All posts by h79snht.top

Manchester United are a huge heavyweight in global football, but they are on course to have one of the most disappointing transfer windows in recent years.

Jose Mourinho has recruited three new players so far, including veteran goalkeeper Lee Grant, who will act as back-up, as well as 19-year-old right-back Diogo Dalot.

Central midfielder Fred is the only new arrival that is likely to compete for a first-team spot.

It has become clear that Mourinho is keen to add a new defender to the squad and some high-profile figures have been linked with a move to Old Trafford.

According to The Times, the club have targeted Toby Alderweireld, Harry Maguire and Jerome Boateng, but judging by Mourinho’s comments in his pre-match press conference on Thursday, none of them will be coming through the welcome gates.

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”255883″ player=”12034″ title=”Watch Man United’s opening fixtures for the 201819 Premier League season”]

While addressing the media, the Portuguese coach said that he is “not confident” of bringing in any new players before today’s 5pm deadline.

In reaction to these remarks, plenty of United fans have avoided criticising Mourinho but have instead taken aim on Twitter at executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward.

Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne will be out for the next few months with a suspected knee ligament injury and is to be treated by specialists in Barcelona, as reported by the Manchester Evening News.

This injury is bitter news to swallow for the player, club and fans alike. Last season, the Belgian was instrumental in City’s Premier League title triumph and will have been hoping to pick up where he left off this time around. 

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”255859″ player=”12034″ title=”Watch Man City’s opening fixtures for the 201819 Premier League season”]

City boss Pep Guardiola is fortunate to have a squad stocked with enough top level talent to cope with the 27-year-old’s absence. The likes of Bernardo Silva, David Silva, Ilkay Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez could all step into De Bruyne’s breach effectively.

Young star Phil Foden may even hope to gain some further experience and playing time as part of the cover plan whilst De Bruyne is sidelined.

In the wake of the injury news, many Man City fans took to Twitter to wish De Bruyne well and express their faith in the squad to rise to this crisis.

Rangers have been in the shadow of Celtic in recent years, but this season has started off with the Gers in better spirits.

Under new manager Steven Gerrard, the Ibrox-based outfit are excited about how the campaign will pan out.

Their arch-rivals Celtic have had an early wobble after they were booted out of the Champions League by AEK Athens in the third qualifying round.

Manager Brendan Rodgers has also had a frustrating summer transfer window, with little in the way of funds.

With Champions League football now no longer on offer at Celtic, some of the club’s players may get tempted elsewhere.

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”278881″ player=”12034″ title=”Rafa’s Pub Facts Kane’s Kryptonite & London’s Biggest Losers”]

According to L’Equipe, the representatives of Olivier Ntcham have offered the midfielder to Marseille, but the Ligue 1 outfit are not interested in signing him.

This news, which was shared by Twitter account @RangersObserver, has left some Rangers fans feeling amused.

It does not take much for these Scottish arch rivals to rub salt into the wounds.

With the loan window still open for English Football League clubs, Leeds could well still dip into the market to help bolster the squad.

Although Marcelo Bielsa has played down the need for any more defenders, the Argentinian also admitted that errors cost Leeds the win against Swansea on Tuesday night.

Liam Hooper was withdrawn in the warmup with an injury while Pontus Jansson wasn’t fit enough to come in to cover.

While not a majorly significant result, the draw may just show Bielsa that relying on such a small squad could prove costly for Leeds over the course of a long and tough Championship season. Jamie Shackleton is too young to rely on as a right-back so early in his career and Luke Ayling is too good a fullback to be shifted inside.

With that in mind, Leeds should be looking at trying to sign Chelsea academy man, Tomas Kalas who has attracted interest from Middlesbrough.

The Breakdown

Much like most Chelsea youngsters at a time, Kalas has found it hard to break into the first-team at the club and has been a part of the club’s army of loan players over the years.

However, during his one spell with Middlesbrough and two with Chelsea, the Swede showcased that he is a more than capable defender.

Able to play out from the back he could fit straight into Bielsa’s team that prides itself on being able to build attacks from the base of the team.

While Bielsa seems content with his squad, he should seriously consider a loan move for the 25-year-old.

What do you think Leeds fans?

Loads of West Ham fans have been reacting to the defeat against Arsenal, and they really aren’t happy with Javier Hernandez.

With everything that went wrong last season for West Ham, one thing fans simply couldn’t wrap their heads around was the treatment of Hernandez.

“The little pea” was either stuck up front on his own or left out of the side entirely, and after a relatively successful World Cup fans were hopeful that he could return to form alongside the new creative threats brought in during the transfer window.

The veteran striker made virtually no impact when he was introduced on Saturday though, as the Hammers fell to a 3-1 defeat at the Emirates Stadium.

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”280645″ player=”12034″ title=”Rafa’s Pub Facts Dodgy De Gea & Arsenal’s MiniRevolution”]

Hernandez replaced Marko Arnuatovic in the second half, and the counter attacking threat that terrorised Arsenal throughout the first half completely evaporated.

The 30 year-old was caught offside when he really shouldn’t have been, and managed just one shot and ten passes.

[ad_pod ]

Pellegrini has some impressive attacking depth at his disposal, and if Saturday was anything to go by it could soon be Hernandez that misses out.

You can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…

Loads of Liverpool fans have been giving their verdict on the win at Leicetser, and they’re all absolutely stunned by the form of Joe Gomez.

For once, Virgil van Dijk had a slightly below par performance in Liverpool’s 2-1 win at the King Power stadium, but Gomez was on hand to bail his partner out.

The young Englishman has slotted in perfectly alongside van Dijk in the absence of the injured Dejan Lovren, and it’s now hard to envisage Lovren getting his spot back.

Gomez made one tackle and three interceptions against the Foxes, and one absolutely incredible last ditch block to deny James Maddison.

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”285457″ player=”12034″ title=”Rafa’s Pub Facts Theatre Of Screams & The Serb As Good As Salah”]

The 21 year-old started his spell at Liverpool as a left back under Brendan Rodgers, and has developed his skills on the right flank since Jürgen Klopp arrived.

He is now getting his chance in the middle, and it’s looking like a stroke of genius from Klopp.

[ad_pod ]

Fans are delighted with this performance on Saturday, and you can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…

According to the Daily Mail, new Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri wants to move for AC Milan’s defensive duo, Alessio Romagnoli and Mattia Caldara, in January.

What’s the story?

Sarri has made a strong start to life at the helm at Stamford Bridge, but is thought to wish to strengthen his defensive contingent further at the earliest opportunity, with Romagnoli a top target, according to the aforementioned report. 

Romagnoli joined the Serie A giants in a five-year deal from Roma in the summer transfer window of 2015. Since then, the centre-back has been a regular fixture in the first team at the San Siro. Before long, the 23-year-old’s impressive performances for the Rossoneri earned him a call up for the Italian national side. 

It’s easy to see why Sarri would be so keen to bring Romagnoli to the Premier League. He should not be allowed to so unchallenged though. New Arsenal manager Unai Emery would be wise to try and tempt the Italian centre-back to the Emirates Stadium instead.

The perfect solution

Having invested heavily in their attacking contingent in recent years, Arsenal must now look to solidify their defence if they are to ever return to the top table of European competition. Romagnoli would be the perfect candidate to come in and upgrade the Arsenal rearguard, and he looks to be the perfect long-term successor for Laurent Koscielny.

Emery favours defenders who are comfortable in possession and can distribute the ball well from the back. Romagnoli’s ability to launch counterattacks, or maintain possession for his side even when under pressure, are both attributes that the Spanish coach values highly.

Beyond that, Romagnoli is a top class defender. Tough and well timed in the tackle, strong in the air, authoritative and a smart reader of the game; the Milan man would certainly represent an upgrade on Shkodran Mustafi. 

At his age, Romagnoli is also a very wise investment with the future in mind and should form the lynchpin around which the new Arsenal defence is built. That can only be done if the Gunners beat the Blues to the 6’2” man’s signature though.

Matt Ritchie joined Newcastle United from Bournemouth in the summer of 2016, and scored 12 Championship goals to help the Magpies return to the top flight.

Ritchie then managed three goals in 35 Premier League appearances for Newcastle last term, and has contributed one assist in three appearances for the club this season.

Newcastle have only collected one point from their four Premier League matches during the 2018-19 campaign, but three of those fixtures have been against Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and Manchester City.

It does not get any easier for Rafael Benitez’s side as they return to Premier League action after the international break with a home game against Arsenal this weekend.

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”288872″ player=”12034″ title=”Rafas Pub Facts Murray The Magician & Desperately Seeking Zaha”]

Newcastle will again be looking to the likes of Ritchie for inspiration, and the club’s supporters have been paying tribute to the Scotland international ahead of the match.

Indeed, the 5ft 8in ace turned 29 on Monday, and a tweet from Newcastle’s official account prompted a lot of responses from the club’s fans, a selection of which can be seen below:

[ad_pod ]

FootballFanCast.com’s Performance in Numbers coverage is brought to you by 5p0rtz. Try 5p0rtz’s Beat the Streak Predictor and you could win £1million! Click here to play.

Mohamed Salah has been a major factor in Liverpool’s transformation into trophy contenders.

[ffc_insert title=”Try 5p0rtz’s Beat The Streak Predictor and you could win £1MILLION!” name=”Win £1MILLION with 5p0rtz” image_ link=”https://app.5p0rtz.com/?affiliate=FFCeditorialwidget” link_text=”Click here to play”]

Jurgen Klopp’s side are now capable of challenging for the Premier League title, as well as the Champions League crown thanks to the team’s work ethic and quality.

Salah scored 44 goals in all competitions last season, and at times he single-handedly dragged Liverpool over the line, but in the early stages of the 2018-19 campaign, he has taken a backseat.

Sadio Mane has been running the show as far as the forward three are concerned, while Roberto Firmino’s hardworking nature has not gone unnoticed.

During Tuesday night’s Champions League clash against Paris Saint-Germain, it became even more evident that Salah is not quite at the races.

The 26-year-old was the only member of the front three who did not register a single shot on target.

Firmino started the match on the bench due to an eye injury that he suffered against Tottenham Hotspur at the weekend, and Daniel Sturridge was called on instead.

The bit-part player scored Liverpool’s opening goal in an exciting game which ended in a 3-2 victory for the hosts at Anfield.

One of Salah’s main problems before he was substituted in the 85th minute was that he struggled to keep hold of the ball.

In fact, no other Liverpool player was dispossessed as many times as the Egyptian throughout the match.

In fairness to Salah, he showed good movement and produced some key passes, but the level that is now expected of him was not there.

In six appearances, the attacker has scored twice and there is no doubt that he will be firing on all cylinders in due course, but right now, his teammates are overshadowing him.

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”297163″ player=”12034″ title=”Rafa’s Pub Facts MythBusting Rashford & Spurs Headache”]

[ad_pod ]

[ad_pod ]

[ffc_insert title=”Check out the Big Interview with Ben Dinnery & Johnny Wilson” name=”Fixture In Focus Podcast Special” image_ link=”https://fixtureinfocus.podiant.co/e/369d9b4fb86294/” link_text=”Click here to play”]

Sunderland confirmed that they had terminated the contract of midfielder Didier Ndong on Monday, and the move should allow manager Jack Ross to try and bring in a new striker following the news that Charlie Wyke could potentially be out of action for the rest of 2018.

What’s the word, then?

Well, having sacked Papy Djilobodji last month after he failed to secure a move away from the Stadium of Light before the transfer window closed and then returned to training at the start of this month out of shape, it is no surprise that Ndong has followed his former teammate through the exit door.

There was never really any chance that the 24-year-old would play for the Black Cats – especially in League One – having also been desperate to leave during the summer and having not returned to the club at all this season, but while the duo have gone it could open up another door for Ross.

The 42-year-old admitted via The Chronicle previously that he didn’t think that he would be able to bring in a new striker to provide competition for Josh Maja and Jerome Sinclair in Wyke’s absence, but offloading Ndong’s wages may well now allow him to do exactly that.

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”299719″ player=”12034″ title=”Rafa’s Pub Facts Man Utd Beat Young Boys But Not New Boys”]

Who should he sign?

There are a number of free-agent centre-forwards on the market that may be of interest to the Scot, including someone like Victor Anichebe.

However, another player still yet to find a club having left Aston Villa during the summer is 31-year-old Gabby Agbonlahor.

Sunderland should certainly look to bring the experienced frontman to the Stadium of Light – even if it is only on a short-term deal – because while things may not have gone well for him in recent years in terms of form and injuries, on his day there is no doubt that he would be the best player in League One because of his pace and natural finishing ability.