Done Deals: 8 eye-catching bits of transfer business - plus the 49 latest signings
This week, we pick out the signings that stand out most, with analysis of new arrivals at Boro, Bromley, Southampton, Pompey, Salford, MK Dons, Leyton Orient.
Welcome to Done Deals, your weekly guide to every EFL transfer.
This week, it’s all about what’s caught our eye. We’re assessing Bromley’s seven-signing spree, Middlesbrough’s move for Kyle Joseph, Portsmouth’s latest overseas recruit, MK Dons’ midfield statement, Southampton’s (reported) £9m outlay on Lewis Dobbin and Leyton Orient’s exciting loan addition – plus a whirlwind tour of the EFL’s goalkeeper market and Salford City’s capture of Elliot Bonds.
#1. The Bromley Seven - [Various - Bromley]
Ali Maxwell
Let’s begin with the most active team this week: League One’s debutants, Bromley. They have made seven signings since last Friday, all with a clear role in mind and making the most of one of Bromley’s recruitment edges: geography.
Summer Recruitment Objective #1: Replace any key players who have left.
The FBref table below highlights the players from last season’s League Two-winning squad who have since left the club.
The good news is that the core of this excellent Bromley team remains. Further good news is that The Bromley Seven can almost all be earmarked as direct replacements for those who have departed:
CB: Deji Elerewe, Kyle Cameron, Jesse Debrah OUT; Chanse Headman, Deon Woodman IN
LB/LWB: Idris Odutayo OUT; Jacob Mendy IN
CM: Jude Arthurs OUT; Kamil Conteh IN
AM: Ben Krauhaus OUT; Ethon Archer IN
In Shamal George, they’ve brought in a challenger to long-term No.1 Grant Smith, and in Victor Adeboyejo, a League One version of last season’s third-choice striker, Marcus Dinanga. He’ll challenge Nicke Kabamba for minutes alongside or replacing Michael Cheek.
It was in February, after the signings of Zech Medley and Jesse Debrah, that we first clocked Bromley’s transfer strategy: bringing ‘home’ players from London or the surrounding areas who have found themselves playing elsewhere in the country. And they’re quadrupling down: every single one of the seven signings is returning to London or its environs, having either been born, grown up, or spent their early career there.
And finally, we can’t ignore the aerial titans of Bromley signing a player called Headman. The cheek of it…
#2. Kyle Joseph (RW/LW/ST) - [Hull - Middlesbrough] - Undisclosed
Sam Parry
Kyle Joseph missed Hull City’s play-off final victory over Middlesbrough at Wembley after suffering an injury in the semi-final (one we’re not sure he has recovered from). There is a certain irony in Boro borrowing a player from the side that denied them promotion.
What makes the transfer particularly interesting, though, is that Joseph does not instinctively feel like an obvious Kim Hellberg signing. Earlier this summer, LouOrns outlined the qualities that might define the ideal versatile forward in a Hellberg side:
Natural intensity
Comfort in wide and central areas
Playmaking tendencies
Strong dribbling ability
He also identified several key attributes for a Hellberg winger:
Pace
Comfort receiving centrally and out wide
Dribbling ability
A knack for arriving at the back post
Here’s the full piece for more detail 👇
Joseph sits somewhere between those two profiles. He is certainly versatile. During the 2025/26 season, he started 11 matches as a centre-forward for Hull, nine from the left wing, and seven from the right. However, he is not a natural playmaker; he doesn’t squeeze himself out of tight spaces; he won’t repeatedly beat his defender; nor does he possess explosive pace (although he is no slouch).
