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This article forms part of our Profit Players feature series, which is where Football Transfer Tavern takes a look at how well a player has fared since being signed or sold, using statistical figures and statements from pundits to prove how good of a deal the club managed to achieve.

Ipswich finished a respectable 12th in the Championship in 2017/18, scoring 57 league goals, but their striking resources were heavily depleted the following summer with the departures of Martyn Waghorn, Joe Garner and David McGoldrick, who between them had scored 34 times in all competitions that season.

The loss of that trio affected the Tractor Boys terribly as they finished rock bottom of the Championship last season, managing a paltry 36 league goals. Their top scorers in all competitions, Gwion Edwards and Freddie Sears, managed only six each.

Their next most prolific player was Kayden Jackson, who came to the club in August 2018 from Accrington Stanley for a fee of just £1.62m, according to TransferMarkt. As noted by the Lancashire Telegraph, that made him the first million-pound sale for Accrington, who had just been promoted to League One.

He didn’t quite shoot the lights out in his first season at Portman Road, with just four goals in 38 appearances across 1,698 minutes of football, but patience has proven to be a virtue for those who felt he would come good in Suffolk.

Albeit in the less testing climes of League One, Jackson has enjoyed a fine start to the current campaign as Ipswich seek to emulate the likes of Leicester, Wolves, Southampton and arch-rivals Norwich in being an ex-Premier League club propelling back to the top flight having bottomed out in the third tier.

In the space of 12 days in late August, he matched his entire season’s tally from 2018/19, a run kick-started by a stoppage-time winner against AFC Wimbledon and culminating with him being nominated for the League One Player of the Month prize.

Jackson was also on target against Tranmere and Fleetwood in recent days to take his tally for the season to six goals in just 12 games and 860 minutes, a drastically improved return on last term. [via TransferMarkt]

If he can maintain that form throughout the campaign and inspire Ipswich to an immediate return to the Championship, the £1.62m paid to Accrington Stanley for his services will have proven to be a bargain.

Ipswich fans, do you think Jackson has been a value for money signing? Let us know your views in the comments section below!

This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

James Milner continues to defy the years at Liverpool.

On the chalkboard

The veteran midfielder is 33 and was the oldest player in the Reds’ matchday squad for their clash with Leicester City on Saturday.

And yet he played an absolutely vital role in their narrow 2-1 win at Anfield.

Jurgen Klopp’s men squeaked past the Foxes thanks to their elder statesman and Sadio Mane.

The Senegal international opened the scoring after a delicious ball through from his English team-mate. Milner collected the ball in his own half and curved it into Mane’s path, and he ran through, one-on-one, to score.

The roles were reversed later on, as Mane won a late penalty, which Milner dutifully converted.

That doesn’t really tell the whole story though.

Throughout the 90 minutes, Milner had 70 touches of the ball, three shots on goal, a pass completion rate of 87% and won two tackles, while also making one interception.

This was an all-action display.

The engine

Milner just seems to get better and he’s absolutely vital to the way Liverpool play.

He has the energy to get up and down the pitch and is also creative enough to both score and provide.

Indeed, the Reds started the game with Fabinho and Georginio Wijnaldum alongside him in midfield and Milner ran the show, picking up a 7.7 rating from WhoScored, higher than both of his team-mates.

It bears repeating that he’s 33 and his inclusion actually saw Jordan Henderson, their usual captain, benched.

Amazingly, he wasn’t missed.

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As a player, Xavi Hernandez was one of the best midfielders to grace the game.

Across his career, the 39-year-old made over 800 appearances for Barcelona and Al Sadd and won a whole host of trophies, including the Champions League on four separate occasions.

For Spain, it could be argued his record was even more impressive. He earned 133 caps for La Roja and won the World Cup once, as well as the European Championships twice.

He retired earlier this year and made his first foray into management with Al Sadd. It seems that he would be open to managing Arsenal in the future, though.

He told Sky Sports in an interview on Monday: “Obviously if I had to choose, I would choose a big team, [Manchester] City or United, Chelsea, Arsenal or Tottenham. Also, [Jurgen] Klopp and [Mauricio] Pochettino and Unai Emery, many people who have gone there are doing an extraordinary job.”

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It would certainly be interesting to see the former conductor of the Barcelona midfield step into the dugout at the Emirates Stadium.

The club’s supporters are amongst the most vocal, as we all know, and they have been taking to Twitter to share their thoughts. You can see some of the best comments from the social media platform below.

West Ham United advanced into the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup with a win over current title holders Manchester City at the London Stadium on Wednesday night.

And once again, it was another game in which young academy gem Ben Johnson started and another game that resulted in a clean sheet – very impressive considering the opposition.

It was the sixth time this campaign that the 21-year-old was involved in a David Moyes defensive masterclass, having also kept out the likes of Everton, Spurs, Man Utd and Genk.

The Scotsman’s usual first-choice Vladimir Coufal has been out through injury and he should be concerned with Johnson’s form as he’ll be a very hard man to drop whenever the 29-year-old returns.

After the match, Irons assistant Stuart Pearce waxed lyrical about the youngster. He said (via football.london):

“He’s a wonderful professional to deal with and work with.

“We’re very proud to have him out of our academy system as well, which is a real plus for us. Especially with the connection to this club with the Academy.

“And I think he’s just developing and getting better and better and like with all young players, the more game time they have, the better they’ll get so I am delighted for the boy.”

A lot of the credit for the clean sheet would’ve gone to Alphonse Areola, who was mightily impressive between the sticks. He was bombarded with 25 efforts on goal and earned SofaScore’s highest rating, an 8.7, for his troubles.

However, it was Johnson who arguably stole the show in east London as he shut down one of Pep Guardiola’s biggest threats in Raheem Sterling.

Also per SofaScore, the Chadwell Heath graduate won 100% of his duels, proving to be a rock against the regular England international, whilst he also led the match for clearances (five) and chipped in with a further tackle, interception and block.

He really put his body on the line to help steer the Hammers to victory, albeit in a penalty shootout.

The Evening Standard’s Jack Rosser also wrote glowingly about the young right-back in his post-game ratings column – earning a 7/10, he said: ‘Vital goal-saving tackle on Gundogan early on and energy down the right again showed why right-back injury crisis has been averted in recent weeks.’

Whilst it was Areola making the more evident impact in goal, it’s Johnson who deserves his fair share of plaudits. The 5 foot 9 beast, who earns a reported £19k-per-week, was the star of the show at the London Stadium on Wednesday night.

AND in other news, Moyes may have another Antonio in West Ham’s “hard-working” 17 y/o who “loves to score”…

West Bromwich Albion have potentially been dealt a blow regarding the fitness of Alex Mowatt ahead of their upcoming Championship fixture.

What’s the latest?

In recent comments made on the Baggies Broadcast podcast (via This Is Futbol), the Express & Star journalist Joesph Masi revealed that West Brom are yet to reveal the extent of the attacking midfielder’s injury – which he sustained in Albion’s 1-0 defeat against Stoke City shortly before the international break.

In his comments, Masi said: “So I asked [on Tuesday], I’m told that they’re still waiting to discover the extent of the injury. I’ve asked a couple of times during the international break, no one wants to know more than me, simply because I’m struggling for stories, so it’d be great to get an update on Mowatt.

“[Valerien] Ismael, we think, is holding his press conference for [the Birmingham City fixture] on Thursday. So hopefully, we get an answer before then, but if not, it’s probably going to be Thursday when we find out the latest.”

Ismael surely gutted

Considering just how impressive Mowatt has been since making the move from Barnsley to West Brom this summer, should the midfielder be unavailable for the visit of Birmingham on Friday evening, it would undoubtedly leave Ismael gutted.

Indeed, over his 11 Championship appearances this season, the £6.3m-rated man has scored three goals, registered one assist and created two big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 1.1 shots and making 1.5 key passes per game.

These returns have seen the 26-year-old who Steve Evans dubbed a “special” player earn an average SofaScore match rating of 7.21, not only ranking him as Albion’s second-best performer in the league but also as the joint 22nd-best in the entirety of the division.

As such, the absence of the £6.5k-per-week midfielder would undoubtedly dent West Brom’s chances of picking up a positive result against Lee Bowyer’s men on Friday evening – something Ismael will be desperate for following his side’s first loss of the season against Stoke last time out.

In other news: “In talks” – Journo drops fresh West Brom claim on £30k-p/w beast, Ismael must act

Despite currently sitting in 12th place in the Premier League table with three wins and four defeats under their belt so far this season, Wolves boast a respectable defensive record with just six goals conceded in seven games, the same as Liverpool and Manchester United.

Even with this current defensive record, it seems as though Wolves boss is already eyeing up a potential move for a new defender to bring to Molineux.

What’s the latest?

It has recently been reported by Fichajes (via Sport Witness) that Wolves and fellow Premier League side West Ham United are interested in signing Athletic Bilbao defender Dani Vivian.

The 22-year-old, who has a release clause of €40m (£34m), has played in seven out of Bilbao’s eight La Liga games so far this season, conceding just two goals in the process.

Interestingly, the only La Liga game that Vivian did not play in is the only league match that Bilbao has lost so far this season in a 2-1 defeat against Rayo Vallecano.

Long-term option?

Vivian’s performances in La Liga have earned him an overall performance rating of 7/10 according to WhoScored, making him one of Bilbao’s highest-rated players so far this season.

Taking all of this into account, it’s easy to see why Wolves and West Ham would be interested in signing him.

He’s not a prolific header of the ball with just 0.9 aerial duels won per match but he is an efficient tackler, winning 1.6 challenges a game. That would rank him second out of Wolves’ centre-halves this term with only Max Kilman producing more.

That makes him an attractive signing but there is another reason too. In our view, given the age of current Wolves centre-backs Willy Boly (30) and Romain Saiss (31) we feel that Vivian could be a good option to replace one of the pair and be a useful long-term option for the Old Gold given the Spaniard’s young age.

Moving forward, if Wolves see an opportunity to sign Vivian in the upcoming January transfer window or the next summer window, this is definitely something the club should be looking to explore ahead of their fellow Premier League side West Ham.

Until then, Lage will have to make sure his side can start picking up wins in the league on a consistent basis and not concede too many goals. If they start leaking strikes they could be in danger of being in a relegation battle, rather than finishing in the top half of the table.

In other news: Lage could fix big Wolves issue with swoop for £43.2m-rated ace, fans would be buzzing – opinion

Toronto FC have signed ex-Newcastle United midfielder Matty Longstaff in a shock move for the 23-year-old Englishman.

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• Toronto FC sign Matty Longstaff
• English midfielder joins from Newcastle
• TFC bolster roster with signing

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  TFC announced their newest signing Thursday morning, with Longstaff being inked on a deal through 2025 with an option through 2026. He will be added to the first-team roster pending the receipt of his medicals and his ITC certificate.

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  WHAT TORONTO HEAD COACH JOHN HERDMAN SAID

  “I'm thrilled to welcome Matty to our squad,” said Toronto FC Head Coach John Herdman. “His Premier League experience and dynamic playing style will add depth to our midfield and complement our tactical blueprint.”

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Longstaff is well known across English football as being a young breakout star in 2019-20 for the Magpies. He was the scorer of an iconic goal for the Toons with a low-driven missile from the edge of the box to defeat Manchester United on his Premier League debut. He earned the EPL Goal of the Month for the hit.

  He'll now look to replicate that with TFC once he returns from injury in 2024.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR TORONTO FC?

  Insigne and co. take on the New England Revolution in week two of the MLS season. After a 0-0 draw against 2023 Supporters' Shield holders FC Cincinnati, the club will look for their first goal and win of the campaign.

Manchester United forward Anthony Martial has been linked with an Old Trafford exit after struggling for form in recent months.

What’s the story?

According to German outlet SPORT1, the 25-year-old will be allowed to leave United next summer after becoming “dissatisfied with his situation” under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

The report states that: “According to SPORT1 information, the Red Devils would let the Frenchman (market value: 45 million euros) go with an offer of 50 to 55 million euros in the summer.”

It added that, although Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund have had previous interest in Martial and are currently searching for Erling Haaland’s potential successor, the striker’s price tag makes him an unviable option at this moment in time.

The report claimed: “BVB would not spend such a large amount. Martial was already a candidate in Dortmund in 2018. At the moment, however, the trail to Martial is (still) cold.”

He’s been shocking for ages

Martial appeared to have made a significant step up in his progress during the 2019/20 season when he bagged 23 goals and provided a further 12 assists in 48 appearances for the Old Trafford outfit in all competitions.

However, he was unable to build on that impressive showing last term. Injuries and a lack of form saw the former Monaco ace start just 17 Premier League matches and produce only 16 goal contributions in his 36 outings.

After missing out on France’s squad for Euro 2020, it was hoped that the versatile attacker would return to United refreshed and back firing once again this season, but he has yet to make a positive impression on proceedings so far.

Martial has failed to score or assist in his 190 minutes of action this season and was hauled off after an hour on his only start in the Premier League.

With the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo forcing him further down the pecking order in the red half of Manchester, it may now be time for Solskjaer to close the curtain on Martial’s six-year stay at United.

Speculation continues to mount over Haaland’s potential arrival next summer, and as a result, the club’s hierarchy must ruthlessly axe the £180,000-per-week disaster, making room for the Norwegian best in the first team squad.

In other news… Lost possession 11 times: Man Utd liability let Ole down against Villarreal 

Kobbie Mainoo's class act to inspire Manchester United youngsters, following his exceptional display in Luton Town victory, won hearts at Carrington.

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• Mainoo rising rapidly at Man Utd
• Starred in United's win over Wolves & Luton Town
• Met the club's U-8s to inspire them for greater glory

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  WHAT HAPPENED?

  Amidst the buzz surrounding his breakout season at United and the potential senior England call-up ahead of the Euros, Mainoo remains grounded, showcasing maturity beyond his years. According to thein a heartwarming gesture, the teenage midfielder surprised everyone by visiting an Under-8s training session on Monday after he was done with the recovery session following the victory at Luton.

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• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Engaging with the young players for an hour, Mainoo shared his experiences of professional football and offered encouragement, leaving an indelible mark on the budding footballers. The pre-academy group also had the privilege of witnessing the first-team training session. As a token of appreciation, the players posed for photos with the youngsters and graciously signed autographs, fostering a sense of camaraderie and unity within the club.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Under the stewardship of manager Erik ten Hag, Mainoo has emerged as a regular starter this season, featuring in 15 appearances and making 13 starts. The stellar performances have caught the attention of England manager Gareth Southgate, who is reportedly contemplating including the 18-year-old sensation in the national squad for the upcoming fixtures against Brazil and Belgium.

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  WHAT NEXT?

  As Mainoo continues to flourish in his footballing journey, his humility, dedication, and talent serve as a beacon of hope and inspiration for United's next generation of players. He will be next in action against Fulham on Saturday.

Speaking to Football Insider, rival ‘insider’ John Wenham has dropped a claim on Jarrod Bowen – with David Moyes gifted a big West Ham United boost.

The Lowdown: Bowen a wanted man…

As per The Independent, Moyes may have to be wary of his biggest rivals swooping for Bowen as scouts from Tottenham, Liverpool and Leicester all keep tracking the winger.

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Amid his electric start to the season, it appears he is already attracting admirers and the last thing West Ham need is to lose a forward option without a recognised back-up striker.

However, in reaction to this news, a Spurs insider has appeared to alleviate fears that his side could make a move for Bowen.

The Latest: Insider drops possible Moyes boost…

As per Lilywhites ‘insider’ John Wenham, speaking to FI, it appears Moyes and West Ham may not have to worry about losing the forward to one of their biggest London rivals.

“Tottenham and West Ham don’t do business. There is no love lost between the two clubs at boardroom level,” he explained.

“I don’t see West Ham entertaining any bids for Bowen from Tottenham, that one is a non-starter.

“Tottenham may be interested in him but some clubs just don’t do business.

“I would categorically rule that one out now. Even if West Ham said he was available they would turn down an approach from Tottenham.

“From what I’ve heard from people I know in the industry, I just can’t see that one happening.”

The Verdict: Big boost for Moyes?

Moyes having to watch GSB sell to a rival like Spurs would have left a bitter taste, so this news comes as a breath of fresh air.

The 24-year-old has, arguably, been one of West Ham’s players of the season so far alongside star striker Michail Antonio.

No Irons man has averaged more completed dribbles (3) or key passes per 90 (2.4) in the Premier League according to WhoScored, and if he continues this streak he could be a very key player this year.

In other news: ‘What a bargain’…Sky pundit reacts as West Ham eye ‘great signing’ for Moyes, find out more here.