Would imagine he would ask and the club would ask him to not report on it as to scupper the deal.

For what it's worth I've heard conflicting reports on Steve. One from a person who worked higher in the ticket sales team who said he was apparently difficult to work for who then subsequently decided to leave and get paid more at a smaller club. In contrast, I've also heard from people who frequent the executive boxes that he's personable guy who tells it straight. I recall being told how scathing he was when describing one of Adam Armstrong's performances after a game, along with a few others, apparently he talks like any other football fan and didn't hold back with the expletives. I suppose as a supporter, when you're seeing your best players leave for no income and witness little being spent on the team, it's natural to point the finger at those at board room level. I guess we shouldn't make assumptions about those we don't know and what we don't know. What I've read here is extremely encouraging, hopefully the rest of the transfer window backs that up.

Probably the most insightful stuff I've read about the inner workings of Rovers for well over 10 years. Much appreciated.

What we might have going for us here is his friendship with Brittain and various other players at Rovers too... Maybe he'll just want to enjoy his football with his mates, not have to travel too far and stay close to family?

Sure I read we had a bid accepted for Styles in January for the same fee that we offered for Dembele. Since then he's performed well against England and that will obviously inflate his price. Shame we couldn't have got that one done back then.

I just want JPVH + Helik and our defence is absolutely sorted. Would be feeling very confident with that and a fit Ayala/Wharton/Cater. Plenty of nous, height and aggression, would be horrible to play against.

and full internationals and playoff players. One of which has just started and beaten England twice.

Looks like transfers are really under wraps and we didn't hear about this one till it was already done and dusted. Fair play. Next...

By all accounts they were a bunch of tw*ts regarding his loan here so I'd stay well clear.

Genuinely one of the weirdest transfers I've come across. I get the feeling he must have a better move lined up in a years time, hence why he only wants a year at Wigan and didn't want 3 years at Rovers. Either way, if he doesn't want to be here then we shouldn't want him or waste time on him, the biggest disappointment is not getting a penny for him. His agent sounds like a complete tit and is taking risks with his career. Bollocks to him.

If we're talking peanuts for Szmodics (500k or less) then I wouldn't be against seeing how he performs for us with more quality around him. His figures in league 1 suggested he was far too good for that standard. Anything over half a mill looks a bit more risky.

Midfielder... British/Foreign?

It does sound like from your description of how Brittain played is the same as how my Dad and I described Styles performance, was everywhere, gave us the run around, looked a quality little player.

Maybe a tad unfair. They were in the playoffs last year but lost their manager where it seems it all fell apart for them. Those 3 are certainly the best of what they've got and have achieved more in this league than us since we've been relegated.

If they can somehow manage to do a deal with Barnsley for Brittain for a decent fee then they should really be going back for Styles and Helik. Both internationals and out of contract next season. Just get it done, they're there for the taking.

Realistically any deal around 15 mill will be done, finding some sort of middle ground will just take time. It wouldn't surprise me to see it be late in the market with no time to reinvest and the money get swallowed never to be seen again. I've made my peace with this scenario and if I could, would bet good money on it.

I'm surprised you actually still consider Brereton as a Rovers player tbh. I know he's not gone anywhere yet but In my view, he's already gone. There's no way he can stay to lose him on another free.

Who's saying I'm unhappy? I'd be more positive to see this get done because we desperately need players.

Precisely. Why haven't Sheff United tried to resign him if he's supposed to be so good?

Of a team where not many goals came from anywhere else than Brereton, he got more goals than Rothwell. He was a match winner for us on a few occasions. Frustrating? Yes but for someone who's only just turned 21 you should not expect the final product, it's down to a club like us to develop that and benefit from it. We can't afford a player like him who's the finished article. Not only are we going to have to replace Khadra's 5 goals 4 assists, we have to replace Rothwell's and Brereton's. I feel he could have comfortably improved on last season's tally having had a season with us under his belt. Alas, someone else will benefit from our scouting, experience and cash.

It probably never was, doesn't help when you're paying in smarties.

I don't disagree that there are other areas of the squad that require more attention but I just think that he's a top talent, who can be coached into being one of the best players in the league. No questioning his ability, down to his attitude if fulfills his potential. At the right price I would have loved to have him here and would have without doubt made us more of a threat going forward.

This is sort of my description of Hedges tbh... Nice on the eye sometimes but ultimately powderpuff and not threatening.

Be p*ssed off to see Khadra go Sheff Utd. Seeing them sign the centre half we wanted and now Khadra hurts. Seems like no one of any decent quality wants to come to us. Kicking it off with a loan of someone who will probably do ok for us and then sign for someone else with more ambition the following season is going to p*ss me off even more. Any loan should have a view to buy clause included at least. What a sh*te transfer window so far.

Before anyone dreams of getting a permanent transfer of a Liverpool player, have a quick look at how much they sell their squad players for. They're masters at selling squad players for fortunes. Maybe this guy might be an exception, but I bet they're at least asking double what they paid for him. Personally I don't know how I feel about this one, we need good players in the door, loans are ok for good players but using our budget on players that aren't assets to sell in the future seems at odds with the principles of this new project.