All posts by z3u9t.icu

Manchester United will be hoping to get their season back on track when they host Atalanta in the Champions League this evening.

A hugely disappointing 4-2 defeat at the hands of Leicester City last time out means the Red Devils have won just one of their last five outings in all competitions, piling the pressure on manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

The loss against the Foxes over the weekend was United’s fourth already this season, but the underwhelming performances will be as much of a concern for their under-fire boss.

Apart from the opening-day thrashing of fierce rivals Leeds United, the 20-time English champions have been far from convincing every time they’ve stepped onto the pitch.

Wins over Wolves and Villarreal weren’t a fair reflection of the 90 minutes, while draws against Southampton and Everton could have been much worse.

The problems appear to be mounting week in week out for Solskjaer, while the solutions seem as complicated and distant as ever before, just as an extremely testing set of fixtures approaches.

It’s unlikely that just changing one aspect of United’s play, starting XI, or approach to proceedings will have a huge effect, their issues are a collection of deep-rooted and fresh problems that may take many months to iron out.

However, one of the fresh problems that has presented itself to Solskjaer this season could easily be resolved, but only if the 48-year-old is brave enough to make an extremely bold decision.

Five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo returned to Old Trafford over the summer 12 years after he departed to fulfill his dream of playing for Real Madrid.

And while his arrival has brought a wealth of experience at the elite level, a born winner and a natural goalscorer back to the red half of Manchester, it also invited a whole host of complications and predicaments into a once harmonious environment.

At 36, Ronaldo is no longer the player he once was. He now relies on a constant stream of quality crosses into the box to cause his devastation, and that ultimately comes at a cost.

The Portugal international is unable to press from the front, largely ineffective on the counter-attack and makes minimal contribution to United’s build-up play, drawbacks that are having disastrous consequences on the team’s overall performances.

After rebuilding the Red Devils as a reactive, safety-first side in his early months in charge, Solskjaer successfully began to redefine their style of play, as he outlined in a press conference back in March.

“We’ve been going with a high press in more or less every game, on the front foot, trying to pin the teams back, especially when they have the ball,” Solskjaer revealed.

“Last year, maybe we relied more on counter-attacks, drop deep, defended really well, hung on. As a coach and manager, that’s the worst feeling ever, when you’re defending in and around your box because any little quality from your opponent and you’ve conceded. We’ve tried to go more positive.”

And pivotal to United’s new approach was £5.4m-rated striker Edinson Cavani. The South American led from the front with his intelligent pressing, incredible work ethic and eye for goal, but the underlying stats indicate Ronaldo’s style contrasts greatly.

As per fbref.com, Cavani made 15.77 pressures per 90 throughout 2020/21, achieved an Expected Assists of 0.17 and Goal Creating Actions of 0.46.

In contrast, Ronaldo has managed tallies of just 4.77, 0.09 and 0.31 per 90 so far this season, respectively, highlighting the vast drop-off in creativity and pressing that Cavani’s absence has resulted in.

While Ronaldo does have a superior Expected Goals total in his favour – 0.66 to Cavani’s 0.55 – the sacrifices his presence in the starting XI results in do not outweigh the extra firepower he brings.

Dropping arguably the greatest goalscorer in the history of football to the bench would be a bold call, to say the least for Solskjaer, but it’s one that could end up saving his job.

And, in other news…Man Utd receive triple selection boost ahead of Atalanta, Ole will be buzzing 

Many Southampton fans have criticised the performance of Adam Armstrong in their 2-2 draw with Leicester City in the Premier League on Wednesday night.

Ralph Hasenhuttl’s team found themselves pegged back not once but twice by the visitors with goals from Jonny Evans and James Maddison after Jan Bednarek and Che Adams had given them leads in the first half.

It was another frustrating night for Armstrong, who could not get himself on the scoresheet once more, meaning that he has still only managed to net two goals so far this season.

The striker lost out on four of his duels and only managed to conjure up one shot in the game, while he also lost possession of the ball 11 times (SofaScore).

Southampton fans slam Armstrong

These Southampton supporters slammed the 24-year-old’s performance on Twitter, with one fan going as far as to claim that he was ‘woeful’ against the Foxes:

“A Armstrong is no Danny Ings is he? Terrible distribution and Tella looks poor. A boy who’s not had much game time.”

Credit: @SFCforever1989

“My thoughts.. Adam Armstrong isn’t a Premier League player, Tella’s decision making in the final 3rd is shocking, McCarthy needs replacing, apart from that all good.”

Credit: @HackedOffStu

“Go back to the Championship Armstrong, not good enough and Broja might be”

Credit: @EdwinStreet123

“Armstrong is so selfish, the pass was on there”

Credit: @GIB10000

“Adam Armstrong has been very poor…”

Credit: @sjam29

“Adam Armstrong has been woeful, so he stays on & Tella comes off. Okkkay.”

Credit: @nicetrainers

In other news, one of Armstrong’s team-mates also came in for criticism last night

According to a report from the Daily Mail, Manchester City are interested in signing West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice in the upcoming summer transfer window. 

The lowdown: Contract rebel

The 23-year-old has enjoyed a rapid rise to prominence for both club and country in the last 18 months and has been the centre of heightened speculation regarding a possible move away.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/man-city-newest-updates/” title=”Man City newest updates!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Following a report from The Guardian confirming that Rice had recently rejected a third contract offer from West Ham, a summer switch looks increasingly likely for the former Chelsea academy starlet.

Now it appears that Pep Guardiola could be about to make a beeline for the London-born midfielder…

The latest: Mail makes claim…

As per the report from the Daily Mail, City are believed to be ‘ready to launch’ a move for the 29-cap England man.

As well as this, ‘City bosses have made it clear they can go after Rice’ as Eastlands officials set their sights on him – even after they’ve already ‘agreed’ a deal for Borussia Dortmund star Erling Braut Haaland.

Amidst strong interest from rivals Manchester United, the report claims that the Citizens have asked West Ham to ‘keep them informed’ regarding any developments on Rice.

Unsurprisingly the over £100million valuation is billed as a ‘sticking point’ in any attempt to bring the man once hailed as ‘exceptional’ by Guardiola to Eastlands.

The verdict: At all costs

Whilst it would almost certainly shatter the £105.7million record expenditure spent on Jack Grealish in the summer of 2021, signing Rice would be a superb piece of business at almost any price.

Capable of operating as a conventional defensive midfielder and as a centre-back, the Englishman should be viewed as the ideal candidate to replace departing Sky Blues stalwart Fernandinho by director of football Txiki Begiristain.

In other news: Pep falls out with ‘world class’ Man City star behind-the-scenes, he could now leave…find out more here.

Leeds United are in line for an encouraging injury boost ahead of this weekend’s clash with Newcastle United…

What’s the latest?

According to The Athletic’s Phil Hay, the Yorkshire outfit are likely to have three first-team attackers available for selection ahead of Saturday’s league encounter at Elland Road.

“Better news – Joe Gelhardt could be back at the weekend, as could Tyler Roberts. Rodrigo also sounds like he’s come through his appearance at West Ham without a problem,” he tweeted.

The Whites head into the weekend on the back of an impressive 3-2 victory over West Ham United but there was cause for concern looking at the bench as the returning Spaniard was the only senior professional from nine substitutes.

Big boost

That is how bad the injury situation has been at Thorp Arch over the last few months and it shows no signs of easing up, with Patrick Bamford’s continued absence.

The England international has missed 16 of their last 17 league games with ankle and hamstring injuries and it appears he is still not available to feature against the Magpies after missing last weekend’s win.

[snack-amp-story url = “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-leeds-transfer-rumours-and-news-2″ title=”Read the latest Leeds news, transfer updates and much, much more!”]

In his absence, Bielsa has had to turn to a number of different options, largely the likes of Daniel James and Jack Harrison playing out of position to fill the void.

So the fact the club’s young academy striker Gelhardt is available is certainly encouraging to see. He has one goal and two assists in the Premier League from only two starts, so he’s more than capable at this level.

Roberts is an experienced option to have too.

If these two return alongside a fit Rodrigo, it will alleviate some of the worry facing Bielsa ahead of kick-off – after all, he still is missing key midfielder Kalvin Phillips, skipper Liam Cooper and many others.

Therefore, the Argentine will surely feel a little more relieved this weekend.

AND in other news, “What I have been told”: Journo drops huge Leeds transfer claim, Bielsa will be fuming…

Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic side head into Thursday evening’s Europa League clash against Real Betis knowing that they cannot finish any higher or lower than third place in the Group G standings – a fixture many would deem a dead rubber.

However, while it is true that the three points available in the match ultimately do not matter, the contest will undoubtedly still prove to be an extremely important one for the 56-year-old manager.

This is not only because a win against a team who sit third in the LaLiga table would provide his side with a substantial boost in confidence, but it is also an opportunity for Celtic to afford a number of their peripheral squad members some much-needed first-team minutes.

Indeed, youngsters such as Liam Shaw, Osaze Urhoghide, Liam Scales, Dane Murray and Mikey Johnston have seen their game time extremely limited so far this season, with the fixture against Betis being the perfect time to unleash at least a few of Celtic’s most exciting up and coming talents.

As such, some of the players who started the 3-0 win over Dundee United last weekend will have to make way, with James Forrest appearing to be a prime candidate for the chop on Thursday night.

Postecoglou must axe Forrest

While it is true the winger is still in the process of regaining full fitness in his recovery from injury, it is unavoidable that Forrest was by far and away Celtic’s most disappointing performer at Tannadice.

Indeed, over his 45 minutes on the pitch, the £5.4m-rated winger struggled to make any real impact on the game, failing to complete any of his three attempted crosses, losing three of his five duels and completing just 16 passes – six fewer than Joe Hart.

These returns saw the £19k-per-week forward earn a SofaScore match rating of 6.9 – the second-lowest of any Celtic player to start the fixture – before he was hooked at halftime after appearing to struggle with the pace of the match.

As such, while Forrest is undoubtedly a talented player – with Kieran Tierney dubbing the 30-year-old’s ability as “scary,” as well as claiming he is “one of the best” players he has featured alongside – in order to provide the likes of Johnston with a much-needed start, Postecoglou simply must axe the Scotland international from his starting XI against Real Betis.

In other news: Ange could unearth Celtic’s new Robbie Keane with swoop for “bright” 18 G/A machine

Fabrizio Romano claimed on Saturday that Poland are ready to approach Aston Villa’s Matty Cash over a possible switch of nationalities.

And a number of Villa supporters have been giving their thoughts to the update on social media.

Cash, who qualifies for Poland through family on his mother’s side, had been reluctant to turn away from England as he has hopes of turning out for England.

The 24-year-old hasn’t featured for The Three Lions at any level, with the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kyle Walker, Reece James and Kieran Trippier all seemingly ahead of him in Gareth Southgate’s right-back ranks.

According to Romano, Cash is ‘open’ to the opportunity of playing for Poland and is waiting for a passport to go through.

Villa fans react

Romano posted the news regarding Cash on Twitter on Saturday afternoon, hours before he netted his first Villa goal in a 3-0 win over Everton.

This is what some Villa fans had to say in reply, with one labelling it as ‘interesting’.

“I think he should accept it. I don’t see there is much of a chance he would get into the England squad as there are approximately 4178.9 RB that’s capable to be in the England squad right now.”

Credit: @rico_chong

“great move for him he’d be their starting rb”

Credit: @luke1874_

“Hope he goes for it. England are stacked in that position.”

Credit: @JayVtid

“interesting”

Credit: @Kim_UTV

“makes perfect sense really”

Credit: @avbiIly

“Looks like our all English back 4 is coming to an end. Understand why Cash has done it. England has so many good RB !”

Credit: @seanlangley94

In other news: Source says Lange wants 40-goal ace on £25k-p/w for Villa; he’s scoring a goal per game. 

[ad_pod ]

According to renowned journalist Alan Nixon on his official Twitter account, reported Southampton target Che Adams is available before the deadline, as long as a club is willing to pay £12m for his services.

What’s the word, then?

Well, a report in The Mirror at the weekend said that Saints are keen to bring the Birmingham City attacker to St Mary’s before the transfer window slams shut on Thursday night, and have already tabled an £8m bid for the 22-year-old.

However, The Mirror also reported that the Blues had rebuffed the approach, but were expecting the Premier League club to try again for the impressive attacker, who has scored 15 league goals for the Championship outfit this season, as per Transfermarkt.

The latest of those came in the 3-3 draw with Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium on Tuesday night, when he cut in from the left on his right foot before bending an effort into the far corner of the goal from outside the box.

Will Saints pay £12m?

It seems a lot depends on whether they can sell Charlie Austin, whom they are said to be demanding £10m for, also according to Nixon on Twitter, before the deadline.

For the second game running the former QPR striker missed out on the 18-man squad when Saints hosted Crystal Palace at St Mary’s on Wednesday night, and it appears as though his future lies away from the south coast outfit if a deal is right for all parties.

They may well be trying to raise the funds to buy Adams by offloading the 29-year-old, but there has been no progress on that to date with just hours of the window remaining.

Given the pace and strength the Birmingham man has in his locker – as well as the fact he can play out wide or through the middle – he appears to be a perfect fit to succeed under Ralph Hasenhuttl at Southampton.

Check out the video below for Emma Conybeare’s rundown of which clubs need what in the January transfer window…

James McArthur and Jordan Ayew are in line for new contracts at Crystal Palace, according to London World’s Rahman Osman. 

The lowdown

McArthur had started every Premier League game since Patrick Vieira took charge before tearing his hamstring against Wolves.

WhoScored have the Scotsman as Palace’s third-strongest performer this season with an average rating of 6.94/10. Only Christian Benteke (7.16) and Conor Gallagher (7.5) can better that.

Ayew has also been a favourite of the new boss, starting nine of his first 12 PL matches.

Like McArthur, Ayew has only a matter of months left to run on his current agreement. The pair are valued at £1.8million and £7.2million respectively by Transfermarkt.

The latest

McArthur will be rewarded with a new deal ‘in the coming months’ after making a ‘brilliant start to the season’.

Vieira ‘recently gave the green light’ for McArthur to be granted an extension. He’s agreed to commit for another year, and the ‘final details’ just need to be sorted out.

Elsewhere, ‘talks are ongoing’ over a new contract for Ayew, but Osman will report ‘more on that later’.

‘Crystal Palace are working’ to tie some of their ‘key players’ down.

The verdict

It’s no surprise to see Palace look to agree fresh terms with McArthur. The stats attest to his effectiveness in their midfield.

But it’s perhaps harder to make the case for Ayew, who has only scored once in his last 55 appearances for the club.

Vieira, though, may value him for his defensive contribution. Data from FBRef shows that he ranks in the 99th percentile among positional peers in the top five leagues for pressures per 90 minutes, and in the 95th for tackles.

In other news, fans showed their appreciation for this moment.

Wolves are interested in signing young Monaco centre-back Benoit Badiashile in the January transfer window, according to a new report.

The Lowdown: Badiashile an exciting prospect

The 20-year-old has emerged as an exciting player in Ligue 1, making nine starts in the league and enjoying a pass completion rate of 88.5%. He has also averaged 4.3 aerial duel wins per game in the Europa League this season, which is more than any Wolves player has managed in the Premier League.

Badiashile appears to be a man in demand, and Molineux could potentially be his next destination.

The Latest: Wolves linked with move

According to Sky Sports News [via Talking Wolves on Twitter], Wolves are interested in making a move for the Frenchman, as Bruno Lage looks for centre-back reinforcements.

The £25.2m-rated defender’s current Monaco deal expires in the summer of 2024.

The Verdict: Ideal centre-back alternative

Central defence does look like one area where an addition would be welcome at Wolves this month, with too much reliance on the availability of Max Kilman, Conor Coady and Romain Saiss. Indeed, the latter is currently away at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Willy Boly would invariably be a strong backup for the trio but he continues to be plagued by medical issues, highlighting the need for a new signing at centre-back.

At 20, Badiashile would be considered a long-term acquisition who could fill in when required this season before hopefully growing into a key figure at Molineux over the next few years.

In other news, Wolves have been handed a potential transfer blow. Read more here.

Liverpool are ‘leading the charge’ to sign Pape Abou Cisse from Olympiacos, according to The Daily Mail. 

The lowdown

The defender, who is 1.98 metres tall, has been at Olympiacos since the summer of 2017 but spent the latter half of last season on loan at Ligue 1 outfit Saint-Etienne (via Transfermarkt).

According to WhoScored, his main strengths lie in winning aerial duels and intercepting the ball, but his passing is a weakness.

The 26-year-old has three years left on his contract in Piraeus and is valued at £5.4m by Transfermarkt. He is currently on international duty with Senegal, linking up with Liverpool forward Sadio Mane.

The latest

Liverpool were among the clubss who sent scouts to watch Cisse in action against Fenerbahce in the Europa League last month, as per The Daily Mail.

Arsenal and Everton also had officials in attendance, and while ‘several inquiries’ have been lodged, Liverpool are understood to be ‘showing the most intent so far’.

Cisse features on the Reds’ shortlist as they look to further strengthen at centre-back following the £36m summer addition of Ibrahima Konate.

The verdict

This would be a questionable decision from Liverpool, as Cisse would probably slot into fifth in the centre-back pecking order behind Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip, Joe Gomez and Konate, especially if his ball distribution is suspect.

That’s also the position Nathaniel Phillips currently occupies, and he has found game-time so hard to come by that he was given a runout with the under-21s in the EFL Trophy last week.

Liverpool don’t need any more centre-backs and should look to use all of their available funds elsewhere.

In other news, many Liverpool fans bemoaned this international break blow for the Reds