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January transfer window: Premier League hits and misses after £3bn spent in 20 years

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Luis Suarez and Philippe Coutinho
Luis Suarez was a winter hit for Liverpool, but Philippe Coutinho’s January move to Barcelona didn’t work out

Love it or hate it – the January transfer window has now been a central part of the football calendar for two decades.

Introduced by English football for the 2002-03 campaign, after Fifa made the decision to limit permanent moves during the season to a one-month period, the window has never been short on drama.

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After a slow start to the 2003 winter window, it finally burst into life on a deadline day which featured Jonathan Woodgate’s move from Leeds United to Newcastle United for £9m.

A total approaching £3bn has been spent by Premier League clubs in the winter transfer window.

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BBC Sport looks back at some of the most memorable hits and misses over the past 20 years.

Hits

Patrice Evra – (Monaco to Manchester United)

Patrice Evra

Year signed: 2006

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Fee paid: £5.5m

Year left: 2014 (to Juventus)

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Manchester United’s chief executive at the time, David Gill flew to Monaco to clinch the deal and he’ll be glad he did as the French defender went on to help the Reds win five Premier League titles.

Patrice Evra made 379 appearances and as well as Premier League success, he helped the club win the Champions League in 2008, three League Cups and the Club World Cup.

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Riyad Mahrez – (Le Havre to Leicester City)

Riyad Mahrez

Year signed: 2014

Fee paid: Undisclosed fee reported to be around £450,000

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Year left: 2018 (to Manchester City)

Leicester ended the Algerian’s first season as Championship winners and returned to the Premier League for the first time in 10 years.

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Two seasons later, Riyad Mahrez was named the PFA Players’ Player of the Year during Leicester’s surprise Premier League triumph in 2015-16, and scored a total of 48 goals in 179 appearances for the club.

In the summer of 2018, Manchester City broke their club record at the time to sign the winger from Leicester for £60m – not a bad profit.

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Luis Suarez – (Ajax to Liverpool)

Luis Suarez

Year signed: 2011

Fee paid: £22.7m

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Year left: 2014 (to Barcelona)

During the 2013-14 season, Luis Suarez was involved in 43 goals – 31 goals, 12 assists – which was more than any other player in the top five leagues, and finished what would be his final season with Liverpool as the Premier League top scorer and winner of the PFA and Football Writers’ Player of the Year awards.

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After a controversial time at Anfield, where he served two bans, the striker left for Barcelona in the summer of 2014 in a £75m deal. He scored a total of 82 goals in 133 appearances for the club.

Clint Dempsey – (New England Revolution to Fulham)

Clint Dempsey

Year signed: 2007

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Fee paid: Reported £2m

Year left: 2012 (to Tottenham Hotspur)

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Clint Dempsey scored 50 goals for Fulham in 184 league appearances for the club, and played a pivotal part in the Cottagers’ Europa League runner-up campaign in 2009-10, scoring a chip against Juventus in a memorable match that saw them progress to the quarter-finals. He went on to make history by becoming the first American to appear in a major European final.

In 2012, Tottenham agreed a £6m fee for Dempsey, however, the midfielder did return to Fulham in 2014 on loan from Seattle Sounders.

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Nemanja Matic – (Benfica to Chelsea)

Year signed: 2014

Fee paid: Reported £21m

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Year left: 2017 (to Manchester United)

Nemanja Matic returned to Chelsea from Benfica in 2014 having been sold in 2009 and won two Premier League titles with the Blues.

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In 2015, the midfielder was named in the PFA’s Premier League team of the year. According to Opta, he averaged nearly four tackles, made more than two interceptions and won eight duels – a 50-50 contest – per 90 minutes over the 2014-15 campaign.

Seamus Coleman – (Sligo Rovers to Everton)

Seamus Coleman

Year signed: 2009

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Fee paid: Reported £60,000

Year left: Still at club

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There can’t be many better ‘value for money’ signings than Seamus Coleman, who has become a mainstay in Everton’s defence for more than a decade. In 2021, the now 34-year-old Irishman signed a one-year contract extension to keep him at Everton until 2023.

A consistently high performer for the Toffees and a fan favourite, he was named in the 2014 PFA Team of the Year.

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Branislav Ivanovic – (Lokomotiv Moscow to Chelsea)

Branislav Ivanovic

Year signed: 2008

Fee paid: Undisclosed fee

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Year left: 2017 (to Zenit Saint Petersburg)

Branislav Ivanovic played 377 times for Chelsea over a nine-year spell. He won the Champions League, Premier League twice, FA Cup three times and League Cup, and scored the winning goal in the 2013 Europa League final.

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When the defender joined Russian Premier League side Zenit St Petersburg in 2017, former Chelsea captain John Terry paid tribute to Ivanovic, describing him as a “legend” in an Instagram postexternal-link.

Nemanja Vidic (Spartak Moscow to Manchester United)

Nemanja Vidic

Year signed: 2006

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Fee paid: £7m

Year left: 2014 (joined Inter Milan on free)

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Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson told MUTV at the time of the deal: “Good defenders win you things.” He wasn’t wrong.

Nemanja Vidic captained United to their historic 20th top-flight title in 2013 – his fifth at the club. Playing 300 games, the Serb also helped United win the Champions League in 2008, as well as three League Cups. He was also ever-present during a record-breaking run of 14 consecutive clean sheets in the 2008-09 Premier League season.

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Bruno Fernandes – (Sporting Lisbon to Manchester United)

Year signed: 2020

Fee paid: £47m with add ons

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Year left: Still at club

In Bruno Fernandes’ first year at Manchester United, he scored 28 times in all competitions and also provided 17 assists, which meant his total goal involvement of 45 was better than any top flight player in that period.

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That quality saw Fernandes win four Premier League Player of the Month awards in 2020 – the first man to take the accolade four times in a calendar year. Though his goalscoring has since slowed, the Portuguese remains an important player in Erik ten Hag’s side.

Virgil van Dijk (Southampton to Liverpool)

Virgil van Dijk

Year signed: 2018

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Fee paid: £75m

Year left: Still at club

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Eyebrows were raised at the amount Liverpool paid Southampton for Virgil van Dijk in 2018 – a world record £75m at the time – but the Dutch centre-back has been worth every penny with his assured performances in defence.

Since joining the Reds, he has won the lot including the Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup and League Cup along with the Uefa Super Cup and Fifa Club World Cup. He was also voted PFA Players’ Player of the Year in 2018-19.

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Misses

Fernando Torres – (Liverpool to Chelsea)

Fernando Torres

Year signed: 2011

Fee paid: £50m

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Year left: 2014 (to Atletico Madrid)

After moving for a then British record transfer fee, Fernando Torres scored his only goal in the remainder of the season for Chelsea in April 2011.

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Despite a tough start, the striker was part of the Blues’ Champions League-winning team in 2012. He also won the FA Cup and scored in their 2-1 win against Benfica in the Europa League final in 2013.

The striker scored a total of 45 goals in 172 games at Chelsea, way below his 81 in 142 games at Liverpool.

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Andy Carroll – (Newcastle to Liverpool)

Andy Carroll

Year signed: 2011

Fee paid: £35m

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Year left: 2013 (to West Ham United)

Andy Carroll was signed to replace Torres and in his first full season at Liverpool, he won the League Cup but his time at Anfield was ultimately short-lived.

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With the arrival of Brendan Rodgers as manager and a new style of play, Carroll’s return of just six goals in 44 league outings for Liverpool saw the striker loaned to West Ham. They later completed the permanent signing of Carroll for what was a club record at the time of £15m.

Alexis Sanchez – (Arsenal to Manchester United)

Year signed: 2018

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Fee paid: Swap deal with midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan

Year left: 2020 (to Inter Milan)

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Alexis Sanchez was given the number seven shirt, and was famously announced on the club’s Twitter accountexternal-link with him playing ‘Glory, Glory Man Utd’ on a piano.

Despite scoring on his home debut, the Chilean forward completely failed to recapture the form he showed so often during his time with the Gunners. He played 45 games for United, scoring just five goals and winning no silverware.

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Afonso Alves – (Heerenveen to Middlesbrough)

Afonso Alves

Year signed: 2008

Fee paid: In excess of £10m

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Year left: 2009 (to Al Sadd)

Middlesbrough broke their club transfer record at the time to sign Afonso Alves and the Brazilian initially impressed, scoring twice against Manchester United in a 2-2 draw and grabbing a hat-trick against Manchester City in an 8-1 rout on the final day of the 2008-09 season.

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However, the striker struggled in his final season on Teesside, scoring just seven goals in 33 appearances and was injured against Newcastle, which forced him to miss the final two games of a season in which the club were relegated from the Premier League.

Guido Carrillo – (Monaco to Southampton)

Guido Carrillo

Year signed: 2018

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Fee paid: £19m

Year left: 2020 (joined Elche on free)

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After Southampton paid a then a club record £19m for Guido Carrillo, he only made 10 appearances for the Saints and failed to score for the club.

He was soon loaned out to Spanish side Leganes in the summer of 2018, where he spent the following season on loan too. In 2020, Carrillo joined Elche CF on a free transfer after an agreement was reached to terminate his contract with the Saints.

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Christopher Samba – (Anzhi Makhachkala to QPR)

Christopher Samba

Year signed: 2013

Fee paid: £19m

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Year left: 2013 (to Anzhi Makhachkala)

Defender Christopher Samba signed a four-and-a-half-year deal with the R’s and was reportedly earning about £100,000 a week.

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The Congo-Brazzaville international’s high wages caused issues with some supporters, with Samba telling them to “get over it” following their defeat by Fulham in April 2013. He conceded a penalty from which Dimitar Berbatov opened the scoring, then lost the ball to the Bulgarian striker, who scored again.

Samba made 10 appearances that season, but could not help Rangers avoid relegation from the Premier League and by the summer of 2013 he was back with Anzhi.

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Jean-Alain Boumsong – (Rangers to Newcastle United)

Jean-Alain Boumsong

Year signed: 2005

Fee paid: £8m

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Year left: 2006 (to Juventus)

Jean-Alain Boumsong was a French international at the time of his move but after a mixed couple of seasons, he proved unpopular among a large section of Magpies supporters. After turning out a number of poor performances, he found himself behind Craig Moore, Steven Taylor and Titus Bramble in the centre-back pecking order.

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The Frenchman joined Juventus in the summer of 2006.

Philippe Coutinho – (Liverpool to Barcelona)

Year signed: 2018

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Fee paid: £142m

Year left: 2022 (to Aston Villa)

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A player who could feature as both a hit and a miss, after his successful stint at Liverpool following an £8.5m transfer from Inter Milan in January 2013.

However, the Brazilian’s move to Barcelona five years later – in one of the most expensive transfers of all time – goes down as a miss.

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Despite winning two league titles, by the time of his exit, Coutinho languished in the shadows at Barcelona after suffering from injury and criticism from fans.

He won the Champions League in 2020 while on loan at Bayern Munich but the German club decided not to sign him permanently. He ended up scoring a total of 26 goals in 106 appearances during his time with the Spanish side.

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Savio Nsereko – (Brescia to West Ham)

Savio Nsereko

Year signed: 2009

Fee paid: £9m

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Year left: 2009 (to Fiorentina)

Savio Nsereko, who reportedly signed for a then club record £9m fee, failed to live up to expectations during his time at Upton Park and couldn’t find the net in his 11 appearances.

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The Ugandan-born German attacker didn’t last long and in the summer of 2009 moved to Serie A.

Oumar Niasse – (Lokomotiv Moscow to Everton)

Oumar Niasse

Year signed: 2016

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Fee paid: £13.5m

Year left: 2020 (later joined Huddersfield Town on free)

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Oumar Niasse signed a four-and-a-half-year deal with Everton and would ultimately see that contract out but the Senegal forward only scored 12 goals in 65 league appearances for the Toffees.

Following loans with Hull and Cardiff, Niasse left Everton on a free in the summer of 2020.

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Northern Ireland Euro 2025 qualifiers: Jackie Burns, Connie Scofield and Brenna McPartlan in squad

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Connie Scofield and Brenna McPartlan
Brenna McPartlan (left) is capped at under-age level for Northern Ireland, while Connie Scofield played for England Under-21s

London City Lionesses midfielder Connie Scofield and Burnley’s Brenna McPartlan have been included in the squad for Northern Ireland’s opening Euro 2025 qualifiers.

Reading goalkeeper Jackie Burns returns following a long-term Achilles injury.

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Key defender Sarah McFadden will miss the matches through injury, but Casey Howe and Rebecca Holloway return.

Tanya Oxtoby’s side face Malta in their opener on 4 April before travelling to Bosnia-Herzegovina on 9 April.

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McPartlan will look to add to her sole Northern Ireland cap, which came in a friendly against Wales in 2017, and the midfielder signed for Burnley in the summer from Sunderland.

The 24-year-old played for Blackburn Rovers, Liverpool and Manchester City youth teams, before moving to the USA with Louisiana State University Tigers.

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Scofield, 24, is a former England Under-21 midfielder who joined Championship side London City after spells with Birmingham City, where she came through the academy, and Leicester City.

However, Scofield is awaiting international clearance from Fifa before being declared eligible for the two games.

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The return of Burns, who has been Northern Ireland’s regular staring goalkeeper in recent years, is a boost after a year on the sidelines with the Achilles injury.

She trained with the Northern Ireland squad before February’s play-off victory over Montenegro and she replaces Wolves’ Shannon Turner in Oxtoby’s squad.

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Cliftonville’s Abbie Magee and Crusaders’ Rachel McLaren also return to the international set-up, along with Athlone Town’s Howe and Birmingham City’s Holloway.

McFadden, who has 102 caps for her country, has undergone surgery on a long-term issue, while Ellie Mason picked up an injury playing for Birmingham City.

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Bristol City midfielder Rachel Furness, who is Northern Ireland’s record goalscorer, remains out as she recovers from a hamstring injury sustained in November.

After April’s fixtures, Northern Ireland face a double-header with Portugal before their final two qualifiers away to Malta and at home to Bosnia-Herzegovina in July.

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The top three sides in Group B3 will earn a play-off in a bid to reach the Euro 2025 finals in Switzerland next summer.

Northern Ireland squad

Goalkeepers: Jackie Burns (Reading), Lauren Perry (Montrose), Maddy Harvey-Clifford (Crusaders)

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Defenders: Laura Rafferty (Southampton), Rebecca Holloway (Birmingham City), Demi Vance (Glentoran), Rebecca McKenna (Charlton Athletic), Rachel Dugdale (Reading), Abbie Magee (Cliftonville), Rachel McLaren (Crusaders).

Midfielders: Marissa Callaghan (Cliftonville), Nadene Caldwell (Glentoran), Megan Bell (Hearts, on loan from Rangers), Joely Andrews (Glentoran), Chloe McCarron (Glentoran), Brenna McPartlan (Burnley), Connie Scofield (London City Lionesses).

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Forwards: Simone Magill (Aston Villa), Lauren Wade (Reading), Kerry Beattie (Glentoran), Caragh Hamilton (Lewes), Keri Halliday (Linfield), Casey Howe (Athlone Town).

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Brighton set a new Premier League record – but can rotating goalkeepers really work?

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Karen Bardsley column

Arsenal were meant to be the team who ripped up the rule book and rotated their goalkeepers this season, but it has ended up being Brighton who have kept on swapping who plays between the sticks.

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Seagulls boss Roberto de Zerbi has broken a Premier League record by changing his keeper 17 times already in 2023-24, with Jason Steele playing 15 league games and Bart Verbruggen the other 13, and neither starting more than three times in a row in all competitions.

This is certainly a new idea – no top-flight team has done it before in the Premier League era, and when they have even come close it has been for different reasons. The most changes previously were down to injuries, form, or both.

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It’s fascinating to see it happening, but I wanted to explore whether it has worked… and why Brighton are even doing it in the first place.

Manchester United goalkeepers Andy Goram and Raimond van der Gouw trade places during a game in the 2000-01 season
The previous record for most goalkeeper changes in a Premier League season was 14 by Manchester United in 2000-01, but Fabian Barthez played in 25 of their first 28 league games and the other rotations took place when he and regular understudy Raimond van der Gouw were injured in March, and teenager Paul Rachubka and veteran Scotland international Andy Goram were used as cover.
Team Season Games GK changes Starts per keeper
1. Brighton 23-24 28 17 15: Jason Steele, 13: Bart Verbruggen
2. Man Utd 00-01 38 14 30: Fabian Barthez, 5: Raimond van der Gouw, 2: Andy Goram, 1: Paul Rachubka
=3. Man Utd 01-02 38 12 32: Fabian Barthez, 6: Roy Carroll
=3. Middlesbrough 05-06 38 12 27: Mark Schwarzer, 9: Brad Jones, 2: Ross Turnbull
=3. Man Utd 06-07 38 12 32: Edwin van der Sar, 6: Tomasz Kuszczak
=3. Portsmouth 09-10 38 12 25: David James, 8: Asmir Begovic, 5: Jamie Ashdown

What’s the difference between Steele and Verbruggen?

At 33, Steele clearly has a lot more experience than Verbruggen, who is 21 and looks like he has a lot of raw talent that needs to nurtured, but performance-wise it’s interesting to see how there is such little difference between both goalkeepers.

I’ve watched a lot of clips of both of them in the past few weeks and a few similar themes emerged.

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Brighton goalkeepers Bart Verbruggen (l) and Jason Steele (r) with Seagulls boss Roberto de Zerbi (centre)
Brighton have played 40 games in all competitions this season, with Steele (right) starting 21 of them. So far, Verbruggen (left) is yet to play more than two games in a row, but that will change if Roberto de Zerbi (centre) picks him against Liverpool on Sunday.

Verbruggen seems more economical with his general movement in the box, while Steele’s positioning in goal when facing shots is sometimes more questionable – for example when he takes his position off the defender, and also with his decision making, which might be why his save percentage is the worst in the Premier League this season.

The younger keeper is more self-assured in those situations, although every once in a while he does maybe get drawn too much towards his near post, which is a trait of Steele’s too.

Bart Verbruggen & Jason Steele in the Premier League this season

Neither of them is having a particularly great season in terms of shot-stopping, though, even if Verbruggen’s save percentage is significantly higher.

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Verbruggen is underperforming by 3% in terms of the saves he is making compared to the ones he is expected to make, while Steele is -7% in the same metric, meaning they are both lowly ranked there.

Verbruggen Steele
14.9 Expected goals on target conceded 23.6
16 Actual goals conceded* 26
-1.08 (16th) Goals prevented -2.38 (18th)
-0.08 (16th) Expected goals prevented per 90 -0.16 (18th)
*Excludes own goals

There is not much between them when it comes to using the ball either, as you can see from their respective pass-maps, but this is an area where they both excel.

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Jason Steele pass map

Steele is probably viewed as the more accomplished passer – even his manager has alluded to that being the case – and he plays a marginally higher percentage of longer balls forward.

But Brighton don’t change the way they play when Verbruggen is in the team, and his feet are clearly one of his strengths too.

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Bart Verbruggen pass map

In fact, Verbruggen has completed more passes per game (33.5) and with a higher success rate (90.8%), than any other Premier League keeper this season and, like Steele, he is in the top five for passes completed under pressure per game too.

Graphic showing goalkeepers with the most passes completed and the highest passing accuracy in the Premier League this season. Verbruggen is top of both categories
Steele ranks sixth for passes completed per 90 minutes (29.8) and fourth for pass accuracy (82%)

He definitely contributes to his team’s attacking output as well, even if – so far – their end product with him has not been as successful as when Steele plays.

While Steele’s distribution has led to the Seagulls scoring five Premier League goals this season, Brighton have actually created more chances per game building play from the back with Verbruggen in the team.

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Ederson (2.4) at Manchester City and Alisson (2.0) for Liverpool are the only top-flight keepers involved in more shot-ending open play sequences per game than Verbruggen this season, among those with a minimum of 270 minutes played.

Premier League Steele Verbruggen
Minutes (season total) 1350 1170
Open play sequences involvements 31.7 34.5
Shot-ending open play sequences 1.1 1.8
xG from shot-ending sequences 0.19 0.12
Involvements ending in goal scored (season total) 5 0

The rest of the Brighton team is being rotated too

It’s not just in goal where De Zerbi has made a lot of changes – he has changed the rest of his team more than anyone else too, with 108 changes in the Premier League alone so far.

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With 10 league games to go, that is already 29 more changes than he made in the whole of last season and 28 more than anyone else in the top division this term – Nottingham Forest have made 80, while Liverpool are next highest with 78.

Brighton have had European football to contend with this season, of course, and some injuries too – but compare their situation to Aston Villa, who have made only 40 changes, despite also having midweek European matches.

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The shirts of Brighton goalkeepers Bart Verbruggen, Jason Steele and Tom McGill in the dressing room at the Amex Stadium before their Europa League tie against Marseille in December
Another change to come? Brighton’s third-choice keeper, Canada-born former England Under-17 international Tom McGill, has been on the bench for all their Europa League ties this season when two goalkeeper substitutes were named, but the 24-year-old Seagulls academy graduate is yet to make the squad for a Premier League game in 2023-24 or make a single appearance for them in any competition

Stability in personnel is particularly important at the back – we saw this with Manchester City last season when I looked into Ederson’s form – and it made me wonder if having a regular presence behind them could have helped Brighton.

However, my feeling from watching a lot of clips of their defending is that they seem to have bigger problems than just who is in goal.

A lot of the goals they have conceded this season have come from poor defending and marking, regardless of who their goalkeeper is – but because that has been constantly changing, you are left thinking what is the point?

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If there is a pattern, I am still trying to find it – which makes me think the real reason it is happening is for Verbruggen’s long-term benefit.

Which pathway is preferable for a young keeper?

Bart Verbruggen made his Netherlands debut in their 2-1 defeat to France in a Euro 2024 qualifier in October 2023
Verbruggen made his senior Netherlands debut in their 2-1 defeat by France in a Euro 2024 qualifier in October 2023, becoming the youngest Dutch keeper to start a game since Jan van Beveren in 1967

Adapting a new goalkeeper to the Premier League is frequently challenging – whether it’s a young player coming into the team, someone stepping up from a lower division in England, or a player moving here from a foreign league.

Two of those factors apply to Verbruggen, who joined from Belgian side Anderlecht in the summer and only turned 21 in August – he is the second youngest keeper in the Premier League behind Burnley’s James Trafford, and they are the only two currently under the age of 24.

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Like Trafford, who was playing in League One for Bolton on loan from Manchester City last season, Verbruggen has rapidly changed levels too – he actually made another big step in the middle of last season, when he moved up from Anderlecht’s B team, so his progress has been very quick.

Neither he nor Trafford can be considered elite keepers yet – although Verbruggen made his senior debut for the Netherlands in October and now has four caps – but clearly the potential is there.

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So, which pathway is the preferable one? Trafford is playing every week, but in a struggling team where there is no hiding place if he makes mistakes. Verbruggen is possibly being protected by coming in and out of the team, but is that slowing his progress?

Brighton goalkeeper Jason Steele catches the ball
Steele’s save percentage of 57.6% is the worst in the Premier League this season and down from 61.7% in 2022-23. His goals prevented (-1.33) and expected goals prevented per 90 minutes (-0.09) scores were also better last season.

While changing keepers hasn’t hindered Brighton, or at least not obviously, it hasn’t noticeably helped them either. For a player, in terms of individual development or even just form, it’s different. I always found playing a run of games helped me find my rhythm and made me feel more settled and confident during games.

Being in and out of the team has not made a massive difference to Steele’s form – his shot-saving stats are slightly down on last season, when he became first choice in the second half of the campaign and played 15 of their final 16 league games after Robert Sanchez fell out of favour, but would it make a positive difference to Verbruggen if he was given a longer run in the team?

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It feels like it is time to find out, especially if the plan is actually for him to be number one more regularly next season.

What happens then will probably tell us whether this rotation has worked – and if it is an experiment that is worth repeating.

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Karen Bardsley was speaking to BBC Sport’s Chris Bevan.

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Xabi Alonso: Liverpool eye other candidates with Bayer Leverkusen set to keep Spanish boss

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Liverpool expect Xabi Alonso to stay at Bayer Leverkusen this summer and are to consider other candidates to replace manager Jurgen Klopp.

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Leverkusen are on the brink of a first Bundesliga title and are unbeaten in all competitions this season.

Bayern Munich’s honorary president Uli Hoeness said a move for Alonso this summer is “probably impossible”.

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Alonso was also seen as a candidate to take over at the Bavarian giants, whose manager Thomas Tuchel will depart at the end of the campaign.

“[Alonso] is more inclined to stay at Bayer Leverkusen in view of their current successes, because he would not want to leave them behind,” Hoeness said.

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Alonso, a stylish midfielder, played 210 times for Liverpool from 2004 to 2009.

He left to join Real Madrid – another club he has recently been linked with – and later moved to Bayern where he spent three years before retiring from playing.

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Alonso moved into coaching with Real Madrid’s under-14s in 2018 and then had three years in charge of Real Sociedad’s B team.

In October 2022, Leverkusen gave him his first role in first-team football and, having taken over with the club second-bottom, he led them to a sixth-placed finish in the Bundesliga.

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This season, Alonso’s first full term in charge, Leverkusen are 10 points clear of champions Bayern with eight games remaining.

Xabi Alonso on touchline duty
Leverkusen have won 33 and drawn five of their matches this season

They are also in the semi-finals of the German Cup and the quarter-finals of the Europa League.

“Let’s say if he had two or three more years of success, it would probably be easier to bring him out of there,” Hoeness said.

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Sporting Lisbon manager Ruben Amorim and Brighton’s Roberto de Zerbi have also been linkedexternal-link with the Liverpool job.

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Friday’s gossip: Dani Olmo, Joselu, Todibo, Marmoush, Lukaku, Raphinha, Bremer

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Dani Olmo

Manchester United have entered the race to sign Spain international Dani Olmo, who has a £52m release clause to leave RB Leipzig this summer. The 25-year-old winger is also interesting Real Madrid, Manchester City, Chelsea and Tottenham. (Daily Mail)external-link

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Manchester United representatives have been to Spain to identify potential transfer targets and 34-year-old Spain striker Joselu, who is on loan at Real Madrid from Espanyol, is one of the names on their list. (Relevo – in Spanish)external-link

United will have to pay at least 60m euros (£51.3m) for Brazil international Gleison Bremer, 27, who plays for Juventus, and the Red Devils’ striker Mason Greenwood, 22, could be included in the deal. (Gazetta dello Sport – in Italian) external-link

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Manchester City and Newcastle United will rival Manchester United for the signing of Everton and England Under-21 centre-back Jarrad Brathwaite, 21. (Football Transfers)external-link

Italian club Genoa are expecting to receive bids in the summer for 26-year-old Iceland forward Albert Gudmundsson, who has been linked with Tottenham and West Ham. (Fabrizio Romano)external-link

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Newcastle United ran the rule over several Brazil players during their friendly against England last week, with Barcelona winger Raphinha, 27, and Juventus defender Gleison Bremer, 27, thought to be on their radar. (Newcastle Chronicle)external-link

Manchester United and Tottenham target Jean-Clair Todibo, the 24-year-old France international centre-back, could be available for £40m from Nice this summer. (Talksport)external-link

Crystal Palace want to sign 19-year-old Valencia defender Cristhian Mosquera in the summer but face competition for the Spain Under-21 international from Atletico Madrid. (Evening Standard)external-link

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Chelsea will replace Todd Boehly as chairman in 2027. (Mail)external-link

There is a strong temptation for Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku, 30, currently on loan at Roma from Chelsea, to move to Saudi Arabia. (Calcio Mercato – in Italian)external-link

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Barcelona 3-1 Brann (agg 5-2): Barca set up Champions League semi-final against Chelsea

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Aitana Bonmati celebrates after scoring against Brann
Two-time winners Barcelona have reached the Women’s Champions League semi-finals in six consecutive seasons

Holders Barcelona beat Brann to set up a Women’s Champions League semi-final against Chelsea.

Barcelona won the first leg 2-1 and extended their aggregate lead when Aitana Bonmati hooked an effort past Aurora Mikalsen in the 23rd minute.

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They netted again through Fridolina Rolfo, who bundled home when Mikalsen failed to clear a goalmouth scramble.

Tomine Svendheim pulled one back for Brann, but Patri Guijarro scored an 88th-minute tap-in to seal Barca’s win.

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With England internationals Lucy Bronze and Keira Walsh in their line-up, Barcelona dominated the second leg at Estadi Johan Cruyff and prevented the visitors from Norway scoring again as they managed 26 shots to Brann’s seven.

Beating Brann sets up a repeat of last year’s semi-final, when Barcelona beat Chelsea 2-1 on aggregate before going on to win the competition.

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They will host the first leg in Barcelona on 20-21 April, with the second leg being played at Stamford Bridge on 27-28 April.

The Catalan giants also thrashed Chelsea 4-0 in the 2020-21 final when they won the competition for the first time.

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Scott Brown: Former Celtic captain on hair, Ayr & choosing ‘to be horrible’

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Venue: Somerset Park, Ayr Date: Friday, 29 March Kick-off: 19:45 GMT
Coverage: Watch on the BBC Scotland channel and follow live text commentary on the BBC Sport website & app

“It was my identity – what I needed to be the best I could be.”

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Normally a player has hair and then loses it when he becomes a manager. Scott Brown did it the other way round.

For the best part of two decades, this shaven-skulled enforcer dominated the Scottish football landscape on a journey during which he would become one of the game’s most decorated players.

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These days, he can be spotted in the Somerset Park dugout with a thick thatch.

Turns out being bald was all part of the plan for the former Celtic and Scotland captain.

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“I made a decision when I retired I would grow my hair for the kids and I do look like a more approachable person,” the Ayr United head coach tells BBC Scotland.

At 38, the boots have been hung up for a while and Brown’s focus is all about navigating the notoriously choppy waters of the “tightest division in the world”.

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‘I did it to intimidate players’

Being bald was just part of Brown. It fed into the psychology of a player who would adopt an uncompromising attitude whenever he crossed that white line. A mindset suit of armour to improve the chance of victory.

“[I did it] just to intimidate people,” he says. “I made that decision just to be horrible. Not really speaking to anybody on the park. If players tried, I would refuse to speak to them.

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“Not being big time but just to make sure my head was focused and I was ready and organised, because if I had a laugh and a joke about stuff on the park, I probably would not have played as well as I could have.

“You can be whoever you want for 90 minutes on that pitch. You can be a winner, want to dictate games, be passionate, be louder than you normally are in the changing room. It worked really well for me.”

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It sure did. A deluge of silverware followed, including 10 Scottish Premiership titles, six Scottish Cups, seven League Cups, not to mention 55 Scotland caps.

“After the 90 minutes, I could go back to being Scott – sit down, chill and relax,” Brown adds.

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‘It’s about getting the balance right’

But age brings many gifts. Maybe a softening of attitudes in some aspects of life. And family has an impact too.

“During Covid, the kids asked if I had hair,” he explains. “I wasn’t 100% sure if I actually did.”

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It will be there for all to see on Friday night as BBC Scotland broadcasts Ayr’s home game with high-flying Airdrieonians.

Rhys McCabe’s SPFL Trust Trophy winners occupy fourth – the last of the promotion play-off places – while the hosts are eighth, just three points above the relegation play-off spot.

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However, a win for Ayr would take them to just one point off Friday’s visitors, such is the congested nature of the Championship.

“Two good weeks and you could be challenging for the top four – two bad weeks you could be challenging for the relegation zone,” Brown admits.

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When an Anton Dowds-inspired Ayr triumphed against Airdrie five games ago, it lifted them to fifth. Now, they’re back looking over the shoulder.

However, Brown believes he has the players capable of the primary objective this season, which is staying in the division, and aims to harness the local passion for the club.

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“[Former head coach] Lee [Bullen] brought in a good squad and I have got the benefit of the lads now,” he says.

“We have a couple of experienced pros, but we are a very young team. It’s about getting the balance right.

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“There are young players coming through who have never been anywhere else, so we are lucky enough they understand the club and what it means to them.

“When Fraser Bryden, a lifelong Ayr fan, scored against Inverness Caledonian Thistle the other week, his mates were all in the crowd singing, cheering and chanting his name. When he does score those goals, it’s emotional for everyone.”

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That emotional rollercoaster is full steam ahead as the campaign nears its end.

Brown knows what it takes at this stage of the season and, while the shaven head is no more, that driven, uncompromising attitude is going nowhere.

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Premier League fantasy football tips: Mohamed Salah, Erling Haaland, Son Heung-min

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Alistair Bruce-Ball

The fixture calendar for the rest of the Premier League season is pretty much set so now it’s up to you to decide on your strategy depending on what chips you have left in the game.

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We know there are seven teams with a double gameweek 34 – Arsenal, Liverpool, Wolves, Bournemouth, Crystal Palace, Everton and Sheffield United.

Tottenham don’t have a fixture in gameweek 34, which makes things slightly trickier if you don’t have a Free Hit chip, because they will then have two double gameweeks before the end of the season.

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Chelsea will also double twice in the last four gameweeks of the season, while Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle and Brighton will all have a double gameweek, which is almost certainly going to be in gameweek 37.

Managers who still have their second wildcard available will rightly be debating whether to play it now, either in gameweek 30 or 31, or in gameweek 35 to really attack the last four weeks of the season with a potential Bench Boost in mind for gameweek 37.

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If you’ve still got that Free Hit chip then the earlier wildcard could be tempting because you can bring in as many Tottenham and Chelsea players as you like without having to worry about gameweek, 34 when Tottenham blank and Chelsea are away to Arsenal.

I like that strategy because the fixtures look good for both Tottenham and Chelsea in the next few weeks – but if you’ve already used your Free Hit then you might want to hold on to the wildcard until gameweek 35 and focus your transfers on Liverpool and Arsenal in the short-term as we start to build up towards gameweek 34.

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Captaincy

Those managers who can get Mohamed Salah into their squads this week will certainly want to consider him for Liverpool’s game against Brighton at Anfield on Sunday as his ownership is relatively low.

Many will be taking a points hit to get him because they can’t afford him in a straight swap or they may decide to wait until next week, which will give those of you who get him on the wildcard a nice little edge.

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If you don’t own Salah then I would suggest a Tottenham attacker for their game at home to Luton, preferably Son Heung-Min, or the man I’m looking to as a slightly differential captaincy pick this week in Cole Palmer, who has a home game against Burnley.

Fixtures to target

This is one of those gameweeks when two of the best teams in the Premier League go head-to-head and we own four or five of their players, in this case Manchester City and Arsenal, who face each other at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

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I would be very happy to field my attackers in this game, the likes of Bukayo Saka and Erling Haaland, but I would try to bench my defenders if I could.

Arsenal’s defence has been superb this season and we know all about their prowess at set-pieces so fielding one of Gabriel, William Saliba or Ben White isn’t really too much of a problem, but I wouldn’t want to have two of them in my starting line-up if I could avoid it.

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If you’re looking for a defender to bring into your squad this week then Statman Dave and Chris Sutton each had a suggestion in this week’s Fantasy 606 podcast – Dave has gone for Chelsea’s Malo Gusto, while Chris likes the look of Conor Bradley for Liverpool – and both come in at only £4.2 million.

Bradley has the advantage of the double gameweek 34 but if Trent Alexander-Arnold returns to fitness in the next few weeks then he is less likely to start every game. Gusto looks undroppable for Chelsea at the moment and we still don’t know when Reece James may return to action to provide competition for him.

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Differentials

Fulham striker Rodrigo Muniz was one of the rare successes in gameweek 29, his two goals in Fulham’s 3-0 win against Tottenham taking his tally to seven goals in his past seven games and his next three matches are against Sheffield United, Nottingham Forest and Newcastle.

He only costs £4.6 million, which also makes him a great makeweight if you’re having to use two transfers to get to Salah this week.

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Gamble of the week

We run a listeners’ team on the Fantasy 606 podcast whereby a different listener comes on each week to manage the side. This week’s listener, Alex from Vancouver, has taken the gamble to remove Haaland from the squad to enable the signing of Salah.

Haaland obviously has the tougher fixture this week, he doesn’t have a double like Salah in gameweek 34 and it enables the listeners to have Salah, Son and Saka in their midfield.

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It comes down to your budget – if, like me, you can’t afford to have all four of Haaland, Salah, Son and Saka then which one makes way? It’s Son for me, who will be replaced by Salah next week, but I might then have to turn to a cheaper Tottenham attacker to try to fill Son’s boots.

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