Done Deals Daily #20
PL2's top scorer jumps straight into the Championship Top 6 & an NTT20 favourite jumps up a division.
Get about as oiled as a diesel train
Gonna set this dance alight
'Cause Saturday night's the night I like
Saturday night's alright alright alright, ooh
Saturday, Saturday, Saturday
Saturday, Saturday, Saturday
Saturday, Saturday,
Saturday night's alright
Welcome to Done Deals Daily.
Callum Marshall (FW) - [West Ham - West Bromwich Albion] - Loan
Having signed a new long-term deal with West Ham, Premier League 2 bagsman Callum Marshall heads to the Baggies on loan. And what a Premier League 2 bagsman he is. The 19-year-old has scored 16 goals in 10 matches there, averaging a goal every 54 minutes – enough to earn him three full caps for Northern Ireland already.
This loan excites us. We’re going to learn a lot about one of the most potent teenage goalscorers in the country, and West Bromwich Albion feels like a great place for his first senior loan. Marshall won’t be expected to lead the line and play 90 minutes week in, week out, but he’ll be given opportunities in rotation to carry his form into the senior arena, while experiencing the intense spotlight of a Championship play-off push.
Couple this arrival with the news that homegrown youngster Tom Fellows has finally signed a new long-term deal to stay with Albion, and this adds up to a good day at The Hawthorns.
VERDICT: LOVE IT
Luke Thomas (LWB) - [Leicester - Middlesbrough] - Loan
Chris Wilder terminated the left-back’s loan spell earlier in January, after Luke Thomas had played close to 1,000 minutes for a struggling Sheffield United side. It hadn’t been a roaring success.
If you take the number of goals per 90 conceded by the Blades when Thomas was on the pitch and subtract the number of goals per 90 conceded when he wasn't, you're left with -1.43. Per 90. It’s the worst record of anyone in the squad who has played more than 10 games.
Middlesbrough are getting a player who, this season, has been a poor performer in a poorly performing team. But, with Alex Bangura out injured, it’s a signing of necessity. And Thomas has his moments – just ask Manchester United…
VERDICT: ON THE FENCE
Darius Lipsiuc (CM) - [St Patrick’s Athletic - Stoke] - Undisclosed
Lipsuic, 18, signs a two-and-a-half-year deal with The Potters. The midfielder has five Under 19 caps to his name, was captain of his club’s youth team and has a small amount of experience in the League of Ireland. He’ll initially join up with Stoke’s development side.
Kamil Conteh (CM) - [Grimsby - Bristol Rovers] - Fee believed to be in the region of £300,000
The transfer of an NTT20 favourite! In Transfers We Love in mid-August, we wrote:
“Conteh is the sort of system-proof midfielder that makes a team better, both in ways that are obvious and in subtler details, too. He is the sort of player that teams higher in the pyramid will begin to covet.”
It only took a few months! In his first season above National League level, Conteh settled in League Two quickly, snuffing out attacks and keeping things ticking over. It would be wrong to say that Conteh has been completely running the show or dominating every game, but his profile is incredibly attractive and his level of performance at a young age was always likely to catch the eye. Tidy in possession rather than expansive, press-resistant and very active defensively – every team needs a Conteh.
Especially Bristol Rovers. This was a big need for Gas, who have struggled for consistent quality and defensive chops at the base of midfield. Conteh will provide balance, and it’s easy to see how he and Sam Finley could complement each other well. This is an immediate floor-raiser for Bristol Rovers, with the potential to be something even more special if he keeps developing at the same speed.
No doubt this will be a tough one to take for Grimsby and their fans, but it’s a fantastic piece of player trading. Can they make further good decisions and make a habit of quality recruitment?
VERDICT: LOVE IT
Nathanael Ogbeta (LB/LWB) - [Swansea - Bolton Wanderers] Loan
We should declare an interest here. Two years ago, Ogbeta was included in our inaugural EFL 21 Under 21 list, days after moving from Shrewsbury to Swansea.
Credit: Sky Sports
Let’s just say this one hasn’t aged as well as Alex Scott. It’s two years since then, and the last of Ogbeta’s 53 league minutes for the Swans came in March 2022. It has been, quite frankly, a disaster of a move for all parties, and it’s never been entirely clear why he was out of favour so quickly, and so definitively.
Ogbeta is still only 22, and his performances in 20 games for Peterborough last season reminded everyone of his quality: he is a skilful left-back, able to add plenty to a good attacking team at League One level. That is exactly what Bolton are. With Randell Williams out for several weeks, Ian Evatt needed to add a left-wing back with real final third ability.
Ogbeta has only recently returned from a nasty quad injury suffered in April 2023, and has work to do to prove certain doubters wrong. Ultimately, Bolton’s style and attacking quality should allow him opportunities to demonstrate the best aspects of his game.
VERDICT: LIKE IT
Jonathan Leko (FW) - [MK Dons - Burton Albion] - Loan
Another opportunity for Jonathan Leko, as he looks to kickstart a career that has never really taken off since breaking through at West Bromwich Albion aged 16.
An England youth international at various age groups, Leko has had an indifferent professional life, impressing under Lee Bowyer at Charlton Athletic pre-injury and briefly sparkling for MK during their relegation battle, but otherwise flattering to deceive. A bright start to this campaign dimmed quickly, with a niggling injury hampering him before he struggled to find a role under Mike Williamson.
The 24-year-old has a physical skillset that’s the envy of many, but questions remain over his consistency, technical ability and game intelligence. Martin Paterson, who has so far favoured a similar formation to Williamson, needs to both find a role for him and unlock something we've yet to see.
VERDICT: ON THE FENCE
Anton Dudik (FW) - [Unattached - Carlisle] - Free
Carlisle have handed 19-year-old Ukrainian forward Anton Dudik a contract until the end of the season. Dudik has been on trial at the club for the last couple of months and was on the books at Volyn Lutsk, Shakhtar Donetsk and Slask Wroclaw before relocating to England.
VERDICT: ONE FOR THE FUTURE
Charlie Cummins (CM) - [Cobh Ramblers] - Undisclosed compensation
Exeter will integrate Charlie Cummins into the first team picture methodically after handing the Irish teenager an 18-month contract following a successful trial period. To begin with, Cummins will be training with the seniors while playing for the Under-21s.
VERDICT: ONE FOR THE FUTURE
Harry Anderson (RW) - [Stevenage - Colchester] - Loan
"If you are Danny Cowley and you are Colchester, what a signing Harry Anderson would be." Not our words. The words of Stevenage manager Steve Evans, the man sending Anderson out on loan after one (1) minute of league football following his arrival last summer.
Injuries and even a minor car crash have made this a difficult season for Anderson, but Evans is insistent that the 27-year-old has "got himself incredibly fit". And who else to get the best from him but Danny Cowley, Anderson's manager in successful spells with Braintree Town and Lincoln City?
We'll have to see if injury and playing just 70 senior minutes this season have impacted the winger's speed and sharpness, but his dribbling ability and League Two experience ("I know this league inside out") should aid Colchester in their relegation fight.
VERDICT: LIKE IT
Done Deals Daily is brought to you by Ali Maxwell, George Elek, Huw Davies, Craig Bradley, Ryan Deeney and the NTT20 Squad hivemind — go well!