Cyle Larin

[Luke SkyWalker-Peters]

On 08/04/2026 at 15:54, Lighthouse said:

If we’re in the PL I think we’re going to need a bit better than a 31 year old who has only ever once scored double figures on this side of the Atlantic, and that was in Turkey six years ago. He’s adding a valuable contribution on loan in the Championship but let’s not let our erections get too hard about him.

 

29 minutes ago, CheshireSaint said:

Whilst you raise a valid point, has he ever been this fit in his career? I've no idea but it could be that he is at the pinnacle of his career fitness, having played previously for Orlando City, Besiktas, Club Brugge, Real Valladolid, RCD Mallorca and Feyenoord. None of which i'd imagine call for fitness levels akin to those required for the Championship. I recall Jordy Clasie playing full 90 mins in Belgium or Holland after blowing out his hoop for Saints (albeit in the Premier) by the 60 minute mark. Perhaps the comparisons between a fitter than ever Larin against a pre Saints Larin, are not completely like for like. Perhaps this is a Larin never seen before....... Worth a punt should we go up anyway. As a consequence of his playing career thus far perhaps, I doubt wages are too much of a sticking point.    

I did some looking last night as he is clearly much better than other fans were telling us and looked on highlights.

He is about to turn 31 in 2 days, but has never had a serious injury according to Transfermarkt (they seem to have a data error that thinks he has been injured since he left Feyenoord when he actually came here). Nothing to suggest he will have any issues that slow him down prematurely.

On the contrary, he has been healthy yet playing very few minutes since the 20/21 season in Turkey. He hasn't played 2,000 minutes in a season since then. He has only played over 3,000 minutes in a season a couple of times in his career, which is the minimum you'd expect for a starter (equivalent of 33 full matches).

All the data on him would suggest that he isn't going to physically decline for a while - no previous major injuries and not many minutes in his legs for his age.

I doubt this is the fittest he has been, as he was getting good minutes for Mallorca just a couple of years ago, but this very well could be the first time he has played in a side that knows how to use his skillset properly. It isn't uncommon for Spanish teams to not know how to play with a target man properly. He also has quality creative players around him here.

Similarly as Archer was a goal machine for Boro in the Champ a couple of seasons ago, but has struggled with us, some strikers just need the right system to flourish. Tonda and the rest of the team might just be getting the best out of him in a way that other teams in less physical leagues couldn't.

Assuming the reported *option for him is cheap, I'd sign him, but on the condition that we would still need another no.9 next season whilst retaining Stewart (I'm not considering Archer a 9 for Tonda). 3 strikers is a lot, but Stewart is unreliable due to his injury history. If we get promoted, at worst he has proven to be a hardworking, physical player that could give our team a much needed outlet if we are hanging onto a result. If we stay in the Champ, he has demonstrated that he can play as a complete no.9 at this level.

* According to Transfermarkt, Mallorca bought him for £6.5m (their site uses Euros). Teams getting rid of players will usually be happy to take just over the amortised purchase cost that is remaining. He signed a 5 year contract and has 2 years left, at the end of the season. So, (£6.5/5)x2 = £2.6m. My guess would be that the option for him is around £3m.
 

[CheshireSaint]

I think my point more relates to the physicality required to play in the American, Turkish, Belgian, Spanish and Dutch leagues wouldn't necessarily be the same as that required in the Championship. I'd think you may be able to get away with 80 / 90% fitness whereas not so in the Championship. If he hasn't been pushed to be in optimal condition, there may be a correlation with fitness and ability.  

[S-Clarke]

I really like him, adds such a different dimension to us. He's so strong, full of energy and elusively quick. We've not had someone like him for a while.

Our January transfer window was brilliant, the 3 adds (if you include Bree) have been transformational.

[ally_uk]

Thing is do we stick or twist ?

If we get promoted, he has all the attributes of the ideal striker we need, but should we be targeting a higher caliber player? 

[AlexLaw76]

1 minute ago, ally_uk said:

Thing is do we stick or twist ?

If we get promoted, he has all the attributes of the ideal striker we need, but should we be targeting a higher caliber player? 

if we go up, we need a much stronger spine. Peretz (or Ramsdale) fix the keeper problem, Charles may grow into the CM role, but we need a much better striker.

Sunderland went up and brought some monsters..we bought BBD last time!

[Saint_clark]

Seen something about his buyout clause being £4million, if that's the case I'd buy him either way. Now he's fully fit he looks like he would be a handful for anyone, and for that amount even just having him as backup would be worth it.

[Saint Garrett]

3 minutes ago, Saint_clark said:

Seen something about his buyout clause being £4million, if that's the case I'd buy him either way. Now he's fully fit he looks like he would be a handful for anyone, and for that amount even just having him as backup would be worth it.

Agreed. Stay down and he'll be a real asset next season.

Go up and he's a great option to have.

Only question is 1. his age (think he turned 31 today?) and 2. whether he has the same hunger after the WC.

[SambaMaverick]

Yes if we stay down, if we go up it's a bit more complicated. I wouldn't keep both him and Stewart, for example. But I would rather keep Larin than Stewart.

Two years on his current deal with Mallorca, I'd give him 1+1 with probably a chunky pay rise.

[saintant]

I really rate Russ but I'm seeing Larin improve with every game he plays. If I was Tonda I'd be tempted to start Larin in the next two knowing he's got Ross to bring on if needed. Larin just looks like he's thriving and another two starts with hopefully a goal or two could well unleash the beast ready for the big game at Wembley and the last two Championship games. Larin gives the impression he is absolutely chomping at the bit so let him loose. 

[bugenhagen]

I would sign Larin for that amount. Stewart can’t be relied upon, sadly.

We need someone better than them in the PL, and if that player loses form, gets injured or suspended for a little while, Stewart can’t play 90 minutes in multiple matches. 

[JohnnyShearer2.0]

Saw Larin really pumping up Archer. Looks like they're becoming bros! Hopefully will lead to more goals and assists.

[Turkish]

Larin has NEVER lost a game as a Saints player 

#talisman

[benjii]

10 minutes ago, Turkish said:

Larin has NEVER lost a game as a Saints player 

#talisman

He's the anti-Connor Gallagher.

[Turkish]

Another excellent finish, top all round performance. As long as he isn’t doing a Saganowski get him signed whatever league we’re in next year. 

Edited Tuesday at 21:10 by Turkish

[saintant]

Just now, Turkish said:

Another excellent finish, top all round performance. As long as he isn’t doing. A Saganowski get him signed whatever league we’re in next year. 

He took the goal superbly. Didn't panic and knew exactly what he wanted to do.

[Stripey McStripe Shirt]

If Canada don't win the world cup with him at their disposal, I'll eat my hat.

[Sheaf Saint]

2 minutes ago, Stripey McStripe Shirt said:

If Canada don't win the world cup with him at their disposal, I'll eat my hat.

Nom nom

[davefizzy14]

Absolutely class finish from Cyle tonight 😊

[AlexLaw76]

9 hours ago, Turkish said:

Another excellent finish, top all round performance. As long as he isn’t doing a Saganowski get him signed whatever league we’re in next year. 

Not sure where he fits in when we will have Downs and BBD leading the line!

Edited yesterday at 06:21 by AlexLaw76

[cambsaint]

He was a great signing, just what we needed at the time, big, strong and quite fast. As he got fitter he showed other aspects of his game and how skilful he is.His goal last night was quite amazing.

[Toadhall Saint]

I did the typical think bc and judged him on little more than gossip when he joined - I love being wrong!!

[Turkish]

19 minutes ago, Toadhall Saint said:

I did the typical think bc and judged him on little more than gossip when he joined - I love being wrong!!

Tbf I think most people did. Looked an odd signing on paper but he’s proven everyone wrong. A top championship bagsman!

[Ken Tone]

44 minutes ago, cambsaint said:

He was a great signing, just what we needed at the time, big, strong and quite fast. As he got fitter he showed other aspects of his game and how skilful he is.His goal last night was quite amazing.

And his near-miss bicycle kick was bloody impressive too.

[die Mannyschaft]

Larin holds ball up well, can distribute ball, shoots and headers ball, and is one of our few players that can run in straight line towards goal. So keep him. Better than tall Paul 

[benjii]

1 minute ago, die Mannyschaft said:

Larin holds ball up well, can distribute ball, shoots and headers ball, and is one of our few players that can run in straight line towards goal. So keep him. Better than tall Paul 

Better than Paul Moody?

[ally_uk]

Get him signed....

[Lighthouse]

He's been brilliant, an absolute gem of a find, no doubt about that. His touch, movement and change of pace all far better than I was expecting when he signed and he's produced some excellent goals.

But...

He's still the 31 year old who's spent his career out on loan here, there and everywhere, only achieving double figures once in a season and that was five years ago in a league where Paul Onuachu makes hay. If we do get promoted and we don't want a repeat of last season, we're going to have to be ruthless. If we're going out to sign a striker from scratch to play in the PL, we're probably going to have to be more ambitious than making Larin permanent.

[beatlesaint]

1 hour ago, Lighthouse said:

He's been brilliant, an absolute gem of a find, no doubt about that. His touch, movement and change of pace all far better than I was expecting when he signed and he's produced some excellent goals.

But...

He's still the 31 year old who's spent his career out on loan here, there and everywhere, only achieving double figures once in a season and that was five years ago in a league where Paul Onuachu makes hay. If we do get promoted and we don't want a repeat of last season, we're going to have to be ruthless. If we're going out to sign a striker from scratch to play in the PL, we're probably going to have to be more ambitious than making Larin permanent.

I tend to agree, if we dont go up he's ideal for the Championship. The Premier League, I'm not so sure.

[Oh no Mick Mills]

An absolute must sign player if we dont go up ....a possible squad addition player if we do go up. 

He's been brilliant for us ...what a players he's turned out to be and shows how often an older striker who's had his up and downs but is mentally tough and has the inner strength that most young prospects lack....hopefully a lesson learnt for Sports Republic and this is all down the Spors who we really need to keep hold of too.

The reaction on here when he signed was frankly embarrassing..obviously not everyone and I can understand a cautious response due to SR track record. But some people really did soil their pants and made themselves look a little daft tbh.

[St Louis]

3 hours ago, Toadhall Saint said:

I did the typical think bc and judged him on little more than gossip when he joined - I love being wrong!!

Thankfully not everyone 😉 So good to see how well he is playing though, I think the fact he scored with his first touch and hit the ground running has really helped him too. If he had gone a few games without a goal, I'm sure we wouldnt be seeing the same player now...

[Miltonaggro]

Think this lad is one of those players who has 'clicked' at SFC - his commitment is 100% and he has that rare ability for right place right time.  I would sign him regardless of which division we find ourselves in next season.

[CheshireSaint]

On 17/04/2026 at 14:50, bugenhagen said:

I would sign Larin for that amount. Stewart can’t be relied upon, sadly.

We need someone better than them in the PL, and if that player loses form, gets injured or suspended for a little while, Stewart can’t play 90 minutes in multiple matches. 

For 4 million, I can't see how we lose. Buy on clause set at 4 million based on not really being effective pre Saints. He is a hotter property right now (1 goal per 2 games) so let's see how he gets on next year and sell him for 6 million if he doesn't excel. Dead easy this Manager lark. 

[hypochondriac]

People scoffed at Chris Wood a few years back when we were in the Prem and he has been an excellent servant in the top league. No reason that Larin couldn't be similar. Didn't think I'd be saying that when he signed but he's been excellent. 

Edited 23 hours ago by hypochondriac

[Jack]

39 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

People scoffed at Chris Wood a few years back when we were in the Prem and he has been an excellent service in the top league. No reason that Larin couldn't be similar. Didn't think I'd be saying that when he signed but he's been excellent. 

100%. Forest played to his strengths, lots of good service and wing play meaning plenty of chances. I’d like to see Larin signed regardless. Surely with a full pre season he’ll be even better, he clearly wasn’t fit when he arrived but has been getting better and better as the season has gone on. He’d need support if we went up but would surely be a good squad player if not more. 

[Lighthouse]

59 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

People scoffed at Chris Wood a few years back when we were in the Prem and he has been an excellent servant in the top league. No reason that Larin couldn't be similar. Didn't think I'd be saying that when he signed but he's been excellent. 

Some people scoffed at him, mainly because of his age. His record prior to Forest is still far better than anything Larin has managed. Double figures in four consecutive PL seasons for Burnley and nearly 30 goals in his last Championship season. The two players aren’t comparable; Wood’s previous record is similar to Lambert, whereas Larin’s is similar to Saganowski.

[hypochondriac]

19 minutes ago, Lighthouse said:

Some people scoffed at him, mainly because of his age. His record prior to Forest is still far better than anything Larin has managed. Double figures in four consecutive PL seasons for Burnley and nearly 30 goals in his last Championship season. The two players aren’t comparable; Wood’s previous record is similar to Lambert, whereas Larin’s is similar to Saganowski.

He scored a grand total of four goals for Newcastle. Plenty of people never wanted us to sign him and not because of his age. They thought he was a donkey. 

[Lighthouse]

15 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

He scored a grand total of four goals for Newcastle. Plenty of people never wanted us to sign him and not because of his age. They thought he was a donkey. 

We can argue about Wood all day but TBH it's besides the point. As good as Larin is at the moment, this has all the hallmarks of a purple patch in a lower league, when you compare it to the rest of his career. Two years ago Ryan Fraser was tearing Championship defences to shreds,  Adam Armstrong was banging them in and Jan Bednarek was a rock at CB. We all know how they looked playing in the PL.

[benjii]

7 hours ago, Lighthouse said:

He's been brilliant, an absolute gem of a find, no doubt about that. His touch, movement and change of pace all far better than I was expecting when he signed and he's produced some excellent goals.

But...

He's still the 31 year old who's spent his career out on loan here, there and everywhere, only achieving double figures once in a season and that was five years ago in a league where Paul Onuachu makes hay. If we do get promoted and we don't want a repeat of last season, we're going to have to be ruthless. If we're going out to sign a striker from scratch to play in the PL, we're probably going to have to be more ambitious than making Larin permanent.

If we go up then unless we plan on regularly playing Stewart, Archer or a kid in the Premier League (or Downs or BBD!!), we're going to need to sign at least two strikers, so I would be looking to sign him regardless and keep a healthy budget for another one.

[hypochondriac]

23 minutes ago, Lighthouse said:

We can argue about Wood all day but TBH it's besides the point. As good as Larin is at the moment, this has all the hallmarks of a purple patch in a lower league, when you compare it to the rest of his career. Two years ago Ryan Fraser was tearing Championship defences to shreds,  Adam Armstrong was banging them in and Jan Bednarek was a rock at CB. We all know how they looked playing in the PL.

Maybe so. \The difference if we get there should hopefully be that for 4 million pounds he is a squad option rather than someone we would hope to rely on too much. 

[Lighthouse]

28 minutes ago, benjii said:

If we go up then unless we plan on regularly playing Stewart, Archer or a kid in the Premier League (or Downs or BBD!!), we're going to need to sign at least two strikers, so I would be looking to sign him regardless and keep a healthy budget for another one.

I’d offer Stewart another year and sign two new strikers, given choice.

22 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

Maybe so. \The difference if we get there should hopefully be that for 4 million pounds he is a squad option rather than someone we would hope to rely on too much. 

Two years ago we signed a bunch of ‘squad options’ and look where it got us. I have no desire to repeat that, I only want to sign players who are better than we’ve got now.

[Give it to Ron]

2 hours ago, Lighthouse said:

I’d offer Stewart another year and sign two new strikers, given choice.

Two years ago we signed a bunch of ‘squad options’ and look where it got us. I have no desire to repeat that, I only want to sign players who are better than we’ve got now.

You don’t think Larin offers the last 15 minutes option off the bench in the Prem? What gives you the confidence Stewart can stay fit and deserves another year instead of him?

[Harry_SFC]

If you're talking about either signing Larin permanently or giving Stewart a new contract, I'd be going with the former.

Larin isn't injury prone and seems to affect games a lot more than Stewart does. 

[BARCELONASAINT]

I don't mind admitting i was one of those that thought what on earth were we doing signing Larin at the time.

However i absolutely love the bloke and his 100% commitment to the cause. I think we have to give Tonda a lot of credit for the way he has handled not only Larin and turned him into the player he now is with Saints, but also so many other players that we were all hoping would never wear our shirt again because of their pathetic performances.

Tonda is not only proving he is a great tactician but also a great man manager who listens and takes advice from his backroom staff. Larin is a prime example of a bit of a journeyman who wasn't being played to his strengths or having a manager who was prepared to believe in him. Incredible transformation really.

Edited 18 hours ago by BARCELONASAINT

[VectisSaint]

1 hour ago, Harry_SFC said:

If you're talking about either signing Larin permanently or giving Stewart a new contract, I'd be going with the former.

Larin isn't injury prone and seems to affect games a lot more than Stewart does. 

Larin went off last night with an ankle problem.

 

[a1ex2001]

41 minutes ago, VectisSaint said:

Larin went off last night with an ankle problem.

 

Would be a massive loss if that injury is significant but one injury doesn’t make him injury prone.  Stewart on the other hand is made of glass!

[hypochondriac]

5 hours ago, Lighthouse said:

I’d offer Stewart another year and sign two new strikers, given choice.

Two years ago we signed a bunch of ‘squad options’ and look where it got us. I have no desire to repeat that, I only want to sign players who are better than we’ve got now.

Incorrect. We signed a load of untested players for the prem that we then had to rely on as first choice. The likes of BBD should never have been anywhere near the first team. Obviously every squad needs a balance. I think we have some players already who could do a job in the prem but we will obviously have some players we are unsure about and there will be some gambles to see if they can hack it. The trick is to have a strong enough squad that if someone like Larin proves not to be good enough we have strong or stronger alternatives available that mean we aren't just relying on the one player. Our problem last time was pretty much only signing squad options in most positions (Ramsdale and Fernandes excepted.)

[Stud mark of doom]

The Canadian Rickie Lambert 

Sign him up.