Summer Transfer Window 2025/26

[Farmer Saint]

10 hours ago, woodsaint1 said:

Resigned to losing Ramsdale, Dibling and THB, but not overly bothered because we need the money. Hopefully we can also move on the likes of Sugawara, Bednarek, Sulemana, Aribo, Fraser and Onuachu for some additional pennies.

However, as long as Will Still wants them, it is crucial that we keep the likes of Edwards, Downes, Charles and Fernandes (I would just be firm and say hes not for sale). Build a new team around them.

 

Not sure about Downes (only plays well in RM teams), but agree with the rest.

[gio1saints]

11 minutes ago, Farmer Saint said:

Not sure about Downes (only plays well in RM teams), but agree with the rest.

  @Farmer Saint think you are a bit harsh on FD. Last match v Arsenal I thought he played very well. He fell out with Juric for sure but I think he will would do well at any Championship club- or at Rangers.* Does not need RM to be a good player at that level. 

I accept that he is not a good or even probably average EPL player - but, for me, he would start at any team in the current Championship - whatever style they play. Or if the Manager has a handsome beard and fine hair🥰

ps that is not to say he is not probably overpaid and we overpaid for him v his actual quality - but in terms of the championship there’s not many players his level. 

Edited Tuesday at 08:43 by gio1saints

[Farmer Saint]

4 minutes ago, gio1saints said:

  @Farmer Saint think you are a bit harsh on FD. Last match v Arsenal I thought he played very well. He fell out with Juric for sure but I think he will would do well at any Championship club- or at Rangers. Does not need RM to be a good player at that level. 

I accept that he is not a good or even probably average EPL player - but, for me, he would start at any team in the current Championship - whatever style they play. Or if the Manager has a handsome beard and fine hair. 🥰

I disagree. He is a system player IMO.

[gio1saints]

2 minutes ago, Farmer Saint said:

I disagree. He is a system player IMO.

Do you think he is a Will Still system player though? 
My understanding is that WS is fairly pragmatic but generally likes to press high. The Flynn I saw v Arsenal was pressing them in their penalty area second half. Like he was auditioning. 

[macca155]

We had all this "they are all leaving, get rid" bollocks in 2023. You'd thought we'd learnt by now that players simply won't move if it means a drop in wages. There are always exceptions but generally they stay put until a decent offer comes along. I doubt many of us would either.

Don't get hung up on my player categorisations, just see them as an example of the type. 

ABK, Onuachu, Sugawara, Bazunu, BBD, Aribo, Frazer, and Archer may well have suitors but nobody is paying them the wages Saints have stupidly signed up for, or a fraction of their perceived value. Saints will need to take the hit and loan them out until their contracts expire.

The same applies to the slightly more marketable assets such as Downes, THB, Ramsdale, Bendarek, and Sulemana. Clubs need to stump up or they will be staying, how those players react will be key to how Still builds his side.

The ones the club really want to keep Fernades, Dibling, Robinson, Charles, and Edwards will have other clubs prepared to pay a price and their wages. This will be where all the action will be.

Players like Bree, Wellington, Smallbone, Stephens, Taylor, Manning, Wood, and Armstrong, are unlikely to attract attention. Not a chance other Championship teams can match their wages, and none of them have shown they can handle the Premier league. They will inevitably form the core of Will Still's side. In fairness they are very decent players at this level. Some pretty rank management has probably given the supporters a bias view of their abilities, but I'm sure they'll do well.

However there is the nub of it. Doing well and probably scraping promotion, won't cut it. They'll be no x factor to take into the Premier League and we know exactly what happens then. In addition the club will still (pun not intended but unavoidable) be left with a path blocking huge squad.

[Saint Fan CaM]

59 minutes ago, gio1saints said:

Do you think he is a Will Still system player though? 
My understanding is that WS is fairly pragmatic but generally likes to press high. The Flynn I saw v Arsenal was pressing them in their penalty area second half. Like he was auditioning. 

Maybe, but therein is the problem - it’s not in his natural gift to play that way and will revert to type as soon as he loses concentration/will/heart. A decent player, but not necessarily one Still could trust a the heart and spine of his team.

[MarkSFC]

Its really interesting reading all the opinions of players and who should stay and who should go. 

In reality we probably on have Ramsdale and Fernandes who we should keep; maybe include the talent that Dibling is (rather than the finished article he isn't yet). Ramsdale is being touted about everywhere by everyone it would seem, and think he might stay. Fernandes much less, but I hope he stays (only going on his recent quotes really) but probabaly wont. Didbling in my opinion is 50:50 (given his Chelsea experience).

EVERYONE else I really couldnt give two hoots whether they go or not. Some I would prefer to go for sure. 

I'd happily see the players move on;

Stephens, AMC, Bree, Manning, Bednarek, Smallbone, Fraser, Onuacha, Sugawara, Aribo. 

Im happy to give these a season as still young enough to improve;

Archer, Wood, Wellington, Edwards

Ive probabaly missed some out but thats the problem!

Will Still has a viewing very big summer and a very big task ahead of him. 

I expect ALOT of INS, but more OUTS. 

I also expect it to take (and think it best) two seasons to get back to PL. 

[Farmer Saint]

1 hour ago, gio1saints said:

Do you think he is a Will Still system player though? 
My understanding is that WS is fairly pragmatic but generally likes to press high. The Flynn I saw v Arsenal was pressing them in their penalty area second half. Like he was auditioning. 

Honestly, I don't know enough about Will Still and his tactics to judge.

[hypochondriac]

48 minutes ago, MarkSFC said:

Its really interesting reading all the opinions of players and who should stay and who should go. 

In reality we probably on have Ramsdale and Fernandes who we should keep; maybe include the talent that Dibling is (rather than the finished article he isn't yet). Ramsdale is being touted about everywhere by everyone it would seem, and think he might stay. Fernandes much less, but I hope he stays (only going on his recent quotes really) but probabaly wont. Didbling in my opinion is 50:50 (given his Chelsea experience).

EVERYONE else I really couldnt give two hoots whether they go or not. Some I would prefer to go for sure. 

I'd happily see the players move on;

Stephens, AMC, Bree, Manning, Bednarek, Smallbone, Fraser, Onuacha, Sugawara, Aribo. 

Im happy to give these a season as still young enough to improve;

Archer, Wood, Wellington, Edwards

Ive probabaly missed some out but thats the problem!

Will Still has a viewing very big summer and a very big task ahead of him. 

I expect ALOT of INS, but more OUTS. 

I also expect it to take (and think it best) two seasons to get back to PL. 

I'd be very disappointed to lose someone like Edwards as he hasn't had a chance here and by all accounts is a very exciting prospect with the potential to be a premier league player. Also Shea Charles I wouldn't want to lose either. 

[MarkSFC]

20 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

I'd be very disappointed to lose someone like Edwards as he hasn't had a chance here and by all accounts is a very exciting prospect with the potential to be a premier league player. Also Shea Charles I wouldn't want to lose either. 

Forgot Charles and Edozie. They are worth keeping. 

[V.Johnathan.Wilson]

1 hour ago, Saint Fan CaM said:

Maybe, but therein is the problem - it’s not in his natural gift to play that way and will revert to type as soon as he loses concentration/will/heart. A decent player, but not necessarily one Still could trust a the heart and spine of his team.

Will Still's system is high press but there's also a lot of emphasis on ball playing ability, Lens had several games where they had close to 600 odd passes. 

[swannymere]

1 hour ago, Farmer Saint said:

Honestly, I don't know enough about Will Still and his tactics to judge.

That doesn't stop anyone else, give it a go, a stab in the dark; make it up.

[skintsaint]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c98p6yjz1l5o

Were we not linked with this chap not so long ago?

A little write-up on him as Scotland found their level against Liechtenstein.

[UpweySaint]

38 minutes ago, skintsaint said:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c98p6yjz1l5o

Were we not linked with this chap not so long ago?

A little write-up on him as Scotland found their level against Liechtenstein.

We were linked in the Autumn, i don’t know if it’s genuine but you would think his price is likely within reach for us given the year left on his deal.

[Chez]

2 hours ago, Saint Fan CaM said:

Maybe, but therein is the problem - it’s not in his natural gift to play that way and will revert to type as soon as he loses concentration/will/heart. A decent player, but not necessarily one Still could trust a the heart and spine of his team.

I think people forget just how good a player he looked at Championship level. The RM system didn't make him, he made the RM system work. When he was missing we were terrible. Obviously we need a committed player, and whatever happened in the last window may mean he wants out (who knows?), but if he is now happy then I don't see why he can't play in Still's system. Quite frankly, if it isn't him, who is playing there? Charles, Aribo and Smallbone aint getting it done.

[Chez]

1 hour ago, V.Johnathan.Wilson said:

Will Still's system is high press but there's also a lot of emphasis on ball playing ability, Lens had several games where they had close to 600 odd passes. 

Sounds like we need players that can play and not just those that can run around.

[Chez]

2 hours ago, hypochondriac said:

I'd be very disappointed to lose someone like Edwards as he hasn't had a chance here and by all accounts is a very exciting prospect with the potential to be a premier league player. Also Shea Charles I wouldn't want to lose either. 

Is Edwards better than Wood? Evaluation of our plethora of CBs is going to be important (unless several of them have already agreed moves). I struggle to know who is better than who, especially as we have not seen a lot of Edwards, Taylor etc..

Bednarek, THB, Stephens, Wood, Edwards, Taylor, Quarshie, Sanda, ABK

[VectisSaint]

16 hours ago, Lighthouse said:

If I ran out of bog roll and the only paper in the house was a copy of the Sun, I'd go to the garage and get some sandpaper.

Don't think I suggested anything about the quality of these links (although I did call both rags). Just forwarding what is coming up on Google. 

[DT]

1 hour ago, V.Johnathan.Wilson said:

Will Still's system is high press but there's also a lot of emphasis on ball playing ability, Lens had several games where they had close to 600 odd passes. 

Oh dear. Not that again. Can we do some shots and goals next season? Bit bored of the endless passing

[Pamplemousse]

16 minutes ago, DT said:

Oh dear. Not that again. Can we do some shots and goals next season? Bit bored of the endless passing

The season before, our tactics were largely successful. Not unreasonable to expect that we will dominate the ball in most games next season.

It's in the Prem where we will need to adapt more.

[disconnect]

41 minutes ago, Chez said:

Is Edwards better than Wood? Evaluation of our plethora of CBs is going to be important (unless several of them have already agreed moves). I struggle to know who is better than who, especially as we have not seen a lot of Edwards, Taylor etc..

Bednarek, THB, Stephens, Wood, Edwards, Taylor, Quarshie, Sanda, ABK

We live in hope, otherwise we are likely to struggle (unless of course Quarshie turns out to be amazing)

[lambtiss]

43 minutes ago, Chez said:

Is Edwards better than Wood? Evaluation of our plethora of CBs is going to be important (unless several of them have already agreed moves). I struggle to know who is better than who, especially as we have not seen a lot of Edwards, Taylor etc..

Bednarek, THB, Stephens, Wood, Edwards, Taylor, Quarshie, Sanda, ABK

It feels to me as if Edwards has a higher ceiling than Woods, although I haven't seen enough of Edwards. Hopefully, next season will be his breakthrough season at Southampton 

[V.Johnathan.Wilson]

26 minutes ago, DT said:

Oh dear. Not that again. Can we do some shots and goals next season? Bit bored of the endless passing

RC Lens regularly had over 15 shots per match in games they had over 50% possession so I assume that the large number of passes was a means to an end for dealing with Ligue 1 sides that sat deep rather than fannying around at the back. 

[hypochondriac]

52 minutes ago, Chez said:

Is Edwards better than Wood? Evaluation of our plethora of CBs is going to be important (unless several of them have already agreed moves). I struggle to know who is better than who, especially as we have not seen a lot of Edwards, Taylor etc..

Bednarek, THB, Stephens, Wood, Edwards, Taylor, Quarshie, Sanda, ABK

Like you say it's tough to know for sure but if we were signing him this summer we would be happy with the signing on first impressions I would think. He's had anpther year of development and was incredibly impressive on loan by all accounts. He's an u21 international with a load of potential and the possibility of being able to make the step up if the time comes (there aren't many of our players you could say that about). That's about as good as we are going to get from a signing in the championship. Similarly Shea Charles which is why we have to keep both this year imo. 

[Doctoroncall]

1 hour ago, lambtiss said:

It feels to me as if Edwards has a higher ceiling than Woods, although I haven't seen enough of Edwards. Hopefully, next season will be his breakthrough season at Southampton 

Hard to say how much Wood got out of playing in the Premier League, certainly a different experience than Edwards’ loan spell in the Championship. Let’s see how the preseason goes, don’t want to discount either. 

[hypochondriac]

Johannson 

Edwards 

Charles 

Downes

Fernandes 

Sargent 

With the other players around them and a few loans and new signings from foreign leagues and we will get promoted again imo. In fact, depending on who the other players are for me that is a better team than last year. Might not play out like that at all and we may lose more than we think but that's the makings of an impressive championship team with very little to do with the failure of last year. 

Edited Tuesday at 16:13 by hypochondriac

[santolijador]

1 hour ago, hypochondriac said:

Johannson 

Edwards 

Charles 

Downes

Fernandes 

Sargent 

With the other players around them and a few loans and new signings from foreign leagues and we will get promoted again imo. I fact, depending on who the other players are for me that is a better team than last year. Might not play out like that at all and we may lose more than we think but that's the makings of an impressive championship team with very little to do with the failure of last year. 

Sargent is unrealistic I think (unfortunately). Saw him linked with Roma, and more recently Leeds. I think he will reunite with Farke for them up there, but I suspect he will have suitors in the top divisions around Europe before Saints. That plus the money it would cost, it doesn't feel realistic at all. 

[skintsaint]

3 minutes ago, santolijador said:

That plus the money it would cost, it doesn't feel realistic at all. 

In his last year of contract at Norwich, will probably go for around £12m-15m.

[santolijador]

12 minutes ago, skintsaint said:

In his last year of contract at Norwich, will probably go for around £12m-15m.

Nah, he's signed up til 2028 I think

https://www.canaries.co.uk/content/josh-sargent-signs-new-contract

https://www.transfermarkt.com/josh-sargent/profil/spieler/393325

 

[skintsaint]

6 minutes ago, santolijador said:

Nah, he's signed up til 2028 I think

https://www.canaries.co.uk/content/josh-sargent-signs-new-contract

https://www.transfermarkt.com/josh-sargent/profil/spieler/393325

 

I'll take that back then 😅

[Willo of Whiteley]

I think it depends what route we go down. We could go down the route of buying established Championship or bit-part Premier League players.

Or we could be going after really obscure foreign players.

[goodymatt]

 

[hypochondriac]

10 minutes ago, Willo of Whiteley said:

I think it depends what route we go down. We could go down the route of buying established Championship or bit-part Premier League players.

Or we could be going after really obscure foreign players.

Much more likely to do obscure foreigners but I really hope we get a mixture. Something like rb or a winger or Fernandes replacement I'd much prefer some known quantities in there personally that we know will do a solid job. 

[Matthew Le God]

 

 

[hypochondriac]

40 minutes ago, goodymatt said:

 

Is there actually any serious link to this player or is it purely that Still had him on loan last season? 

[Saint86]

32 minutes ago, Matthew Le God said:

 

 

Looks monstrous, albeit in the French league - seems to win basically any cross, through ball, or loose ball that comes near him.

[Dusic]

Dont see us having 4 CBs under 22!

[Badger]

53 minutes ago, goodymatt said:

 

Might this depend, among other things,  on how we see Quarshie, Edwards progression ? 

[Matthew Le God]

7 minutes ago, Dusic said:

Dont see us having 4 CBs under 22!

Which four?

[S-Clarke]

14 hours ago, Saint_clark said:

I don't think Downes was ever anything above a tidy midfielder in the championship which is why I was vehemently against us signing him last summer, especially for the amount we did, and got shouted down for it. 

I know he had a 93% success pass rate but consider the style of play under Martin and that isn't that impressive. The two centrebacks for us were the same, the side was literally set up to allow Martin to wank over most of his backline having 90%+ passing stats. 

 

I don't totally disagree with you, but it would have been daft to advocate against his signing in the summer. The problem with Downes, THB and those sorts were the lack of experienced quality to supplement them. I don't think either are ever going to be top, top level players, so expecting them to carry on 'leading us' like they did in the Champ was a bit daft.

I always wanted us to sign another CM alongside Downes, but we still decided to play everything through him. That was probably down to a complete lack of appreciation of the PL from Martin, he totally underestimated it and probably overestimated his mates.

I don't think either are bad players, far form it, but they had no support and as we have done quite a few times in recent years - we've thrown the lambs to slaughter.

[hypochondriac]

15 minutes ago, Matthew Le God said:

Which four?

Assume he means Edwards, Quarshie, kayi sanda and this bloke. Wood is 23 so not far behind. It's a fair point though, if THB and bednarek go then Stephens is going to be the elder experienced one and I'm not sure I'd like to rely on him too much. Maybe Quarshie will be primarily a development signing. 

Edited Tuesday at 18:11 by hypochondriac

[Matthew Le God]

4 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

Assume he means Edwards, Quarshie, kayi sanda and this bloke. Wood is 23 so not far behind. It's a fair point though, if THB and bednarek go then Stephens is going to be the elder experienced one and I'm not sure I'd like to rely on him too much. Maybe Quarshie will be primarily a development signing. 

Edwards isn't under 22 and has over 170 first team games under his belt. I'd rather we focus on quality, rather than experience. 

[coalman]

12 minutes ago, S-Clarke said:

I don't totally disagree with you, but it would have been daft to advocate against his signing in the summer. The problem with Downes, THB and those sorts were the lack of experienced quality to supplement them. I don't think either are ever going to be top, top level players, so expecting them to carry on 'leading us' like they did in the Champ was a bit daft.

I always wanted us to sign another CM alongside Downes, but we still decided to play everything through him. That was probably down to a complete lack of appreciation of the PL from Martin, he totally underestimated it and probably overestimated his mates.

I don't think either are bad players, far form it, but they had no support and as we have done quite a few times in recent years - we've thrown the lambs to slaughter.

It was pretty heartbreaking watching Downes get overrun every game this season. None of the three managers seemed to want to set up with a midfield that might be able to control the middle of the park. We got away with playing attacking midfielders in CDM roles in the Championship (just). One of the downsides of the 5 at the back we kept insisting on which left us light everywhere else. Then our ball watching central defenders and walking football midfielders would watch the attackers breaking from midfield sprint past them and score. Over and over again. I think we'd have seen a different player with the right people beside him.

[Oisin]

2 minutes ago, Matthew Le God said:

Edwards isn't under 22 and has over 170 first team games under his belt. I'd rather we focus on quality, rather than experience. 

Does it have to be an either/or? We haven’t had a vocal leader at the back IMHO since Fonte left, not only leaving a vocal-leader sized hole in an increasingly crap defence, but also harming the development of the numerous youngsters we’ve already tried who looked like they had potential but never realised it. Quite possibly because they never got to play with a vocal leader to learn from.

Just an opinion. And before you annoyingly ask for names I’m thinking of the likes of Jan, Stephen’s, Vesti, Hoedt and one or two others I’ve probably forgotten 

[qwertyell]

4 hours ago, hypochondriac said:

Like you say it's tough to know for sure but if we were signing him (Edwards) this summer we would be happy with the signing on first impressions I would think. He's had anpther year of development and was incredibly impressive on loan by all accounts. He's an u21 international with a load of potential and the possibility of being able to make the step up if the time comes (there aren't many of our players you could say that about). That's about as good as we are going to get from a signing in the championship. Similarly Shea Charles which is why we have to keep both this year imo. 

Would we be similarly happy signing Wood, though, who is also an U21 international who has only had Championship experience (before this season)?

I'm not convinced Wood is particularly good, but unlike Edwards, he can win the ball in the air and is quite quick across the deck. 

My concern with Edwards is that there is a modern trend to be dazzled by how comfortable a defender looks on the ball and completely disregard the question of whether they can actually defend or not. I still remember how poor he looked against Cardiff reserves in the League Cup last season - and QPR's defensive record actually got worse after he joined them in January, in spite of him allegedly "impressing". 

I wouldn't write him off until we've had a proper look at him, but short stature centre backs of limited pace who don't defend particularly well are not exactly in high demand for a reason. 

[SuperSAINT]

30 minutes ago, Matthew Le God said:

Which four?

 

*MLG moves into attack position*

Edited Tuesday at 18:27 by SuperSAINT

[hypochondriac]

26 minutes ago, Matthew Le God said:

Edwards isn't under 22 and has over 170 first team games under his belt. I'd rather we focus on quality, rather than experience. 

I'd rather we focus on a mix of quality and quality with experience. That mix usually does rather well and having some decent players with experience is almost always important. 

[trousers]

25 minutes ago, Matthew Le God said:

Edwards isn't under 22 and has over 170 first team games under his belt. I'd rather we focus on quality, rather than experience. 

 

19 minutes ago, Oisin said:

Does it have to be an either/or?

Indeed. A club of our stature in the championship ought to be predominantly focusing on players with both attributes. 

[hypochondriac]

18 minutes ago, qwertyell said:

Would we be similarly happy signing Wood, though, who is also an U21 international who has only had Championship experience (before this season)?

I'm not convinced Wood is particularly good, but unlike Edwards, he can win the ball in the air and is quite quick across the deck. 

My concern with Edwards is that there is a modern trend to be dazzled by how comfortable a defender looks on the ball and completely disregard the question of whether they can actually defend or not. I still remember how poor he looked against Cardiff reserves in the League Cup last season - and QPR's defensive record actually got worse after he joined them in January, in spite of him allegedly "impressing". 

I wouldn't write him off until we've had a proper look at him, but short stature centre backs of limited pace who don't defend particularly well are not exactly in high demand for a reason. 

It's not alleged that he impressed. He was voted their young player of the season and we was only there in January. Where is the evidence that he isn't in high demand? 

[Tauro]

I have it on very good authority that the club has received an offer for Fernandes, however waiting for conclusion of the U21 Euros before considering any offers. He will not be here come September. Like most of our transfer business, will likely be late in the window. 

Edited Tuesday at 18:46 by Tauro