Summer transfer thread | Page 2 | Vital Football

Summer transfer thread

I would look to bring Nathan Byrne back. A specialist at wing-back if Leam continues to play the 3-5-2, was probably our best player in our post-lockdown surge in 2020 and has by all accounts been one of the few bright spots in Derby's team this season.

The likes of Luton, Blackpool, Preston, Millwall etc. have all proven you don't to spend much at all to compete in the Championship if you're shrewd and get inventive with your recruitment.

I don't think we'll spend much but - depending on Wyke's availability and fitness - I wouldn't be surprised to see us target someone like Cole Stockton. Fits the age and size profile Leam looks for in a centre-forward and is going into the last year of his contract, so would potentially be available at a knock-down price especially if Morecambe go down. If not him then, if Rotherham don't get promoted (still pretty unlikely I know) and we go up I'd expect Michael Smith to be a target too.
 
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HudWiganFan said:
- I wouldn't be surprised to see us target someone like Cole Stockton. Fits the age and size profile Leam looks for in a centre-forward and is going into the last year of his contract, .
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He signed a new contract in Jan (didn’t he ?) though not sure how long for

A regular scorer and scorer of great goals but he might be a lower league specialist and there has to be some doubt as to whether at 28 he’d be able to step up ……if he could why hasn’t it happened already…..that said it’s rumoured PNE are looking at him.
I think actually he is someone I’d like to take a chance on, but it depends on how much he’d cost which will be down to whatever his current contract status actually is.
 
I'd have a look at Fossey at Fulham....he would jump at a chance at the championship instead of getting marooned in League 1 with Horwich.

And if that pisses them clowns off its win win.

Good player.
 
hindleymonwafc said:
I'd have a look at Fossey at Fulham....he would jump at a chance at the championship instead of getting marooned in League 1 with Horwich.

And if that pisses them clowns off its win win.

Good player.
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I'd be looking at him as well, could be another Antonee Robinson type steal. If I could take one player from them though it would be Afolayan on the wing, but they would never sell to us unless we offered silly money.

I feel like winger is the best position for us to bring in a younger prospect who has perhaps done well at L1 level in the same way Jamal Lowe did before joining us. Fleetwood have got a couple of good un's from what I remember.

We will need a striker though, because going into the Championship relying on Josh Magennis and Charlie Wyke who has never played at the level before, not to mention coming off the back of you know what would be a recipe for disaster.
 
C_Latic said:
I'd be looking at him as well, could be another Antonee Robinson type steal. If I could take one player from them though it would be Afolayan on the wing, but they would never sell to us unless we offered silly money.

I feel like winger is the best position for us to bring in a younger prospect who has perhaps done well at L1 level in the same way Jamal Lowe did before joining us. Fleetwood have got a couple of good un's from what I remember.

We will need a striker though, because going into the Championship relying on Josh Magennis and Charlie Wyke who has never played at the level before, not to mention coming off the back of you know what would be a recipe for disaster.
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Fossey lick the sound of that .good call 👍
 
A work colleague of mine who is a big Bolton fan insists that we've been looking at Ricardo Santos, I'll be honest I think if it hadn't been for him we would have thrashed them a few weeks ago. Not sure if he'd cut it in the championship but reckon he'd be useful if we were trying to defend a slender lead!
 
Skem Tic said:
A work colleague of mine who is a big Bolton fan insists that we've been looking at Ricardo Santos, I'll be honest I think if it hadn't been for him we would have thrashed them a few weeks ago. Not sure if he'd cut it in the championship but reckon he'd be useful if we were trying to defend a slender lead!
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He didn’t shape that good against Stockport. Ran him into the ground. Them Stockport forwards
 
Personally I think the gap between the Championship and League 1 is widening and I genuinely don't know how many of our players could step up if we managed to go up. I think we'll look at bringing in 6 or 7 and probably thinking about a CB, RWB, RW, LW, AM, ST and maybe a keeper.

But not just players we're going to have to evolve our tactics. Richardson has done a good job, but you cant ignore the fact he's been afforded one of the best squads in the league. Caldwell was the same but once he didn't have the massive advantage if superior individual quality of player to rely on every week he got exposed as being a poor manager. I hope Richardson wouldn't fall into that same category but we won't know until we get there.
 
I'm not sure I go along with the obvious undertone of "well, of course we should be top of the league ... just look at the squad !" Let's just consider the individuals ...

Amos .................... decent signing, not shone though (nor has he had to either)
Darikwa .............. not too many celebrations when he was signed up
Whatmough ..... fair do, this mon's a great signing
Watts ................... young lad on loan, at first, looked like he could be related to Bambi
Tilt ........................ played for a relegation side last season (us)
Kerr ..................... again, fair do, decent signing
Pearce ............... looks great when fit, but some think he can't defend
Bennett ............. I'm sure he'll play a full 90 mins soon
Cousins ............. looked to be settling in as a workhorse
Naylor ............... was due to go to League 2 before we snapped him up
Power ................ what's that about never going back ?
Bayliss ................ we all thought that PNE had dumped on us here
Shinnie............... decent Championship player ... if only he could get a place in the team
Massey ............ least said (or Hampton will be onto me!)
Lang................... a star ... yet n-one snapped him up after his contributions last season
Keane ................ same as Tilt, played for a relegation side last season
Wyke ................. can only score goals when McGeady crosses for him
Magennis ........ written off by many on here after half a dozen games
Humphrys ....... superstar signing from Rochdale ... has "Espinozaitis"
Edwards ........... looks great when he's on it .. which he sometimes is
McClean .......... some wouldn't have had him here in the first place ... others still want him gone
Aasgard ........... a future star
McGrath ......... who ?

So, be fair KDZ, at the start of the season, there's no way that anyone (many?) thought this to be one of the "best squads in the league" ... and even so, it wasn't as you say "afforded" to him ... it had to be selected and then moulded into what it is.

Sorry, but I just felt it a little lazy to suggest that the manager has somehow been fortunate in being given a squad of league-beaters. He wasn't, and they weren't ... though given the work he's done with them (with the rest of the coaching team) they very nearly are now.
 
moonay said:
I'm not sure I go along with the obvious undertone of "well, of course we should be top of the league ... just look at the squad !" Let's just consider the individuals ...

Amos .................... decent signing, not shone though (nor has he had to either)
Darikwa .............. not too many celebrations when he was signed up
Whatmough ..... fair do, this mon's a great signing
Watts ................... young lad on loan, at first, looked like he could be related to Bambi
Tilt ........................ played for a relegation side last season (us)
Kerr ..................... again, fair do, decent signing
Pearce ............... looks great when fit, but some think he can't defend
Bennett ............. I'm sure he'll play a full 90 mins soon
Cousins ............. looked to be settling in as a workhorse
Naylor ............... was due to go to League 2 before we snapped him up
Power ................ what's that about never going back ?
Bayliss ................ we all thought that PNE had dumped on us here
Shinnie............... decent Championship player ... if only he could get a place in the team
Massey ............ least said (or Hampton will be onto me!)
Lang................... a star ... yet n-one snapped him up after his contributions last season
Keane ................ same as Tilt, played for a relegation side last season
Wyke ................. can only score goals when McGeady crosses for him
Magennis ........ written off by many on here after half a dozen games
Humphrys ....... superstar signing from Rochdale ... has "Espinozaitis"
Edwards ........... looks great when he's on it .. which he sometimes is
McClean .......... some wouldn't have had him here in the first place ... others still want him gone
Aasgard ........... a future star
McGrath ......... who ?

So, be fair KDZ, at the start of the season, there's no way that anyone (many?) thought this to be one of the "best squads in the league" ... and even so, it wasn't as you say "afforded" to him ... it had to be selected and then moulded into what it is.

Sorry, but I just felt it a little lazy to suggest that the manager has somehow been fortunate in being given a squad of league-beaters. He wasn't, and they weren't ... though given the work he's done with them (with the rest of the coaching team) they very nearly are now.
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At the start of the season everyone was very excited with the quality of player we were bringing in. Every other manager was complaining that we had out bid them for the best players and before a ball was kicked I'd have said with the exception of Ipswich we'd had the best recruitment.

Amos - 2nd in POTY at Charlton, rejected contract extension, Man U wanted him for 3rd choice.

Darikwa - experienced champ player, did well last season in L1

Whatmough and Naylor - 2 of best players for Pompey both rejected contracts there

Tilt - impressed at this level for us and Blackpool, never played at Rotherham

Watts - iffy at Plymouth but impressed in preseason and highly regarded at Newcastle

Kerr - 600k and highly regarded in Scotland, looked good in Europe qualifying rounds

Bennett - proven in Championship for year prior to injury. Dropping down.

Pearce - impressed last season before injury. Lots of assists from defence.

Cousins - established championship player dropping down.

Bayliss - not done anything in Champ but previously looked good enough at this level PNE spent 2m on him.

Shinnie - player of year for Derby in Championship dropping down.

Power - proven at this level regular at Sunderland and us.

Edwards - done well at this level for Peterborough but hot and cold for Ipswich.

Jones - impressed in Scotland before lost in shuffle at Rangers. Showed lots of potential in L1 for Sunderland.

McGrath- very highly regarded in Scotland

McClean - proven champ player, dropping down.

Keane - impressed for us last season

Lang - impressed last season

Humphrys - impressed in L1 last season

Wyke - 30 goals for Sunderland

Maggenis - scored 20 in L1 last season

Not everyone turned out as expected but on paper that was stronger than nearly everyone. Any manager who had budget to recruit that lot in L1 was going to have an advantage over most of the division.

Having a better set of players doesn't mean you'll automatically get results but it is a big advantage.
 
ZAKKY said:
Santos is the best centre back in the Division in my opinion and I would be very happy to get him
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Not a chance, as I certainly wouldn’t swap him for Whatmough. Big lad no doubt, but can’t say I’ve been impressed when I seen him. Wyke won his battle against him at Bowton.

At home two trains of thought. I thought he had Magennis in his pocket all match the other week - which perhaps isn’t that much of a compliant. Others thought Magennis had a good game against him - which also doesn’t warrant best centre half in league claim.
 
Made in Wigan said:
Not a chance, as I certainly wouldn’t swap him for Whatmough. Big lad no doubt, but can’t say I’ve been impressed when I seen him. Wyke won his battle against him at Bowton.

At home two trains of thought. I thought he had Magennis in his pocket all match the other week - which perhaps isn’t that much of a compliant. Others thought Magennis had a good game against him - which also doesn’t warrant best centre half in league claim.
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From what I've seen he's a good big old fashioned stopper like Dunkley, who is good for aerial duels and physical battles but not the best if you keep it on the deck.

I think he was POTY last season and will possibly get it this year for Bolton so he's certainly doing a good job for them as Dunkley did for us. But if you're looking at recruitment for the Champ it's a big step up.
 
It seems you assessed the list with a positive head on KDZ, .... and to be fair, it's an assessment that's not far from how I view 'em. However, the (devil's advocate) comments I made in my post are all perfectly valid. For eg, of our centre halves before January, though Whatmough was standout, I doubt anyone would have considered either Tilt or Watts as part of a "best in the league squad". Same with most other positions and players.

I think the coaching staff deserve massive credit for what we've done ... as does the manager.
 
king_dezeeuw06 said:
From what I've seen he's a good big old fashioned stopper like Dunkley, who is good for aerial duels and physical battles but not the best if you keep it on the deck.

I think he was POTY last season and will possibly get it this year for Bolton so he's certainly doing a good job for them as Dunkley did for us. But if you're looking at recruitment for the Champ it's a big step up.
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Right footer too. Presuming left will be the preference given we’ll be losing Watts in summer
 
walgarthjohn said:
Plenty good players if the scouting is correct. I was impressed with the lad from Accrington. The no 4. Looked to shoot when he saw the goals. And played well. But can they do it over a season. Who knows. Midfield is a area that needs. Massive improvement.
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Think that was Hamilton, he's a very decent player.

I had a look at who's contracts are expiring in the summer from L1 on transfermrkt.com. there were quite a lot. Some of the more interesting names listed were:

Pattinson, Sheff Wed
Luongo, Sheff Wed
Ironside, Cambridge
Iredale, Cambridge
Raggett, Pompey
Harness, Pompey
Boyle, Cheltenham
May, Cheltenham
Butcher, Accrington
Sykes, Accrington
Oliver, Gillingham
Kasumu, MK
Kioso, MK / Luton
Lowery, Crewe
Moore, Oxford
Sykes, Oxford
Whyte, Oxford / Cardiff
Powell, Burton
Smith, Rotherham
Ogbene, Rotherham
Broom, Plymouth/ Peterborough
Voghts, Wycombe

I really liked the look of Fiorini who is on loan from City at Lincoln and Camara at Plymouth but not sure either will be free.

Loads of good players in the Championship coming out of contract but I suspect there will be lots of interest in them. Powell, Byrne, Naismith are 3 of our former players who could be available.

Carlton Morris at Barnsley wouldn't be free but he could be a decent shout.
 
One thing regarding the Santos Dunkley comparison. Both are big bastard stoppers. But Dunkley was a goalscorer at the other end. Santos hasn’t scored a single goal for Horwich despite towering above anyone on the same pitch. That suggests to me that whilst he is clearly a good natural defender, his aerial ability and general awareness is poorer than it should be. 50p head comes to mind.

Anyway, as Latics said we’re going to need a left footed centre back rather than a right footed one.
 
Santos is a red card waiting to happen and should have gone against us, would get torn apart in The Championship. Should have been penalised for persistent fouling on Magennis against us, Aimson came across and covered Santos after he left gaps on many occasions.

Ross Sykes 23 year old right footed centre back on a free would as cover would be more sensible, another option would be a much needed left footed centre back Jack Iredale who is 25 and also out of contract, both been linked with Championship moves. Tucker at Gillingham another highly rated 22 year old on a free at centre back. Trying to get Watts on loan again would be a smart move too.

There does seem over the last couple of years or so a big shift in players running contracts down, so there is a lot of quality available for free.

Obviously Nathan Byrne at 29 is one of the best ride sided players in the league and would have 2+ years left in him and would be a sensible move, Fossey at Fulham would be a good shout too.
 
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Zeb2 said:
He signed a new contract in Jan (didn’t he ?) though not sure how long for

A regular scorer and scorer of great goals but he might be a lower league specialist and there has to be some doubt as to whether at 28 he’d be able to step up ……if he could why hasn’t it happened already…..that said it’s rumoured PNE are looking at him.
I think actually he is someone I’d like to take a chance on, but it depends on how much he’d cost which will be down to whatever his current contract status actually is.
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His contract was supposed to expire this season, but he signed a one-year extension in January so Morecambe only have two more chances to cash-in assuming he doesn't sign another new deal.

Given we'll likely have a lower-end Championship budget again, I think you have to take those kind of risks when it comes to goalscorers because we almost certainly won't be able to afford strikers who are already proven at that level. Kieffer Moore was a pretty successful League One transplant of a similar age and size who hadn't done it in the Championship previously.

As for not having stepped up, some players are just late-bloomers as we've found out with Will Keane whose professional career looked like it was almost over 18 months ago. Stockton might not be, of course but he's been incredibly impressive with virtually zero real quality around him this season so I'd certainly be interested in seeing how he'd do in our side.

We also had a bid rejected for Mark Sykes at Oxford on deadline day, a CM with 8 goals and 7 assists this season who's out of contract in the summer. Oxford look set to stay in League One after falling out of the playoffs recently, and he's been in the Ireland squad lately so there's plenty of connections and I wouldn't be surprised to see him here either.
 
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