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

[Dave]

Yeah don’t get it - we need a centre back, get a centre back. Right back currently is a much lower priority.

To replace who?

Not to replace anyone. We have 3 senior centre halves at the moment.

Unless we see Bogarde as a legitimate contender to be the fourth.

And at some point if we see the youth as anything more than human cash machines we have to play them and trust them instead of buying a shiny new one from somewhere else.

[PaulWinch again]

Yeah perhaps, but from what I’ve seen of Bogarde he’s a defensive mid first, maybe a right back second, and centre-half third. Perhaps he’s developed over the summer, which is entirely possible but it’s a gamble.

[Chris Smith]

Garcia has hardly had a chance, surely?

He’s injured.

[PaulWinch again]

Garcia has hardly had a chance, surely?

He’s injured.

I think the point was more about moving on from him and getting another right back in.

[eamonn]

The signing of García seemed a bit dubious in the first place. Our first choice target at Celta Vigo was too expensive. Torres' agent mentioned to Unai that he represented a right full back playing in Segunda who had a high ceiling and was available for £10m less.

I'm sure the club bought him in hope rather than anticipation like we do with all our young signings now. Train them for a few months, if they're lucky give them a run of games in the first team. If they do OK but don't pull-up any trees, make them available for a modest profit and look again. It's ruthless but we're performing at the top end of the hardest league in the world. If you're not up to it, fuck off.

[Dave]

The signing of García seemed a bit dubious in the first place. Our first choice target at Celta Vigo was too expensive.

I think Mingueza has since become Spain's (more or less) first choice right-back.

And at 26 feels like one of the very few options that would be both (a) gettable and (b) better than Cash

[eamonn]

Annoying in that case if his value has only increased in the past 6 months and the rules stopped us from buying him in Jan.

[VillaTim]

unless we inject some pace into the midfield / flanks we are really going to labour this season . We are too slow and easy to defend against .

[Percy McCarthy]

Yes, frustrating.

[Dave]

Annoying in that case if his value has only increased in the past 6 months and the rules stopped us from buying him in Jan.

"The rules" didn't force us to buy Malen and leave £20m of asset on the bench.