It’s that time of the year – transfer rumours are inescapable, fans and pundits alike give their thoughts on what their team needs to be stronger next season, and, of course, the retained & released lists are announced. When it comes to Premier League teams, you usually get fewer first-team players being released or not being offered a new contract than in League Two, for example. This is largely because clubs tend to sell certain players before their contract expires to avoid losing assets for free, but you still get some really interesting options on the free market from Premier League clubs.
Liverpool have released Thiago, Raphaël Varane is set to leave Manchester United, and Lloyd Kelly is departing Bournemouth – these are just three examples and, as you can imagine, there are plenty more in the Premier League alone. But we want to know who the relegated clubs let go, and who could they move on to next? This scout report will provide a tactical analysis of five players who have been released by the three clubs relegated to the Championship.
Gabriel Osho – Luton Town
25-year-old central defender Gabriel Osho has always been somewhat on the periphery at Luton. The Nigerian defender featured in 21 Premier League games this season and 27 of the 46 games in the 22/23 Championship regular season. He has shown promise since his move from Rochdale, though, but his time at Kenilworth Road could be coming to an end after 85 appearances for the Hatters.
While talks between the two parties are ongoing over a new deal, Osho’s contract is currently due to run out soon, with rumours already circulating about where he may play next. One team that has been mentioned is Tottenham Hotspur, while Aston Villa and Fulham are also reportedly keeping close tabs on the situation.
The above graphs represent Osho’s performance over the last two seasons in the form of percentile rankings. Now, a theme with these graphs is going to be common: their data from the 23/24 season will reflect a worse performance than the 22/23 data for the obvious reason that they got promoted in one of those seasons and relegated in the other.
There is a clear continuation in Osho’s impact, according to his percentile rankings. A high involvement in defensive duels has been a mainstay of his game, while he also posts a high percentile for dribbles too, indicating that he is confident and able to bring the ball out of defence.
We mentioned his high involvement in defensive duels over the last two campaigns, and this graph proves it – comparing Osho’s performance in defensive duels against that of Luton’s other CBs as well as the rest of the CBs in the Premier League.
Not only does Osho have the highest engagement of any PL CB this past season, making 8.95 attempts per 90. You’ll notice that every Luton CB surpasses the league average when it comes to engagement in defensive duels – this high defensive involvement is something that will occur with Burnley and Sheffield United, as all three teams were forced to defend a lot more than most clubs during the season.
What does remain impressive about Osho’s defensive duels performance, though, is his high win rate from such a high engagement. The former Rochdale man posted a success rate of 72%, which is among the best in the PL.
Where next for Osho? As mentioned, he has been linked with three Premier League clubs already, with Fulham being a very good option for the defender, following Tosin Adarabioyo’s switch to Chelsea recently. Of course, there is the possibility of Osho yet accepting Luton’s offer of a contract renewal, but if a PL club comes knocking, it’s difficult to see him staying with the Hatters.
Charlie Taylor – Burnley
Left-back Charlie Taylor departs Turf Moor after seven years at the club, during which time he made over 200 appearances. Taylor, now aged 30, featured in 28 PL games this season, so a stay in the top flight is not completely off the table. Like Osho, Taylor has also been offered fresh terms by his club, but talks remain ongoing, leaving the possibility of an exit quite open.
In the Championship, we saw a much higher creative input from Taylor, posting high percentiles for progressive passes, dangerous passes, and dribbles per 90 – an excellent wing-back showcase. He also demonstrated an aerial presence that season, which has remained amid Burnley’s instant return to the second tier.
Again, due to his team’s lower attacking engagement this season, we’ve seen less of that creative side from Taylor, particularly when it comes to dribbling. These are things that perspective clubs will look at when considering pursuing Taylor’s signature.
So, what does the future hold for the veteran wing-back? As mentioned, a stay in the PL isn’t out of the question – being signed as a backup/rotation option at Leicester could be a sensible move for the Foxes. Meanwhile, if he is destined for life in the Championship, Leeds United fans would likely welcome him back with open arms.
Jack Cork – Burnley
Another veteran being released by Burnley, with Jack Cork leaving the club after seven years. Following a couple of loan spells, Burnley paid around £7.5m for Cork’s services on a permanent basis back in 2017, with the midfielder making a total of 267 appearances for the club – fair to say that Burnley got their money’s worth. Cork has been confirmed to be leaving the club for definite this summer, which is no surprise given that he only made four appearances in the Premier League this season.
Since Cork was hardly present for Burnley this season, we cannot post his percentile performance, so to gain an understanding of what he brings to the table in the Championship, we have a graph of his 22/23 season percentile performance above.
Cork brought an aerial presence to proceedings in midfield while also being effective at breaking up play via interceptions through good positioning. Meanwhile, on the ball, while he wasn’t tasked with much creative responsibility, he was very present in Burnley’s possession-based approach – doing the simple things right consistently, often in earlier stages of their build-up phase.
A stay in the Premier League is unlikely for Jack Cork. Now 34, it is possible that we see him drop back into the Championship – a player of his calibre and experience will be quite sought after in that division, too. Perhaps a mid-table team with play-off ambitions for the 24/25 season. There remains a chance that Cork calls time on his career, but we believe he has something to offer next season.
Max Lowe – Sheffield United
Another left-back on the list, Max Lowe, is the youngest player in this analysis, currently aged 27. Lowe joined the Blades back in 2021 and has struggled to hold down a regular starting spot since then, playing just 10 Premier League games this season, although injuries hampered his involvement. He played 26 in the Championship the year the club won promotion. The Blades seem to be having something of a clear-out this season as they look to rebuild, with manager Chris Wilder being backed by fans over his decision to let the full-back go.
The graph on the left should be taken with a pinch of salt due to Lowe’s limited involvement this season but also because of how dire Sheffield United were throughout the campaign. In some ways, Lowe’s in-possession percentiles reflect the Blades’ struggle to get the ball forward effectively.
In reality, Lowe is likely a Championship full-back at best. In that division in the 22/23 season, he showed a strong defensive engagement with good success – the same can be said of his aerial ability, too, while also breaking up opposition play to a decent level.
As mentioned, a move to the second tier would be expected for Lowe. However, there have been reports that his time in the Premier League may not be over yet, with Everton apparently showing interest in the defender. This could be a sign of Sean Dyche looking to build on Everton’s strength in depth by adding a left-back to the squad while also keeping costs down.
Oliver Norwood – Sheffield United
Football Manager fans, rejoice – Oli Norwood is a free agent! Norwood was an extremely popular signing among FM players back in his younger days, and he now finds himself on the free agent market after over 250 appearances in Sheffield Unitec colours. His exit comes as part of Sheffield United’s rebuild for next season, despite the Northern Irishman featuring in 27 PL games this season.
Norwood’s technical and creative ability is no secret, but he wasn’t able to be as impactful this season in a very poor Sheffield United side. While he posts many percentiles that are around the mid-mark in comparison to PL players in his position, his extremely low percentile for pass accuracy % tells the story of his and his team’s season.
In 22/23, while playing in the Championship, Norwood enjoyed a more creative role, posting high percentiles for dangerous passes and being quite an attacking presence in the final third. He isn’t much of a ball carrier; instead, he prefers to move the ball forward via passes. His shot assist map above also demonstrates his creative ability, particularly at Championship level.
Championship football is certain for Sheffield United next season, and it is almost certain for Norwood, too, but they won’t be on the same team this time. Reports suggest that Hull, Watford, and Sunderland have all shown interest in Norwood, but it is likely that there are several clubs battling it out for his signature. He would best suit a team with possession-based tactics that allows creativity to flow through central midfield via a range of passes.
Conclusion
Signing free agents can be a low-risk strategy for clubs, particularly popular with those on smaller budgets, and those who are having to watch what they spend to avoid getting into bother, and these five players could all offer something valuable next season.
What is interesting is that these five were among the best players being released by each of the relegated clubs, yet most of them are likely to be playing Championship football next season rather than staying in the top flight. An observation about the recruitment being done by promoted clubs? Slightly, but also an observation about the financial gap between those coming up from the second tier and those established in the Premier League.
