All posts by h716a5.icu

Liverpool midfielder Thiago will miss the Reds’ important Champions League clash with Ajax through injury, as shared by James Pearce and Jurgen Klopp.

The Lowdown: Big game for Reds

The Reds are still reeling from last Saturday’s 1-0 defeat away to Nottingham Forest in the Premier League, but focus now turns to European action.

Klopp’s men make the trip to Ajax on Wednesday evening knowing that a win or a draw will secure a place in the knockout stages early next year.

Injuries are continuing to plague Liverpool ahead of the game, however, and one big blow has come their way.

The Latest: Thiago ruled out

Taking to Twitter, Pearce said that Thiago wasn’t part of training on Tuesday – stating:

“Nunez and Konate in training at Kirkby but no sign of Thiago.”

Thereafter, Klopp then confirmed the Spaniard would miss tonight’s blockbuster clash in the Netherlands – sharing news he is ‘still out’.

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The Verdict: Injury-prone figure

Thiago is a wonderful footballer, being hailed as ‘world-class’ by Gary Neville, but his injury record continues to leave a lot to be desired.

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Fitness issues have been a problem for the 31-year-old throughout his career and there is little chance of that changing at this point in his footballing life.

Thiago’s constant frustrating absences further highlight the need for midfield reinforcements in January and next summer, with too many current players incapable of staying fit for long periods.

Middlesbrough are considering a move to sign Shrewsbury Town midfielder Tom Bayliss, according to reports in the last 48 hours.

The Lowdown: Bayliss profiled

The 23-year-old was previously with Preston North End, but joined Salop on a free transfer over the summer, where he’s enjoyed an impressive start to life at the Montgomery Waters Meadow Stadium.

Now, his performances appear to have caught the eye of some potential suitors, and a return to the Championship could be on the cards after being identified as a target by Steve Gibson.

The Latest: Middlesbrough eyeing Bayliss

According to Football League World, Boro, alongside Blackburn, Reading and Blackpool, have all been ‘watching’ Bayliss this season, with interest ‘growing’.

The Leicester-born talent is under contract with Shrewsbury until 2024, but a move could be a possibility should he decide not to extend his stay.

The Verdict: Get it done…

The Riverside outfit were looking to land a midfielder earlier in the summer, and despite failing to complete any deals before deadline day, Bayliss could change their fortunes in what would be an exciting addition.

Dubbed the ‘perfect signing’ by journalist Josh Bunting, the maestro has already clocked up three goals and the same number of assists in the third tier this season, and currently averages 1.3 shots and 1.2 key passes per league game (WhoScored).

Creativity in the middle of the park is something that Boro have lacked of late, but Michael Carrick now appears to be addressing this as he eyes his first signing in the dugout.

The Rangers Review journalist Jonny McFarlane has shared an injury update on Glasgow Rangers central defender Leon King.

The Lowdown: King comes off

King came off for Borna Barisic in the second half of the Gers’ 3-0 loss away at Napoli in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday night.

It did look like a suspected injury, and Giovanni van Bronckhorst has since given an update on his fitness ahead of their next fixture at home to Aberdeen in the Scottish Premiership on Saturday afternoon.

The Latest: Just cramp

Taking to Twitter on Wednesday night, McFarlane has shared a positive update from Van Bronckhorst on King in his post-match press conference, confirming that he only went off with ‘cramp’, and will be back for the game at Ibrox against Aberdeen:

“Some good news from tonight’s press conference is Leon King went off with cramp rather than an injury and will be back for the weekend.”

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The Verdict: Big boost

After initial worries, having King fit and available is a big boost.

Central defenders are in short supply for the Light Blues at the moment, with Connor Goldson, Filip Helander and John Souttar all out injured long-term.

18-year-old King has stepped up to the plate in their absence, and is performing well in the team, ranking highly in terms of average aerial duels won, clearances and pass completion (WhoScored).

Nonetheless, his impressive performances have even attracted interest from some high-profile clubs, so it is clear that King is an asset to his Teddy Bears side.

Leeds United are still in the mix to sign PSV Eindhoven star Cody Gakpo and a ‘good offer’ could see him sold, according to a new transfer rumour.

The Lowdown: Gakpo a wanted man

The 23-year-old is having a sensational season for PSV, registering 20 goal contributions (11 assists and nine goals) in just 12 Eredivisie appearances.

Gakpo is wanted by a host of top clubs across Europe and Leeds have been linked with an audacious move for him, as Jesse Marsch looks to add star quality to his squad. Fabrizio Romano admitted that the club will try again to sign the Dutchman in January, and a new update has now emerged that suggests Leeds could still snap up the Dutchman.

The Latest: Leeds still in the mix

According to journalist Marco Timmer in an interview with Voetbal Primeur [via Sport Witness], PSV will hope to keep hold of Gakpo until the end of the season:

“If I were PSV, I would do everything I could not to sell [Gakpo] this winter. If you lose Gakpo, you might say goodbye to your title aspirations. But hopefully that will only be before next season. Then we can get some things back.”

He adds that a ‘good offer’ could be enough for PSV to sell, with SW name-checking Leeds in their report, although there will clearly be strong competition for his signature.

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The Verdict: Too much competition?

Gakpo, who looks set to feature fo the Netherlands in the World Cup later this month, is a fantastic young player with a huge future, so Leeds even being mentioned in the conversation to sign him is hugely exciting for supporters.

Football talent scout Jacek Kulig has hailed his ‘absolutely crazy numbers’ so far this season and he could transform the Whites’ attack, bringing relentless end product to it.

That being said, Leeds could find it hard to compete with clubs who can promise Gakpo European football, so it is difficult to envisage him at Elland Road any time soon.

Tottenham Hotspur correspondent Alasdair Gold has blasted the club’s ‘horrible’ defending during the Carabao Cup game vs Nottingham Forest.

The Lowdown: Out in round three

The Premier League giants were the visitors at the City Ground on Wednesday night and suffered a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Steve Cooper’s side thanks to second-half goals from Renan Lodi and Jesse Lingard in quick succession.

One of the most notable moments though was the lack of effort to stop the final goal from going in after a huge lack of communication, with Oliver Skipp and Yves Bissouma at a complete standstill.

The Latest: Gold’s reaction

Taking to Twitter, Gold criticised Spurs’ organisation in defence and suggested that a lot more could, and should, have been done to prevent the match-winner from entering the net. He wrote:

“Horrible defending from Spurs gifts Forest a second goal. They’re all over the place at the back and a deep cross is headed back across and Lingard just wanders in completely unmarked to nod it home.”

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The Verdict: Disappointing evening

Whilst Tottenham have made it through to the Champions League last 16, they are currently in the middle of a rough patch which was proven by a disappointing evening in the Midlands.

Antonio Conte’s side have now only won two of their last seven games in all competitions and find themselves eight points off league leaders Arsenal.

The title race has almost certainly not been decided yet, though it’s looking like a top-four finish will be the main aim for the Lilywhites come the end of the campaign.

Glasgow Rangers have been told that they will have to pay £1.5m if they want to sign transfer target Ben Jackson in January.

The Lowdown: January transfer target

It was reported last week that the Ibrox outfit have ‘set sights’ on signing the English left-back.

Rangers are ‘keeping tabs’ on Jackson’s situation at Huddersfield Town, with his contract set to expire in 2024.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side are making ‘regular checks’ on the 21-year-old’s progress and are ‘keen’ on strengthening their options at left-back.

The Latest: £1.5m price tag

As per Football Insider, Huddersfield have slapped an asking price of £1.5m to sell Jackson in January, and they do not want to lose him for the second half of the campaign.

Rangers see him as a potential replacement for Borna Barisic, with ‘doubts’ over the Croatian’s future at the club, and the ‘super-quick’ Jackson is capable of filling in at left wing-back and left-midfield as well as his natural left-back position.

He is ‘highly regarded’ by the Huddersfield hierarchy, so it may not be easy to prise him away in January.

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The Verdict: Get it done

With doubts over Barisic’s future, and Ridvan Yilmaz having also been linked with a loan move away from Ibrox in January, the Light Blues need to get in a player who can cement themselves in the left-back position.

Having broken into Huddersfield’s first team by the age of 21, Jackson is capable of doing just that at Rangers, who already know how much it will take to sign him.

The Englishman is averaging more tackles and clearances per match in the English Championship than Barisic and Yilmaz are in the Scottish Premiership, which is impressive considering that Huddersfield are struggling at the bottom of the table.

Nonetheless, Jackson could slot straight into the Gers’ starting XI and hopefully have enough of an impact to get Rangers back on track in the league.

Aston Villa would be a tempting project for Tammy Abraham to join in the next summer transfer window according to pundit Noel Whelan.

The Lowdown: Villa’s interest in Abraham

Earlier this week, it was reported in Italy that the Midlands club have their eyes on signing Abraham, whose future with AS Roma has been brought into question.

Villa recently went through a big change as they appointed Unai Emery as their new manager following Steven Gerrard’s departure.

With the Villans now mentioned with a move for their former loan star, the club have been backed to be a suitable next destination for Abraham.

The Latest: Pundit backs Villa option

Speaking to Football Insider, Whelan claimed that Villa would be a good next step for Abraham, and had high praise for the Englishman:

He said: “I think it is. If Roma are looking to get a big fee for him and take the money, then there’ll be a lot of clubs interested in pursuing him.

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“He’s a fantastic striker, there’s no doubt about that. He missed out on the World Cup just because he was having a bad run of form – it happens. Abraham has been at Aston Villa before, but it will seem a lot more attractive to him now.

“There’s a fantastic manager with a real track record in place, it’s a lot more stable – and it’s a much healthier environment now. Aston Villa won’t be the only club looking to get him, but they’ve got a good project to sell him.”

The Verdict: Emery must sign Abraham

After playing a big part in seeing Villa get promoted to the Premier League at the end of the 2018/19 season by scoring 26 goals in the move back in 2021.

Last season saw the Englishman end his debut Serie A season with only two other players in the division having scored more goals than him (17).

With Emery claiming that he wants to win a trophy and get Villa into Europe, this is exactly what Whelan meant when talking about the project that the club would be able to offer Abraham to be a part of.

Taking all of this into account, if the striker is available to sign in the summer, Villa should do everything they can to secure his signature and help them achieve what the manager is looking to achieve.

Celtic are currently flying high on the domestic front, with Ange Postecoglou’s side having surged nine points clear at the summit following what’s been a rampant start to the Scottish Premiership season, winning 14 of their opening 15 games in the top-flight.

A key component in that title charge for the champions has been the former full-back, Greg Taylor, with the Scotland international having seemingly kicked on this term after initially struggling to make his mark at Parkhead, after joining from Kilmarnock back in 2019.

Hoops supporters had seemingly been “slaughtering his performances” in his early stint in Glasgow, in the words of ex-Bhoys playmaker Kris Commons, with the overriding feeling among most that he simply wasn’t of the quality of the man he had been tasked with replacing, Kieran Tierney.

As Commons more recently noted, Taylor had been handed a “raw deal” by being routinely compared to his compatriot – who left for Arsenal for a club-record price of £25m just over three years ago – with it something of an “impossible task” trying to replace the former Celtic Park hero.

Tierney had developed such acclaim following his impressive displays for the club after emerging from the youth set-up, going on to rack up 45 goal contributions in 170 appearances for the Old Firm side from his defensive berth, while winning a plethora of major honours in that time.

The Isle of Man-born machine was notably part of the side that went unbeaten under Brendan Rodgers during the 2016/17 campaign, with the current Leicester City boss having heaped praise on his “unique” asset during the Northern Irishman’s time in the dugout.

Trying to replace a ‘unique’ talent is no small feat, although on recent form it could well be said that Taylor has finally begun to fill that void, with the aforementioned Commons even stating that the £15.5k-per-week gem has “stepped out of Tierney’s shadow”, having been “on fire” of late.

The ten-cap gem has improved “insane amounts” since first joining the club, in his own words, with that having been evident by the fact that he has discovered a goalscoring touch so far this season, netting twice in the league to date – as well as laying on two assists.

That has ensured that the diminutive gem – who pundit Frank McAvennie described as “different class” – now has 22 goal involvements in 104 games for the Hoops, with plenty of time left to try and match Tierney’s impressive tally for the club.

While it is never easy stepping into the shoes of such a beloved figure, at present it looks as if Taylor is beginning to relish that task, rather than be burdened by it.

Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva has been praised for his performance in Portugal’s World Cup victory over Uruguay. 

The Lowdown: Portugal beat Uruguay

After a 3-2 victory over Ghana in their opening game of the tournament, Portugal secured their place in the last 16 with a 2-0 win against Uruguay last night. Two goals from Bruno Fernandes in the second half were enough to see Fernando Santos’s side proceed to the next stage of the tournament.

Despite the Manchester United star getting on the scoresheet, another player based with a club in that city ended up receiving plenty of praise for his efforts.

The Latest: Praise for Silva

Following the match, journalist Josh Bunting took to Twitter to share his thoughts on Silva’s performance against Uruguay.

He said: “Bernardo Silva outstanding, they way he’s kept the ball and flicked it on. He’s been much improved than the Ghana game, the Portuguese approach fits him better tonight, getting into the pockets of space and dictating the tempo of Portugal’s attacking play #PORURU”

The Verdict: A solid performance from Silva

With 72 touches of the ball across the 90 minutes, the 28-year-old made three key passes for his team, the joint-highest in the Portuguese starting XI.

The Man City star’s performance earned him an overall match rating of 6.8/10 from WhoScored, higher than the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo (6.6/10) and Joao Felix (6.5/10).

In The Independent’s player ratings, they said that Silva “floated around gracefully, linking passages of play nicely”, further illustrating how impressively he performed on  Monday night.

Taking all of this into account, it’s clear that the City star played a big part in seeing his team defeat Uruguay and make their way into the last 16 of the World Cup.

With only three Portuguese outfielders playing more minutes in the tournament than Silva, it’s safe to assume that he’s an important player for Santos and is likely to be a prominent presence in the team as they progress through the competition.

Aston Villa are reportedly favourites to sign Sevilla and Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou – better known as Bono – in the January transfer window.

The Lowdown: World Cup heroics

Bono is enhancing his reputation at the World Cup in Qatar, having been hailed for his ‘exceptional’ performances by former Morocco international Mustafa El Haddaoui.

His heroics in the penalty shootout win over Spain in the round of 16, where he managed to save two spot kicks, were praised by ITV pundit Joe Cole, and he has kept three clean sheets in four games in helping his nation to reach the semi-finals.

Bono is sure to attract plenty of attention in the January transfer window after shining on the world stage.

The Latest: Villa favourites for Bono

As per Spanish sources, Villa are ‘favourites’ to sign Bono in January, while fellow Premier League clubs Manchester United and Leicester City have also asked about his situation.

Sevilla have set a starting price of €40m (£34.4m) for the 31-year-old, who has a release clause of €50m (£43m).

Unai Emery is reportedly looking for a new number one to replace Emi Martinez, as his relationship with the Argentine is described as ‘not very good’, dating back to their mutual time at Arsenal.

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The Verdict: Get it done

It is a shame that Emery’s relationship with Martinez has seemingly not been resolved, which means that a new goalkeeper must be a priority for Villa going into January.

Not only has he impressed at the World Cup, but Bono is also playing at a high level with Sevilla, for whom he has featured 120 times in La Liga and European competition.

A Europa League winner in the 2019/20 season, he was hailed for his ‘monster’ saves by CBS Sports broadcaster Ives Galarcep after helping to eliminate Man United in the semi-finals, showing that he can also perform in big games at club level.

If Villa were to pay £34.4m or more for Bono, it would surpass the initial club-record fee of £33m paid for Emi Buendia in 2021, but his performances both at club level and on the international stage suggest that the Moroccan would be worth every penny.