A busy end to January kicked off in earnest this week with goals, moves and news aplenty. Let’s get stuck in.
Headliners
Tammy Abraham has been a constant this season, not just picking up where he left off in Championship football after spending 2016-17 at Bristol City, but improving at Aston Villa. A brace against Ipswich Town on Saturday took him up to 19 goals for the season, four short of his league total at Ashton Gate, and set him clear as the division’s leading goalscorer this term.
Manager Dean Smith described him at full time as ‘a Premier League player in the wrong division’ and that much is clear. Whether his antics this season earn him a genuine look from the Chelsea hierarchy this coming summer is anyone’s guess, but he can only continue to do what he’s doing, and the goals will not stop here.
Down in League Two, Jacob Maddox has steadily been putting together a good season of his own. The most fouled player in the league has really come into his own since being pushed into the number ten role under manager Michael Duff, and scored his fourth of the campaign – and first in the league – this weekend as part of a fine comeback against Macclesfield Town.
He should continue at Whaddon Road until the end of the season before evaluating his next step for 2018-19.
On the transfer front, Matt Miazga swapped Nantes for Reading, and should be in line to play frequently in the same team as Lewis Baker from now until May. It’s a first crack at English football for the American since he spent five months at Chelsea immediately after signing, and an opportunity for him to recapture the form that saw him attract interest from the Bundesliga after his two years at Vitesse.
Reading didn’t have a match this weekend, due to FA Cup commitments for their opponents, but there’ll be a chance for him to debut away to Bolton on Tuesday.
Saying farewell to Chelsea, on the other hand, is Victor Moses. The Nigerian international, previously a long-serving member of the Loan Army, is back in the Loan Report for the first time in two and a half years, and will join Fenerbahce in Turkey on an eighteen-month deal. An opportunity to make his first appearance for the surprise relegation strugglers comes on Monday night at home to Yeni Malatyaspor.
England
Premier League
Kurt Zouma came on at half time in Everton’s FA Cup trip to Millwall, and generally played well, but ended up on the losing side in testing conditions, defeated by a last-minute winner.
Kenedy was not impressive for Newcastle as they exited the same competition at home to Watford, one of his previous clubs.
Championship
Kasey Palmer, Jay Dasilva and Tomas Kalas all started as Bristol City beat Bolton 2-1 to make it into the last sixteen of the FA Cup on Friday night. Palmer was named the man of the match for a very positive 74 minutes, while Dasilva got 83 and Kalas 90.
Mason Mount was taken off during the first half of Derby’s hard-fought win away to Accrington Stanley to join them in the hat, with manager Frank Lampard saying he felt a tight hamstring and wanted to exercise caution. Fikayo Tomori was part of the robust defensive effort.
Trevoh Chalobah was on the losing side for Ipswich against the Abraham-inspired Aston Villa, but was impressive in his own right, and was unlucky not to score in the second half when denied by the woodwork.
Reece James also struck the woodwork in Wigan’s 3-1 defeat at Nottingham Forest; he was his usual impressive self at right-back, despite the Latics’ tumbling form.
Todd Kane and Hull lost 3-0 at Blackburn Rovers, the right-back playing all ninety minutes, while Izzy Brown is still with Leeds’ Under-23s ahead of a return to full match fitness. Michael Hector was ineligible for Sheffield Wednesday away to Chelsea.
League One
Brad Collins’ rematch against Manchester City went considerably better than his first outing, conceding just the once in the return leg, and he was also beaten once as Burton drew 1-1 with Bradford in the league four days later.
Dujon Sterling was back from illness to play all of Coventry’s 2-0 defeat at home to Blackpool.
League Two
After keeping back-to-back clean sheets in winning causes, Nathan Baxter and Josh Grant were finally beaten 2-0 by league leaders Lincoln City in midweek.
Non-League
Jack Wakely joined Southern Premier side Basingstoke Town for the rest of the season and made his debut less than 24 hours later at home to Harrow Borough. He played ninety minutes in a 2-2 draw.
Karlo Žiger played no part for Sutton United again; a reminder that he is registered with them primarily for emergency purposes.
Italy
Ola Aina played all of Torino’s impressive 1-0 win over Inter at left wing-back, and continues to enjoy a strong season somewhat under the radar.
Tiémoué Bakayoko’s renaissance keeps on going at Milan; he was man of the match last Monday night away to Genoa, and good again in Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Napoli.
Mario Pašalić was taken off in stoppage time at the end of Atalanta’s entertaining 3-3 draw with Roma.
Spain
Kenneth Omeruo played all of Leganés’ 2-2 draw against Eibar, having been 2-0 down at half time.
Joao Rodriguez is no longer with Tenerife ahead of an expected move to second tier rivals Lugo this week, but Josi Quintero was afforded a rare start for Lleida in the third division. He played 76 minutes in a goalless draw against Ebro.
Netherlands
It was not a good week for Vitesse. A 2-0 defeat to AZ Alkmaar on Tuesday saw them exit the Dutch Cup, and a last-minute defeat to Fortuna Sittard on Sunday in the league saw them fall to fifth in the Eredivie. Eduardo and Jake Clarke-Salter played every minute of both matches.
Fankaty Dabo is back on the injury list at Sparta Rotterdam and didn’t feature against Telstar.
Germany
Christian Pulisic was an unused substitute as Dortmund hammered Hannover.
France
Victorien Angban was back in the team for Metz as they drew 0-0 at Ajaccio.
Belgium
Kylian Hazard played all of Cercle Brugge’s 2-1 defeat at home to Sint-Truiden.
Northern Ireland
Jared Thompson recorded a clean sheet in his return to the Warrenpoint goal, playing his part in a 2-0 win away to Newry.
Brazil
The State Championship season got started in earnest in Brazil this week but Nathan played no part for Atlético-MG.
Statistics
Started: July 14th
Final: May 29th
| Player | Club | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe/Cont | Other | Mins Played | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Tammy Abraham | Aston Villa | 40 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3450 | 40 | 26 |
| Ola Aina | Torino | 30 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2275 | 32 | 1 |
| Victorien Angban | Metz | 25 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2056 | 29 | 1 |
| Tiemoue Bakayoko | Milan | 30 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2972 | 38 | 1 |
| Lewis Baker | Leeds United | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 491 | 14 | 0 |
| Lewis Baker | Reading | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1497 | 19 | 1 |
| Michy Batshuayi | Valencia | 15 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 952 | 22 | 2 |
| Michy Batshuayi | Crystal Palace | 11 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 923 | 12 | 6 |
| Isaiah Brown | Leeds United | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 0 |
| Trevoh Chalobah | Ipswich Town | 43 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3273 | 44 | 2 |
| Jake Clarke-Salter | Vitesse | 28 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2895 | 36 | 1 |
| Charlie Colkett | Shrewsbury Town | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 306 | 6 | 0 |
| Fankaty Dabo | Sparta Rotterdam | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1625 | 24 | 0 |
| Jay Dasilva | Bristol City | 28 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2383 | 32 | 0 |
| Josh Grant | Yeovil | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 720 | 8 | 0 |
| Kylian Hazard | Cercle Brugge | 21 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1116 | 21 | 4 |
| Michael Hector | Sheffield Wednesday | 36 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3242 | 37 | 2 |
| Reece James | Wigan Athletic | 45 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4005 | 46 | 3 |
| Tomas Kalas | Bristol City | 39 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3586 | 40 | 0 |
| Todd Kane | Hull City | 39 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3363 | 40 | 3 |
| Kenedy | Newcastle United | 24 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1529 | 26 | 1 |
| Jacob Maddox | Cheltenham Town | 38 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3077 | 43 | 4 |
| Mason Mount | Derby County | 37 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3745 | 42 | 11 |
| Matt Miazga | Nantes | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 810 | 9 | 0 |
| Matt Miazga | Reading | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1620 | 18 | 0 |
| Alvaro Morata | Atlético Madrid | 15 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1245 | 17 | 6 |
| Victor Moses | Fenerbahce | 14 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1076 | 15 | 4 |
| Charly Musonda | Vitesse Arnhem | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 0 |
| Nathan | Atletico Mineiro | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 835 | 22 | 2 |
| Kenneth Omeruo | Leganés | 26 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2434 | 28 | 0 |
| Kasey Palmer | Blackburn Rovers | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 984 | 17 | 3 |
| Kasey Palmer | Bristol City | 15 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 538 | 16 | 2 |
| Danilo Pantic | Partizan Belgrade | 29 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3043 | 40 | 8 |
| Mario Pašalić | Atalanta | 32 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2047 | 40 | 8 |
| Lucas Piazón | Chievo | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 81 | 4 | 0 |
| Christian Pulisic | Dortmund | 9 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 651 | 11 | 4 |
| Josimar Quintero | Lleida | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 693 | 18 | 0 |
| Baba Rahman | Schalke | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 327 | 4 | 0 |
| Baba Rahman | Reims | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 965 | 11 | 1 |
| Joao Rodriguez | Tenerife | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 447 | 12 | 1 |
| Ruben Sammut | Falkirk | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 967 | 15 | 0 |
| Kyle Scott | Telstar | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 995 | 14 | 2 |
| Dujon Sterling | Coventry City | 38 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3307 | 39 | 0 |
| Fikayo Tomori | Derby County | 46 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4692 | 54 | 2 |
| Iké Ugbo | Scunthorpe United | 15 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 936 | 16 | 1 |
| Jack Wakely | Basingstoke Town | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1355 | 16 | 0 |
| Kurt Zouma | Everton | 32 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2838 | 34 | 2 |
| Total | 82392 | 1124 | 115 | |||||||||||
| Player | Club | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other | Mins Played | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Cln Sht | Apps | Cln Sht | Apps | Cln Sht | Apps | Cln Sht | Apps | Cln Sht | Apps | Cln Sht | |||
| Nathan Baxter | Yeovil Town | 35 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3420 | 38 | 11 |
| Jamal Blackman | Leeds United | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 180 | 2 | 0 |
| Brad Collins | Burton Albion | 31 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3115 | 35 | 11 |
| Eduardo | Vitesse | 29 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3060 | 34 | 5 |
| Jared Thompson | Warrenpoint | 10 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1170 | 13 | 4 |
| Ethan Wady | Tooting & Mitcham United | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 810 | 9 | 3 |
| Karlo Ziger | Sutton United | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 90 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 11845 | 132 | 34 | |||||||||||