Summer Transfer Rumour Thread | Page 17 | Vital Football

Summer Transfer Rumour Thread

Between the lines, I suspect Spurs have already told us TJ will not be back next season, hence the January signing of Poole. He is surely heading for the next level up.

I am not so sure about Rogers, though. Capable of brilliance, but would he really win a regular place in a Championship side? He has just gone 14 games without a goal, that is not good for League One and would certainly not cut it at the higher level. I think he needs a full season in League One - where better to send him than here? We gave him 28 games and a Wembley final, so Man City cannot complain about that.

Johnson is definitely in Forest's plans and I'm afraid to say there are better goalkeepers than Palmer out there. Morton? Made a big impact in League Two last year but I think he struggled a bit in League One.

Therefore, Rogers is the only realistic return for 2021-22.

The natural inclination is to believe we have outstanding players who will be impossible to replace, but it isn't true. There are others out there perfectly capable of doing well for us, and that is the exciting part for me. However good some of our loanees have been, we will have good replacements next season.
 
With regard to Harry, Elbozedi and Archibald (and to a certain extent Scully), I think they have suffered from the permanent fixtures that Johnson and Rogers have made of themselves. Johnson used to start predominantly on the left wing until Rogers arrived, when he switched to the right. Harry is a right-winger and, Covid or otherwise, I think, in Maps head, Rogers starts. So Johnson moves over, everyone else shuffles down. Next year, without those two, a perfectly competent Anderson is possibly a cheaper option than a replacement and gives us money to spend elsewhere, when we need a left-winger, goalkeeper, striker and a covering defensive player, just to stand still.
 
What!!

You have a short memory.

One of our best players and regular starter before covid did its worst. A good rest to complete his recovery, a good preseason, he can have a significant role to play next season. If he is released it may suggest covid has had a lasting effect.

You may wish to analyse the stats regarding a regular starter in League 1 anyway.
 
More thoughts on Anderson and Rogers 🤔. Although I would love to see Harry stay it wouldn’t surprise me if he goes. I agree with Cherryexile’s points about Johnson and Rogers being first pick, so exiling Harry to the bench. He’s still relatively young and will want regular games so wouldn’t blame him if he did go. With the way MA has played Rogers and Johnson this season it appears to me that he wants strikers who are more ‘Championship‘ style in the way they play, whereas Harry is more of a traditional style out-and-out winger, though he brings so much more to the team defensively, energy and enthusiasm-wise, etc. I could be completely wrong.
Rogers coming back wouldn’t surprise me as I still think he is very young and has a fair bit to learn. His control and ball-playing ability are without question superb, but there are elements to his game which do need attention. His defensive work is improving but he still has the ability to get caught in possession in his own half occasionally which can leave us vulnerable to the counter-attack. He can be a little lazy at times as well - there were numerous times he either hasn’t gone for a ball within two or three feet of him or hasn’t got himself into a position to help his team-mates strategically. That is slowly improving as well, but still needs more work. More importantly he needs to learn how and when to lay the ball off. Yes he is quite capable of taking on three or four players and getting a shot away, but there have been times when he could be more effective for the team if he drew players to him then released the ball to someone in a more dangerous position thus taking opposition players out of the game. He definitely has the ability to do that but more coaching would certainly help. There will be others who disagree but I think another season under MA will definitely make him ready for the Championship. Not sure he is yet - shame we didn’t get promoted as I think Man City would have left him with us (unless they wanted him to experience a different coaching/playing group)
Just thoughts and observations, and may be totally wrong. Whatever- I have every faith and trust in MA and the coaching staff whoever they are working with.
 
Last edited:
Perhaps by playing the loan players as regular starters and rarely being substituted Appleton may be playing the long game by demonstrating to the parent clubs that their players will be gaining the experience expected, rather than being regular bench warmers. We may see some impressive loanees coming in next season as a result of the opportunities available at Sincil Bank.
 
I would like to see Harry stay. I think those that are saying he is knackered are correct. I also think Remi is also in the same boat and possibly Jones. I wonder if the medical advice is to let them recover and build up strengh?

Palmer had little competition this season I thought he could have done better for the 2 Blackpool goals. I dont think he will be at WBA next year he will either depart permanently as backup in the championship or will go out on loan to league 1. I think our emergency loan shows there are some great keepers out there.

Johnson will either be in the forest squad or will be sold to a championship team. I have a feeling a mid to lower championship team will bid for him.

Rogers I think he played too much this year perhaps a sign of limited competition. I would like to see us release the squad players sign a more consistent left sided attacker permanently and perhaps have Rogers back as loan to use intermittently. He is too raw and young to play in championship and I can’t see Man City selling him.

Morton I would say looked good before the injury but I would look elsewhere next season.

TJ - I would have back no hesitation however I think he shows he is better then league 1. I can see him loaning a championship club on loan.

the players out on loan I think will go. I would rather use the wage from those to sign 1 first teamer who will make an impact.

I suspect that we will receive bids for Grant and Scully I should imagine it will be hard to turn down anything in seven figures considering it safe guards the club even more by generating a large chunk of the budget. That said we could very well sell Roughan for real money too.

additions I see are left sided attacker (2 if Rogers doesn’t come back), a goalkeeper and a forward plus replacement should Anderson Grant or Scully depart. I feel we have a very good squad that needs tuning not an overhaul. Those injured have time to rest and come back fresh.
 
I think who comes and goes will be dictated by finance as always. We will obviously not have the big budgets of some of the clubs in league one.
As always for the Imps it will be a fine balancing act, Clive and the board have always done everything they can to back the Manager but we know they will not commit the suicidal mistake of throwing money we haven't got to chase success.
We are a well run club, a real exception to the rule, so we might be surprised at the some of the players who may leave to free up money to invest in new players.
I know this season has only just finished but I can't wait for the new one to come around I have everything crossed that we watch the mighty imps from the stands again.
 
I think we saw a big step up in all of the loanees that featured regularly. Palmer maybe the exception, with a small drop in form in the second half of the season. Would still have any or all of them back again.
 
Last edited:
Pizza and league cups dictate that the club actually needs a few fringe players in the first half of the season, so I do wonder if there will be the clear-out some have predicted. Retaining some reservists and then loaning/moving them on in January appears to be the method. Unless the club feel they can play those cups with a bunch of under-18s, of course.
 
All loans return to their parent club to begin with.

Remy and Max are both under contract for another year.

Whatever the retained list says, the squad won't look like that at the start of next season.
Why did we give Howarth another contract? He seems a great lad but Appleton has hardly used him even when we've been desperate. Just puzzles me.
 
Last edited:
I very much doubt he will get much game time in a Championship side. For a start which is his best position ? (he played three of the four defensive positions this season) and he didn't exactly cover himself in glory at centre half in the last two games of the season. However, he performed excellently for us overall.

I feel the same way about our other loan players, as good as four of them have been, and all of whom will be hard to replace.

Johnson is expected by everyone to be in Forest's squad but how many opportunities will he get there with a safety-first coach like Hughton?

Palmer has done well too of course, but he's not yet anything like good enough to be first choice goalkeeper for a side of WBA's standing.

And Rogers has more than enough ability to play in the Championship but he'll be very much on the fringes of anywhere he goes. Maybe less so if it's one of the newly promoted sides.
Agree on Johnson. As an attacking player, you're pretty much stuffed if you have Hughton as a manager. He has a good record, you can't argue with that, but Johnson won't get the ball in the same areas or at the same speed he has done here. He'll be starved of the ball.
 
It'd be interesting to see Morton again, I think he's been hugely unlucky this season. Here well into pre-season because of Northampton's late finish, injured early on and when he did come back, he was having to play as a lone striker, a position he hasn't really played.

Morton wide of a front three would probably give us a better idea of what he's capable of.
 
It'd be interesting to see Morton again, I think he's been hugely unlucky this season. Here well into pre-season because of Northampton's late finish, injured early on and when he did come back, he was having to play as a lone striker, a position he hasn't really played.

Morton wide of a front three would probably give us a better idea of what he's capable of.
I wouldn't be surprised to see Morton back as well.
 
It's incredible to me, Morton deserves another chance despite underperforming in all but a handful of games. Palmer on the other hand is "we can do better"

I think most feel that we never really saw the real Morton due to the length of time he was out. You can see his potential, but not as a lone striker.

Palmer for me was great all season and would be more then welcome back. I think that the one very good game Bursik had has clouded some judgements. Could Bursik have done what Alex managed for nearly 60 games? Not many were suggesting that in the 3-3 match at Posh
 
For me - Johnson and TJ, no chance we'll see them again. Palmer I wouldn't be unhappy with, there's better and worse out there. If he can improve his agility by a few per cent he will become a top performer.
Rogers is an outside bet and I expect we will remain a back up option if Man City/he doesn't get a better option. I would be pleased to have him back.
Morton I am less convinced about. His style and levels seem too far off, to be caught up over one pre season. Seeing as we only have one striker the number two really does have to offer more than I feel he is likely to next season.