Summer Silly Season Transfer Thread 2024

[Free Elvis Hammond]

Teams like Forest, Everton, Chelsea etc, will hit a wall soon. Individual player transfers will be audited which is apparently going to be properly implemented soon, looholes currently exploited will slowly get ironed out overtime,  so the optimist in me just thinks we're waiting for a load of these clubs to implode

That wouldn't surprise me at all. Chelsea in particular are already committed to years' worth of transfer spending through those crazy amortisation deals

For now, they've been able to keep selling academy and squad players for big fees - but if that dries up and if they keep missing out on Europe, they've dug a deep hole for themselves

Forest have the look of a club that's never far from the next crisis

We tend to buy really smartly nowadays, no dropping big fees on bang average players with no resale value (though the renewed McTominay links are a bit alarming on that front)

[FFC1987]

Forest have bid for Santiago Gimenez, supposed to be a top player.

I'm so lost with FFP if they can make that kind of bid, while we make two huge sales and are seemingly unable to spend much again.

They've sold three players for about £80m total this summer, double what they paid for them 1-2 years ago

It's just their spend across recent years is absurd. We've made two big sales across last two windows and haven't really spent anywhere near as big as them.

As SOTN say above, that just seems to be our choice at this point, reckon we've got about £100m in headroom if the owner is still underwriting permitted losses

Part of me also thinks we're playing the long game. Teams like Forest, Everton, Chelsea etc, will hit a wall soon. Individual player transfers will be audited which is apparently going to be properly implemented soon, looholes currently exploited will slowly get ironed out overtime,  so the optimist in me just thinks we're waiting for a load of these clubs to implode, having paid those premiums for players, and will be desperate to offload which is when Fulham, in a really decent position, can invest heavily without any worries (now anyway) of loss making seasons.

Just a guess though and that's when the setup can get maximum value and ideally, cement us as a top 10 side. Feeling positive about the future of this well run club.

Agree with all of the above. As a fan though you want to see us be as competitive as possible and that's why it can be frustrating seeing clubs spend more than us, especially when we all know how good the coach is. Perhaps it will work out in the long term.   

I do fully appreciate this, and, I'm surprised a certain poster hasn't dug them up, but previous windows, I've been far from flattering to the club and its somewhat, strange, lack of investment but its really hard to argue with how the clubs run now. It's had so much success in previous windows, not overpaying for players, being really, really smart with low value, high return acquisitions so, I'm not trying to stifle or shut down discussion, but I do think we just need to trust the process at this point. If we don't replace, or invest, after the Palinha money, I do think there's probably a more serious discussion here but Marco has openly said, money is available, and we don't just want to bring in bodies.

So with all this in mind, as Free Elvis says, far better than I did before, 'Forest have the look of a club that's never far from the next crisis', I think this is true for a wide number of clubs. Clubs that gambled on investment and hoped for higher progression, are feeling it now. Look at say, Wolves and Palace selling a lot of talent, because they invested heavily, and can't quite compete at same levels now so continue to sell. Dealing with the problems appropriately basically. Then look at Chelsea, Forest, Everton, Leicester among others, any of these will face fines/points deductions and to try and alleviate some of that, will need to offload and quickly. 

I feel way safer now as a Fulham fan, despite losing our arguably best players, and some core members, then I've ever felt as a Fulham fan and I believe that's testament to how the club is run.

Anywho, sorry, I know this is a transfer thread so I'll stick to reading as the rumours flow through and hope for signings 

[filham]

Does anyone expect another big buy before deadline day. I think we will have ten days of rumour but no actual movememet to within a day of deadline day for fear of overpaying.

[jayffc]

Does anyone expect another big buy before deadline day. I think we will have ten days of rumour but no actual movememet to within a day of deadline day for fear of overpaying.

I suspect we'll pick up at least 1 before deadline day itself specifically. Namely it seems like the CB position is most likely to be the next through the door given Palace close to signing Lacroix apparently and us still not publically being rejected for Anderson. who knows though.

[JimmyConway]

Noticed Ward-Prowse a sub for Westham on Saturday? Just wondered if new manager there does not see him as a regular? Would possibly prefer him over McTominey if there was a chance of prizing him out of Westham? Box to box type midfielder.

[General]

Does anyone expect another big buy before deadline day. I think we will have ten days of rumour but no actual movememet to within a day of deadline day for fear of overpaying.

Seems to be between Andersen and Carlos - I imagine Crystal Palace will make a decision re whether to sell Guehi or Andersen if they get in this new CB they're after and the dominos will fall from there.

Re a CM, it seems on rumour mill noise alone, that post our match at Man Utd we've gone back in with another bid and are close to or have matched Utd's expectations, circa 30m euros, which could include add-ons etc. I noted that McTominay started on the bench and had a surprisingly muted celebration when Zirkzee scored the winner on the 87th minute, so perhaps he's jaded or muting it because of the Fulham dynamics? Did seem an odd reaction to an 87th minute winner, just let out a small smile.

IF we got both of those in - ideally McTominay and Andersen, then our squad would be stronger, and I'd also suggest both would be starters for us. I still want us to bring in Andre, I am not the decision maker, but it seems silly not to if we can - Marco said he wanted a 6 and whilst McTominay has played that position before, I'm not sure it's his best position, he's more effective as an attacking minded midfielder. But it could be a case Marco thinks differently.

Then it'd be a minimum of another player 'along the front line'.. have no idea who that'd be. Think we need someone like Wesley, who's got pace, but can dribble, be direct, but has a better ability than Adama to think and slow down and not let the pace determine how they think when playing. Adama when he slows down and thinks beyond the pace he has is a real asset, but he gets carried away too much with it and loses his ability to think when it matters - we're missing that.

[Finnans Right Peg]

Noticed Ward-Prowse a sub for Westham on Saturday? Just wondered if new manager there does not see him as a regular? Would possibly prefer him over McTominey if there was a chance of prizing him out of Westham? Box to box type midfielder.

Yeah and they are also linked with a midfielder from PSG

I would take Jwp any day

[General]

Does look tantalising/exciting.. we'd be pretty solid if this was our starting line up , with perhaps one of the front line changing/being upgraded too. At the moment I'd take out Muniz for Jimenez.

Subs
Muniz
Cairney
Reed
Lukic
Wilson
Cuenca
Castage/Tete
Benda
Sessegnon
Pereira
etc

Starts to look like a strong bench

https://twitter.com/LouisJa41349553/status/1825493223793434754

[@jolslover]

Does look tantalising/exciting.. we'd be pretty solid if this was our starting line up , with perhaps one of the front line changing/being upgraded too. At the moment I'd take out Muniz for Jimenez.

Subs
Muniz
Cairney
Reed
Lukic
Wilson
Cuenca
Castage/Tete
Benda
Sessegnon
Pereira
etc

Starts to look like a strong bench

https://twitter.com/LouisJa41349553/status/1825493223793434754

Jimenez over Muniz??? how have you come to that conclusion.
In pretty much every game since Jan Muniz has looked better

[General]

Noticed Ward-Prowse a sub for Westham on Saturday? Just wondered if new manager there does not see him as a regular? Would possibly prefer him over McTominey if there was a chance of prizing him out of Westham? Box to box type midfielder.

Yeah and they are also linked with a midfielder from PSG

I would take Jwp any day

I'm not sure we need him - he's an upgrade but like for like on pereira who's doing a decent job for us... seems like we've got more pressing needs/concerns right now to spend money on. Wonder why JWP has fallen out of favour so soon. Perhaps he's one dimensional with how he plays and can't adapt to new managers tactics and style of play? We need versatility.

[jayffc]

Does look tantalising/exciting.. we'd be pretty solid if this was our starting line up , with perhaps one of the front line changing/being upgraded too. At the moment I'd take out Muniz for Jimenez.

Subs
Muniz
Cairney
Reed
Lukic
Wilson
Cuenca
Castage/Tete
Benda
Sessegnon
Pereira
etc

Starts to look like a strong bench

https://twitter.com/LouisJa41349553/status/1825493223793434754

Much as Id like it it doesnt seem like were looking at both scott AND andre at this point from what Marcos said Publically. I agree Scott doesnt seem like an outright DM but Marco seems to be insinuating hes looking for a singular DM player cb and attacker with no mention of an additional CM so perhaps he really does see something in Scott in a deeper position that were unsure about but he wants to play a slightly different way. 🤷🏻

Fascinated to see what we end up going for. Perhaps we get this done and then really low ball for andre late in the day having given them a deadline for our last bid before pulling it, especially if they get knocked out the cup tomorrow and are in real financial trouble, who knows but currently only 3 players mentioned as priorities for Marco 🤔

[Steven Ageroad]

Seen on a website this morning that Napoli have agreed personal terms with McTominay but have yet to agree a fee with United.

[Arthur]

They'll have money to spend as long as there are other corrupt owners that are willing to pay £20 million for their backup goalkeepers in order to circumvent FFP.

Is it corrupt? Have any rules been broken?

It does, however, highlight the difficulty of enforcing FFP/PSR and even, it could be argued, demonstrate one of its weaknesses. Basically, as far as I can tell, Newcastle and Forest have traded players - Elliot Anderson and Vlachodimos - with a difference in value of around £15M. Instead, however, of their fees being set at a realistic going-rate of £20M and £5M, the clubs have agreed to pay £35M and £20M for the respective players. I assume (but I may be wrong) Newcastle were able to count the entire £35M fee in last season's accounts, whereas the £20M they spent will be broken down over the length of the player's contact. This, then, adds £30M to the coffers for last season, as opposed to £19M-or-so if they had done business at the 'going-rate'. Forest, after paying off Vlachodimos's book value, could butter up last season's figures by about £10M, rather than be down by a further £4M.

A short-term fix, but both clubs will be paying a greater amount for those players over he remaining seasons of their contracts because of it. (Do correct me if I've got into a muddle over this.)

[sarnian]

JWP bang average midfielder apart from dead ball situations. No thanks.

[Drewry66]

They'll have money to spend as long as there are other corrupt owners that are willing to pay £20 million for their backup goalkeepers in order to circumvent FFP.

Is it corrupt? Have any rules been broken?

It does, however, highlight the difficulty of enforcing FFP/PSR and even, it could be argued, demonstrate one of its weaknesses. Basically, as far as I can tell, Newcastle and Forest have traded players - Elliot Anderson and Vlachodimos - with a difference in value of around £15M. Instead, however, of their fees being set at a realistic going-rate of £20M and £5M, the clubs have agreed to pay £35M and £20M for the respective players. I assume (but I may be wrong) Newcastle were able to count the entire £35M fee in last season's accounts, whereas the £20M they spent will be broken down over the length of the player's contact. This, then, adds £30M to the coffers for last season, as opposed to £19M-or-so if they had done business at the 'going-rate'. Forest, after paying off Vlachodimos's book value, could butter up last season's figures by about £10M, rather than be down by a further £4M.

A short-term fix, but both clubs will be paying a greater amount for those players over he remaining seasons of their contracts because of it. (Do correct me if I've got into a muddle over this.)

You are spot on mate. No rules have been broken but it is short term gain for potential long term pain if the players don't perform to the value that has been put on them. This article explains it well:

https://www.espn.co.uk/football/story/_/id/40476819/premier-league-clubs-psr-rules-dobbin-iroegbunam-chelsea-aston-villa-everton

And a snippet highlighting that it is a longer term risk:

'Second, while deals like these may be a short-term fix for the clubs involved, they come with long-term consequences. The transfer fee of the incoming player can be amortized and you make a profit straight away, but then you're on the hook for the duration of his contract. Put differently, it will cost Everton £3m to have Iroegbunam on their books in 2025-26, and the same again in 2026-27 unless they extend his contract, which means they'll just be spreading out the costs further. Or unless they transfer him elsewhere, but then they'd need to get at least £6m back for him next summer or they'll lose money. All of which means, Iroegbunam had better contribute, otherwise this will be a bad deal. The same goes for Dobbin.'

Although then it is frustrating seeing clubs use these kind of tactics to in the short term spend more than us I'm very glad we thus far aren't getting involved in such things. I think many clubs if things don't go well could be stuffed in a few years. We have been doing brilliantly from what I can work out. A slow build buying low, selling high and reinvesting is the key here. Pretty sure we'll be spending a significant amount in the next 3 weeks and we have created that spending power without the need short term solutions that cause us nightmares further down the line.

[Drewry66]

JWP bang average midfielder apart from dead ball situations. No thanks.

Completely agree. Was madness from West Ham spending what they did on him. Everyone on here complains about AP but he is pretty much as good as corners and prob better than JWP in open play. Apart from JWP scoring a few free kicks really doesn't offer anything extra.

[FFC1987]

They'll have money to spend as long as there are other corrupt owners that are willing to pay £20 million for their backup goalkeepers in order to circumvent FFP.

Is it corrupt? Have any rules been broken?

It does, however, highlight the difficulty of enforcing FFP/PSR and even, it could be argued, demonstrate one of its weaknesses. Basically, as far as I can tell, Newcastle and Forest have traded players - Elliot Anderson and Vlachodimos - with a difference in value of around £15M. Instead, however, of their fees being set at a realistic going-rate of £20M and £5M, the clubs have agreed to pay £35M and £20M for the respective players. I assume (but I may be wrong) Newcastle were able to count the entire £35M fee in last season's accounts, whereas the £20M they spent will be broken down over the length of the player's contact. This, then, adds £30M to the coffers for last season, as opposed to £19M-or-so if they had done business at the 'going-rate'. Forest, after paying off Vlachodimos's book value, could butter up last season's figures by about £10M, rather than be down by a further £4M.

A short-term fix, but both clubs will be paying a greater amount for those players over he remaining seasons of their contracts because of it. (Do correct me if I've got into a muddle over this.)

You are spot on mate. No rules have been broken but it is short term gain for potential long term pain if the players don't perform to the value that has been put on them. This article explains it well:

https://www.espn.co.uk/football/story/_/id/40476819/premier-league-clubs-psr-rules-dobbin-iroegbunam-chelsea-aston-villa-everton

And a snippet highlighting that it is a longer term risk:

'Second, while deals like these may be a short-term fix for the clubs involved, they come with long-term consequences. The transfer fee of the incoming player can be amortized and you make a profit straight away, but then you're on the hook for the duration of his contract. Put differently, it will cost Everton £3m to have Iroegbunam on their books in 2025-26, and the same again in 2026-27 unless they extend his contract, which means they'll just be spreading out the costs further. Or unless they transfer him elsewhere, but then they'd need to get at least £6m back for him next summer or they'll lose money. All of which means, Iroegbunam had better contribute, otherwise this will be a bad deal. The same goes for Dobbin.'

Although then it is frustrating seeing clubs use these kind of tactics to in the short term spend more than us I'm very glad we thus far aren't getting involved in such things. I think many clubs if things don't go well could be stuffed in a few years. We have been doing brilliantly from what I can work out. A slow build buying low and selling high is the key here. Pretty sure we'll be spending a significant amount in the next 3 weeks and we have created that spending power without the need short term solutions that cause us nightmares further down the line.

Yep, basically backs up what I said, but, if reading this is a bit much, try giving Parish interview on talksport over weekend a go. He basically says the same thing in that, owners, trying to be ambitious, and predict higher valued outcomes ie European football etc, isn't a malicious thing, just a strategy that they believed would work. As always though, I think the guys sitting and waiting and remaining competitive before these chips fall into place, really is the best strategy. 

[General]

Does look tantalising/exciting.. we'd be pretty solid if this was our starting line up , with perhaps one of the front line changing/being upgraded too. At the moment I'd take out Muniz for Jimenez.

Subs
Muniz
Cairney
Reed
Lukic
Wilson
Cuenca
Castage/Tete
Benda
Sessegnon
Pereira
etc

Starts to look like a strong bench

https://twitter.com/LouisJa41349553/status/1825493223793434754

Jimenez over Muniz??? how have you come to that conclusion.
In pretty much every game since Jan Muniz has looked better

Are personal preferences allowed these days? Statistically they're almost identical based on last seasons goals per 90 minutes that they played.. I think Raul has the ability to hit the ground running faster and is more proven at this level.. I think given more time on the pitch he could rediscover his top form from when he was at Wolves. I'd love Muniz to dominate this conversation and be a no brainer and kick on, but I don't think it's quite happened yet and in the early stages of the season, with Raul having had a good preseason too, I just would prefer Jimenez for the time being.

[Jem]

Seen on a website this morning that Napoli have agreed personal terms with McTominay but have yet to agree a fee with United.

This was on r/soccer 5 days ago.

[Fulham Mike]

Isn't Mctominay in the last year of his contract? 30 million just seems crazy