All posts by n8rngtd.top

Leeds United youngster Mateusz Bogusz has suffered a cruciate ligament injury during his loan spell at Ibiza, as The Athletic’s Phil Hay shared the news on Monday.

The Lowdown: Bogusz impresses on loan

The 20-year-old moved to the Spanish side on a temporary basis last summer and has impressed in the Segunda Division, scoring four times in 20 appearances and adding seven assists.

Bogusz scored a stunning long-range strike that did the rounds on Twitter earlier in the season, outlining the natural ability that the Pole possesses.

His form has been so good in fact that some have even called for Marcelo Bielsa to cut the temporary move short and bring Bogusz home in an effort to solve the injury crisis running rampant at Elland Road.

The Leeds man’s season has now been cut short in heartbreaking fashion, however, in what is a cruel blow.

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The Latest: Youngster suffers ACL injury

Taking to Twitter on Monday, Hay shared that Bogusz has suffered ACL damage and won’t play again in 2021/22, effectively ending his time at Ibiza:

“A damaged ACL has ended Mateusz Bogusz’s season on loan at Ibiza. Set to undergo surgery.”

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The Verdict: Huge blow for midfielder

This is a massive setback for a player really enjoying his football, acting as a blow to Leeds, and more importantly, Bogusz himself.

Spanish media have described Bogusz’s performances as ‘outstanding’ (Sport Witness) and Leeds midfielder Mateusz Klich has even claimed the youngster has the ability to become superior to himself in the coming years.

He was picking up valuable playing time and performing well ahead of a likely return to Elland Road in the summer – or perhaps even earlier – and a chance to kick on under Bielsa. Instead, a long spell on the sidelines now awaits.

All Leeds can do is hope he will return the same player once he recovers.

In other news, a journalist has made a big claim regarding Marcelo Bielsa’s future. Read more here.

Sharing news on Twitter, El Partidazo de COPE reporter Helena Condis Edo has shared a Tottenham Hotspur transfer update involving Barcelona forward Ousmane Dembele.

The Lowdown: Spurs make offer…

The Lilywhites have been linked with signing the France forward late into the January transfer window as his Camp Nou contract runs out at the end of this season.

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Info Blaugrana claimed that Spurs matched a €20m (£16.6m) Manchester United bid to try and sign the 24-year-old before 11pm in a last-minute transfer battle.

Meanwhile, other sources believe that Dembele has attracted real last-minute interest from Paris-Saint Germain, with Spanish journalist Condis Edo sharing what she knows on an alleged offer from Spurs.

The Latest: Tottenham table ‘last minute’ bid…

Backing Info Blaugrana’s report, the Spanish journalist claimed that Antonio Conte’s side have indeed made a ‘last minute’ offer for the player. However, it is apparently an ‘unfeasible option’ because they ‘cannot assume the player’s file’ or agent commissions.

“Tottenham made a last-minute offer today to Barça for Dembélé,” she stated on Twitter.

“But it is an unfeasible option, sources from the negotiation tell me, because they cannot assume the player’s file + commissions for their agent.”

The Verdict: Blessing in disguise?

Dembele would have come as somewhat of a mixed bag given his history of hamstring problems and sky-high wages. coming as an unnecessary gamble for transfer chief Fabio Paratici.

Missing out on the France international could actually be a blessing in disguise, and we believe that Tottenham should have no hesitation in turning to new targets on deadline day.

In other news: Spurs move for ‘exciting’ £40m man on the cards as Conte plots another deadline day swoop, find out more here.

As West Ham United took on lower league minnows Kidderminster Harriers in a mouth-watering FA Cup fourth-round tie, BBC commentators Dion Dublin and Steve Wilson slammed forward Andriy Yarmolenko after a bizarre incident.

The Lowdown: Yarmolenko dives?

The Ukraine forward, who was ripped into by members of the media for his display today, attracted even more criticism against Kidderminster after an incident in the final 10 minutes of normal time.

Yarmolenko, driving into the box, appeared to go down dramatically under little or perhaps even no contact from a Kidderminster defender in hopes of potentially gaining a spot kick.

Following his efforts, BBC commentators Dublin and Wilson certainly weren’t impressed.

The Latest: Dublin and Wilson slam Yarmolenko…

Speaking live to on BBC’s coverage during West Ham’s win, relayed via their live feed (14:11), Dublin started off by stating Yarmolenko’s attempt at simulation was ‘totally embarrassing’.

Thereafter, his co-commentator Wilson then added that it was ‘unforgivable’ from the 32-year-old.

The Verdict: Correct?

There is certainly a strong case that Yarmolenko went down softly under the Kidderminster’s player’s touch given an appeared lack of contact from the National League North player.

The incident perhaps highlighted the overall lack of quality in the display from Yarmolenko during West Ham’s dramatic win, as evidenced by the fact he attracted such harsh criticism from other members of the media.

Journalist Joseph Mbu of The Sun claimed on Twitter that the Irons man ‘offers absolutely nothing 95% of the time’ and that is backed by how little manager David Moyes has used him this season.

According to WhoScored, he’s played just 87 minutes in total in the Premier League and his dive against Kidderminster perhaps wouldn’t have done him any favours.

In other news: West Ham weighing another marquee bid as Moyes sets sights on ‘extraordinary’ player, find out more here.

An update has emerged on Rangers and their attempts to bring a new forward to Ibrox on deadline day…

What’s the talk?

The Athletic’s Manchester City reporter Sam Lee has confirmed that James McAtee has turned down the chance to sign for the Scottish giants, among other clubs, this month.

He Tweeted: “No loan move for James McAtee today: he’s rejected offers from Rangers, Swansea, Bournemouth, QPR, Huddersfield, Dutch clubs, Belgian clubs, Spanish clubs. City now very hopeful he will sign a new long-term contract.”

Livid

Rangers chief Ross Wilson will surely be livid with this update as it suggests that he was unable convince the player that a move to Glasgow was right for him.

Lee’s report does not state that the Premier League champions blocked a loan deal for McAtee, with the player himself taking control of the situation to refuse an offer from the Gers. Instead of coming to Ibrox and playing regular football in the Premiership, he has seemingly decided to remain at The Etihad to attempt to force his way into Pep Guardiola’s side.

Wilson will also be fuming as it means that the club will not be able to enjoy the forward’s talents in the second-half of the campaign. He has 19 goals and five assists in all competitions for Man City this season, playing for the U23’s and the first team, whilst featuring for the first team in the Carabao Cup, the FA Cup and the Premier League.

City academy coach Brian Barry-Murphy once dubbed the magician a “very intelligent player” and his statistics back that up. He has shown great promise at a young age and could have been an exciting signing for the Gers, which is why the club’s sporting director will be livid that he has failed in his attempts to seal a deal.

It could be a case of McAtee not being willing to join any club regardless of what they offered or said to him, but Wilson may always wonder if he did enough to make the transfer happen.

AND in other news, Wilson heading for last-gasp Rangers blunder as Jordan Campbell drops big D-Day update…

One of the gems of Rangers’ title win last season, Joe Aribo has certainly developed into a bona-fide star at Ibrox following his move a couple of years ago.

Having initially signed him for Rangers on a free transfer from Charlton, former Gers boss Steven Gerrard was very vocal in his praise of the midfielder, even going so far as to saying that he hoped he would be able to manage him for a long time.

Speaking after a particularly impressive performance against East Fife, Gerrard said of Aribo: “I am not sure how many good players have been at this stadium, but I don’t think you will see many better than Joe. Top players turn up anywhere, it doesn’t matter if it is in front of 50,000, or 1500, your standards are always the same and from day one Joe has done that. He was outstanding from start to finish.

“He can go as far as he wants. I hope he stays alongside me for many years, but he’s got the world at his feet.”

The 25-year-old Aribo ended up playing 112 times for Gerrard’s Rangers in his time north of the border, scoring 20 goals and providing another 18 assists as he embraced a real box-to-box role at Ibrox.

Transfermarkt now value him at £9m, and it’s testament to his ability that even with the change in manager recently to Giovanni van Bronckhorst, he has remained a real threat going forwards – in his 13 games under the Dutchman, he has managed three goals and three assists.

His role in helping the Gers finally wrestle away the Scottish Premiership crown from Celtic was huge, notching six goals and providing four assists in his 25 top-flight appearances, playing in a number of different roles from number ten to out wide on the right too.

Ross Wilson should take a lot of credit for spotting the diamond that Aribo has turned out to be for the Gers, and the fact he arrived for absolutely nothing in terms of a transfer fee makes it a dream deal.

Meanwhile, GVB has revealed a major Rangers blow…

Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic side went into Sunday’s fixture against Dundee knowing that a win would see them extend their lead at the top of the Premiership table, as their Glasgow rivals had dropped two points away at Dundee United earlier in the day.

And, despite falling behind to the team sitting bottom of the top-flight in the first half of the fixture, as well as the Dark Blues drawing level in the second half after Giorgos Giakoumakis had given the hosts the lead with a quickfire double shortly before the break, the Greek international’s completion of his hattrick in the 86th minute ultimately proved enough for Celtic to get over the line – with the game finishing 3-2 in the Hoops’ favour.

However, as is perhaps to be expected after such a close run encounter against an outfit who have picked up just 21 points so far this season, a number of the Bhoys players were far from their best on Saturday, with Daizen Maeda – despite a tireless performance on the left-wing – proving wasteful in front of goal, while centre-back duo Carl Starfelt and Cameron Carter-Vickers were also rather sloppy at the back.

Although, it will undoubtedly be central midfielder Matt O’Riley most disappointed with his performance in the 3-2 victory, as the 21-year-old’s display was by far his worst since his £1.5m move to Parkhead in January.

Lost possession 20x

Despite having averaged a quite astonishing SofaScore match rating of 7.76 over his five previous Premiership outings – scoring one goal, registering one assist and creating three big chances for his teammates in these fixtures – the former England U18 international was well below-par over his 79 minutes on the pitch on Sunday.

Indeed, while the £405k-rated midfielder did complete 42 passes – one of which was key – against the Dark Blues, he was also uncharacteristically sloppy with the ball at his feet, failing to find his intended target with any of his six attempted crosses, his one attempted long ball and ceding possession for his side on a whopping 20 separate occasions.

The youngster also lost four of his seven duels, gave away one foul, failed with his one attempted dribble and was dribbled past by an opponent once.

These returns saw the 21-year-old who Bhoys Analytics dubbed an “all-rounder” earn an extremely disappointing SofaScore match rating of 6.5, while the Scottish Daily Express awarded the midfielder a six in their own player ratings, as well as stating of his display:

“This was probably the January signing’s least effective game since joining from MK Dons as he struggled to have a big influence on the match.”

As such, with the mammoth task of overturning a 3-1 first-leg defeat away at Bodo/Glimt in Thursday’s Europa Conference League play-off fixture, O’Riley’s performance against Dundee will have undoubtedly given Postecoglou something of a selection headache ahead of the European clash – as a repeat of his display against the Dark Blues could well cost his side a shot at overturning their two-goal deficit against the Norwegians.

In other news: Ange may have made a grave mistake on “immense” 21 y/o, it could cost Celtic big time

An update has emerged on Newcastle United and their interest in Paris Saint-Germain forward Pablo Sarabia… 

What’s the talk?

According to reports in Spain, the Magpies are one of three teams keen on a deal for the Spanish playmaker at the end of the campaign.

He is currently on loan to Portuguese giants Sporting but Villarreal, Sevilla and Newcastle are now hoping to snap him up in the summer on a permanent deal.

Masterclass

Eddie Howe could seal a masterclass by securing a move for Sarabia ahead of the 2022/23 campaign as he could be an incredible addition to the squad.

The 29-year-old has been in fine form this season, whilst he has also proven his quality throughout his career at the top level. He has produced 13 goals and nine assists for PSG and Sporting combined this term, which means that he has 22 direct goal contributions in 34 appearances.

This shows that he is capable of making a big impact in the final third as he has the ability to both score and create goals for his side.

Sarabia has a wealth of experience in Europe too, having played over 200 games in La Liga with Getafe and Sevilla before moving to France in 2019. He managed 13 strikes and 13 assists in his final season in the Spanish top-flight and has 22 goals and 12 assists in 79 matches for the Ligue 1 giants to date.

Former PSG coach Thomas Tuchel previously lauded the Spaniard’s ability, saying: “Pablo is really impressive. He runs well, with and without a ball. His game without the ball is a great example. He plays with a lot of intensity and does not stop [working] defensively.”

These comments suggest that he also has the work rate required to be a fan favourite at St. James’ Park. His statistics throughout his career show that he has the potential to come in and be an eye-catching player for Newcastle in the final third, but his play off the ball is also important and means that he will not be a lightweight who needs to be carried through games.

Instead of signing a luxury player who could negatively impact the side’s defending, Howe could pull off a masterclass by finding a gem who can impress at both ends of the pitch. This is why the Toon must ensure that they win the race for the Spanish international’s signature at the end of the season.

AND in other news, Howe can finally axe £37k-p/w “weapon” as Newcastle eye swoop for 66-goal “phenomenon”…

The left-back spot at Everton is one position where boss Frank Lampard will be hoping to sort out in the summer, after the departure of Lucas Digne in January and Vitaliy Mykolenko’s difficult start to life on Merseyside.

Jonjoe Kenny has been filling in over the last few weeks in the position, but some lacklustre performances have led to questions over whether or not the English manager already has a key problem on his hands.

One man that could potentially fix that issue in the new season is 21-year-old Niels Nkounkou, who is currently getting regular game time on-loan at Belgian Pro League outfit Standard Liege.

However, but for another massive transfer clanger dropped by former Director of Football Marcel Brands back in 2019, the Toffees would likely not even be in the midst of a left-back crisis.

Milton Keynes-born USA international Antonee Robinson was signed by Wigan for £2m, a fee which on reflection, was not worth it for Everton given that his market valuation has soared by a mighty 305% after going on to sign for then-Premier League side Fulham at the start of last season.

The likes of West Ham have been credited with an interest in the 24-year-old in recent weeks, after scoring two goals and setting up four in 27 Championship appearances this season.

Earlier in the year, he was his national team’s hero after netting the only goal in USA’s World Cup qualifier against El Salvador, and at club level, he has consistently demonstrated his ability on a weekly basis – earning more admirers with every passing game.

Hull manager Grant McCann said of the left-back after their game with Fulham earlier on in the season: “Robinson’s a hell of a player.”

Cottagers manager Marco Silva has also been delighted with Robinson’s development, saying: “It’s pleasing to see him growing and performing better step by step.”

With 8.29 progressive carries per 90, as well as an average 0f 2.15 dribbles completed, the former Everton man has demonstrated that he is one of the top attacking full-backs in the country time and time again this season, and much to Everton’s frustration, is now a Premier League quality player.

It’s safe to say Brands dropped a big clanger on the £16k-per-week earner.

In other news: Huge boost: Lampard drops exciting 7-word Everton update, fans should be thrilled

Newcastle United are lining up a £50m summer bid for Bayer Leverkusen winger Moussa Diaby, according to The Daily Mail’s Simon Jones.

The lowdown

The 22-year-old came through the Paris Saint-Germain youth ranks before joining Leverkusen in a £13.5m deal in the summer of 2019 (via Transfermarkt).

He has scored 33 goals and laid on 32 assists in 113 appearances for Die Werkself, with nearly half of those goals (15) and almost a third of his assists (nine) coming this season.

One of the Frenchman’s outstanding attributes is his pace. Clocked at 21.79mph earlier this season, he is among the quickest players in the Bundesliga. Also, German publication The Rheinische Post have described his pace as ‘irresistible’ and his dribbling as ‘amazing’ (via bundesliga.com).

The latest

Jones reported for The Daily Mail that Newcastle have been monitoring Diaby for months and scouted him during Leverkusen’s 1-1 draw with Bayern Munich on Saturday.

The Magpies are willing to break their transfer record to get a £50m deal done, but Leverkusen value him in the same bracket as Kai Havertz, who was sold to Chelsea for £75m in 2020.

The verdict

Would Newcastle have been further encouraged by what they saw against Bayern this weekend?

It was a mixed performance from Diaby. He failed to complete any of his three dribbles and lost five of the six ground duels he contested, but he created a ‘big chance’ and was duly unfortunate not to get another assist to his name (via SofaScore).

The Daily Mail’s report states that Newcastle are wary of greater competition for the 22-year-old emerging in the coming months, and that’s no surprise given his excellent record this season. Therefore, if they want to bring him to St James’ Park, time may be of the essence.

In other news, these were Newcastle’s three worst players against Brighton

Spurs insider John Wenham has delivered his thoughts on how Antonio Conte’s side could look to sign Southampton star Valentino Livramento this summer.

What’s the story?

He said: “I’m looking at ways Tottenham could offset some of the fee Southampton will ask for. Could we include Harry Winks in the deal? There are other players who fit that bill. Various outlets are reporting Cameron Carter-Vickers is of interest to some clubs owing to his form at Celtic.

“Is there a way we could offer him as a makeweight in the summer? It might work out, giving them a defender as they are losing a defender. Maybe something can be done there.”

Livramento would be superb under Conte

In the 5 foot 8 Livramento, Spurs would be getting a superb young addition who could nail down the troublesome right wing-back slot for good.

Dubbed as a “huge talent”, the England youth international has even captained the Young Lions, playing through the under-16s all the way up to the under-19s.

Indeed, former Spurs man Jermaine Jenas has been left suitably impressed by Livramento’s early performances for Southampton, saying: “He has got that aggressive nature to his game, he has that mixed in with real genuine quality, knowing when to release the ball, time and time again Southampton found him in space down the right-hand side and I feel like he made the right decision all the time.

“All of these things show me the quality that he possesses. He is a big lad so he is a threat from set-pieces as well. I just really like the composure he has in his game.”

Given that he’s already begun to prove himself in the Premier League and at the highest level, Wenham’s claim that this is deal that could potentially work if Spurs offer up some makeweights, is sure to excite the club’s fans.

AND in other news: Sold for £18m, now worth under £1m: Levy played a blinder with shocking Spurs disaster