Summer Transfer Window 2025/26

[verlaine1979]

2 hours ago, Wade Garrett said:

Then we’re just a player trading organisation.

Well we would be if we'd had good enough scouting to get the model to work. But seriously, where else are small clubs going to find an economic edge? TV money, sponsorship and billionaire owners are a wash. All you can hope for is to recruit better than anyone else and reinvest.

[hypochondriac]

28 minutes ago, Smirking_Saint said:

Ive said all along I can see us keeping one of Fernandes or Dibling UNLESS they make life very uncomfortable for us

Either one is likely a huge boon in the Championship, but like you say, think we’re in the driving seat as far as negotiations are concerned, generally 

If it's true that Juve and athletico are in for Fernandes then he's clearly not going to stay. I think we have a much better chance with dibling, particularly if we have just sold Fernandes and made close to 100 million in sales. 

[Pat from Poole]

Didn’t Juve piss us about with Alcaraz?

Balls to them.

[Saint NL]

Sell on clauses for a loan? These people are just making shit up 🤣

[Lighthouse]

18 minutes ago, Pat from Poole said:

Didn’t Juve piss us about with Alcaraz?

Balls to them.

Nope, they just didn't want to buy him because he was largely crap for them, so they didn't activate the agreed fee clause.

[SW11_Saint]

30 minutes ago, Pat from Poole said:

Didn’t Juve piss us about with Alcaraz?

Balls to them.

Rather he went to Atleti anyway (clearly I’d rather keep him, but fear that’s not going to happen…). 

[Nolan]

6 hours ago, Saint NL said:

Sell on clauses for a loan? These people are just making shit up 🤣

and if they were sales, sell on clauses normally are for a percentage of the PROFIT, not for the percentage of the total fee, so would be nowhere near 8 million. Nearer £1 million for both if reported final sales fees are accurate.

Edited 12 hours ago by Nolan

[Wade Garrett]

6 hours ago, verlaine1979 said:

Well we would be if we'd had good enough scouting to get the model to work. But seriously, where else are small clubs going to find an economic edge? TV money, sponsorship and billionaire owners are a wash. All you can hope for is to recruit better than anyone else and reinvest.

I get that, but you have to build a side as well.  If all you’re going to do is sell your best players at the first time of asking, what’s the point?

[Galway saint]

44 minutes ago, Wade Garrett said:

I get that, but you have to build a side as well.  If all you’re going to do is sell your best players at the first time of asking, what’s the point?

I understood after the shambles of last year there was a recognition within the club we had to try and build a side in the championship that had a structure and pedigree capable of surviving in the premier league. At the moment I don’t see any evidence of that happening and the award of a new 3 year contract to Stephens is an indication to me that the club is still a basket case

[Football Special]

44 minutes ago, Galway saint said:

I understood after the shambles of last year there was a recognition within the club we had to try and build a side in the championship that had a structure and pedigree capable of surviving in the premier league. At the moment I don’t see any evidence of that happening and the award of a new 3 year contract to Stephens is an indication to me that the club is still a basket case

Yep, people have given Dragan the benefit of the doubt to see how his new structure does but at the moment it seems like the new team is same as the old, just with a preference to buy from the German market. 

Having watched pre season games and looking at our likely XI I see no reason to be excited for the coming season unfortunately 

Edited 10 hours ago by Football Special

[Badger]

29 minutes ago, Football Special said:

Yep, people have given Dragan the benefit of the doubt to see how his new structure does but at the moment it seems like the new team is same as the old, just with a preference to buy from the German market. 

Having watched pre season games and looking at our likely XI I see no reason to be excited for the coming season unfortunately 

Yes it does seem like it.

So far it doesn’t seem like the ‘reset’ we’d hoped for. 
 

And if we start the season with Bazunu then it seems we’ve gone backwards. Again. 

[hypochondriac]

33 minutes ago, Football Special said:

Yep, people have given Dragan the benefit of the doubt to see how his new structure does but at the moment it seems like the new team is same as the old, just with a preference to buy from the German market. 

Having watched pre season games and looking at our likely XI I see no reason to be excited for the coming season unfortunately 

As frustrating as it is to do business late in the window, we obviously are going to make multiple signings over the next few weeks. My guess would be at least five which should hopefully completely change our team and remove some of the hangover from last year. Assuming we make the predicted sales I reckon the team may eventually look something lime 

New gk 

Bree Quarshie Edwards Wellington 

Downes Charles 

New winger new am new winger 

Downs

Maybe Downes or Charles will go and they will be replaced too. 

[obelisk]

League points won at the start of the season are just as valuable as those earned at the end. I just hope Saints don't find themselves doing catch up after a slow transfer window with a make-do-and-mend start to the season.

[egg]

12 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

As frustrating as it is to do business late in the window, we obviously are going to make multiple signings over the next few weeks. My guess would be at least five which should hopefully completely change our team and remove some of the hangover from last year. Assuming we make the predicted sales I reckon the team may eventually look something lime 

New gk 

Bree Quarshie Edwards Wellington 

Downes Charles 

New winger new am new winger 

Downs

Maybe Downes or Charles will go and they will be replaced too. 

Us needing new players is obvious, but it's not obvious that we'll get them. There's a very real prospect imo that we rely on Baz in goal, and BBS, AA and Fraser as our 3 behind. 

I wouldn't want to start the season with Quarshie personally. I'd rather we partnered Edwards with an experienced player. Whatever the fans want, that'll probably be Stephens. 

[hypochondriac]

9 minutes ago, obelisk said:

League points won at the start of the season are just as valuable as those earned at the end. I just hope Saints don't find themselves doing catch up after a slow transfer window with a make-do-and-mend start to the season.

I agree with that and I am frustrated that we haven't got in at least a couple more signings by now to strengthen our attack. Currently it's pretty toothless. 

[egg]

2 hours ago, Wade Garrett said:

I get that, but you have to build a side as well.  If all you’re going to do is sell your best players at the first time of asking, what’s the point?

Asking that question misses the point. We've become a stepping stone club for players capable of bigger and better. To get those players, we have to sell them when a half decent offer comes in. That's our reality. 

[hypochondriac]

Just now, egg said:

Us needing new players is obvious, but it's not obvious that we'll get them. There's a very real prospect imo that we rely on Baz in goal, and BBS, AA and Fraser as our 3 behind. 

I wouldn't want to start the season with Quarshie personally. I'd rather we partnered Edwards with an experienced player. Whatever the fans want, that'll probably be Stephens. 

I get we will most likely start the season with that. I'm just saying I think that's where we could end up by the end of the window. I'm sure we will keep at least one of AA and BBD but I reckon if we get in a couple of attacking options then there will at least be competition for the wide positions. Probably Robinson as well. I think a couple might be on loan but if we do sell all these players there's not a chance in hell imo that we don't get in the required 4-5 players before the window closes in a month. 

[tdmickey3]

Just now, egg said:

Asking that question misses the point. We've become a stepping stone club for players capable of bigger and better. To get those players, we have to sell them when a half decent offer comes in. That's our reality. 

True but this model has caused the decline since the Koeman days.

[egg]

Just now, hypochondriac said:

I get we will most likely start the season with that. I'm just saying I think that's where we could end up by the end of the window. I'm sure we will keep at least one of AA and BBD but I reckon if we get in a couple of attacking options then there will at least be competition for the wide positions. Probably Robinson as well. I think a couple might be on loan but if we do sell all these players there's not a chance in hell imo that we don't get in the required 4-5 players before the window closes in a month. 

I think it'll be loan kids to support the experience we'll be left with. If we get 4 new starters I'll be amazed. 

[hypochondriac]

Just now, tdmickey3 said:

True but this model has caused the decline since the Koeman days.

We have little choice. I quite like the Ipswich approach though who appear to have prioritised creating a championship dream team. 

[sockeye]

3 minutes ago, egg said:

Asking that question misses the point. We've become a stepping stone club for players capable of bigger and better. To get those players, we have to sell them when a half decent offer comes in. That's our reality. 

Even worse really, we are now a stepping stone for the stepping stones.

[egg]

1 minute ago, tdmickey3 said:

True but this model has caused the decline since the Koeman days.

I'm not saying it's the right model, but it's our model. Anyone expecting us to not do what we have been, and will be, doing needs to appreciate the reality. You can't operate this model and block players from moving on. People like Fernandes are glorified loan signings, but with the intention of making a profit. 

[tdmickey3]

Just now, hypochondriac said:

We have little choice. I quite like the Ipswich approach though who appear to have prioritised creating a championship dream team. 

Indeed, but we need to find an approach that allows to keep some of out best and build from there, it is clear now our way has been increasing the speed of the decline

[hypochondriac]

Just now, egg said:

I think it'll be loan kids to support the experience we'll be left with. If we get 4 new starters I'll be amazed. 

Can't agree with that. Brooks and Rothwell weren't loan kids, neither was thb and Downes. When Fernandes goes we will obviously pay a fair whack to bring in a top quality for the championship am. Maybe someone like rak sakyi on the wing. I have faith we will bring in a better keeper too. 

[tdmickey3]

2 minutes ago, egg said:

I'm not saying it's the right model, but it's our model. Anyone expecting us to not do what we have been, and will be, doing needs to appreciate the reality. You can't operate this model and block players from moving on. People like Fernandes are glorified loan signings, but with the intention of making a profit. 

I agree but maybe we can tweak it a bit to just keep some

Edited 9 hours ago by tdmickey3

[Dusic]

John Percy (very reliable) saying Firest have had talks re Fernandes and that he meets all of their criteria for a new signing. He was the person who first mentioned their interest end of last season.

I think its now clear he will be going as too much interest from a range of clubs and being honest he should be playing at a high level because he could be an elite player.

I think its probably now looking like we will do well to keep just one of the big four - I think all will probably go because its so hard to keep players when PL clubs want them.

Edited 9 hours ago by Dusic

[CSA96]

On 16/07/2025 at 14:26, CSA96 said:

Fernandes has the same agent as Nuno too, so that's something to watch out for

https://twitter.com/saintsextra/status/1950814667170848937?s=46&t=f0hgNyKSvvOD5qjGLJhsXQ

[hypochondriac]

1 minute ago, tdmickey3 said:

I agree but maybe we can tweak it a bit to just keep some

I reckon we might end up keeping Dibling so that is keeping some. 

[Chez]

11 minutes ago, Dusic said:

John Percy (very reliable) saying Firest have had talks re Fernandes and that he meets all of their criteria for a new signing. He was the person who first mentioned their interest end of last season.

I think its now clear he will be going as too much interest from a range of clubs and being honest he should be playing at a high level because he could be an elite player.

I think its probably now looking like we will do well to keep just one of the big four - I think all will probably go because its so hard to keep players when PL clubs want them.

I mentioned yesterday Forest are bidding for McAtee, so that might impact things. Not sure they want both. 

[gio1saints]

Last time we went down a LOT of people here were expecting an immediate return to EPL-indeed as automatic. 

The reason given was largely our squad quality vs the rest and basically our ability to pay much higher wages because of parachute ££ etc. The more ££ a club has usually they win, that’s morally wrong but too often true.

The balancing factor to that optimism was we had a new & controversial manager playing an ambitious but dangerous way and essentially he had inherited a bunch of losers - indeed the whole club was in doldrums. 

Im not sure so much is really thematically different from last time around overall - so I’m kind of surprised - but actually happy there’s this growing realisation that yes, it’s going to be incredibly difficult to get out this league. Everyone needs to perform at their very best if they are to get into top six. 

 

IF we start this campaign with some humility there’s a chance thousands of supporters will fall in love with their club once again. There’s a chance the players left may rediscover that Saints underdogs never say die spirit. And that, instead of arrogantly expecting to win every game “ because” - they go out and prove why they deserve to win. And we get genuinely happy each time we do. Good Time for a mental reset for everyone. 

Edited 9 hours ago by gio1saints

[Chez]

14 minutes ago, tdmickey3 said:

I agree but maybe we can tweak it a bit to just keep some

Realistically, can you block a player from getting move to a bigger club if they are offering decent money? The player is going to be fuming if you deny them a lucrative move. Once they have decided they want to go, it becomes very difficult to keep them.

[Chez]

3 minutes ago, gio1saints said:

Last team we went down a LOT of people here were expecting an immediate return to EPL-indeed as automatic. 

The reason given was largely our squad quality vs the rest and basically our ability to pay much higher wages because of parachute ££ etc. The more ££ a club has usually they win, that’s life. The balancing factor was we had a new & controversial manager playing an ambitious but dangerous way and essentially he had inherited a bunch of losers - indeed the whole club was in doldrums. 

Im not sure so much is really thematically different from last time around - so I’m kind of surprised - but actually happy - that, there’s this growing realisation. That, yes, it’s going to be incredibly difficult to get out this league. Everyone needs to perform at their best. 
 

We start this campaign with that kind of humility there’s a chance thousands of supporters will fall in love with their club once again. And instead of arrogantly expecting to win every game we get genuinely happy each time we do. Time for a mental reset. 

Some thought we'd go straight back due to the financial muscle, but the pessimists and those that witnessed the shit show under cuntflaps were worried we'd repeat the trick.

It will be very tough again. We have financial muscle and the players on paper, but it's on Still to create a winning team...and that's not easy.

I look forward to winning a game or two. 

[SuperSAINT]

23 minutes ago, Dusic said:

John Percy (very reliable) saying Firest have had talks re Fernandes and that he meets all of their criteria for a new signing. He was the person who first mentioned their interest end of last season.

I think its now clear he will be going as too much interest from a range of clubs and being honest he should be playing at a high level because he could be an elite player.

I think its probably now looking like we will do well to keep just one of the big four - I think all will probably go because its so hard to keep players when PL clubs want them.

Yeah, John Percy has access to the top people up there. Pretty sure he was the guy who said we were asking “silly money” for players weeks ago.

Interesting to see where the middle ground is and how much At Madrid etc want him.  Obviously as others have said Nuno & Matty share an agent .

[Badger]

31 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

We have little choice. I quite like the Ipswich approach though who appear to have prioritised creating a championship dream team. 

Rather like us in L1 when we signed the best striker in the division. Unfortunately we now lack the common sense, and what you might describe as local knowledge of the division we’re in. 
 

Hayden Hackney, or a previously unheard of 19 year old Bosnian MF ? You know where our focus will be. 
 

Suggest on here that ideally we’d be better off with a manager and players who know the challenges of the league we’re in, and it’s rapidly dismissed. 

[Badger]

5 minutes ago, SuperSAINT said:

Yeah, John Percy has access to the top people up there. Pretty sure he was the guy who said we were asking “silly money” for players weeks ago.

Interesting to see where the middle ground is and how much At Madrid etc want him.  Obviously as others have said Nuno & Matty share an agent .

If and when Fernandes leaves, then hope it’s for Athletico Madrid or Juventus rather than Forest or West Ham. (Providing the £ is right of course). 
 

I’m surprised Man Utd aren’t in for him given the Amorim link. 

[Matthew Le God]

5 minutes ago, Badger said:

Suggest on here that ideally we’d be better off with a manager and players who know the challenges of the league we’re in, and it’s rapidly dismissed. 

We still have a lot of the squad that were promoted from the Championship. Plus our assistant manager has recently been promoted from the Championship. 

Edited 9 hours ago by Matthew Le God

[Saint86]

With so many players being linked with the exit, and barely a whisper re incoming rumours, its starting to look like a 2 year reset...

[Badger]

Just now, Matthew Le God said:

We still have a lot of the squad that were promoted from the Championship. Plus our assistant manager has recently been promoted from the Championship. 

Many of those  remaining players  are widely regarded as crap and among those most would like to see go. 

Fair point re Trollope although I remain of the view I’d rather the manager had experience of this league. I know you don’t agree with that view so no need to reply ! 

[Matthew Le God]

Just now, Saint86 said:

With so many players being linked with the exit, and barely a whisper re incoming rumours, its starting to look like a 2 year reset...

We have a month of the window left! Transfers are generally left until late on at most clubs for numerous good reasons that have been outlined on here multiple times every window.

[SuperSAINT]

4 minutes ago, Badger said:

I’m surprised Man Utd aren’t in for him given the Amorim link. 

I’m sure they like him, but I think they are after a more defensive mid.

[West end Saints]

Just now, Badger said:

Rather like us in L1 when we signed the best striker in the division. Unfortunately we now lack the common sense, and what you might describe as local knowledge of the division we’re in. 
 

Hayden Hackney, or a previously unheard of 19 year old Bosnian MF ? You know where our focus will be. 
 

Suggest on here that ideally we’d be better off with a manager and players who know the challenges of the league we’re in, and it’s rapidly dismissed. 

That's not evidenced by results though - most managers who do well in championship do so with no experience in this league

[LeBizzier69]

Fernandes is on a long deal, so we need to make sure we get top money for him. No one would begrudge him a move back to the PL or overseas, but equally we’re not a charity and it’s a business. He alone would be huge in getting us straight back up, and that’s where we need to see his value.

Club need to demand top money for him or they can jog on.

Hope we get to see him once more v Wrexham. 

[S-Clarke]

13 minutes ago, Saint86 said:

With so many players being linked with the exit, and barely a whisper re incoming rumours, its starting to look like a 2 year reset...

Well, Edozie, Ramsdale & Fernandes aren't what I'd call 'so many' tbf. 

We'll sign players, the club have to. if they don't we'll do well to finish Top 10 if we sell those above and don't replace, they know it, so there's no worry - of course we'll sign.

I still think the loan market will come in useful towards the end, that's where you get the out of reach PL style players/PL-Style wages etc that become available on a loan. That's where the real quality will be found, as per last time out in the Champ.

And I do believe this squad revamp will take more than 1 window, they've got to use the next window as well to cycle through players we need out - we might not be able to get rid of all the bloat this year.  That's why I think some clever loans with options to buy may be a sensible approach this year too.

Edited 8 hours ago by S-Clarke

[ally_uk]

I’ve been really impressed with Matsuki this preseason, think he deserves a proper chance this year.

As for Fernandes and Dibling, I think it’s inevitable we’ll lose at least one. If that’s the case, let’s not drag it out  get the deals done quickly and maximise the fee so we’ve got time to bed in fresh blood.

Our transfer business so far looks promising. Targeting players with more height and physical presence is exactly what we needed.

Watching us in the Premier League last season, it was glaringly obvious, teams like Newcastle made us look like Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.

We need strength, height, and no-nonsense, tough-tackling players — especially in midfield. A proper destroyer. Someone in the mould of Romeu.

A Winger with some form of end product.

A Creative Attacking Mid 

And a New Number 1 Goalkeeper 

Is a minimum we neeed.

 

 

[Saint86]

6 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

Well, Edozie, Ramsdale & Fernandes aren't what I'd call 'so many' tbf. 

Edozie, Ramsdale, Fernandes, THB, Dibling, Aribo (last year of contract), Smallbone have all been linked with exits recently... And the reality is that they're most of the ones we'd on balance want to keep.... Especially as we're already light in the attacking midfield spots.

Edited 8 hours ago by Saint86

[revolution saint]

21 minutes ago, Badger said:

Suggest on here that ideally we’d be better off with a manager and players who know the challenges of the league we’re in, and it’s rapidly dismissed. 

 

11 minutes ago, Badger said:

Many of those  remaining players  are widely regarded as crap and among those most would like to see go. 

Fair point re Trollope although I remain of the view I’d rather the manager had experience of this league. I know you don’t agree with that view so no need to reply ! 

I think you can see the contradiction here and we've actually got quite a lot of players with championship experience. 

Personally I don't think we should be prescriptive about signings whether that's overseas vs domestic players or the perennial experience vs potential debate.  There's good and bad examples on all sides and so ultimately it comes down to scouting and having an eye for a player.   If we get better players in then I don't really care how old they are or where they come from. 

[S-Clarke]

5 minutes ago, Saint86 said:

Edozie, Ramsdale, Fernandes, THB, Dibling, Aribo (last year of contract), Smallbone have all been linked with exits recently... And the reality is that they're most of the ones we'd on balance want to keep.... Especially as we're already light in the attacking midfield spots.

Not seen any links what so ever for THB or Dibling leaving. They might attract interest, but what's the point in panicking when there is literally no rumour or 'noise' to panic over?

To be fair, Smallbone and Aribo are ones we really need to cycle out of the squad anyway - so all the better if they do move on and we replace with better.

[S-Clarke]

3 minutes ago, revolution saint said:

 

I think you can see the contradiction here and we've actually got quite a lot of players with championship experience. 

Personally I don't think we should be prescriptive about signings whether that's overseas vs domestic players or the perennial experience vs potential debate.  There's good and bad examples on all sides and so ultimately it comes down to scouting and having an eye for a player.   If we get better players in then I don't really care how old they are or where they come from. 

I think 'Championship experience' is often so overblown, much the same way as that 'Proven 15 goal a season PL striker' notion. 

Scout well, you can pickup the right sorts from anywhere without any PL or Champ Experience. 

Norwich did well with Buendia, Brentford with Mbuemo, Benrahama - likewise Leicester last year with Fattawo

As long as you scout well, it doesn't matter where they come from

[Farmer Saint]

So, Fernandes will likely be off this Summer which is a shame. Issue will be around fee, and not pissing off Mendes. Figures from us look to be around £40-£45m for foreign clubs (€50m), and £50-£55m for PL.

[gio1saints]

Fernandes is worth it. He was obviously much better than all his teammates last year but he could not carry the whole team. Put him in any EPL squad even top six and he adds value. 
Irs simple a shame we get one like that but Saints were not good enough for him to truly shine.