January Transfer Needs

[chaddyrovers]

2 minutes ago, MarkBRFC said:

He's really poor in the centre. Weak, not commanding and not great in the air. Might get away with him on the left side of the 3, like we did when Wharton was playing in the middle.

You can tell why Hull shunted him out to left back when he played there.

Can't agree. Solid defender and yes he had a nightmare against Portsmouth but Millwall and Boro back to be solid enough. Think he looks better when Pratt or Wharton are next to him. 

Why I bother about why Hull did? Cardiff didn't think Conway and Gestede were good enough for them yet for us, they were good signings for us

2 minutes ago, MarkBRFC said:

Out of contract in the summer so probably just let him walk away.

One contract club FC.

hopefully Rudy is on with this. Signing Pratt and Litherland to new contracts is a must. Our future 

[KentExile]

12 minutes ago, MarkBRFC said:

Ah did wonder if the kick the can down the road option might be there.

Same with Montgomery isn't it?

You would think these two would be the easiest contracts they could possibly sort out, but like you say why bother?

yep, year option there too

Edit - and Litherland, seeing as Chaddy mentioned him a couple of posts up (albeit his expires in 2027)

Edited 2 hours ago by KentExile

[MarkBRFC]

I think its clear they won't bother signing any of them up long term as it would mean wage increases.

Probably hoping they can keep themselves in the side and move them on for small fees.

[Ricky]

12 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

Can't agree. Solid defender and yes he had a nightmare against Portsmouth but Millwall and Boro back to be solid enough. Think he looks better when Pratt or Wharton are next to him. 

Why I bother about why Hull did? Cardiff didn't think Conway and Gestede were good enough for them yet for us, they were good signings for us

hopefully Rudy is on with this. Signing Pratt and Litherland to new contracts is a must. Our future 

So you’re not bothered about what Hull did but you can spend an entire transfer thread talking about what Birmingham have done in terms of signing Kyogo??

The fact that Hull moved him out from the centre could well be down to the reasons we are seeing, that he’s not the strongest in the air. That’s not to say he can’t do a job in a back three but that being the main man in that back three isn’t perfect for him. 

It does feel that you have a free pass to say anything on here and the moment anyone else says something different you jump all over it.

Personally think Dykes would be a poor option but that’s basically because I’ve never ever rated him. There must be better options out there. Ideally younger and more mobile. It’s a bad time of year to make key signings, the January window is never easy.

[MarkBRFC]

21 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

Can't agree. Solid defender and yes he had a nightmare against Portsmouth but Millwall and Boro back to be solid enough. Think he looks better when Pratt or Wharton are next to him. 

Why I bother about why Hull did? Cardiff didn't think Conway and Gestede were good enough for them yet for us, they were good signings for us

Irrelevant, they showed there worth within a few games of coming in.

Half a season in with McLoughlin and I can see why Hull played him at left back, get him out of the way of playing in the middle where he isn't very good.

Left side of a 3, can probably get away with him although think I would prefer Pratt there with Wharton in the middle at the moment.

That header against Oxford for there goal was another shocker and shows why he shouldn't be in the middle of a 3.

Edited 2 hours ago by MarkBRFC

[Ricky]

Apostolos Stamatelopoulos Goes into his last year of a contract in the summer. Currently has the best goals per minute ratio in the Scottish Premiership with Motherwell. I know nothing about him at all but he’s Australian and will know Miller. Who knows if they are close but he’s scored a goal every 3 games at Motherwell but doesn’t seem to have been a regular as he’s only made 31 appearances over the last season and a half.

Hes scoring a goal every 141 minutes at the moment. Any of our Scottish football followers know anything about him at all. We probably need to be thinking of players a little out of left field. 

[47er]

2 minutes ago, Ricky said:

Apostolos Stamatelopoulos Goes into his last year of a contract in the summer. Currently has the best goals per minute ratio in the Scottish Premiership with Motherwell. I know nothing about him at all but he’s Australian and will know Miller. Who knows if they are close but he’s scored a goal every 3 games at Motherwell but doesn’t seem to have been a regular as he’s only made 31 appearances over the last season and a half.

Hes scoring a goal every 141 minutes at the moment. Any of our Scottish football followers know anything about him at all. We probably need to be thinking of players a little out of left field. 

He's certainly a big-name player.

[chaddyrovers]

5 minutes ago, Ricky said:

So you’re not bothered about what Hull did but you can spend an entire transfer thread talking about what Birmingham have done in terms of signing Kyogo??

Hull have a different head coach and playing differently to now to the . Also we wanted him previous summer. 

I mentioned Kyogo in the context that a big money signing hasn't scored any league goals but a player who is an impact sub has 2 goals. A role I think he could play here very easy. Has experience of this league and wont need a settling in period 

5 minutes ago, Ricky said:

The fact that Hull moved him out from the centre could well be down to the reasons we are seeing, that he’s not the strongest in the air. That’s not to say he can’t do a job in a back three but that being the main man in that back three isn’t perfect for him. 

Of it could be down that Rovers want him and current head coach didnt unlike the previous head coach who found a role for him in the back like as left back like Newcastle do with Dan Burn. 

5 minutes ago, Ricky said:

It does feel that you have a free pass to say anything on here and the moment anyone else says something different you jump all over it.

What are going on about? I discussing football issues. No baiting, no name calling, no aggressive attitude 

5 minutes ago, Ricky said:

Personally think Dykes would be a poor option but that’s basically because I’ve never ever rated him. There must be better options out there. Ideally younger and more mobile. It’s a bad time of year to make key signings, the January window is never easy.

If you looking domestic market then maybe PL loan or permanent signing from league 1 or SPL might be the way. Wouldn't surprise me if we look overseas for a striker, maybe someone who played in England before. 

[chaddyrovers]

8 minutes ago, Ricky said:

Apostolos Stamatelopoulos Goes into his last year of a contract in the summer. Currently has the best goals per minute ratio in the Scottish Premiership with Motherwell. I know nothing about him at all but he’s Australian and will know Miller. Who knows if they are close but he’s scored a goal every 3 games at Motherwell but doesn’t seem to have been a regular as he’s only made 31 appearances over the last season and a half.

Hes scoring a goal every 141 minutes at the moment. Any of our Scottish football followers know anything about him at all. We probably need to be thinking of players a little out of left field. 

Interesting suggestion. Deffo left field suggestion. 

[Ricky]

Based on your last sentence and also our seeming love of revisiting the same old clubs for our transfers I wonder if we’d go back to Kortrijk. It’s where we got De Neve and I’m sure another player from after they were relegated to Belgian Div 2.

They have a player called Thierry Ambrose who has 10 goals and 9 assists in 17 games. Started out at Man City but didn’t make an appearance. Out of contract in 2027 so there would be a fee but he was out most of last season injured so there’s a gamble. Again, I know nothing about him but looking at clubs we’ve dealt with before. I think Kortrijk had a link to Vincent Van Tam who Gestede knows from his time at Cardiff. 

Edited 2 hours ago by Ricky

[KentExile]

2 minutes ago, Ricky said:

Based on your last sentence and also our seeming love of revisiting the same old clubs for our transfers I wonder if we’d go back to Korvik. It’s where we got De Neve and I’m sure another player from after they were relegated to Belgian Div 2.

 

Alebiosu (he was only on loan in Scotland)

https://www.rovers.co.uk/news/2025/july/10/ryan-is-a-rover-/

Edited 2 hours ago by KentExile

[Ricky]

Alibiousu seems to have also ended up at Korjvijk from a prem team so will possibly know Ambrose. It’s been a good move for him so maybe he puts a word in.

wonder if Gueye fancies a move back to Belgium? A swap deal could be of interest. Korjvijk are looking good for promotion so Gueye could be sold another go at the Belgian top flight. Surely he’d score enough goals to get them promoted….. wouldn’t he 😄 

Edited 2 hours ago by Ricky

[KentExile]

9 minutes ago, Ricky said:

Alibiousu seems to have also ended up at Korjvijk from a prem team so will possibly know Ambrose. It’s been a good move for him so maybe he puts a word in.

wonder if Gueye fancies a move back to Belgium? 

I believe that as any Kortrijk players are now playing in the 2nd tier in Belgium rather than the first, they would now no longer qualify for a standard work permit, and would need an ESC unless their international appearances dictate otherwise

I think we can switch Toth from an ESC to a GBE work permit in January to free up 1 slot, but he would be the only one who could be switched (Kargbo, Henriksson & Baradji are the other 3)

I await Wilsden's response 😉 

Edited 2 hours ago by KentExile

[TugaysMarlboro]

20 minutes ago, Ricky said:

Alibiousu seems to have also ended up at Korjvijk from a prem team so will possibly know Ambrose. It’s been a good move for him so maybe he puts a word in.

wonder if Gueye fancies a move back to Belgium? A swap deal could be of interest. Korjvijk are looking good for promotion so Gueye could be sold another go at the Belgian top flight. Surely he’d score enough goals to get them promoted….. wouldn’t he 😄 

I really hope we would be looking for someone better than Ambrose, although I know absolutely nothing about him granted.

 

Just looking at his career, he has scored frequently this season, because they're in the second tier in Belgium which is littered with U23 teams. Throughout his career he's struggled at the top tier seemingly, both at Metz and Lens, with a small improvement at Oostende.

Doing a very lazy comparison. We bought Gueye from a relegated Belgian top tier team, in hindsight, knowing what we know, I wouldn't be rushing to repeat that signing if the option was there.

You're right though, it's the kind of signing we'd make considering we have history with that club and he probably wouldn't need a special visa or whatever it is.

Edited 2 hours ago by TugaysMarlboro

[MarkBRFC]

4 minutes ago, TugaysMarlboro said:

I really hope we would be looking for someone better than Ambrose, although I know absolutely nothing about him granted.

Going off recent history, I'm pretty certain we won't be.

[Ricky]

Agreed Mark. We clearly won’t spend the money on wages for experienced players for the league hence why I’ve thrown a few left field calls in the mix. I’ve based it on markets we’ve looked at previously. The only thing with the couple I’ve mentioned is that they aren’t out of contract in the summer. I think that’s probably something we’d be throwing in the mix as well ideally. 

[Ricky]

I also wouldn’t be surprised if we revisited previous deals. Sambou Soumano was linked last year but they wanted £5m and we were offering £2m. Maybe that deal becomes more attractive to them as he’s out of contract in the summer.

[chaddyrovers]

5 minutes ago, Ricky said:

I also wouldn’t be surprised if we revisited previous deals. Sambou Soumano was linked last year but they wanted £5m and we were offering £2m. Maybe that deal becomes more attractive to them as he’s out of contract in the summer.

mentioned this myself last night. It wouldn't surprise me given he is out of contract in the summer

[Ricky]

8 minutes ago, chaddyrovers said:

mentioned this myself last night. It wouldn't surprise me given he is out of contract in the summer

I spotted someone had mentioned it but couldn’t remember who it was. Did they sign a new striker as he seemed to get regular minutes at the start of the season and scored a couple of goals, then he was restricted to 20 mins or less each game. He’s recently had a bit more game time again and scored a few more goals.

Just made me wonder if they signed another forward who had gone to AFCON or got injured. 

[Comfortably numb]

Another striker we've been linked with in the past whose contract is up on the summer ? Good goalscoring record 

 

[roversfan99]

2 hours ago, MarkBRFC said:

He's really poor in the centre. Weak, not commanding and not great in the air. Might get away with him on the left side of the 3, like we did when Wharton was playing in the middle.

You can tell why Hull shunted him out to left back when he was there.

Out of contract in the summer so probably just let him walk away.

One contract club FC.

 

2 hours ago, chaddyrovers said:

Can't agree. Solid defender and yes he had a nightmare against Portsmouth but Millwall and Boro back to be solid enough. Think he looks better when Pratt or Wharton are next to him. 

Why I bother about why Hull did? Cardiff didn't think Conway and Gestede were good enough for them yet for us, they were good signings for us

hopefully Rudy is on with this. Signing Pratt and Litherland to new contracts is a must. Our future 

McLaughlin feels like he is playing central purely out of necessity. When Wharton was fit, a player who also in the past has played left of a back 3, because unlike McLaughlin he is decent in the air and a lot more commanding and dominant.

Theres a bit less reliance on aeriel ability etc if you play left rather than central, and McLaughlin has played at full back throughout last season (because he couldnt make Hulls team as a centre back) so he is used to defending in those areas. We need someone for the centre and then McLaughlin can compete with Pratt down the left.

When suggesting players you want to sign chaddy, you seem happy to point out good things they have done at previous clubs. Its only the red flags and the question marks that you seem keen to dismiss as irrelevant.

[KentExile]

30 minutes ago, Comfortably numb said:

Another striker we've been linked with in the past whose contract is up on the summer ? Good goalscoring record 

 

Looks a genuine dream signing for us most seasons since we have been at this level, let alone this one

Has played in Europe in each of the last 2 seasons, so may not need a ESC slot, they have shown with Morishita that Rovers are a decent enough draw for players in Poland too

Edited 26 minutes ago by KentExile

[B16Rover]

55 minutes ago, Comfortably numb said:

Another striker we've been linked with in the past whose contract is up on the summer ? Good goalscoring record 

 

Move Pickering, Gueye and Ribiero on and bring him in