Summer Silly Season Transfer Thread 2025

[Tabby]

I don't necessarily believe any of these links but if indeed we are in for anyone at £20m (or more) they're going to be one of top 10 most expensive signings of all time, so not realistically coming in as a rotation or development player.

Look at the stick/expectations the fans have had for Berge at approx £25m - can you imagine the uproar if he hadn't broken into the starting XI yet?

Plenty of promising teenagers around for sub £20m. On the development side we're looking for the next Mitrovic, not the next Messi.

Calvin Bassey fits your profile almost perfectly. He ended up being pushed to starter early and on the right due to injuries and then managed to make the left spot his when Ream picked up an injury.

He also cost more than is being mooted by you here.

Bassey locked down his place in the starting XI within a month of signing and won POTS in his second season. Which surely reinforces my point about the expectations for a £25m signing. Are you suggesting he was brought in as a backup or rotation player, and would have remained that were it not for the injuries to other players? I can't disprove that but personally don't agree.

He didn't lock down his spot, Tosin and Diop were both out injured so he covered their position (like a rotational player is supposed to). He was playing on the right side and looked very ropey to the point where opponents started targeting him as his right foot is pretty weak. Once they came back he moved onto the bench behind Ream. He only really proved himself after Ream got injured and showed that he should be the starter. Do you actually remember the season or are you just looking at minutes played to make your point?

If we sign a player for £17 million (which is the actual fee being put forward earlier which just keeps rising with every post seemingly) they are expected to compete for a starting spot, but it isn't a case where they are expected to be a nailed on starter (like with Andersen for example). We also have Diop who has been more or less a rotational player since being signed for a similar fee. It is far less extraordinary than you're making it out to be. These are the kind of signings that Brighton regularly make (they signed 3 £25 million plus players last year with about 20% of minutes played, and Minteh and Rutter both have about 50% of minutes played for £30 and £40 million respectively), and I've heard you constantly extolling the virtues of their transfer policies.

[hopper]

Think it's a false equivalence comparing us to Brighton. I think evidence is there that the vast majority of players we have signed for over £20m have been first teamers.

Berge, Andersen, ESR, Iwobi, Bassey

Going back a bit also Mitro, Mawson, Seri, Anguissa.

Not sure I see how it's being argued otherwise, and we don't really have the chance to replay Bassey's season without injuries.

Not often I agree with Angus, but think evidence firmly supports this.

I'm sure there's a plan for the new striker, but I still feel it's a three's a crowd situation unless there are many injuries which there could be. I've always felt a winger who can play as a striker makes sense, whereas Pepi seems an out and out 9.

Perhaps as others have speculated it's a matter of good succession planning for once in what would be Raul's final season.

[Cottages]

We have been succession planning since finishing 10th in our first season back. We're in a stable position to kick on. The material links to players like Richarlison, Diarra, Pepi etc are  testament to that. We have money to spend for the first time and there is a feeling that we don't want to screw it up as spectacularly as we did in 2018. Expect the window to be a classic Fulham window - last minute deals, but this time with a bit more money to spend.

[hopper]

We have been succession planning since finishing 10th in our first season back. We're in a stable position to kick on. The material links to players like Richarlison, Diarra, Pepi etc are  testament to that. We have money to spend for the first time and there is a feeling that we don't want to screw it up as spectacularly as we did in 2018. Expect the window to be a classic Fulham window - last minute deals, but this time with a bit more money to spend.

Have we been succession planning though? Think it's one area we haven't really been good at it. Bassey and Ream is only example of it I think.

I would welcome it if we do now. Felt we needed an understudy for Joao the season before he left, but was a replacement.

[Angus Telford]

I don't necessarily believe any of these links but if indeed we are in for anyone at £20m (or more) they're going to be one of top 10 most expensive signings of all time, so not realistically coming in as a rotation or development player.

Look at the stick/expectations the fans have had for Berge at approx £25m - can you imagine the uproar if he hadn't broken into the starting XI yet?

Plenty of promising teenagers around for sub £20m. On the development side we're looking for the next Mitrovic, not the next Messi.

Calvin Bassey fits your profile almost perfectly. He ended up being pushed to starter early and on the right due to injuries and then managed to make the left spot his when Ream picked up an injury.

He also cost more than is being mooted by you here.

Bassey locked down his place in the starting XI within a month of signing and won POTS in his second season. Which surely reinforces my point about the expectations for a £25m signing. Are you suggesting he was brought in as a backup or rotation player, and would have remained that were it not for the injuries to other players? I can't disprove that but personally don't agree.

He didn't lock down his spot, Tosin and Diop were both out injured so he covered their position (like a rotational player is supposed to). He was playing on the right side and looked very ropey to the point where opponents started targeting him as his right foot is pretty weak. Once they came back he moved onto the bench behind Ream. He only really proved himself after Ream got injured and showed that he should be the starter. Do you actually remember the season or are you just looking at minutes played to make your point?

If we sign a player for £17 million (which is the actual fee being put forward earlier which just keeps rising with every post seemingly) they are expected to compete for a starting spot, but it isn't a case where they are expected to be a nailed on starter (like with Andersen for example). We also have Diop who has been more or less a rotational player since being signed for a similar fee. It is far less extraordinary than you're making it out to be. These are the kind of signings that Brighton regularly make (they signed 3 £25 million plus players last year with about 20% of minutes played, and Minteh and Rutter both have about 50% of minutes played for £30 and £40 million respectively), and I've heard you constantly extolling the virtues of their transfer policies.

I'm not commenting on any specific rumour because to be honest I don't believe them anyway. My comment is just that this club isn't paying £20m - typically around a third of our total spend - for a rotation or development player that isn't expected to play much in the coming season. Bassey being eased in over a month or two (ever present from game week #9) and looking a bit "ropey" in some of his first games isn't the same thing - that also applies to Berge and ESR as other examples, pretty certain they werent all brought in as squad players.

[FFC1987]

I'm on the fence with this argument really. I think we do spend decent amounts on players we don't necessarily expect to set the world alight in the first season. We have a decent track record of bringing in players and them taking time, and Silva allowing that time for them to shine. Pereria, Lukic, Bassey, Muniz, Wilson to name some (not binary but I think it shows we're willing to invest with longer term ambitions on said players), but at the same time, more often than not, these signings are more in the £10-£15m range rather than £20m+ so I do agree with Angus sentiment. Although, I don't know how much £20m impacts us at this stage. Some reports suggest we could spend in excess of £100m and be safely within finance brackets, others saying more likely less than £80m so no ones 100% on this.

I do think if we feel players in the £20m range, are young, have potential resale value, but might be more of a rotating striker option for the first season, with potential to knock Jimenez and Muniz down the pecking order, than its a player worth investing in though.

[OZ-WHITE]

Given our record signing is £30 Million for ESR , I doubt we going above that this window . We all know we need to give the squad an injection of quality but we also know the Club won't break the bank to do it .

[Cottages]

We have been succession planning since finishing 10th in our first season back. We're in a stable position to kick on. The material links to players like Richarlison, Diarra, Pepi etc are  testament to that. We have money to spend for the first time and there is a feeling that we don't want to screw it up as spectacularly as we did in 2018. Expect the window to be a classic Fulham window - last minute deals, but this time with a bit more money to spend.

Have we been succession planning though? Think it's one area we haven't really been good at it. Bassey and Ream is only example of it I think.

I would welcome it if we do now. Felt we needed an understudy for Joao the season before he left, but was a replacement.

I would argue we are succession planning. The signing of ESR hasn't gone to plan (yet), but he is young, and certainly talented. Josh King is effectively a premier league player already. Berge & Lukic are in their prime. That is why the Diarra link makes perfect sense. Muniz has grown magnificently over the past 3 seasons into a premier league player. That was succession planning. We are in a really strong position. It is now about adding extra quality in wide areas (hence Richarlison links) and defensive cover.

[Carborundum]

Given our record signing is £30 Million for ESR , I doubt we going above that this window . We all know we need to give the squad an injection of quality but we also know the Club won't break the bank to do it .

These are very fair points.  For balance I'd add that whilst season ticket holders may not be breaking the bank to renew, the prices keep going up.  Part of that deal should be a feeling that when we need to spend big for the right player, we do.  We urgently need another midfielder who can grab the game by the scruff of the neck and that's not going to be cheap.

[Jim©]

We have been succession planning since finishing 10th in our first season back. We're in a stable position to kick on. The material links to players like Richarlison, Diarra, Pepi etc are  testament to that. We have money to spend for the first time and there is a feeling that we don't want to screw it up as spectacularly as we did in 2018. Expect the window to be a classic Fulham window - last minute deals, but this time with a bit more money to spend.

Have we been succession planning though? Think it's one area we haven't really been good at it. Bassey and Ream is only example of it I think.

I would welcome it if we do now. Felt we needed an understudy for Joao the season before he left, but was a replacement.

I would argue we are succession planning. The signing of ESR hasn't gone to plan (yet), but he is young, and certainly talented. Josh King is effectively a premier league player already. Berge & Lukic are in their prime. That is why the Diarra link makes perfect sense. Muniz has grown magnificently over the past 3 seasons into a premier league player. That was succession planning. We are in a really strong position. It is now about adding extra quality in wide areas (hence Richarlison links) and defensive cover.

I agree that it is planning to a certain extent-
Many forget that Cuenca, Sess, Nelson (think it was more than a loan, hence him having his rehab here and showing up for lap at end of season), ESR were all 24 or under when bought in last season. Berge 26. This compares favourably with previous years and shows a step in the right direction when it comes to reducing the age of the squad.

[Angus Telford]

We have been succession planning since finishing 10th in our first season back. We're in a stable position to kick on. The material links to players like Richarlison, Diarra, Pepi etc are  testament to that. We have money to spend for the first time and there is a feeling that we don't want to screw it up as spectacularly as we did in 2018. Expect the window to be a classic Fulham window - last minute deals, but this time with a bit more money to spend.

Have we been succession planning though? Think it's one area we haven't really been good at it. Bassey and Ream is only example of it I think.

I would welcome it if we do now. Felt we needed an understudy for Joao the season before he left, but was a replacement.

I would argue we are succession planning. The signing of ESR hasn't gone to plan (yet), but he is young, and certainly talented. Josh King is effectively a premier league player already. Berge & Lukic are in their prime. That is why the Diarra link makes perfect sense. Muniz has grown magnificently over the past 3 seasons into a premier league player. That was succession planning. We are in a really strong position. It is now about adding extra quality in wide areas (hence Richarlison links) and defensive cover.

I agree that it is planning to a certain extent-
Many forget that Cuenca, Sess, Nelson (think it was more than a loan, hence him having his rehab here and showing up for lap at end of season), ESR were all 24 or under when bought in last season. Berge 26. This compares favourably with previous years and shows a step in the right direction when it comes to reducing the age of the squad.

Scraping the barrel somewhat. So we've only signed three 24 year olds in three years, one player under 24 (Bassey) and no one under 23. That's shocking and extraordinary. Even if we are indeed "succession planning", we're still doing less of it than every other club.

[Chi_FFC]

I don't necessarily believe any of these links but if indeed we are in for anyone at £20m (or more) they're going to be one of top 10 most expensive signings of all time, so not realistically coming in as a rotation or development player.

Look at the stick/expectations the fans have had for Berge at approx £25m - can you imagine the uproar if he hadn't broken into the starting XI yet?

Plenty of promising teenagers around for sub £20m. On the development side we're looking for the next Mitrovic, not the next Messi.

Calvin Bassey fits your profile almost perfectly. He ended up being pushed to starter early and on the right due to injuries and then managed to make the left spot his when Ream picked up an injury.

He also cost more than is being mooted by you here.

Bassey locked down his place in the starting XI within a month of signing and won POTS in his second season. Which surely reinforces my point about the expectations for a £25m signing. Are you suggesting he was brought in as a backup or rotation player, and would have remained that were it not for the injuries to other players? I can't disprove that but personally don't agree.

He didn't lock down his spot, Tosin and Diop were both out injured so he covered their position (like a rotational player is supposed to). He was playing on the right side and looked very ropey to the point where opponents started targeting him as his right foot is pretty weak. Once they came back he moved onto the bench behind Ream. He only really proved himself after Ream got injured and showed that he should be the starter. Do you actually remember the season or are you just looking at minutes played to make your point?

I could actually ask the same question of you. Obviously you're correct that Bassey got an early run of starts on the right side because of injuries to Tosin/Diop (though I would add after struggling mightily in that Tottenham match he improved significantly and was actually performing competently on the right at the end of his run in that position) however it was Ream that moved to the bench once Tosin came back and was able to go a full 90 minutes(the 5-0 destruction of Nottingham Forest).

[Tabby]

I don't necessarily believe any of these links but if indeed we are in for anyone at £20m (or more) they're going to be one of top 10 most expensive signings of all time, so not realistically coming in as a rotation or development player.

Look at the stick/expectations the fans have had for Berge at approx £25m - can you imagine the uproar if he hadn't broken into the starting XI yet?

Plenty of promising teenagers around for sub £20m. On the development side we're looking for the next Mitrovic, not the next Messi.

Calvin Bassey fits your profile almost perfectly. He ended up being pushed to starter early and on the right due to injuries and then managed to make the left spot his when Ream picked up an injury.

He also cost more than is being mooted by you here.

Bassey locked down his place in the starting XI within a month of signing and won POTS in his second season. Which surely reinforces my point about the expectations for a £25m signing. Are you suggesting he was brought in as a backup or rotation player, and would have remained that were it not for the injuries to other players? I can't disprove that but personally don't agree.

He didn't lock down his spot, Tosin and Diop were both out injured so he covered their position (like a rotational player is supposed to). He was playing on the right side and looked very ropey to the point where opponents started targeting him as his right foot is pretty weak. Once they came back he moved onto the bench behind Ream. He only really proved himself after Ream got injured and showed that he should be the starter. Do you actually remember the season or are you just looking at minutes played to make your point?

I could actually ask the same question of you. Obviously you're correct that Bassey got an early run of starts on the right side because of injuries to Tosin/Diop (though I would add after struggling mightily in that Tottenham match he improved significantly and was actually performing competently on the right at the end of his run in that position) however it was Ream that moved to the bench once Tosin came back and was able to go a full 90 minutes(the 5-0 destruction of Nottingham Forest).

I recalled that Ream had gotten injured by then, he picked up the injury 4 days later. Fair enough, he played ahead of Ream one game in December immedeatly before Ream got injured (his second start with Ream and one of Diop/Tosin available, the first being the week before), so he was a nailed on starter from the first month and long before the injury I guess.

[Coastwalker]

Napoli make £26.8 million bid for Matt O'Riley.

[Drewry66]

Napoli make £26.8 million bid for Matt O'Riley.

Looks like Brighton signed him for about tgat last year so would be a bit of a strange one. Looked decent from what I saw but didn't seem to set the world alight for them although perhaps I just didn't notice.

[RAY Rock]

Vestergaard And Stewart deals are progressing well hopefully be signed by the 5th of July as awaiting the 30th of June to close last year's accounts. Stumbling block on Pinnock as he thinks he will get more game time now Frank has gone also we are showing an interest in Rico Henry could mean Jedi is off or more competition at l/b. Philips want to go back to leeds and Winks is very interested in coming here as he wants to come back to London where his family are. More updates when I receive them. COYW

[FFC1987]

Vestergaard And Stewart deals are progressing well hopefully be signed by the 5th of July as awaiting the 30th of June to close last year's accounts. Stumbling block on Pinnock as he thinks he will get more game time now Frank has gone also we are showing an interest in Rico Henry could mean Jedi is off or more competition at l/b. Philips want to go back to leeds and Winks is very interested in coming here as he wants to come back to London where his family are. More updates when I receive them. COYW

Cute. You're too much 

[Tabby]

Napoli make £26.8 million bid for Matt O'Riley.

Looks like Brighton signed him for about tgat last year so would be a bit of a strange one. Looked decent from what I saw but didn't seem to set the world alight for them although perhaps I just didn't notice.

Hasn't really got going, money back means no foul for Brighton and they could sign a different player that may fit better.

[Tabby]

Think it's a false equivalence comparing us to Brighton. I think evidence is there that the vast majority of players we have signed for over £20m have been first teamers.

Berge, Andersen, ESR, Iwobi, Bassey

Going back a bit also Mitro, Mawson, Seri, Anguissa.

Not sure I see how it's being argued otherwise, and we don't really have the chance to replay Bassey's season without injuries.

Not often I agree with Angus, but think evidence firmly supports this.

I'm sure there's a plan for the new striker, but I still feel it's a three's a crowd situation unless there are many injuries which there could be. I've always felt a winger who can play as a striker makes sense, whereas Pepi seems an out and out 9.

Perhaps as others have speculated it's a matter of good succession planning for once in what would be Raul's final season.

Pepi isn't the one who started this, it was Romulo Cardoso who was seen as the player who could be ok with competing for a spot whereas Pepi would need guaranteed playing time (and also be far pricier, he was quoted at around £30 million at least).

Angus is the one going on about how we should change our transfer strategy and putting Brighton forward as a model team, which is why I used them as an example. The minute we are even suggested to act like they do in a window it is suddenly an issue though.

[Drewry66]

https://x.com/FulhamTransfer/status/1935730982843220111

Dear lord if this happens. By far and the most promising of the youngsters tgat haven't made the first team yet.