Peterborough United chairman Darragh MacAnthony has been bemoaning his side's reliance on loan players at the start of the season, revealing the true cost of some of their temporary signings.

In a social media exchange reported by Peterborough Today, he revealed that Nottingham Forest striker Jason Cummings cost the club £250,000 in total.

Cummings flopped at London Road after a video emerged of him trashing his own flat, with the loan being terminated early. He's now with leaders Luton Town, but is not playing regularly there either.

He started 11 league matches for Peterborough, coming off the bench 11 times, with six goals to his name. All of those came in August, with another in the EFL Trophy the total of his efforts.

MacAnthony complained not just about Cummings, but the whole transfer strategy of the summer.

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“We’ve spent a fortune on loan players,” MacAnthony is reported as saying

“It’s not just the wages. There are loan fees and clauses covering fees if they don’t play. We’ve had four loan players in the side at times this season and I don’t like that. You lose your identity as a club as a result.

“We went for a quick fix in the hope of securing promotion this season and it didn’t work for us.”

Posh are just outside the play-off places, but have lost six of their last eight matches. Despite that form, interim manager Darren Ferguson has been rewarded with a three-year deal in his third stint at the club.

The Verdict

That's a huge sum of money to pay out for six goals. The experiment with loan players didn't quite work out for Posh.

I have to disagree about losing your identity though. Clubs across the Football League successfully employ loan players and are better for it.

The trick is mixing them in with your own squad, something Steve Evans didn't manage to do.

Thoughts? Let us know!