All posts by z3u9t.icu

There hasn’t been much you can criticise about Jurgen Klopp’s rampant Liverpool charges this season.

Going forward they have been at their mesmeric best, scoring goals at will as they possess one of the most destructive footballers in world football at the moment; Mohamed Salah.

However, the club’s German tactician still has room to improve the Reds’ midfield with a vast number of injuries hampering their progress in that regard.

Thiago, Curtis Jones, Fabinho and Harvey Elliott have all spent periods out this term, but the Merseyside outfit have now been rocked by another blow.

Liverpool are set to face Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday evening but will do so without one of their most important players of the last few weeks.

Naby Keita hobbled off in the draw with Brighton last weekend and speaking yesterday, Klopp confirmed he would not only miss the game with Atleti, but also a period following that.

He said: “Naby has a hamstring injury so will be out for a while.”

This news is likely to have left Klopp gutted, especially when you consider how the Guinea international has fared in recent weeks.

The midfielder found the net and also assisted a goal in the 5-0 romp of Manchester United, while also adding goals in the win over Palace and in their last outing with Atletico.

It looked as though the 26-year-old had finally brushed off the injury concerns that had plagued his Liverpool career this season.

He’s endured 14 separate spells on the sidelines due to fitness problems, missing 54 matches in the process.

That kind of wretched record is another reason for the German manager to be gutted by this latest development.

After all, it was he who helped sanction a £48m move for Keita back in 2017. Since then, he’s failed to justify his price tag, spending most of his time on the treatment table, rather than coming up with the goods on the pitch.

The last few months had proven the Guinean to be in good form but his chance to really cement a place in the middle of the park has now been taken away from him.

This is not good news for anyone associated with the club.

AND in other news, Klopp must unleash “incredible” £40.5m-rated Liverpool machine, he could haunt Atleti…

David Moyes’ West Ham United side head into Wednesday evening’s Carabao Cup quarter-final clash in a relatively poor run of form, having won just one of their last six fixtures in all competitions.

On the other hand, Wednesday night’s opponents, Tottenham Hotspur, find themselves in much better form, having lost just one of their six outings under the management of Antonio Conte.

As such, should the Hammers have any chance of making it through to the semi-finals of the League Cup, Moyes will undoubtedly have to get his team selection spot on for the trip to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

And, with it being recently revealed by West Ham insider ExWHUemployee that 21-year-old Ben Johnson is in contention for a start following his recovery from injury, it would seem highly advisable for the 58-year-old manager to unleash the right-back against Spurs.

He’ll give Son nightmares

Indeed, with Vladimir Coufal suspended on Wednesday evening after the defender was sent off against Arsenal last time out, there is an obvious spot that needs filling on the right-hand side of the Hammers’ backline against Spurs.

However, this is not the only reason as to why Moyes must place his trust in Johnson, as, in the club’s 1-0 win over tonight’s opponents back in October, the academy graduate proved that he is more than capable of doing a stellar job up against the Tottenham Hotspur attack.

Over his 90 minutes on the pitch that day, the £2.7m-rated defender had Spurs’ left-winger Heung-Min Son in his pocket, making five tackles, one interception, one clearance and winning all seven of his attempted duels in the match.

The player who Moyes himself dubbed a “really important” part of the West Ham side also posed a threat going forwards, completing one dribble, one cross, four long balls and having one shot at the Tottenham goal.

These returns saw the £19k-per-week right-back end the fixture with an extremely impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.8 – the joint second-highest of any player to feature in the game – while his counterpart Son received a rating of just 6.3 – the second-lowest of any player who started the match.

As such, if he is fit, the youngster who ExWHUemployee dubbed a “sensational” talent simply must start against Spurs this evening, as the defender is clearly more than capable of giving the north London side and their South Korean winger nightmares once again.

In other news: ExWHUemployee drops big injury update that will have West Ham fans buzzing

Everton have enjoyed a 10-day break in the Premier League following their victory against Manchester United last time out, which saw Frank Lampard receive a huge boost in terms of the fitness in his squad – with a fresh update emerging from Finch Farm this weekend.

What’s the word?

Everton were back in training on Friday and have been posting images of the session on their official website’s gallery, with eagle-eyed supporters being able to spot two key players back involved.

Donny Van de Beek and Yerry Mina were both back in training following injury issues ahead of the important clash against Leicester City on Wednesday evening.

Lampard will be buzzing

Lampard will be buzzing that he has both first-team players back, especially Mina, who has been out for months and is one of the best defenders in the 43-year-old’s squad.

In early February, the centre-back sustained a high-grade quadriceps tendon injury against Newcastle United, which ultimately did not require surgery.

Indeed, Mina’s impact on the side has been huge this season – being involved in four wins and two draws over his 10 Premier League outings, proving that his inclusion makes a clear difference to the team.

When you look at his defensive play in more detail, the 27-year-old has won the majority of his ground and aerial duels combined (66%), as well as made an average of 2.7 clearances and 0.9 tackles per game, as per SofaScore.

Donny Van de Beek is also expected to return to action following a thigh injury sustained in the warm-up ahead of the West Ham United clash earlier this month, with the Manchester United loanee giving Lampard more depth to select from in his midfield ahead of the visit of the Foxes next week.

Indeed, Lampard will undoubtedly be hoping the winning momentum and confidence earned from the Man United victory will help his side continue their winning streak against Brendan Rodgers’ side on Wednesday night.

AND in other news: Everton plot bid for “extraordinary” £35k-p/w ace, Lamps can finally axe £75k-p/w flop

Aston Villa have been busier than most teams across the whole of Europe in this January transfer window when it comes to bringing new players to the Midlands club such as Philippe Coutinho, Lucas Digne, Robin Olsen and Calum Chambers.

With that in mind and the fact that the Villans still have some time left to make yet another late swoop after bringing Chambers in from Arsenal just a couple of days ago.

One player that they could try and make a deal for before Monday is Manchester City youngster James McAtee, who has been mentioned to have caught the eye of Villa in recent days thanks to his performances for City’s U23 side.

As a young, English attacking-midfielder, the City prospect could be seen as Steven Gerrard’s own version of former Villa star Jack Grealish, who joined the reigning Premier League champions and current league leaders back in the previous summer transfer window in a deal worth a reported fee of £100m.

Also, with the 19-year-old sharing similar qualities to the former Villa captain in terms of being able to score goals and provide assists with 42 goals and 26 assists under his belt in 84 appearances for City’s youth and senior sides, he could be an exciting talent for Gerrard to have at his disposal.

In terms of a potential late move to Villa, with the teenager, who has been labelled as one of the club’s “exceptional” young talents by Pep Guardiola, only having appeared in three senior games for City so far, he may feel that he would be better off at a Premier League club where he’d be more likely to get some first-team minutes under his belt, which could be at Villa Park should Gerrard see enough potential in him.

In addition to that, with current Villa youngster Carney Chukwuemeka apparently not keen on signing a new deal at the Midlands club due to a lack of regular game time, if he were set to leave Villa, this could pave the way for McAtee to get a shot at impressing in the first team.

Moving forward, before the window closes, Villa should definitely make an approach to City to see what the situation is surrounding the young prospect and if they would be willing to negotiate a deal for him.

If not, McAtee is definitely a player that Villa should keep their eyes on for the future in case his situation at the Manchester club does change.

In other news: Journalist claims £74k-p/w beast is “interested” in Villa move, fans would be ecstatic – opinion

A number of Manchester United fans have urged out-of-favour Anthony Martial to leave the club, following an update on his future by Fabrizio Romano.

The Frenchman’s Old Trafford career has never quite taken off in the manner that many predicted back in 2015 when he made a big-money move from Monaco. Martial famously scored on his debut against Liverpool but he has flattered to deceive too often since, despite his tally of 79 goals in 268 appearances for the club.

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The 26-year-old has fallen increasingly out of favour at United, starting just two Premier League games this season, and a January exit could be on the cards.

According to Romano on Twitter on Monday, Sevilla are keen on signing Martial after he informed Ralf Rangnick that he wants to leave next month, although his salary is proving to be an issue. The Red Devils interim boss has reportedly said: “I understand him but it should not only be in the interest of the player, it should also be in the interest of the club”.

Man United fans call for Martial to leave

These United fans reacted to the update on Twitter, with many keen to see the back of the enigmatic 26-year-old, who has netted just eight times in all competitions since the start of last season.

“It’s definitely in the interest of the club if he clears off”

Credit: @TomPatrick_

“Let him go… Same as Pogba if their head is not at 100% at United then their performances won’t be 100% and we only want and need players that give that week in and week out”

Credit: @Acro_ManUtd

“Quite sad but he’s flopped hard here. He’ll smash it in La Liga”

Credit: @FredFC__

“Martial is deadwood and he should stop talking about leaving like he will be missed, he’s been bad for a while now”

Credit: @easyrouge

“Martial has done gegenpressing in one training session and he can’t take it no more”

Credit: @JakeIntrovert

“Martial is finished, based on facts only”

Credit: @UTDGrey11

In other news, Romano has also provided an update on another rumoured United target. Find out who it is here.

Flocking to Twitter, many West Ham United fans have erupted over big news on Vladimir Coufal.

As well as benefitting from the arrival of recruitment chief Rob Newman in a new Hammers transfer era, manager David Moyes is also eyeing a number of new contracts for his first team stars.

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Indeed, as explained by Claret & Hugh, West Ham have fresh deals for some key players in the pipeline, with Coufal, Tomas Soucek and Declan Rice linked to being offered fresh terms.

According to sources in Italy, Angelo Ogbonna could also sign a contract extension, but now some big news has emerged on Coufal’s situation specifically.

According to reporter Roshane Thomas of The Athletic, the Czech Republic star has put pen to paper on a new three-year deal with the option to extend it by a further year.

The 29-year-old was crucial to Moyes last season, averaging the joint-most tackles per game for West Ham in the Premier League and marking himself out as a real fan favourite.

Taking this into account, it’s little wonder that numerous Irons supporters have absolutely erupted on social media upon hearing of his contract extension – one even called it the “best news ever”.

Check out some of their best verdicts below.

West Ham fans erupt over big Coufal news…

“Best news of the week!”

Credit: @_samhowell

“SIUUUUUUUUUU”

Credit: @alex_cvb

“Absolutely MASSIVE news!!”

Credit: @dave_lapointe

“YESSSSSS”

Credit: @morgzwhu

“This is absolutely superb news, well done Moyes and the board 👏🏻🔥⚒ Another step in the right direction”

Credit: @MartynHobbs12

“That’s big”

Credit: @conwhufc03

“Best news you’ll see today #GSBOUT irons irons irons”

Credit: @joehalford1990

“This is the best news ever”

Credit: @StefGoodridge

In other news: Reliable reporter says West Ham fans ‘should be excited’ by another development, find out more here.

According to The Sunderland Echo, Jack Ross has said that he is planning on keeping 18-year-old Benjamin Kimpioka at the Stadium of Light for the rest of the season. 

The striker could have gone out on loan for the rest of the season, but the manager has decided to keep hold of him, believing he could be an asset in The Black Cats’ promotion push.

With the departures of both Josh Maja and Jerome Sinclair this month, Sunderland currently look slightly thin on the ground when it comes to strikers.

Ross’ team have been linked with Championship striker Will Grigg, as well as League One duo Tom Eaves and John Marquis, but nothing has come to fruition so far. At this moment in time Kimpioka is a fail-safe, in case Sunderland cannot land anyone else.

However, while it will be beneficial for Sunderland to give the Sweden under-19 international some game time as the season goes on, particularly in a promotion run-in, Ross will certainly not want to depend on him too much. But by keeping hold of Kimpioka, Ross may be revealing more than he wishes to about the likelihood of their other targets arriving.

This would be calamitous if The Black Cats cannot land at least two of their three targets, and it could seriously dent their promotion chances. They will not want to be reliant on a player like Kimpioka, who, so far, has only made two league appearances. This is not the sort of figure a team wants in a title race.

Many Wolves fans were left fuming over a claim made by Danny Murphy following their 1-0 loss at home to Liverpool in the Premier League on Saturday.

Speaking on the BBC’s Match of the Day programme (via Birmingham Live), the former Reds midfielder said of Bruno Lage’s side: “Their lack of willingness to try and run forward, or (show) any courage to win the game, to go and cause Liverpool problems, was disappointing. I’ve seen them much better than that.”

Jurgen Klopp’s team dominated the game, with 17 shots compared to just three for the home side, and had twice as much of the ball, but they only won courtesy of a Divock Origi goal deep into injury time (SofaScore).

Liverpool are the most dangerous attacking team in the Premier League at the moment, having scored the most goals (44) in the division, and Lage’s plan almost worked, so it is understandable to see a few Wolves supporters taking issue with Murphy over his analysis.

Wolves fans on Murphy claim

These Wanderers fans fumed as the claim was shared on Twitter:

“Thought Murphy was supposed to be knowledgeable about football”

Credit: @jonbriscs

“The worst pundit by a distance… ruined MGW’s career”

Credit: @BenWolves8

“Then there’s the real world”

Credit: @julianholigan

“What, so we can get beaten by 3 or 4 like everyone else….just roll over? Get real Murphy!”

Credit: @oldwulf1

“Clear as day that Danny Murphy had not watched the 90 minutes before commenting”

Credit: @molineuxmusings

“We’d have been torn apart if we’d have run at them. The only disappointment was that we didn’t try and do more when they took Henderson off for Origi.”

Credit: @lukebailey90

In other news, many Wolves fans enjoyed this official club update

Taking to Twitter, reliable ESPN reporter Moises Llorens has shared a big update on Barcelona attacker and Tottenham Hotspur target Ousmane Dembele amid his contract stand-off.

The Lowdown: Spurs table offer…

As reported in recent months, the France international is a target for Spurs and manager Antonio Conte as Lilywhites chief Fabio Paratici takes to the 2022 free agent market.

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According to Mundo Deportivo, Tottenham’s managing director is eyeing ‘quality players at zero cost’ for his countryman at N17 – including Dembele, whose deal runs out at the end of this season.

Spurs have also allegedly made an offer to sign the 24-year-old on a pre-contract, promising ‘a lot of money’ and the guarantee of being a key player (Mundo Deportivo).

After recent claims Tottenham will ‘push hard’ for his signing this month, ESPN journalist Llorens has shared a significant update.

The Latest: Spurs gifted possible boost,,,

According to his information, sharing news late Tuesday night, Dembele is set for a crunch ‘meeting’ today amid his contract stand-off at the Camp Nou.

However, it is now apparently very unlikely that the player signs an extension, with the difference in negotiations ‘practically insurmountable’.

Indeed, the La Liga giants would apparently see Dembele penning fresh terms as a ‘miracle’ in what could be a boost for Paratici and Spurs.

The Verdict: Time to strike?

The forward looks almost certain to leave as things stand, but does that mean Spurs should continue their alleged pursuit and sink the final blow?

Lauded as ‘exciting’ and ‘almost unplayable’ at times by Premier League legend Rio Ferdinand, Dembele’s ability is clearly rated and there is a reason Barca paid an initial £97 million to sign him from Borussia Dortmund back in 2017.

However, the winger also has a troubling history of hamstring problems and could command a hefty salary – with his current wages believed to be around £210,000-per-week.

An offer around this amount or over would make him the highest paid star at Hotspur Way, even above the likes of Harry Kane, and it would arguably be a gamble to invest that much in a player prone to absences.

Coming with plus and negative points, a move for Dembele before January 31 could prove potentially fruitful but with a big element of risk.

In other news: Conte green-lights move for £220,000-per-week ‘jewel’ as he lays out transfer demand for Spurs chiefs, find out more here.

Tottenham Hotspur slumped to an embarrassing 1-0 loss at the hands of Vitesse in the UEFA Europa Conference League on Thursday evening.

There were some very poor performances on the pitch for Nuno Espirito Santo’s team, and The Transfer Tavern have used statistical experts Sofascore to analyse the worst-three performing players (who played at least 45 minutes) based on statistics:

Ben Davies

Admittedly tied with Steven Bergwijn, Ben Davies was given the joint-third lowest rating out of any of his teammates by Sofascore, a mere 6.3.

Captain for the day, the Wales international lost out on eight of his duels, and failed to record a single successful dribble, tackle or accurate cross from left-back.

He also lost possession of the ball on no fewer than on 14 separate occasions, the joint-fourth most out of any of his teammates.

Dane Scarlett

Young Scarlett did not take his chance to impress, as Sofascore gave him a measly six overall rating.

The striker lost out on a whopping 19 duels, more than double the next closest player, perhaps suggesting he is struggling to adapt physically to senior first-team football.

He did not manage to have a shot or successful dribble, while losing possession 16 times, the second-most out of any Spurs player.

Dele Alli

Oh how far Alli has fallen. The once England regular was given an alarming 5.8 rating by Sofascore, which does not even tell half of the story.

Alli list eight of his duels, and had no shots on target, successful dribbles or key passes, while he too was also guilty of giving the ball away on far too many occasions, 14 in total.

In other news, find out which Lilywhite has suffered another injury setback here…