Transfer Rumour Summer Transfer Window 2026 (17 Viewers)

[SBAndy]

Honestly i'd also like to see us try our luck with a young CB from one of the lesser leagues in the £4-5 million bracket, someone we can develop. 100% would rather do that than see Lati or Kitching touch a pitch in the Prem, but feel like that might be asking too much.

I really worry that the squad building exercise we’ve been through just isn’t giving us the tools we need as it stands. Again, it could change but we’re a week away from having 4 keepers on the books and a collection of sub-standard players at real risk of getting PL minutes.

 

[DACMAC]

what i would find more reassuring is rumours of players leaving! Assuming Pinnock in, i think we all agree we need a LB and a LW. the debate is then whether we seek to improve midfield or upfront. but i feel that to do either would require a departure - with simms and eccles looking like the ones who would make way for newcomers. without them leaving i cannot see us adding into either of those positions.

 

[SBAndy]

He's needed to build fitness for years and hasn't done it. Maybe Lampard has some magic spray that will get him off the booze and poor diet but age is catching up with his poor routine already.

A few poked fun when I said that we should have got that deal done early so he had a proper pre-season - apparently he had one at Sheff Utd but an hour kicking a ball followed by a piss up was never going to get him near PL standard.

 

[djr8369]

Gomes wouldn’t answer the calls for more experience and mobility.

Just thinking he’s only solid link in that position and seems unlikely there’s much budget left.

 

[CCFC96]

Pinnock, a LB, another winger and I tend to agree that I’d like an experienced 6 but seems like Lampard believes Grimes can do that role in the prem. And despite some people already writing him off - we don’t know if he’ll be able to make the step up yet. Will have a much clearer idea in a couple of months but probably isn’t something you’d be leaving to chance.

I imagine our settled starting line-up after a few weeks (assuming we play 4-2-3-1/4-3-3 still) will be:

Rushworth

Van Ewijk Thomas Amenda New LB

Yirenkyi Grimes

Tchaouna Rudoni Mason-Clark

Awoniyi

And I think when you look at that, it feels about right from a players we all thought could step up vs areas we needed to replace.

 

[TomRad85]

I really worry that the squad building exercise we’ve been through just isn’t giving us the tools we need as it stands. Again, it could change but we’re a week away from having 4 keepers on the books and a collection of sub-standard players at real risk of getting PL minutes.

Yeh its starting to look like we could have been a bit smarter tbh. Lets see where we are a week today.

 

[Gustavo38]

We haven't got much time left and as someone mentioned earlier the earmarked targets we had on our radar have probably slipped through the net. I would hate us to see us just buy for the sake of it however at the back is really concerning as we have no depth should our first choice centre backs get injured other than Pinnock. Lati and Kitchen will get torn to shreds in the premier league as would bidders. Know it is early days but it does really concern me

 

[Balli001]

We haven't got much time left and as someone mentioned earlier the earmarked targets we had on our radar have probably slipped through the net. I would hate us to see us just buy for the sake of it however at the back is really concerning as we have no depth should our first choice centre backs get injured other than Pinnock. Lati and Kitchen will get torn to shreds in the premier league as would bidders. Know it is early days but it does really concern me

Most clubs do business late in the Premier league. Lampard himself admitted as much

 

[procdoc]

Recruitment: unquestionably a step up from last season, and yet left feeling slightly underwhelmed.

Partly because the new team have yet to gel and missing the speed and control in transition from defence to midfield - expecting even more long balls in second halves. Partly because the gap between Championship and Prem really is big.

Just wish we had that statement signing for the money spent, even if it meant, a smaller less flexible squad.

We played against the champions, get a grip

 

[procdoc]

Why is everyone panicking just because we lost to Arsenal?

 

[Skybluedogwood]

I'd agree. I'd only bring in another midfielder if it was a top class signing though. We don't need another rotational/squad midfielder.

I'm hoping we have one real joker left to play whereby we bring in a real quality player on loan for the season.

With the kind of crazy prices floating around, I'm not confident we can afford to buy a young, experienced player with a bit of X factor. As the end of the transfer window approaches, there will be players that become available for a potential loan deal, just hoping that throws up an opportunity for us as loans often rely upon personal connections and trust in the manager of the recipient side. Plenty of sides going through a re-build, hopefully a few good loan options will suddenly emerge when the transfer merry go round approaches close.

 

[Cally Fedora]

Here’s the uncomfortable truth. We might not be good enough. We might go down. That is just reality. We don’t have the resources to guarantee anything different to that.

 

[Graham64]

Big risk with Yirenkyi is that he’s had no summer break which isn’t great for a young player. We are going to have to earmark a portion of the season where he’s not selected anyway and I’m more than a little concerned that the remaining options ain’t exactly strong.

Why a portion of the season with out him?

 

[CovveeBreak]

Here’s the uncomfortable truth. We might not be good enough. We might go down. That is just reality. We don’t have the resources to guarantee anything different to that.

If anyone’s thinking anything other than this then you’re a donut.

Of course we’d all love for us to stay up first time of asking, but it’s a huge ask.

Just enjoy the journey folks and let’s see how we get on.

 

[Liquid Gold]

Pinnock, a LB, another winger and I tend to agree that I’d like an experienced 6 but seems like Lampard believes Grimes can do that role in the prem. And despite some people already writing him off - we don’t know if he’ll be able to make the step up yet. Will have a much clearer idea in a couple of months but probably isn’t something you’d be leaving to chance.

I imagine our settled starting line-up after a few weeks (assuming we play 4-2-3-1/4-3-3 still) will be:

Rushworth

Van Ewijk Thomas Amenda New LB

Yirenkyi Grimes

Tchaouna Rudoni Mason-Clark

Awoniyi

And I think when you look at that, it feels about right from a players we all thought could step up vs areas we needed to replace.

Given that there is only 1 player in that squad with serious PL experience it looks very relegationy

 

[Speedie's Head]

We don’t have the resources to guarantee anything different to that.

League position seems to correlate pretty strongly with income. You buy your place in this league.

 

[Liquid Gold]

We don’t have the resources

We've spent £120m

We have the resources, whether we've spent them wisely is another discussion.

 

[Jarvo87]

Yesterday was excellent from the point of view of proving sufficient squad depth, or not as it happens. We obviously can't plug every single gap in one window ~

Lati and Kitch harmed their chances of giving FL confidence in them. I dont think they will leave this window but unless injuries happen, then minutes or even match day squad appearances will be limited

Tats looked well off it and body language didnt look great to me, esp in the first half.

We know BTA brings energy and enthusiasm but dont know what value that has as he gives flexibility but not at the required PL level in any position.

Yirencki does some good things and moves the ball positively and at pace but needs to take a chill pill at times, Hamer and Rudoni both need to get fitness levels up and more minutes in legs

EMC, monster of a player and good to see him back

Amenda looks very calm and strong, together with Pinnock will be first choice centre pairing but Thomas will make the step up to compete.

Awoniyi looks a handful. Just need to keep him fit. Hard to comment on Cherif and needs fitness but physically looks capable.

Nothings changed in my view, LB/LW/DCM minimum. The little smile and glint in Frank's eye in the CWR interview tells me there is definitely still business to be done (in and out).

 

[robbiethemole]

oh come on people will support the lads we have. it’s not lack of being a fan to suggest we need experience in the middle

This is SBT, any opinion is opposite to what someone else thinks

 

[CovveeBreak]

Rushworth

Van Ewijk Thomas Amenda New LB

Yirenkyi Grimes

Tchaouna Rudoni Mason-Clark

Awoniyi

And I think when you look at that, it feels about right from a players we all thought could step up vs areas we needed to replace.

This would be my instinct, but now when I look at it, that midfield is getting ruined for physicality in the Prem. This dominates in the Champ but gets smashed to bits in the Prem sadly.

Way too much on Caleb’s shoulders to put himself about. Hence why I understand why we’ve started Onyeka over Rudi.

I wouldn’t want to change that front 4, so something would need to give behind them.

All the more justification for why we need an experienced physical play making CM in there if we’re honest.

 

[SBAndy]

Why a portion of the season with out him?

We either take the initiative and give him an enforced break mid-season or we risk him getting injured through fatigue and then who knows how long he’ll be out.

He finished at the WC for Ghana on 4th July and by 23rd was back playing games for Nordsjaelland. 4 90s in a week and a bit before he got to us.

 

[Cally Fedora]

If anyone’s thinking anything other than this then you’re a donut.

Of course we’d all love for us to stay up first time of asking, but it’s a huge ask.

Just enjoy the journey folks and let’s see how we get on.

Exactly this. Personally I think we’ll be ok but it’s a huge ask. You can see from the profile of signings that a long term strategy is playing out.

 

[CCFCSteve]

We either take the initiative and give him an enforced break mid-season or we risk him getting injured through fatigue and then who knows how long he’ll be out.

He finished at the WC for Ghana on 4th July and by 23rd was back playing games for Nordsjaelland. 4 90s in a week and a bit before he got to us.

Strange then that Lampard played him last night in a relatively meaningless game and with alternatives on the bench

 

[Skybluedogwood]

We've spent £120m

We have the resources, whether we've spent them wisely is another discussion.

Far too much is made of net spend in 1 window. Squad value is a far better metric as we can spend £120m net and have a squad that is then worth £250m and another side could spend zero (net) and still have a squad worth £1bn.

If you haven't been in the prem for a long time and get promoted with a team full of championship players, the reality is you are only able to potentially compete financially with the other 2 promoted clubs. It's a pyramid structure, the more years you survive, the more you can spend. Newcastle owners found out the hard way that you can also have all the money in the world but if your starting point is a squad worth a fraction of that needed to contend for top honours, the rules will mean it can take a decade to build something to get to a squad net worth whereby you can contend.

Doug King has done great by us and £120m is a lot of money, but if you look at this table, you soon see the challenge for promoted clubs Premier League 26/27 and the correlation with projected positions

 

[HJones23]

Yesterday was excellent from the point of view of proving sufficient squad depth, or not as it happens. We obviously can't plug every single gap in one window ~

Lati and Kitch harmed their chances of giving FL confidence in them. I dont think they will leave this window but unless injuries happen, then minutes or even match day squad appearances will be limited

Tats looked well off it and body language didnt look great to me, esp in the first half.

We know BTA brings energy and enthusiasm but dont know what value that has as he gives flexibility but not at the required PL level in any position.

Yirencki does some good things and moves the ball positively and at pace but needs to take a chill pill at times, Hamer and Rudoni both need to get fitness levels up and more minutes in legs

EMC, monster of a player and good to see him back

Amenda looks very calm and strong, together with Pinnock will be first choice centre pairing but Thomas will make the step up to compete.

Awoniyi looks a handful. Just need to keep him fit. Hard to comment on Cherif and needs fitness but physically looks capable.

Nothings changed in my view, LB/LW/DCM minimum. The little smile and glint in Frank's eye in the CWR interview tells me there is definitely still business to be done (in and out).

I think your spot on with most things. As others have mentioned, last night highlighted with KKH seemingly being injury prone, we could end up relying on MVE to stay fit again all season, as playing Lat's at RB would be disastrous (whilst I do rate him playing CB). Coupled with that, we have seen in all 3 of Milan's seasons he tends to have spell of poor games mainly through fatigue and we can't afford to be carrying anyone this season with points being at a premium.

I think bringing in someone who can cover both sides of the defence would be handy.

 

[Cally Fedora]

We've spent £120m

We have the resources, whether we've spent them wisely is another discussion.

Thats just not meaningful in any way though is it. We’ve spent 120m to try and bridge a gap. Existing prem squads already have plenty of what we’ve been trying to get with our 120m

 

[CCFCSteve]

This would be my instinct, but now when I look at it, that midfield is getting ruined for physicality in the Prem. This dominates in the Champ but gets smashed to bits in the Prem sadly.

Way too much on Caleb’s shoulders to put himself about. Hence why I understand why we’ve started Onyeka over Rudi.

I wouldn’t want to change that front 4, so something would need to give behind them.

All the more justification for why we need an experienced physical play making CM in there if we’re honest.

That formation needs wingers to work very hard in the prem. if not we’re fucked whoever plays central. It’s why I’ve mentioned the challenge of getting Rudi in the team as three forwards and a pure 10 is a big ask.

 

[CCFC96]

Given that there is only 1 player in that squad with serious PL experience it looks very relegationy

It’s a bottom half prem side at best that’s for sure - I get the desire for experience as well but there’s not a lot of good, prem experienced CMs for a reasonable fee on 50k per week.

Ipswich’s “experience” consists of Diop/Lukic who are low level prem starters really.

We’re needing to operate in a different zone unfortunately like Brentford and Bournemouth did when they came up

 

[CCFCSteve]

I think your spot on with most things. As others have mentioned, last night highlighted with KKH seemingly being injury prone, we could end up relying on MVE to stay fit again all season, as playing Lat's at RB would be disastrous (whilst I do rate him playing CB). Coupled with that, we have seen in all 3 of Milan's seasons he tends to have spell of poor games mainly through fatigue and we can't afford to be carrying anyone this season with points being at a premium.

I think bringing in someone who can cover both sides of the defence would be handy.

It’s a worry and annoying as I’m a big fan of KKH but he’s got to be ready when he’s needed as Lati can’t be anywhere near RB in the prem. Played 44 in his season for Preston though so hopefully he’s got it in him

 

[Cally Fedora]

That formation needs wingers to work very hard in the prem. if not we’re fucked whoever plays central. It’s why I’ve mentioned the challenge of getting Rudi in the team as three forwards and a pure 10 is a big ask.

That’s the nub of it isn’t it. We need probably our best creative player in but will have to sacrifice something in terms of solidity to play him.

 

[SleepyGinger]

We’ve spent more money than any of us would have imagined and there’s more to come, whether it will be enough to stay up who knows. The panic is coming from the fact Ipswich are spending £200m, we can’t control what other teams do.

 

[JSL]

I am bemused as to why KKH plays so little but is also always injured. Is he just unlucky or made of glass? LAst night would have been perfect for him, but instead we had to play Lati out of position for him to fook up and then get slated for it.

 

[David O'Day]

We’ve spent more money than any of us would have imagined and there’s more to come, whether it will be enough to stay up who knows. The panic is coming from the fact Ipswich are spending £200m, we can’t control what other teams do.

I also think their approach is pretty scattergun as well.

 

[JSL]

Someone else has said that we cant plug every gap in one window. I tend to agree. So far I think our business has been great. The World Cup hindered it getting going a little, but I am sure there will be a few more coming before the window ends to address some other likely gaps. With our limited budget, the younger players we have bought will do well and gain in value. The older heads will add to the mix. Survive year one and we will blossom. If the worst happens we will have highly saleable assets. If it starts going badly, DK will address glaring issues in January if needed to keep our chances alive. Trust the process.

 

[CovveeBreak]

If we get Moura or similar profile LWB in, can absolutely see us switching to a back 5 and the return of the box midfield.

MVE - Thomas - Pinnock - Amenda - (LWB)

Grimes - Yirenkyi

Rudi - EMC

Awoniyi


Strangely I like this because I’d argue what remains (Hamer, Torp, Eccles, Onyeka, Tchouana, Tats, BTA) could all do a job in a couple of those positions). Would mean we need more CBs though