All posts by n8rngtd.top

Southampton face another tough game in the Premier League on Saturday, as they welcome Manchester City to St Mary’s.

Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side picked up another important point in midweek in their 1-1 draw against Arsenal, but they arguably should’ve come away with all three after the hosts were reduced to ten men.

As a result, the Austrian manager may well be keen to make changes to his starting eleven ahead of the game against City, as a win would keep the Saints firmly inside the top-four spots.

Here’s how Football FanCast expects Hasenhuttl to line his side up at St Mary’s, with two changes from the side that started against Arsenal…

It would be strange to see Hasenhuttl make too many changes to his defence, as they have been a big part of Southampton’s strong start to the 2020/21 campaign, with the Saints having kept five clean sheets in the top-flight so far this season, so Alex McCarthy also keeps his place in goal.

There are two changes in the Saints midfield as Moussa Djenepo and Nathan Redmond replace Theo Walcott and Stuart Armstrong.

Whilst Walcott was the goalscorer in midweek, Djenepo, who earns £55k per week at Southampton, could exploit City’s defensive vulnerabilities, with his skilful dribbling likely to cause problems for the likes of Kyle Walker and Benjamin Mendy.

Redmond should be rewarded for his excellent goal against Sheffield United with a start against the Citizens, with the Austrian manager also making sure that his players stay fresh as we begin the busy Christmas period of fixtures.

However, the likes of Walcott and Armstrong can still be a threat from the bench and can easily replace Djenepo or Redmond if they are not performing against Guardiola’s side.

Unsurprisingly, Che Adams and Danny Ings start together up front, with the former Birmingham City man no doubt hoping for a repeat of last season, when his long-range goal saw the Saints win 1-0 in this fixture, with what was his first goal in a Southampton shirt.

And, in other news… Southampton will surely rue not signing “terrific” £15m winger in 2019; he’s dominating the Premier League now

Kevin Phillips has tipped newly-promoted Leeds United to bring exiled Spurs left-back, Danny Rose, back to Elland Road.

The England international is approaching the final six months of his contract in north London and after slipping drastically down the pecking order, this summer will call time on his 13-year era with the Lilywhites.

It’s a tough pill to swallow for Rose who has only had two permanent clubs in his professional career.

He joined Spurs from Leeds back in 2007 and he now finds himself being shown the door by Daniel Levy.

The 30-year-old hasn’t made a single appearance for Tottenham this season and has been demoted to the reserve league, which is a huge slap in the face.

Why Leeds should sign Danny Rose

Speaking to Football Insider, Phillips thinks that snapping up Rose next summer would be a “no brainer” for Andrea Radrizzani.

“I imagine Leeds would look at Danny Rose. It will not be about money for him at this stage,” the ex-striker said. “He will want to play football and I am sure he would love to play in a Marcelo Bielsa side. A specialised, experience left-back who is good on the ball. He could slot in quite nicely.”

Indeed, with things turning extremely sour down in London, Rose will likely take a wage cut in order to secure regular playing time. With no transfer fee to pay next year, it’s an extremely attractive bit of business for Leeds.

Bielsa is also struggling with an injury-stricken squad at the moment, with both Robin Koch and Diego Llorente on the sidelines.

This has forced Luke Ayling to cover the centre-back position, with Stuart Dallas moving to right-back. Whilst it’s a testament to these players’ versatility, it’s alarming that Leeds have such little depth when it comes to their defensive options.

Rose would be a huge boost in this department and would likely get regular minutes with Dallas now taking on a new midfield role.

Re-signing the 30-year-old dynamo in the summer should be an option that Radrizzani is already considering, as it would benefit all parties involved in the move.

In other news, Andrea Radrizzani update could spell huge news for the Whites…

Yerry Mina was Carlo Ancelotti’s real hero against Arsenal on Saturday as Everton recorded a 2-1 win over the Gunners.

The Toffees opened the scoring midway through the first half when Arsenal defender Rob Holding inadvertently deflected Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s header past Bernd Leno, but the visitors drew level 10 minutes before the break when Nicolas Pepe calmly converted from the spot after Tom Davies fouled Ainsley Maitland-Niles.

It was a performance to forget for Davies on his return to the starting line-up.

However, Everton’s blushes were saved when Mina headed home on the brink of first-half stoppage-time to ensure Ancelotti enjoyed his one-year anniversary with Everton by moving into second place in the table.

Everton often allowed Arsenal to dictate the flow of proceedings at Goodison Park on Saturday, feeling the Gunners’ toothless nature this season would see the north London outfit struggle to create a second equalising goal.

With the Blues’ backs to the wall, defenders came in for much praise at the full-time whilst having seen out the one-goal lead to claim only a second win over the Reds since 2016, with supporters naming makeshift left-back Ben Godfrey as their Man of the Match.

Godfrey excelled in place of the injured Lucas Digne, never shrugging off his responsibilities to surge up and down the channel with fully-committed challenges and his rapid speed.

Yet it was Mina and not Godfrey who was Ancelotti’s real hero against Arsenal, with the Colombian centre-back a commanding figure that Mikel Arteta’s men could never find an answer to.

Mina positioned himself well to capitalise on timid marking by the Gunners to head home his second goal of the season for what would prove to be the winner, and stood tall in front of Jordan Pickford’s net to thwart the likes of Willian, Eddie Nketiah and Bukayo Saka.

The 6 ft 4 Toffees titan’s efforts would return two successful tackles, one interception, two clearances and two shots blocked, while never being dribbled past and winning four of five ground duels and one of two aerial contests, per SofaScore.

Mina only turned possession over three times as he offered Ancelotti a calm presence on the ball, too, having found teammates with 57 of his 60 passes for a 95% completion rate, including four of six long balls.

He further took 70 touches, more than any other Everton player, scored from his only shot of the game and was fouled twice, double the number of set-pieces he conceded.

Ancelotti will have been buoyed to see Mina thrive against Arsenal on a day his teammate stole the praise.

AND in other news: “Huge blow” – Exclusive: Pundit reacts to major Everton setback…

Wolves have a timely distraction from their inconsistent Premier League run on Friday.

They enter the FA Cup and will take on Crystal Palace under the lights at Molineux.

On the chalkboard

Wolves endured a crazy match against Brighton last time out. Nuno Santo’s men scored three times and in most circumstances, that should be enough to guarantee you a win.

However, the Seagulls had other ideas as they drew 3-3 at the Amex in an encounter that won’t be forgotten in a hurry.

With three goals being shipped, the criticism will rightly fall on the defence and one of the worst performers was stand-in full-back Rayan Ait-Nouri.

The French defender is an impressive young player but he struggled all day against Graham Potter’s men.

Wolves reporter Liam Keen gave Ait-Nouri the following review at full-time: “The youngster seemed to be holding back when on the attack and in defence he never looked secure.”

Indeed, it was a disastrous night for the 19-year-old who let Leandro Trossard cross for the first goal too easily and then performed a weak header late in the game that nearly allowed Brighton to score again. Fortunately for Ait-Nouri, it was disallowed.

During the course of the game, he lost 12 duels and also surrendered possession 16 times. This was not his finest hour.

The solution

The obvious way of handling this situation would be to remove him from the firing line. However, with Marcal still out of action, Nuno will have to consider other alternatives.

Of course, the FA Cup means less to Wolves than the Premier League and as a result, the Portuguese could choose to experiment.

So far this season we’ve seen Romain Saiss unorthodoxly operated at left-back while Max Kilman started his career on the left-hand side before moving inside to play as a centre-half.

With Ait-Nouri in the firing line for his performance against Brighton, choosing between one of those two players could be a viable option for the Wolves boss.

They may lose a degree of attacking flair with the teenager axed from the side, but after shipping three, they need to focus on how they can improve defensively.

That starts against Palace tonight.

AND in other news, Wolves can land huge Silva upgrade in 9-goal beast, he’s on his “way to the top”…

If Victor Orta was at Molineux at the weekend to watch Leeds United transfer target Adama Traore, then he would have been left in no doubt as to why he would be such an incredible signing for the Whites.

Reports in recent weeks have suggested that the Spain international is on the radar of Marcelo Bielsa’s side and that Elland Road is being seen as his main destination in this January transfer window.

And on Saturday afternoon in Wolves’ 3-2 defeat at home to West Brom, Traore proved why he would be Bielsa’s game-changer.

Despite Nuno Espirito Santo’s men falling to a surprise loss to the relegation-battling Baggies, Adama produced flashes of brilliance that would add a different dimension to Leeds.

As per Sofascore, his 7.4 match rating was the second-highest of any attacking Wolves player, and when you look at his stats, it’s easy to see why.

The Spaniard’s physicality was there for all to see, and he won an impressive 10 of his 13 total duels, proving that he’s becoming more and more of a Premier League tested and battle-hardened winger – only Nelson Semedo won more duels for Wolves.

He also completed five of his seven dribbles on the day, the joint-highest of any player on the pitch, and his ability to go through the gears so quickly makes him a massive danger for opposition defences – The Express and Star’s Joe Edwards noted that he “had the beating of (Kieran) Gibbs on a fair few occasions and got some shots off”.

Former Liverpool striker Michael Owen hailed Adama as someone who can “scare any team”, and that’s a testament to the winger’s raw pace and directness – nobody in the Premier League has a better average this season than him with his 3.7 dribbles per game.

Bielsa’s fondness for his wingers is evident by the very simple fact he’s signed an abundance of them in his time in charge at Elland Road.

But in Traore, he wouldn’t just be an ‘option’. The Spaniard has proven that his style of play would be a game-changer for Bielsa, and Saturday’s display against West Brom showed that.

Meanwhile, Leeds should hand this “supremely-gifted” starlet a chance in the Premier League…

Leicester City are putting this season’s title contenders under some pressure with their flurry of impressive performances. As the table stands, they sit in third place, just two points behind leaders Manchester City. Their most recent result was a draw against Everton but the Foxes have come out on top against the likes of Chelsea, Spurs and even the league leaders Man City in previous games.

Jamie Vardy is currently the joint-third highest scorer in the Premier League this season with 11 goals, level with Bruno Fernandes and Dominic Calvert-Lewin. Only Son Heung-min, Harry Kane and Mohamed Salah have scored more times so far, as per BBC Sport.

But at 34, some questions are being raised over Vardy’s ability to carry on his clinical displays at the top level. Rob Lee spoke to Football FanCast about the England international and who he thinks, if anyone, could eventually fill his shoes at Leicester.

“I think Brendan Rodgers knows that Vardy can’t go on forever,” the pundit said. “Although Jamie probably thinks he can – at the moment, (the way) he’s still going!”

Indeed, Leicester fans will be dreading the day that their star striker decides to hang up his boots at the King Power Stadium. According to Transfermarkt, Vardy has contributed 143 goals and 57 assists in his 330 appearances for the Foxes in his career.

His output will be sorely missed when he eventually leaves the club and Lee believes that Danny Ings could be a good option to bring in to replace him. 90min recently reported that the Midlands outfit are keeping a watchful eye on the Southampton forward, who has notched seven goals and three assists in 14 Premier League games this season.

“He [Rodgers] will be looking for a replacement for Vardy because that’s what you have to do and yes, Ings can do what Vardy does.”

The 28-year-old Ings has seriously impressed since his torrid days of injury at Liverpool. Clinton Morrison recently waxed lyrical about Ings, lauding him as a “first-class” player and comparing him to Robbie Keane.

He would certainly be a very exciting signing for Leicester if talks move beyond their initial stages.

Ings reportedly has his eyes on a potential move to play Champions League football so if the Foxes can secure a top-four finish, they could well be a serious contender to sign the England international.

Ing’s relationship with Rodgers, the man who took him to Liverpool, could also make The Foxes an interesting proposition for the striker if he does look to leave Southampton.

In other news, Newcastle eye mid-season loan for Leicester midfielder…

Speaking to Il Napoli Online, via Sport Witness, Italian journalist Gianluigi Longari dropped a promising Tottenham transfer claim – going on to say that the Lilywhites and, by extension, chairman Daniel Levy, are ‘ready’ to meet Serie A defender Nikola Maksimovic’s wage demands in a potential swoop.

Maksimovic, who has started just four Serie A matches for Napoli this season (WhoScored), is apparently still attracting Spurs’ interest regardless – with Levy seemingly prepared to match the Serbian’s salary in a move.

Levy ready to meet Maksimovic wage

Longari hints Spurs are showing a desire to sign the 6 foot 4 titan, while he believes Maksimovic ‘will’ move away from the Stadio San Paolo with an exit out of Napoli seemingly inevitable – especially considering he is out of contract in the summer.

The journalist claims that it is unlikely that he will put pen to paper on a new deal, with Napoli chairman Aurelio De Laurentiis allegedly working on a renewal, and that Tottenham are ‘ready’ to meet any ‘economic’ demand for his signature.

“About Hysaj, I have more hope, while I believe that Maksimovic will go away,” Longari explained (to Il Napoli Online via Sport Witness).

“On him, there are many teams ready to satisfy him even at an economic level, including Tottenham.

“Napoli has a great relationship with the agent of Hysaj, Mario Giuffredi, therefore, they are very optimistic about the renewal of the Albanian-back.”

Transfer Tavern take

Despite only playing a handful of games this season, Maksimovic appears to fit the profile of a defender Jose Mourinho would be keen on, judging by his past pursuit of 6 foot 2 colossus Milan Skriniar (Gianluca Di Marzio).

According to WhoScored, both Skriniar and Spurs’ latest alleged defensive target have comfortably averaged over 90% pass completion this campaign (Skriniar, 92.6%; Maksimovic, 95.3%) – while the two centre-backs are also towering in stature.

These numbers suggest that Mourinho is keen on a defender who can play out from the back whilst possessing physical prowess, and Maksimovic could also be a welcome addition in the summer given he could leave as a free agent.

Time will tell whether Spurs are the club to land him, but he could tick all the boxes for Mourinho.

In other news: Fabrizio Romano says Tottenham are also ‘ready’ to let this player leave, find out more here.

Speaking to CaughtOffside, reliable source and Sky Sports transfer guru Fabrizio Romano has dropped a promising Tottenham transfer claim – going on to explain he is ‘told’ that the Lilywhites are ‘looking’ for an opportunity to sign a Dele Alli replacement. 

This comes as their interest in Christian Eriksen appears to have hit a dead end as things stand, with Romano saying Inter Milan are now ‘not convinced’ to let him go.

The Denmark international recently scored a stunning free-kick to win the Milan derby, and Nerazzurri boss Antonio Conte has now ruled out his exit from the San Siro (RAI Sport via The Daily Mail).

Romano drops promising Tottenham transfer claim

As a result, the prospect of signing Eriksen appears unlikely unless something changes – but Romano has left some hope for Lilywhites supporters.

Indeed, he claims Spurs haven’t gave up on finding a successor for Alli, which would allow the Englishman his desired move to Paris-Saint Germain.

“Let’s see if Tottenham will go for a different player, I’m told they are looking for an opportunity, but there’s nothing big going on,” explained Romano to CaughtOffside.

“Let’s see during the weekend if they find the right way for Dele Alli to leave.

“He’s always respected the fans and Mourinho but he wants to play, and that’s it. That’s why he wants to go to Paris Saint-Germain, obviously with Mauricio Pochettino waiting for him.”

Transfer Tavern take

It remains to be seen whether Tottenham do find an Eriksen alternative, but this fresh claim they’re looking for opportunities in the market could be a promising one for Spurs supporters.

In other news: Dele Alli sent a message to Mauricio Pochettino, find out what he said here.

When the opportunity arose, Tottenham Hotspur simply couldn’t resist bringing Sergio Reguilon to the club for just £25m and what a signing he has been.

Before his recent injury, the 24-year-old was one of Jose Mourinho’s most consistent performers (6.87 average rating) and a vital source of goals, only Harry Kane and Heung-min Son have managed more assists (three) in the Premier League this term.

Although, there was always one downside to the deal as Real Madrid inserted a buy-back clause that runs until summer 2022, in which they can re-sign the Spaniard in a move that would see Spurs make £15m profit.

The player would have to agree to the return, of course, but emerging reports suggest that the La Liga giants could indeed come calling sooner rather than later.

According to Eduardo Inda at El Chiringuito, Reguilon has already said ‘yes’ to a potential reunion at the Bernabeu ahead of the next transfer window, which would come as a huge blow to Spurs considering his form so far this term.

If this report does come to fruition, then Mourinho must find an alternative option and perhaps he already has an ideal replacement waiting in the wings in the form of academy sensation Dennis Cirkin.

The 18-year-old was named as Spurs’ young player to watch out for in 2021 by The Athletic at the start of the year, even despite the U23 starlet never making a senior appearance for the club.

It’s claimed by the reliable Charlie Eccleshare that but for persistent injury problems, Cirkin would have made his first-team bow this season following in the footsteps of Alfie Devine and Dane Scarlett among others.

He goes onto suggest that it is only a matter of time before he plays under Mourinho as the ‘Special One’ singled out the teenager for praise just two weeks into taking the Spurs job, he said:

“OK, he’s 17, but he’s a kid with a lot of quality, and I look forward to bringing him to train with us and to help his development.”

Indeed, Cirkin has been a frequent presence amongst the first-team training and Reguilon’s form certainly makes his job harder but if the Spaniard were to leave, then the door would finally open.

The Athletic also believe that the young Irish gem is energetic, strong in the tackle and very positionally aware, which is very much of similar ilk to Reguilon as shown by his attacking influence mentioned above.

Cirkin could help Daniel Levy and Spurs save a lot of money this summer, but that all depends on whether or not the five-time Spanish international returns to the club that didn’t trust him in the first place.

AND in other news, £20.25m-rated titan who “shows no nerves” would be perfect for Spurs

Many fans of West Ham United have been reacting to a post on Twitter in which David Gold discussed recent comments made by Pablo Fornals, as well as commenting on the club’s current league position.

In his tweet, the West Ham joint-chairman relayed Fornals’ remarks, in which the midfielder claimed that the Hammers can be proud of how they are performing at present, following a run of seven Premier League wins from their last 10 games in the competition.

Gold continued by stating that West Ham remain in fourth place in the league standings, before pointing out that this is the highest position held by any London side at present.

However, in reaction to Gold’s post, some fans of West Ham appeared far from happy with the 84-year-old’s remarks, with many claiming that their club’s fine Premier League campaign is nothing to do with the owners, who have long been a source of discontent among many Irons supporters. Indeed, one Hammers fan even branded Gold a “clown” following his latest comments.

So, what exactly did these West Ham United fans have to say in reaction to David Gold’s post on Twitter?

“And more importantly, despite the club being run or more appropriately ruined by the worst board imaginable. David Moyes, his staff and the players have done every one of us proud. Sell up and give the club a chance to flourish under a professional and proficient board.”

@RichardGSBOUT

“We would be even higher in the league table had you backed Moyes. You guys wanted to spend enough to survive, so you deserve no credit for us being 4th.”

@ScoutSoucek

“Imagine what David Moyes and the coaching staff could do if they had a transfer budget and a scouting network. They and the players have got us where we are with absolutely no help from the board.”

@shaney9ss

“They are doing incredibly well in spite of you and your dwarf mate. Time to go.”

@mikecawston

“Got nothing to do with you though, all down to Moyes & that squad of players.”

@SamSk31

“Still here?!”

@DrDanielDaCost1

“In spite of you.”

@CostiaAHN

“Sell up. #GSBOUT”

@scairrr

“Just hurry up and sell the club, you complete clown.”

@n_kalathakis

In other West Ham United news, many fans wanted this Premier League ace after a contract claim – find out more here!