All posts by n8rngtd.top

Liverpool fans have been reacting to the news that Trent Alexander-Arnold will be available for selection against Tottenham on Sunday.

The 21-year-old did not travel to Belgium as the Reds beat Genk 4-1 in the Champions League as he was suffering from a virus.

The England international has become an integral part of Jurgen Klopp’s side since his introduction to the side in 2016. He is two appearances off making his century of appearances in the first team, having scored five goals and provided 23 assists in 98 games for the Reds.

After the 2018/19 campaign, himself and Andy Robertson became the first set of defenders from the same team to record double figures for assists in the same season.

Alexander-Arnold last featured during the 1-1 draw against Manchester United but manager Jurgen Klopp confirmed that he should be ready to come straight back into the team.

“Trent is fine. Or looked fine, if there is no setback,” said Klopp during his pre-match press conference.

“He was ill – ill enough to not travel with us, which is not a good sign, but yesterday he had a clearing session and if it is as it was yesterday then he should be fine.”

Watch Liverpool Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

James Milner filled in at right-back for the absent youngster in Genk and supporters have been excited about the news that Alexander-Arnold will come back into the first team. One fan said that it was the “best news he had heard all day”.

Here you will find some of the best reactions from Liverpool fans:

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

Leeds United’s transfer policy seemingly relies very heavily on loan deals.

Indeed, the Whites signed no less than six players on a temporary basis last summer, and while a number of those have impressed this season recent reports show just how dangerous that system really can be.

Reports are now circulating that Ben White could be recalled in January by Brighton.

This comes just days after there were worries that Eddie Nketiah could be recalled by Arsenal once the transfer window reopens.

Watch Leeds United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

In using loan deals Leeds are leaving themselves incredibly vulnerable to this type of thing, and that’s not the only problem with their current policy of loaning young players.

Football Insider have reported that Liverpool are interested in a £20m move for Ben White, and that highlights yet another problem with this transfer policy.

The centre-back was worth nowhere near £20m when Leeds first acquired him. The highest standard that he had previously played at prior to joining Leeds was League One, so it’s not a stretch to say that he wouldn’t have been on Liverpool’s radar.

However, he’s developed into an incredible player under the tutelage of Marcelo Bielsa, winning the PFA Fans’ Player of the Month for August. Therein lies the problem of this loan system.

Bielsa is the master of getting the best out of players, evident by the fact Leeds were in mid-table before he arrived. Before he walked through the doors at Elland Road, he also had a say in progressing the likes of Aymeric Laporte, Benjamin Mendy and Ander Herrera too.

However, if some of the players now at his disposal are just going to return to their parent club to be sold on for big money or to continue their careers there, it won’t do a huge amount for the long-term development of Leeds’ squad.

Why being the away goalkeeper at Leeds is the toughest job in football in the video below…

They are completely negating one of Bielsa’s greatest assets as they’re allowing him to develop young players, but at the end of the day, these players aren’t his.

The Whites benefit from the Argentine’s coaching of these players for only a season, or two terms in Jack Harrison’s case, but the point still stands that the Yorkshire club aren’t getting any long-term benefits from loaning these players.

When you have a manager who is so excellent at developing young individuals you should be looking to benefit from that as much as possible. However, Leeds are misusing their manager’s capabilities by simply helping other teams’ stars of tomorrow become better footballers before sending them back.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

According to Dutch publication De Telegraaf, Manchester United are interested in signing Ajax goalkeeper Andre Onana.

What’s the word?

The Red Devils were linked with a number of goalkeepers over the summer transfer window due to the uncertainty surrounding David de Gea’s long-term future at the club. Reports had claimed the Spaniard could be set to leave the club, but in the end, the former Atletico Madrid man put pen to paper on a bumper new deal.

However, that development does not appear to have deterred from the Red Devils from pursuing another shot-stopper. According to De Telegraaf, United, PSG and Tottenham have contacted Onana’s agent, Albert Botines, in order to inform him of their transfer interest.

Watch Manchester United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

The report claims Ajax would be looking to receive a fee in the region of €40m to €50m (£34.5m to £43.2m) for a player who is under contract in Amsterdam until the summer of 2022.

End of De Gea

If United do end up fending off competition for the signature of Onana, that could well spell the end of De Gea’s career at Old Trafford. Whilst the Spain international may have only recently signed a new deal, the Red Devils would be loathed to lavish big-money on a goalkeeper simply to be second-choice.

Indeed, the current United number one has arguably endured one of his worst spells at the club – last season he made four errors directly leading to goals, whilst this season he has similarly made some crucial mistakes like against Crystal Palace at home.

In Onana, United would be getting someone who is extremely comfortable with the ball at his feet – akin to Ederson at Manchester City. As more and more sides look to play out from the back, the Cameroon international is the archetypal modern goalkeeper. The 23-year-old has an impressive pass accuracy of 77.3% in the Eredivisie this season, whilst De Gea averages just 68.5%.

How much money could you make busking for a week as a freestyle footballer? Find out in the video below…

So whilst De Gea may be the man in between the sticks for now, if Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side bring in Onana, they could have a goalkeeper to play for the next decade or so. It would mark the end of an era, albeit also the beginning of a new one.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

As quoted by the club’s official website, Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has hailed Scott McTominay as a “leader”.

What did he say?

The Scotland international has firmly established himself as a cornerstone of United’s midfield this season, featuring in every single Premier League game.

The 22-year-old appears to be ever-improving, already matching his goal tally from last season (two), and averaging more shots (1.6), key passes (0.6), and tackles (1.8) per game than he did previously.

Now, Solskjaer has hailed the United academy product for his stellar performances, and gave an encouraging verdict on his fledgling midfield partnership with Fred.

Watch Manchester United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

He said: “(McTominay) has been excellent and now him and Fred have a good relationship. They’re playing well together. They did it last season – there were quite a few games where they played well together when we had some injuries, like PSG and Arsenal. Now they’re working as a pair, but Scotty (in particular) has been excellent.

“Scott’s a leader, he’s a Man United boy, he’s come through the ranks. You can tell he used to be a striker with the goal he scored against Norwich on the half-turn and he’s developing into a very good midfielder.”

Growing influence

It wasn’t too long ago that McTominay’s ability to make the grade as a central midfielder for United was seriously questioned by pundits. Gary Neville even suggested the 22-year-old could potentially move back into a centre-back role because he may not be good enough with the ball at his feet.

“McTominay, when I watch him, I’m not sure he’s actually good enough on the ball to be a Man United midfield player. I do think he’s the type that it’s good for him to play games in there – but I do wonder whether if actually he’s got more of a position at centre back eventually, the physicality that he has. He’s a big lad. Is he sharp enough on the ball to be a Man United central midfield player?”

But as the United academy graduate continues to impress in the middle of the park, the number of doubters will slowly reduce in number. Against Chelsea in the Carabao Cup in mid-week, McTominay looked hell-bent on dominating the occasion, making five tackles, five interceptions and winning eight duels as per Sofascore.

There has been a lot of talk about where all the leaders have gone at Old Trafford, people throwing their fists in the air and reminiscing about the good old days of Roy Keane. Well if Solskjaer’s words are anything to go by, they could have someone to take that mantle very soon.

Barcelona have a plethora of young quality rising through their academy system and B team at the moment.

This season we have seen the likes of 17-year-old Ansu Fati steal the headlines with mature performances for Ernesto Valverde’s first-team, notably when he scored against both Osasuna and Valencia in late-August and early-September.

Fati has now made a total of eight appearances for the Blaugrana this term, with his latest start coming against Real Valladolid last week as the club cruised to a 5-1 victory at the Camp Nou.

Another young player to see plenty of game-time this season is winger Carles Perez, who has registered three assists and scored once in seven La Liga appearances (five starts) this term, per Transfermarkt. Both Perez and Fati are now deemed to be valuable assets to the Catalan’s senior side – proven by the amount of minutes they have both seen this time out.

20-year-old central midfielder Riqui Puig is another young player making progress for Barcelona. Despite not featuring for the first-team yet, he has scored two and assisted two goals playing for the club’s B team in the Spanish second-tier this season.

Barca fans are excited about what the future has in-store for Puig, expressing their feelings towards the Spaniard on Twitter, after a clip of him doing an obscene bit of skill recently surfaced on the social media platform.

Barcelona fans, how much of a talent is Puig? Let us know by commenting below!

You wonder if perhaps this is going to be the final straw?

Admittedly he should have had plenty of final straws before this, but clearly Pep Clotet has more straws to give out than McDonald’s.

Birmingham fell to Fulham 1-0 over the weekend, with the visitor’s goal coming once again via an error from goalkeeper Lee Camp, as he dropped a high ball despite not being under a whole lot of pressure from Aleksandar Mitrovic.

Following high profile errors against the likes of Leeds United, Wigan Athletic and Derby County so far this season, Camp has been living on borrowed time, and now even Clotet is saying that he might have to consider dropping him.

That’s why despite Clotet’s message about how wasteful the Blues were upfront in the game, Blues fans were convinced that one man, and one man alone should take the blame for the defeat.

Check out the most insane fan meltdowns in the video below…

With the international break now upon us, would this be the perfect time to make a change in goal?

This article is part of Football FanCast’s In The Pipeline series, which takes a look at some of the most promising young talent either linked with clubs or emerging from their academies…

Sheffield Wednesday will be looking to get back on track with their promotion push when the international break comes to an end next week, and they can boost their chances by delving into the academy set up for an answer to one of their biggest problems.

Garry Monk’s side sit eighth in the league, three points outside of the playoff zone, having succumbed to the loss of points in back-to-back games.

Blackburn Rovers first came from behind to clinch a victory, then Swansea City salvaged a point in injury time just minutes after the Owls thought they had won it last time out.

One of the increasing problems facing the Wednesday chief is their frailty in front of goal.

Earlier in the season, it appeared as if the side had too much reliance on top goalscorer Steven Fletcher, but he’s been unable to find the net in six straight matches now, and a potential solution was found in Massimo Luongo, who netted twice in three games before he picked up an injury.

In the ten league games Monk has been in charge, the south Yorkshiremen have only scored 13 goals, and four of those came in a single game.

Watch Sheffield Wednesday Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

This week, academy striker Omar Damba was called up to the Gambia U20 squad despite not yet featuring in a senior competitive game at the club.

Might he provide an answer?

The 20-year-old has only held a professional contract at the club for 11 months, but in the summer, he was handed an opportunity to train with the first-team, according to his Instagram post per Football League World.

Former Wednesday centre-back Rob Jones played a part in his move to Hillsborough as the youngster netted a hat-trick against their U23 squad when playing for the RIASA programme, which Jones runs.

Speaking about Damba, he said: “The sky is the limit for Omar. I believe that we have only scratched the surface of his potential. As time progresses in his new environment and his focus and drive remain the same, he will have a long and fruitful career ahead of him.”

Not one striker in the Owls ranks offers any kind of threat through pace and acceleration, bearing in mind the youngest striker is Sam Winnall, who turns 29 in the New Year.

The promising forward is well worth a chance alongside a presence like Steven Fletcher, and given the club are out of the Carabao Cup, the heightened risk could pay off in their quest for promotion in the league.

Monk will also be able to start eradicating the unwanted acclaim of being the ‘oldest’ squad in the division, per Transfermarkt.

Everton fans are begging that rarely-seen man Moise Kean starts on Saturday against Norwich City.

This comes after the forward netted twice for Italy U21s and registered an incredible 9.0 rating on Tuesday against Armenia U21s.

It is the first time the 19-year-old has hit any sort of form since he moved to Merseyside for £25.1m, as he has yet to score for his new club.

In fact, Kean has averaged just one shot per game and averaged 2.1 unsuccessful touches per game, per Whoscored.

Now, however, after his impressive night with his country, it seems the fans are desperate for him to start.

One supporter said “show Marco this and tell him to start him on Saturday”, whilst other fans have begged him to start as a centre-forward.

As a centre-forward, the Italian bagged seven goals in 14 games, as shown by games recorded by Transfermarkt. Marco Silva, has occasionally deployed him as a winger and not in his preferred position, which naturally has impacted on his form.

It does seem as if Everton fans are all saying the same thing after his Tuesday night performance.

Here’s what some of them have had to say…

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

Bayern Munich are in a somewhat transitional period at the moment.

Just recently, the Bavarians parted ways with Niko Kovac and are looking to regain their dominance both in Germany and in Europe.

But for that, they will need reinforcements.

Of course, it’s not that they don’t have a formidable team already at their disposal but they haven’t tasted victory in the Champions League since 2012/13 and even though they’ve been German champions for seven straight seasons, their aspirations grow much bigger than that.

The proof of that could very well be in their recent transfer targets.

After all, first they’ve acquired the services of Philippe Coutinho from Barcelona, albeit on a loan, and are now reportedly looking into the possibility of signing Leroy Sane from Manchester City and interestingly enough, Kingsley Coman could possibly be going the other way.

Watch German Football Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

This is not, however, a straight swap but rather two separate deals that could potentially unfold.

Sky Sports are reporting that Pep Guardiola’s men would be targeting Coman in case Bayern snatch up Sane and even though it’s not officially a swap of players, it does feel like the Citizens would be getting the short end of the stick while the German team should be extremely satisfied with it.

The two players, however, are fairly similar in their style of play: they’re quick, agile, have an eye for goal but are also somewhat injury-prone.

After all, both Coman and Sane are currently out of action with the latter one suffering a pretty serious setback.

But Coman falls short in almost every category when compared to Sane, even when talking injuries.

A quick overview of his fitness issues throughout the seasons indicates the 23-year-old Frenchman generally experiences a lot of injuries, even multiple ones per season, while this is Sane’s first major one.

When it comes to the final product, once again it feels like the German has the edge: 16 goals and 18 assists in 2018/19 compared to Coman’s ten goals and seven assists.

Looking at their whole careers at their respective clubs, the situation is much tighter with Sane sitting on 39 goals and 45 assists in 134 games while Coman has 28 goals and 33 assists in 139 for Bayern.

The difference is not huge but when everything is said and done, the Bavarians would be getting an upgrade on their man and City would fall down a level, for sure, especially if the Frenchman’s injury woes continue in the Premier League.

So even if losing Coman was a big deal, Bayern shouldn’t be down too much if they manage to get Sane in return.

For them, it’s very much the perfect outcome.

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has admitted that he is unsure when Joel Matip will be available for selection once again.

The 28-year-old has not turned out for the Champions League holders since the 1-1 draw with Manchester United in the Premier League on October 20.

Indeed, the centre-back has missed his team’s last four Premier League matches, which has opened the door for Dejan Lovren to gain some valuable minutes.

[ad_pod ]

Speaking ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League clash with Napoli, Klopp revealed that Matip would undergo another scan on his knee this week, although the German could not put a timeframe on the defender’s potential return.

Lovren has recently been praised by the Liverpool fans for his performances at the heart of defence.

However, it would be fair to say that the club’s supporters are missing Matip, with many wanting the 27-time Cameroon international to return as soon as possible.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

Meanwhile, one highly-rated Liverpool youngster could be on his way out of the club during the January transfer window.