All posts by n8rngtd.top

Manchester City can secure their first piece of silverware this season as they take on Tottenham Hotspur in the Carabao Cup Final at Wembley on Sunday.

City have an excellent record in the competition since Guardiola’s arrival, having now won it three seasons in a row, and the Citizens should be confident against a side whose last trophy came in 2008.

There will be no repeat of Guardiola’s rivalry with Jose Mourinho on Sunday however, as the North London club sacked the Portuguese manager earlier this week, meaning 29-year-old Ryan Mason will be in charge for the game at Wembley.

Whilst City have a huge game against PSG to come on Wednesday next week, Guardiola should try and avoid the same mistake he made against Chelsea in the FA Cup, where resting numerous first-team players resulted in a disjointed display.

Here’s how Football FanCast expects the former Barcelona boss to line his side up against Spurs, with three changes from the team that started in the midweek win against Aston Villa…

Although Zack Steffen has featured earlier in the competition, he was arguably at fault for Chelsea’s goal in the FA Cup recently, so Ederson should start in goal.

There are two changes in defence, as Joao Cancelo replaces Oleksandr Zinchenko at left-back, whilst Aymeric Laporte comes in for John Stones, who is suspended after his reckless challenge at Villa earned him a straight red card.

In midfield, Kevin De Bruyne returns from injury to start alongside Ilkay Gundogan and Rodri, which sees Bernardo Silva pushed further forward to feature as a false nine.

He is supported by Phil Foden and Riyad Mahrez on the wings, meaning that the “brilliant” £54m-rated Gabriel Jesus is relegated to the bench.

And, in other news… Sheikh Mansour’s huge call is massive news for Pep, De Bruyne will be delighted 

Leeds could take a big step towards building for the future by signing Sheffield United starlet Kyron Gordon.

What’s the story?

The 18-year-old is yet to make his senior debut at Bramall Lane but is already plying his trade for the club’s under-23s, and it now appears that clubs across the Premier League have taken notice.

According to the Daily Mail, both Marcelo Bielsa’s side and Manchester United have joined the race to sign Gordon this summer, with Merseyside duo Everton and Liverpool also said to be in the running.

The report claimed that “all four of the Premier League admirers are constantly assessing talented prospects such as Gordon with the aim to add depth to their youth ranks and may consider a move in the summer amid an expected re-shaping of the Blades.”

Securing Leeds’ future

In the 18-year-old, Leeds would be making yet another exciting addition to their academy following the likes of Joe Gelhardt and Sam Greenwood, who have also made the switch in recent seasons.

Given his age, there will be no expectation that the Blades youngster will be in the first team at Elland Road any time soon, but it could ensure that the Whites’ future at the back remains bright.

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Bielsa already has one young starlet in Charlie Cresswell progressing through the ranks, and signing Gordon to partner him in the youth teams could help form a potential duo to eventually shine at Premier League level.

That partnership could be developed early and would see them gain an understanding of each others’ strengths and weaknesses ahead of the real test of senior football in the top flight, if all goes to plan.

Meanwhile, Leeds could finally wave goodbye to this liability…

Carlo Ancelotti must not block Joshua King from joining Celtic in the summer as the striker has proven to be a flop since signing for Everton.

What’s the word?

While speaking with Football Insider, former Leeds striker Noel Whelan has backed King to secure a move to Parkhead once his Everton contract expires.

The 29-year-old moved to Goodison Park on deadline day of the winter transfer market after Everton paid Bournemouth £2m to take over the final six months of his £45,000-per-week deal.

The Norway international had expressed that his intentions would be to earn a longer-term deal, as his mid-season arrival featured clauses which could return a new contract, but he is expected to be released at the end of the campaign.

Whelan believes that Celtic may emerge as a potential destination for King in the summer, with the Hoops in advanced talks with his former Cherries boss Eddie Howe over taking up the vacant head coach position in Glasgow.

“You look to Ancelotti, you look to a lot of managers – they bring in their own,” Whelan said. “It’s no different to Jose Mourinho and [Sergio] Reguilon from Real Madrid. He has seen him, seen him work, he knows what he’s getting.

“That’ll be no different for Eddie Howe. We know Josh King’s available. Everton aren’t taking that on. He would be fantastic for the Scottish game and Celtic. Maybe he’ll delve into the market for that one, he knows what’s happening in the summertime.

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“It wouldn’t surprise me if he delves into the market and takes people that he knows and trusts. That’s what managers generally do, using their own contacts and the relationships they have with players. That would only be a positive for Celtic.”

Should Everton let King leave?

Ancelotti signed King in the winter market this year as he sought to acquire attacking depth following Cenk Tosun returning to Besiktas and Anthony Gordon joining Preston North End in loan deals, yet never seeing the summer free agent proving to be a clinical product.

“I think he’s the right profile that we needed,” the Italian said, via quotes shared by the Liverpool Echo. “The fact that we let Tosun go to Turkey, we let Anthony to have experience, we needed a profile for the position in front. We were looking at him in the summer.

“We didn’t sign him to have more goals. We signed him to have a powerful, fast player – not to score more goals. We signed him to have more options in front, with him we have more options. Of course, we need goals, but we have players who can score goals.”

No matter how Ancelotti framed King’s arrival at the time, the 29-year-old has proven to be a total dud on whom Everton will have wasted £2.9m by the time his contract expires.

He will have been at Goodison Park for 21 weeks when his £45,000-a-week deal expires on June 30, costing club owner Farhad Moshiri £945,000 in wages – on top of the £2m paid to Bournemouth – on a player who is yet to start or provide any goal involvement in royal blue.

The versatile 54-cap forward has made each of his eight Everton appearances to date from the bench, with an average time on the pitch of just 15 minutes thanks to three cameo showings of six or fewer minutes and only one exceeding the half-hour mark.

He was even overlooked for a central role while Dominic Calvert-Lewin was sidelined with a hamstring injury against Fulham and Manchester City, with King instead brought on for Alex Iwobi against the Cottagers and Tom Davies against the Citizens to fill in on the right wing.

If Howe has any interest in being reunited with King at Celtic, Ancelotti cannot stand in the attacker’s way and must instead search the transfer market for a replacement.

AND in other news, Everton face a £17m price tag to land a 26-y/o leader once considered to be “one of the strongest”…

David Moyes has refused to rule out the idea of West Ham selling Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek this summer, admitting that the club could listen to offers for the duo.

The Hammers have enjoyed a season to remember in the Premier League, finding themselves right in the Champions League battle. Victory away to Wolves on Monday evening would see Moyes’ side go fourth in the table, leapfrogging Chelsea after their shock 5-2 defeat at home to West Brom on Saturday.

Rice and Soucek have undoubtedly been two of West Ham’s key men this season, with the £90m-rated pair (per Transfermarkt) excelling in the middle of the park.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, their form has led to concerns over other clubs tabling bids for them at the end of the campaign.

Moyes provides update on Rice and Soucek

Speaking to reporters [via The Mirror], Moyes admitted that West Ham may be willing to hear offers for the duo, should they arrive, but stressed that they wouldn’t be leaving on the cheap:

“Yes, any club can make offers for players but we’ve not had any big offers. I hope we don’t get any but if we do, like any other club, we would consider them.

“I don’t know where the Bank of England is for Tomas Soucek but I’ve said with Declan, it would take the Bank of England and the Royal Bank of Scotland to get him.

“It will have to be the Bank of Czech as well for Tomas!”

Transfer Tavern take

Rice and Soucek have both been integral to West Ham’s success, so they should do all they can to keep hold of them this summer.

The Czech international is their top Premier League scorer this term despite playing in a defensive midfield role, while the Englishman’s tackling and interception averages are among the highest in the Irons’ squad (WhoScored).

Both of their contracts run until 2024, which should at least the Hammers in a strong negotiating position with only huge bids likely to be accepted, as Moyes has hinted.

In other news, David Moyes has dropped another big transfer hint ahead of this summer. Read more about it here.

According to a report by Calciomercato, as also shared and translated by Sport Witness, West Ham United and David Moyes have rekindled their interest in Sevilla powerhouse Youssef En-Nesyri – but Serie A giants Juventus have now entered the fray and could provide signing competition.

West Ham eyeing En-Nesyri

As well as the Old Lady, ‘several’ Premier League clubs are now keen on En-Nesyri according to the Italian news outlet, coming after manager Moyes confirmed a bid to sign him in January (Claret & Hugh).

Indeed, West Ham were very publicly chasing the 6 foot 3 powerhouse and journalist David Ornstein of the Athletic revealed exactly why a move fell through for En-Nesyri.

He explained that GSB’s formal offer of €25 million plus €5 million in add-ons (£21.4m plus £4.2m) was not enough to convince Sevilla over a sale, but Calciomercato provide the latest and reveal that Moyes and West Ham still hold an interest and could return in the summer.

Transfer Tavern take

However, as Juventus now harbour intrigue, as well as ‘several’ Premier League sides, West Ham may now face a battle to sign En-Nesyri as the club continue to eye potential replacements for Sebastien Haller.

Spanish journalist Guillem Balague has made no secret of the player’s quality, calling him ‘excellent’ in an interview with Premier Sports, and that theory is supported by his noteworthy 20 goals in all competitions over 2020/2021 (Transfermarkt).

Time will tell whether the Irons will be able to snap up En-Nesyri after failed attempts in January, but it will certainly be an interesting development to watch at the end of the season.

In other news: West Ham fans flocked to this club announcement, find out more here.

Liverpool may have provided a huge summer transfer clue with their reported interest in Sheffield United’s Sander Berge.

According to EuroSport, the Reds are interested in bringing the Norwegian midfielder to Anfield in what could be a sign of their intentions to replace Georginio Wijnaldum.

The Dutch midfielder’s future on Merseyside remains up in the air with his contract set to expire at the end of the season and Barcelona reportedly remaining interested in swooping for his services on a free transfer.

That decision may have already been made though, hence the Reds’ interest in Berge.

It is no surprise when looking into their statistics to find that the duo are extremely similar players as box-to-box midfielders. Surprisingly, even during a horrendous season for his team that looks inevitable to conclude with a return to the Championship, Berge is out-performing the current Liverpool man in some areas.

According to WhoScored, the 24-cap Norwegian international is averaging 1.6 tackles and 0.8 interceptions per game for club and country throughout 2020/21. Meanwhile, Wijnaldum is averaging just 0.8 on both counts in all competitions on both the club and international stage.

Meanwhile, the 23-year-old is more than matching Wijnaldum from an attacking point of view, too. He is equaling the Dutchman’s shots per game at 0.9, whilst edging ahead in key passes with 0.8 to 0.7.

It’s on the ball and drifting past opponents where Berge is excelling though, racking up an impressive 1.8 dribbles per game, compared to 1.1 from the current Liverpool man.

Remarkably, their passing statistics are also extremely similar, with Wijnaldum’s understandably better at a 92.3% success rate in the Premier League, whilst Berge’s sits lower at 86.3%. It would be fair to assume though that dragged from the mire of a relegation battle, these numbers would improve.

Considering their similarities pitch then, it could be assumed Berge is being lined up to the Liverpool’s Wijnaldum replacement.

AND in more news, read more about the Liverpool links to Berge…

Tottenham Hotspur secured an emphatic victory in Austria last night as they made easy work of beating Europa League rivals Wolfsberger. Jose Mourinho opted to start the likes of Gareth Bale and Dele Alli in their 4-1 win on enemy soil.

Goals came from the Real Madrid loanee, Son Heung-min, Lucas Moura and substitute Carlos Vinicius. It was a convincing performance from the team and one that Mourinho will be pleased with following their back-to-back defeats to Everton in the FA Cup and Manchester City in their latest Premier League clash.

However, one man in particular was a weak link for Spurs in the middle of the park. Moussa Sissoko struggled to get a grip on the game and was the culprit for Wolfsberger’s only goal of the 90.

Moussa Sissoko vs Wolfsberger

Not only was the Frenchman to blame for Michael Liendl’s second half penalty, but his overall stats weren’t anything to write home about. Before he was hauled off in place of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Sissoko fumbled his way through the match.

According to Sofascore, he committed a whopping six fouls, which was more than any other Spurs player on the pitch. He also lost nine of his 13 attempted duels, squandering 70% of his challenges. This is very out of character for Sissoko, who won 3/5 duels against Man City and 6/7 against Everton.

The £90,000 per week midfield man is a regular under Mourinho and has missed just five Premier League fixtures this season. He has also been ever-present in Tottenham’s EFL Cup and FA Cup run, according to Transfermarkt.

However, with Harry Winks, Tanguy Ndombele and Hojbjerg all competing for their spot in the lineup, Sissoko can’t let performances like this become a regular thing or he risks slipping down the pecking order.

In other news, Steve Howey drops verdict on Spurs boss Jose Mourinho’s issue with Gareth Bale…

Tottenham Hotspur return to Europa League action with a trip to Hungary to face Austrian outfit Wolsfberger AC at the Puskas Arena later this evening.

Jose Mourinho’s side will be looking to bounce back from their poor domestic form to put themselves in a strong position for the second leg in north London next week.

The Spurs boss has plenty to consider in terms of team selection as they’ve won just once in their last six outings in all competitions.

And the 58-year-old could bolster his chances of picking up a victory in Europe tonight by axing Erik Lamela from the starting XI after a disappointing outing last time out…

On the Chalkboard

The Argentinian winger has started three successive matches for the first time under the ‘Special One’ but was found wanting as a mere passenger in their 3-0 defeat to Man City at the weekend.

No other attacking player received a worse rating than his 6.2 per SofaScore, and by the 72nd minute, he was hooked having picked up a yellow card and not much else.

Lamela was a bit of a liability on the night, picking up a match-high four fouls, a disappointing consequence of his somewhat industrious work-rate while no visiting star was as weak as him in his battles as he lost 73% of his duels both on the ground and aerially, via SofaScore.

Earlier in the season, the former Roma sensation was dubbed “pathetic” by Graeme Souness on Sky Sports (via football.london) for his role in getting Anthony Martial sent off, while Seb Stafford-Bloor claimed he has a “provocative attitude” to the TIFO podcast – only adding to his livewire nature.

In a career tormented by injuries – he has missed 108 games since joining for £30m in 2013 – the 28-year-old has failed to prove his worth in what game time he has had, it’s often a purple patch of a game or two, which gets curtailed by niggles and inconsistencies, as seen by the fact that he hasn’t been rated above a 6.77 in any game since late October, as per WhoScored.

Given the quality of tonight’s opponents, it would be a surprise to see many regular starters feature, but as Lamela has been in the lineup frequently, he is someone who can be ‘rested’ or in this case, dropped.

Steven Bergwijn should be fresh having not started just one of Spurs’ last three games, whilst an opportunity for Gareth Bale could help alleviate some of the speculation surrounding his place at Spurs – and beyond.

Ultimately, 19 goals in the previous five seasons isn’t good enough, and that’s something Gabby Agbonlahor alluded to when speaking to Football Insider last week, he claimed that Lamela has “not really lived up to expectations.”

Considering his £14.4m value and £80k-per-week wages, the Andre Villas-Boas signing really should be doing a lot more and based on both his recent performances and his long-term returns, he should not warrant a place in Mourinho’s starting XI tonight.

Brutal. Ruthless. Mourinho must axe Lamela in Budapest.

AND in other news, Exclusive: Verdict dropped on emerging Gareth Bale issue…

The winter window has only just closed but after landing just one acquisition in January, Wolves are already being linked with some new faces ahead of the summer.

On the chalkboard

One player linked with Wolves in recent days has been Juventus midfielder Aaron Ramsey.

According to TuttoJuve, the Welshman’s future in Italy is now in doubt and thus, the Serie A giants may choose to cash in.

It’s reported that both the Old Gold and Tottenham are interested in signing Ramsey who could cost €10m-€15m (£9m-£13m).

Ramsey is currently on a wage of £300k-per-week in Turin so it seems far-fetched that Wolves would pursue a deal like this. After all, one of the main reasons they didn’t end up targeting Christian Eriksen and Diego Costa in January was because of their wages.

Claims from Tim Spiers suggest that Joao Moutinho could be in his final season of regular football at the club so Wolves will need to find alternative midfielders from somewhere.

The solution

Wolves signed 20-year-old Vitinha on loan from Porto in the summer but after his arrival, he’s started just two Premier League outings.

It’s been a difficult campaign for the Portuguese but he’s progressed well and demonstrated that he has the potential to thrive in Nuno Santo’s system.

Hailed as “special” by Jeff Shi when he first penned terms, he scored an absolute peach against Chorley in the FA Cup. Arguably, his best performance of the season came against Manchester United at Old Trafford.

As the Old Gold tasted defeat late on against Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men, Vitinha won 100% of his duels and also completed all of the dribbles he attempted. It was a high-class performance on what his very first start in the top-flight of English football.

The youngster may not have had many chances to prove his worth this term but the small glimpses we’ve seen should be enough to convince Wolves to lure him to the Midlands permanently next summer.

Just like they do with Willian Jose, the Old Gold have an option to buy Vitinha next summer. As good as a player like Ramsey is, this would be a smart way for Wolves to save some cash.

Ramsey’s wage demands would be astronomical but in Vitinha, they’d be assured of not only having a player they can develop for the future – a mantra that fits the club’s policies – but also of having a high-class performer on low wages.

Nuno must continue to nurture him this season before unleashing him properly in 2021/22.

AND in other news, 67% duels lost: Nuno must axe £73k-p/w “liability”, he’s been costing Wolves for weeks…

When it rains at Parkhead, it seemingly pours. This has been a very rocky season for Celtic and the war of words between Neil Lennon and supporters is unrelenting in its nature.

After the Hoops dropped yet more points against Livingston this week, Lennon revealed that he wouldn’t leave Glasgow behind unless he was sacked.

Given the way the club’s hierarchy backed him in November, it doesn’t bode well for fans who are keen on seeing the Northern Irishman leave.

Truth be told, the end of his tether must be near. The Bhoys have won just seven of their last 22 games and are trailing behind Rangers by a considerable margin of 20 points. It’s safe to say that their stronghold over Scottish football has gone as far as it can.

The likes of Eddie Howe and Roy Keane have been touted with taking over from Lennon in various circles, but another name that did the rounds in December was Hibernian manager Jack Ross.

Speaking on A Celtic State of Mind podcast last month, Hoops pundit Kevin Graham went as far as to say the Hibs boss could be at Parkhead come the end of January.

He said: “We’ve got at least four players that are wanting to leave and those players could actually leave in January. Give the new man a blank slate. And for me, by the end of January – and even maybe before we go to Ibrox, maybe even before Christmas Day – I’m going to say Jack Ross will be Celtic’s manager.”

Of course, Lennon is still in charge at the moment, but it’s reasonable to suggest that come the end of January, a new manager could be in the hot seat.

Ross had a troubled spell at Sunderland where he lost in the Checkatrade Trophy final and ultimately failed to gain them promotion. He crumbled under the enormous pressure of managing a big club, but we believe he’d be near perfect for Celtic.

Hoops fans won’t need reminding of the wonderful things Brendan Rodgers achieved in Glasgow. He took the club to numerous domestic honours and Ross is someone who has the seal of approval from the current Leicester boss.

They are like two peas in a pod, trading ideas and developing a wonderful relationship. What’s more, is that the 44-year-old coach is already familiar with Lennoxtown.

That’s according to Lewis Morgan who told Open Goal (via Glasgow Times) last August: “Brendan Rodgers loves him and used to invite him to Lennoxtown all the time. He’d taken his Alloa team to Parkhead and done well  and he’s got a similar coaching style, that’s his coaching idol. He loves him. All our team talks or analysis it would be like what Brendan was doing at Celtic.”

Morgan continued: “Or these drills are what he’d seen Brendan do at Lennoxtown. Brendan used to invite him and they’d talk tactics or whatever it was. He was very good. Obviously I wouldn’t compare him to Brendan, I’m not going to be disrespectful, he’s in the Premier League with Leicester. I’m not sure if he can be as successful as that because you need a lot of luck, but I would hold [Jack] in as high regard as I do Brendan, in terms of coaching and man management.”

Those are intriguing words and for Hoops supporters, this should bode well. Lennon clearly hasn’t been able to install the same mentality in his players but given the vast majority of the playing squad know what it was like under Rodgers, bringing in a like-minded coach could work wonders.

Dermot Desmond and Peter Lawwell have some big decisions to make at the club in the coming weeks, but the first they must undertake is sacking Lennon and bringing in Ross. His methods have the potential to be game-changing for Celtic.

AND in other news, Celtic veteran should be running scared if Hammond signs £27k-p/w speed demon in Jan…