Bolton Cancels Danny Shittu's contract; Surprise inclusions & omissions from the 25-man Premier League squads
On the first of September, the Premier League sides announced their 25-man squads for the coming season, and as expected, there were a few surprises.
The biggest surprise of them all is Jonathan Woodgate, who has been left out of the Tottenham Hotspur squad because of an injury.
Meanwhile, Manchester United’s injury plagued midfielder Owen Hargreaves, who has made just one appearance for his club in the last two years, has been included in the 25-man Manchester United squad.
Another surprise is the inclusion of Roque Santa Cruz in the Manchester City squad, as it was believed that the Paraguayan would be offloaded to some European destination and would not play any part in the season, but surprisingly for all, he will now be competing with the likes of Carlos Tevez, Emmanuel Adebayor and David Silva for a place in the starting line up.
Stoke City have omitted striker Mamady Sidibe from the squad, who had snapped his Achilles tendon earlier in the summer.
Arsenal’s 25-man squad does not boast of any Englishmen apart from Jack Wilshere and Theo Walcott from the English U-21 contingent.
Another surprise omission from the squads is the Wolves midfielder Michael Kightly, who had knee-injury problems and has been left out of the squad. The 24-year old has not played for his side since November, 2009 and is expected to be sent out on loan once he regains full fitness.
Owen Hargreaves has been battling tendinitis for almost two years now and he was supposed to make a comeback at the start of the season, but he suffered a setback during the preseason tour as he had to be rushed back to Richard Steadman’s clinic in New York.
Roque Santa Cruz at Manchester City, after his surprise inclusion in the squad, will now be at loggerheads with other strikers like Mario Balotelli, Tevez and Adebayor for a place in the starting 11.
The new Premier League ruling required all the clubs to name a squad consisting of 25 players by 1700 BST on the 1st of September, with only under 21 players allowed to supplement the named squad until January, when the clubs can again buy and sell and will name another squad of 25 on February the 1st.
According to the spokesmen of the Premier League, the new rule has been designed to increase the number of home-grown players in the Premier League, and it is aimed at providing the England manager with a wider array of young talent.
With the new rule, England are now following in the footsteps of the German Bundesliga, who are required to have the same number of home-grown players in their squad (but there is no written rule for that).
Last month, Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp suggested that if Jonathan Woodgate does not undergo surgery on his groin, he might have to retire from football altogether.
Woodgate made only 3 starts in the Premier League last season, and has been away from action since November 2009.
In other EPL news, Bolton Wanderers have terminated the contract of Nigerian defender Daniel ‘Danny’ Shittu.
The defender had penned a three year contract in August 2008, when he signed from Watford for a fee of 2 million pounds.
The defender only made 10 appearances in his maiden season, and did not feature in any games last term.
Shittu was named in his national side (Nigeria) for the World Cup and played in all three of their group games.
The centre-back began his footballing career at Charlton Athletic and moved to Blackpool and Queens Park Rangers, before the latter club signed him permanently in 2002 in a deal that was sponsored by the club’s supporters.
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