Lack of transfer activity

[F T Fagos]

1 hour ago, Ric Flair said:

You not majorly concerned about the midfield? I just don't see the combinations required even at a lower level. 

We should be going all out to get Josh Brownhill, but we won't. We should also have gone for Josh Windass, but we didn't. Two players who would have greatly enhanced the squad and available for free. We need to get players out, but with almost five weeks of the transfer window remaining, I don't see anyone leaving anytime soon. 

[kingfox]

The annoying thing is, of the squad we have now, in terms of starting 11, only the striker position really needs strengthening. 
 

Other positions will all depend on departures, especially in the midfield area if Ndidi, Soumare and BEK end up leaving. As long as they are still here, incomings in those positions is unlikely. 
 

But as I said on here after the Koln game, and as Ric has mentioned above, the midfield area is crying out for athleticism. 
 

Winks and Skipp are fine as the midfield dictating “6” options, but we are in desperate need for an athletic box-to-box midfielder with some defensive nous to go alongside one of them, otherwise I seriously worry about us getting hit on transition when the season starts.

Edited 29 July 2025 by kingfox

[coolhandfox]

33 minutes ago, Ric Flair said:

Things change fast but right now I don't see Winks having the impact this season as he did in 23/24. Ndidi has been very erratic too and whilst he his contributions in 23/24 were never championed as much as they perhaps should have been, I see the likelihood for him to toil next season. Soumare I have minimal expectation from and Skipp is a mystery.

 

The dynamic we had under Enzo worked and KDH thrived. I'd hope El Khannouss at this level should find it well within his grasp to get at least 10 goals and 10 assists but 

at a similar level in Belgium he's never had the end product yet.

 

Alves will chip in but I think this team is crying out for a Hamer/Brownhill/KDH goal contributor.

Maybe, but I think you maybe over egging the Championship.

 

I'd have a Hamer or a Brownhill but want some out first.

[Dan]

I'm very torn on Josh Brownhill. He plugs the gap I think is a major issue in the squad in terms of midfield goals but it's another player who is approaching 30, who hasn't ever really made an impact at Premier League level that we could only attract here by offering a Premier League contract - why else would Burnley have let him go?

 

It would be a decent short-term move but that is also the problem in itself, it has potential to preserve the problems we have.

[AyewJoking]

13 hours ago, Dan said:

Southampton have sold (in Euros)

 

Sulemana 17mil

Onuachu 5.7mil

Amo-Ameyaw (who?!?!) 7mil

 

And are about to sell Bednarek for about 9mil.

 

Off the back of getting TWELVE POINTS in the Premier League.

 

Our squad isn't good but please don't tell me that this lack of movement is an inevitability.

 

You have quotes from Iversen and Praet to the tune that we play hardball, often unnecessarily.

 

Stop giving this club a single bit of benefit of the doubt. How many times do they have to get it wrong? Everyone's default position at this point should be assuming they've fvcked up until they've proven they haven't. Certainly is here.

those players probably werent on stupid wages

[Guppys Love Child]

7 hours ago, 5waller5 said:

I don’t think it’s down to arrogance, he’s just a bit thick

Then we're doomed it tell ya, doomed.

 

I suspect you are on the right lines, anyone who is happy to let our current catalogue of woe's continue must be a bit stupid.

 

Our current situation isn't new, and the 2 relegation"s and yet another PSR charge don't just hint at a problems, but paint the facts in lights. He's just content to sweep it under the carpet.

 

 

[dmayne7]

10 hours ago, kingfox said:

The annoying thing is, of the squad we have now, in terms of starting 11, only the striker position really needs strengthening. 
 

Other positions will all depend on departures, especially in the midfield area if Ndidi, Soumare and BEK end up leaving. As long as they are still here, incomings in those positions is unlikely. 
 

But as I said on here after the Koln game, and as Ric has mentioned above, the midfield area is crying out for athleticism. 
 

Winks and Skipp are fine as the midfield dictating “6” options, but we are in desperate need for an athletic box-to-box midfielder with some defensive nous to go alongside one of them, otherwise I seriously worry about us getting hit on transition when the season starts.

In terms of player quality, a striker would always be the priority but when you actually look at the makeup of the squad, I've always felt a centre mid is most important for the reason you have said. If BEK played a bit deeper (if here), that covers it off a bit but ideally you want a proper box to box player.

 

Even so, this squad is plenty good enough but we need new players to inject some fresh life into the group, give the manager a few players he wants and to properly start rebuilding.

[kingfox]

29 minutes ago, dmayne7 said:

In terms of player quality, a striker would always be the priority but when you actually look at the makeup of the squad, I've always felt a centre mid is most important for the reason you have said. If BEK played a bit deeper (if here), that covers it off a bit but ideally you want a proper box to box player.

 

Even so, this squad is plenty good enough but we need new players to inject some fresh life into the group, give the manager a few players he wants and to properly start rebuilding.

I see numerous comments regarding using BEK as more of an 8, but it comes back to combinations. BEK alongside Winks or Skipp, a little bit lightweight and not enough defensive nous imo. BEK alongside Ndidi, you’d have to use BEK as the deep-lying playmaker because Ndidi can’t perform that role, then push Ndidi up higher like Maresca did, but I was never a fan of that. 
 

The way Cifuentes has set up so far, a combination of Winks or Skipp alongside Soumare is just about the most ideal. Soumare out of all our CM’s, is probably the most suited to playing as the more forward central midfielder, but yet again defensively, I’d have concerns because as we know, Soumare can be lazy. 
 

In an ideal world, it’s Soumare and Ndidi out the door this summer, getting replaced by two box-to-box energetic midfielders with some defensive nous. 

[DJ Barry Hammond]

 

This highlights why any incoming transfers might be a little way away yet.

 

[Lesta2014]

7 minutes ago, DJ Barry Hammond said:

 

This highlights why any incoming transfers might be a little way away yet.

 

Souttar is one of them and isn’t back training until November, so 2 more to cut currently if we don’t want to bring anyone in. 

[ithuriel]

We need a striker otherwise we are going to struggle, Ayew is to old to play every game from the start, Daka is not good enough from what I have seen over the years he has been here, unless we have a youngster that is good enough coming through, we need to get someone in.

[David Gutteridge]

14 hours ago, F T Fagos said:

We should be going all out to get Josh Brownhill, but we won't. We should also have gone for Josh Windass, but we didn't. Two players who would have greatly enhanced the squad and available for free. We need to get players out, but with almost five weeks of the transfer window remaining, I don't see anyone leaving anytime soon. 

They are not totally free signing on fee agents fee and all we do is add to an already bloated squad  with extra wages,we have far more players than the squad of 25 can accommodate.

[Stadt]

11 hours ago, Royston. said:

those players probably werent on stupid wages

Bednarek on £70k according to Capology, although you do have to take those numbers with a pinch of salt.

 

The reality is Rudkin is shit at everything so why we wouldn't he bad at selling players too? Even an average DoF would do a better job.

[Sol thewall Bamba]

2 hours ago, DJ Barry Hammond said:

 

This highlights why any incoming transfers might be a little way away yet.

 

35 senior players? 

[FrankieADZ]

2 hours ago, DJ Barry Hammond said:

 

This highlights why any incoming transfers might be a little way away yet.

 

that post is massively misleading imo

saying 35 players in the squad, but players under 21 dont need to be registered and we have a good number of them

[Philkeavo]

I pray the shoddy Board back Cifuentes like they did with Maresca. Our problem isn’t that we have a squad good enough to compete at the top end of the Championship. The problem is Cifuentes is going to have manage a lot of senior players who don’t want to be here and the atmosphere could be quite toxic and not only in the dressing room if some of these big time Charlies perform like they did last season.
 

[AKCJ]

On 29/07/2025 at 05:19, Ric Flair said:

Sulemana is the damning evidence, been an absolute disaster at Southampton in the same vain as Soumare and Daka on big wages and they get £15m for him. We moved the goalposts on both players when we had bids for them as we got greedy and no chance now.

In fairness, the difference between Southampton big wages and our big wages is vast.

 

Sulemana was on a supposed £40k a week. We've been paying Danny Ward that for about 6 years.

 

We can't get rid of players because we pay them too much. Nobody is willing to let go of their massive wages and no club is willing to take those massive wages on.

[Les-TA-Jon]

16 minutes ago, Sol thewall Bamba said:

35 senior players? 

 

13 minutes ago, FrankieADZ said:

that post is massively misleading imo

saying 35 players in the squad, but players under 21 dont need to be registered and we have a good number of them

Is it not the 35 players total and the '28 have to be registered' is the seniors - i.e 7 youth players who don't 'count' 

[DJ Barry Hammond]

38 minutes ago, FrankieADZ said:

that post is massively misleading imo

saying 35 players in the squad, but players under 21 dont need to be registered and we have a good number of them

Try reading the entire tweet!

[FrankieADZ]

8 minutes ago, DJ Barry Hammond said:

Try reading the entire tweet!

my bad, either way, the squad will be alot thinner comes the end of the window

[ithuriel]

41 minutes ago, Les-TA-Jon said:

 

Is it not the 35 players total and the '28 have to be registered' is the seniors - i.e 7 youth players who don't 'count' 

Certain players have probably been told to find new clubs or they rot, be interesting to see who?

[Spanner73]

2 hours ago, Stadt said:

Bednarek on £70k according to Capology, although you do have to take those numbers with a pinch of salt.

 

The reality is Rudkin is shit at everything so why we wouldn't he bad at selling players too? Even an average DoF would do a better job.

35 players

Anyone else get so frustrated that it makes me want to go full Phil Mitchell grab Rudkin by the throat March him down to the Upperton Road bridge screaming

“ I told you to sell some you c***“

That bloke could test the patience of a saint 

[Jazzy_Jeff]

By my count we have 26 players who would need registering- take Souttar out as injured and we’re maxed out.

 

We therefore need to shift two to bring our first in and then one in one out 

[jayfox26]

17 hours ago, F T Fagos said:

We should be going all out to get Josh Brownhill, but we won't. We should also have gone for Josh Windass, but we didn't. Two players who would have greatly enhanced the squad and available for free. We need to get players out, but with almost five weeks of the transfer window remaining, I don't see anyone leaving anytime soon. 

Josh Windass is a terrible player with a terrible attitude but agree about Brownhill. 

[jayfox26]

So we need to lose at least 3 players. 

 

Kristiansen, Soumare, Coady, Vestergaard, Faes are the ones we'd like to see gone but the reality is we'll end up losing Mads and BEK and possibly Coady. 

 

Not to bothered about Mads if we can get a decent fee for him, now we have Stolarczyk, but the longer it goes on and the more desperate we get, points towards us selling BEK cheaper than we'd like. 

 

I'd be happy for us to take even a small fee for the players mentioned above it meant we can get them out the door but realistically, nobody will want any of them on the wages they are on.