All posts by z3u9t.icu

Phil Hay has dropped an update on the current condition of Leeds United centre-forward Joe Gelhardt.

What’s the latest?

In a recent post on Twitter, The Athletic’s Leeds United correspondent revealed that, after limping off with what initially appeared to be a dead leg in the U23’s 4-0 victory over Crystal Palace on Sunday evening, the 19-year-old is now set for further assessment to determine the seriousness of his knock.

In his post, the journalist said: “Due to have more assessments.”

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Marsch will be gutted

Considering the terrible luck Jesse Marsch has had with injuries since his arrival at the club back in March – with all of Patrick Bamford, Jamie Shackleton, Lewis Bate, Junior Firpo, Tyler Roberts and Leo Hjelde currently in the Elland Road treatment room – the news that Gelhardt could join the Whites’ stricken group ahead of Saturday’s six-pointer against Watford is sure to have left the 48-year-old gutted.

Indeed, with Bamford out of the season, should the 19-year-old be unavailable for selection this weekend, the American manager will have no fit centre-forwards in his first-team squad – something that could well lead to Marsch fielding Daniel James in a central attacking role once again.

However, with the winger having failed to impress when deployed through the middle so far this season – bagging just three goals over 17 appearances at centre-forward this season, as well as averaging an extremely disappointing WhoScored match rating of just 6.56 – it is clear to see that the absence of Gelhardt would come as a huge blow to Leeds’ chances of securing all three points at Vicarage Road.

And, with just eight points separating the 18th place Hornets and 16th place Leeds, a loss on Saturday could well see the Whites slip back into a fight for survival over the run-in of the Premier League campaign – an eventuality no one involved with the club will want to occur.

AND in other news: Orta can now axe “awful” £55k-p/w flop as Leeds eye “underrated” £12.5m-rated “threat”

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Nottingham Forest midfielder Ben Watson made his first start since October in his side’s 3-1 win against Wigan Athletic at The City Ground last weekend, and his future prospects are certainly looking much brighter under Martin O’Neill than they were just few weeks ago.

On the chalkboard

Well, despite finishing the 2017/18 campaign in fine form and often captaining the Reds in the early stages of the current Championship season, the 33-year-old fell out of favour under previous manager Aitor Karanka following the 2-1 home defeat by Norwich City on October 20.

The midfielder suddenly found himself behind the likes of Adlene Guedioura, Claudio Yacob and Jack Colback in the central midfield pecking order, and on nine occasions between October and January he didn’t even make the substitutes’ bench for Forest in the league.

That changed following the arrival of O’Neill as Karanka’s successor however, and while he was an unused member of the 18-man squad against Bristol City he was reinstated to the starting XI and even named as skipper against the Latics last time out.

Does he have a big role to play now?

He does, but only one condition.

In the 4-4-2 system that O’Neill employed in his first match at The City Ground there should be no spot for the 33-year-old, as he no longer has the legs and box-to-box ambitions to only have one teammate alongside him.

It is no coincidence that Watson impressed as part of a midfield trio in a 4-3-3 against his former club last Saturday however, and while he did his job defensively well he could also advance forward too, knowing that he potentially had two players that would cover him if needed.

Watson looked destined for the exit door either this month or in the summer had Karanka remained with the east Midlands outfit, but with a contract not due to expire until the summer of 2020 he now must grasp the new opportunity he has been handed.

Thogden has ranked his top 5 sets of Championship away fans for Pl>ymaker FC. Did your club make the list? Find out in the video below…

West Ham United are interested in a deal to bring Luka Jovic to the London Stadium in the summer transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report from Spain (via Sport Witness), who claim that David Moyes’ side will go head to head with Tottenham Hotspur in a bid to secure the signing of the Real Madrid centre-forward at the end of the current campaign.

The report goes on to state that the 24-year-old himself is desperate to depart the Santiago Bernabeu this summer, while Carlo Ancelotti is also more than willing to part ways with the Serbia international – with the LaLiga side reported to be demanding a €30m (£25m) fee for the striker.

Imagine him & Antonio

Considering West Ham’s rather desperate need for a new centre-forward this summer, with Michail Antonio having been the Premier League side’s only recognised senior striker ever since the sale of Sebastien Haller back in January 2021, it is not difficult to understand why Moyes would be interested in a move for Jovic ahead of the Hammers’ 2022/23 campaign.

While it is true that, following his €60m (£52.4m) move to Madrid back in the summer of 2019, Jovic has struggled to make any real impact at the Bernabeu – featuring for a grand total of just 1487 minutes, the equivalent of 16 and a half matches, over his near three-year spell in Spain – the 24-year-old has nevertheless proven previously just how talented a player he is.

Indeed, over his 32 Bundesliga appearances in his final campaign with Eintracht Frankfurt in 2018/19, the £16.2m-rated forward was in devasting form, scoring 17 goals, providing five assists and creating seven big chances for his teammates, in addition to taking an average of three shots and making 0.9 key passes per game.

These metrics saw the player who Mladen Krstajic dubbed a “dangerous” talent average a rather remarkable SofaScore match rating of 7.14, ranking him as his club’s third-best performer in the top flight of German football.

However, it was not only domestically that Jovic impressed that season, as the £152k-per-week hitman was also in deadly form over his 14 Europa League fixtures, bagging ten goals, registering one assist and creating two big chances for his teammates, with these returns seeing the Serbian – who Zvezdan Terzic predicted to “explode” back in 2014 – average a SofaScore match rating of 7.26.

As such, should Jovic be able to refind this level of form following a potential switch to West Ham this summer, alongside Antonio, Moyes will have finally formed an extremely dangerous attacking duo at the London Stadium – something that has been a huge issue for the Hammers over the last year and a half.

AND in other news: Moyes could unearth WHU’s next Cottee in 18 y/o “talent” who’s “getting rave reviews”

Leeds United have earmarked Barcelona star Sergino Dest as a summer transfer target according to the latest reports…

What’s the story?

TEAMtalk’s James Marshment revealed on Twitter: “TEAMtalk understands that Leeds are pushing forward with plans for the summer window and, subject to Prem survival, remain actively in pursuit of Brenden Aaronson. He’s not the only American on their radar either, with sources informing us that Sergino Dest is also a target.”

Huge statement from Leeds

Rated at £100m by CIES, Dest is a full international for the USA who has been a regular for Barcelona this season.

He’s made 27 appearances across all competitions, including starting in both legs of the Europa League last 16 clash against Galatasaray recently.

While some Leeds fans might be worried about their club trying to sign another young full-back from Barcelona, Dest is simply far better going forward than Junior Firpo, and more reliable defensively too.

As per Sofascore, Dest makes half the amount of fouls per game as the Leeds man, gets dribbled past less than half the time, and also boasts a far superior pass accuracy and successful crosses per match too.

Indeed, according to his former Ajax teammate Quincy Promes, Dest is a “big talent”, and those thoughts were echoed by the club’s manager, Erik ten Hag.

Speaking after the American won the club’s young player of the year award a couple of seasons ago, he said to the full-back: “You came like a comet. You played a lot of games in Ajax 1, including in the Champions League. You showed your potential. This is well deserved.”

Given he is only 21, and is already playing at the highest level with Barcelona, a move for Dest would be a hugely exciting one and a really big statement for Leeds to make.

AND in other news – Sold at £8m, now worth triple: Leeds had a nightmare over “fearless” 5 ft 9 magician

Having missed 14 of Leeds United’s Premier League fixtures this season due to a hamstring injury sustained in December, Liam Cooper once again proved just how important he is to Jesse Marsch’s side in the Whites’ crucial 3-0 win over Watford on Saturday afternoon.

Indeed, over the course of the matches for which the 30-year-old was sidelined, Leeds picked up just 10 points from a possible 42 – a run which included just three victories, one draw and 10 defeats, with the Whites shipping a quite astonishing 43 goals in this period.

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However, after making a return to the starting XI in the 1-1 draw against Southampton last week, when Cooper earned an impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.1, the Scotland international was again imperious in the heart of defence against the Hornets.

Indeed, over the course of the 90 minutes, the £6.3m-rated defender was undoubtedly Leeds’ most important player, making three clearances, five interceptions and three tackles and winning 10 of his 11 duels – a success rate of 91%.

These returns saw the £35k-per-week centre-back earn an extremely impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.6, with no player from either side earning a higher rating than the Scot.

Furthermore, Leeds Live journalist Beren Cross also handed the club captain an eight in his player ratings, stating of the 30-year-old’s display: “By far the best player on the pitch. Head and shoulders above the rest. Mopped up any danger which came through the backline, intercepted, anticipated, dominated in the air and always seem to play the right option, unlike so many others.”

It is likely that Raphinha will steal the headlines on Sunday morning, but considering Leeds’ frankly horrendous defensive record with the Scotland centre-back out of the team, and his dominating displays since returning to Marsch’s XI, it is clear to see just how crucial the player who Jack Collins dubbed “Ramos-esque” is for Leeds.

AND in other news – Forget Klich: 12-duel losing “fish out of water” may have played his last game for Leeds

Everton have officially sacked Rafa Benitez, becoming the fifth manager to be shown the door since Farhad Moshiri became the majority shareholder at the club in 2016, and there are already a number of managers being named as potential suitors for the position.

Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney and Roberto Martinez have all been identified as rumoured targets as Benitez’s successor at the club, after Sky Sports journalist, Ben Ransom, named the trio live at Finch Farm on Sunday afternoon.

However, there is a manager that was closely linked with the Everton job before they appointed the Spaniard in the summer.

Nuno Espirito Santo is currently out of work, after being sacked by Tottenham Hotspur following a poor start to the season, and was replaced with Italian manager, Antonio Conte, but could become the perfect appointment for Everton in their current situation where they find themselves 16th in the Premier League this season.

The Portuguese coach earned his credibility and respect in the top-flight during his tenure at Wolverhampton Wanderers taking them from midtable in the Championship to a Europa League quarter-final and an FA Cup semi-final, establishing themselves as a Premier League club finishing as high as seventh in two consecutive seasons in the league under his guidance.

His 47.7% win ratio at Molineux surpasses the 47.1% Wolves completed as they won three league titles in the 1950s under Stanley Cullis, earning him high praise from respected figures in English football, with Gary Lineker hailing the manager “fabulous” upon his mutual departure from the Midlands club.

Lineker told viewers of Match of the Day after Wolves were defeated in Nuno’s last game in charge:

“Ultimately, a disappointing farewell for Nuno but he’s done a fabulous job there over the years and turned them into a real, proper Premier League club.”

Moshiri could hire Nuno and utilise his proven experience in building a club up from mediocrity to challenging in Europe and domestic competitions, finally giving Everton fans something to smile about after a nightmare season so far, with an ongoing lack of success, going further back then Moshiri’s Everton journey, which has seen the club without a trophy for almost 27 years.

Everton have confirmed in a statement that they will announce the new manager at Goodison Park in due course, with currently no word of any official approach being made for any prospective appointment so far.

That said, we think it should be the former Wolves and Tottenham boss who is handed the keys to Goodison Park.

In other news: Sky Sports journalist reveals favourites for the job

Liverpool are reportedly interested in signing promising Aberdeen starlet Lancelot Pollard this summer, with Manchester United and Rangers also in the mix.

The Lowdown: Youngster making waves

The young target is making a name for himself at Aberdeen currently, seen as ‘one of the best young talents’ in their academy but not yet appearing for the first team.

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Pollard’s rapid progress has clearly caught the eye of a number of clubs, with his stay at his current team potentially coming to an end this summer.

With Jurgen Klopp always looking to build towards the future, it could be that the Liverpool manager looks to bring him to Anfield at the end of the season.

The Latest: Liverpool eye up move

According to The Scottish Daily Express, and their reliable long-serving reporter Scott Burns, the Reds are one of the front-runners to make a move for Pollard in the coming months.

They are not alone in showing an interest, however, with Premier League rivals Manchester United and Rangers also keen on possibly spending a six-figure sum on him.

Klopp’s side could potentially scupper Man United’s or the Gers’ possible plans to sign Pollard if they decide to make a move.

The Verdict: Long-term planning

As mentioned, it is crucial that Liverpool plan for life well beyond Klopp, ensuring that his time in charge isn’t just a glorious era that ended after his tenure.

Acquiring the best young British talent is certainly a good way of preventing that and Pollard could fall into that category, considering his current reputation.

Admittedly, he remains unproven at a certain level and not a huge amount is known about him, but Liverpool’s success in the transfer market under Klopp suggests he is an exciting proposition.

In other news, a pundit has cast doubt over one Liverpool superstar’s future. Read more here.

David Moyes’ West Ham United side face a challenging trip to Manchester United in Saturday afternoon’s Premier League encounter, with the 58-year-old undoubtedly hoping for a repeat result of the third round Carabao Cup tie earlier this season, when the Irons bested the Red Devils 1-0 at Old Trafford.

However, while West Ham’s form has picked up in recent weeks, a 3-2 home defeat against Leeds United last time out will have brought Moyes’ men back down to earth with a bump – although a win against a team currently two points behind them in the top four race would certainly lift spirits in the Hammers camp once again.

Also, with Kurt Zouma likely to be available for selection following his recovery from both injury and illness, Moyes has regained arguably one of his most important players for the trip to Old Trafford.

Moyes must unleash Zouma

Indeed, following his £29.8m move from Chelsea last summer, Zouma has quickly established himself as a first-team regular at the London Stadium, turning in a number of highly impressive performances prior to his injury in December.

Indeed, over his 11 Premier League appearances this season, the £33.5m-rated defender has been in fantastic form for the Irons, helping his side to keep two clean sheets and scoring one goal, as well as making 1.2 interceptions, 0.6 tackles and 5.2 clearances per game and winning 60% of his duels.

These returns have seen the £120k-per-week France international average a SofaScore match rating of 6.91, ranking him as the Hammers’ joint 10th-best player in the top flight.

As such, should the player who John Terry dubbed “unbelievable” and a “beast” be fit to start this afternoon, Moyes simply must unleash the 27-year-old, as the presence of Zouma in both boxes will undoubtedly be a prospect which could terrify Man United’s players.

In other news: Moyes could finally replace Haller as West Ham initiate talks for “incredible” £40m ace

Juventus midfielder Aaron Ramsey is set to leave Italian giants Juventus this month with West Ham United amongst an array of clubs interested in securing the Welshman’s signature.

What’s the latest?

Juventus manager Max Allegri has confirmed that Ramsey is on his way out of Turin, stating: “Aaron’s not with the team as he’s set to leave the club.”

The 31-year-old has been neglected entirely this campaign, playing just 112 minutes of football for the Old Lady so far this season.

In fact, the midfielder’s move to Serie A after 11 years at Arsenal hasn’t materialised the way in which both parties would’ve hoped, with Ramsey making 70 appearances for Juventus across two-and-a-half seasons, scoring and assisting six goals.

Eurosport initially reported last month that West Ham were interested in signing the former Gunner with the Turin club looking to offload their fringe players with Newcastle, Arsenal and Everton the other named suitors interested in bringing the 31-year-old back to the Premier League.

West Ham must swoop for Ramsey

With ambitions of finishing in the top-four, David Moyes’ side will need reinforcements this month to give themselves a realistic shot at qualifying for the Champions League.

The Hammers are sat in fifth and are only one point off of fourth-placed Manchester United, however, the Red Devils have a game in hand whilst sixth-placed Arsenal have two and seventh-placed Tottenham have four.

A mixed run over the festive period has seen the east London outfit slip, meaning that Champions League qualification is currently out of their hands and will require an impressive run of form during the second half of the Premier League season.

Ramsey has a plethora of Champions League experience, having played in Europe’s elite competition on 78 occasions for both Arsenal and Juventus.

Moreover, during the 11 seasons he was at Arsenal, the Gunners finished in the top-four eight times with the final three seasons seeing the north London club fall short.

The Welshman also has bags of experience at international level, with Wales midfielder Joe Allen describing the 71-cap 31-year-old as “world-class.”

West Ham could also do with another offensive outlet from their midfield with regulars Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek defensive-minded midfielders whereas Ramsey would add creativity to the Irons’ setup.

Valued at £4.5m by Transfermarkt, the 31-year-old could well be available for a bargain fee and is certainly worth a gamble by the Hammers’ new head of recruitment Rob Newman.

Meanwhile, West Ham could upgrade on Michail Antonio with this striker…

According to a report from the Daily Mail, Tottenham Hotspur are interested in signing Peterborough United defender Ronnie Edwards. 

The lowdown: Rapid rise to prominence

Capped on four occasions by England at the Under-19 level, the Harlow-born starlet has quickly become a strugglers Peterborough having come through the youth ranks at Barnet.

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Still just 19, the centre-back has already amassed 41 appearances in senior football following a professional debut in 2019.

Now, it appears that the teenager could be destined for a move to the Premier League.

The latest: Spurs face transfer tussle

As per the Daily Mail report, Tottenham are set to ‘battle it out’ with London rivals Crystal Palace in the summer to land the exciting youngster.

It’s claimed that both clubs may have to fork out as much as £15m for the ace once described as a ‘Rolls Royce’ by Peterborough director of football Barry Fry.

Despite the lofty price tag, Edwards is said to have ‘caught the eye’ at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as Antonio Conte and Fabio Paratici weigh up options to bolster the ranks in the summer transfer window.

The verdict: Planning for the future

Whilst the fee may seem extortionate for a player without any top-flight experience, signing the best young talents comes at a cost, and Spurs may just have to go all out in order to win this particular race.

Albeit the current first-team squad is arguably in need of strengthening now, given their most recent 1-0 loss at home to Brighton and Hove Albion, planning for the future with shrewd signings such as this will only leave the club in safe hands for the foreseeable future.

Akin to the capture of Dele Alli in 2015, when Premier League rivals were also in the mix, signing the teenager who has produced some standout displays this season – notably when making three interceptions, completing two clearances and blocking two shots against Manchester City in the FA Cup (SofaScore) – would be a worthwhile venture.

In other news: Tottenham eyeing summer move for La Liga defender! Find out more here.