Merlin Röhl secured on loan

This lad is a good age, he's got enough experience of a strong league and looks to have a similar stature to Fellaini.

I think he will be Gana's eventual replacement.

Nice words from the lad.

TFG are not into paying out for seasoned players, that is for sure. The average age of the squad is well down on last season.

It's been a good window for us.

I think Moyes will deploy him like Fellaini. I don’t see that this guy will be a defensive player at all and like Fellaini will become a physical attacking threat.

I can see that Moyes has made this signing in lieu of a striker and will likely look to play Rohl eventually as an attacking false 9 interchangeably with Illiman NDiaye.

Much like how he operated Cahill and Fellaini from around late 2010 - 2012.

I can’t see that this will completely replace the Beto / Barry spearhead but it will provide the option to do something different.

Very much the type of midfield player Moyes likes, in the Fellaini/Soucek mould. Should do well for us - Davey knows how to coach a player like him, and how to fit him into a good side.

How very dare he sign French and German under 21 internationals and England under 21 internationals

Does he not know he’s only supposed to sign old players with no flair to fit in with toffeeweb posters views of him

As he describes himself he sounds like a younger Soucek which is fine with me. I like Soucek but he’s past his prime so I wasn’t thrilled at rumors linking him for a large chunk of change.

Cheers I knew there must be others

Think we've done well this window. No complaints.

Interesting signing. This is the type of player we should buy instead of keep looking at your old club with names everyone know about.

I assume that's why we didn't sign a right back. No-one was available that wanted to come to us and who ticked either of those boxes.

Compare this to club leadership that managed to shortlist Bielsa and Dyche. What strategy would have those two vying for the same position?

All that said, I can’t help but have feelings of deja vu with Merlin thinking back to Gbamin. Up-and-coming youngish athletic midfielder that no one has heard of who has shown potential in the Bundesliga, coming over with big expectations given the fee is not insignificant — even if it’s a quite a bit lower in today’s market than what we paid to get Gbamin.

Also, what we need is a replacement for Gana, and he doesn’t appear to be that. I’m all for depth, and maybe I’m wrong here — I sure hope I am — and maybe Garner really will end up at right back, but seems like without injuries he’ll struggle to get much playing time this year, then again next season if Armstrong comes back firing.

The hope is that he’s better than Iroebugnam and that he can do a job when there are injuries or in cup matches, but this one doesn’t get me all that excited. Or maybe I’m just not excited because we needed a defensive central midfielder and a right back and didn’t get either one. But I’ll trust the guys who brought in KDH and Grealish, and hope they’re right that Barry, Merlin and Aznou are all diamonds in the rough who will shine in the next 1-3 years.

I'm not sure if anyone really has much insight into him but YouTube makes him look like a pretty powerful midfielder who can play a bit. Sounds like a Moyes type and, doing a bit of research, Moyes managed against him 4 times at West Ham so presumably this signing is something he was very involved in.

It does look like he missed half of last season with an ankle injury. Hopefully we've done our due diligence in respect of that. The other side of that is that presumably whenever he was fit he was straight back into a decent Freiburg side. At the age of 22 you would think that means he was well regarded.

Although this is a loan, it sounds like we have an obligation to buy unless we're relegated (which we won't be). So he's effectively a permanent signing.

What to make of all that? No idea. But I always remember Moyes saying that whenever he managed against Championship teams he noted who he would like to sign if he moved up a level. That's how we went for Cahill. The player seems relatively unknown but I'll back Moyes' judgement.

As for Rhol - I liked Fellaini but going by the You Tube videos he's more Beckenbauer. I hope I am right.
Link

What a footballer he was!

Good business, I’d have loved us to have got Tete or KWP on a free for that right back berth but I guess they are thinking between the two we have and Garner and O’Brien we can survive until January. Now let’s think Villa boys!

What a lovely, unassuming, intelligent, humble person and interview, yet with clear purpose and focus. The right tone; the right words.

And, on the pitch, he is pacey, passy – ie, he has a pass in him – physical, and best of all, still, as he modestly says, developing.

Whisper it, this might be our best wheeling and dealing of the window for the years to come, or as good as Jack and KDH at any rate.

I’m so glad we signed Röhl rather than Soucek though.

I thought he looked very decent for them, but acknowledge the step up to the Premier league is significant. The big lad that's gone Newcastle caught the eye, but Rohl was very dependable in the middle.

He is a fair size, mobile, can travel with the ball and uses his body to push people off the ball rather than go to ground. I see him as an 8, rather than a 6. That to me still leaves us short in that position if theres a negative.

Gana, Armstrong, Tim, Rohl, will all be battling it out for that slot in time. Garner is doing well in the 6, but only he can really play that position well.

In the Premier league era we have been under cooked in top class box to box midfielders, we could long term be offered Armstrong and Rohl to play as two 8s. Both have the technique, size and pace to be quite a handball in the engine room for the blues. England & German captains? Perhaps one day.

The recruitment team bar Grealish, has bought potential, technique and hunger. They've missed some bigger names, but the 9 mark an improvement over the last 5 years. I cant think of many links I've thought oh no.

A bit more competition now in the squad. Mcneil, Tim, Alcaraz are going to need to raise their games, or find that they may be making way for other players we need. We were never going to fix everything in one window, and some won't work out. I just hope the majority do.

Hopefully this also brings an end to the ridiculous comments that we should of retained Thewell. The signings have been good, they all want to be here, and they seem to buy into this new Everton.

Part of the problem could be that he has primarily played further forwards, often as a 10 where his work rate and size has helped him win the ball back on occassion but depsite some decent ball striking he has struggled to convert opportunities into goals and assists despite a decent showing in 23/24 with 2 goals and 3 assist in 17 starts.

If I'm honest he's not the central midfielder I would have gone for. But it's clear to see why Moyes might like him and how he could be a good fit for the PL especially playing a little further back like he did for Germany U21s where he has put in some better performances.

Comparisons with Fellaini and Doucoure are inevitable (if we got the Watford version of Doucoure I'd be thrilled) but the player he reminds me most of is probably Sander Berge who was also highly thought of as a kid but has settled into a fairly run of the mill PL player. Hopefully Rohl can do a little better than that but his first hard task will be breaking into the team ahead of the dependable Gana and the improving Garner. I suspect he may have to wait till injury or AFCON to get his first real run in the first XI.

I think Rohl will become a popular signing and better long term than Soucek.

Next summer we can sort out other issues.

Relief to spend money again finally.

Personally, I believe that's exactly what Moyes signed him for. Given Gana's age and AFCON absence and Garner's history of a dodgy back, that's where Rohl will get his chance. We've got six attacking mids already -- three signed in this window -- and clearly that's not where his future lies.

He's definitely got shades of Fellaini about him and I recall Moyes playing Fellaini as a deep lying midfielder to good effect.

I also recall him being played pretty much up front behind a midfielder with an eye for a goal. We've got a few of those and I just wonder if that might be a plan B that Moyes has in mind given that our strikers aren't necessarily a guaranteed selection.

Supporting Everton is interesting again!

I mean that in a good way too.

Another player who can be part of a really good squad for 5 to 10 years.

“I think versatility is a strength of mine, and the style of my game will suit the Premier League.”

Maybe No.8 rather than a CDM?

With a name like Merlin, he should have a great engine. Could he become the Rolls-Royce of our midfield?

Does anyone remember the video on Tosun?

Will keep everything crossed that he will be a success.

As for Merlin I haven’t a clue how good he is—I’ll judge him when I see him, he looks like he is a very versatile player which will suit Moyes, I hope he suits the team and us fans.

Laurie (45), Laurie you couldn’t be more wrong about me and James Garner, I’m a big fan of the lad who just gets on with the job and gives his best in whatever position he plays in and the quicker Everton give him a new improved contract the better, yes I see a captain in James too.

The only downside I saw to Rohl signing was that Harrison Armstrong would go out on loan, I hope that doesn’t happen.

He's gone to Preston to learn how to be a professional playing footballer. Rohl is older and way more experienced so he'll actually play games.

Armstrong going out on loan is not a downside, it's an upside.

While he had limited playing time due to injuries, he must've played a crucial part in the season.

Well, they'd better throw a bucket of ice-cold fuckin' water over him before he gets on the pitch and make sure he's bleedin' awake!

I was listening to a football agent this morning and he was asked about the transfers of Isak and Guehi and should Guehi have kicked up a fuss like Isak? Worryingly, he said he absolutely should have, and went on to say this will now become the norm where players who want a move refuse to play for their club until they get what they want, like both Wissa and Isak.

So will this mean at some time in the coming months does this become something we might get from Branthwaite and Ndiaye, and how do clubs protect themselves from this becoming the norm?

The beneficiaries will be the top clubs who have all the money and all the power; for the rest of the clubs, it will be very difficult to challenge their superiority.

He came across as a thoroughly nice guy, clear about what he brings, grateful for where he is, great story about why he chose No 34 — and all articulated amazingly well in his second language.

Looking forward to seeing him play now.

These astute new additions to the squad make me more optimistic about this season's prospects, so let's hope it continues against Aston Villa.

He certainly looks the part, if he is half as good as his vid, he will be a very big asset indeed.

I would think he'll be on a lot of female supporters' walls too.

On Rohl - I just watched his interview. What a terrific young man.

Things are looking up.

Not many of us knew who this kid was yesterday, so as well as being happy he's come to us instead of the rumoured Soucek, it will be interesting to see where he ends up playing for Everton?

Hopefully he‘s allowed to play in his best position and hopefully he really kick-on, in whatever that position, might be!

I remember someone doing an interview about Onana when he was an Everton player. Might have been Tarkowski. Glowing about how much of a beast he was and physically he was the fastest, strongest and could run the furthest.

Didn’t mention anything about his footballing ability though. Which I think is quite limited.

Seriously though, looks a good prospect

Is there any end to their bankroll?

So many overpriced players in the transfer window.

Everton won't win the league but they deserve accolades for all the good deals.

To be honest I'd be more than happy if Rohl achieved what Onana did for us too; ie becoming a mainstay in the team and being sold for 20m profit. That's always a sign that the player has done well.

Martin, of course a fit Onana would walk into our team. He's definitely better than James Garner and probably as good as Gana as well these days.

But if both stay fit I'd wager only one will go on to win multiple caps for their country (less competition for Onana admittedly) and play for a team in the CL. Talent wise the Belgian is ahead; though injury curtailed his progress last season and may continue to do so. But who knows, Garner has certainly started this season well.

I didn’t like Iwobi because he was a shirker, jumping out of 60-40 tackles in his favour but he was a lot better than Obleedinana.

The Yellow House is in need of a few quid and though times are hard anything would be welcome

We all know George hasn’t been too well but apart from his family the Blues and the Yellow House have been great support to him

Agree with every word on your post - Obleedinana - love it!

Best bit of business Everton did getting rid of him. He wouldn’t stand a chance of getting in the current team - Moyes too canny a Manager.

By the way George is Yellow House still in Dale St.

I find the description of Iwobi as a ‘shirker’ absolutely flabbergasting but we’ve had those arguments before so no need to redo.

Inter came in for Ndiaye;
We offered on Richard Rios of Palmeiras, who signed with Benfica instead;
We've been tracking Rohl over multiple windows;
Most teams in the Championship wanted Armstrong on loan;
Doucoure has signed in Saudi.

Everton’s transfer window: Grealish grab, late Rohl move – Inter’s Ndiaye offer knocked back
Patrick Boyland

A busy summer window for Everton ended at 9:10pm on Monday, just over two hours after the deadline, with confirmation of Merlin Rohl’s arrival from Freiburg.

It had been a hectic 24 hours for Rohl, a Germany Under-21 international midfielder tracked over successive windows, and a race against time for Everton to complete their final piece of summer business before the 7pm cut-off.

Rohl had emerged as a late alternative to West Ham United’s Tomas Soucek after an approach for the Czech midfielder had been rebuffed. Manager David Moyes remained keen to strengthen his midfield options, mindful of Idrissa Gueye’s likely participation in the Africa Cup of Nations from the middle of December and into January, and wanted to add more height and physicality in the centre of the park. At 6ft 3in (191cm), it was decided that Rohl was the man.

Everything happened quickly. The 23-year-old played for Freiburg in their 4-1 defeat at Cologne on Sunday evening before returning to the south-western German city in preparation for an early-morning flight via private jet from nearby Basel, on the other side of the Swiss border, to Liverpool. From there, it was a relatively short hop to Everton’s training ground in Halewood.

The loan for the rest of this season, which features an obligation to buy at around €20million (£17.4m; $23.3m at current rates), provided Everton are not relegated this season, was done before 7pm yesterday. It was announced just over two hours later, after Everton had received Football Association and FIFA clearance.

Rohl would be the only incoming of a deadline-day otherwise notable for the departures of youngsters Youssef Chermiti and Harrison Armstrong.

Striker Chermiti joined Scottish side Rangers for an initial £8million plus potential add-ons, reuniting with former Everton director of football Kevin Thelwell, the man who had brought him to Goodison Park from Portugal’s Sporting CP two years ago. Talks had started over a potential loan, with clubs in England’s Championship, Germany and Spain having registered an interest. Rangers, though, were the only suitors willing to pay a permanent fee for the Portuguese, who was not part of Moyes’ immediate plans, and Everton decided to take the money to reinvest it in Rohl.

The addition of a midfielder in Rohl paved the way for the highly-rated Armstrong to join Preston North End on loan. Courted by most of the Championship, it was felt that the 18-year-old’s development would be best served by regular minutes.

Preston appealed due to its north-west of England location, around 30 miles from Liverpool, and proximity to Moyes’ home in the nearby seaside town of Lytham, meaning he could personally keep a keen eye on Armstrong’s progress at the club who gave him his first crack at management in 1998. Their head of recruitment, the former Everton youngster James Wallace, had pushed hard for the move.

Those three deals would be Everton’s final bits of business in a summer of much change at the club. Defensive options were assessed right up to the close of the window but the decision was taken to stay with what they had — the belief being that they have made themselves considerably stronger.

In total, they have spent around £110million this summer on nine new players and committed to approximately £45m in further fees, provided all clauses are met. It’s a sea-change after the years of austerity, but much needed, given the scale of the task Everton faced at the end of last season.

There was always a sense that this would be a challenging window for Everton.

With 15 players, including loanees, out of contract at the end of the 2024-25 campaign, the belief internally at the club was that the summer would involve an unprecedented rebuild for an established Premier League side. Moyes would later argue that it was “impossible to repair all of the damage” in one window.

For the first time since the early days of previous owner Farhad Moshiri almost a decade ago, Everton had money after The Friedkin Group’s December takeover, but the club were undergoing rapid and widespread change behind the scenes.

Thelwell’s departure and the arrival of new chief executive Angus Kinnear from Leeds United had both been well trailed, but the exit of head of recruitment Dan Purdy represented a curveball. Kinnear was putting his new recruitment setup in place but some personnel, such as Manchester City’s director of scouting and recruitment James Smith, only officially joined towards the end of the window.

While the network below Purdy was kept largely intact, and played a role in the identification of Rohl, plus fellow signings Thierno Barry and Adam Aznou, the new hierarchy was afforded relatively minimal time to do the early groundwork with players and their agents that’s usually needed to convince them to join.

Everton set the bar high. Maybe too high, according to some in the game, who like others spoken to for this article talked on condition of anonymity to protect relationships, although the club would no doubt counter that ambition and quality were needed. Either way, the result was a series of early setbacks as key targets, particularly on the right wing, went elsewhere or stayed put. A medical was scheduled for Kenny Tete, as his Fulham deal was about to expire, but the west London club improved their offer of a new one and the right-back decided to re-sign with them.

The search for a right-winger was even more troublesome. Top target Francisco Conceicao of Porto picked Juventus, while Johan Bakayoko went from PSV to RB Leipzig and Lyon’s Malick Fofana held out for Champions League interest, despite Everton’s willingness to match his wage demands, and has ended up staying at the French club.

Everton felt they had a decent chance of signing Joao Palhinha from Bayern Munich until Tottenham Hotspur intervened and offered the Portuguese midfielder Champions League football. They also attempted to beat Benfica to Richard Rios of Palmeiras at the eleventh hour, but the Colombia international midfielder had his mind set on a move to Portugal.

Moyes, short of bodies for the first part of pre-season, became increasingly frustrated and voiced his concerns publicly. It appeared as though his comments were intended to force the new recruitment team, comprised of head of player trading Nick Hammond and head of football strategy and analytics Chris Howarth, into action. Moyes played a hands-on role in the new setup, assessing targets and engaging in talks with players.

Everton’s early business had been solid enough, but it needed to go further.

They had been open to retaining free-agent duo Abdoulaye Doucoure and Dominic Calvert-Lewin on the right terms, but in each case there was too wide a gap for the parties to bridge in talks. It was assumed Doucoure was heading to Saudi Arabia (which he eventually did, joining Neom) and would more than double his Everton salary of around £100,000. Calvert-Lewin wanted a significant raise on his £90,000 a week wages of last season and a long-term deal, and had felt his unattached status would advance his chances of earning a move to an elite club. He has now signed for promoted Leeds United.

A deal was lined up for Brighton & Hove Albion’s Adam Webster in the event of fellow centre-back Michael Keane leaving upon the expiration of his deal this summer. But Moyes and Kinnear wanted to retain at least some of the out-of-contract players for continuity purposes, and Keane is seen as a good influence around the camp.

Everton prioritised an extension for centre-back Jarrad Branthwaite, who had two years plus a club option for a further 12 months, on his deal, after interest from Tottenham in January and again in the early summer. The process started soon after the end of last season and ended with Branthwaite signing a new long-term deal, more than doubling his wages of around £50,000 a week and making him one of the squad’s top earners.

The left-footed centre-back has become one of the most coveted players in Europe - tying him to a five-year deal is a coup for Everton.

The Athletic can reveal that an enquiry from last season’s Champions League finalists Inter for Iliman Ndiaye, valuing the Senegal forward at around £40million, was immediately rejected.

Although a right-winger continued to prove elusive, other areas of concern got ticked off.

Carlos Alcaraz joined on a permanent £12.5million deal from Flamengo after a successful loan for the second half of last season, adding depth in midfield. Barry, Aznou and Mark Travers enhanced their options up front, at left-back and in goal, respectively. Moyes has been clear that he sees Barry and Aznou as ones for the future. Aznou, 19, is intended to be a more attacking option than first-choice left-back Vitalii Mykolenko, with a higher ceiling. Likewise, 22-year-old Barry with Beto.

The Frenchman was tracked along with Stuttgart striker Nick Woltemade and, while also a more obviously attainable target than the German, was someone Moyes felt could dovetail well with Beto, providing similar elements in games. Woltemade had initially appealed to some of the recruitment team as a genuinely distinct option, but he came at a much higher price, eventually joining Newcastle United for just shy of £70million. Everton needed their budget to stretch as far as possible, ruling out the prospect of mega-money signings.

Those deals were necessary for squad depth, but big areas of need, like right-winger, remained unresolved.

Moyes had expressed a desire for some of this summer’s new signings to be “Premier League ready”. He admired Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, who’d been a January target, while the club had made regular checks on Jack Grealish’s situation throughout. There was a belief that both players were attainable, with positive noises emerging over Grealish’s interest in a move, but Everton were initially left playing the waiting game while Chelsea and Manchester City respectively added to their squads.

Eventually, Chelsea sanctioned Dewsbury-Hall’s exit after weeks of talks. Soon after, Grealish agreed to become the summer’s marquee signing, with Everton picking up around three-quarters of his £300,000 City wages in a loan package worth £12million.

Grealish’s desire to make the switch paved the way for the deal to happen and meant complex issues such as image rights were overcome with relative ease. Moyes’ intervention had been crucial. The manager was often called upon to make the final sales pitch to would-be signings, and he sold the project to Grealish, offering to make him the main man in the team and help revive his hopes of a return to the England setup ahead of next year’s World Cup.

Finally, as the window headed into its final week, Tyler Dibling joined from Southampton as a new right-winger.

Everton had initially walked away from talks due to the disparity between Southampton’s valuation of the teenager and theirs. A bid of £32million including add-ons had been rejected, with the Championship club’s counter-offer pricing the player at over £50m. It also included a significant sell-on clause, irrespective of profit. Dibling’s desire for the move meant Southampton ended three weeks of impasse and came back to the table. Talks resumed on the afternoon of Friday, August 22, and a deal was concluded by the Monday. A key issue had been addressed at an initial £35m fee.

Everton continued to search for right-back options.

They mulled over approaches for Leicester City’s James Justin, now at Leeds, and free agent Kyle Walker-Peters, who joined West Ham, but were not sold on either. Lyon utility player Ainsley Maitland-Niles was lower down their list, but the French club had lost too many players already this summer to part with another.

So Everton pivoted. With Jake O’Brien, Seamus Coleman, Nathan Patterson and even James Garner capable of playing on the right side of their back four, they looked at adding cover in the centre of it instead. Manchester City’s Manuel Akanji was on the market and an attractive option, but the Switzerland international made it clear he wanted Champions League football and has now joined Inter. Aston Villa won the race for free-agent former Manchester United defender Victor Lindelof late on.

Had they secured cover, either at right-back or in central defence, Patterson almost certainly would have been granted a temporary move away. Toulouse and, later on, Sevilla expressed an interest in taking the Scot on loan, but he will now stay to fight for his place. A replacement for Chermiti was not sought either, with Dibling and Ndiaye both seen as options in central attacking areas if needed. Despite the addition of Rohl, they still lack a like-for-like replacement for Gueye, who turns 36 this month, in central midfield, too. The German is more of a No 8 who has rarely played deeper.

There appears little doubt, however, that Everton are stronger after this summer’s window. Much stronger, perhaps.

Speaking after his side’s 3-2 loss to them at Molineux on Saturday, a game in which the quality of Grealish and Dewsbury-Hall came to the fore, Wolverhampton Wanderers head coach Vitor Pereira described Moyes’ men as a different proposition this season.

In the austerity years towards the end of Moshiri’s time, Everton fans became used to relegation battles and penny-pinching in the market. Under the Friedkins, those days appear over for now. Finally, supporters can look up instead of down.

After a window like no other, Everton head into the rest of their 2025-26 season with renewed optimism and fresh momentum.

How quickly the tide can turn.

Welcome back, George, and congratulations on your recovery!

We are playing much too well for you to leave us now, so battle on with life and Yellow House, and have fun watching our new forward line.

No suggestion from Paddy Boyland that we ever had any interest in either.

It was a bit longwinded, but it was basically saying that for a player with all the attributes that Tarkowski, praises, how come I have never seen Onana, take the game by the scruff of the neck and drive his team forward? (

I’ve seen him do it in little glimpses (remember him doing it against Arsenal, and then watching him blowing for tugs, for the next five minutes) but after reading a couple of posts from a longtime ToffeeWeb poster, my advice to Onana, would be that if he wants to really succeed, then he could do with lending a little bit of heart, willpower and spirit, from a man who possesses it by the bucketload.

You are an example to everyone George, because you never stop fighting mate. I’m glad you got inside the new stadium last week, and I hope you have left a little bit of your Evertonian spirit inside the ground, for the days when the team needs it the most💙

I like the look of him. Not just because he looks like a scouser with that hair cut !!

Different to any CM we have. Looks stronger, quicker & more dynamic than Garner or Gana.
Could turn out to be a great signing.

If you find my summary of Iwobi as a shirker absolutely flabbergasting what else can you call a man who consistently pulled out of very winnable tackles or pulled up just short of an opposition player with the ball, you went to those matches Sam or saw them on TV so I’d find it absolutely flabbergasting if you never noticed that.

As for Onana I saw one or two games where wasn’t too bad or okay, one game vArsenal I think where he had a very good game but mostly he went missing for long periods of the game and offered very little to help the team— As one poster said he was a sub for many games when Dyche had a good spell, one of them was the 2-0 victory over Liverpool and he came on and with his first touch gave the ball away in our own penalty area nearly giving Liverpool a chance of getting back into the game, I won’t mention that egotistical bleedin ‘ penalty he took that lost us a league cup tie, If he is a mainstay with Villa I’d be surprised but if he is fit and playing now it doesn’t look like the team is doing very well.

Sam I always take an interest in your posts and I know you read mine— I think we’ve agreed with each other more than once or twice and I’m sure we will again but never ever over Onana.

Little by little we are improving...Big time!

Definitely a positive start and long may it continue.

Brentford lost 49 of the 66 goals they scored last season. They have 11 goals' worth of signings to replace them. I'm sad to say I think they're headed down.

Wolves failed completely to replace Cunha and Ait-Nouri. Same comment as Brentford, but without the sadness.

Fulham improved not at all.

Palace saved its season by keeping Guehi at the last possible moment, but losing Eze is a crippler.

I think we may well watch all these teams fall past us this season.

I do usually edit down their articles because they often post information for their US audience that TW readers already know. In this case I thought the whole thing was worth posting.

Grealish really sees Everton as opportunity to get first team football and has hit the ground running. That was a good deal.Expected the final days to be loans rather than transfers and so it proved, though I did expect backs to be brought in on loan to add depth.

Dave #121

I always thought as Iowbi as the Wandering Angus with no particular position.He Once said that he felt Ancelotti did not play him in his right position.When Ancelotti was confronted with this he said if he someone could tell him what Iowbi's best position was he would play him in it.

I always remember when Iowbi lost the ball him prancing about, not looking very convincing, trying to recover the ball.

By there were some good times.Seamus always seemed to encourage him and would at the end of games let him know how well he would have played, which he seemed to appreciate.

Paul#126

Interesting information on Aznu.Thanks.

Don’t know what you think Christy but Aznou seems disinterested in this game tonight, would like to see him getting involved a bit more.

2-1 to Doncaster Dave, a nice goal from Justin Clarke the highlight of the game for us. I was wondering where Graham was. I must say Dave I only watched it to see how Aznou got on but I was largely unimpressed to be honest.

We tie it up in extra time and give it right back 2 minutes later.

Roman Dixon was not in the squad. Not listed anyway.

Neither was Reece Welch. Is he still on the team?

Poor kid had his loan to Belgium abruptly terminated last season... because the borrowing club went bust!

The Bobble has one from July that Onyango and Dixon were given permission to train with Stockport County then.

I checked the U-21 game stats again, and Dixon was not in the squad.

Might be why we haven't seen or heard about him lately.
Here's the Bobble text.

Link

I wonder what's happened to Zouma for no one to go in for him? Did his form fall of a cliff at West Ham? Moyes signed him for the Hammers. You would have thought he would have been under consideration unless Moyes knows something we don't.

Btw, I'm a cat owner and think he was twat for what he did.

He played well for Germany in the u21 tournament but that doesn't mean much for stepping up and progressing in the professional ranks.

I see it as a bit of a risky move tbh and with a near £20m price tag a very costly move too.

He's missed a fair bit of football over the last 3 seasons due to injuries and the Premier league is very demanding. I wish him the best of luck. Wands and pointy hats to the ready!

31 in October is still young enough. But why did he play only 19 games in Saudi, why did he not stay there, are his wages demands fit his current profile? or are e signing someone for huge wages who has gone down hill quickly.

Are the club looking for a longer term partner to replace Tarkowski. What is the accepted position on Branthwaite. Is he a year, 3 or 5?

Justin #141, EVERY transfer is a risk.

How do we give from 'merica mate? I didn't see any details on the youtube post.

If you can, could you give account details for YH for me/us to send you something?

Ah, Nick Drake, thanks, he's on right now as I slip from one age to another at midnight.

UP THE TOFFEES

I do think we look a tad short at the back though. Given O'Brien is first choice RB it only leaves us with 3 senior CB's to choose from and Branthwaite is looking increasingly susceptible to injuries with Tarkowski also getting older. I'm still a bit surprised we did nothing to address this in the window especially with RB cover in Patterson and Coleman also being injury prone. Sunderland managed to get Mukiele and Geertruida on good deals; both would have added something to our squad.

https://www.planetfootball.com/lists-and-rankings/free-agents-champions-league-experience-still-available

Given the ages, a 18 year old would fit better, than 30+ plus when we've got Tarkowski, Keane, and suggesting Zouma.

The transfer outlay could be similar to zoumas wages, for a diamond that could be worth millions more.

Peruvian tall ship sails into Liverpool Pier Head.

And a picture set against the back drop of our new home check it out stunning.

Sam/Gavin/Ian, the last report I saw on Zouma had him considering an offer from Romania. Seems like he has moved well into the retread zone. If we can't do better than that....

He is obviously tired (tyred) out :-)

I doubt he will get much/any first team playing time for a while though, he will take time to settle in.

I suspect people may give Rohl a bit more time.

Same with Onana, undoubtedly gifted with physical & technical attributes but just inconsistent, too little, too often.

You can say these players now look better, or are better in other teams, well that's fine.
I think both were decent deals for us as the sellers.

If we were not under psr pressure, I'm sure Onana would have stayed, maybe become a top PL player which I'm still not sure hes at that level.
Iwobi I'm not sure will ever really be the player he could have been, with the talent he had.