All posts by z3u9t.icu

Journalist Tim Spiers hailed evergreen midfielder Joao Moutinho’s performance in Wolves’ 2-1 victory at home to Aston Villa on Saturday afternoon.

The Lowdown: Big win for Wolves

Bruno Lage’s side hosted Villa in the Premier League, as they looked to continue their march towards European football next season.

It proved to be another positive day at the office for Wolves, who led 2-0 at half-time thanks to a Jonny strike and an Ashley Young own goal as part of an excellent counter-attacking display.

Ollie Watkins’ late penalty made for a nervy ending at Molineux but the Wanderers held on to jump to seventh place in the table, for the time being at least.

[freshpress-poll id=“388780″]

The Latest: Spiers hails Moutinho

Taking to Twitter straight after the game, Spiers gave a brief but positive assessment of Moutinho’s display: “Moutinho’s class showed throughout.”

The Portugal international enjoyed an 88% pass completion rate against Villa, as per Sofascore, not to mention making three tackles and playing one key pass.

[freshpress-quiz id=“388797″]

The Verdict: Evergreen hero

At 35, Moutinho could be forgiven for being on the wane but he continues to produce influential performances week in, week out for Wolves, being hailed as ‘outstanding’ by Alan Shearer.

The Portuguese maestro brings so much experience and quality in the middle of the park and the hope is that he remains at Molineux for at least another year, with his current deal expiring at the end of the season.

It may be that Moutinho becomes more of a bit-part player over time but keeping hold of him makes far more sense than losing him this summer, as the Villa win showed.

In other news, Spiers has also provided a key Wolves injury update. Read more here.

Leeds United suffered yet another heavy defeat on Saturday evening as they lost 4-1 at home to Arsenal, just four days after being battered 7-0 by Manchester City.

Marcelo Bielsa is facing an injury crisis right now with numerous key players on the sidelines, including Kalvin Phillips and Patrick Bamford, who were both instrumental in their successful 2020/21 season.

However, it doesn’t excuse some of the defending that has been on show, with versatile full-back Stuart Dallas facing the media after the City defeat.

“There was individual mistakes that cost us tonight [Tuesday] and you can’t get away with that at this level, especially when you’re coming to a team like this,” said the Northern Irishman. “[We’re] just devastated. It’s not good enough from us.”

Dallas particularly struggled at Elland Road on Saturday night, with 90min’s Tom Gott describing the defender as “completely off the pace and guilty of so many huge errors”.

The 30-year-old hasn’t missed a single minute of Premier League action this term, making him a reliable option in terms of maintaining his fitness. However, Leeds have failed to match the standards they set last season, and Dallas’ regular inclusion could arguably prove to be a catalyst for that.

Having a versatile option like him will be of great use to Bielsa, who has deployed the £3.6m-rated ace at both left-back and right-back, as well as across the midfield. Despite being an ever-present in the Argentine’s line-up, he hasn’t contributed an assist since the opening day of the season and is yet to score in the 2021/22 campaign.

This is a stark contrast from last term, when the Northern Irishman scored eight goals and set up another two as he missed just nine minutes of Premier League football, albeit in a better-performing Leeds team.

Furthermore, Leeds have conceded 36 goals this term – only 19th-placed Newcastle have shipped more, and a common factor in all of their games this season is the continued presence of Dallas.

United’s weak underbelly has been particularly exposed of late, with the Whites conceding 16 goals in their last four games, an average of four goals per match.

Bielsa is unlikely to drop Dallas, with the 30-year-old a mainstay under the 66-year-old. However, he will need to find a solution immediately, as otherwise the Yorkshire club are going to miss out on available points at a crucial point in the season. Maybe the time has come for the manager to end the utility man’s ever-present status in the current Premier League campaign.

In other news – Forget Ayling: £15.3m-rated dud who made one tackle was Leeds’ villain on Saturday

Frank McAvennie has now revealed what he has heard about the ongoing situation with Connor Goldson and his Glasgow Rangers contract.

The Lowdown: No deal yet

Goldson is out of contract at Ibrox next summer, and West Ham United are reportedly monitoring his situation ahead of a potential approach in the January transfer window (Football Insider).

If he has not signed by January, then he can be approached by clubs ahead of a potential free transfer in the summer.

The Latest: McAvennie on Goldson

Speaking to Football Insider, McAvennie, who is now a pundit after playing as a striker for the likes of the Hammers and Celtic, has revealed what he and former Gers player Derek Ferguson have heard about the situation:

“There are a lot of rumours up here about Goldson.

“From what I hear, Rangers have offered him good money. I spoke to Derek Ferguson this morning and he’s heard there is a decent contract offer.

“There may be something going on, we just don’t know. It’s worrying he hasn’t signed a new deal yet.

“He’s a big player for them and he’s not tied down, that has to be a concern.

“There must be something going on otherwise he would have signed it. It sounds like the offer is good so it must be for Goldson.”

The Verdict: Sign him up

Goldson is clearly a very important player for the Light Blues, having played in all but two games and captained the team on a few occasions so far this season (Transfermarkt).

To lose him on a free transfer would be nothing short of devastating, especially as he still holds a decent market value.

Nonetheless, there are still a couple of months to go until January comes calling, and so it is imperative that the Gers get the central defender tied down between now and then, and meet whatever demands he has.

In other news, find out what early Team News before Hibernian Steven Gerrard has dropped here!

Leeds United are heading into January in dire straits.

They are just five points above the relegation zone, with several teams below them having a game or two in hand, and there’s a mounting injury crisis amongst Marcelo Bielsa’s first-team squad.

As many as 11 players missed the 4-1 defeat to Arsenal at the weekend – their third successive thrashing in the Premier League.

It means Bielsa, director of football Victor Orta and owner Andrea Radrizzani will surely go against their usual mid-season transfer window plans to actually sign someone.

Of course, the Argentinian head coach needs widespread additions across the team but there is one role that he may already have a solution to.

It’s no secret that United have missed a creative influence in the final third, having waved goodbye to Pablo Herandez in the summer. Only five teams have scored fewer goals than Leeds (18), two of which occupy a place in the bottom three, whilst a little over 44% of their goals have come from set pieces alone.

Although Bielsa could well discover a new Hernandez in the form of academy gem Stuart McKinstry, who seems primed to save Radrizzani and co millions in the upcoming window.

The 19-year-old dynamo has already made his senior bow, coming on as a substitute during a Carabao Cup clash with Fulham in September this year, where he scored the winning penalty to see the Whites into the next round.

Meanwhile, for the U23s in the Premier League 2, he has provided three assists from 11 appearances, whilst playing anywhere in midfield.

The Athletic’s Phil Hay once labelled McKinstry as Leeds’ ‘next big thing’.

“He’s a very confident ball carrier, he’s physically strong, good upper body strength, excellent feet, good at beating his man and creative. In his head, he probably feels he can play in other positions up front as well,” he said.

That very much sounds like Hernandez and in his hay day, he too was able to play on the wing, as well as centrally.

Elsewhere, McKinstry’s former academy director at Motherwell, Steven Hammell, lauded him as a “fabulous young player” who “will do wonderful things and become a household name in the next three or four years” to the Lanarkshire Live Sport Podcast.

Even some of his academy teammates have spotted his massive potential, likening him to Sergio Busquets and Lionel Messi, so the Elland Road faithful also have plenty to be excited about when it comes to their promising Scottish gem.

As such, Bielsa should turn to the teenage sensation in 2022 because he could well emerge as a solid candidate to replace Hernandez in attacking midfield.

AND in other news, Leeds could sign Bielsa’s next Ben White in swoop for “flawless” £18m-rated colossus…

Dele Alli has forced himself back into contention at Tottenham Hotspur in recent weeks and, if his impressive form under Jose Mourinho continues, then Giovani Lo Celso could well struggle to get back into the side when he returns from injury.

The England international made just his second league start of the season in Thursday’s 1-0 win against Fulham and played a key part in the only goal of the game, as his effort was diverted into the net by Tosin Adarabioyo.

The former MK Dons man was also superb in the recent 4-0 win against Wolfsberger and looked back to his best as he was involved throughout the game, whilst he also scored a superb overhead kick to open the scoring.

It had looked as if the 24-year-old’s time with Spurs could be coming to an end in the winter transfer window as PSG were heavily linked with a loan move for the attacking midfielder after he was regularly omitted from Mourinho’s matchday squads earlier in the season.

However, Spurs captain Hugo Lloris has suggested recently that Alli has “switched on” following his failed loan move away during the winter transfer window, and he has clearly impressed Mourinho with his performances in training and in the Europa League, slowly but surely starting to feature more regularly in the Premier League.

If his form continues, then it could prove to be bad news for Lo Celso, who is edging closer to a return after missing the last two months with a hamstring injury.

Injury problems have meant that the Argentine international has never really enjoyed a run of games in this Spurs side; and having joined in January last season after an initial loan spell, you could argue that he has become something of an outsider in his time with the club.

Whilst squad depth is no bad thing for Mourinho, he already has the likes of Alli, Lucas Moura, Erik Lamela and Tanguy Ndombele as options in the attacking midfield position, so it is difficult to see where the former Real Betis man fits in.

The 24-year-old has been limited to just four starts and seven substitute appearances in the Premier League so far this season, in which he has contributed one goal and one assist, averaging a less than impressive 6.56 WhoScored average match rating.

Last season saw the £31.5m-rated midfielder establish himself as a regular under Mourinho but he struggled to contribute in an attacking sense, managing no goals and just two assists in 28 appearances in the top flight.

Therefore, if Alli can rediscover his goalscoring touch, then you wonder where Lo Celso will fit in, especially with both Ndombele and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg having become mainstays with the Lilywhites this season.

Considering that Atletico Madrid have been linked with a move for him recently, if he cannot force his way into Mourinho’s plans when he returns, then perhaps we will see him depart the north London club in the near future.

And, in other news…  8 passes all game: £18m-rated Spurs gem was anonymous; Jose will be worried

Kris Boyd believes Glasgow Rangers must offer new deals to Steven Davis and Allan McGregor to keep them at Ibrox beyond the end of the season.

Boyd makes contract claim

Both Davis and McGregor are over 35 and are set to be out of the contract at the end of this season (Transfermarkt).

Speaking to Sky Sports (via Glasgow Times), Boyd has urged the 55-time Scottish champions to offer new deals to the duo. He said:

“There are some players in there who are out of contract – Allan McGregor, Steven Davis – and it’s important, I think, the club get them tied down.

“They have been crucial to everything Rangers have done this season, along with a few others.

“But it’s very, very important that you don’t stand still and you come back to win things.

“The recruitment in the summer is massive, to take Rangers on and consolidate that level of performance – or up it – and go again next season.”

Experience

Given they are fast approaching the end of their careers, Steven Gerrard will not be able to rely on the duo to play every single week. However, they have both played important roles this season as the Gers have ended their 10-year wait for a major trophy and still have something to offer.

The Gers could well be competing in the Champions League next season – McGregor and Davis are two of the few players in the squad who have previously played in Europe’s premier club competition. The advice and guidance they can offer to their younger teammates is priceless. As Boyd says, Ross Wilson and co must make sure the pair are still at Ibrox next term.

In other news, some Rangers fans slam comments from this politician.

Celtic enjoyed a comfortable afternoon in the Premiership as they strolled to a routine 2-0 win on Sunday to send them six points clear at the top of the table.

Kyogo Furuhashsi opened the scoring in the first half and then Jota, who set up the first goal, sealed the three points with an 87th-minute strike.

The Hoops dominated the match as they ended the game with 74% of the ball and 22 efforts on goal, with Ross County fortunate that they only conceded twice.

Whilst Jota scored and assisted a goal in the match, the real star of the show for Ange Postecoglou was central defender Cameron Carter-Vickers.

It is easy to point at the attackers and praise them for scoring the goals to win the match but all of their work is built on the back of a strong platform. The solid defence allows the likes of Jota and Kyogo to go and do what they want to do without worrying about constantly needing to drop deep to win the ball back – allowing the opposition to press up on them.

Carter-Vickers was outstanding in central defence as he stood strong at the back and was reliable in possession. He played a major role in Celtic’s dominance throughout the game and the forwards should be thanking him for making their lives easier.

As per SofaScore, he won 85.7% (6/7) of his individual duels and made five clearances, one interception and one block to help his side to a clean sheet. This shows that he was superb defensively as he won the vast majority of his battles with Ross County players and did not allow himself to be beaten by the opposition – keeping them away from Joe Hart’s goal.

On the ball, he completed 85% of his passes from 62 touches and created one chance from centre-back. He is not expected to do anything special in possession from his position but Postecoglou will be delighted with his assuredness on the ball.

The £20k-per-week defender continues to impress at the heart of the defence and fans will surely be wanting to see him back at Parkhead next season on a permanent basis.

In the Premiership this season, the on-loan Tottenham man has averaged a sublime SofaScore rating of 7.36 across 29 matches. Celtic have kept 16 clean sheets in those games and the latest one came with the help of his sublime display against Ross County on Sunday.

AND in other news, Source: Celtic on course to seal “immense” summer signing, Ange will be buzzing…

According to a recent article in The Athletic, Southampton were extremely keen on signing current Wolves striker Raul Jimenez back in January 2018.

Southampton writer Dan Sheldon documented some of the better players that the Saints have missed out on in recent times, but the decision to sign Guido Carrillo ahead of Jimenez is arguably one which will hurt fans of the South Coast club the most.

Instead of signing the Mexican, the club opted to pay Monaco £19 million for Carrillo’s services, making him their club-record signing in the process.

Unfortunately for the Argentinian, he would go on to make just 10 appearances for the Saints, failing to score a single goal and following a couple of loan spells away from the South Coast club, he was released on a free transfer earlier this year.

Therefore, it seems clear that the club made a huge mistake in signing him ahead of Jimenez, who has been superb since joining Wolves from Benfica.

After a successful loan spell with the Old Gold in the Premier League, they paid £30 million to sign him permanently last year and he has continued his impressive form since then, having now contributed 47 goals and 18 assists in 110 appearances for the club.

The 29-year-old was attracting interest from the likes of Real Madrid during the summer transfer window, which is testament to the fact that he’s established himself as one of the top marksmen in the Premier League over the past two seasons.

His performances in the top-flight earned him the praise of Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan, who said:

“I think he has everything a world-class striker needs.

“For a striker, he is so mobile, but also physically so good and talented technically on the ball. I can imagine him playing with us.”

However, a terrible collision with Arsenal’s David Luiz earlier this season resulted in the Mexican international fracturing his skull, with it still unclear whether he will be able to make a return to action.

It seems clear therefore that Les Reed, who was the Southampton vice-chariman back in 2018, made a huge error in signing Carrillo ahead of Jimenez, as they missed out on a top player who could’ve been a huge success in this Southampton side.

And, in other news… Fewer touches than McCarthy: Hasenhuttl will be fuming with 24 y/o’s anonymous display

Tottenham Hotspur are in line to receive a huge boost amid fresh claims from Alasdair Gold this week…

What’s the word?

The ever-reliable football.london journalist delivered an update on midfielder Tanguy Ndombele after his recent omission from the starting XI in consecutive matches.

He wrote: ‘[Ryan] Mason swerved a question from football.london in the week about Ndombele’s omission but what is important this time for the Frenchman is that he is very happy, settled and comfortable at Tottenham now and he’s been here before in trying to win over a manager.

‘The 24-year-old will see it as a challenge rather than the affront it was in his first season at the club and it should push him to better things.’

Key part of the future

Gold alludes to the Frenchman’s morale and attitude now in comparison to last season.

Under Jose Mourinho, the club-record £55m signing struggled for game-time and very much was on the periphery of the first team setup. He averaged just 47 minutes per game from his 21 league appearances last term.

It led to Ndombele seriously considering his future in north London after less than a year, as he revealed to football.london.

“To be perfectly honest with you I don’t know how close I was to leaving,” he said. “What I know is that I did want to leave. I spoke about this with people at the club and particularly with the chairman.”

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-latest-spurs-news-transfer-rumours-gossip-managerial-update-levy-mason-mourinho-sacked” title= “Read the latest Spurs news, transfer rumours, managerial gossip and more!”]

The 24-year-old would eventually stay, thanks largely to Daniel Levy, and he hasn’t looked back as he’s enjoyed a very fruitful campaign despite all of Spurs’ poor fortunes. He has played around double the number of minutes in the Premier League this term (2,072) and has contributed six goals and four assists in all competitions, via Transfermarkt.

The £45m-rated dynamo has played just one of Ryan Mason’s three matches in charge but what is most positive is that it won’t faze him like his omission under Mourinho, and that’ll come as a huge boost to the club.

He’s a big part of their future, whether that be under the 29-year-old interim or whoever is appointed next and, after he convinced him to stay last year, Levy will be delighted by his change in attitude.

Mason should also be rather pleased as his decisions should not cause disruption or disharmony in the dressing room, something that the Spurs chairman feared was happening under Mourinho, according to The Athletic.

As we know by Joe Hart’s comments during their FA Cup clash with Wycombe earlier this year, the box-to-box maestro is “unplayable” on his day.

Ndombele is happy at Hotspur Way and those in north London will no longer need to worry if he’s in and out of the team.

AND in other news, Forget Ten Hag: Levy could completely transform Spurs by hiring 62 y/o “architect”…

As we reach the conclusion of a season that the vast majority of Sheffield Wednesday fans would probably rather forget, Darren Moore’s side know that nothing but a win on Saturday will give them a chance of surviving the drop.

Having picked up an impressive 14 points from their last nine Championship fixtures, the Owls have given themselves a glimmer of hope on the final day of the season. A win against Derby County, coupled with Rotherham United failing to beat Cardiff City, would be enough to miraculously ensure that Wednesday retain their Championship status.

As such, considering the magnitude of the fixture, will Moore decide to make any changes to his starting XI from the 0-0 draw with Nottingham Forest last time out? Here’s our predicted XI, along with the latest team and injury news…

Despite receiving the welcome boost of having two injured players in contention for a return to the matchday squad, we predict that Darren Moore will make just one change to the team which started against Forest, along with a slight tweak in formation.

Following a fine performance from the bench last time out, having five shots at goal, making one key pass and winning four of his six aerial duels over just 34 minutes on the pitch, we predict that Jordan Rhodes will come back into the starting XI. That is at the expense of Andre Green, whom the 31-year-old replaced in the second half against Forest, with the youngster failing to record a shot and completing only five passes.

This means that the striker Moore dubbed a “wonderful talent” will partner Josh Windass up front in a switch to a 3-4-1-2 formation.

Meanwhile, both Chey Dunkley and Massimo Luongo could make the squad after returning from injury, but with Jamie Smith claiming that he does not want to rush them back into the starting XI, we expect both players to be named among the substitutes this afternoon.

In other news: Encouraging update emerges on “excellent” Owls ace, Moore and fans will be buzzing – opinion