All posts by z3u9t.icu

Leeds United have been handed a major injury boost ahead of their Premier League clash against Fulham on Friday night, with news that Patrick Bamford is likely to be fit.

The striker was forced off in Marcelo Bielsa’s side’s last game against Chelsea at Elland Road, and there no doubt would have been some serious concern about whether he would be fit to face the Cottagers.

Bamford has played an integral role in Leeds’ impressive return to the Premier League this season, bagging 13 goals and providing a further six assists in the top-flight alone – in fact, he’s played the full 90 minutes in all but six of the Whites’ games this campaign in the league, and has started every single one.

Ahead of the game tonight, The Athletic’s Phil Hay delivered a crucial update on Bamford’s fitness, saying that the forward looks like he should be available, and that despite a knock to his hip, stands a “good chance of recovering”.

The £16.2m-rated man has earned some rave reviews this season for his performances, not least from former Premier League ace Gabriel Agbonlahor, who lauded his display against Leicester just last month.

He said: “What’s surprised me is how good his finishing is. He’s never going to get that ball and dribble past players but what he does have is a great finish on him.

“He showed with his goal at the weekend how clinical he can be. His link-up play as well. Yes, I’ve been surprised but credit to him.”

Bamford’s availability for tonight will come as a major relief for Bielsa, and will have the Leeds boss absolutely buzzing that he can continue to rely upon on his main man up top.

Meanwhile, Leeds must start this “rock” tonight…

Aberdeen have been linked with a move for Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths, as reported by the Sunday Post.

Scott Brown recently agreed a summer switch to Pittodrie, and it now seems as if Griffiths could possibly be joining the midfielder under the Dons’ new manager Stephen Glass.

Griffiths’ Celtic struggles

Griffiths has hardly featured for the Hoops this season and is out of contract in just 14 months’ time.

He has started seven Premiership fixtures under Neil Lennon during the current campaign. The 30-year-old has scored six times in 732 minutes of action but has only played seven minutes under interim boss John Kennedy.

Transfer Tavern take

Based on this season, we feel as if this summer could be the right time to move Griffiths on. He is earning £15,000 per week at Parkhead, money which could be put towards a new addition in a summer rebuild.

Griffiths has been a brilliant servant to the club, making 256 appearances and netting 122 times. However, based on the last 12 months, it appears as if now could be the time for him and the Hoops to part ways.

In other news: Celtic face competition for possible Frimpong replacement, find out more here. 

Many fans of West Ham United have been reacting to a post on Twitter which relayed a report claiming that Chelsea are lining up a swap deal for Declan Rice this summer.

According to the report by the Daily Express, Chelsea could offer the Irons all three of Andreas Christensen, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Tammy Abraham in a swap deal for Rice this summer, with Thomas Tuchel said to be just as keen as his predecessor Frank Lampard in a move for the West Ham star.

However, with David Moyes previously claiming that it would take the “Bank of England” in order for him to part with the England international, as well as the fact the Hammers are currently battling Chelsea for a Champions League finish domestically, it remains unclear whether the proposal could temp West Ham into a deal.

After West Ham News relayed the report on Twitter, many fans of the Irons flocked to have their say on the matter, with plenty appearing to be firmly against the “terrible” idea of letting Rice go for the reported Stamford Bridge swap offer.

So, what did these West Ham United fans have to say in reaction to Chelsea’s interest in Declan Rice?

“They could offer half their first team, I’d still think it was a terrible deal.”

@ZentaviusTV

“None would play with the same passion or love for the team as Rice does, IMO.”

@MartinOsborne16

“Yeah, I’m sure we would accept paying three different players’ wages lol.”

@RiddimSlaps

“Old news and not going to happen.”

@simonsram

“Here we go again.”

@Curlymartin1966

“Why on earth would we want 3 of their cast-offs in exchange for one of the best young holding midfielders in the world?”

@Paul14739982

In other news: West Ham make approach for £12.6m-rated ace; GSB could get him for nothing this summer – find out more here!

Marcel Brands should urge Carlo Ancelotti to tread cautiously amid rumoured plans to hand Joshua King a long-term contract at Everton.

What’s the word?

According to Football Insider, the Toffees will look to retain King beyond the initial six-month deal penned upon his arrival as a latch-ditch signing on Deadline Day last month.

Everton are claimed to have paid AFC Bournemouth £2m to take over the final stretch of his £45,000-per-week contract, as the Cherries sought to secure a nominal fee for a player who would otherwise have been a free agent in the summer.

King’s long-term future remains in doubt having only joined the Blues on a short-term deal, though the Merseyside outfit have long been claimed to have an option to retain the Norway international.

Retaining King could see Everton’s deal with Bournemouth rise to as much as £5m, and that is under consideration as he’s been impressing coaches – including Ancelotti – at Finch Farm.

King is yet to start a fixture or score for Everton, but has made five substitute outings and has featured for a total of 67 minutes over his Premier League appearances to date.

Should Everton retain King?

Having Ancelotti’s backing after leaving a favourable impression on the Italian tactician and his coaching staff will go a long way toward King securing a long-term future at Everton.

Ancelotti stated upon the forward’s arrival that he hoped the Blues would keep the 29-year-old beyond the end of the season, but noted that his time at Goodison Park was effectively a loan deal and a chance to impress after Cenk Tosun joined Besiktas in a temporary switch.

King, too, voiced hope of a long life in royal blue having enjoyed his first few weeks on Merseyside, even though chances to feature have been thin and far between.

“This squad and club are reaching and climbing and building something,” he said last month. “I am eager to prove myself and to try to give the boss a reason to pick me.

“I am focusing on working hard and trying to reach my top form as quickly as possible. Then we will see what happens in the summer. I am loving it and, of course, would love to stay but it has to be right for the club and for me.”

But as chances to feature have been so infrequent thus far, even while Ancelotti was without Everton’s top-scorer Dominic Calvert-Lewin due to a hamstring injury, Brands should urge caution and not rush into tying King down with a long-term deal so soon.

The £10m-rated dynamo, who former Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe lauded as the “complete package”, is yet to prove himself on the pitch, and it is there – rather than in training – where King must show that he deserves a long-term contract.

Currently, he is yet to bring much to the table when on the field and he needs to prove why he deserves to be retained by netting goals and/or providing assists in the coming months.

AND in other news, Everton are tracking a prolific 15-goal winger backed to reach another level…

It has been a long nine days since Wolverhampton Wanderers were last in action.

Nuno Santo’s men played out a 0-0 draw with Midlands rivals Aston Villa – a game that they should have won.

Romain Saiss somehow blazed an effort over the bar from just a matter of yards out; a moment in the match that proved pivotal for both teams.

Small cracks are starting to appear in this Wolves side again, though. They haven’t won in their last three games and received a battering at the hands of Manchester City in the process.

In a normal season, they may well be on the end of a similar result against Liverpool on Monday. That being said, the Reds have lost six of their last seven Premier League outings. It’s a remarkable turn of events for a club who have been so impressive in recent years.

With that in mind, Wolves should feel confident about their chances this evening, but how will they line-up?

Here’s what we’re predicting at Football FanCast.

We think that Nuno may go in a similar way to how he fielded his team against Manchester City.

That means Nelson Semedo starts at right wing in order for Wolves to get the most from his attacking attributes. As a result, Willian Jose drops out and Adama Traore moves into the central role he started in at the Etihad.

Jose has found life difficult since moving from Real Sociedad in the winter and is yet to score a single goal in Wolves colours. With Liverpool’s defence as fragile as it is, Traore could prove to be a real weapon for the Molineux outfit.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/check-out-the-latest-news-on-wolves-from-molineux” title=” Check out the latest news on Wolves from Molineux!”]

With Semedo moving forward it means that Ki-Jana Hoever comes in at right wing-back to play against the team that sold him last summer.

There is a second change in defence where the £23k-per-week Saiss drops out. We bemoaned his performance against Villa a few weeks ago and with Willy Boly now fit, he has to start.

The Frenchman has been back on the bench and after having nine days to train with the squad, should be in good shape to play from the off.

AND in other news, Shi could land Wolves’ perfect Moutinho heir in £35k-p/w gem with “boundless energy”…

West Ham United defender Ryan Fredericks was David Moyes’ only silver lining of Tuesday’s FA Cup loss to Manchester United after upstaging Jarrod Bowen at Old Trafford.

Scott McTominay saw that the Irons exited the competition when the substitute dispatched a volley into Lukasz Fabianski’s net seven minutes into extra-time, to break the visitors’ resilience after soldiering one despite two centre-halves sustaining injuries.

The enforced withdrawals of Angelo Ogbonna and the Italian’s replacement Issa Diop saw Moyes introduce Fredericks and Ben Johnson from the bench, with a switch in formation to suit with the Irons forced into a back three that actually improved their performance.

Bowen was the one to make way for Fredericks, who has been a fringe man having made just six starts in all competitions for the Irons this term, to enter the action after providing a quiet opening 45 minutes. The withdrawn attacker rarely had an opportunity to break forward and threaten Alex Telles and was instead forced to help Vladimir Coufal in defence.

But Fredericks made an instant impact, with his injection of pace and willingness to adventure further up the pitch often forcing Telles to retreat into positions where the £3.5m-rated dynamo could deliver crosses into Dean Henderson’s box.

Moyes only saw Bowen attempt one cross into the Red Devils’ penalty area, per SofaScore, and take a mere six touches inside the host’s territory before his exit after 45 minutes, per WhoScored, while frequently pocketed by Telles, Marcus Rashford and Nemanja Matic on the Hammers’ right-flank.

That was rarely the case for Fredericks, who recorded four crosses and 33 touches in United’s half, compared to 14 in West Ham’s.

He additionally won six of his seven ground duels on the side of the pitch that saw Bowen lose two of his three, to see that Telles could not boast a perfect record when he was withdrawn after 90 minutes with success in three of seven challenges.

The former Fulham full-back was even successful with each of his two attempted dribbles after Bowen had failed to drag possession up the field even once in the first-half, having performed below his usual standards of 1.1 successful runs a game with a 60% success rate in the Premier League this term.

Fredericks’ efforts further came from only 30 minutes extra than Bowen and eclipsed the former Hull City winger’s seasonal league average for ground duels won, with the 24-year-old having won 3.0 a game over his 23 outings in the top-flight to date.

The only silver lining Bowen could take from Fredericks’ efforts was that his accuracy from crosses was on par with his seasonal score of 1.0 accurate deliveries with a 26% success rate in the league. But Moyes can overlook that, as Fredericks’ positives far outweighed the negatives.

AND in other news, West Ham will have to pay in excess of £26.5m to land a prolific 18 goal striker in the summer…

Jordan Rhodes is not your traditional big target man, please remember that Neil Thompson.

Sheffield Wednesday slumped to a third consecutive league defeat on Wednesday evening, and the longest-serving Owls star was severely let down by his interim manager, having to feed off scraps throughout the duration of the match.

The 31-year-old, who stands at just 6 foot 1, was not deployed in a role that suited his strengths. As once outlined by former Scotland no.2 Mark McGee, Rhodes is a poacher – or as Owls legend John Sheridan once put it, a “fox in the box” similar to Gary Lineker.

Indeed, this has been an all too familiar story for the £10m signing since his arrival in 2017 – only last season, YorkshireLive reporter Dom Howson claimed that Wednesday had never utilised him correctly, he wrote: ‘For him to shine, he needs quality service from the wide positions.’

Before adding:

‘The trouble with Rhodes is he is a limited player outside of the 18-yard box. He is not physically strong, lightning-quick, skilful or the best at holding the ball up.’

This begs the question, just why did Thompson expect him to do all that – and more.

Throughout the 90 minutes, the visiting Owls could only muster up a total of two key passes, whilst only 10% of their 21 crossing attempts were successful, as per SofaScore.

Rhodes was evidently left to feed off scraps and poor service, so it’s no wonder he graded as one of their worst players on the night, pulling in a rating of 6.5 – seven other members of the Owls XI either matched or bettered this.

As a result of the diabolical support that simply isn’t suited to his game, the Scotsman struggled to win many of his battles – particularly in the air – where he won only three of 18 aerial duels, taking his total duels lost to 80% overall, via SofaScore.

That, in turn, affected his ability to make any sort of impact, as he failed to register a single shot all match, which is well below his career average of two shots per game.

The £35k-per-week high-earner was left mere a passenger as the Owls succumbed to defeat at the hands of Brentford, and the blame must lie with Thompson, who simply isn’t playing to Rhodes’ strengths, as evident above.

If the south Yorkshiremen are to stave off relegation, then finally playing a system around Rhodes could hold the keys to achieving that. The caretaker boss must act ahead of a crucial encounter with Luton on Saturday.

AND in other news, Worse than Reach: Sheffield Wednesday calamity who lost 84% of duels let Thompson down…

Speaking exclusively to The Transfer Tavern, Dean Windass has suggested that Jesse Lingard could consider moving to West Bromwich Albion on loan from Manchester United until the end of the season.

Lingard could be short-term Baggies saviour

£9m-valued Lingard (Transfermarkt) has become an outcast under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Old Trafford – he has not made a single appearance in the Premier League so far this term.

As such, Windass believes that he would be a good signing for Sam Allardyce’s side on loan. He said:

“I think with Jesse Lingard, if there was an agreement with the club saying ‘just play to the end of the season to try to keep West Brom up, you’re going to get game time’ I see it, but I don’t see a permanent [transfer].”

Interesting option

Lingard is often the subject of ridicule, but that does a discredit to his ability. He has made 210 appearances for the Red Devils, after all, scoring 33 goals and providing 20 assists. He has 24 caps for England, one of which came in a World Cup semi-final, while he was even compared to Andres Iniesta by former Manchester United coach Rene Meulensteen.

He may not be at his best right now, but he may have enough to help keep West Brom in the Premier League. On loan, it could be a very interesting option for the Midlands outfit and given how dire West Brom have looked in recent weeks, adding someone with the quality of Lingard could be a good move, especially as he’ll be keen to impress if he wants to earn a recall to the England set up.

In other news, West Brom are ready to make an offer for the 28-year-old.

For the first time in ten years, it feels like Celtic are in a slump.

This season was supposed to be about ten SPFL crowns in a row but very rarely does football follow the script.

Instead, Rangers have surged ahead at the summit of Scotland’s pyramid and are 11 points clear of their arch-rivals. The Hoops may have two games in hand but things are looking unlikely for another successive title.

It’s difficult to suggest that Celtic have things rough. They have won treble after treble and are enjoying one of the most successful periods in their history.

It’s remarkable, therefore, that Neil Lennon could receive the boot.

After their 2-2 draw with Hibernian last weekend, the pressure ramped up even more on Lennon. Reports claim he won’t leave and that he still has the support of the club’s board, which includes CEO Peter Lawwell.

Of course, it would be incredibly drastic to sack a manager after a few bad results in a league where the team have won numerous back to back titles, but it sums up the ruthless and cutthroat nature of football.

Naturally, various replacements are being touted to replace Lennon. One was former Celtic boss Martin O’Neill and the other was a certain Eddie Howe.

The ex-Bournemouth manager was relegated with the Cherries last term and consequently left his beloved south-coast side behind. However, he is highly thought of in the British game, being hailed as “special” by Brett Pitman, and would surely relish the opportunity to manage such a big club.

A young head coach, there are similarities to be drawn between him and Brendan Rodgers.

First and foremost, they both have an emphasis on vibrant possession-based counter-attacking football.

In 2018/19, a season where Bournemouth finished 14th, they amassed the 11th greatest pass success rate in the Premier League. Most importantly, though, was their league-high nine goals that were scored on the counter-attack. The team behind them, coincidentally, was Rodgers’ Leicester side.

Of course, performances dwindled last season under Howe but he also has a track record of nurturing young players – something Rodgers did to brilliant effect at Parkhead.

Take the likes of Aaron Ramsdale, Jordan Ibe, Dominic Solanke, Ryan Fraser and David Brooks – all players that Howe brought to the club when he was at the Vitality Stadium.

It needs to be said that Howe is still inexperienced but crucially, he is a coach, rather than a man manager – he’d be the polar opposite to Lennon. That can only be a good thing in their pursuit of ten titles in a row.

In other news, Celtic can find their IDEAL Scott Brown heir by signing the following target…

Crystal Palace were by no means quiet in the summer, but perhaps they missed out on that one final signing, and Steve Parish can make amends during the January transfer window.

What’s the word?

Palace have emerged as the favourites to land Reading midfielder Michael Olise. That’s according to a report from The Sunday People (20/12, p71), who also suggest that Leeds United are interested in signing the highly-coveted teenager.

The 19-year-old has been in scintillating form for the Royals, providing four goals and seven assists in 20 appearances in the Championship, via Transfermarkt.

Alternative to Andros Townsend

While Wilfried Zaha is heavily linked with the Selhurst Park exit, Eberechi Eze has been one of the few bright sparks amid an inconsistent run of form but Palace have arguably been made to pay for never properly replacing their former charge Victor Moses.

Roy Hodgson only really has three options for two positions, at least until January, with Eze, Jeffrey Schlupp and Andros Townsend vying for a place on the wings.

A coronavirus outbreak or an injury crisis could quickly cause some problems at SE25, so Parish would be wise to sanction a swoop for Olise as not only would he be sufficient backup for the Englishman, but he’d also offer an alternative threat attack, having even been deployed as a centre-forward upon occasion so far this season.

His teammate and fellow Royals frontman Sam Baldock heaped praise on the “fearless” French teen last term, while his former manager Mark Bowen was equally effusive in his praise for the versatile forward after he earned his first Championship start at the City Ground last season, saying: “I felt it was the right time to give Michael a go – he is such a talented player and he can do anything in his career.

“I said to him after the game that I’d probably done him a disservice by not using him more before now. With younger players, I use that word – ‘trust’.

“I have to trust them to put them in the work – not trust them with the ball, because Michael is a massively talented player – but trust him to do the job out of possession.”

Valued at £4m via Transfermarkt, he’s already bagged four goals in 15 starts for the Royals, while he is averaging 1.4 shots, 1.7 key passes and 1.1 dribbles per game, via WhoScored.

By comparison, even the club’s long-term target and Watford winger Ismaila Sarr has mustered fewer than one key pass per game in the Championship, as per WhoScored.

Evidently, this sort of attacking threat would be most welcome in south London and to be able to sign an attacking midfielder who still has plenty of time to grow and develop as a player would be an extremely smart bit of business.

AND in other news, Parish masterclass: Crystal Palace struck gold by signing Eberechi Eze from Queens Park Rangers…