The Summer 2025 Transfer Window Thread

[Jinky]

You remember how we had a RWB ready to sign for us weeks ago before a Champions League team came and gazumped us?

It was clearly a setback but these things happen and we've moved on to other targets.

What happened months ago is irrelevant anyway, the moment Hobbs went and Teti took over our targets changed (again, long term hopefully a good thing) and we started from scratch.

Well you’ve said yourself above that it was “weeks” ago. The only RWB we’ve been linked to since then is about to sign for Napoli. And plenty of people on here have insinuated both of those links were only down to agent talk.

All the while, we edge closer to the season starting without a genuine option in a very important position and, what appears to be, a real lack of urgency to give the manager what he needs.

 

[From Distant Shores]

I have seen links, including one in this thread to other right backs /right wing backs - Julian Ryerson of Borussia Dortmund (BBC via Sky Sport Germany) and Nicola Savona of Juventus (on Twitter). Both may be made up.

Does seeing loads of spurious transfer links really imply urgency in a clubs transfer dealings?

 

[Stan Hullis]

Just because Fabio and his chums aren't talking about it and it isn't plastered all over Twitter doesn't mean we're not doing all we can to bring someone in.

Wolfe came pretty much out of nowhere and appeared to be done 'quickly' but when watching the first day video on Youtube, Teti & Wolfe both talked about how we had essentially been working really hard for weeks to get the deal done.

If anything, I'd prefer the links to not be plastered all over Twitter because we know that is just driven by agents trying to get their players either a move somewhere else, or to get their player more wages.

 

[prawnking]

The links are secondary in importance to how many viable first team options VP has to work with, and with the first game approaching, it's nowhere near good enough.

In terms of incomings, we've literally just had Lopez, basically a young lad who made his first team debut less than 12 months ago, until Arias came in for the last game, and Wolfe has yet to kick a ball for us with the final pre season game in a couple of games.

Was always going to be a lot of churn this summer, the club should have been prepared for it, but it's been vastly one way so far.

I can live with first choice targets taking a long time, missing out on them if they're ambitious ones, etc. but what about the squad players we need? We can't get backup for Toti or the CMs until the end of August? That's too hard a task for a PL recruitment team to achieve?

 

[Carsy]

The links are secondary in importance to how many viable first team options VP has to work with, and with the first game approaching, it's nowhere near good enough.

In terms of incomings, we've literally just had Lopez, basically a young lad who made his first team debut less than 12 months ago, until Arias came in for the last game, and Wolfe has yet to kick a ball for us with the final pre season game in a couple of games.

Was always going to be a lot of churn this summer, the club should have been prepared for it, but it's been vastly one way so far.

I can live with first choice targets taking a long time, missing out on them if they're ambitious ones, etc. but what about the squad players we need? We can't get backup for Toti or the CMs until the end of August? That's too hard a task for a PL recruitment team to achieve?

Depends what squad players you’re looking at. If having being a squad player for wolves vs a starter for x or y really more appealing?

 

[Stan Hullis]

I think we are doing a poor job but that it is also a tough market, the CWC has skewed things with a lot of teams struggling to get any business done.

As Lycan mentioned, completely tearing up our club structure and recruitment team just before the summer is likely having an effect, the fact the market is slow and I think a general hesitancy as a club to get incomings done before we have shifted a lot of the players we have gone into the market ourself.

I think a lot of clubs are in a similar position to us, having been listening to a load of podcasts of other fans of other PL teams this week, I'd say over 50% are in a similar position to us.

I'm happy with the players we have bought in so far, but I do think we are going to be short for City next weekend, and I'm hoping that things improve between now and the end of the month in terms of the number of players we bring in.

 

[prawnking]

Depends what squad players you’re looking at. If having being a squad player for wolves vs a starter for x or y really more appealing?

I hope the recruitment team are better at selling the club than you are

I keep forgetting that Wolves are a unique football transfer paradox and that no footballers in the world better than S Bueno or Chirewa want to be in a Premier League squad

 

[prawnking]

I think we are doing a poor job but that it is also a tough market, the CWC has skewed things with a lot of teams struggling to get any business done.

As Lycan mentioned, completely tearing up our club structure and recruitment team just before the summer is likely having an effect, the fact the market is slow and I think a general hesitancy as a club to get incomings done before we have shifted a lot of the players we have gone into the market ourself.

I think a lot of clubs are in a similar position to us, having been listening to a load of podcasts of other fans of other PL teams this week, I'd say over 50% are in a similar position to us.

I'm happy with the players we have bought in so far, but I do think we are going to be short for City next weekend, and I'm hoping that things improve between now and the end of the month in terms of the number of players we bring in.

I don't think anyone (maybe Jinky ) is completely insensitive to how the market is, but my barometer is how disappointed VP seems to be when he's spoken over the summer.

This doesn't sound like someone feeling confident and at the centre of plans that are already in motion. He's restrained but sounds not too far away from how other managers who the club have stitched up have sounded mid-shafting.

Also, there's an element of chickens coming home to roost here, and it's not just all about this summer.

This is what happens when your squad building over years is scattershot, illogical and patchy, and you fill it with unready kids or inadequacy, and then you have a vocal policy of moving your actual good players on every summer (not always for top money either)

 

[Stan Hullis]

I hope the recruitment team are better at selling the club than you are

I keep forgetting that Wolves are a unique football transfer paradox and that no footballers in the world better than S Bueno or Chirewa want to be in a Premier League squad

That is where I do think there has probably been a choice by the club not to be signing squad players so far this window, realistically we have only had space for homegrown players to be added in those positions and there is probably less perceived "value" in the market going after those types of players.

Whilst we have had Guedes, Hwang, Bueno x 2, Hoever, Johnstone, Sasa, Fabio (a horrifying list) we probably don't want to be in a position whereby we can't get rid of them, but also have them not be registered and have them sat around not playing but still being paid.

A shit position to be in and the lack of focus on good squad building for the last few years catching up with us even more.

 

[Lycan]

Well you’ve said yourself above that it was “weeks” ago. The only RWB we’ve been linked to since then is about to sign for Napoli. And plenty of people on here have insinuated both of those links were only down to agent talk.

All the while, we edge closer to the season starting without a genuine option in a very important position and, what appears to be, a real lack of urgency to give the manager what he needs.

I think you've got completely unrealistic expectations when it comes down to how long a transfer can take or how easy they are to complete.

How can you say that there's no urgency as well? He gets a lot of stick on here for being a bit of a tool and late to report etc but Liam Keen is the only reporter out there who you can 100% trust when it comes to reporting on Wolves transfers. He only reports anything when he's sure about it and he's mentioned this summer that A) Teti and his team are working incredibly hard to get deals done and B) the club remains absolutely confident that they WILL get signings in the positions Vítor has identified. The only issue is timing.

Of course in an ideal world you would have every signing in before pre season starts and it's a far from ideal world to have to wait until after the actual season starts to get the business done. However, if you can't see the mitigating factors and the long term needs to get the RIGHT players in, regardless of when they arrive then I don't know what else to say.

 

[basher]

It's the same every summer... there's always a reason(s) for why our business is slow... and yet that first season back in the Premier League pretty much all our business had been done by now.

People can try to look for reasons and speculate but what it all boils down to is the way that Wolves is run and this is nothing more than managed decline and zero ambition.

 

[Stan Hullis]

One thing is for certain, I can't wait for the football to start again so that we have something else to moan about.

Summer is too fucking long.

 

[Lycan]

One thing is for certain, I can't wait for the football to start again so that we have something else to moan about.

Summer is too fucking long.

I've got to be honest I think the transfer window should shut the day before the first game of the season. If it did, players and clubs would be making those decisions now instead of in 2/3 weeks time. You wouldn't have situations where clubs are left short for the first few games or play those games with players who will leave.

June, July and January should be more than enough time to do business.

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

I don't think there should be a window at all.

Well, just like it was in the past where it closed with about 8 weeks left of the season.

 

[Lycan]

I don't think there should be a window at all.

Well, just like it was in the past where it closed with about 8 weeks left of the season.

I don't think that would work in this day and age. You know how clubs like Chelsea and City would operate, they'd just destabilise the oppositions best players with offers all the time.

 

[basher]

I'm not too sure I'm buying that?

There's always been clubs with more buying power, bigger, more attractive, and did it distort the league that much when the transfer market shut in March?

 

[Dire Wolf]

I think you've got completely unrealistic expectations when it comes down to how long a transfer can take or how easy they are to complete.

How can you say that there's no urgency as well? He gets a lot of stick on here for being a bit of a tool and late to report etc but Liam Keen is the only reporter out there who you can 100% trust when it comes to reporting on Wolves transfers. He only reports anything when he's sure about it and he's mentioned this summer that A) Teti and his team are working incredibly hard to get deals done and B) the club remains absolutely confident that they WILL get signings in the positions Vítor has identified. The only issue is timing.

Of course in an ideal world you would have every signing in before pre season starts and it's a far from ideal world to have to wait until after the actual season starts to get the business done. However, if you can't see the mitigating factors and the long term needs to get the RIGHT players in, regardless of when they arrive then I don't know what else to say.

On the bolded first paragraph, while I accept that this is true in many cases, if it was that difficult to get a transfer across the line then you wouldn't get deals that come out of nowhere completed on deadline day would you? You get deals completed in hours when the desperation sets in.

 

[Lycan]

I'm not too sure I'm buying that?

There's always been clubs with more buying power, bigger, more attractive, and did it distort the league that much when the transfer market shut in March?

I was just a kid at the time so I don't remember that well but didn't we sign like 6/7 players once in the run up to an FA Cup semi final? That's a ridiculous situation that they needed to change.

Clubs are far more cut throat now than before and the money involved is astronomical compared to them. You'd have all sorts of shenanigans going on if players come move at any time during the season.

 

[Kenny]

I think what Lycan says would happen to a degree these days. Those who can disrupt the system will do.

Only issue with having a transfer window close before the season start is having to align every other window with it.
I think we tried it a few years back and clubs spent a nervy few weeks as European windows were still open.
We have it now with the Saudi window closing after all the European ones.

 

[The Saturday Boy]

There are two things that are true. You can't really judge how well our transfer window has been until the window is shut. By the end of the transfer window we will have failed to recruit in key positions. This is the way.