Once Championship Sunday is in the books, the exodus of Premier League footballers to other destinations begins. Chelsea manager Frank Lampard confirmed yesterday that Pedro will be leaving the club once the Blues have played their final game of 2019-20.
Today, we discuss two central defenders on the move. Tottenham Hotspur star Jan Vertonghen is leaving White Hart Lane, and he’s now available as a free agent. Meanwhile Liverpool havs sold centre back Dejan Lovren to Zenit St. Petersburg for reportedly ยฃ10.9 million.
Thank you for all the support over the years. Youโve been amazing. We had many unbelievable memories but for now, itโs goodbye. ?#COYS pic.twitter.com/XrEjBaWb2C
— Jan Vertonghen (@JanVertonghen) July 27, 2020
The Belgian said his official goodbyes on social media this morning. The 33-year-old leaves the club after 232 games, 129 wins, 72 clean sheets, 6 goals and 4 assists, but unfortunately so trophies.
Tottenham’s notorious silverware drought, unfortunately, rolls on. Moving on to Lovren, the central part of the back line has become overcrowded with talent and depth at Anfield, with the 32-year-old Croatian an odd man out.
Lovren joined from Southampton in 2014 for ยฃ20 million, and he was about to leave the Merseyside club last season, but manager Jurgen Klopp convinced him to stay and provide depth in the back line for one more season. Lovren leaves having won both a Premier League and Champions League title.
It’s definitely best he moves on now, especially with Liverpool being linked with a host of centre half transfer targets this summer window.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, whichย is partnered withย News Now.ย Banks, the author ofย โNo, I Canโt Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,โ regularly contributes toย WGN TV,ย Sports Illustrated,ย Chicago Nowย andย SB Nation.
You can follow Banks, a former writer forย Chicago Tribune.com,ย onย Twitterย and hisย cat on Instagram.
