After finally getting their man earlier in the summer, Leeds United have opted to take the patient approach with Cody Drameh.
The 19-year-old arrived from Championship side Fulham, and has spent his time in Yorkshire with the U23s, where he’s only missed one game at Premier League 2 level.
He’s yet to be seen with the senior side however, and that’s something Marcelo Bielsa may look to change heading into 2020.
According to The Athletic’s Phil Hay, when Leeds scouted Drameh whilst he was at Craven Cottage, they saw shades of Luke Ayling in him. It was also suggested that the teenager saw a “clearer” route to the senior set-up at Elland Road than he did at Fulham.
Hay wrote: “Leeds are understood to have paid in the region of £300,000 for Drameh, a fee which could rise to £1 million with add-ons, last week.
“Fulham are fresh from promotion themselves and will play in the Premier League with Leeds this season but sources close to Drameh say the England Under-18 international saw a clearer first-team pathway in West Yorkshire than in west London. The deal was done despite Fulham’s reluctance to sell and after Manchester City showed some late interest.”
Drameh’s potential is there for all to see, with Eredivisie scout Xander Wilkinson going on record to hail his abilities. He said: “Defensively so impressive! His mind works quicker than most right backs I’ve seen in a naturally defensive mindset. Tactically very aware of what is being asked of him, times his engagements well, needs to add a little more unpredictability going forward.”
The starlet may not be ready to start in the Premier League right now, but he could learn a lot by potentially being given opportunities in the FA Cup and then some minutes here and there in the top-flight.
Exposing him to first-team football will be the real test of whether Drameh will sink or swim, and the young right-back could surprise everybody and take to it like a duck to water. Only time will tell.
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.
Leeds United are reportedly finally set to sanction a loan move for Robbie Gotts.
The midfielder did not move on during deadline day with EFL and Premier League clubs having until October 16th to conclude any domestic deals, but it finally seems as though the youngster has gotten the green light to move on a temporary basis.
Alan Nixon believes that Swindon are the club hoping to land the midfielder, and while this would be a decent opportunity for Gotts to get a taste of senior football, Leeds have made a mistake here.
Huddersfield Town were strongly linked with a move for Gotts earlier in the window, but for some reason, Leeds wouldn’t sanction the move.
Now, it seems as though he’s headed for Swindon, or potentially another League One club in Sunderland who are also keen. But we can’t help but feel that Huddersfield would have been the perfect destination for him.
Not only would he be playing at a higher level in the Championship, but he’d be working under a manager who knows exactly how to get the best out of him with Carlos Corberan having plenty of experience working with Gotts during his tenure as United’s U23s manager.
It was a fruitful partnership as well, with the Whites’ youth outfit picking up the PDL National Title in 2019.
Away from that, Corberan’s relationship with Marcelo Bielsa would have been ideal for if the Leeds manager wanted to keep tabs on his player, with the Argentine already being spotted at a Huddersfield game this season.
We can only hope that if Swindon land Gotts he shines down there alongside fellow United-loanee Jordan Stevens, but it would’ve been interesting to see the midfielder reunite with his former U23s boss.
There seems to be a big update on the future of a forward at Sheffield United following the latest reports and this news could be a big positive for the club.
Acccording to The Sheffield Star, French forward Lys Mousset, who signed last summer for the Blades from AFC Bournemouth, is confident he will be staying at Bramall Lane past the transfer window.
He is so confident that he has even told friends and family that he expects to remain in South Yorkshire.
This should definitely go down as some positive news at the club, and this is due to a couple of reasons. One being the fact that his performances last season were a big factor as to why the Blades achieved a top-half finish as he has scored six goals and supplied four assists in the Premier League, per WhoScored.
This tally was the joint-most goals in the division in the Blades’ squad, and he also had the joint-most assists (per WhoScored), so he has certainly been a great attacking threat for the club since signing from Bournemouth last summer.
Mousset also boasts a great statistic which sees him rank first when it comes to goals scored as a substitute in the Premier League last season.
All this highlights the importance of the forward for the club, either in the starting eleven or off of the bench, and if he is happy to stay as well, then it is good as it means that the Blades have some good quality in depth up front.
Blades fans, what are your thoughts on this news? Let us know down below!
You wouldn’t believe it if someone told you a couple of years ago, but Manchester United are apparently looking for someone to replace David De Gea.
The Spaniard has been out of form for some time now, and it seems as though the hierarchy at Old Trafford have lost faith in the former Golden Glove winner, and they already have a replacement in their sights.
What’s the story then?
Surprisingly, United aren’t going to look towards Dean Henderson to solve their goalkeeping problems after his impressive season at Sheffield United.
Watch Manchester United Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below
Instead, the Red Devils are reportedly after Leicester City stopper Kasper Schmeichel, and it’s hard to say that this wouldn’t be a great move.
Immediate hero
Aside from the fact that Schmeichel is a Premier League-winning goalkeeper who is certainly good enough to play for a top side, this deal, in particular, makes so much sense for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side.
Nostalgia is a great factor in how fans view things, and United fans could very easily feel as though they’re back to their glory days if they have a blonde Scandinavian named Schmeichel between the sticks.
Fans should immediately have a lot of respect for their new man due to his dad’s achievements at the club, and with confidence being such a huge factor for a goalie, that support could help the Dane match or even surpass his father’s performances for the Red Devils.
Of course, there will be the worry of constant comparisons getting in his head, but that’s something he’s inevitably had to contend with during his entire career, and he’s coped very well so far.
The Old Trafford faithful would love Schmeichel before he even made his debut, and that could be a massive positive that comes alongside bringing him in.
Burnley face a nervous wait on the fitness of Jay Rodriguez ahead of Monday night’s visit to Crystal Palace.
The 30-year-old scored the Clarets’ winner against Watford yesterday but, as per Lancashire Live, Sean Dyche revealed afterwards that the striker took a knock to his ankle and was suffering from a hamstring strain upon being substituted shortly after his goal.
The Burnley boss added that it will be a waiting game to see whether the forward will be fit enough to feature at Selhurst Park in three days’ time.
With Chris Wood and Ashley Barnes also sidelined, Rodriguez and Matej Vydra were left as Burnley’s only two available senior strikers, so Dyche is clearly going to be sweating on the fitness of the ex-Southampton man ahead of Monday’s trip to London.
It isn’t just in terms of playing quantity that the potential absence of the 30-year-old would be a significant blow, either – his tally of nine goals for the season is the second highest in the Clarets’ squad, two behind Wood and three more than Barnes. Aside from that trio, the only only player with more than two goals for Burnley this term is Jeff Hendrick, who is on his way out of Turf Moor. [via TransferMarkt]
If Rodriguez can’t make the trip to Selhurst Park, it will leave Dyche with a hefty selection dilemma – either deviate from his preferred 4-4-2 formation, pigeon-hole an attacking midfield player into a centre-forward role or look to the Clarets’ academy ranks for a replacement.
Dyche and Burnley fans will, of course, be fervently hoping that Rodriguez will be fit enough to take on Crystal Palace given his scoring threat and the dearth of centre-forward alternatives.
If he doesn’t make it, though, there could be a chance for young Max Thompson to make his full Clarets debut. The 18-year-old came off the bench towards the end of the 5-0 defeat at Manchester City earlier this week and, as a centre-forward, would be a natural (albeit very inexperienced) replacement for Rodriguez.
Burnley fans, how big a blow would it be if Rodriguez is unavailable for the Crystal Palace game? Give us your thoughts in the comments section below!
Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool have perhaps recruited better than any other Premier League team in recent years – they’ve really got it right with the likes of Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and many more.
But it hasn’t always been like that at Anfield and today we’re going to be revisiting a number of occasions where they have got it woefully wrong in terms of an incoming transfer.
While in recent times Klopp has rarely got it wrong, as a result of clever, well thought out recruitment, previous managers have not been so lucky in the market and have handed some of the most obscure and sub-standard players an unwarranted opportunity to wear the famous red of Liverpool.
So here’s a look at Liverpool’s 20 worst signings of the Premier League era…
Sean Dundee
Valencia v Liverpool 3/11/98 UEFA Cup 2nd round 2nd leg
Pic : Action Images / Stuart Franklin
Liverpool’s Michael Owen & Sean Dundee celebrate Steve McManaman’s goal
Pictured above celebrating with Michael Owen, Sean Dundee was a true waste of money for Liverpool.
£2m may not seem like a lot of dough now at all but back in 1998 it was and all joint-managers at the time Roy Evans and Gerard Houllier would get for that lofty sum would be five appearances (all of them from the bench) and no goals from the centre-forward.
Charlie Adam
Despite that one cracking season in the Premier League for Blackpool, Charlie Adam was never good enough to represent a club like the Reds and he probably knew that as well.
That’s why the creative Scotland international lasted just the one campaign on Merseyside in what was a very strange time for Liverpool Football Club.
Christian Benteke
There are similarities between Adam and the next infamous member of this list, the man known as one of the attacking flops of all time at Anfield – Christian Benteke.
Then gaffer Brendan Rodgers splashed out an eye-watering £32.5m on the striker in the summer of 2015 and like both Adam and Dundee would last just the one term – ironically, Benteke left the North West with a record of ten goals in 42 matches, not too bad at all.
Alberto Aquilani
Mention the name Alberto Aquilani and most Kopites would offer a chuckle, this is certainly not the impression that the Italian would have wanted to leave when he arrived from Roma for £17m plus bonuses prior to the 2009/2010 season.
In truth, Xabi Alonso was always going to be a hard act to follow and that role always had the potential to be a poisoned chalice to whoever had to fulfill it, however, the woeful Aquilani made a special mess of it and it’s no small miracle that he managed to officially remain a Liverpool player for three years.
Milan Jovanovic
Famous for that hilarious video of his Reds best bits on YouTube, Milan Jovanovic turned up in the red half of Merseyside to a different manager to the one that signed him in 2010.
Roy Hodgson was hardly renowned for getting the best out of his players at Anfield and the Serbia midfielder is some example of that.
The balding winger is remembered at the Reds for the wrong reasons and 18 appearances after his signing he was shipped back to the league in which he tricked Rafa Benitez into thinking he was any good – the Belgian first division.
Christian Poulsen
Is that a picture of Dirk Kuyt?
No, if Christian Poulsen was even half as decent for Liverpool as the legendary Dutch frontman he wouldn’t be anywhere near this list.
Putting any ifs and buts aside, Roy Hodgson was probably right to identify the Dane’s quality, after all he is one of the rare few to have played in all five of Europe’s big five divisions, though by 2010 he was fast slowing down and his terrible only campaign in Anfield Road is best forgotten.
Tiago Ilori
All the big teams have done it; signing a youngster dubbed to be the next big thing in European, or even world football, only for them to flop massively.
Well, Tiago Ilori is the Reds’ anti-climactic starlet and they paid a fair amount of money for him in September 2013, a reported £7m for the then 20-year-old who would only ever represent the club three times.
Paul Konchesky
As you may have already noticed, the Reds made some stinkers of signings around the turn of the decade, but none of them quite as terrible as Paul Konchesky.
The left-back was Roy Hodgson’s main man at Fulham so he saw no reason why he couldn’t follow him to play the same role at Anfield, however, his spell was nothing short of a total disaster shrouded by his mum’s Facebook rant in which she branded Liverpool fans “scouse scum.”
Mario Balotelli
Sure Mario Balotelli’s mother never said anything bad about Kopites, but his football in Liverpool could hardly do the talking for him either.
The controversial character was alright at Manchester City and pretty impressive at the 2012 UEFA European Championships, however, Luis Suarez’s were big boots to fill at Anfield plus there was always the weight of his £15m+ price tag – he was set up to fail really and did.
Joe Cole
Liverpool’s decision to sign Joe Cole in the twilight of his career was a strange one and they got what they deserved for what was a poor bit of business.
The former England and Chelsea star may not have cost Roy Hodgson any actual money but his £130k-per-week salary was obscene for what the Reds actually got, a mere 42 matches, five goals and three assists, sub-standard for any attacking midfielder let alone Cole.
Speaking to Football Insider, Danny Mills has suggested that Steve Bruce could be the first to go if Newcastle’s takeover goes through.
What did he say?
The Magpies appear to be on the verge of seeing their takeover confirmed sooner rather than later, and with it, major question marks on Bruce’s long-term future at the club.
Recent reports have touted Rafa Benitez with an emotional return to St James’ Park, and Mills has claimed that with new ownership, one of the first things that often happens is the current manager ends up leaving.
He said: “It is going to be very difficult for Steve Bruce. He has not done a bad job and he is a very capable and very good manager. But big owners coming in with a lot of money will want to put their own person in. They will want the fans onside immediately and the easiest way to do that is to appoint a manager.
“It is unfortunate for Bruce because he has done a good job. We often see owners come in with their own ideas and the first person to go is normally the manager.”
Inevitable
With the likes of Benitez, Mauricio Pochettino and Massimiliano Allegri all being linked with the job at St James’ Park, it seems incredible that Bruce remains in the dugout at Newcastle.
Spot the fact from the fib: Are these Premier League records true or false?
The current Magpies boss has just been watching on from the side-lines as new reports claim the club have already drawing up replacements for him before the takeover has even been confirmed.
It all seems rather inevitable as Mills suggests, and it would be a major surprise now if Bruce is even given longer than just the end of the season.