PREMIERSHIP COUNTDOWN: TRANSFERS TO WATCH

THE new Sports Insure Premiership season is now just three weeks away with Sheffield set to defend the title they won in dramatic fashion last autumn.

There are two newcomers to the top-flight – Birmingham and Oxford – whilst of the five clubs remaining from 2023, two have made significant changes from last year, whereas the other three have kept the core of their existing line-ups.

We’ve split our list of transfers to watch into two sections, due to the fact that the sad loss of Peterborough and Wolverhampton means their riders would inevitably be requiring new home bases in 2024, whilst there has still been some interesting activity involving the other clubs.

Here’s some of the key winter Premiership moves:

Tobiasz Musielak – Sheffield to King’s Lynn

The Polish star enjoyed a brilliant season in 2023, achieving an average of 8.69 with Sheffield although he was unable to take part in their play-off campaign due to injury.

That brought an end to his successful two-year stint at Owlerton, following on from previous title successes earlier in his career with Swindon.

Now he faces a new challenge in 2024 as No.1 at King’s Lynn, with the Stars making that position a top priority for their winter rebuild. He had a great record at the AFA as a visiting rider, and the Norfolk side will be looking for him to lead from the front.

Nicolai Klindt – King’s Lynn to Oxford

There weren’t many bright spots for King’s Lynn in 2023 but Klindt put in several excellent displays, taking over as captain in mid-season and doing much to steady the ship.

Unfortunately his campaign came to an early end due to injury, and the new season sees him on the move to the Premiership newcomers.

The Oxford Spires have built an attractive-looking line-up with plenty of UK experience in their ranks, and Klindt’s track knowledge will be important to their chances of success

Charles Wright – Belle Vue to Oxford

The former British Champion is on the move after three years with Belle Vue, and is another rider on the comeback trail after serious injury ended his 2023 season.

Wright joins the Spires on a 6.31 average (discounted to 6.15) and should slot nicely into their middle-order on a track where he won the Championship Pairs with Redcar in 2022.

And the make-up of the team should always ensure a strong reserve, with Lewis Kerr starting in the No.6 position.

Tom Brennan – Belle Vue to Birmingham

Having graduated from the Rising Star berth, Brennan spent much of 2023 in the Belle Vue top five and pushed his Premiership average up to just over six.

This year he makes the move to Birmingham, a venue where he has made several guest appearances at Championship level in recent years.

He’ll have a significant part to play for the Brummies, who include three members of their top five with little recent experience of UK tracks, and will therefore need their established racers to hit the ground running.

Adam Ellis – (Sheffield) to Ipswich

The 2021 British Champion wasn’t actually in a Premiership team declaration at the end of last season having lost his place with Sheffield after nearly three years at Owlerton.

But he must still be regarded as a significant winter transfer, as his average of 5.71 (discounted to 5.57) appears to represent a real bargain for Ipswich.

Ellis comes into the Witches’ middle-order alongside skipper Danny King, with their responsibility being to provide the support for the awesome spearhead of Emil Sayfutdinov and Jason Doyle. If he can recapture his previous UK form, the Witches could be on to a winner.

Rider movement from Peterborough and Wolverhampton

Ryan Douglas, Sam Masters, Luke Becker – Wolverhampton to Leicester

This trio of riders will be swapping West Midlands for East Midlands this season, although for two of them it’s still very much familiar territory.

Douglas spent the 2019 and 2021 Championship campaigns with the Lions and has impressed on his returns over the last couple of years, whilst Masters rode for the Beaumont Park club in a doubling-up capacity back in 2015.

Becker changes clubs for the first time in his UK career and completes a strong-looking top five which includes two returning riders from last year, Max Fricke and Richard Lawson.

Vadim Tarasenko, Niels-Kristian Iversen and Benjamin Basso – Peterborough to King’s Lynn

The Panthers ended last season as arguably the form team in the Premiership, but their problems in the first half of the campaign meant they couldn’t challenge for a play-off place.

The arrival of Tarasenko was one of the reasons for their upturn, and he enjoyed an excellent meeting in the Panthers’ away win at King’s Lynn.

Tarasenko heads to the Adrian Flux Arena this year along with Basso, who made guest appearances for the Stars last year, and there’s also a return for club stalwart Iversen who was in excellent form at the end of 2023 and will slot into a much-changed top five.

Steve Worrall, Zach Cook and Leon Flint – Wolverhampton to Birmingham

Worrall spent two years at Wolverhampton after his lengthy previous association with Belle Vue, and he now heads the ex-Wolves trio making the switch to Perry Barr.

Cook was a big success at Monmore last season and helped Wolves to enjoy much better fortune at reserve, whilst Flint will also be expecting to improve his average in what is likely to be his final season as a Rising Star.

His average at present is 4.00, the maximum possible for a rider in that category, and his previous experience at Birmingham in the NDL and having won the British U21 Final at Perry Barr in 2022 should stand him in good stead.

Chris Harris – Peterborough to Oxford

Bomber is on the move again in the Premiership after a turbulent 2023 which saw him start the campaign as Leicester captain before making the switch back to Peterborough in early August.

His average may have dropped from what was an excellent ’22 season personally, but he was still very much a wanted rider and the fans at Cowley can expect some typically thrilling action whenever Harris is on track.

With top-flight league titles for Coventry (2005, 07, 10), Poole (2018) and Peterborough (2021) already on his CV, what price Harris making it six of the best with the Spires this year?

Ben Cook – Peterborough to Belle Vue

Many observers made Cook the Rider of the Year at Peterborough last season, and his first campaign in the Premiership had to be regarded as a success.

He racked up some big scores at reserve for the Panthers and also impressed in the main body, continuing the constant upward progression in his career since he first rode for Poole.

Cook now hooks up with his national team boss Mark Lemon at Belle Vue along with Aussie team-mates Brady Kurtz and Jaimon Lidsey, and he’ll be expecting to dial in quickly at the Manchester venue.

Stepping up from Rising Star

Jordan Jenkins – Peterborough to Ipswich

Jenkins really got to grips with life in the Premiership last season and his average of 4.21 was the highest of any of the Rising Star riders.

He was key to strong results for the Panthers at both Wolverhampton and King’s Lynn, and with his Championship form also being good for Oxford, it was very much a breakthrough campaign.

He now takes the No.6 berth at Ipswich, another club he knows well, and will be looking to keep up that progress with the Foxhall side.

Drew Kemp – Leicester

Kemp remains with the Lions in 2024 after a successful return to the Premiership midway through last year, which saw him record an average of 4.04.

Kemp enjoyed greater consistency with the East Midlands outfit than in his previous stints in the top-flight, and he now steps up to the No.6 position.

The other benefit for the Lions is the 25% discount on his average, enabling them to pack their top five with experienced riders, and Kemp will look to star as senior reserve this year.