Category Uncategorized

Tottenham Hotspur slipped to a second Premier League defeat in five days earlier this afternoon.Jose Mourinho’s struggling side were well-beaten by Leicester City in north London as they sunk six points adrift of the league leaders.Jamie Vardy opened the scoring for the visitors from the spot after Serge Aurier brought down Wesley Fofana on the stroke of half-time before Toby Alderweireld made matters worse by turning the ball into his own net on the hour mark.Both Serge Aurier and Moussa Sissoko were the key disappointments from a Spurs perspective, but so was Eric Dier, who is usually a player that the ‘Special One’ has been able to hugely rely on this term.Journalist Alasdair Gold was particularly critical in his post-match ratings for football.london, grading his performance a five out of ten, he said:”Would have been caught out for Maddison’s ruled-out goal. Again some really sloppy moments in possession and dithering on the ball, including gifting Leicester a chance late on.”Indeed the England colossus, who earns around £85k-per-week in N17, was wasteful to the point of costing Spurs dearly.The 26-year-old lost possession a whopping 24 times, which was more than any other player on the pitch, via SofaScore.Dier also made just 75% of his 92 passes, had 103 touches without any positive influence, and made just three of 14 of his 12 long ball attempts (21%) – that practically handed the possession back to the Foxes.Despite Brendan Rodgers’s side registering 12 of their 17 shots from inside the box, the long-serving Spurs defender could only muster up one tackle and two blocks all game.The £27m-rated powerhouse truly let his manager down, especially as he struggled to thwart a player he should know all too well in Jamie Vardy.

Dier was rather lucky that it was only a two-goal defeat, as had James Maddison’s finish counted, the spotlight would quite rightly have been thrust onto him, instead of Sissoko, Aurier or even Alderweireld.

He was abysmal today.

AND in other news,ÂSpurs exclusive: Pundit baffled by latest contract update…

What a strange time this is for Sunderland.

The Black Cats are at the centre of a potential takeover and they have just hired a new manager in Lee Johnson.

However, they now won’t play for a fortnight with their next three games were postponed.

On the chalkboard

Just as the positivity had been reinstalled at the Stadium of Light after their 4-0 win over Lincoln, proceedings in the north-east have become rather depressing again.

Because of an outbreak of COVID-19 within the squad, the Academy of Light has been shut until December 27th with a variety of players now having to self isolate.

Four players have tested positive for the pandemic which has only added to an ongoing list of fitness concerns within the squad.

Denver Hume is currently out injured while Luke O’Nien has a dislocated shoulder and is out until the New Year.

However, they received another damaging blow this week when Johnson revealed that Josh Scowen could miss as many as seven weeks with a shin injury.

It really does feel as though Sunderland players are dropping like flies at the moment.

The solution

Fortunately for the Black Cats, they do have a number of midfield players available to them. With Max Power ruled out against Wimbledon, George Dobson came back into the XI and was paired next to the ever-reliable and ever-consistent Grant Leadbitter.

Though, with Scowen missing they needed to find another midfielder from somewhere.

That happened to be Elliot Embleton, a man who usually prefers to play in more advanced roles. The 21-year-old had a serious hamstring injury last season which meant he didn’t play at all for Sunderland and to this day, he has still only featured on 16 occasions for the first-team.

He’s never truly had a consistent run to establish himself as a regular but now with a host of players out and lacking fitness, his chance could arrive.

It’s unfortunate the youngster never really got an opportunity under Jack Ross or Phil Parkinson. After all, the former held him in high esteem. “Embleton has been terrific since he came back for pre-season. You can see what he can provide in the final third, so I was pleased with that,” Ross commented in July 2019.

Of course, his season was ruined by injury last term but he is now fully fit and has developed nicely.

Against Wimbledon, the midfielder was assured and composed as he completed 88% of his passes, created two chances and had two shots.

If we see more of that, it’s likely Embleton will be in the team more. He definitely deserves a run.

In other news, Johnson must unleash Sunderland talent with “magic feat”…

Leeds United still have just over a week to get any domestic signings through the door at Elland Road.

The Whites have previously been linked to the likes of Said Benrahma and Emi Buendia, but the strongest link recently has been to Norwich City’s Todd Cantwell.

Cantwell is undoubtedly a fantastic player, netting six Premier League goals last season, and he’s had glowing reviews from people who have worked with him, with his former Norwich youth coach Darren Huckerby describing him as an incredibly gifted footballer:

“He was always the most gifted, but needed more work mentally than the others. He would admit it himself he could get intimidated by other players, and it’s great to see where he is now, because five years ago you might have said it would be touch and go,”

Indeed, Leeds have re-opened talks for the midfield maestro after bidding for him last month, but while Cantwell is certainly a talented player, he may be one signing too many for the club.

With United spending almost £100m since the end of last season already, splashing out another £20m on Cantwell may be hard to finance, especially with RB Leipzig chasing their £18m for Jean-Kevin Augustin.

That’s not the only problem either. Marcelo Bielsa has always been keen to work with a small squad, making that point incredibly clear during his tenure at Leeds, and with Cantwell potentially being United’s eighth first-team signing of the season, the squad may soon be oversaturated. To be honest, it probably already is.

Just look at the positions where Cantwell would want to fit in – Pablo Hernandez, Rodrigo and Tyler Roberts are already battling it out for the number 10 spot, while Ezgjan Alioski and Jack Harrison are competing on the left-wing, a position that Helder Costa and Stuart Dallas can also play in.

Bielsa will just be left with a massive selection headache if Cantwell is added to the team, and with the quality Leeds already have in these areas, you have to wonder if he’s even needed.

Signing the Norwich man could ultimately do more harm than good if it affects Bielsa’s squad dynamics.

Ahead of their game against Aston Villa, the question was ‘how are Leeds going to cope without Kalvin Phillips?’.

We can understand why there may have been concern about the Yorkshire Pirlo missing six weeks of action, after all, he is an England international, but Friday’s game showed that Leeds can cope just fine without him.

Indeed, the Whites won 3-0 against Aston Villa, ending the Midlands club’s 100% winning start to the season, and they did it without Phillips.

However, in the early knockings of the game, it didn’t look as though the game was going to swing in Leeds’ favour with Pascal Struijk looking like something of a liability in the first 20 minutes before being hooked by Marcelo Bielsa, leaving Leeds without a recognised defensive midfielder on the pitch.

It would turn out that United had nothing to fear as an unlikely hero emerged to do most of the work that we’d usually see Kalvin Phillips do.

Indeed, Luke Ayling may not have been playing in Phillips’ position, but he did a lot of the same heavy lifting that we’d normally see from the Yorkshire Pirlo.

Phillips is known for a few things, but one of the main tools in his arsenal is his incredible long-passing, but at Villa Park, we saw Ayling embrace his inner Pirlo as he played 17 long passes with 10 of those finding the mark – not bad for a right-back playing at centre-half.

Away from the incredible passing display, Ayling was an absolute brick wall and helped Leeds keep their second clean sheet of the season by blocking three shots, making one tackle and winning four aerial duels.

Phillips wasn’t missed at all against Villa and that’s because Ayling stepped up to fill that gap brilliantly.

Fingers crossed this form can continue for the next six weeks as Leeds face over a month without their talisman.

West Bromwich Albion will be looking to pick up their first win of the season as they head south to face Southampton at St Mary’s Stadium this lunchtime.

The Baggies have been thrashed by Leicester City and Everton but should have grabbed all three points against Chelsea last weekend having gone into the break three goals to the good.

Slaven Bilic has seen his side leak 11 goals despite playing three-at-the-back, so will the Croatian make any alterations for this fixture?

Here’s what we are predicting…

There could be just two changes from the side that drew to the Blues last time out, although Bilic is likely to revert back to the 4-3-3 which saw them promoted last term.

Sam Johnstone remains between the sticks as the Baggies’ number one and he’ll be protected by a back four this time. It means Semi Ajayi drops to the bench with Dara O’Shea and Kyle Bartley emerging as the trusted central duo. Both Conor Townsend and Darnell Furlong keep their places.

In midfield, skipper Jake Livermore also keeps his spot but he’s joined by academy graduate Sam Field to provide that extra defensive stability in the middle.

And playing slightly further forward could be Conor Gallagher who makes his Premier League debut for the club, meaning Romaine Sawyers is dropped following a run of poor performances.

We’re likely to also see Grady Diangana and Matheus Pereira start too, even despite Filip Krovinovic’s return to the Hawthorns this week whilst Callum Robinson leads the line once again.

The bench could feature the Croatian as well as the likes of Branislav Ivanovic, Kyle Edwards and Hal Robson-Kanu.

AND in other news, West Brom should look to £65k-p/w “real handful” as cheap Grant alternative…

If you thought Tottenham Hotspur’s move for arch-rival midfielder Ainsley Maitland-Niles was mad, then fresh reports linking them to another Premier League youngster may be the tip of the iceberg…

What’s the word?

According to Football Insider, Spurs are plotting a shock loan swoop for Liverpool striker Rhian Brewster, who is quite the coveted figure this transfer window.

It’s claimed that Jose Mourinho’s priority has shifted to finding a viable backup to Harry Kane and the 20-year-old is on their radar once again after failing to sign him two years ago prior to him signing his first pro deal at Anfield.

Brewster is with Liverpool for pre-season currently but also has the likes of Aston Villa, Crystal Palace and Newcastle United interested in signing him temporarily.

Parrott 2.0?

Not only will Spurs find it hard to land the young sensation because they could be rivals for a place in the top four, but also because they’ll struggle to provide the game time he needs to progress.

Brewster has just returned from a fruitful spell in the Championship where he scored 11 goals in just 21 starts, so the natural progression would be to hand him an opportunity in the Reds’ first-team or see if another top-flight team could guarantee him valuable match experience.

It’s no secret that Mourinho needs another striker after the north Londoners crashed out of all cup competitions during Kane’s injury absence at the start of the year, but the Portuguese boss didn’t lean on their own starlet, Troy Parrott, so why would he do any different with Brewster.

The Irishman has since gone out on loan to Millwall, which only emphasises the need for an attacking addition but it seems hard to envisage Brewster in the Spurs strip.

Brewster has been lauded as many things during his short career to date, including “special” and “just exceptional” so there’s no denying that he’d be a very good addition in north London.

But it’s just not plausible whatsoever.

AND in other news, Spurs target Ligue 1 powerhouse who is shades of Mousa Dembele

MatériaMais Notícias

“Campeões de 13, 16 e 22. Temos muitas glórias e surgirão outras depois”. É inspirado em seu belo hino que o América olha para o futuro. Vencedor da Série B do Carioca neste ano e com vaga assegurada na elite estadual em 2016, o Mecão sonha alto. Atualmente o clube disputa a Copa Rio, competição que dá ao campeão uma vaga na próxima Série D do Brasileirão ou na Copa do Brasil. Com a base do elenco que conquistou a Série B estadual mantida, o América aposta em mais uma taça e deseja escolher a vaga na Série D, projetando uma escalada até a Série A em alguns anos. Além da retomada nos campos, o clube tenta a construção de uma “mega-sede”, que seria a solução para os problemas financeiros do clube. O LANCE! conversou com o presidente do América, Léo Almada, que revelou uma grande ajuda de Romário na busca pela nova sede e detalhou outros importantes assuntos.

A ‘MEGA-SEDE’: CLUBE E SHOPPING EM TERRENO DO AMÉRICA

Em janeiro de 2014, com a posse de uma nova diretoria, liderada pelo presidente Léo Almada, o América organizou uma associação de torcedores ilustres e influentes que ajuda o clube. Torcedor confesso do Mecão, o ex-jogador e agora senador Romário é uma das figuras fortes deste grupo e tem ‘feito gols’ pelo clube. O Baixinho tem costurado reuniões com a Prefeitura do Rio e conversas com o prefeito Eduardo Paes para agilizar a aprovação do projeto da nova sede do América, que dividirá espaço com um shopping em seu terreno na Rua Campos Salles 118, Tijuca. Atualmente, a sede social americana encontra-se fechada – após laudos do Corpo de Bombeiros e da Defesa Civil – e o shopping dará uma nova vida financeira ao clube rubro.

VEJA GALERIA ESPECIAL E A SEQUÊNCIA DA MATÉRIA ABAIXO

Romário chegou a se lançar como candidato a presidente do América em eleição no fim de 2014, tendo Léo Almada como seu vice. Porém, como a autorização da nova sede/shopping emperrou à época em burocracias com o poder público, o Baixinho desistiu do processo eleitoral e Léo Almada assumiu a missão de seguir como presidente, já que o pleito tinha apenas uma chapa.

Diversas empresas demonstraram interesse em assumir o projeto e uma definição quanto a escolhida deve sair em dois meses. O shopping será patrimônio do América desde a sua construção e o clube cederá a exploração comercial do terreno de 30 a 40 anos, recebendo neste período um percentual do faturamento do shopping. No futuro, passado o período de exploração comercial, os lucros do shopping serão 100% do América. O clube enxerga que assim conseguirá pagar suas dívidas – hoje em torno de R$ 60 milhões – e ainda obterá uma valiosa propriedade.

– Minha relação com o Romário é a melhor possível, ele está ajudando o América politicamente, lutando pela nova sede e conseguindo audiências com autoridades. Com o Romário, as portas se abrem ao América. Ele tem sido importantíssimo dialogando com o prefeito – disse Léo Almada.

CONFIRA ABAIXO OUTROS TEMAS QUENTES

L!: Qual será o objetivo do América na disputa da Série A do Campeonato Carioca de 2016?

– O América renasceu com força, vontade e determinação. Baseado neste pensamento, afirmo que entraremos na competição para ganhar. Podemos até não conseguir, mas nosso foco será o primeiro lugar. O objetivo básico do América é conquistar todos os títulos que vier a disputar.

L!: Como será formado o elenco para o Estadual?

– A comissão técnica (comandada pelo técnico Ricardo Cruz, ex-goleiro de Botafogo e Fluminense nos anos 80 e 90) está observando o elenco durante a Copa Rio e a equipe será reforçada na medida das necessidades e das avaliações feitas. A comissão técnica tem total liberdade para solicitar reforços e a diretoria tentará os nomes pedidos, dentro das nossas possibilidades. Neste momento, ainda é prematuro dizer sobre ampliação da folha salarial, mas faremos todos os esforços para atender os apelos da comissão técnica.

L!: Algum possível patrocinador já procurou o América para o Estadual?

– Estamos começando a ser procurados, o fato de o campeonato ser transmitido pela televisão pesa muito positivamente. Há pedidos das empresas para que seus nomes ainda não sejam divulgados, mas são coisas boas.

L!: Você consegue estimar qual é o tamanho da torcida do América atualmente?

– Não sei dizer o número exato, mas conquista da Série B do Estadual foi muito comemorada e mostrou que o número de americanos é grande. Temos recebido entre 2 mil e 3 mil pessoas por jogo em nosso estádio. Eu costumo dizer que a torcida do América é a maior do Rio, pois só torce contra o América o torcedor do time que está jogando como rival americano. Além disso, muitas pessoas que me encontram geralmente pedem uma camisa do América. Um dia desses, uma mulher falou que queria uma para o filho, que é Flamengo, mas adora a camisa do América.

L!: Durante boa parte de 2016, Botafogo, Flamengo e Fluminense ficarão sem o Estádio Nilton Santos e o Maracanã por conta da Olimpíada. O América pensa em disponibilizar o Estádio Giulite Coutinho caso seja necessário?

– Estamos com nosso estádio à disposição, mas ainda não houve procura dos clubes. A capacidade de público aprovada pelos Bombeiros é de 13.554 espectadores (a capacidade mínima exigida pela CBF para a Série A do Brasileirão é de 15 mil lugares). O estádio tem estação de trem próxima e boas condições viárias para locomoção do público.

Léo Almada e Romário: dupla entrosada nos bastidores (Foto: Divulgação/América)

Jack Stobbs has tweeted his gratitude to his boyhood club after it was announced he would be leaving Sheffield Wednesday.

The 23-year-old found out earlier this month that his time at Hillsborough had come to an end and he is currently playing a ‘waiting game’ as he looks to move onto pastures new.

Speaking to The Star, Stobbs said: “As players we were doing so well, but fully understood the huge leap between U23s football and first-team football in the Championship. It doesn’t always work out like that, and that’s just the way football is sometimes.”

The long-time Wednesdayite was part of the U23 Owls side that won the Professional Development League Northern and National titles in the 2016/17 term. Stobbs played just three matches in Wednesday colours on the Championship stage (via Transfermarkt).

Many Owls fans have taken to Twitter to send their best wishes to the versatile forward, with many ‘disappointed’ to see him leave. One supporter has said ‘I’m gutted’ as they reflect on the years he has spent at the club.

Wednesday fans, would you have liked to see Stobbs break into the first team, or will he fare better at another club? Join the conversation in the comments…

Tottenham face stiff competition for Southampton star Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg as Ajax have now entered the race, amid interest from Everton. 

According to Voetbal International, Ajax are looking to steal a march on Spurs, as Hojbjerg has entered the final 12 months of his contract.

The Dane was stripped of the captaincy by Ralph Hasenhuttl after refusing to sign a new deal.

Spurs have been chasing the former Southampton captain for quite some time now, as Sky Sports revealed Jose Mourinho has made him one of his top targets in the summer.

The ex-Bayern Munich ace, who made 25 appearances for the Bundesliga champions, is represented by Pini Zahavi. His agent has been in discussions with the Lilywhites to hash out terms ahead of a potential move.

Mourinho has a strong relationship with Zahavi, which may make negotiations between the two clubs a whole lot easier.

The super-agent has been responsible for some of the biggest transfers in the world, as he helped to orchestrate Neymar’s world-record transfer from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain.

However, it won’t be plain sailing for Spurs, as Hojbjerg has worked with Erik ten Haag during his time in charge of Bayern Munich’s reserves.

The 24-year-old has played 30 games in the Premier League for the Saints this season, supplying one assist, taking 1.4 shots per game, averaging 1.5 interceptions and successfully completing 1.6 clearances on average (WhoScored).

Ajax are convinced this could play a big factor in their attempts to persuade the midfielder to move away from the South Coast.

Spurs have struggled to fill the void ever since Mousa Dembele left for China. Tanguy Ndombele hasn’t worked out as well as intended, as the club’s record signing has been involved in a public dispute with Mourinho.

Hojbjerg is strong on the ball, reads the game well, and is a powerful threat in the air. All of these qualities are exactly what Spurs have been looking for lately, and Levy must make every effort to sign him, no matter the cost.

Tottenham fans, should Daniel Levy sign Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg in the summer? Let us know down below!

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.