Which Man Utd signing is the most impressive so far?

Louis van Gaal and co. have had a busy few days. Manchester United recently snagged the signatures of right-back Matteo Darmian, midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger, and Morgan Schneiderlin, following the early summer deal for Memphis Depay, to truly get their transfer plans going.

Red Devils fans are understandably excited that Van Gaal is finally getting more aggressive in obtaining his transfer targets and beginning to rebuild after a 2014/15 capaign which, although finished with the desired result, was a little underwhelming. To help see how big of an impact each player will have on the squad this season, here are Manchester United’s summer signings so far, ordered from least to most impressive according to Football FanCast:

4. Bastian Schweinsteiger

The German captain has an impressive CV, with eight Bundesliga championships and over 100 assists in 500 appearances for Bayern Munich. There’s no doubt he knows how to win. However, he is approaching his 31st birthday and has been slowed by injury recently, making him a short-term signing instead of the long-term investment United need.

3. Matteo Darmian 

The 25-year-old right-back arrives at Old Trafford on a four-year contract ready to contest Antonio Valencia for a starting spot. Darmian registered a career-best five goals and four assists for Torino last season, and was also in Italy’s World Cup squad last summer. Despite his slim frame, he led Torino with 2.6 tackles per game, and hopefully he will be able to compete physically in the Premier League.

2. Memphis Depay

United’s first summer signing fulfilled a major need: goalscoring. As a winger, Depay has impressive speed and dribbling skills, as well as long-range shooting (57 percent of his shots were from outside the box last season). But the 28-goal PSV star also played as a striker for the Netherlands, scoring three goals in 17 international showings, and Van Gaal plans to test him up top alongside Wayne Rooney.

1. Morgan Schneiderlin 

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Schneiderlin enjoyed a stunning 2014/15 season in which he started 28 out of the 30 games he played for Southampton and maintained an 89.3% pass success rate, while leading the Saints midfielders in interceptions. The Frenchman scored a career-best five goals and notched one assist, but had a stellar defensive contribution as well with 3.7 tackles per Premier League game, more than any United player.

Hazard not concerned about Alli’s drop in form for Tottenham Hotspur

Much has been said about Dele Alli’s form of late, and the majority of talk has been negative.The Tottenham Hotspur midfielder has struggled to make an impact in recent matches and has failed to score since the team’s 3-1 victory over Real Madrid in the Champions League at the start of November.The 21-year-old, who signed for the North London outfit from MK Dons in 2015, was largely ineffective during an important Premier League clash against Manchester City on Saturday.The biggest talking point in regard to Alli was when he escaped a sending-off for crunching Kevin De Bruyne’s ankle in a dangerous challenge.In the end, Tottenham lost to the dominant table-toppers 4-1 at the Etihad Stadium.One fan reached out to former Spurs midfielder Micky Hazard on Twitter, asking the retired footballer for his opinion on what is going on with Alli.The 57-year-old offered a response and did not seem unduly worried about the situation.

Liverpool’s victory over Man City will spark a turning point

On January 15th 2017, Manchester City travelled to Merseyside and succumbed to one of their most humiliating days in recent history.

They weren’t just destroyed, but the Pep Guardiola experiment in English football sunk to its lowest ebb. City were beaten, torn apart and they had no answer. And scorers on the day included maiden goals in Everton shirts for both Tom Davies and Ademola Lookman.

Just a day short of one year later, Guardiola’s City were a different team. They were top of the Premier League, unbeaten, and looking invincible. And they travelled back to Liverpool, this time to take on Jurgen Klopp’s Reds at Anfield.

Another four goals later, City were beaten again. And after 2017’s turning point which was marked at Goodison, another turning point might well be have been birthed at Anfield, just a day short of a round turn of the calendar later.

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Guardiola’s side will still more than likely win the Premier League. A defeat won’t halt their inexorable march to the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss’s first league title in England giving him a foot in the door as one of the greats in three different countries. In fact, it might well make them more likely to win it and other competitions – there will be no temptation to attempt to finish the entire season unbeaten, and players can be rested in the league for Champions League, FA Cup and League Cup commitments. If anything, this probably makes them even more dangerous.

The turning point at Anfield, however, probably didn’t come for City this time. Rewind back to a year ago, and Liverpool were themselves in a similar position to City.

On the same day that Guardiola took his side to Goodison, Klopp took his team in the opposite direction to face Manchester United at Old Trafford. That game ended 1-1, and is perhaps best remembered to Reds fans as Trent Alexander-Arnold’s first league start. To the rest of us, it’s the game which saw Paul Pogba trot around the pitch like an amateur on the very day Twitter decided to turn the Old Trafford advertising hoardings into a promotional tool for the then-world’s most expensive player, bestowing upon him his own hashtag and his own emoji.

A draw at Old Trafford is always a creditable result, of course, but this marked the second game in a run of seven matches without a win Liverpool would suffer in January and February. That coincided with Sadio Mane’s international involvement at the African Cup of Nations, and the Anfield side’s subsequent fall from the title race, where they looked like Chelsea’s only challengers for the Premier League crown come the turn of the new year.

Indeed, by this stage, Liverpool look to be in a similar position to the Manchester City team who failed to hit their target in Guardiola’s first season in charge. Klopp’s side are stunning in attack on their day, but also prone to slip-ups at the back. They lack a goalkeeper whom they can trust, and they are still clearly a few signings away from being the finished article.

Virgil van Dijk will help, though there’s probably more to come.

For City, however, it wasn’t a full-on defensive overhaul which did the trick. This time last year, John Stones didn’t look like a £50m central defender, whilst Nicolas Otamendi was simply a liability. By now – their performance at Anfield notwithstanding – they’re part of a record-breaking side and one which is still fighting to win every competition open to them at the start of the campaign. Certainly that’s a huge improvement from some players like Otamendi and Fabian Delph who were considered ready for the scrapheap by many.

Liverpool could find themselves in the same boat. In order to bring about that change, City had to signed Kyle Walker and Ederson. They did much more than that last summer, but the back-four and goalkeeper now looks fairly settled, and they are the only two new faces: the rest were just improved, either by the manager or the competent presences of the new additions.

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This January, Klopp has added Van Dijk, and in the summer you’d like to think a new goalkeeper will arrive, too. There’s still time for Naby Keita to join the Anfield outfit in January, but if not he’ll help a more disciplined midfield screen the defence from next season onwards. Perhaps a new left-back will be on many Liverpool fans’ wish lists, but that’s already a good start.

Liverpool like to play football in a similar way to Manchester City, and they’re scarily similar in the way they’ve fallen short in the defence and goalkeeping departments over the last few years. Last year, mid-January marked a turning point as Pep Guardiola’s side travelled to Liverpool. Will this year see the same thing happen to a different club?

In Focus: Southampton eye Udinese full-back

According to HITC, Southampton are interested in bringing Udinese defender Silvan Widmer to the club before the end of this month’s transfer window.

What’s the story?

Southampton are expected to be busy in the latter stages of the winter window as head coach Mauricio Pellegrino looks to boost his struggling squad.

The Saints have not won in the Premier League since the end of November, with that poor run of form seeing them drop towards the relegation zone.

A new forward is believed to be high on the club’s list of priorities this month, but the South Coast outfit are also being linked with a number of defenders following the £75m sale of Virgil van Dijk to Liverpool in the early stages of 2018.

According to HITC, Southampton are interested in signing Udinese full-back Widmer, who has previously been linked with a move to Arsenal.

What are Widmer’s credentials?

Widmer joined Udinese from Swiss outfit Aarau in the summer of 2013, and he has made over 100 Serie A appearances since making the move to Italian football.

A Switzerland international of nine caps, the full-back has scored once and provided two assists in 10 Serie A appearances for Udinese during the 2017-18 campaign.

Widmer still has two and a half years left on his contract at Udinese, but it is understood that the Italian club could be open to a sale for the right price in the latter stages of the month.

Southampton are bound to face competition for Widmer, who is valued at £8.1m by transfermarkt.co.uk, when considering that he should be available for a fair price.

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However, if the Saints can pull off a deal for the consistent full-back, the club’s supporters would finally have something to cheer about entering the final months of the season.

Newcastle sealing a deal for Luan would prove they can match Benitez’s ambition

Reports in The Sun on Sunday on January 28 suggested that Newcastle United have been offered the chance to sign Gremio forward and Brazil international Luan for £17.5m before the January transfer window slams shut on Wednesday, in what has been another disappointing month in the market so far for manager Rafa Benitez.

The Spaniard was furious this time last year when the Tyneside outfit failed to bring anyone in to boost their promotion push, but as it turned out it didn’t prove to be significant as the Toon secured an instant return to the Premier League as champions on the final day of the season.

The summer transfer window didn’t go to plan for the former Liverpool and Real Madrid boss either, and he certainly would have liked to have added more Premier League experience – and quality in general – to his squad than he did, while he also didn’t get the goalkeeper that he wanted.

Takeover talks in recent months would have excited the 57-year-old as he would have been potentially getting the financial backing from a new owner that hasn’t always been forthcoming under Mike Ashley, but the news that the Sports Direct tycoon pulled out of talks with Amanda Staveley’s PCP Capital Partners group last month certainly wouldn’t have been well received.

Benitez claimed last month that he wanted all of his January business done by the 20th, yet on Deadline Day they have only signed Chelsea winger Kenedy on loan, while they have so far failed to secure a deal for Feyenoord striker Nicolai Jorgensen and lost out to fellow strugglers West Bromwich Albion in the race to sign Liverpool centre-forward Daniel Sturridge on loan.

Newcastle and Ashley know that the club needs to end the window on a high to convince Rafa to not only want to stay, but also to prove their ambition for the future as they look to secure their Premier League status for at least another year – the Magpies currently lie in 15th position and are only out of the relegation zone on goal difference.

Bringing Luan to St James’ Park would certainly be a statement of intent, and it would boost a manager and a passionate fan base that will be frustrated with recent events on and off the pitch.

The 24-year-old attacker has long been linked with a move to Liverpool, and that is of little surprise as he has scored 36 goals and provided a further 22 assists in 131 appearances for Gremio, according to Transfermarkt.

His form for the Brazilian outfit has seen him called up to play for the Brazil national team on two occasions so far, and he ended 2017 with 15 goals and six assists in 32 matches.

Luan usually plays as a second striker but he has also played as an attacking midfielder, right winger and even as a centre-forward for Gremio in the past, showing his versatility.

While he isn’t the best at winning balls in the air, WhoScored.com lists his strengths as his ability to finish, holding on to the ball, playing through balls and key passes and his passing in general.

The 24-year-old made 37 key passes in 20 Brazilian top flight games in 2017, while he had an overall passing accuracy of 83.5%.

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The forward is a creator and has shown that he can be a goalscorer, and while there is certainly no guarantee that he would be an instant success in the Premier League – as there isn’t with any player that arrives from abroad – Luan looks to have the ability to make a big impression in England.

There is a feeling around St James’ Park and from a neutral point of view that Newcastle need to pull something big out of the bag on Deadline Day, and bringing Luan to the club could be the proof of ambition that Rafa needs to see to convince him that his long-term future lies on Tyneside.

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Three Everton players that have no future at the club if Allardyce stays this summer

Everton manager Sam Allardyce relieved some of the pressure that was building on his shoulders when his side beat Crystal Palace 3-1 at Goodison Park on Saturday.

Just a week previously, the Toffees had been thrashed 5-1 against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium and with a 4-0 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur also coming on the road last month, the Goodison Park faithful were starting to get impatient with the 63-year-old, who was never really a popular appointment.

The former England boss signed a deal until June 2019 when he was announced as Ronald Koeman’s successor in November, but it remains to be seen whether he will see that contract out given that he is seemingly struggling to win over his own supporters.

If he does continue on Merseyside for the 2018/19 campaign, there will certainly be some Toffees players that won’t be happy with the news and will believe that they will on their way out at the end of the season.

Here are three Everton players that have no future at the club if Allardyce stays this summer…

Davy Klaassen

The Netherlands international was one of the big-money arrivals at Goodison Park during the summer transfer window from whom big things were expected of, but the attacking midfielder struggled in the early stages of the campaign under former boss Ronald Koeman.

When the Dutchman was sacked, the 24-year-old wasn’t given too many opportunities under caretaker boss David Unsworth, and he would finally have been hoping for a clean slate when Sam Allardyce took charge.

It hasn’t been the case though, and he has only made the matchday squad once since the 63-year-old was appointed – playing the full 90 minutes in the dead rubber Europa League tie against Apollon Limassol.

It seems as though the only thing that could save Klaassen’s Everton career now is a new manager, and if Allardyce stays this summer he will almost certainly be on his way.

Ashley Williams

The Wales international’s contract is due to run out in the summer of 2019, and seeing as he is 33 years of age it seems unlikely that he will be handed a new one.

Even though Eliaquim Mangala and Michael Keane – who was hauled off after 45 minutes – both struggled in the three-man defence in the 5-1 defeat against Arsenal, it was Williams who was dropped to the substitutes’ bench against Crystal Palace on Saturday.

If Allardyce does stay this summer he could look to sign Mangala on a permanent basis, and it would be no surprise to see him target another new centre-back too given the club’s defensive troubles this season.

If that happened, it would be difficult to see Williams having a future at Goodison Park beyond the summer.

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Morgan Schneiderlin

Allardyce came out and backed the Frenchman after he was booed when he came on as a substitute in the 3-1 win against Palace on Saturday, but that certainly doesn’t mean that he wouldn’t consider selling the 28-year-old in the summer.

The former England boss decided to drop the midfielder to the substitutes’ bench following another disappointing display against Arsenal – Schneiderlin has struggled for form all season – and the fact that Idrissa Gueye, Wayne Rooney and Tom Davies were all picked ahead of him against the Eagles is perhaps a sign for the future.

His poor relationship with the fans and the fact that he could probably still fetch a decent price could mean he is one that Allardyce looks to move on at the end of the campaign if the manager is to stay at Goodison Park next season.

Do you agree, Toffees fans? Let us know below.

Pochettino shouldn’t be criticised for failing to start Kane and Alli against Rochdale

Harry Kane played 180 minutes and Dele Alli 168 minutes for Tottenham Hotspur across the course of their 1-0 win against Arsenal in latest edition of the north London derby at Wembley, and their spirited 2-2 draw against Juventus in Turin in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie.

Following those exertions Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino decided to only name the key duo on the substitutes’ bench when his team faced League One outfit Rochdale in the fifth round of the FA Cup at Spotland on Sunday.

The Argentine boss certainly would have been aware that it could prove to be a difficult match even though Keith Hill’s men currently lie at the bottom of England’s third tier, and with his side being taken to a replay by League Two club Newport County in the previous round.

However, Pochettino has a big squad full of quality players and he was willing to give those an opportunity to impress against Rochdale, while giving Kane and Alli a breather ahead of what is going to be a crucial end to the campaign.

The 45-year-old also wouldn’t have wanted a replay and another extra fixture, and with plenty of international experience in the starting XI with the likes of Toby Alderweireld, Danny Rose, Victor Wanyama, Lucas Moura, Moussa Sissoko, Son Heung-Min and Fernando Llorente, he wouldn’t have been wrong to expect a routine victory.

Despite the absence of Jan Vertonghen, Mousa Dembele, Christian Eriksen, Alli and Kane from the line-up, no one could accuse Pochettino of taking their League One opponents lightly in a competition that is renowned for shock upsets.

Some of those players that had an opportunity to impress failed to do so however – especially in the first half – and they found themselves 1-0 down at the break thanks to Ian Henderson’s goal on the stroke of half-time.

They did find a little more rhythm in the second half and quickly took control of proceedings, with January signing Lucas netting his first Tottenham goal when he latched on to Moussa Sissoko’s pass through the middle before confidently finishing past Josh Lillis.

Spurs failed to make another breakthrough in the next part of the match and with 19 minutes left on the clock, Pochettino decided to introduce Alli in place of Lucas, while Kane followed five minutes later as he replaced Llorente following another sub-standard display from the Spaniard.

It didn’t take long for the duo to make an impact, and when Alli was brought down in the area Kane smashed home the penalty kick two minutes from time to give the visitors what looked like a ticket through to the quarter-finals.

However, Rochdale weren’t finished there and Steven Davies’ last-gasp strike saw Rochdale grab a deserved draw, and a dream replay at Wembley.

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While it was clear that Tottenham should have done better throughout the 90 minutes and should have been able to hold on once they took the lead in the 88th minute, Pochettino was criticised by some supporters on Twitter for not starting Kane and Alli from the start, wrapping the game up early and then taking them off in the second half.

Football of course doesn’t always work out like that however, and there would have been huge furore from those same supporters if Kane or Alli had picked up a serious injury against the League One outfit.

Pochettino got it right and it was some of those players that were given an opportunity in the XI that let themselves and the club down, rather than the failure to start the talismanic pair.

While having another match to play is certainly inconvenient given Spurs ambitions to finish in the top four and progress as far as they can in the latter stages of the Champions League, it is not a disaster and with the England duo once again on the substitutes’ bench for the replay against Rochdale at Wembley, they should have more than enough to see off the League One strugglers and set up a quarter-final tie with either Swansea City or Sheffield Wednesday.

Revealed: 69% of Liverpool fans want Alexander-Arnold to keep his place vs Newcastle

In our poll yesterday, we asked Liverpool fans whether they would prefer to have Trent Alexander-Arnold starting at right-back for Newcastle’s visit to Anfield this weekend or Joe Gomez.

Gomez has been Jurgen Klopp’s dependable choice in the position for most of the season, but Trent Alexander-Arnold has stepped in well in recent weeks to replace the Charlton academy product.

Alexander-Arnold is even younger than Gomez at just 19 years of age, but he possesses a greater attacking instinct than the more defensively solid 20-year-old.

Playing against a Newcastle team that put in a backs-to-the-wall job to seal victory in their last league encounter with a top four side, Klopp may favour the Alexander-Arnold as he tries to break down a tough Magpies rearguard.

Most Liverpool fans who responded to our poll generally agreed with this approach, with 69% of them saying that they would prefer to play the teenager this weekend.

How would you line up the Reds against Newcastle? Let us know by commenting below…

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How Leeds United must line up when they host Wolves on Wednesday

Leeds United will look to bounce back from a disappointing performance against Middlesbrough and attempt to keep their faint Championship play-off hopes alive when they host table-topping Wolverhampton Wanderers at Elland Road on Wednesday night.

The Yorkshire outfit had the opportunity to close on Boro in the top six at the Riverside Stadium on Friday night, but they fell to a 3-0 defeat with Patrick Bamford scoring a hat-trick for the hosts.

Few players came out of the clash on Teesside with any credit, and the poor result has left the Whites just eight points adrift of the play-offs with only one win in their previous 10 games, and there are only 11 matches of the campaign remaining.

Paul Heckingbottom will know that his team need to start picking up wins if they are to have any chance of gate-crashing the promotion party this term, but they face a tough task against a Wolves side that are at the summit and 10 points clear of third-place Aston Villa going into the latest round of fixtures.

Heckingbottom named an unchanged XI from the 1-0 win against Brentford against Tony Pulis’ men on Friday, but the 40-year-old will be considering making changes to his side and possibly even his formation for the visit of the league leaders after such a below-par display last time out.

Here is how Leeds must line up to get an unlikely three points against Wolves on Wednesday…

Defence

Goalkeeper Felix Wiedwald has been struggling for a while now, and Heckingbottom likely would have dropped him to the substitutes’ bench had Andy Lonergan not been injured.

The German stopper put in another disappointing display against Middlesbrough on Friday and while Lonergan still isn’t available, 21-year-old Bailey Peacock-Farrell is and he must start against Wolves given the fact that Wiedwald’s confidence is clearly shot.

Gaetano Berardi, Pontus Jansson and captain Liam Cooper should all keep their places in the backline, but Heckingbottom should consider replacing Vurnon Anita with Laurens De Bock after the former endured a torrid time against Adama Traore at the Riverside Stadium.

Midfield

Heckingbottom started with a 4-2-3-1 system against Boro, but he should consider reverting to more of a 4-4-1-1 formation against the table-toppers on Wednesday night.

The system should give them more defensive cover and make them more effective in wide areas where they have the players that can make a difference – especially at Elland Road.

Eunan O’Kane and Kalvin Phillips should be replaced by Adam Forshaw and Ronaldo Vieira following their poor displays at the Riverside Stadium, while Ezgjan Alioski and Pablo Hernandez – who is available again after injury – should start on the flanks, with Stuart Dallas dropping to the substitutes’ bench.

Attack

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Saiz impressed on his return from a six-match suspension in the 1-0 win against Brentford, but he struggled to make an impact against Middlesbrough on Friday – similarly to the majority of his teammates.

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The Spaniard will be hoping to put his stamp on the clash with the Championship leaders however, and Heckingbottom will know that he needs the attacking midfielder to be on his game in order to boost his team’s chances of taking a much-needed three points.

Pierre-Michel Lasogga largely had to feed off of scraps at the Riverside Stadium, and the centre-forward will be hoping for better service and support back on the Yorkshire outfit’s home patch, and he once again needs to start ahead of Caleb Ekuban up top.

Do you agree, Leeds fans? Let us know below.

Everton trio passed fit for Brighton clash

Everton manager Sam Allardyce has revealed that three players have returned to fitness in time for this weekend’s Premier League match against Brighton.

Leighton Baines, Phil Jagielka and Ramiro Funes Mori are all available to feature at Goodison Park on Saturday.

The manager confirmed the news in his pre-match press conference, and it provides a major boost considering that the team will be without Ashley Williams.

The centre-back will miss the next three games after getting sent off in the latter stages of Everton’s defeat to Burnley last weekend.

With Jagielka and Funes Mori fit, Allardyce has a handful of options to select from when lining up the defence.

Baines’s return is also positive news for the fans, the majority of whom wanted the club to buy a new left-back in January due to Cuco Martina’s less-than-impressive performances.

The Dutchman has had to fill in during Baines’s injury absence, and has come under fire due to him being predominantly right-footed.

Everton are in need of some points having won just two of their last 11 Premier League games.

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The club sit 11th in the table, seven points above the relegation zone.

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