a feeling we will see the likes of Brentford coming down and being more like Luton. Leeds will stay up I reckon - just. 

[Saint Fan CaM]

14 minutes ago, Farmer Saint said:

What do you mean, too late? The transfer window doesn't close for a month. Why do you think we're not going to get promoted? Currently we have a far better squad than under Martin, and as we were told anyone is a better manager than he is.

Now I know you’re on a wind-up. Assuming Fernandes and Dibling go, the squad is significantly weaker than it was under Martin and it was pretty damned bleak before we sold every half decent player on the books! In my view all the wrong players have been sold and we’re left with the dross, meaning that even with a couple of decent new signings the squad for this coming season will likely struggle. Hope not - we’ll see.

[gio1saints]

9 hours ago, SaintJackoInHurworth said:

Dibling - I will be disappointed if he leaves, especially for less than £40m. I'll be especially disappointed if he goes to a relegation struggler club like Everton, rather than a club competing to get into European competition; even more so as a colleague supports them as does my brother-in-law. That having been said, Moyes is probably a good manager to nurture his talent. 

Fernandes - I will be very disappointed if he leaves. Just because a big club want him doesn't mean he WILL go! Still has said he wants him to stay and they want at least £40-50m if he does go. We also don't have any contract issues that mean we have any risk if we don't let him go straight away. He has also spoken positively about staying. Nevertheless, if we receive a large bid of at least £50m, we will find it hard not to sell.

Taylor Harwood-Bellis - I'm hopeful he is going to stay and become our true captain - keeping Captain Jack out of the side and playing with any one of our up-and-coming hope-for-the-future young centre backs: Wood, Edwards, Quarshie, Kayi-Sanda. Wood and Edwards were already better than Bednarek and Stephens last season, in my opinion!

Aribo, Fraser, Brereton-Diaz, Stephens, Bree - There's no major benefit in keeping any of them. Aribo, Fraser and Bree offer a little on occasions, but we can do better, already have better and hopefully can recruit better. Stephens is a liability and I remain absolutely devasted that the club have wasted precious resources giving him a new contract. Brereton-Diaz also offers next-to-nothing, though doesn't have the dreadful discipline issues of Captain Jack and isn't regularly culpable for us conceding ridiculous goals.

Bella-Kotchap - I don't necessarily believe most of the unsubstantiated rumours about his attitude, but if they are even a little true then we should get rid. The likely fact is that he probably doesn't want to play in the Championship. If we can't get rid of him, then I hope that Still can encourage him to rediscover the ability that led him to be selected for the German national team. Even if his attitude sucks, he is still way better than Captain Jack.

Arma - he has not got as much flair as Dibling, Robinson or Edozie and is not keen on playing as a striker, but you cannot argue with his goalscoring record at Championship level. As others have said, I would not want to sell him to another Championship team, but recognise he has perpetually struggled in the Premier League. He may well find the Scottish Premiership is the best level for his skills if we do sell him.

Stewart - has a good record at this level and may well benefit massively from Still's high fitness regime. He will still be a useful option, but if we do sell him, it won't be the end of the world.

Smallbone - he is still young and could benefit from Still's change of approach. He did well at Stoke. I hope he is a success, but I'm not sure we can pin too much hope on him right now. I would say he is currently behind Downes, Charles, Matsuki and maybe even Sesay in the pecking order, but we shall see. I am not one of those begging for us to sell him, but am not going to lose sleep if we do!

Taylor – I would prefer him to be the experienced leader type instead of Stephens. He is a useful extra option for defence who can do a job off the bench, but in many ways is numerically a luxury extra player beyond what we need.

Ballard – The likelihood is that we will either loan him or sell him. He was previously ahead of Dibling in the youth set-up but injuries have knocked him back. I hope he can rediscover his best form after finding a good/top league one side who will be fired to the top with his goals, I hope that we will be desperate next summer to give him a new contract and to bring him back to join the first team squad because he has done so well.

Purchases

• First priority is another Attacking midfielder – either as cover or replacement for Fernandes (hopefully cover!)
• The other top priority should be central midfield, unless Still feels that both Matsuki and Sesay are fully first team-ready and of sufficient quality to become successful regulars in the future.
• We probably also need to buy another winger – especially if Dibling and/or Edozie leaves. It will be difficult if we don’t get rid of Brereton-Diaz and/or Fraser as it is another position where we have lota of players already!
• If we get rid of Bree then another right back would be good.
• In terms of keepers, I hope Bazunu will continue to show his pre-season form, but it’s a risk relying on that. A good keeper on loan to replace Ramsdale until next season would be great.

Good summary . I enjoyed reading your analysis and agree with most.

Place I differ :  I’m in the HODL ( Hold On for Dear Life) category regarding Tyler and Mateus. IF we can balance the books this season without selling either it would be a sign of SR’s true, naked, ambition. I’d admire that whether it worked or not. More than if they got a lot of profit this year on player trading.
 

WRT to our attitude to the two lads I’d say “Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all “ Saints and us fans should give them all the love they can in order to help keep them developing here - not elsewhere. They ARE rare talents. They may go anyway as is likely but we should try EVERYTHING. 

Think on this : How many obviously destined to be top players have we seen sold off in bits and bobs over the decades as Saints fans? It’s countless numbers of top players…and how many times do we want to have that conversation on the terraces or down the pub or in here with fellow sufferers about “ just imagine if we had kept such and such young players with us for just another year ~ what a team that would have become..”

I am a realist and realise it’s not going to happen. But as a Long term Saints fan I’d like to think I’m also a never say die idealist. I want to see a beautiful Saints team play beautiful Southampton football. Just one full season will do before I die. Not endless average or mediocrity or quite goods and total rubbish interspersed with a few good matches and one excellent half per season. And a Cup win or two to make us all feel better. Fuck that. Build and keep a winning team.
 

Saints: Just one season more of TD and MF together please! 

Edited 16 hours ago by gio1saints

[Midfield_General]

41 minutes ago, Fitzhugh Fella said:

Southampton have done everything possible (and more) to hang on to Dibling but he has declined to sign a new contract and so the club have no choice but to sell before he runs it down.

his agent is calling the shots and encouraging him to move. 

Exactly. He's not going to sign the contract so literally the only option the club has now is to get much as we can for him this summer, before his value drops off a cliff next year. It's the same situation as it was with Livramento, Ings, JWP. 

His agent will be telling interested clubs that that's the situation, and encouraging them to bid, knowing that it will mean the agent gets his payday as we'll have to accept something. Everton have started the bidding at £27m, now it's just a question of how far we can push them up, or whether that acts as a trigger for any other interested parties to put in a better bid. He's basically gone at this point. 

Fortunately, Moyes has done us a massive favour by coming out in the press yesterday and saying how badly they need to get players in and how desperate they are for a winger having been turned down by their top targets, so we should be able to squeeze another £7-10m out of them as a distress purchase now he's shown their hand. Still think someone like Spurs/ Villa/ Fulham might enter the fray though, so we get a nice little bidding war.

I think he'll go for a package worth £40m all-in, but couldn't give a fuck who it's to, to be honest. He's not the finished article, I honestly think it would be better for his development if he played a season in the Championship, but he doesn't want to and with the money he can make from a move, who can blame him. So it's so long, thanks for the money and he'd better hope it works out better for him than the six weeks he lasted at Chelsea. 

Edited 16 hours ago by Midfield_General

[Willo of Whiteley]

He has a good start to last season but let’s not get ahead of ourselves like he was our Lord and saviour.

I hope he stays, he’s a player with a lot of talent; all I’m saying is his age and the fact he’s English puts an immediate tax on how much the club value him, the fact he’s also from the academy bumps it up slightly more.

He scored a couple of tap ins, how many of us expected him to kick on after his goal against Ipswich last season? I’m pretty confident everyone did.

He then played in a poor team for the rest of the season, but it’s easy to be classed as a great player when you don’t have to do much because the ball is in our defensive third. His reputation is the first third of games under Russell Martin last season, he did extremely little after that.

A year in the Championship would do him good, he’d probably kick on more and get a bigger club at the end of it.

Signing for Everton is just a quick win to more money, would he be any better at this moment in time, I doubt it.

He is one of the most talented players to come out the academy for years, but let’s not gloss over he was only decent up until Christmas, if that.

If someone offers £40m, take the stupid amount of money and move on. Otherwise leave him for a season in the Championship and I think his valuation will grow.

[Bewildered]

Lets be honest, we all knew that Dibling was going and it will be a miracle if THB/Fernandes don't follow.  

More concerned that the club hasn't managed to bring any players in beyond the early additions.

[Willo of Whiteley]

I’m more concerned at the lack of incomings.

I hate the “scar tissue” phrase but Christ, at the end of last season there was only three or four players I’d have wanted to keep. Two of them look to be on their way.

[Wade Garrett]

13 minutes ago, gio1saints said:

Good summary . I enjoyed reading your analysis and agree with most.

Place I differ :  I’m in the HODL ( Hold On for Dear Life) category regarding Tyler and Mateus. IF we can balance the books this season without selling either it would be a sign of SR’s true, naked, ambition. I’d admire that whether it worked or not. More than if they got a lot of profit this year on player trading.
 

WRT to our attitude to the two lads I’d say “Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all “ Saints and us fans should give them all the love they can in order to help keep them developing here - not elsewhere. They ARE rare talents. They may go anyway as is likely but we should try EVERYTHING. 

Think on this : How many obviously destined to be top players have we seen sold off in bits and bobs over the decades as Saints fans? It’s countless numbers of top players…and how many times do we want to have that conversation on the terraces or down the pub or in here with fellow sufferers about “ just imagine if we had kept such and such young players with us for just another year ~ what a team that would have become..”

I am a realist and realise it’s not going to happen. But as a Long term Saints fan I’d like to think I’m also a never say die idealist. I want to see a beautiful Saints team play beautiful Southampton football. Just one full season will do before I die. Not endless average or mediocrity or quite goods and total rubbish interspersed with a few good matches and one excellent half per season. And a Cup win or two to make us all feel better. Fuck that. Build and keep a winning team.
 

Saints: Just one season more of TD and MF together please! 

Unfortunately that’s not the SR way.  Solak would sell his granny if he could.

[hypochondriac]

1 hour ago, tdmickey3 said:

You said we had plenty to invest

We do. No one is seriously suggesting we will be spending everything we get in. I think I said I expected a further spend of 20-30 million. 

[gio1saints]

When you are as young as Tyler it’s hard /impossible to make a poor team good. But when you have the quality Tyler has, and his age, he can make a good team great. And can occasionally show class even in a bad team - but it’s rare and frustrating and not sustainable over full season in a poor team. 

People are conflating the rubbish team he played him with the player himself. And the position he was told to play and ultimately what he was told to do - and had to do / which was not his best skill set ( defending / tracking back tackling left wingers etc).
 

This new squad should now be told in the championship - give ball to Tyler every chance you get. That’s about as complicated as it gets. Instructions to Tyler : do whatever you feel is good to make goals.

[macca155]

1 hour ago, Fitzhugh Fella said:

Southampton have done everything possible (and more) to hang on to Dibling but he has declined to sign a new contract and so the club have no choice but to sell before he runs it down.

Sounds spot on, and knowing your sources FF, probably is.

People bandy around figures like £40 million as if it was pocket change. Saints hold the record (Lavia) £58 million, three of £40 millions after that. All pretty established players. Tyler is all potential. He's off the mega rich clubs radar, so £40 million is probably the ceiling.

I love players like Tyler, gutting he will leave, but the club has to realise a profit from assets like by this. Plus the lad himself will have ambitions, being sythe down every week, by utilitarian defenders won't be part of them.

Someone like Fulham, Villa or Palace would be a good fit. Lets just get it over with.

[ally_uk]

You watch Dibs last season the way he ran at players and showed no fear. Let's not dress it up, one of the most talented youth players we have had come through for a long time.

Anything under £40 million would be stupid..... 

[beatlesaint]

2 minutes ago, ally_uk said:

You watch Dibs last season the way he ran at players and showed no fear. Let's not dress it up, one of the most talented youth players we have had come through for a long time.

Anything under £40 million would be stupid..... 

Yes, some people have lost focus on the fact he's extremely talented by his performances in the seoncd half of the season. Lets face it he was probably overplayed and then with us being so fkin awful his confidence just went down and down so it looked like he couldnt be bothered. Can't blame him, I could barely be bothered to go to matches the second half of the season !

[Barsiem]

I don't see the value in selling him for less than £50m, unless he is preparing to throw his toys out the pram if he doesn't move, or we desperately need the money.  A year of him tearing up the championship will mean he'll have a price tag of at least £40m next year anyway I reckon, with the added bonus that he'll help us get promoted (hopefully).  

After getting so much for Lavia, I wouldn't be surprised if the amounts being touted are coming from Everton sources, and that the amount needed to buy him now is higher than stated

[Saint_clark]

57 minutes ago, Willo of Whiteley said:

I’m more concerned at the lack of incomings.

I hate the “scar tissue” phrase but Christ, at the end of last season there was only three or four players I’d have wanted to keep. Two of them look to be on their way.

I don't know why so many people were saying we needed to get rid of 15+ players, it never happens when a team gets relegated.

[Badger]

1 hour ago, Fitzhugh Fella said:

 

Things might have changed but the contract remains unsigned so I don't think so. Personally I like him and would like to keep him because there is a unique talent just waiting to burst out with the right manager but hands are tied unfortunately.

Have to wonder if this is part of the problem, and the lack of stability. No wonder he wants to escape the madhouse that we've become. He must feel its impossible to reach anywhere near his potential here.

Of course the agent will be driving the question over money but having a manager (in the Lawrie mold) who the player wants to play for, and is respected and trusted would help immensely. 

Edited 15 hours ago by Badger

[Gloucester Saint]

3 minutes ago, Saint_clark said:

I don't know why so many people were saying we needed to get rid of 15+ players, it never happens when a team gets relegated.

There needs to be a market for them for a start and the wages poor players are earning at SFC prices them out of the clubs that are really at their level and ability.

[Chez]

8 minutes ago, macca155 said:

People bandy around figures like £40 million as if it was pocket change. Saints hold the record (Lavia) £58 million, three of £40 millions after that. All pretty established players. Tyler is all potential. He's off the mega rich clubs radar, so £40 million is probably the ceiling.

 

Is Dibling much different to Lavia? Obviously Lavia performed well in most games, all season, while Dibling struggled a little in the second half of the season, but in terms of age, ability and potential, they could be seen as similar.  I know its a starting bid, but I hope the £27m offer has been made merely to reset expectations and not a guide of what we might get for him. Unfortunately, we only have him tied down for two years and not three otherwise we could play hard ball.

[Gloucester Saint]

1 hour ago, Bewildered said:

More concerned that the club hasn't managed to bring any players in beyond the early additions.

The departures don’t bother me as much anymore, although the Ramsdale one is a practical concern until a #1 is recruited.

But the lack of incomings sends a troubled signal. Pretty sure Charles had signed by now and as others have pointed out, Livramento, Lavia, Tella and JWP left quite late.

[Chez]

8 minutes ago, Saint_clark said:

I don't know why so many people were saying we needed to get rid of 15+ players, it never happens when a team gets relegated.

we offloaded 19 players in 2023, all be it two retired and several were season long loans.

[Chez]

40 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

We do. No one is seriously suggesting we will be spending everything we get in. I think I said I expected a further spend of 20-30 million. 

We do need to make a tidy profit on transfers to offset operating losses, but that looks probable at this point. We didn't spend a great deal last time, all be it we had the January window nightmare to pay for, but £10-15m for Spertsyan, possibly a keeper (could be a free) and maybe a winger...who knows how much that would cost?

It's not a foregone conclusion we will use the loan market, but perhaps if a few are loaned out, then we might consider it.

[Saint_clark]

9 minutes ago, Chez said:

we offloaded 19 players in 2023, all be it two retired and several were season long loans.

That's including as you say retirees, loans out as well as players out of contract. First teamers sold was only 7 or 8. People were talking at the end of last season about us selling everyone except 4 or 5 of our first team squad, it was never going to happen.

[hypochondriac]

Unlikely to happen but if we are looking for characters in the squad that's got to be about the best thing we could do. 

[saintant]

1 hour ago, Chez said:

What agent would instruct their player to sign a new contract for a team that has just been relegated? Dibling would have to be mad to tie himself to us for longer at this point. Sit tight for a year and then make a decision. 

By getting relegated, the club lost the opportunity to tie him down. Fucking annoying. We have a talent, and like you say, they can't afford to see the value drop after a year or risk losing him for nothing after two.

An agent with the player's best interests at heart (I get that they are generally in it for themselves). A decent agent would realise that Dibling isn't ready for a move right now and would be better off signing (or re-negotiating) the contract on the table and having a season with us where he'll play regularly rather than warming the bench of a mid table Premier League side. He's 19 and has already tasted life at Chelsea which he very soon discovered didn't suit him - ok, he was younger then but he doesn't come across as someone who thrives outside his own particular comfort zone.

[revolution saint]

2 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

Unlikely to happen but if we are looking for characters in the squad that's got to be about the best thing we could do. 

Maybe Walker Peters could persuade Ward-Prowse to move down here?

[Lighthouse]

Linking JWP with a move back down here is about as lazy as fake ITKs get. Particularly since he started pretty much every game under Potter and even if he is suddenly frozen out, loads of PL teams will be after him.

[hypochondriac]

30 million and jwp I would take for fernandes personally. 

[Gloucester Saint]

1 minute ago, Lighthouse said:

Linking JWP with a move back down here is about as lazy as fake ITKs get. Particularly since he started pretty much every game under Potter and even if he is suddenly frozen out, loads of PL teams will be after him.

Not to mention wages - West Ham won’t be contributing £90k pw to those.

[Farmer Saint]

2 hours ago, trousers said:

Which players do we have now that are "far better" than the equivalent players Martin had in the Championship? (Sorry if the answer is obvious but I've only just woken up and one's brain hasn't clicked into gear yet). Cheers 👍🏻

I will refer you to the below post - I would prefer to have this season's team to the team of 2023-2024:

18 hours ago, SaintJackoInHurworth said:

I think there are a lot of people panicking on here that may actually find that we do better than they expect. I'm not saying I don't want any incomings - we all want to see the squad being developed to become the strongest that it can be, BUT if we don't then I remain confident the squad will be competitive... unless of course all of our best players are sold and not replaced!

But where we find ourselves at this moment, I think we have a stronger squad than when we were in the Championship before:

Positn	Current Squad	2023-24 squad
GK	(Ramsdale), Bazunu, McCarthy	Bazunu, McCarthy, Lumley
FBs	Welington, Taylor, Sugawara, Manning, Bree	KWP, Manning, Bree, Larios
CBs	THB, Stephens, Edwards, Wood, Quarshie, Bella-Kotchap	Bednarek, Stephens, THB, Wood, Holgate
CMs	Downes, Charles, Smallbone, Aribo, Sesay	Downes, Smallbone, Aribo, Charles
AMs	Fernandes, Matsuki	S.Armstrong, Rothwell, Alcaraz (half a season)
Wings	Dibling, Robinson, A. Armstrong, Edozie, Fraser, Brereton-Diaz	A.Armstrong, Edozie, Fraser, Brookes, Amo-Ameyaw
Strikers	Downs, Archer, Stewart, Ballard	Adams, Mara, (Stewart)

It is also worth pointing out that just because a player was crap under certain managers last season in the Premier League does not mean that they are going to be crap this season under a different manager in the Championship.

Also, a lot of our players are young and developing. In theory that should mean that they will get better over time. That should give us reason to be less scathing about Smallbone, Charles, Edozie, Sugawara, Welington, Wood, Dibling, Archer, Bazunu, Edwards and others, some of whom seem to be the butt of a lot of criticism at times.

 

 

[saintant]

42 minutes ago, beatlesaint said:

Yes, some people have lost focus on the fact he's extremely talented by his performances in the seoncd half of the season. Lets face it he was probably overplayed and then with us being so fkin awful his confidence just went down and down so it looked like he couldnt be bothered. Can't blame him, I could barely be bothered to go to matches the second half of the season !

Didn't affect Fernandes who knuckled down and gave his all every minute he played.

[Farmer Saint]

1 hour ago, Saint Fan CaM said:

Now I know you’re on a wind-up. Assuming Fernandes and Dibling go, the squad is significantly weaker than it was under Martin and it was pretty damned bleak before we sold every half decent player on the books! In my view all the wrong players have been sold and we’re left with the dross, meaning that even with a couple of decent new signings the squad for this coming season will likely struggle. Hope not - we’ll see.

I'm not assuming they go until they go, but if they do they will be replaced with better than we had in 2023/2024.

[revolution saint]

I'd imagine if there's a deal involving other players to be done with West Ham then Luis Guilherme would be more likely.  There was some noise earlier in the window about us being interested, probably a loan.  He's a right winger and physically fits the profile Spors has identified.

[Rebel]

With Saints its not the selling of players that kills us - its the buying.  We are nit very good at it anymore.

The line-up against Brighton tomorrow will tell us a lot about who is halfway out the exit door. Whatever team we put out I just hope we don't get a good beating.

I am pretty sure that Dibling, Fernandes and THB will all leave this summer - along with the likes of Sugawara, Taylor and Aribo. Partly driven by the need to get rid of players on large wages and those who don't want to be here.

I worry the club is much more strapped for cash than people think or the club is admitting.  We need to raise about £100M in cash to fill the hole between premier league revenue and championship revenue - to keep paying the over inflated salaries for the players we can't get rid of as well as all those off field managers and directors, not too mention outstanding transfer fees and compensation to sacked managers and staff. 

Without those players mentioned above, not to mention Oguchukwu, Ramsdale, Bednarek, KWP, Edozie who have left already or are in the process of leaving - and players like Stu Armstrong and Che Adams - the squad is a lot weaker than the team that scraped through the play-offs the season before last.

Even then we lacked cover at CDM and a reliable goal keeper - neither of which have been addressed so far.  Matsuki and Smallbone are Attacking Midfielders - neither suit the profile needed to play in a double pivot - an injury to Charles or Downes and we are in trouble.  

There is time left in the transfer widow - but it is running out if we are to start the season well and create the momentum needed to get promoted.  Its hard to pick a 11 players good enough to play in Still's preferred 4-2-3-1 at the moment.  Robinson and one of BBD/Fraser/Adarma as wingers, Matsuki as a 10 perhaps.   

Giving Stephens another 3 year contract when he is 31, error prone and symptomatic of the teams loser mentality was a big mistake - if for no other reason than it demoralised the supporters.  Surely being Captain last year - and getting 2 red cards - not to mention being out of contract was more than enough reason to let him move on.  I think we are all worried it means as captain he is a guaranteed starter when Edwards, Quarshie and Woods should all be in front of him - but maybe more than that it signifies another 3 or 4 years of mediocrity as team and club.  And being stuck with his wages for another 3 years when we need to spend every penny wisely.

Maybe we will bring 5 or 6 great players in before the window closes (some on loan) and we will have a great season.  I guess we will just have to wait and see.

 

 

[disconnect]

I'm not so sure about Sugawara - if Matsuki is genuinely going to be part of the first team squad (and there was that other young Japanese striker Takoaka who seems to have gone AWOL?!) then I think the club may want to keep him around. 

[Farmer Saint]

3 minutes ago, disconnect said:

I'm not so sure about Sugawara - if Matsuki is genuinely going to be part of the first team squad (and there was that other young Japanese striker Takoaka who seems to have gone AWOL?!) then I think the club may want to keep him around. 

Didn't Suga say he wanted to stay and help us get promoted again?

[davefizzy14]

2 minutes ago, Farmer Saint said:

Didn't Suga say he wanted to stay and help us get promoted again?

Yeah Sugawara said in the Daily Echo he was staying and aiming to get us back to where we belong 😊

[S-Clarke]

11 hours ago, SaintJackoInHurworth said:

Dibling - I will be disappointed if he leaves, especially for less than £40m. I'll be especially disappointed if he goes to a relegation struggler club like Everton, rather than a club competing to get into European competition; even more so as a colleague supports them as does my brother-in-law. That having been said, Moyes is probably a good manager to nurture his talent. 

Fernandes - I will be very disappointed if he leaves. Just because a big club want him doesn't mean he WILL go! Still has said he wants him to stay and they want at least £40-50m if he does go. We also don't have any contract issues that mean we have any risk if we don't let him go straight away. He has also spoken positively about staying. Nevertheless, if we receive a large bid of at least £50m, we will find it hard not to sell.

Taylor Harwood-Bellis - I'm hopeful he is going to stay and become our true captain - keeping Captain Jack out of the side and playing with any one of our up-and-coming hope-for-the-future young centre backs: Wood, Edwards, Quarshie, Kayi-Sanda. Wood and Edwards were already better than Bednarek and Stephens last season, in my opinion!

Aribo, Fraser, Brereton-Diaz, Stephens, Bree - There's no major benefit in keeping any of them. Aribo, Fraser and Bree offer a little on occasions, but we can do better, already have better and hopefully can recruit better. Stephens is a liability and I remain absolutely devasted that the club have wasted precious resources giving him a new contract. Brereton-Diaz also offers next-to-nothing, though doesn't have the dreadful discipline issues of Captain Jack and isn't regularly culpable for us conceding ridiculous goals.

Bella-Kotchap - I don't necessarily believe most of the unsubstantiated rumours about his attitude, but if they are even a little true then we should get rid. The likely fact is that he probably doesn't want to play in the Championship. If we can't get rid of him, then I hope that Still can encourage him to rediscover the ability that led him to be selected for the German national team. Even if his attitude sucks, he is still way better than Captain Jack.

Arma - he has not got as much flair as Dibling, Robinson or Edozie and is not keen on playing as a striker, but you cannot argue with his goalscoring record at Championship level. As others have said, I would not want to sell him to another Championship team, but recognise he has perpetually struggled in the Premier League. He may well find the Scottish Premiership is the best level for his skills if we do sell him.

Stewart - has a good record at this level and may well benefit massively from Still's high fitness regime. He will still be a useful option, but if we do sell him, it won't be the end of the world.

Smallbone - he is still young and could benefit from Still's change of approach. He did well at Stoke. I hope he is a success, but I'm not sure we can pin too much hope on him right now. I would say he is currently behind Downes, Charles, Matsuki and maybe even Sesay in the pecking order, but we shall see. I am not one of those begging for us to sell him, but am not going to lose sleep if we do!

Taylor – I would prefer him to be the experienced leader type instead of Stephens. He is a useful extra option for defence who can do a job off the bench, but in many ways is numerically a luxury extra player beyond what we need.

Ballard – The likelihood is that we will either loan him or sell him. He was previously ahead of Dibling in the youth set-up but injuries have knocked him back. I hope he can rediscover his best form after finding a good/top league one side who will be fired to the top with his goals, I hope that we will be desperate next summer to give him a new contract and to bring him back to join the first team squad because he has done so well.

Purchases

• First priority is another Attacking midfielder – either as cover or replacement for Fernandes (hopefully cover!)
• The other top priority should be central midfield, unless Still feels that both Matsuki and Sesay are fully first team-ready and of sufficient quality to become successful regulars in the future.
• We probably also need to buy another winger – especially if Dibling and/or Edozie leaves. It will be difficult if we don’t get rid of Brereton-Diaz and/or Fraser as it is another position where we have lota of players already!
• If we get rid of Bree then another right back would be good.
• In terms of keepers, I hope Bazunu will continue to show his pre-season form, but it’s a risk relying on that. A good keeper on loan to replace Ramsdale until next season would be great.

I think the going rates for Dibling & Fernandes are in the £35-45m region (including add-ons). They're not any higher than that, and I assume clubs will meet those valuations at some point. It was always an incredible pipe dream to try and pitch Dibling as a £70-100m player -  but with 1 and a bit year left...£35-45 tops is fair, and that includes English tax as Fernandes is the better player right now.

It's hard not to believe the rumours around ABK tbh, there have been 3 managers who have purposely kept him away from the squad. They initially have a look, and then he's banished. The same has happened again with zero involvement from ABK. It's a bad egg, he wants out, no one wants him as he's a bad egg, and we're in a cycle. At this point I'd take a couple of mill.

There is this incorrect view that Stewart is proven at this level, but it's really not the case. He had 13 games at this level with Sunderland - just 13. He scored 10 in 13, great. But that is where all this 'he's great at this level' comes from. It was an incredibly small sample and could easily equate to a purple patch, we have no idea. I'd certainly not call him proven at any level above L1/Scottish leagues at this stage.

In terms of purchases, there's no probably...we 110000000% need a winger - probably two or three! The entire attack needs a revisit really, we may have the players who can score - but there's nothing behind them at this moment, certainly with the predicted sales.

 

Edited 14 hours ago by S-Clarke

[LGTL]

So exactly as expected, we’re selling absolutely everyone with any semblance of quality. KWP, Ramsdale, Dibling and Fernandes will all be gone inside the next few weeks.

We have a tough start and those cunts coming up early in September. It’s absolutely critical we get some replacements in fast. 

[goodymatt]

12 minutes ago, Rebel said:

With Saints its not the selling of players that kills us - its the buying.  We are nit very good at it anymore.

The line-up against Brighton tomorrow will tell us a lot about who is halfway out the exit door. Whatever team we put out I just hope we don't get a good beating.

I am pretty sure that Dibling, Fernandes and THB will all leave this summer - along with the likes of Sugawara, Taylor and Aribo. Partly driven by the need to get rid of players on large wages and those who don't want to be here.

I worry the club is much more strapped for cash than people think or the club is admitting.  We need to raise about £100M in cash to fill the hole between premier league revenue and championship revenue - to keep paying the over inflated salaries for the players we can't get rid of as well as all those off field managers and directors, not too mention outstanding transfer fees and compensation to sacked managers and staff. 

Without those players mentioned above, not to mention Oguchukwu, Ramsdale, Bednarek, KWP, Edozie who have left already or are in the process of leaving - and players like Stu Armstrong and Che Adams - the squad is a lot weaker than the team that scraped through the play-offs the season before last.

Even then we lacked cover at CDM and a reliable goal keeper - neither of which have been addressed so far.  Matsuki and Smallbone are Attacking Midfielders - neither suit the profile needed to play in a double pivot - an injury to Charles or Downes and we are in trouble.  

There is time left in the transfer widow - but it is running out if we are to start the season well and create the momentum needed to get promoted.  Its hard to pick a 11 players good enough to play in Still's preferred 4-2-3-1 at the moment.  Robinson and one of BBD/Fraser/Adarma as wingers, Matsuki as a 10 perhaps.   

Giving Stephens another 3 year contract when he is 31, error prone and symptomatic of the teams loser mentality was a big mistake - if for no other reason than it demoralised the supporters.  Surely being Captain last year - and getting 2 red cards - not to mention being out of contract was more than enough reason to let him move on.  I think we are all worried it means as captain he is a guaranteed starter when Edwards, Quarshie and Woods should all be in front of him - but maybe more than that it signifies another 3 or 4 years of mediocrity as team and club.  And being stuck with his wages for another 3 years when we need to spend every penny wisely.

Maybe we will bring 5 or 6 great players in before the window closes (some on loan) and we will have a great season.  I guess we will just have to wait and see.

 

 

With or without Stephen’s extension, he would be staying for this season and be club captain. So the dilemma of if he’s a starter would remain. We still can’t rule out that his extension reduces his wages but covers a longer term, which would suit all parties. Spors two new incomings look to be new profiles for low fees and early indications are positive on their quality. I would judge our recruitment on incomings, rather than keeping a loyal player around potentially on wages that are lower but for longer - that won’t be what defines our season. Agree there’s still lots to do, but let’s give Spors his first full window to give some confidence we are going in the right direction.

[Give it to Ron]

[Farmer Saint]

4 minutes ago, Give it to Ron said:

If that's true, then we should be sounding the "bidding war" klaxon.

[Chez]

45 minutes ago, Saint_clark said:

That's including as you say retirees, loans out as well as players out of contract. First teamers sold was only 7 or 8. People were talking at the end of last season about us selling everyone except 4 or 5 of our first team squad, it was never going to happen.

Not to get all MLG on you, but you said "get rid" and not renewing contracts and loaning players out for a season because you don't want them counts as getting rid in some people's book, but I take your point, selling 15 players in a window is unlikely.  So far its 8 gone this summer, with Ramsdale likely to make it 9. It would surprise no one if Fernandes and Dibling departed and perhaps a few more on loan like ABK, Taylor, BBD...so, that 15 mark could be reached this year too.

 

[OldNick]

Is Tyler the right personality to have Moyes giving him the hair dryer treatment?

[hypochondriac]

3 minutes ago, Farmer Saint said:

If that's true, then we should be sounding the "bidding war" klaxon.

If true then 50 million is a possibility imo. 

[Chez]

45 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

Unlikely to happen but if we are looking for characters in the squad that's got to be about the best thing we could do. 

I always enjoy these kind of stories, but no chance JWP drops down a division IMO or we can afford his £100k+ a week wages. Even if West Ham paid him half of it as a lump sum, we are still not going to pay him £60k a week or whatever. We are offloading Ramsdale because his reduced wage is still too high. 

[Chez]

31 minutes ago, revolution saint said:

I'd imagine if there's a deal involving other players to be done with West Ham then Luis Guilherme would be more likely.  There was some noise earlier in the window about us being interested, probably a loan.  He's a right winger and physically fits the profile Spors has identified.

Good point. I forgot about him. Once we get close to the window closing, and West Ham are settled, I can see him as a genuine possibility.

[S-Clarke]

2 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

If true then 50 million is a possibility imo. 

I reckon a base fee in the region of £35-40m, good sell on, and achievable add-ons which could take it to £45/46m ish.

That's my feel. Probably a fair value on the back of one PL season. Good player he is, and we wouldn't lose value if he stuck with us for a year, but he's got a very vocal and famous agent who probably doesn't want his asset in lower divisions.