After missing out on promotion via the play-offs for the second year running, Peterborough United will be hoping to mount another bid for a move into the second tier next term.
It would be a tight two-legged tie with Oxford United, with their opponents only just prevailing. The U’s would win the first leg 1-0 and would then manage to hold Peterborough to a 1-1 draw at the Weston Homes Stadium to book their ticket to Wembley, where they’d subsequently gain promotion.
For Posh, it was a disappointing outcome as they once again missed out on their goal of promotion. They will however be expected to challenge towards the top of the table next season and will have a very good chance of doing just that if able to keep ahold of the majority of their squad.
There’s no guarantee that will be the case though, with multiple starters touted with both Championship and Premier League moves. As a result, some new names will be needed and the club are already believed to be busy and in the market for a couple of players.
They have however missed out on a former target, with Plymouth Argyle announcing via their official website, the signing of Swansea City defender Nathanael Ogbeta on a free transfer. The 23-year-old is the first signing of the Wayne Rooney era at Home Park and he’ll be hoping to break into the starting lineup.
Ogbeta, who was heavily out of favour at Swansea, has spent part of each of the last two seasons out on loan, first with Posh during the 2022/23 season and then with Bolton Wanderers for the second half of the 2023/24 season.
He’d impress during both of those loan spells, but not enough to earn himself a new contract at his parent club.
The Peterborough Telegraph reported in January that Peterborough had displayed an interest in signing the defender this summer with his contract up at Swansea but they’ve now missed out, with Plymouth gaining his services.
The depth of the squad has been somewhat questioned this season at the Weston Homes Stadium and it’s certainly something the club will be looking at this summer. Although they may have missed out on Ogbeta, expect them to still be very active in the free agent market.
Writer’s View
Ogbeta has proved himself as a solid League One defender but is yet to do that in the second tier. He needs regular game time and is more likely to get that at Plymouth rather than Swansea but the move does come with risks attached for the Pilgrims.
It’s unknown whether he was still on the radar of Peterborough but it wouldn’t come as a surprise if he was given that he enjoyed his previous stay with the club. At 23 year-of-age he has plenty of potential, he just needs to show that in the Championship.
Posh will continue to look for more defensive options over the summer and need to add some depth as it was something which hurt them at points during the season. If addressing that issue, expect Darren Ferguson’s side to be bang there yet again.
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