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Everton head into their opening Premier League clash on Saturday with problems aplenty.

The Toffees haven’t had the easiest of pre-season periods, being hammered 4-0 in their most recent clash against Manchester United, but now they have to make do with a number of absentees.

As Rafa Benitez’s men face Southampton at Goodison Park this weekend, they will be without more than five first-team players.

They have a handful of their squad self-isolating but fortunately Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison are fit enough to play following their respective periods on international duty.

However, with their current squad in disarray, who will Benitez select in his first competitive game at the helm?

Here’s the XI we’re predicting today…

We anticipate the Spanish manager to make two changes to the side which was hammered by Manchester United last weekend.

The first change is up front, where Calvert-Lewin comes into the team ahead of the so-called “embarrassing” £100k-per-week Alex Iwobi, who played incredibly poorly against United.

The England striker’s return will be vital to Everton’s chances this weekend after he ended the 2020/21 campaign with 21 goals to his name.

Another change is just behind him, where James Rodriguez sits out. He is one of the players self-isolating but whether he plays for the club again remains to be seen – the Colombian has been linked with the exit door on a relentless basis this summer.

With Rodriguez missing, Richarlison comes back into the fray to partner Calvert-Lewin. The Brazilian wasn’t involved in pre-season as he was busy playing for Brazil at the Tokyo Olympics.

He played in a central role up front for his country, finishing on five goals for the tournament as they claimed the gold medal. With that in mind, it would be foolish of Benitez to consider Richarlison in any other position but centrally.

Consequently, Demarai Gray and Andros Townsend are handed roles on the wing, being presented with their competitive Everton debuts.

Gray signed in a £1.7m deal from Bayer Leverkusen, while Townsend was acquired on a free transfer following his release from Crystal Palace. Both of them will be keen to assert themselves quickly in Merseyside.

AND in other news, Everton must swoop for “exceptional” 19-goal beast who Rafa said is on “another level”…

Cricinfo presents the Plays of the day from the third day of the fourth Test between India and Australia in Nagpur

Cricinfo staff08-Nov-2008
Simon Katich fell to Zaheer Khan on 102, but not before he had been afforded a life © AFP
Lucky score of the day
If a batsman is going to give the opposition a catch in this match, he’d better do it when he’s approaching a century. Sachin Tendulkar was let off twice as he neared his hundred and this morning Simon Katich benefited from Rahul Dravid’s generosity. Batting on 94, Katich chased a wide ball from Ishant Sharma in the second over of the morning. The edge flew towards Dravid’s left and he couldn’t hold on. Dravid’s had a poor game so far: a second-ball duck and a dropped catch.Landmarks of the day
Katich began the day eight short of his hundred while his partner Michael Hussey was five away from a fifty. Hussey got to his half-century first, edging a wide ball from Zaheer Khan through the slip cordon. Katich patiently left umpteen deliveries outside off stump before finally receiving one on a length which allowed him to steer to the third man boundary to bring uphis fifth Test century.Wayward start to the day
Test-match wides are rare and normally far between. Sometimes even the runs off deliveries that are so far off track that the wicketkeeper has no chance are deemed as byes. Today, however, we had two wides in Ishant’s first over. He ran in and sprayed the ball outside off twice and Aleem Dar let neither pass. It was an indicator of what was to come …Over-populated region of the day
Mahendra Singh Dhoni deployed an eight-one field for his two fast bowlers while they were operating against the left-handers. He packed the off side with two slips, point, short cover, extra cover, mid-off, third man and sweeper. The solitary fielder on the leg-side was the man at mid-on. Predictably, theline bowled to Hussey and Katich was so wide outside off that they didn’t even attempt to hit on the leg side until the 12th over of the day when Hussey tried to pull but missed. The first runs on the leg side came much later …First leg-side run of the day
The first time the ball went off the bat on the leg side was in the 15th over when Hussey pushed towards mid-on. In the 18th the batsmen ran when the ball trickled on the leg side but the umpire decided the ball had come off Katich’s pad. The first leg-side run finally came in 22nd over whenHussey intended to play the ball on the off side off the front foot but got an inside edge towards midwicket.Kick of the day
Michael Clarke scored one boundary in his innings of 8 off 44 balls but that four was a result of a rather freakish lapse from Harbhajan Singh. Clarke drove Zaheer firmly off the front foot towards mid-off. Harbhajan ran to his right and slid to field the ball but somehow ended up deflecting it with his foot towards the long-on boundary.Improvisation of the day
Harbhajan continued to implement India’s restrictive tactics. He bowled to the left-handers with only three fielders on the off side and therefore pitched the ball outside leg stump. Hussey attempted to sweep against this line but didn’t make contact consistently. Then he decided to reverse sweep and hit the ball from outside leg into the empty space behind pointfor four.Reflexes of the day
Despite India’s choke-hold Hussey remained resolute and couldn’t be frustrated into getting out. Then, after he had moved back to punch Harbhajan on the off side, he set off for a run, perhaps assuming the ball would get past M Vijay at silly point. It didn’t. Vijay stretched out his right hand to stop the ball and threw it back towards the stumps. Hussey was a few yards outside his crease and had to brake before turning around. Dhoni moved quickly to collect the throw and broke the stumps with the batsman just short.

It took Gautam Gambhir nearly four years to make his second Test century having posted his first against Bangladesh in Chittagong; within nine days he has added a third and given India an excellent start to the third Test

The Bulletin by Brydon Coverdale29-Oct-2008
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Gautam Gambhir posted his highest Test score, and he did it against the world’s No. 1 Test team at his home ground © Getty Images
It took Gautam Gambhir nearly four years to make his second Test century having posted his first against Bangladesh in Chittagong; within nine days he has added a third. And if scoring two hundreds against the world’s No. 1 Test team within a fortnight was not enough of a thrill, Gambhir can celebrate striking his highest Test score at his home ground and giving India an excellent start to a match that could deliver them the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.When Gambhir, who had been impressively patient throughout the day, brought up the milestone with an unexpected six slammed nonchalantly over long-on off Shane Watson, the roars around the Feroz Shah Kotla were loud and long-lasting. The fans had been denied a century from Sachin Tendulkar, who was in magnificent touch until he fell for 68, but the Gambhir hundred was ample compensation.The only ones not cheering were the Australians, who were witnessing an opening day that bore worrying similarities to the first three sessions in Mohali. Ricky Ponting insisted at the toss that his men had identified the problems that lost them the second Test and had worked tirelessly to fix the issues.But apart from pinching two early wickets, Australia again had few causes for optimism. Their concerns included a lack of pace in the pitch, the absence of a frontline spinner, the inability of their fast men to consistently swing the ball, and the concentration of India’s batsmen. It was a very familiar list of troubles.The day went firmly in India’s favour as soon as Gambhir and Tendulkar bedded down for a patient and important 130-run partnership. For most of their time together it was Tendulkar who looked by far the more dangerous. Unburdened by questions over when he would break the Test run-scoring record, he was in superb form.A couple of brilliantly executed back-foot drives that raced past point for boundaries off Mitchell Johnson were a hint that something special might have been coming. An exquisitely-timed cover-drive to an overpitched Brett Lee delivery was just as attractive and Tendulkar passed 50 for the 20th time in Tests against Australia with a delicate and seemingly effortless late cut for four off Stuart Clark.A 40th Test century was looming when Tendulkar edged behind off Johnson in the final over before tea. But Australia’s momentary spark was quickly extinguished after the break when Gambhir lifted his pace.When the Australians were running through a pre-series analysis of India’s batting line-up they must have assumed the major threats would be the usual suspects: Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Virender Sehwag, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid. But the back-to-back centuries have come from Gambhir, the least experienced man in the top order.Smart StatsGautam Gambhir became the fourth player, after Michael Vaughan, Daren Ganga, and Shivnarine Chanderpaul to score hundreds in successive Tests against Australia since 2001.Stuart Clark was by far the most economical bowler for Australia, and the only one who kept Gambhir shackled, conceding just 11 runs from 62 deliveries to him. Brett Lee went for 43 off 66, Mitchell Johnson leaked 35 off 39, and Shane Watson conceded 26 off 65 when bowling to Gambhir.Gambhir was involved in century stands with Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman for the first time in his Test career. Of the six hundred-run partnerships Gambhir had been involved in before this Test, two were with Rahul Dravid and four with Virender Sehwag, his opening partner.Sachin Tendulkar’s 68 was his 90th score of fifty and above in Test cricket, the most for any batsman. He equals Allan Border who scored 63 fifties and 27 hundreds.The Delhi Test is also Tendulkar’s 66th at home, which is the most number of home appearances for any Indian player.Virender Sehwag’s wicket was Brett Lee’s 50th against India, making him the third Australian bowler to take fifty wickets against them. Richie Benaud heads the list with 52 wickets, followed by Glenn McGrath on 51. Particularly impressive was the patience displayed by Gambhir after the early losses of Sehwag and Dravid. He comfortably saw India through a slightly nervous period, realising that there was not severe swing, seam movement or steepling bounce, and a sensible approach should work.He did pounce at times – a pull off Watson comfortably cleared midwicket and sped away for four – but mostly Gambhir displayed his class with terrific timing and placement. A cover-driven boundary off Johnson rivalled anything Tendulkar had provided and he was quickly on to any seamers who strayed towards his pads.When the platform was safely constructed, Gambhir changed gears more smoothly than Lewis Hamilton. Watson’s around-the-wicket angle, which had tied down the left-hander, suddenly became a liability as Gambhir clipped balls repeatedly through the leg side. He began to cut and drive through the off-side more readily and capped off an attacking period by clubbing the six to move from 99 to 105.The runs did not stop there. Laxman was almost unnoticed, inasmuch as that can be said of his glorious flicks through leg, in building a valuable half-century that helped stop any momentum Australia might have collected when Tendulkar departed. Laxman and Gambhir’s unbeaten 139-run partnership became a major frustration for Ponting, whose troops performed admirably at times but failed to maintain the pressure.The first hour had brought two mood-improving strikes for a team that had suffered a crushing loss in Mohali. In the third over Sehwag was beaten by Lee’s speed and was struck dead in line, then as soon as Johnson came on he drew Dravid into an ill-advised drive that caught the edge and was terrifically snared by Matthew Hayden at first slip.But the momentum eased, despite impressively tight bowling from Stuart Clark, who returned to the side having missed the second Test with an elbow injury. Australia’s decision not to play the offspinner Jason Krejza meant Cameron White was again the leading slow bowler and his initial signs were not good.Tendulkar contemptuously slog-swept a barely-turning White delivery over midwicket for four and drove him through cover, while Gambhir also attacked with delight. It took India 16 overs to take 27 runs from Clark; it took them four overs to strike the same amount off White, who was duly shelved and not seen again for the rest of the day.Michael Clarke had a trundle and Simon Katich was given his first bowl of the series, although his major contribution was to antagonise Gambhir after comprehensively getting in the way of an attempted single. Words were exchanged and Billy Bowden inserted himself between Katich and Gambhir but the incident had no bearing on the final wash-up.At a venue where India have won the past seven Tests a stumps total of 296 for 3 was precisely what Australia didn’t want. They would hate to hear it, but it was an even worse outcome than the first day in Mohali, when India closed with 15 more runs but two fewer wickets in hand. Ponting has four more days to inspire his men.

West Ham boss David Moyes risks making a massive blunder if emerging claims are to be believed…

What’s the word?

According to ExWHUemployee, the Irons do hold some interest in Liverpool striker Divock Origi but any potential move for him isn’t likely to happen until the end of the transfer window.

He tweeted:

“He is someone I’ve reported interest on before but I don’t think a move is close at this point but could be towards [the] end of [the] window.”

Last month, 90min listed the East London outfit among the sides that were monitoring his situation, with the likes of Southampton, Crystal Palace, Rangers and Celtic mooted too.

Moyes mistake

The Hammers have been linked to several strikers throughout the summer but Origi would arguably be the most underwhelming of the lot.

It’s thought that Chelsea’s Tammy Abraham was the first-choice target for Moyes but it appears that he is against a move to the London Stadium, as revealed by ExWHUemployee last week.

Another more exciting name linked with the club in recent months is Danny Ings, but he has since signed for Premier League rivals Aston Villa.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-west-ham-news-transfer-rumours-the-latest-gossip-and-more” title= “Read the latest West Ham news, transfer rumours, gossip and much more!”]

Barring his involvement in Liverpool’s Champions League-winning run, a brace in their come-from-behind win over Barcelona and another goal in the final against Spurs, Origi has done very little to warrant his whopping £77k-per-week wages at Anfield.

As per Transfermarkt, the Belgian forward played only 537 minutes across all competitions last season and that was even despite Diogo Jota suffering an injury and the indifferent form of Roberto Firmino.

In total, Origi, who was once dubbed a “monster” by former Man City captain Vincent Kompany, has only scored 35 goals in a far from impressive 157 appearances, averaging a goal every 4.4 matches.

That’s hardly prolific.

If Moyes is to find someone capable of providing the perfect foil to injury-prone Michail Antonio, then he simply must look elsewhere.

Origi has already proven to be a massive flop in the Premier League and that’s the last thing they need heading into a Europa League campaign. It would be one massive mistake.

AND in other news, Moyes could land West Ham another Antonio in 22-goal “machine” once likened to Mbappe…

Fulham centre-back Maxime Le Marchand could be set to leave Craven Cottage this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by French publication Le Bien Public (via Get Football French News), who claim that FC Dijon have made an approach to Fulham regarding a deal for the 31-year-old defender.

The report goes on to mention the fact that the former OGC Nice player has one year remaining on his current deal with the west London side, while it has also been claimed that the Cottagers’ former manager, Scott Parker, deemed the Frenchman surplus to requirements at the club last season.

However, in an interview with GVA earlier this year, Le Marchand suggested he could remain with the Championship side in the new season, despite having been exiled last year.

Le Marchand must go

Considering how infrequently Le Marchand has featured for Fulham since Slavisa Jokanovic signed the 31-year-old in 2018, it would indeed appear a wise move for Marco Silva to cash in on the defender while the interest is there.

Indeed, over his three years in west London, the £1.35m-rated man has gone on to make a mere 48 appearances in all competitions for the club.

Last season, the centre-back made just two Premier League appearances for the Cottagers, over which he made an average of 0 interceptions, one tackle and 1.5 interceptions per game.

These returns saw the £24k-per-week defender earn an average SofaScore match rating of 6.75, ranking him as Parker’s 12th-worst player in the top flight of English football.

Indeed, it became clear that Parker was not a fan of the man Tony Khan dubbed a “valuable” asset, as the 40-year-old sent the player out on loan to Royal Antwerp for the second half of the club’s campaign.

And, with Le Marchand picking up a rather hefty weekly wage in comparison to his current standing in Fulham’s centre-back pecking order, it would appear wise for Silva to follow his predecessors lead over the Frenchman, and do everything in his power to move Jokanovic’s dud on ahead of next season.

In other news: Khan must axe Fulham’s “fabulous” £35k-p/w flop, he’s stealing a living

South Africa’s captain, Graeme Smith, has emerged as an injury concern ahead of the third Test against England

Andrew Miller at Edgbaston29-Jul-2008
Graeme Smith: struggling with a sore back © Getty Images
South Africa’s captain, Graeme Smith, has emerged as an injury concern ahead of the third Test against England at Edgbaston on Wednesday, after picking a back injury while batting against Bangladesh A during their drawn warm-up game at Worcester last Thursday.Smith missed South Africa’s training session on Monday, and was expecting to opt out of the indoor nets on Tuesday after heavy overnight rain forced the players to cancel their pre-match middle practice. He now faces a late fitness test on the morning of the Test to determine whether he will be able to take part.”It’s been niggling me a bit and I’m obviously in a little bit of pain, so it’s just about taking precautions to make sure I’m ready for tomorrow,” said Smith. “I don’t want to do anything today that will affect tomorrow, but I’m taking treatment and improving every day, so tomorrow morning I see myself coming down early and putting in the work I need to.”Smith’s absence would be a major blow to South Africa’s hopes of sewing up their first series win in England since readmission. Dale Steyn has already been ruled out with a broken thumb. Edgbaston is a ground which harbours fond memories for Smith as well – it was here, as a 22-year-old rookie captain in 2003, that he racked up his career-best score of 277, the perfect riposte to his opposite number, Nasser Hussain, who had forgotten his name during the pre-match press conference. Hussain resigned immediately after the game as Michael Vaughan took over the reins.When asked if he was 100% sure of being fit for the Test, Smith replied: “I would like to think I am” – a statement that did not sound flushed with confidence. Should he fail his fitness test, JP Duminy is standing by to partner Neil McKenzie in a match that South Africa need only to draw to ensure a share of the series. Ashwell Prince, their form batsman of the series, would take over as captain.Nevertheless, Smith had not mislaid his sense of humour in spite of his fitness concerns. When asked how the injury had come about, he responded: “It was just something that I woke up with – maybe it’s a change of beds” – a reference to the excuse that was offered by England’s bowling coach, Ottis Gibson, when Ryan Sidebottom reported a stiff back during the Lord’s Test.South Africa 1 Graeme Smith/JP Duminy, 2 Neil McKenzie, 3 Hashim Amla, 4 Jacques Kallis, 5 Ashwell Prince, 6 AB de Villiers, 7 Mark Boucher (wk), 8 Morne Morkel, 9 Paul Harris, 10 Andre Nel, 11 Makhaya Ntini.

Scotland waited a long time to face England at cricket – 136 years since they first met at football – but unfortunately rain meant the chance of a result was washed away

The Bulletin by Andrew McGlashan18-Aug-2008
Scorecard
How they were out
Gavin Hamilton held Scotland together with a fighting 60 © Getty Images
Scotland waited a long time to face England at cricket – it’s 136 years since they first met at football – but unfortunately rain meant the chance of a result was washed away at The Grange. However, a fighting 60 from Gavin Hamilton, who has played internationals for both teams, ensured Scotland put up a more than respectable effort. Given their early position of 11 for 3, the final total of 156 represented riches and although it was unlikely to have been enough the sell-out home support of 6000 will insist that England couldn’t beat the Auld Enemy – if only because of the rain.The start was delayed by nearly two hours and another stoppage midway through Scotland’s innings cut their allocation to 44. Hamilton’s innings held them together, along with a fourth-wicket stand of 64 with Colin Smith, after Tim Bresnan impressed on his international recall, while Samit Patel made his mark on debut with a run out, catch and a wicket. England’s target was adjusted to 159 and Ian Bell and Matt Prior, the latest opening pair, knocked off 10 before the rain came back and made this the sixth ODI out of the last 10 held in Scotland to be a no result.However, Scotland can hold their heads up, especially as they had to bat in tough conditions against a swinging ball. With the ball darting around the last thing a batting side needs is to gift wickets to the opposition, but Ryan Watson was run out at the non-striker’s end by Patel from midwicket.Scotland’s two current county batsmen then departed for ducks as Bresnan, recalled for the first time since 2006, bowled an impressive opening spell. He had Kyle Coetzer comfortably taken by Andrew Flintoff at second slip then Navdeep Poonia got a slightly thicker edge, which flew to Patel at third as his lively day continued.At 11 for 3, Scotland could easily have folded without a trace, but to their immense credit they fought hard to repair the innings. Hamilton used all the experience he has gained from his lengthy professional career – which included a Test for England in 1999 – as he left anything wide of the stumps early on. But he and Smith weren’t afraid to put bat to ball as both took sixes over an inviting third-man boundary, and Smith also had the gumption to come down the pitch and drive Bresnan straight down the ground.England’s bowlers maintained their disciplines, but the fielding didn’t quite match those standards. Hamilton was missed twice on 24, firstly by James Anderson at the unaccustomed position of second slip then by Luke Wright on the boundary. At 75 for 3 Scotland had the base to push towards a competitive total, however two quick wickets stunted their progress.The profitable third-man area brought Smith’s downfall when he tried to clear the rope but found Alastair Cook, on as a substitute, right on the boundary edge. In the next over Patel, in the middle of a tight spell of left-arm spin, collected his first international wicket when Neil McCallum top-edged a sweep to deep square-legRain then interrupted the innings, but on resumption Scotland continued to stand up to their more illustrious opponents. Kevin Pietersen made the curious decision to bowl himself for a couple of overs and Hamilton started to express himself with meaty sixes off Patel and Stuart Broad, as he and former captain Craig Wright added 42 in 10 overs.Broad got one on target to remove Wright and Flintoff, who enjoyed some good-natured banter with a well-lubricated crowd, removed Hamilton as he tried to find the boundary in the closing overs. However, his innings meant Scotland kept their pride intact and they would have fancied giving England a few uncomfortable moments in the run chase. The weather put paid to that, but the day will still go down as a success for Scottish cricket.

Mohammad Asif’s lawyer, Shahid Karim, is unhappy that his client’s name was disclosed by the Indian Premier League for testing positive for a banned substance, despite the fact that the results were not matched with his B sample

Cricinfo staff18-Jul-2008<!–
Mohammad Asif has once again landed in trouble on charges of doping © AFP
–>Mohammad Asif’s lawyer, Shahid Karim, is unhappy that his client’s name was disclosed by the IPL as the player whose sample tested positive for a banned substance, even before the results of the test of his B sample were known.”There are certain rules that were not followed in this case,” Karim told AP. “The authorities should have waited for the B sample test before revealing the identity of the player.”He remained optimistic that Asif, who has since been suspended by the Pakistan board, will escape punishment. “As a lawyer, I am quite hopeful that Asif will come out clean from this doping case and will again represent Pakistan in international cricket.” If Asif’s B sample tests negative, he will be deemed to be clear of the charge.Karim said the date for Asif’s B sample test had been tentatively fixed for July 28; the testing will be carried out at a WADA-accredited laboratory in Switzerland.

An update has emerged on Leeds transfer target Josip Brekalo regarding how much Wolfsburg want for the forward.

What’s the talk?

According to Calcio Mercato, the 23-year-old is available for £15m this summer. Bundesliga club Wolfsburg are open to sending him out on loan with an obligation to sign him permanently next summer for £15m (€18m), with a host of clubs interested.

Along with the Whites, Fiorentina, Atletico Madrid and Inter are also looking at the Croatian international. The report doesn’tt state whether any particular club is leading the race for his signature.

Bye-bye Costa

Leeds’ interest in Brekalo is perfectly timed, with reports suggesting that Helder Costa could be on his way out of the club this summer. Football Insider have reported that Jorge Mendes is working hard to find the Portuguese winger a new club, with La Liga said to be his preferred option, and that would leave a gap in Marcelo Bielsa’s squad in the wide areas.

It could be time to say bye-bye to Costa and dobrodošli to Brekalo. The Leeds forward struggled to make any real impact in the Premier League last season, with three goals in 22 appearances – two of which came in the second game of the campaign. He averaged a disappointing WhoScored rating of 6.32, which suggests that he was not cut out to make the step up to the top tier.

Therefore, a new winger will be needed at Elland Road, and Brekalo could be an ideal target for the club. The forward scored seven goals and set up another three in 22 Bundesliga starts for Wolfsburg in 2020/21, averaging an impressive WhoScored rating of 6.83. This suggests that he would be an upgrade on Costa, whilst he still has room to improve at the age of 23.

Goal’s Bundesliga journalist Ronan Murphy offered his thoughts on the Croatian on Twitter, saying: “The less said about his off-field antics the better, as he should leave his on-field performances do the talking. Able to unlock defences and strong cutting in to shoot, he will torment defenders everywhere.”

The Croatia maestro could torment defenders in the Premier League and excite Leeds supporters with his direct style of play, if Murphy’s analysis of his game is accurate. His 3.9 shots, key passes and dribbles combined per Bundesliga match for Wolfsburg suggest that it is an accurate description of the forward, as it shows that he likes to be constantly involved in the attacking phase of play. This is why Leeds must sanction a deal for the attacker to replace the ineffective Costa.

AND in other news, Big update emerges on £36k-p/w Leeds flop, fans will be buzzing…

Sunderland are reportedly interested in signing former Huddersfield Town midfielder Alex Pritchard during the summer transfer window.

The Lowdown: Johnson eyes up signings

The Black Cats narrowly missed out on a return to the Championship last season, losing to Lincoln City in the League One playoff semi-finals.

Lee Johnson’s side may be one of the favourites for promotion in 2021/22, but the manager will be aware that reinforcements could be needed.

The Latest: Sunderland keen on Pritchard

According to Football League World, Sunderland have joined the race to sign Pritchard this summer, with the 28-year-old currently a free agent.

The midfielder spent last season at Huddersfield, but was limited to only six starts and a total of 18 appearances in the Championship.

Birmingham City are also mentioned as a potential suitor for Pritchard, who will be available on a free transfer.

The Verdict: Experienced addition

Pritchard could be a shrewd addition by Sunderland, given the wealth of experience he possesses, not to mention being hailed as ‘vert talented’ by former Norwich City caretaker manager Alan Irvine.

Granted, he has struggled for playing time recently – injuries haven’t helped – but he has made 48 appearances in the Premier League, as well as 125 in the Championship.

That suggests he could star in League One, coming in and making a noticeable difference for the Black Cats, hopefully over a number of years.

In other news, some Sunderland fans are delighted with the departure of one player. Find out who it is here.