Summer Transfer Window 2025 Thread

[Zatara]

Wish people would stop comparing our transfer activity to those of every other club as a way of justifying the lack of movement. An “unprecedented” Summer laid ahead in terms of player turnover we were told due to an anomaly of so many players out of contract and leaving the club.

We now are left with a skeletal squad, with far more gaps to fill than anyone else so people need to stop pointing out the lack of activity elsewhere as justification for doing little business ourselves. Our situations are simply not the same.

Forget contract renewals and using that as well to blow smoke up the @rses of the new owners. Not one fan anywhere wouldn’t be happy with Branthwaite signing a new deal. That’s a massive boost without question. But that doesn’t help with the numbers in the squad does it.

So far we’ve signed a loan player who was already part of the squad on a permanent deal, and a replacement keeper to replace one of the two/three who have left who’ll be sat watching the games like the rest of us. The only real meaningful addition we’ve made approaching August, is a young striker to replace DCL.

Three and a half weeks away from the Premiership games starting and nobody can surely say that they weren’t expecting more to be done at this point. Not even a sniff of a link by reliable sources, and even the cr@p sources who like to make things up for clicks, have given up doing that where we’re concerned. It’s all getting a bit bizarre.

“Waiting to get the quality players in that we really want rather than average ones now” is a popular one on here. Fair enough IF that’s the case, but with the amount of positions we need filling and the sheer numbers, we keep getting told not everything will be achievable with big money signings and we’ll have to pad out the squad with frees and fill our loan quota.

Where are they? Not a single free, not a single loan player has been signed either? For balance, they tried for Tete so that would have been one, but still, it’s bizarre that approaching August we haven’t brought in a single loan or free transfer for squad depth. If they’re choosing to wait on the quality they want to spend the main budget on, that doesn’t mean other cheaper business can’t be done in the meantime surely.

Yes the window hasn’t shut, yes there’s still time to bring in several additions before it closes, but we’ll go in to another season ill-prepared because the new players “haven’t had a pre season with us” or “not fully up to speed”. We all know what excuses are coming.

It screams of a lack of planning and confusion. If they use the excuse that new people have come in to new roles at management and executive level and a completely new recruitment structure meaning a detailed summer plan hasn’t had time to be put in place, then they shouldn’t have removed Kevin Thelwell this Summer. He would no doubt have had a strategy for this summer mapped out based on various budgets. They could have removed him at a later date and brought in the new recruitment structure (some of which don’t even officially start until later in the year!!) allowing them to settle in to new roles and plan for future windows.

Final point, at what point do those that are confident everything will end up just fine and we have plenty of money to spend, start to smell a rat and fear that the budget simply isn’t there beyond what’s already been spent on Barry? We can all have our opinions on that and we can all have a guess what we think the budget might be, the fact is none of us have a clue either way. They still have it all to prove where that is concerned and that can’t be argued.

The longer it goes without anymore significant signings, the more suspicious people are gonna be.

Love this. Though i would be shocked if we didnt spend north of £100mil.

Thank god you're not... Or any dof for that matter.

I dont think i'd have done a worse job simply by following Thelwells targets.

How do people have the energy to write full on essays this early in the morning?

Time difference?

 

[MichaelEFC96]

Aznou would easily replace Mykolenko in the starting XI IMO

 

[hashbike]

I trust Paddy would only report the Aznou link if the deal is imminent. The last such story he broke was Barry.

I suspect also that once Wesley signs for Roma we may go for one of their RBs ( Zelik most probably) on loan…

 

[blue to the bone]

Bring me the Moroccan Michael Ball immediately please Dan.

 

[Noisy noise annoys]

I trust Paddy would only report the Aznou link if the deal is imminent. The last such story he broke was Barry.

I suspect also that once Wesley signs for Roma we may go for one of their RBs ( Zelik most probably) on loan…

Where was the paddy link?

 

[Kevsleftpeg]

Wish people would stop comparing our transfer activity to those of every other club as a way of justifying the lack of movement. An “unprecedented” Summer laid ahead in terms of player turnover we were told due to an anomaly of so many players out of contract and leaving the club.

We now are left with a skeletal squad, with far more gaps to fill than anyone else so people need to stop pointing out the lack of activity elsewhere as justification for doing little business ourselves. Our situations are simply not the same.

Forget contract renewals and using that as well to blow smoke up the @rses of the new owners. Not one fan anywhere wouldn’t be happy with Branthwaite signing a new deal. That’s a massive boost without question. But that doesn’t help with the numbers in the squad does it.

So far we’ve signed a loan player who was already part of the squad on a permanent deal, and a replacement keeper to replace one of the two/three who have left who’ll be sat watching the games like the rest of us. The only real meaningful addition we’ve made approaching August, is a young striker to replace DCL.

Three and a half weeks away from the Premiership games starting and nobody can surely say that they weren’t expecting more to be done at this point. Not even a sniff of a link by reliable sources, and even the cr@p sources who like to make things up for clicks, have given up doing that where we’re concerned. It’s all getting a bit bizarre.

“Waiting to get the quality players in that we really want rather than average ones now” is a popular one on here. Fair enough IF that’s the case, but with the amount of positions we need filling and the sheer numbers, we keep getting told not everything will be achievable with big money signings and we’ll have to pad out the squad with frees and fill our loan quota.

Where are they? Not a single free, not a single loan player has been signed either? For balance, they tried for Tete so that would have been one, but still, it’s bizarre that approaching August we haven’t brought in a single loan or free transfer for squad depth. If they’re choosing to wait on the quality they want to spend the main budget on, that doesn’t mean other cheaper business can’t be done in the meantime surely.

Yes the window hasn’t shut, yes there’s still time to bring in several additions before it closes, but we’ll go in to another season ill-prepared because the new players “haven’t had a pre season with us” or “not fully up to speed”. We all know what excuses are coming.

It screams of a lack of planning and confusion. If they use the excuse that new people have come in to new roles at management and executive level and a completely new recruitment structure meaning a detailed summer plan hasn’t had time to be put in place, then they shouldn’t have removed Kevin Thelwell this Summer. He would no doubt have had a strategy for this summer mapped out based on various budgets. They could have removed him at a later date and brought in the new recruitment structure (some of which don’t even officially start until later in the year!!) allowing them to settle in to new roles and plan for future windows.

Final point, at what point do those that are confident everything will end up just fine and we have plenty of money to spend, start to smell a rat and fear that the budget simply isn’t there beyond what’s already been spent on Barry? We can all have our opinions on that and we can all have a guess what we think the budget might be, the fact is none of us have a clue either way. They still have it all to prove where that is concerned and that can’t be argued.

The longer it goes without anymore significant signings, the more suspicious people are gonna be.

No, you completely ignore that every transfers need a minimum of two or three willing participants. We can't compel people to join and we should wait for the best players we think we can get in each position. The season were we brought in everyone early was our worse summer in the transfer market on record and set the club back 6/7 years. I would sooner we didn't sign anyone just for the sake of it. I think we have enough to finish top 12-15 with the current squad. Buying players we don't really want just for the sake of numbers will keep us mediocre for ever. Be patient.

 

[hashbike]

Where was the paddy link?

From today’s The Athletic in their deal sheet column

 

[BlueBarrow]

No, you completely ignore that every transfers need a minimum of two or three willing participants. We can't compel people to join and we should wait for the best players we think we can get in each position. The season were we brought in everyone early was our worse summer in the transfer market on record and set the club back 6/7 years. I would sooner we didn't sign anyone just for the sake of it. I think we have enough to finish top 12-15 with the current squad. Buying players we don't really want just for the sake of numbers will keep us mediocre for ever. Be patient.

Great post mate. Spot on.

 

[NeilMorepies]

From today’s The Athletic in their deal sheet column

View attachment 317872

What exactly does “hold an interest” mean?
I “hold an interest” in Florence Pugh’s used underwear, but it doesn’t mean I have any practical way of getting my hands on it.

 

[MikeH72]

No, you completely ignore that every transfers need a minimum of two or three willing participants. We can't compel people to join and we should wait for the best players we think we can get in each position. The season were we brought in everyone early was our worse summer in the transfer market on record and set the club back 6/7 years. I would sooner we didn't sign anyone just for the sake of it. I think we have enough to finish top 12-15 with the current squad. Buying players we don't really want just for the sake of numbers will keep us mediocre for ever. Be patient.

All of the windows where we left it til the last minute to bring in players were a disaster as well mate.

 

[Exeter_Gently]

What exactly does “hold an interest” means?
I “hold an interest” in Florence Pugh’s underwear, but it doesn’t mean I have any practical way of getting my hands on it.

Finally something we agreed on.

 

[Brett Angell Delight]

All of the windows where we left it til the last minute to bring in players were a disaster as well mate.

So you admit there's no correlation between when signings are made and how effective they are?

 

[Marius57]

What exactly does “hold an interest” mean?
I “hold an interest” in Florence Pugh’s used underwear, but it doesn’t mean I have any practical way of getting my hands on it.

Have you checked eBay mate? Maybe even Vinted.

 

[14_dollars]

.

From today’s The Athletic in their deal sheet column

View attachment 317872

The Aznou rumour has already been dismissed by big Al Myers.

 

[Marius57]

.


The Aznou rumour has already been dismissed by big Al Myers.

So Aznou is likely to be at the Titanic already then?