When Dougie Freedman paid £400k to sign Joel Ward from Portsmouth in 2012, few would have predicted that the defender would remain at Crystal Palace ten years later.
The English defender arrived at Selhurst Park in May 2012 on a four-year deal and has been an incredible servant for the club in the decade since, making 310 appearances for the Eagles, in which he has contributed five goals and ten assists.
Even at 32, Ward is still an important member of Patrick Vieira’s squad, as he has featured in five of Palace’s six Premier League fixtures so far this season, while he was a regular under the Frenchman in his debut campaign as manager, making 28 appearances in the top flight.
While this season could be Ward’s last at Selhurst Park as his contract is set to expire next summer, there is little doubt that he will go down as a club icon, as he is one of Palace’s top appearance makers in the Premier League, having held the record in 2017.
The defender, who earns £35k per week, was heavily praised by Vieira last season, which emphasises how well Freedman did to spot his talent in 2012, as he is still having a big impact in the team now.
Vieira said: “Joel is one of the warriors. He is somebody that if you are going into a fight, you will want to take him with you because you know that he will be there. He is open-minded, and it is really a pleasure working with him because of his focus, his work ethic, and he is a lovely man as well. I am not surprised at all that he is doing that well.”
Ward ranked in the top six for tackles, interceptions and clearances in Vieira’s side last season which demonstrates how much he still has to offer in the Premier League, and it may not be a surprise to see him extend his stay further by signing a new contract at the club.
Regardless of whether or not he stays or performs well this summer, there is no doubt that Freedman’s decision to sign him for just £400k from Portsmouth was a genius one.
Sheffield Wednesday’s fine start to the season continued with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Port Vale on Saturday.
Darren Moore’s side were far from their best in difficult conditions at Vale Park but came away with the three points thanks to Will Vaulks’ wonder goal.
While the former Rotherham man will steal the headlines after that match-winning strike, Ben Heneghan deserves a huge amount of credit for his display in defence, as he helped the Owls to a sixth clean sheet of the season.
As per SofaScore, the centre-back would earn an impressive 7.8/10 rating for his performance, which ranked him as the best player on the pitch from both sides.
Heneghan would make eight clearances, block two shots and win a whopping 11 aerial duels during the game, more than playing his part in earning another important three points for the Owls as they moved up to third in the League One table.
For context, the 29-year-old has averaged 5.2 clearances, one block and 7.3 aerial duels won in League One this season, which emphasises that he was well and truly on top of his game against Port Vale.
Sheffield Star reporter Joe Crann was full of praise for the centre-back, and his defensive partners Reece James and Michael Ihiekwe after the game.
He said: Didn’t dare say anything while the game was still going, but Heneghan, Ihiekwe and James were tremendous for SWFC today. Monumental defensive performance.”
Heneghan also completed 35 passes with a success rate of 74%, which again was an improvement on his statistics from the season thus far, where he has averaged a 70.5% success rate – even more impressive when you consider the issues surrounding Port Vale’s pitch on Saturday.
Since signing from Wimbledon in the summer, the experienced centre-back has been a consistent performer in Moore’s side and after another strong display and clean sheet on Saturday, the 29-year-old looks set to be a key part of any Owls promotion push this season.
Everton will return to action in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon when they make the long trip to the south coast for their clash with Southampton, and Frank Lampard has revealed a huge boost ahead of the game.
What’s the latest?
The Toffees boss took to his pre-match press conference to confirm that Jordan Pickford will be available for selection at St Marys.
Lampard gave a short response when asked about whether the goal-keeper is available this weekend:
“Yes, good news!”
Lampard will be buzzing
There is no doubt that Lampard will be absolutely buzzing to have his starting keeper back in contention to start against Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side on Saturday, as he has been one of the standout performers in the team over the season so far.
The England number one picked up a thigh injury in the Merseyside Derby after putting on an outstanding performance against Everton’s bitter rivals, which led to him being awarded Man of the Match for his eight important saves to hold Liverpool to a draw over the Goodison Park clash.
Pickford has been solid for the Toffees this season which has contributed to their current unbeaten run in the Premier League with an 81% successful save rate, 6.8 long balls and 1.3 clearances per game over his six appearances so far.
The Everton boss lavished praise on Pickford hailing him “superb” following his performance against Liverpool:
“Superb,”
“He gets scrutiny because he’s England’s number one, I understand that but when he delivers like he did today everyone understands why he’s England’s number one and why we appreciate him so much here.”
Everton haven’t lost a game in their last five and Lampard will be hoping that the improved confidence and resilience in the team can help them continue to pick up results in the top flight, with the side currently comfortably 13th in the league table at present.
Depending on the results of the weekend Everton could be in a fantastic position if they pick up all three points from their away fixture and could even break into the top half of the table which would be a huge achievement when you consider their relegation troubles last season in the Premier League.
Sunderland have enjoyed a solid return to life back in the Championship as they currently sit 11th in the table after 13 matches in the division since their promotion from League One.
The Black Cats escaped the third tier after four years by winning the play-offs under Alex Neil last season and Kristjaan Speakman worked hard over the summer to improve the team.
Jack Clarke, Aji Alese, Daniel Ballard, Edouard Michut, and Ellis Simms are just a few of the players he brought to the Stadium of Light to improve the squad.
Clarke put pen to paper on a four-year contract as he completed a permanent move to the club for an undisclosed fee after spending the second half of last season on loan from Tottenham.
The young attacker scored once and provided three assists in 20 League One appearances for the Black Cats and has taken his game to the next level since joining permanently.
He has averaged a SofaScore rating of 7.08 and chipped in with an outstanding four goals and four assists in 13 appearances in the Championship so far this season, showcasing his ability to be a match-winner with his contributions at the top end of the pitch.
The winger, who has made 2.0 tackles and interceptions and completed 1.8 dribbles per game, joined for a deal that has been reported to potentially be worth up to £10m in the future and his performances on the pitch suggest that he is providing value for money at this moment in time.
Players who can make the difference in the final third are worth millions as they can win matches on their own and Tony Mowbray could have another Clarke at the club already in Jack Diamond.
The Sunderland academy graduate was sent out on loan to Lincoln in League One this season and the 22-year-old is enjoying a sublime campaign so far.
Diamond, who was once described as “powerful” by Lee Johnson, joined the third-tier outfit towards the end of August and has made an instant impact, scoring four goals in his first five league matches for the club.
Along with his goals, he has also created one ‘big chance’ for his teammates and made 3.6 tackles and interceptions per game, whilst completing 2.6 dribbles per outing.
This comes after he produced 13 goals and six assists on loan at Harrogate Town in 39 League Two appearances in the 2021/22 campaign.
The Sunderland youngster has proven, like Clarke has this season, that he has the quality to be a match-winner with his goal contributions at League Two and League One level.
Mowbray could now prevent Speakman from needing to splash out millions on another winger for the first team by bringing Diamond back into the fold in 2023 and integrating him into the squad to see if he has the quality to replicate his form in the Championship.
Wolverhampton Wanderers’ season has gone from bad to worse in the previous two weeks. First, the club sacked manager Bruno Lage following just one victory in the Premier League so far this season, and then the Old Gold then lost 3-0 against Chelsea last weekend.
Academy coaches Steve Davis and James Collins were in the dugout for that match and will manage the team against Nottingham Forest at Molineux this afternoon.
It is a must-win match for the Old Gold, and there should be some changes made from the poor performance against Chelsea last Saturday.
Daniel Podence let the team down majorly in the capital, and the interim duo should be looking at ruthlessly dropping him to the bench today.
There is no doubting the quality that the 26-year-old possesses, with his former manager Lage describing him as a “clever” player. He has scored two of Wolves’ three league goals this season, proving that he can be a danger to the opposition when he’s in the mood.
Against Chelsea, though, he was arguably the worst player on the pitch. The Portuguese forward received a rating of just 5.9 for his abject display in west London, and this will surely be considered be Collins and Davis ahead of the must-win match today.
Podence completed just 20 passes, succeeded with none of his three attempted dribbles and won just one of his eight duels at Stamford Bridge. Furthermore, he lost possession a staggering 18 times and took just 45 touches all afternoon as Chelsea ran out comfortable winners.
On that form, persevering with the 26-year-old could cost Wolves dearly against fellow strugglers Forest this afternoon. Therefore, the £60k-per-week forward should make way for someone else to take up the slot behind the main striker, but the question is who?
Summer arrival Goncalo Guedes operates mainly out on the left wing, while Hee-chan Hwang is more of a centre-forward.
This conundrum might result in a change of formation for Wolves as they aim for just their second win of the league campaign.
The Old Gold look short of confidence, and whoever comes in to take charge on a permanent basis faces a huge job on their hands to save them from a likely relegation battle.
Aston Villa’s fixtures do not get any easier, as they host an impressive Brentford side with Steven Gerrard having been relieved of his duties on Thursday.
It will leave Aaron Danks in charge, who will likely revert to the standard 4-3-3 to give his team the best possible chance to beat the buoyant Bees.
They have only lost twice in their last eight Premier League fixtures, and sit in a respectable tenth.
The Midlands outfit will have their work cut out to get anything from this well-oiled machine, but with suspensions and poor performances, there is plenty of decisions for the caretaker manager to consider.
Danks can be expected to make just three changes from the side that were pulverised by Fulham.
Emiliano Martinez will continue just behind an unchanged defence that has leaked 16 goals in just 11 games. Matty Cash will be hoping to find his form of old once again on the right flank.
Summer signing Leander Dendoncker will also notch his first start in central midfield. He has made just four cameo appearances for his new club and has only been involved in one win.
The £90k-per-week Belgian had impressed for his old club Wolverhampton Wanderers, and will be looking to find some form that saw Nuno Espirito Santo dub him a “top player”.
He will sit alongside Villa captain John McGinn, with Jacob Ramsey retaining his place despite his abysmal performance against the Cottagers.
Leon Bailey will surely drop to the bench after a similarly terrible display. The Jamaican is running low on chances now and will have to work hard to impress whoever the new manager may be. Emiliano Buendia will be his replacement.
The opposite flank will see another underwhelming star return, in the hopes that he can summon a moment of magic to help them snatch an unlikely win. Philippe Coutinho will start in place of Ollie Watkins, who will move to the central striker position.
Danny Ings will once again drop to the bench, after failing to impress in another league appearance.
Predicted Aston Villa XI: Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Young; McGinn, Dendoncker, Ramsey; Buendia, Coutinho, Watkins.
Sunderland have had their fair share of successes and failures in the transfer market over the years as they have unearthed gems and signed flops in windows gone by.
It is impossible to guarantee that a transfer will go to plan as you cannot account for potential injuries, how they get on away from the pitch and changes in management.
However, one signing the club and then-manager Steve Bruce hit the jackpot on was the addition of James McClean from Derry City in the summer of 2011.
Bruce hailed the deal at the time of the move, saying: “James is an outstanding young talent and has rightly attracted interest from a number of clubs over the summer so we’re very pleased that he sees his future at Sunderland.”
The Black Cats reportedly beat off competition from Peterborough United and Wigan Athletic to land his signature and this shows that the Sunderland boss had to work hard to sign him.
Transfermarkt valued him at £45k after he had produced 20 goals and 13 assists in 87 appearances for Derry City prior to making the switch to England.
This shows that Bruce was taking a gamble on the youngster as he was not an experienced player or coming from another top European league. He was a lowly-rated – in terms of his valuation – gem with the potential to improve and the manager placed his faith in him.
McClean played 29 games in all competitions in his first year at the Stadium of Light and caught the eye with six goals and four assists from midfield, winning the club’s Young Player of the Season award.
He followed that up by playing 41 matches in the 2012/13 campaign, including 36 outings in the Premier League. The Irishman scored five goals and assisted four and his form for the Black Cats was enough to attract interest from elsewhere.
Wigan, who had wanted him in the summer of 2011, snapped him up for a fee in the region of £2m in 2013. Transfermarkt valued him at £5.4m at the time of his move to the DW Stadium, which was a whopping 11,900% increase from the £45k he was valued at two years earlier.
This shows that Bruce played a blinder by signing McClean for Sunderland as his gamble paid off, both in terms of the contributions the Ireland international delivered on the pitch and his soaring market value that the club profited from in the end.
Newcastle United midfielder Sandro Tonali has become embroiled in gambling controversy this month. After a string of betting breaches during his time at former club, AC Milan, the Italian was banned for up to ten months – leaving his fledgling Magpies career in free fall.
However, while the 23-year-old – who joined in the summer on a five-year contract until 2028 for a whopping £55 million – looks ahead to time on the sidelines, one academy youngster may have the chance to embark on further progress since his own arrival at the club on Deadline Day.
Travis Hernes – the latest name amidst Newcastle's youth influx
Within an era of new Saudi ownership, it'd be easy for Newcastle to simply cherry-pick the best Europe has to offer and try to fast-track their space with football's elite. However, although a slither of that could be said for Tonali's high-profile move (which saw him become the most expensive Italian transfer ever), a lot of Eddie Howe's dealings have been made with the long-term future firmly in mind.
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Take the loan of Chelsea's Lewis Hall – his is a move that reflects a young peripheral Blues player moving with an option to buy to the club he's actually supported since childhood. There's a slick planning there.
Factor in Australian wonderkid Garang Kuol and Gambian high-flyer Yankuba Minteh – two players that are bearing fruit on loans at Volendam and Feyenoord, respectively – and there's some serious talent in the pipeline.
Another name perhaps lost in the cluster of youngsters flying through the St James' Park doors, is Travis Hernes.
At just 17 years old, this midfielder of mixed Norwegian-English origins could have national teams fighting for his allegiance after making the impressive jump from League One Shrewsbury Town to Premier League Newcastle's youth side this September.
Hernes ready to build off Football League foundations
For Norwegian-born Hernes, this recent ascent has been emphatic, yet the youngster looks to constantly improve rather than be a mere flash in the pan.
At Shrewsbury, Hernes only featured in six senior games before attracting higher-level suitors. Three of those came in the EFL Trophy where the youngster even got on the scoresheet. These efforts, as well as an EFL Cup appearance, found him entrusted with two brief League One opportunities at the start of 2023/24 – against Stevenage and Cheltenham.
Although there isn't much in the way of recorded statistics for the young man who arrived in England at age 13, Chronicle Live's report provides a great qualitative profile on the midfielder. Football writer Chris Knight spoke to Shrewsbury's academy manager Charlie Musselwhite:
"He's a very polite, grounded boy. He's someone who I'd say is very relaxed, at times reserved, but I wouldn't say shy. He's just a fairly laidback character. That being said, when it comes to work and football, he is very serious. Throughout his time last year when he turned full-time scholar, he was very hard-working whether that was in training sessions or doing extras."
Since moving to Tyneside, Hernes has also attracted praise from his new manager, U19 coach Ben Dawson. The future could be bright for the Norwegian if he keeps progressing in the same vein as he has done in tricky fixtures against AC Milan's youth for example:
“He’s been terrific. It’s all very new for him still. He’s still quite green after making that jump. He played in the Premier League Cup against Huddersfield and did really well. Totally different experience today. He’s going to take some time to settle in, but he's a player we really like, and we think he’s got plenty of potential."
With one goal under his belt in just two U18 Premier League appearances so far for the Tynesiders, a chance to impress at senior level may not be too far down the line, with the impending absence of Tonali potentially set to be the perfect opportunity for Howe to raid the academy set-up.
West Ham United are plotting a move to sign Liverpool midfielder Naby Keita next summer, according to reports in the last 48 hours.
The Lowdown: Spell on the sidelines
The Guinean has failed to play a single minute of Premier League football this season due to a hamstring injury, with his last appearance coming in the Community Shield back in July.
The 27-year-old is therefore likely to leave Anfield when his contract expires at the end of the current campaign, and there are four potential suitors waiting to snap him up.
The Latest: West Ham eyeing Keita
According to Italian outlet MilanLive (via Sport Witness), West Ham, alongside Newcastle United and AC Milan, have all been credited with an interest in Keita.
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The trio are keen to land the maestro on a free transfer in 2023, with Borussia Dortmund also name-checked as a ‘potential destination’.
It’s stated that his consistent injuries would be something ‘to consider’ for David Moyes’ side, who would ‘want assurances’ regarding his fitness or a deal based on a number of appearances.
The Verdict: Risk worth taking
GSBK signing Keita would be a risk given how prone he is to sustaining injuries, but it’s one that’s surely worth taking given what he’s capable of when at full fitness.
The midfield ‘enforcer’, as dubbed by journalist Josh Bunting, has netted 11 goals and provided seven assists during his time on Merseyside, showing his ability to contribute in the final third (Transfermarkt).
With Premier League and Champions League titles to his name, Keita would bring a wealth of experience and success to the London Stadium.
Glasgow Rangers manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst may feel like his centre-backs have been hit with a curse at Ibrox this season as that area of the squad has been decimated by injuries.
Connor Goldson, John Souttar, and Filip Helander are all currently out injured and are not set to return in the Premiership until after the World Cup in Qatar.
They are projected to miss a combined 87 matches between them, with Helander having been out since April, and fellow central defender Ben Davies has also missed games with a knock this term.
This has left academy graduate Leon King as van Bronckhorst’s only natural centre-back at times, whilst John Lundstram and James Sands – who are midfielders by trade – have also been required to drop back into that role.
Helander and Sands, who is currently on loan with an option to buy, are out of contract at the end of the season and Ross Wilson could be tempted to dip into the transfer market to bring in another option in that area of the pitch.
The upcoming January transfer window, and the one next summer, provides the sporting director with a chance to add more depth to van Bronckhorst’s roster but the Dutch head coach could save him millions by unearthing a gem from the academy.
One young talent who could have the potential to make the step up in order to save Wilson from needing to splash out on a new signing is 19-year-old Lewis MacKinnon.
The teenager has played 14 matches in the Lowland League this term, whilst also featuring in six games in the UEFA Youth League, and scored three times in all competitions from centre-back.
Earlier this season, the teenager stated that he wants to be a “threat” in the opposition’s box whilst being “solid” in his own and revealed that he believes he has improved, saying:
“The Lowland League has been more of a physical test, but when we play these top European teams you’re coming across a different challenge, it’s probably more technical playing against these teams. Ultimately, it will help us improve as a player, everyone’s enjoying it.
“If you look at the boys who got a start against Queen of the South, it just shows you that the pathway is there, and you just have to keep striving each day.”
His 14 appearances in the fifth tier of Scottish football appear to have helped his development – judging by these comments – and his form for Rangers has earned him international recognition, as he has been capped three times by Northern Ireland at U19 level.
MacKinnon has plenty of time left ahead of him to grow and improve further as a player and van Bronckhorst could expose the defender to first-team football, whether that is by bringing him into training or putting him on the bench for a game, to help him to take the next step.
If the young defender can make the leap to senior football then he could prevent Wilson from needing to sign a replacement for Helander, whilst giving van Bronckhorst another talented youngster to develop.