All posts by n8rngtd.top

Leeds United are enjoying a strong run of form in their returning Premier League campaign. Thanks to numerous solid performances and Marcelo Bielsa’s steady hand on the throttle, the Whites are in a more than respectable 10th place in the table, one point ahead of upcoming opposition Arsenal.

Victor Orta and co didn’t utilise their option to splurge in the January transfer window, but could have some surprises up their sleeve leading into the summer. The future of Jack Harrison still remains unknown, but Leeds have the opportunity to bring him to Elland Road permanently for a fee of £10million.

Phil Hay recently confirmed that the club officials are keen on activating this clause, but if something goes wrong with the deal, Harrison will depart the club in the summer upon the expiry of his loan contract.

This is very similar for the manager himself. Bielsa is into the last six months of his deal with Leeds and no talks as of yet have emerged regarding an extension. However, Hay has one again come up with the goods and has delivered some very telling comments regarding Bielsa’s future.

In the latest episode of The Phil Hay Show, he discusses the Argentine and his role at the club. The Athletic reporter revealed that Bielsa is happy where he is, despite only penning a one-year deal back in September.

For fans, this will be a delightful piece of news. The 65-year-old is hugely respected by the Leeds fanbase and is held in high regard after he took them back to the Premier League following 16 long years away. Whites supporters will not want to see their boss go anywhere any time soon.

Even Andrea Radrizzani recently expressed his desire to see Bielsa stay at the club. He clearly fits the club very well and his results so far have been admirable for a side fresh up from the Championship. The fans, players and club officials would no doubt be elated if Bielsa decided to commit his future to Leeds.

In other news, Raphinha footage shows Leeds struck gold on the transfer market…

Southampton return to Premier League action on Saturday evening as they host Aston Villa at St Mary’s.

Both sides have impressed in the top-flight so far this season and have spent time in the top-four spots, so it will be an interesting battle between two confident sides on the south coast.

Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side will be looking to bounce back from their 3-1 defeat against Arsenal in midweek, whereas Dean Smith’s side also suffered defeat against Burnley at Turf Moor.

The Austrian manager is starting to welcome back some of his regular first-team starters from injury, which suggests that changes could be likely ahead of the game against Villa.

Here’s how Football FanCast expects Hasenhuttl to line his side up on Saturday evening, with three changes from the side that started against Arsenal…

Alex McCarthy keeps his place in goal, despite arguably not being at his best against Arsenal in midweek.

There are two changes in the Saints defence, as Ryan Bertrand returns from suspension and replaces young Jake Vokins, who completed a loan move to League One side Sunderland earlier this week.

Jack Stephens and Jan Bednarek continue their partnership in defence, whilst Ibrahima Diallo could drop into right-back to replace Yan Valery after he struggled against the Gunners, with Hasenhuttl showing that he is willing to play the defensive-midfielder as a full-back after he replaced Vokins at left-back in midweek.

This also allows the fit-again Oriol Romeu to return in central-midfield alongside James Ward-Prowse, in what is undoubtedly a big boost for the Saints.

The final change sees Nathan Redmond start on the left-hand side to replace Theo Walcott, with the former Arsenal man having struggled in recent weeks.

This leaves Che Adams and Danny Ings to start up top, and they will be hoping for a repeat performance from earlier in the season when the Saints impressively won 4-3 at Villa Park.

And, in other news… Forget Williams: Semmens must complete swoop for £35k-p/w gem; he’d be a great signing

Reports earlier in the week by Sampiy10 claimed Everton are monitoring Christian Luyindama’s uncertain future at Galatasaray, but Marcel Brands would be barking up the entirely wrong tree by pursuing a January transfer of the DR Congo defender.

Everton are in the midst of a challenge for Champions League qualification under Carlo Ancelotti, having enjoyed their best start to a season since the 2013/14 campaign with 32 points after 17 games.

That season’s early efforts returned 34 points by the same stage of the campaign to sit level with Chelsea but in fifth on goal difference, and ultimately fell seven points shy of fourth-placed Arsenal after losing one in every three of their remaining 21 fixtures.

If this term is to end any different for Everton, Brands and Ancelotti ought to be utilising the winter market to strengthen the Italian’s squad with options who can prove the difference. However, Luyindama would more likely than not prove a wasted investment if signed.

Galatasaray are claimed to be open to parting company with Luyindama during the winter market amid claims of interest from Everton and Aston Villa, as the Turkish giants believe his departure will raise funds that can be put to better use elsewhere.

Yet the Turk Telekom Stadium natives will only sell for offers that exceed €10m (£9m), having seen head coach Fatih Terim utilise the 6 ft 3 titan in 65% of his starting line-ups, with Luyindama given opening roles in 11 of his 13 appearances in Super Lig fixtures ahead of Sunday’s derby with Besiktas.

Luyindama began the season as Terim’s first-choice option but lost his place in Cimbom’s backline after a 2-1 win at Sivasspor in November, which has helped Galatasaray to produce a title-chasing season with three points at Vodafone Park this weekend enough to move above their top-of-the-table rivals.

The likelihood of Luyindama moving to Goodison Park and improving Ancelotti’s defensive line would have to be questioned, especially in a season in which the Italian has a realistic chance of securing Everton’s return to the Champions League for the first time since the 2005/06 season.

Luyindama would not be arriving to offer any experience of playing for the best sides in Europe with his time at Galatasaray the highest level the 27-year-old has ever reached, while only ever making 15 outings on the international stage since making his DR Congo debut in 2017.

Yerry Mina may not have lasted long at FC Barcelona before departing the La Liga powerhouse in a £27m deal two-and-a-half years ago, playing just six times across all competitions, yet at least featured for the Camp Nou natives as they clinched the 2017/18 title.

He is now a firm fixture of Ancelotti’s backline, even though the Italian expects the occasional mistake from the 26-year-old, who has started 15 of Everton’s Premier League games, he would find himself hard done by to be displaced by Luyindama.

The Galatasaray man may be a colossus in the air with success in 3.6 duels a game in the Super Lig this term thanks to a 66% success rate, per SofaScore, enough to rank first at Goodison Park for the efforts of Everton’s current central defenders in Premier League games, but is not an unmovable force for opposition forwards.

Luyindama would rank last on the blue side of Stanley Park for successful tackles a game (0.6) if he were to bring his Super Lig performances to the Premier League, and would join Seamus Coleman as the only member of Ancelotti’s backline in having made errors that have led to opponents taking a shot.

Luyindama has also given away one penalty, which only Andre Gomes, Tom Davies and Ben Godfrey – when playing at left-back – have done to date in the English top-flight. Ancelotti further already has Godfrey, Mason Holgate and Michael Keane to contend with Mina for minutes after sanctioning a loan deal for Jarrad Branthwaite to join Blackburn Rovers for the rest of the season.

AND in other news, Everton have no reason not to sell a £7m outcast in the January transfer window.

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, former footballer and current pundit Carlton Palmer has spoken about young Norwich City right-back Max Aarons.

The 21-year-old defender was a regular in Daniel Farke’s side last season but was unable to help them stave off relegation to the Championship; making 36 appearances and averaging a 6.55 rating.

His last spell in the second division saw him win the Championship young player of the year award and he has started this season in impressive form, averaging a 6.83 rating for his performances, with the Canaries once again top of the league.

Palmer seems to think that the England U21 international is destined for a move to a top-four club and tipped him to be a Manchester City player in the future.

Asked whether he thought Aarons would be a good signing for Manchester United in January, Palmer told FFC exclusively:

“I don’t think they’ll let him go in January, I think he’s their key to getting back to the Premier League. I think if they get back in the Premier League, I think they’ll find it hard to keep hold of him because I think the offers will come in. It wouldn’t surprise me if the likes of Man City went after him.

“The way he plays, he looks like a Man City player and I think he could fit into their style of system quite easily. He’s a talented young player, I would think he’s on all the top clubs’ radar.”

Certainly, Aarons has been attracting interest from United in recent weeks according to The Sun, so the Citizens would have to see off competition from their rivals if they wanted to bring the 21-year-old to the Etihad in the near future.

Whilst both Joao Cancelo and Kyle Walker have been in impressive form at times this season, the latter is now 30-years-old and as he gets older you wonder how much of his explosive pace, which is so important to his game, he will be able to maintain, so perhaps Aarons could come in as his long-term replacement.

As Palmer suggests though, the £18 million-rated man would not come cheap and will no doubt be keen to help the Canaries earn promotion back to the top-flight, so the Citizens may have to wait until the summer until making a potential move.

AND, in other news, 108 touches: MCFC beast is proving he can replace City’s ageing £150k-p/w titan…

If you look through Wolves’ squad and indeed their academy, they are incredibly lucky.

Why? Because their current crop of youngsters is arguably the best we’ve seen in the last decade. Morgan Gibbs-White is currently on loan at Swansea but in the summer, they brought the likes of Fabio Silva and Rayan Ait-Nouri to Molineux.

They are spoiled for choice when it comes to younger players, also possessing former Liverpool starlet Ki-Jana Hoever, someone with enormous potential.

Lest we forget Taylor Perry and Theo Corbeanu as well, the U23s top scorers this season. However, for now, we want to focus on a versatile individual who makes more of an impact in defensive situations.

The man in question is Austrian youth international Pascal Estrada, a teenager who can play at centre-back or midfield.

More naturally a defensive midfielder, he’s spent the 2020/21 season playing at the heart of defence for Wolves in Premier League 2. Whether that’s the best use of his talents remains to be seen, but there is already a firm belief he could be the heir to Joao Moutinho’s throne in the Midlands.

The experienced Portuguese has been a pillar of consistency since signing for Nuno Santo’s men but at the age of 35, he is in the twilight of his career. You feel as though someone like Moutinho could play for a long while yet but if they do want to make a change, they need to look no further than one of their own – Estrada.

Speaking in March 2019, the 18-year-old said: “Joao Moutinho plays a similar type of football to me. He has a lot of experience and has had some great performances at Molineux. He has everything, so intelligent and composed on the ball.”

So, we’ve heard it from the horse’s mouth, now he just needs to realise how far he can go in the game.

Estrada is yet to earn a senior call-up but it surely won’t be too long before we see the tall youngster on the first-team scene.

He battles hard and even pops up with the odd goal, scoring in a 3-0 win for the academy side over Fulham in November.

The teenager has lofty ambitions too. His favourite player is Toni Kroos and he wants to win the Champions League. First and foremost, however, is the domestic scene.

“My dream is to play in the Premier League. I’m loving every day right now,” Estrada commented last year.

It can’t be too long before we see the ball-playing midfielder in Nuno’s plans.

AND in other news, Wolves can DISCOVER their Conor Coady heir in rarely-seen starlet with “lots of pace”…

Tottenham Hotspur edged into the Europa League knockout stages following a thrilling 3-3 draw with LASK Linz on Thursday night.

Jose Mourinho’s side twice took the lead before they were pegged back in injury time as substitute Mamoudou Karamoko fired past Joe Hart.

Before being withdrawn ahead of this weekend’s north London derby, both Gareth Bale and Heung-min Son got on the scoresheet while Dele Alli’s 86th-minute penalty had looked to be enough for the victory.

We perhaps witnessed the Spurs defence of old as they conceded a trio of strikes having just gone on a run of four straight clean sheets in all competitions.

And surprisingly, there were players worse than Davinson Sanchez in that backline – we’re looking at you, Ben Davies.

The Welshman endured such a nightmare of an evening, that Mourinho will surely be absolutely furious with his usually-dependable left-back.

After the game, the Special One said: “Some players individually had very good performances but some players individually had very poor performances.”

No doubt in reference to the likes of Davies…

He was wasteful in possession, losing the ball a whopping 25 times from his 58 touches, which was the second-highest amount from any visiting player, as per SofaScore.

Davies was also rather lightweight, winning just 42% of his seven battles while the 27-year-old could only make 59% of his passes too, so it was certainly a shocking night for the defender valued at €20m (£18m).

It’s made even worse by the fact that he was trusted by Mourinho with the captaincy and that display is certainly going to make the Spurs boss think twice before doing that again – should both Hugo Lloris and Harry Kane be absent together in the future.

Dan Kilpatrick at the Evening Standard was particularly scathing in his review of Davies’ performance, grading him a 5/10 before claiming: “The captain for the night was poor in possession and failed to offer any real thrust from left-back. Beaten too easily in the build-up to the third goal.”

The £65k-per-week star also failed to register a single tackle, interception or block and was dribbled past once.

Even with Sergio Reguilon missing tonight, it would be a surprise to see Davies in the starting XI to face Arsenal on Sunday. At least he certainly doesn’t deserve too after this disasterclass.

AND in other news, Levy could Spurs land their own Vardy in “crazy” 6 foot 6 workhorse…

After a couple of impressive results, things looked like they might just be heading in the right direction for Newcastle. And lo and behold, the Magpies saw any momentum gained in recent weeks go down the drain with a 2-0 defeat away to Southampton.

It was a performance that saw Steve Bruce’s side take another two steps back, and whilst the manager will take a lot of the flak – and rightly so for their lack of attacking intent – there was one man in particular who really let him down: Sean Longstaff.

Hilariously obscure Premier League players – Can you name them all?

World Class score: 95% | Expert score: 80% | Veteran score: 65% | Intermediate score: 45% | Amateur score: 30% | Try Again: 5%

After returning to the side last week in the win over Everton, it looked like Longstaff had put a marker down and given Bruce no option but to play him for the foreseeable future. And to his credit, the Newcastle boss rewarded his midfielder with some faith and kept him in the line-up for the visit to St Mary’s.

Sadly for him, he delivered anything but the kind of performance he put in against the Toffees. As per Sofascore, he lost possession a staggering 15 times over the course of the game, and lost eight of his twelve total duels too.

The Saints simply ran over him in midfield, and his dilly-dallying on the ball didn’t help his teammates either, leaving them in trouble more often that not.

He failed with both of his attempted dribbles, made no tackles or interceptions whatsoever, and made just 26 passes too. For someone trying to establish himself as a key part of this Newcastle midfield, it was as bad as it gets.

Bruce gave him the opportunity to impress once again, and he let his manager down big time.

Several Manchester United fans are unhappy with the club’s reported plans to offer a contract extension to Paul Pogba.

The Daily Mail reported that the Red Devils are set to activate a one-year option on the Frenchman’s contract in order to protect his value, with his current deal at Old Trafford set to expire in 2022. The news was later shared on Twitter by @utdreport.

While the club have yet to formally discuss a longer extension to the 27-year-old’s contract, they know that they have the safety net of extending his current deal (as per Daily Mail).

Pogba became the then-most expensive player in world football when he rejoined United from Juventus in 2016 for £89.2m and has scored 32 goals in 159 games for the club since then, as well as making the PFA Team of the Year in 2018/19.

However, the midfielder has also been a lightning rod for criticism from elements of the Old Trafford faithful for some mediocre performances and has been accused by some pundits of having attitude problems, with persistent rumours of a move away from the club. He also came under from numerous supporters over a less than stellar display in the recent defeat to Crystal Palace.

These United fans on Twitter voiced their opposition to the reported plans to extend his contract, with one supporter fearing that it will “get messy”:

Man United fans, what have you made of Pogba’s time at the club so far? Have your say by commenting below!

Crystal Palace have been linked with winger Ismaila Sarr throughout the transfer window. With today being the domestic transfer deadline day, it looks like the clock may be up on a potential move.

Sarr had not just attracted attention from the Eagles, but also from Liverpool as well. However, new light shed on Friday suggests that the player will be staying put until January at least.

The latest transfer update on Palace target Sarr

According to Adam Leventhal from the Athletic, the Watford winger is expected to stay at club beyond today’s 5pm domestic deadline.

The journalist is also reporting that the 22 year-old is involved in the plan against Derby County this evening and he is expected to play some part. This situation unlikely to change even with a late bid.

Is this a big blow for Palace?

The Senegalese attacker signed for Watford in August 2019, and impressed as he made 28 Premier League appearances last season. He managed five goals and four assists, per WhoScored, and also managed 1.6 shots and 1.7 successful dribbles per game.

To hit the ground running in England at such a young age makes him look like a special player and suggests that he has a lot of potential. Therefore, it will be gutting for supporters of the club to hear that it looks like they will not be making a move for the winger.

Liverpool superstar Sadio Mane hailed Sarr when the youngster signed for Watford, saying: “I’m really happy for him and he made the right choice to come to Watford. For sure I think he will be great.”

That said, he was being valued at around £30 million, so it could be seen as a lot of money for a player with few appearances in England’s top flight. One would have to think Roy Hodgson has enough talent at his disposal, providing none of his attacking players suffer long-term injuries.

It would have been nice if the club could have got him, but with signings like Eberechi Eze and Michy Batshuayi, the South London side cannot complain about their depth and quality in attack, something which could not be said in previous years.

Eagles fans, what are your thoughts on this news? Comment below!

Brighton could face a battle to retain the services of teenage defender Haydon Roberts, who has been the subject of renewed interest from Leeds.

Football Insider reported that the Whites have rejected a second bid for the 18-year-old, having already turned down an initial offer from the Elland Road outfit last week.

A Leeds source indicated to Football Insider that the club went back to the Seagulls with an improved offer of £800,000 for the England under-18 international, but that has also been rebuffed.

Roberts is in the final year of his contract at the Amex Stadium but Brighton do not want to lose the youngster, who they believe is capable of becoming a Premier League player (as per Football Insider).

The 18-year-old made his second senior appearance for the club in last week’s Carabao Cup win against Portsmouth, having also played (and scored in) the competition a year ago against Aston Villa. However, he has yet to even feature in a matchday squad for a Premier League fixture. [via TransferMarkt]

According to Football Insider, the teenager has been compared to Seagulls team-mate Ben White, who plays in the same position and has also been the subject of renewed transfer interest from Leeds. Following a fruitful loan spell at Elland Road last season, the Yorkshire club made three unsuccessful bids to try and sign him permanently, with the 22-year-old signing a new contract at the Amex at the start of this month.

Roberts, who made 14 appearances for Brighton’s under-23 side in Premier League 2 last term, has stiff competition ahead of him in Graham Potter’s first team, with five centre-backs in the senior Albion squad.

Considering that Brighton had assigned a £50m price tag on White to ward off prospective suitors, for Roberts to draw comparisons with the 22-year-old is a glowing reflection on the teenager.

It is quite understandable why the Seagulls are reluctant to sell him, particularly for a measly sum of £800,000; although they ought to give consideration to a potential loan exit for the youngster so that he, like White has done, can gain valuable first team exposure elsewhere before returning to his parent club when the time is right.

Brighton fans, what do you make of Leeds’ reported offer for Roberts? Have your say by commenting below!