Transfer Rumour Jahnoah Markelo (4 Viewers)

long way home · Jan 27, 2026

Do we think that's it? This morning i thought we was done. But Doug strikes back....

Like the idea of the lad from Brentford but think if that's not done by tomorrow that one has gone. I wouldn't be shocked if Doug is and already has been onto someone else. Dynamo Doug will pull someone from somewhere. Just hope its a CM

Freddie · Jan 27, 2026

David O'Day said:
what have we learned about fans of former teams opinons

That they're 99% right apart from Swansea fans. Give it a rest, that cliche is becoming tiresome.

Freddie · Jan 27, 2026

Anyway, another good sub signed.......Depth. We can bring him on when we're 2-1 and hope for the best.

Mucca Mad Boys · Jan 27, 2026

Ashdown said:
Have they completely forgotten that old adage about the the spine of the team….
centre back, centre Mid, centre forward.
Fuck knows what our highly successful wingers Saka and EMC make of all these wonderful new challenges

The point is that Sakamoto isn’t that successful… Jay Dasilva has created more chances than him this season, as has EMC, MVE, Torp and Grimes. He’s marginally better than Rudoni who has been below par.

In 3 games, Esse has half of Tats’ goal tally for this season and even the entirety of last season (42 games)…

People seem to forget we originally signed Sakamoto to be a wing back when we played 3-4-1-2. There’s a lot of denial about Sakmoto’s true ability.

AFCCOVENTRY · Jan 27, 2026

SkyBlueDaly · Jan 27, 2026

Apparently he has a discipline issue, constantly late for training and paying fines nearly every week, hopefully he wont be like that here.

Freddie · Jan 27, 2026

SkyBlueDaly said:
Apparently he has a discipline issue, constantly late for training and paying fines nearly every week, hopefully he wont be like that here.

Bobby Thomas is taking him under his wing, sorting out transport to training and evening activities.

SkyBlueDaly · Jan 27, 2026

Freddie said:
Bobby Thomas is taking him under his wing, sorting out transport to training and evening activities.

Hopefully he doesn't give him defending advice..

Finham · Jan 27, 2026

Mucca Mad Boys said:
For some perspective, Sakamoto was signed from a relegated Belgian team for £2m, having only scored 1 goal all season. Pretty sure that transfer was greeted with consternation initially when it was announced.

Signing an exciting attacking winger from the Swiss league who is amongst the best dribblers in Europe statistically is exciting. When Hamer was signed, he stood out statistically in a bad Zwolle team.

€5m is about £4m which is pretty normal for a transfer nowadays. Rudoni, KKH, Wolf, Grimes have all cost around that figure.

We all know you have a problem with Sakamoto, but his signing was not greeted with consternation at all. In fact it was greeted with "who is that little Japanese bloke with the players" as they carried their bags on the summer tour! For a bit of additional context, it was not 2m it was reported as1.2m, and had he not been playing at wing-back in Belgium? Not exactly a goalscoring role.

Do people honestly think Sakamoto has been that poor? I thought he was magnificent until injury and a major part of us being top. That includes fantastic performances as sub against Leicester and Millwall, games we won. This guy flopped horrendously in the Dutch league and cost around 3 times as much as Tatsu.

And did we really need to "upgrade on Sakamoto", or did we need a CM and a LB?

Finham · Jan 27, 2026

Mucca Mad Boys said:
The point is that Sakamoto isn’t that successful… Jay Dasilva has created more chances than him this season, as has EMC, MVE, Torp and Grimes. He’s marginally better than Rudoni who has been below par.

In 3 games, Esse has half of Tats’ goal tally for this season and even the entirety of last season (42 games)…

People seem to forget we originally signed Sakamoto to be a wing back when we played 3-4-1-2. There’s a lot of denial about Sakmoto’s true ability.

Jesus wept.

hill83 · Jan 27, 2026

AFCCOVENTRY said:

We’ll take care of him Xx

hill83 · Jan 27, 2026

Finham said:
We all know you have a problem with Sakamoto, but his signing was not greeted with consternation at all. In fact it was greeted with "who is that little Japanese bloke with the players" as they carried their bags on the summer tour! For a bit of additional context, it was not 2m it was reported as1.2m, and had he not been playing at wing-back in Belgium? Not exactly a goalscoring role.

Do people honestly think Sakamoto has been that poor? I thought he was magnificent until injury and a major part of us being top. That includes fantastic performances as sub against Leicester and Millwall, games we won. This guy flopped horrendously in the Dutch league and cost around 3 times as much as Tatsu.

And did we really need to "upgrade on Sakamoto", or did we need a CM and a LB?

I’ve been on record not particularly rating Sakamoto, but happy to admit some of it was in response to the over the top love in and for almost being free of any criticism. (See us kicking the fuck out of Norwich thread as an example)

For what it’s worth he’s been incredible in spells. But we always need better.

wingy · Jan 27, 2026

AFCCOVENTRY said:

Loving his artwork,tat on closer inspection.
Get that le coq shirt out now and in the shop, make his fee back!!

Legia Sky Blue · Jan 27, 2026

Mucca Mad Boys said:
The point is that Sakamoto isn’t that successful… Jay Dasilva has created more chances than him this season, as has EMC, MVE, Torp and Grimes. He’s marginally better than Rudoni who has been below par.

In 3 games, Esse has half of Tats’ goal tally for this season and even the entirety of last season (42 games)…

People seem to forget we originally signed Sakamoto to be a wing back when we played 3-4-1-2. There’s a lot of denial about Sakmoto’s true ability.

You seem a little obsessed with Sakamoto!

Mucca Mad Boys · Jan 27, 2026

Finham said:
We all know you have a problem with Sakamoto, but his signing was not greeted with consternation at all. In fact it was greeted with "who is that little Japanese bloke with the players" as they carried their bags on the summer tour! For a bit of additional context, it was not 2m it was reported as1.2m, and had he not been playing at wing-back in Belgium? Not exactly a goalscoring role.

Do people honestly think Sakamoto has been that poor? I thought he was magnificent until injury and a major part of us being top. That includes fantastic performances as sub against Leicester and Millwall, games we won. This guy flopped horrendously in the Dutch league and cost around 3 times as much as Tatsu.

And did we really need to "upgrade on Sakamoto", or did we need a CM and a LB?

Magnificent… ok, in what category?

I don’t have a problem with him, I’m just not delusional enough to say he’s ’magnificent’. He’s just a good, above average player and there’s nothing wrong with that. It just irritates how much he’s put on a pedestal when he’s created less chances than JDS… So to answer the question, yes we did need an upgrade and Esse has literally provided in the short time he’s been here.

Tats was 27 when we signed him coming off his peak, Merkalo has just turned 23 and having a good year statistically so it’s obviously a developmental signing.

Finham · Jan 27, 2026

hill83 said:
I’ve been on record not particularly rating Sakamoto, but happy to admit some of it was in response to the over the top love in and for almost being free of any criticism. (See us kicking the fuck out of Norwich thread as an example)

For what it’s worth he’s been incredible in spells. But we always need better.

I'm not sure we do at RW atm! LB, CM or CB and I might agree...I think a lot of his detractors love stats and don't use "the eye test" to assess players anymore Tatsu is our only winger who tracks back and works hard defensively. He also doesn't always get the statistical reward for his contributions. Take the winner against Milwall: does he get an assist for that? No. Did he make the goal? Yes. It's the same for Wright's goal against Leicester!

If we've learnt anything this month it's that even if we upgrade on Tatsu, he still makes one hell of an impact sub.

Mucca Mad Boys · Jan 27, 2026

Legia Sky Blue said:
You seem a little obsessed with Sakamoto!

Happy to swim against the current on this one because as much as I like him, he’s just overrated.

Finham · Jan 28, 2026

Mucca Mad Boys said:
Magnificent… ok, in what category?

I don’t have a problem with him, I’m just not delusional enough to say he’s ’magnificent’. He’s just a good, above average player and there’s nothing wrong with that. It just irritates how much he’s put on a pedestal when he’s created less chances than JDS… So to answer the question, yes we did need an upgrade and Esse has literally provided in the short time he’s been here.

Tats was 27 when we signed him coming off his peak, Merkalo has just turned 23 and having a good year statistically so it’s obviously a developmental signing.

In the category of being the most exciting player we have who gets me off my seat more than anyone since Ndlovu or Huck? As @Grendel once said, "most fans would look at the stats and criticise Tommy Hutchison" as 63 goals in 960 games is not enough end product!

23 is not a development signing. And do you really think this is the time for dev signings?

You do realise that Japanese players don't turn pro until their 20's, don't you? They also tend to keep playing much later than other players, partly due to that late start and also as they really look after themselves. He's nowhere near finished.

Finham · Jan 28, 2026

Mucca Mad Boys said:
Happy to swim against the current on this one because as much as I like him, he’s just overrated.

But you don't like him, do you? That's fine, and you can make your argument, but be honest.

Mucca Mad Boys · Jan 28, 2026

Finham said:
In the category of being the most exciting player we have who gets me off my seat more than anyone since Ndlovu or Huck? As @Grendel once said, "most fans would look at the stats and criticise Tommy Hutchison" as 63 goals in 960 games is not enough end product!

23 is not a development signing. And do you really think this is the time for dev signings?

You do realise that Japanese players don't turn pro until their 20's, don't you? They also tend to keep playing much later than other players, partly due to that late start and also as they really look after themselves. He's nowhere near finished.

He’s created less chances than all our other wide players and less players took on… what do you find exciting about him specifically? Unless you really like watching players track back… Esse in 67m took on 5 players on his league debut, Sakamoto has had 12 all season.

I don’t know anything about Merkalo so have no idea what Lampard’s plan for him is. There are raw materials to work with and his crossing and dribbling stats are v good.

My gut feeling is that Lampard will repurpose Sakamoto and play him somewhere else. As I’ve previously mentioned, I’ve wanted him to see him play on the left since Sunderland away. His best attribute is his crossing so to an extent it may suit him to play him as a traditional winger.

Finham said:
But you don't like him, do you? That's fine, and you can make your argument, but be honest.

You can like a player and hold the view they’re overrated. Just this last couple of days there was someone saying Esse isn’t ’necessarily better’ than Tats and now you’re saying he’s ‘magnificent’. The superlatives are just not warranted for a player who is just solid, above average.

If people started calling Kitching and Thomas ‘magnificent’, I’d likewise start to pushback against that.

Skyblue Bangkok · Jan 28, 2026

Freddie said:
Bobby Thomas is taking him under his wing, sorting out transport to training and evening activities.

Tony Adams is giving him advice about drinking and driving

Otis · Jan 28, 2026

Freddie said:
That they're 99% right apart from Swansea fans. Give it a rest, that cliche is becoming tiresome.

And Forest fans? Remember what they said about David McGoldrick.

Otis · Jan 28, 2026

Sky_Blue_Dreamer said:
So what we expecting? Floods of goals or a lot of two by two draws.

Not sure, but with Thomas kicking off and slapping someone and BTA whacking someone with a flailing arm and Saka knocking someone to the ground, we're certainly behaving like animals.

Skyblue Bangkok · Jan 28, 2026

Otis said:
Not sure, but with Thomas kicking off and slapping someone and BTA whacking someone with a flailing arm and Saka knocking someone to the ground, we're certainly behaving like animals.

The pressure is getting to the players

RoboCCFC90 · Jan 28, 2026

Happy we’ve signed someone as always, it’s not the player or position many of us expected, which as long as this business don’t detract from any other business in key positions then fine.

djr8369 · Jan 28, 2026

SkyBlueDaly said:
Apparently he has a discipline issue, constantly late for training and paying fines nearly every week, hopefully he wont be like that here.

If that’s true he is not going to work well with FL.

AFCCOVENTRY · Jan 28, 2026

djr8369 said:
If that’s true he is not going to work well with FL.

Not seen a single thing that says that. He was granted leave from training to speak to interested clubs.

Deity · Jan 28, 2026

The club place a much bigger emphasis on the players character these days ( in fact we have had lots of Dr Clare critics on here ) …. I doubt he’s such a bad egg that his fans know it but we haven’t been able to identify that !

Captain Dart · Jan 28, 2026

Freddie said:
Bobby Thomas is taking him under his wing, sorting out transport to training and evening activities.

The club are bringing in wise old head of Noel Whelan as an adviser.

Captain Dart · Jan 28, 2026

AFCCOVENTRY · Jan 28, 2026

Captain Dart said:

Looks like a real find. Very direct winger.

Otis · Jan 28, 2026

AFCCOVENTRY said:
Not seen a single thing that says that. He was granted leave from training to speak to interested clubs.

How very dare he!!

Ashdown · Jan 28, 2026

Mucca Mad Boys said:
The point is that Sakamoto isn’t that successful… Jay Dasilva has created more chances than him this season, as has EMC, MVE, Torp and Grimes. He’s marginally better than Rudoni who has been below par.

In 3 games, Esse has half of Tats’ goal tally for this season and even the entirety of last season (42 games)…

People seem to forget we originally signed Sakamoto to be a wing back when we played 3-4-1-2. There’s a lot of denial about Sakmoto’s true ability.

Esse has had a great start but you can’t judge him against Tats after 3 games.

Boicey · Jan 28, 2026

Mucca Mad Boys said:
The point is that Sakamoto isn’t that successful… Jay Dasilva has created more chances than him this season, as has EMC, MVE, Torp and Grimes. He’s marginally better than Rudoni who has been below par.

In 3 games, Esse has half of Tats’ goal tally for this season and even the entirety of last season (42 games)…

People seem to forget we originally signed Sakamoto to be a wing back when we played 3-4-1-2. There’s a lot of denial about Sakmoto’s true ability.

One of the more ridiculous posts on here recently.
Tats works tirelessly for the team covering a lot defensively, something Esse won't be doing, and has improved the physical side of his game. We've often seen him change a game by skill and composure and doing something different. Comparing him to JDS is madness.

Esse has obviously been given a more free attacking role including being given license to get in the box. Tats is told to stay out wide, get crosses in and cover MVE.

Btw Frank made it clear Tats has been effected by illness for quite a while recently, nevermind his serious injury.

standupforcity · Jan 28, 2026

I don't get the Tats bashing. There is no doubt that when he's on the ball there is a definite sense of anticipation which is palpable around the stadium. He's a massive asset to our team and the club in general. But back up for any player can only be a good thing. What amazing progress we've made under King/FL. These are exciting times...

Transfer Rumour Jahnoah Markelo (4 Viewers)

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