Big 4 championship clubs – transfer report
As another season seems to be somewhat just around the corner, clubs scour the transfer market for any additions to the squad along with getting rid of the unwanted players. I’m going to be taking a look at the ins and outs so far of the 5 favourites for promotion next season (source: bettingzone).
QPR –
Well after Queens Park Rangers inevitably got relegated in quite a mess last season, could master Redknapp steady the ship back into calmer waters?
As for transfers in there has only been one signing as of yet and that is the acquisition of full-back Danny Simpson. Again this is another example of a player that in my eyes could easily still perform consistently in the top flight, however he has taken the step down to rebuild his career. As much as he hates the phrase, Redknapp is one of the best ‘wheeler dealers’ around and knows exactly who wants in order to succeed.
With the London based club having thrown money around in the past year, them big name players are not going to want to play in the second tier and will therefore leave which they have or will do. These being Christopher Samba, Julio Cesar, Djibril Cisse, Esteban Granero, Stephan Mbia and Samba Diakite.
If they are to succeed in the Championship Harry needs to get exactly who he wants from Mr Fernandes and then completely rebuild to get the foundations in which they had back at the club.
Ins – Simpson
Outs – Samba, Cesar, Cisse, Bothroyd, Granero, Mbia, Diakite
Reading –
As Reading most of the time looked out of their depth in the Premier League last season, similar to QPR they need to rebuild and bring in who new manager Nigel Adkins wants then rebuild and go from there.
One of the new signings for Reading is in my eyes the biggest one yet and that being the Dutchman Royston Drenthe. This signing astounded me to be quite honest as he was at Real Madrid not long ago then he went on loan to Everton where he was superb for the majority. He clearly showed he was Premier League and top 8 standard and now he is going to be playing in the Championship. In my eyes I feel like he will tear the league apart with his talent. However only time will tell. They have also brought in Wayne Bridge which is another clever signing as he proved at Brighton last season that he still has a lot to offer in the game.
Ins – Williams, Drenthe, Bridge
Outs – Hunt, Church, Tabb
Bolton –
Bolton as well as Leicester always seem to be favourites with the bookies at the start of every season and Bolton have gone about their business will so far too bringing in a mixture of youth and experience.
So far they have brought in Jermaine Beckford, Robert Hall, Alex Baptiste and Marc Tierney. Tierney a consistent Premier League full-back, Baptiste a versatile consistent defender, Hall a promising young midfielder and of course we all know Jermaine Beckford knows where the goal is at any level.
On the other hand they have lost the massively experienced centre forward Kevin Davies but as he has joined league one side Preston North End do you believe he is past it or could he have still prevailed in the championship? Another loss is the one of full-back Marcos Alonso in which the fans really warmed to him as his time with the club progressed and to be honest also did his playing performances.
In my opinion Bolton will be right up there all season battling it out for a play-off place as next season looks like it is going to be one of the most competitive yet.
Ins – Beckford, Hall, Baptise, Tierney
Outs – Ricketts, Wylde, Alonso, Davies
Wigan –
When Wigan finally got relegated from the Premier League, my first thought was that they were never going to get back up. However the transfers they have done so far has made me think otherwise.
Ins – McCann, Perch, Carson, Crainey, Rogne, Holt and Fortune.
Outs – Boselli, Figueroa, Kone, Alcaraz, Golobart.
I believe Wigan have worked the market very well so far and the main signing that has caught my eye was the most recent one of Grant Holt. I think we are all quite surprised over this as Holt showed he can still be a real handful in the Premier League. However as Norwich have brought in another biggish name striker and Holt was unsettled anyway he chose to drop down to the championship. I still think that this big centre forward will be a complete nuisance in the championship and will get a bundle of goals. Another eye raising transfer is the one of Marc-Antoine Fortune who again could still easily hold his own in the Premier League as he started to get regular first team football for West Brom and proved his talent. With Holt and Fortune up front I believe the Latics could really cause some trouble and then possibly grasp a play-off place.
Obviously being relegated comes at a price, that price being the best players at the club want to play at the highest level. Also with Roberto Martinez joining Everton he has that ability to take players with him and has so far captured three of his former Wigan players in Kone, Alcaraz and Joel Robles.