FROZEN TWO
Remember that golden summer of strikers? Alexander Isak, the former hottest property in football. Get well soon, Alex. That all boiled down to a crazy last day of deal sheets, add-ons, release clauses, buy-backs, loans with options to buy, medicals and AI-generated InstaChat memes. Such halcyon days are unlikely to be repeated in this bleak midwinter. January, barring Manchester City snaffling Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guéhi, has been quiet. On Tuesday, the window will almost certainly creak shut rather than slam. At many Premier League clubs, a window has barely been open at all, making for a stagnant market.
That makes for a few players in a Yosser Hughes, gissa club situation, those you see on a squad list and wonder what happened. James Ward-Prowse and Nuno Espírito Santo is one of those relationships where the manager is just not that into him. Last season, Ward-Prowse’s loan at Nottingham Forest was terminated after nine games in five months, and then, when Nuno replaced Graham Potter, he again became midfielder non grata, only to appear on the Hammers bench on Saturday. “James is here and if he’s required, he will help us,” cooed Nuno. Are Ward-Prowse’s days of training away from the first-team squad at an end? Yes, actually. He has now joined Burnley on loan. Perhaps at Turf Moor, Ward-Prowse can equal David Beckham’s Premier League free-kick record, though it was way back in February 2023 he last scored one.
Raheem Sterling’s Chelsea impasse looks to be reaching its end, too (great timing Chelsea! – Football Daily Ed). Sterling was not one of those players offered an olive branch by Liam Rosenior’s holistic tree of ideas as club suits would prefer the winger to be removed from the wage bill. Those of a certain Chelsea vintage may recall the Winston Bogarde affair of the early 00s and notice echoes with Sterling, albeit minus the silly rumours that the former Englad international is commuting from Amsterdam. At 31, the same age as Ward-Prowse, Sterling has lately been seen honing his youth coaching skills. A payoff settlement, perhaps even a new club, beckons.
No such solutions for Harvey Elliott, just 22, seasick yet still docked at Aston Villa, staring down a wasted year, his chances of playing at the Geopolitics World Cup hurtling towards zero. A player of undoubted talent is in the unfortunate position of having two managers not fancy him in Arne Slot and Unai Emery, and being constrained by pesky Fifa transfer regulations. With Liverpool not minded to cancel the loan, and Emery not wishing to play him, poor Harvey moons (one for the kids? – Football Daily Ed), disqualified from playing for a third European club during the season. Talk of a prodigal Ryan Sessegnon-esque return to Fulham appears to be bunkum and, according to Elliott’s socials at the weekend, so is a move to MLS. Time for a rethink, Harvey.
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QUOTE OF THE DAY
“This is not an exercise for us. This is inherent in who we are and it’s in our DNA. It’s why the football club was formed: we want to provide meaningful change for people who live in our communities” – Celtic foundation’s chief executive Tony Hamilton tells Ed Aarons why the club’s charity work has expanded to give girls and young women from underprivileged backgrounds in London a chance to play football.
FOOTBALL DAILY LETTERS
The kerfuffle about the Blackpool FC stadium hotel puts me in mind of a Jimmy Greaves classic. When Chelsea’s Matthew Harding stand was opened Jimmy maintained that the architects had made a major mistake. The stand was facing the pitch. Very droll from a great character” – Paul Allen.
Perhaps a word for Barry Bannan, a bona fide Sheffield Wednesday legend, leaving the field in tears at Bristol City. I doubt there is a player more loved at any football club than Baz, but his desire to leave after 477 games is understandable given the shambles the team has become. If he is indeed off to Millwall (where he is undergoing a medical – Football Daily Transfer News Ed), is it too much for the football gods to grant him one last shot at reaching the promised land of the Premier League?” – Chris Goater.
If you have any, please send letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s prizeless letter o’ the day winner is … Chris Goater. Terms and conditions for our competitions, when we run them, are here.
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