All posts by n8rngtd.top

This was the big one for Leeds. In many senses, it was their cup final after being promoted to the Premier League.

When the fixture list was revealed in pre-season, this was the game every Whites supporter looked for – a trip to Old Trafford.

There is a fierce rivalry between these two sides and it was sad that nobody was inside the ground to witness it. However, Leeds fans can probably count themselves fortunate that they were watching from home instead.

This was a reality check for Marcelo Bielsa’s side as they were absolutely battered at Old Trafford, being defeated 6-2.

There was a barrage on Illan Meslier’s goal as he was forced to make eight saves from a total of 25 attempts towards his goal. The Leeds defence was utterly abysmal and it wasn’t helped by Pascal Struijk’s introduction at half-time.

The young Dutchman looked out of his depth and gave away a penalty for a clumsy challenge on Anthony Martial. However, there was a Leeds attacker that was arguably even worse – Raphinha.

The summer signing has been impressive since signing for the Whites – scoring against Everton and amassing 2.6 shots per game – but on this occasion he was woeful.

Raphinha epitomised their abject performance going forward, losing the ball a colossal 36 times – more than anyone on the pitch. He did supply a late goal-scoring opportunity for Jack Harrison but that was as good as it got for the Brazilian who endured a horrible evening in Manchester.

To make matters worse, the forward failed to win any of the nine duels he attempted, while he was unsuccessful with every single dribble he attempted. Furthermore, Raphinha completed only 74% of his passes and provided three accurate crosses from 13 balls into the box.

With Pablo Hernandez waiting in the wings this is a performance that should have the Spaniard standing to attention. After assisting two goals in an eight-minute cameo against Newcastle, his wait for a start could soon be over.

On the big stage, Raphinha’s performance wasn’t good enough and it should have left Bielsa fuming.

AND in other news, Leeds could have their NEW Ben White if Orta sanctions swoop for “huge talent”…

Big things were expected of Wesley Hoedt when he joined Southampton in a £15 million deal back in 2017 but it is fair to say that things did not go to plan for the defender at the South Coast club.

However, it now seems as if there could be a way out for the Dutch centre-back, as Lazio, where he is currently on loan, are reportedly keen to make his stay permanent in the January transfer window, in a deal that would see them re-sign the 26-year-old.

In his three years with Southampton, Hoedt has managed just 45 appearances, in which he contributed one goal and one assist (per Transfermarkt).

The Dutch international has spent time on loan with Celta Vigo and Royal Antwerp in his time with the Saints but never looked likely to re-establish himself in Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side when he returned in the summer and was sent back to Lazio on loan shortly before the transfer window shut.

In fact, the centre-back is yet to make a first-team appearance under Hasenhuttl, suggesting that he has no future with the South Coast club whilst the Austrian remains in charge.

Therefore, the club will surely be relieved that Lazio are reportedly considering making his move permanent in the January transfer window, although they will surely have to take a loss on the £15 million they spent on him in 2017, considering he is now valued at just £5.4 million.

Hoedt’s performances in Serie A this season have been less than impressive, as he has averaged a disappointing 6.41 rating for his performances, so really, Southampton will be lucky to receive any sort of fee for the 26-year-old.

However, with his Southampton contract set to expire in June 2022, they may be better accepting whatever Lazio might offer in January, rather than holding on to him and potentially seeing him leave on a free transfer in 2022.

Whilst things didn’t work out for Hoedt at Southampton, it seems as if it would be best for both parties if he just left the club for good in January, to bring an end to what has been a nightmare three-year spell with the Saints.

And, in other news… Southampton can sign 22 y/o beast likened to Frenkie De Jong in January…

Many Crystal Palace fans are reacting to the news that Scottish Premiership midfield star Glen Kamara is attracting the interest of the South London side.

According to TEAMtalk and tweeted out by @cpfc_xtra, Palace and fellow Premier League sides Everton, Newcastle, Sheffield United, Southampton as well as Portuguese giants Benfica are monitoring the Rangers player.

The 25 year-old has been a key asset for Steven Gerrard this season, playing 18 times in all competitions (WhoScored). In his Europa League appearances, he has proved how crucial he is at breaking up opposition attacks as he has managed two tackles and 1.6 interceptions per game. Clearly, some fans at Selhurst Park rate the player highly, with one saying his performances this season have shown real ‘quality’.

James McCarthy is linked to Celtic, Luka Milivojevic is struggling to perform at the level needed and James McArthur is nearing the end of his career. Therefore, a central midfielder around Kamara’s age could be exactly what the club need and would be a very astute signing.

Here is how Palace fans reacted to the update on Kamara:

In other Palace news, have a read of a bizarre statistic about the club which fans aren’t happy with here!

Sheffield Wednesday fell to a fourth straight defeat in the Championship on Saturday afternoon, meaning the pressure is surely mounting on manager Garry Monk to quickly turn things around.

The Owls were defeated by basement boys Wycombe Wanderers, who now have recorded their first victory of the season. Embarrassing.

Statistics tell a different story – 73% possession, 15 total shots and well over double the number of passes, per SofaScore, but at the end of the day, it’s only the scoreline that matters.

Evidently, the South Yorkshiremen have struggled in front of goal and perhaps Monk is risking his own downfall with his persistence to start woeful Rams loanee, Jack Marriott.

He was abysmal in leading the line once again.

The 26-year-old won just one of seven duels (14%), committed two fouls, made just 63% of his passes, lost possession ten times and had both of his shots blocked by the opposition, via SofaScore.

As a result of his socking performance, YorkshireLive’s Dom Howson scathingly handed him a four out of ten rating, claiming: “Another difficult afternoon for the Derby County loanee. Nothing seems to be falling for him right now. Cut a frustrated figure when he was subbed off.”

Since arriving in the summer, Marriott has bagged just once and that came in the second match of the season for Derby, meaning he’s yet to get off the mark for the Owls in five attempts. Somehow, he has still started the last four and has looked utterly hopeless.

Monk will undoubtedly be under pressure to deliver, that much is evident in supporters’ reaction to the club’s official Twitter account at full-time, as you can read here.

He’s building his own grave by continuing to trust Marriott. The former Peterborough star has been a calamity at Hillsborough thus far.

Instead, the former Swansea, Leeds and Birmingham boss should axe his summer arrival – accept that it hasn’t gone to plan just yet. It could well buy him a little more time.

Jordan Rhodes, who will certainly have a point to prove, is wasting away on the bench. Monk needs to make the change to salvage his Owls career before it’s too late.

AND in other news, try the Ultimate Sheffield Wednesday transfer misfits quiz…

Chris Wilder has slammed Glasgow Rangers target John Lundstram’s decision to turn down a new contract at Sheffield United.

Wilder unhappy with John Lundstram

The ‘Gers have been heavily linked with a move for the 26-year-old and they are now said to be fighting with West Ham for his signature.

The midfielder has less than a year left on his contract, but he was offered a new deal. However, he appears to have turned that down, and that has left Wilder particularly unhappy. The Blades manager said:

“It has been frustrating for me personally. I wanted John to stop here. We have discussed for a few months about him stopping.

“We have offered him an attractive contract, up there with the top players at the club.

“I will move on and not think too much about it. I will concentrate on players who want to sign here. Fleck, Stevens, Norwood, new players, Egan Basham, Sharp. It is a very good offer. John and his agent want to negotiate elsewhere.

Discussing whether he would still pick him this season, Wilder admitted:

“I have to think hard about it and I am frustrated. John should have signed it. Players have committed to us. Should I be beside those, or a player who has not committed?

“We will invite offers for a good young player who did well in his first season in the Premier League.

“He is still a Sheffield United player and available for selection. We are coming into a period where it is straightforward, He runs down his contract, that is not ideal for us.”

Another boost for Gerrard

It seems the ‘Gers may well be in with a chance of signing Lundstram. Wilder has pretty much confirmed that the 26-year-old will be on the move soon, perhaps as early as January – it is now up to the 54-time Scottish champions to convince him to move north of the border.

Lundstram is a player with plenty of experience and a strong pedigree. He made 34 appearances in the Premier League last season as Sheffield United finished in the top 10, scoring five goals and providing three assists. Currently valued at £7.2m by Transfermarkt, Steven Gerrard could surely put him to good use at Ibrox.

In other news, Borussia Dortmund are targetting this Rangers star.

Manuel Lanzini stole the show against Tottenham Hotspur last weekend when the West Ham United midfielder’s stoppage-time screamer found a way into the top corner of Hugo Lloris’ net.

It was a strike that reminded everyone of the skill the Argentine once showed on a regular basis in east London, but Lanzini’s first Premier League goal since May 2019 also served as a stark wake-up call for how long it has been since the 27-year-old’s finest hours in claret and blue.

Only a few years ago, Lanzini’s talents secured his seat on the plane to the 2018 World Cup only for a serious knee injury sustained in training to rule the midfielder out of the competition without a ball being kicked.

The blow put a major dent into his West Ham career, while a fractured collarbone in November 2019 sent Lanzini back to the physio’s room for a further two months and his place in the side has never been a guarantee since.

Following David Moyes’ return to the London Stadium in December 2019, Lanzini saw out the league campaign with just six further starts from 11 appearances whilst failing to offer a single goal or assist and be left on the bench on eight occasions.

The new season came around, but new opportunities did not, with last weekend’s 3-3 thriller in north London serving as Lanzini’s first taste of top-flight action after four outings as an unused substitute.

Lanzini made good use of his brief cameo to steal the headlines in the dying seconds, and clearly left a positive impression on Moyes who has since come out in support of the 27-year-old.

“No doubt the injury has had an impact on where he is, but I don’t see a reason why he can’t get back to that level,” Moyes stated at his press conference on Friday, via quotes by the official West Ham website.

“I can see the improvement in training, he’s got competition and when you have competition the best thing you can do is what he did the other night.

“We’ve got really good competition for places at the moment and we want Manu to be a part of that because he has talent and we want talented players.”

Yet while Moyes is seemingly in support of Lanzini rediscovering his past form, it will take far more than just the Irons boss’ trust to see the five-cap Argentina international return to his best and once again display the talent that left Slaven Bilic stunned at how well he took to the Premier League. It was under the Croatian’s leadership that he played his best football, scoring 15 times and providing eight assists.

And speaking in November 2015, four months on from Lanzini’s initial arrival on loan from Al-Jazira, Bilic said via quotes by The Guardian: “I am only surprised that he hit it off straight away.

“I thought he was going to need more time because he played with al-Jazira. It is a good level, but you can’t compare that with the Premier League.

“He is a phenomenal player, who is very comfortable on the ball, no matter where he is and gives everything in every training session.”

Moyes will need to see that same determination in training to warrant starting Lanzini once more, as while his stunning strike at Spurs was special, it will only paper over the cracks seen in the midfielder’s game.

Lanzini only managed to create two big chances to score in the Premier League last season, while also spurning each of his three big chances to find the back of the net. Additionally, he only averaged 0.6 shots, 1.3 key balls, 18.5 accurate passes in the opponent’s half, 0.6 crosses and 1.4 successful dribbles a game, per SofaScore.

Now with Jarrod Bowen, Pablo Fornals and Said Benrahma for competition in the attacking midfield line, Moyes will need more than the odd screamer to truly trust Lanzini.

AND in other news, West Ham are at risk of a tense future with the departure of a popular backroom figure.

Everton are in drastic need of a new central defender as injuries have already started to pile up at Goodison Park and one reported transfer target could be the solution…

What’s the word?

According to Mundo Deportivo, the Toffees are one the teams to sound out Athletic Bilbao centre-back Unai Nunez over a potential move this summer.

They claim that the 23-year-old is considering a loan switch to the Premier League having only played a bit-part role in La Liga last season.

He still has three years to run on his current contract at the Basque club and also has a €30m (£27.4m) release clause.

Urgent need

Carlo Ancelotti is going to need a defensive addition before next month’s deadline if they are to truly contend for a European place this campaign.

Mason Holgate has been ruled out for several weeks and now young prospect Jarrad Branthwaite has joined him on the sidelines. Even Yerry Mina has had his injury troubles since arriving in 2018.

It means the Italian can only really call upon Michael Keane for consistency, which could prove to be a gamble as the season goes on.

Nunez very much fits the bill of your typical modern-day ball-playing centre-back, so he’d be an interesting prospect at Goodison Park.

During his Bilbao career, he has averaged 4.3 clearances, 1.7 interceptions, 1.6 tackles and a passing success rate above 83.4%, via WhoScored.

He’s twice silenced Real Madrid, one of which was in 2017 with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema failing to score against the 6 foot 1 colossus. Nunez recorded six clearances, three interceptions and only lost possession five times, per SofaScore.

This is one emerging issue that quickly needs a solution and with Nunez lacking regular gametime, it could be a win-win for all parties involved.

AND in other news, Summer deal for Toffees star with “no quality” has been one costly catastrophe…

Aston Villa got last summer’s transfer window horribly wrong.

Over £100m was spent, and despite all this new talent coming in, the Birmingham outfit only secured their Premier League survival on the final day of the season.

Understandably, the higher-ups at Villa Park feel as though something has to change, and they have made steps towards that, parting ways with their transfer chief Suso and bringing in Johan Lange.

Gregg Evans documented what this change means, and he mentioned that the Villans already have some players of a certain mould lined up.

What’s been said then?

The Atheltic journalist wrote a long and detailed piece about Lange’s background and how his role at Villa Park is likely to affect the club, and he stated that the transfer strategy this term is going to go in a completely different direction than last season.

Watch Aston Villa Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

“First and foremost, The Athletic understands that tried and trusted players from the English game will be targeted and that some of those have already been lined up.” Evans wrote.

Better strategy

Dean Smith’s side may fare a lot better with this transfer strategy than they did last season.

We’ve seen it all too often that players from abroad sometimes struggle to get to grips with the tempo and tenacity of the Premier League, and that’s where Villa struggled this term with the likes of Wesley and Mbwana Samatta scoring just six league goals between them, while Bjorn Engels was often criticised by fans throughout the season.

It’s no coincidence that four of Villa’s five highest-rated players on WhoScored had experience in England before this season, with Frederic Guilbert the exception to the rule on this occasion.

Fingers crossed Smith can get the right profile of player in and guide Villa to a lot more comfortable position next season.

As Jose Mourinho heads into his first summer transfer window in charge, all eyes will be on how the Portuguese man chooses to strengthen his Tottenham squad.

One of the main areas of concern will surely be on how he can better add some firepower to the north Londoners, with Spurs having been out-scored by all of the top five in the Premier League this season.

Spot the fact from the fib: Are these Premier League records true or false?

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And according to Telefoot’s Julian Maynard, the Lilywhites have their eyes set on Lille attacker Jonathan Ikone, with the 22-year-old potentially leaving the French side should a significant offer come in.

After hearing about the links to Ikone, Spurs fans flooded to Twitter to share their reactions.

A couple of supporters pointed towards QPR starlet Eberechi Eze as a better option than Ikone, with one fan even calling him the “better prospect”.

Some Spurs fans revealed their frustrations at potentially signing another player from Ligue 1, and pointed to how it’s not really been a successful hunting ground for them – the likes of Clinton N’Jie and Tanguy Ndombele in particular perhaps bringing up some bad memories.

Able to play all across the front-line and just behind the striker too, Ikone could add some versatility to Spurs’ attacking options.

Whilst four goals and seven assists in 36 games for Lille doesn’t sound like a great return, at just 22, Ikone still has plenty of time to grow into a star at Tottenham.

But judging by the reaction of some of these Spurs fans, it’s not a signing that would get a lot of people excited.

Tottenham’s Eric Dier has been banned for four games after confronting a spectator during the FA Cup defeat to Norwich in March and he will now miss the clash with Arsenal at the weekend as a result.

According to ESPN, the Football Association have handed him a four-match ban after he leapt into the stands and started a fracas with a Spurs supporter who had directed insults at his brother, with security guards trying to break up the midfielder and spectator.

The Lilywhites will face the Gunners at home when one of the biggest rivalries in the country plays out again on Sunday. However, Spurs will have to go into the game without the services of Dier following his suspension, dealing a significant blow for Jose Mourinho’s plans.

The 26-year-old has played in every single minute since the Premier League restart as Tottenham bounced back from a disappointing defeat at Sheffield United by edging past Everton at home on Monday night.

After he conceded a penalty against Manchester United three weeks ago, Dier helped the defence to keep a clean sheet in the subsequent 2-0 win over West Ham and again on Monday night.

The England international, who was a favourite of Mauricio Pochettino, has played 18 Premier League games this season, supplying two assists, winning 1.2 tackles, averaging 1.1 interceptions and completing 3.1 clearances per game on average (via WhoScored).

Dier has never had it easy at Spurs, as he has been beset by multiple injuries, illness and mixed form over the years. However, he has established himself as a regular starter under Mourinho in recent weeks and has received high praise from the manager. He is currently valued at £18m via Transfermarkt.

The Lilywhites have leaked goals for fun all season long and now they will be without one of their most trusted players when they face the Gunners at home.

Mourinho will be well aware of the dangers posed by Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Dier’s absence could be sorely felt as they prepare for the derby on Sunday.

Tottenham fans, will Dier be missed against Arsenal? Let us know your views in the comments below!