Across the divisions, there will be a lot of activity today. Teams will be fighting to put the finishing touches to their squads, and many will be left disappointed.
We’ve been there – signing Simeon Akinola, only for it to fall through. Having Oli Hawkins in the building, only for him to pop up at Portsmouth and sign for them. We’ve wanted Danny Hylton and got Lee Angol, we’ve been left without a striker and in almost all of those moments, none of it was the club’s fault.
It’s such a fluid, fast-moving day, you can be left high and dry for the season, scrabbling around tomorrow for the free agents who suddenly command twice the wages they did 24 hours before.
Summer 2024 Deadline Day For City
Are we in any danger this deadline day? Perhaps, but certainly not the sort of danger people are usually thinking. The biggest issue for us is almost always a striker, and yet here we are, for the second window in a row, with the number 9 shirt filled and plenty of depth. We currently have five fit strikers to choose from, with another to come back from injury, leaving us with more than two for each position. Anyone who tries to tell me we need to strengthen the attack next time we’re at the Bank will see the back of my head as I walk away in disgust.
Mind you, I had to do that a couple of times on Saturday when I was told we didn’t have anyone who could score goals a week after Ben House got one for us.
What are the dangers for us? There’s two that I can see; the first is losing Ethan Erhahon. As the day goes on, perhaps bigger clubs will be ready to up their valuation of targets, and if a club meets Ethan’s valuation we’ll have a decision to make. However, I think that would have to be a significant amount, as Jez has already said he wouldn’t want a late bid leaving us exposed.
We do perhaps look a little light at left-sided centre back as well. The intention always felt like we’d bring someone in, but it’s tricky – Sean Roughan (rightly) starts for us, so it would have to be a project. One wonders if a TJ Eyoma loan, like the first one (winter where he didn’t play), could be an option if we need it. We do have good defensive cover, but not really left-footed. There are also questions over Reeco’s fitness and Dylan’s betting case, and at the time of writing, we’re not sure if Erik Ring’s work permit is through yet.
How Has The Window Been?
We’ve had 11 come in, so the squad churn has been significant, but when you look at the spine, we’re pretty familiar. O’Connor, Jackson and Roughan are all the same as last season, as is Erhahon. McGrandles, House and Jovon were ket figures towards the end of last season as well, so while we’ve certainly added depth and strength, it isn’t like we have a whole new squad to integrate.
I always feel it’s tough to judge a transfer window as it closes, as there are so many variables. Had we done this last summer, we’d be praising the signing of Tyler Walker, but he’s played about 20 minutes since it closed, on the final day against Portsmouth. Therefore, it’s not one we can judge now, but we’ll certainly discuss it in-depth in our Deadline Day Live broadcast from 7 pm on YouTube.
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