EFL Transfer Bulletin #26 – Blades sharpen their defence & QPR sign three, plus Koumas to Birmingham, Kioso to Posh, Kanu to Walsall and more

The latest done deals in the EFL, and in focus: who's using the loan market?

Two to go…

We’ve been writing these bulletins all summer long, tracking every signing in the EFL. Now there are just two left: one on Friday and one on Monday. And speaking of Monday — Transfer Deadline Day — we’ve got a packed schedule lined up, from live blogs to live broadcasts. It’s going to be lit (well, you can’t do a live show without some lighting).

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Loan market users…

This week’s In Focus is more of a public service announcement. A couple of weeks ago, Ali Maxwell highlighted the domino effect of high-profile loan moves. We’ve already seen a few, with more added below — hello Lewis Dobbin, Lewis Koumas, and Ben Godfrey. The more premium loanees heading to Championship clubs, the more heading out across the rest of the EFL. But where are they going? And which clubs have been busiest in the loan market?

While teams can sign more than five loan players across a season, only five can be named in a matchday squad. With just a week left before the transfer window closes, here’s a snapshot of how many loan slots remain open at every EFL club, ordered by the number of matchday spots still available if every loanee made the squad.

In the Championship, 15 clubs have 3+ spots remaining available, so there’s plenty of hay to be made between now and Deadline Day. Don’t count on Wrexham or Charlton doing so; they don’t do loans.

Then into League One, where it’s weighted the other way around. Out of the 24 clubs, more than half (13) have made at least three loan signings. Bradford are the big outliers here, part of a nine-strong group of teams who, as it stands, are more interested in nurturing their own crop rather than hothousing someone else’s talent.

And finally, in League Two, it’s much more balanced, with the vast majority of teams utilising the loan market, while retaining the option for flexibility as they head into the final week of the window.

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Championship

Lewis Koumas (LW/RW/ST) - [Liverpool - Birmingham] - Loan

After showing glimpses of his talent on loan at Stoke, bagging 6 goals and 5 assists in 49 games, Koumas joins Birmingham for the season with no option to buy. It’s an intriguing choice of location, because Championship interest was strong and it’ll be harder for the 19-year-old to get regular minutes with the Blues, certainly compared to last season – Koumas made 43 Championship appearances, 26 of them starts, which is incredibly rare for a teenager on his first loan.

Yet this move can benefit him in other ways. Koumas is a direct and technical attacker, capable of playing across the front line, but that versatility and Stoke’s state of perma-chaos meant his position changed almost game-by-game. Birmingham are stable, tactically cohesive and well coached, which could help Koumas to improve his consistency and goal output. Chris Davies has spoken glowingly about the young Wales international but he’ll have to fight for a place; it’s a new challenge for him, and that’s no bad thing.

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Moussa Baradji (CM) - [Yverdon-Sport - Blackburn] - Loan (option to buy)

Rovers have signed Baradji essentially to replace their departing captain, Lewis Travis, and they’ve reportedly seen off competition to do so. The midfield enforcer arrives from Switzerland injured, but once fit he should bring intensity, aggression and bite to Blackburn’s engine room.

Being physically imposing yet athletic, Baradji should have the attributes to suit the Championship and Valérien Ismaël’s style, although the language barrier might be an issue as he leans on his manager and French-speaking team-mates at first. The 24-year-old fills Blackburn’s final ESC slot, following Exaucé Mafoumbi’s exit.

Ryoya Morishita (RW/LW/AM) - [Legia Warsaw - Blackburn] - Undisclosed

In January 2024, Ryoyo Morishita arrived in Warsaw from Japan as a workmanlike but fairly ordinary right wing-back. Eighteen months later, he leaves as a creative wideman who has taken his game up a notch and become a full Japanese international. At around 5'6, Morishita is something of a pocket rocket capable of top delivery from the flank. The 28-year-old played a key role in helping Legia to the Conference League quarter-finals last season, where they exited after a gallant defeat over two legs to Chelsea. Most players arriving in England from the Band 5 Ekstraklasa would require an ESC slot, but the Conference League finish and the Japan cap enable Morishita to qualify for a full work permit. Smart business from Rovers.

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Kasey McAteer (RW) - [Leicester - Ipswich] - Undisclosed (rumoured £12m)