All posts by h79snht.top

Tottenham were humbled this past weekend by their bitterest of rivals Arsenal at The Emirates. 

Mauricio Pochettino raised a few eyebrows with his selection, but there can be no excuse from Spurs, as The Gunners looked simply insatiable in spells throughout the match.

What became abundantly clear in the match, particularly the first 20 minutes, was how much pressure Arsenal put on Tottenham’s midfield and defence, and how they were unable to cope with it. What was also apparent was the absence of Mousa Dembélé.

Without the Belgian, Pochettino fielded Eric Dier and Moussa Sissoko, neither of whom had the calming presence on the ball that was needed in their own half. This is what Dembélé has made his name in, and was sorely missed at The Emirates.

However, with his future in doubt, and many Tottenham fans expecting him to be gone come the end of the season, the club need to find a suitable replacement for him. Of course, he wasn’t in the greatest form before sustaining his current ankle injury, but he can still hold the ball much better than either Dier or Sissoko can.

The main candidate to replace the Belgian is Harry Winks, which is perhaps why it was strange to not see him start. However, the 22-year-old started midweek against Inter Milan in the Champions League, and squad rotation is paramount to the manager during this congested period. But while Winks may well be the successor to Dembélé at Tottenham, there is still a huge need to increase the depth of quality in the midfield at Tottenham.

The club cannot solely rely on Winks to replace Dembélé, and there looks to be too many players that may struggle in the midfield for Spurs without someone that is comfortable on the ball. If the club fail to solve this problem, the result against Arsenal may become more frequent.

Reading are looking for a new manager after Paul Clement was dismissed last week.

Clement replaced Jaap Stam back in March and managed to help the club avoid relegation to League One. The 46-year-old had enjoyed spells with Real Madrid, Paris St Germain and Bayern Munich as assistant to Carlo Ancelotti but struggled massively in his first full season at the club. Reading sit 21st in the Championship table, making his position as manager untenable.

Reappointed chief executive, Nigel Howe, will now begin the search for a new manager who can steer them from danger again. Reports suggest that Reading will make a move for Steve Bruce who has been out of work since leaving Aston Villa earlier in the season.

However, the Royals would be better served to appoint ex-Fulham manager – Slavisa Jokanovic. The tactician arrived at Craven Cottage in 2015, helping the club avoid relegation meaning he would be perfect for the Reading job. Jokanovic then guided the Cottagers to a top six finish in his first full season at the club before guiding them to the Premier League last year via the playoffs.

The 50-year-old was unable to replicate his impressive form in England’s top division, and Fulham’s poor position in the standings forced the club to appoint Claudio Ranieri – Jokanovic has been out of work since. The Serbian has already proved to be successful in the Championship and has dealt with relegation battles before. The former Watford manager also earned plenty of praise for his playing style at the club which Reading fans would adore if he was brought to the Madejski Stadium.

Appointing Jokanovic would be a massive step forward for the club.

Reading fans, thoughts?

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West Ham should make a move for Ajax goalkeeper Andre Onana to compete with Lukasz Fabianski and Adrian for the number one shirt, and to freshen up a position which has two ageing players at present.

What’s the word, then?

Since signing from Swansea back in the summer, Fabianksi has been one of the standout stars in the Hammers’ current Premier League campaign, making a number of eye-catching saves including one penalty save in the 3-1 win over Cardiff.

Impressively, the Polish international has saved six penalties across the last three Premier League campaigns, and has most certainly saved his reputation after a difficult time at Arsenal.

Behind him in the pecking order is Adrian, who has lost his place in the starting XI to Fabianski and would look likely to leave to London Stadium, given the fact he wants to be the starting keeper in east London and isn’t happy with a back-up spot.

Additionally, whilst it is true that goalkeepers can play on much later than outfield players, Fabianski is 33 years of age, and his back-up in Adrian is 31 – the keeper position should be okay for now, but definitely needs upgrading soon.

Who could they get in as a long-term replacement?

Manuel Pellegrini’s side showed commendable ambition in the summer transfer window, spending almost £100m on the likes of Felipe Anderson, Issa Diop and the aforementioned Fabianski.

However, they cannot rest on their laurels and must target exciting, young players with a high ceiling for improvement in key positions, and there aren’t many like Ajax stopper Andre Onana around.

The Cameroonian international has told Goal in the past that he would like to leave the Dutch giants, but no move has materialised as of yet. Onana is one of the most highly-rated young stoppers around, and was previously on the books at Barcelona.

He played a starring role in the recent 3-3 draw with Bayern Munich in the Champions League, making two phenomenal fingertip saves to keep out Robert Lewandowski and ensure everyone sat up and took notice of him in doing so.

West Ham should steal a march before the rest of Europe start making their move.

Manchester City supporters have been in high spirits in recent times after seeing their side get back to winning ways in the Premier League on Saturday.

Pep Guardiola’s men went into their meeting with Everton at the Etihad Stadium off the back of a 2-0 loss at the hands of Chelsea the week previous, in turn suffering their first league defeat of the campaign. Yet the champions bounced back admirably in easing past Marco Silva’s side 3-1 on Saturday, with a brace from Gabriel Jesus alongside a Raheem Sterling header sealing all three points for the Citizens, and thus keeping them just a point behind Premier League table-toppers Liverpool.

As such, there have been many thrilled City fans up and down the country in recent times, several of whom have been raving about the efforts of striker Jesus, who hasn’t enjoyed the best of form this season, but certainly produced the goods with two well-taken goals on Saturday.

In fact, they were the young Brazilian’s first goals in the Premier League since August to underline his barren spell, yet he looked more like the striker that made an immediate impact when arriving in the top-flight back in January 2017 with a fine all round display on Saturday.

And while the 21-year-old obviously played a vital part in City’s success at the weekend, they couldn’t have got all three points were it not for the exploits of £150,000-a-week Fernandinho (as per Spotrac) in the middle of the park.

The 33-year-old missed their midweek victory over Hoffenheim with injury and his absence was certainly felt given Guardiola’s side didn’t have the same level of control and dominance in the centre of midfield – the level of dominance Fernandinho invariably provides.

And the Brazil international returned to the team to great effect on Saturday in producing another stellar midfield masterclass, touching the ball 104 times over the course of the 90 minutes, as well as making 86% of his attempted passes (as per WhoScored).

And with one of them a key pass, resulting in an assist for Sterling’s header to kill the game off, Fernandinho showcased his vastly underrated ability on the ball against the Toffees, although it was off it in which the 33-year-old again proved his worth.

And that’s because the midfielder won one aerial duel over the course of the match and succeeded with three tackles to thwart Everton’s advances through the middle – add in two clearances and two interceptions, and the 33-year-old was a thorn in whatever Silva’s side tried to do to get back into the match.

So while Jesus was the hero on Saturday with two goals to help City get back to winning ways, they simply wouldn’t have been able to get the victory without Fernandinho, whose midfield domination again underlined just how crucial he is to this City side, at the same time outlining him as their unsung hero in victory over Silva’s Everton.

Man City fans… what do you think? Let us know!

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West Ham should make a move for the soon-to-be-out-of-contract Mario Balotelli, who is reportedly unhappy under Patrick Vieira at Nice, even more so after a summer transfer to Marseille fell through as per the Mirror.

What’s the word, then?

The Italian international is yet to find the back of the net this season and has been told that his contract will not be renewed at the end of the season, when he will become a free agent.

However, Balotelli did manage to score 18 goals in Ligue 1 last season, as well as six goals in the Europa League – it is apparent that he has the talent, but has simply downed tools at Nice due to his falling out with Vieira.

The season before that, he scored 15 Ligue 1 goals; I’m aware that this has been a theme throughout his career, but if someone can get his head in the right place, he could be a phenomenal signing on the cheap.

In West Ham’s case, they have just Marko Arnautovic and Javier Hernandez as strikers that they can rely on, as the injury-stricken Andy Carroll has only managed to make just three substitute appearances in the league this season and Lucas Perez is yet to impress.

Why would West Ham want him?

Well, for all his shortcomings, the 28-year-old can be a brilliant striker if you can motivate him. Few clubs have managed to, but the London Stadium could be the ideal place for him as his former flat-mate at Inter in Arnautovic currently resides in east London – playing with a great friend in a country he is familiar with could be ideal for him.

The pair are known for causing mischief together, but the Austrian forward appears to have settled down somewhat and started to focus on his football and to great effect; if he can influence Balotelli positively, the Hammers could have the signing of the season on their hands, and one of the best strike partnerships in the league.

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Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl handed a Premier League debut to Angus Gunn in Wednesday night’s clash with Chelsea.

Hasenhuttl made eight changes to the side that started the 3-1 loss to Manchester City last time out, and one of those introduced was Gunn.

The 22-year-old, who cost the Saints £10m from Man City during the summer, has had to be patient this season, but will now take some displacing following an excellent performance at Stamford Bridge.

Indeed, Gunn helped his side keep a clean sheet in the 0-0 draw. The Blues had eight attempts on target, but were unable to find the back of the net.

Eyebrows were raised when Southampton signed Gunn when considering the goalkeeping options at St Mary’s.

However, the Englishman put in a strong performance on Wednesday night.

It is safe to say that the Southampton fans were delighted with Gunn’s performance, and many took to social media in the aftermath of the goalless draw:

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According to BBC Sport, West Ham have received a £35m bid from an unnamed Chinese outfit for star man, Marko Arnautovic – big money from the East may be difficult for the Hammers to turn down, unless Crystal Palace do them a huge favour by signing fringe forward, Javier Hernandez.

What’s the word?

Well, BBC Sport reports that West Ham have no desire to sell the Austrian, although with the lack of depth in midfield surely a major concern for Manuel Pellegrini and nearly £100m spent on signings in the summer, they could do with recouping some funds this month.

The east London club signed Arnautovic from Stoke in 2017 for a fee of £20m, meaning that, should they accept the anonymous bidders’ offer, they would make quite a decent profit – although this would be misguided given that he is their joint-top scorer this season with eight.

Crystal Palace, meanwhile, could very much do with a striker of Arnautovic’s pedigree as, despite the frequency of chances created, they can rarely apply a finishing touch and find themselves in yet another relegation battle this season as a result – the Croydon outfit should swoop for Hernandez after missing out on Dominic Solanke.

Fox in the box

The Mexican, nicknamed Chicharito, is renowned for his excellence at finding space in the box and finishing expertly; in fact, all 49 of the striker’s Premier League goals have been from inside the 18-yard.

Palace already have plenty of flair and creation in the squad, with Max Meyer, Andros Townsend and Wilfried Zaha easily capable of working chances for themselves and others but, with Jordan Ayew their highest – and only – scoring hitman, they are in desperate need of someone who can simply put the ball away nine times out of ten.

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”367455″ player=”12034″ title=”Watch Jordan Nobbs reveals the key change that’s got Arsenal Women flying high”]

The 30-year-old has proved throughout his career that his finishing is strong – indeed, he has scored 199 career goals – and that should be enough for Roy Hodgson and co, however financial backing from the high-ups, or a lack thereof, could be a stumbling block in a switch to Selhurst Park for Hernandez.

West Ham are surely keen to get rid of one of their numerous striker options and, given his age and lack of importance to the team, Hernandez could be the value option for Palace.

What do you think though, Palace fans? Would you like to sign Javier Hernandez? Let us know by voting in the poll below…

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Tottenham Hotspur revealed on Tuesday that they will be without talismanic striker Harry Kane until at least the beginning of March when he is expected to return to first-team training following the ankle injury he suffered in the 1-0 defeat to Manchester United on Sunday, but could Mauricio Pochettino make a shock move to sign Southampton striker Sam Gallagher to replace him?

What’s the word, then?

Well, with the north London outfit missing such a key player and with Pochettino already ruling out a return to first-team action from the wilderness for Vincent Janssen, Spurs have been left with Fernando Llorente as their only out-and-out centre-forward option.

While the likes of Lucas Moura and Dele Alli will be able to step in if needed, surely another specialised player is needed with a whole host of important Premier League, Champions League and domestic cup fixtures to come over the course of the next six weeks or so.

With other clubs knowing Tottenham need a striker their valuations of their strikers may well rise, and Daniel Levy would be better off opting for a left-field option to get the best value for money.

Sam Gallagher? Really?

It may seem ridiculous on first hearing the idea but if you delve a little deeper it perhaps isn’t as farfetched as it sounds.

Pochettino actually handed the centre-forward his debut at Southampton when he was 18 years of age – making 20 appearances in all competitions before the 46-year-old’s departure to Tottenham – and in many ways he is in a similar mould to Kane as he is relatively quick despite being 6ft 4in tall, which obviously helps him win aerial duels and hold the ball up for his teammates.

Things may not have gone the 23-year-old’s way in recent years because of injury and having spent numerous loan spells away in the Championship, but he clearly has something about him if Saints have chosen to keep him at St Mary’s, and with his former manager being such a big fan when he was a teenager.

Which Man Utd star got fed by Salt Bae this week? Check out the video below to find out…

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Celtic are interested in signing Scott McTominay from Manchester United in January, per The Scottish Sun.

The Scottish champions have identified the 22-year-old as a potential acquisition as they look to strengthen their squad, and McTominay has played just one Premier League minute under caretaker United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

What’s the word?

McTominay appears to have fallen out of favour since Solskjaer was appointed as interim boss, with the midfielder behind the likes of Paul Pogba, Ander Herrera and Nemanja Matic in the Old Trafford pecking order.

The midfielder made 23 appearances in total under Jose Mourinho, including 13 outings in the Premier League.

And he was subsequently named the manager’s Player of the Year at the end of the season, but The Scottish Sun claim that he could now be shipped out on a short-term deal this month.

Leeds United and Aston Villa are also reported to be tracking developments surrounding McTominay, but Celtic should do all they can to ensure he becomes Brendan Rodgers’ latest Parkhead acquisition.

McTominay set to grow

McTominay is clearly a solid player, having made his breakthrough under Mourinho last season.

It takes a lot for a young player to gain the Portuguese’s attention, as Chelsea and United fans will attest.

But Solskjaer appears to have decided that he has no place in his squad currently for the 6 foot 5 Scotland international.

A move to Celtic, then, makes perfect sense.

Not everyone was pleased with Mourinho’s sacking. Check out American Soccer Fan’s hilarious take on it in the video below…

Rodgers can help McTominay grow as a player in Glasgow, with Celtic in the thick of one of the most exciting title races in recent years, while he will also add steel to the club’s midfield.

The transfer deadline draws ever closer, and Celtic would do well to get a jump on rival suitors from the Championship in the hunt for the midfielder.

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Loads of Liverpool fans have been giving their verdict on the future of Harry Wilson, and they’re desperate to see the Welsh international in action at Anfield next season.

Goal’s Neil Jones has been taking a look at Wilson’s progress at Derby County and his chances of succeeding in Liverpool red.

The young winger has been in red-hot form in recent weeks, and has racked up an impressive tally of ten Championship goals this season, per Whoscored.

FFC’s James Jones has identified the one thing that could cost Liverpool the title. Find out what it is in the video below…

His incredible form has helped lift Frank Lampard’s Rams into the playoff race, and they currently sit just seven points behind an automatic promotion spot.

“I want to help Derby get into the Premier League,” Wilson says. “I want to keep scoring and assisting, helping the team and getting us as high up the league as I can. I’m loving it.”

Still, while the 21 year-old clearly has no plans to return to his parent club this month, he will certainly be eyeing up a place in Jurgen Klopp’s squad next season.

The Reds brought in Xherdan Shaqiri to provide extra attacking depth last summer, and the Swiss international has been an instant hit.

Wilson though, represents the same wondergoal threat as the 27 year-old, but with the added bonus that he is still young enough to be moulded into whatever player Klopp wants him to be.

The Welsh wing wizard should absolutely be a part of the German’s plans next season, and the fan reactions down below are saying the same thing…