If you blinked this winter you probably missed a deal. The county merry-go-round has been in full swing and, with pre-season nets just round the corner, most squads now have a very different look. Below you’ll find the confirmed comings and goings, followed by a brief take on what it might all mean once the sun (we hope) appears in April.
Key transfers – county by county
Derbyshire
In: Matt Montgomery (Notts)
Out: David Lloyd (retired), Alex Thomson (released)
Overseas: Caleb Jewell
Durham
In: Kasey Aldridge (Somerset), Archie Bailey (Gloucs)
Out: Mitchell Killeen (Essex), Paul Coughlin (Lancs)
Overseas: David Bedingham
Essex
In: Mitchell Killeen (Durham), Zaman Akhter (Gloucs)
Out: Nick Browne (retired), Adam Rossington, Jamal Richards (both released)
Overseas: Simon Harmer
Glamorgan
In: Sean Dickson (Somerset)
Out: Sam Northeast (Kent), Tom Bevan (released)
Overseas: Colin Ingram
Gloucestershire
In: Craig Miles (Warks), Will Williams (Lancs), Dawid Malan (Yorks)
Out: Archie Bailey (Durham), Ajeet Singh Dale (Lancs), Zaman Akhter (Essex), Dom Goodman, Tom Price (both Sussex), Josh Shaw (Somerset)
Overseas: Cameron Bancroft, D’Arcy Short (T20)
Hampshire
In: –
Out: Keith Barker (Warks), Benny Howell (Notts), Joseph Eckland (released)
Overseas: Kyle Abbott
Kent
In: Sam Northeast (Glam), Matt Milnes (Yorks)
Out: Jack Leaning (Sussex), Nathan Gilchrist (Warks), George Garrett (retired), Marcus O’Riordan, Mohammed Rizvi (both released)
Overseas: Keith Dudgeon
Lancashire
In: Paul Coughlin (Durham), Ajeet Singh Dale (Gloucs)
Out: Will Williams (Gloucs), Josh Boyden (released)
Overseas: Marcus Harris, Chris Green (T20)
Leicestershire
In: Stephen Eskinazi (Middx), Jonny Tattersall (Yorks), Josh Davey, Ben Green (both Somerset)
Out: Louis Kimber (Northants), Chris Wright, Harry Swindells (both retired), Matt Salisbury, Roman Walker (both released)
Overseas: Peter Handscomb, Keshav Maharaj (Apr-Jul)
Middlesex
In: Caleb Falconer (academy)
Out: Stephen Eskinazi (Leics)
Overseas: –
Northamptonshire
In: Louis Kimber (Leics), Calvin Harrison (Notts)
Out: Freddie Heldreich (released)
Overseas: Matthew Breetzke, Nathan McSweeney, Harry Conway (Apr-May), Yuzvendra Chahal (Jul-Sep)
Nottinghamshire
In: Benny Howell
Out: Calvin Harrison (Northants), Matthew Montgomery (Derby), Sammy King, Dane Schadendorf (both released)
Overseas: Kyle Verreynne, Fergus O’Neil (Apr-Jun)
Somerset
In: Josh Shaw (Gloucs)
Out: Kasey Aldridge (Durham), Sean Dickson (Glam), Josh Davey, Ben Green (both Leics), Andrew Umeed (released)
Overseas: Riley Meredith (T20), Migael Pretorius
Surrey
In: Ralphie Albert (academy)
Out: –
Overseas: –
Sussex
In: Danny Briggs (Warks), Jack Leaning (Kent), Dom Goodman, Tom Price (both Gloucs)
Out: Ari Karvelas, Bertie Foreman, Archie Lenham, Zach Lion-Cachet, Henry Rogers (all released)
Overseas: Jaydev Unadkat (Jun-Sep)
Warwickshire
In: Keith Barker (Hants), Nathan Gilchrist (Kent), Jordan Thompson (Yorks)
Out: Danny Briggs (Sussex), Craig Miles (Gloucs), Moeen Ali (retired)
Overseas: Beau Webster (Apr-Jul)
Worcestershire
In: –
Out: Tom Hinley, Yadvinder Singh (both released)
Overseas: Usama Mir (T20), Ben Dwarshuis (T20)
Yorkshire
In: –
Out: Matt Milnes (Kent), Jordan Thompson (Warks), Jonny Tattersall (Leics), Dawid Malan (Gloucs)
What the moves might mean
Sam Northeast’s return to Kent, the county he left in 2018, is the headline shift. At 36 he remains a banker of first-class runs and, in his own words earlier this year, “Kent still feels like home”. His presence should steady a batting line-up that wobbled too often in 2025.
Glamorgan replace him with the industrious Sean Dickson, who averaged 46 for Somerset’s seconds last season. “I’ve a point to prove,” Dickson said on signing. Glamorgan will hope he converts that hunger into early-season centuries, especially with Colin Ingram likely away on franchise duty at points.
Durham, newly promoted last summer, have recruited all-rounder Kasey Aldridge. Coach Ryan Campbell called him “a genuine seam option who bats seven”, a neat fit after Paul Coughlin’s move to Lancashire. Coughlin’s switch gives Lancs more depth in the seam-bowling all-rounder slot, something they lacked once Tom Bailey’s workload crept up.
Meanwhile, Warwickshire’s signing of Keith Barker is quietly significant. The left-armer, now 39, leaves Hampshire after a decade and 410 first-class wickets. “I wanted one more challenge,” he said, and his nagging accuracy should age well on a used Edgbaston square.
Gloucestershire have refreshed almost the entire dressing-room. Bringing in Dawid Malan for red-ball duties shows ambition, yet losing both Tom Price and Josh Shaw to divisional rivals cuts deep. It may be a season of transition at Bristol.
Sussex, under Paul Farbrace, continue their youth-and-experience blend. Off-spinner Danny Briggs returns to his home county, while Jack Leaning’s calm presence in the middle order replaces some of the steel lost when Cheteshwar Pujara was unavailable.
Somerset’s outgoings look heavy on paper – Green, Davey and Aldridge all depart – but they are banking on home-grown quicks plus the overseas pace of Migael Pretorius. If the Taunton pitch retains its recent life, wickets shouldn’t be scarce.
Finally, Surrey hardly needed to do much after last year’s title defence. One academy graduate in, nobody out, and the Oval production line rolls on.
Big picture
With several counties welcoming established pros in their mid-30s, experience seems to have been the winter’s premium commodity. Whether that outweighs the athleticism of younger squads will shape the 2026 narrative. Either way, April cannot come soon enough.
