Summer Transfer Window 2026

[Goaljira]

Its not the scouting. We've been heavily linked with and tried to buy players from abroad who've gone on to have success in the PL, but our financial constraints for well over half of the time period mentioned meant we couldn't get the deals done.

Draw a venn diagram of players represented by Kia Joorabichan, who would come to us, who came from clubs who would accept payment akin to a DFS sofa and the options weren't favourable.

[sam of the south]

Who’s to say lack of success from foreign signings is purely to scouting?

There are all kinds of reasons players might fail to settle or adapt, not all of which have to do with talent.

The club hasn’t had a coherent vision for how it should play in years, that looms largest for me.

I don’t think this one is as big a deal but… we often hold up Bournemouth and Brighton as models we should aspire to but those are both southern coastal locations that might be a bit easier to adapt to for players from the Iberian peninsula, South America, etc.

There are a lot of factors that play into this. I honestly don’t mind us targeting more players from within English football than other clubs as long as we’re targeting potential future stars from lower leagues or quality players who are unwanted at other clubs to keep prices manageable.

The problems really start when you pay top of the market for players who’ve already reached peak form and are upper midtable quality at best. See Sigurdsson, Bolasie, Williams, etc. or what we’d have to spend for Bowen this summer.

Yeah, and of course Brighton and Bournemouth have a clear way they want to play, and they recruit coaches and players to fit this style pretty consistently.

[Goaljira]

I think the other side of the question is who have we bought since 2018 *with* PL experience who you'd say has been a success?

The same constraints as the foreign players applied and we've ended up taking what we could rather than what we really wanted.

[777Kidnappings]

Damning statisic mentioned on the Blue Room podcast from a few days ago...

Our last successful transfer that didn't have premier league or English football experience was Onana. He was only really a success because we flipped him for a good profit too, and not really because he made much of an impact on the field.

You have to go as far back as 2018 and the Digne transfer for the last overseas player with no English footy experience to be a proper success.

Pretty alarming that really, and raises a lot of questions about why we are so bad at recruiting from abroad when other teams have plenty of success with it.

Because our scouting is shit.... the end

[777Kidnappings]

Its not the scouting. We've been heavily linked with and tried to buy players from abroad who've gone on to have success in the PL, but our financial constraints for well over half of the time period mentioned meant we couldn't get the deals done.

Draw a venn diagram of players represented by Kia Joorabichan, who would come to us, who came from clubs who would accept payment akin to a DFS sofa and the options weren't favourable.

It absolutely is the scouting. Finding players who are good enough but you cant sign is awful scouting in itself. Youre meant to find the 1s good enough that are available to you

[777Kidnappings]

I think the other side of the question is who have we bought since 2018 *with* PL experience who you'd say has been a success?

The same constraints as the foreign players applied and we've ended up taking what we could rather than what we really wanted.

Feels like weve had very few big successes in an awfully long while regardless of where they've come from. Feels like most of the really successful 1s in the last decade or so would be punts on young players like stones and Branthwaite.

[April]

I remember being on holiday in Cyprus in the 90s and having to walk a mile to the nearest shop in 40-odd degree heat to buy yesterday’s copy of the Daily Mail (all they had) so I could read about Everton’s proposed transfer incomings. That was the year of Dacourt et al.
The only difference now is that it’s far more convenient for me to remain underwhelmed, and I say that from years of experience!

[Cereal Killer]

It absolutely is the scouting. Finding players who are good enough but you cant sign is awful scouting in itself. Youre meant to find the 1s good enough that are available to you

Tell me you know fuck all about scouting without saying you know fuck all about scouting

Maybe they should be putting the right filters on their search before starting or something?

[Goaljira]

I remember being on holiday in Cyprus in the 90s and having to walk a mile to the nearest shop in 40-odd degree heat to buy yesterday’s copy of the Daily Mail (all they had) so I could read about Everton’s proposed transfer incomings. That was the year of Dacourt et al.
The only difference now is that it’s far more convenient for me to remain underwhelmed, and I say that from years of experience!

I miss stuff like having to wait to get yesterday's newspapers. That was proper holiday core memory stuff.

[Bluebridge]

I miss stuff like having to wait to get yesterday's newspapers. That was proper holiday core memory stuff.

Happy days, then swapping with the guy on the next sun lounger, better still was a new arrival with that day’s paper. Which then kind of ruined the following day.

[Kerryblueboy]

Spence is rapid can play both left and right sides defensively ok would be a big improvement

[Audrey Horne]

Spence is great I like him

[Goaljira]

Happy days, then swapping with the guy on the next sun lounger, better still was a new arrival with that day’s paper. Which then kind of ruined the following day.

This was it. Having a group of you buying different papers so you could swap throughout the day to ease the cost of paying the equivalent of £2.50 for a Daily Mirror.

Looking at the tv pages to read the single liners of your programs you'd set the video to [hopefully] record to watch when you got back.

[Cozzie]

Not 100% sure on Tanaka like, not sure what type of player he is meant to be.

[UnsyisaRhino]

Spence is rapid can play both left and right sides defensively ok would be a big improvement

Seems to like a sulk though, that's my only worry.

He'd be a huge improvement at either full back position, but he seems proper moody, which isn't something Moyes will suffer usually.