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When Lee Johnson announced last Friday that Bailey Wright had returned to training, the Sunderland manager had a beaming smile on his face.

Little did he know, however, that his Australian stalwart was going to be thrown in at the deep end after their first defeat in 14 matches.

The Mackems have been brilliant in recent months but their 2-1 loss at the hands of Charlton last weekend dealt an almighty blow to their hopes of earning automatic promotion.

Though, those hopes were dealt another potentially catastrophic blow when they lost to Wigan Athletic on Tuesday evening. This was arguably one of the worst performances under Johnson as the Black Cats were made to rue a number of defensive errors.

This was a display that was completely out of character with how their defence have shaped up since February. With Luke O’Nien and Dion Sanderson a centre-back pairing, Sunderland had kept seven clean sheets in 12 games.

That being said, things have fallen by the wayside in the last few weeks; Johnson’s men now haven’t kept a shutout in four matches.

As they fell to a dismal 2-1 defeat on Tuesday, it was their defence who came under scrutiny. Wright was welcomed back into the starting XI after a late injury to Conor McLaughlin which meant that O’Nien had to shuffle across to right back with the Aussie coming in at centre-half.

Unfortunately, both players were left exposed. O’Nien could have done more for both goals as a pair of defensive calamities led to strikes being conceded from two set-pieces.

Wright has usually been so reliable for Sunderland and until his calf injury in February, had only missed one league game.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/latest-sunderland-transfer-rumours-and-news-grigg-denayer-louis-dreyfus-sanderson-melamed” title=”Latest Sunderland transfer news and views!”]

Though, on this display, he could be missing a few more between now and the end of the season. The defender tried to play long balls forward on a regular basis and that led to him conceding possession of the ball on a whopping 19 occasions.

For context, no Mackems played lost it more. That also led to a measly pass success rate of just 69%. Of those to start the game from an outfield perspective, only Charlie Wyke and Denver Hume registered a worse percentage.

Wright did prevail in eight aerial duels but ultimately, he looked off the pace and unfit. That’s hardly surprising given his lack of action but considering how adept he’s been in the past, he appeared to be a shadow of his former self.

At full-time, Johnson claimed that he felt “a little bit let down” by the performance of some of his players.

That was certainly the case with Wright. The boss should revert back to a centre-back partnership of O’Nien and Sanderson next time out.

AND in other news, Sunderland graduate saw value rise by £15.5m after leaving, he’s a “manager’s dream” …

Former Leeds United hero Paul Robinson is desperate for the Whites to complete the permanent signing of Jack Harrison this summer.

The 24-year-old in now in his third season on loan at Elland Road, having initially joined from Manchester City back in the summer of 2018.

The winger has been an undoubted success story for Leeds, scoring 16 goals in 120 appearances, as well as registering 17 assists.

Harrison was a key part of Marcelo Bielsa’s team that made it back into the Premier League and only Patrick Bamford (14) has more than his tally of six goals in the division in 2020/21.

[freshpress-quiz id=“336849″]

Robinson urges Leeds to sign Harrison

Leeds have the option to sign Harrison permanently with Phil Hay reporting earlier this month an £11m deal is “as good as done”, something Robinson thinks is a no brainer.

Speaking to MOT Leeds News, the ex-Whites goalkeeper hailed the Englishman’s quality and said it makes perfect sense to retain his services:

“I think he’s a top player and he’s an absolute bargain at the price Leeds are going to pay for him. It’s been clever business by Leeds, kicking his option down the road for a year and keeping him on loan.

“They’re now in a position where they’ve got more Premier League money and more money from investors.

“It meant they could spend the money they spent last summer and sign Harrison this summer, and at £10m you’d be hard-pressed to find a better player than him.

“I think it’s a great signing, a really great buy for Leeds. He’s had ups and downs this season but he’s a top-quality winger who would cost a lot more on the open market.”

Transfer Tavern take

Harrison has shown over an extended period that he is more than suited to shine in this Leeds side, so they should seal a permanent move for him in the summer.

He clearly has no future at City, and at 24, he is at an age where he needs to settle at a club for a long period.

In other news, Noel Whelan believes one Leeds target could have to tweak his game if he moves to Elland Road this summer. Find out who it is here.

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Newcastle United Hall of Famer Rob Lee says he hates the formation and system the Magpies are persisting with, and feels sorry for the likes of Dwight Gayle having to play as a winger.

Since Graeme Jones joined Newcastle they have adopted a split striker system which sees the two strikers play wider and allows midfielders to arrive into the box unmarked, however Lee doesn’t believe the Magpies have the players to play this way.

Lee would like to see players deployed in their natural positions for the remainder of the season, stating that Gayle is a goalscorer and if he’s on the wing, he won’t be able to get the goals Newcastle desperately need.

Speaking on the split striker system which has become the norm on Tyneside and why he feels for Gayle at the minute, Lee told FFC exclusively:

“I don’t like the formation they play. I don’t think we’ve got the players to play it and I know it’s Graeme Jones’ preferred way of playing, he likes his two strikers to split, but personally, I hate it.

“I feel sorry for the likes of Gayle because they barely touch the ball and you have to realise what Dwight Gayle is. He is a guy that can score goals and he’s brilliant at doing that.

“He’s very quick and plays on the last defender but he has to be around the box not wide because he’s not going to give you anything there.

“They seem to be persevering with this system and it’s not for me to say, but from looking inside and from what I’ve seen we haven’t got the players to play that way.”

Dwight Gayle was signed to help get Newcastle out of the Championship in 2016 and over his career, he’s proved his ability in the box having scored 165 goals in 248 games.

The Magpies lost their potential six-pointer against Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday evening, and have to bounce back when they host Tottenham Hotspur on April 4.

Many Manchester United fans were left to slam the display of Fred in their 0-0 away draw at Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Wednesday night.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men really struggled to break the South London club down at all and in the end had to settle for a point, which meant that they lost further ground on their local rivals Manchester City in the title race and will now surely be looking more over their shoulders than in front of them.

Fred’s performance in particular flattered to deceive several members of the Old Trafford faithful, as the central midfield player lost out on no fewer than eight of his duels in the game, while also failing to record a single clearance and losing possession of the ball eight times, earning him a quite measly 6.6 overall rating on Sofascore, the second-lowest out of any of his teammates to have started the match.

Manchester United fan reaction to Fred display

These Red Devils slammed his performance on Twitter, with one MUFC supporter saying that the Brazil international was ‘poor’ while another claimed he is ‘one of the worst players’ in the team:

“Fred is one of the worst players in the @ManUtd team. He cannot pass or shoot. To think we had midfielders like Scholes, Carrick and Keane and now we rely on Fred and Matic. I would rather we lose a game 1-0 but have ten shots on goal. This park the bus tactic is sickening #MUFC”

Credit: @mojodurbs

“You could see Rashford especially get frustrated playing in front of Fred and Matic because they offered absolutely nothing to the forward players. Zero service all night. Way too safe. Which is their job. It’s the attributes they have. They just shouldn’t be #mufc starting CMs.”

Credit: @Kyles_Page

“Fred was awful and not for the first time but why wait 75 minutes when it was clear from the first half? We do the same things and expect different results. Einstein’s definition of insanity is proving true #mufc”

Credit: @thereddevilway

“One of the worst collective performances I can remember in the Bruno era. Marcus, Fred & Bruno particularly off it. Henderson and Bailly probably the only players who were up to the standards tonight #MUFC #CRYMUN”

Credit: @BenrubiLiam

“United are dropping more points then leaking tap l have say there was no creative in United team apart from Bruno. Needs some help. Fred was poor again but no one mentions it he’s not good enough #mufc”

Credit: @mahadnur93

“I AM SICK OF #FRED… THAT’S A BRAZILIAN WHO CANNOT PASS OR SHOOT #MUFC need to move these players”

Credit: @SebastienRault5

In other news, find out whose display against Palace was also slammed here!

Andreas Sondergaard has spoken exclusively to Football FanCast about his decision to come to the Premier League and sign for Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Wolves’ young shot-stopper has been in and around the first team all season training and recovering with them, but also keeping up his match sharpness by playing for the under 23s.

This sort of environment and feeling involved in the whole club was a huge pull factor for Sondergaard when he made the decision to move to the Midlands at just 17-years-old.

Nuno Espirito Santo has already shown that he wants him to be amongst the first-team squad to gain valuable experience alongside two international keepers in Rui Patricio and John Ruddy.

To feel wanted was a big necessity for Sondergaard when he moved to England at a young age and not knowing anyone at the club so, to be welcomed and included in day-to-day training has helped him grow both on and off the pitch.

The 20-year-old explained to Football FanCast exclusively, what the key factors were in deciding to join Wolves.

“Definitely the environment,” Sondergaard said when asked for the reasons why he joined the club.

He went on to say: “I’d only heard good things about going to England and, that’s where you can learn the most.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/exclusive-andreas-sondergaard-wolves-premier-league” title=”Exclusive! Andreas Sondergaard talks all things Wolves”]

“Especially with the environment, because it is a tough environment. And there are so many other keepers to compete with, and there’s a lot of competition.

“So, it would only make you even better and again, I know the Premier League is the best league in the world. So it did attract me a lot to come here and grab the chance to come over here and yeah, do my best and hopefully, being able to achieve my goals.”

It was a huge decision to make as a 17-year old to move away to a foreign country to play football, especially in such a competitive position as a goalkeeper.

However, to make a young player feel like they belong at the club may go a long way in helping Sondergaard to become a future number one for the club.

David Moyes risks laying bare West Ham United’s desperation by pursuing a deal to sign a free-agent to solve his lack of depth at striker after Sebastien Haller’s exit.

What’s the word?

According to Irons insider ExWHUemployee, while speaking on The West Ham Way podcast, Moyes could look to explore the free-agent market after refusing to sign a centre-forward during the mid-season window.

The Hammers boss was adamant that he would not bring a player in “just for the sake of it”, and instead opted to keep the £20m raised from Haller joining Ajax to put toward his budget for the summer.

But things have only gotten worse at the London Stadium since that decision, with doubt now lingering over Michail Antonio’s fitness after showing signs of serious fatigue at Fulham and being rested for the FA Cup defeat to Manchester United.

West Ham have also lost Andriy Yarmolenko for the foreseeable, after the Ukraine winger sustained knee ligament damage at Old Trafford while leading the line in the absence of Antonio.

Teen prospect Mipo Odubeko came on to replace Yarmolenko but struggled to get going and was eventually replaced in extra-time, yet he and Jarrod Bowen may be Moyes’ only options for when the Irons host Sheffield United on Monday night.

Hammers insider ExWHUemployee believes the situation could force the club to look into signing a free-agent to help add depth until the end of the season, but West Ham currently have no active plans in place.

Laying West Ham’s desperation bare

Moyes potentially now looking at adding a free-agent to support Antonio would prove his decision not to sign a striker in January was a huge blunder, and one that will lay bare his desperation to atone for the mistake.

West Ham will not be blessed with that many great options should they hit the scrapheap, either, with ex-Chelsea forward Diego Costa the only free-agent striker with a TransferMarkt valuation above £3.5m after he agreed to have his £265,000-per-week Atletico Madrid contract terminated early.

Costa departed the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium in December as Atleti sought to reduce their wage bill, and agreed to tear up the final six months of his deal after spending periods out since September with coronavirus, a hamstring injury and deep-vein thrombosis.

The Spaniard returned earlier than expected to score the last of his 83 career goals for Los Colchoneros in a 3-1 La Liga win over Elche in December, and was linked with a move to the London Stadium in January.

Former Premier League striker Dean Windass urged West Ham to make a move for Costa while speaking exclusively to Football FanCast last month, but reports by football.london on Deadline Day claimed there was no truth in the rumours of a move to the Hammers.

If Costa is still not a target, other free-agents to consider include Daniel Sturridge – who has been without a club since March – Alexandre Pato – without a club since August – and Wilfried Bony – who has played 10 games since April 2019.

Clearly, then, the options are not great, so it remains to be seen if even desperation will force Moyes into accepting he was wrong and now signing someone no one else wants.

AND in other news, West Ham will have to pay in excess of £26.5m to land a prolific 18 goal striker in the summer…

The Athletic’s Derby County correspondent Ryan Conway participated in a discussion thread with Derby fans ahead of the Rams’ Championship clash with Rotherham United on Wednesday evening.

In this thread, the journalist was asked about the latest news concerning Sheikh Khaled bin Zayed Al Nehayan’s ongoing takeover attempt.

The Derby County takeover saga

This takeover received the EFL’s approval in November and two expected dates of completion for the deal have been muted, one in December and one in January, both of which have passed without the deal getting done.

Complications surrounding the takeover resulted in the Rams failing to pay some players’ wages for December on time, which in turn led to Derby being handed a transfer embargo for a portion of the January window.

Conway’s claim on the latest Rams takeover news

In response to this Rams fan who asked him for takeover news, Conway declared that: “It speaks volumes that nobody even bothered to ask about it in the last presser. I think even the journalists are starting to all believe it won’t happen now and think it’s a waste of time asking. The same answers get repeated.”

He went on to explain, with how long the deal has been dragging on for, that if there were a positive update, the club would make it known.

Transfer Tavern take

So, it may be fair to say that the journalist’s takeover comments certainly aren’t promising about the possibility that this deal will actually get over the line.

Perhaps that’s not a massive surprise, given that the takeover has failed to meet its expected date of completion twice and Sheikh Khaled has led failed takeover attempts of clubs like Liverpool and Newcastle United in the past.

The longer this deal drags on, as Conway indicated, the more likely it looks that Derby will join those two Premier League clubs as English sides who this Abu Dhabi royal family member has failed to take over.

In other news, many Derby fans were fuming over Duane Holmes’ departure.

Kristjaan Speakman could be the man who holds the keys to Sunderland’s promotion.

If he and Lee Johnson are able to spend sensibly in January then it could well engineer a successful run to the Championship.

That, however, will be easier said than done.

What’s the word?

Prospective buyer William Storey revealed last weekend that if he manages to secure a takeover and buy the club from Stewart Donald he will target a very specific area in terms of new recruits.

That happens to be the Premier League. Of course, Sunderland can’t exactly go out and spend money on Premier League talent but what they can do is look at the academy sides where a whole host of talent is currently occupied.

As a result of Storey’s claim, The Sunderland Echo put together a piece looking at the viable options for Johnson and Speakman in January.

One player who could be on their radar is Manchester City midfielder James McAtee. According to the Echo, there will be no shortage of suitors for the 18-year-old if a temporary move is sanctioned next month.

Move over Embleton

If McAtee does indeed join in January it could be disastrous for Elliot Embleton.

The midfielder spent the vast majority of last season out injured with a serious hamstring injury and as a result, his development has been pushed back considerably.

Embleton has now managed to break into the senior team at the Stadium of Light for the first time but if the Black Cats look to sign a creative player in January that could put his progression on the backburner once again.

This wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing for the Mackems, though. That’s because McAtee is a bright young player with plenty of attacking qualities. Capable of playing as a centre-forward, out wide, as a number 10 or further back, he is as versatile as Embleton.

However, his numbers are significantly more eye-catching. Compared to fellow Man City midfielder Phil Foden, the teenager has scored six goals and assisted a further seven for the Citizens’ U23 side this season.

Embleton, on the other hand, only ever netted six times for Sunderland at the same level.

It’s clear that McAtee has plenty of potential and signing him on loan in January could add plenty to Johnson’s ranks.

AND in other news, Sunderland can fix Johnson’s big issue with swoop for “really lively” beast compared to Andy Cole…

After seeing Celtic’s Scottish Premiership campaign crumble in front of his very eyes, Peter Lawwell will desperately be searching for ways to hit the reset button and kick-start a new era of dominance.

The Hoops have endured a nightmare first-half to the season thus far, finding themselves 21 points behind leaders and Old Firm rivals Rangers.

If planning for next season isn’t already under way at Parkhead, then there is something seriously going wrong at the club. But, according to The Daily Mirror, the Bhoys do seem to be looking at ways of setting up a more exciting future, with it being suggested that Wigan teenager Kyle Joseph is someone who they’re looking at potentially signing.

The report claims that Celtic are not the only ones tracking the Scotland U19 international, with Rangers, Tottenham and Sheffield United all in the race to sign him too, although their hopes are boosted by the fact his contract with the Latics comes to an end in June.

And whilst the sample size is small – he’s played just 13 games of senior football at Wigan so far – he’s already shown signs of being a really impressive young talent.

The 19-year-old bagged a hat-trick in Wigan’s last game in League One, when they beat Burton Albion 4-3. Despite the Latics being near the foot of the table, Joseph’s goals showed that he’s got the mentality to continue playing his way, and that kind of fearlessness is something Celtic would surely love to add to their side.

His teammate, Kal Naismith, said he has a “great appetite for the game” and works hard, insisting that “he’ll be a top player”. At 19, Joseph isn’t going to come in at Celtic and hit the ground running or be the saviour to topple Rangers next season.

But he can be a major building block for their future as they start afresh, and Lawwell would do well to fend off competition to bring him to Scotland.

Meanwhile, Celtic can get an Edouard replacement in this 27-goal striker…

Whilst Leighton Clarkson might be stealing the limelight after his Champions League debut in midweek, the Reds also have Jake Cain in the academy who looks to have a very bright future with the Reds.

The 19-year-old travelled with the Liverpool squad to Denmark for their game against FC Midtjylland in midweek but failed to make an appearance, whilst fellow youngster Clarkson played the whole game.

However, it would not be a surprise to see Cain make another first-team appearance for the club this season, after he signed a professional contract with the Merseyside club in 2019, before signing a long-term extension earlier this year.

The young midfielder has been training with the first-team in recent times and made his first-team debut for the club earlier this year in the 1-0 FA Cup win against Shrewsbury Town.

More appearances for Klopp’s side are surely not too far away, as he has been superb in his performances for the academy team so far this season, with three goals and four assists in just seven appearances in the Premier League 2.

In an interview with the club in June of this year, Cain described his playing style, saying:

“Since a young age, I’ve been a very good passer. I can see passes which the opposition can’t defend really well. I like to get into positions where I’m behind the defence and thread balls through.”

Meanwhile, a scout report from Team Talk suggested that the youngster could be deemed a ‘set piece king’ due to his ability in dead-ball situations, which is something that could certainly excite Liverpool fans in the future.

The young midfielder has already drawn comparisons with Jordan Henderson for his style of play, and if he can have anywhere near the impact the Liverpool captain has had at the club once he establishes himself in the first-team, then he will surely prove to be popular amongst the Anfield faithful.

And, in other news… Sold for £15m, now worth £1.8m: LFC sold ace Klopp dubbed a “big talent” at the perfect time