Summer Transfer Window 2025/26

[saintant]

21 minutes ago, LeBizzier69 said:

He was in great shape yes, but he was allowed to move on because he clearly didn't have the legs for the PL any more....as far i can recall.

We're not in the PL any more...as far as I can recall 🙂

[Turkish]

16 minutes ago, Saint Neil said:

Pretty sure that was when we went over to Spain.

It was when we were in Spain, he was on loan at Girona and registered at Barcelona which is only 60 odd miles away so assume he lives close by.

As for the rumour you can fly direct from Bournemouth to Spain so can be there very quickly. 

[St Louis]

2 hours ago, Monk said:

Genuine question, why would Romeu be at the training ground? 
 

Negotiations wouldn’t happen there, he’s seen the training ground before. The only reason he would be there is for media/announcement reasons.

If he was there, I’d expect him to be announced today.

Maybe while he doesn't have a club, we are allowing/happy to have him train with us and use the facilities. I'm sure he's a great influence around the place. Even if we weren't looking to sign him up.

[hypochondriac]

Just now, St Louis said:

Maybe while he doesn't have a club, we are allowing/happy to have him train with us and use the facilities. I'm sure he's a great influence around the place. Even if we weren't looking to sign him up.

But odd to travel all the way to Southampton for that purpose. Surely Girona or even Barcelona would allow hi to do that. 

[West end Saints]

Even at his age huge upgrade in Downes.

Him alongside Shea Charles would be as good as seen at this level. (Can dream of MF in front!)

[revolution saint]

1 minute ago, St Louis said:

Maybe while he doesn't have a club, we are allowing/happy to have him train with us and use the facilities. I'm sure he's a great influence around the place. Even if we weren't looking to sign him up.

He's still contracted to Barcelona until 2026.

[Convict Colony]

1 hour ago, hypochondriac said:

This is how boring the transfer window has been - our biggest rumour since singing Downs weeks ago is a random bloke on the forum saying his mate has seen Romeu at the training ground. Thinking about it more, given that he was with the club last week, there really is no need for him to be at Staplewood at all, so I'm calling bullshit until we get some independent verification. 

I'm pretty sure I saw a photo of him at staplewood the other day not the Spain photos.

I'd be for Romeu, hard man and midfield destroyer coming into the squad and if memory serves me correctly he isn't really too injury prone.

Could be a good mentor to Charles and Sessay.

[Convict Colony]

3 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

But odd to travel all the way to Southampton for that purpose. Surely Girona or even Barcelona would allow hi to do that. 

is his missus form Southampton ?

[hypochondriac]

4 minutes ago, Convict Colony said:

I'm pretty sure I saw a photo of him at staplewood the other day not the Spain photos.

I'd be for Romeu, hard man and midfield destroyer coming into the squad and if memory serves me correctly he isn't really too injury prone.

Could be a good mentor to Charles and Sessay.

Yeah Alfie house said that photo was bollocks it was a fake itk and was supposedly taken prior to the Spain trip 

[Oh no Mick Mills]

3 minutes ago, Convict Colony said:

is his missus form Southampton ?

Yeah she is. Kelly's from Millbrook. 

He met her in the Bricklayers during the Sunday meat draw. 

[S-Clarke]

I know Romeu met up with the squad in Girona, but if we was at the training ground last week then he'd have had to fly back with them which would have been odd.

I took it that he was pretty settled out in Spain with his family, pets etc. I'd be surprised if he comes back, he may be at the training ground, but the more likely conclusion is that he came back here for a holiday and is just linking up with old people at the training ground.

The club allowed him to move back to Spain a few years ago because he wanted to return home for the later years of his career. Rather inexpiably though, as the City Group are all intertwined with Girona, we used Romeu's move there as leverage to get discount on Larios and Edozie. Genius.

[lambtiss]

2 hours ago, ally_uk said:

Said we should get Romeu back.... 🤣 crying out for a non nonsense tough tackling mid. 

 

 

I still think the biggest mistake SR has made was letting him go.

[revolution saint]

6 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

I'd be surprised if he comes back, he may be at the training ground, but the more likely conclusion is that he came back here for a holiday and is just linking up with old people at the training ground.

 

This is true.  My gran (92) had a personal invite from Romeu to meet up with him at Staplewood.  Apparently he intends to meet with all nonagenarians from Hampshire by the end of August.

[LeBizzier69]

45 minutes ago, Turkish said:

nah, he wanted to move back to Spain as his missus was either pregnant or just given birth. Club did right by him and let him do it. He's definitely going to be good for the championship, been playing 20+ games a season since he left us in La Liga. Be very happy to have him back, top guy, top professional and can still do a job for a couple of years.

Having had a nosey back at the OR thread from a few years ago, general consensus was that he was struggling with the pace of the game, getting around the pitch like he used to so a slower tempo in Spain and moving back to his home country suited all parties. 
Either way, I’d be gobsmacked if he came back. 

 

 

[LeBizzier69]

47 minutes ago, saintant said:

We're not in the PL any more...as far as I can recall 🙂

Oh yes, the championship is way more forgiving.

[maysie]

2 hours ago, DT said:

Disturbing lack of business. Will add fuel to fire when the media luvvies go into a lather about Wrexham beating us on the opening day...

Here we go…

 

 

[Ivan Katalinic's 'tache]

Dibling replacement incoming?

[Turkish]

7 minutes ago, LeBizzier69 said:

Having had a nosey back at the OR thread from a few years ago, general consensus was that he was struggling with the pace of the game, getting around the pitch like he used to so a slower tempo in Spain and moving back to his home country suited all parties. 
Either way, I’d be gobsmacked if he came back. 

 

 

Different role. different division. Not one of the the premier league but as a championship player 100% take him back. 

As a holding DM in shielding the back four to allow Charles and or Downes to push forward a little that'd be perfect. I wouldn't expect him to play every game, but as a squad player to give Charles or Downes a rest, a sub to see a game out for the last 20 mins i think we'd struggle to find a better fit, given he's available for nothing and a brilliant professional.  That said i still think it'd be unlikely. 

[Harry_SFC]

Doubt it's true in any way but we probably do need another CM this season. Aribo going, Smallbone might be moved on. Would leave us with Downes, Charles and Sesay. 

[Farmer Saint]

2 hours ago, hypochondriac said:

This is how boring the transfer window has been - our biggest rumour since singing Downs weeks ago is a random bloke on the forum saying his mate has seen Romeu at the training ground. Thinking about it more, given that he was with the club last week, there really is no need for him to be at Staplewood at all, so I'm calling bullshit until we get some independent verification. 

Most of the business was done last Summer though, as we've already established.

[LeBizzier69]

4 minutes ago, Turkish said:

Different role. different division. Not one of the the premier league but as a championship player 100% take him back. 

As a holding DM in shielding the back four to allow Charles and or Downes to push forward a little that'd be perfect. I wouldn't expect him to play every game, but as a squad player to give Charles or Downes a rest, a sub to see a game out for the last 20 mins i think we'd struggle to find a better fit, given he's available for nothing and a brilliant professional.  That said i still think it'd be unlikely. 

Fair point, hard to see him fancying a stint in the championship though. You’d imagine better offers from his homeland, without the rainy evenings and kickings.

[Turkish]

2 minutes ago, LeBizzier69 said:

Fair point, hard to see him fancying a stint in the championship though. You’d imagine better offers from his homeland, without the rainy evenings and kickings.

Well yes thats the other thing. If he's got offers in Spain then it wouldn't really make sense for him. According to the internet Girona where he's been on loan want him so would be a no brainer. Although depending on the location in Spain you could get from Girona to Southampton almost as quickly as other parts of Spain.

[iansums]

11 minutes ago, Ivan Katalinic's 'tache said:

Dibling replacement incoming?

One of the few rumoured players I've actually heard of, was impressed by him when we played WBA

 

[saint michael]

38 minutes ago, lambtiss said:

I still think the biggest mistake SR has made was letting him go.

Wow. That’s a big call when they have some massive ones behind them 

[hypochondriac]

5 minutes ago, iansums said:

One of the few rumoured players I've actually heard of, was impressed by him when we played WBA

 

The source is a load of old shit though. 

[Harry_SFC]

Just now, saint michael said:

Wow. That’s a big call when they have some massive ones behind them 

He wanted to go back to Spain after he'd given us years of service and there were visible signs of decline in performances. It was fair enough in my book. As usual though we failed to replace him adequately. 

[iansums]

4 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

The source is a load of old shit though. 

A minor detail, I've heard of the player so it's good enough for me.

[S-Clarke]

Fellows is good, and a proper throw-back style winger. More so than Dibling for example, who tends to play more inverted and can float around. 

I'd estimate, with their new ownership, he'd command upwards of £15m though, he still has 2/3 years left on his contract. Not sure we'd push to that on individual players at this level, as it's not our style.

But we should do, as it's those sorts of signings that make the immediate difference, not cheapo gambles from Germany. (imo)

Edited 3 hours ago by S-Clarke

[Matthew Le God]

2 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

But we should do, as it's those sorts of signings that make the immediate difference, not cheapo gambles from Germany. 

Is that you ruling out Quarshie and Downs being useful starters from the beginning of the season? 

Edited 2 hours ago by Matthew Le God

[Midfield_General]

4 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

The source is a load of old shit though. 

It is, so it's almost certainly bollocks - just someone on that clickbait site seeing that we're up for selling Dibling and pushing another RW name for clicks as it's obvious that we'll need a replacement if he goes. 

However, a lot of the Everton fans are getting in a right tizz about how we're playing them on the ever-increasing price for Dibling, think they should walk away (because apparently that would teach us a right lesson), and seem to think that Fellows is their next target if that happens.

So what would be amusing would be if we fleece them for £50m + 25% sell-on for Dibling, replace him with Fellows for a quarter of that, and then Dibling flops and Fellows tears it up. Then accounting for inflation we can sell them Fellows for £150m next summer. 

[saintant]

1 minute ago, S-Clarke said:

Fellows is good, and a proper throw-back style winger. More so than Dibling for example, who tend to play more inverted. 

I'd estimate, with their new ownership, he'd command upwards of £15m though, he still has 2/3 years left on his contract. Not sure we'd push to that on individual players at this level, as it's not our style.

But we should do, as it's those sorts of signings that make the immediate difference, not cheapo gambles from Germany. (imo)

Agree, he's a tricky player who can go past opponents with ease. Can play on either wing and is predominantly left footed but has a decent right foot. Didn't realise he's 6' tall so a good size. Having recently turned 22 he's only going to get better. Would be a sensible replacement for Dibling but I'm sure West Brom will fight to keep him and will not want to sell him to a rival team.

[S-Clarke]

Just now, Matthew Le God said:

Is that you ruling out Quarshie and Downs being useful starters from the beginning of the season? 

I would still class those two as gambles, very raw and untried gambles. We don't know. They may well work out from day one, but my suspicion is that Downs will need a little more time due to a limited pre-season.

They are both unknown quantities, let's be honest. Quarshie for example has only played 20-25 games as a pro. He could be a superstar, but no one can say that yet.

Fellows is the sort of tried-and-tested Championship player that you'd expect to come in and do his thing straight away, you'd know what he can do. Similar to someone like Hayden Hackney or Akpom for example, you know what you'll get from them - but because of that, they will always cost a bit more.

Maybe towards the end of the window, when we've pocketed the cash, we can actually put some genuine $$ down on the table for some proven and established options.

[Saint Scott]

I'd be very surprised if Fellows wasn't on our radar, he's absolutely what we need. The required fee may be a stumbling block though

[benjii]

He's a jolly good Fellows.

[MarkSFC]

1 minute ago, Saint Scott said:

I'd be very surprised if Fellows wasn't on our radar, he's absolutely what we need. The required fee may be a stumbling block though

IF...we are not prepared to pay 15m(or even up to 20m) for Fellows or anyone else of that standard then we are unlikely to progress very easily. We need a few Fellows type who are decent in the Champshionship amd can still progress to PL level. Its not like we don't have the money. 

[UpweySaint]

Weren’t we rumoured to have bid for Fellows before? I can’t recall how far back that was. I can’t see WBA selling cheap but he could be a really smart signing - his assist record last season was really impressive!

[SWLondon Saint]

10 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

I would still class those two as gambles, very raw and untried gambles. We don't know. They may well work out from day one, but my suspicion is that Downs will need a little more time due to a limited pre-season.

Fellows is the sort of tried-and-tested Championship player that you'd expect to come in and do his thing straight away, you'd know what he can do. Similar to someone like Hayden Hackney or Akpom for example, you know what you'll get from them - but because of that, they will always cost a bit more.

Maybe towards the end of the window, when we've pocketed the cash, we can actually put some genuine $$ down on the table for some proven and established options.

Yes, but 'proven and established' in the championship means players like THB, Downes, Manning, Armstrong, Archer, BBD - who may not be able to make the step up to the PL. Isn't it better to swing for the fences on less known talent than take established talent with a lower ceiling?

[hypochondriac]

2 minutes ago, SWLondon Saint said:

Yes, but 'proven and established' in the championship means players like THB, Downes, Manning, Armstrong, Archer, BBD - who may not be able to make the step up to the PL. Isn't it better to swing for the fences on less known talent than take established talent with a lower ceiling?

You need a mix for my money. What we need either way are some new players. Some of the so called proven Championship players we have are in my view irretrievably tainted by last year. The likes of BBD and Armstrong probably don't want to be here. 

[saintant]

7 minutes ago, SWLondon Saint said:

Yes, but 'proven and established' in the championship means players like THB, Downes, Manning, Armstrong, Archer, BBD - who may not be able to make the step up to the PL. Isn't it better to swing for the fences on less known talent than take established talent with a lower ceiling?

How can anyone possibly know the ceiling of Tom Fellows - he's just turned 22.

[Turkish]

32 minutes ago, SWLondon Saint said:

Yes, but 'proven and established' in the championship means players like THB, Downes, Manning, Armstrong, Archer, BBD - who may not be able to make the step up to the PL. Isn't it better to swing for the fences on less known talent than take established talent with a lower ceiling?

How do you know they have a higher ceiling? For every young, hungry, guaranteed to improver that does indeed improve there are 10 that dont. We've gambled on two of them already this window, they might go onto both be great but there is every chance they also might not. In the words of Dave Merrington what Saints dont want to do is have a squad full of them.

Edited 2 hours ago by Turkish

[Turkish]

2 minutes ago, saintant said:

How can anyone possibly know the ceiling of Tom Fellows - he's just turned 22.

It's almost like saying anyone young in the championship is never going to play above that level but anyone who we've never heard of will 😂

[Saint Scott]

16 minutes ago, MarkSFC said:

IF...we are not prepared to pay 15m(or even up to 20m) for Fellows or anyone else of that standard then we are unlikely to progress very easily. We need a few Fellows type who are decent in the Champshionship amd can still progress to PL level. Its not like we don't have the money. 

I don't disagree, I just cannot see us spending that based on our spending habits in the last few windows.

£15-20m has been our price range for buying in the Premier League, are they really going to spend that in the championship. Granted we were in a worse position financially in the summer of 2023, but our biggest outlay was on Charles (£10.5m)

[MarkSFC]

6 minutes ago, Saint Scott said:

I don't disagree, I just cannot see us spending that based on our spending habits in the last few windows.

£15-20m has been our price range for buying in the Premier League, are they really going to spend that in the championship. Granted we were in a worse position financially in the summer of 2023, but our biggest outlay was on Charles (£10.5m)

There's a saying, "if you always do what you've always done, youll always get what you've always got". 

They need to change😂

[redkeith]

2 hours ago, Turkish said:

nah, he wanted to move back to Spain as his missus was either pregnant or just given birth. Club did right by him and let him do it. He's definitely going to be good for the championship, been playing 20+ games a season since he left us in La Liga. Be very happy to have him back, top guy, top professional and can still do a job for a couple of years.

It may be that, having a young familly, he fancies a year back in Southampton to catch up on some sleep.

Would be great if it is true. It is not just his tackling we miss, his perifaral vision was so good too. He could receive a ball do a half turn and take 2 or players out off the game so easilly. 

[OldNick]

Just now, redkeith said:

. He could receive a ball do a half turn and take 2 or players out off the game so easilly. 

So can Jack, ok, its our own players but none the less

[revolution saint]

For the sake of argument would Fellows actually cost that much (15-20M)?  I'm not sure he would.  Jack Clarke went for 15M rising to 20M but that was after Ipswich had got promoted, Szmodics went for 9M rising to 11M although he's older so that'll drop his transfer value.

Transfers between championship clubs don't tend to be that high and if Fellows goes to another championship club then I think you'd probably be looking around 10-12M tops. There's not going to be a massive pool of clubs that could afford that anyway - Ipswich could but don't need him, Birmingham possibly?  Same would apply to Rudoni and Hamer if premier league clubs don't think they're worth a gamble.

All predicated on West Brom either wanting/needing to sell and the player  happy to move to another championship club.

[DT]

If we are really baulking at paying £15m for a good young player to replace one we might get £45m for then we can't really complain if we fall short of promotion next season. Seems quite Saintsy though

[S-Clarke]

2 minutes ago, DT said:

If we are really baulking at paying £15m for a good young player to replace one we might get £45m for then we can't really complain if we fall short of promotion next season. Seems quite Saintsy though

No one has said that at all. We don't know the plans, we don't even know if he's linked, it's just an opinion based on past windows that we prefer young/unproven, rather than the big fee established ones.

I don't think they've even bid, so it's a bit far to suggest they're baulking at paying it based on zero evidence that we're actually interested. It's all hypothetical.

[Polegategavin243]

4 hours ago, hypochondriac said:

Think you may be misremembering as I haven't heard anything from the usual reliable sources and you'd think it would be all over this forum if that were the case. 

Hypo, I think you are referring to a crypto message Alfie House put on his X account which some people then commented may mean an ex Saint would be signing. That’s what I recall but if not I’m suffering with middle aged memory loss as well.

[tdmickey3]

1 hour ago, benjii said:

He's a jolly good Fellows.

And so say all of us