All posts by z3u9t.icu

In a recent interview with Football FanCast, former Southampton striker Kevin Phillips has claimed that he expects Danny Ings to leave the Saints this summer.

Speaking exclusively to FFC, when asked if he could see the 28-year-old departing, he said:

“Yes I can, as much as Southampton fans won’t thank me for it. I think he even came out at one point and said he wants to play Champions League football, so that suggests to me he would like to move on.”

“So I possibly could see him moving on. It’s just a case of, he is a little bit injury prone. We have seen what he can do, I’m not doubting that. I think he’s a fantastic striker, scores great goals, good movement, but he is a little bit injury prone, so I think ‘who would take him who would finish in the Champions League spots?’.

“But I do think that he’ll probably be angling for a move come the summer.”

Whilst Phillips’ claim does seem to be a fair one, with the former Liverpool man having reportedly expressed an interest in playing European football again in the near future, recent injury setbacks for the England international might just put some clubs off signing him this summer.

The striker enjoyed an injury-free campaign last season and scored a superb 22 goals in 38 Premier League appearances and looked set to repeat that feat with a superb start to the 2020/21 campaign.

However, he has struggled with minor injury problems since the New Year, which has, unsurprisingly, coincided with Southampton’s awful run of form, and he has just three goals in 12 appearances in 2021.

He suffered another setback in the 2-0 win against Sheffield United recently, which will keep him sidelined for another couple of weeks, and you feel that, given his injury history, top four clubs may well feel that it is too big a risk to bring him in for the sort of money that Southampton would likely demand this summer.

His last big move to Liverpool, unfortunately, didn’t go to plan because of significant injury problems and after his recent Issues, despite being minor in comparison to those he suffered at Anfield, might just prove to be a key factor in whether or not a club playing in Europe comes knocking during the summer transfer window, which might just work in Southampton’s favour.

However, all signs suggest that Phillips is right and that Ings will push for a move this summer, which won’t go down well with Saints fans. Whether he gets his move, or not, remains to be seen.

And, in other news… Semmens must avoid VVD repeat with £13.5m-rated “role model” Hasenhuttl loves

Carlo Ancelotti should urge Everton to swoop for Tyreik Wright this summer with the sought-after Aston Villa prospect due to become a free agent.

What’s the word?

According to the Daily Mail, the Toffees and Scottish Premiership giants Celtic are keeping tabs on Wright’s situation at Villa Park.

The 19-year-old is currently enjoying his first taste of senior football after joining League Two Walsall on loan for the remainder of the campaign in the mid-season market, and has instantly hit the ground running.

Wright earned his Saddlers debut away to Port Vale and made his presence felt by assisting Elijah Adebayo. He again recorded an assist in his second outing under Darrell Clarke, by teeing Max Melbourne up to open the scoring in a 1-1 draw with Mansfield Town on Tuesday night.

Wright’s efforts at Bescot Stadium are thought to be leaving Aston Villa with a dilemma, with interest growing in the direct and speedy left-footed right-winger as his contract is due to expire at the end of the season.

Clarke was delighted to have been able to welcome Wight to Walsall when signed last month, insisting the teenager possesses ‘great ability’.

“Tyreik is going to give us great options out wide,” Clarke said, via quotes by the Express and Star. “He’s got great ability with the ball at his feet and he has the potential to be a real threat in the final third.

“He’s been showing his match-winning qualities in the Under 23s at Villa and for his country at youth level, so we are really looking forward to working with him. We’ve got a great relationship with Aston Villa and we’re very grateful to them for letting us have one of their exciting youngsters.”

Should Everton rival Celtic for Wright?

With Wright due to become a free agent at the end of the season, there would be very little risk in Everton rivalling Celtic for his signature as even if the deal does not pan out, Blues owner Farhad Moshiri would not be out of pocket.

The upsides to signing Wright do not stop at the lack of a price tag, either, as he is already showing the threat in the final third of the pitch that Clarke expected him to offer Walsall despite his only taste of senior football before 2021 coming with Aston Villa’s U23s in the EFL Trophy.

Wright had trained with the Villans first-team before his move to Bescot Stadium, and was in contention for a role in the Birmingham-based side’s FA Cup meeting with Liverpool only for an outbreak of coronavirus to leave Villa having to omit him.

The Republic of Ireland U19 international certainly liked to get forward with Mark Delaney’s junior side, having scored each of his two PL2 goals this season from inside the penalty area and taking 45 touches in the box over 11 appearances, per Villa’s club website. He was rarely afraid to try his luck, as well, with 20 shots and six successful dribbles to his name.

Bernard saw his Everton future come into doubt last month after falling out of favour at Goodison Park and for good reason too, having only offered four shots in six Premier League appearances and taking 47% of his touches in the final third, per FBref,

A lot could change between now and the end of the season but if Aston Villa opt against tabling a new contract, Everton should be swooping to snap up Wright this summer.

AND in other news, Everton face heightened competition for a 17-y/o talent seen as the heir to a £101k-p/w colossus…

Southampton travel to Bramall Lane on Saturday hoping that they can turn around their recent awful form and pick up three points against Sheffield United, who despite some recent impressive results are still rock bottom of the Premier League.

Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side have now picked up just one point from their last nine top-flight fixtures, which has seen them dragged into a potential relegation battle, but they can ease any fears of playing Championship football next season with three points against Chris Wilder’s side on Saturday.

The Austrian could welcome back the likes of Kyle Walker-Peters and Ibrahima Diallo after injury, which should be a huge boost to their chances of leaving Bramall Lane with maximum points.

Here’s how Football FanCast expects Hasenhuttl to line up, with three changes from the team which started against Everton last time out…

Fraser Forster keeps his place in goal, despite conceding his first goal of the season in the 1-0 defeat against Everton.

There’s one change in defence, as Walker-Peters makes his return at right-back, which allows Jan Bednarek to move back into the middle, with Mohammed Salisu the one to miss out.

There are two changes in midfield, as Takumi Minamino returns from his own minor injury to start on the left-hand side ahead of Nathan Redmond, whilst Ibrahima Diallo comes in to partner James Ward-Prowse, allowing Stuart Armstrong to move out to the right-hand side, with Moussa Djenepo not risked.

Finally, in attack, Danny Ings partners Che Adams, although both will have to rediscover their goalscoring touch if Southampton are to turn their recent form around, with Adams hoping to find success against his old side on Saturday.

And, in other news… Hasenhuttl handed huge boost ahead of relegation clash; he could be a game-changer

After Sergio Reguilon’s arrival from Real Madrid in the summer, Ben Davies would have been forgiven for being concerned over how his future at Tottenham would look like.

The Lilywhites’ summer signing had impressed for Europa League winners Sevilla before joining the north Londoners on a permanent deal, and at just 24, seems primed to enter his peak years at the club.

But on Sunday night against Wolves in the Premier League, Davies showed that he can still play a huge role for Spurs both this season and in the future.

Playing on the left-hand side of a back-three – a job he has done for Wales – the 27-year-old looked assured in his defending and dealt admirably with the unenviable task of having to deal with Adama Traore.

Aside from perhaps being at fault for Roman Saiss’ equaliser, Davies was undoubtedly one of Spurs’ better performers of the evening. As per Sofascore, he won eight of his 13 total duels, made two tackles and two interceptions apiece, and also provided two key passes too – not to mention setting up Tanguy Ndombele for his 1st minute strike.

His ability to play as both a full-back and as part of a back-three is something the Spurs boss has previously talked up, saying: “Ben and Reguilon is a little bit the same. Can they play together or for one to play and the other one has to be on the bench? Yes, they can play together and that’s a very good thing for us.

“Ben is very intelligent. So that’s why it’s quite easy to understand the difference between playing left-back, centre-back with five or centre-back with four. Of course left-footed there are not many centre-backs with a left-foot. Some clubs have them but the majority don’t. To have him as an option is also good because to attack, the build-up is also important.”

That versatility is crucial to the way Mourinho can set his team up, not only in his pre-match briefings, but also how he can adapt on the fly during a game too.

They may not have come away with all three points, but Davies’ impressive performance at Molineux has given Mourinho some serious food for thought going forward about how best to use him.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, former West Ham striker Marlon Harewood backed his old club’s pursuit of Reims striker Boulaye Dia.

The Hammers are in the market to sign a centre-forward this month after Sebastien Haller’s exit and a number of attackers have been targeted.

However, one of the latest rumours surrounds Dia. According to Sport.fr, the Irons have submitted an offer to sign the 24-year-old in January.

That bid is supposedly around the €10m (£8.9m) mark, so it won’t set David’s Gold and Sullivan back too much.

The Frenchman has scored 12 goals in just 18 appearances in Ligue 1 this term which bodes well for any potential move to London.

It’s a swoop that’s been urged to happen by former West Ham striker Harewood. Speaking exclusively to FFC this week, he revealed that getting Dia would be a good piece of business.

“It seems like he’s got goals, and he’s got a good ratio at the moment. It’s just one of those things like when it comes to the Premier League, how quickly settled and how quickly he gets to grips of playing with West Ham and the way they play,” he began.

Harewood continued: “So hopefully he’s another Antonio because he’s been absolutely fantastic. And that’s the sort of player that West Ham need upfront, to help him out by playing both of them or when Antonio’s not playing, he’s the same type of player that West Ham need running the frontline.”

Dia’s form has rather come out of nowhere this season. Last term, the forward netted only eight times, so he’s already surpassed that tally in 2020/21 by some margin.

Whether West Ham’s initial bid proves successful is doubtful at this stage, with Reims looking for an increased fee of €15m (£13.3m) in order to let him go.

As Harewood alludes to, Dia is a willing runner and has completed as many as 1.3 dribbles per game this season. For context, Antonio has registered 1.6 a match.

This would certainly be an interesting acquisition if West Ham can get a deal done.

AND in other news, Dream Noble heir: Sullivan must seal WHU swoop for £25m box-to-box beast…

Leeds United were pipped to the post last night in their latest Premier League clash against West Ham. Following a foul on Patrick Bamford in the box, Mateusz Klich coolly converted from the spot to give the Whites an early lead.

However, the Irons managed to overthrow their opener with a goal in each half to snatch the win. David Moyes and his men will be thrilled with the three points, but for the Whites, they face a big challenge going into their clash with Newcastle next.

Despite the loss, Marcelo Bielsa can take away some positives from the game, with one being the fact Luke Ayling seriously stepped up to the plate amid the team’s recent flurry of injuries.

Luke Ayling’s stats vs West Ham

The Argentinian manager is currently without Robin Koch and Diego Llorente, who have both suffered injuries respectively. In their absence, Ayling was deployed in the heart of defence and he was arguably his side’s best player against West Ham.

According to Sofascore, the natural right-back contributed three blocks, four interceptions and two tackles, along with completing 100% of his attempted ground duels. Ayling was also successful in all of his dribbles and had one shot on target.

He has now featured at centre-back on four occasions this season, showing Bielsa that he can adapt easily when called upon. Koch will be out of action for up to three months following knee surgery, which means Ayling could be required to feature alongside Liam Cooper for more fixtures to come.

Bielsa will take extreme comfort knowing that his defence hasn’t been completely torn apart and they will hope for a more positive result against Newcastle next time out.

In other news, Exclusive: Leeds tipped to make January move amid Patrick Bamford worry…

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, Dean Windass has delivered a huge claim on the future of Celtic boss Neil Lennon.

The manager has been under huge pressure recently and even had fans gathering outside Parkhead in protest against his coaching and the senior hierarchy.

Peter Lawwell came out and defended Lennon, keeping faith with the Northern Irishman for the time being.

It was a brave decision. After all, the Hoops are currently 16 points behind their rivals Rangers in the SPFL – albeit with three games in hand – and they have crashed out of Europe.

They have conceded nine more goals than their Glasgwegian counterparts and shipped 19 times in just six Europa League outings.

Speaking to Football FanCast, former footballer Windass insisted that it could well be the end of the road for Lennon soon. At the same time, he backed the Celtic manager to hold firm, revealing he wouldn’t walk away himself.

Windass said: “All good things must come to an end. Listen, I know that Lenny left and then came back again after a couple of spells at Bolton and Hibs and then eventually went back and won the Cup and then won the league halfway through obviously before lockdown. I know they were so many points ahead, but you know, I find it tough.”

The pundit continued: “But, Lenny is a strong character, he won’t want to walk away. He won’t want to get sacked – it’s a massive club. And can they close the gap on Rangers? If they’re beaten twice? I think they’ve got them twice now.” 

Lennon engineered Celtic to a historic Scottish Cup final victory on Sunday as the Bhoys beat Hearts on penalties after the score finished 3-3 following extra-time.

Considering his side were 2-0 up at half-time, he was rather let out of jail by his goalkeeper Conor Hazard in the shoot-out after he saved two spot-kicks.

Despite this cup final victory, Lennon should still be feeling the pressure. After all, this campaign was supposed to be about securing a tenth consecutive league crown. That doesn’t look like it’ll happen.

AND in other news, Celtic ace who was “dodgy” all game has given Lennon a huge problem…

Michael Edwards continues to outdo himself with his savvy business decisions and his eye for a deal. Liverpool decided to send youngster Harvey Elliott out on loan this season, in order to help him gain valuable first team experience.

It has already been made clear that he is part of Jurgen Klopp’s plans for the future, as well as fellow teenagers Curtis Jones and Neco Williams. The 17-year-old has joined Blackburn for the 2020/21 campaign and has already made waves in the Championship.

His first appearance was a 3-1 loss to recently relegated Watford, but Elliott made amends for his quiet debut with a blinding performance against Coventry. The Liverpool teen showcased his class by opening up his Rovers account with a goal and an assist.

A bright Liverpool future for Elliott

Elliott only joined the Merseyside club last year and has already made a name for himself. The former Fulham man now holds the record as the youngest Liverpool player to start a competitive match for the club at Anfield. Already, he is on Klopp’s radar as a man for the future – this move could well be the making of him as a senior footballer.

The England youth international set the match alight against Coventry. According to Sofascore, Elliott made a whopping six key passes, won seven of his ten attempted duels and was successful in 100% of his long balls. He also drew in three fouls, which showed that Coventry struggled to deal with his quick feet and ability on the ball.

As someone who is clearly a fan of him, this performance won’t have come as a surprise to Klopp. He recently lauded the teenager for being an impressive player on the training pitch.

“He is an exceptional talent, absolutely, and he’s a nice kid as well,” the manager said after Liverpool’s win over Arsenal in the Carabao Cup (via PlanetFootball).

Once Elliott returns to Liverpool, senior star Gini Wijnaldum may have left the club. His current contract runs out next season and it will leave a place to be filled in midfield. The teenager is a versatile player who can dominate the wings, and could be converted into a wide midfielder.

Whatever position he fits into, he is sure to make a name for himself at Anfield at the rate his is flourishing.

In other news, Liverpool may have identified a cut-price replacement for Virgil van Dijk…

Despite splashing the cash this summer on new personnel, Leeds haven’t gotten their returning Premier League season off to the start they would have liked. They topped the Championship last campaign and stormed to a title and their long-awaited promotion, but the cogs are now struggling to turn a little.

Whilst the Whites aren’t in serious trouble at the moment, they are currently 15th in the table and a run of poor form could see them drop into the relegation zone. Marcelo Bielsa will be observing his team and looking at how he can alter his lineups in order to push back and ensure the club survives the 2020/21 season.

A shock link to Tottenham’s Dele Alli could be the answer the Argentinian is looking for…

Should Leeds sign Dele Alli?

As reported by Leeds Live, bookmakers have tipped Leeds at 25/1 to snap up the out of favour midfield man. Alli has made just two league appearances under Jose Mourinho this term, who has seemingly decided to look elsewhere for his creative options. It’s a sad sight to see and must be frustrating for the England international, whose best season came in 2016/17 when he scored a blistering 18 Premier League goals and bagged a further nine assists (via Transfermarkt).

Alli, who earns £100,000-a-week as per Spotrac, played a crucial role under former Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino, who was a huge fan of the 24-year-old. Speaking to Sky Sports earlier this month, he was still full of praise for the man he coached during his time in north London. He generously likened Alli to Diego Maradona and Ronaldinho for his charisma and genuine talent on the ball (via talkSPORT).

At the moment, Leeds only have Tyler Roberts and Pablo Hernandez as their options in the No.10 role. The former has been tipped for a loan move away from Elland Road after struggling to bank regular first team minutes both this season and last. Hernandez has disappointed Bielsa and was axed from the squad following his outburst over being substituted against Leicester.

With a limited amount of firepower in the engine room signing a player like Alli, once described as a “beast” by ex-Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino, could be the ideal January or summer move from Victor Orta. The playmaker certainly has the stats to prove he can trouble the opposition’s defence, but he may come with a hefty price tag.

CIES currently value him at up to €70million (£62m), but with Mourinho ousting him from the current Spurs set up, there’s definitely room for Orta to work his magic and strike a better deal for Alli’s services.

In other news, Leeds must revisit talks for this player who is available for pre-contract talks in January…

After suffering a disappointing opening day defeat to Leicester last weekend, West Brom fell to a 5-2 loss to Everton in their second Premier League game of the season on Saturday afternoon.

The Baggies took the lead thanks to a wonder strike from Grady Diangana from outside the box, but following an equaliser from Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Kieran Gibbs cost his side big time with a mindless red card.

Slaven Bilic’s side inevitably struggled in the aftermath of it, and ended up shipping another four goals to the Toffees. But whilst Gibbs will of course be the talk of the town at the Hawthorns – fans even took to Twitter after the game to voice their frustrations with the left-back – he wasn’t the only disappointment on the day.

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

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Callum Robinson produced a fairly anonymous performance last weekend against Leicester, making just seven total passes in his 60 minutes worth of action.

And the clash against Everton was pretty much more of the same from the former Sheffield United ace, with the Baggies not getting anywhere near enough from their front man.

As per Sofascore, he had just 35 touches of the ball, and only managed one shot on goal in the entire game. Of course, Robinson’s task was made that much harder particularly in the entirety of the second-half after Gibbs’ red card, but he still didn’t make enough runs into the channel or hold the ball up for his teammates.

The striker struggled to get the better of Michael Keane and Yerry Mina at the heart of Everton’s defence, and in the nine total duels he contested, he won just one. Bilic needed Robinson to be more of a presence, or at least offer an outlet on any potential counter-attacks, but instead, he just disappeared from the game.

Gibbs may take a lot of the flak, but Robinson didn’t cover himself in glory either.