Summer Transfer Window 2025/26

[Matthew Le God]

14 minutes ago, saint michael said:

I’ve supported saints since the 60’s so I never have any high expectations of not selling or that owners expect a profit. My point is that Football is no longer the fundamental principle strategy point and selling is for Saints and has been for a while.
 

Individual player value doesn’t mean the club is successful and this year is a good example of buying a team that is far from suited for the purpose of prem football. The board is trying to be far too clever and think they can outperform the market. I want to see football not as a byproduct. 

You have now made a number of claims...

"football not as a byproduct" 

"the main driver is to make more and more money for the owners"

"Football is no longer the fundamental principle strategy point and selling is for Saints and has been for a while."

But that does not hold water! There is zero evidence in the accounts of them taking money out of the group. 

Edited April 16 by Matthew Le God

[Saint Fan CaM]

40 minutes ago, Matthew Le God said:

You have now made a number of claims...

"football not as a byproduct" 

"the main driver is to make more and more money for the owners"

"Football is no longer the fundamental principle strategy point and selling is for Saints and has been for a while."

But that does not hold water! There is plenty of evidence in the accounts of them taking value out of the club.

There….fixed it for you.

[Turkish]

56 minutes ago, saint michael said:

I’ve supported saints since the 60’s so I never have any high expectations of not selling or that owners expect a profit. My point is that Football is no longer the fundamental principle strategy point and selling is for Saints and has been for a while.
 

Individual player value doesn’t mean the club is successful and this year is a good example of buying a team that is far from suited for the purpose of prem football. The board is trying to be far too clever and think they can outperform the market. I want to see football not as a byproduct. 

However much some of the helmets on here rim Sports Republic at every opportunity you’re right. They even once described themselves at a player trading company. 
 

although it’s true that only a handful of clubs globally can’t sign and keep the best in the world that business model at Saints has been to buy low and sell high for a numbers of years 

nothing wrong with that, Dortmund do it brilliantly, Brighton have too in recent years but when it’s your only strategy and you do it incredibly badly like we’ve done you end up where we are. I can only think of Ramsdale and Ings as players of proven premier league quality weve signed in about 10 years and Ings with his injury record was a bit of a gamble. You can’t build a successful team when all you care about is how much you can sell a player for.

the last four transfer windows we’ve been in the premier league have been absolutely shambolic, a load of kids in 2022 then a load of shite in January. 2024 a load of players baring a couple miles off it and let’s not even talk about this January. 
 

it won’t stop the arse licking by some on here but it’s clearly not about making SFC as successful as it can be

[woodsaint1]

Regardless of the volume of new signings in the summer, those responsible for recruitment can start to gain our trust if they sufficiently address two areas;

GK and Striker

Ramsdale will almost certainly be leaving, either permanently or on a season long loan. And if we have Bazunu or god forbid McCarthy starting the first game of the season, then the club will have truly failed. An absolute must.

Similarly, I would be very surprised if Tall Paul is still here come the end of the summer. I can see Archer staying, but if we're still relying on AA and the Loch Ness Drogba (needs a new nickname) to lead the line then the club will have failed here also. We need two new strikers in my opinion.

Other areas such as CB, RB/LB,  RW/LW and AM I'm less concerned about, although we still need to strengthen throughout the team. DM with Downes and Charles (if they both stay) would be the best pairing in the Championship (in a 4-2-3-1)

[Oldandtired]

11 hours ago, saint michael said:

I think the owners don’t align with football as a sport. 

Upper level football ceased being sport a long time ago.

[Gloucester Saint]

7 hours ago, woodsaint1 said:

Regardless of the volume of new signings in the summer, those responsible for recruitment can start to gain our trust if they sufficiently address two areas;

GK and Striker

Ramsdale will almost certainly be leaving, either permanently or on a season long loan. And if we have Bazunu or god forbid McCarthy starting the first game of the season, then the club will have truly failed. An absolute must.

Similarly, I would be very surprised if Tall Paul is still here come the end of the summer. I can see Archer staying, but if we're still relying on AA and the Loch Ness Drogba (needs a new nickname) to lead the line then the club will have failed here also. We need two new strikers in my opinion.

Other areas such as CB, RB/LB,  RW/LW and AM I'm less concerned about, although we still need to strengthen throughout the team. DM with Downes and Charles (if they both stay) would be the best pairing in the Championship (in a 4-2-3-1)

Really good post. GK first choice is essential, and Ross Stewart can only be regarded as a bonus/impact player eg don’t count on him in planning at all, and if he manages say 10 starts, another dozen off the bench and half-a-dozen goals, that’s a real result.

AMC is probably the only area we disagree on, and wide areas depends on who leaves. 

[Lighthouse]

As much of the off topic stuff as I can be arsed to shovel is now here

 

[Badger]

3 minutes ago, Lighthouse said:

As much of the off topic stuff as I can be arsed to shovel is now here

 

That will outrun the original 'Pompey Takeover' thread in terms of replies, if not views, in no time at all. 

[Chez]

17 hours ago, Turkish said:

but it’s clearly not about making SFC as successful as it can be

What's it about then?

 

[BarberSaint]

14 hours ago, woodsaint1 said:

Regardless of the volume of new signings in the summer, those responsible for recruitment can start to gain our trust if they sufficiently address two areas;

 

1/  Leave and;

 

2/ Go

[kjurwi]

3 player types i want in the summer. 

1 an Wanyama type DM. Doesn't have to be able to pass a ball more than a few yards, just win tackles in the center of the midfield. 

2 an Pelle type attacker. Able to hold the ball and score a few goals. 

3 A bastard of a CD. Just a tough no nonsense can't pass for shit tackler. Only job is to tackle attackers and head the ball away.

 

We need large players. Not thin, tiny fast players. Time to become tougher on the pitch.

[Matthew Le God]

1 hour ago, kjurwi said:

an Wanyama type DM. Doesn't have to be able to pass a ball more than a few yards, just win tackles in the center of the midfield. 

I'd guess we'll see Shea Charles in the defensive midfielder role next season. He has excelled in the Championship this season.

[Turkish]

5 hours ago, Chez said:

What's it about then?

 

Making the group more successful 

[Turkish]

10 hours ago, Badger said:

That will outrun the original 'Pompey Takeover' thread in terms of replies, if not views, in no time at all. 

My threads generally are very popular as most on here can testify too

[ChrisPY]

11 hours ago, Lighthouse said:

As much of the off topic stuff as I can be arsed to shovel is now here

 

Should have called it the Katie Price thread.

Couple of massive tits who can’t let go of something stupid.

[ally_uk]

One key thing this Saints team has been lacking—season after season—is strong mentality and real leadership. It's been our undoing.

We fold like deckchairs on the Titanic whenever we're under pressure. One goal against us, and the heads drop—it’s been the story for too long.

When you look at this team, the glaring issue is physicality. We’ve got a squad of absolute midgets, and it shows.

Forget everything else—next season, the first priority has to be building a strong spine. We need two absolute units at centre-back, with height and presence, and a no-nonsense, tackle-first defensive midfielder like Romeu.

The real tough calls come if we’re aiming for promotion. We need players who can hit the ground running and perform at Premier League level right away. It won’t be easy. Take Adam Armstrong—he’s great in the Championship, but we need a ruthless streak. Once promotion’s secured, we thank them for their service and upgrade to proper Premier League players.

If we make it to the Premier League, enough with the tinkering and trying to be clever. We need to be ready to spend £20-30 million on quality each signing, not scraping the barrel.

Either we invest properly and make a solid push to stay in the Premier League, or we yo-yo, break up the squad, and rinse and repeat. It's that simple.

If promotion is the goal—and you'd assume it is—we're going to need to invest heavily to establish ourselves as a Premier League regular. There's no other way.

Shortcuts and being clever won't hack it..... 

[chivvy]

We need to make sure we spend the 20 millions wisely..players we bought near that mark were sulemana and ounacho.. truly awful squad assembly this year.. way to weak physically.  

[spyinthesky]

Carillo at around £20m and even Mara at £8-£10m were awful buys but dont think we can point the finger at current owners for their purchases.

[AlexLaw76]

5 hours ago, spyinthesky said:

Carillo at around £20m and even Mara at £8-£10m were awful buys but dont think we can point the finger at current owners for their purchases.

Mara - there is a player in there(TM)

[Whitey Grandad]

10 minutes ago, AlexLaw76 said:

Mara - there is a player in there(TM)

A snooker player?

[Suhari]

1 hour ago, AlexLaw76 said:

Mara - there is a player in there(TM)

He showed the odd glimpse of quality, but ultimately was a lazy fucker. And crap.

Shame.

His mum was fit.

[Lee On Solent Saint]

If Sheffield United don't come up this season, we should be all over trying to sign Gus Hamer from them. 

[Turkish]

BBD just scored for them, running straight down the middle.  I couldn’t believe he wasn’t hugging the left touchline 

[Holmes_and_Watson]

3 minutes ago, Turkish said:

BBD just scored for them, running straight down the middle.  I couldn’t believe he wasn’t hugging the left touchline 

Their manager must have been going nuts, shouting at him to get back into his natural position. I guess scoring saves him from being subbed.

[East Kent Saint]

11 hours ago, Holmes_and_Watson said:

Their manager must have been going nuts, shouting at him to get back into his natural position. I guess scoring saves him from being subbed.

He came on at 78 mins

[Harry_SFC]

1 hour ago, East Kent Saint said:

He came on at 78 mins

On the bench because he's been largely dreadful for them, along with Armstrong at WBA...

[Gloucester Saint]

On 17/04/2025 at 17:34, Matthew Le God said:

I'd guess we'll see Shea Charles in the defensive midfielder role next season. He has excelled in the Championship this season.

Absolutely what I expect, given we spent a lot on him by Champ standards and he’s done well at Weds, unless we appoint another SR tosspot who plays him out of position due to their ‘philosophy’, or there’s a buyer from the PL for Shea who will offer SR enough profit (unlikely yet to be regarded as another James Garner/Morgan Gibbs-White). 

If Rohl gets the gig, 100% he starts in August as DMC if fit. 

Edited Saturday at 08:51 by Gloucester Saint

[Gloucester Saint]

1 hour ago, Harry_SFC said:

On the bench because he's been largely dreadful for them, along with Armstrong at WBA...

Seems unlikely Wilder will buy him even if they win the play offs. Pity for all parties.

However, part of me would like to see him in the Champ for Saints under a manager who uses him properly, although £10m to part re-invest in an actual centre forward which the club are so allergic to buying would be the best of all.

Edited Saturday at 08:55 by Gloucester Saint

[Convict Colony]

Honestly think this thread is very hard to contribute to until mid June.

We need the following:

1. Confirmed style we will play.

2.Manager to lead us.

3. Evaluate which players can play this.

4.Which players want to leave.

5. Which players we want to leave.

6. How much money we have + player sales.

7. Priority positions to recruit for:

 - Before pre-season v Later in window for deals.

8. Convince players and agents to come.

 

[Matthew Le God]

38 minutes ago, Convict Colony said:

Honestly think this thread is very hard to contribute to until mid June.

Transfer window starts 1st June 2025

[Midfield_General]

18 hours ago, AlexLaw76 said:

Mara - there is a player in there(TM)

Yeah, if there is then he's keeping it pretty damn well hidden.

23 appearances for Strasbourg this season - 1 goal, 1 assist. Playing for one of the better sides in a poor league. 

I wonder when the player in there will come bursting out? 

 

[Holmes_and_Watson]

43 minutes ago, Midfield_General said:

I wonder when the player in there will come bursting out? 

 

The Mara: A body horror film by David Cronenberg. 🙂

[Badger]

55 minutes ago, Holmes_and_Watson said:

The Mara: A body horror film by David Cronenberg. 🙂

Did he ever complete that film for release, or was it just another ‘ unfinished Cronenberg?’

(With apologies to those who don’t remember the original). 

[Convict Colony]

6 hours ago, Matthew Le God said:

Transfer window starts 1st June 2025

True MLG but sometimes it better to look past the obvious and look for the reality.

The Premier League AGM was 6th June last year (would guess 5th this year) and that is when we will will officailly hand back out status and become a championship club.

If we are going for Rohl it becomes cheaper to buy him out from then.

Give it 1 week for the approach to official announcement = mid June.

 

[John B]

On 16/04/2025 at 19:21, Matthew Le God said:

You have now made a number of claims...

"football not as a byproduct" 

"the main driver is to make more and more money for the owners"

"Football is no longer the fundamental principle strategy point and selling is for Saints and has been for a while."

But that does not hold water! There is zero evidence in the accounts of them taking money out of the group. 

Clearly MLG you are wrong the point the poster is making is that the club has been buying young players players with a view to selling tham at a profit not to enhance the team like in the 1960s 1970s and 1980s when the team bought  experienced players like David Webb Campbell Forsyth Ron Davies John McGrath Jimmy Gabriel Jimmy Melia etc etc 

 

[Matthew Le God]

25 minutes ago, John B said:

Clearly MLG you are wrong the point the poster is making is that the club has been buying young players players with a view to selling tham at a profit not to enhance the team like in the 1960s 1970s and 1980s when the team bought  experienced players like David Webb Campbell Forsyth Ron Davies John McGrath Jimmy Gabriel Jimmy Melia etc etc 

 

Nonsense

He said "more money for the owners"

That is the point I was refuting. No evidence they have taken any money out of the group, only been putting money in.

Edited Sunday at 09:07 by Matthew Le God

[Holmes_and_Watson]

1 hour ago, John B said:

Clearly MLG you are wrong the point the poster is making is that the club has been buying young players players with a view to selling tham at a profit not to enhance the team like in the 1960s 1970s and 1980s when the team bought  experienced players like David Webb Campbell Forsyth Ron Davies John McGrath Jimmy Gabriel Jimmy Melia etc etc 

 

FYI the prior follow ups to this were moved to the Lounge where MLG spent a dozen or so posts reinforcing just how wrong he was.

[Chez]

On 19/04/2025 at 08:00, Harry_SFC said:

On the bench because he's been largely dreadful for them, along with Armstrong at WBA...

BBD has 4 goals in 16 appearances, 2 in 13 for Armstrong. I keep reading on here how we have lots of players that are great at this level, strikers with great championship goalscoring records, but goals seem hard to come by for all of our forwards. 

[trousers]

11 minutes ago, Chez said:

BBD has 4 goals in 16 appearances, 2 in 13 for Armstrong. I keep reading on here how we have lots of players that are great at this level, strikers with great championship goalscoring records, but goals seem hard to come by for all of our forwards. 

Yeah, but it's coz they is not being played in their best positions, innit...

Edited Sunday at 15:06 by trousers

[chownie20]

Any thoughts on Guilherme? Didn't appear to do a lot at the weekend, but WHU fans seem to rate him highly?

[Nolan]

On 19/04/2025 at 09:50, Gloucester Saint said:

Absolutely what I expect, given we spent a lot on him by Champ standards and he’s done well at Weds, unless we appoint another SR tosspot who plays him out of position due to their ‘philosophy’, or there’s a buyer from the PL for Shea who will offer SR enough profit (unlikely yet to be regarded as another James Garner/Morgan Gibbs-White). 

If Rohl gets the gig, 100% he starts in August as DMC if fit. 

He looks to have played Charles as a Centre Back yesterday, so you might want to revise that percentage down a bit.

[Fabrice29]

2 minutes ago, Nolan said:

He looks to have played Charles as a Centre Back yesterday, so you might want to revise that percentage down a bit.

They had 6 defenders out to be fair. 

[Tommy Mulgrew]

11 hours ago, Nolan said:

He looks to have played Charles as a Centre Back yesterday

That’s nothing; the best manager in Europe looks to have played Thierry Small (usually left-back) as a right winger on Easter Monday and he got an assist for one of the goals in Charlton’s 4:0 thrashing of Wycombe. Expect to see Manning, Wellington or Larios there any time soon.

[Fabrice29]

9 minutes ago, Tommy Mulgrew said:

That’s nothing; the best manager in Europe looks to have played Thierry Small (usually left-back) as a right winger on Easter Monday and he got an assist for one of the goals in Charlton’s 4:0 thrashing of Wycombe. Expect to see Manning, Wellington or Larios there any time soon.

He's played right wing most of the season.

[Holmes_and_Watson]

Nice to hear Small doing well. Still only 20, and getting a good run of games, while showing his versatility.

[disconnect]

2 hours ago, Holmes_and_Watson said:

Nice to hear Small doing well. Still only 20, and getting a good run of games, while showing his versatility.

And Kayne Ramsay is a mainstay at right back and getting good reviews. Charlton have done very well this season with both of these playing most matches

[Dman]

10 hours ago, Tommy Mulgrew said:

That’s nothing; the best manager in Europe looks to have played Thierry Small (usually left-back) as a right winger on Easter Monday and he got an assist for one of the goals in Charlton’s 4:0 thrashing of Wycombe. Expect to see Manning, Wellington or Larios there any time soon.

I don't get the animosity towards Jones, if i'm honest. 

He was offered and thrown into a job that he couldn't refused (not his fault) and he was clearly out of his depth. He's very unpolished and says some silly things, but wears his heart on his sleeve, which is something we're crying out for in this squad. 

He was never going to be a fit here, but hes a competent championship manager for the right club.  

[Turkish]

8 hours ago, disconnect said:

And Kayne Ramsay is a mainstay at right back and getting good reviews. Charlton have done very well this season with both of these playing most matches

Ramsay was loved at Harrogate town I know they’re a bottom half league 2 club but I go regularly to watch them and you could see he was way above league two level. He’ll probably end up in the championship sooner rather than later either with Charlton or get a move

Edited yesterday at 06:37 by Turkish

[Dman]

4 minutes ago, Turkish said:

Ramsay was loved at Harrogate town I know there a bottom half league 2 club but I go regularly to watch them and you could see he was way above league two level. He’ll probably end up in the championship sooner rather than later either with Charlton or get a move

Valery getting some good reviews at Sheff Weds this season as well. 

[austsaint]

1 hour ago, Dman said:

Valery getting some good reviews at Sheff Weds this season as well. 

Not normally a fan of re-signing players, but Valery at RB next season would be fine with me.   How old is he now, 26, 27.   Showed a lot at times when a Saint as a young player.