An occasional jaunt to Italy or South Korea normally allows access if the game is not available in Spain

He signed for them last season, he signed a new deal today

For those of us who dont speak Danish Terrible debut for new AGF against FC Midtjylland Victor Risager Journalist AGF's new goalkeeper, Leopold Wahlstedt, made his unofficial debut in a test match against FC Midtjylland, and four times he had to retrieve the ball from his goal. AGF presented a new goalkeeper in Leopold Wahlstedt from Blackburn Rovers on Wednesday, and already on Thursday he was thrown into action for the Århusians in a test match of two times 60 minutes against FC Midtjylland. Without the great success of course. The first 60 minutes of the match was Jesper Hansen, and the first hour came and went without scores. But for the remaining 60 minutes, Leopold Wahlstedt had to guard the cage for AGF, and he had to retrieve the ball from his goal four times. FC Midtjylland opened the scoring after 68 minutes, and here the Swedish goalkeeper did not look too good. He couldn't control a long shot from Edward Chilufya, and then the rebound ended up at the feet of Alhaji Kamara, who was able to poke the ball into the goal. Right after, FC Midtjylland came close to doubling the lead via an own goal from Aarhus, but this time Wahlstedt was on the mark. A minute later, however, the lead was doubled. Mads Nybo tapped in from an acute angle, where Wahlstedt got a hand on the ball, but could not keep it out of the goal. In the 86th minute it was crazy again. Aral Simsir broke through on the left side of the mid-judges and sent the ball over, where Wahlstedt got his hands on it. Unfortunately for him, the rebound ended up in the small area where Alhaji Kamara could score his second goal of the match. The last goal of the match was scored after 88 minutes, when a cross from Central Jutland was sent into the box. Here Edward Chilufya was quite free and could easily head the ball past Wahlstedt in the goal. A terrible debut for Wahlstedt, who conceded four goals, but was not helped to that extent by his defense, which primarily consisted of new or young players in the second half of the match. Then the Mid-Jutland fans could sing, and no more were scored before the 120-minute long test match was blown. Among other things, AGF can thank the aforementioned Wahlstedt for that, because he also made some good saves while the Aarhusian defense had problems. Below you can see how the two teams started the 1st and 2nd half respectively*: FC Midtjylland in the 1st half: Elias Olafsson - Joel Andersson, Ousmane Diao, Juninho, Victor Bak - Charles, André Rømer, Denil Castillo, Mikel Gogorza - Ola Brynhildsen, Franculino Djú FC Midtjylland in the 2nd half: Jonas Lössl - Adam Gabriel, Lee Han-beom, Mads Bech, Mads Nybo - Valdemar Byskov, Oliver Sørensen, Andreas Nibe, Aral Simsir - Edward Chilufya, Alhaji Kamara AGF in the 1st half: Jesper Hansen - Jonas Jensen-Abbew, Frederik Tingager, Eric Kahl - Jacob Andersen, Frederik Brandhof, Nicolai Poulsen, Mads Emil Madsen, Gift Links - Patrick Mortensen, Sigurd Haugen AGF in the 2nd half: Leopold Wahlstedt - Aksel Halsgaard, Henrik Dalsgaard, Mikkel Kannegaard Kristensen - Jacob Andersen, Frederik Brandhof, Luka Callø, Mikael Anderson, Tobias Bach - Patrick Mortensen, Sigurd Haugen *Several were replaced along the way, especially in the second half.

I've heard circa £30K/week last season in the Prem, If that figure is vaguely correct then no doubt a relegation wage decrease will have by now taken that down to £15Kish/week. Still sounds well out of Rovers budget unless he is desperate for game time and has no other options

Bingo

Jay Haddow (former U21s player) doesn't seem too happy with how he was treated https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3269107/ex-blackburn-rovers-defender-ready-help-kitchee-return-top-hong-kong-pile “Any time I asked about my plan, I received no clear answers,” Haddow said. “If I tried to look for a loan move, Blackburn provided no support. I played more than 60 matches in Premier League under-21 competitions, but my playing position was constantly changed. “My coaches were fantastic, but some individuals were clearly hindering my development. I was relieved when I was allowed to leave at the end of my contract.”

There will probably not be any replacements for them (even inadequate ones) if/when they are sold

Depends upon the age groups we are looking at (I would guess "emerging talent" relates to players 18 and under, but I may be wrong) The guy in question (Paul Aladejare) joined Rovers in January 2023, so has had to operate when Venkys had the taps turned off. Off the top of my head, Tijon was brought in from Rochdale last summer, Doherty this summer. The failed move for Brierly (now at Brentford) was also in this time period. I suppose if Rovers have no funds, to complete many of these deals, then his wage is another that can be cut, as he can identify all the talent he likes, and if no money is available for fees/wages, then it is an exercise in futility.

Schrodinger's Finneran

Was he? 4 goals in 15 last season at U21 level and 1 in 8 at U18 level I know he is in the Poland U20s squad, and does seem to have something about him, but it may simply be that he doesn't fancy his chances of progressing with Tijon here? Or maybe he (his agent) is still in the process of negotiating a slightly higher wage than the others who did sign yesterday Of course it could also be that he has done a Finneran/Phillips and decided the grass is greener (and more lucrative) elsewhere

Out of interest, what is the standard of goalkeeping in Denmark? Dingle Peacock-Farrell was at AGF last season and has always struck me as not very good. How did he do in comparison to other GKs in the top division in Denmark?

Why? All signs pointed to more of the same

Do we know if that means he hasn't signed it yet or isn't signing it?. From the statement I saw, either could be the case. Communication from the club is as good as ever

https://www.rovers.co.uk/news/2024/july/03/rovers-youngsters-sign-pro-deals/ Another minor bit of good news to end the day (this may become a pattern in the coming days) Junior Nsangou is not one of those who has signed though, not sure if that means he is off or still negotiating

Agree with everything you have posted there, great post. I would add Duru to your list though, both in terms of his ability and likely lack of funds, and possibly James Edmondson & Atcheson. In the early season cup games (albeit against lower league teams) and in the away game against West Brom, Garrrett did look like he had the potential to be a future Szmodics replacement (as in hard working goal scoring midfielder... not saying he will get close to 30 goals this year)

https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/sport/24426947.newcastle-united-hope-sign-rory-finneran-blackburn-rovers/

I may be wrong here, but I was under the impression that the women's game is not (at least currently, or in the near future) financially sustainable, as crowds, tv coverage etc do not come close to even paying the low wages mentioned in recent days I think that without being subsidised by the clubs, there would be even less funding for the women's teams. As I said, I may be wrong, and am more than happy for someone to give me a steer.

Yep, would almost certainly be either someone in the Kean/Coyle mould, or flipping a coin on a guy in his first managerial role

Yep, identifying talent does not mean that we bought said talent

quite probably

Next Seasons Squad Pears, Michalski, older GK if they can get one cheap, if not then either Hilton/Eastham Hyam, Carter, O'Riordan, Atcheson left footed CB on loan/Gamble Pickering, Gent Brittain, Duru Tronstad, JRC, Travis, Buckley, Garrett, Edmondson Hedges, fast headless chicken winger on loan/Markanday Sigurdsson, Gilsenan Dolan, Leonard, Vale, Tijon Szmodics, Gallagher sold to save money/keep lights on Telalovic back to the continent on loan with an option to buy Not including Wharton due to his injury Batty, loaned out. Markanday & Gamble loaned out if they get loans in who may be better Then all cross our fingers and hope court case goes ok in late August and scramble for late cast offs Not particularly hopeful

Even if Wahlstedt improves beyond all recognition, he is not getting in Sweden's first 11 in front of Viktor Johansson (who isn't even first choice himself)

He has already ben offered a new contract and even in our current state, they will have been able to match what he is currently on (otherwise they wouldn't have triggered his year option), so I don't think we have to worry there

"Head of Emerging Talent" Paul Aladejare left last week https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-aladejare-62a4ab66/ Friday was my last day at Blackburn and it has been a great journey within the first team recruitment department. Working with some top people with some really good work and business being done in the game and player trading model. Massive thanks to Gregg, Sean, Tom, Luke, Lewis and Stuart for all your support. With things around the direction of the club changing and external factors surrounding the club I believe it’s a great time for me to explore new opportunities. From waking up at 3am / 4am most days to get video work done just to compete against Premier League clubs with vast global scouting recruitment teams has been the biggest bow to my string. Identification of nemourous players valued at £350k 12/14 months ago now valued at £25-40million.The vast Hours of hard work, due diligence and data driven evidence based work to build a global database of talent from scratch has been my greatest job satisfaction which will yield fruits going forward. I am really proud we have been able to break barriers, engage and build relationships across the UK and afar with communities and organisations that felt disengaged with the club prior. Talent ID and recruitment is consistently evolving and I’ll be doing UK and European club visits over the next few weeks and look forward to seeing some new and familiar faces as well as continuing my personal development. The future belongs to those who prepare for it today. Winners embrace hard work they love the discipline of it, the trade off needed to win. It has been a absolute privilege and I wish the entire club, Steve, Suhail, Rudy and the gaffer the very best in the future. Yours in sport, Paul Aladejare

Because of his age, Dolan only leaves for free if he moves abroad next summer. Still a risk, but if there is no money to replace him, then its one that needs to be taken