All posts by n8rngtd.top

Fabinho returned to Liverpool’s midfield when he came on as a substitute in the loss to Fulham on Sunday.

Even though the Reds could not find an equaliser to stave off a sixth consecutive home defeat, the 27-year-old was able to offer them a glimpse of what they had been missing in the middle of the park.

The Brazilian came up with three ball recoveries in the space of 15 minutes and helped sustain his team’s pressure on the Fulham goal (via WhoScored).

Jurgen Klopp’s Fabinho headache

Jurgen Klopp must now decide whether to keep him there for the Champions League round of 16 second leg against RB Leipzig on Wednesday or move him back into defence.

Using Fabinho as a holding midfielder would mean placing trust in the inexperienced duo of Nat Phillips and Ozan Kabak to clean up at centre-back if Leipzig bypass the midfield. It would be Phillips’ European debut after he was left out of the Reds’ initial Champions League squad.

Kabak, incidentally, was missing through injury at the weekend but the expectation is that he will return for the trip to Budapest (via The Athletic).

The hope is that playing central defenders in central defence and defensive midfielders in defensive midfield restores structure and balance to this pale imitation of a Liverpool team.

Here are the verdicts from some Kopites on the dilemma in response to a tweet from news feed LFC Transfer Room, with one wanting the Brazilian back in midfield “ASAP”.

These Reds fans want Fabinho shielding Kabak and Phillips

“This is probably the CB pairing we should try to have fit for the rest of the season. Fabinho in midfield asap.”

Credit: @DHardayal

“Yes please but it won’t happen. If Fab is fit, he’ll be back there. The fact that he dominated playing the 6 when he subbed in on Sunday won’t change the mind of the gaffer.”

Credit: @DaBigDaddyRen

“Watch Klopp play Fab at CB. Time to take some risks now.”

Credit: @SMiTLA

“It’s Phillips +1 now, he’s earned it”

Credit: @martyn1200

“It’s all about extra protections around the centre halves. And no high line plz”

Credit: @GusandSaM

“ABSOLUTELY YES, BRING BACK THAT INTENSITY”

Credit: @Mang_Tebal

“Perfect. Not sure why anyone would want Fabinho in CB”

Credit: @BaileyYNWA

“Fab must be back to mid, if not same result”

Credit: @mav8381

In other news, Kabak is not the only likely returnee for the Leipzig clash.

Reports have suggested that Manchester United are unwilling to meet Tottenham Hotspur’s asking price for striker Harry Kane.

The England captain has been linked with a switch to Old Trafford for a considerable amount of time. With Edinson Cavani quickly approaching the twilight of his career having only signed a one-year deal at Old Trafford, albeit with the option of a second, the Red Devils have to make a move for Kane.

The Tottenham forward’s Premier League record really does speak for itself.

Now rated at £108m and being paid £200k per week at Tottenham, he has plundered an eye-watering 159 goals in 235 league appearances, an astounding record.

He has hit double figures in each of the last seven campaigns, even notching 30 during the 2017/18 season.

This all means that Kane has a strike rate of 0.67 goals per game, which is better than Marcus Rashford’s 0.31, Anthony Martial’s 0.33, Mason Greenwood’s 0.19 and of course Cavani’s record of 0.33.

With the mercurial Bruno Fernandes teeing Kane up with his 2.8 key passes per game, then an extremely fruitful relationship could well be in the offing in the future.

It won’t just be Kane’s goals that United will benefit from though. The 27-year-old’s creativity has improved just this season.

With ten Premier League matches to go in 2020/21, he already has 13 league assists, having added to those in his exhilarating performance in the 4-1 thumping of Crystal Palace.

The positives of Kane’s arrival at Old Trafford do not end there. Near neighbours Manchester City have also been backed to make a move for the Tottenham superstar in the near future.

If United manage to get there first, it could potentially signal a swing in power, not only in Manchester, but also in the Premier League.

So, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer reportedly keen to recruit a striker as soon as this summer, no target makes more sense than Harry Kane.

AND in more news, take a look at Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s brilliant performance in the Red Devils’ 2-0 victory in the Manchester derby…

Everton have been gifted a huge boost ahead of Sunday’s Premier League meeting with Fulham as Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed that James Rodriguez will be fit to feature.

The Colombian maestro was forced to sit out his side’s FA Cup fifth round win over Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday night due to a tight calf.

Rodriguez sustained the issue during last weekend’s 3-3 draw with Manchester United, where the 29-year-old had scored Everton’s second for his fifth goal of the season.

Ancelotti withdrew Rodriguez from the action at Old Trafford midway through the second half as a precaution, having seen the midfielder fail to shake the issue following the break.

Everton had hoped to see the former Real Madrid playmaker feature in midweek, but will now be able to call on Rodriguez when Scott Parker’s Fulham visit Goodison Park.

But the injury picture at Goodison Park is not ideal, with Ancelotti adding that Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Jordan Pickford will be missing.

“Both [Calvert-Lewin and Pickford] will not be available for the game on Sunday. We are looking for the next game on Wednesday where we think both of them will be available,” Ancelotti said on Friday.

“We have back Andre Gomes, James, Josh King, and in the next week we think Allan will be back, so the squad is ready for the next games.

“James is fine. He trained yesterday and today and is available for the game on Sunday. No problem.”

Having Rodriguez back available for selection on Sunday will come as a huge boost for Ancelotti, as only top-scorer Calvert-Lewin (18) and Richarlison (8) have scored more often for Everton than the Colombian (5) has across all competitions this season.

Only Gylfi Sigurdsson (7) has provided as many or more assists than Rodriguez (7), too, but may now find himself undeservingly axed from the starting line-up to make way for the 29-year-old’s return.

Sigurdsson more than held his own in the role against Tottenham in midweek, with the £16m-rated Iceland international directly involved in four of the Blues’ five goals.

The ex-Swansea City creator provided the assist for Calvert-Lewin’s initial equaliser before scoring to put Everton 3-1 ahead, and later playing the pass through for Richarlison and Bernard to strike go ahead goals after Spurs mustered a comeback.

But Ancelotti may not feel there is room in the side for both Sigurdsson and Rodriguez, who has only failed to start one of his last eight Premier League appearances in a central role.

AND in other news, Everton are monitoring an “exciting” teen prospect Carlo Ancelotti could sign for free…

Tottenham Hotspur can still finish in the top four of the Premier League, according to Spurs legend Gary Mabbutt in an exclusive interview with Football FanCast.

The former captain of the north London club spoke exclusively to Football FanCast earlier this week.

And he believes that the congested and tight nature of the Premier League table means that the club retain every chance of qualifying for the Champions League through their league position.

They have been in relatively poor form in recent weeks, with Jose Mourinho’s side slipping as low as ninth at one point.

Their 4-0 win over Burnley at the weekend, though, moved Spurs eighth, six points behind fourth-placed West Ham United with a game in hand.

And Mabbutt insists that Spurs simply need to string together a run of results in order to be back in contention.

Mourinho’s men play relegation-threatened Fulham on Thursday, before taking on Crystal Palace on Sunday and then playing Arsenal the weekend following. The north London derby comes after a home clash with Dinamo Zagreb in the Europa League.

And Mabbutt remains confident that the club can end the season strongly.

He said: “So Spurs dropping two or three results or whatever, here and there. We’ve got, in my own opinion, four or five games, coming up, and those games are all winnable.

“If we suddenly get any team in the top 10 that gets three or four wins on the trot, that’d be them back up in the top four. That’s how it is.”

Spurs also have the potential of qualifying for the Champions League via the Europa League, though they would need to win the competition to do so.

Beating Zagreb, of course, would move them into the quarter-finals of the competition.

Miguel Almiron lit up the stage as Newcastle United beat Everton 2-0 on Saturday with the Paraguayan often the most creative player on the pitch.

Steve Bruce was desperate for a positive result at Goodison Park with his Magpies side without a win in 11 games across all competitions, but built on the promising second half seen in defeat to Leeds with a brace from Callum Wilson.

Newcastle played with a solid tempo throughout their time on Merseyside to flip the form book and deny the Toffees a chance to move fourth in the table, with Wilson opening the scoring by heading in Jonjo Shelvey’s corner before scoring again in stoppage time.

Wilson had failed to score in his last seven appearances across all competitions but struck his ninth and 10th goals of the season thanks a greater level of service into the ex-AFC Bournemouth striker.

Newcastle’s struggles getting the ball into their £20m man left Wilson anonymous in defeat at Aston Villa last week, while rarely seeing chances to end his drought against Leeds on Tuesday before a change of system.

Bruce stuck with the revised formation for United’s trip to Everton and saw his decision pay off, with Almiron able to pull the strings from the centre and constantly drive at the Everton backline.

Had Almiron not been on form, Wilson may not have been able to punish the Toffees for their toothless performance with Carlo Ancelotti’s side unable to match the pace of the game.

Almiron even brought Isaac Hayden into the Magpies’ attacking moves, teeing the defensive midfielder up for a shot midway through the first half that needed a block from Gylfi Sigurdsson to not test former Sunderland goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.

The £42,000-per-week Paraguayan would have been very much deserving of his second assist of the Premier League season and first since matchday one had Wilson managed to find the back of the net moments before the end, too, having seen the striker round Pickford but hit the post from a tight angle.

Almiron’s efforts played a key role in Newcastle snapping their winless run and moving marginally further clear of the relegation zone, having played his socks off in the centre.

United only saw 39% of the ball during their 2-0 win at Goodison Park, ensuring the Toon had to use their time in possession to good effect. But Almiron more than did his fair share, with the 26-year-old ending the game with the joint-most key passes (3) having created more goal-scoring opportunities than any Everton player, per WhoScored.

Almiron also attempted the third-most dribbles by a visiting player (2), attempted the second-most tackles (3), made the joint-most interceptions (2) and was never dispossessed, to highlight his ability at both making a difference with the ball at his feet and in winning it back.

Wilson may have scored twice to seal what has become a rare win for Newcastle, but the 28-year-old was dispossessed seven times – four more than any other player for either side – and failed to create a goalscoring chance for his teammates despite taking six shots.

Bruce must now realise the errors of his ways in playing Almiron out wide in recent months, having also scored against Leeds, and stick with the £14.5m-rated maestro in the middle if Newcastle are to build on their emerging form.

AND in other news, Newcastle could part with a £30k-p/w dynamo before the end of the month…

Leeds’ start to the New Year hasn’t exactly been ideal.

They suffered defeat to Tottenham and were then swept aside in rather embarrassing fashion by League Two Crawley last weekend. They can be thankful, therefore, that the transfer window is open.

What’s the word?

Cast your minds back to last summer and you will remember a certain link to a French striker.

The Sunday Mirror (August 9th print edition, page 66) reported that Leeds were interested in signing Celtic forward Odsonne Edouard.

Of course, a deal didn’t happen, but with speculation mounting again surrounding his future in Glasgow, there has been an update on Celtic’s stance towards the attacker.

That’s courtesy of journalist Ignazio Genuardi who said this week:

“While no agreement could be reached for an extension, Celtic is gradually revising its requirements downwards for a possible departure of the former Parisian Edouard. Today, there is more talk of a price around €25-30m.”

In English money, that price would equate to around £27m.

Orta must sign him

Leeds must bite Celtic’s hands off if Edouard is indeed available for that sort of fee. The Whites aren’t desperately in need of a new striker but they’d certainly land an upgrade on Patrick Bamford here.

The Whites forward has been nothing short of superb since they were promoted, helping himself to ten goals in just 17 outings. However, by signing Edouard, Victor Orta would land an even more prolific striker.

The Frenchman has been a star in Scottish football, racking up goals as though they’re going out of fashion. Last term, he netted 28 goals from 47 appearances and so far this season, he’s registered 11 strikes – one more than Bamford.

However, he isn’t just about scoring goals. Like Leeds’ current number nine, he’s phenomenal at bringing others into play. The Hoops forward picked up 19 assists for his teammates in 2019/20, a record that blows Bamford’s tally of two out the water.

On top of that, his footwork also surpasses Marcelo Bielsa’s favoured striking option. Bamford is a player who likes to play with his back to goal, but while Edouard can also do that, the 22-year-old gets in behind and can run with the ball too.

Epitomising the Celtic forward’s qualities, former Hoops player Frank McGarvey once said: “I just love watching Edouard. He has that bit of magic in his feet, and he reminds me of Charlie Nicholas. You just know if he gets the ball just outside of the box the other team are in trouble.”

Truth be told, that’s what sets Bamford and Edouard apart. Although the former has nifty feet himself, he doesn’t use it on a regular basis.

Reports circulated a few weeks ago that Leeds were slightly concerned about their forward’s future at the club. If they signed Edouard, they may be able to greenlight a potential exit, rather than worrying about his contract situation.

Irrespective of that, however, Leeds must sign him. He is a sensational goal scorer.

AND in other news, Leeds must swoop for “outstanding” 26 y/o, he could be game-changing…

An interesting name has emerged as a potential long-term striking target for Tottenham Hotspur this week…

What’s the word?

According to Eurosport’s Dean Jones, Spurs chairman Daniel Levy is eyeing up a move for Brentford forward Marcus Forss as the 21-year-old goalscoring sensation is attracting interest from several elite clubs, including Borussia Dortmund.

It’s claimed that the Finland international is quickly becoming one of the EFL’s most talented starts, which is an opportunity the tough-negotiating Levy does not want to pass on.

Spurs’ own Werner?

Forss is quite the enigma. He’s started just five matches in all competitions and has scored seven goals. In the Championship alone, he has managed a goal every 69 minutes, per Transfermarkt.

Originally seen as a back-up to £5m summer signing Ivan Toney, the Bees have now started him in their last two league outings, pairing him up with the former Peterborough monster.

David Ornstein at The Athletic has also reported on the Bundesliga giant’s interest in Forss, claiming that there is something Jamie Vardy-like about his physique, movement and finishing.

Forss has even been likened to Erling Haaland as a ‘fox in the box’ who is hard-working and is truly efficient with what touches he does get with the ball, so perhaps it’s not a shock to see why Dortmund might be keen on his services.

Indeed, the combination of the above could also point towards the 21-year-old prodigy being that of a Timo Werner type as if you were to remove the names above, then the ex-Leipzig man would undoubtedly be one of your first guesses.

This is further compounded by Breaking The Lines’ analysis of the Bees striker, who said: ‘Forss also excels at creating space for his teammates via his intelligent movement and quick lay-off passes.’

Back in November 2019, fresh off a successful loan spell with AFC Wimbledon, former Brentford B head coach Kevin O’Connor told Sky Sports:

“Once we got him up to match speed, especially for the B Team, you could see his quality; you could see straight away that he was a finisher and had very good ability with both feet. I think it was only a matter of time before he got in and around the first-team squad.

“He can hold the ball up, he can spin, he’s strong and when he gets half a chance, I expect him to score. He’s clever; he aims for the defender’s legs. He shifts the ball, waits for them to shift their legs and then always shoots in between their legs so the ‘keepers can’t even react. He’s a very intelligent striker in his finishing.”

Forss is even now reaping the rewards on the international stage as he downed 2018 World Cup winners France during the recent break, which can be witnessed here.

He ransacked Spurs midfielder Moussa Sissoko before rampaging through to fire past a helpless Steve Mandanda.

The modern game now, especially at an elite level, requires forwards like a Werner, a Haaland or Vardy, and that’s something very different to Harry Kane, so Levy must do all he can to land the impressive goalscorer in 2021.

AND in other news, Mourinho has totally transformed £27m-rated Pochettino dud into a “sensational” STAR…

Ben Godfrey is happy that one of his old clubs in York City have benefitted from his transfer from Norwich City to Everton.

Speaking to The Press, the England under-21 international has claimed that the money received from a sell-on clause inserted by York when they sold him ‘couldn’t have come at a better time’ as he added that it is ‘massive’ for the club that he supported as a kid.

Indeed, with the outbreak of the global pandemic, teams like York City in the National League North may find it difficult to cope financially at the moment, but Godfrey hopes that the cash paid to them via the sell-on clause will help them out to a great degree.

Everton were right to pay the money for Godfrey

Indeed, Everton were arguably right to pay the £24.75m transfer fee to the Canaries for Godfrey’s services.

Carlo Ancelotti will be hoping that the defender can provide some perhaps much-needed cover for the likes of Mason Holgate, Michael Keane and Yerry Mina in the heart of the defence at Goodison Park.

The 22-year old has made a steady start to the new season so far with the Merseyside club, winning 3.7 0f his duels per game in the Premier League while also averaging 4.3 clearances and one tackle per match (Sofascore).

Can Godfrey get an England call-up?

Indeed, perhaps the next step in Godfrey’s career is a call-up to the senior England national side by Gareth Southgate.

The centre-back has been capped at both under-20 and under-21 level for the Three Lions, and will surely want to earn a chance to prove himself in time for the Euros next summer.

In other news, find out which Toffees star has been stepping up their recovery from injury here!

After watching the club splash out around £40m to sign Joelinton last summer, Newcastle fans may be enviously looking at a player Championship side Brentford picked up for about a quarter of the price back in August.

Ivan Toney was on the books at St James’ Park for a number of years, but played just the four games for the senior side, with the last of those appearances coming back in the 2015/2016 season when he played twice in both the Premier League and League Cup respectively.

The 24-year-old spent the next few seasons out on loan, before really making his mark at Peterborough in 2018. The Posh snapped him up for a mere £650k, where he scored an impressed 49 goals in just 94 games, including setting up another 15 too.

That form saw him earn a £10m move to Brentford earlier this summer, and it’s fair to say the striker has hit the ground running at his new home, bagging three goals in four matches in the Championship.

The Magpies of course spent big on a striker themselves in bringing Callum Wilson from Bournemouth, and the England international’s arrival is surely an indication of how much Joelinton struggled in his debut campaign – the former Hoffenheim man netted just four times in over 40 games for the club.

Had Newcastle shown a bit more patience with Toney, and shown the kind of trust that Peterborough ended up affording him, then they may not have felt the need to go out and buy a new centre-forward.

Whilst Rafa Benitez did a fantastic job in getting the Magpies back into the Premier League and is still fondly remembered by the Toon Army, letting Toney go a bit too hastily and without giving him a proper chance is one of his rare mistakes.

West Ham United striker Sebastien Haller can use the east London outfit’s failed bids to sign a new forward this summer to his advantage after a poor start to the season.

Haller has found himself an outcast of boss David Moyes’ Premier League plans thus far this term, with the Scottish coach only awarding the 26-year-old a mere 29 minutes on the field spread over four substitute appearances.

The Frenchman, whom the Irons signed for a club-record £45million only a year ago, has also only managed to enter the action for the final two minutes of regular time in each of West Ham’s last three top-flight fixtures despite boasting four goals and an assist in three Carabao Cup run outs.

He further struck home during his late cameo against Wolverhampton Wanderers to round out the scoring in a 4-0 rout, heading home Arthur Masuaku’s delivery for his first Premier League strike since February’s 3-1 win at home to Southampton.

Haller, who TransferMarkt now only value at £27m after a further £5.4m decline this month, must now use West Ham’s failed efforts to sign a new striker to his advantage with Michail Antonio the only other centre-forward currently in east London.

Antonio has deservedly held the starting role in West Ham’s opening four Premier League games, with the 30-year-old offering more than his two goals through the Irons’ most shots (11), successful dribbles (8) and ground duels won (24), plus the second-most aerial duels won (14) and the fourth-highest number of accurate passes in the final third (21), per SofaScore.

Should Antonio ever prove ineffective, however, it will be Haller who Moyes is forced to call on, having seen hopes of signing AFC Bournemouth’s Joshua King fall flat when the Cherries snubbed a £13m offer.

West Ham also saw efforts and hopes to sign Gaetan Laborde from Montpellier, Michy Batshuayi from Chelsea, Luka Jovic from Real Madrid, Josh Maja from Bordeaux and Sardar Azmoun from Zenit St. Petersburg fail to materialise in adding depth to Moyes’ offence this summer.

Haller will have a slim line of chances to impress Moyes outside of training now that West Ham have fallen out of the Carabao Cup after defeat at Everton, with the Irons not entering the FA Cup until the FA Cup Third Round in January.

Thus the £100,881-per-week Frenchman must utilise his brief cameo outings and time in training to set the right example of his talents to Moyes, otherwise Haller will be nothing more than a benchwarmer until the winter market arrives and West Ham can look to right the wrongs of the summer window.

AND in other news, West Ham potentially saved £16m in being snubbed by a summer target.