EFL Transfer Bulletin #18 – Lowe and Dodgson in for Stockport, three in for Hull, and Reading PAY A FEE for Paddy Lane

The latest 28 done deals in the EFL, and in focus: The case of Ar’jany Martha and why development isn’t linear…

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🚨 Features: Weekend Notes | 25/26 Transfer Window | Season Previews

🖋️ Writers: Ali Maxwell | George Elek | Huw Davies | Sam Parry | Guests

🎙️ Podcasts: Under The Lights | Dear Ali & George…

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The EFL Transfer Bulletin is written by Ali Maxwell, George Elek, Huw Davies, Sam Parry, Matt Watts, Craig Bradley, Ed Stratmann and Riley Roberts, with the help of the NTT20 Squad.

It starts today…

Ali and George have 1-24’d it, the fans have previewed it, and we’ve all been thinking about it since last we saw it. And tonight, at 20:00, the still point in our turning world returns. Football is back.

All summer long, we’ve noted down the new characters and old faces switching clubs and settling into a new challenge. There are 28 in this bulletin, and how many will come straight in to play this weekend?

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Development isn’t linear…

Ar’jany Martha (LWB/RW) - [Beerschot - Rotherham] - Undisclosed

Craig Bradley

If you’d told Ajax fans in 2023, when Martha was 19, that their youth player from Rotterdam would end up at Rotherham, they would have laughed you out of the coffee shop. Back then, he was three seasons deep into a promising spell with Jong Ajax in the Dutch second tier, revealing himself to be a fast, tricky, inverted right winger with the classic Ajax polish.

Then things went awry. An injury crisis in the first team saw Martha thrown into the deep end as a makeshift left-back. It didn’t go well. Out of place in defence, he was targeted by opposition teams and, quickly, his own team’s supporters. By the time he landed with a bump back at Jong Ajax, he’d fallen down the pecking order. Released that summer, Martha signed for Beerschot but was just as unsettled in Belgium: he played only 662 minutes across 19 appearances, and his role was an irregular patchwork all over the pitch. Then Rotherham came calling.

Maybe Martha was never going to hit the heights some imagined. He’s only 5ft 9in and so slight that it would be flagged as a concern on any scout report. Maybe he was a victim of timing, or injuries, or simply being in the wrong place when Ajax needed something else.

Now it’s up to Martha and Rotherham to prove that the story isn’t over. You'll find online clips that make him look levels above League One, and he may well be, because – altogether now – development isn’t linear. In fact, here are three signings from this very bulletin (all profiled in more detail below) where that rule might apply:

• David Ozoh: Joins Derby on loan, aiming for more minutes after last season was hampered by injury; still highly rated, but needs a consistent run to show it.

• Antwoine Hackford: Leaves Sheffield United on a free to join AFC Wimbledon after debuting in the top flight; comes off a poor loan spell at Port Vale and now looks to rebuild in League One.

• Keanan Bennetts: Once on the books at Spurs and Borussia Mönchengladbach; now drops into League Two, as another case of talent in need of a restart.

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Championship

David Ozoh (CM) - [Crystal Palace - Derby] - Loan

After an injury-ravaged first loan, Ozoh returns to Pride Park in a bid to finish what he started. He made only 12 appearances for Derby last season, but the club and fans alike were suitably impressed.

Ozoh is a powerful midfielder who wins plenty of duels, but he’s also tidy in possession, and crucially, the combination of his physicality and technical ability enables him to make driving runs through the middle of the pitch. If he can stay fit, the 20-year-old could be one of the Championship’s breakout stars in 2025/26.

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Akin Famewo (CB) - [Sheffield Wednesday - Hull] - Free

Famewo is the latest participant of this summer’s mass exodus from Sheffield Wednesday, and he joins probably the least stable club in the Championship outside of his former employer. There’s a risk involved for Hull, too, who will have to nurture the 26-year-old’s injuries carefully if they’re to get the most from him.

Famewo is a proactive defender who’ll add some athleticism to Hull’s backline. He’s adaptable, too, having played at both CB and LB for Wednesday, which could make him something of a like-for-like replacement – in terms of position, at least – for the departed Sean McLoughlin.

Joel Ndala (LW/RW) - [Manchester City - Hull] - Loan