The Summer 2025 Transfer Window Thread

[Lycan]

But it’s completely sustainable - ask Brighton.

As widely said, the problem is not losing a couple of players, it’s correctly replacing them.

That’s the challenge.

We are not even remotely comparable to Brighton.

This nonsense will get us relegated eventually, we've been incredibly lucky not to have dropped before now. If we stay up this season then we face another summer where we'll lose say, André & João Gomes. Another £100M+ summer in the bank, another 2 steps backwards. It's not sustainable.

 

[Lycan]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1929527201151520994

I do not understand that one at all.

 

[YoungWolf]

I do not understand that one at all.

I don’t think it’s true. Vitor has already spoken about having him back

 

[NicholasG1973]

We are not even remotely comparable to Brighton.

This nonsense will get us relegated eventually, we've been incredibly lucky not to have dropped before now. If we stay up this season then we face another summer where we'll lose say, André & João Gomes. Another £100M+ summer in the bank, another 2 steps backwards. It's not sustainable.

But I’m not comparing us to Brighton?

I am saying that their business model is clearly a sustainable one.

They have sold, literally, hundreds of millions of pounds worth of talent, and are still in and around European football.

They have proved that selling their best players isn’t a problem……..because they have a structure in place that ensures that they are adequately replaced.

 

[Lycan]

But I’m not comparing us to Brighton?

I am saying that their business model is clearly a sustainable one.

They have sold, literally, hundreds of millions of pounds worth of talent, and are still in and around European football.

They have proved that selling their best players isn’t a problem……..because they have a structure in place that ensures that they are adequately replaced.

You are comparing us to Brighton. That's literally what you've just done in both posts.

Brighton selling £100M+ worth of talent isn't a necessity for their business model. They are in a position where they can choose to dig in and keep players or charge wildly over the odds, we have made it part of the core of our club in an effort to be 'self sustainable'. If we don't sell anyone, there is no transfer budget.

It won't work long term.

 

[Kenny]

I do not understand that one at all.

Easy. Its made up (probably)

 

[Lycan]

Lee Kang-In told he can leave PSG. I wonder if we'd be able to get someone like him in? We should be able to afford him and Jeff would probably be more willing to sanction a bigger move like that for obvious reasons.

 

[YoungWolf]

He’s too good for us surely

 

[big mean bunny]

I think the key thing between us and Brighton as they usually have the replacement in house ready to move up into a more pronounced role. I feel like we did that with Neto, Joao Gomes and hoped that is what we were trying with R Gomes and Lima, although the latter two look another year minimum off having such extended roles.

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

He’s too good for us surely

On €140k a week too.

Although we have freed up a LOT of wages with Cunha and Sarabia off.

 

[Lycan]

He’s too good for us surely

Yeah, probably. Played in less than half of the available minutes for PSG across all comps this season though and Jeff's going to be more inclined to spend money on a South Korean international than anybody else.

On that note, Hidemasa Morita is leaving Sporting in the summer and has said he wants to play in the Premier League. I'd be surprised if we weren't interested in him, wouldn't cost too much money either.

 

[The Bear]

The main thing which irritates me as a club nowadays is that we seem to be a pushover when it comes to selling players. Like we have to accept that someone HAS to go every summer, and we can only make the bare minimum of what they're worth.

In recent years Brighton, Leicester and Palace have all sold players they didn't want to sell for huge fees. Yet we just seem to accept whatever we're offered just in case we upset the player and limit their opportunities to play for bigger clubs. We're a stepping stone club without a backbone who bend over to any offer we get or player that wants to leave.

 

[Lycan]

The main thing which irritates me as a club nowadays is that we seem to be a pushover when it comes to selling players. Like we have to accept that someone HAS to go every summer, and we can only make the bare minimum of what they're worth.

In recent years Brighton, Leicester and Palace have all sold players they didn't want to sell for huge fees. Yet we just seem to accept whatever we're offered just in case we upset the player and limit their opportunities to play for bigger clubs. We're a stepping stone club without a backbone who bend over to any offer we get or player that wants to leave.

I think we did quite well to get what we did for Kilman & Nunes but overall I do agree. Other clubs are getting £10-15M more on top of the Neto & Cunha deals.

 

[The Bear]

There are outliers yes but you can argue that those deals came out of the blue and the players weren't expected to leave. Any player that we know is going to move on because they're too good for us, we just roll over at the first bid.

 

[Banjo]

I think we did quite well to get what we did for Kilman & Nunes but overall I do agree. Other clubs are getting £10-15M more on top of the Neto & Cunha deals.

I think both can be explained up to an extent. Neto had a questionable injury record, played for a counter attacking team, and had more to prove than, say, Jota did when he left. Cunha had us up against the wall when negotiating his release clause.

I'm expecting City to pay well for RAN.

 

[Mel Evo]

Don’t disagree with all of this, but I’m more concerned with the players we should sell and don’t (or can’t) rather than ones we could have extracted slightly more value from. I’m worried who we’ll be naming in our squad come September simply because they’re here. Different side of the same coin I guess.

 

[Alan]

On €140k a week too.

Although we have freed up a LOT of wages with Cunha and Sarabia off.

PSG inflates wages to “offset” French taxes IIRC. Although nobody likes to see their number go down.

 

[Squeak]

We are not even remotely comparable to Brighton.

This nonsense will get us relegated eventually, we've been incredibly lucky not to have dropped before now. If we stay up this season then we face another summer where we'll lose say, André & João Gomes. Another £100M+ summer in the bank, another 2 steps backwards. It's not sustainable.

Glad you mentioned those two because it shows that there are players out there who are actually good enough for the Prem and who can be bought for far cheaper. The bottom line here is that Fosun are running us as a business and that means player trading is extremely important. Buying appreciating assets is the only way a club like ours can even half compete in the mid table. We bought Andre and Gomes for a lot cheaper than the sale of Ait-Nouri would bring so if we get the recruitment right, we can actually become comparable to Brighton.

Personally, I think our situation is closer to Southampton a few seasons ago. They were cherry picked and ultimately paid the price. We've been playing with fire for a couple of seasons now and this is an extremely important close season for us if we aren't going to be fighting at the bottom of the table again.

 

[Jinky]

Sky linking us to Sunderland full back Trai Hume.

 

[big mean bunny]

The key thing for us now though is maybe upping the ambition of the promising players we bring in.

I am still not that into Munetsi as a signing given his ability, cost and then potentially nil resale value combined with the idea that if he is playing such a prominent role next year, that would be a concern. But then he was signed in the same window as Agbadou but also Djiga. That's a very poor hit rate overall given the outlay. As only one player there that looks likely to be in the starting 11 come a perfect opening day selection wise.


That isn't necessarily improved by going back to the summer neither, although there are some longer term projects from there.