Championship
Wrexham’s 10 Premier League Loan Targets to Strengthen a Championship Push
Wrexham explore Premier League loan options to strengthen squad for another Championship challenge..
Wrexham could look to the Premier League loan market this summer as part of a recruitment plan to improve their promotion prospects from the Championship. Club sources expect a more competitive division next season, and Phil Parkinson would only pursue loan signings that “add genuine quality to his first-team squad.”
Clubs must register a maximum senior squad of 25 players aged over 21, with eight homegrown players and two designated goalkeepers. Players under 21 do not need to be registered, but every loan signing must be registered regardless of age.
Awoniyi: The 28-year-old centre forward had a reduced role at Nottingham Forest, scoring four goals and one assist in 481 Premier League minutes last season, including a brace in the victory over Chelsea. He offers an efficient goals-per-minute record, but with one year left on his contract Forest may favour permanent offers.
Akpom: Now 30, Akpom joined Ipswich Town permanently last month but saw limited game time on loan from Ajax this season, scoring two goals in 31 appearances. With Ipswich promoted, significant Premier League opportunities appear unlikely and a Championship leading role could suit him.
Lacey: The 19-year-old made four first-team appearances for Manchester United across all competitions. He remains a raw talent who would seek regular minutes on loan and would likely compete with Josh Windass and Nathan Broadhead for attacking midfield positions.
Moore: Eighteen and the youngest player to appear for Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League, Moore gained experience on loan at Rangers. A natural left winger, he would provide attacking depth and impact from the bench.
Armstrong: The 19-year-old central midfielder impressed on loan at Preston North End before returning to Everton, where he made 13 Premier League appearances. There is known interest in Armstrong this summer and another loan is a logical option.
Konak: The 20-year-old defensive midfielder is highly regarded at Brentford, has 14 senior appearances including 10 in the Premier League, and represented Türkiye at U21 level. He stood out during 16 Championship appearances for Oxford United.
Amass: A promising 19-year-old wingback, Amass impressed on loan at Sheffield Wednesday before Manchester United redirected his loan to Norwich City. He made one appearance for the Canaries before injury curtailed his season. He won Manchester United’s Young Player of the Year award in 2024–25 and has seven senior appearances for the club.
McFarlane: A 19-year-old product of New York City FC and one of the youngest MLS signees, McFarlane has been involved with England U19 and is highly regarded at Manchester City, though he lacks senior experience in English football.
Valdimarsson: The 24-year-old Iceland international has 12 senior appearances for Brentford, including three in the Premier League. He was named in the matchday squad for every senior Brentford fixture last season but sits behind Caoimhín Kelleher in the pecking order.
Vítek: A young goalkeeper who impressed on loan with Bristol City in the Championship, Vítek earned praise for his shot-stopping and is considered to have a very bright future.
Championship
Carrick and Maresca renew an old rivalry in Manchester derby build-up
Carrick has won both previous meetings with Maresca, and they meet again at Old Trafford.
For the first Manchester derby in a decade without Pep Guardiola on the touchline, attention turns to another managerial meeting. After Guardiola stepped down from Manchester City at the end of last season, Sunday’s match at Old Trafford will place Enzo Maresca opposite Michael Carrick.
It is not the first time the two have crossed paths. Their previous encounters came before this Premier League setting, and before Carrick’s current role at Manchester United. The head-to-head record already carries a clear edge for Carrick, who has twice got the better of Maresca.
Their first meeting arrived in November 2023 in the Championship, when Middlesbrough hosted at the Riverside Stadium. That match was decided by a moment of quality from Sam Greenwood, whose 83rd-minute free kick proved enough to settle the contest. His strike, curled from long range into the top corner, was later chosen by fans as the club’s Goal of the Season.
The game itself was far less polished than the winning goal. It was a bruising, disjointed affair that produced seven bookings and 33 fouls, underlining how little rhythm either side managed to establish.
When the fixture was reversed later that season at the King Power Stadium, Carrick again came out on top. Middlesbrough won 2-1, extending his perfect record in the pairing and giving him another result to lean on ahead of this latest derby occasion.
With Maresca now preparing to face Carrick in a very different setting, the past meetings offer a useful reminder that this is not an unfamiliar rivalry. The names may be attached to a new stage, but the competitive pattern remains the same.
Championship
Grading the Major USMNT Moves of the 2026 Summer Window
USMNT transfer grades from a summer of World Cup momentum, fresh starts, and one Deadline Day collapse.
The 2026 World Cup changed the market for several U.S. men’s national team players. Strong performances on the biggest stage helped open doors across Europe, while others used the summer to secure fresh opportunities after productive domestic seasons. From MLS exits to moves inside Europe’s top leagues, the window produced a mix of progress, promise and one Deadline Day saga that never quite became a transfer.
Sebastian Berhalter was among the clearest beneficiaries. He was not a regular starter under Pochettino this summer, but he still logged five World Cup appearances, finishing with a goal and an assist. That followed a career-best 21 goal contributions for the Vancouver Whitecaps in 2025, and he backed it up again in 2026 with seven goals and four assists in 18 matches. Middlesbrough moved quickly, paying $2 million in July for the midfielder’s signature. The switch to England’s second tier gives him a major step up from MLS and a possible pathway toward the Premier League.
Gio Reyna needed a reset, and he got one. After managing only 20 appearances for Borussia Mönchengladbach in 2025-26, he went to the World Cup and delivered five appearances, capped by a standout goal against Paraguay. That was enough for Strasbourg to hand him a five-year deal. Reyna has already shown encouraging signs, setting up the only goal in a preseason match against Newcastle United before making his Ligue 1 debut off the bench. He then earned a start against Lens and helped Strasbourg take three points. For a player who needs rhythm, that kind of continuity matters.
Zavier Gozo’s move carried a different kind of weight. The 19-year-old left Real Salt Lake for Crystal Palace on a five-year contract, scored for the club’s U-21s against Arsenal’s youth side, and then made his Premier League debut six days later in a 4-1 loss to Manchester City. The numbers were modest, but the age profile and upside remain obvious.
Folarin Balogun did not move in the end, but his Deadline Day story was impossible to ignore. A permanent switch from Monaco to Everton fell apart after a failed medical, a brief pivot toward Joshua Zirkzee, renewed contact over Balogun, and Monaco pulling back from a separate sale involving Lamine Camara. In the end, Balogun stayed put.
Championship
PFA Awards 2026: Fernandes and Shaw lead the honours
Fernandes and Shaw headlined the 2026 PFA Awards after standout seasons in England.
The 53rd PFA Awards took place on Tuesday night at the Manchester Opera House, with the game’s leading players across England recognised for their 2025-26 seasons. The ceremony covered the Premier League, the EFL Championship, League One and Two, the Women’s Super League and the Women’s Super League 2.
Bruno Fernandes claimed the men’s Player of the Year award after a remarkable campaign for Manchester United. The midfielder set a Premier League record with 21 assists in a single season, and he became the first United player since Wayne Rooney in 2010 to win the prize.
In the women’s category, Manchester City forward Khadija “Bunny” Shaw was voted Player of the Year for a second time. Shaw scored 21 goals in 22 matches last season and played a key role as City won the title. Her recognition completed a double after she was also named women’s Player of the Year by the Football Writers’ Association in May.
Fernandes also completed a double of his own after being selected as men’s Player of the Year by the Football Writers’ Association in May.
City youngster Nico O’Reilly, 21, received the men’s Young Player of the Year award, while Arsenal forward Olivia Smith, 22, won the women’s Young Player of the Year honour for the second straight season.
Elsewhere, former Middlesbrough midfielder Hayden Hackney, now with Everton, was named Championship Player of the Year. Birmingham City forward Lily Crosthwaite collected the WSL2 Player of the Year award, while former Leyton Orient forward Dom Ballard, now at Championship side Bristol City, was named League One Player of the Year.
The event also included the Premier League, WSL, Championship, League One and WSL2 Teams of the Year, with the full line-ups listed separately.
