Summer Transfer Window 2026

[Turkish]

4 minutes ago, CB Fry said:

Absolutely breathtaking that in every window you get posts like this that show no learning or understanding of any transfer window that has ever happened before.

Unless he hands in a transfer request he stays if he doesn’t like it let him ROT in the reserves. 

[CB Fry]

1 minute ago, Turkish said:

Unless he hands in a transfer request he stays if he doesn’t like it let him ROT in the reserves. 

Also Solak needs to put his hand in his pocket for at least two replacements through the door before we even think about selling

[Turkish]

10 minutes ago, CB Fry said:

Also Solak needs to put his hand in his pocket for at least two replacements through the door before we even think about selling

And £35m up front not a penny less and none of this installment crap!! Plus a 50% sell on clause 

Edited 5 hours ago by Turkish

[Cuddles]

Quite a few berating Stephens (and rightly so for the cock up yesterday), and wanting to replace him, but by and large he has performed very well during 2026 for us. 

[Turkish]

2 minutes ago, Cuddles said:

Quite a few berating Stephens (and rightly so for the cock up yesterday), and wanting to replace him, but by and large he has performed very well during 2026 for us. 

I’ve always felt Stephens is a reactive player not a proactive one. When we’re on the back foot and under pressure he has his best games, when we dominate games and he has time to think what to do and where to be he usually makes a cock up. He’s not as bad as some make out on here but you always feel like he’s going to make a cock up which undoes a lot of the good stuff he does 

[BARCELONASAINT]

Both their goals were totally avoidable and Stephens had a hand in both of them. The first his complete blind pass that went straight to their forward and with the second goal what the hell was he doing waiting so long before trying to close down the winger who must have thought he had won the lottery being allowed a free run on our goal. If we are serious about getting promoted then Stephens is a back up defender at best, certainly not a starting 11 player!

[OneMrsWallace]

41 minutes ago, Turkish said:

I’ve always felt Stephens is a reactive player not a proactive one. When we’re on the back foot and under pressure he has his best games, when we dominate games and he has time to think what to do and where to be he usually makes a cock up. He’s not as bad as some make out on here but you always feel like he’s going to make a cock up which undoes a lot of the good stuff he does 

If THB goes I don't think more reliance on Stephens is good so we'd need to strengthen, maybe even two CBs in.He can play well but he's really poor when being forced to run towards his own box. No defender likes that but the good ones can cope with quick thinking and good positional sense. He has neither. And as you say, there's always a howler somewhere, it's just that sometimes he gets away with it. 

[Appy]

 

[trousers]

 

 

[Disco Stu]

Whitmarsh sold to Northampton on a permanent. I thought he had a future here.

[Saint_clark]

There must be another midfielder incoming. Weren't there quotes from the club talking about him being part of the first team squad this season? Seems odd.

[CSA96]

Didn't realise O'Brien-Whitmarsh turns 22 years old this season!

[Appy]

Clearly not up to the level we’d need if he’s having to drop to Northampton permanently. 
 

It is another option gone though. 

[davefizzy14]

I don't understand why O'Brien-Whitmarsh hasn't gone out only on loan. He featured prominently in pre season and looked good. Highly rated as well.

Edited 3 hours ago by davefizzy14

[HarvSFC]

Yeah, I always thought he was quite highly rated in the academy, but as CSA has said, he's 22 this season, most who make it have broken into the first team a few years before that age. Good luck to him.

 

[saintant]

3 minutes ago, HarvSFC said:

Yeah, I always thought he was quite highly rated in the academy, but as CSA has said, he's 22 this season, most who make it have broken into the first team a few years before that age. Good luck to him.

 

Reading between the lines the lad wanted a permanent move to test himself regularly in an EFL side. Good luck to him.

[trousers]

 

 

[Wade Garrett]

1 hour ago, Cuddles said:

Quite a few berating Stephens (and rightly so for the cock up yesterday), and wanting to replace him, but by and large he has performed very well during 2026 for us. 

I disagree.  He’s a liability.

[Miltonaggro]

9 minutes ago, Wade Garrett said:

I disagree.  He’s a liability.

He is the doyen of the game changing brain fart! Quite the repertoire and the best in the league at that. 

[Toussaint]

31 minutes ago, Disco Stu said:

Whitmarsh sold to Northampton on a permanent. I thought he had a future here.

Was he the player that lit the Leicester cup replay up at st Mary’s last season? 

[SfcPhil]

34 minutes ago, davefizzy14 said:

I don't understand why O'Brien-Whitmarsh hasn't gone out only on loan. He featured prominently in pre season and looked good. Highly rated as well.

Game completely passed him by in Germany. Nowhere near the required level unfortunately. 

[CanadaSaint]

1 hour ago, Turkish said:

I’ve always felt Stephens is a reactive player not a proactive one. When we’re on the back foot and under pressure he has his best games, when we dominate games and he has time to think what to do and where to be he usually makes a cock up. He’s not as bad as some make out on here but you always feel like he’s going to make a cock up which undoes a lot of the good stuff he does 

I think he's reactive because he has long had a strong tendency to ball-watch. If he's watching he's not reacting, and I'm not even sure that he's "thinking".

It blows my mind that a player at this level can be allowed to continually exhibit this killer weakness in a CD - and that he doesn't seem to be sufficiently aware of it to actually do something about it. THB and others have bailed him out on numerous occasions, which is another reason to fear losing THB.

[Turkish]

20 minutes ago, CanadaSaint said:

I think he's reactive because he has long had a strong tendency to ball-watch. If he's watching he's not reacting, and I'm not even sure that he's "thinking".

It blows my mind that a player at this level can be allowed to continually exhibit this killer weakness in a CD - and that he doesn't seem to be sufficiently aware of it to actually do something about it. THB and others have bailed him out on numerous occasions, which is another reason to fear losing THB.

I think back to a few games like Man City at home where we won 1-0 He was magnificent. Then when spurs battered is 5-1 or something like that he gave one of the worst CB performances I’ve ever seen, constantly out of position, constantly not tracking runners, he looked like a pub player. The difference was city game we spent most of it defending our box he could react, he didn’t have to think, spurs game we played a high line and he had to think and he got absolutely annihilated. You’re right he ball watches and whilst you can’t deny he’s passionate and gives his all at the end of the day the basic qualities of a decent centre half aren’t there, reading the game, awareness, positioning etc 

[benjii]

My sources are telling me that O'brien Whitmarsh is off.

[macca155]

Too much noise around THB at the moment. I think we've seen the last of him. I don't begrudge him a move. Absolutely needs to be replaced with quality.

I thought Wood would have got the nod over Stephens. He's much stronger, and would have made life a lot harder for Watford. Just need it sorting.

[Lee On Solent Saint]

1 hour ago, macca155 said:

Too much noise around THB at the moment. I think we've seen the last of him. I don't begrudge him a move. Absolutely needs to be replaced with quality.

I thought Wood would have got the nod over Stephens. He's much stronger, and would have made life a lot harder for Watford. Just need it sorting.

Wood is still capable of complete clusterfuck moments too. Personally I wouldn't have bought in Dobbin if it allowed the purchase of decent replacements for both Stephens and Wood.

[hypochondriac]

1 minute ago, Lee On Solent Saint said:

Wood is still capable of complete clusterfuck moments too. Personally I wouldn't have bought in Dobbin if it allowed the purchase of decent replacements for both Stephens and Wood.

Agreed. I find the signing of Dobbin for the amount we paid odd if it means we are substantially weaker at cb.

[SaintNewForest]

Looks like Wood is the latest example of "he's not playing so he's gone up in the fans estimations" mantra that we so often go by as Saints fans. 

End of the day, we need a new centre half. 2 if we're being greedy. 

[sandwichsaint]

Is it possible that Dobbin was bought in as cover for either Azaz or Scienza moving on. A kind of buy-before-you-sell policy often espoused by some on here.

[Baird of the land]

Not looking like a good window. Lost a good striker, an excellent cm and looking like an excellent cb.

Still no cm signed and a couple gambles on potential made.

[hypochondriac]

8 minutes ago, Baird of the land said:

Not looking like a good window. Lost a good striker, an excellent cm and looking like an excellent cb.

Still no cm signed and a couple gambles on potential made.

Was always likely to be the case. The club have payed the or game well though. Getting Larin and Peretz signed early and then the interview with Solak and not selling players till near the end of the window has raised hopes of fans that we were going all out for promotion. Maybe that will still be the case but I don't like the noises.

[Toussaint]

12 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

Was always likely to be the case. The club have payed the or game well though. Getting Larin and Peretz signed early and then the interview with Solak and not selling players till near the end of the window has raised hopes of fans that we were going all out for promotion. Maybe that will still be the case but I don't like the noises.

Was it always going to be the case? I had a very strong impression we were going balls out for automatic promotion. Now I feel something has changed. 

[Challenger]

3 minutes ago, Toussaint said:

Was it always going to be the case? I had a very strong impression we were going balls out for automatic promotion. Now I feel something has changed. 

Pre ST sales v post ST sales.

[goodymatt]

 

[Pilchards]

Probably a case of many players not wanting to sign for us.

Even a fucking hornet was taking the piss out of us Sunday. We are the gutter at the moment and everywhere we go the fans and players will get abuse.

Time is a healer but right now things don’t look good especially when you know some good players want out.

[beatlesaint]

52 minutes ago, SaintNewForest said:

Looks like Wood is the latest example of "he's not playing so he's gone up in the fans estimations" mantra that we so often go by as Saints fans. 

End of the day, we need a new centre half. 2 if we're being greedy. 

Well not really. He was in the team at the end of last season when Stephens picked up an injury and didn’t do much, if anything wrong.

Seems a bit strange he was overlooked to start the season tbh.