All posts by n8rngtd.top

Leeds United face their second test in the space of 96 hours on Tuesday night and they could use all the squad depth they can get, but Diego Llorente is still a doubt to make a return following his injury.

The latest on Llorente

The Spaniard has been trying to recover from a hamstring injury, but Sky Sports believe that although the defender is closing in on a return, Tuesday’s game comes too soon.

This will be frustrating for Bielsa and Leeds

The defender, who is valued at £18m on Transfermarkt, will be wanting to make his return as soon as possible, but you cannot afford to rush a hamstring injury. He has been on the sidelines for a while now and has only made two appearances in the division since joining because of his struggles.

Described as “fantastic”and as a “top player” in the past, supporters of the club should be excited to hear that he will be available in the near future, however to have such a player unavailable will be frustrating, especially when the club are trying to halt a two-game losing skid.

The good thing for Marcelo Bielsa is that he can use the same pairing that he used against Wolves with Luke Cooper and Pascal Struijk available to play for him at the back, but the Argentinian will definitely be wanting his depth back in the centre of defence as soon as possible with the games coming thick and fast.

In other news, a former Premier League star has tipped one player to be playing in the Euro’s!

Many Wolverhampton Wanderers fans have been reacting to a tweet that was recently posted by The Athletic’s Wolves reporter Tim Spiers which shared Old Gold manager Nuno Espirito Santo’s injury update on Daniel Podence and Willy Boly. 

The Portuguese manager has revealed that the Old Gold duo are set to be sidelined “for some time,” with both the attacker and the centre-back sitting out Wolves’ 0-0 draw with Leicester City this past weekend. 

After Spiers took to Twitter to share this news, lots of Wolves supporters replied to his post to react to this revelation.

So, how have these Wolves fans been reacting? 

Many Old Gold supporters have been devastated by this news, indicating that they think this is a significant blow for their side, who are already on a poor run of form, having won just one of their last 10 top-flight fixtures.

“Spain but the S is silent”

Credit: @matthewashaww

“Gutted”

Credit: @HeadInTheSkies

“Oh dear, oh dear”

Credit: @FW90

“Calls for a round of applause for the Wolves sport science and fitness team. Shambles !”

Credit: @MrR1g4t

“Not what we need!”

Credit: @EssexWolvess

“That’s disgusting Tim, clean up your tweets, there are children on here”

Credit: @metalliam

“Ouch”

Credit: @richwolves41

In other news, lots of Wolves fans were disappointed with Willian Jose’s display versus Leicester City.

With the transfer deadline on the horizon, West Brom have entered the running to secure a last-gasp loan move for Premier League wonderkid Billy Gilmour.

What’s the word?

According to reports in Spain (via the Mirror), the Baggies are one of several teams eyeing up a late swoop for the Chelsea midfielder, though it won’t be easy given the interest in him.

The likes of arch-rivals Wolves and Aston Villa as well as West Ham and Crystal Palace are all keen on securing him before tonight’s 11pm transfer deadline.

Forget Sawyers

Albion boss Sam Allardyce only has one more domestic loan space available. Given the club’s success with Conor Gallagher this term, he would be wise to pair up his former academy teammate in the middle of midfield.

Gilmour is a unique prospect with the world at his feet, as Roy Keane told Sky Sports last season (via talkSPORT):

“As the game started I literally got out of my seat, which I very rarely do, and I thought, ‘Who is this kid?’ There are certain traits you want from a midfielder, quality on the ball, football intelligence, composure. He had everything. It was one of the best performances I have seen in a long, long time.”

The 19-year-old, valued at £6.75m by Transfermarkt, can play various roles in central midfield. Against Liverpool and Everton, he thrived as an anchorman, but a record of 16 goals and 13 assists across the U23s and U18s suggests he can also contribute further forward.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-this-weeks-latest-west-brom-news-and-transfer-rumours” title=”Read this week’s latest West Brom news, transfer rumours and more…”]

Indeed, the young Scottish starlet has taken inspiration from a plethora of midfield greats, namely Andres Iniesta, Xavi, Cesc Fabregas and Sergio Busquets.

This sort of Spanish flair is something he’s been able to display in relatively short game time, and you’d struggle to liken that sort of profile to any of Allardyce’s current options.

“He’s so talented on the ball. He looks so comfortable; the minute he moves, he manipulates it,” said Sky Sports’ Jamie Redknapp. “He’s a big talent for Chelsea and Scotland going forward – and a really well-rounded kid.”

The only deep-lying playmaker in the squad right now is Romaine Sawyers, but he rates out as Albion’s second-worst player per WhoScored ratings (6.13).

He has struggled to have much of an influence at either end of the pitch – on average, he is dribbled past 1.8 times per 90 and only pulls off a successful tackle 50% of the time. The Hawthorns graduate provides the least number of key passes per 90 of all of the Baggies’ midfield options too, via WhoScored.

Gilmour, based on his ten competitive appearances, is only dribbled past 0.8 times per 90 and makes 71.4% of his tackles. Adding to the aforementioned creative aspect, the teenager has delivered two key passes per 90, on average, also via WhoScored.

West Brom sporting director Luke Dowling would be wise to make a move for Gilmour before the end of the day, as evident above, the £10k-per-week dynamo would alleviate some of those midfield struggles.

Allardyce can forget about Sawyers’ struggles by landing Gallagher’s Blues teammate in a last-gasp swoop. It could prove to be beneficial for all those involved.

AND in other news, Exclusive: West Brom backed to seal PL striker before deadline

Celtic could be just days away from embarking upon a new chapter in the club’s history. After a disappointing season, it appears that the guillotine is inching closer to Neil Lennon’s neck on the chopping block.

The Mirror has reported that following his decision to leave China, Celtic have eyed Rafael Benitez as the perfect successor to their current head coach. Should these talks come to fruition, treble winner Lennon will be axed from his position and he only has himself to blame.

Why Lennon could be replaced by Benitez

For a side with as rich a history as Celtic, it’s extremely disappointing to see them struggling to assert their dominance. The Scottish Premiership is their bread and butter – a league that many believe belongs to the Hoops.

They were on track for their tenth consecutive league title this season, but an uncharacteristically subpar campaign has resulted in them being humiliated on several occasions. Not only are they trailing to their bitter rivals, but Rangers top the table by a mammoth 23 points.

Steven Gerrard and his men are yet to lose a single Premiership match this term and have drawn just three games. Although Celtic have three games in-hand, any chance of a revival looks long gone.

Odsonne Edouard has seriously struggled this season, falling off track in terms of his personal numbers. The Frenchman looks a shadow of himself from last campaign, in which he tallied 21 goals and 12 assists in 27 appearances. However, he has managed just seven goals and four assists so far this time round, according to Transfermarkt.

It seems his passion for the club has dimmed due to their frustrating season and Celtic run the risk of losing him. Edouard has been linked to both Arsenal and West Ham this window, with talks of a £35million price tag circulating.

Whilst lack of goals is worrying, Lennon’s defence is also a serious issue. In their Europa League run alone, the Hoops shipped 19 goals in the group stages, which was the joint-highest amount conceded in that point of the competition. But despite this, the boss appears to be showing no urgency to bring any new personnel in.

A goalscorer and a new centre-back must be a priority for Celtic, but Lennon has seemingly been uninterested in the transfer market this month. If he is to be given the boot, he will have put the final nail in his own coffin with his summer transfers, his questionable team selections, his choice to make the Dubai trip and his seeming inability to attract new players to the club this month.

In other news, Hammond set for masterstroke sale of Jack Hendry…

Fulham are one of the sides being linked with a move for Charlton Athletic winger Alfie Doughty ahead of the January transfer window and Tony Khan must ensure that his side are the ones to sign him.

What’s the word?

According to The Athletic, Celtic, Rangers and Fulham are all interested in signing the 21-year-old after his excellent performances with the Addicks in recent seasons.

Following a loan spell with Bromley, the youngster returned to Charlton and was a regular in Lee Bowyer’s side for the second half of the season in the Championship; making 29 appearances, in which he contributed two goals and three assists.

Unfortunately, he was unable to save the club from relegation back to League One, but he has impressed in his performances in League One side, contributing one goal and two assists in seven appearances, before he picked up an injury back in October.

The next Gareth Bale?

The youngster has drawn comparisons to Tottenham Hotspur star Gareth Bale because of the way he started his Charlton career as a left-back, before featuring further forward to great effect.

He is also remarkably quick, with the article from The Athletic praising his “relentless pace” and suggesting that his technical ability is improving all the time.

Whilst Doughty might struggle to adapt to the demands of the Premier League right away, he could certainly be an excellent addition to Scott Parker’s squad at Fulham in the long-term and will seemingly be available for a cut-price, with his contract with the League One side set to expire at the end of this season.

Therefore, Khan must steal the march on Celtic and Rangers by sealing a transfer swoop for Doughty next month, as he looks to be a hugely exciting prospect and his devastating pace could prove to be a great weapon in Fulham’s side in the future.

And, in other news… £60k per week Fulham ace badly let Parker down with his performance vs Southampton

It’s the sign of the times that Aston Villa drawing 1-1 at Premier League title contenders Chelsea just doesn’t even seem that much of a surprise.

Dean Smith’s side have been a breath of fresh air this season, playing fantastic attacking football – they’ve already scored 28 goals in the top-flight – and picking up some big results against the division’s elite.

And whilst they may not have claimed all three points at Stamford Bridge on Monday night, they can be hugely proud of their efforts given they were in action just over 48 hours ago.

One man who put in an incredible shift for Smith, was John McGinn. The Scotland international hasn’t scored since early October when he netted in that famous 7-2 rout of Liverpool, and whilst he didn’t get on the score-sheet again against Chelsea, he looked in supreme touch in every other aspect.

Playing in that slightly deeper role, the 26-year-old went to war with the likes of N’golo Kante and Jorginho in the middle of the park, and came out on top.

As per Sofascore, he won a mammoth 13 of his 19 total duels on the night, by far the most of any Villa player on the pitch. As well as that, he also made three tackles and provided two key passes, whilst he was so unlucky not to be rewarded with a goal when he saw his thunderous long-range strike cannon off the crossbar.

His display led to Villa podcaster Ty Bracey to suggest that McGinn appears to be “back to his best”, and that’s surely something that could be a game-changer for the side going forward.

The likes of Ollie Watkins and Jack Grealish have carried a lot of the goal-scoring and creative burden this season, but if McGinn gets back to his usual self, then Smith will have another formidable weapon in his ranks.

The Scot’s display against Chelsea would surely have left his manager purring.

Following the injury to Diogo Jota recently, Liverpool should consider a transfer U-turn on 17-year-old Harvey Elliott after his superb start to life in the Championship.

The Portuguese winger, who has impressed since joining the Merseyside club from Wolves in the summer, has reportedly been ruled out until February with a knee injury picked up in a recent draw with FC Midtjylland.

Therefore, it seems as if Klopp is low on winger options in his first-team squad, with the likes of Takumi Minamino and Divock Origi having both disappointed on their rare appearances for the Reds.

Suddenly, it seems as if Liverpool may have made an error in loaning out Elliott to Blackburn Rovers during the summer transfer window, as his excellent form with the Lancashire side certainly suggests that he would’ve been a valuable player for Klopp to have available right now, especially as we enter the busy Christmas period.

In 14 appearances for Tony Mowbray’s side, the 17-year-old has managed an impressive four goals and four assists, demonstrating that he has quickly found his feet in the Championship and is clearly not overawed playing at that level.

His performances have also seen him average a superb 7.10 rating for Blackburn this season, which rates him as Rovers’ joint-third best performer so far this season, reflecting again just how impressive he has been since joining.

If you compare this to the 6.17 rating averaged by Minamino in the Premier League this season, it could definitely be argued that the club put their faith in the wrong player.

Whilst Elliott is set to spend the whole season on loan with Blackburn, the Reds do hold an option to recall him. However, it has been suggested recently that the Reds don’t have any plans to recall the young winger in January, despite his impressive form since departing.

However, the injury to Jota definitely leaves Klopp short on options in attack, especially if any of Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino or Sadio Mane were to suffer an injury, so recalling Elliott may be the best option for the Reds in January.

During his time with Fulham, the winger earned the praise of Tom Cairney, who said:

“He’s been a sensation since he joined in training a few months ago. We see him maybe twice a week. He doesn’t look out of place and does some bits of magic that everyone says ‘wow.’ His attitude and his belief in himself at such a young age is frightening.

“He’s a tricky winger who plays in the hole. He’s got a great football brain, an eye for goal and is a very entertaining player. Hopefully, he will have a long and successful career.”

Considering Elliott is performing so well in the Championship and has already appeared nine times for Liverpool’s first-team, it does seem as if he is destined for a big future with the club, which could be accelerated if the Reds opt to recall him in January as a replacement for the injured Jota.

And, in other news… Forget Firmino: LFC beast who won 100% of his duels was Klopp’s hero vs Spurs…

Phil Parkinson must be livid with Lynden Gooch after the Sunderland winger’s lacklustre performance away to Doncaster Rovers in Saturday’s League One draw.

Gooch was key to the result by assisting Grant Leadbitter’s 43rd-minute screamer to open the scoring and could count himself unlucky to have not won a penalty, but often appeared off the pace and struggling to leave a positive impact on proceedings.

Parkinson has already urged Gooch to reach another level with his performances this year, as the Black Cats boss firmly believes there is more to come from the 24-year-old he has now started in 10 of the Stadium of Light natives’ 12 league fixtures this season.

“Gooch has produced a moment of real quality and he is a very good player and he has to keep taking his game to another level because he has the ability,” he said, via quotes by Bailiwick Express, following the winger’s match-winning goal at MK Dons in January.

Gooch responded to Parkinson’s plea by netting just three more of his 10 goals for the League One season and failing to record an assist before the season was called short in March.

He has since improved his creativity this term with Saturday’s assist his fifth of the campaign, while notching his second goal in October’s 2-0 win at Gillingham after opening his account from the bench at Oxford United to settle September’s encounter.

But Parkinson still needs to see more from Gooch, as his assist glossed over a lacklustre display this weekend and led to unwarranted praise with the Chronicle lauding the four-time United States international as Sunderland’s star man at Doncaster.

Gooch was far from Sunderland’s star man at The Keepmoat Stadium, though, as he lost six of his eight attempted ground duels, never contended for possession in the air, turned the ball over 15 times, offered no successful tackles, interceptions or clearances and misplaced 26% of his 31 attempted passes, per SofaScore.

He further failed to beat his marker with his only attempted dribble of the game, directed just one of four shots on target and took fewer touches (46) than all Sunderland players who started bar goalkeeper Remi Matthews (39), striker Charlie Wyke (26) and wing-back Denver Hume (45).

The only redeeming trait of Gooch’s display was through his assist from two key balls, which betters his per-game average of 0.9, but failing to better his record for successful dribbles (1.3) or duels won (32%) in League One this term.

AND in other news, Phil Parkinson risks the wrath of a £2k-p/w monster amid his recent Sunderland claim.

West Brom boast an impressive academy set-up, though very rarely does an elite talent break the surface and make it at the Hawthorns.

In 2013, the Baggies received category one status and pledged to contribute £3m-per-year into the youth system so that they can continue to produce the very best talent in the Midlands.

Only Dara O’Shea and Rekeem Harper are on the cusp of the first-team right now whilst names such as Nathan Ferguson, Tyler Roberts, Kemar Roofe and Izzy Brown have all gone on to teams at a similar or better level.

Unlike recent times, Albion managed to secure the long-term commitment of Rico Richards this summer, one of their most promising forwards since Saido Berahino.

According to The Sun, Premier League rivals Arsenal, Spurs, Liverpool and Manchester City were all tracking the 17-year-old sensation last year but in August, he signed his first professional deal with a fresh three-year contract.

Academy manager Richard Stevens waxed lyrical about the young frontman, he said: “Rico is a creative player who can make things happen and we are looking forward to continuing his development.”

Richards has continued his impressive form this season, contributing to three goals in two appearances in the U18 Premier League, before finding himself promoted to the U23 set-up, where in back-to-back starts the young Albion side have picked up 1-0 victories.

It is also always a good sign when the youngster is recognised at an international level, and the Baggies starlet has picked up England caps for the U16s and has also played in a few friendlies for the U17s.

Slaven Bilic could have West Brom’s best talent since Berahino on their hands here and given their struggles in front of goal as the Premier League’s lowest scorers, he could well be called upon sooner rather than later.

Very much so as the club currently lack the presence of a Hal Robson-Kanu or Peter Odemwingie type that can play in a multitude of attacking positions, this combined with seemingly no attitude problems gives Richards the potential to eclipse their most controversial homegrown player of the modern era.

AND in other news, Exclusive: Carlton Palmer tips “unplayable” WBA star to become a £40m+ player

Said Benrahma has just six-weeks to prove to West Ham United that they do not need to sign AFC Bournemouth forward Joshua King amid reports of a potential new approach.

What’s the word?

According to Claret & Hugh, the Hammers are considering reviving David Moyes’ interest in King come the January window after opting to sign Benrahma over the Norway international this summer.

Moyes and the West Ham first-team had favoured the potential of adding King to the squad currently assembled at the London Stadium, with the feeling in east London that support for Michail Antonio up front would be vastly more beneficial than signing an additional winger.

Irons chiefs ultimately convinced Moyes to green light the initial £5million loan deal for Benrahma which features a £20m obligation to buy next summer. But with Sebastien Haller struggling to fill the void left by Antonio following his hamstring injury, could revisit King’s situation with the striker out of contract in 2020.

West Ham offered Bournemouth £13m in the hope of signing King this summer, yet saw the approach rejected as the Cherries held firm in demanding in excess of £17m.

It remains to be seen if West Ham do look fondly on King’s services when the winter market opens, and how open-minded Bournemouth are to selling a player who could be key to their promotion efforts after starting the Championship campaign with five wins in 11.

Benrahma has a point to prove

With West Ham chiefs backing Benrahma’s capture over Moyes’ wishes to sign King, the Algerian forward will have a point to prove over the next six weeks to show why the Hammers were not wrong to favour his arrival over the Norway international’s.

Benrahma penned his first assist in claret and blue at home to London rivals Fulham prior to the international break, but also conceded the late penalty Ademola Lookman wasted in the closing stages that could have allowed the Cottagers to steal a point.

King has hardly hit any lofty heights for Bournemouth this season, either, with the former Manchester United target yet to get off the mark for goals or assists after five Championship appearances following an early thigh injury.

Benrahma, no doubt, has the potential to shine at the London Stadium after striking 17 goals and 10 assists with Brentford last season, while former OGC Nice teammate Lorenzo Vinci lauds the Algerian as a true magician for his smooth and silky skills.

“For me, there’s no debate, it’s Said!” Vinci told Actufoot when asked who his most technical teammate has been. “He impressed me so much when we played together. He was able to do anything in any space. A real magician.”

Benrahma may have just six-weeks to prove his magic in east London, though, as King has frequently had his own admirers – including Moyes – while former Bournemouth coach Eddie Howe lauded the 28-year-old as a “complete” player during his time at the Vitality.

“Josh is outstanding physically, technically and mentally – he has the complete package, a little bit of everything,” Howe said, via quotes by The Football Faithful. “He wants goals to show that potential is so high with him.”

AND in other news, David Moyes can solve a West Ham dilemma by unleashing his plan for a £10.8m-rated dynamo.