EFL transfers we love this summer so far - Part 2
George and Ali pick 6 more summer signings that could light up the EFL in 2023/24.
In part one of this multi-part series, we listed 6 of the best signings of the EFL window so far. And now we’re bounding into our pre-season run-up like an England bowler before the Old Trafford rain. The 1-24s are coming. The second part of our summer mailbag is coming. The third part of the summer signings series is coming (you’ll need to be a paid subscriber for this one). So, ready your inbox, keep your eyes peeled, and if you haven’t already, sign yourselves up for the EFL Newsletter by NTT20.
Here are 6 more summer signings that we love: 4 fees, 1 loan, 1 free. They span all leagues and they represent, we think, great business for the clubs involved. We begin in the second city, where the shirts are blue, the skies *may* be brightening and their new signing… well, he’s Siriki Dembélé.
Siriki Dembélé - Birmingham City - Undisclosed fee believed to be around £750,000
Ali Maxwell
Fans of remarkable footballing careers, get a load of this: Siriki Dembélé didn’t sign his first professional contract until a few months before his 21st birthday. He made his League Two debut for Grimsby Town in August 2017 and his Premier League debut five years and two months later, having ticked off League One and the Championship along the way. From Nike Football Academy to Grimsby Town, then Peterborough United and Bournemouth, the last six years have been incredible, and that doesn’t even account for life up to that point.
But Dembélé didn’t start a game for Bournemouth in the Premier League and never found himself a big part of the picture there. He’s only started 26 Championship games total in his career. So, despite being a popular player with an impressive rise, there’s still a fair bit to prove.
I have no doubt that he will do just that— Sir Ricky’s best is still to come.
Some of the most impactful attacking players in the Championship last season were wide forwards whose 1v1 ability allowed their teams to attack with speed and directness, and make opposition teams’ low-block defence collapse: think of Zaroury and Benson at Burnley or Clarke, Roberts and Amad Diallo at Sunderland. Threat from wide areas is crucial in the Championship - whether that is via 1v1 quality or well-coached patterns of play to create overloads, something Sheffield United did fantastically.
Birmingham’s signings this summer point to a shift to 4-2-3-1, and I would expect Dembélé to get most of his minutes on the left wing. From there, Dembélé will be one of the best dribblers in the league, on a similar level to those mentioned. He has fantastic close control, ball manipulation and improvisation mixed with a low centre of gravity. The sight of Dembélé wriggling away from the close attention of numerous defenders and carrying the ball right at the heart of defences is a key reason for his popularity among EFL lovers.
He is not a selfish dribbler. Once in space, he keeps his head up and picks out teammates with passes off either foot. He is not a particularly clean ball-striker and doesn’t shoot from range with enough power to be considered a ‘cut in and shoot’ threat on the level of a Benson or a Clarke. However, he has shown some smart finishing inside the box and one-on-one, particularly during a period where he played up front alongside Jonson Clarke Harris for Peterborough. This adds another option for Eustace if he wants to go three-at-the-back and put some speed around The Duke Jutkiewicz up top.
With new ownership in place, Birmingham City are moving into a new era. We’ll hold off on judging the new owners until it’s become clear whether or not they are following through on their initial statements and plans. In footballing matters, there’s a pleasing feeling of freshness. A number of exciting young players have signed permanently, with an injection of technical ability and flair clearly on the agenda.
Birmingham have finished in the bottom half of the Championship for seven straight seasons. Sexy signings alone do not guarantee a top-half finish, and the club must make sure it does not run before it can walk. But with the impressive John Eustace at the helm, I won’t be raining on the parade of excited Blues fans. The team has scored 50 league goals or fewer in the last three seasons. There has not been much to get bums off seats, but with Siriki and co in blue this season, that should change.
Jerry Yates - Swansea City - Undisclosed fee, believed to be around £2.5m
George Elek
Mike Duff’s arrival at Swansea will likely see a shift from relentless passing to relentless pressing, and in Jerry Yates, they’ve bought a striker whose work rate and eye for goal should embody the new manager’s approach.
The former Cheltenham boss has a phenomenal record in getting the best out of frontmen. Alfie May had scored just 3 goals in 49 league appearances over a season and a half at Doncaster before Duff brought him to Cheltenham in January 2019 where he flourished into one of the most prolific goalscorers in League One.
At Barnsley, it was Devante Cole who benefitted from a sprinkle of stardufft (sorry), scoring 15 league goals last season, having failed to make any real impact the year before and with no recent indication that he was capable of such a haul.
Joel Piroe has been Swansea’s star striker for the past two seasons, but there continues to be speculation around his future and, given he would have to radically change his game to offer what Duff demands from his strikers off the ball, it wouldn’t be a shock if he was to move on before the window closes.
Unlike previous benefactors of the Mikedas Touch (sorry), Yates has a track record of scoring goals with 44 in his last 124 league games across League One and The Championship, and 14 last season in a struggling Blackpool side.
He will lead the press from the front, but is far more than just an energetic front man, as both Eoin Doyle and Ellis Simms will attest to having thrived when playing up front alongside him at Swindon and Blackpool.
If Piroe does stay at Swansea, he will no doubt be the next on the list to benefit from playing alongside Yates.
There is likely to be something of a transition period from Martin to Duff, but the addition of Yates in such a crucial position should both help any teething issues and plug the goal gap if Piroe does move on.
Idris El Mizouni - Leyton Orient - On loan from Ipswich Town
Ali Maxwell
Part of the childlike excitement and intrigue that surrounds transfers comes down to imagination. We don’t actually know how things will go, but we are sure as hell excited to find out! We love to try and predict the specifics, the quality of the tactical fit, and we generally settle on the best-case scenario, because it’s more fun than constantly hedging.
But uncertainty is a bedfellow of imagination. There it is, hiding under the covers. The monster when the lights go out, reminding us that assumption is the mother of all f*** ups. The reality is almost always often less rosy than the anticipation.
Thankfully, before I completely lose my mind, we have the case of Idris El Mizouni arriving on loan at Leyton Orient for a second straight season. We don’t need to imagine this one! We have tangibles and recent memories. We have anecdotes, data, and hard evidence. We know what we’re getting from the player, what role he will play, and what impact he’ll have on the team - because we’ve just seen it.
“Les Miz” put together one of the most impressive individual performances of the 2022/23 EFL season. And because of his age (22) and playing experience (one full season as a starter), we can still dream about how we may see even more from El Mizouni this season.
Clearly, the season will be harder for Orient and for El Mizouni. A tougher test. But both parties will be better for linking up again. He was so clearly above the level by the end of the League Two season, that he should step up without much fuss.
He’ll likely have less time on the ball. But this will only underline one of his best attributes: he is press-resistant, composed in possession when under pressure. He has a nice technical and physical base level for a central midfield player of his age, which helps him carry the ball away from pressure when needed. In terms of passing style, he’s tidy rather than expansive. Orient’s attack last season was geared towards getting the ball out to the wide attackers to generate dangerous attacks, and El Mizouni never seemed to have a problem getting the ball to Smyth or Archibald.
And the Tunisia international arguably adds the most value out of possession, where he is incredibly active in terms of putting pressure on the ball in the middle third, making a high number of tackles and interceptions. If Orient are to maintain their impressive defensive record in a higher division, they’ll need El Mizouni to be disruptive as ever.
For parent club Ipswich Town, this is a smart play. His contract is up next summer, but the club reportedly have the option to extend it for another year. With this move, they can watch closely how he stacks up against fellow League One central midfielders, knowing that they have placed him at a club that knows exactly how to use him.
In terms of pure importance to the buying club, El Mizouni’s signing might be #1 of the whole summer.
Kane Wilson - Derby County - Undisclosed fee
George Elek
The last couple of seasons have been a real roller-coaster for Kane Wilson. From relative obscurity to League Two Player of the Season after a breakout season for Champions Forest Green Rovers, Wilson’s ball-carrying ability from right wing-back set him apart from the rest at that level, so it was no surprise that Championship Bristol City came calling - they famously have a penchant for players on our list of EFL 21 Under 21!
Some bad luck then conspired against him after his big move, sustaining a bad knee injury that needed an operation in pre-season. When Wilson returned to full fitness, Nigel Pearson had switched from playing wing-backs to a regulation back four, rendering him redundant due to his attacking tendencies being his strength.
With Bristol City seemingly keeping that shape this season, Wilson finds himself back in League One as a victim of circumstance rather than anything he has done wrong. After a serious knee injury there always have to be question marks as to whether he will still possess the explosive pace that enabled him to hit the byline so regularly, but if he does then he will be a very smart acquisition by League One favourites Derby County.
Hamstrung by the restrictions placed on them by the EFL, it’s hard to get too excited by some of the signings that Paul Warne has made. The likes of Connor Washington and Curtis Nelson look to be on a downward trajectory, and there have to be question marks around Warne adding yet more experience to a fairly old nucleus given the physical demands of his high-octane style out of possession.
In Wilson, they’ve signed a 23-year-old who will likely play the majority of the rest of his career at a higher level if fitness permits. He notched 13 assists for Forest Green in their title-winning season and could well do the same in a side likely to dominate plenty of games, and we could well see the defensive side of his game improve under the tutelage of Warne and his coaching staff.
Alex Pattison - Bradford City - Free transfer
Ali Maxwell
Our general analysis of Bradford City 22/23 was: an average team that achieved a top-seven finish thanks to brilliant performances from Golden Boot winner Andy Cook and goalkeeper Harry Lewis.
Their Play-Off Semi-Final against Carlisle was a difficult watch, particularly the lack of connection between the midfield three (Clayton, Smallwood, Gillead) and the front three (Walker, Banks, Cook). If the midfield trio were selected for their experience and solidity, their complete lack of attacking contribution undermined that and left Bradford blunt and out of ideas.
Now, almost every team would benefit from having a central midfield player that dribbles, shoots and tries to move the needle in the final third, but Bradford City are absolutely gasping for one. So adding a player in Alex Pattison—who has shown himself to be exactly that profile of midfielder in two seasons at Harrogate—makes a lot of sense.
Pattison has scored 9 league goals in both of the last two seasons while picking up a handful of assists as well. Logging 0.4 G+A per 90 over both campaigns is a strong output for a player of his position. He threatens most when driving forward from midfield, particularly in moments of transition. His speed and close control allow him to speed away from back-tracking midfielders towards back-pedalling defences. He’s more than comfortable running in behind and getting close to strikers. Out of possession, he’s energetic but not hugely impactful.
Bradford City’s biggest need this summer is to become a more well-rounded attacking team, and Pattison very clearly offers that. I think he’s a good fit for League Two football, I think he complements the existing personnel well, and that’s what Iove about this signing: it’s smart.
For a few seasons now, Bradford City have been a reminder that eye-catching signings do not automatically equate to a good, promotion-winning League Two team. I am still going to have to see this slicker, more inventive attacking Bradford side before I truly believe it. It’s over to Mark Hughes on that front. But in my eyes, Hughes, along with Head of Recruitment Stephen Gent, is doing a good job of building a squad with both quality and balance.
Abraham Odoh - Harrogate Town - Undisclosed fee
George Elek
Finally, the one you’ve all been waiting for.
Well maybe not, but don’t let the lack of fanfare around Abraham Odoh’s move from Rochdale to Harrogate fool you into thinking this isn’t a piece of business to get excited about.
Dale fans, if you’re still here, stop laughing please. Hear me out.
Since signing from Charlton back in 2021, “Ibbi” Odoh has been in and out of a poor side and only scored four league goals, so you would be forgiven for initially being underwhelmed, but dig a bit deeper and the 23-year-old up might just be one of the sharpest signings the summer.
Firstly, we have to appreciate just how poor Rochdale have been, and therefore how hard it would be for a young player like Odoh to shine when, in particular during last season, he was playing for the poorest side in the league.
Next, let’s look at the position(s) Odoh was used in. It’s important becuase he played minutes in every single outfield position apart from centre-back last season(!). He was mainly deployed at right wing-back, but has now been given the number 9 shirt at Harrogate who look set to play him either up front or just in behind a lone striker.
Harrogate Town are not able to attract proven League Two talent, as the market is dominated by the likes of Wrexham, Salford City, Notts County, Gillingham, Bradford and co. Identifying ‘good players in bad situations’ is a necessary recruitment approach.
Odoh will be an attacking blank canvas for a manager in Simon Weaver who gives his attacking players a lot of creative freedom. He’s a very effective dribbler and is also a tidy player capable of running in behind and getting into goal-scoring positions. This is normally a trio of attributes difficult to find in a young player in the EFL’s basement.
Early indications are that his finishing needs work, but this is from a small sample size over the past two seasons and could well improve with regular minutes up front for a better-attacking side.
With Luke Armstrong still at the club, it looks like a little and large strike duo is in the offing, and it wouldn’t surprise me at all to see Odoh post very different numbers at Harrogate to the past two seasons and show League Two what an effective attacking force he can be.
Dale fans - let’s revisit this in a year’s time.
Thanks for reading our latest piece on summer signings. There will be more business to come and thus, more instalments in this series of articles to come, between now and the end of the window.
Go well!