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.
Posh play their first and last home match of pre-season today when they entertain Championship side Bolton Wanderers.
Posh have won all their pre-season matches bar one and while the standard of opposition hasn’t been that great for many games, it has given the new look Posh squad a chance to get to know each other and understand how boss Steve Evans wants them to play.
Whereas Posh have played eight games in pre-season, Wanderers have only played four matches with mixed results. They started by playing a youthful side against non-league neighbours Atherton Collieries and had to come from behind to share the spoils. Their first real pre-season friendly of the summer came at FC Halifax Town which they won 2-1 thanks to goals either side of half-time from Adam Le Fondre and Sammy Ameobi. Following a goalless draw against Genoa, Wanderers played their last match before the Posh game at Guiseley. Fielding a mixture of youth and experience, Wanderers went down to a 3-1 defeat! However, boss Phil Parkinson expects the side he picks against Posh could be the side with the odd tweak that starts their League campaign against West Bromwich Albion.
There will be a number of faces Posh fans will recognise in the Wanderers squad but whether they start is another matter. Goalkeeper Ben Alnwick was Bolton’s Player of the Season last season will almost definitely start. Right-back Mark Little is also expected to start at right-back but the Turkish Messi, Erhun Oztumer, must sweat on whether he will be included or not.
We’ve known all summer that midfielder Marcus Maddison and striker Jack Marriott are expected to leave the club and while Maddison is still at the club, Marriott has finally completed a move to the Championship.
After over three weeks of negotiations, a deal was finally struck with Derby County with the striker signing a three-year deal.
The fee was undisclosed but there were a lot of rumours ranging from £2 million rising to £5 million including add-ons. Chairman Darragh MacAnthony described many of these reports as fake news.
Posh are still on the hunt for another striker and while the style of player wanted was a “target man”, this may now have changed after failing to get any of the players they wanted. Posh have seen bids rejected for players such as Mo Eisa, Charlie Wyke, Josh Magennis, John Marquis and Eoin Doyle.
The style of player they now want is one with “power and pace”! Speaking to the Official Posh website, boss Steve Evans said: “I would like another forward, but I wouldn’t necessarily describe the ones I want as ‘targetmen’.
“I want a striker with power and pace. Most clubs would want a striker like that.”
Could that player with “power and pace” already have arrived but not announced?
Darragh MacAnthony teased fans on Twitter last night saying that fans will get their first chance to look at the 15 or 16 new players at home! Bearing in mind we’ve only signed 14 players so far, could that be a hint we’ll have another new player playing against Bolton today? Trialist Anton Rogers is obviously one of those extra players so could we have that 16th player as well?
Tomorrow we debut the new pitch ????not to mention 15 new players on home turf for the first time or is it 16 ????. Anyhow free game for all ST holders & cheap for all others. Come say hello @theposhofficial fans & @OfficialBWFC fans ????????
— Darragh MacAnthony (@DMAC102) July 27, 2018
He did play down the numbers when questioned by saying it was a mistake and that he wouldn’t be announcing a new signing…but we all know the games MacAnthony likes to play!
Players to have departed or arrived at the club since the end of the season are:
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
Isaac Buckley-Ricketts – Winger – Manchester City – Undisclosed
Callum Chettle – Released
Michael Doughty – Swindon Town – Free after agreeing to leave via 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
Gwion Edwards – Ipswich Town – £700,000 plus add-ons (worth around £2 million)
Danny Lloyd – Salford City – Undisclosed
Morgan Penfold – Grantham Town – Loan (until January)
Jack Marriott – Derby County – Undisclosed (rumoured to be £5+ million)
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 | 0 v 4 | Posh | |
Wed, 18th July | 10:00 | CS Maritimo | 1 v 0 | Posh | |
Sat, 21st July | 11:00 | Louletano | 2 v 5 | Posh | |
Tue, 24th July | 19:30 | Gainsborough Trinity | 0 v 1 | Posh | |
Tue, 24th July | 19:30 | Potton United | 0 v 2 | Posh | |
Sat, 28th July | 15:00 | Posh | v | Bolton Wanderers |
For all the transfers completed by League One sides, please CLICK HERE.
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