Conclusion
I’m not saying we’re looking at these leagues, but teams that have come up have seemingly looked to Australia, Austria, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Serbia and Sweden.
Of those, I think we can rule a couple out. I cannot see us heading to Australia, especially not as Portsmouth didn’t have great success. I also feel Scandinavia is another we might avoid. Erik Ring hasn’t really settled, and the two lads at Peterborough had the same issues. Maybe I’m being harsh there, but I suspect we’ll cast our eye elsewhere.
So, that leaves two on the cusp for me, Belgium and the Netherlands, while Austria and Serbia are others from the list of previously trodden paths. Now, referring to Opta’s league strengths, those divisions are 6th (Belgium), 17th (Netherlands), 34th (Austria), and 65th (Serbia).
I think that gives us an average league strength we might look at. If the outliers are Belgium (a bit pricey) and Serbia (a bit random), then the European top flights between 17th and 34th, discounting Scandinavia? Switzerland, Greece, Czechia, Cyprus and Hungary, perhaps?
With that in mind, over the course of the week, I’ll look for players in those divisions who might be of interest to a lower-end Championship club looking to add strength and depth to their existing squad ahead of a season of consolidation.
Comments Welcome!