[NoSkillz]

July 2027 - Transfer Window


Transfers IN - Senior Team

GK - Fabinho - £17,250,000 (From Fluminense) - 20 years old, Brazil
DL - Joao - £15,250,000 (From Stuttgart) - 23 years old, Brazil
DL - Gabriel Scolaro - £3,600,000 (From A.C. Milan) - 21 years old, Italy
MC - Seyi Omolade - £22,000,000 (From Shakhtar) - 21 years old, Nigeria
MR - Ivan Cerezo - £2,500,000 (From Juventus) - 20 years old, Spain

As you can imagine, with some pretty significant players moving out, there had to be corresponding moves to bring big pieces in.

20 year old Fabinho is likely the top goalkeeping prospect in the world and already rated at 3.0/3.5. He doesn’t know the English language so we’ll bring him along slowly, playing him in the League Cup and other low-key fixtures.

The departure of Rafinha last year meant we needed depth at left fullback and we got that in spades in both Joao and Gabriel Scolaro. Joao (3.0/3.5) is speedy and strong but curiously right footed - he’s another that will have the language barrier to overcome and he’ll be our main backup to Renato Gaucho. Scolaro (2.0/3.0) is small but very quick and will be our third choice at left fullback.

I’ve been eying him for awhile but central midfielder Seyi Omolade (3.0/3.5) is a huge acquisition! He has all the traits of the great midfielders, with incredible technique and tireless work ethic. He should be able to adapt quickly, as he already knows English and should easily move into our main backup role behind Benedikt Raab and Neil Cairney.

Ivan Cerezo (1.5/2.5) will only be a third choice player behind incumbents Sergio De la Vega and Gianluca Bolis, essentially replacing the recently departed Roberto Terlizzi. Cerezo has the requisite speed I desire at the position and may get a few games in. I’m very disappointed to not find a better alternative in the market to push De la Vega and Bolis.


Transfers IN - U18 Team


DL - Dean France - £1,000,000 (From Watford) - 18 years old, England
DC - Marc Berghuis - £2,800,000 (From Ajax) - 18 years old, Holland
MR - Nene - £1,500,000 (From Gremio) - 18 years old, Brazil

GK - Massimo La Vecchia - Free - 18 years old, Italy
DL - Christos Evangelinos - Free - 18 years old, Greece
DL - Chris Kennedy - Free - 18 years old, England
DC - Bobby Martin - Free - 18 years old, England
DR - Chris Cross - Free - 18 years old, England
ML - Kenneth Hansen - Free - 18 years old, Denmark
ML - Zoltan Toth - Free - 18 years old, Hungary
MC - Jan Sloncik - Free - 18 years old, Czech Republic
ST - Danny Kitson - Free - 18 years old, England

Actually, one of my more modest transfer windows when it comes to acquiring U18 talent. Marc Berghuis (1.0/3.5) is the most talented of the bunch, with Dean France (1.0/3.0) and Nene (1.0/3.0) also players with a chance to become something.

The remaining players we picked up on free transfers are depth acquisitions for our U18 club, with potentials ranging from 1.0 stars to 2.5 stars. None will likely make much of an impact for us down the road.



Final Thoughts Before the Season Begins


We once again set a new record in domestic play with an astonishing 104 point season but our goals for were down considerably (from 119 in 2025/26 to only 95 last year). We may be in for a bit of a decline this year but will fight hard to win the league once again and repeat as European champs as well.

We’ve gotten much younger in the offseason. We found an exceptional young talent in goal that we will work to groom this year for the future in Fabinho. Our defensive back four returns intact, bolstered by the depth additions of Joao and Gabriel Scolaro on the left side. We’ve lost a couple of key players in midfield in Jose and Arsene Bamba and will look for big seasons from Mads Pedersen and newcomer Seyi Omolade to replace them. U18 graduate Jonathan Langlet will provide cover for Pedersen on the left and we’ll hope for bounce back campaigns from right midfielders Gianluca Bolis and Sergio De la Vega. Our strikers, led by the ageless Chiquinho and speedster Paul Moses will be counted on for goals, as usual and our depth at that position is unrivalled in all of football.

I think long and hard about our on-field leadership but once again select Salim Loucif as our captain for the fifth consecutive season. Chiquinho is our vice-captain for a second straight year.

Like last year, we would absolutely dominate our pre-season games, winning all seven.

However, for a second straight year, we’d also lose the Community Shield, again dropping the contest to rivals Manchester City at Wembley. That was a bit of a downer prior to our season opening game against Spurs at Crabble Athletic Ground.

We’ll continue to go with a flat 4-4-2 with a control mentality for most of our games, sprinkling in the odd 4-2-3-1 formation along the way.

We are healthy as we head into the start of the season. Mads Pedersen opens as our main starter at left midfield after the departure of Arsene Bamba and Gianluca Bolis once again outplays Sergio De la Vega for the starting position in game one at right midfield. We go with our longest serving player in goal to start the year in Ingo Wilke and perhaps the one big surprise is seeing newcomer Joao in the lineup for game one over usual starter Renato Gaucho.

Here is our starting lineup for game one of the 2027-28 season, where we look to defend our Premier League title and our Champions League crown as well.

GK - Ingo Wilke
D - Joao - Claudio Contreras - Mwemere Mutesa - Salim Loucif
M -Mads Pedersen - Neil Cairney - Benedikt Raab - Gianluca Bolis
ST - Paul Moses - Chiquinho