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Matt Upson
- Leicester City
Rock solid at the back throughout his 18 months
at the club, the traditional curse of Player of the
Season moving on struck the former England centre
back less than a month after he lifted the award,
moving to Premier League newboys Leicester on a free
after his contract expired. |
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Stephen Ward -
Burnley
Outstanding last season, the left back returned
to parent club Wolverhampton Wanderers at the end of
his loan deal while the Albion haggled with Wolves
over price for a permanent deal. And all that
waiting proved costly as Burnley nipped in and took
him from under our noses. |
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Leonardo Ulloa -
Leicester City Leicester had been sniffing
around the Man from Argentina all summer and finally
came up with an offer dealt acceptable with a club
record £8m plus add ons. Nobody can begrudge him the
chance to play in the top flight and having scored
twice already, it looks like good business for both
clubs. |
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Will Buckley -
Sunderland In November 2012 Gus Poyet said he
was worth £10m. Quite why he only offered to pay
£2.5m for him them is anyone's guess. Despite that,
another who deserves a shot at the Premier League
and for one so injury prone a decent fee in return
as well as those memories - Doncaster in particular. |
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Tomasz Kuszczak -
None His agent spent a lot of the second
half of last season saying he wanted a Premier
League club and his wages were known to be big. Still, it
came as a surprise to see the big Pole released,
especially with the jury still out on whether we
have adequately replaced him. Yet to find a new
club.
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David Lopez - CD
Lugo
Never really hit the heights of the previous
campaign after missing the whole pre-season while
thrashing out a new contract at the Amex after
originally walking away. Doubtful we'll see a set
piece specialist like him for some time, he is now
at Lugo in the Spanish second tier. |
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Andrea Orlandi -
Blackpool Another high earner who it was
felt could be moved off the wage bill without
seriously harming the team. Spent most of last
season creating trouble for the medical team rather
than opposition players which was a shame given how
vital he was the previous season. Now at struggling
Blackpool. |
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Peter Brezovan -
Tranmere Rovers The big Slovak had been
nothing more than back up for the past two seasons
so his release was hardly a surprise, since when he
has rocked up at League Two Tranmere. Women in
attendance at Prenton Park has subsequently doubled
so far this campaign. |
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Will Hoskins - Oxford
United The sixth most expensive player in
Albion history managed just seven starts, 14
substitute appearances and two goals in three injury
plagued seasons at The Amex. Released as a result
and now at Oxford, to say we never saw the best of
him would be a massive understatement. |
Others released
- David Rodriquez (AD Alcorcon), Brennan
Dickenson (Gillingham) |
IN: |
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Sam
Baldock -
Bristol City Who says perseverance doesn't
pay off? The Albion secured one of their number one
transfer targets for an undisclosed fee of around
£2m - their SIXTH bid of the summer. He was golden
boot winner in League One with 26 goals for Bristol
City, where he was also club captain. |
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David
Stockdale - Fulham Goalkeeper who was in the
England squad as recently as 2011 and played
regularly in the Premier League for Fulham last
season. The Albion took advantage of him being out
of contract at the end of this season by snapping
him up for £1.5m. Jury is still out on if he is an
upgrade on Kuszczak |
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Adrian Colunga - Getafe Centre forward who
arrived from Getafe for an undisclosed. Has a decent
scoring record in Spain across the top two divisions
having spent last season out on loan at Sporting
Gijon. Marked his debut at Swindon with a goal
which, fingers crossed, suggests he will be more
Ulloa than Rodriguez. |
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Chris
O'Grady
- Barnsley Signed for an undisclosed six
figure fee from Barnsley. Hit 15 goals as the Tykes
battled unsuccessfully against the drop. Onto the
12th club of his career by the age of 28, he was the
first striker through the door this summer but might
struggle for game time with Colunga and Baldock's
arrivals. |
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Aaron
Hughes - Queens Park Rangers Big nosed
defender with over 500 games and 90 Northern Ireland
caps to his name. Was released by QPR following
their promotion and snapped up on a free as the
experienced Upson replacement although Lewis Dunk's
performances so far mean he may take a permanent
spot on the bench. |
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Danny
Holla - ADO Den Haag Holding midfielder who
has spent his career playing in the Netherlands.
Scored 14 goals in two seasons at Den Haag despite
his defensive role and already looks like a perfect
fit for the Hyypia system with the Albion unbeaten
since his arrival. Free transfer could be an
absolute steal. |
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Nzuzi
Toko - Grasshoppers Zurich The deal to sign
the young midfielder on a free from Grasshoppers was
completed last season. Former Swiss under 21 and
full DR Congo international who appears to be an
absolute beast of player. With 78 midfielders on the
books, he may struggle for game time. |
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Paddy
McCourt - Barnsley Second arrival from
Barnsley of the summer. 30 year old midfielder spent
five years at Celtic mainly as a substitute before
moving to Oakwell and managing 23 games last year.
Ran the show at The Amex when the Tykes won but hard
to see him as anything more than a squad player this
season. |
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Joao
Teixeira - Liverpool Portuguese under 21
international who looked a class above his team
mates on his debut on loan from Liverpool at
Birmingham. Has scored twice since arriving and
looks like a player who is going to create and score
a lot of goals this season. Could be the key
signing. |
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Joe
Bennett - Aston Villa Cost Villa £2.75m when
he arrived from Middlesbrough in the summer of 2012
and has since played 37 times for them. A lot
younger and more attacking than Stephen Ward which
means he should be more of a fit to the Hyypia style
than the man who went to Burnley would have been. |
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Gary
Gardner - Aston Villa Another midfielder and
another loan signing from Aston Villa. He is
probably most famous for being the brother of Craig
having made a handful of Villa appearances and a
couple of nondescript loan spells with Coventry and
Sheffield Wednesday. Hyypia reckons he will add
quality. |