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)

[kylay]

£25m in wages outstanding on his contract. I wonder what deal they cut?

My exact thoughts. At 31, he ain't playing for England or a top team again, and he's never going to see that kind of wedge again. Had to be a significant payout.

[El Scorchio]

Of course it won't be true. It'll be the usual suspect responsible for slow as molasses or underwhelming transfer activity, or any leaks or rumours coming out of the club including this one.

It'll be something like Nuno was offered someone shit or nothing at all and said no, which then Sullivan twists to claim that Nuno didn't want ANYONE, but conveniently hiding all context which makes it look like another manager refusing any players rather than Sullivan's shithouse players. Much the same way as he tried to stitch Bilic up over transfers when claiming flatly 'Bilic was offered Renato Sanches and (that Polish bloke who I can't remember) and turned them down' when the actual truth was something more like it was instead of a player Bilic actually wanted rather than in addition to.

[stubbo-admin]

Looking at the actual number of bodies both out of the Squad and currently in, if Nuno really wants to address the imbalance of the Squad, then we'd better get a wriggle on. We've only got 3 players in at the moment and possibly more might be leaving. 

That rumour about Nuno being content with the defence at it stands better not be true
 

I guess the argument is we've gained 3 players who will meaningfully contribute, and lost only one who was contributing.  So are we better off or worse off?

Irving, Guido, JWP, Marshall, Fullkrug, Earthy, Igor...one of them were actually adding anything to the squad.

Pablo, Castellanos, Adama...all will bring value to the team and minutes on the field.

Paqueta is the only player we'll have lost who's actually amounted to anything at all for us this season.

So the squad is very very thing...but then it already was very very thing...those players we've lost were like the emperors new clothes.  

I hope we get a couple more outfielders through the door.  I'm happy with Mavro and Todibo to be honest...both are playing well.  Kilam as a back up won't be the worst backup centre back in the league, but we obviously need another.

Creative midfield, and someone who can sub for Fernandes are my biggest concerns though.

[Massive Attack]

Looking at the actual number of bodies both out of the Squad and currently in, if Nuno really wants to address the imbalance of the Squad, then we'd better get a wriggle on. We've only got 3 players in at the moment and possibly more might be leaving. 

That rumour about Nuno being content with the defence at it stands better not be true.

[onsideman]

£25m in wages outstanding on his contract. I wonder what deal they cut?

[Massive Attack]

Sterling binned off by Chelsea on a free....

I'd get him in on a 6 months +1 alongside Adama...would make our bench instantly more threatening.

Out of him or Traore, on a 6 monther I would have much preferred this deal more even though he'd cost a fair chunk partly in wages. No way would we stump up the money for both.

[El Scorchio]

RE Paqueta- odds on the transfer actually being good to go for days or weeks but Sullivan up to his old tricks to delay it until such time as he knows there's no time to get a replacement in? 

'Oh, Flamenco and the player messed us around. We're the victims here. We tried to get some players in with the money but it was just too late...'

[El Scorchio]

Sullivan will have felt a stirring in his trousers as soon as he heard the Sterling news. Worth a punt on a deal until the end of the season I guess if the money isn't horrific and he's actually ready to play. Both sides have everything to gain from it. We get potentially a hungry player and he gets to showcase his talents- whatever he has left- before deciding what to do in the summer.

I just hope that if it happened Sullivan didn't do one of his stupid deals like if we stay up he gets two years at 200k a week.

[stubbo-admin]

Sterling binned off by Chelsea on a free....

I'd get him in on a 6 months +1 alongside Adama...would make our bench instantly more threatening.

[Sir Alf]

Agree we cant blame the owners for selling Paqueta but we should hurl abuse at them for creating the situation where we are in such a deep financial abyss that they have to hang onto the cash ( paid to us over a very short time span) with a dead man’s grip. Not spending any more on a squad that has been gutted to a size that can be termed “wafer thin”.  Every window more players going out than coming in vastly reducing the wage bill and getting back to Moyes supposed preferred 13 or 14 man squad. No wonder Sullivan wanted to keep Moyes. In reality I suspect it was Sullivan that wanted the small squad and Moyes not complaining and publicly taking the flack for it because at Everton he’s working with a full quota of 20 odd players.  

We have owners who are incompetent in the extreme and a controlling shareholder / owner who is so insecure and inadequate that he is unable to admit to any mistake, error, wrong decision or poor judgement on his part. In fact his energy and time is sprnt deflecting blame to others. He is incapable of learning from any mistake because to do so means he has to admit he doesnt know best. His narcissism is so deep rooted and is taking us back to where we started under his ownership.  The championship ( albeit now the club has no fixed assets and the weakest infrastructure in the PL). A damining indictment on his competence or ability to run a business let alone a professional football club. For us supporters its another kick in the teeth. 

[twoleftfeet]

Just a shame they won't take Potts.

[dealcanvey]

Just a shame they won't take Potts.

 

Anyone ever told you you're as mad as a ferret?

[Russ of the BML]

I think it's more balancing the books than asset stripping. The double whammy of absolute shit transfer policy and chucking money down the drain for years allied with a very real relegation fight has come to bite us on the arse simultaneously, meaning that we are in a position where we desperately need to make the squad a lot better, but also desperately need recoup and save a lot of money. If anything I hope the dwarf has finally cottoned on that his transfer strategy and philosophy is absolute garbage, albeit somewhat too late in the day. I'm sure as usual it's everyone else's fault but his though.

The worry really is that the other teams in the bottom third of the table are all starting to make solid moves to bolster their first team while not selling players. spurs, Forest, Leeds, Bournemouth- although they are definitely safe regardless. The point is they are not standing still and you wouldn't class anything a 'panic buy' like ours usually are in their situation. No Danny Ings types are coming in.

While yes we have brought in Taty and Pablo, there's been fuck all else (no I will not count the pointless Venezuelan lad) and we have sold or let go a lot of players. We have a good enough first team, just about, but we are so so thin behind it and if almost anyone gets injured, particularly one or more of Bowen, Fernandes, Summerville, Pablo, Taty, Areola or Todibo we are totally fucked.

The fact Igor has gone back does give me hope that two loans at least should be coming in. I will be pretty unimpressed if one is that spurs reserve keeper. But we still need probably two more first team ready players (maybe three counting Traore) on top of that. Are we getting four/five players in by the end of Monday given how glacial our movement usually is? Doubtful, and if we do I don't have a lot of faith they'll be first team players rather than bench fodder.

I think a saving grace is that Burnley have given up although taking JWP is clearly a last gasp effort to take us down with them by ensuring they'll lose to all our relegation rivals they still have to play. Palace also have done nothing and are in arguably a worse state than us. If they had 4-5 points less than they do I'd back them completely for the drop.


 

Good post. I would say though that I don't think we wanted to sell Paqueta. I think he wanted to leave and would've been a monumental cսnt had we stood in his way. Plus. add to that, his productivity this season has been woeful. I suppose, what I am saying is that I don't think you can blame the owners for selling him, especially at that price. 

[Mad Ferret]

Just a shame they won't take Potts.

[twoleftfeet]

Fiorentina want Magassa and KWP.

https://www.gazzetta.it/Calciomercato/2 ... naio.shtml

[Mad Ferret]

Fiorentina want Magassa and KWP.

https://www.gazzetta.it/Calciomercato/2 ... naio.shtml

[stubbo-admin]

Paqueta done subject to medical.

42m EUR + sell on clause.

[El Scorchio]

According to the BBC:

The deal, worth an initial £1m, could rise to £2m with add-ons and runs until the end of the season with the option of a further year.

Wolves in talks for Angel Gomes on loan. That's a rather peculiar one. Don't really see what's in it for club or player. They cannot think they are getting out of relegation. That said I am more than happy for them to strengthen as any points they can take off the teams around us would be fantastic provided we back ourselves to beat them in April.

We should probably have been all over it if it was a possibility though.

[zebthecat]

According to the BBC:

The deal, worth an initial £1m, could rise to £2m with add-ons and runs until the end of the season with the option of a further year.

[Fauxstralian]

I see that keeper John Victor that we left at the airport who then went to Forest is now out for the season with a knee injury 

[Rossal]

Does anyone know how long Traore is signing for, can't see it anywhere?

Till end of season. Free if we go down,  small fee to pay if we stay up 

[Fauxstralian]

During negotiations it was said it was to the end of the season
Keeps his and our options open for next season

[Manuel]

Does anyone know how long Traore is signing for, can't see it anywhere?

[Manuel]

I think at this point we can assume there will be no more money spent, and as El says below, and it won't be a popular view, but maybe we do need to bank the Paqueta dough.

I can see two loans coming in, the Chelsea CB and one other.

[stubbo-admin]