Transfer Window January 2026 Post Transfer Window Thread

[Carpy]

 

[bazzer9461]

Let's be real and stop talking in hindsight because he scored a hat trick against our makeshift defence.

Before he joined Norwich, he had a goalscoring record of 1 every 4 games for Randers in the Danish league. Prior to that, he played in France and scored 1 in 10 games for Paris FC. Prior to playing in the French and Danish leagues, he was playing in Australia.

Had we been looking at Toure as an option, very few people would have been impressed and it's only because he's started well in the Championship that he's seen as a 'we should gone for him' target. Mark Harris started well last season and scored a few, earned player of the month and look how he's turned out.

But I’m sure after his stellar performance against us, with his pace and accuracy, I’m sure if you had never heard of him you certainly would have sat up and taken notice of him after a similar performance for us.

 

[90syeIlow]

But I’m sure after his stellar performance against us, with his pace and accuracy, I’m sure if you had never heard of him you certainly would have sat up and taken notice of him after a similar performance for us.

Yes I would, naturally. He played well against us and has started well for Norwich, but my point is that he did not look great on paper before coming to England and it's not a player we would have been overly impressed with on this forum during the time before he moved anywhere yet he's seen as the one we should have gone for just because of one game at the Kassam.

If anyone felt he could be a serious option that would benefit OUFC during the window then I'll eat my words, however I don't recall much discussion about him on here.

 

[uptheus]

Let's be real and stop talking in hindsight because he scored a hat trick against our makeshift defence.

Before he joined Norwich, he had a goalscoring record of 1 every 4 games for Randers in the Danish league. Prior to that, he played in France and scored 1 in 10 games for Paris FC. Prior to playing in the French and Danish leagues, he was playing in Australia.

Had we been looking at Toure as an option, very few people would have been impressed and it's only because he's started well in the Championship that he's seen as a 'we should gone for him' target. Mark Harris started well last season and scored a few, earned player of the month and look how he's turned out.

But he looked like he had pace, strength and the right qualities to be considered. And could certainly hit a ball and finish when given those one on one chances.

Makes me wonder what we saw in Romeny etc!

 

[Symp59]

Our recruitment team really seem to struggle picking a good striker ,Will Goodwin, Romeny ,Harris ,Bradshaw ,Lanksher is decent but he will be going back.

 

[TheDukeOfBanburyshire]

I really like it. Best hold up play I have seen from a striker since Ryan Taylor, and versatile too as seen by his effective short stint on the wing earlier in his tenure. It makes sense to lock him up, as otherwise we would probably have needed to sign 2/3 strikers for next season, and now another 2 will be more than enough

Me too. Well said.

 

[RgYellows]

Makes me wonder what we saw in Romeny etc

If you can’t understand why we signed Romeny then I’ve got some magic beans to sell you.

 

[bazzer9461]

Yes I would, naturally. He played well against us and has started well for Norwich, but my point is that he did not look great on paper before coming to England and it's not a player we would have been overly impressed with on this forum during the time before he moved anywhere yet he's seen as the one we should have gone for just because of one game at the Kassam.

If anyone felt he could be a serious option that would benefit OUFC during the window then I'll eat my words, however I don't recall much discussion about him on here.

But that’s nothing unusual with a lot of players we’ve had over the years

 

[Boris]

Our recruitment team really seem to struggle picking a good striker ,Will Goodwin, Romeny ,Harris ,Bradshaw ,Lanksher is decent but he will be going back.

You wouldn't have mentioned Harris in this post at the end of the 2023/24 season

 

[londonyellow]

Our recruitment team really seem to struggle picking a good striker ,Will Goodwin, Romeny ,Harris ,Bradshaw ,Lanksher is decent but he will be going back.

While true, it's the hardest position to recruit for by a mile. Good strikers are like goal dust and you generally have to pay through the nose for a proven striker at this level or have a punt and get lucky. We did well with getting Lankshear on loan but if anything that's highlighted a bigger problem – supply. Can't score goals if you're not given the ball. We really miss BdK in that respect.

 

[90syeIlow]

But that’s nothing unusual with a lot of players we’ve had over the years

Yeah and how often have you complained about said players in match day threads Bazzer?

 

[bazzer9461]

Yeah and how often have you complained about said players in match day threads Bazzer?

I’m not alone

 

[Eric Blair]

While true, it's the hardest position to recruit for by a mile. Good strikers are like goal dust and you generally have to pay through the nose for a proven striker at this level or have a punt and get lucky. We did well with getting Lankshear on loan but if anything that's highlighted a bigger problem – supply. Can't score goals if you're not given the ball. We really miss BdK in that respect.

Agree with that. We'll see if this has been rectified with Jeon Jin Woo, Donely and MPH.

 

[uptheus]

If you can’t understand why we signed Romeny then I’ve got some magic beans to sell you.

Okay, maybe I should have said for football/match enhancement perspective!

I wonder if his signing has led to significant increase in revenue, thus we can spend more on other signings!

 

[carefreeoufc]

Okay, maybe I should have said for football/match enhancement perspective!

I wonder if his signing has led to significant increase in revenue, thus we can spend more on other signings!

I reckon it's generated less revenue than Manorlounger's latest 50/50 win.

 

[Shosho]

Maybe not now...but we spent a majority of the season flogging Brannagan and BDK crossing our fingers that they didn't get injured with only Vaulks as back up.

And just like that, I assume we will be starting Vaulks and Konak on Saturday.

 

[Yellowmania]

And just like that, I assume we will be starting Vaulks and Konak on Saturday.

Reading this has just screwed my day up even more. I shudder just at the thought of it.

 

[Eric Blair]

Reading this has just screwed my day up even more. I shudder just at the thought of it.

I must admit that made me shudder as well. It's true though really isn't it. Is McDonnell out for a while?

 

[Littlemore Local]

I know it's hindsight but if BDK was injured before the end of the window then maybe we didn't need to register him?

BDK came off the bench at Leicester and arguably won the game for us with his assist for Harris. Greg Leigh also came off the bench at the same time in the same game. One of those players is fit. One of those players is registered.

I'm not saying that we definitely should have registered Greg Leigh. I'm saying if there was any doubt we could have left spare spaces and filled them in later.

 

[Jaboysmith]

Nixon has a story on us tomorrow

 

[bazzer9461]

I know it's hindsight but if BDK was injured before the end of the window then maybe we didn't need to register him?

BDK came off the bench at Leicester and arguably won the game for us with his assist for Harris. Greg Leigh also came off the bench at the same time in the same game. One of those players is fit. One of those players is registered.

I'm not saying that we definitely should have registered Greg Leigh. I'm saying if there was any doubt we could have left spare spaces and filled them in later.

If that means one wasn’t then sorry we’re on for a points deduction

 

[Jaboysmith]

If that means one wasn’t then sorry we’re on for a points deduction

Mid-window players don’t need to be registered

 

[38yearsofpain]

Absolutely spot on Tony.

I was thinking about this the other day - over the last 18 months we've relied (or should have been able to) on a number of loan players whose subsequent moves have been to a lower standard - the likes of Wycombe, Hibernians, Göztepe or even (effectively) retired (last club Blackpool).

That's not good enough. And it's largely because (in the main) we're not doing loans at this level correctly.

It should be young players from the very top clubs - on the cusp of being EPL regulars - who just need game time. Tammy Abraham at Bristol City (from Chelsea) being the gold standard for me, but your Preston examples work (as does Lankshear, maybe even Donley, potentially).

We're talking players who will go on to be, literally, out of our league.

But too often it's players who can't break through at Fulham, Crystal Palace, Brentford or at a club in Belgium. For the club sending the player out it's one last throw of the dice - can we get a return on this investment? or do we release them at the end of the season?

At League One you can take these gambles (we often did - with varying success). But in The Championship it needs to be the top pedigree loans. That's the benefit of being at this level - we have access to Will Lankshear and not just Ateef Konate.

Ultimately, loans should feel like we're being done a favour - by getting access to technically superior players.

Too often it feels like we're doing a favour to the club loaning us the player - they have someone on their books that they know won't make the cut with them, at that level, and it's one last throw of the dice to see if they can do it in the 2nd tier before the inevitable tumble down the divisions...

The loan market is a very competitive market place. Top Premier League loanees are wanted by most of the Championship and often other Premier League sides. They want their players to play in a competitive environment but get game time and be tested.
Unfortunately we are unlikely to be anybodys first choice for a number of reasons.
Invariably our loan targets tend to be risks but signing players who will fit our environment and playing style should be a prerequisite. I feel we have a wish list that doesn't have always those fundamental requirements.
We are never going to dominate the possession in this league. Players who work and want to fight are skill sets we require from loanees, as well as whatever other skill sets they bring to the party. Will Lankshear is an ideal type of player we should look for.

 

[Jaboysmith]

Does anyone have access to Nixons stories? Can’t see us named in any tweets of his this morning, though of the stories named I imagine it’ll be the Luton/Wycombe interest in Josh Stones

 

[greatunclekip]

Does anyone have access to Nixons stories? Can’t see us named in any tweets of his this morning, though of the stories named I imagine it’ll be the Luton/Wycombe interest in Josh Stones

Yep we are apparently Scouting him. Coming from a family of York fans, he is nowhere near good enough for Champ, possibly League 1.

 

[Osei Yaw]

It's looking like our January recruitment has given us a chance. Donley, Konak and Peart-Harris have all been a success and a big part of our improved attack. The three of them in the starting 11 has also elevated some of the talent we already had, namely Lankshear, Brannagan and Mills. I'd say those three are looking like excellent January acquisitions.

McDonnell and Makosso have both been decent.

Jury is out on Emakhu and Jeon. Roosken is looking like a duff one. But overall a successful hit rate and we've definitely raised the level of the squad.

I think I've got more trust than most that the current recruitment team are getting more right than wrong. I would still love to know what happened behind the scenes between BdK and Spencer signing on permanents to a two week break in arrivals before Luke Harris came on loan.

The only explanations I have are either that Williams totally bodged the numbers (and then hid away, which is entirely plausible) or that Thohir was going through the process of taking full control and we didn't want to commit to more fees whilst things were changing behind the scenes. I guess there could also be a bit of both.

What is obvious is that the taps were switched back on in January with Thohir in majority control, and now we're seeing the upturn with some of those players bedded in the team. I think that upturn would've come sooner had Donley not got crocked at MK Dons. More to the point, had we spent January's money over the summer then I think we could've been sitting a lot prettier in the table right now. That's two summer windows at this level that we've managed to bodge up, hopefully we now have enough in the squad to earn a third chance at getting it right.

 

[LeftSideBoy]

The only explanations I have are either that Williams totally bodged the numbers (and then hid away, which is entirely plausible)

It is this, and only this..

 

[tonyw]

It's looking like our January recruitment has given us a chance. Donley, Konak and Peart-Harris have all been a success and a big part of our improved attack. The three of them in the starting 11 has also elevated some of the talent we already had, namely Lankshear, Brannagan and Mills. I'd say those three are looking like excellent January acquisitions.

McDonnell and Makosso have both been decent.

Jury is out on Emakhu and Jeon. Roosken is looking like a duff one. But overall a successful hit rate and we've definitely raised the level of the squad.

I think I've got more trust than most that the current recruitment team are getting more right than wrong. I would still love to know what happened behind the scenes between BdK and Spencer signing on permanents to a two week break in arrivals before Luke Harris came on loan.

The only explanations I have are either that Williams totally bodged the numbers (and then hid away, which is entirely plausible) or that Thohir was going through the process of taking full control and we didn't want to commit to more fees whilst things were changing behind the scenes. I guess there could also be a bit of both.

What is obvious is that the taps were switched back on in January with Thohir in majority control, and now we're seeing the upturn with some of those players bedded in the team. I think that upturn would've come sooner had Donley not got crocked at MK Dons. More to the point, had we spent January's money over the summer then I think we could've been sitting a lot prettier in the table right now. That's two summer windows at this level that we've managed to bodge up, hopefully we now have enough in the squad to earn a third chance at getting it right.

I know it probably wasn't completely feasible (especially as Donley went to Stoke, who have deeper pockets than we do) but you just wonder where we would be now if we had signed Donley, Konak, Makosso and MPH in the summer instead of LHarris, Krastev, and Davies (and had managed to shift either Sibley or Bradshaw or ideally both on then). It's not just the money......it's better choices with the money as well.

 

[Osleroad]

U

I know it probably wasn't completely feasible (especially as Donley went to Stoke, who have deeper pockets than we do) but you just wonder where we would be now if we had signed Donley, Konak, Makosso and MPH in the summer instead of LHarris, Krastev, and Davies (and had managed to shift either Sibley or Bradshaw or ideally both on then). It's not just the money......it's better choices with the money as well.

Well we obvs. didn't have that choice did we because they either weren't available st that point or went somewhere else. Makusso prob. was a push from MB and we were likely already tracking Konak who from gossip GR didn't fancy. Football eh - "you don't always get what you want"..so they say.

 

[TheDukeOfBanburyshire]

It's looking like our January recruitment has given us a chance. Donley, Konak and Peart-Harris have all been a success and a big part of our improved attack. The three of them in the starting 11 has also elevated some of the talent we already had, namely Lankshear, Brannagan and Mills. I'd say those three are looking like excellent January acquisitions.

McDonnell and Makosso have both been decent.

Jury is out on Emakhu and Jeon. Roosken is looking like a duff one. But overall a successful hit rate and we've definitely raised the level of the squad.

I think I've got more trust than most that the current recruitment team are getting more right than wrong. I would still love to know what happened behind the scenes between BdK and Spencer signing on permanents to a two week break in arrivals before Luke Harris came on loan.

The only explanations I have are either that Williams totally bodged the numbers (and then hid away, which is entirely plausible) or that Thohir was going through the process of taking full control and we didn't want to commit to more fees whilst things were changing behind the scenes. I guess there could also be a bit of both.

What is obvious is that the taps were switched back on in January with Thohir in majority control, and now we're seeing the upturn with some of those players bedded in the team. I think that upturn would've come sooner had Donley not got crocked at MK Dons. More to the point, had we spent January's money over the summer then I think we could've been sitting a lot prettier in the table right now. That's two summer windows at this level that we've managed to bodge up, hopefully we now have enough in the squad to earn a third chance at getting it right.

Would say it's possibly a little harsh to describe Roosken as a 'duff'. He's hardly featured, and when he has, most notably at Cov, he was very solid indeed.

 

[werthersoriginal]

Would say it's possibly a little harsh to describe Roosken as a 'duff'. He's hardly featured, and when he has, most notably at Cov, he was very solid indeed.

Yes he’s the reserve left back and we’ve hardly seen him, no need to pass judgement either way.