Championship players to watch?

Roberto Martinez is due to take up his post tomorrow and will find himself in a position where up to 6 or 7 players may be leaving the club.

With this in mind and acknowledging that, until ten days ago, Martinez and his team had been prpearing for a Championship recruitment, here’s a list of potential candidates for Martinez to consider.

Right Back

Angel Rangel
Martinez is already familiar with Angel, who played under him at Swansea for two seasons. Would cost around 3 million pounds.

Odds…5/1, Swansea will be reluctant to part with Angel and Man City are poised to outbid us.

Habib Beye
Relegated with Newcastle and although he has pledged his future to the barcodes, Mike Ashley’s decision to place all the squad on the transfer list will have alerted potential suitors to his availability.


Odds…5/1
Age may be against him at 31 but has a good couple of seasons in him and would command a fee of around 2 million pounds.

Kyle Naughton

20 year old right/left back who shot to prominence this season with Sheffield United. Definately a premier league player in the making.

Odds…10/1

Being linked with a move to Man Utd and no doubt we would be priced out of a bidding war.


Centre Half

Matthew Kilgallon

Kilgallon is being linked with a move to Wigan to replace Scharner and maybe Bramble.
Killa’ would welcome a move to the Premeir League and is only 25. Would cost round 3 million.

Odds 3/1….
The Blades are believed to be willing to sell in order to fund a rebuilding programme.

Sean St Ledger

24 year old centre half at Preston who made his debut for the Republic of Ireland last week. A very popular player at Preston.

Odds… 8/1
Preston would be reluctant to let him go and would probably ask for a fee of around 5 million pounds.

Centre Midfield

Jordi Gomez

Another Martinez old boy, a 24 year old attacking midfielder who spent the season at Swansea on loan from Espanyol. Roberto was keen to sing him for Swansea but couldn’t afford the asking price of around 5 million.

Odds….10/1
The asking price plus lack of experience might put Wigan off.


Jonathon Greening

30 year old captain of relegated West Bromwich Albion. Greeening may be amenable for a final swansong in the Premier League and his experience at this level plus creative play may prove an attraction to Wigan.

Odds….10/1

Age may be against him and with West Brom very well managed fiscally, Latics may find it difficult to persuade the Baggies to part with him.

Joe Ledley

22 year old Welsh imnternational playing for his home town Cardiff and attracting a host of admirers with his play.

odds…20/1

Stoke had a 6 million pound bid turned down last season and his stock has risen since thereby pricing Wigan out of the race.


Wingers

Jermaine Johnson

28 year old Jamacian winger at Sheffield Wednesday, can play on both wings but not a prolific goal scorer.

odds…10/1

No better than De Ridder and Kapo and we need to bring in more quality.


Strikers

Ross Mc Cormack

22 year old striker who scored 21 goals in his first season at Cardiff. Is believed to welcome a move to the Premier League or to his boyhood club Celtic. Wigan were interested in him last summer but failed to make an offer.

Odds…4/1

A two million pound bid would probably be enough to secure his signiture. Would be a gamble at this level.

Andy Carroll

20 year old former England under 21 striker and Newcastle forward. Up for sale along with the rest of the Newcastle squad. Would command a fee of around 2 million pounds.

Odds 5/1

Lack of Premier League experience may dissuade Wigan but definately a player for the future.