Liverpool deal delights Rosler and Fleetwood expect Eggert exit

leetwood boss Uwe Rosler was pleased to boost his midfield options by securing Liverpool youngster Cameron Brannagan but said he was not seeking more additions ahead of tonight's 11pm transfer deadline.
Cameron BrannaganCameron Brannagan
Cameron Brannagan

The 20-year-old attacking midfielder has moved from Anfield on loan until the end of the season.

Brannagan was ineligible for Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Southend but is in contention for the visit to Charlton this weekend.

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With Eggert Jonsson linked with a move back to Scandinavia and Jimmy Ryan out injured long-term, Brannagan will compete with Kyle Dempsey, George Glendon, Bobby Grant and Marcus Schwabl for a midfield spot in Rosler’s favoured 3-5-2 wing-back formation.

Having come from his fellow German Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool set-up, Rosler says Brannagan already knows how to press.

The head coach is “delighted” to have signed him and hinted players are likely to leave the club today.

Rosler said: “Eggert Jonsson will most likely leave and we were short on midfield numbers. We had four midfielders for three positions, so we needed to add a player.

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“Cameron has been on our radar for quite some time. We discussed him very seriously in the summer.

“He wasn’t available but now he has come available. He knows how to press because he has played for Jurgen Klopp, so that is very good. He is a very good footballer, who wants to go out and prove himself.

“He has already played nine games for Liverpool last season. This season it didn’t happen for him so far and he wanted to play men’s football.

“We are delighted to have him. We give him an opportunity and I’m sure he will buy in completely with what we try to do here on the playing side, but also with the camaraderie that is important for me.

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“We have five established midfielders, plus Jack Sowerby can play there, plus Victor Nirennold and Conor McLaughlin when it is really needed, so I think we have enough. From my side I’m not looking for any more additions.”

As Brannagan arrives, striker Chris Long has finally left the club officially.

The 21-year-old’s season-long loan deal from Burnley ended early and the Premier League club immediately loaned him out again to Town’s League One rivals Bolton.

Long scored four goals in 23 appearances, but Rosler said he could not risk having someone who did not want to be at the club ruining the “unbelievable” spirit of his fourth-placed side.

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The Town boss said: “I told him I wanted to keep him. I said, ‘Chris, I think it is a defining moment in your career. You will get games, I promise you, so long as you train hard and work hard. If you fire one or two goals in, you will get your confidence back.’

“We are not sending him back. It was the wish of his agent and of the player. I would have kept him happily because I think he integrated well.

“He was very good in the first six or seven games for us.

“Sometimes you have to fight through adversity to come good again and I hoped he would have stayed but I can’t risk the spirit in the group. When players don’t want to be there, then I will not stand in their way.”

Fleetwood have accepted an FA fine for failing to ensure their ‘Club Whereabouts’ information was accurate in accordance with anti-doping rules.

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The regulations require clubs to keep the FA fully informed of training times, dates and venues, and of players’ addresses in order that drug tests can be carried out.

There is no suggestion of any Fleetwood player having failed or missed a drug test.