All posts by h716a5.icu

Leeds United return to Premier League action this afternoon where they will be looking to make it four games unbeaten to begin the 2022/23 campaign.

Jesse Marsch’s side are back on their travels as they head to the Amex Stadium, where Brighton and Hove Albion are standing in their way and they too are yet to taste defeat, so we’re in for a tasty encounter.

The American has plenty to ponder in terms of team selection – does he stick or twist after he witnessed his team thrash Chelsea 3-0 last weekend?

Patrick Bamford remains a fitness doubt, whilst the midweek return of skipper Liam Cooper poses something of a conundrum.

In goal, usual no.1 shot-stopper Illan Meslier should remain and so should his backline, with Junior Firpo and Luke Ayling still on the treatment table, so it’s a back four of Pascal Struijk at left-back, Robin Koch and Diego Llorente in the middle and Rasmus Kristensen on the right.

The holding midfield duo of Tyler Adams and Marc Roca has performed to admirably that they too should keep their places, though there could be a change further up the pitch.

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Cooper may have made a long-awaited return to the side but the Whites faithful caught a glimpse of what Luis Sinisterra has to offer and he could get the nod over Daniel James, who was the quietest of Marsch’s attacking quartet against the Blues, in the one and only change to the side.

The 23-year-old, once lauded as a “pearl”, will join Brenden Aaronson and Jack Harrison, as well as Rodrigo, who leads the line in the absence of the England international. It does mean that the likes of Joe Gelhardt, Mateusz Klich and Adam Forshaw take a place amongst the substitutes.

Predicted Leeds XI (4-2-3-1): Meslier; Struijk, Koch, Llorente, Kristensen; Adams, Roca; Sinisterra, Aaronson, Harrison; Rodrigo

AND in other news, Orta could seal a “sensational signing” as Leeds eye late swoop for £90k-p/w target…

Ben Jacobs has dropped an update on reported Leeds United transfer target Ollie Watkins.

What’s the talk?

In a recent interview with GIVEMESPORT, the CBS Sport journalist stated his belief that, despite a number of reports linking Victor Orta with a move for the Aston Villa centre-forward this summer, there is little to suggest that the Whites would be able to get a deal for the 26-year-old over the line prior to next week’s transfer deadline.

However, Jacobs went on to suggest that, should there in fact be an underlying tension between the England international and Steven Gerrard – as has been reported – the Spanish director of football could yet see an opportunity arise to move for the striker, before the journalist stated his belief that Watkins’ arrival would excite the Elland Road faithful.

Regarding Leeds’ reported interest in the Villa forward, Jacobs said: “I think Ollie Watkins is the one that would excite Leeds fans the most, but there’s nothing to suggest that they can get a deal done quickly.

“Between now and when the window closes – unless these Villa denials are more PR [and] there is an underlying tension and Watkins does want a fresh challenge at that point – perhaps Leeds will see a window of opportunity to capitalise.”

“Unbelievable” signing

With Orta’s bid to add a new centre-forward to Jesse Marsch’s attacking arsenal at Elland Road prior to the closure of the summer transfer window being well known, should the Spaniard manage to pull off a deal for Watkins in the coming days, the argument that it would be an unbelievable signing for the Whites is an easy one to make.

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Indeed, following his £28m move from Brentford back in 2020, the £31.5m-rated talent made an immediate impact for Villa over 37 Premier League fixtures in 2020/21, scoring 14 goals, registering five assists and creating eight big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 2.6 shots – 1.2 of which hit the target – making 1.2 key passes and completing 1.1 dribbles per game.

The £75k-per-week forward followed this campaign up with another impressive haul over his 35 league fixtures in 2021/22, bagging 11 goals, providing two assists and creating four big chances, in addition to taking an average of 2.2 shots – 0.9 of which hit the target – making one key pass and completing 1.1 dribbles per outing.

For context, those returns would appear to better that of Bamford, who registered an equal 2.2 shots but only managed 0.6 key passes and 0.4 dribbles per game as he struggled in a number of metrics.

Yet again, the player who Justin Allen dubbed “deadly” and Dean Smith labelled “unbelievable” has caught the eye over his three Premier League appearances so far this season, with Watkins proving himself to be a well-rounded striker that would benefit Marsch enormously.

Indeed, he has already scored one goal, registered two assists and created one big chance, as well as taking an average of 1.3 shots – 0.7 of which hit the target – making one key pass and completing 0.3 dribbles per fixture.

As such, while it is true that Watkins’ reported £50m asking price does look rather steep, considering just how consistent a goalscorer, assist provider and chance creator the seven-cap international has proven himself to be in the Premier League compared to Bamford, should Orta manage to get a deal over the line for the 26-year-old prior to September’s transfer deadline, he would indeed appear to make an unbelievable addition to Marsch’s current attacking options at Leeds.

Nottingham Forest have made an offer to sign Real Madrid defender Alvaro Odriozola, according to reports.

The Lowdown: Odriozola wants PL move

The 26-year-old spent last season out on loan at Fiorentina before returning to the Bernabeu this summer, with his performances in Serie A having caught the eye of the promoted Premier League side.

The Reds were credited with an interest in the right-back last month, with reports suggesting that he came increasingly close to making the move to the City Ground, with his desire being to move to England from La Liga.

Despite nothing coming to fruition since then, it appears that Steve Cooper’s side are now making a second attempt at landing their target…

The Latest: Forest table Odriozola offer

According to Spanish outlet Marca (via Sport Witness), Forest have ‘offered him a contract’, which is said to include a higher salary than he currently earns at Real Madrid.

It’s stated that the Reds, along with Fiorentina, are the two clubs who have ‘most insisted’ to sign Odriozola, although they both face competition from Real Sociedad and Villarreal.

The Verdict: Alongside Ajorque

Ludovic Ajorque has been the subject of another bid from Forest, and Odriozola could be the next to follow if he puts pen to paper.

The Spaniard, who was dubbed ‘terrific’ by sports journalist Josh Bunting, has clocked up 13 assists and four goals throughout his career (WhoScored), highlighting his creative flair and the contribution that he can make down the flank.

Whether he would directly take the place of current first-choice right-back Neco Williams remains to be seen, but it would be a massive coup if Evangelos Marinakis could get him to the City Ground in the final few hours of the transfer window.

Luca Marchetti has dropped an update on the future of Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Tanguy Ndombele.

What’s the talk?

In recent comments made to Italian radio station Radio Marte (via Sport Witness), the Sky Sport Italia reporter revealed that SS Napoli hold a €25m (£22m) option to buy the 25-year-old France international upon the completion of his season-long loan spell at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in the summer of 2023.

Regarding the future of the midfielder, Marchetti said:

“How is the redemption of Tanguy Ndombele formulated? Napoli, if they want, will be able to keep the player for around €25m: it’s a very high ransom. The Frenchman, who was and will again be one of the best midfielders in Europe, was bought for €70m by Tottenham, let’s not forget that.

“Right now, Spurs don’t see him. They won’t throw him away, though. Ndombele is valuable and these €25m are not random: they are the amount that Tottenham have budgeted for him. They don’t want to lose out, in short.

“Asking that much is a way of protecting themselves. If Ndombele were to improve at Napoli, Tottenham would collect this money and not lose out. Napoli has the right of redemption, not the obligation: this is another aspect to specify. Paratici chatted about him with various Italian teams in the summer: but nobody, except Napoli, was too heart-warming.”

Paratici masterclass

Considering just how poor Ndombele has been for Tottenham ever since his £63m move to north London back in the summer of 2019, while it would clearly be a financial hit for Spurs to sell the Frenchman for £41m less than they paid for his services, should Paratici manage to get £22m for the midfielder, it would nevertheless still be a masterclass by the Italian sporting director.

Indeed, over his two and a half seasons at Spurs, the £26m-rated talent failed to ever live up to his astronomical price tag, starting just 46 Premier League fixtures for the club, as well as averaging underwhelming SofaScore match ratings of 6.85 in 2019/20, 6.90 in 2020/21 and 6.58 in 2021/22 – hardly proving worth his fee or his extortionate £200k-per-week wage.

Things have not exactly improved for the 25-year-old following his move to Italy, with Ndombele having started just two Serie A games for Luciano Spalletti’s side – as well as being hooked at half-time in a 1-1 draw with Lecce – and averaged an extremely disappointing SofaScore match rating of just 6.63 – ranking him as Napoli’s fifth-worst performer in the league.

As such, exactly why the Gli Azzurri would be willing to spend around £22m on making the midfielder’s loan deal a permanent move next summer is something of a mystery, however, should Paratici convince them to do so, it would quite clearly be one of the sporting director’s best pieces of business since his arrival at Tottenham last summer.

Manchester United goalkeeper Martin Dubravka has suffered an international break injury with Slovakia, The Mirror report.

The Lowdown: Summer move

The Red Devils secured Dubravka’s services late in the summer window on a season-long loan deal with an option to buy from Newcastle United.

The 33-year-old, labelled as ‘top class’ by journalist Josh Bunting and dubbed a leader by The Chronicle’s Mick Quinn, has been on the bench twice for United, missing a Europa League game with FC Sheriff last time out.

Dubravka’s absence didn’t prevent him from linking up with his national side, but it looks as if he has suffered an issue with Slovakia.

The Latest: Dubravka injury

The Mirror shared a story regarding Dubravka on Thursday afternoon.

They claimed that the goalkeeper has suffered an injury in training with Slovakia and has returned to Carrington for further tests, labelling it as a ‘concern’ for Ten Hag.

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The Verdict: Not ideal

Dubravka was seemingly brought in to provide competition and cover for David de Gea, so this injury update isn’t ideal.

You’d expect that he could well be a doubt for the trip to Manchester City next weekend as a result of this news, which could mean that Tom Heaton will be required to take a place on the bench, as he did against FC Sheriff.

Hopefully, Dubravka’s issue isn’t too serious and he’ll be back sooner rather than later, as he could be needed when the games come thick and fast prior to the break for the World Cup.

West Ham United manager David Moyes has shared an update on attacker Jarrod Bowen, who sustained an injury during their 2-0 victory over Wolves on Saturday.

The Lowdown: Hammers’ much-needed win

After a disappointing start to the Premier League season, the Irons got back on track at the weekend as they claimed their second top-flight win of the campaign, beating their visitors 2-0 at the London Stadium.

Goals from Gianluca Scamacca and Bowen ensured three points for the Hammers, who climbed out of the relegation zone and up to 15th after the victory.

However, the win was spoiled for the second goalscorer, who picked up a nasty finger injury during the match. This was treated by the medical team on the pitch, enabling him to see the game out.

The Latest: Bowen’s injury

Despite playing on for the rest of that game, the 25-year-old’s injury seemed to cause concern for West Ham’s medical team afterwards.

Speaking after the match, Moyes shared an update on the winger. As quoted by The West Ham Way, the Irons manager said of Bowen’s injury: “He’s just told me and actually, the physio just came over and said he’s done something to his finger and said it was pretty bad.”

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The Verdict: Hopefully nothing too serious…

After a poor start to the season, West Ham fans will surely be hoping that Bowen’s injury isn’t serious, as the attacker has proven to be vital to the Hammers’ success in recent years.

Having ranked in the 86th percentile for non-penalty expected goals and the 84th percentile for non-penalty goals among wingers in Europe’s top five leagues over the past 12 months (via FBRef), the former Hull City man has been crucial in finishing off the Irons’ attacking play in the final third.

Bowen ended the 2021/22 Premier League season having ranked as West Ham’s top scorer and assists provider, while according to WhoScored he was also their best-performing player, having earned an impressive 7.14 average match rating.

Hailed as ‘unbelievable’ by Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp prior to the Irons’ visit to Anfield in March, news of Bowen’s injury will come as a blow for Moyes, who will be hoping that the recovery period is swift for the reliable winger.

Wolves have made no approach for Mainz 05 manager Bo Svensson as their search for a new boss goes on, the 43 year-old has told the local press in Mainz.

The Lowdown: Svensson linked with Wolves job

Wanderers relieved Bruno Lage of his duties last Sunday after the disappointing 2-0 defeat away to West Ham in the Premier League.

Since then, a host of names have been thrown into the hat as Wolves look for a replacement, and Svensson, who learned his craft under Thomas Tuchel, is one of those who has been linked with taking charge.

The up and coming coach is currently in charge at Bundesliga side Mainz and has shone there, finishing an impressive eighth in the league last season.

The Latest: No approach made

According to quotes provided by Main Spitze [via Sport Witness], Svensson has played down any suggestion that he will join Wolves, saying there has been no contact with them:

“I was not contacted by this club.

“At the moment, I have a lot of work here anyway and am asked to give everything here. But I also know that things can change quickly in football. What happens to me if I don’t win any of the next ten games? Will they still stick with me then?

“But these things are not so essential because they are hypothetical questions. Because you never know in football how things will develop.

“But I can say very well in the here and now that I feel very comfortable and it’s very good for me to face the challenges, even if, like at the moment, things don’t go very, very well once.”

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The Verdict: Lopetegui feels likely

While Svensson is doing a good job at Mainz – an ‘outstanding’ one in the words of Jurgen Klopp – it still feels unlikely that he will be Wolves’ new manager, considering his overall lack of experience at the highest level.

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In comparison, the far more renowned Julen Lopetegui looks like the strong favourite to replace Lage at Molineux, especially after leaving Sevilla in midweek.

It looks like a development that is coming together nicely and Svensson may benefit from staying put for now, rather than being thrown into a pressurised Premier League job so early on in his career.

West Ham United are currently in the midst of something of a defensive injury crisis, with manager David Moyes facing a nervous wait ahead of their midweek trip to Anfield.

What’s the word?

The Hammers take on a Liverpool side who will no doubt be buoyed following their recent triumph over champions Manchester City, with the east London outfit potentially set to be without a handful of key figures for Wednesday’s clash.

Speaking after Sunday’s draw with Southampton, Moyes provided an update on the fitness of centre-back duo Kurt Zouma and Craig Dawson, with the pair having been absent from the trip to St Mary’s.

Regarding those two crucial assets, the former Everton boss stated, as per football.london: “One’s got an injury and one’s got an illness so we’ve had to go without them. Obviously, we’ve got no Nayef Aguerd at the moment so we were rocked terribly from an injury in midweek. It’s really set us back from how we want to play.”

The 59-year-old went on to add that he had “no idea” if the two men would be fit to feature against Jurgen Klopp’s side in just a few days’ time.

Moyes should be worried

Such injury woes will no doubt be of huge worry to the veteran coach ahead of that Merseyside meeting, with the Irons head coach potentially set to see his squad depth tested to the extreme once again.

In the case of Dawson, it will have been a huge frustration to see the Englishman struck down by injury during Thursday’s win over Anderlecht at the London Stadium, with the 32-year-old having only entered the fray as a replacement for the stricken Angelo Ogbonna – albeit with the latter man since returning on the bench yesterday.

The former Watford man had been hampered by a thigh injury in the early weeks of the season, with it no doubt worrying to see the old-school gem suffer a potential setback, particularly as he had started in the two recent wins over Wolverhampton Wanderers and Fulham.

With the aforementioned Zouma also sidelined at the weekend due to illness – while long-term absentee Nayef Aguerd is also still out of action – it left the Hammers with a real dearth of options defensively, having been forced to start with Thilo Kehrer as the only recognised centre-back.

That fact had seen Moyes deploy a back five against Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side, although the change in shape seemingly had a negative impact, with broadcaster Tom Rennie notably suggesting that the system simply “doesn’t work” following that frustrating draw.

Having few defensive options once again may well leave West Ham with little choice but to continue with that tactic against the Reds, with it set to be a real concern if the club are not able to welcome back at least one of their sidelined central defenders.

Kyogo Furuhashi and Giorgos Giakoumakis could start together for Celtic’s Scottish Premiership clash with Hibernian, according to Alan Hutton.

The Lowdown: Celtic host Hibs

The Hoops return to league action on Saturday afternoon, looking to bounce back immediately from their 2-0 loss at home to RB Leipzig in the Champions League.

Ange Postecoglou’s side currently have a two-point advantage over Rangers in the title race, highlighting the importance of the weekend action.

Celtic will have to make do without influential attacker Jota through injury, however, meaning Kyogo and Giakoumakis could start together in a rarely-seen tactic.

The Latest: Hutton pundit talks up rare pairing

Speaking to Football Insider, BBC pundit Hutton claimed that Postecoglou should go with both strikers, in order to make up for the loss for Jota:

“I do not see it being a problem. Kyogo is an intelligent player, he knows how to play wide.  Giakoumakis I think gives you something different up front. He is that kind of powerful number nine, he can hold the ball up and bring others into play.

“I think they could play off each other and it could work well. So I do not see it being a problem if Jota is out for a while. Of course if there is an opportunity for him to be on the pitch I think the manager would want him there.”

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The Verdict: Give it a go

There is an argument to say that going with both Kyogo and Giakoumakis could be deemed a risk – they have very rarely been deployed in a partnership.

However, Kyogo’s work rate and Giakoumakis’ natural number nine instincts could create the perfect traditional strike force, with the former buzzing around in dangerous positions and the latter a more natural finisher.

With Jota expected to be back in the near future, it could simply be a one-off approach that Postecoglou goes with – whether or not it works, Celtic should still have enough to beat Hibs, despite them sitting third in the table.

Leeds United were narrowly beaten by Leicester City last night, and despite having more of the ball, they once again struggled to put the ball in the net as their slump continues.

The return of Patrick Bamford may have seemed a welcome one at first, as his absence last season had a heavy impact on a squad that nearly fell to relegation.

During the 2020/21 season, in their return to the top flight, the English marksman had scored 17 Premier League goals as he looked to prove himself as a top striker in the division.

 Since then, however, his appearances have been limited.

He made just nine appearances last season in the league, and despite having already made eight this campaign, he is yet to score or assist.

Perhaps now might be the right time to bring in some freshness up top, and rely on a man that showed glimpses of magic in their darkest hour last season.

Joe Gelhardt, at just 20 years old, boasts incredible maturity beyond his years.

Having already played 28 games at Premier League level, last season saw him score twice and assist a further four in the absence of their much-injured star man.

His contribution led pundit Alan Hutton to shower him with praise, with how Gelhardt dealt with such a situation despite his youth. He said: 

“It was just tremendous. Showing such a high level of composure and skill in such a high-pressure environment, needing a goal, to come up with it at that moment of time was just outstanding.”

Now that they have something of a fresh canvas, he can rely upon the former Wigan Athletic gem more without the risk of relegation.

However, with results taking a turn for the worse, Marsch will want to complete his experiment soon.

They have won just one of their last eight matches in the league.

This added youth and intensity up front could be the catalyst to ignite big change at Leeds, who are crying out for something different to add some distance between them and another relegation battle.

Having invested heavily over the summer, it could be a shrewd transfer of a youth player that ends up paying off the most.