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Sunderland succumbed to a second successive 0-0 draw in Championship action when facing off against Preston North End on Wednesday night.

It was a game that lacked vigour from both sides, with Preston no doubt happier with the stalemate when the full-time whistle sounded, as Paul Heckingbottom’s hosts find themselves just above the relegation spaces in the early second-tier standings.

Sunderland do still occupy top spot for the time being in the unpredictable division, but Le Bris will chalk this down as a missed opportunity to get back to winning ways, as many of his dependable first-teamers struggled to explode into life at Deepdale.

Sunderland underperformers vs Preston

It was very apparent from Sunderland’s goal-shy showing that they lacked the creativity of Jobe Bellingham in the midfield spots, who sat out the contest versus the Lilywhites owing to a suspension.

In his place stepped up ex-Preston man Alan Browne who was arguably poor coming up against his former employers, with the experienced number eight squandering possession 16 times in total across his 90 minutes on the pitch, alongside registering just one off-target effort from deep in a bid to break the deadlock.

Away from the more accomplished faces in Le Bris’ starting line-up, young Tommy Watson was surprisingly given a starting nod at Deepdale, with the 18-year-old homegrown Sunderland product fading in and out of the contest to the disappointment of his manager watching on.

Watson would only amass 27 touches of the ball – alongside only mustering up a single shot on Freddie Woodman’s goal – before Patrick Roberts came on in his place in the second 45 minutes – on a night where Sunderland really lacked anything in the forward areas.

Although Aaron Connolly spoke of his delight after the game of being given his first start for the Black Cats since making a free transfer move possible, he was also a bystander to a lot of the action up top and could be dropped for his team’s game versus Coventry City at the weekend.

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Connolly's performance in numbers

Potentially still rusty after only joining Sunderland in late September, the former Hull City man was way off the pace in Lancashire, not helped by the complete lack of service he was getting in attempting to make something happen in the drab contest.

The Black Cats number 24 would only accumulate a sorry nine touches in the game before being substituted off just after the hour mark, with no Bellingham in the side attempting to cut open the Preston defence to play Connolly into space, with Dan Neil also quiet in this regard on the night.

Even stand-in Sunderland goalkeeper Simon Moore would manage more touches, with the temporary shot-stopper amazingly registering 30 more.

Minutes played

62

Goals scored

0

Assists

0

Touches

9

Accurate passes

1/2

Shots

1

Big chances missed

1

Duels won

2/6

Even from those limited touches, the Irishman did manage to miss a big opportunity for the visitors – as Woodman denied the 24-year-old from point-blank range after Trai Hume darted forward to play him into space – but other numbers from his 62 minutes on the pitch make for bleak reading, with Connolly only managing to register one accurate pass all night long.

It was a bold call by Le Bris to start Connolly up top, considering his lack of action to date at the Stadium of Light, and it will be a decision that the Frenchman must surely regret even more now based off what he saw against the Lilywhites.

Pushed out to the flanks in Lancashire, it’s likely that Wilson Isidor will be moved back to the lone striker spot for the test of the managerless Sky Blues this Saturday, after firing home four goals from 11 league appearances to date.

Connolly will just be working on getting more up to speed behind the scenes in the build-up to this next league clash, with the 24-year-old no doubt frustrated with himself after this unmemorable display.

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ByKelan Sarson Nov 4, 2024

Fans are often warned about falling in love with loan players, as they will often return to their owner clubs, and either stay there or get a move elsewhere.

Some Crystal Palace examples include Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Ashley Cole, and then one who eventually did return to the club permanently, Wilfried Zaha.

Loftus-Cheek was on loan from Chelsea, and the Eagles currently have Trevoh Chalobah enjoying a temporary stint at Selhurst Park from the exact same club.

One other loanee who came from Chelsea was part of the 2021/22 campaign, where Palace finished 12th under Patrick Vieira.

Crystal Palace's 2021/22 signings

During this window, Crystal Palace spent around £71.3m on bringing nine new players to the club on permanent deals. The most expensive was yet another player from Chelsea, this time not on loan, but on a permanent, with the signing of Marc Guehi for around £20m.

Another acquisition that was made during that season, who has gone on to become an important player for the Eagles, is Jean-Philippe Mateta. He joined Palace from Mainz, having spent a year on loan at the club already, joining for a fee of around £9m.

Crystal Palace 2021/22 signings

Player

Fee (£)

Marc Guehi

£20m

Joachim Andersen

£14.5m

Odsonne Edouard

£13.5m

Jean-Philippe Mateta

£9m

Michael Olise

£7.7m

Will Hughes

£5.8m

Luke Plange

£982k

Remi Matthews

£0

Jacob Montes

£0

Data taken from Transfermarkt

The best deal of that season turned out to be Michael Olise joining from Reading, as he was later sold for a massive profit, penning terms with Bayern Munich over the summer of 2024 in a deal worth around £50.8m.

But there was one more deal made, with a particular loanee who won over the Palace fans’ hearts.

Conor Gallagher's transfer valuation after leaving Palace

Conor Gallagher spent the 2021/22 season on loan with Crystal Palace, making 39 appearances for the club, scoring eight goals, providing five assists, and totalling 3,210 minutes played.

At the end of his loan spell, the young English midfielder returned to be part of Chelsea’s squad under Thomas Tuchel, valued at around £21m at the time by Transfermarkt.

The 24-year-old went on to make 95 appearances for the Blues first team, netting ten times, providing ten assists, and even captaining the club for the majority of the 2023/24 campaign in the absence of injured duo Reece James and Ben Chilwell.

This summer, the England international secured a move to Atlético Madrid, for a fee of around £36m. Gallagher is now valued at £42m by Transfermarkt, double his valuation of when he was at Crystal Palace back in 2021/22.

The England international has already played 13 times for the Spanish giants, scoring two goals in La Liga, and totaling 835 minutes played.

The midfielder continues to impress, once labelled a “warrior” by Jacek Kulig whilst at Palace. The combative midfielder’s game hasn’t changed, still working his socks off, and affecting the game at both ends of the pitch.

Oliver Glasner’s Crystal Palace side could really do with a Gallagher-type midfielder right now, as Adam Wharton is out injured, Chiekh Doucoure has struggled for consistent minutes, and other options, whilst being sufficient, do not offer the same duel success numbers as someone like Gallagher.

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Posts ByConnor Holden Nov 3, 2024

A fresh update has claimed that Manchester United are set to sell a “massive” player in the near future, with Sir Jim Ratcliffe making his presence felt.

Man Utd manager & transfer news

The future of Erik ten Hag continues to be the big talking point at Old Trafford currently, even though the Dutchman has done just about enough to keep his job in the last couple of matches, having picked up hard-earned draws away to Porto and Aston Villa.

A big meeting took place between Ratcliffe and other high-profile figures at United earlier this week, with the managerial situation the main topic of conversation, but it looks as though he will remain in charge once the players return after the international break.

In terms of potential new signings, Argentina World Cup winner Rodrigo De Paul is reportedly being eyed up by the Red Devils, with the 30-year-old Atletico Madrid ace seen as an ideal partner for Manuel Ugarte in midfield.

There are also exit rumours doing the rounds, with Christian Eriksen linked with a return to Ajax, for example, and now another hugely experienced head could also be on his way out of the Old Trafford exit door soon.

Ratcliffe willing to sell "massive" Man Utd player

According to The Daily Star, Manchester United are set to sell Harry Maguire in the January transfer window, with Ratcliffe willing to listen to offers for the 31-year-old.

The Red Devils could even accept bids as low as £10m, which is an 87.5% decrease on the whopping £80m that they paid Leicester City for his services back in 2019.

There is no doubt that Maguire hasn’t hit the heights many expected of him when he initially joined United, with some perhaps recklessly even claiming he would be their version of Virgil van Dijk, having impressed for England at the 2018 World Cup.

Instead, the £190,000-a-week England international has almost become a figure of fun with rival supporters, too often lacking pace and not looking up to the elite standards required at the heart of the defence.

That’s not to say that Maguire hasn’t had plenty of good performances, however, and Ten Hag clearly values him, saying of him last year: “[Maguire] was playing a massive, massive game. A very good performance. He showed leadership and in and out of possession he was very good, so I’m very pleased with that performance from Harry.”

In fairness to Maguire, he has also done fine in recent weeks, keeping a clean sheet at Villa and scoring a vital last-gasp equaliser away to Porto, with the likes of Lisandro Martinez and Matthijs de Ligt arguably in poorer form.

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At 31, though, the England international doesn’t represent United’s long-term future, and it is hard to see him suddenly finding an extra gear at this stage in his career. For that reason, cashing in on him and signing a younger replacement could make complete sense.

Ipswich Town will be using this international break as a way to regroup and reassess after a sobering 4-1 defeat to West Ham United last time out in the Premier League.

Kieran McKenna’s men are yet to win in the unforgiving division from seven games, but find themselves thankfully just above that dreaded bottom three currently, owing to some positive draws away from still being winless.

The Tractor Boys manager will want more from the new recruits that entered through the door in the summer too, including Chiedozie Ogbene who is yet to really leave an impression on the Portman Road masses.

Ogbene's start at Ipswich

Ogbene would have been thrilled to relocate to Suffolk in the off-season, having just tasted relegation down to the Championship with Luton Town.

The Republic of Ireland international was a bright spark for the Hatters even as relegation became reality, with five goals and one assist picked up from 39 games, before the Tractor Boys then swooped in to give him another shot at the top flight.

He is unfortunately yet to get off the mark for his new employers, with his hefty £8m price tag potentially weighing heavy over his head, as the 27-year-old has zero goals and zero assists from five total games donning Ipswich blue.

Ogbene has only started three of those contests in all fairness, with McKenna hopeful that his new number 21 can spark into life later down the line, away from becoming a flop at Portman Road.

The ex-Luton man can boast the fact that he scored away at Anfield when he was on the books still at the Hatters, but that ultimately counts for nothing now in his new location, especially if his game time doesn’t increase due to below-par performances.

Ipswich will just hope they don’t rue not sealing a deal for this target down the right wing instead, who would have cost far more at £25m, but could have been more of a success already than the lacklustre Irishman.

Who Ipswich could have signed over Ogbene

During the same summer that Ogbene entered the building from Kenilworth Road, Ipswich were regularly linked with a move for then Burnley star Wilson Odobert, in a bid to boost their options down the right flank.

Odobert would eventually join Tottenham Hotspur in a bumper £25m move, instead of relocating to Suffolk, with the North London titans well aware of how promising a talent the ex-Clarets attacker is to splash out that amount.

Stat – per 90 mins*

Odobert

Games played

29

Goals scored

3

Assists

2

Shots*

1.7

Big chances missed

2

Big chances created

7

Much like Ogbene was for Rob Edwards’ men, Odobert was a lively presence in a team that eventually succumbed to their relegation fate, with three goals and two assists registered from 29 top-flight contests for the Clarets.

He could well have had more assists to shout about too, with seven big chances in total created, as Ange Postecoglou’s men then took a gamble on the “extraordinary” Frenchman – as he was labelled by football journalist Andres Onrubia Ramos before his switch to Burnley – during the transfer window, hopeful he could blossom into even more of a top star surrounded by higher quality performers.

It hasn’t completely worked in the 19-year-old’s favour, with an injury issue now ruling him out of action “long term” according to Postecoglou, after he went down with a hamstring concern against Coventry City last month.

Before that, however, he was showing glimpses of his Turf Moor brilliance in his fresh surroundings, with a showing against Newcastle United in September seeing him register four efforts at Nick Pope’s goal as a tenacious figure in attack.

Going back to matters in Suffolk, McKenna will just hope Ogbene can come good over the months to come, as the Tractor Boys strive to keep their relegation demons at bay.

There will be a worry that the relegation-threatened outfit should have just gone all out to land Odobert instead though, who is only still 19 years of age and with lots of room to grow, over settling for the ex-Luton midfielder.

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ByKelan Sarson Oct 9, 2024

Chelsea’s winning streak came to an end on Sunday, drawing 1-1 with Nottingham Forest at Stamford Bridge.

Despite having 67% possession, and generating 2.27 xG compared to just 0.85 of Forest, the Blues were unable to convert more than one to win the game.

Chris Wood actually gave Forest the lead in the 49th minute, with Noni Madueke responding in the 57th minute, with a low curled strike on his left foot to the bottom left corner. James Ward-Prowse was sent off in the 78th, but the hosts were unable to capitalise on having the extra man.

Enzo Maresca’s side head into the international break fourth in the Premier League, and will face Liverpool at Anfield in their next game, on the 20th of October.

Palmer and Madueke's performance vs Forest

Chelsea’s star man, Cole Palmer, managed to get himself another goal contribution, setting up Madueke for his goal.

However, despite making six key passes and getting his assist, it felt like he didn’t have his best game, which really goes to show the quality expected of the young man already.

Madueke started the season in red-hot form and added to his goal tally with a lovely finish to equalise. The 22-year-old also made three key passes, and won seven of his 13 ground duels in the game, making three tackles, and putting in a shift on both ends of the ball.

Alongside two of Chelsea’s key men this season, there was another player who put in a top-class performance against Forest.

Jadon Sancho's performance vs Forest

Since joining from Manchester United, on an initial loan deal with an obligation to buy, Sancho has made four appearances for the Blues, providing three assists already. The 24-year-old was unable to provide any goal contributions today, but his performance was very good.

The English winger made three key passes, won 4/6 ground duels, completed three out of three successful dribbles (100%), and made one tackle in the game.

Sancho vs Palmer & Madueke

Stat

Sancho

Palmer

Madueke

Minutes

89

90

89

Goals

0

0

1

Assists

0

1

0

Touches

47

81

58

Key Passes

3

6

3

Shots

0

6

7

Dribbles completed

3/3

1/1

3/5

Ground Duels Won

4/6

5/6

7/13

Stats taken from Sofascore

The £100k-per-week summer signing’s performance was impressive, one that may go under the radar due to Madueke and Palmer getting the plaudits.

Sancho was described as a “consistent outlet” for the Blues by GOAL during their match ratings after the game, giving Sancho a 6/10, purely stating he needs to improve his fitness as their reason for docking his mark.

Maresca likes his wingers to isolate their fullback 1v1, and Sancho’s three out of three successful dribbles showed he did exactly that, threatening down that left side, and creating chances for his team, which is also backed up by his three key passes.

The 24-year-old seems to have secured his spot in the starting XI for now, having started three Premier League games in a row now, and completing an attacking quartet of himself, Palmer, Madueke and Nicolas Jackson, which has seen good success in the past few weeks.

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Posts 1 ByJoe Nuttall Oct 5, 2024

Ipswich Town will know that this current Premier League campaign is a marathon and not a sprint, with their main aim obviously being to avoid relegation straight back down to the Championship.

The Tractor Boys couldn’t stave off relegation during the 2001/02 season, however, after iconic former Ipswich boss George Burley had guided the Suffolk side to unbelievably play in the UEFA Cup just the campaign prior.

Burley’s underdogs even faced off against Inter Milan in this competition before their demise down to the second tier, with Kieran McKenna just hopeful that he can get enough out of his troops in the here and now to beat the drop.

Titus Bramble was a promising young defender around the same time Ipswich last fell down to the Championship, with the homegrown Tractor Boys product going on to eventually win himself a big move, after his then employers exited the top-flight.

Bramble's time at Ipswich

Before he would go on to become a household name in the Premier League – with 292 games in the elite division managed by the time he retired – Bramble would cut his teeth at Ipswich to start off his fledging career.

Bramble would make 61 appearances in total for the Tractor Boys before seeking out pastures new in 2002, with three goals scored from the centre-back along the way, including even memorably scoring in the UEFA Cup.

Despite only featuring 18 times during his side’s relegation season, Bramble would still manage to win himself a bumper move to Newcastle United, costing the Magpies a hefty £6.1m to land his services.

That doesn’t seem too excessive compared to Ipswich’s spending this summer just gone, however, with the newly promoted outfit splurging out around the £15m mark to land Hull City centre-back Jacob Greaves to strengthen at the back for the step-up.

But, if the same deal took place today for Bramble to switch allegiances to Tyneside, the one-time Ipswich prodigy would go for far more.

That can be calculated using Totally Money’s Transfer Index, with the defender coming in as being worth way more than Greaves’ £15m fee, by the standards of today’s inflated transfer landscape.

Bramble's worth in 2024

According to the Transfer Index, the same deal would cost Newcastle in the here and now an eye-watering £23.4m, far above the £15m forked out to snap up Greaves’ signature recently.

Ipswich wouldn’t have been too gutted about their defender’s exit further down the line, however, considering the amount they actually did sell him on for at the time was substantial, but also the fact Bramble ended up struggling away from Portman Road.

Bramble’s PL career path after Ipswich

Club played for

Games played

Goals scored

Assists

Newcastle

157

7

2

Wigan Athletic

104

5

3

Sunderland

51

1

0

Sourced by Transfermarkt

Whilst the former ten-time England U21 international would be a hit with the St James’ Park faithful during his lengthy stay there, with ex-Ipswich great Sir Robby Robson even helping to oversee early development at the Magpies, Bramble won’t be fondly remembered by those on Wearside when he crossed enemy lines to play for Sunderland.

Bramble would end up being released by the Black Cats in 2013 after 51 games, bringing to an end to his Premier League playing days in the process.

Greaves will still take some inspiration from Bramble’s career, however, as he aims to become an established top-flight defender in his own right, having excelled in the second tier with Hull previously.

He has a big price-tag to live up to, but with a clean sheet already under his belt under Brighton and Hove Albion recently, the towering 24-year-old could be key for McKenna going forward as his side aim to stay above the dreaded bottom three spaces in the league.

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Posts ByKelan Sarson Sep 18, 2024

The saying used to be ‘beware a limping Gordon Greenidge’, but on this evidence, it should be updated to warn about the dangers of a lame Jonny Bairstow.When Bairstow collapsed with a scream of pain in completing his 56th run, it seemed for all the world as if his evening was over. But, after a delay of around 10 minutes for treatment on his right ankle, he was able to continue with Adam Lyth as his runner.That was a surprise. Not only had Bairstow’s original collapse looked ominous, but he is expected to report for England duty at the weekend. Fitness permitting, he would be certain to play in the first T20I against Sri Lanka a week today.He was subsequently unable to keep wicket with the gloves instead taken by Tom Kohler-Cadmore. Bairstow is due to undergo a scan which will reveal if he is likely to be fit next week but the fact that he left the ground in a moon boot was not especially promising. “His ankle has blown up,” Andrew Gale, Yorkshire’s coach, said. “Hopefully it’s not ligament damage.”But the injury didn’t appear to inhibit Bairstow’s strokemaking. After the injury, he struck 56 more runs from his next 17 deliveries, reaching his third T20 century (two for Yorkshire and one for Sunrisers Hyderabad) from 48 balls. His stand of 146 in 12 overs with Kohler-Cadmore was Yorkshire’s second highest stand in the history of T20 cricket.It sustained Bairstow’s outstanding form in the Vitality Blast season. He has top-scored in all four of the games in which he has played, is the top-scorer in the competition, and looks in the finest of form. He is currently averaging 73.75 in the Blast this season at a strike-rate of 175.59.