Flying Kiwis – July 29
Callum McCowatt – Silkeborg IF (Danish Superliga)
Still got another few weeks of preseason for most European clubs but they don’t wait around in Denmark. The Superliga is already underway for the 2026-27 campaign and for as long as Callum McCowatt remains a Silkeborg player he is going to be starting games for them. Probably going to be serving up goal contributions too, as he did setting up Oliver Ross’s goal in the 1-1 draw against Randers on Tuesday morning NZT...
The more you watch that clip, especially with the zoomed in angles of the replays, the more clever that pass appears with how he lifted it juuust enough to evade two defenders but still give his mate the inside track to collect it and score. Lovely bit of creativity within a mostly dull game between two teams expected to end up down near the bottom of the standings... making this a decent point for Silkeborg to begin with.
For most of McCowatt’s time at this club they’ve been a very good team, winning the Danish Cup in 2023–24 and then making the final again one year later, contesting multiple European qualifiers, but last season was a disaster where they only avoided relegation thanks to the goals of McCowatt and Tonni Adamsen as well as some primo goalkeeping from Nicolai Larsen. Mentioned in previous weeks how Adamsen and Larsen have each left on free transfers since then. Well, long-time coach Kent Neilsen has also departed and the new boss, Morten Dahm Kjærgaard (previously with Aarhus in the second tier), hasn’t hardly signed anyone at all. The club isn’t known for having much dough so the plan is to rely on their academy to pick up the slack - 5/11 starters against Randers were academy grads.
You can see why that’s all gotten a lot of the Danish football crowd doubting their chances of survival but they one thing they do have is Callum McCowatt who is basically their star player now. None of which means they wouldn’t accept a big fee for him... but it would have to be a big fee for them to take that risk. If that happens then sweet, if not then he’ll continue to be a hero where he is. Hasn’t been any fresh speculation lately but you never know what’s bubbling under the surface.
Meanwhile, Dalton Wilkins is fit again and found himself on the bench for Sønderjyske in a 3-2 defeat against Midtjylland in round one. Sonders created plenty of chances and scored two equalisers but couldn’t find a third. Midtjylland are usually one of the top clubs so a narrow defeat like that might be a positive sign for their hopes of repeating in the top half. Wilkins was an unused substitute but at least he was there. Remember he was loaned out for the first half of last season in order to chase bigger minutes... only to get injured and end up back with Sønderjyske where he regained a spot in the rotation... only to get injured again. Fingers crossed for a more fruitful campaign this time.
Up Next: Silkeborg vs FC København at 4am on Monday (NZT)
Luke Brooke-Smith - Portsmouth (English Championship)
It is done. Luke Brooke-Smith to Portsmouth for an undisclosed fee (reported to be around NZ$900k) with a four-year contract signed by the 18yo. One more vested interest in the English Championship and a big step forward in the career of the youngest ever Wellington Phoenix player and the youngest All Whites debutant for more than forty years. Also another significant fee attained by the Phoenix for a young kiwi footballer. Above all it’s another progressive move made by an All Whites international in the wake of the World Cup... LBS wasn’t in that squad but he could soon become a regular if he breaks through at Pompey.
John Mousinho, Pompey coach: “We’re delighted to strengthen our squad further with the addition of Luke. He’s a quick, direct and aggressive winger, who is comfortable on both sides of the pitch and has a lot of experience of senior football for his age. I’m looking forward to see him continue his impressive development here at Fratton Park over the next few years.”
Despite the fee, gotta remember we’re talking about an 18yo footballer making his first move overseas having only made a handful of professional starts (plus a whole lot more off the bench, admittedly). This move is less about what he’s done and more about the potential of what he might do - hence why it’s best to make the move as soon as possible to continue his development at a higher level, rather than another year or two in the A-League to further establish himself there.
He probably should have played more than he did for the Nix last season but that’s unrelated to this transfer. LBS has always been destined for bigger things, he just had to wait until he turned 18yo before he could pursue them. The Pompey papers claim there was also interest from clubs in Italy, Spain, and the USA so the Wellington Phoenix never stood a chance. But they did get a tidy sum in return. If the reported numbers are correct then the Nix got more for Brooke-Smith than they did for Singh or Cacace back in the day and it wasn’t too far behind Surman either. Alex Paulsen remains the club record (NZ$2m with add-ons for his Bournemouth switch).
Brooke-Smith becomes the sixth Portsmouth player signed out of the A-League in recent years: Kusini Yengi (Western Sydney), Hayden Matthews (Sydney), Thomas Waddingham (Brisbane), Jacob Farrell (Central Coast), and Adrian Segecic (Sydney) being the others. Yengi left for Aberdeen last year but the others are still around. If you want a really random kiwi connection then two of Pompey’s other new signings, Polish goalkeeper Daniel Bielica and Northern Irish forward Eoin Kenny, were previously teammates of the Garbett brothers. Bielica with Matt at NAC Breda, Kenny with Norman at Dundalk.
There’s always loan potential with a move like this but don’t be too quick to assume it. Portsmouth have a number of injuries in the attacking positions at the moment so Brooke-Smith should at least get a chance to show what he can do in preseason. He’s already been training with the Wellington Phoenix, he’s not coming in cold. He’s got every chance of sticking around on the bench this season given how he’s already got the physicality to hang about. Pompey finished 18th last season after being 16th the year before. They were in the Premier League as recently as 2009-10 but three relegations in four years saw them fall all the way down to League Two. It took four years to climb out of there and then seven more to get out of League One. This will be their third season back in the Championship so there’s no pressure about promotion, they’ll be happy to settle mid-table which offers some more room for indulge Brooke-Smith’s development.
Up Next: Couple more friendlies before the EFL Cup first round match with West Ham on Sunday 9 August at 2am arrives as the first opportunity for an LBS debut (NZT)
Alex Paulsen – Motherwell (Scottish Premiership)
The footy has begun for Alex Paulsen in Scotland. He kept a very comfortable clean sheet in a 2-0 win over Havnar Bóltfelag (Faroe Islands) in Europa Conference League qualifying as goals from Martin Moorman (15’) and Lukas Fadinger (57’) ensured that the festivities at Fir Park Stadium continued on from last season even with a vastly different squad. Jake Girdwood-Reich also started in central defence; he and Paulsen were among eight debutants to feature with outgoing transfers and injuries adding to the stress – the coach (who himself was a debutant too, this being his first game in charge) joked afterwards about players not knowing each others’ names. Six of those eight debutants started with two more off the bench. Three were academy grads.
Despite all that it was a very comfortable win without Alex Paulsen really being challenged. Should have probably scored more but two goals up heading into the away leg is still a very good spot to be in (HJK of Finland shape as the likely next round opponent after they won 5-0 in their first leg against Coleraine of Northern Ireland). The best part of his performance was seeing him getting up well outside his box to contribute in the build-up, leaning all the way into his ability with his feet. Not something we saw at all during his time in Poland.
Alex Paulsen: “Yeah, it was really enjoyable, to be fair. Credit to the fans coming in. I think there were 7,000 here, so it was a great game. Good finishes as well. We just hope that we can continue that momentum until next week. It's great for us to have that lead heading into the away fixture and we know that it's going to be a tough game going over there and playing on the Astroturf as well. It's going to be very difficult. We know that we're just leading at half time and we've got to finish off the game next week, heads down and continue to work hard.”
In that same chat, AP mentioned how Elijah Just helped sell him on a move to Motherwell. He also addressed the rumours from when he initially signed with Bournemouth about possibly going on loan to Hibernian. Hibs were part of the Black Knights banner at the time... although they split off from Bill Foley’s lot late last year. Paulsen confirmed “there was interest from for Hibs but I think there was a bit of miscommunication as well”. Oh well, sounds like Hibs blew it. And Paulsen’s (eventually) ended up in a better situation.
Not much to mention from the other lads in Scotland, where the League Cup group phase has wrapped up. Kilmarnock drew 0-0 against Peterhead with a rotated team that didn’t include George Stanger, safely moving onwards into the knockouts. Jesse Randall’s Dundee United had already played all their games... happy to report that results elsewhere went their way to see them progress as well. Elgin City lost 5-0 against Hamilton Accies with Oli Colloty playing 67 mins up top as his club exited having been beaten in all four games (as a League Two club that’s no major shock – they only scored two goals and one of those belonged to Colloty). And there was also a 4-1 win for Ayr United against Alloa. Lawton Green was on the bench for the latter but check this out...
Finally a run out for Warbs after three straight unused substitute days in Ayr Utd’s other group games. His only previous senior appearance for Ayr came as an 87th min sub in a 3-0 win over Turriff United in the Scottish Cup last November. Made the bench on a couple other occasions but seems to have been injured most of last season. Not sure. Good to see him get a crack here, at least. The fact that they retained him for a second term shows they must thing something of their kiwi winger.
Ayr Utd have also made it through to the knockouts. They’ll be away to Kilmanock for a dose of Stanger vs Warbrick activity. Motherwell have Stenhousemuir away and they should win that. Less encouraging for Dundee United who’ve been given a visit from Celtic... damn. After a cushy group stage intro, Jesse Randall’s next three games will be against Rangers and Hearts in the Premiership and then Celtic in the cup. Three best teams in Scotland all in a row.
Up Next: HB vs Motherwell in the ECL second round qualifier second leg at 5am on Friday (NZT)
Malia Steinmetz & Grace Wisnewski – FC Nordsjælland (Danish A-Liga)
The A-Liga season is underway in Denmark too and both Grace Wisnewski and Malia Steinmetz are back with FC Nordsjælland... where this time we’re hoping to finally see them in a starting eleven together. This is Wisnewski’s second year with the club. Steinmetz has been around longer but only featured off the bench last season as she accelerated her long-awaited return from ACL surgery during the final couple of months. She’s back at 100% now and, like Wiz, was heavily involved throughout preseason. When the team was named for their season opener, there was Malia Steinmetz picked in the midfield to make her first competitive start since November 2024, the game in which she busted her knee. It’s been awhile. Alas, no sooner did that happened than Grace Wisnewski was suddenly nowhere to be seen. Must have picked up a knock.
It turned out to be a stink one because FCN lost 1-0 at home against Odense. Not the kind of result that suggests they’ll be returning league title contention and Champions League qualification this season... but it’s early days and they were missing 50% of their kiwi contingent. Steinmetz played an hour. How good to see her doing this stuff again...
There’s also Ally Green who earned promotion to the A-Liga with FC Copenhagen last time. Greeny was amongst the starters for the club’s debut in the top flight but unfortunately for them they had to go away to defending champs HB Køge in game one which led to a 3-0 defeat. Rude introduction though at least Greeny got a solid 72 minutes. They shipped the third goal soon after she was replaced.
Up Next: Brøndby vs Nordsjælland at 11pm on Saturday (NZT)
Finn Surman - Portland Timbers (American Major League Soccer)
Two games to catch up with here. Both were at home, the first home games for Portland Timbers since the World Cup break... also the first since they sacked Phil Neville. The new gaffer is still awaiting his visa to enter the United States (heard that story a few times recently) so Jack Cassidy remains as interim boss and he oversaw a 2-2 draw with FC Dallas and a 2-1 win against Real Salt Lake. Excellent stuff following on from the stunning 5-1 win away to Seattle Sounders in the first game back. Turns out this might be a pretty good squad after all, aye? Just needed a different voice in the head coach role.
Finn Surman captained against Dallas (until Diego Chara was subbed on and he passed the armband along), where the Timbers started slow and conceded in first half stoppage time but dominated the second half, levelling up through Kevin Kelsy (66’) only to then ship a silly goal in the 88th minute and fall behind again. Caught 2v2 on the counter and Surman initially played it perfectly but had to pass the ball-carrier along to Kamal Miller, the other CB, so as to track the other runner... and Miller got burned for pace and Portland conceded. But not to fear because Felipe Mora popped up with a 90+2nd min equaliser.
It didn’t start out too well against Salt Lake when they conceded inside twenty minutes... however an RSL red card for a lash-out after a tackle massively altered the game after 34 minutes. Felipe Mora went on to score twice in the second half – a perfect way to celebrate his last game for the club – as the Timbers came from behind to win. Seven points from three games under the interim boss. Portland are back within two points of a play-in spot and four points behind the playoff positions. Awesome to see the jubilant reception that Surman’s had since returning from the World Cup...
Checking in with a favourite stat...
Most Blocks in MLS 2026
Finn Surman (Portland) – 33
Lucas Bartlett (DC United) – 20
Lucas Herrington (Colorado) – 19
Manu Duah (San Diego) – 18
Kye Rowles (DC United) – 17
Crazy that three of the top five are defenders from Australasia: the Aussies Herrington and Rowles being the other two. Surman also ranks fourth for defensive clearances. Built different.
Up Next: Portland vs Seattle on Sunday at 2.30pm (NZT)
Michael Boxall – Minnesota United (American Major League Soccer)
Two games also for Minnesota United. Won’t dwell on a 2-1 loss away to Sporting Kansas City because they weren’t very good and that result only exacerbated their slippery form since before the World Cup break. But a 0-0 draw against Western Conference leaders Vancouver Whitecaps was much more like it. Boxy had an excellent game in that one. Pity they couldn’t snag a goal but that’s a strong clean sheet.
Minnesota do need to start winning again though. Three draws and three defeats from their last six has seen them slide down to tenth in the standings... only two points ahead of Portland Timbers. Defensively they’ve been good, with and without Michael Boxall they’ve held it down. It’s the attack that’s such a problem having only scored 19 goals in 17 matches. The Loons have one more match, home vs San Diego, before they (and everyone else) take a fortnight’s detour for the Leagues Cup with three matches against Liga MX clubs. It’d help coach Cam Knowles a whole lot if they could win that San Diego match beforehand.
Up Next: Minnesota vs San Diego on Sunday at 2.30pm (NZT)
Joe Bell – Viking FK (Norwegian Eliteserien)
Back down to second for Viking (with a game in hand) after they couldn’t do better than a 1-1 draw away to Aalesund. Zlatko Tripic, their talisman attacker, missed the game due to yellow card suspension so Joe Bell captained the side but didn’t have a great game within a crowded midfield. Some important defensive interventions, some typically silky passing... but not as assertive in the game as he can be at his best. He was subbed in a triple-change after 68 minutes as the Vikes chased a winning goal with his new deputy Tobias Moi getting another extended run.
Viking took the lead shortly before half-time with a wicked direct free kick from Kristoffer Askildsen. They then conceded 18 seconds into the second half when Mathias Christensen hit a belter of a dipping volley that caught the Viking keeper flat-footed. Two wonderful goals. VFK lifted their standards after conceding and easily had enough opportunities to add a second. Usually they would have in that situation but not this time. Highlights here.
The pressure here is that Bodø/Glimt have won four games in a row without conceding a goal since the Eliteserien resumed, though they do have a tough game vs Lillestrom up next and will enter Champions League qualification earlier than Viking which should mess with their rhythm. Viking are only one point behind and can clear that margin by winning their game in hand.
Up Next: Start vs Viking on Sunday at 4am (NZT)
Owen Parker-Price - Örgryte IS (Swedish Allsvenskan)
The mini revival of the last two weeks – during which Örgryte won vs vs Häcken and then drew 0-0 against Djurgården, taking points off two teams up around the European spots – slumped away this week with a 2-0 defeat against Västerås. Taonsa Axel scored a goal in each half for the home side and that was that. Full game with a yellow card for Owen Parker-Price who tried to keep things moving – he had three shots in this match after only attempting one in the previous ten matches combined... all three were from around the edge of the box and were all off target but nevertheless. That’s one aspect of his game, the goal threats, that hasn’t translated to the Allsvenskan yet but defensively and in possession he ranks very highly considering he’s playing for a club in the relegation zone.
ÖIS were convinced that the first goal they conceded should have been ruled out for a foul as their defender was shoved over trying to challenge for a header. There’s no VAR in Sweden so the goal stood. To be honest though, they were outplayed aside from a bright opening quarter of an hour. Never really came close to scoring. This was another tricky game against a team in the upper-mid table and they’ve got more where that came from with consecutive matches against AIK (sixth place) coming up. ÖIS have lost their last six away games by a combined scoreline of 21-1. But they’re decent at home, to be fair (1-4-2 record with 11 GF & 12 GA).
Elsewhere, GAIS began their Conference League qualifiers with a 1-0 home win against FC Nordsjælland of Denmark. That tie is way more in the balance than Motherwell’s one with a very tricky away leg coming up in a couple days. Kees Sims was on the bench for that match and the hope was that he might see some rotated action as they hosted last-placed Halmstads in between those two European legs. Unfortunately he sprained his ankle at training and had to sit that one out. With their other goalie, Andreas Hermansen, still nursing a knee sprain (they’ve cleared him of any ligament damage), that meant teenaged academy keeper Adin Tihic was the only GK on the bench as GAIS were held to a 1-1 draw after conceding a stoppage time equaliser. They made seven changes to the starting eleven between those two matches so it sounds like that ankle injury came at a desperately unlucky time for Sims.
Up Next: Monday at 2.30am for AIK vs Örgryte (NZT)
Milly Clegg - Vittsjö GIK (Swedish Damallsvenskan)
It’s been bits and pieces for Milly Clegg since joining Vittsjö. Yet to start a game, yet to score a goal. She did find the net in a mid-season friendly against Trelleborgs during the month-long summer break recently... but it was back to patiently trying to earn her minutes off the bench when the Damallsvenskan returned.
Clegg was subbed on after 86 minutes against Malmö – although those approximately six minutes (including stoppages) were hugely important ones as Vittsjö held onto a 1-0 win against the third-placed team despite being under the pump pretty much the whole rest of the way after a 20th minute goal that was either an OG or belonged to Daniela Galic depending on who you ask (need to see that Clegg/Galic Anzac Duo at some stage but it’s okay, no rush). 36% of possession. Shot count was 25 to 7 in favour of Malmö. Expected Goals read: 1.32 to Vittsjö and 3.73 to Malmö. Right after Clegg was subbed on, one of the Malmö players hit an incredible shot top corner to have seemingly equalised... only for the goal to be ruled out because she’d controlled the ball with her hand. Pretty crazy win to jump a couple spots in the standings. Highlights here.
Up Next: Vittsjö vs Rosengård at 5am on Tuesday (NZT)
Ollie Whyte - FC Haka (Finnish Ykkösliiga)
That’s what we like to see. This was Ollie Whyte’s sixth goal of the year but his first in the Ykkösliiga. Should add that he has supplied a couple of assists in recent weeks and also that he’s playing a lot more as an attacking midfielder these days, having often been deployed at striker for this club in the past. He was always a midfielder back in his NZ National League days.
FC Haka are trying to get promoted back to the top division in Finland but they’ve got some work to do there, currently sitting third on the ladder. Six points behind PK-35 Vantaa for the automatic promotion spot and five points behind KPT for the promotion playoff spot. Those two both drew on the weekend so Haka have gained ground with their 3-1 win vs Käpylän Pallo and can gain further ground when they face the league leaders in a couple of days.
Up Next: PK-35 Vantaa vs Haka at 4am on Saturday (NZT)
Tim Payne – Club Olimpia (Paraguayan Primera División)
Matchday one of the Primera División Clausura and the cameras were trained on Tim Payne throughout the pre-game and warm-ups... but that was the only time he got to touch the grass in this one. Olimpia were beaten 1-0 by Libertad in a close game against one of their probable title rivals with Payne an unused sub. He’s been training with them for a couple of weeks but didn’t play any of the preseason games so clearly they’re taking the slow approach with easing him into a completely new footballing environment. Their other new addition since winning the Apertura phase, Argentinian striker Braian Romero, went straight in and got ninety minutes. Payney’s a unique case though. There seems to be an expectation he might feature in the next game.
Up Next: Nacional vs Olimpia at 9.30am Thursday (NZT)
Meikayla Moore & Tilly James – Calgary Wild (Canadian Northern Super League)
As if things weren’t punishing enough for Meikayla Moore playing for a Calgary Wild team that still hasn’t won a game after 12 outings, she had to be subbed off this arvo after being kicked in the face in a 1-0 loss to Toronto.
Calgary were beaten by a penalty early in the second half – another example that they’re getting closer to positive results but it still isn’t happening for them. The first improvement was getting Moore back fit after some early season niggles, forging a kiwi combo at left-back (Tilly James) and left centre-back (Meikayla Moore). The next step was to add former Melbourne City defender Taylor Otto in there, as happened when she was subbed on at HT for a debut in this latest match.
But that might have to wait until we see how Mouse pulls up from having sprigs scraped across her forehead. Looked to be in plenty of pain although she was able to walk off under her own power (with a towel held to her head). Full game for Tilly James. The penalty was pretty soft and was conceded by one of their midfielders so the NZers are both safe from blame. Calgary Wild have now lost five on the trot and have an 0-2-10 record overall (9 GF, 31 GA).
Up Next: Calgary vs Toronto again, this time at home at 8am on Sunday (NZT)
Thomas Raimbault - Carolina Core (American MLS Next Pro)
Make that three goals and four assists for Raimbault this season. Still racking them up.
Up Next: Away to Atlanta United 2 at 11am Saturday (NZT)
Luke Supyk - Gateshead FC (English National League)
Not just one...
But two more goals for Luke Supyk in Gateshead preseason...
After scoring three goals in three games as a trialist, Luke Supyk has scored two in two as a contracted player. Five in five overall... granted, none of them count officially. The first of this week’s haul was against Premier League club Newcastle United, a game which he started, the second came off the bench against South Shields. Can’t argue with any of that production.
In other news, Ben Waine has reported back to Port Vale for preseason camp where they’re in camp in Spain and coincidentally happen to be sharing a hotel with Sunderland – same Premier League club that he scored the winner against in the FA Cup fifth round last year.
Also, Jack Perniskie continues to do what he can in preseason for MK Dons. That includes a game against Tottenham Hotspur immediately before Spurs flew to Aotearoa to face Auckland FC. He also played the second half against Wealdstone a few days later, though doesn’t appear to have been involved against Barnet this morning.
Up Next: One more friendly, against Spennymoor Town on Sunday, and then the National League begins on 9 August at 2am with Eastleigh vs Gateshead (NZT)
Chris Wood & Tyler Bindon – Nottingham Forest (English Premier League)
For the third time in a row, Tyler Bindon played the second half of a Nottm Forest preseason friendly with the second eleven lads. This time it was in Portugal during their training camp where he... well, he conceded a penalty in a 1-1 draw against Vitória. But it was behind closed doors so we don’t know the situation or the context. A defender is allowed to concede a penalty now and then, it’s better to be aggressive than passive when you’re trying to win a Premier League spot.
What’s more is that Chris Wood featured in that game having linked up with the squad a few days earlier following his post-World Cup break. Wood and Bindon didn’t overlap, each playing in different halves, but good to see them both involved all the same. No resting niggles for the Woodsman after the World Cup. Bindon still hanging around as a few of the youth players have dropped out of the mix. These were the line-ups in that game...
1H: Mats Sels; Zach Abbott, Nikola Milenkovic, Jair Cunha; Neco Williams, Nico Dominguez, James McAtee, Ola Aina; Morgan Gibbs-White, Igor Jesus; Chris Wood
2H: John Victor; Tyler Bindon, Morato, Omar Richards; Luca Netz, Grady McDonnell, Xaver Schlager, Dilane Bakwa; Omari Hutchinson, Arnaud Kalimuendo; Taiwo Awoniyi
Still not at full strength there. Defender Murillo was absent. Midfielders Ryan Yates and Ibrahim Sangare weren’t involved. Forwards Callum Hudson-Odoi and Dan Ndoye either. Slight change in defence with Abbott moving into the stronger instead of Bindon’s backups but there were some pretty handy players involved in that second half team – everyone there played Prem last season except Bindon (out on loan), Richards (out on loan), McDonnell (youth team), and Schagler (new signing).
There hasn’t been a lot of incoming transfer action for NFFC yet, probably down to the late change in managers. A report in The Telegraph claimed that prior to flying out for Portugal, new coach Oliver Glasner “attended a transfer meeting which started at 4.30pm. It ended at 9pm, going on for more than two hours longer than expected” so we can trust that things are probably brewing behind the scenes. They’re close to getting Ousmane Diomande from Sporting CP for a hefty price to fill out their CB ranks (not ideal for Bindon but to be expected). Height and set piece ability is a focus of recruitment (good news for Wood and Bindon, who are both strong in the air and pretty tall). Another striker is being targeted... remember Wood is entering the last year of his contract and missed a lot of time with injury last season so they’ll want to be prepared either way. Might mean some competition for his place though. Wing-back and midfield are the other spots but that doesn’t affect either of the NZers.
However, this does...
“Glasner prefers to work with a squad of ideally 20 players. He feels too many more can feel disconnected and out of the picture. With that in mind, Forest are likely to loan out some players next month. Zach Abbott, the England under-20 defender, and New Zealand international Tyler Bindon are expected to go out and play regular football in the Championship.”
We’ll see how it goes but that’s always been the likeliest outcome for Bindon. The fact he’s getting this extended look-in with Forest during preseason is great for his long-term prospects but with this Diomande bloke on the way and Murillo, Milenkovic, Jair Cunha, and Morato definitely ahead of him in the pecking order and Zach Abbott and Omar Richards also in the mix... it’s one of those things where it’d be brilliant to see Bindon make a Premier League debut but he’s probably better off going out on loan where he can play regularly. Ideally for top-half Championship club (wouldn’t rule out a return to Sheffield United).
Just quickly, Matt Dibley-Dias got 15 minutes at the end of Fulham’s preseason game against Norwich where he was one of 24 players used by new coach Álvaro Arbeloa in their opening friendly fixture. Dibs then made the cut for their training camp in Portugal and featured again in their next friendly with ten minutes against Al-Ahly of Egypt. There were 16 players named on the bench for that match but only 11 of them got on the pitch. Bodes well for MDD that he was one of them. You can spot him in most of their preseason video offerings, like this one for example...
You reckon he’s bulked up a bit? Hard to imagine Dibs hanging around and playing Premier League but seeing him fit and active during preseason is massive as he enters the final year of his current contract. His last two years seasons have seen him go out on loan to Northampton in League One and then Chesterfield in League Two, both of which were spoiled by injury. He also spent some time alongside Tommy Smith at Braintree Town late last year in non-league (it was outside the transfer window so that was the highest spot he could go – wasn’t about the level, purely about getting some football in him). He’s kinda become a forgotten man in kiwi footy but perhaps the revival is imminent.
Up Next: Nottm Forest have friendlies coming up against Sporting Lisbon, Udinese, Barcelona, Bayer Leverkusen, and Brest all before they kick off the Premier League against Leeds on 23 August (NZT)
Elijah Just & Marko Stamenić - Swansea City (English Championship)
A beautiful Elijah Just goal from a move that began with Marko Stamenić picking him out on the wing... the only regret is that it happened in a preseason game. Expect to see plenty of those two combining for Swansea City in the future. Pretty handy for both of them to have such a familiar teammate around, not only for the off-field aspects but for this exact type of situation where they each intrinsically understand how the other likes to operate, what passes they’re looking for, what runs they make, and will be able to bring out the best in each other that way. The interesting thing about this first glimpse of Just as a Swan is that they used him as the attacking midfielder in a 4-3-3 rather than out wide like many suspected. Just is incredibly versatile so no worries wherever they put him as long as he’s hovering around the attacking third. Perhaps this hints at the coach viewing him as more of a focal point though, who knows.
With Just and Stamenić teaming up at Swansea City and Luke Brooke-Smith joining Portsmouth, we’re in for our biggest haul of Championship players ever. Max Crocombe is has checked back in with Millwall and played in a couple of preseason games as he competes with the fit-again Lukas Jensen for the starter’s gig. We know how that story usually goes: with Crocombe on the bench for the opening game before he quickly flips it around to earn number one status... at least that’s what’s happened the past three years in a row for him. Libby Cacace is back in America on tour with Wrexham, playing the full second half of a friendly against Leeds United as he gets reintegrated having missed the first couple friendlies due to his post-WC holidays. Challenge #1 for him is to stay fit. Challenge #2 is to overhaul converted-midfielder George Thomason who did very well in Cacace’s LWB position over the second half of last season and probably enters this season as the incumbent.
That’s five blokes right there without even needing to mention U21s players like Noah Dupont or Joe Wallis at West Brom. WBA did just sign a new goalie, Matt Ingram from Oxford, and Wallis hasn’t been very involved in preseason games so we’ll see how that goes. He was on the bench in eight Championship games last season. There’s a fair bit of him in this video...
Josey Casa-Grande, an NZ U20s international, remains with Bristol City though he’s much further away from any first team action. Mentioned earlier how Tyler Bindon is a good bet to end up on loan with another Championship club before the window closes on 31 August. The other one to keep an eye out for is Matt Garbett who would probably be there already if not for the injury that ruled him out of the World Cup. He’s not expected to return until after the transfer window closes but it’s touch and go. The Peterborough chairman has confirmed that there are still clubs from that level in contact over a possible move...
Darragh MacAnthony with Posh.com: “We did think we would sell Matt Garbett for £3 million right after the World Cup Finals. I felt for the boy because his whole season last year, probably too much, was obsessed with New Zealand and the World Cup. I want what’s best for him so we’ve agreed he’s spending time in New Zealand rehabbing. He’s had his surgery and we think he’ll be back after the international break in September. And there are clubs willing to negotiate potentially to buy him before the window closes knowing he’s back two or three weeks later. But we’ll see. Depends what the offers are – if not he’ll come back with us. He will come back with a vengeance, Matty, and he’ll attack either League One or the Championship and something tells me it’ll possibly be the Championship. I watched him against England and I was so excited. I thought he was New Zealand’s best player but obviously I’m biased. He’s young and it’s a hamstring. There’s a million top players who’ve done the same hamstring, it’s just a freak event at training.”
It’s fairly realistic that Elijah Just, Marko Stamenić, Max Crocombe, Liberato Cacace, Luke Brooke-Smith, Tyler Bindon, and Matt Garbett could all play Championship this upcoming campaign. Finn Surman wouldn’t be out of place although there’s not been any fresh rumours on that front lately. All that wealth... surely at least one of them can get promoted to the Premier League – which is a realistic target for all of them to aspire to except maybe Crocombe. He’s a bit older and might not have the same ability to scale up to the Prem... having said that, Crocs has made a career out of proving folks wrong. But the other guys mentioned all absolutely have that potential if they can find themselves in the right situations.
Up Next: One more friendly for Swansea City (vs Leganes on Sunday at 2am) and then the real stuff begins with an EFL Cup tie against Birmingham on 9 August at 2am (NZT)
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