Stoke City defender reveals fitness boost ahead of Sunderland clash as Hull City ‘close in’ on Chelsea starlet

Here, we round-up all the latest stories that have emerged from around the Championship:

Stoke City defender on return to first-team action

Manchester United loanee Axel Tuanzebe made his first start in over a year when Stoke City faced Brighton and Hove Albion in the FA Cup on Tuesday night. Tuanzebe joined the Potters on-loan in January, but had featured for just eight minutes under Alex Neil before Tuesday’s cup appearance.

The 25-year-old, whose most recent loan spell came at Napoli, couldn’t prevent Stoke’s exit from the cup, however, he has revealed he is fit enough to face Sunderland at the weekend. Tuanzebe said: “I was just happy to be back and dusting off the rough edges and building from this now, and go forward.

“No matter what kind of condition you’re in, you have to expose yourself to as many games as possible to get back to top condition. Definitely (ready to play again on Saturday).”

EFL release Reading statement

The EFL have released a statement regarding Reading FC and the latest threat of a points deduction surrounding the club. The statement read: ‘In November 2021, the EFL and Reading Football Club reached an Agreed Decision in respect of the Club’s failure to comply with the League’s Profit and Sustainability (P&S) Rules.

‘As part of the decision, the Club is required to comply with the terms of a Business Plan up until the end of season 2022/23. The plan focuses on a number of financial targets with the objective of improving the Club’s financial performance.

‘The League is currently reviewing submissions from Reading to determine whether compliance has been achieved.

‘There will be no further comment on the matter at this time.’

Hull City move for permanent Chelsea transfer

According to the Mail Online, Xavier Simons is set to have his loan move to Hull City made into a permanent deal after the Tigers agreed a deal with the Blues. Simons has made five senior appearances for Hull since joining on a temporary basis from Stamford Bridge in the summer.

The deal will include a sell-on clause for Chelsea, should Hull make a profit on the midfielder.