West Ham loanee the pick of under-the-radar signings to watch
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Over £1bn was spent by Premier League clubs during the summer transfer window, but you may have missed some of this weekend’s potential debutant’s moves going through amid all the noise and ticker-tape parading.
With top-flight action back on the menu following ten days of international fare, we’ve put a few quieter captures under the microscope:
Jason Denayer
Before being monumentally mugged off by Hal Robson-Kanu in Belgium’s 1-0 loss to Wales at Euro 2016, Denayer had forged a fine reputation for himself on loan at Celtic and Galatasaray, winning the Scottish Premiership alongside Virgil van Dijk with the former.
Sunderland boss David Moyes has numbers at centre-half now Lamine Kone is around for at least another few months, with £8m new signing Papy Djilobodji, captain John O’Shea and fellow former Manchester United defender Paddy McNair also competing for a spot.
After playing 90 minutes for the U23s in midweek, where defensive-midfielder Jan Kirchhoff made his return from injury, Denayer could be in the driving seat to start alongside the Ivorian.
Jeff Hendrick
The Dubliner’s Euro 2016 turned out to be the opposite of Denayer’s, with box-to-box midfielder Hendrick not missing a minute as Republic of Ireland defied expectations by reaching the last 16, where they led hosts France for almost an hour before succumbing to a 2-1 loss.
Burnley and Hull came calling as the transfer window drew to a close, with the Clarets getting over the line with Hendrick’s £10.5m signature, the second time during the summer Sean Dyche sanctioned club-record transfers.
The 24-year-old bagged within three minutes of Ireland’s 2-2 draw away to Serbia in World Cup 2016 qualifying, and is 10/1 to fire home another opener against the side he snubbed when Burnley host the Tigers.
Alvaro Arbeloa
The 56-cap Spaniard and proud owner of World Cup, European Championship (2), Champions League (2) and La Liga-winning medals admitted that leaving Real Madrid after seven seasons at the Bernabeu was like ‘falling from heaven’, but West Ham will appreciate his nous around their new London Stadium.
Of even more importance than Arbeloa’s bags of experience is what’s left in the 33-year-old’s legs, with neither Sam Byram, Michail Antonio nor Arthur Masuaka currently cutting it in the Irons’ full-back spots.
Arbeloa, who made almost 100 appearances for Liverpool from 2006-2009, can cover on both sides and will probably be required to when Watford visit east London, though Slaven Bilic’s men look decent for the win at 17/20.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
