Go on then… Rate the summer 2025 Transfer window

[nufc123]

2 minutes ago, The College Dropout said:

He wasn’t a key player. And they replaced him with a player of a higher reputation (even though I don’t rate the replacement too much). 
 

We lost our best player and replaced him with 2 players most would consider inferior. 
 

 

The aim for us this season should be qualifying for the CL again and CL last 16.  I don’t think we have enough about the squad to do that. Unless we strengthen in Jan. 

 

 

CL play offs and some kind of Europe should be our floor. Although truthfully we could finish 8th and I could have no beef. 

No he wasnt, that was more for the other teams I listed. That said I think Villa would have taken our window even if they lost Watkins.

[The College Dropout]

Just now, TRon said:

 

 

It would be nice if we could add some superstars to our squad as well, but we couldn't pay them Galactigo wages even if we could afford their fees. We aren't there yet unfortunately, we might even lose a couple more next summer if we keep to the PSR limits. 

Where have I suggested we sign galacticos?

 

I really like the Botman Hall Tino Bruno Sandro Isak Nick W even Gordon

 

I back howe to get the best out of the Wissa’s Barnes Thiaw Elanga etc. but I don’t love those transfers 

[The College Dropout]

Just now, nufc123 said:

No he wasnt, that was more for the other teams I listed. That said I think Villa would have taken our window even if they lost Watkins.

Villa don’t have an Isak though. Watkins isnt Isak level. 
 

That was the difference between us and Villa. Our 1-2 best players are better than theirs. By a distance. That gap has closed.  Likewise their squad was way better than ours and that gap has also closed. 

[Deuce]

The Isak Saga slightly sours what is objectively a very strong window for us.

 

Elanga (23) is an upgrade on Almiron (31) (and Murphy)

Wissa (29) is an upgrade on Wilson (33)

Ramsey (24) is an upgrade on Longstaff (27)

Thiaw (24) is an upgrade on Kelly (26)

Ramsdale (27) is an upgrade on Dubs (36)

 

Woltemade is clearly not at Isak’s level (yet, hopefully), but he’s an exciting player who should only improve under Eddie.

We were also able to shift Lewis, Kuol, and Hayden off the books completely and Vlachodimos and Targett at least won’t rot on the bench for a season.

 

Added several youth players who’ll hopefully either turn out good for us or be moved a profit in a couple years time.

 

I think the Howes and Nickson and the rest of the recruitment team deserve a lot of credit despite operating without a sporting director.

 

 

Edited September 3, 2025 by Deuce

[relámpago blanco]

Just now, Deuce said:

The Isak Saga slightly sours what is objectively a very strong window for us.

 

Elanga (23) is an upgrade on Almiron (31) (and Murphy)

Wissa (29) is an upgrade on Wilson (33)

Ramsey (24) is an upgrade on Longstaff (27)

Thiaw (24) is an upgrade on Kelly (26)

Ramsdale (27) is an upgrade on Dubs (36)

 

Woltemade is clearly not at Isak’s level (yet, hopefully), but he’s an exciting player who should only improve under Eddie.

We were also able to shift Lewis, Kuol, and Hayden off the books completely and Vlachodimos and at least won’t rot on the bench for a season.

 

Added several youth players who’ll hopefully either turn out good for us or be moved a profit in a couple years time.

 

I think the Howes and Nickson and the rest of the recruitment team deserve a lot of credit despite operating without a sporting director.

If he was he wouldnt have cost 69M  Its not much more than Isak several years ago coming of some injuries and a poor season.  The Germans though do rate Woltemade very highly.  He's in the Germany squad.  Very unique player.

[Mountain]

Jeff rates us as having the 3rd best window.

 

 

[macphisto]

16 hours ago, Ellis H said:

One was scouted a long time ago and the other was largely out of desperation. Seung-soo Park wasn’t signed for the first team squad.

 

We/Howe almost exclusively wanted Premium League based players and it nearly backfired massively.

That's not correct, we bought Woltemade and had bids for Ekitike and Sesko and according to reports were interested in a few defenders in Serie A, where we ended up buying one, Thiaw, from there. How is that almost exclusively Premier League?

 

It's lazy to say Howe just wants Premier League experience. Our highest fee two years ago was Tonali, two years later it's Woltemade (didn't buy a player last year). 

 

Howe, like any great manager, looks for a mix of Premier League/overseas experience and is what he has done from the very first window. 

 

 

Edited September 3, 2025 by macphisto

[Toonpack]

45 minutes ago, macphisto said:

That's not correct, we bought Woltemade and had bids for Ekitike and Sesko and according to reports were interested in a few defenders in Serie A, where we ended up buying one, Thiaw, from there. How is that almost exclusively Premier League?

 

It's lazy to say Howe just wants Premier League experience. Our highest fee two years ago was Tonali, two years later it's Woltemade (didn't buy a player last year). 

 

Howe, like any great manager, looks for a mix of Premier League/overseas experience and is what he has done from the very first window. 

 

 

 

 

Exactly, there's a difference between a preference and a rule.

 

I also think that preference is simply because due to PSR we can't afford costly mistakes, if a player is proven in the PL it's less of a risk.

[Groundhog63]

41 minutes ago, Toonpack said:

 

Exactly, there's a difference between a preference and a rule.

 

I also think that preference is simply because due to PSR we can't afford costly mistakes, if a player is proven in the PL it's less of a risk.

 

I've almost got unbridled trust in our transfer policy, tbf. 

Yes, there's limitations and frustrations but I don't think, genuinely, they've got one wrong*

 

I'm with Jeff. We've done alright. Now the door's shut Eddie can get to work properly**

 

 

 

* notwithstanding the Anderson/Minteh outgoings, to some degree 😉

 

** or, at least, when they International break is done 😜

 

8/10

 

 

Edited September 3, 2025 by Groundhog63

[Stal]

17 hours ago, Geordie_once_removed said:

Thanks I guess. But having now read it I wish I'd not got past the paywall. That is utter dross and it has now occupied a bit of brain space.  The analysis is so poor and superficial it's not even worth singling out any bits for particular criticism.

 

I didn't write it 

[Geordie_once_removed]

2 hours ago, Stal said:

 

I didn't write it 

I know. It's my fault and a great example of being careful of what you ask for.

[Checko]

Hard to rate the window really as so much will depend on how well Woltemade adapts to the PL, which'll probably take a little while, whether Thiaw is a worthy long-term successor to Schar and whether Elanga develops.

 

There's a few players gone who's time at the club was up - Wilson, Kelly, Longstaff, Hayden, Lewis, Targett, Vlachodimos.

 

We've bolstered the squad in areas of need - extra GK cover, new younger RCB, CM, new RW, got 2 strikers in.

 

That said, we have to acknowledge we missed out on our top target in every position and lost our biggest star. 

 

Ramsdale's fine as GK competition.

Ramsay looks a good signing.

I like Elanga but not the classy playmaker I was hoping we'd sign. Good assist numbers last two years, but benefitted from good finishing and taking set penises to pad those numbers. V. likeable & great attitude & work ethic so I think he'll develop.

Thiaw - looks to have some good qualities - need to see him play really. Probably a solid signing.

Wissa - Signing makes sense even if we overpaid a bit because we were over a barrel and needed someone proven.

Woltemade - We'll have to wait and see - he looks an exciting player but how well will what he does translate to the PL? He's only had one really good half season at top level so quite risky. Feels like he'll be brilliant or flop hard.

 

Overall I think the squad's a bit stronger, but given we were in a decent financial position that's the bare minimum we'd expect from the window tbh. I don't know we've brought anyone in that's really elite to take us to the next level. And if we have, it's probably Woltemade, and it was losing an elite player in his position that caused us to sign him. 

 

With all Howe's bullishness at the start of the window about us being able to spend and be aggressive (which I suspect was to try to get Isak back on board with the club's ambitions) can't help but feel it's been a bit underwhelming. I'll say 4.5/10.

 

We'll know better in a year or so though when Howe's had a good chance to work with everyone.

[Ellis H]

7 hours ago, macphisto said:

That's not correct, we bought Woltemade and had bids for Ekitike and Sesko and according to reports were interested in a few defenders in Serie A, where we ended up buying one, Thiaw, from there. How is that almost exclusively Premier League?

 

It's lazy to say Howe just wants Premier League experience. Our highest fee two years ago was Tonali, two years later it's Woltemade (didn't buy a player last year). 

 

Howe, like any great manager, looks for a mix of Premier League/overseas experience and is what he has done from the very first window. 

 

 

 

We aren’t getting Woltemade if Strand Larsen was attainable. Same with Thiaw and Guehi, as proven last summer. 
 

Our main/ideal targets for this summer based on chronology seems to have been Trafford, Guehi, Elanga, Ramsey, Delap and Joao Pedro.

[macphisto]

15 minutes ago, Ellis H said:

We aren’t getting Woltemade if Strand Larsen was attainable. Same with Thiaw and Guehi, as proven last summer. 
 

Our main/ideal targets for this summer based on chronology seems to have been Trafford, Guehi, Elanga, Ramsey, Delap and Joao Pedro.

You can't say that about Woltemade, as he appears to only have become available at the end of the window. Who knows how long we had been tracking him? From the outside it seems more of a choice between Wissa and Strand Larsen. 

 

Guehi was never a serious target this summer. 

 

As for the other targets, yes the others were widely quoted but we don't know who else we were looking at. The club has a long history of keeping some targets close to their chest. Say we had got Delap, who knows if we might have then gone for a overseas midfielder as we would have had the luxury of balancing Delap's PL experience with an overseas midfielder new to the league; It's all about maintaining the right balance in the squad. 

 

Don't focus so much on paper talk, look at who we've signed under Howe. Off the top of my head, Isak, Tonali, Elanga and Woltemade are our four most expensive signings and three of them are from overseas. 

 

From the very first window of Guimaraes +Burn, Trippier and Wood to the latest window, Howe has always bought a mixture of PL and overseas players. 

[FLUMPO235]

Boring answer, but need 6 months and potentially until end of May to judge.

[gdm]

 

[Adam P]

She's spot on as usual. 

[Skeletor]

Elanga - 7/10

Ramsdale - 6/10

Thiaw - 6/10

Ramsey - 7/10

Woltemade - 9/10

Wissa - 8/10

 

Overall a 7 I guess. Pretty good with some stand outs but could have been better overall. Missed out on pretty much all first choice targets.

[Jagten]

15 minutes ago, Skeletor said:

Elanga - 7/10

Ramsdale - 6/10

Thiaw - 6/10

Ramsey - 7/10

Woltemade - 9/10

Wissa - 8/10

 

Overall a 7 I guess. Pretty good with some stand outs but could have been better overall. Missed out on pretty much all first choice targets.

Unconditional on the prices, maybe. Given the prices, I would go like 

Elanga - 4.5/10
Ramsdale - 6/10
Thiaw - 5/10
Ramsey - 7/10
Woltemade - 8/10
Wissa - 6/10

[andycap]

Was watching that jla transfer window ratings and he reckons us losing isak means we had an alright transfer window. 

What a load of tosh it just goes to show neutral fans think we are a one man team and have slated our business. 

Cannot wait until end of the season when our new recruits have us powering and then you'll get the they spent a fortune comments.  

[Geordie_once_removed]

21 minutes ago, andycap said:

Was watching that jla transfer window ratings and he reckons us losing isak means we had an alright transfer window. 

What a load of tosh it just goes to show neutral fans think we are a one man team and have slated our business. 

Cannot wait until end of the season when our new recruits have us powering and then you'll get the they spent a fortune comments.  

I watched that too and to a degree I agree with him at the moment. You KNOW what losing Isak means in terms of lost goals. You THINK that adding Wissa and Woltemade will compensate for this loss, but until there is time to actually see what they're like then you always have to judge the window with a degree of caution as you've lost a known a rare "commodity" in Isak and his goals.  He didn't say the window was bad by any means and acknowledged some good business elsewhere.

[KetteringMag]

I will judge the window in January properly , I thought it was a really good one on first glance though 

[SUPERTOON]

Bumping this, it was a shocking window.

[KingArthur]

Selling Targett and not getting a LB was criminal.

[p_cowell141]

Yep. Thiaw and Woltemade are definite positives. 

 

Elanga, Ramsey, Wissa are shocking value when you look at quality and availability of them. Especially when you think what 150m could've bought outside the PL.

 

Getting Ramsdale is okay, I'm neutral about him, mainly since we haven't seen him play despite Pope being way off it.