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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

According to El Desmarque, Wolves have contacted FC Copenhagen over a possible move for winger Robert Skov.

What’s the word?

Wolves haven’t looked as though they’re willing to be too active in the transfer market yet but they have already been linked with one winger in Ivan Perisic.

Finding more depth in attack will be crucial ahead of an assault on the Premier League’s top six and in the hope of finding more goals, it looks like they’re targeting Danish wide man Skov.

El Desmarque claim that the Midlands outfit have made contact with his club over a potential move but Tottenham have done the same.

Also chasing the player according to the report are Celta Vigo, so it looks set to be a tight race to secure his signature.

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Ideal man to mirror Jota

With the likes of Ivan Cavaleiro, Helder Costa and Adama Traore struggling for form last season, finding the net just five times between them, Nuno Santo decided to operate with a two-man attack.

This meant that Diogo Jota switched from being an out-and-out winger to becoming more of a central striker, playing slightly behind Raul Jimenez.

Although a 3-4-3 formation was still utilised at times, it wasn’t particularly favourable for Nuno towards the back end of the campaign.

However, the signing of Skov could change things once more and see him mirror the impact Jota previously had on the flanks.

Playing predominantly down the left-hand side, the Portuguese had an outstanding second half of the season, finding the net on ten occasions as he used his fantastic dribbling ability to threaten defenders on a regular basis.

He’d frequently cut inside and drive at the defence, something that Skov could replicate on the right-hand side if he joined.

Gareth Bale to Wolves? Wolves Fan TV discuss how ambitious Nuno Espirito Santo will be this summer in the video below…

The 23-year-old was in phenomenal form last term, scoring 32 goals and racking up a further ten assists, too.

It was levels beyond Jota but as a left-footed player, he could have a similar effect on the right if Wolves utilised a 3-4-3 formation.

With the ability to cut inside, both Skov and Wolves’ current wide man would be a significant threat and could mirror each other’s impact from opposing directions.

Considering the lack of end product from some of their fringe players in 2018/19, this signing has the potential to be game-changing.

Only Michael Burgess and Gary Ballance offer any resistance on bad day for batters

David Hopps12-Sep-2021If Yorkshire intended to invigorate their Championship challenge by pitting themselves against Warwickshire on an old-fashioned Headingley seamer, they will be none too confident that things will turn out in their favour after a frantic first day in which 18 wickets fell. Warwickshire had the better of things, holding a 60-run lead with only two Yorkshire wickets intact.Nottinghamshire’s 10.5-point cushion over the chasing pack with two matches remaining meant that victory was essential for both sides, but batting bonus points could hardly be cast to the wind in such a manner, and the odds are that neither side will manage a single one.Warwickshire are a tough nut to crack on unresponsive surfaces, adept at taking a game long and wearing down their opponents, but the return of Chris Woakes from the cancelled England Test gave them extra bowling firepower and he joined Liam Norwell in taking three wickets before losing his way slightly late in the day. It was his first red ball fixture for Warwickshire for three years.”I’m supposed to be playing a Test match, but it’s a shame,” Woakes said. “What happened, happened. It would have been a great end to the series. I haven’t played a county four-day match for quite a while, but with the season coming to a conclusion and things still up for grabs, it’s great to be here.”England match-ups are a rarity in a debilitated Championship, so the presence of Woakes and Dawid Malan felt particularly significant, especially as not many of England’s Test squad had been included across the country. On this occasion, the odds were heavily stacked in Woakes’ favour, but Malan would be disappointed that his was one of the few giveaway wickets to fall as he cut high to backward point when on 9.Only two batters made more than 16 in the chaos. Michael Burgess’ vigorous 66 from 90 balls was a fine counterattacking innings from No. 6 and crucially enabled Warwickshire to add 52 for the last three wickets. Gary Ballance played Yorkshire’s lone hand, his unbeaten 51 from 96 balls the only measured innings of the day.After winning the toss, Yorkshire took advantage of seam movement more than swing. Fears of Dom Sibley’s obduracy proved ungrounded when Matt Fisher seamed one back to have him lbw. Ben Coad then removed Will Rhodes and Sam Hain in successive balls with deliveries that left them, Hain squared up and chipping into the off side, high up the blade.Yorkshire’s skipper, Steve Patterson, 37 now, carries a lean and hungry look on pitches like these. Big break-backs bowled Chris Benjamin, offering no shot, and Matt Lamb and then had Woakes lbw stuck on the crease. It was a demanding first-class debut for 17-year-old Jacob Bethel and he soon became Patterson’s fourth victim, and the 450th of his career.Burgess, though, played defiantly – and with increasing licence, no more so than when he ramped Coad over fine leg for six. It was a shot of similar ambition that saw him caught at deep square leg off the same bowler two balls later.Yorkshire found life just as tough as Woakes and Norwell took advantage of conditions. Before the fall of Malan, Yorkshire had lost both openers. George Hill was late on a ball that came back to have him lbw and Adam Lyth, whose form has been so poor that he must have retained faith largely on loyalty, was then struck plumb in front by Norwell.As the floodlights came on after tea, Yorkshire’s plight worsened. Dom Bess and Jordan Thompson both failed to return the fight – Bess bowled through a huge gate, Thompson suckered on the pull. Ballance met Woakes with more confidence than anybody. Without his half-century, Yorkshire would have been in a parlous state.

Royals fast bowler opens up on making changes to his bowling action after being ignored for the Sri Lanka series

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Sep-2021Jaydev Unadkat, the Rajasthan Royals pacer, believes that the conditions in the UAE for the second leg of IPL 2021 will be similar to last year with high-scoring games expected on flat wickets. With the competition set to resume in Dubai on September 19, the left-arm pacer is confident that Royals, who are placed fifth in the table currently, “can perform well” despite missing the likes of Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer.”It is harder to bowl when the boundaries are smaller like in Sharjah because the batsmen are more confident of clearing the boundary, but you have to accept the challenge and find ways to bowl,” Unadkat, who has accumulated 85 wickets in 84 matches in the IPL, said.Related

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• Lewis and Thomas to replace Buttler and Stokes at Royals

• IPL to become 10-team tournament from 2022

“We know that those games are going to be high scoring, so you got to be aware that even if you get hit, you must come back stronger.”It’s not about going for 24 runs or getting 2 wickets – it’s about restricting those boundaries. In a ground which is small, and has flat wickets, every single ball matters. We played quite a few games on all the grounds last season, and the wickets and the weather are going to be similar, and we’re confident that we can do well.”Unadkat, 29, also revealed that he has worked on some of the technicalities in his bowling during the offseason, at his hometown in Rajkot. Having made a decent start to the season, which includes him picking up a three-wicket haul against the Delhi Capitals, Unadkat is keen on “looking to continue doing the same in this phase as well.””I wanted to make a few changes in my bowling action, so (I) was working on that, and that itself requires a good amount of time,” Unadkat, who picked up four wickets in four matches in the first half of the IPL that was held in India, said. “So, I was devoted towards making those changes and getting used to them.”It was also the time when he was ignored for the limited-overs series against Sri Lanka, when India fielded a second-string side. He had a record-breaking 2019-20 Ranji Trophy season when he picked up 67 wickets that culminated in Saurashtra’s historic win and was in contention. However, his Royals team-mate Chetan Sakariya was drafted into the squad.Unadkat, who took a break from social media after the disappointment, feels “that kind of a phase can actually help you at times” and helps in one coming back stronger with renewed confidence.”I wanted to do some work with my bowling and wanted to go off the attention a bit. It’s always nice if you can have some time with only yourself and the family, and not really listen to what the outside world has to say about you,” he said.”And I’ve done that in the past as well so it’s kind of a normal process which gives me that space to go deep and just be honest with myself and find out what I need to work on, and what I’m good at. That helps in gathering confidence again and come back stronger.”

Six years ago injury forced the fast bowler to give up his dreams after just two Tests. He now coaches schoolkids and is settled in his role as a family man

Firdose Moonda25-Dec-2015By the time he had turned 29, Friedel de Wet had reached the level of middle-class comfort many strive for. The fast bowler had a stable job as a professional cricketer and a back-up career as a landscape architect. He had married his childhood sweetheart. He was happy.His boyhood dreams of sporting stardom were dimmed by the realisation that at his age and with his numbers – he was second on the first-class bowling charts two seasons before in 2006-07, with 48 wickets at 22.00 but had dropped down after that – it was unlikely he’d make it big. He was content with making it medium: being a dependable, good team man, a good husband, and one day, a good father.Despite being newly married, he was under a bit of friendly pressure from his team-mates for the last of those to happen quickly. One afternoon while driving from his home town Rustenburg, at the foot of the Magaliesberg mountain range, to his franchise ground in Potchefstroom 150 kilometres away, his phone began chiming the sounds of congratulations. “I was getting a lot of SMSes saying things like, ‘Well done Friedel’, and I was thinking to myself, ‘Alecia is not pregnant, is she?’ So I wondered why everyone is saying well done,” de wet recounted.”Then Gordon Parsons, who was our bowling coach at Lions and my mentor, phoned me and also said well done. So I told him, ‘I don’t know what everyone is saying congratulations for. Alecia is not pregnant.’ And he just started laughing. He said, ‘Friedel, you’ve been picked for South Africa.’ I couldn’t believe it.”

“Dale came to me and said, ‘I’m definitely not playing. You are.’ I just said, ‘No, Dale. You can’t do this to me now’, and then I felt like I couldn’t breathe”

De Wet had reason to doubt what he had heard. He had finished the previous summer 10th on the first-class wicket-takers’ list behind Craig Alexander, Rusty Theron and Garnett Kruger. He had thought he was out of contention.”I just got this nervous, warm feeling. This is what I dreamt about since I was five and I thought it would never happen,” de Wet says. “Even when Gordon told me that I was only in as back-up because Dale Steyn was injured, I just thought that at least I would get to practise with the national team, I would get a shirt and would get a taste of what it was like. Maybe I would even be 12th man. That’s all I wanted.”There were still two weeks between the squad announcement and the first Test, so de Wet had plenty of time to get used to the idea of his inclusion. When the time came to join the team camp in Centurion, his suspicions of being on the periphery were confirmed. Steyn had made steady progress after a hamstring injury and seemed a certain starter. “Dale was bowling well in the nets, but the selectors told me I would be in the 13 anyway, in case something happened. That was the day before the game.”On the morning of the game, Steyn bowled a few balls while de Wet got himself ready for warm-ups in the change room. “I was walking down the steps at SuperSport Park when I saw Dale walking up towards me. He had stopped bowling and was going back up. He came to me and said, ‘I’m definitely not playing. You are.’ I just said, ‘No, Dale. You can’t do this to me now,’ and then I felt like I couldn’t breathe. It was that feeling which goes from your heart into your throat.”To the safe hands of AB: de Wet gets Jonathan Trott in Centurion, where he took four wickets in the second innings•Getty ImagesEngland chose to bowl first, which gave de Wet an extra day to think about how unexpectedly his dream had come true, but it was not enough to calm his nerves. When he delivered his first ball on day two, after Makhaya Ntini had opened the bowling and had a catch dropped off the first over, everything went wrong. De Wet’s delivery was a half-tracker down the leg side and he was no-balled. “It was a shocker,” he admitted. “As I was walking back to my mark I just kept thinking about what the commentators must be saying about me.”But three overs later, de Wet got one to land in that tempting region outside off stump that Alastair Cook could not resist having a nibble at. The outside edge carried through to Mark Boucher and “everything just settled”.For the rest of that innings, de Wet was overshadowed by Ntini, who was celebrating his 100th Test and was the focus of all the fanfare. De Wet had his second chance when South Africa had set England a target of 364. England were soon in trouble at 27 for 3, de Wet having dismissed nightwatchman James Anderson.But Kevin Pietersen was defying his former countrymen and his was the wicket they needed. De Wet nearly had him. “Just after lunch, I had him plumb lbw and then when I turned around, the umpire said it was a no-ball,” de Wet said. “If there was ever a time I felt like crying on a cricket field that was it.”After tea, de Wet ran Pietersen out and also accounted for Jonathan Trott, Ian Bell and Matt Prior to leave England at 208 for 7. South Africa could sniff the series lead but England clung on to force a draw.”I was so focused on what I had to do that I wasn’t even looking at the game situation,” he says. “Every now and then I look back at it and think of what I could have done differently, but when I was in the situation, I was playing on adrenaline. The main thing I learnt from there was that you have to give every ball 100%. Because there are so many times when you think you’re bowling six balls so you only give 85% or 90% to some of them but you can’t.”

“Just after lunch, I had Pietersen plumb lbw and then when I turned around, the umpire said it was a no-ball. If there was ever a time I felt like crying on a cricket field that was it”

Steyn recovered for the next match, so de Wet, like so many others who have acted as fill-ins, had to make way. He had had his one Test and even though he’d given a good account of himself, he understood it may be his only one. It was only when Ntini was dropped ahead of the New Year’s match that de Wet was let in on the long-term plans, which included him.”The selectors told me I would play that Test and the next one and go with the squad to India later on,” he said. Finally, the real dream and not just specks of its stardust was coming true.The Newlands Test unfolded in similar fashion to the Centurion game. England put South Africa in and de Wet had an extra day to get ready. When he opened the bowling, Morne Morkel had already taken a wicket in the first over. Things were already on the up and then they came crashing down.After his first five-over spell, de Wet knew he may never play for South Africa again. “I felt pain in my back and I knew something was not right,” he says. “I just got this horrible, disappointing feeling because I had waited all my life for this opportunity and I knew it was the end of my dreams.”Low on pace and motivation, de Wet bowled another 11 overs in that innings and 12 in the next and with each step the stress fracture in his back got a little worse. When the game ended, in eerily similar fashion to de Wet’s debut, with England clinging on for a draw, so did his career.He spent the next eight months recovering and the next three years playing franchise and amateur cricket and regained his pace but not his hopes of being recalled to the South African side. “I knew it would be difficult from there. I was getting close to 30 and the competition was tough. Morne Morkel was coming up and I always knew Dale Steyn would be one of the best bowlers in the world and the selectors generally want younger guys,” he says. “It was difficult to say goodbye to that dream but I had to.”Instead, de Wet went back to being a dependable team man, a good husband and eventually a good father – a role that is about to get much busier. In March 2016, Alecia (sister of former Titans batsman Johann Myburgh) is expecting twins, to add to the young daughter they already have, and another dream has come true. “I love kids – that’s why I am involved with the primary school here in Rustenburg where I coach cricket,” de Wet says. “But I’m a little nervous about twins. Not as nervous as I was on my Test debut but still nervous. Life is going to change.”

Harry Kane reported for England duty nursing a knock, and the Bayern Munich striker has been unable to play a full part in training.

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• Picked up knock on domestic duty
• Has joined Carsley's Three Lions squad
• Working on an individual programme

• Getty
  

  WHAT HAPPENED?

  There were suggestions that the 31-year-old frontman, who is captain of his country, may not link up with the Three Lions at all after being forced out of Bayern’s latest Bundesliga fixture. He was, however, cleared to leave Germany and head for St George’s Park.

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  Kane was all smiles when joining up with Lee Carsley’s squad, but questions continue to be asked of how fit he is. England have already lost Manchester United midfielder Kobbie Mainoo, Nottingham Forest playmaker Morgan Gibbs-White and Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa to injuries – with said trio all being forced to withdraw.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Kane – who became an international centurion when earning his 100th cap back in September – remains part of the fold for now, but only 21 players took part in training on Tuesday. It has been revealed that England’s skipper was left “working indoors on an individual programme”.

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• WHAT NEXT FOR ENGLAND?

  Carsley has opted against drafting any replacements into his squad, as the Three Lions prepare to face Greece at Wembley Stadium on Thursday. They will travel to Helsinki for a meeting with Finland three days later, as England endeavour to preserve their 100 per cent record in Nations League Group B2.

After a Premier League season full of genuinely impressive performances, including big wins over Manchester United, Liverpool, and Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal had to settle for second place for the second year running.

Mikel Arteta's side pushed Manchester City all the way, but yet again, they go into the summer with a big job on their hands and, based on a number of reports, are in the market for a striker.

However, while the club might sign the perfect number nine to lead the line next year, they still need a reliable backup to replace Eddie Nketiah, and as it turns out, they might just have one in a player who just won a title, as well as comparisons to Erling Haaland of all people.

Mika Biereth's season in numbers

The player in question is 21-year-old Danish striker Mika Biereth, who has spent the season on loan in Scotland and Austria.

The youngster joined Arsenal from fellow London outfit Fulham in July 2021, and after lighting it up for the youth sides – scoring 12 goals and providing five assists for the U23s – and a mediocre loan move to RKC Waalwijk last season, he joined Scottish Premiership side Motherwell on loan last summer.

Unlike his time in the Netherlands, the London-born ace got off to a flyer north of the border, and by the time the January transfer window had come around, he had six goals and five assists to his name in just 15 appearances.

This incredible form led to Arsenal recalling him and sending him to Austrian first-division side Sturm Graz – where Rasmus Højlund caught Atalanta's attention – who were in the midst of a title race with RB Salzburg.

Over the next few months, the 6 foot 2 forward scored nine goals and provided four assists in just 22 outings to help the Graz-based side end Salzburg's ten-year dominance.

Comparisons to Nketiah and Haaland

Clearly a player with a sense of humour and a willingness to engage in self-deprecation, the Dane described himself as like "a s**t [Erling] Haaland and a s**t [Harry] Kane" in an interview with the i newspaper earlier this year, saying “like Haaland, all I really care about is scoring goals. If you’d offer me two touches of the ball and two goals I’d take that. For me, it’s all about scoring goals."

However, as journalist Oliver Young-Myles points out, there are similarities between the pair beyond just goalscoring.

For starters, like Biereth, the City superstar cut his teeth in the Austrian Bundesliga, joining Salzburg from Molde in January 2019 before making the leap to Borussia Dortmund the following winter and truly announcing himself to the wider footballing public at large.

Moreover, the Arsenal youngster has thrived on loan, and while his return of 13 goals and assists in 22 games isn't quite on the level of the Norwegian's 36 in 27, the fact that he succeeded in a league that can be quite challenging should encourage those at the Emirates.

And on that topic, while his numbers don't stack up to those of the City phenom, they certainly look better than the player he could replace next season, Nketiah.

For example, in 37 appearances this term, the Englishman has only scored six goals and provided three assists, which, when held up to Biereth's 15 goals and nine assists in as many games, looks rather underwhelming, to put it lightly.

Ultimately, while the Gunners' young striker is unlikely to match Haaland's inhuman output, he has shown an ability to score goals and provide assists, which Nketiah has struggled to do this year.

So next season, when the level has to be that bit higher throughout the squad, Arteta should appoint the Dane as his backup forward instead of the Englishman.

Arsenal's "sensational" 8/10 star just revived his career

The incredible talent could be a difference-maker next season.

By
Jack Salveson Holmes

May 20, 2024

Manchester United are leading the race to sign a teenage gem this summer, it has emerged, as new owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe looks to continue his overhaul of the club.

Man Utd biggest earners

There is set to be wholesale changes at Old Trafford this summer after another disappointing Premier League season.

With two games left to play, Erik ten Hag's side need to win both to have any chance of playing European football next season, though they could still reach the Europa League by winning the FA Cup, where they will face Manchester City in the final.

A key part of the summer could be trimming the wage bill, with the club's highest earners rarely justifying their massive salaries. Anthony Martial and Raphael Varane are on course to leave for free, while there is interest in Casemiro from Saudi Arabia, which could see him leave after a string of poor outings.

At the other end of the spectrum, there is also set to be an increased focus on signing young high-potential stars, and with that in mind, Ratcliffe seems to already be plotting his move.

Man Utd readying bid for midfielder

Now, it has emerged that despite their struggles, Manchester United are leading the race to sign Championship gem Chris Rigg, who has been impressing viewers at Sunderland.

The teenage talent has appeared 21 times in England's second tier this season, scoring twice in the process despite starting just eight of those games.

During his time in charge of the Black Cats, former manager Tony Mowbray admitted that Rigg was a special talent. "He’s still a young boy but he has wonderful qualities and wonderful attributes", he explained. “He knows where the goal is and wants to run forward, he’s got energy to burn and can keep running all day.

And his outings have caught the eye of a whole host of top clubs, including Newcastle United, Arsenal and Bayer Leverkusen. However, The Northern Echo's Scott Wilson has revealed that it is Manchester United who leads the race for his signature as things stand, with Ratcliffe keen to make him the poster boy for their overhauled academy following his arrival at Old Trafford at the start of the year.

Done deal: Man Utd agree to sign new teenage left-back for Ten Hag

He has undergone a successful trial at Old Trafford.

By
Henry Jackson

May 14, 2024

One of his objectives is to restore Carrington as the place for the best young talent in the country, an accolade which currently belongs either to rivals Manchester City or London giants Chelsea.

To achieve this, it is claimed that "United have had a scouting presence at the vast majority of Rigg’s games" across the past two seasons, and are now ready to table a formal offer for the talent this summer, though they will have to wait until he turns 17 in June.

For their part, Sunderland are hoping that "his positive development to this point will persuade him to commit the first part of his professional future to the Black Cats" instead of seeking pastures new, but know that they will not be able to match any offers from bigger sides financially. With that in mind, United could well swoop in.

Arsenal's win over north London rivals Tottenham was extra-special for one lucky supporter.

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• Arsenal beat Tottenham 1-0
• Gabriel scores second half winner
• Fan wins over £6,000 with bet

• Getty
  

  WHAT HAPPENED?

  Arsenal were not exactly at their best but they won the north London derby at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium thanks to a lone second-half goal by Gabriel, although there were concerns over whether it should have been allowed to stand. The win helped the Gunners win the bragging rights and also helped Mikel Arteta's side keep in touch with Premier League leaders and defending champions Manchester City.

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  After the match, an Arsenal fan on X with the username @OzBlock108 posted a photo of his wins on a three-legged bet-builder that saw him bag £6,031.89 from a £40 bet. The Gunners fan backed Gabriel to score, Arsenal to win 1-0 and the game to be a draw at half-time, all three of which came to fruition to land the punter's 749/5 bet.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  The Arsenal fan also revealed that he was so confident in Gabriel that he captained the Arsenal centre-back in his Fantasy Premier League team.

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• WHAT NEXT FOR ARSENAL?

  Mikel Arteta's side are in action on Thursday when they take on Atalanta in their Champions League league phase opener in Italy.

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has already warned Jadon Sancho about the standards expected of him after his arrival from Manchester United.

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• Sancho eager to revive career
• Maresca "loves" winger's style
• Warns him to "work hard"

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Sancho arrived in west London last month on an initial loan deal, with an option for the transfer to become permanent for a reported fee between £20 million (€23m/$26m) and £25m (€29m/$32m) next summer. This price tag is significantly lower than the hefty £73 million ($101m) United paid Borussia Dortmund for the England international just three years ago and if the English winger could do justice to his potential at Stamford Bridge, it would "be a steal" for Chelsea.

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• Getty Images Sport
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Despite once being considered one of the most promising talents in European football, Sancho’s time at Old Trafford was marked by inconsistency, and his performances fell well short of expectations. His return to Borussia Dortmund on loan in the latter half of last season offered glimpses of his former self, culminating in an appearance in the Champions League final. And as he embarks on his Chelsea career, Sancho faces the daunting task of securing both his reputation and form.

• WHAT MARESCA SAID

  Maresca has made it clear that he sees potential in the 24-year-old winger but expects him to grind it out at Cobham to earn his starting berth.

  "I love Jadon, I love the players we have. The reason Jadon is here is because I love him, otherwise, he would not be here," Maresca stated. "We have Jadon, Joao [Felix], these kind of players. Before they joined the club, I had a chat with them, and one of my messages to them was if you come here and don’t work properly then you are not going to play. Before they arrived, the message for them was clear. For Jadon. For Joao.

  “But the reason why I’m speaking to you is because I really like you. If you come here in the way that we want, we are happy. But if you come there and don’t work hard, it’s better if you don’t come.”

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• DID YOU KNOW?

  Sancho’s struggles at United came to a head last September when he clashed publicly with manager Erik ten Hag. Following this public fallout, Sancho’s involvement at United was limited and his only appearance for the club after the Arsenal incident came in the Community Shield against Manchester City, where he entered the match as a late substitute but failed to make an impact, even missing a penalty in the eventual shootout loss.

  However, Maresca does not want to dwell on the past and said: "I don’t have any idea about what happened with Erik. I can just judge the player in the weeks he has been with us and he has been perfect. I don’t consider Jadon a risk because I consider Jadon as a player who can help us. With the way we play, he is that kind of player to help us a lot, especially in the last third when we arrive there so many times and need more quality, more patience, more accuracy."

Newcastle United have invested heavily in the playing squad over the last couple of seasons, with the signings making a huge impact at St James' Park.

The Magpies finished fourth in the Premier League, qualifying for the group stages of the Champions League – an unimaginable feat given the club were in the Premier League's relegation zone at the time of the PIF takeover.

Players such as Bruno Guimaraes and Alexander Isak have been the most successful additions since their respective £40m and £63m moves – with the latter scoring 19 times in 26 Premier League appearances this season.

However, last summer, the club invested heavily once more as Eddie Howe's side bolstered their ranks, looking to build on the success from the season prior.

Nearly a year on from one player's arrival on Tyneside, the Magpies' talent has struggled to force his way into the first-team and is starting to look like a poor investment for the time being.

Lewis Hall's stats at Newcastle this season

After originally joining the club on loan, it was confirmed that Newcastle would complete the £28m deal to sign full-back Lewis Hall from fellow Premier League side Chelsea.

However, the 19-year-old has struggled to make the impact he would've envisaged at St James' Park, only featuring in 14 Premier League games this season – only four of which have been from the start.

Hall – who ranks in the top 16% among his European peers for touches in the opposition box – is a more attacking option than regular left-back Dan Burn, but Howe has often preferred playing the 6 foot 6 centre-back out of position for his defensive attributes.

The peripheral youngster has only managed to feature for 607 minutes for the Magpies this season, a tally that is 82 minutes less than £55m signing Sandro Tonali, who's been missing since October, after receiving a ten-month suspension for breaching betting rules.

Tonali has also received a further sanction in recent times, after betting on four Newcastle games after his move to Tyneside, which has resulted in a suspended two-month ban and a £20k fine for his troubles.

Despite his absence, the former AC Milan man has still featured more than Hall for Howe's side this season, whilst the 19-year-old's market value has also taken a big hit just months after his big-money move.

Lewis Hall's market value in 2024

Just a couple of months after his £28m move to the club from Chelsea, left-back Hall has seen his market value plummet to just £6.7m, as per Football Transfers.

Undoubtedly, his drop in value is down to his lack of game time under Howe, with the youngster still unable to obtain a run of games in a starting role despite the club's recent injury issues.

The hope will be that the rising star will come good for the Magpies, with Howe claiming he's a signing for the "long-term" but he may not be at the level required down the line should he not consistently feature at St James'.

However, for the time being, it appears the club are being shortchanged for the transfer, with Mauricio Pochettino's side getting the better end of the deal at present.

Newcastle hit the jackpot on warrior whose value has skyrocketed 328%

He’s enjoyed a successful stint in the first-team under Eddie Howe.

By
Ethan Lamb

May 3, 2024