Summer 2025 transfer rumours

I presume if Alexander says we can only bring one more in he won't be signing Hunt and Huntingdon then

 

Just picky mate imo

 

I don't disagree chief. I suppose it's more about personal preference in what you're looking for from your local radio coverage.

 

What he says on TV coverage makes perfect sense , because your eyes translate , but on the Radio…oooer!

 

He said there was room for one more but needed departures but one of the trialiists could have been included

 

This is what he said ( T&A Parker)

“Alexander said this afternoon: “We’re reasonably full at the moment as in squad numbers. There has to be a little bit of movement from our end to allow us to move forward with more than one player.”

With MORE THAN ONE ……

So no movement on our end means we can bring in one ( only)

Caution
Parker’s assassination of the written word is palpable

 

Still training by himself, I went down to training, and no involvement with the other players, which usually means a minimum of 4 weeks before contact training.
I would say end of September before any sub appearances.

 

GA said on July 8th that Cook was 'a few weeks away from contact training'....you would think that time comes sometime in August.

He has been involved with fitness and passing drills with the group for a few weeks now. He should be in fairly good shape right now, it is just match fitness he will have to catch up on.

If he returns late September then he will have only missed the first 10 league games.

 

That Everton game would be the perfect game for him to return and get to get some match fitness - but its going to be moved as we play Rotherham 2 days later.

 

Kiwomya seems a decent fella but his vocabulary, oratory skills and general assessment of the game are very basic.

Morais is the best by far.

 

GA just said on talk sport that he wants 1 maybe 2 more players in.

Good interview and he came across very well. Makes you proud to be a city fan when your manager speaks positively about the club and the fans and our history

 

It's usual with that type of injury, to be out for a good 10 - 11 months before starting a game. I'd expect October at the earliest and maybe longer if the strikers are doing well and there's no need to rush him back.

 

You would assume Hunt or Huntington would be classed as 1. We probably need a CB as Byrne is out for a few months so it could be Huntington or a loan CB.

Other I would wager is a CF, but I reckon he may want to see how the current crop do before making a decision there - he has 4 weeks to decide. And if Smith doesn't find a club then I suppose you have to give him a shirt number and consider him - much like he did with Oliver last season.

That could change if someone like Wright or Lapslie finds themselves surplus and decides to leave. Im struggling to fit either into my current 18 when we have a full squad to pick from.

 

Yeah i'd say CB and CF are the two. I reckon the "maybe" is a CB as we already have a lot, Byrne sounds like he's missing a few months but Kelly doesn't sound far away and Baldwin is only missing one game plus Touray plays LCB just as often as LWB in his career, Richards at a push could cover a game or two. But up front it is literally Swan and Kav. Only takes one injury or knock and we're into square pegs to try score goals.

I think we've seen the last of Smith. At least with Oliver last season, it felt like GA gave him a shot. Oliver played in pre-season last summer and was named in matchday squads at the start, it feels like Smith has been told he's never coming back in and hasn't had a sniff in pre-season. I wouldn't be surprised to see us pay off Smith and Wilson before the end of the deadline if no bids come in.

 

Yeh I think we seen the last of Smith, I think someone will come in for him, Barrow tried but he said no. His record isnt a disaster here so surely we find someone, even if its a loan with us covering half of his wages.

If we can't ship him out though, then it may be difficult to justify bringing another one in - GA has pretty much alluded to that. There is no point paying him off if we are short on numbers though, so may as well keep around as a body to cover an injury or 2 up top.

 

Precisely .

 

If he goes it will be a late one. Not many squads in L2 or NL will still be looking for starters the week the season starts, competition for places at best. If a L2 striker goes down with a bad injury between now and the deadline, teams will probably start calling. I don't think he's a bad striker, he just looks like a confidence guy to me and needs everything around him to be working.

I know they had different scenarios, but GA tried making it work with Oliver and Young at times but hasn't really ever had Smith in his plans. Everyone knew Oliver was done, but GA gave him time in pre-season and L2 at the start last season before admitting defeat. Even with Young, everyone knew his head was out the door but he gave him time in friendlies and a cup game I think before leaving. But Smith has just been cast aside completely.

 

I wonder if it's a training issue with Smith that's led to GA not really giving him a chance. We know how big he is on players putting in 100% every single day and maybe he's not seen that level of commitment from him?

 

Yeah makes me think the same too. Got to be something that he just doesn't like? Attitude or training or something like that? Guessing Smith will probably be on a fair whack too coming down from his Champ contract at Hull.

 

True, and potentially a stumbling block in terms of him moving on as I doubt there's a league 2 or NL team willing to match what he's on with us.