Summer 2025 Transfer Window - hopes, speculation, rumours etc.

[VinnieChase84]

Redmond will be going out on loan to someone to continue development. He is not being brought in with first team in mind

[cdbearsfan]

Well we desperately need a winger, then. Team needs pace. Embarrassing last season watching nonsense teams like Forest and Palace camped in our half because they knew we didn't have anyone to hurt them on the break.

[PaulWinch again]

Yep that is the biggest gap we have.

[paul_e]

Well we desperately need a winger, then. Team needs pace. Embarrassing last season watching nonsense teams like Forest and Palace camped in our half because they knew we didn't have anyone to hurt them on the break.

Malen has the pace to hurt teams for trying that, I can see that being something we try to use a lot even if we don't make any signings up there.

[Clampy]

I think we need something on the left side as well. Trossard might not be a bad fit although Arteta still seems to think he has a small squad, the big whinger.

[tomd2103]

In principle I like the idea of having that price range and age as targets but it's very reliant on good scouting. When NSWE first took over one thing they said a lot was that they wanted the club to be sustainable and this, along with home-grown players, is a huge part of that.

I don't like that football has become a meat market for these players but until the stupid rules are changed making 'book profit' on transfers is essential and this is how you create a steady stream of easy profit, if we can get sell-on clauses for most of them then even better.

It's become a business within itself.  Is it reasonable to long for the days of buying players who might actually play for you?

[VILLA MOLE]

Well we desperately need a winger, then. Team needs pace. Embarrassing last season watching nonsense teams like Forest and Palace camped in our half because they knew we didn't have anyone to hurt them on the break.

nonsense teams who whipped us at times but get the point on pace 🤔

[pauliewalnuts]

Totally get the buying to sell, FIFA Ultimate Team thing, it helps our financials look better, so that's great.

Somewhat concerned about the amount of that that is going on v the lack of first teamers brought in.

Supplemental concern - how much are we making on, for example, Barrenechea, doesn't seem a lot, makes me wonder if it's really worth all the work involved.

[PaulWinch again]

Totally get the buying to sell, FIFA Ultimate Team thing, it helps our financials look better, so that's great.

Somewhat concerned about the amount of that that is going on v the lack of first teamers brought in.

Supplemental concern - how much are we making on, for example, Barrenechea, doesn't seem a lot, makes me wonder if it's really worth all the work involved.

Yep agree, whilst I fully understand the concept there is a bit of if the “now” is neglected all the great prep for the future becomes somewhat irrelevant. I get it’s a difficult balance, and there are constraints, but at the moment we look to have hit a bit of a road block.

[paul_e]

In principle I like the idea of having that price range and age as targets but it's very reliant on good scouting. When NSWE first took over one thing they said a lot was that they wanted the club to be sustainable and this, along with home-grown players, is a huge part of that.

I don't like that football has become a meat market for these players but until the stupid rules are changed making 'book profit' on transfers is essential and this is how you create a steady stream of easy profit, if we can get sell-on clauses for most of them then even better.

It's become a business within itself.  Is it reasonable to long for the days of buying players who might actually play for you?

I think this is a bit of a misconception. some of the the players involved may have been bought with the intent always being to shift them for profit but I think for the majority we do want to see if they can become part of the first team squad and, if not, then selling for a profit is the fall back.

Ned is a good example, we clearly spent the first half of last season having a look at him and, for whatever reason, Emery decided he wasn't going to work for us so we moved him on for a profit and got a replacement. Rogers is another, we saw a player that we thought was capable of stepping up and was undervalued as a result so we got him in but in his case he grabbed that opportunity and quickly turned himself into one of the best attacking players in the country and a fundamental part of our team.

[brontebilly]

Well we desperately need a winger, then. Team needs pace. Embarrassing last season watching nonsense teams like Forest and Palace camped in our half because they knew we didn't have anyone to hurt them on the break.

nonsense teams who whipped us at times but get the point on pace 🤔

We finished just one point ahead of one of those nonsense teams and the other one hammered us twice last season.

The whole we need pace out wide argument is a bit simplistic. For one Emery barely used Rashford when available or Malen out wide as it unbalanced our midfield. So I'm not sure he sees it as a priority. We definitely need pace in the team don't get me wrong but the likes of Maatsen and Ramsey who are both quick need to improve their level of performance for starters. When Moreno first came in that was probably our strongest part of the team but it hasn't been since.

If Torres is a nailed on starter then what does that mean for our defensive line? If Rogers goes back to 10 next to Watkins, how do we get runners from deep to go past them (not Tielemans, Onana or Barkley's game)? Does Garcia have a change of gears in him thats an improvement on Cash on the right side?

[cdbearsfan]

Look at our away record against the top teams. One draw against the other top seven teams, and we also lost away to the only top class European team we played. The year before when we had Diaby and/or Bailey it was much better. We can beat anyone at home, and beat most rubbish teams away. Against decent sides away, though, they can swarm all over us, because we have no pace. Every other part of the team is good but our build up is far too slow to hurt the best teams away. Gimme some super sexy pacy and goaly wingers and gimme them NOW.

[ozzjim]

I agree totally on the pace front. I would happily take a couple these £5-10m punts to give us some options out wide. We can't go through a season with our current forward options, and Calvert Lewis is a fucking donkey.

[Richard E]

I saw someone somewhere advocating Calvert-Lewin on the basis that ‘he knows where the goal is.’ Yeah, well, so do I - and there’s about as much chance of me putting the ball into it these days as there is him.

[kippaxvilla2]

You take out Rashford and Asensio from last seasons side and we were struggling around 9th/10th.  Without any further first team signings I think this is where we will end up again.