EFL Transfer Bulletin #24 – Akintola to Hull, Rhys Healey to Barrow, plus moves for Manchester United wunderkinds past and present

The latest done deals in the EFL, and in focus: why a labouring Peterborough are right to dip into lower divisions again

Autumn is sneaking up on us like a thief in the night. It’s getting dark at 8.30pm now, not 9.30pm. All four divisions are finally underway. And there remains only a handful more transfer bulletins.

We expect them to be busy, too, as struggling Championship favourites bring in long-awaited reinforcements and roll their ballast down the pyramid. We’ll give you the lowdown on every signing – EFL transfers until the Earth explodes (or at least until the window closes on Monday 1st September).

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Good player, new situation…

Ben Woods (CM) - [Accrington - Peterborough] - Undisclosed

Posh are in a situation. Yes, the sample size is small, but four defeats from four and looking poor in all of them is hardly ideal. One way to fix that is to buy players. Peterborough have signed two.

One arrived with just a quiet post from the club. That’s poor Tom Lees, whom we’ve covered below in our League One section. But the other, Ben Woods, got the full Darragh MacAnthony Tweetment – announced, as per, in advance of Posh’s own socials. You know the Darragh drill: the deal has “taken most of the summer” and eventually reached a “high six-figure” fee (exact numbers left to the imagination).

Woods, though, is worth the optimism. The 22-year-old has a sweet left foot and has matured into a proper central midfielder with a rounded, modern skillset. As Ali wrote in ‘Good Player, Bad Situation’ a couple of months ago, he “has the technical ability to stand out in a strong team at the level, and doesn’t fall down massively on the more physical, defensive side of the game”.

Woods’ record backs that up: 8 goals and 7 assists last season in a struggling Accy side, contributed from left wing-back and central midfield. He’ll add much-needed threat to a Peterborough team with one goal in three league games.

But it isn’t only output. He offers experience compared to Darren Ferguson’s current midfield picks. Donay O’Brien-Brady and Brandon Khela have started each league game, yet Woods played more than double both of their senior minutes in 2024/25. It’s not hard to imagine him stepping straight into one of those roles.

Whether he thrives at Posh depends on the wider context. They aren’t exactly in a good situation. But Woods looks ready for the step up and will improve their options immediately.

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Championship

David Akintola (RW) - [Çaykur Rizespor - Hull] - Free

Work permit in hand, a Nigerian flyer touches down at Hull – and he’s already made his debut. Akintola looked lively in the Tigers’ win over Oxford after replacing the injured Joel Ndala, and he should push hard for minutes on the right wing, or on the left if necessary. The 29-year-old was released this summer by Çaykur Rizespor, where he banked three goals and seven assists in 2024/25, but this is his first venture into English football following spells in Denmark, Norway, Cyprus and Türkiye.

Brandon Williams (LB) - [Unattached - Hull] - Free