Transfer admissions made by Blackpool top figure - with EFL changes addressed
· Amos Wynn · 2026-08-05 · nguồn gốc
Transfer admissions made by Blackpool FC top figure - with EFL changes addressed
Blackpool senior figures David Downes and Nick Horne have discussed the current ongoings at Bloomfield Road.
Blackpool CEO David Downes admits it’s been a slow transfer market across the board this summer - but remains alert for the start of more movement ahead of the September 1 deadline.
The Seasiders have added four players to their ranks over the last few months, as they look to improve on last term’s 13th place finish in League One.
Dion Charles and Jordan Williams have made the move on loan from Huddersfield Town and Portsmouth respectively, Ilmari Niskanen has joined as a free agent from Exeter City, and Karoy Anderson has returned on a permanent deal from Charlton Athletic after enjoying a successful loan spell in Tangerine.
All clubs across the EFL have been adapting to new rules over the summer.
Back in May, it was announced, the Salary Cost Management Protocol (SCMP) would see the percentage of turnover third tier clubs are able to spend on wages reduced to 50 percent from the previous 60, while manager costs would also become part of this calculation.
Teams relegated from the Championship will still be permitted to spend a higher amount, but there’s also been a reduction in this area too, going down to 65 percent from 75.
In addition to this, League One clubs also approved a change to remove the staggered approach to equity injections in the division, meaning that all equity injections will be included within the calculation at 50%.
Discussing this, and Blackpool’s transfer window more generally, Downes said: “I wouldn’t say it’s impacted us, as our understanding of the rules and regulations have been really good. We financially model every signing we look to do, and it all goes into the calculation of SCMP.
“It’s quite a complex mechanism and model for finance really. The bottom line is, it makes it more difficult for under funding.
“In our division, it becomes more difficult to spend, and there’s a massive push to work towards a more sustainable game, and that will only pick up more pace in the next couple of years.
“It’s something people will have to get their heads around. The whole thing is about becoming less reliant on owner funding across the board. Being able to spend freely becomes more difficult.
“We’re fortunate that the owner is incredibly committed and backs us. Karoy Anderson was a player Ian (Evatt) was desperate to bring back off the back of last season, and we were able to do that.
“I think it’s been a slow market overall, whether that’s the World Cup or people getting their head around regulations. It’s been a lot tighter. You sometimes feel like you’re in a bit of a housing chain when you’re trying to sign a player at the moment.
“We’re really happy with the players we’ve brought in and we maintained a lot of the squad that finished last season.
“There’s things we are working on at the moment like every club, and if we can look to improve then we’ll take those opportunities to do that.
“We’re in the early days of August, and there’s a lot of movement to happen before the end, so we have to be proactive in the way we attack that.
“We’ve got two or three things that we’d like to look to achieve, but if opportunities spring up everywhere - players who aren’t available today tend to be available in two weeks' time.
“As much as you want it to be structured and organised, there’s always a player that might come into your reach. We’ve got to have our eyes and ears to the ground.”
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An area that has looked short for the Seasiders throughout their pre-season preparations has been the defence, with a number of players missing through injury.
In addition to this, there’s also been a hole left by the departure of James Husband - who has joined Doncaster Rovers as a free agent as being released at the end of his Bloomfield Road contract.
“The gaffer talks a lot about fluidity and formations; he hates being caught up in back threes or back fours, and the shape of teams,” Downes added.
“In a couple of weeks it could be an area where you’ve got incredibly healthy competition quite quickly.
‘You can add Jordan Williams to that, who had a good run out on Saturday.
“It’s an area that can quickly become competitive for someone to get a starting shirt.”
Blackpool will also have to be prepared for the possibility of any of their own players departing the Fylde Coast this month.
Over the weekend, it was reported that Leicester City were interested in a move for back-up goalkeeper Franco Ravizzoli, while others could also attract admirers from elsewhere.
“It’s just about being prepared about what might come,” Downes admitted.
“We’re in a season where there’s lots of speculation around, it’s the recruitment team's job to have plans in place for everything.
“We can never ever think that a player might leave, might not leave, might get injured - there’s always opportunities where we’ll have to react.
“Ian (Evatt) likes to carry two goalkeepers, so we always have a list of goalkeepers because it might get to a point where we bring one in or bring an emergency one in.
“It’s about being prepared for what’s next, because in an area of the pitch you could lose someone.”