All posts by n8rngtd.top

Leeds are currently enduring a rather rocky start to the new year. They have won just two of their six matches and appear to be lacking consistency.

So, what’s the issue?

On the chalkboard

One of the biggest issues can undoubtedly be attributed to the defence. They have shipped 38 strikes – the second most in the division – and have a woeful record from set-pieces.

Of course, the Whites have had numerous injury concerns. At one point, Liam Cooper, Robin Koch and Diego Llorente were all out injured. The club captain has now returned but after the latter received yet another setback last week, their problems are only mounting.

How they could do with a player like Ben White. The centre-back was an imperious figure for the Whites last term and featured in all 46 league outings. His health was always perfect and on his way to winning 2.5 interceptions per game, topped the team’s statistics for that area of the game.

He epitomises everything Marcelo Bielsa looks for in a defender and it was unsurprising they tried so hard to bring back last summer. Victor Orta submitted three bids for his services – all of which were turned down by Brighton.

That being said, it’s another man on the treatment table that Leeds miss more.

Forlorn Forshaw

The last time Adam Forshaw set foot on a pitch in a Leeds United shirt, they were still a Championship side.

The club’s transfer record was still £18m for Rio Ferdinand and the thought of £50m investment from the 49ers was far-fetched.

Such is the length of time that he’s spent out with an injury that he’s almost become a forgotten man at Elland Road.

He has not featured for the Whites since the 28th September 2019 because of an ongoing hip problem and his return date is still relatively unclear. Though, given the issues Leeds have had in midfield, he has been a massive miss.

Leeds have been able to patch together their defence by shifting Luke Ayling inside to centre-back and playing Pascal Struijk at the back but midfield remedies are hard to come by. When Kalvin Phillips doesn’t play at the base of the midfield Bielsa’s men tend to find life difficult.

They lost 3-0 to Crawley when Phillips was absent from the midfield while Struijk struggled when he deputised for the England international during the 1-0 loss to Brighton.

However, if they had Forshaw fit, he would be a very simple remedy. The 29-year-old is your typical box to box player and is as good going forward as he is in defensive phases of the play.

In 2018/19 the £23k-per-week earner recorded 2.2 tackles per game but after being given more freedom in 2019/20, managed 1.1 tackles before his injury. Although he didn’t find the net, the experienced midfielder got forward on a regular basis and provided 1.9 shots per match.

It’s hardly a surprise that Bielsa loves him so much. Speaking in October 2019, the Argentine said; “He has a feature that is very difficult to get. He defends similar to Kalvin, he attacks similar to Klich.”

Both Phillips and Mateusz Klich have been hugely influential since Bielsa took over in 2018 so that’s quite the appraisal. It also speaks volumes about how much they miss him.

Stuart Dallas has recently been moved to midfield and with his tenacious movements, we’re starting to see shades of Forshaw in his performances.

However, in the words of Bielsa; “you are not going to find a lot of players with this kind of characteristic.”

Forshaw is one of a kind and is being missed greatly.

AND in other news, Leeds may have their new Ben White in rarely-seen 18 y/o who’s “very calm on the ball”…

Roy Hodgson must urge Steve Parish to sanction a summer swoop for Juventus centre-back Radu Dragusin amid reports of interest from Crystal Palace.

What’s the word?

According to Gazzetta dello Sport, Dragusin finds himself on Hodgson’s transfer list, having already been identified as a top priority for Steve Bruce at Newcastle United.

Andrea Pirlo handed the 19-year-old Romanian his senior debut for the Serie A giants in the Champions League this season in what could be seen as a show of faith by the club legend.

However, with his contract set to expire at the end of this season, time is quickly running out for the two parties to reach an agreement over a possible extension.

And now, it seems Palace and Newcastle are set to slug it out with RB Leipzig for the highly-rated defender when the transfer window re-opens in the summer.

Cahill 2.0?

It goes without saying that Palace have the oldest squad in the Premier League by quite some margin, hence their interest in Dragusin. The Eagles were badly beaten 3-0 by Burnley last weekend, which has cast considerable doubt over Hodgson’s future at Selhurst Park.

So why are they so leaky at the back? Well, it cannot help that their defence largely consists of injury-prone veterans who are well over the age of 30. Palace have conceded the second-most amount of goals (42) in the top flight – level with newly-promoted Leeds and only Premier League strugglers West Brom have conceded more – and have also kept just four clean sheets.

That’s not to say that signing a bunch of youngsters is necessarily the answer to all their problems, but they do need to start planning for the future.

However, they may not have to look much further than the young Romanian, who has developed quite the reputation at the Allianz Stadium in Turin.

Just like Gary Cahill, who WhoScored lists as an indirect set-piece threat, Dragusin is a powerful threat in the air, who has started to show signs that he is a robust central defender. Against SPAL, he made one tackle, two interceptions, one clearance and blocked one shot in only his second start for the club, which suggests that he reads the game well and has a fine sense of positional awareness.

Pirlo has previously sung the praises of Dragusin in the past, saying: “He’s physically very strong. He’s very young and must develop on a technical level, but he will have time to do it, training every day with great champions.”

That sort of physicality would be most welcome in south London, and to be able to nab a player who clearly has so much potential could be an extremely smart bit of business if Parish can bring him to Selhurst Park in the summer.

AND in other Crystal Palace news, Steve Cooper could change Crystal Palace’s philosophy…

Southampton have now picked up just one point from their last nine games in the Premier League after suffering a 1-0 defeat against Everton on Monday evening.

Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side struggled to create chances at Goodison Park and only managed one shot on target in the 90 minutes, which came in the final few minutes when Jordan Pickford blocked Jannik Vestergaard’s goal-bound shot.

The Austrian tactician was forced into a tactical change in midfield ahead of the game, following the news that the defensive-minded Oriol Romeu will now miss the rest of the season with an ankle injury, meaning Stuart Armstrong was dropped into a central-midfield role against Everton, rather than his usual position as a ‘wide 10’.

Unfortunately, with Ibrahima Diallo having only just returned to individual training, Southampton were left with just James Ward-Prowse as a natural, senior option in central midfield, with Hasenhuttl preferring Armstrong there instead of academy talents Alexandre Jankewitz and Kgaogelo Chauke.

Whilst the Scottish international featured in that position regularly for Celtic, his best performances in a Southampton shirt have come out wide, and Hasenhuttl’s side really missed his influence on the wing – with wingers Moussa Djenepo and Nathan Redmond rated as the worst players on the pitch at Goodison Park by SofaScore.

Having two attack-minded players in the middle for Hasenhuttl left Southampton far too exposed, which was clear to see when the Toffees opened the scoring, as Gylfi Sigurdsson was afforded far too much time and space to slip a ball through to Richarlison to round Fraser Forster and slam in from a tight angle.

The Icelandic midfielder was able to find a lot of space on a number of occasions, perhaps due to Armstrong and Ward-Prowse pushing too far up the pitch, and he caused Southampton a lot of problems, with SofaScore awarding him an 8.0 rating for his display – the best of any player on the evening.

Earlier this year, after Armstrong signed a new contract with the South Coast club, which now sees him earn £50k per week, Hasenhuttl dubbed him as a “very smart” player and praised his effectiveness as a number 10.

However, it could be argued that the 28-year-old doesn’t possess the positional awareness to play as a central midfielder in a 4-4-2, as his attacking runs left the Saints vulnerable to the counter-attack on a number of occasions.

Therefore, it seems that Hasenhuttl’s decision to play Armstrong in that position was a fatal mistake in the end, as it both limited Southampton going forward and left them exposed defensively.

And, in other news… 82% duels lost: £60k-p/w Saints beast was nowhere near his usual level vs Everton

In recent comments, Morgan Sanson revealed that he rejected the chance to join Leeds United, before eventually making a move to the Whites’ Premier League rivals, Aston Villa, in January.

So far in his Aston Villa career, Sanson has made just four appearances for Dean Smith’s side, all of which have come from the bench, although, Dean Smith recently suggested that he has been pleased with the development of the midfielder since his £14.22 million move from Olympique Marseille.

However, speaking recently to Canal+, as cited by Leeds Live, the £18 million-rated 26-year-old revealed that, prior to his move to Villa Park, Marcelo Bielsa’s side had shown considerable interest in his signing.

He said: “Since I was little I have always had a special affection for this championship [the Premier League]. Aston Villa are a big club in England, but it could have been another club the summer before, there was Leeds who were very interested, but I felt that was not the time.”

Transfer Tavern Take

Considering the fact that Bielsa has often been left short of options in the middle of the park this season, with Adam Forshaw, Jamie Shackleton, Pablo Hernandez and Kalvin Phillips all spending spells on the sidelines due to injury, the signing of  Sanson last summer certainly would have helped to alleviate the strain on the 65-year-old’s midfield this year.

And, although the 26-year-old is yet to have a major impact within Dean Smith’s side, considering that Villa managed to sign the Frenchman for substantially less than his market valuation at the time of his move, perhaps it could be argued that Leeds missed a bit of a trick in not pursuing Sanson once again in the January window.

In other news, Phil Hay shed light on this Leeds star’s contract details – find out more here!

Writing for football.london, reliable Tottenham Hotspur correspondent Alasdair Gold has shared news that unseen Tottenham youngster Roshaun Mathurin was gifted an opportunity at Hotspur Way to join in with first team training for the very first time on Wednesday.

Mathurin, who has displayed electric form in Tottenham’s academy sides, scoring 14 goals in 27 games for the Under-16s last year before notching six goals and an assist for the U18s this season, was rewarded by being handed the chance to train with the Tottenham first team (football.london).

Mathurin gifted Tottenham first team training opportunity

Pictured in a session with star attacker Son Heung-min blurred out just behind him, it’s been quite the week for Mathurin according to Gold – with the left winger bagging a hat-trick against rivals Chelsea on Saturday for the U18s side in a memorable 6-1 victory.

Turning 17-years-old just a few weeks ago, manager Jose Mourinho may have been impressed by his recent showings in the youth setup – thus handing him his first chance to join in with Tottenham training on Wednesday.

Transfer Tavern take

In great form for the U18s, as highlighted by his recent display against Chelsea, Lilywhites supporters will be hoping that this is his first step on a path to the Tottenham first team indefinitely.

Time will tell whether he can fulfil his potential, but Gold has shared that Mourinho may have taken some notice – even if he is still yet to make his senior debut for the Lilywhites.

In other news: Tottenham have been gifted a potential Gareth Bale boost, find out more here.

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, former Aston Villa striker Marlon Harewood has heaped praise on Emiliano Martinez, claiming every team needs a goalkeeper like the Argentinian.

Martinez joined the Midlands club from Arsenal in the last summer transfer window and has firmly established himself as the first-choice No.1 at Villa Park.

Despite a good spell in between the sticks last season, which included a successful FA Cup final appearance against Chelsea, the 28-year-old was unable to dethrone Bernd Leno as Arsenal’s main shot-stopper, prompting him to make that switch.

Speaking on his move to Villa Park and the impact he has made in the current campaign, Harewood told FFC:

“He has been a really good signing for them. They’ve needed it, every good team needs a good ‘keeper, a steady goalkeeper, and he’s shown it. All the top teams, whoever wins the league, you know your ‘keepers and clean sheets and how he’s saved goals throughout the season [makes a difference].

“You need that as a back four, as a team, that when you’re going forward to know that your ‘keeper’s a solid ‘keeper. He’s helped them this year.”

Based on current form, finding a goalkeeper better than Martinez in the country is a difficult challenge.

The Aston Villa man has kept 14 clean sheets in 26 Premier League appearances, one less than Manchester City’s Ederson, who currently leads in that category. The Villans’ defence as a whole, though, has been solid this season.

Dean Smith’s side have conceded just 27 goals in the 26 games they have played so far, showing an overall improvement to the backline. By the end of the 2019/20 Premier League campaign, Villa’s defence had been breached 67 times — the second-worst record in the division.

Southampton’s slump continued on Sunday as they were beaten 2-1 by Brighton at St Mary’s, in another game that highlighted Ralph Hasenhuttl’s need for a Plan B with the Saints.

The Austrian rested key players in the midweek defeat against Manchester City at the Etihad and whilst his side played some decent football, they were beaten 5-2, and the hosts could and should have scored more.

He clearly recognised the importance of the game against the Seagulls on Sunday and was able to welcome back key players such as Kyle Walker-Peters, Ibrahima Diallo and Takumi Minamino against Graham Potter’s side.

However, his side were outplayed by a team who have struggled to score goals all season and the defeat now drags Southampton back into the relegation mix-up as we approach the denouement of the season.

It had seemed as if the 2-0 win against Sheffield United recently would not only ease relegation fears but also give Southampton a platform to seriously improve their form, but they have now lost 10 of their last 12 fixtures in the Premier League.

The Austrian has stuck with his 4-2-2-2 or 4-4-2 approach for the majority of the season, with his wingers playing more like ‘wide 10s’, but, perhaps with the exception of Stuart Armstrong, none of the players he has selected in his position regularly this season have been able to contribute effectively in the attacking third.

Moussa Djenepo has one goal and no assists, Nathan Redmond has one goal and one assist, whilst Theo Walcott had two goals and two assists before his injury.

This highlights that the players in this position are not contributing nearly enough, which puts the pressure on the likes of Che Adams and Danny Ings to score the goals, and with the 28-year-old currently sidelined, Hasenhuttl is nearly completely reliant on Adams for goals in his side.

Whilst the 24-year-old has scored three in his last three, he is very inconsistent in front of goal, whilst James Ward-Prowse adds the obvious threat from set-pieces.

Southampton have been in the Premier League for nine seasons now but Hasenhuttl has to try something different, whether that be with the tactics, formation or personnel, otherwise it is difficult to see where the wins are going to come from at the moment.

Even at Man City, where they played four centre-backs, he stuck with the 4-2-2-2 formation, with Mohammed Salisu at left-back and Jack Stephens in midfield, which is a worrying microcosm of the Austrian being seemingly unwilling to try something different this season.

Too often we have seen the Saints start games well and drop off in the second half when opposition managers figure out how to get the better of Southampton, and it is for that exact reason that Hasenhuttl needs to develop a Plan B, or he could potentially see his side dropping back into the Championship.

And, in other news… Semmens must avoid VVD repeat with £13.5m-rated “role model” who Hasenhuttl loves

West Ham United had to settle for a share of the spoils after throwing away a three-goal lead against Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.

David Moyes will surely be fuming with his side’s collapse in the second half and centre to all that was struggling left-back Aaron Cresswell, who was constantly exposed throughout the 90 minutes he was on the pitch.

The Hammers romped to a 3-0 lead in a 17-minute spell, with goals coming from Jesse Lingard, Jarrod Bowen and Thomas Soucek, but they had their backs against the wall for large spells as the Gunners dominated with 64% possession.

Irons forward Michail Antonio had a golden opportunity to put the game to bed at 3-2, late in the second half but he saw his close-range attempt cannon off the post. He perhaps should have done better with it, though you can forgive that moment considering he provided two assists.

Strangely, the 30-year-old took pelters on social media from some supporters – one fan labelled him a “donkey” soon after missing that chance, whilst others branded his display “terrible” and “shocking.”

He was far from the problem.

Arsenal were hugely dominant on their right flank, with right-back Calum Chambers regularly getting up the pitch to contribute. The Sky Sports ‘Man of the Match’ managed to attempt a whopping eight crosses, one of which resulted in Craig Dawson’s embarrassing own goal, and this was because Cresswell could not contain him.

Similarly, Nicolas Pepe got the better of him before providing the assist for Alexandre Lacazette’s equaliser late on.

Indeed, only Dawson (6.1) was graded worse than Cresswell (6.4) as per SofaScore ratings, and it’s easy to see why.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/the-latest-west-ham-news-and-views” title=” The latest West Ham news and views!”]

The 31-year-old, now valued at €10m (£8.5m), was so weak in his battles, winning only one of his six duels (16%) up against the aforementioned visiting players.

When Cresswell did engage with them, his best option was to bring them down to concede two fouls, which would only go onto invite further pressure on the backline. An unnecessary thing to do when trying to hold out the lead.

It got so bad in the second half that Moyes brought on Ryan Fredericks so that there was another body to help out at the back though within three minutes of his arrival, the game was all-square and that was largely down to the clear weakness at left-back.

Tom Clark, football.london’s Irons reporter, thought the £55k-per-week ace was easily West Ham’s worst player. He rated him a 4/10, and claimed:

‘Difficult second half for the left-back with a lot of Arsenal play coming down his wing including all three Arsenal goals.’

As he mentions, all three of their goals came from his side and that only goes to show how poorly he struggled on the afternoon.

Cresswell badly let Moyes down with his display, and as bad a miss it was from Antonio, he had no fault to play in them conceding three goals when holding a 3-0 lead.

AND in other news, Get it done: Moyes should urge WHU move for wild card worth £14.5m less than last year…

Steven Gerrard looks to have been handed a potential blow at Rangers ahead of next season, with Filip Helander having been linked with a move away from Ibrox in the past week.

According to Football Insider, both Aston Villa and Leicester City are considering a move for the 27-year-old centre-back, who has been at the heart of Gerrard’s defence alongside Conor Goldson for much of the season and has played a huge part in their title success.

The Swedish international has appeared in 21 of Rangers’ 33 top-flight fixtures so far this season, in which he has averaged an impressive 7.11 rating for his performances.

The Light Blues’ title win has been built on a strong defence, with Gerrard’s side having shipped just 10 goals in the top-flight so far this season, so to lose someone who has been an important part of that would undoubtedly be a huge blow to the 40-year-old ahead of the next campaign.

The former Bologna man reportedly earns £10k per week at Rangers, and given the additional funds that will be available to Rangers next season with Champions League revenue and hopefully the return of fans, Ross Wilson should ensure that the Ibrox outfit are not bullied into selling Helander for a low fee.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/latest-rangers-transfer-rumours-and-news” title=”Read this week’s latest Rangers news, transfer rumours and more!”]

The centre-back is an international with Sweden and is a good age for a centre-back, yet Transfermarkt suggests that he is currently valued at just £1.8 million.

Considering Rangers paid around £3.5 million to Bologna to sign Helander, as well as his impressive form this season, you would hope that the champions would be aiming to receive at least £5 million should he make the move to the Premier League this summer.

[freshpress-quiz id=“588789″]

Gerrard clearly considers Helander a valuable member of his squad, describing him as a “leader” in 2019, so Wilson should do everything he can to keep hold of the Swede ahead of next season. If that’s not possible, then he must negotiate a reasonable fee if the player does have his heart set on a move down south.

And, in other news… Rangers could be set for huge summer profit on gem dubbed “the biggest steal of the century”

Celtic’s hunt for a new manager is approaching a month now but we’re still no closer to discovering who’ll be sitting in the Bhoys dugout next season.

Roy Keane was thought to be the favourite but in recent days Lucien Favre and Thierry Henry have both emerged on their radar.

What’s the word?

Another manager who had been on Celtic’s radar in the last few weeks was Chris Wilder.

The Englishman left Sheffield United with his team rock bottom of the Premier League and he now has no shortage of suitors.

Celtic were dealt a blow in their chase of Wilder last week when it was revealed that a potential sticking point in their pursuit would be his pay-off. The former Blades boss is set to receive money from the club over the next six months, a sum that would get smaller if he finds a new job.

However, in a fresh twist to the tale, they have been dealt another almighty blow. That’s because according to The Daily Mail, Burnley have now entered the race for Wilder.

Fortunately, that will only happen if Sean Dyche decides to finally leave his post in the summer.

The outlet claims that Wilder is set to become one of the hottest properties over the next few months, meaning Celtic will have to move quickly if they want him.

Bad news for the Hoops

Dermot Desmond hasn’t particularly had the easiest few weeks in the Celtic hierarchy.

Questioned over his future in Glasgow last week, he will be left tearing his hair out at the repeated setbacks in their quest to find a new manager.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/latest-celtic-manager-and-transfer-news-roy-keane-nicky-butt-jesse-marsch-scott-brown” title=”Latest Celtic manager and transfer news!”]

Jesse Marsch has already been ruled out of the running in what was the biggest blow to their aspirations yet. The American revealed he was honoured to be linked with the job but he has now been linked with Borussia Monchengladbach.

It seems as though the coaches that Celtic target are all in demand. Fortunately, however, they do have some breathing room between now and next season.

Wilder should have been one of the names at the top of their wish list though. He is a canny thinker, is astute defensively and has plenty of success under his belt; he took Sheffield United from League One to the Premier League.

Desmond will have to hope that Wilder doesn’t become one who got away.

AND IN other news, Reliable journo shares six-word update on Celtic manager hunt, fans should be buzzing…