Summer Window 2026 - Rumours and Discussion

MummysLittleSoldier said:

I think by the end of the window we might learn that being 'ruthless' may have meant seeing TC, Leaburn and Docherty leaving. I believe at least 1 of those will be gone and I am pretty certain they are all available for sale because Jones knows deep down they are not the required level to kick on enough.

We are still chasing Kamara, look to be getting Dykes in and there still remains up to £5m of budget which I think will be spent on that marquee CM signing that will transform the team

The process is taking a long time but whilst people are so willing to hang on to the 'we will be ruthless' quote, they happily the ignore the 'be patient, this will take time' part

Kamara in = TC out. 1yr left and Apter harder to get rid of/investment made
Dykes in = Kanu out on loan, Leaburn can also go and maybe a loan signing striker in late doors with pace
Quality CM in = Docherty earned the right to leave if he doesnt want to be squad player

I believe this can come together but the time delay on getting that crucial CM is sending everyone into frenzy

AberystwythAddick said:

If dykes is coming in we should just sell Leaburn. He’s had multiple injuries and hasn’t really seemed to kick on even in the league below. 

Problem is I don’t think there would be any interest from league one clubs to take him permanently. 

I don’t want Dykes, it’s not an improvement on last year in any sense, it’s just a continuation. That being said if he is coming in there’s no point keeping them both around 

Redhenry said:

Dykes is useless

AberystwythAddick said:

NabySarr said:

MummysLittleSoldier said:

I think by the end of the window we might learn that being 'ruthless' may have meant seeing TC, Leaburn and Docherty leaving. I believe at least 1 of those will be gone and I am pretty certain they are all available for sale because Jones knows deep down they are not the required level to kick on enough.

We are still chasing Kamara, look to be getting Dykes in and there still remains up to £5m of budget which I think will be spent on that marquee CM signing that will transform the team

The process is taking a long time but whilst people are so willing to hang on to the 'we will be ruthless' quote, they happily the ignore the 'be patient, this will take time' part

Kamara in = TC out. 1yr left and Apter harder to get rid of/investment made
Dykes in = Kanu out on loan, Leaburn can also go and maybe a loan signing striker in late doors with pace
Quality CM in = Docherty earned the right to leave if he doesnt want to be squad player

I believe this can come together but the time delay on getting that crucial CM is sending everyone into frenzy

If TC leaves he will be moving upwards. 

We will be desperate to get him on a new contract, and the only reason he will leave is because we’d rather get a decent fee for him. It won’t be because we are being ruthless 

I’d sell him. I don’t really want him to leave but it would probably be better for all parties if he was moved on to a fresh start now. In a better squad I think he will put up decent numbers. 

If he was to sign a new contract I’d hope that Jones actually plays to his strengths rather than shoe horning him into the squad. 

Make no mistake TC is the most talented youth player that we’ve been able to keep at the club for a long time. 

charltonbob said:

AberystwythAddick said:

charltonbob said:

sam3110 said:

charltonbob said:

Crispywood said:

AndyG said:

I wish we could have an update on Edwards & Collins if they are anywhere near fitness then we start to look a better team already it seems very weird that nobody at the club seems to be mentioning them

Get urself a Cawley Substack subscription 

We shouldn't need to get a subscription to get fitness updates on our injured players

You don't need an update though, why should the club be telling all and sundry about our squad? Some clubs don't even tell you the length of contract a player signs when they join them (Luton i think in particular are famous for this) 

Actually I do, I want to know as much as possible about our players, about our club. Whether the club wants to hand me that info is up to them but if Richard Cawley is releasing that info, all & sundry could subscribe & they would know all of our inside info. So why doesn't the club release info on Edwards one year almost, injury ?

Do you get angry when you have to buy a newspaper? 

Bizarre post, par for the course though

fenaddick said:

Feel like I’m banging my head against the wall with this. Kanu will not go out on loan with one year left of his deal. If he goes, he’ll be sold 

golfaddick said:

Garrymanilow said:

We've signed two wingers, look like we're trying to integrate another back into the squad and are apparently trying to sign another one from Hull. Half the people moaning are also the ones who complain that we don't get the ball wide or put in enough crosses. Bringing Dykes in to make the most of the wingers both in terms of bringing them into the game more and giving them a target to aim for makes a lot of sense. It's funny how quickly the positive contributions he made are forgotten by the kinds of fans who weirdly think a recently promoted Championship side are too good for a player like that. I think you might be looking for a different club.

I'll eat my hat if Dykes (or Leaburn for that matter) score more than a handful of goals with their head. 

Edit.

A handful  =  less than 6.

NabySarr said:

Braziliance said:

mcgrandall said:

TheHerminator said:

mcgrandall said:

SouthLincsAddick said:

elbiglad said:

I am getting a bit bored of some of the negative and short sighted comments being posted on here. I don’t know what people were expecting. 

I hate that we have so much squad turnover every year but we desperately needed reinforcements. The transition the club has gone through necessitates this overhaul. The depth wasn’t there and the loans ending meant we lost four or five starters. So it was clear a massive influx of players was needed. 

Let’s say we needed to bring in a minimum of seven players. When you need this many and only have a budget of around £10m, then you have to be clever in how you spend your money. Really basic stuff. So, it makes sense to spend no money on a back up right back who has good champ experience. It makes sense to bring in a decent striking option for no money when you have decent depth there already and have assessed that other options are likely too expensive. It makes sense to concentrate your spending on positions of most serious need to to bring in extra quality where t matters when decent, cheaper options are available in other positions. This is just common-sense squad building. 

It seems to me that some people didn’t understand what slow, sustainable and sensible growth meant. It never meant that if we stay in the Championship for one year we will then blow the league out the water. It won’t happen next summer either, by the way. As a side note, it’s also not how football finances work so it’s no good talking about how rich our owners are. At this moment in time, unless we sell someone for big money or agree a huge sponsorship deal with an American airline or streaming service, this is the only feasible way for us to improve. 

Jones has made a rod for his own back (for some) with the ‘ruthless’ comments. When, in reality, he was most likely just talking about some of the business that needed to be done, not all. Letting a midfield prospect who is a hard worker and, by all accounts, amazing character that has been with the club since the age of 8 leave is quite ruthless. Letting a reliable squad option who scored the goal to promote the club leave is quite ruthless. The likely exit of a young academy striker who won League 2 player of the year is quite ruthless. Any additions in centre mid that move Coventry or Docherty down the pecking order should be considered ruthless. Why does signing a back up right back have to be judged by this metric? Who can name all of the Luke Young backups from the Curbishley years? It’s not an overly important position. 

I am not an ITK. But the signing of Alli for £1m shows, to me, that there is money to be spent. This was not necessarily a position of need and there are plenty of free agent wingers available. So to spend money on this player shows that firstly, they rate him, and secondly, it suggests there is money available for the right targets. It signals there is more to come. 

Jones is an outspoken man who finds it borderline impossible to bite his tongue. If there was no money or the board had let him down I think we’d have heard something, or picked up on a sly comment. It’s been quite the opposite. He has told fans to be patient. The season starts in just under three weeks and the window shuts in five. He has repeatedly said there is more to come and quality takes time.

We all want more in. We all want improved quality. I definitely don’t enjoy watching us hoof it up to Dykes. But the window isn’t done. They are implementing a formation change. Let’s just give things some time. 

Well said!

I think the negative posters don’t want to understand the financial situation we’re in. A small but vocal minority have always created a lot of noise mostly through wilful ignorance. Professional football people would wet themselves at some of the comments on here, it’s so far from reality. Remember, this is only a fans forum, none of us have any pro experience at coaching a football team or even understand the basics of football finance.

I'm not advocating our owners spend more, but how come Stoke have spent so much this year? Not sold any players for large transfer fees in years and have a similar turnover to ours. Could be their owner selling the club to themselves and wiping £80m of debt, so they ended the year in "profit". There is always a way around the rules. 

If the owners wanted to put more money in, they could find a way. I've seen it suggested that the recent change in the rules is a way to drive down players wages in the Championship. Which, considering the state of finances in the Championship, seems quite sensible. 

They are owned by Bet365 essentially who keep investing in equity stakes in the football club. It isn’t a sustainable model but it means short term they can spend big on players

Sorry, but no they aren't. They were demerged from Bet365 in 24/25, transferred to Stoke City Holdings, and their debts wiped. Which is why their have been able to spend as they have. 

As I said, if the owners wanted to spend big they could find a way. I think @Doucher is bang on the money and, unless we have some incredible recruitment, consigned to circle the drain. 

I don't believe the owners are here for the long run, they're here to just try and flip a profit at some stage, and it appears their strategy is to do the bare minimum in doing so, which to be fair so far has worked.

It was heavily hinted at one of those Addicks meetings that Roland still owning the club held us back from improving the matchday experience and our plan is essentially waiting for an old man to die and hope his son offers a better deal for the stadium. You then look at Birmingham City and Wrexham's owners (who combined have a lower networth than one of ours) yet they're willing to pump millions into the infrastructure of the club. (A billion in Birminghams case)

The plan will be to keep using the TV money and whatever else to keep us afloat until someone comes along to buy us. 

I don't mind by the way, as the alternative for us was a lot worse, but no one can convince themselves they're doing everything in their power to make us a competitive championship side, it is the bare minimum to avoid relegation. 

This doesn’t make sense. The money they’ve lost already means they won’t make a profit by selling us unless we make it into the premier league. 

If the quick flip theory was correct they’d have sold us once we were promoted to the championship 

Braziliance said:

NabySarr said:

Braziliance said:

mcgrandall said:

TheHerminator said:

mcgrandall said:

SouthLincsAddick said:

elbiglad said:

I am getting a bit bored of some of the negative and short sighted comments being posted on here. I don’t know what people were expecting. 

I hate that we have so much squad turnover every year but we desperately needed reinforcements. The transition the club has gone through necessitates this overhaul. The depth wasn’t there and the loans ending meant we lost four or five starters. So it was clear a massive influx of players was needed. 

Let’s say we needed to bring in a minimum of seven players. When you need this many and only have a budget of around £10m, then you have to be clever in how you spend your money. Really basic stuff. So, it makes sense to spend no money on a back up right back who has good champ experience. It makes sense to bring in a decent striking option for no money when you have decent depth there already and have assessed that other options are likely too expensive. It makes sense to concentrate your spending on positions of most serious need to to bring in extra quality where t matters when decent, cheaper options are available in other positions. This is just common-sense squad building. 

It seems to me that some people didn’t understand what slow, sustainable and sensible growth meant. It never meant that if we stay in the Championship for one year we will then blow the league out the water. It won’t happen next summer either, by the way. As a side note, it’s also not how football finances work so it’s no good talking about how rich our owners are. At this moment in time, unless we sell someone for big money or agree a huge sponsorship deal with an American airline or streaming service, this is the only feasible way for us to improve. 

Jones has made a rod for his own back (for some) with the ‘ruthless’ comments. When, in reality, he was most likely just talking about some of the business that needed to be done, not all. Letting a midfield prospect who is a hard worker and, by all accounts, amazing character that has been with the club since the age of 8 leave is quite ruthless. Letting a reliable squad option who scored the goal to promote the club leave is quite ruthless. The likely exit of a young academy striker who won League 2 player of the year is quite ruthless. Any additions in centre mid that move Coventry or Docherty down the pecking order should be considered ruthless. Why does signing a back up right back have to be judged by this metric? Who can name all of the Luke Young backups from the Curbishley years? It’s not an overly important position. 

I am not an ITK. But the signing of Alli for £1m shows, to me, that there is money to be spent. This was not necessarily a position of need and there are plenty of free agent wingers available. So to spend money on this player shows that firstly, they rate him, and secondly, it suggests there is money available for the right targets. It signals there is more to come. 

Jones is an outspoken man who finds it borderline impossible to bite his tongue. If there was no money or the board had let him down I think we’d have heard something, or picked up on a sly comment. It’s been quite the opposite. He has told fans to be patient. The season starts in just under three weeks and the window shuts in five. He has repeatedly said there is more to come and quality takes time.

We all want more in. We all want improved quality. I definitely don’t enjoy watching us hoof it up to Dykes. But the window isn’t done. They are implementing a formation change. Let’s just give things some time. 

Well said!

I think the negative posters don’t want to understand the financial situation we’re in. A small but vocal minority have always created a lot of noise mostly through wilful ignorance. Professional football people would wet themselves at some of the comments on here, it’s so far from reality. Remember, this is only a fans forum, none of us have any pro experience at coaching a football team or even understand the basics of football finance.

I'm not advocating our owners spend more, but how come Stoke have spent so much this year? Not sold any players for large transfer fees in years and have a similar turnover to ours. Could be their owner selling the club to themselves and wiping £80m of debt, so they ended the year in "profit". There is always a way around the rules. 

If the owners wanted to put more money in, they could find a way. I've seen it suggested that the recent change in the rules is a way to drive down players wages in the Championship. Which, considering the state of finances in the Championship, seems quite sensible. 

They are owned by Bet365 essentially who keep investing in equity stakes in the football club. It isn’t a sustainable model but it means short term they can spend big on players

Sorry, but no they aren't. They were demerged from Bet365 in 24/25, transferred to Stoke City Holdings, and their debts wiped. Which is why their have been able to spend as they have. 

As I said, if the owners wanted to spend big they could find a way. I think @Doucher is bang on the money and, unless we have some incredible recruitment, consigned to circle the drain. 

I don't believe the owners are here for the long run, they're here to just try and flip a profit at some stage, and it appears their strategy is to do the bare minimum in doing so, which to be fair so far has worked.

It was heavily hinted at one of those Addicks meetings that Roland still owning the club held us back from improving the matchday experience and our plan is essentially waiting for an old man to die and hope his son offers a better deal for the stadium. You then look at Birmingham City and Wrexham's owners (who combined have a lower networth than one of ours) yet they're willing to pump millions into the infrastructure of the club. (A billion in Birminghams case)

The plan will be to keep using the TV money and whatever else to keep us afloat until someone comes along to buy us. 

I don't mind by the way, as the alternative for us was a lot worse, but no one can convince themselves they're doing everything in their power to make us a competitive championship side, it is the bare minimum to avoid relegation. 

This doesn’t make sense. The money they’ve lost already means they won’t make a profit by selling us unless we make it into the premier league. 

If the quick flip theory was correct they’d have sold us once we were promoted to the championship 

Joshua Friedman alone has triple the networth of Birmingham and Wrexhams owners combined almost. It isn't going to swallow his net worth like it did Sandgaard or any other multi millionaire. He is a multi billionaire. 

There still wasn't much to flip as we still don't own our own ground. It's a hard sell selling a Championship club in debt, but someone eventually will come along and see the vision and that's what I believe they are waiting for. Time will tell. 

DDOUBLEE said:

fenaddick said:

Feel like I’m banging my head against the wall with this. Kanu will not go out on loan with one year left of his deal. If he goes, he’ll be sold 

What about Ramsay? Has he been sold yet? He's definitely going with McNamara coming in...