2025 Summer Transfer Thread. 😂

[Emerald Isle Rover]

10 minutes ago, RevidgeBlue said:

If we think this is the player for us, it's up to us to get the deal over the line.

Depends who the other club/s are if it’s Celtic or Sunderland there’s a fair chance agent has said hold on we’ve got these on the table do you want to hear what they have to say

[Blow-in]

1 hour ago, BankEnd Rover said:

Now we're talking! This is rovers we know and love. 

"No, we said we were a club close to Manchester's city"

" No I don't think that was a funny way of phrasing it"

"Look, just get in the back of the van and we can disuss it on the way"

"Just sit on the bag of cenment"

"Ok, well it was a one-way ticket so good luck getting home,.. Oh you have money? Could you lend us £50 for diesel and will send it be when we back"

[philipl]

Absoultely no way of drawing conclusions.

Out Baath- an ancient defensive rock, Weimann- still one of the best but no legs, Dolan and JRC- two of our own 25% match winners, 50% meh, 25% match losers.

In  - 3 or 4 foreign nobodies (being honest) and huge fitness ? Wharton. Effectively Kargbo is a new signing after seeing so little of him last season.

Second season syndrome for Ohashi and Gueye or settled in renaissance?

Almost certainly not all of Travis, Tronstadt and Brittain will be here and they were our best players last season. 

My hot tip is we will finish somewhere between 1st and 24th.

 

[JCRovers]

I bet it's the player's agent who has leaked to the press if contract negotiations now has stalled. Nobody flies in for a medical if there wasn't an agreement made beforehand. It looks bad from the club's viewpoint and puts pressure on them to reach a deal quickly or risk losing him to (reportedly) Sunderland.  

[chaddyrovers]

1 minute ago, JCRovers said:

I bet it's the player's agent who has leaked to the press if contract negotiations now has stalled. Nobody flies in for a medical if there wasn't an agreement made beforehand. It looks bad from the club's viewpoint and puts pressure on them to reach a deal quickly or risk losing him to (reportedly) Sunderland.  

He had his medical yesterday so maybe has shown up in the medical..

 

1 hour ago, islander200 said:

Of course it is a nominal fee.

Or do you think £500k is big bucks as a transfer fee in the championship( it probably only reaches that figure if clauses are met appearances etc)

We have probably paid an initial 300 grand for him 

 

No I wouldnt. I think of nominal fee has 50 to 75k. 

We make some great low cost signings like Samba at 400k, Nzonzi at 500k or Nelsen on a fee. And that was in the PL days 

[bluebruce]

6 minutes ago, JCRovers said:

I bet it's the player's agent who has leaked to the press if contract negotiations now has stalled. Nobody flies in for a medical if there wasn't an agreement made beforehand. It looks bad from the club's viewpoint and puts pressure on them to reach a deal quickly or risk losing him to (reportedly) Sunderland.  

Let's be realistic, if Sunderland genuinely want him, we aren't coming close to Premiership money and the player won't sign for us until he has talked to them regardless what we offer.

Edited Friday at 12:07 by bluebruce

[roversfan99]

2 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

He had his medical yesterday so maybe has shown up in the medical..

 

No I wouldnt. I think of nominal fee has 50 to 75k. 

We make some great low cost signings like Samba at 400k, Nzonzi at 500k or Nelsen on a fee. And that was in the PL days 

They were in the Premier League. But also practically 20 years ago.

Reported as a fee of below £500k without add ons, that is a nominal fee for a Championship club. Its not a comment on the player.

[islander200]

Is this supposed interest from Sunderland not from when they were a championship club?

They have already brought in a couple of midfielders for big money are they really going in for this guy at £1.5 million?.Surely if they really wanted him they would have that deal done not coming in at the 11th hour when he has already flown to another club to get a deal done 

[bluebruce]

1 minute ago, islander200 said:

Is this supposed interest from Sunderland not from when they were a championship club?

They have already brought in a couple of midfielders for big money are they really going in for this guy at £1.5 million?.Surely if they really wanted him they would have that deal done not coming in at the 11th hour when he has already flown to another club to get a deal done 

The past rumours are not super recent, but I think they were after the promotion. In terms of right now though, I think it's purely speculation on here as to whether his old suitors have come in. We probably couldn't compete with Celtic either tbf.

[chaddyrovers]

10 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

They were in the Premier League. But also practically 20 years ago.

And? Good bargains out there if you scout for a range of fees like Tronstad on a free or Dolan on a free or Szmodics for 2.5m or Brittain for £1m

10 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

Reported as a fee of below £500k without add ons, that is a nominal fee for a Championship club.

And? Irrelevant. Its about the quality of player we sign and the fee paid doesn't determine how good the player will be. 

Some people are more obsessing over the fees than anything else

10 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

It's not a comment on the player.

No one comment of player did we

[Tomphil2]

1 hour ago, chaddyrovers said:

Our budgets is for players that suits how Ismael's style and formation. 

Football is a squad players. 

So you agree that we only have a budget for squad players and not to buy ready made first teamers or a marquee signing.

[Tomphil2]

38 minutes ago, philipl said:

Absoultely no way of drawing conclusions.

Out Baath- an ancient defensive rock, Weimann- still one of the best but no legs, Dolan and JRC- two of our own 25% match winners, 50% meh, 25% match losers.

In  - 3 or 4 foreign nobodies (being honest) and huge fitness ? Wharton. Effectively Kargbo is a new signing after seeing so little of him last season.

Second season syndrome for Ohashi and Gueye or settled in renaissance?

Almost certainly not all of Travis, Tronstadt and Brittain will be here and they were our best players last season. 

My hot tip is we will finish somewhere between 1st and 24th.

 

The target will be 15th or above and the only agenda is grow some more cheap or homegrown assets to sell asap.

[roversfan99]

2 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

And? Good bargains out there if you scout for a range of fees like Tronstad on a free or Dolan on a free or Szmodics for 2.5m or Brittain for £1m

And? Irrelevant. Its about the quality of player we sign and the fee paid doesn't determine how good the player will be. 

Some people are more obsessing over the fees than anything else

No one comment of player did we

What are you on about? You are so paranoid about making sure that you defend the club that you go off on tangents and create arguments that didnt exist.

[Tomphil2]

This deal could be on hold due to work permit, sell on clause owed elsewhere, fitness issue cropped up, could be anything.

[TimmyJimmy]

50 minutes ago, philipl said:

Absoultely no way of drawing conclusions.

Out Baath- an ancient defensive rock, Weimann- still one of the best but no legs, Dolan and JRC- two of our own 25% match winners, 50% meh, 25% match losers.

In  - 3 or 4 foreign nobodies (being honest) and huge fitness ? Wharton. Effectively Kargbo is a new signing after seeing so little of him last season.

Second season syndrome for Ohashi and Gueye or settled in renaissance?

Almost certainly not all of Travis, Tronstadt and Brittain will be here and they were our best players last season. 

My hot tip is we will finish somewhere between 1st and 24th.

 

I think the target is always 12th Philip. Natural variance happens of course +/- but I believe that is always their target. Grim and inexplicable isn't it.

[islander200]

22 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

And? Good bargains out there if you scout for a range of fees like Tronstad on a free or Dolan on a free or Szmodics for 2.5m or Brittain for £1m

And? Irrelevant. Its about the quality of player we sign and the fee paid doesn't determine how good the player will be. 

Some people are more obsessing over the fees than anything else

No one comment of player did we

Because we are doing everything on the cheap whilst our rivals spend big money on signings 

If it was easy to make a successful team with cheap signings then every club would  be doing it 

You don't think it is a worry that all our signings so far have been cheap by championship standards,they have all come from clubs that got relegated last season and they have zero championship experience?

Nobody has said that you can't pick up good players for low fees 

[roversfan99]

Fees certainly arent "irrelevant." If you have more money, you are more likely to get better quality. Not guaranteed but more likely.

[sharpysharps86]

36 minutes ago, islander200 said:

Because we are doing everything on the cheap whilst our rivals spend big money on signings 

If it was easy to make a successful team with cheap signings then every club would  be doing it 

You don't think it is a worry that all our signings so far have been cheap by championship standards,they have all come from clubs that got relegated last season and they have zero championship experience?

Nobody has said that you can't pick up good players for low fees 

The point on unproven players at Championship level is key for me and undeniable.

I am hopeful that Rovers will still bring in a couple with more proven experience as they did with Batth and Weimann late last summer, but I am very fearful that we start the season with a bunch of Rudy randomers and some young premier loans that are too raw and lightweight for the rough and tumble of Championship football. Some of them might be like Ohashi and take to it very quickly, while others might be more Gueye and really struggle to settle, or not settle at all.

[Tomphil2]

When we signed Tronstad, Siggy, Hyam and Brittain it was arguably less or similar in fees than now but much bigger wages and was clearly more a statement of intent than this summer, unarguably.

There's clearly a couple of million to invest in low first instalment fees and a commitment to the 'deal up to' add on's should the players reach them. What we are seeing is V's doing as they usually do and allowing a new gaffer some signings with some proceeds of previous sales.

In reality though it's all about the wage bill and fitting as many lower paid development players in there as it can handle, the fees are secondary to all that.

If they put all the fees and wages into a couple of SS type signings and did the usual few loans whilst keeping the squad together i wouldn't complain and i think that serves the league position aim better than the development route. However if we get to the end of the window as we are now with another cheapie/few loans that's the best we can hope for.

It's all down to big Val and luck with injuries then.

 

[bluebruce]

On 10/07/2025 at 12:45, Paul Mani said:

Agreed. But the club haven’t reported the fees. The club rarely reports anything. News outlets have.

Listen, I’m not saying we’ve spent £4.75m, but we can’t have it both ways just to fit our narrative / hatred of Venkys.

It would seem that the club are backing Ismael based on the widely reported fees they’re spending on these players!? Right?

The club, like all clubs, will leak whatever fees they want. And even if it's not intentional PR, the club could be genuinely signing a player for '2 million' when potential fees are added. 500k guaranteed, 500k based on appearances and goals, another million if we get promoted and you have yourself a '2 million fee'. It could be a virtually guaranteed fee, I can't rule that out no, but it would be a bit baffling if it is, given his profile. If we have paid that, he'd really better turn out to be a good un or we've been mugged.

To show you this isn't a club bias thing, I absolutely do believe the larger 2.5 million fee for the other midfielder, he has pedigree and has attracted bigger fish to look at him in the past.

[bluebruce]

On 10/07/2025 at 12:46, Paul Mani said:

Maybe - though they could be direct replacements for JRC and Buckley? 

Tavares could be a Buckley replacement, if he hasn't cost 2 mill, although he does seem to be a different sort of player. If he did cost a genuine 2 mill guaranteed I don't think that he'd only be a replacement for Buckley, who is just a squad player. I suppose it would be possible, just to strengthen our options there.

JRC is more of a utility player, the new right back is very likely seen as his replacement. With Forshaw to cover any emergency needs.

The new CM definitely means one of Trav or Tron going I'd expect. If we get him. We can't have two 2 mill plus mids, if they both cost that, as well as Trav and Tron, unless we are changing formation.

[Admiral Nelsen]

2 minutes ago, bluebruce said:

Tavares could be a Buckley replacement, if he hasn't cost 2 mill, although he does seem to be a different sort of player. If he did cost a genuine 2 mill guaranteed I don't think that he'd only be a replacement for Buckley, who is just a squad player. I suppose it would be possible, just to strengthen our options there.

JRC is more of a utility player, the new right back is very likely seen as his replacement. With Forshaw to cover any emergency needs.

The new CM definitely means one of Trav or Tron going I'd expect. If we get him. We can't have two 2 mill plus mids, if they both cost that, as well as Trav and Tron, unless we are changing formation.

 

You're probably right. Although it could also be that VI likes playing very high tempo, pressing football and wants to make sure he has good depth in the engine room. I know at WBA he was well known for making big changes 60 mins into each game.

Unlikely though if they actually cost near £2million apiece, and that's not just with lots of speculative add ons. 

[Bohinen1983]

I think we've been crying out for pace for bloody years!!

If you have players that can shift then you can sit deep and counter attack.. If that's how we're going to play then I'm excited..

Would love to see us deploy a front two, think this could be a big year for Gueye. I'd like to see him actually play a slightly deeper role, think he has great feet and can win a flick on, play a quick lad who can press on the last man..

Some pace at wide and this big lad (if we get him) in the middle- at least it's going to be interesting..

I think we're desperate for a centre half- someone to replace Batth, we really felt his absence last year!

Edited Friday at 15:20 by Bohinen1983

[Emerald Isle Rover]

Dolans next club seems to have hit a cold spell…well into the window now and he’s still not been signed up by anybody 

[Ricceh]

He'll be snapped up when someone misses out on their loan targets