Transfer Rumour 25/26 Summer Transfer Window (85 Viewers)

Mucca Mad Boys · 2025-07-25T08:41:14+0100

TomRad85 said:
Some of your posts make good sense but then you have this line you always pedal which doesn't add up at all. You're happy to have a go at the wingers for some reason while throwing a protective blanket over the underperforming strikers, whilst also ignoring Wright could easily be classed as a LW and indeed got most of his goals from there.
Mason-Clark and Sakamoto are far far better players than Simms and BTA.

Sakamoto scored 4 goals in 44 games and at the top end of the league, that isn’t actually good enough. EMC, in fairness, has the underlying data metrics to suggest he could get 15 goal contributions next season so I’m less concerned about LW. Regardless, at minimum we need one winger in case either player gets injured and both players missed significant portions of the season in 23/24 and 24/25.

As for Wright, he wants to play upfront and cannot simultaneously be a LW and ST.

TomRad85 said:
Simms needs to be moved on asap. I'm struggling to see why anyone would take him for what we'd want though. Whether we can ship one of them out permanently will probably decide whether we move for a loan or perm striker ourselves but I'm almost certain we'll do something.

It’s fine to have that opinion, but a sub striker is going to play 20-30m most weeks (if that). With your wingers, you want to be able to change at least one of them most matches with subs. Even if Rapha is serviceable next season, we don’t have the squad depth to play 4-2-3-1 / 4-3-3 without playing people out of position.

If we started the season tomorrow, BTA would de facto be our 2nd choice LW and he just isn’t a winger.

TomRad85 · 2025-07-25T08:45:07+0100

Mucca Mad Boys said:
As for Wright, he wants to play upfront and cannot simultaneously be a LW and ST.

He can want what he wants but he played a lot of games on the left and plays better there also. I suspect Lampard only started playing him through the middle as he was so done with the other options.

HJones23 · 2025-07-25T08:47:22+0100

Mucca Mad Boys said:
Sakamoto scored 4 goals in 44 games and at the top end of the league, that isn’t actually good enough. EMC, in fairness, has the underlying data metrics to suggest he could get 15 goal contributions next season so I’m less concerned about LW. Regardless, at minimum we need one winger in case either player gets injured and both players missed significant portions of the season in 23/24 and 24/25.

As for Wright, he wants to play upfront and cannot simultaneously be a LW and ST.

It’s fine to have that opinion, but a sub striker is going to play 20-30m most weeks (if that). With your wingers, you want to be able to change at least one of them most matches with subs. Even if Rapha is serviceable next season, we don’t have the squad depth to play 4-2-3-1 / 4-3-3 without playing people out of position.

If we started the season tomorrow, BTA would de facto be our 2nd choice LW and he just isn’t a winger.

Spot on with the depth on the wings. Only takes an injury to Tatts and we’re back to 5 atb again or having to play our best player (Rudi) out of position

shmmeee · 2025-07-25T08:47:36+0100

TomRad85 said:
He can want what he wants but he played a lot of games on the left and plays better there also. I suspect Lampard only started playing him through the middle as he was so done with the other options.

Not sure about that. He made some strange decisions around subs that could only be explained by a refusal to put Wright wide left. Reading between the lines I suspect Wright has been a bit of a moaner from the start TBH.

TomRad85 · 2025-07-25T08:53:37+0100

shmmeee said:
Not sure about that. He made some strange decisions around subs that could only be explained by a refusal to put Wright wide left. Reading between the lines I suspect Wright has been a bit of a moaner from the start TBH.

Disagree, I saw it as a refusal to put the other strikers on because he's lost faith in them. I don't blame him either, there's only so much you can watch Simms lumber about without losing your mind.
I do think Wright is in an interesting position though, I think Lampard prefers EMC on the left and I don't think Wright is particularly good through the middle, so where does that leave an asset that we could get over £10 million for? I guess we'll find out soon enough.

SkyBluePower · 2025-07-25T09:00:47+0100

People are going to have to leave and Eccles being one of them is possible a good move for him and the club…

Not a starter anymore and his chances only seem to come when Sheaf (and Torp) are injured - something that happens fairly regularly but not really the place he would want to be in. He could be a Championship starter somewhere

He is 25 and being with us since a kid probably hasn’t seen him get the best deal and it’s only by moving on do players get the rewards of a higher paid contract.

Would love the fairy story to continue but we clearly can’t keep everyone for sentimental reasons- especially someone who we could certainly profit from.

Mucca Mad Boys · 2025-07-25T09:23:55+0100

TomRad85 said:
He can want what he wants but he played a lot of games on the left and plays better there also. I suspect Lampard only started playing him through the middle as he was so done with the other options.

He was signed as a striker and that’s where he’ll play next season so the focus on Simms, Bassette or BTA is somewhat beside the point… they’re all role players.

With wingers, you have 2 on the field and with 5 subs, you’d want the option to change 4 midfielders in most cases.

Balli001 · 2025-07-25T09:24:47+0100

shmmeee said:
Not sure about that. He made some strange decisions around subs that could only be explained by a refusal to put Wright wide left. Reading between the lines I suspect Wright has been a bit of a moaner from the start TBH.

It was partly down to him not really trusting the other options to make an impact but also history tells us Wright can get you crucial goals that others dont seem to.

Matt smith · 2025-07-25T09:25:25+0100

Mucca Mad Boys said:
He was signed as a striker and that’s where he’ll play next season so the focus on Simms, Bassette or BTA is somewhat beside the point… they’re all role players.

With wingers, you have 2 on the field and with 5 subs, you’d want the option to change 4 midfielders in most cases.

We need a proper number nine

as far as I’m concerned I’d happily let all 3 go or at least 2, they’re not good enough

waiting to see this amazing potential Bassette has to be honest

Ccfcisparks · 2025-07-25T09:26:55+0100

Matt smith said:
We need a proper number nine

as far as I’m concerned I’d happily let all 3 go or at least 2, they’re not good enough

waiting to see this amazing potential Bassette has to be honest

Wright is not good enough?

Mucca Mad Boys · 2025-07-25T09:28:47+0100

TomRad85 said:
Disagree, I saw it as a refusal to put the other strikers on because he's lost faith in them. I don't blame him either, there's only so much you can watch Simms lumber about without losing your mind.
I do think Wright is in an interesting position though, I think Lampard prefers EMC on the left and I don't think Wright is particularly good through the middle, so where does that leave an asset that we could get over £10 million for? I guess we'll find out soon enough.

Haji Wright was the 4th highest scoring striker whilst missing 3 months of the season…

As things stand, the front 3 will be Sakamoto-Wright-EMC. It really is that simple and if you want a player better than Haji, you’re gonna need to spend in the region of £10m.

Matt smith · 2025-07-25T09:30:28+0100

Mucca Mad Boys said:
Haji Wright was the 4th highest scoring striker whilst missing 3 months of the season…

As things stand, the front 3 will be Sakamoto-Wright-EMC. It really is that simple and if you want a player better than Haji, you’re gonna need to spend in the region of £10m.

I still think or at least hope the plan is to try and offload a couple and do exactly that.

Sky Blue Goblin · 2025-07-25T09:34:15+0100

I think a big help to our system would be a striker who is happy to drop into the ten role, to help enable space through the middle.

Think our strikers can all be a bit static, which means we struggle to break sides down at time without resorting to the wings

Perennial Lurker · 2025-07-25T09:46:14+0100

K

SkyBluePower said:
People are going to have to leave and Eccles being one of them is possible a good move for him and the club…

Not a starter anymore and his chances only seem to come when Sheaf (and Torp) are injured - something that happens fairly regularly but not really the place he would want to be in. He could be a Championship starter somewhere

He is 25 and being with us since a kid probably hasn’t seen him get the best deal and it’s only by moving on do players get the rewards of a higher paid contract.

Would love the fairy story to continue but we clearly can’t keep everyone for sentimental reasons- especially someone who we could certainly profit from.

Why is he going to have to leave ?
If this is the season we really push on why wouldn't a home grown boy want to be a part of it ?
And I keep hearing he's a bit part player under Lampard but he played 39 games last season and in our good run he was starting every week . Also at the start of last season he was arguably our best and most consistent player .
It seems a lot on here think he is easily replaceable but I'm not so sure at all . He's played 117 games in the last 3 seasons , seasons that have been up there with our most successful seasons ever and under Lampard he seems to be playing higher up the pitch .
His last game for us i thought he was brilliant at the Stadium of light
I think we are guilty of undervaluing players on here and Eccles seems at times to be an easy target

Ccfcisparks · 2025-07-25T09:47:27+0100

Bling should be looking to get rid of Allen before Eccles. But i can understand why he wants to get rid of Eccles as it would line his pockets.

Perennial Lurker · 2025-07-25T09:49:30+0100

Ccfcisparks said:
Bling should be looking to get rid of Allen before Eccles. But i can understand why he wants to get rid of Eccles as it would line his pockets.

I wouldn't lose any sleep over Allen leaving , been a great servant for us but he's one player I think we can improve on , maybe Andrews long term?

Sky Blue Pete · 2025-07-25T09:58:26+0100

Batu1969 said:
I got the impression the article meant, that if we don’t go up we’re in trouble and Doug doesn’t have the means or will to keep at it.

At the forum last night Doug has never appeared more comfortable in the role

He’s chuffed to bits with Paul Tyrrel and Nicola Ibbotson who were very impressive in person. We are losing the same amount of money operationally each year but instead of spending £15m on the playing squad and losing £6-7m we are spending like £25m and losing a similar figure.

He doesn’t have the money to invest £7m a season and will need partners or investment or to sell to sustain his involvement

I’ll add a summary pre notes coming out in the forum thread

Sky Blue Pete · 2025-07-25T09:59:25+0100

SkyBluePower said:
People are going to have to leave and Eccles being one of them is possible a good move for him and the club…

Not a starter anymore and his chances only seem to come when Sheaf (and Torp) are injured - something that happens fairly regularly but not really the place he would want to be in. He could be a Championship starter somewhere

He is 25 and being with us since a kid probably hasn’t seen him get the best deal and it’s only by moving on do players get the rewards of a higher paid contract.

Would love the fairy story to continue but we clearly can’t keep everyone for sentimental reasons- especially someone who we could certainly profit from.

I think that’s right

peteCCFC · 2025-07-25T09:59:27+0100

Sky Blue Pete said:
At the forum last night Doug has never appeared more comfortable in the role

He’s chuffed to bits with Paul Tyrrel and Nicola Ibbotson who were very impressive in person. We are losing the same amount of money operationally each year but instead of spending £15m on the playing squad and losing £6-7m we are spending like £25m and losing a similar figure.

He doesn’t have the money to invest £7m a season and will need partners or investment or to sell to sustain his involvement

I’ll add a summary pre notes coming out in the forum thread

Did you ask about the bike sheds? Thank you

Sky Blue Pete · 2025-07-25T10:00:01+0100

peteCCFC said:
Did you ask about the bike sheds? Thank you

Yep
Work is ongoing to sign post and make it clearer what’s available

SkyBluePower · 2025-07-25T10:00:16+0100

Perennial Lurker said:
K

Why is he going to have to leave ?
If this is the season we really push on why wouldn't a home grown boy want to be a part of it ?
And I keep hearing he's a bit part player under Lampard but he played 39 games last season and in our good run he was starting every week . Also at the start of last season he was arguably our best and most consistent player .
It seems a lot on here think he is easily replaceable but I'm not so sure at all . He's played 117 games in the last 3 seasons , seasons that have been up there with our most successful seasons ever and under Lampard he seems to be playing higher up the pitch .
His last game for us i thought he was brilliant at the Stadium of light
I think we are guilty of undervaluing players on here and Eccles seems at times to be an easy target

He isn’t going to HAVE to leave but someone has to and more likely from a place where we do have strength already.
I’m sure he would love to be a part of a promotion pushing side - but he is also worth money and can potentially get more money. He is worth more than Collins, Bidwell and BTA combined at the moment and therefore might be taken out of his hands

Perennial Lurker · 2025-07-25T10:05:36+0100

SkyBluePower said:
He isn’t going to HAVE to leave but someone has to and more likely from a place where we do have strength already.
I’m sure he would love to be a part of a promotion pushing side - but he is also worth money and can potentially get more money. He is worth more than Collins, Bidwell and BTA combined at the moment and therefore might be taken out of his hands

I dont see any sense in letting him go , it's arguably our strongest area of the squad so why weaken it .
Don't mind others leaving

SkyBluePower · 2025-07-25T10:08:00+0100

Sky Blue Pete said:
At the forum last night Doug has never appeared more comfortable in the role

He’s chuffed to bits with Paul Tyrrel and Nicola Ibbotson who were very impressive in person. We are losing the same amount of money operationally each year but instead of spending £15m on the playing squad and losing £6-7m we are spending like £25m and losing a similar figure.

He doesn’t have the money to invest £7m a season and will need partners or investment or to sell to sustain his involvement

I’ll add a summary pre notes coming out in the forum thread

Thanks for this
Big season coming up then. £7M isn’t a massive amount in Championship terms these days so a bit of a worrying shot across the bows from Doug.
Ibbotson must be here to secure that investment surely?

BlueSkiesForever · 2025-07-25T10:09:04+0100

Ccfcisparks said:
Bling should be looking to get rid of Allen before Eccles. But i can understand why he wants to get rid of Eccles as it would line his pockets.

I agree but personally I’d sell both, maybe get £3-5 mil for Eccles, get Allen off the wage bill somehow and buy one quality CM like Pereira and one cheap young CM with potential just to act as cover if we desperately need it due to injuries.

Realistically Allen shouldn’t be used much this season if we buy another CM or just keep Eccles, might as well upgrade Eccles and swap out Allen for youthful potential rather than keeping a small, aging player with zero future potential

ptr · 2025-07-25T10:11:52+0100

Dolan has walked out on day 14 of his medical with us and is joining Espanyol.

No loyalty in the game anymore.

Perennial Lurker · 2025-07-25T10:13:01+0100

BlueSkiesForever said:
I agree but personally I’d sell both, maybe get £3-5 mil for Eccles, get Allen off the wage bill somehow and buy one quality CM like Pereira and one cheap young CM with potential just to act as cover if we desperately need it due to injuries.

Realistically Allen shouldn’t be used much this season if we buy another CM or just keep Eccles, might as well upgrade Eccles and swap out Allen for youthful potential rather than keeping a small, aging player with zero future potential

Who is an upgrade on Eccles ?
I keep seeing this posted on here like it's an easy solution

quinn1971 · 2025-07-25T10:14:23+0100

Don’t see the rush to move Eccles on or Allen, both do ok when they’re needed, we went on our best run when Allen was playing,

Lamps · 2025-07-25T10:14:40+0100

Brighton Sky Blue said:
Well in the worst case scenario we end up having to sell a fair number of players, which is different to a few other similar situations where clubs gambled on high end loans then had no insurance policy.

King’s insurance will be to sell the assets and/or the club

It was funny when many saw Hull as a major promotion rival because of their big money loans and hoped we would do the same. Now they will only be saved from relegation this season because of other very poor sides. Now we have many that are worried about signing very much needed players like a GK because they think we shouldn't waste the money. We've gone from one extreme to another.

Since King has come in most of our signings have been a success or at least lived up to normal expectations. The value of our squad has continued to rise so any money he has invested hasn't disappeared like at many other clubs. We're not one of the clubs that could and have got into trouble for just £1m or so.

Skybluedownunder · 2025-07-25T10:15:12+0100

TomRad85 said:
Simms needs to be moved on asap. I'm struggling to see why anyone would take him for what we'd want though. Whether we can ship one of them out permanently will probably decide whether we move for a loan or perm striker ourselves but I'm almost certain we'll do something.

If only we sold him the season before off the high he had when there were rumours of Bournemouth being linked. Fuck me imagine if we would have managed to get something like £15m for him

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Ccfcisparks · 2025-07-25T10:19:04+0100

quinn1971 said:
Don’t see the rush to move Eccles on or Allen, both do ok when they’re needed, we went on our best run when Allen was playing,

Because we needd to upgrade to keep improving.

Perennial Lurker · 2025-07-25T10:22:15+0100

Ccfcisparks said:
Because we needd to upgrade to keep improving.

Totally agree but there are surely other areas that need addressing first .
The most important thing for me is the drop off in quality when the first choices aren't fit ,rested, suspended . Eccles offers very little drop off in that respect but look at Binks ,Lati,BTA , Bassette and the drop off is considerable

Lamps · 2025-07-25T10:26:16+0100

SkyBluePower said:
People are going to have to leave and Eccles being one of them is possible a good move for him and the club…

Not a starter anymore and his chances only seem to come when Sheaf (and Torp) are injured - something that happens fairly regularly but not really the place he would want to be in. He could be a Championship starter somewhere

He is 25 and being with us since a kid probably hasn’t seen him get the best deal and it’s only by moving on do players get the rewards of a higher paid contract.

Would love the fairy story to continue but we clearly can’t keep everyone for sentimental reasons- especially someone who we could certainly profit from.

I agree with a lot of this. But Eccles is a very competent player who can do a good job for us still. If we sell him we would need to replace him and maybe with another player who wouldn't play every game.

If a good offer comes in for him we should listen. But if it's just a couple of million or so we're best keeping him. We can't expect superstars on the bench waiting for a game. All our focus should be on a striker before anything else now. Systems can be changed but you still need someone up top that will score goals.

Skybluedownunder · 2025-07-25T10:27:26+0100

Just a thought…
I know we’ve been saying we need an O’Hare like player to run at people, a back up AM to Rudoni but have we thought about perhaps Bassette in that position? Hard for me to remember cause he didn’t play so much towards the end of the season but from what I remember he ran at people (albeit usually he was offside) but perhaps if he was a little bit further back where he couldn’t be offside could he perhaps do a job there?
Also where do people feel Torp’s best position is? I’m still so on the fence with Torp, he’s someone you feel ‘could’ get there but always isn’t quite there (except that game he scored two)
Could Torp play AM? He doesn’t quite seem a CM but also doesn’t quite seem an AM

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procdoc · 2025-07-25T10:28:41+0100

Matt smith said:
We need a proper number nine

as far as I’m concerned I’d happily let all 3 go or at least 2, they’re not good enough

waiting to see this amazing potential Bassette has to be honest

Not like you to shit the bed

Ccfcisparks · 2025-07-25T10:28:48+0100

Skybluedownunder said:
Just a thought…
I know we’ve been saying we need an O’Hare like player to run at people, a back up AM to Rudoni but have we thought about perhaps Bassette in that position? Hard for me to remember cause he didn’t play so much towards the end of the season but from what I remember he ran at people (albeit usually he was offside) but perhaps if he was a little bit further back where he couldn’t be offside could he perhaps do a job there?
Also where do people feel Torp’s best position is? I’m still so on the fence with Torp, he’s someone you feel ‘could’ get there but always isn’t quite there (except that game he scored two)
Could Torp play AM? He doesn’t quite seem a CM but also doesn’t quite seem an AM

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Torp is an excellent CM and a much better option at AM than Bassette.

Transfer Rumour 25/26 Summer Transfer Window (85 Viewers)

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