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Transfers Summer 2026 Transfer Thread

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Beni said:
The irony is you’re arguing against something De Zerbi clearly values. If progressive passing was just a nonsense stat, why has he consistently targeted players who can do it?

The whole point of his system is to bait teams into pressing because it’s easier to play through and beat an aggressive press than a side sat in a compact low block. Progressive passing is one of the tools that helps exploit the spaces created.

Ball retention, press resistance and progressive passing aren’t mutually exclusive either. The best players do all three. So calling the profile discussion horseshit seems odd when De Zerbi’s own tactics suggest he clearly sees value in it.

*Apologies if I got the wrong end of the stick and misunderstood your post if you were against the defenders waiting to be pressed.
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You’re right they don’t have to be mutually exclusive, point was the main attribute is ball retention and manipulation under pressure, 1 v1 ability to create space, draw players out then passing lanes and spaces opens up. You don’t need particular great passers then. They’re progressive passes(or carries)yet simple passes but more effective as you’ve actually opened them up instead of a 6 taking the ball and playing a ball into a forward quickly.

My point was players like Scott and Baleba give you a lot of that. Theyve got very strong all round games maybe not as eye catching passing as a Wharton but still good at it and know when to pass. Players like Wharton or Hackney can’t do the other stuff as well that’s not even taking into account all the off the ball work.
 
Timberwolf said:
Mate, we are not signing Greenwood. Would be the biggest PR own goal of all time - zero chance the new owners allow that. I don't think any English club would bring him in. The backlash and protest would be huge. Would be like when we tried to bring in Gattuso x 100.

And he's not a striker anyway.
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Especially since they had Roberto do a public apology for it all.
 
ElTel said:
Agree but look who we played in those 7 games. Against better teams it doesn't matter how hard the team presses and works hard, better quality forwards will expose our defenders
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That’s a bit of a convenient way of framing it.

It doesn’t really matter who the opposition are if we’re sitting 4th worst in the league and bottom of the table for shots conceded over that period. That points to a structural issue, not just bad timing.

And it’s not like we only faced low-output teams either. Five of those seven were against sides in the top ten for average shots per game, all averaging 12+ shots a game. So restricting them down and coming out with just 17 shots conceded across those games is actually a strong defensive return.

Going from one of the worst in the league to one of the better defensive outputs in that stretch is a pretty clear sign the system can work when it clicks, even with injuries in key forward areas and a squad that isn’t fully his yet.

Of course better teams will punish mistakes, and beat oppositions press, that’s football. But the idea that pressing systems only work against weaker sides is overstated. With a better forward line and midfield, it naturally becomes more balanced and harder to expose.
 
Shadydan said:
For some reason he thinks that progressive passers are purely sitting midfielders who stay in one position, if anyone watches players like Wharton and in particular that performance in the final, he was literally everywhere on the pitch playing the ball forward and breaking lines, not just picking the ball up in front of the defence.
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if we were playing Real Vallacano every week great. In the premier league he gets pressed easier than alot of players. When he gets the time great. He’s terrible off the ball, doesn’t have great stamina a bit injury prone. The premier league is unforgiven you can’t be good at just one or two things.
 
dustybin said:
You’re right they don’t have to be mutually exclusive, point was the main attribute is ball retention and manipulation under pressure, 1 v1 ability to create space, draw players out then passing lanes and spaces opens up. You don’t need particular great passers then. They’re progressive passes(or carries)yet simple passes but more effective as you’ve actually opened them up instead of a 6 taking the ball and playing a ball into a forward quickly.

My point was players like Scott and Baleba give you a lot of that. Theyve got very strong all round games maybe not as eye catching passing as a Wharton but still good at it and know when to pass. Players like Wharton or Hackney can’t do the other stuff as well that’s not even taking into account all the off the ball work.
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You’re leaning a bit too far towards the idea that passing quality becomes less important because of the system.

Yes, De Zerbi’s structure creates options and reduces the need for risky hero passes, but those simple passes still have to be executed under pressure. If they aren’t, the whole thing breaks down quickly.

Ball retention, carrying and 1v1 ability are all key, no argument there. But you still need players who can pass through pressure and switch play when teams do sit on you.

It’s not that you don’t need good passers, it’s that you need a mix of profiles. Scott and Baleba bring different strengths to Wharton or Hackney, but top teams don’t build on one type alone.

And for the record, I wouldn’t be against Scott or Baleba, but I’d still prefer others ahead of all four of them.
 
Beni said:
That’s a bit of a convenient way of framing it.

It doesn’t really matter who the opposition are if we’re sitting 4th worst in the league and bottom of the table for shots conceded over that period. That points to a structural issue, not just bad timing.

And it’s not like we only faced low-output teams either. Five of those seven were against sides in the top ten for average shots per game, all averaging 12+ shots a game. So restricting them down and coming out with just 17 shots conceded across those games is actually a strong defensive return.

Going from one of the worst in the league to one of the better defensive outputs in that stretch is a pretty clear sign the system can work when it clicks, even with injuries in key forward areas and a squad that isn’t fully his yet.

Of course better teams will punish mistakes, and beat oppositions press, that’s football. But the idea that pressing systems only work against weaker sides is overstated. With a better forward line and midfield, it naturally becomes more balanced and harder to expose.
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We have just signed Robertson and Senesi, plus have been linked with a few other centre backs. My point is that DeZerbi wants to improve our individual defensive quality. Yes the system he has put in place has had a huge positive effect but within that system there is nothing wrong with improving the individual components. My original response was to a poster questioning why we are bringing in defenders when other areas of the team need more urgent attention
 
Maybe a bit optimistic but how about giving Lankshear a good go next season. He's a beast of a lad, and watching his finishing in training he's got one hell of a shot on him. Feels like we're in a similar position to when Kane came on the scene, too. Get the wide forward, and the midfield sorted and see what he and Solanke can do.
 
Beni said:
You’re leaning a bit too far towards the idea that passing quality becomes less important because of the system.

Yes, De Zerbi’s structure creates options and reduces the need for risky hero passes, but those simple passes still have to be executed under pressure. If they aren’t, the whole thing breaks down quickly.

Ball retention, carrying and 1v1 ability are all key, no argument there. But you still need players who can pass through pressure and switch play when teams do sit on you.

It’s not that you don’t need good passers, it’s that you need a mix of profiles. Scott and Baleba bring different strengths to Wharton or Hackney, but top teams don’t build on one type alone.

And for the record, I wouldn’t be against Scott or Baleba, but I’d still prefer others ahead of all four of them.
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Not just because of the system. Just in general. Of course simple passes have to be executed well, but when you look at great teams through the years it’s all about ball manipulation, 1v1, little triangles give and goes, balls round the corner, player rotation. That’s what really makes the difference, of course passing is part of that but just looking at progressive passing stats and saying that’s the player that will turn us into a top team I don’t agree at all.

If you can find a player that are brilliant at all that stuff, good off the ball and can drop it on a sixpence from 50 yards then great.
 
ElTel said:
We have just signed Robertson and Senesi, plus have been linked with a few other centre backs. My point is that DeZerbi wants to improve our individual defensive quality. Yes the system he has put in place has had a huge positive effect but within that system there is nothing wrong with improving the individual components. My original response was to a poster questioning why we are bringing in defenders when other areas of the team need more urgent attention
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Yeah, I agree we need upgrades across the board. If Romero or Porro leaves, then another centre and right back is an obvious priority as well.

Seems my point is in line with yours anyway: you improve the whole team, not just isolated areas. Even small upgrades in defence, combined with bigger improvements in the forward line, lift the entire team. Better forwards mean more pressure off the back line, more control higher up the pitch, and ultimately a stronger defensive output as well.
 
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dustybin said:
Not just because of the system. Just in general. Of course simple passes have to be executed well, but when you look at great teams through the years it’s all about ball manipulation, 1v1, little triangles give and goes, balls round the corner, player rotation. That’s what really makes the difference, of course passing is part of that but just looking at progressive passing stats and saying that’s the player that will turn us into a top team I don’t agree at all.

If you can find a player that are brilliant at all that stuff, good off the ball and can drop it on a sixpence from 50 yards then great.
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Completely agree, you need a balance across passing, physicality, dribbling, stamina and work rate, but if you skew too heavily towards ball carriers over passers you can end up needing to rebalance the squad again.
 
dustybin said:
if we were playing Real Vallacano every week great. In the premier league he gets pressed easier than alot of players. When he gets the time great. He’s terrible off the ball, doesn’t have great stamina a bit injury prone. The premier league is unforgiven you can’t be good at just one or two things.
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I'm not solely pining for Wharton though and Wharton isn't the only progressive passer in world football lol
 
Dannyboy said:
Maybe a bit optimistic but how about giving Lankshear a good go next season. He's a beast of a lad, and watching his finishing in training he's got one hell of a shot on him. Feels like we're in a similar position to when Kane came on the scene, too. Get the wide forward, and the midfield sorted and see what he and Solanke can do.
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I'm not against the idea but it's a risk going into a season with just him and Dom, taking it that Richy will be off.
Lanks is at an important time where he needs to be playing and if we bring in another senior striker, he's not going to get much playing time here.

The dream would be for him to get a chance in pre-season and explode from there but the reality and probably sensible thing is probably to give him another season on loan.

I do think that he, Moore and Phillips (obviously Vuskovic too) should all be given pre-season to show what they can do, maybe even until January depending on our business and fitness of current options.
I'd like to see Devine given a chance too.
 
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