2025/2026 English Premier League Thread

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Matty81

Haha... it's hard to tell what's going on exactly but have seen a few media reports that they are stalled out with Liverpool at 30-35 million and Palace want closer to 45. Honestly as much as I am hoping for the smaller club to get a good fee to keep the league from completely turning into a farmer's league dominated by a few clubs, those figures are a bit higher than I expected. Hopefully will be 40ish, allowing Palace to go get Diomande from Sporting as a replacement who they have been heavily linked with all window.

I would be fine with all of this.

In the continued and constant absence of Joe Gomez we're literally running with VVD, Konate and an Italian child. We really need an experienced CB cover and a guy who could walk on to an EPL pitch at a moment's notice would really fit the bill despite the silly accent in his name.

[devo22]

Not going to lie, winning the league, blowing over €300m in one window and still going "we still really need ..." is next level. Pep would be proud.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by devo22

Not going to lie, winning the league, blowing over €300m in one window and still going "we still really need ..." is next level. Pep would be proud.

Thats also a really narrow and non-nuanced way of looking at the scenario.

[devo22]

Originally Posted by Locke

Thats also a really narrow and non-nuanced way of looking at the scenario.

nah, you're just getting greedy. Leoni is going to be a steal, sadly.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by devo22

nah, you're just getting greedy. Leoni is going to be a steal, sadly.

Last summer they bought all of Chiesa.

Its not like they're breaking the bank year after year after year after year like some clubs.

So its really like combining two windows into one, in which case its not really such a big deal.

[Locke]

Parma defender Giovanni Leoni has signed for Liverpool, taking their summer transfer spend over £300m.

Liverpool will pay a fee of £26m plus add-ons for the 18-year-old, who has signed a six-year contract and becomes the club's sixth major signing, with their business now totalling £321.5m in paid transfer fees so far.

That is currently the third-biggest transfer outlay from a Premier League club in a single window.

If Liverpool complete a deal to sign Newcastle striker Alexander Isak, which could cost well above £100m, then the Reds could become the biggest summer transfer spenders of all time.

Liverpool, though, have recouped over £200m this summer by selling seven players for fees, including £65m for Luis Diaz, £56.6m for Darwin Nunez and £35m for Jarell Quansah.

https://www.skysports.com/football/l...#liveblog-body

[devo22]

they are helped by the fact that some clubs are just breathtakingly stupid. I mean, put the Darwin transfer aside aside, but selling the legendary Ben Doak to Bournemouth for a whopping £25m??? Which one of his 52 Premier League minutes is justifying that kind of fee? It's insane. And Liverpool, City and Chelsea get these fees all the time. For some reason, some mid table clubs just love an obscure punt.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by devo22

they are helped by the fact that some clubs are just breathtakingly stupid. I mean, put the Darwin transfer aside aside, but selling the legendary Ben Doak to Bournemouth for a whopping £25m??? Which one of his 52 Premier League minutes is justifying that kind of fee? It's insane. And Liverpool, City and Chelsea get these fees all the time. For some reason, some mid table clubs just love an obscure punt.

Well that just sounds like sour grapes. Everyone knows that Ben Doak is a superstar just waiting to explode onto the scene!

[devo22]

yeah, just like Harry Wilson and Jordon Ibe. Every day now ...

[Locke]

Originally Posted by devo22

yeah, just like Harry Wilson and Jordon Ibe. Every day now ...

Hey it worked out okay for Solanke, Jonjo Shelvey and a couple others...they're journeymen players putting in shifts.

[The Big Chill]

The spending is wild, but we do actually need a couple players yet. Maybe need is the wrong word, but there is a lack of depth in a couple key areas to be able to compete in four competitions. There is currently only one striker at the club, and he is unproven, and we’re one injury to a CB away from starting someone out of position.

[Matty81]

Originally Posted by devo22

they are helped by the fact that some clubs are just breathtakingly stupid. I mean, put the Darwin transfer aside aside, but selling the legendary Ben Doak to Bournemouth for a whopping £25m??? Which one of his 52 Premier League minutes is justifying that kind of fee? It's insane. And Liverpool, City and Chelsea get these fees all the time. For some reason, some mid table clubs just love an obscure punt.

It's just the market right now... stupid prices for unproven players if they are young. Look at Forest paying 40 for Omari Hutchinson, I watched him last year and age is literally the only thing he has going for him, Ispwich was bad but he posed no threat / created no chances in the couple games I watched

[Locke]

Originally Posted by The Big Chill

The spending is wild, but we do actually need a couple players yet. Maybe need is the wrong word, but there is a lack of depth in a couple key areas to be able to compete in four competitions. There is currently only one striker at the club, and he is unproven, and we’re one injury to a CB away from starting someone out of position.

I think the Striker issue can be accommodated in the aggregate, but yeah, if there is an issue at CB? Unless theres a diamond hiding in the Academy that we dont know about we could be in trouble.

[Senator Clay Davis]

I think part of it is, unless it is one of the top clubs, these other clubs are trying to price in a future selling price, which is kind of silly. But I kind of get it, you buy a Hutchinson now for £40 million because if he hits as a player you'll probably have to sell him later, but pricing him higher now means you can sell him for even more later.

[MegaErtz]

Originally Posted by Matty81

It's just the market right now... stupid prices for unproven players if they are young. Look at Forest paying 40 for Omari Hutchinson, I watched him last year and age is literally the only thing he has going for him, Ispwich was bad but he posed no threat / created no chances in the couple games I watched

I watched a lot of Ipswich last year. He was brilliant, after Szmodics went down injured they had nobody else to create anything going forward. My understanding is that he's off to Forest today for 37.5m after going on strike.

[Matty81]

Originally Posted by MegaErtz

I watched a lot of Ipswich last year. He was brilliant, after Szmodics went down injured they had nobody else to create anything going forward. My understanding is that he's off to Forest today for 37.5m after going on strike.

Maybe I just saw him on the wrong days then, I know he was great in Champ the year before, to me he didn't look like he had the skill to take on and beat players one v one and is more of a north south player without much guile or trickery, but then again that's kind of Elanga too and he did really well there, so maybe he will succeed too - also his fbref stats are brutal but funny enough succesful take ons and passing are the two categories where he was half decent

https://fbref.com/en/players/bd9553e6/Omari-Hutchinson

[MegaErtz]

Originally Posted by devo22

Not going to lie, winning the league, blowing over €300m in one window and still going "we still really need ..." is next level. Pep would be proud.

They lost Jota, Quansah, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Diaz, and Darwin. Their net spend this summer is "only" about £96m.

Last season they only brought in Chiesa for £10m, but sold players for over £55m.

[MegaErtz]

Going to be a tough year for Bournemouth with this backline. Should have been a straight red there.

[devo22]

imagine saying you "lost" Darwin with a straight face lol.

Leoni will turn out better than Quansah. Kerkez/Frimpong are excellent fullback additions. No one is going to miss Diaz when you have Wirtz coming in. Darwin is not in the same league as Ekitike. Your squad today is much better than the one you won the league with.

[M*A*S*H 4077]

Originally Posted by MegaErtz

Going to be a tough year for Bournemouth with this backline. Should have been a straight red there.

Yeah what was that? What's the point of VAR if you can play basketball as the last defender to prevent a breakaway from the halfway line?