There wasn’t much for West Brom fans to get excited about during their 0-0 draw with Swansea City on Saturday.

The Baggies failed to win for the third consecutive game after losing to both Wigan and Newcastle in their previous two fixtures.

However, it wasn’t all doom and gloom, Romaine Sawyers made his return from suspension against the Swans and he showed everybody what the Midlands club have been missing over the past few weeks.

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The St Kitts and Nevis international was quickly back to his best after having a few weeks on the sidelines, showcasing why he has previously been hailed as the best passer in the Championship with an 89.3 per cent pass success rate.

Understandably, some fans took to social media to praise the midfield maestro.

Others believe that Sawyers’ good performance was due to the time he had to rest up while he was suspended.

The Championship schedule is gruelling, and a lot of key players aren’t afforded any decent rest throughout the season, but Sawyers was handed such an opportunity, and fans think that it’s done him the world of good.

In other news, West Brom’s summer priority has become apparent.

Southampton are in quite a nice position when it comes to contract expiries and potential renewals as only one man is in a precarious position this summer when it comes to potentially leaving the club on a free transfer.

Indeed, the only player at Southampton whose deal will be up is Shane Long, and as sad as it is to say, it’s becoming increasingly obvious as to what the Saints should do with the Irishman.

A look at his stats make the stats quite obvious – the striker has scored just 12 league goals over the past four seasons, and his best return over that period is just five strikes in 2018/19.

Long has been a decent servant for the Saints during his six years at the club, but it’s time for the club to make a statement of intent by casting him aside.

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The south coast club have a talented young striker in their ranks who is desperate for a chance in the shape of Michael Obafemi.

However, Long’s presence in the squad has seen him limited to just five starts all season, but there are sections of the fanbase who rate him very highly with the 19-year-old often praised by supporters.

Letting Long go and giving Obafemi a shot would be a great message from the club, one that demonstrates they’re ready to move on from the past few seasons of disappointment and underperformance to usher in a new era of giving these young players a proper opportunity.

Of course, it could backfire and the teenager may not live up to his billing, but it’s going to be hard for him to be any worse than the 5 foot 11 man who has scored the same number of goals as his fellow countryman this season, despite playing over twice as many minutes.

In other news, Southampton need to ditch one transfer policy.

The Athletic’s Leeds United correspondent Phil Hay has suggested Watford striker Troy Deeney as a realistic signing for the club should they win promotion to the Premier League this season, in his latest Q&A.

What did he say?

Well, Hay’s Q&A was based around who fans believe they vould realistically bring to Elland Road should they go up if and when the 2019/20 campaign resumes.

Before the debate had even started, the journalist threw one name out there straightaway – the Hornets centre-forward.

Hay said: “Here’s a name to start us off – Troy Deeney. Vastly experienced, a sharp finisher, strong, very good at handling pressure and out of contract in 2021. His father was a Leeds fan too so he knows the score round here.”

Would he be a good addition?

He certainly would be.

As Hay points out, firstly the 31-year-old knows all about Leeds because of his dad, and you would have to think that he has the personality and self-confidence to fit in well at Elland Road.

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He is someone who fights for the shirt, and as the journalist says he would also add some real experience to Leeds’ frontline if they were to make their long-awaited return to the English top flight.

Indeed, Deeney has scored 43 goals in 154 Premier League outings for Watford, while he has also shown his ability and setting up his teammates too with 21 assists.

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One of Bielsa’s priorities this summer should the Yorkshire outfit win promotion could be to add some players with know-how and experience to his squad, and the 31-year-old very much fits the bill as a realistic signing.

Rated at £7.2m by Transfermarkt, it will be interesting to see what happens with the striker this summer when he will have just 12 months remaining on his contract at Vicarage Road.

In other Leeds news, the Yorkshire outfit made the wrong call on Ryan Kent and a current Whites player…

Crystal Palace star Wilfried Zaha has revealed the hardest right-back he has come up against in his career so far in an Instagram Q&A he has conducted, via Dugout.

The 27-year-old will have lined up against plenty of right-sided full-backs during his spells in the Premier League with the Eagles, Cardiff City and Manchester United, but it is actually a former teammate he has chosen.

Indeed, he believes that ex-Red Devil Antonio Valencia is the most difficult right-back opponent he has faced, describing him as “strong” and “fast”.

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Quite the praise for the Ecuadorian.

In other Crystal Palace news, lots of Eagles fans are fuming with one recent transfer link…

Signed from then UEFA Cup winners Porto in a £6.25m deal back in the summer of 2003, Helder Postiga certainly arrived in north London with a burgeoning reputation in European football.

The Portuguese marksman was only 20 at the time, and had just come off the back of a campaign that had seen him score 19 goals across all competitions, and helped fire his team to European glory.

Speaking after the confirmation of his signing, then Tottenham manager Glenn Hoddle waxed lyrical about his latest recruit. He said: “He is a player who will add definite striking quality to our squad and is a young player of proven ability. I’m sure our supporters will enjoy watching him over the coming seasons.”

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Even Daniel Levy got in on the act of talking up what it meant to the club, and backed Postiga to deliver for the Lilywhites over the coming seasons. He added: “This exciting signing demonstrates our commitment to increasing the strength and quality of our playing squad and will hopefully assist us in our quest for success next season and beyond.”

But in the end, Postiga’s signing quickly turned into a nightmare for Levy and co. He made just 23 appearances in total for the north Londoners, scoring a measly two goals – only one of them even came in the Premier League.

In fact, just over a year later, Spurs had seemingly had enough, and decided to simply cut their losses on the striker, and send him packing. His former side Porto came back in for him for just £5m, meaning the north London side took a loss on him.

Following the decision to sell him, Spurs sporting director Frank Arnesen admitted that perhaps the club had made a mistake in bringing him to English football in the first place. He said: “There is no doubting Helder’s ability but maybe he came to the Premiership too soon. He was keen to return home and, although we rate him highly here, we did not like to see him unhappy.”

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After no doubt thinking they had signed a young striker who could lead their line for the years to come, Spurs were left to tuck their tail in between their legs and wave goodbye to one of their biggest flops in recent memory.

Meanwhile, Alasdair Gold offers a Spurs transfer update.

Borussia Dortmund starlet Jadon Sancho has been on Manchester United’s radar for what feels like eternity.

The England international has been linked with a big-money move to Old Trafford for a number of months now, amid suggestions that he could finally be set for a return to English football after a few years in Germany.

The likes of Chelsea and Liverpool are also reported to be monitoring the situation, but recent reports have claimed that United are the ones in pole position.

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However, a fresh update from The Daily Express has claimed that the current situation surrounding the world at the moment makes it “far-fetched” that United could spend £120m on Sancho.

As such, it’s suggested the Manchester side could could active their buy-back clauses on Memphis Depay or Wilfried Zaha.

Whilst the reasons behind such a stance is understandable, this could turn into a monumental mistake from Ed Woodward. Make no mistake about it, if United have second thoughts about signing Sancho, then the likes of Chelsea and Liverpool will no doubt be prepared to blow them out of the water and beat them to the punch.

If Sancho really is the priority signing for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer this summer, then there really shouldn’t be any settling for second-best, whatever the circumstances.

Getting the Dortmund starlet in would mean United have a winger for the next decade or so in their first-team – both Depay and Zaha on the other hand would come with a question mark due to them initially failing to make the grade at Old Trafford.

Sancho’s arrival would be a statement of intent that Solskjaer’s team are battling for the biggest and best signings in world football. Going for cheaper alternatives would completely undermine that and set United back years. Re-signing a flop would make them a laughing stock, and another sign that they are not amongst the elite.

Meanwhile, Man Utd would make a statement of intent with move for this Serie A ace.

Overview

The exploits of the Ireland team at global ICC tournaments have become a colourful side narrative in recent years, from the thrilling humiliations of Pakistan and England at successive World Cups to their ousting of Bangladesh in the World Twenty20 group stage in 2009.Ireland have put in place a roadmap to playing Test cricket and despite the talent drain across the Irish Sea – Boyd Rankin will retire after the tournament in the bid to pursue a career with England – they have built solid foundations in the limited-overs formats. Briefly ranked above Australia in T20Is earlier this month, the group meeting between the two will be eagerly anticipated by schadenfreude fans the world over, as well as by Ireland’s miserly attack leader Trent Johnston, born in Wollongong, New South Wales, 38 years ago.A hard-working team, Ireland have several players capable of making the difference in tight games. Allrounder Kevin O’Brien is instantly recognisable – even without the mangy purple dye job – after his record-breaking innings in Bangalore, while Paul Stirling and William Porterfield provide a potentially explosive opening partnership and Niall O’Brien brings experience of playing in the Bangladesh Premier League. If the ball swings, Middlesex seamer Tim Murtagh could be a canny addition to their set-up.

Key players

George Dockrell tends to play in red boots but that is not the only eye-catching thing about him. A tall left-arm spinner, the 20-year-old impressed for Somerset during the English domestic season and was the county’s leading T20 wicket-taker, despite missing finals day while on duty at the Under-19 World Cup. You don’t have to be Peter Falk to work out that his form in Colombo could be crucial.

Surprise package

Wicketkeeper Gary Wilson is a pugnacious batsman who has increasingly demonstrated his worth after deputising for the absent Niall O’Brien at the World Twenty20 Qualifier in March. He finished the county season as Surrey’s first choice keeper and has made all three of his T20 half-centuries this year.

Weakness

It seems odd to say it for one of the tournament minnows but Ireland will have to deal with the expectation that comes with being serial jack-in-the-boxes. Neither Australia nor West Indies will be taking them lightly and their chances of springing out of Group B rest on their ability to play with the same freedom that has characterised previous campaigns.

World T20 history

Ireland failed to qualify in 2007 but reached the super eights two years later, beating Bangladesh out of their group. They left the Caribbean in a right funk in 2010, after rain denied them the chance to chase England’s meagre total of 120 and they were eliminated on net run-rate.

Recent form

A planned four-match series with South Africa A in August was abandoned due to poor weather and, prior to that, Ireland lost 3-0 at home to Bangladesh – though some measure of revenge was achieved in their final warm-up match. Ireland won 10 out 11 games at the World Twenty20 Qualifier, beating Afghanistan in the final, and have played much more T20 cricket this year than most of the Full Members.

Even with the future of the Premier League campaign in doubt, there can be no question that Liverpool have enjoyed yet another season of incredible success.

After their Champions League triumph last year, all eyes were on whether the Reds could finally overcome the final hurdle in the top-flight and pip Manchester City to the title.

29 games in, and Jurgen Klopp’s side have simply brushed aside any and all competitors, losing just once, and racking up an eye-watering 82 points.

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One of the big talking points will no doubt be who has been the main star responsible for their achievements this season, and according to The Athletic’s James Pearce, the award for Liverpool’s Player of the Year should go to Jordan Henderson.

After hearing about Pearce’s claim, Liverpool fans took to Twitter to voice their thoughts on the matter.

A couple of fans simply suggested Sadio Mane deserves to be named the club’s Player of the Year, with one supporter urging Pearce to “stop disrespecting” him.

For sheer influence, it’s difficult to argue against suggesting Henderson is right up there in the conversation for the club’s best player this season.

The captain has led by example whenever he’s taken to the field, with Klopp himself hailing the midfielder as “outstanding” and that “we couldn’t be in the situation we are without these kinds of characters”.

But the exploits of Mane this year have surely been the biggest dominating factor for the Reds. The Senegal international has eclipsed fellow winger Mohamed Salah, scoring 18 times and providing 12 assists, and has been the real spark in attack for Klopp’s men.

While Tamim Iqbal was taking apart the West Indies attack in Mirpur, Shivnarine Chanderpaul walked up to him. “He asked me whether I was playing a Twenty20,” Tamim said. “I replied that I’m just hitting what the bowlers are bowling but I can’t bat like you.” To which Chanderpaul said, “Neither can I.”Perhaps Chanderpaul meant that is the case at his current age of 38, because he has batted at higher strike-rates than Tamim in the past two decades, most memorably during the 69-ball century against Australia in 2003, which at the time was the third fastest Test hundred. In Mirpur, though, he showed the side of his batting that is more frequently seen these days.His 203 took more than seven-and-a-half hours, the fifth longest innings in terms of minutes. He used the example of the first two days of this Test to explain how he changes the pace of his innings according to the situation. He batted at a strike-rate of 63 on the first day during which he scored 123 runs off 195 deliveries, but then he took 177 balls to score 80 on the second day, at a strike-rate of 45.2.”These are things I work out in my game, whichever way I can,” Chanderpaul said. “Sometimes you find yourself in good form and things go your way, you get into a rhythm and you’re able to score freely and quicker. Some days you have to work hard, that’s how it goes.”We scored freely yesterday, but we had to work hard today. The [Bangladesh] bowlers tried a little too hard yesterday but today they bowled well. They bowled to a plan, stuck to it and made us work hard. You have to, as a Test cricketer, put your head down and work hard when the time comes.”His double-century also brought him level with Garry Sobers on 26 Test hundreds, leaving Brian Lara as the only West Indian with more Test tons. “The team comes first, it doesn’t matter what the individual score is. Whatever the team plan is, that is what we have to stick to. It is always a great honour [to be mentioned] with names like Sir Garry, though I have played a lot more games than him.”This was only his second double-hundred, and he doesn’t have the mammoth scores that Sobers and Lara ran up. “[Batting low down the order] could be one reason. I had opportunities to get a big hundred but I didn’t, it’s unfortunate. Thankfully today I was able to cross it [200].”Chanderpaul’s usefulness isn’t limited to the field. He is a mentor to batsmen like Kieran Powell and Denesh Ramdin, both of whom shared long partnerships with him in this game. Powell missed a short ball from offspinner Sohag Gazi to be bowled after making a century, prompting Chanderpaul to have a talk with the young opener about his dismissal. “He played a fantastic innings yesterday. Unfortunately he got out the way he did. I had a chat with him about the way he did. I thought he should have played the first ball after tea a lot straighter.”I didn’t see anybody getting him out, he’s the one who’s giving his wicket away. I have talked to him about already. The future looks bright, you’ve seen [Veerasammy] Permaul today. We were here last year, you know what we have back home on offer. The future looks good for us.”At the end of the tour last year, Chanderpaul spent nearly half an hour with the Bangladesh batsmen. How Bangladesh would like to have someone like him in their midst for the long term.

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Newcastle United attempted to sign Marko Pjaca from Juventus in the January transfer window, as per Corriere Fiorentino, via Sport Witness.

What’s the word?

The Magpies signed Miguel Almiron in a club-record January move, paying £20million to secure the signature of the former Atlanta United playmaker.

The club also secured a loan move for AS Monaco’s Antonio Barreca.

But reports in Italy claim that the club were interested in bringing in Pjaca, who is currently on loan at Fiorentina.

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The 23-year-old has struggled for form at Fiorentina, scoring just once and providing one assist – in the same game, a 3-0 victory over SPAL – in a total of 707 minutes on the pitch.

He played just 30 minutes last time out, against Udinese, and was left on the bench against both Sampdoria and Chievo Verona.

The aforementioned report, via Sport Witness, claims that Juventus wanted to send him to a different club in a bid to help him rediscover his form, with Newcastle attempting to get a deal over the line prior to the transfer deadline.

Pjaca, though, chose instead to stay at Fiorentina and fight for his place – the club are currently ninth in Serie A.

Right recruitment steps

Newcastle are getting better in the transfer market.

Rafael Benitez clearly wanted to strengthen his side and the move for Pjaca suggests that there is now a framework in place for the Magpies’ recruitment strategy.

Along with Almiron and Barreca, he could have been improved by the Spaniard at St James’ Park, after a difficult few months in Italy.

It remains to be seen if he will ever make the grade at Juventus, but he may well have made the wrong decision to stay in Florence.

Fiorentina have done nothing for his career thus far this season but a move to England could have linked him up with Benitez, a manager who has a sterling track record of making players better.

Put this one down as a missed opportunity for both parties.