All posts by z3u9t.icu

Globally sought-after talent Jadon Sancho has thrown a huge curveball into the mix as he would reportedly favour a move to Anfield over Old Trafford next season.

The Independent (via Sportsmole) has reported that the Dortmund winger could be seeking a move to Liverpool despite his talks with Manchester United. Both the reigning Premier League champions and Bayern Munich have overtaken the Red Devils in pursuit of his signature.

Jurgen Klopp has been highlighted as someone who could lure Sancho to the fortress of Anfield over the coming months.

Liverpool could snatch Sancho

The England international has been linked to several Premier League clubs this year. The Reds are certainly interested but seemingly couldn’t justify his mammoth asking price. Back in June, Dortmund valued their star player at an astronomical £117million, according to Bild (via talkSPORT). However, due to the current financial climate, neither Liverpool nor United have been able to facilitate a move.

Dortmund lost out on the Bundesliga title by quite a margin last season, finishing 13 points behind winners Bayern. Sancho could be weighing up his options as he starts thinking about winning trophies. Klopp’s success with both Liverpool and Dortmund could be a deciding factor in the 20-year-old’s next move.

Sancho stats

Sancho has quickly established himself as one of the best young talents on the planet. Last campaign, he notched a delightful 20 goals and 20 assists across competitions for his club, taking his Dortmund total to 35 goals and 45 assists all together (via Transfermarkt).

The winger also enjoyed time in England with Manchester City, scoring 15 goals in just 22 appearances in the U18 league. However, Sancho was never called up to the senior squad. He may have unfinished business in his home country – that being the desire to dominate the Premier League.

If Liverpool are to make a move for the forward, it will likely be next summer when the picture is clearer on finances. With three years left on his contract, it’s also without question that Sancho will still cost in excess of £100million. But if the Reds do strike a club record deal for the services of a player who has been labelled “world class” by former player Emre Can, they will have seriously caught Man United with their trousers down.

In other news, Verdict on Gini Wijnaldum’s Liverpool future a stark reminder for Klopp…

Plymouth Argyle manager Ryan Lowe has been tipped to take a managerial vacancy at a former Premier League club, although local media have dismissed the likelihood of him defecting from Home Park.

According to Plymouth Herald, the 41-year-old is highly unlikely to leave the Pilgrims for the vacant manager’s job at Bolton Wanderers, having been installed by some bookmakers as the favourite for the gig in Lancashire.

Plymouth Herald added that Argyle have a “long-held policy” of refusing to comment on any speculation linking their players or management with moves to other clubs.

Plymouth Herald identified three key reasons as to why Lowe is unlikely to leave Home Park for Bolton. Firstly, he is under contract at the Pilgrims for another two years, so the Trotters would need to pay a large compensation fee to release him from that commitment, something which seems most unlikely given the parlous financial state of a club just relegated to League Two.

The media outlet also claimed that Lowe is fully focused on his current role, having already drawn up transfer targets for 2020/21, while adding that his previous as manager of Bolton’s local rivals Bury would not make him an ideal fit for the Trotters.

The 41-year-old has done a tremendous job so far at Plymouth, guiding them to an immediate promotion back to League One having won 24 of his 45 matches in charge (53.33%) and gained 68 points from their 37 league matches (1.84 per game) before the season was abandoned.

The Liverpool native has only just masterminded Plymouth’s promotion out of League Two, so it would make very little sense for him to drop back down to the division by taking on a role at a club who have suffered two successive relegations and whose financial woes nearly drove them out of business last year.

Lowe is on to a good thing at Home Park and all the signs from the Plymouth Herald are that he has no intention of putting his efforts into anything other than building upon the fine work he has done so far with the Pilgrims.

Plymouth fans, do you expect more clubs to target Lowe as a possible candidate for managerial vacancies? Share your views in the comments section below!

Manchester United will be desperate to bounce back from their FA Cup semi-final exit when they welcome West Ham to Old Trafford.

Man United slumped to a disappointing defeat to Chelsea at Wembley, which ended their chances of a first final under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

The Red Devils had enjoyed a 19-game unbeaten run up until that point, although they will get another shot at silverware this season when the Europa League returns in August.

United will want to make swift amends, although they won’t have an easy task on their hands, as West Ham have pulled off some remarkable results in recent weeks, including a 3-2 victory over the Blues at the London Stadium at the start of the month.

Transfer Tavern has put together a predicted starting lineup, which sees Solskjaer make five changes to the side that lost to the Blues last weekend.

Solskjaer admitted his team selection in the FA Cup defeat “didn’t work” and he will want to rectify that mistake.

The Red Devils are firmly in the race for a top four finish, although they face stiff competition from Chelsea and Leicester City.

Solskjaer’s side are currently fifth in the table, tied with the Foxes on 62 points, with two games left to play in the campaign.

United’s main attacking quartet had earned rave reviews until they started without Anthony Martial, Paul Pogba and Mason Greenwood, as Solskjaer made four changes to the side that beat Crystal Palace, and he will surely return to the team that had performed so well since the Premier League restart.

He switched to playing three at the back which turned out to be a terrible decision as the Blues ran riot on Sunday.

Solskjaer will likely revert back to his preferred 4-2-3-1 formation, as Martial resumes his fine form at the top of the pitch.

Meanwhile, Greenwood will regain his place in the starting lineup, meaning Daniel James will make way as a result.

After his decision to give Pogba a rest proved costly, the Frenchman will resume his partnership with Bruno Fernandes in the midfield, and Fred will drop to the bench instead.

Eric Bailly is expected to miss the match with West Ham after sustaining a head injury, allowing Victor Lindelof to slot into place next to Harry Maguire.

On the other hand, Solskjaer has a fully fit squad to choose from, and Luke Shaw could earn his first start for the club since the 2-2 draw with his old side Southampton, replacing Brandon Williams at left-back.

David de Gea’s performances have come under scrutiny this season and the Spaniard did himself no favours after being at fault for two of Chelsea’s goals. The Spaniard looks short of confidence and Sergio Romero could earn a surprise call-up from the bench to deputise for the erratic goalkeeper.

United will most likely start the game as favourites, but they must be at their very best if they want to turn things around. There is no room for error in the race for the top four.

United fans, do you think this is how Solskjaer will lineup against West Ham? Let us know your views by commenting below!

A lot of West Ham fans have reacted to the news that the club have rejected a bid for their 21-year-old midfielder Sead Haksabanovic.

Swedish media outlet Fotboll Direkt report that the Premier League side turned down an offer of around £5m from an unnamed club for the Montenegro international.

The Hammers signed the player back in August 2017 from Swedish side Halmstads BK and was acquired as a player for the future, as per Transfermarkt. At Halmstad he had a very solid record for such a young age, scoring 13 goals and picking up 10 assists in 70 appearances.

However, he has only been given two chances in the first team at West Ham and he has had to accept either playing for the under-23s or being sent out on loan. He has gained experience in Spain with Malaga and now finds himself back in Sweden on loan at IFK Norrköping, where he has scored nine goals and managed eight assists in 36 games, as per Transfermarkt.

Here is how these Hammers fans have reacted to the news:

Hammers fans, what are your thoughts on the club’s decision on Haksabanovic? Comment below with your views!

Glasgow Rangers and the rest of the top four tiers of Scottish football will soon find out how many teams they will be playing against in league football next season.

As it stands, the Gers will face 11 other sides in the Premiership whilst the other three leagues will each include 10 outfits. However, following Hearts owner Ann Budge’s push to see the league system north of the border restructured, the top tier could increase to 14, whilst those who were relegated following the premature end of the season will remain in their current divisions.

Journalist Peter Martin clearly believes that there should be change implemented. On Twitter, he has implored the sides in Scottish football to save Hearts, Stranraer and Partick Thistle and do the “decent thing”.

This has attracted the attention of the Gers supporters, and they do not seem too happy with Martin’s comments – it seems they have not forgiven him for his desire to see their fierce Glasgow rivals Celtic handed the title, with one fan even calling him an “utter embarrassment”. They have taken to the social media platform to share their thoughts, and you can see some of the best comments below.

Let us know what you think!

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Leeds United returned to the top of the Championship on Tuesday evening after beating Reading 1-0.

The Whites have come a long way since appointing Marcelo Bielsa the summer after finishing 13th in the league, but how has the Argentine made the Whites so successful?

Kalvin Phillips is more than qualified to explain how Bielsa has transformed Leeds, and he spoke about how the Argentine’s training regimes have helped the team progress.

Watch Leeds United Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

What’s been said then?

Phillips was speaking in a video package produced by Sky that aired before their match against Reading (Sky Sports, 26/11 7:30pm).

“On a Wednesday we do the toughest session I’ve ever done in my life.” Phillips said.

“We do a thing called ‘murderball’, well we call it murderball, he just calls it football.

“It’s where we play blocks of five minutes of just constant 100 miles per hour football where if the ball goes out we’ve got staff on the side ready to throw one back in.

“It’s carnage to be fair, but it’s good, I don’t think many teams train at our intensity, so that’s why we’re doing so well.”

[ad_pod ]

Great attitude

What an incredible attitude to have.

Phillips isn’t coy about these ‘murderball’ sessions being the hardest thing he’s ever had to do, but he goes on to say that it’s good and he attributes the team’s success down to the intensity of their training.

Certain players would bemoan a manager for making them work so hard, but it seems as if the midfielder has completely bought into what Bielsa is trying to do at Elland Road, and that is absolutely fantastic to see.

Of course, there are pros and cons to these intense sessions, and the ‘Bielsa burnout’ theory exists for a reason, but the 23-year-old doesn’t seem to be questioning his manager’s tactics one bit.

If one of their most important players is buying into this, it certainly bodes well for the rest of the side.

In other news, Leeds fans have been drooling over one academy player.

Writing in his column for Sky Sports, Charlie Nicholas has delivered his honest verdict on Odsonne Edouard’s future at Celtic.

What did he say?

Edouard has been in scintillating form for the Hoops this season, netting an impressive 27 times and providing a further 19 assists in just 45 games across all competitions.

That has seen the £13.5m-rated ace linked with a potential move to the Premier League, and Nicholas has admitted that the striker could be heading for the exit door at Celtic Park very soon.

Best of the Decade: Top scorers & creators – Can you name them?

World Class score: 95% | Expert score: 80% | Veteran score: 65% | Intermediate score: 45% | Amateur score: 30% | Try Again: 5%

He said: “He’s had his best goalscoring season and he’s scored quite a few in Europe so you are not just judging him on his tally in Scottish football. he’s become Celtic’s key player and best by a distance. He will leave Celtic.

“Some people are suggesting he’ll stay on next season as Celtic go in search of 10 titles in a row. People up north get so bogged down by it, but Edouard is now reaching a side of his career at 22 where, like Dembele, he will be looking at who are interested in signing him. He’s in a position where he can take his time with this.”

Deja vu

After seeing Moussa Dembele leave the club after a stellar record at Celtic – he struck 51 times in just 94 games for the club – this would simply be a case of deja vu for Neil Lennon.

The Hoops have been around the block when it comes to seeing their star players make their exits, with last summer seeing them also lose Kieran Tierney to Arsenal.

But whilst they have done well to replace them, there’s only so many times Peter Lawwell and co can continue to ensure Celtic’s squad doesn’t get any weaker. It’s a tough task that will be draining for those involved in the recruitment process, and eventually they will miss the target with one of their signings.

It’s exactly why Nicholas’ claim about Edouard may just leave Lawwell shaking in his boots.

Meanwhile, Celtic fans are delighted with update on this ace’s future.

Manchester United fans have taken to Twitter to react after Scott McTominay picked up an injury in the 3-1 win over Brighton on Sunday.The 12-cap Scotland international limped off the Old Trafford pitch before heading down the tunnel on a stretcher, with the Red Devils forced to play the final ten minutes of the game with ten men – Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had already used his three substitutes.

McTominay has started all 12 of United’s Premier League games this season, scoring two goals and grabbing an assist, while he was also named as the club’s Player of the Month for September – he is arguably one of the most improved players in comparison to last term.

With an international break now upon us, McTominay should at least have some time to recover, although that hasn’t stopped some United fans taking to Twitter to discuss the blow.

Let’s take a look at some of the tweets…

According to Football Insider, West Ham United want to sign a new goalkeeper in January and will target a player ‘with Premier League experience’.

Lukasz Fabianski’s hip injury means that Roberto has been thrust into the spotlight in recent weeks, and the Spaniard’s performances have not gone down well with the fans.

Roberto is expected to keep his spot between the sticks for the clash with Tottenham Hotspur this weekend, much to the annoyance of the supporters.

However, according to Football Insider, the Hammers will be in the market for a new goalkeeper at the start of 2020.

The report claims that the London club do not believe that Adrian was adequately replaced during the summer and will attempt to correct the issue in January.

A number of West Ham fans have been on social media reacting to the speculation.

And it would be fair to say that a number have seen the funny side, picking out David James, Rob Green, Kyle Walker and Neville Southall as potential arrivals.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

Some Charlton fans have taken to Twitter to continue what is becoming a running theme around The Valley – heaping praise on Darren Pratley.

The 34-year-old was lauded by the Addicks supporters on Twitter recently for his fine contributions to the side so far this season, and after the 3-0 win over Derby on Saturday, some fans have come out to continue the adoration of the veteran.

Pratley has made ten Championship appearances so far this term as Lee Bowyer’s men sit 7th in the table, and are currently only outside of the playoffs on goal difference – amazingly, the south Londoners are just four points off the top of the table.

The former Bolton man is a real battler for Charlton, making 2.1 interceptions, 1.5 tackles and 2.9 clearances per game in the league this season, and his showings certainly aren’t slipping under the radar.

One supporter below even made the bold statement that he feels his side can’t lose when Pratley is named in the XI!

Let’s take a look at some more of the Twitter reaction…