All posts by n8rngtd.top

A lot could happen at Tottenham Hotspur this summer.

Amid their recent poor run of form, reports emerged linking the north London outfit with a new manager to replace Jose Mourinho.

According to the Telegraph’s Matt Law, RB Leipzig gem Julian Nagelsmann is Daniel Levy’s first-choice target should he pull the trigger on the Portuguese boss this season.

It’s claimed that whilst Mourinho retains full support from the Spurs chairman, their recent form in the Premier League has been a concern.

The former arch-nemesis was brought in to win silverware in north London, something that has not been achieved since 2008, and with the club in the Carabao Cup final on the horizon, there’s every chance he does that.

However, with Spurs sitting eighth in the top-flight, some six points adrift of the top four, the prospects of Champions League football appear slim. They could, of course, win the Europa League after advancing into the last 16 and qualify there, but strong teams remain in that competition too.

It very much remains to be seen what the future holds for Mourinho in N17, but talk of Nagelsmann should be encouraging for at least one current player, Matt Doherty.

The 29-year-old has struggled to make much of an impact since his £15m move from Wolves in the summer, so much so that his future at the club is in doubt.

According to ESPN reporter James Olley, Mourinho remains unconvinced by the Irish right wing-back and could make him available for a transfer unless his own form drastically changes.

Indeed, Doherty has been restricted to only nine starts in the Premier League this term, having started 32 times for the Midlands club last season.

His numbers across the board have regressed, particularly in an attacking nature, but that should not come as a surprise as he was deployed as a wing-back under Nuno Santo, whereas Mourinho often opts for a flat back-four.

As per WhoScored, Doherty’s average rating has dipped from a solid 6.99 to a below-par 6.65, whilst in the Old Gold, he contributed towards seven goals compared to his one assist this season.

The £35m-rated flop is also managing 0.9 fewer shots, 0.5 fewer dribbles and 0.5 more fouls per outing.

Nagelsmann would solve this ongoing nightmare by implementing his system, which is very similar to that of Nuno – Leipzig often play with three-at-the-back, which has allowed the likes of Nordi Mukiele and Angelino to thrive as two important cogs.

Both players have an average rating of 7.00 or above and sit among their five top performers, as per WhoScored.

The duo have also scored seven and assisted five between them so that only goes to show the sort of influence that Nagelsmann’s coaching and system has allowed them to achieve.

Spurs clearly have the players to replicate this as Doherty is a far better option as a wing-back than as full-back, as evident above, and on the other flank, he could deploy Sergio Reguilon in a similar role whilst Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg is the sort of powerhouse that can still keep things compact in the middle.

New Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has been a major influence – he too utilises a similar system – and once lauded Nagelsmann, he said: “He’s a very inquisitive and very hardworking young coach.”

Therefore, a player who is heavily out-of-favour like Doherty should be thrilled if the decision to replace Mourinho with the Leipzig gem does come to fruition this summer.

It could be the major turning point for his career at Spurs.

AND in other news, Imagine him and Bale: Mourinho must now unleash Spurs’ “freak of a talent”…

Lots of Everton fans have been left happy with a transfer update involving Josh King.

As per Football Insider, the Goodison Park faithful are looking to sign the former AFC Bournemouth striker on a long-term deal in the summer transfer window.

His current contract at the Merseyside club expires at the end of the 2020/21 term, with Carlo Ancelotti’s team looking to extend it before the season finishes.

King has not been able to make much of an impact for the Toffees so far since his Deadline Day arrival from the Cherries, with a mere five games and 67 minutes of football in total played for his new side (Transfermarkt).

However, a player with a proven pedigree in the Premier League, the Norway international can be useful as a back-up to Dominic Calvert-Lewin, and so signing him on a long-term contract makes a lot of sense for the Blues.

Everton fan reaction to King transfer update

These EFC supporters were happy with the update on the 29-year-old on Twitter:

“Ancelotti has had time to judge him, if he wants to keep him then go for it”

Credit: @Monolini

“He’s done it in the Prem and at the very least can be good for rotation if we’re in Europe next year.”

Credit: @carson628492

“If Carlo and Brands want him it’s good enough for me”

Credit: @jamie_byrom

“If Carlo sees value in him, then yeah. With system now seeming to rely on the counter attack, it seems like his speed would be useful… if he gets the minutes to flex it.”

Credit: @JonCrisafi

“Yeah, Ancelotti clearly rates him, and it takes one position off the summer shopping list.”

Credit: @corg1k1ng
“YES PLEASE.”
Credit: @danexadmirer

In other news, find out what transfer swoop Everton are reportedly eyeing here!

It’s fair to say that this season has been a particularly strange one for Moussa Sissoko at Tottenham.

The Frenchman started the campaign as one of Jose Mourinho’s trusted lieutenants in the middle of the park, even going on a run of starting 11 consecutive Premier League games from early October to mid-December.

The turn of the year has seen him fall out of favour somewhat, with Tanguy Ndombele’s real emergence onto the scene a key factor behind his French compatriot taking a back-seat – the former Lyon man had started the previous 13 top-flight games before being rested against Crystal Palace at the weekend.

In comparison, Sissoko hasn’t completed the full 90 minutes in the league since the 1-0 defeat to Chelsea in early February. But, with a crucial game against Dinamo Zagreb in the Europa League on Thursday night, the £16.2m-rated powerhouse should be restored to the starting line-up.

With the first leg at home, Mourinho wil,l of course, want to get off to a good start, certainly picking up a win before the return fixture. But, perhaps most importantly, is ensuring Zagreb don’t get a potentially damaging away goal and give themselves something to hold on to when they head back to Croatia.

Sissoko’s introduction into the side would give Spurs a bit more protection and energy in front of the back four, and help to ensure that Zagreb can’t catch the north London side slacking on counter-attacks or in transitions – the Frenchman averages over one tackle and interception apiece this season, with his 1.2 interceptions per game actually ranking him second among all his teammates.

Speaking just last season, Kevin Phillips raved about Sissoko’s ability, saying: “At one point Kane, Son and, Sissoko were the first names on the teamsheet. We keep speaking about Son and Kane and Sissoko goes under the radar. He is a superb player – power, pace and travels with the ball really well. He can take the ball in tight situations with his strength.”

In a piece for The Athletic last year, they wrote: “While he has never been famed for his distribution, Sissoko’s hunger to win the ball back in transitions also stood out last season. It’s tempting to put his skill at doing this down to athleticism alone but Sissoko also possesses a positional intelligence that is often — there’s that word again — underrated. That’s certainly the view of one of his former coaches, who points to the way he anticipates danger and makes tackles.”

That midfield control and protection is something Mourinho will absolutely need, particularly in European competitions, and Sissoko’s return to the side would help offer that. He could well be the Spurs boss’ game-changer, from a defensive standpoint in particular, when Dinamo come to town tonight.

Meanwhile, Spurs played a blinder by selling this man for £17m…

In an exclusive with Football FanCast, former Newcastle United defender Steve Howey has urged Jurgen Klopp to shake things up at Liverpool, specifically in the final third.

Liverpool had previously gone 68 games unbeaten at Anfield but they now find themselves on the end of a six-game losing streak at home in the Premier League, in which they’ve scored just one goal and conceded 10 times.

Mohamed Salah is still the Premier League’s top scorer with 17 goals this season, however, with Diogo Jota back fit Klopp may be forced into giving the Portuguese some starts ahead of one of the traditional front three of Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Salah.

The Reds currently find themselves eighth in the league and seven points away from the top four so, Klopp may look to freshen things up all over the pitch.

Speaking on Liverpool’s struggles at home in recent months and what Klopp could do as he looks to find a way to halt their slide of poor results, Howey spoke exclusively to FFC:

“Obviously, he’s got to freshen it up. They hadn’t been beaten in 68 games and now it’s six [home league] defeats on the bounce.

“So, something needs to change. Of course, they’ve had bad injuries but so have every other team.

“Yes, it’s been to key players but everyone else has had to cope and you’d think Liverpool would be more than capable to cope with those injuries.

“They’ve still got good players who can deputise and come in to do a job.”

Liverpool have Fabinho back from injury now after he started in the 2-0 win over RB Leipzig on Wednesday evening who will be able to do a job at the back if required.

Klopp will be desperate to get both Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez back from their long term injuries if they are to bounce back next season.

Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa should urge the club to make a summer move for West Brom’s Okay Yokuslu amid Paul Robinson’s transfer claim.

What’s the story?

Yokuslu joined Sam Allardyce’s side on loan from Celta Vigo until the end of the season, and when asked if he could join a Premier League side if the Baggies get relegated, Robinson suggested Leeds as a potential destination.

Speaking to Football Insider, the former Whites goalkeeper said: “He will be highly sought-after this summer. He plays in a very similar way to Kalvin Phillips and that is the type of player that Leeds need.

“It is going to be a difficult one to sell though. Would he want to be Kalvin Phillips’ backup? He is playing week in, week out right now. I would like to see him play across the midfield in other positions.”

Victor Orta’s chance

With West Brom heading for relegation back to the Championship, there will be no questioning that some of the Baggies’ best players will look to be prised away by those still in the Premier League.

Chief among those will surely be the £3.6m-rated Yokuslu, who has been nothing short of a revelation since joining West Brom earlier this year.

His teammate at the Hawthorns, Kyle Bartley, has waxed lyrical about the kind of impression the holding midfielder has made at the club, saying: “He’s been brilliant. He seems to have settled in really quickly which is always important for a player at a new club. You can see already that he’s a really good player.

“I thought he was great against Manchester United on his full debut and then he backed that up with another impressive performance on Saturday against Burnley. He’s tenacious. He’s good on the ball. He’s calm and composed.”

As per Whoscored, Yokuslu’s average match rating of 6.91 in the Premier League is the highest of any Baggies player who’s featured more than at least once for the club – a real indication of just how big of an influence he already is and how he’s hit the ground running.

The Baggies’ relegation would give Victor Orta the perfect chance to snap up a potential bargain, and given the way he has performed for Allardyce’s side, it’s a player Bielsa should urge Leeds to make a summer move for.

Given all the talk has been about how Leeds go about trying to find cover for Kalvin Phillips, bringing in Yokuslu from a potentially already relegated West Brom seems like an absolute no-brainer.

Meanwhile, this man could be Leeds’ new Ben White…

Wilfried Zaha has unsurprisingly been one of Crystal Palace’s inspirational stars throughout the current campaign.

Despite missing large swaths of the season, he has been one of the Eagles’ stand-out performers once again, scoring nine goals alone in the Premier League.

However, it could have been so different had Steve Parish sold the Ivorian to Arsenal.

Zaha has long been linked with a switch to the Emirates Stadium, with reports as recently as July 2019 suggesting that he wished to leave Selhurst Park amidst interest from the Gunners.

Even Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has made his praise of Zaha clear, previously labelling the winger as “phenomenal”.

With Ian Holloway recently appealing for Arsenal to reignite their interest, suggesting that the Londoners purchased the wrong winger when they brought in Nicolas Pepe from Lille, Palace will be glad they held firm.

His importance to Palace has never been understated, with his 45 Premier League goals the most in the club’s history – the next highest is Luka Milivojevic on just 28.

That is exemplified this season with Zaha’s goals alone being worth eight points to Crystal Palace.

Without him, Roy Hodgson’s men would be stuck on 29 points and firmly marooned in the Premier League relegation mire.

With the huge differences in revenue between the top-flight and the Championship, any demotion for a club of Palace’s size really could have been devastating.

Whilst Zaha is rated at £40.5m, the reward for another season in the Premier League is worth far more, the importance of remaining in the top-flight surely outweighs any transfer fee that they may have received for Zaha’s signature.

So, with the Eagles set to profit even more with the vital help of Zaha, the Selhurst Park hierarchy will surely be delighted that they managed to hold onto the 18-cap Ivorian despite Arsenal’s overtures.

AND in more news, read about which other transfer that the Eagles played to perfection…

Aberdeen have been linked with a move for Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths, as reported by the Sunday Post.

Scott Brown recently agreed a summer switch to Pittodrie, and it now seems as if Griffiths could possibly be joining the midfielder under the Dons’ new manager Stephen Glass.

Griffiths’ Celtic struggles

Griffiths has hardly featured for the Hoops this season and is out of contract in just 14 months’ time.

He has started seven Premiership fixtures under Neil Lennon during the current campaign. The 30-year-old has scored six times in 732 minutes of action but has only played seven minutes under interim boss John Kennedy.

Transfer Tavern take

Based on this season, we feel as if this summer could be the right time to move Griffiths on. He is earning £15,000 per week at Parkhead, money which could be put towards a new addition in a summer rebuild.

Griffiths has been a brilliant servant to the club, making 256 appearances and netting 122 times. However, based on the last 12 months, it appears as if now could be the time for him and the Hoops to part ways.

In other news: Celtic face competition for possible Frimpong replacement, find out more here. 

According to reports, Leeds are eyeing a summer move for Everton starlet Thierry Small.

What’s the story?

Reports in recent days and weeks have suggested that Gjanni Alioski is on his way out of Elland Road, with suggestions that Turkish giants Galatasaray have already offered him a contract to join on a free transfer this summer.

It’s no surprise, then, that Leeds are being linked with a move for a new left-back, and the latest name to be touted is 16-year-old Small.

According to the Daily Express, Small is willing to snub a three-year professional deal at Goodison Park to find a better pathway to first team football elsewhere, with Leeds one of a number of Premier League sides name-checked as being able to offer that.

Shades of Ian Harte

When Ian Harte was in his pomp, he came up with some big-time goals for Leeds – he scored 35 times for the club – and that kind of natural attacking left-back is exactly what the Whites would be getting in Small.

In just 16 games for Everton’s under-18s and under-23s this season, the starlet has already bagged himself an impressive six goals, including three goals and one assist at Premier League 2 level – this despite him only being 16.

Toffees’ youth team boss David Unsworth has waxed lyrical about his ability and his attitude, and that should be music to the ears of Marcelo Bielsa.

The 47-year-old said: “Thierry is a fantastic boy. He’s been in the academy system a while and is an attacking left-back with great pace and power. The pace, the power, how he gets forward – he’s a smashing lad.

“I love working with him, he’s a great boy. He’s very coachable, very approachable, honest and has all the attributes of what I like to see in young Everton players. He has great desire too. I’m delighted with him.”

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-transfer-rumours-and-news” title=”Latest Leeds transfer rumours and news”]

With Small’s natural instincts going forward, and his eye for goal, Victor Orta could well sign a new Harte for Leeds in the gifted 16-year-old.

Meanwhile, this Leeds target is shades of Mark Viduka…

In recent comments made to Italian radio, Ciro Venerato claimed that West Ham United have retained their interest in Nikola Maksimovic ahead of the summer transfer window.

Having previously been linked with a move for the Napoli centre-back, with reports suggesting the Hammers made the Serie A side a €25 million (£21 million) offer for Maksimovic that the Gli Azzurri president, Aurelio De Laurentiis, rejected, new claims by Venerato suggest that David Moyes’ side could make a move for the 29-year-old once again this summer.

Speaking to Kiss Kiss Napoli’s Radio Goal (via Sport Witness), the Italian journalist stated: “Maksimovic could greet Napoli also for a tactical issue, but it is not only Inter Milan that likes him. West Ham are also on his trail.”

Transfer Tavern Take

Considering the fact that the 6 foot 4 Maksimovic’s contract at Napoli is expiring at the end of the season, meaning West Ham could land the defender – for whom they made a rather substantial offer last summer – on a free transfer, the Hammers making the offer of a contract to the Serbia international this summer would appear to be a very likely possibility, as Venerato suggests.

Furthermore, with both Fabian Balbuena and Craig Dawson’s deals at the London Stadium coming to an end this summer, Moyes may well be in need of additions in the centre of his defence, and the man once dubbed “the new Nemanja Vidic” could prove a very astute signing for the club indeed.

In other news: West Ham are preparing a summer offer for this 16-goal £13k p/w Moyes target – find out more here!

Carlo Ancelotti should look to unleash Mason Holgate in midfield after confirming injuries for Everton duo Allan and Andre Gomes.

The Toffees manager revealed ahead of Monday night’s 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace that the Brazilian was absent from the matchday squad alongside Alex Iwobi due to minor issues.

“We had a little problem in the past few days with Iwobi and Allan. Not a big deal but they are not able to play,” Ancelotti explained.

Gomes started the Premier League draw alongside Tom Davies in the engine room but was forced off after just half an hour when he sustained a hamstring injury.

Ancelotti does not believe the Portugal midfielder has sustained a serious issue, but the 27-year-old will undergo scans in the next few days to reveal the full extent of the damage.

“Andre Gomes has a hamstring injury, and we will have to check in the next few days,” the Blues boss noted.

“I don’t know how long he will be out. It doesn’t seem like a serious problem, it seems a little problem, but we have to check with a scan.”

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/the-latest-everton-news-and-views” title=”The latest Everton news and views!”]

Ancelotti was already without Fabian Delph (tendon) and Abdoulaye Doucoure (foot) against Crystal Palace, but welcomed Jean-Philippe Gbamin back after 20 months out with serious hamstring and Achilles injuries.

To now be without Gomes and Allan when Everton visit relegation-threatened Brighton & Hove Albion next Monday could leave Ancelotti with a serious selection headache, with Davies and Gbamin potentially the only natural central midfield options available.

However, the manager is loath to rush Gbamin back into the team after almost two years out of action, and was not sure whether the Ivory Coast international would be able to feature against Crystal Palace before his 11-minute runout.

“He will put physicality and quality into the squad – and a strong desire to play. It is like we have a new player. We are really pleased to have him back,” Ancelotti said last Friday.

“But we have to consider the fact he didn’t play for at least one year and a half. I don’t know if he is going to play on Monday but, for sure, he will be available.”

If Allan and Gomes join Delph and Doucoure in the treatment room ahead of next week’s trip to Brighton, Ancelotti could look to avoid rushing Gbamin back too soon by unleashing Holgate in the holding midfield role.

Holgate anchored the engine room on two occasions for Everton during Duncan Ferguson’s interim spell in charge at Goodison Park in late 2019, but is yet to be fielded in one of Ancelotti’s starting line-ups outside of a centre or right-back role.

Some Toffees supporters were astonished at Holgate’s performance in the role as Everton drew 1-1 with Manchester United at Old Trafford, having appeared extremely comfortable in the makeshift position.

The 24-year-old boasted a 100% tackle success rate against the Red Devils that day and broke up Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s game plan with three clearances and an interception, for a joint team-high WhoScored match rating of 7.1 out of 10 along with goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.

Holgate’s numbers see him rank first for clearances, average match rating and fourth for interceptions per Premier League game this season among Everton’s central midfielders, with only Davies (1.7), Gylfi Sigurdsson (1.5) and Doucoure (1.3) offering a higher volume of interceptions.

Ancelotti may have been opposed to utilising the 24-year-old in midfield so far, but should unleash the £16.2m-rated enforcer he calls a “fighter” if options are short at Brighton next Monday.

AND in other news, £45k-p/w flop has been backed to seal a summer move amid doubt in his Everton future…