Matlock Town’s football ground, credit: Geograph (David Martin)
The January transfer window slammed shut on Friday last week with more interesting transfer action in the final 48 hours than the previous 29 days – stealing the headlines.
The window once again showed Brentford’s incredible business in the transfer market scooping up two great deals, while Hull very much had a contrasting last day as any play-off hopes were lost on deadline day. In other news the football world came together to show support for the tragic death of non-league footballer Jordan Sinnott. All of that in this weeks column.
Brentford have made a £3million bid to sign Oxford United winger Tarique Fosu-Henry and midfielder Shandon Baptiste in a double deal. #BrentfordFC #oufc https://t.co/7GTICUJz1k — Pete O’Rourke (@SportsPeteO) January 30, 2020
Brentford’s Brilliant Business
Brentford have become somewhat known for their brilliant transfer business in picking up hidden gems and turning them into stars at a huge profit. Andre Gray, Neal Moupay, Chris Mepham and Ezri Konsa are just a few recent success stories, but the Bees could have two more on their hands.
The West-London side scooped up Oxford United’s Tarique Fosu and Shandon Baptiste for a combined £3m. While it might seem early days it looks to be another fantastic piece of business from the Premier promotion chasers, especially when considering their track record.Â
Both players have been instrumental in Oxford’s campaign this season with Fosu previously on the books of Reading and Charlton, and Baptiste from the academy side. Brentford are the prime example of a great scouting system every club should aim for, it’s not how much you have to spend but rather how you spend it. Very well in this case.
Hull’s Bad Day
While the transfer window ended extremely well for one Championship club, that certainly wasn’t the case for Hull City as their hopes of the play-offs were lost on deadline day. Currently 14th in the table and still within reach of the play-offs, all hope is now probably gone after losing their two best players at once.Â
Jarrod Bowen left for the heights of the Premier League in an initial £15m move and fellow winger Kamil Grosicki moving to West Brom. The pair had a combined 23 goals and 10 assists in the current campaign and have been the reason for the clubs position in the table in previous season. With the Tigers not making any adequate replacements the North East side could soon find themselves hurtling down the league. A real day to forget for Hull fans.
West ham have agreed a fee of £25 million for Jarrod Bowen with the 23 year old ready to sign a 5 year contract on £50,000 a week. More news to come shortly. pic.twitter.com/AAHEK8aefV — Sky Sports News⚪ (@SkySportsNews69) January 31, 2020
Football Unites
Jordan Sinnott tragically lost his life following a brutal attack on a night out. The non-league footballer played Matlock Town in the Northern Premier League Premier Division. After his passing friends and family of Jordan sent out a plea to every football club for a shirt in their colours with Sinnott 25 on the back, which would be later auctioned for charity. The football world didn’t disappoint with every English professional side sending a shirt in and many more from across the globe. Showing it’s more than just a game and football is family.
Why not check out the previous column here discussing the Government’s all seater stadium reform, Nahki Wells’ roller coaster week and Leyton Orient’s class gesture! Don’t forget to follow Talk the Football League on Twitter to hear all the latest Football League news and join in on the discussions @TalktheFL.
By Sam Greasley-Machin
