The Posh Weekly – 14-July-2018

Welcome to the next Posh Weekly of the summer as we look at the latest news coming out of Peterborough United, what their rival teams in League One are up to and general footie news.

CHAMPIONSHIP STRIKER ARRIVES ON LOAN

A player Posh tried to sign two seasons ago for over £1 million has finally arrived at the ABAX Stadium…but only on loan!

Jason Cummings was wanted by Posh when he was scoring goals for fun at Hibernian but a deal couldn’t be reached resulting in the forward extending his contract at the Scottish club. Cummings only stayed in Scotland for one more season before agreeing to terms at Championship side Nottingham Forest last summer.

He made a very promising start scoring three goals in his first three games but he only featured in seven games for Forest before moving back to Scotland on loan at former giants Rangers. He averaged one goal every three matches during his short spell scoring six goals in total.

The loan agreement is for the whole season but there’s no agreement to make it into a permanent deal…yet, but Posh are trying to do a deal!

VETERAN DEFENDER BIDS FAREWELL TO POSH

He may have only been at Posh for a season but he made a big impression on everyone connected with the club. Steven Taylor arrived with a big reputation having captained Newcastle United but also with a big question mark hanging over his head regarding his injury record.

Those worries about his past injuries were soon banished as he went on to play 51 times last season becoming very popular with players and fans alike.

At the end of the season, boss Steve Evans had the tricky task of deciding whether to keep Taylor or to place him on the transfer list. With all the plans Evans has for the forthcoming season, the players he wanted to bring in and also with Financial Fair Play to consider, Taylor was deemed surplus to requirements.

A number of offers had come in for the 32-year-old but the defender plumped for a new adventure down under in New Zealand signing a contract with Wellington Phoenix.

Taylor paid thanks to the club and fans after signing for the Kiwi club as he spoke to the Official Posh website.

GWION ON VERGE OF LEAVING

Midfielder Gwion Edwards dealt Posh a blow this week when advising the club that he wants to leave and challenge himself in the Championship!

Chairman Darragh MacAnthony had hoped to persuade the popular midfielder to sign a new contract when the squad head to Portugal next week but was thwarted when he was told by the player that he didn’t want to go abroad and that he wanted to leave.

With Gwions heart set on a move, Posh have reluctantly agreed on a fee expected to be at least £1 million with a Championship club, who are believed to be Ipswich Town, with the midfielder now discussing terms. Edwards’ former club Crawley Town will also receive a six-figure sum once the transfer goes through as part of the sell-on percentage inserted into Edwards contract when he signed for Posh.

JUNIOR TURNS INTO A COBBLER

Just a week after Director of Football Barry Fry confirmed Northampton Town were one of the League clubs interested in signing Junior Morias but only on a free transfer.

After further discussions between the Cobblers, Fry, and MacAnthony, an undisclosed fee was finally agreed with the striker signing a two-year contract at Sixfields.

Morias was another popular figure amongst certain sections of Posh fans and always gave his all when wearing the Posh shirt. After initially struggling with the step up to League One from non-League, Morias lost weight and body fat during last summer which really helped as he started the season on fire. He hit the winner in the opening game of last season and went on to score five goals in twelve appearances before an injury kept him out of action for a number of months. Sadly he failed to recapture that early season form when he did finally return and with new boss Steve Evans contemplating what to do for this season, his performances weren’t good enough to be kept on.

Morias should do really well in League Two especially if he can recapture that form he showed at the start of last season. If he does, the Cobblers should be challenging for promotion back to League One at the first attempt.

COMINGS AND GOINGS AT THE ABAX STADIUM

Players to have departed or arrived at the club since the end of the season are:

ARRIVALS

Aaron Chapman – Goalkeeper – Accrington Stanley – Free Transfer
Rhys Bennett – Central Defender – Mansfield Town – Free Transfer
Colin Daniel – Left Back / Wing Back – Blackpool – Free Transfer
Mark O’Hara – Midfielder – Dundee – Training Compensation
Alex Woodyard – Midfielder – Lincoln City – Undisclosed (Rumoured £225,000)
Matt Godden – Forward – Stevenage – Undisclosed (Rumoured £400,000)
Jason Naismith – Right Back – Ross County – Undisclosed (Rumoured £200,000)
Louis Reed – Midfielder – Sheffield United – Undisclosed
Siriki Dembele – Winger/Forward – Grimsby Town – Undisclosed
Adam King – Midfield – Swansea City – 6-month Loan
Tyler Denton – Left-Back – Leeds United – Season-long Loan
Josh Yorwerth – Central Defender – Crawley Town – Undisclosed (6-figures)
Jason Cummings – Forward – Nottingham Forest – Season-long Loan

DEPARTURES

Callum Chettle – Released
Michael Doughty – Mutual Consent
Leo Da Silva Lopes – Wigan Athletic – Undisclosed (Rumoured £1,000,000 + add-ons)
Chris Forrester – Aberdeen – Undisclosed (Rumoured £200,000)
Alex Penny – Hamilton Academical – Undisclosed
Andrew Hughes – Preston North End – Undisclosed (Rumoured £200,000)
Ricky Miller – Port Vale – Undisclosed
Adil Nabi – Mutual Consent
Liam Shephard – Forest Green Rovers – Undisclosed
Idris Kanu – Port Vale – Season Loan
Brad Inman – Rochdale – Free Transfer
Steven Taylor – Wellington Phoenix – Undisclosed
Junior Morias – Northampton Town – Undisclosed

PRE-SEASON FRIENDLIES

The following are the confirmed pre-season friendlies that have been announced so far…

Peterborough United Fixtures
Date	Time	Home	v	Away
Wed, 4th July	19:30	Stamford	1 v 5	Posh
Sat, 7th July	12:30	Bedford Town	2 v 4	Posh
Tue, 10th July	19:30	Peterborough Sports	0 v 9	Posh
Sat, 14th July	15:00	St Neots	v	Posh
Wed, 18th July	10:00	CS Maritimo	v	Posh
Sat, 21st July	11:00	Louletano	v	Posh
Tue, 24th July	19:30	Gainsborough Trinity	v	Posh
Sat, 28th July	15:00	Posh	v	Bolton Wanderers

POSH SNIPPETS AND RUMOURS

• Posh have had a bid rejected for Cheltenham Town striker Mo Eisa according to former Posh boss and current Town manager Gary Johnson. The League Two outfit are hoping to get around £1.5 million for the forward;

• National newspapers are reporting that Posh have also had a bid rejected for Accrington Stanley striker Kayden Jackson and that they were targeting Bradford City forward Charlie Wyke…something denied by Darragh MacAnthony on Twitter;

• Anthony Grant transfer ruined by talks with former boss Grant McCann!

• Posh revealed their new home kit with an open day at the ABAX Stadium last weekend.

NON-POSH FOOTIE RELATED ROUND-UP

• Former Posh midfielder James Wesolowski is on the move again. He now finds himself at non-league outfit Nuneaton Borough. Since leaving Posh in 2011, he has spent three years at Oldham Athletic, two years at Shrewsbury Town and was most recently at Guisley.

• Derby County manager Frank Lampard expects last season’s Championship top scorer Matej Vydra to remain at the club. Does that mean the rumours linking Jack Marriott with a move to the Rams a non-starter?

• Lincoln City called off Monday’s game at non-league neighbours Lincoln United because of the heat!

For all the transfers completed by League One sides, please CLICK HERE.

UP THE POSH

Photos courtesy of Joe Dent / www.theposhpics.com