Cooper, Zambrano, Twine – the 34 latest EFL signings

NTT20's Summer Transfer Bulletin brings you every signing in the EFL, in detail, in your inbox, every Wednesday.

The Summer Transfer Bulletin is brought to you by Ali Maxwell, George Elek, Huw Davies, Sam Parry, Craig Bradley and Matt Watts.

Loanly Planet…

More than half of the 34 DONE DEALS in this bulletin are loan deals, with some premium loanees starting to be released from their Premier League pre-season shackles.

There’s Jes Rak-Sakyi, look! Last seen in the EFL being the best wide attacker in League One 2022/23. Andrew Moran, too. He had a solid first loan with Blackburn, with one particularly standout month in November. He’ll kick on again this season.

Then there’s George Earthy (Bristol City) and Jamie Donley (Leyton Orient), arriving from West Ham and Tottenham respectively. They are England youth internationals, the sort that arrive with fans of their parent club telling you:

“Look after this one, he’s a future England international and Premier League star.”

And, sometimes, they are! Have a look at these EFL loanees from the last eight seasons: Ben White (Newport, Peterborough, Leeds United), Fikayo Tomori (Brighton, Hull, Derby), Aaron Ramsdale (Chesterfield, Wimbledon), Reece James (Wigan), Marc Guehi (Swansea), Harvey Barnes (MK Dons, Barnsley, West Brom), Mason Mount (Derby), Conor Gallagher (Charlton, Swansea), Harvey Elliott (Blackburn), Tammy Abraham (Bristol City, Aston Villa), Levi Colwill (Huddersfield).

Sometimes, they aren’t. I’m sure everyone can recall a highly-rated loanee who didn’t make any impact. Sometimes, they can show their talent immediately. Sometimes, it takes a second loan or even a third. Occasionally, whatever fuelled an impressive youth team career simply does not translate whatsoever to senior football.

We’ve been giddy with excitement at the amount of overseas signings this summer. We’ve gasped at the amount of our list of 21 Under 21 that have moved - 8/21 and expected to rise! But we’ve also got space in our hearts to be buzzing about the prospect of watching the first steps of a future England international, sent into the EFL on loan.

Championship

George Earthy (AM) - [West Ham - Bristol City] - Loan

A dynamic, creative attacking midfielder, George Earthy arrives at Ashton Gate with a burgeoning reputation. Earthy recorded nine goals and nine assists in 19 PL2 appearances last season - in addition to three goals in the EFL Trophy. The 19-year-old also made his senior debut for the Hammers in April, before scoring his first goal against Luton in May. Given Liam Manning's links with the East London club, you would suspect that this loan move has been carefully coordinated.

Scott Twine (AM) - [Burnley - Bristol City] - Undisclosed

“When the samba rhythm starts to play..." Scott Twine marked his return to Bristol City by scoring the winner in the Robins seven-goal thriller against Millwall on Saturday and already has a smash-hit/viral chant. Twine endured a difficult couple of years at Burnley, but we haven't forgotten his stunning season under Liam Manning at MK Dons. Or the one before that at Newport & Swindon. Or the fact that, across the two seasons, the only player to score more goals than Twine from outside the box in Europe was Lionel Messi.

The 25-year-old has shown glimpses of what he's capable of at Championship level with both Hull and Bristol City but, with a bit more stability off the pitch and under the guidance of Manning once more, Twine may well be ready to shine once more.

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Jesper Daland (CB) - [Cercle Brugge - Cardiff] - Undisclosed