Winter '25/26 Transfer Rumours Thread

[stubbo-admin]

Well seems like with all these international breaks, and us languishing, the rumours of ins and outs are rife.

Chuck anything 'worthy' of discussion on this thread...

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Incomings:

Pablo Felipe - €21m + €3m (Gil Vicente) | Forward
Valentin 'Taty' Castellanos - €26m + €4m (Lazio) | Forward
Adama Traore - £2m + £1m if stay up (Fulham) | Forward
Axel Disasi - Loan (Chelsea) | Centre Back
Keiber Lamadrid - £150k + £1m option | Attacking Mid

Outgoings:

Nicolas Füllkrug - 6 months loan (AC Milan)
Luis Guilherme - £17m + Sell On % (Sporting Lisbon)
George Earthy - 6 months loan (Bristol City)
Callum Marshall - 6 months loan (Bochum)
Andy Irving - 1.5m (Sparta Prague)
Guido Rodriguez - Undisclosed (Valencia)
Igor Julio - Loan Cancelled (Brighton)
James Ward Prowse - 6 months loan (Burnley)
Lucas Paqueta - £36.5m + Buy Back Clause (Flamengo)

[El Scorchio]

Wonder if there's any takers for Ward Prowse? 

Fuck no. He'd have been out of here like a shot if that was the case, I am sure. No-one will offer him half of what he's on here and he's probably no chance of playing in the premier league for anyone again.

Even the likes of Wolves are selling some of their players to better clubs for decent money while we struggle to even give most of ours away. Shows how awful even compared to a side below us our recruitment has been.

[Tomshardware]

Wonder if there's any takers for Ward Prowse? 

[Beef&Tomato]

If we can get a centre half in, get shot of Paqueta and maybe get another winger in then I'll be happy with our window.

[El Scorchio]

Sullivan busy undoing his trousers and bending over for all comers right now if a penny over 45 million has been offered, in reality or fiction.

The story, from 'sportsboom' sounds like absolute unsubstantiated bollocks.

[Fortunes Hiding]

Alfs, where have you heard that????

[Alfs]

So, we're open to selling Fernandes to one of the Manchester's according to latest reports.  Who comes up with this shit?

[Mad Ferret]

Just listened to an interview with Vlad Coufal from this morning. Another indication of how stupid the club are came up that hadn’t really dawned on me until then. We stopped him going to Fulham for a fee only to let him go for free in the summer. When he wasn’t a starter anyway. Fucking retarded. What a short sighted shambles. Turning down free money. 

We weren’t safe from relegation last Jan.

Makes perfect sense to keep him just in case. The fee would only have been a couple of million max anyway.

[El Scorchio]

Just listened to an interview with Vlad Coufal from this morning. Another indication of how stupid the club are came up that hadn’t really dawned on me until then. We stopped him going to Fulham for a fee only to let him go for free in the summer. When he wasn’t a starter anyway. Fucking retarded. What a short sighted shambles. Turning down free money. 

[Rossal]

Looking at four CBs apparently, Victor Lindelof, Tyrone Mings, Bobby Thomas and Axel Disasi?

Doubt we'd get Thomas, would take any of the other 3 on loan. all better than Kilman.  Mings or Lindelof will have an eye on the WC so might be better options 

[Far Cough UKunt]

Looking at four CBs apparently, Victor Lindelof, Tyrone Mings, Bobby Thomas and Axel Disasi?

[El Scorchio]

Sullivan yesterday told that nonce Sean Whetstone Guido going nowhere and staying till end of season 

Today Fabrizio reporting close to agreeing a loan to Valencia, full wages covered


 

It's fucking farcical. 

[Mad Ferret]

Oscar Bobb to Fulham.

We should be all over that.

[Rossal]

Sullivan yesterday told that nonce Sean Whetstone Guido going nowhere and staying till end of season 

Today Fabrizio reporting close to agreeing a loan to Valencia, full wages covered

 

[El Scorchio]

Correct- and Sullivan trying to say in public 'The manager doesn't want Wilson but I do. I am right.' Sure, maybe you are on this occasion but for fuck's sake keep it in house you petty egomanic. As was also said on YT, being 'proven right' is clearly more important to him than West Ham being successful. Mental.

The process of hanging yet another manager out to dry has well and truly begun. Some of you might say fair enough in Nuno's case, but that's not the point. It's a bigger issue than Nuno. It happens EVERY TIME. We'll start to get stories of how this player or that player was offered to the manager and turned down, about how with Taty and Pablo it was all 'against his better judgement', the poor innocent old benevolent man being taken advantage of by everyone around him.

In the meantime where is this fucking centre back? Where is this PL ready winger (or two)?
He's wasting time badmouthing his staff and rearranging deckchairs on the titanic by pursuing a really, REALLY low priority player while it all burns down around him and trying to convince everyone that it's everyone else's fault but his own.

[Westham67]

We have some momentum and new players up front as an outlet, taking pressure off our defenders. Pablo does need to get up to speed, but Tatty looks the real deal. More wingers seem to be on their way 

 

[Sir Alf]

Our transfer dealings are evidence of why Sullivan has to go.  Just got Lamadrid in for the future on a 6 month loan !!! Referred to as a Sullivan “present”.  WE ARE GOING DOWN, WHERE IS THE CB, CM & WINGER, MORE STRIKERS WE NEED NOW ?  

Sullivan emailing everyone about how he wants to keep Wilson. Nuno may be wrong wanting Wilson out but Sullivan again pulling in a different direction and undermining the manager, even if we dont think he’s right. You do all this in private. Sullivan undermines everyone if things go awry to make it look like he is the good guy and everyone else is wrong. “Sullivan first, West Ham 2nd”.  Sullivan is a cancer.  Sullivan may be right on this but he is a “man child” and continues to be the biggest problem we have.

It just carries on. 15 years of Sullivan wanting to be football manager, Nuno wanting full control too.  Another bloke putting himself before the best interests of the club who brings in 2 players from his only agent connection and probably gettting a kickback because Pablo aint ready for Championship, not PL yet.  Yes we’ve appointed the wrong bloke but who appointed him, who vetoed the board majority to insist on Lopetegui.  

We cannot stay up with this disunity. BS out makes more sense than ever. West Ham is a failed business run by a man who is not a very good businessman outside of buying property and renting it or selling it at a profit ( even I can do that ) or selling porn.   

I bore on about it ( well about everything actually ) but we have no long term plan/strategy, hence no operational plan to deliver said strategy, no organisational infrastructure or business processes in place to ensure the operational plan is executed effectively.  Short sighted West Ham, reactive, scattergun, “shoot from the hip” and all pulling in different directions.  

We beat Spurs, the effort and attitude was the big positive, but who sees Sunderland being as easy esoecially at the LS where our form is worse than away?  They wont play like Spurs, they have pace and strength in midfield and it will be a totally different proposition.  We need more options for the first team and Sully is getting a Sully special that is a loan because even he knows its a unlikely punt

 

[El Scorchio]

Heard on the old YT Lamadrid is seen as 'one for the future'. Not ready to contribute for 12 months. We have him on a 6 month loan with an option.
The one time it's beyond urgent to get players in who are ready to contribute right away, and Sullivan wastes time getting this deal done which is so far from a priority right now. This is the sort of move that was needed two seasons ago when we were handing over 40 million quid for James Ward Prowse instead.

Fucking joke owner. Enough of the fucking Sullivan specials. Especially now. 

[Massive Attack]

Remember, it isn't just the goals that makes the difference, it's the intent to attack as much as possible giving the defence much needed breathers that is also important in preventing goals at the other end. 

A snapshot example of this was in the Bournemouth Away game in each half. We score twice 1st half taking a commanding lead away by being positive in and around goal as the away side. Soon as the 2-0 lead was established Nuno chose to shut up shop from around the start of the 2nd half defensively even to the point of taking off a Striker bang in form scoring a brace. What transpired was wave after wave of relentless Bournemouth attacks inviting the pressure thinking we could see the game out by trying to keep a clean sheet. The result, 2-2. 

Now had Nuno decided to keep the in-form Striker on and instruct the Team to keep pushing for a 3rd, the likely outcome would have been a win, possibly scoring more and a good chance of actually getting a clean sheet just as it materialised in the 1st half.

[,]

”It is goals that will keep you up”

So we have scored more this season in the league than Sunderland, Palace and Forest and are level on goals scored with Everton. It must baffle some people as to why we languish below those teams mentioned.

I know why and so too do most of us. 

[stubbo-admin]

It's goals that will keep you up, not centre backs. Teams that score goals don't go down. We need to go in front in games, if you're winning games crap CB's can suddenly start looking better, less pressure (not to go 2 down) confidence increases and you have something very worthwhile to defend. We aren't going to stay up by trying to win games 1-0. Attacking options and goals is the key to survival. for me. If we can go 2 up in games I don't think we would lose 2-3.

NB: I appreciate we have a poor recent record of going one up and not winning, but Mavro and Todibo are looking better now and more forward players should mean more goals, and as said should also mean having the ball further forward more, taking the pressure of the back line.

This is absolutely my view.

If you look at past relegated teams, it's typically the lowest scorers that go down....there is of course the odd outlier, but by and large that teams that struggle with goalscoring get relegated.

As Moyes showed in his last season....we conceded record numbers of goals, defended horribly, but also scored plenty of goals from our limited time on the ball and that was enough to keep us pretty much midtable.

[El Scorchio]

We do need players all over the pitch, still, but yes a bruiser CB and more depth in attack are surely the priorities. We could always be better at CM but it's not our weakest position. Likewise goalkeeper. I don't really understand the seeming urgency from the club to replace Areola. He's not a top, top keeper and his feet are pretty poor but he will not be the reason we are relegated, if we go down. He's won us a few points this season and kept us in games with some great saves. Could we get a better keeper? Of course, but right now there are more pressing needs.

[threesixty]

Def agree with the more goal scorers before defenders mindset. 
defending is about coaching and organisation more than a specific skill. Thats why Todibo looks so much better or Dawson can come in from a relegation side and look like Maldini. 

scoring goals is so bloody hard. It’s the magic stuff. It’s the skill that hard to coach. You kind of either have it or you don’t at specific levels of the game. 

Also having the ability to score is in someways a defensive action because teams will not over commit their defenders if they know you are likely to score. 

I do agree with midfield general thing though. I still don’t think we have a serious box to box mid. 

[Mad Ferret]

No way Cresswell and Coufal would or should be starting for us.

KWP and Scarles are much better 2nd choice full backs than those two geriatrics. 

I agree with him about the CB situation though.

[Massive Attack]

Every time the ball is played into our box it’s the other team winning the header. 
We need a center half otherwise we will continue to leak too many goals from corners and crosses. Gotta fix it to have a real chance. Need clean sheets.

Nuts - Respect your point and appreciate it isn't as black and white as I laid it out, but if you score goals you will win games and stay up. Look at our previous great escapes, it was Tevez and then Hartson and Kitson that kept us up, not a centre back.

We can agree to disagree Manuel. I think Center half and a holding midfielder with some pace are priorities. That’s what I see as our biggest weakness, apart from our pathetic weak mental state of bottling it which plays into your point.

More Defensive Midfielders? We just dropped £41M on Fernandes, £18M on Magassa as well as the successful introduction of Potts all young, energetic and able to play the DM role. On top of that the experienced Soucek and Rodriguez who I wish he wasn't still here. Not in a million years do we go in to the market with limited funds for yet more, nor do we need anyone else for that role. A CH agreed yes in conjunction with sorting out the attack in wide areas and ideally a better Keeepr but that's realistically it other than successfully moving on Paqueta then another No. 10 could well be on the cards as well. 

[Manuel]

Many ex-players don't have a clue.