Sunderland spent four years in the third tier of English football as they struggled to get out of League One following their relegation from the Championship in the 2017/18 campaign.

In the 2018/19 season, the Black Cats brought in a host of players as they looked to bounce straight back to the second division at the first time of asking.

They signed the likes of Tom Flanagan, Jon McLaughlin, Charlie Wyke, and Will Grigg and had mixed success with their business, although they failed to land promotion at the end of the season.

One of the players they snapped up that summer was central defender Jack Baldwin, who arrived at the Stadium of Light from Peterborough.

Jack Ross was the manager at the time and said: “Jack is proven in this league and he’s at a good age with his best years ahead of him, and he has a hunger to improve and do well. He sees this as a big opportunity and has the core attributes we have been looking for.”

He quickly established himself as a regular fixture in the team and played 34 times in the third tier throughout the course of the campaign, making 42 appearances in total, with journalist Josh Bunting once describing him as “outstanding.”

However, they then opted to loan him out to Salford in League Two, much to the frustration of some of the fanbase, before the Black Cats decided to release him in 2020, allowing the defender to join Bristol Rovers on a free transfer, as Phil Parkinson seemingly did not have the player in his plans.

After a year with Rovers, Baldwin sealed a move to Premiership side Ross County in the summer of 2021 and then-manager Malky Mackay claimed that he is in the “prime of his career”, which has been proven by his impressive performances on the pitch.

He averaged a SofaScore rating of 6.88 in his debut campaign as he played 30 times in the Scottish top-flight, making 5.2 clearances per game. This term, he has averaged a rating of 7.02 across six outings – making 4.2 clearances and 5.4 tackles and interceptions per match.

Meanwhile, no natural Sunderland centre-back with five or more appearances has averaged a score higher than 6.88 in the Championship this term and that was also the case in League One last term – with Bailey Wright leading the way on both fronts.

This suggests that Baldwin would be the club’s top performing central defender, or at least on par with Wright, in his current form, which is why allowing him to leave for nothing was a blunder by the Black Cats.

Sunderland could have held out hope for the 6 foot 1 defender until he hit the prime years of his career and then enjoyed his impressive defensive talents on the pitch. Instead, they received £0 for him and Ross County are now benefitting on the pitch in Scotland from their mistake.

They should regret ditching the enforcer and may be wondering how well he would be doing in the current team under Tony Mowbray.

Liverpool haven’t enjoyed the best start to their Premier League campaign this season, dropping nine points over their first six outings, and this poor form hasn’t been exclusive to league performances.

Indeed, Jurgen Klopp’s side also endured a disastrous start to their Champions League campaign, with a humiliating 4-1 defeat in Naples matching their joint-heaviest loss in the competition.

As such, it is safe to say that the German manager will be hoping that the extended break, alongside a number of his players returning from injury, will make a difference when they return to action against Brighton & Hove Albion this weekend.

Liverpool will host their first game at Anfield since September 13 when they welcome Roberto De Zerbi’s side on Saturday afternoon, and three points are non-negotiable for the Reds if they are to have any hope of competing for the title – as they currently sit eighth in the league.

As a result, it could be the perfect opportunity for Klopp to freshen up the team by deploying a different perspective in the back-line, with Ibrahima Konate finally available for selection following a pre-season injury that has seen him unavailable so far this term.

The talented 23-year-old Frenchman who was hailed an “absolute dream” by Phil Thompson proved his worth to Liverpool last season when he played a vital role in the team, stepping up when it mattered most – especially in the Champions League.

Konate found the back of the net twice in the prestigious competition, as well as offering a solid defensive presence, making 1.6 interceptions, two tackles and 2.9 clearances per game, in addition to winning 59% of his duels – with these returns earning a spot in the starting line-up against Real Madrid in the final.

It would be hard for Klopp to ignore the young centre-back’s record with Liverpool in the Premier League too, as Konate has not lost a single league game he has started since he joined the club in the summer of 2021.

With that being said, it could be a great chance for the 6-foot-3 defender to make his first appearance of the season, as he would undoubtedly terrify Brighton and could help Liverpool take a much-needed three points from the occasion.

Tottenham Hotspur’s right wing-back role has been the subject of contentious debate for much of Antonio Conte’s tenure so far.

The Italian head coach is currently entrusting Emerson Royal with the starting reins this campaign, though at one point last season, Matt Doherty looked to have emerged as a more viable candidate.

Truthfully, however, neither are up to scratch at Hotspur Way and that’s something that The Times have previously noted, claiming back in January this year that Conte was looking for an upgrade in the position.

Well, things haven’t changed and the Italian is still without that Achraf Hakimi-sort of talent on the right-hand side of his defence.

In September 2020, the Lecce-born manager handed the then 21-year-old his debut for Inter Milan, starring in a 4-3 win over Fiorentina at the San Siro and the rest would be history as he played a major part in the Italian giants winning their first Scudetto in over a decade.

Hakimi would go onto start 28 more matches as he finished the Serie A campaign as Conte’s fifth-best performer, as per WhoScored figures, behind the free-scoring exploits of both Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez, among others.

The 23-year-old bagged six goals and provided eight assists from the right wing-back role, numbers that we are yet to see from either of Spurs’ current options – indeed, Emerson has provided just three goal contributions from 40 appearances, whilst Doherty is marginally better with six contributions in 23 games.

But with January still many months away, a solution may be hard to come by anytime soon, though the Spurs boss may want to turn to the academy, where he could look to unearth his next Hakimi.

Kallum Cesay would be an intriguing option.

The Newham-born 20-year-old represents Sierra Leone at international level, which is also in north-west Africa, where Hakimi hails from.

And despite not making his senior bow for the north Londoners, the young and versatile dynamo has scored twice for his country, both of which came during a win over the Congo.

Also capable of playing on the other flank and in midfield, Cesay continues to be a regular for Wayne Burnett’s U23s. Last season, he made seven times already.

Tottenham’s official website notes of his ‘athleticism,’ whilst Lilywhites insider Jon Wenham once described the right-back as a “really promising prospect” who ” can be as good as he wants to be” to Football Insider.

He may still be very raw when it comes to the men’s game but under the tutelage of a manager like Conte, he could well be moulded into an ideal solution to that divisive right wing-back role over the next few years.

As such, the Italian could well unearth his next Hakimi in Cesay.

AND in other news, Levy made a disastrous mistake with £17m “genius”, Spurs are still paying the price today…

Newcastle United are reportedly ‘confident’ of securing a deal for James Maddison in the January transfer window.

The Lowdown: Leicester double swoop?

The St James’ Park outfit registered interest in both the 25-year-old and his Leicester City team-mate Youri Tielemans in the summer.

They reportedly put in an official bid for the Englishman, which was rejected by the Foxes, while they were linked with a late swoop for the Belgian on Transfer Deadline Day.

The Latest: Maddison confidence

Taking to Twitter, journalist Owen O’Brien has revealed that Newcastle are now ‘confident’ of securing a January deal for Maddison, who has rejected another contract offer from Brendan Rodgers’ side, while the Magpies also ‘remain interested’ in Tielemans.

The Medium reporter tweeted: “Newcastle are confident of completing a January deal for James Maddison – Understand the 25yo has rejected another contract proposal from Leicester – Newcastle also remain interested in Youri Tielemans.”

The Verdict: Get both in!

Getting both Maddison and Tielemans through the door would not only strengthen Newcastle, but also significantly weaken one of their fellow Premier League rivals as well.

The latter’s contract expires in the summer, so signing a player of his quality and experience in January – possibly for a cut-price fee if his contract situation isn’t resolved – would be a real bargain.

Meanwhile, Maddison could really make a difference in the middle of the park, bagging three goals and one assist in the Premier League in a struggling Leicester side, for whom he currently ranks as the best-performing player in the top flight, just ahead of…Tielemans (WhoScored).

Signing both players from the King Power Stadium would send out a real statement of intent from PIF to the rest of the Premier League.

Over the past few years, Leeds United have enjoyed a great deal of success in bringing exciting youth prospects into Thorp Arch in the transfer market, before unleashing the most talented of these players in their first-team squad.

Indeed, the likes of Joe Gelhardt, Sam Greenwood, Crysencio Summerville, Illan Meslier and Pascal Struijk have all made the move to Elland Road in recent seasons, before going on to establish themselves as regulars in Jesse Marsch’s senior side.

However, while there has been a great deal of fanfare regarding the first four of these aforementioned starlets, one player whose development at Elland Road has perhaps been overlooked somewhat is that of 23-year-old defender Struijk.

Upon joining Leeds from the Ajax academy back in January of 2018, The Express ran a report which highlighted the Whites supporters’ unhappiness with the former Netherlands U17 international’s signing – with many stating their belief that Victor Orta should have been focusing his attention on improvements to the first team, rather than signing youth prospects.

Now four-and-a-half-years on from his arrival, you would be hard pressed to find a supporter of the belief that the centre-back’s signing was a bad one by the Spanish director of football, as Struijk is now very much a key part of the Whites’ starting XI.

The defender first started to catch the eye over his 27 Premier League appearances back in 2020/21, a campaign in which the £16.2m-rated talent helped his side keep seven clean sheets and scored one goal, as well as made an average of 1.8 tackles, 1.7 interceptions, 3.1 clearances, 41.3 passes, 2.3 long balls and won 3.9 duels – at a success rate of 53% – per game.

These metrics not only saw the Dutchman average an extremely impressive SofaScore match rating of 6.94 that season – ranking him as the club’s joint 10th-best performer in the league – but also demonstrate both the 23-year-old’s solidity when defending and his ability to play the ball out from the back.

Furthermore, club captain Liam Cooper quite clearly believes that Struijk has an extremely bright future ahead of him in the game, with the 31-year-old stating of his teammate back in February this year:

“Pascal has absolutely everything to be one of the best centre-backs out there, he really has. He’s unbelievable on the ball, he’s strong, good in the air. I always knew. We all know now. His improvement speaks for itself.”

This season, the youngster’s impressive positional versatility – being able to operate from centre-back, left-back and defensive midfield – has already proven useful for Jesse Marsch, who has deployed the former Ajax starlet on the left of his back four in each of the Whites’ six Premier League fixtures in 2021/22 – as a result of Junior Firpo and Stuart Dallas’ respective injuries.

As such, while the cost of Struijk’s signing was never officially released, considering his age and the fact that Ajax appeared more than happy to part with the youngster, it can be reasonably assumed that the transfer did not break the bank for the Whites – leading us to believe that Orta very much hit the jackpot when landing the £7k-per-week sensation back in 2018.

West Ham United insider Claret & Hugh have shared a behind-the-scenes update as manager David Moyes hatches a plan to tie down Craig Dawson.

The Lowdown: Dawson homesick?

Reliable reports near the end of the latest transfer window indicated that the veteran defender was eyeing a move away from east London.

Indeed, Dawson allegedly wishes to move further north in order to be closer to his family, with the 32-year-old making that crystal clear to West Ham, who remained desperate to keep the centre-half.

He ended up staying at Rush Green, however, even despite late internal talks with both personal issues and a reported offer from Wolves nearly resulting in an exit.

Losing Dawson would have been a blow for the Premier League side given their recent injury woes in defence, but now reports suggest Moyes could now attempt to tie down his man.

The Latest: Moyes hatches contract plan…

Club insider Claret & Hugh claim the Scotsman is personally ‘ready to try tempting’ the former West Brom star into signing a new deal at West Ham with his current contract expiring in 2023.

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Moyes is apparently determined not to lose Dawson, who was in great form last season and has just recovered from a thigh injury this campaign.

The Irons head coach is allegedly planning to offer the defender a year’s extension with an attached 12-month option with a C&H source telling the outlet it is a ‘more than probable likelihood come January’.

The Verdict: Get it done…

If Moyes and West Ham chiefs can convince Dawson to remain and sign a new deal, it would be a brilliant move.

The Englishman was an ever-present in the Irons starting eleven last year, playing the seventh-most top flight minutes out of any West Ham player whilst starting 30 games (WhoScored).

Dawson can also be a real threat when it comes to set pieces and Tomas Soucek is the only West Ham player to win more aerial duels per 90 out of their squad.

A no-nonsense centre-back, he made more blocks per 90 than any of his teammates over 2021/2022 and fell only behind partner Kurt Zouma in terms of clearances (WhoScored).

The numbers back why Moyes is keen to tie down Dawson and we believe it would be a major boost for West Ham.

Tottenham Hotspur cemented third place in the Premier League standings after they got back to winning ways with a 1-0 victory at Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday evening.

Antonio Conte’s side have Harry Kane to thank after the England striker’s looping 22-minute header sealed all three points on the south coast, ending a rather tough week both on and off the pitch.

The Italian head coach was forced into at least one change before kick-off due to Emerson Royal’s three-game suspension after the Brazilian right wing-back was sent off during their north London derby defeat to Arsenal last weekend.

In came the rarely-seen Matt Doherty and boy did he make a statement against the Seagulls.

It would have been a tough conundrum for Conte to solve leading up to the game. He could’ve easily trusted the experience of Ivan Perisic to get it done on the right, as he did against Leicester City before the international break, or he could have even turned to summer signing Djed Spence.

But it was the Irishman who got the nod, starting his first game for the Lilywhites since last season’s 4-0 win over Aston Villa back in March.

Doherty caught the eye going forward, often making a mazy run down the flank and he even went close to opening the scoring after he fired a volley over the bar from Ryan Sessegnon’s cross.

Whilst, it was defensively where he stood out most, as he put in a huge tackle to deny Leandro Trossard from shooting eight yards out in what would’ve likely been a devastating equaliser.

The 30-year-old also registered three interceptions, a feat only bettered by central midfield monster Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, as well as two clearances and one block, as per SofaScore.

Given the inconsistencies and doubts over £26m signing Emerson, who former Spurs man Jamie O’Hara lambasted as a “complete liability” after the Arsenal defeat, it could be Doherty’s time to shine as he clearly took the golden opportunity handed to him by Conte.

The £65k-per-week defender was once slammed himself as the “weak link” of ex-manager Jose Mourinho’s side but in this wing-back favoured system, he should ultimately thrive.

Albeit “rusty” at times, the former Wolverhampton Wanderers star could prove to be the solution to the right wing-back woes with the fixtures coming thick and fast over the next few weeks.

AND in other news, Forget Kane: £100k-per-week “monster” was Spurs’ driving force in Brighton win…

While the majority of Wolverhampton Wanderers’ focus is on finding a new manager following the departure of Bruno Lage last weekend, the Old Gold must ensure that they are fully prepared for a tough game against Chelsea this weekend.

Lage was sacked after a 2-0 defeat against West Ham United saw Wolves drop into the relegation places and things don’t get any easier for the Midlands club, as they travel to Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon.

If the Old Gold want to put memories of Lage’s dismal football, which resulted in just three Premier League goals this season, behind them, then interim management duo Steve Davis and James Collins must hand Diego Costa his first start in a Wolves shirt.

The Brazilian-born forward made his return to the Premier League in the defeat against West Ham and looked threatening, sending a late header just over.

The 34-year-old will no doubt be hungry to prove himself against his former side Chelsea, for whom he hit 59 goals in 120 appearances between 2014 and 2017.

It would be typical of Costa to score against his old side and given Wolves’ woeful record in front of goal so far this season, Davis and Collins must seek out any potential advantage they can utilise as they look to turn the Old Gold’s season around against Graham Potter’s side.

They also don’t have many other options in attack, as Sasa Kalajdzic is ruled out with an ACL injury, while Raul Jimenez and Pedro Neto are also sidelined, so Costa is surely in line to make his full debut.

To make matters worse, both Nathan Collins and Ruben Neves will miss the game through suspension, which leaves Davis and Collins with very few senior options, so the Old Gold will have to produce something truly special if they are to earn their second Premier League win of the season.

Costa is certainly capable of producing big moments, having done so regularly in his career with Chelsea and Atletico Madrid. During his time with the Spanish side, Diego Simeone sang his praises, saying:

“This was his best game since he came back with us, he’s a beast, he was running all the time, putting pressure on the opponent, breaking his mark.”

That is exactly what Wolves’ front line will need to do on Saturday if they are to cause Chelsea’s defence any problems, so Collins and Davis must hand the £50k-per-week Costa his first start in a Wolves shirt, in the hope that he can bring something back to a Wolves attack that was bereft of quality and confidence under Lage.

Glasgow Rangers are reportedly confident of securing an extra £4m in add-ons for Joe Aribo after he departed Ibrox in the summer.

The Lowdown: Aribo’s departure

The Nigerian left Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side for a reported £6m in July, which could eventually rise to £10m with add-ons.

He played 148 games for the Gers over three seasons at Ibrox, scoring 26 goals and supplying a further 25 assists in all competitions (winning the Scottish Cup last term and of course the Premiership title in the 2020/21 campaign.

The Latest: Rangers confident of extra £4m

As per Football Insider, Rangers are now ‘confident’ that they will secure the extra £4m in add-ons from Aribo’s departure.

‘Sources with knowledge of the situation’ believe that those add-ons are dependent on how many appearances he makes for Southampton, with the midfielder playing in nine matches so far for the Saints, scoring twice (Transfermarkt).

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The Verdict: Significant windfall

Getting that extra £4m could well be significant for Rangers in terms of potential future investment.

If they could get the full £10m for Aribo, he would then rank sixth in terms of record fees received by the Ibrox club for selling players.

It is not clear when they would receive that extra money, or how many appearances Aribo needs to make over the course of his contract at Southampton, but the seven-figure haul would nonetheless be welcomed by the Light Blues’ supporters and board.

It was reported yesterday that there was concern surrounding Liverpool forward Diogo Jota’s fitness status after he was not seen in training on Thursday and was subbed off for Portugal, but now Jurgen Klopp has confirmed a triple boost after doubts on three players.

What’s the latest?

After returning late from international duty, the Liverpool manager has set the record straight on speculation surrounding Diogo Jota, Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz, confirming all three will be in contention to start against Brighton and Hove Albion this weekend.

Klopp took to his pre-match press conference to settle the worries surrounding the South American players in the squad who were not seen in training on Thursday (via Liverpool Echo):

“Luis [Diaz] only landed yesterday morning. I heard he’s good. Darwin [Nunez], with caution after intense period. Same for Diogo [Jota].”

It’s great news for Liverpool

The Reds have had their fair share of injury problems over the season so far with several players picking up fitness issues and prolonged injury problems over the last few months, but it is finally looking promising ahead of their return to action against Brighton on Saturday.

The injury crisis at Anfield would have certainly contributed to the club’s worst start to a Premier League season during Klopp’s tenure so far, but with nine fixtures this month there is plenty of opportunity for the Kopites to pull back some much-needed points to climb the table.

Currently nine points off the top spot occupied by Arsenal, Liverpool will face both Manchester City and Mikel Arteta’s formidable side this month giving them the chance to close the gap between themselves in 8th and the top two positions in the Premier League.

Not only that, the Reds return to action in the Champions League and Klopp will surely be hoping the extended break will give his team the rest they needed to refresh and rebuild their confidence after a difficult start on all fronts.

With that being said, taking all three points when they host Brighton at Anfield will be non-negotiable for Liverpool if they want to get a good start in a very congested month of fixtures as they cannot afford to lose many more points if they want to be in contention for the title.