Summer Transfer Window 2024

[St. Neil]

2 hours ago, V.Johnathan.Wilson said:

I don't really know how much the average going rate for Dinamo Zagreb's best talents are.

Well we paid £8 million for Oršić to play one game for us so somewhere around that.

[macca155]

There are many many footballers around. Best not to get emotionally attached to a transfer rumour.

Saints are nailed on to be relegated at the moment. It wouldn't surprise anyone. That will make it tricky to attract players.

Personally I reckon Saints will pounce on some decent loans, rather than splashing too much cash. Do that right and the team will be more competitive than they are presently.

Goalkeeper position is absolutely crucial. Sort that and I will feel a little calmer.

[Dusic]

Buonanotte is a decent prospect but using a PL loan spot on a Brighton squad player without any kind of option to buy really shows where we are in the PL food chain.

Come on you phytoplankton!

Edited August 5 by Dusic

[UpweySaint]

10 minutes ago, macca155 said:

There are many many footballers around. Best not to get emotionally attached to a transfer rumour.

Saints are nailed on to be relegated at the moment. It wouldn't surprise anyone. That will make it tricky to attract players.

Personally I reckon Saints will pounce on some decent loans, rather than splashing too much cash. Do that right and the team will be more competitive than they are presently.

Goalkeeper position is absolutely crucial. Sort that and I will feel a little calmer.

Agreed on the loans. Chelsea have 200 players, Ramsdale, Carvalho may end up as loans or loan to buy type deals should either happen, City have some real quality - Lewis and McAtee for example, Morton at Liverpool was previously linked (possible loan or loan with an option perhaps), Doaks and Clarke have also had a mention though I can’t say I’m too fussed about either of them …

[6ft8saint]

8 hours ago, Chez said:

The one thing about losing the ball when you have hit it long is that you have everyone behind the ball, so should be set up correctly to stop `easy goals'. When you lose the ball in you own half and perhaps with fullbacks pushed up, there is a lot of space behind. So, its swings and roundabouts. Less goals conceded on the break and when we are short, but more regular defensive work to do, because we have the ball less. For this reason, a McTominey type midfielder or an extra DM like Sara would be handy. 

In terms of doing more with the ball, the long and short of it is having more quality up there. Carvalho, Asprilla and dare I say it Brooks/Sulemana types that can unlock defences.

I'm intrigued by the BBD signing and where we are going to play him. He played with Archer in a two. Are we really going to play with him in a 3 man forward line?

 

I'm pretty sure players are disciplined for playing long ball instead of russball

[manji]

2 hours ago, FarehamSaintJames said:

Anyone want to read a few reactions after one report of Brighton being interested in O’Riley. 🤦🏻‍♂️

Saints HQ - comedic as always.

I can’t believe this geezer is serious. He must be saying it for clickbait reaction . If not put the fucker out of his misery.

[saintant]

2 hours ago, Daft Kerplunk said:

Hopefully everyone at the club is fully motivated to get us back above them. Brighton have plenty going for them, Bournemouth should be the first we return above. 

The sad thing is,unless we are prepared and able to spend big, we aint getting above Bournemouth any time soon.

[manji]

3 hours ago, Lee On Solent Saint said:

Not being able to compete with Brighton and Bournemouth. Really brings it home how far we have fallen over the last few years.

Firstly we havnt fallen we were promoted. So far we havnt failed to compete with them. Other than that a very perceptive post. 

[saintant]

1 hour ago, davefizzy14 said:

Let's just wait and see what happens. It all comes down to what Matt O'Riley wants. Hopefully he chooses us and a reunion with RM 🤞

We have to meet Celtic's valuation first and I can't see that happening.

[Lee On Solent Saint]

13 minutes ago, manji said:

Firstly we havnt fallen we were promoted. So far we havnt failed to compete with them. Other than that a very perceptive post. 

Am not talking about last season. We've obviously fallen behind them as we got relegated. Other than that, fantastic post.

[OnceaSaintalwaysaSaint]

West Ham have spent another £27m on the striker Fullkrug. Apart from selling us Downes, they haven't done a lot of sales, so they must still have some of the Rice money left over. But will they still bid for KWP? Here's hoping not.

[Winnersaint]

I would be delighted to be wrong but cannot see us signing O’Riley, Carvalho or Ramsdale. We’ve got to establish ourselves again in the EPL before players like that even consider coming to us.

[Pwoite]

11 minutes ago, saintant said:

We have to meet Celtic's valuation first and I can't see that happening.

We don’t have to meet Celtic’s valuation, we simply have to make the highest acceptable offer. 

Overall, some of the comments today seem to demonstrate that many posting haven’t read, or  understood, previous comments. Acquiring a player in this day and age is not like buying a bunch of bananas at Tesco. When will people realise the complexities involved? Equally, I cannot believe that fans seem to genuinely believe that we have a no one at the club constantly chasing players, enquiring, negotiating, looking for the right deals. Do people think that the powers that be spend every afternoon in The Cowherds?

[verlaine1979]

14 minutes ago, Pwoite said:

We don’t have to meet Celtic’s valuation, we simply have to make the highest acceptable offer. 

Well, unless a more desirable club matches our valuation. In which case we'll have to offer more in order to get Celtic to "encourage" him towards us, and probably higher salary too.

[pimpin4rizeal]

2 hours ago, verlaine1979 said:

Bigger club discourse is just narcissism of small differences unless you're one of the handful of teams with global recognition. We're not a bigger club than Brighton and they're not bigger than us - they're just another interchangeable modestly sized PL club with a better five-year record than ours, which is pretty much the only reputational issue that will matter to a young player choosing between us as their next step on the ladder. 

I think mainly one of the problems Is we have kind of stood still on the amounts  we are spending on players .. think back to when we got promoted alongside West Ham we where probably on a equal standing with them when we came back up ., but we are still shopping in the same price ranges as we where back then under cortese ten years or more later..

Now they are spending 40 whilst we are getting nosebleeds at anything over twenty million :.

soending big money isn’t everything but it’s for sure a big advantage and we are already at the stage we can worry about the likes of a villa or West Ham taking our players .. 

[verlaine1979]

Just now, pimpin4rizeal said:

I think mainly one of the problems Is we have kind of stood still on the amounts  we are spending on players .. think back to when we got promoted alongside West Ham we where probably on a equal standing with them when we came back up ., but we are still shopping in the same price ranges as we where back then under cortese ten years or more later..

Now they are spending 40 whilst we are getting nosebleeds at anything over twenty million :.

soending big money isn’t everything but it’s for sure a big advantage and we are already at the stage we can worry about the likes of a villa or West Ham taking our players .. 

Absolutely - the reputational aspect is just to explain why we shouldn't be surprised when, financial considerations being equal, a player chooses Brighton, Fulham, Forest or Bournemouth, etc. over us at the moment. We're probably the top relegation candidate right now - nobody with decent options is likely to pick us without exceptional additional benefits, be that higher compensation or guarantees of game time not offered elsewhere.

The reasons why we seem to lack the financial firepower of our closest rivals is another matter entirely.

[EBS1980]

I’d be more worried if we were bidding for players nobody else wanted!

[Miltonaggro]

6 minutes ago, EBS1980 said:

I’d be more worried if we were bidding for players nobody else wanted!

Give it a couple of weeks...

[Harry_SFC]

39 minutes ago, OnceaSaintalwaysaSaint said:

West Ham have spent another £27m on the striker Fullkrug. Apart from selling us Downes, they haven't done a lot of sales, so they must still have some of the Rice money left over. But will they still bid for KWP? Here's hoping not.

I hope they do, might actually give us a bit of money to spend on an attacking player.

Edited August 5 by Harry_SFC

[OnceaSaintalwaysaSaint]

5 minutes ago, Harry_SFC said:

I hope they do, might actually give us a bit of money to spend on an attacking player.

See where you're coming from, but people are talking about O'Riley as if he's the new Messi. Perhaps we can use that bid money to go towards a striker because you're right, and we all know, we need a striker who's going to knock in at least 10/15 goals this season.

[Holmes_and_Watson]

38 minutes ago, Pwoite said:

Do people think that the powers that be spend every afternoon in The Cowherds?

Acshully >hic< we prefers to call it the Transfer Hub >hic<

[Dellyears]

1 minute ago, OnceaSaintalwaysaSaint said:

See where you're coming from, but people are talking about O'Riley as if he's the new Messi. Perhaps we can use that bid money to go towards a striker because you're right, and we all know, we need a striker who's going to knock in at least 10/15 goals this season.

What we all know is that we need a goalkeeper and we don't hear much about that, PLEASE, a goalkeeper of Premier League quality not a young hopeful

[Harry_SFC]

3 minutes ago, OnceaSaintalwaysaSaint said:

See where you're coming from, but people are talking about O'Riley as if he's the new Messi. Perhaps we can use that bid money to go towards a striker because you're right, and we all know, we need a striker who's going to knock in at least 10/15 goals this season.

100%. No point in signing a creative player like O'Riley/Carvalho if we haven't got anyone to put the ball in the net. 

[saintant]

28 minutes ago, pimpin4rizeal said:

I think mainly one of the problems Is we have kind of stood still on the amounts  we are spending on players .. think back to when we got promoted alongside West Ham we where probably on a equal standing with them when we came back up ., but we are still shopping in the same price ranges as we where back then under cortese ten years or more later..

Now they are spending 40 whilst we are getting nosebleeds at anything over twenty million :.

soending big money isn’t everything but it’s for sure a big advantage and we are already at the stage we can worry about the likes of a villa or West Ham taking our players .. 

This in a nutshell is our issue. 

[Saint Scott]

Some quotes from Adam Blackmore regarding O'Riley, Carvalho and the GK situation:

“I think Southampton would like to get him [Fabio Carvalho] AND Matt O’Riley, not one or the other.”

“[Southampton’s pursuit of] Matt O’Riley has become stuck, with Celtic not exactly being quick to respond to communications.”

“Maybe Brighton are interested in O’Riley. I think O’Riley’s happy to come to Southampton. I think Celtic need to get on with it.”

“There’s some good experience out there. They [Southampton] want a goalkeeper, yeah.”

“Southampton want to get a couple of things done - in and out - in the next week.”

Listen here

 

Edited August 5 by Saint Scott
Added link

[saintant]

1 minute ago, Saint Scott said:

Some quotes from Adam Blackmore regarding O'Riley and Carvalho:

“I think Southampton would like to get him [Fabio Carvalho] AND Matt O’Riley, not one or the other.”

“[Southampton’s pursuit of] Matt O’Riley has become stuck, with Celtic not exactly being quick to respond to communications.”

“Maybe Brighton are interested in O’Riley. I think O’Riley’s happy to come to Southampton. I think Celtic need to get on with it.”

“There’s some good experience out there. They [Southampton] want a goalkeeper, yeah.”

“Southampton want to get a couple of things done - in and out - in the next week.”

I wouldn't want O'Riley and Carvalho because that would still leave us with mainly lightweights in midfield.We need another Romeu type player who is physical but can also play a bit.

[Harry_SFC]

6 minutes ago, Saint Scott said:

Some quotes from Adam Blackmore regarding O'Riley and Carvalho:

“I think Southampton would like to get him [Fabio Carvalho] AND Matt O’Riley, not one or the other.”

“[Southampton’s pursuit of] Matt O’Riley has become stuck, with Celtic not exactly being quick to respond to communications.”

“Maybe Brighton are interested in O’Riley. I think O’Riley’s happy to come to Southampton. I think Celtic need to get on with it.”

“There’s some good experience out there. They [Southampton] want a goalkeeper, yeah.”

“Southampton want to get a couple of things done - in and out - in the next week.”

I'd rather we got one or the other instead of missing out on both - which could well happen unless we sort ourselves out.

[egg]

2 minutes ago, saintant said:

I wouldn't want O'Riley and Carvalho because that would still leave us with mainly lightweights in midfield.We need another Romeu type player who is physical but can also play a bit.

Yes, in the DM role, but O'Riley would be one of a midfield 3, and Carvalho would probably play wide. I'd be delighted with both of them. 

[Ball boy]

6 minutes ago, saintant said:

I wouldn't want O'Riley and Carvalho because that would still leave us with mainly lightweights in midfield.We need another Romeu type player who is physical but can also play a bit.

I don’t think O’Riley is lightweight. 

[egg]

6 minutes ago, Ball boy said:

I don’t think O’Riley is lightweight. 

He's not. He's 6ft 2 (1.89m in new money), and solid enough. Similar height and build of Michael Carrick and Busquets, and they hardly got/get pushed around. 

[The Curse of St Mary's]

13 minutes ago, saintant said:

I wouldn't want O'Riley and Carvalho because that would still leave us with mainly lightweights in midfield.We need another Romeu type player who is physical but can also play a bit.

Jurys out on Smallbone and Aribo at this level and if they aren't up to scratch we need to have able alternatives so MOR is the ideal signing imo. Carvalho would play a more attacking role. I definitely wouldn't turn my nose up at him either as I reckon he will have far more end product than Edozie and Sulemanna. 

 

I do agree we need able deputy for downes who can add some steel. Charles isn't that guy. Downes could play as a #8 as well I reckon as he offers something going forward as well. 

[saintant]

14 minutes ago, Ball boy said:

I don’t think O’Riley is lightweight. 

Maybe not but if we are lucky enough to get him I think we still need that Romeu type alongside him,someone who combines a bit of brawn with footballing ability too. We've never replaced him in my opinion. 

Edited August 5 by saintant

[Nordic Saint]

35 minutes ago, OnceaSaintalwaysaSaint said:

See where you're coming from, but people are talking about O'Riley as if he's the new Messi. Perhaps we can use that bid money to go towards a striker because you're right, and we all know, we need a striker who's going to knock in at least 10/15 goals this season.

But is he as good as Dibling?

[CSA96]

Summary of the Blackmore chat - direct quoting on Q&A (as close to verbatim as possible) unless it's a bullet point:

 

- ABK wasn't taken to Spain, understood to be a bad influence behind the scenes

- Considered to be a negative character, not appreciated by current dressing room / coaching staff for his attitude

- Russell Martin has been very clear that he won't accept a negative attitude from anyone

- Saints pushed hard for Carvalho in January

- Player and manager spoke, both really liked each other

- There were conditions attached to the deal such as a big agent fee (which Saints didn't agree with for a loan)

- Another condition from LFC was a number of guaranteed starts, Saints wouldn't agree but Hull did

- The player and Russell still appreciate each other and would still like to work together

- The leak has come from the Liverpool end, hence Ornstein 

- They don't want to loan, they want to sell but are letting their fanbase know it's a 'reluctant sale' and seeing if other clubs get involved

- I think Saints want Matt O'Riley and Fabio Carvalho, I don't believe it is one or the other

- O'Riley is happy to come, they've already had that conversation and both parties know the deal

- Celtic are being slow and Saints are getting agitated because they are worried it will run too late in August

- O'Riley doesn't have an agent he is only represented by his parents and they have a relationship with RM

- Is the Brighton leak an effort from Celtic to get Saints to move to Celtic's negotiation point? Let's see

 

Specific Qs...

 

Onuachu?

- Trabzonspor been offering 3m, 4m, 5m

- Saints won't do business at silly prices and are irritated by Trabzonspor's approach

- They are happy to hold onto him, think that he might get offers from other leagues at the end of the window, maybe if a Dutch club comes into some money

 

GK?

Yes, I think they need a goalkeeper. I think they want to get Lis out on loan again or at best, as the third choice. I had a look at the Premier League squads and there's some good experience on benches. I'm not anti McCarthy, I think he's been a good servant to the club but I think they need to get someone with more Premier League authority.

 

Extra comment - not verbatim: Ramsdale is on either side of 100k by a slim margin, would look at more experienced people on benches to look for better value - example given: Martin Dubravka

 

Alcaraz's future?

I think he should go. I know some fans like him because he runs around a lot, he's busy, he's all-action, he's hot-headed. I've got no problem with him because I think he is a good lad but I don't think he has got the tactical understanding for how the team plays. There's a reason he didn't start a lot last season. I think he needs to move on because he can't do the job he is being asked to do. I think you have to sell him to get some money in to go out and acquire some more players.

 

KWP?

I'd like him to stay, we'd all like him to stay. He was fantastic in agreeing to stay and be professional last summer to give them one go to get straight back into the Premier League - and it worked. I'm at the stage now where I think 'thank you very much Kyle' and if you want to go and find somewhere else to play that's fine, but we just need to get the right money for you before your contract expires. My feeling is that he will need to go for himself and his own career, and it won't do the club any harm to get some money in rather than him going for nothing. Saints have actually got too many full-backs now but I do accept that Kyle Walker-Peters was a clear cut above the rest last season.

 

Lots to still be done?

Yes, I think there is a lot to be done. And I don't know if I believe it will all go to the wire. I know for a fact they want to get a couple of things done in the next week. But moving a few on would help Saints because it will give them more strength and money, some salaries off the wage bill. Saints/Solak is not going to spend endlessly and end up with a huge squad again. If you could get Onuachu, Bella-Kotchap and Alcaraz out in the next two weeks then you can really attack the end of the transfer window a lot better. I think they can get O'Riley done. Is the Brighton leak an effort to get Saints to move to Celtic's negotiation point? Let's see. With Carvalho, the player is clear that he would like to play for Russell Martin and come and fill that role in the team. Let's see.

Edited August 5 by CSA96

[hypochondriac]

Was very interesting from Blackmore. 

If you read between the lines I think it's clear that Ramsdale is not coming as his wage is too high. He suggested Dubravka. 

Also clear that Carvalho would like to play for Martin which would be a plus but doesn't mean we will get him of course. O'riley feck knows but he obviously is happy to play for us. Will cross our fingers on that one that we actually get an offer accepted. Sounds like they'd like Charles in loan which will help us for sure. 

Need to get Alcaraz, tall paul, ABK and KWP out as soon as possible if we want these players in 

[pimpin4rizeal]

46 minutes ago, saintant said:

This in a nutshell is our issue. 

I can even remember senmens using the fact our more expensive buys didn’t work out as a reason to keep buying players in the cheaper range .. 

I think the reality is though the majority of the league are willing to spend more then us now on the calibre of players we used to sign .. look at the difference between vvd wanyama and o Riley Celtic are now wanting 25 mil not 12 . So unless we step up our record transfers we will have to continue to look at other ways to do things on the cheap .: 

[CSA96]

3 minutes ago, hypochondriac said:

Was very interesting from Blackmore. 

If you read between the lines I think it's clear that Ramsdale is not coming as his wage is too high. He suggested Dubravka. 

Also clear that Carvalho would like to play for Martin which would be a plus but doesn't mean we will get him of course. O'riley feck knows but he obviously is happy to play for us. Will cross our fingers on that one that we actually get an offer accepted. Sounds like they'd like Charles in loan which will help us for sure. 

Need to get Alcaraz, tall paul, ABK and KWP out as soon as possible if we want these players in 

Ah yes, I forgot to include the Charles bit above - thanks Hypo. Blackmore basically suggested that the view is that for a 20/21 year old, Charles is very inexperienced and raw and would benefit from just playing every week at a slightly lower level. Saints can't give him that this season. Saints have other young players but they have 100 or so games under their belt and are more mature in their game

[CSA96]

 

[trousers]

Any insight from Adam Blackmore on whether or not we're likely to see Ross Stewart on a football field this side of Hallowe'en?

[The Kraken]

6 minutes ago, CSA96 said:

Ah yes, I forgot to include the Charles bit above - thanks Hypo. Blackmore basically suggested that the view is that for a 20/21 year old, Charles is very inexperienced and raw and would benefit from just playing every week at a slightly lower level. Saints can't give him that this season. Saints have other young players but they have 100 or so games under their belt and are more mature in their game

When you write it like that it makes it even more of a mockery that we paid £10M+ for him. Simply not a fee that club like us can afford to spend on somebody who is so far away from a first team start.

[CSA96]

1 minute ago, trousers said:

Any insight from Adam Blackmore on whether or not we're likely to see Ross Stewart on a football field this side of Hallowe'en?

Ross wasn't discussed

[hypochondriac]

1 minute ago, The Kraken said:

When you write it like that it makes it even more of a mockery that we paid £10M+ for him. Simply not a fee that club like us can afford to spend on somebody who is so far away from a first team start.

We bought him for his potential. Fine in the prem maybe but madness in the championship with budgets so tight. Thank goodness we got promoted so it didn't matter so much. 

[saintant]

Just now, pimpin4rizeal said:

I can even remember senmens using the fact our more expensive buys didn’t work out as a reason to keep buying players in the cheaper range .. 

I think the reality is though the majority of the league are willing to spend more then us now on the calibre of players we used to sign .. look at the difference between vvd wanyama and o Riley Celtic are now wanting 25 mil not 12 . So unless we step up our record transfers we will have to continue to look at other ways to do things on the cheap .: 

A look at the nett spend of all Premier League clubs over the last 10 years reveals that we are the lowest and even below Brentford. Whilst in some ways a thrifty approach is to be commended clearly it makes it very hard to produce a competitive team. Unless this changes we will continue to scrap at the bottom. Our most recent success was when Markus Liebher arrived on the scene 15 years ago and was prepared to spend money. SR have been a bit of a disappointment so far and I don't see them upping the ante any time soon..

[bugenhagen]

5 minutes ago, trousers said:

Any insight from Adam Blackmore on whether or not we're likely to see Ross Stewart on a football field this side of Hallowe'en?

Don't know, but he looks to be back in light training...

[Holmes_and_Watson]

9 minutes ago, trousers said:

Any insight from Adam Blackmore on whether or not we're likely to see Ross Stewart on a football field this side of Hallowe'en?

You forgot to put in the year. 🙂

[ErwinK1961]

Not sure Dubravka would be much of an upgrade tbh. Several years ago yes, now not so much. Would be very underwhelming.

[saintant]

1 minute ago, ErwinK1961 said:

Not sure Dubravka would be much of an upgrade tbh. Several years ago yes, now not so much. Would be very underwhelming.

I tend to agree.

[Chez]

2 hours ago, 6ft8saint said:

I'm pretty sure players are disciplined for playing long ball instead of russball

What on earth are you talking about?

[Chez]

2 hours ago, Winnersaint said:

I would be delighted to be wrong but cannot see us signing O’Riley, Carvalho or Ramsdale. We’ve got to establish ourselves again in the EPL before players like that even consider coming to us.

I get your point, but Carvalho considered Hull, in the Championship. No reason he won't consider us. Doesn't mean he will come off course.

[Chez]

2 hours ago, EBS1980 said:

I’d be more worried if we were bidding for players nobody else wanted!

This. Absolutely this. And genuine interest, not agent placed bullshit that makes fans feel better when they sign.