Schu me the way to Amarillo - Summer 2025 Transfer Thread

[BWFC_Insane]

He wants to get into the Wales squad, that isn't happening in L2.

Stranger things have happened in football but I'd be very surprised if it happened, and it would need to be a L2 record signing and some, for me.

It depends if they feel there is a need to free up space too. Not many of our players will be easy to shift. Collins has goals but I’m not convinced he is easy to fit into a balanced side. Work ethic not there and can’t hold the ball. Certainly not a lone striker nor imo really a wide player.

But the goals would be a huge loss and they aren’t just goals they are in the main quality goals that I’d struggle to see us replacing.

At the same time though he was part of a team that weren’t good enough and he himself wasn’t on many occasions good enough.

I fear that if we sell him we might be saying this needs a rebuild and isn’t happening in a summer but we have to ensure we cash in on assets to play the long game. Which I would be pretty unhappy about tbh. But Harkin may have made that judgement.

End of the day we aren’t doing what we did historically and splurging money at it which means if the market isn’t there to get you where you want to be - what options have you got?

[sonicthewhite]

Look at Mullins when he went to Wrexham. So money does talk for some people.

[Harry Genshaw]

This is akin to Sarc to Stockport for me. I'd be shocked if either us or the player are even considering it but the fact its being talked about suggests there's something in it.

[BWFC_Insane]

This is akin to Sarc to Stockport for me. I'd be shocked if either us or the player are even considering it but the fact its being talked about suggests there's something in it.

Yeah I think he’s going personally. Like it or not.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Rushian Hepburn-Murphy, Nathaniel Mendez-Laing and Aaron Collins wouldn't be a bad Division Four front three.

Reading the #bwfc hashtag on Twitter, it seems to me that fans are absolutely split down the middle. Half saying get shut, half saying it looks a lot like madness to sell your top striker in two successive windows.

[Bijou Bob]

If a 20 goal striker is going to be available for around the £1 million mark, I can see Cardiff, Wycombe and maybe one or two others in L1 who might be tempted, along with a couple of Championship clubs. I suspect an MK Dons opening bid and an acknowledgment that we are prepared to sell, might well open up a bidding war.

The question for me is not so much can we replace the goals, as will he score anywhere near last season's tally in a different tactical set up? Personally, I suspect not. The money would presumably go towards a replacement, either in wages for a loan or a transfer fee. Ennis has already been mentioned as has Will Keane, Ennis off Dalby would float my boat......on paper.

Interestingly, the club haven't rushed out a statement saying "He's going nowhere". Schumacher inherited Collins, none of us know whether he actually rates him, or sees him fitting into future plans.

[BWFC_Insane]

If a 20 goal striker is going to be available for around the £1 million mark, I can see Cardiff, Wycombe and maybe one or two others in L1 who might be tempted, along with a couple of Championship clubs. I suspect an MK Dons opening bid and an acknowledgment that we are prepared to sell, might well open up a bidding war.

The question for me is not so much can we replace the goals, as will he score anywhere near last season's tally in a different tactical set up? Personally, I suspect not. The money would presumably go towards a replacement, either in wages for a loan or a transfer fee. Ennis has already been mentioned as has Will Keane, Ennis off Dalby would float my boat......on paper.

Interestingly, the club haven't rushed out a statement saying "He's going nowhere". Schumacher inherited Collins, none of us know whether he actually rates him, or sees him fitting into future plans.

I mean given we are playing a 433/4231 at least that’s the guess we need two good wide forwards to play off Dalby and probably another number 9. Ideally. And I’d agree there is a question mark about Collins in that system where he’d play and how effective he’d be.

But the other side of that is if he goes and we’ve then sold two strikers in successive windows both capable of goals in this league and are left with a team where you aren’t sure who is capable of goals that is bound to raise questions.

It’s really difficult because we feel like we need a rebuild and you can’t do that without sales but the other side of the coin is selling your top scorer this summer doesn’t scream we are planning for a serious promotion push next season. It suggests maybe you see it as a season of change.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

It's very tempting to think back to Schuey's quotes along the lines of "we have to ask players if they buy into what we want", which I seem to remember had an emphasis on hard work.

An auction would be good except if it strengthens our rivals. At the moment we're laughing at getting Huddersfield to cough up £700,000 (plus potential £200k promo bonus) for Dion, but his goals weren't replaced for us even if he didn't get any for them. We might not be so lucky again if Collins went to, say, Cardiff.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

If a 20 goal striker is going to be available for around the £1 million mark, I can see Cardiff, Wycombe and maybe one or two others in L1 who might be tempted, along with a couple of Championship clubs. I suspect an MK Dons opening bid and an acknowledgment that we are prepared to sell, might well open up a bidding war.

And just like that...

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Daft thought-experiment sidebar:

Just looking through AC's goals. 7 of his 19 were in the cups. Of his 12 league goals, 6 altered the result: 5 came in single-goal wins, 1 in a draw. The other 6 were either in bigger wins or ones we lost anyway.

Playing the old "if his goals were expunged" gamr, and ignoring the fact that GoalsChangeGamesTM even if subsequent events mean they're not specifically "the winner", that's 11 points' difference from 45 league appearances. Would we expect a striker to contribute more or less than that?

[The_Gun]

If a 20 goal striker is going to be available for around the £1 million mark, I can see Cardiff, Wycombe and maybe one or two others in L1 who might be tempted, along with a couple of Championship clubs. I suspect an MK Dons opening bid and an acknowledgment that we are prepared to sell, might well open up a bidding war.

The question for me is not so much can we replace the goals, as will he score anywhere near last season's tally in a different tactical set up? Personally, I suspect not. The money would presumably go towards a replacement, either in wages for a loan or a transfer fee. Ennis has already been mentioned as has Will Keane, Ennis off Dalby would float my boat......on paper.

Interestingly, the club haven't rushed out a statement saying "He's going nowhere". Schumacher inherited Collins, none of us know whether he actually rates him, or sees him fitting into future plans.

Who said he’s available for £1m?

[Worthy4England]

Daft thought-experiment sidebar:

Just looking through AC's goals. 7 of his 19 were in the cups. Of his 12 league goals, 6 altered the result: 5 came in single-goal wins, 1 in a draw. The other 6 were either in bigger wins or ones we lost anyway.

Playing the old "if his goals were expunged" gamr, and ignoring the fact that GoalsChangeGamesTM even if subsequent events mean they're not specifically "the winner", that's 11 points' difference from 45 league appearances. Would we expect a striker to contribute more or less than that?

I like the thought experiment. 12 goals could get you 36 points they got us less than 1 a goal. Given our loss record, stopping 12 might also bag you the same amount and we're often told devensive players are "cheaper."

[BWFC_Insane]

MK Dons local media reporting this as ‘close to done’ for Collins. Or as they say ‘on the brink’.

Sounds like it’s happening.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

I like the thought experiment. 12 goals could get you 36 points they got us less than 1 a goal. Given our loss record, stopping 12 might also bag you the same amount and we're often told devensive players are "cheaper."

Glad you like it. A lot of goals are "grace goals" and change nowt compared to "clutch goals".

Small pedantic note: Technically, the 12 goals could only get you 24pts as they'd change 12 draws to wins. Or 12pts if they changed losses to draws.

[Bijou Bob]

If a 20 goal striker is going to be available for around the £1 million mark, I can see Cardiff, Wycombe and maybe one or two others in L1 who might be tempted, along with a couple of Championship clubs. I suspect an MK Dons opening bid and an acknowledgment that we are prepared to sell, might well open up a bidding war.

The question for me is not so much can we replace the goals, as will he score anywhere near last season's tally in a different tactical set up? Personally, I suspect not. The money would presumably go towards a replacement, either in wages for a loan or a transfer fee. Ennis has already been mentioned as has Will Keane, Ennis off Dalby would float my boat......on paper.

Interestingly, the club haven't rushed out a statement saying "He's going nowhere". Schumacher inherited Collins, none of us know whether he actually rates him, or sees him fitting into future plans.

Who said he’s available for £1m?

It certainly won't be much more than that, Shirley?!

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

MK Dons local media reporting this as ‘close to done’ for Collins. Or as they say ‘on the brink’.

Sounds like it’s happening.

Would be surprising if we didn't hold out for other interest. Unless we want him not to bite us in the ass.

[Frank Drebin]

Rumours that Huddersfield are after him as well, and they have a very rich owner. It’s a potential bidding war if that’s the case, but I wouldn’t want home going to a rival.

[TonyDomingos]

MK Dons local media reporting this as ‘close to done’ for Collins. Or as they say ‘on the brink’.

Sounds like it’s happening.

Yeah, just read that too. But, it seems a bit odd given Iles implied only a few hours ago that a bid was anticipated (rather than had been tabled).

[Bijou Bob]

Presumably, we'll be making him request a transfer, as paying his deal up would leave us with virtually nothing, given he's got two years left.

I honestly can't think of any other transfer we've done, where our most valuable player has been sold and I've been this ambivalent. I can just imagine the scenes in Huddersfield if he goes there and hasn't scored by Christmas!

[BWFC_Insane]

Presumably, we'll be making him request a transfer, as paying his deal up would leave us with virtually nothing, given he's got two years left.

I honestly can't think of any other transfer we've done, where our most valuable player has been sold and I've been this ambivalent. I can just imagine the scenes in Huddersfield if he goes there and hasn't scored by Christmas!

We wouldn’t be having to pay his contract off. We received a bid. Decide on whether it’s acceptable enough or not. Say to the player ‘we’ve accepted a bid from X you are free to talk to them’.

Player and agent toddle off to talk to club - discuss terms etc - either take it or don’t. In doing so their contract is terminated here and that’s it.

Of course a player could say ‘they aren’t paying me as much so if you want me to go I need you to make up the difference’ or whatever - but that would be a scenario more like us trying to shift Lolos than this.