Summer Transfer Window 2026

[hypochondriac]

53 minutes ago, West Dean FC Legend said:

To be fair we signed on a few players that we thought were going to be utter crap but once the management side of things got settled they turned out to be okay and we also signed on players we thought woud be brilliant and errrr......

I know it's easy to say but this lad and anyone else we sign on who is new, well it depends on how they get on with the coach, the players, what they think of the area, the stadium and tons of other things. Also of course their personality.

So this player could be absolutely the most amazing and important signing this season, or just a waste of time. We can all speculate and that is fine - but it'll be kick-off time and a run of games that'll inform us.
 

I think the fact he was Sunderland captain at such a young age can only bode well. He must have some leadership qualities about him and has been round successful promotion teams.

[SuperSAINT]

Everyone is different, but Flynn Downes shows what rhythm of playing every week can do for a centre-mid. 

[davefizzy14]

Getting Dan Neil on a free transfer would be exceptional business for us. Quality player who is box to box midfielder.

Edited 2 hours ago by davefizzy14

[StrangelyBrown]

13 hours ago, CSA96 said:

PSR has been abolished as of this season, replaced by SCR (Squad Cost Ratio) rules

Fair enough. I guess the concept is similar though?

[CSA96]

12 minutes ago, StrangelyBrown said:

Fair enough. I guess the concept is similar though?

It's a bit different as it has nothing to do with profit and loss, rather it's focused on connecting your football expenditure to the overall revenue of the club

PSR worked on the basis of a club being permitted a maximum amount of allowed losses over a 3yr period of time

SCR works on a maximum of 85% of your club's annual revenue being allowed to be spent on footballing costs (manager's salary, transfer fees, player wages and agent fees). Owners are allowed to top up annually with a c. £10m cash injection. An owner would be allowed to put that money in up front or later in the reporting period to alleviate the possibility of their club narrowly failing the SCR rules (by less than £10m), but the money must be a no-strings cash injection and not a loan

Edited 2 hours ago by CSA96

[Chez]

21 minutes ago, davefizzy14 said:

Quality player who is box to box midfielder.

You are always positive Dave, which is great, but do you actually know his game well?

Ipswich fans:

It may be an unpopular opinion, but I've been really disappointed with his contribution since he arrived. There's no drive in his game, no bite in the tackle and he really does not seem comfortable unless he has a tonne of space and time.

Not unpopular. I agree with you totally on this. Weak, lacks fight and not technically good enough to compensate for that.no surprise whatsoever he didn't get games in the PL, he's miles off it. Taylor has to be ahead of him and Cajuste.

He was okay as a temporary body in the squad. There is a reason he is not wanted by a club looking to get established at the next level.

No, you're absolutely right. Was hugely influential against Swansea but has completely gone into his shell IMO. Another that is starting to play things too safe having played nicely through the lines in that Swansea match.

He's a bit of a meh all right. Still a better option to Cajuste which is not saying much for either.

Not unpopular with me. Taylor is a better player now and will be in the future. Sunderland don’t want him - it looks more and more like a panic/insurance deal the longer it goes on. He hasn’t added anything to us if we are honest.

I am sure you are not alone. Hard to see what he is bringing to the team at the moment. Does not drive forward with the ball, safe sideways/backwards passes, not seeing the passion or grit that Taylor has shown recently. Not alone tonight but just stood watching while Portsmouth scored the 2nd goal.
Not really the kind of physical profile that I thought we were looking for. I know he has not played much this season but by now he should be reasonablyup to speed. Quite disappointing.

 

[Saint86]

11 minutes ago, Chez said:

You are always positive Dave, which is great, but do you actually know his game well?

Ipswich fans:

It may be an unpopular opinion, but I've been really disappointed with his contribution since he arrived. There's no drive in his game, no bite in the tackle and he really does not seem comfortable unless he has a tonne of space and time.

Not unpopular. I agree with you totally on this. Weak, lacks fight and not technically good enough to compensate for that.no surprise whatsoever he didn't get games in the PL, he's miles off it. Taylor has to be ahead of him and Cajuste.

He was okay as a temporary body in the squad. There is a reason he is not wanted by a club looking to get established at the next level.

No, you're absolutely right. Was hugely influential against Swansea but has completely gone into his shell IMO. Another that is starting to play things too safe having played nicely through the lines in that Swansea match.

He's a bit of a meh all right. Still a better option to Cajuste which is not saying much for either.

Not unpopular with me. Taylor is a better player now and will be in the future. Sunderland don’t want him - it looks more and more like a panic/insurance deal the longer it goes on. He hasn’t added anything to us if we are honest.

I am sure you are not alone. Hard to see what he is bringing to the team at the moment. Does not drive forward with the ball, safe sideways/backwards passes, not seeing the passion or grit that Taylor has shown recently. Not alone tonight but just stood watching while Portsmouth scored the 2nd goal.
Not really the kind of physical profile that I thought we were looking for. I know he has not played much this season but by now he should be reasonablyup to speed. Quite disappointing.

 

A few things on this:

• They used him as a squad player who was in and out of the side. We are brining him in as a squad - end of the day, the championship is a long season and many sides would take him as a starter.
• Tonda has shown he's an excellent coach who is able to integrate and improve players... he did that last season with a squad that wasn't his own. His rotation and ability to keep the team fit, rotate them, and seemingly get them all match sharp and confident is one of his strongest attributes - runs like we had (with the congestion and quality of opposition) don't happen by fluke - Tonda has got something extra on this front.
• Both Spors and Tonda have significantly more experience of the championship (in relative terms) going into this window. Performance wise, they have plenty of credit in the bank, and £25M for a squad player (charles) to be replaced with another squad player on a free is surely good business. If it was Downs or Jander being replaced then we be a bit more concerned - and who knows, Tonda might get him thriving in the middle.

Edited 2 hours ago by Saint86

[Chez]

Sunderland fans:

Having said that Dan Neil will never be a Premier League player. I’m actually surprised a team as high up as Ipswich went for him in the first place, although I guess he was seen as more of a rotation option than a starter.

Tidy player, good on the ball and able to do a few different roles in the centre of the park. He's a decent central midfield player. A lot of football fans dont seem to know what a central midfielder does. Even the likes of Xhaka, Simone and Deschamps had their detractors in the past.

We'd be relegation fodder by Xmas with them both in the team. He was never going to be 1st name on the team sheet, in the premier league, he got lucky playing for his boyhood team, in the 1st division, if he'd played anywhere else, he'd have been found out as soon as he reached the championship, never mind the premier league.

1. Captained the side to promotion
2. Played more minutes than any other player
3. Was awarded more MOTM on this very forum than anyone else last season
4. Is credited by the likes of Rigg for being a massive help to him.
5. Took on a new pivotal centre mid role he had to learn as he played the season … last year was his first season in that role. Replacing at the club a bloke like Evans and far more reliable than likes Ekwah
6. You dont understand what you were watching … why do you think RLB thought him as pivotal, he made him captain, gave him the holding role and gave him more minutes than Bellingham, and that’s saying something

His technical abilities are good but his thinking is slow. More time to pick a pass would let him shine.

Quality player. 

[trousers]

I'm picking up JWP vibes with these assessments of Neil.... Reasonable comparison? 

[saintant]

38 minutes ago, CSA96 said:

It's a bit different as it has nothing to do with profit and loss, rather it's focused on connecting your football expenditure to the overall revenue of the club

PSR worked on the basis of a club being permitted a maximum amount of allowed losses over a 3yr period of time

SCR works on a maximum of 85% of your club's annual revenue being allowed to be spent on footballing costs (manager's salary, transfer fees, player wages and agent fees). Owners are allowed to top up annually with a c. £10m cash injection. An owner would be allowed to put that money in up front or later in the reporting period to alleviate the possibility of their club narrowly failing the SCR rules (by less than £10m), but the money must be a no-strings cash injection and not a loan

If this is all true it leaves me wondering how Man City can pay 130m for Anderson.

[Teamsaint1]

Presumably our sales and recruitment this summer have one eye on 2027/28 when our budget will be very constrained should we fail to go up this season.

 

[saintant]

2 minutes ago, trousers said:

I'm picking up JWP vibes with these assessments of Neil.... Reasonable comparison? 

Possibly. It's good that he won't cost much but he still has to fit what we need and I'm not convinced that he does.

[CSA96]

4 minutes ago, saintant said:

If this is all true it leaves me wondering how Man City can pay 130m for Anderson.

Selling the shirt and stadium sponsorship to themselves in a roundabout way via Etihad Airways probably helps 

Edited 1 hour ago by CSA96

[revolution saint]

20 minutes ago, Chez said:

Sunderland fans:

Having said that Dan Neil will never be a Premier League player. I’m actually surprised a team as high up as Ipswich went for him in the first place, although I guess he was seen as more of a rotation option than a starter.

Tidy player, good on the ball and able to do a few different roles in the centre of the park. He's a decent central midfield player. A lot of football fans dont seem to know what a central midfielder does. Even the likes of Xhaka, Simone and Deschamps had their detractors in the past.

We'd be relegation fodder by Xmas with them both in the team. He was never going to be 1st name on the team sheet, in the premier league, he got lucky playing for his boyhood team, in the 1st division, if he'd played anywhere else, he'd have been found out as soon as he reached the championship, never mind the premier league.

1. Captained the side to promotion
2. Played more minutes than any other player
3. Was awarded more MOTM on this very forum than anyone else last season
4. Is credited by the likes of Rigg for being a massive help to him.
5. Took on a new pivotal centre mid role he had to learn as he played the season … last year was his first season in that role. Replacing at the club a bloke like Evans and far more reliable than likes Ekwah
6. You dont understand what you were watching … why do you think RLB thought him as pivotal, he made him captain, gave him the holding role and gave him more minutes than Bellingham, and that’s saying something

His technical abilities are good but his thinking is slow. More time to pick a pass would let him shine.

Quality player. 

Hard to assess until we've seen him play.  The fact that Sunderland didn't feel he could do a job in the premier league probably gives more of an indication of where his level is than any fan comment but I'm relatively happy if we do sign him and sounds like he would be a useful addition to the squad.  Fan comments seem to be mixed and are often a useful barometer but we'd never have taken Larin on loan if we put too much store in them.

[Saint86]

I doubt Saints will do anything until July, it will be the sides in trouble with PSR that need to make moves before then. Maybe we can be clever and get Neil over the line before then and take his sign on bonus and agents fees out of the current PSR budget rather than next season's SCR budget 🤷‍♂️

Edited 1 hour ago by Saint86

[saintant]

16 minutes ago, CSA96 said:

Selling the shirt and stadium sponsorship to themselves in a roundabout way via Etihad Airways probably helps 

You mean cheating then 🙂

[Chez]

 

 

16 minutes ago, trousers said:

I'm picking up JWP vibes with these assessments of Neil.... Reasonable comparison? 

The Sunderland clips suggest he likes a cross field ball, and is a little slow across the ground. Quite a few crab type comments on the Ipswich forum. He's not exactly a great physical specimen. I don't see the same level of technical ability as JWP. A lot of the Sunderland clips seem to be of him being a fraction slow on the ball but just about getting away with it. He looks like he can play at this level, but not sure if he will be instrumental in getting us out of this league. I wonder if he's better than Smallbone - also available on a free. Now theres a guy that cant tackle.

[Chez]

12 minutes ago, revolution saint said:

Hard to assess until we've seen him play.  The fact that Sunderland didn't feel he could do a job in the premier league probably gives more of an indication of where his level is than any fan comment but I'm relatively happy if we do sign him and sounds like he would be a useful addition to the squad.  Fan comments seem to be mixed and are often a useful barometer but we'd never have taken Larin on loan if we put too much store in them.

Absolutely. Mallorca fans absolutely slated Larin and he was the ideal fit for a championship side in desperate need of a powerful number 9. You have to judge a player with your own eyes, and it looks like we will get the chance to do that, but I think it's fun to watch youtube videos and try to determine whether you think they have it. That's what the modern scout has to do, all be it with perhaps more tape. I watched Jander and Leo videos last summer and was sold instantly. I was very excited by Jander. I thought he looked so comfortable on the ball and thats usually a very good sign Equally, I wasn't convinced by Quarshie at all. The complete opposite. The ball is his enemy. I'm not convinced Neil has the technical ability required to dominate CM, but we will see.

[Wade Garrett]

45 minutes ago, saintant said:

If this is all true it leaves me wondering how Man City can pay 130m for Anderson.

Rules don’t apply to clubs with more lawyers than the US government.

[OldNick]

1 hour ago, Chez said:

You are always positive Dave, which is great, but do you actually know his game well?

Ipswich fans:

It may be an unpopular opinion, but I've been really disappointed with his contribution since he arrived. There's no drive in his game, no bite in the tackle and he really does not seem comfortable unless he has a tonne of space and time.

Not unpopular. I agree with you totally on this. Weak, lacks fight and not technically good enough to compensate for that.no surprise whatsoever he didn't get games in the PL, he's miles off it. Taylor has to be ahead of him and Cajuste.

He was okay as a temporary body in the squad. There is a reason he is not wanted by a club looking to get established at the next level.

No, you're absolutely right. Was hugely influential against Swansea but has completely gone into his shell IMO. Another that is starting to play things too safe having played nicely through the lines in that Swansea match.

He's a bit of a meh all right. Still a better option to Cajuste which is not saying much for either.

Not unpopular with me. Taylor is a better player now and will be in the future. Sunderland don’t want him - it looks more and more like a panic/insurance deal the longer it goes on. He hasn’t added anything to us if we are honest.

I am sure you are not alone. Hard to see what he is bringing to the team at the moment. Does not drive forward with the ball, safe sideways/backwards passes, not seeing the passion or grit that Taylor has shown recently. Not alone tonight but just stood watching while Portsmouth scored the 2nd goal.
Not really the kind of physical profile that I thought we were looking for. I know he has not played much this season but by now he should be reasonablyup to speed. Quite disappointing.

 

It is not the physique of player I thought we would go for. I thought Tonda wanted 6ft tall players who had a bit of pace. Doesnt strike me he fits that bill.

[hypochondriac]

1 hour ago, Chez said:

Sunderland fans:

Having said that Dan Neil will never be a Premier League player. I’m actually surprised a team as high up as Ipswich went for him in the first place, although I guess he was seen as more of a rotation option than a starter.

Tidy player, good on the ball and able to do a few different roles in the centre of the park. He's a decent central midfield player. A lot of football fans dont seem to know what a central midfielder does. Even the likes of Xhaka, Simone and Deschamps had their detractors in the past.

We'd be relegation fodder by Xmas with them both in the team. He was never going to be 1st name on the team sheet, in the premier league, he got lucky playing for his boyhood team, in the 1st division, if he'd played anywhere else, he'd have been found out as soon as he reached the championship, never mind the premier league.

1. Captained the side to promotion
2. Played more minutes than any other player
3. Was awarded more MOTM on this very forum than anyone else last season
4. Is credited by the likes of Rigg for being a massive help to him.
5. Took on a new pivotal centre mid role he had to learn as he played the season … last year was his first season in that role. Replacing at the club a bloke like Evans and far more reliable than likes Ekwah
6. You dont understand what you were watching … why do you think RLB thought him as pivotal, he made him captain, gave him the holding role and gave him more minutes than Bellingham, and that’s saying something

His technical abilities are good but his thinking is slow. More time to pick a pass would let him shine.

Quality player. 

I would imagine he’ll be a great signing. At Town he never really got up to speed, didn’t play a huge amount and was short on matches having not played a lot in the Prem but having captained Sunderland so young is likely a good influence on a team. He’d be good alongside Neil Danns as it would confuse opponents 

He was fine – had a decent start but was off the pace due to lack of game time

Imagine that he'd have done well if he'd been with us from the summer, so probably a good signing for you

Will be good in a full season. He came to us after not being used for half a season and was mostly cover/competition.

 

Another year experience. He’s still young enough to learn and he did great for Sunderland. Did not let us down and did the job expected of him 

He controls the midfield. I preferred him sitting back as a 6 but he can also play as an 8. Still very young and has lots to offer. Gives it his all and he is very professional. I wanted him to play this season, and still think he could do the job in the premier league. Would be a great signing for Rangers.

IMHO 

 

Great player. Great person. At Sunderland since he was a kid and was there final wkd as a supporter watching us get into Europe. 

 

Played under some of the worst excuses for ‘managers’ that exist in football ‘Liar’ Beale and Phil ‘Pookinson’

 

Helped the club out of league 1 to Prem an absolute class act and great addition to any club. 

 

[hypochondriac]

Sounds like a bit of a dean Hammond type signing to me. A bit of a leader, maybe a bit limited so probably not suitable for the Prem but a really solid championship performer. Young as well so may well improve. On a free that sounds ideal.

[Patrick Bateman]

4 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

Sounds like a bit of a dean Hammond type signing to me. A bit of a leader, maybe a bit limited so probably not suitable for the Prem but a really solid championship performer. Young as well so may well improve. On a free that sounds ideal.

Agree with this. And once he's watched some training videos 🌚 I'm sure he'll be playing better than he ever has!

[Baird of the land]

1 hour ago, Chez said:

You are always positive Dave, which is great, but do you actually know his game well?

Ipswich fans:

It may be an unpopular opinion, but I've been really disappointed with his contribution since he arrived. There's no drive in his game, no bite in the tackle and he really does not seem comfortable unless he has a tonne of space and time.

Not unpopular. I agree with you totally on this. Weak, lacks fight and not technically good enough to compensate for that.no surprise whatsoever he didn't get games in the PL, he's miles off it. Taylor has to be ahead of him and Cajuste.

He was okay as a temporary body in the squad. There is a reason he is not wanted by a club looking to get established at the next level.

No, you're absolutely right. Was hugely influential against Swansea but has completely gone into his shell IMO. Another that is starting to play things too safe having played nicely through the lines in that Swansea match.

He's a bit of a meh all right. Still a better option to Cajuste which is not saying much for either.

Not unpopular with me. Taylor is a better player now and will be in the future. Sunderland don’t want him - it looks more and more like a panic/insurance deal the longer it goes on. He hasn’t added anything to us if we are honest.

I am sure you are not alone. Hard to see what he is bringing to the team at the moment. Does not drive forward with the ball, safe sideways/backwards passes, not seeing the passion or grit that Taylor has shown recently. Not alone tonight but just stood watching while Portsmouth scored the 2nd goal.
Not really the kind of physical profile that I thought we were looking for. I know he has not played much this season but by now he should be reasonablyup to speed. Quite disappointing.

 

From that doesn't seem like he offers anything that Charles provides as a starter. pass

[hypochondriac]

I saw a suggestion that Charles and Jander could go to be replaced by JWP and Neil. Would people be happy with that? I think we have to cut our cloth and sell people. If the sales were Charles, THB and Jander (along with archer and bbd) you'd think we could make at least 80 million from that lot.  we then manage to keep Downes, Scienza and Azaz I could probably live with that. 

Peretz 

Bree/Roeslev Stephens/quarshie new signing/Wood Manning/Wellington

Fellows/Matsuki Downes/Neil Jwp/Bragg Scienza/Edozie 

Azaz/new signing 

Larin/ new signing 

Assuming the players we sign are solid you'd have to say that's a pretty decent championship team. Maybe three signings after Neil. Maybe 15-20 million for those? 60 million profit is about what we were told we needed right?

Edited 1 minute ago by hypochondriac

[OldNick]

9 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

I saw a suggestion that Charles and Jander could go to be replaced by JWP and Neil. Would people be happy with that? I think we have to cut our cloth and sell people. If the sales were Charles, THB and Jander and we manage to keep Downes, Scienza and Azaz I could probably live with that. 

Peretz 

Bree/Roeslev Stephens/quarshie new signing/Wood Manning/Wellington

Fellows/Matsuki Downes/Neil Jwp/Bragg Scienza/Edozie 

Azaz/new signing 

Larin/ new signing 

Assuming the players we sign are solid you'd have to say that's a pretty decent championship team.

IMOa massive downgrade. JWP is sluggish on a good day. we need physical quick and strog battling midfielders not plodders who dont play forward