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Published May 12, 2026, 9:10 AM GMT+1
Daniel is an experienced football writer and editor, having worked in the football media industry for over a decade.
After voluntarily writing for Fresh Press for two years, helping to build and establish the Read brand, Daniel started a part-time job with Fresh Press that later turned into a full-time writing and editing role, writing for club-specific pages such as Read Norwich, Read Celtic, Read Liverpool, and Read Arsenal.
Daniel spent just shy of a year writing and editing for Liverpool-based website, Anfield Watch, which included conducting and/or transcribing interviews with Liverpool goalkeeping coach John Achterberg, former Wycombe striker Adebayo Akinfenwa, and journalist Fabrizio Romano.
Since the summer of 2021, Daniel has worked for Snack Media (now Valnet) and has been a contributor to Football FanCast, on a freelance and full-time basis, as a writer and editor.
Daniel is a Norwich City fan and season ticket holder. He has been heard on BBC Norfolk and helped DAZN with research for their commentary due to his knowledge of the club, along with being featured in several local papers across the country, including the Coventry Telegraph and the Liverpool Echo, for Norwich-related content.
Daniel's knowledge extends to Scottish football, having covered Celtic and Rangers for several years. He particularly enjoys producing player analysis and producing transfer content.
Ipswich Town and Southampton were both relegated alongside each other in the 2024/25 Premier League and could both come straight back up.
The Tractor Boys have already been promoted from the Championship after finishing second in the division, whilst the Saints are in the play-offs and could yet make their way back to the big time.
In the 2024/25 campaign, the two teams conceded the most and second-most goals in the Premier League, as Ipswich let in 82 and Southampton conceded a whopping 86 goals in 38 games.
Both teams know that they need to be significantly better defensively if they want to avoid coming straight back down to the second tier upon promotion.
That is why Ipswich and Southampton must both be in the market to add more defensive quality to their squads when the summer transfer window opens next month.
Southampton and Ipswich in talks to sign Ligue 1 centre-back
The Saints, of course, previously had one of the best centre-backs in Premier League history on their books in the form of Virgil van Dijk, who has five PFA Team of the Year inclusions since 2016.
Now, both clubs are looking at a Ligue 1 player who could return to England this summer as the Premier League's next version of the Dutchman in the making.
According to French outlet Foot Sur 7, Southampton and Ipswich Town are both interested in a deal to sign Marseille defender CJ Egan-Riley in the summer transfer window.
The report claims that both teams have made contact to enter into talks to gain information on his current situation and how much it would take to snap him up from the Ligue 1 side.
Whilst Foot Sur 7 does not reveal how much Marseille will demand for the central defender, it does state that the French club are willing to cash in on Egan-Riley because they need to raise funds after missing out on European football.
The English talent is said to want regular football and Southampton or Ipswich could offer him that in the Premier League next season, should the former win the play-offs.
How CJ Egan-Riley could be the Premier League's next Virgil van Dijk
Egan-Riley has struggled for game time in the French top-flight with Marseille this season, playing 11 times, but his form for Burnley in the 2024/25 campaign was immense.
The 23-year-old star has the potential to be a van Dijk-esque talent for Southampton or Ipswich because he is an incredibly mobile defender who is dominant on the ground.
He helped Burnley to reach 100 points and kept 26 clean sheets in his 40 starts in the Championship in the 2024/25 campaign, showing off his quality and consistency at that level to earn a move to Marseille.
|
Appearances |
41 |
36 |
|
Tackles per game |
1.5 |
0.6 |
|
Interceptions per game |
0.9 |
0.6 |
|
Dribbled past per game |
0.1x |
0.0x |
|
Duels won per game |
4.2 |
5.6 |
|
Fouls per game |
0.4 |
0.5 |
|
Ground duel success rate |
75% |
71% |
Like van Dijk, opposition forwards rarely dribble past Egan-Riley because he has the mobility and pace to get to the ball before they can get past him, which is why he won 75% of his ground duels last term.
Whilst his game time in France has been limited, the English colossus showed signs of quality in his three appearances in the league phase of the Champions League, 100% (8/8) of his ground duels without being dribbled past a single time.
He has only started eight games in Ligue 1 this season, winning 58% of his duels, but Southampton and Ipswich should be grateful for that, because it has opened the door for them to sign him this summer.
At the age of 23, Egan-Riley still has a lot of time left ahead of him to develop, and he has already shown that he can produce high-quality performances in England and in the Champions League.
Ipswich or Southampton must now offer him the chance to play regular football in the Premier League to see if he can be the division's next version of van Dijk, with his pace across the deck and dominance in duels as an out-and-out defender.
It is clear to see that both teams need to invest in their defence, based on what happened in the top-flight last year, and signing Egan-Riley could be a big step towards solving their issues in that area of the pitch.
Ipswich should submit a bid as quickly as possible, now, whilst Southampton are still in the play-offs and may not be able to make an offer until they know what league they will be playing in next season.
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English (US) · 
French (CA) ·