All posts by z3u9t.icu

After suffering their first defeat under new manager Steven Gerrard in midweek with their 2-1 loss against Manchester City, Aston Villa welcome Leicester City to Villa Park this Sunday for their next Premier League fixture.

Ahead of the match against the Foxes, it seems as though the Villans could have a double injury boost handed to them just in time for the clash, which will have lots of fans thrilled.

What’s the news?

Speaking after the City defeat, Gerrard shed some light over the injury that Villa left-back Matt Targett picked up which forced him off the pitch in the second half against Pep Guardiola’s side.

The Villa boss revealed that the 26-year-old had “a little bit of a knock” but will “hopefully” be available for the match against Leicester, which should put to bed any concerns that some fans may have had on the defender.

Additionally, Gerrard said that they were “protecting” Jacob Ramsey by not playing him against City so that he will also “hopefully” be fit enough to feature at the weekend.

Taking this into account, it seems as though there is reason to be optimistic for everyone at Villa that Targett and Ramsey will be fit enough to play against Leicester so that they can get back to winning ways after their midweek setback.

With Gerrard set to speak to the media at some point before Sunday’s clash, lots of Villa fans will undoubtedly have their fingers crossed that the 41-year-old will have a definite answer as to whether the duo will be fit enough to play this weekend.

Having played in all but one of Villa’s Premier League games so far this season, Targett has shown how useful he is for the side. It will be a big boost for them if he’s fit enough to play on Sunday, having averaged 1.6 tackles, 1.3 clearances and 1.2 interceptions per game in the league.

Similarly with Ramsey, the 20-year-old had only missed one league game this season prior to the City match as he tries to cement himself as an important midfield option for the Villans.

Looking ahead to the clash against Leicester, with Brendan Rodgers’ side only winning one of their five previous league games, Gerrard will definitely see this as a great opportunity for his team to pick up three points, hopefully with Targett and Ramsey being able to play a part in the process.

In other news: This Villa man was an “absolute revelation” v Man City…

Leeds United return to Premier League action this afternoon with another trip down to the capital.

Marcelo Bielsa’s depleted squad were frustratingly knocked out of the FA Cup by West Ham United last weekend and will have to face them again later today.

He is faced with plenty of selection decisions as the injury crisis at Thorp Arch begins to ease up, so it will be interesting to see what sort of side he fields at the London Stadium.

Here’s our predicted XI for the Whites’ trip to east London…

There could be as many as four changes to the side that tasted defeat last Sunday.

Between the sticks, Illan Meslier is likely to remain but there’s an alteration to his back four as Diego Llorente is facing suspension. As a result, we could see Robin Koch drop back into defence to partner academy gem Leo Hjelde, who impressed despite the loss.

Bielsa is still without skipper Liam Cooper and Pascal Struijk is only just returning from injury, so the 18-year-old could keep his place. Luke Ayling and Junior Firpo also remain.

In midfield, Adam Forshaw returns after being rested, as should Stuart Dallas and the pair may feature alongside Mateusz Klich.

Further up the pitch, Raphinha is a shoo-in to come back into the fold, having also been named on the bench last week. Jack Harrison may be preferred to Daniel James for the spot on the other flank.

The £52k-per-week Welshman is, therefore, axed due to his poor form in the Whites colours.

Meanwhile, in a big boost, we could see Patrick Bamford finally return from injury – as revealed by The Athletic’s Phil Hay this week, he is likely to be available for selection. If fit, you’d imagine he comes straight in given the lack of alternatives.

Predicted Leeds United XI vs West Ham (4-1-4-1): Meslier; Firpo, Hjelde, Koch, Ayling; Forshaw; Harrison, Dallas, Klich, Raphinha; Bamford

AND in other news, Phil Hay reveals triple injury boost for Leeds United…

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Steve Bull, who is a Wolves Hall of Famer, has praised West Ham’s Craig Dawson for taking his chance with the Hammers and proving to people that he can still play in the Premier League.

Dawson was initially signed on loan from Championship side Watford but earlier this month, West Ham confirmed he would be signing a two-year deal at the end of the season.

The 30-year old failed to even make the bench for David Moyes’ side until November 12, with his Premier League debut coming the following month in a 0-0 draw with Southampton.

Speaking on how Dawson took his chance at the London Stadium and how he may have seen this as his final shot at the Premier League, Bull told FFC:

“He’s an old headed centre back who likes to roll his sleeves up and he was probably thinking this is his last roll of the dice considering his age.

“I think he’s grasped it with both hands and he’s probably thinking ‘I’ve got a good chance of playing in Europe next year’, and he’s going to give it a good go.”

Dawson has been a presence in both boxes this season having kept six clean sheets as well as scoring three times in just 17 Premier League games, although he has also put through his own net twice and was sent off in the defeat to Newcastle last weekend.

That said, his transfer from Watford to West Ham will reportedly cost the Hammers just £2.2 million, a snip when you look at how much players cost in today’s market.

Another update has emerged regarding Ruben Neves’ future at Wolves, with a summer move to Barcelona once again popping up in the press this week.

The Lowdown: Neves on his way?

The 24-year-old has matured into arguably the Wanderers’ most influential player over the years, providing endless quality in the middle of the park.

Sadly, Neves is being continually linked with a move away from Molineux this summer, with Barcelona looking like the front-runners to snap him up.

The Portuguese may feel the need to move on to pastures new, having possibly outgrown the club after their push for European football faltered.

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The Latest: New rumour emerges

According to Sport [via Sport Witness], Neves ‘creates absolute consensus’ at Barca among those high up at the club, being seen as a primary summer target within the Catalan board.

His agent, Jorge Mendes, has been given the job of ‘reformulating everything’, with the La Liga giants ‘willing to study ‘ the move ‘carefully’.

It is also stated that the Portugal international is ‘crazy to join’ Barca, who see him as a long-term replacement for Sergio Busquets.

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The Verdict: Time to plan for life without him

With each passing week, the more it looks like a matter of time until Neves leaves Wolves – the key now is to use the funds wisely and replace him with a top player.

He will leave a gaping void in the middle of the park, having averaged 2.3 tackles per game and registered six goal contributions (four goals and two assists) in the Premier League this season, with rumoured target Joao Palhinha someone who could offer similar, having averaged 3.1 tackles in the Primeira Liga.

It is hard to begrudge Neves a move to Barca, given the magnitude of the club, but it is now vital that Wolves’ positive trajectory continues without him

In other news, Wolves are reportedly eyeing up a move for an exciting player. Find out who it is here.

According to a report from TEAMtalk, West Ham United and GSB are in talks to sign young Fulham defender Ibane Bowat as his current deal expires in June – with negotiations having been ‘ongoing’ over the last few weeks as the Hammers attempt to snap him up.

Bowat has been a mainstay for Fulham’s Under-18s side since putting pen to paper on a two-year scholarship back in 2019, assisting the Cottagers in their Premier League South title win last campaign.

West Ham in talks for Bowat

As a result, Fulham are keen to keep hold of the ‘classy’ 6 foot 2 defender and have offered him a professional deal to sign in June – but now West Ham are eager to take him away and are in talks over a move.

The Irons are one of a number of clubs that are in contact, with Brighton, Arsenal and Everton all having talks recently as well as German side FC Koln – even though it is understood the Bundesliga side could not agree terms.

Transfer Tavern take

Predominantly a centre-half, the versatile 18-year-old can also play left-back upon requirement, a prospect of his game that may have attracted the Irons.

Despite signing fellow promising centre-back Frederik Alves from Silkeborg in January, West Ham are now in conversation with another defensive starlet, and it remains to be seen whether they will win the race for his signature.

In other news: West Ham fans erupted over this news, find out more here.

Flocking to Twitter, many West Ham United fans have responded to club insider ExWHUemployee’s update on star midfielder Declan Rice. 

Rice was instrumental in West Ham’s push for European football over 2020/2021 and played a key role in defensive midfield – making the most interceptions out of any Irons player with over 15 starts in the Premier League (WhoScored).

As a result of his brilliant form over this past season, many clubs are interested in signing Rice this summer – with Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea all interested in a move for the 22-year-old.

However, ExWHUemployee’s update on the subject (via West Ham News & Views) has many Hammers fans talking amid a development.

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The insider claims that while this trio of clubs are admirers, none of them are willing to match his £100 million price tag needed to prise him away from east London.

The situation, as it stands, is unlikely to change with the Englishman currently looking set to remain at the London Stadium.

Flocking to this update, as shared by West Ham News & Views, many Irons dropped their verdicts – find all of their best ones down below.

West Ham fans flock to ExWHUemployee claim

“Perfect, we don’t want to sell! Every player has a price and ours is a huge price.”

Credit: @dalboyweston

“What I like to see”

Credit: @GetGSBout

“Good!”

Credit: @whu_paul

“Great, that’s that then.”

Credit: @BillHorganTweet

“So jog on then!”

Credit: @bubblemaster3

“Only £100 million, at his age, it should be £150 million.”

Credit: @CLARETnBLUESguy

In other news: West Ham enter talks to sign ‘very fast’ 42-cap forward, find out more here.

Leicester City have moved on from Celtic striker Odsonne Edouard after they failed to agree on a fee with the Hoops for the Frenchman.

The Lowdown: Edouard told friends he was joining Leicester

It seemed as if the 23-year-old was destined to reunite with former Hoops boss Brendan Rodgers at the King Power Stadium this summer.

Reports last month suggested the Foxes were closing in on Edouard, with the player himself even telling friends he would be signing for the FA Cup winners after agreeing on personal terms.

However, it seems as if a deal is now off following reliable reporter Fabrizio Romano’s Thursday update.

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The Latest: Romano’s post

Transfer expert Romano shared the latest on the Foxes’ summer plans on Twitter.

He claimed they are now working on signing Patson Daka from RB Salzburg and not Edouard after failing to reach an agreement with Celtic.

“To be clear. Leicester are working to complete Patson Daka deal after official bid made to Salzburg – NOT Edouard, they’ve been negotiating for the Celtic striker but no agreement.”

The Verdict: Postecoglou to be delighted?

You’d expect new Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou could be delighted at this update.

He may have been resigned to losing the forward when in discussions with the Hoops hierarchy on taking the job, but it now seems as if he could well stay at Parkhead with a move to Leicester now off the cards.

Of course, other clubs could still come swooping in, but the striker seemingly had his heart set on moving to the Midlands, so perhaps he can now be convinced Glasgow is better than any old alternative that pops up.

Edouard scored 22 goals in all competitions last season but has just 12 months left on his Celtic contract, so should his situation remain the same going into 2022, the Hoops could end up losing the player for nothing.

It’s a risky spot Celtic now find themselves in, but Postecoglou will be buzzing if he has the Frenchman available for selection going into the 2021/22 campaign.

In other news: Forrest, McGregor and Turnbull Celtic updates emerge, find out more here. 

Peterborough Director of Football Barry Fry has exclusively told Football FanCast that Sam Allardyce is the “perfect” man to take West Brom back into the Premier League, should the Baggies get relegated.

The former England manager replaced Slaven Bilic before Christmas following just one victory from the Baggies’ opening 13 Premier League matches.

But Allardyce himself has been unable to work his magic, and looks on course to lose his proud record of never being relegated as a manager, with West Brom currently 10 points from safety with just nine league games remaining.

Providing the Baggies do expectedly finish inside the bottom-three and suffer an immediate relegation, Fry has urged the Hawthorns outfit to stick by Allardyce, whose got two promotions from the Championship on his CV with both Bolton and more recently, West Ham – both through the play-offs.

Fry told Football FanCast:

“Even if Sam performs a miracle, West Brom will go down. But you will not have a better bloke, if you back him, than Sam Allardyce to bounce straight back up and get back into the Premier League.

“Sam did it with West Ham, he’s done it at that level. He knows what he’s doing. He joined midway through the season which is no good to anyone. He’s only had one window. Once he has the summer window to wheel and deal, and lose some of the players that he inherited that he doesn’t want.

“I would keep Sam Allardyce because I know he will go close getting them back to the Premier League from the Championship.”

Whilst West Brom haven’t performed as some might have expected following Allardyce’s arrival, surely the West Brom hierarchy knew there was every chance of them being relegated, especially having failed to properly back Bilic the previous summer.

And with Big Sam’s history of getting teams out of the Championship in mind, sticking by him is their best bet.

Former West Brom midfielder Carlton Palmer has told Football FanCast in an exclusive interview that Conor Gallagher is better off staying at the Hawthorns than returning to Chelsea.

Gallagher has spent the season on loan at West Brom from Chelsea but looks set to return to the west London club in the summer.

According to The Sun, the 21-year-old midfielder plans to remain at Stamford Bridge for the 2021/22 campaign and compete for a place in Thomas Tuchel’s team.

Given the competition he faces at his parent club, though, Palmer believes the best choice for Gallagher would be to remain at West Brom or join another outfit on loan.

When asked by FFC would staying at the Baggies be a better option for the midfielder, the retired England international said:

“There’s no point going back to Chelsea, sitting on the bench or playing in the reserves. There’s no point; you need to play – that’s as simple as it is. I’ve always said that. My advice to any young player would be you’ve got to get out and play.

“Don’t let your career stagnate for a year or two years.”

Should Gallagher indeed return to Chelsea, he could very well find himself sitting on the bench.

The Blues are currently stacked in both the midfield and attacking midfield positions, with Tuchel already having the likes of Mason Mount, N’Golo Kante, Hakim Ziyech and Jorginho to call upon.

Arsenal are now on the verge of completing a deadline day signing…

What’s the word?

According to renowned Italian transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, the Gunners have agreed on a deal to sign versatile Bologna defender Takehiro Tomiyasu.

“Takehiro Tomiyasu to Arsenal, agreement reached and here we go! Personal terms agreed and Bologna will receive €20m plus €3m add ons,” he tweeted.

“Medical during the afternoon and then official announcement. Here-we-go.”

Here we go!

Heading into the final day of the summer transfer window, it was widely believed that Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta was seeking the addition of a new right-back, even despite the multitude of options at his disposal.

However, the long-serving Hector Bellerin appears to be on the way out, whilst Ainsley Maitland-Niles has been left upset after his move to Everton fell through. That would have left just Calum Chambers and Cedric Soares for that one spot and given their defensive issues so far this season, that’s a worrying prospect.

Tomiyasu is a hugely exciting signing and one that could solve this problem, especially as he can play both right-back and in the middle. And we know that the Spaniard likes to sometimes go to a back-three, so this move makes a ton of sense.

The £18m-rated Japan international featured at the Tokyo Olympics this summer and has previously been described as a “true warrior” by fellow Bologna defender Mitchell Dijks.

Last season, the Bolgona star averaged 1.5 tackles, 1.7 interceptions and 2.9 aerial battles won per league game, via WhoScored, which shows he’s quite the physical threat.

By comparison, Cedric, who has started two of the Gunners’ three Premier League fixtures has only managed 0.5 interceptions per game and is yet to win an aerial battle, per WhoScored.

It’s clear that Arsenal will be getting a signing in a much-needed position and that should give a small glimmer of hope to the Emirates Stadium faithful heading into the international break.

The Gunners would also be beating arch-rivals Spurs to his signature, so that should give them something extra to shout about, too.

AND in other news, Arteta suffers gutting Arsenal transfer blow as Edu heads for another ghastly mistake…