Last season didn’t exactly go to plan for Peterborough United. Following back-to-back League One play-off finishes in the previous two seasons, expectations were understandably high heading into the last campaign.
However, those expectations did not even come close to being realised, with the club instead finishing only five points above the relegation zone. After years of success, Peterborough seem to have hit a wall, and things have only gotten worse since then.
Big Departures
The side that narrowly avoided relegation last season has been severely weakened in this transfer window so far. Kwame Poku, who got 20 goal contributions in 27 League One games last season has departed on a free transfer. However, they did receive some compensation due to the player’s age which is believed to be in the region of £900,000 plus add ons.
Malik Mothersille, who also scored 12 goals for the club last season, has left for League One rivals Stockport County. The fee Peterborough received for the Jamaican is undisclosed but is known to be Stockport’s record transfer which previously stood at £800k.
Ricky-Jade Jones has also left the club following 11 goals last season and 10 the season before. Despite being linked heavily with a move to the EFL Championship, Jade Jones has controversially decided to join Bundesliga side St. Pauli which negatively affects Peterborough.
Another key player, Hector Kyprianou, has also left on a free transfer joining EFL Championship side Watford. Central defender Emmanuel Fernandez has also joined Rangers for a large fee. This leaves Posh without four of their top five goal scorers from last season.
Oli Coker
Losing their top players is nothing new for Peterborough fans.
The last few seasons have seen key talents such as Ronnie Edwards and Harrison Burrows depart, with the club then looking to the lower leagues for players that they can develop.
Southend United midfielder Oli Coker is seemingly the latest player that they have identified as part of this strategy.
Born in 2003, Coker has been with the Shrimpers since 2011 and has been a first team regular for the past two seasons. However, he is used as more of a squad player than a guaranteed starter, with Southend having vast amounts of quality depth in the middle of the park.
At just 22-years-old, Coker is only going to improve and he brings a unique quality to central midfield in that he knows where the back of the net is.
The Englishman registered five goals and five assists in 35 National League appearances last campaign. It is worth noting that Peterborough have not made an official offer for the player as of yet.
Next Season
Last season may well bring Peterborough’s transfer strategy into question. Whilst being a ‘selling club’ is all well and good, we have seen with other ‘selling clubs’ such as Southampton and Ajax, that there is a ceiling to what you can achieve when you are constantly letting your best players go year after year.
Perhaps Peterborough have reached that ceiling and are now going backwards. If Darren Ferguson’s side aren’t going to be in a relegation battle this season, they need players who are going to make an immediate improvement to the team.
