KentExile

I will start with the caveat that I do not think that Humpheys is the answer, but stating he was released from Wigan is like stating Brereton, Lenihan, Rothwell etc were released from Rovers. All of them left after turning down new contracts

Rovers re-signed Downing in November, but your point still stands

So its a near certainty then?

Dolan isn't fast, low centre of gravity, agile, turns & accelerates well, but slow top speed

Well that explains a lot, lol

In fairness, last week I was pretty much convinced that Szmodics was going and not being replaced, so its a huge step up from that 😉

Makes Sorba Thomas look like Messi

waste of a wage (specifically meaning Burke, not a pacey wide player) 10 goals and 4 assists in 85 games at this level, and none in over 20 games last season. Fast but very unproductive https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/oliver-burke/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/341317/plus/0?saison=&verein=&liga=&wettbewerb=GB2&pos=&trainer_id=

It may well be a plan, but it is highly likely that the pacey winger we will get will be someone along the lines of Oliver Burke (on loan), who may be fast, but cant find a final ball to save his life

What he likes and what is supplied for him will not necessarily be the same thing

https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/stephen-humphrys-issues-worrying-wigan-athletic-update-as-departure-confirmed/ Yep, Wigan couldn't offer what he wanted

He moved to Sheffield United last week

Eustace will take whatever Rovers can afford/are willing to spend.

Do you have a link for that please?

Basic allowance is 1, and this increases to a maximum of 4 depending on how much a club plays home grown players (% of minutes) https://analyticsfc.co.uk/blog/2023/06/21/introducing-esc-the-new-gbe-guidance-opens-up-recruitment-post-brexit/ 2024/25 onwards Criteria However, from this season onwards clubs will be able to plan for the number of ESC slots that they have, with the possibility that they could only have one if the number of minutes for EQP is lower than 20%. Number of available ESC places Weighted EQP minutes % Premier League Championship League One League Two >= 35% 4 4 2 2 >= 30% 3 3 1 1 >= 25% 2 2 – – >= 20% 1 1 – – EQP = English Qualified Player * Unsure if Sigurdsson took up one of these slots last season, and that if he did, will he still take one up this coming year or if he managed enough game time to qualify for a normal work permit Edit - Would assume the French youngster if he signs will also take up one of these slots

Broughton/old scouting team then maybe?

I would have thought Birmingham must have an Asian scout/network, given some of their signings in recent years, and his name/video may have been pushed under Parks nose at some point

For anyone who has asked about Finneran. Not sure how reliable or "in the know" this site is. But a story they posted yesterday claims Finneran to Newcastle is not quite done, but they expect it to happen "in the coming weeks"

https://onefootball.com/en/news/tottenham-star-heung-min-son-im-a-blackburn-and-portsmouth-reject-35290740

Just to be clear, I am not saying that Finneran has not left Rovers and I fully expect him to be announced as a Newcastle player.... Once compensation has been agreed OR when talks fail and a tribunal date is set What I was trying to say in my last post was that even if Rovers do not announce that he has left, Newcastle will announce they have signed him

You would however expect his new club to announce something, Clubs do announce their scholarship intakes (of which Finneran will be a part of for Newcastle)

Not necessarily Transfer fees in have to be paid into the selling clubs account. So that money would be in the UK (unless someone at the club then transferred the balance to India?)

Presume you are referring to this We have also seen Hyam, Buckley, Garrett & Brittain as captains in pre season games, Looks like either Eustace is having a look at who may be the best fit or trying to build a "team of captains" mentality

Sometimes, even at that stage we cant get too excited