Done Deals: Dykes, Mumba, Nelson and more in the EFL's latest 20 transfers – plus LouOrns on Blackburn's exciting new forward
Every day from Tuesday to Saturday, NTT20.COM writes-up and rates every single signing in the Championship, League One, and League Two.
Contributors include: Ali Maxwell, George Elek, Sam Parry, Huw Davies, Riley Roberts, Matt Watts, Craig Bradley, Gab Sutton and Luke “LouOrns” McKenzie.
We have now surpassed 100 signings in the EFL. We mark today’s centenary, like all British centenaries, by momentarily acknowledging what came before and then getting on with the job.
Here’s LouOrns with today’s headliner…
🟢 Mathias Jørgensen (RW/LW/ST) - [Bodø/Glimt - Blackburn] - Undisclosed
Jørgensen joined Bodø/Glimt only last summer for around £3m. He started just three league games and is clearly not trusted by Kjetil Knutsen. But I don’t think that’s down to ability because, as a wide man, the 25-year-old has a knack for getting into the right areas at the right time.
Despite barely featuring from the start, Jørgensen managed to score 5 goals in 15 games. Blackburn don’t play with wingers, but they do play with split strikers at times, and with Gudjohnsen close to a return, their new signing is another floor-raiser. He ghosts regularly into that back-post area and makes runs into space, whether it’s down the sides of the centre-backs or centrally. Because of his gangly frame and running style, it’s awkward for defenders to get the ball off him, so they bring him down.
To me, Jørgensen would fit Rovers’ two-striker system down to a tee. He’s comfortable using both feet. He finishes left and right with no issue, especially when shooting across the keeper. He has been operating on the right for Bodø/Glimt, but performs much better off the left in the half-spaces, where he can link with the attacking midfielder and wing-back to eventually set him free to shoot across goal or at the near post. He has scored quite a few coming from those situations.
Reports on the fee vary, with some going as high as £3.5m. That’s a handy six-month profit for Bodø/Glimt, but Jørgensen could be an even handier boost for Blackburn.
🟠 Lyndon Dykes (ST) - [Birmingham - Charlton] - Undisclosed
Has there ever been a more Nathan Jones player than Lyndon Dykes? The towering Scottish forward found minutes hard to come by at Birmingham City, but with the World Cup ahead in the summer, he needs regular minutes to solidify his spot in Steve Clarke’s squad for the tournament.
Dykes, 30, has seen his goal numbers decline each season since he moved south of the border in 2020, from 12, 8, 8 and 6 in Championship games for QPR to just one in Birmingham’s League One title win and two this season. What he does offer is physicality – and he did pop up with a few last-gasp winners for the Blues. Even a couple of those could make a huge difference as Charlton seek to avoid relegation.
🟠 Fin Munroe (LB) - [Aston Villa - Middlesbrough] - Undisclosed (reported £300,000)
On loan at League Two Swindon, Munroe was one of the success stories of the first half of the season – so much so, Aston Villa have been able to capitalise on the 20-year-old’s reputational rise. Middlesbrough part way with a reported £300k transfer fee and 30% future sell-on for Munroe, whose Villa contract was due to end this summer with zero indication that he should expect a new deal.
Boro have signed an attack-minded full-back whose best asset is his crossing delivery, in open play and from set pieces. Their injury-ravaged defence has resulted in Matt Targett playing plenty of minutes at centre-back while their left-back position has been filled by a rolling cast of players, with Al Bangura featuring sporadically and Sammy Silvera occasionally deputising in a unfamiliar position. Middlesbrough are currently in the brace position, fearing that Newcastle recall Targett.
If the loanee remains at Boro, Munroe might be able to start as back-up and find his feet at Championship level. If Targett goes back to Newcastle, then Munroe will need to show that his skillset is immediately transferable to a rise of two divisions.
🟠 Yunus Konak (CM) - [Brentford - Oxford] - Loan
So, Oxford have loaned a Brentford kid whom they signed from Turkey who has never really played first-team football, right?
Well, no. Konak broke through at Sivasspor as a 17 year-old and played more than 1300 minutes in the Super Lig in his first season. This prompted their then-manager to say, “The most talented player I have seen in the last 30 years of Turkish football is Yunus Emre Konak – his physique, tempo, ability to read the game and mentality is exemplary.”
