Summer Transfer Window 2026

[Saint Pete]

8 minutes ago, CSA96 said:

That list has wingers, 10s and academy lads in it, so you'd probably need to add Dobbin and Ehibhatiomhan for it to be a fair representation of Saints forward options

That aside, most of those fanbases would have no interest in seeing the third option play any minutes though, in fairness. There's not many third options there who are actually anything to worry about or with any sort of record. To take one team as an example: Stoke. They signed George Hirst who is the clear #1 option for them (I'd say he's worse than Larin) but then they have two senior options in Bozenik and Gallagher behind him. Those two strikers scored 1 in 30 and 2 in 20 last season...

Even West Ham and Wolves - the teams with the most plentiful resources - have two good options and then people nobody really wants to see playing

Strongest groups are probably Wolves, West Ham, Boro, Swansea. Then there's some with two potentially good options: Bristol City, West Brom, Norwich... etc

Saints have punted on having two out and out strikers where one is very good and one has potential, vs having three where one is just decent to good and the other two are below par. Then behind them we're looking at a versatile attacking player like Dobbin or an academy lad like Ehibhatiomhan

Yes, what we have is fine if we want to be an average Championship team somewhere in mid-table, potentially getting in the play-off positions. I thought our stated aim was to be challenging the top group that you list there though? Last season (back end) we had 2 strong "starter" specialist forwards in Larin and Stewart, with a viable (but not perfect) 3rd alternative offering something different in Archer. Could we not have achieved at least  that to start this season? 

[benali-shorts]

Our biggest advantage over last season’s squad is that they won’t be managed by a startled ginger rabbit in the headlights for quarter of the season 

[Little Lat Pahars]

4 minutes ago, Chez said:

I don't know all the players as well as you. I used Transfermarkt and only those listed as a centre forward were included. BBD was listed as a CF, which didn't seem right, but he played up front for Sheffield United yesterday, so I included him.

Ah fair enough. I thought you had picked out the players. I did think that would have been alot of effort 😂

TBF I don't know the players well enough either, those ones just stood out to me.

[CSA96]

10 minutes ago, Saint Pete said:

Yes, what we have is fine if we want to be an average Championship team somewhere in mid-table, potentially getting in the play-off positions. I thought our stated aim was to be challenging the top group that you list there though? Last season (back end) we had 2 strong "starter" specialist forwards in Larin and Stewart, with a viable (but not perfect) 3rd alternative offering something different in Archer. Could we not have achieved at least  that to start this season? 

I don't think an average Championship team in mid-table has, or pays for, a Cyle Larin. Last season, there was mass moaning if Archer was in the team and he scored 3 goals last season playing as striker. I think it's a bit revisionist to suggest people were happy with our options and depth because Cameron Archer was on the bench

I agree Stewart has more pedigree that Mubama but Ross Stewart is also already injured before the clocks go back and might be in and out of the team all season. We need someone who can reliably be available to give Larin a breather. Mubama got 5 goals in a worse team and has one here already. I think he's probably a reasonable bet to get to 8 goals which would then be matching Stewart's contribution in 25/26

Edited 1 hour ago by CSA96

[Suhari]

4 minutes ago, benali-shorts said:

Our biggest advantage over last season’s squad is that they won’t be managed by a startled ginger rabbit in the headlights for quarter of the season 

I'm here if called upon though.

[Le Timmier]

22 minutes ago, Saint Pete said:

Last season (back end) we had 2 strong "starter" specialist forwards in Larin and Stewart, with a viable (but not perfect) 3rd alternative offering something different in Archer. Could we not have achieved at least  that to start this season? 

Do we not have that? 

2 strong "starter" specialist forwards in Larin and Mubama, with a viable (but not perfect) 3rd alternative offering something different in Dobbin.

You could argue that a fit Stewart was "stronger" than Mubama. But "fit" is the key word there

[CSA96]

21 minutes ago, benali-shorts said:

Our biggest advantage over last season’s squad is that they won’t be managed by a startled ginger rabbit in the headlights for quarter of the season 

True, just went back and looked at where we were at Christmas last year for comparison, we were 11th with the following record

---

December 25, 2025

Played 22

W 8
D 7
L 7

GF/GA: 36-31

Pts: 31 

---

September 2, 2026

Played 4

W 2 
D 1
L 1

GF/GA: 10-5

Pts: 3 (7pts -4 deduction)

[swedish dave]

Was it a good window?      Financially speaking - probably YES.

We (arguably) sold two of our best players and (theoretically) banked £60 million plus some small 

change with the departures of Bazunu, O'Brien-Whitmarsh and Okonola and freed up our very large salary

bills with half-a-dozen loan-outs of players who would have struggled to make our first team squad. 

IMO...the return of James Ward-Prowse (something  I wrote about during the summer ..and got a deal

of criticism for) ...maybe the single-most effective buy. (800K and we didn't have to fork out moving costs

as he still has a house in Winchester) and even if we matched his salary at WHam, it was still a good deal.

Anyone questioning his knowledge, experience and service to the club - (in his former life) - shouldn't 

have too much to complain about, as was seen with his 2 sub apps. since the weekend. 

 

We gained half a dozen permanent names for an outlay of a bit over £20 million, plus a couple useful-

looking loans who will likely make the bench every week and maybe get game time during the season.

I still revert to "my annual comment" about not dwelling too much on the league table until game 8.....

but aside from the Watford game, there were encouraging elements in the games v. Stoke and Millwall.

 

Although we may not have got the first choice signings we sought after (there are always reasons) there

maybe other " free agents" who weren't picked up by other clubs, and who may fill one or two of the 

vacant places in the squad before we must submit the final list to EFL later this month.

 

[Lord Duckhunter]

People are rewriting Archers value to the squad, he was fucking pony apart from a couple of games when he was ok. In fact, one game under Tonda (can’t remember which one) he turned in one of the most inept performances I’ve ever seen. 
 

For me, the window has been pretty decent. We re signed  3 important players, only lost 2 better players (for good money), & cleared out a load of deadwood like Baz.

 

The only one that looks a bit weird to me is Dobbin, he looks as bad as Archer. 9mil!!! from what I’ve seen so far, we’ve well overpaid. The cynic in me can’t help wondering if over paying by £5mil is linked to the same side matching our valuation on THB. There’s certainly  a few dodgy valuations doing the rounds at the moment. It will be interesting what Villa’s obligation to buy Garnacho  is, from the club which spent shit loads on a villa player. 

 

Clearly our financial position is worse than last year, so it’s no surprise on paper the squad looks slightly worse. However, we’re judging Stewart & THB on the last 4 months, the 4 months before that they were injured or playing pretty pony. With clever use of the squad & more consistency across the whole season, there’s no reason this bunch can’t  finish even higher than last year. 

 

[trousers]

18 minutes ago, swedish dave said:

Was it a good window?      Financially speaking - probably YES.

We (arguably) sold two of our best players and (theoretically) banked £60 million plus some small 

change with the departures of Bazunu, O'Brien-Whitmarsh and Okonola and freed up our very large salary

bills with half-a-dozen loan-outs of players who would have struggled to make our first team squad. 

IMO...the return of James Ward-Prowse (something  I wrote about during the summer ..and got a deal

of criticism for) ...maybe the single-most effective buy. (800K and we didn't have to fork out moving costs

as he still has a house in Winchester) and even if we matched his salary at WHam, it was still a good deal.

Anyone questioning his knowledge, experience and service to the club - (in his former life) - shouldn't 

have too much to complain about, as was seen with his 2 sub apps. since the weekend. 

 

We gained half a dozen permanent names for an outlay of a bit over £20 million, plus a couple useful-

looking loans who will likely make the bench every week and maybe get game time during the season.

I still revert to "my annual comment" about not dwelling too much on the league table until game 8.....

but aside from the Watford game, there were encouraging elements in the games v. Stoke and Millwall.

 

Although we may not have got the first choice signings we sought after (there are always reasons) there

maybe other " free agents" who weren't picked up by other clubs, and who may fill one or two of the 

vacant places in the squad before we must submit the final list to EFL later this month.

 

Dave... I think I've asked this before, so apologies for not remembering the answer...

Is there a particular reason why you break up your sentences with carriage returns and blank lines?

It's just that it jars a tad when reading your posts, and i often find myself skipping over them as a result, which is a shame given I enjoy your content. 

Bit of a first world gripe, admittedly, but just my curiosity getting the better of me (for once  )

🙂

Edited 1 hour ago by trousers

[saintant]

38 minutes ago, CSA96 said:

I don't think an average Championship team in mid-table has, or pays for, a Cyle Larin. Last season, there was mass moaning if Archer was in the team and he scored 3 goals last season playing as striker. I think it's a bit revisionist to suggest people were happy with our options and depth because Cameron Archer was on the bench

I agree Stewart has more pedigree that Mubama but Ross Stewart is also already injured before the clocks go back and might be in and out of the team all season. We need someone who can reliably be available to give Larin a breather. Mubama got 5 goals in a worse team and has one here already. I think he's probably a reasonable bet to get to 8 goals which would then be matching Stewart's contribution in 25/26

Mubama needs to be judged on minutes on the pitch. In the league he has played around 80 minutes and scored one goal which is a decent return. He's being given the last 20 minutes in games and it must be quite hard to make an immediate impact which he more or less has to do. We don't really know how he'll perform when starting league games and also it's tricky to get used to his team mates and vice versa in short bursts. Far too early to judge him for me.

[ally_uk]

It's frustrating we got rid of Ballard what a balls up that was 😄

 

If we are serious about getting promotion we should of signed a player to roate with Larin. 

 

Relying On Mubama and Prince is a bit risky.... 

 

Can we still sign free transfers? 

 

Get Vardy or Ings in for a season 🤣🤣🤣

[saintwbu]

Agree on Archer completely - can genuinely only remember one performance where he looked serviceable, playing left wing against a piss poor Blackburn team. We tried it again against Bristol City a week later and he was crap again. The last minute winner against Swansea was a great moment, but he was on the pitch for two minutes. Mubama needs one more winning goal all season, and two equalisers, to match Archer’s major contributions the entirety of last season. 

[chownie20]

Does anyone know much about Princewill?  Sounds like the decision is that he is now the 3rd choice striker?

Dont think I have ever managed to see him play - but on paper he is 6ft 4 which is encouraging?!

Almost 21 as well so isn't a total kid 

Edited 1 hour ago by chownie20
More info

[saintant]

How about free agent Marcus Forss. A 27 year old Finnish international centre forward with plenty of experience of playing in England. His career has been a bit stop start due to injuries which is probably why he finds himself without a club. Might be worth a gamble as support for Larin.

[Saint Pete]

1 hour ago, CSA96 said:

I don't think an average Championship team in mid-table has, or pays for, a Cyle Larin. Last season, there was mass moaning if Archer was in the team and he scored 3 goals last season playing as striker. I think it's a bit revisionist to suggest people were happy with our options and depth because Cameron Archer was on the bench

I agree Stewart has more pedigree that Mubama but Ross Stewart is also already injured before the clocks go back and might be in and out of the team all season. We need someone who can reliably be available to give Larin a breather. Mubama got 5 goals in a worse team and has one here already. I think he's probably a reasonable bet to get to 8 goals which would then be matching Stewart's contribution in 25/26

Yes, more than happy with Larin, he is up there with Zipotnik, Piroe, Jimenez, Lankshear, etc amongst the very best in this league. My point is about depth as Larin can't play every game and his good performances last season were arguably aided by having a good striker that could be rotated with him. 

Can't say I was "happy" with Archer, think the stats say he had 4 league goals, but worth pointing out he only had 11 starts (admittedly with a lot of sub appearances). That's not amazing but also not worthless for a 3rd option and compares fairly favourably with Mubama (2nd option this season) with 5 goals in 20 starts for Stoke. Of course, Mubama is young so let's hope we can bring him on this season from that, we certainly need to.

I'm happy-ish with those 2, but I can't understand why we wouldn't want the extra insurance of a 3rd senior specialist option, which all of the other main contenders have. Some are touting Dobbin for that role so let's hope he can do that if needed, although it's interesting that the number of positions he is supposed to be covering has been expanding over the last week or so! 

[skintsaint]

25 minutes ago, saintant said:

How about free agent Marcus Forss. A 27 year old Finnish international centre forward with plenty of experience of playing in England. His career has been a bit stop start due to injuries which is probably why he finds himself without a club. Might be worth a gamble as support for Larin.

Trouble with free agents is they have had no preseason, and are generally injury-prone/bad eggs. So won't be upto speed for 6-8 weeks anyway, if no further injuries picked up in that time.

[sadoldgit]

25 minutes ago, saintant said:

How about free agent Marcus Forss. A 27 year old Finnish international centre forward with plenty of experience of playing in England. His career has been a bit stop start due to injuries which is probably why he finds himself without a club. Might be worth a gamble as support for Larin.

Perhaps you should suggest him to Spors rather than a bunch of wasters on a football forum who can’t do anything about it? 😉

[Rebel]

2 hours ago, trousers said:

Given "cover for Azaz" was the one and only definitive 'new signing' target stated by Dragan (as per his interviews in June), are we saying that he/the club failed to achieve that sole aim?

Basically yes - it doesn't look like he has ever really played as a Number 10 if you look back at his stats - except for the odd game and our pre-season.

Transfermarket lists him a a right footed LW - but he has scored more goals from RW than left. 

And in the most most successful period of his career so far at Preston he played as a second striker alongside a big Number 9 target man or as a centre forward ahead of Alfie Devine at Number 10. 

To me it suggests he was bought more as cover for Larin & Mubama at 9 and as cover for Scienza at LW - a replacement in one for Archer and Edozie if you like.  Which on paper makes a lot of sense - reducing squad costs in terms of wages for pretty much the same output or hopefully better.  

I think we were trying him out Number 10 in pre-season to see if he could cover there as well.  I think the switch with Scienza to LW in the first game suggests they didn't think it really worked and tried Scienza there which didn't really work either. 

We were supposedly interested in Justin Devenny at Palace who is a Number 10 much more in the mold of Azaz - but with Celtic's and others interest his price went up too much.

At £9M it looks like we overpaid for him at the moment - unless he improves an awful lot.  Which is more than possible. 

I don't think Spors is terrible at squad planning - I think he has proved he's pretty good.  But it doesn't mean he infallible - or that sometimes clever ideas just don't come off.  

I'd rather have kept Jay Robinson for cover a LW and bought Devenny for £9M if I am honest.  

Edited 19 minutes ago by Rebel

[Hengistbury Header]

1 hour ago, trousers said:

Dave... I think I've asked this before, so apologies for not remembering the answer...

Is there a particular reason why you break up your sentences with carriage returns and blank lines?

It's just that it jars a tad when reading your posts, and i often find myself skipping over them as a result, which is a shame given I enjoy your content. 

Bit of a first world gripe, admittedly, but just my curiosity getting the better of me (for once  )

🙂

To be fair, it’s a very common format for news and opinions online. Considered clear. See this extract, for example, copied from a BBC Sport page about Dobbin…

 

Saints fan Nick Illingsworth believes there is more left for new Southampton signing Lewis Dobbin to show as he tries to find his place in the team.

Southampton brought the 23-year-old for close to £9m from Aston Villa this summer but he has only started one Championship match so far.

"I think he can still come good, he's versatile and he's finding the right position," Illingsworth said.

[Rebel]

5 hours ago, Turkish said:

We’ve got two decent senior players for every position the first XI is very strong and should be match for anyone. We’re fine unless they’re is an injury crisis. Obviously if Azaz or Larin get injured they makes things tricky but tell me a club in the world that isn’t going to be weaker without their main scorer and assist provider. 

But we haven't really got 2 good players for every position - or so it seems at the moment.

Last night against Brum City who were we going to bring on to replace a player in the starting 11 to make a difference and give us a win.  Outside of Matsuki for Fellows and possibly JWP for Bragg there was no one.

Wellington for Manning is possibly the only other one (better defensively for sure) - but more of a straight swap.

Jander is injured but he would be a starter.  And I think Fellows proved Matsuki should be the starter on the left.

Scienza, Azaz and Larin all had relatively bad games and their was really no alternative for any of them (Mubama and Dobbin were both a step down in quality).  

Last season the big difference for us was the strength we had on our bench - and substitutions either made us stronger - or were on the same level at least and gave us fresh legs - Stewart & Charles particularly.