All posts by n8rngtd.top

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According to the London Evening Standard, Manchester United would be prepared to pay a huge compensation fee to Tottenham Hotspur in order to make Mauricio Pochettino their next head coach.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is currently in charge of United on an interim basis, but a new long-term head coach is expected to be appointed this summer.

Solskjaer is certainly in the running for the position, but Pochettino is also under consideration by the 20-time English champions.

According to the London Evening Standard, United would be prepared to spend in excess of £34m for Pochettino, who still has four years left on his contract at Spurs.

The Tottenham fans have been on social media reacting to the claim and it would be fair to say that not too many are buying the story.

Pl>ymaker FC’s Matchday with Max caught up with Jamaica’s women’s team. See what happened when he met the history makers in the video below…

Pochettino has worked absolute wonders since arriving at the club, but has he taken them as far as he can?

A selection of the Twitter reaction from the Spurs supporters can be seen below:

Following last summer where they failed to sign anyone, Tottenham once again saw no new arrivals in the transfer window last month.

The north London club, however, did seem to be interested in signing a new striker with Harry Kane out injured if latest rumours are to be believed.

The Breakdown

According to TEAMtalk, Tottenham made an approach for Fulham’s Aleksandar Mitrovic which, unsurprisingly, was rebuffed with the west London outfit uninterested in doing business, especially at the £27m fee reported.

And with the 24-year-old leading the club’s survival push, it is not hard to understand why. In 26 Premier League games, he has managed to find the back of the net on 10 occasions while his all-round centre-forward play has been top-notch, making Tottenham’s interest make some sense.

That being said, Mitrovic does not come without baggage with the Serbia international’s discipline having often come into question in the past, while a reported bust-up with former team-mate Aboubakar Kamara (Sky Sports) can be seen as another red flag.

Considering that, bringing in the Fulham man may not have been worth it in the end. Fernando Llorente has also sparked into life in recent weeks, giving Mauricio Pochettino a solid alternative to the injured Kane.

Mitrovic is certainly a good No.9 who could have added something to this Tottenham side but, given some of his history, plenty of supporters are likely to be delighted with his failed transfer and might actually see it as a bullet dodged.

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Leeds were dealt a sizeable blow in their bid for the Championship title when Kemar Roofe damaged knee ligaments in this month’s win over Swansea – an injury that will see him endure a spell on the sidelines.

Patrick Bamford has deputised for the Whites’ top-scorer fairly capably, scoring against Bolton for example; the Elland Road faithful will undoubtedly want the 26-year-old back as soon as possible, though.

Fortunately, Leeds’ Head of Medicine and Performance Rob Price has stated that the 26-year-old will not require surgery for his injury and has instead, remarkably, started his rehab with double sessions at Roofe’s request.

Tensions boiled over between Leeds and Bolton at the weekend and our man Thogden was on the scene. Check out the video below…

Price told Leeds media that he and his staff were hoping that the Peacocks number 7 will hopefully recover in time to “play some part later in the season”.

Considering the layout of the table at the moment, top spot and automatic promotion is there for the taking, with all of Norwich, Sheffield United, West Brom and Yorkshire outfit Leeds vying for glory.

Here’s what Leeds fans had to say about the Roofe update on Twitter…

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Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Dele Alli is hopeful of returning from injury in time to face Southampton this weekend, according to the London Evening Standard.

The England midfielder has been out of action since sustaining a hamstring strain against Fulham at the end of January.

What’s the word?

Alli has made 25 appearances in all competitions this season, scoring seven goals and laying on four assists.

The 22-year-old, who featured heavily at the World Cup in Russia in the summer, scoring in the quarter-final against Sweden, has missed six Premier League games with his latest setback, including defeats against Chelsea and Burnley. He also missed both legs of the Champions League victory over Borussia Dortmund.

Perhaps evidence of his hefty workload also comes in the fact that he sustained a hamstring injury earlier in the season, missing games against Liverpool, Huddersfield Town, Cardiff City and West Ham, as well as European clashes with Barcelona, Inter Milan and PSV Eindhoven.

Alli, however, is now confident of returning to the fray and may also be included in Gareth Southgate’s England squad next week, according to the aforementioned report.

Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino confirmed the report on Thursday, telling reporters, per Football.London: “Yes, that’s good news to be available. We need to wait tomorrow for the last training. But in all aspects doing so well and hope he’s going to be available and maybe can play on Saturday.

The former MK Dons midfielder has become a key player for both club and country and has already won 33 caps for the Three Lions.

Unsurprising fatigue

Alli should not be rushed back.

While he may feel that he is fit to play against the Saints, a successful cameo would surely see him called up by Southgate for the Euro 2020 qualifiers against the Czech Republic and Montenegro.

However, in doing so, both club and country risk the talented midfielder burning out.

He has played an awful lot of football since his move to Spurs and is clearly susceptible to muscle injuries; he has sustained two this season alone.

Since his transfer to north London, Alli has made 171 appearances for the club in just four years.

If he is rushed back into the fray, he may well be spending even more time on the treatment table.

Southampton supporters will probably be fearing another defeat with a Premier League clash against their former manager Mauricio Pochettino and Tottenham approaching.

The Saints’ upcoming opponents are also expected to welcome back one of their key players Dele Alli from injury to make things even more difficult.

The Breakdown

“I think Dele is close, we will see if it is possible for him to be involved on Saturday against Southampton,” Pochettino was quoted as saying by the Daily Echo in a blow to the home side.

Alli, of course, is a player who can hurt the Saints, as he has done in the past. However, given some of their performances against the Premier League top six under Ralph Hasenhuttl, there is reason for fans not to fear the worst.

Southampton have already beaten Arsenal with Hasenhuttl at the helm, taken a point away from Stamford Bridge against Chelsea and recently put up a very good fight versus Manchester United in a 3-2 defeat.

If they can perform like how they did in those matches against Tottenham, regardless of Alli’s presence, it could be an interesting game.

Anything less, though, and Alli and co could so easily hand Hasenhuttl and his men a hiding.

Southampton fans, are you worried about Alli’s potential return? Join the discussion by commenting below.

According to the Telegraph, Albion have made former Fulham boss Slavisa Jokanovic their number one choice to replace Darren Moore following his dismissal at the weekend.

They claim the club have already held initial talks with the 50-year-old Serbian, with further talks being scheduled today as they look to make a quick appointment and save their automatic promotion hopes.

Having taken Fulham to the Premier League last season, and done the same thing at Watford a couple of years before that, he is seen as the ideal man to take Albion back to where they still feel they belong.

The fact that he is still unattached to a club and would be available for no compensation would bring further appeal to Chinese owner Lai Guochuan.

We think that Jokanovic would be a great appointment, and his CV certainly ticks all the boxes Albion fans would be looking for, and his footballing style is one that would endear him to them.

Other potential managers in the frame, according to the Telegraph, are former Huddersfield manager David Wagner, Preston’s Alex Neil, while former Sheffield Wednesday manager Carlos Carvalhal has also expressed an interest.

While Wagner would be a similarly attractive option for fans, it is Jokanovic that appears to be the clear front-runner.

It is good that the club are looking to make a speedy appointment, and while fans are realistic to know that their best chance of an immediate return to the Premier League is through the play-offs, they will hope that the honeymoon period that often follows a managerial appointment can propel them towards an automatic promotion spot.

While if the rumours of unrest between the managerial team and the boardroom are true, then Moore’s sacking was the only likely outcome for a Baggies team that has suffered a severe dip in form over recent weeks and it will be hoped that if Jokanovic agrees to take the helm, he is the perfect man to get the players, fans and managerial team alike, all steering in the same direction.

What are your thoughts on the sacking of Moore and potential appointment of Jokanovic Baggies fans? Let us know by leaving your comments below…

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As two more technical director candidates slip through the buttery fingers of Arsenal, The Times have reported that former Tottenham Hotspur Head of Recruitment Paul Mitchell was being considered for the role.

What’s the word, then?

In their desperate search to make an appointment in the role, the Gunners were understood to be mainly looking at two options, former player and Ajax Director of Football Marc Overmars and Monchi (Ramon Rodriguez Verdejo).

The former has now signed a contract extension with the Dutch giants and the latter has made the move to become sporting director for Sevilla in La Liga.

If they are to bring someone in soon, Unai Emery’s side are rather short of options, although the internal appointment of Head of Youth Scouting Steve Morrow has also been discussed.

Mitchell is currently working in Germany with RB Leipzig, but rose to fame in England with a post-playing career more notable than his time as a player.

First, he helped Southampton climb the divisions to achieve Premier League status with the signings of players such as Sadio Mane and Toby Alderweireld, before moving to White Hart Lane where he would serve in the aforementioned role between November 2014 and March 2017, overseeing the signings of many great talents that have helped Spurs become a consistent top four team in the Premier League.

Arsenal, he’s your man

With most other rational options off the table for now, Arsenal’s man should undoubtedly be Mitchell, given his pedigree in the English top-flight.

For the Gunners’ fierce North London rivals, the 37-year-old spotted and brought in such talents as Dele Alli from MK Dons, Ben Davies from Swansea City, Eric Dier from Sporting Lisbon, Heung-Min Son from Bayer Leverkusen, Kieran Trippier from Burnley, Toby Alderweireld from Atletico Madrid and Victor Wanyama from Southampton, to name a few.

Imagine how much better Arsenal could have been in the last few years if they possessed players of this quality in great numbers in their squad.

And the award for most enthusiastic celebration of a goal scored in the last week goes to the fan in the video below…

A young creative midfielder such as Alli, as well as a solid centre-back and a defensive midfield powerhouse such as Alderweireld and Wanyama, perhaps would have been enough to push them over the line for their first title since 2004 in 2015/16.

This clear eye for spotting talent is what Mitchell would bring to the table at the Emirates Stadium and with the post-career Premier League experience that is maybe lacking in Overmars and Monchi, he could even be a better option than the original preferred targets.

While it’s unclear why they went off the idea of him in the first place, perhaps he rejected their initial interest, the Gunners hierarchy must now re-focus their attention on Mitchell and do everything in their power to persuade him to move back to the English capital.

Arsenal aren’t going to win the title by buying bang average player are they? But for some reason, that’s exactly what the club seem to be aiming for if the link to Solly March reported in Team Talk is true.

The Brighton winger has impressed following his move from Fulham two years ago. He’s played 26 games this season and scored the late equaliser in their FA Cup quarter-final against Millwall, but is this isn’t the calibre of player Arsenal should be looking at.

We know sometimes a few diamonds can be found in the rough, but Arsenal are surely looking to challenge for the title and the Champions League in the next few years, so they should be after players already at the highest level of European football. March is nowhere near that level.

Arsenal will once again have a limited budget in the summer, and perhaps that explains why they’d be interested in the £7m-rated wide man (as per Transfermarkt). That may be true, but it’s simply not good enough, particularly when the club’s promising to compete at the top of table again.

It’s laughable to think Manchester United can be linked with Paulo Dybala and then Arsenal can be linked with Brighton’s winger. That just shows the ambition gap between the two clubs, and without signing the best talent Arsenal can’t compete with the teams that are.

His one goal and five assists this season will hardly have the Gunners’ faithful licking their lips in anticipation of a great season. This sort of signing is Europa League quality and that’s exactly where Arsenal will stay if they don’t aim for the best players in Europe.

Arsenal fans, what do you think about the prospect of your club targeting Solly March. Join the discussion by commenting below.

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Loads of Newcastle fans have been reacting to some transfer news, as reports claim a move for summer target Joelinton could now be off the table.

According to The Sunday Mirror (24/3, page 70), Newcastle’s scouts are not convinced Joelinton is a worthwhile investment.

The report claims Hoffenheim will hold out for £40m for their Brazilian starlet.

Check out the video below to see how Brazil fans reacted to being asked how Cristiano Ronaldo would perform for them in a hilarious prank by Pl>ymaker FC…

This would of course blow the record-breaking Miguel Almiron fee out of the water, and it appears as though there are doubts about doing so when the player in question has only just had his breakout season.

The 22 year-old is a versatile attacker capable of playing anywhere across the front three or even as a number ten, and has recorded 11 goals and nine assists in all competitions this season.

While this is better end product that any Newcastle player has mustered, it does not exactly reek of a player who is worth doubling the Almiron fee for.

You can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below, where the overwhelming emotion is disappointment but not surprise…

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Sky Sports pundit David Prutton has delivered his prediction for Leeds United’s clash with Millwall at Elland Road on Saturday, and it certainly makes for interesting reading.

What’s the word, then?

Well, the Whites slipped out of the automatic promotion places following their 1-0 defeat against Yorkshire rivals Sheffield United prior to the international break, meaning finishing in the top two is now out of their hands with eight fixtures remaining.

Meanwhile, Millwall came within seconds of advancing through to the semi-finals of the FA Cup before eventually losing to Brighton and Hove Albion on penalties, and ended a run of four straight Championship defeats when they beat Birmingham City 2-0 away earlier this month.

Prutton only sees one result happening though, telling Sky Sports: “Leeds have had a couple of weeks to dwell on that defeat to Sheffield United, and head into the final few weeks of the season knowing automatic promotion is out of their hands.

“Millwall, meanwhile, have had to deal with the disappointment of their heartbreaking FA Cup exit, but at least now they can focus fully on survival. That being said, I do not see them picking up anything from Elland Road.”

Interesting reading

It certainly is given he is backing them to bounce back emphatically from what was a big setback.

Considering Leeds failed to register a single shot on target from 17 attempts against the Blades, it is probably slightly bold to back them to score three without reply at the weekend.

However, they have shown in the not-too-distant past that when they click in the final third they can blow teams away, as they did during the 4-0 triumph against West Bromwich Albion.

While Kemar Roofe won’t be back from injury, the likes of Pablo Hernandez and Patrick Bamford have the quality in attack to see off a club struggling towards the bottom of the standings.

Anyhow, Whites supporters will certainly be buoyed by Prutton’s prediction as the automatic promotion race hots up.