All posts by n8rngtd.top

Liverpool’s significant injury woes were added to ahead of Saturday’s victory over Southampton with a number of players being ruled out before the game.

The likes of Ozan Kabak, James Milner, Naby Keita and Ben Davies were all omitted from Jurgen Klopp’s squad with what the club described as “minor injury concerns”.

Whilst that in itself is not too worrying with the four hopefully recovering relatively quickly, any absences for Liverpool’s upcoming strenuous schedule could significantly harm their chances of gaining a place in the Premier League top four and with that, a UEFA Champions League place for next season.

It remains to be seen just how severe the issues are, with the specific nature of the problems remaining undisclosed.

However, with the Reds back in Premier League action as soon as Thursday evening against Manchester United, Klopp will certainly hope that at least some of those aforementioned players can return sooner rather than later.

The absences of Kabak, Milner and Keita are probably going to be the most felt.

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Since arriving from Schalke in January, Kabak has become the Reds’ first-choice centre-back, following the injuries suffered by Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip earlier this season.

With him out though, the Reds were forced to play a defensive pairing of Rhys Williams and Nathaniel Phillips against the Saints.

Whilst they earned a clean sheet, it is certainly not a set-up that Klopp will want to use regularly, especially in the race for the top four as Williams, in particular, was caught out a couple of times and was bailed out by his goalkeeper.

Meanwhile, with Milner and Keita out, joining Jordan Henderson on the sidelines, Klopp’s midfield choices are significantly reduced.

Fabinho, Georginio Wijnaldum and Thiago Alcantara are all certainly capable but then that just leaves Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Curtis Jones in reserve – a worrying lack of depth heading into a key final four games of the season.

Klopp then will certainly hope that the injury issues are nothing more than just minor to compound their woes any further but with their next game just a matter of days away, he’ll be concerned that his players seem to be dropping like flies as his side need to be pretty much perfect for the rest of the campaign.

An inability to properly rotate, added to the fact that Klopp is relying on essentially his 8th choice centre-back option in Williams, is a huge worry for the manager, one that could cost his side a top four finish.

AND in more news, find out which other Red gave Klopp a boost instead…

A journalist for Arab News has dropped a promising inside claim on when the potential takeover of Newcastle United may be completed.

Writing in his latest piece, Frank Kane has claimed that people close to the proposed deal between Mike Ashley and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) group believe the English arbitration court judging the legal dispute between the Tyneside club and the Premier League ‘will reach a decision in the summer’.

They also expect the results of the hearing ‘to go Ashley’s way’, and for Newcastle to be majority owned by the KSA’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) ‘before the start of next season’.

Newcastle takeover hope

It is certainly a big claim that the arbitration case is likely to go in Ashley’s favour and that the potential takeover could be completed before the start of the new season. A positive result for the Magpies in the hearing could clear a pathway for the PIF to come back onto the table, which would certainly be a huge step towards getting the original bid back on track.

Nonetheless, everything about the case is all speculation at this moment in time, and Steve Bruce’s team will solely be concentrating on finishing off the season strongly before any potential takeover talk can come to light.

In other news, find out what big Joe Willock transfer update has been dropped!

Djibril Sidibe has said that he wanted to make his Everton loan move permanent last summer.

Carlo Ancelotti apparently told the 28-year-old that he was keen to retain him after he joined the Blues on loan from AS Monaco in August 2019.

The 18-cap Frenchman would go on to make 25 Premier League appearances and 28 in total (via Transfermarkt). In that time, the £6.3m-rated full-back provided five assists, one of which came in a memorable 3-1 victory over Chelsea.

Liverpool Echo journalist Adam Jones wrote in April 2020 that there were ‘clear moments’ during the season when it looked like a ‘no-brainer’ for Everton sign him long-term, although he did raise concerns over Sidibe’s defending after he was ‘caught out… on a number of occasions’.

Sidibe’s ‘first wish’ to remain in the Premier League

With no agreement struck, the 28-year-old wound up returning to Monaco and has made 27 appearances in their push for Champions League qualification.

“My first wish was to continue in the Premier League,” he revealed to L’Equipe’s print edition, as quoted by Le10 Sport.

“When you play at Anfield or Old Trafford, you see the fans, the stadiums, it’s the best for a football fan.

“And Carlo Ancelotti wanted me to stay.”

Transfer Tavern verdict

Everton need a successor at right-back to Seamus Coleman, who turns 33 this year, and ultimately Sidibe didn’t do enough to suggest he had what it takes. Given Monaco’s success this season, you can’t imagine he’s filled with regret that it didn’t work out on Merseyside.

For the Toffees’ part, attention turns to Norwich City’s Max Aarons who, at 21, could be Everton’s right-back for a decade or more. The impressive Englishman is valued at £18m by Transfermarkt.

With Sidibe being one of their higher-ranked players by WhoScored last season, it is a pity that a permanent deal couldn’t be struck, but Everton must look to the future rather than pondering what might have been,

In other news, many Evertonians slammed this defender after they were beaten by Villa at the weekend.

Leeds United are reportedly interested in signing Young Boys winger Nicolas Moumi Ngamaleu this summer as Marcelo Bielsa eyes up reinforcements for his squad.

The Whites held Manchester United to a goalless draw at Elland Road on Sunday in what was another impressive Premier League result. Bielsa’s men had already taken four points of Manchester City and Liverpool in their two previous matches and are now ninth in the table.

Leeds’ current success doesn’t mean the squad isn’t in need of strengthening this summer, though, with a host of names being linked with moves to Elland Road.

[freshpress-quiz id=“351040″]

Leeds eye up Ngamaleu move

According to TEAMtalk, the Whites are eyeing up a move for Ngamaleu, with the 26-year-old capped 14 times by Cameroon and scoring twice for his country.

Brighton, Everton, Leicester City and Rangers are all seen as possible suitors as well, suggesting that there will be a frenetic battle for his signature this summer.

Transfer Tavern take

Bielsa could be looking to improve in the wide positions in the next transfer window, with Raphinha arguably the only top-class winger at the club despite the likes of Jack Harrison and Helder Costa possessing talent.

Ngamaleu could potentially be the ideal player to strengthen the left wing, and his average of 2.3 dribbles per game in the Europa League this season is vastly superior to Harrison’s tally of 1.1 per match in the English top flight, with the 24-year-old playing on the same side where the Young Boys winger is regularly deployed.

The Cameroonian is capable of playing on either flank, which could appeal to Bielsa, but he is more renowned for playing on the left, meaning he and Raphinha could be the first-choice wide options if he manages to oust Harrison from the regular starting XI.

In other news, Leeds are reportedly expecting one player to leave the club this summer. Find out who it is here.

With the European Super League being the talk of the town at the moment, you’d be forgiven for potentially forgetting that there is still the little old matter of a Premier League clash between Leeds United and Liverpool taking place this evening.

The game between two of the giants of English football has been largely overshadowed by the fury and shock of the top-flight’s big six wanting to break away and form their own elite competition.

Marcelo Bielsa will no doubt have his opinion on the ESL, and it will be intriguing to see what the Argentine has to say either before or after the game tonight.

The Leeds boss also has a couple of crucial conundrums to solve in terms of his team selection, with suspensions and injuries taking its toll.

And with that in mind, below is a look at how Leeds might line up for the Premier League tie against Liverpool tonight.

In goal, Illan Meslier will be looking to keep his tenth clean sheet of the season in the top-flight, and become the seventh goalkeeper to get into double digits for the campaign.

The back four will, of course, see one enforced change after Liam Cooper’s sending off against Manchester City last weekend, and in the club captain’s absence, Robin Koch will be the man Bielsa turns to.

Dubbed by former Leeds man Tony Dorigo as a “rock”, the 24-year-old is in line to make his first start for the club since recovering from his knee injury last month.

The midfield could see a couple of alterations, with Tyler Roberts dropping out for Mateusz Klich, and Jack Harrison coming in for the injured Raphinha – the City loanee missed the clash against his parent club due to the terms of his loan deal.

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That should be the only changes Bielsa makes to his starting line-up, with Patrick Bamford set to lead the line once again.

Predicted XI: Meslier; Ayling, Llorente, Koch, Alioski; Phillips, Harrison, Dallas, Klich, Costa; Bamford.

Meanwhile, Leeds must start this “under-rated” gem today vs Liverpool…

Plenty of Leicester City fans have been reacting to a transfer update regarding Cengiz Under on social media.

According to the reliable John Percy of The Telegraph, the Foxes won’t exercise their option of making the 23-year-old’s deal at the King Power sTADIUM permanent in the summer.

Under, who arrived on loan from Roma last year, could have joined on a full-time basis for a fee in excess of £20m. However, his performances haven’t justified that price tag, and it seems as if the Turkish forward will return to Italy in the summer.

He has made 19 appearances under Brendan Rodgers this season, scoring twice and registering three assists. Under has been out through injury since March and has started just one Premier League game all season.

Leicester fans react to news about Under

Percy shared the news on Wednesday evening on Twitter, with the post receiving plenty of interaction. Here is what some Foxes fans had to say in reply to the update.

“Can’t believe it”

Credit: @_JoBeanCash_

“Devastated”

Credit: @liamlcfc88

“We used all our right winger luck on Mahrez. 20 years of pain from now on”

Credit: @DT1884

“The Replacing Mahrez show lives on”

Credit: @hm_Ixfc

“A cursed position for us.”

Credit: @lcfcsanny

“Bye Chunder, another right winger that couldn’t get anywhere near the level of replacing Mahrez. Hopefully the next one will.”

Credit: @SamLCFC98

In other news, Leicester are keeping tabs on this Premier League-winning midfielder.

Manchester City fans have been reacting to the news that Pep Guardiola will ask Sergio Aguero if he wants to stay at the club and, ultimately, it will be down to the player to decide whether he wants to stay or go.

The £31.5m-valued Argentina international (Transfermarkt) made the move to the Etihad Stadium in 2011, and has since gone on to become a club legend. With 257 goals for the Citizens in all competitions, he is their record goalscorer (bluemoon-mcfc.co.uk), and his strikes have helped the Manchester outfit win four Premier League titles.

However, his importance is dwindling at City. He has played just 32 league matches across this season and last (Transfermarkt), with a number of injuries keeping him out of the action for sustained spells. He is out of contract at the end of the season, and it is not clear whether he will stay with his current employers.

According to journalist Lu Martin, Guardiola will ask Aguero himself whether he wants to stay – it will be down to the 32-year-old himself to make the decision. The news, which was shared on Twitter account @City_Xtra, has delighted the City supporters, and they took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about the Aguero news below

“Aguero is our greatest legend ever! He will remain no1 in our hearts no matter what ! I’m happy pep is giving him a choice!”

Credit: @BlissMcfc

“Good”

Credit: @FPL_Ben_

“Pls be true”

Credit: @DavidsQuests_

“you love to hear it, all I’m asking is for Agüero to surpass Rooney as the 2nd greatest goal scorer in EPL history. He only needs 28 between now and next season”

Credit: @secondImpact

“Best news ever”

Credit: @Libulele_

“I’ll tear up if he actually stays another season but If he wants to leave understandable”

Credit: @MCFCAG

In other news, Man City fans react to this £128m transfer claim.

When it rains, it pours.

That’s what Spurs midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg quickly found out on Wednesday evening after the north London outfit were dumped out of the FA Cup by Everton in extra time.

And uncharacteristically, the Danish powerhouse was way off it at Goodison Park.

As Football FanCast outlined last month, the 25-year-old dubbed a ‘captain without the armband’ has arguably been Tottenham’s signing of the season so far but last night he was shocking in every sense.

Only Hugo Lloris (6.0) received a worse rating than Hojbjerg (6.1) as per SofaScore ratings, and it’s easy to see why.

The £27m-rated midfielder endured an absolute horror show – he was sloppy in possession for the Toffees’ opener as he gave the ball away in a dangerous position only for Dominic Calvert-Lewin to slot home and then he committed the all too familiar sin of conceding a penalty by clumsily tripping up the talismanic striker.

Hojbjerg was also dribbled past a whopping five times, more than anyone else on the pitch. He’s usually a hard man to bypass in that engine room having averaged 2.7 tackles per game as well as only being dribbled past 1.8 times per match in the Premier League, via WhoScored.

He was even careless with the ball, losing possession 20 times, which was the second-most of any Spurs player on the night. Again, this is awfully unlike the Denmark international as that’s double his average (10.8) for the top-flight campaign so far.

It’s no wonder the Evening Standard’s Dan Kilpatrick graded his performance a 4/10 in his post-match ratings column, and he dubbed him ‘sloppy and uncharacteristic.’

Everything usually runs through Hojbjerg in the middle of the pitch – his match-high 135 touches would certainly reinforce that – but he was far too weak as he also won only 58% of his duels, often losing out to the Toffees’ playmaker Gylfi Sigurdsson and his supporting cast, Tom Davies and Abdoulaye Doucoure, whom all graded 6.8 or better as per SofaScore ratings.

As evident above, it was quite a nightmare for Hojbjerg – rare, but totally unneeded.

AND in other news, this £18m-rated liability badly let Mourinho down…

Manchester City are continuing to be linked with Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder Denis Zakaria ahead of the summer, and with Fernandinho widely expected to depart, the Swiss international could arrive as the Brazilian’s replacement.

According to Sport Bild (via Sport Witness), the 24-year-old is one of four Monchengladbach players who could depart this summer due to their contracts expiring in 2022, and Manchester City are ‘especially interested’ in adding the defensive-midfielder to their squad.

There are currently no signs to suggest that Fernandinho will sign a contract extension with Pep Guardiola’s side before the end of the season, so it seems likely that the former Shakhtar Donetsk man will depart the Citizens this summer when his current contract expires.

Whilst the 35-year-old has given way for Rodri in recent seasons he has still featured on a fairly regular basis for Guardiola in cup competitions this season, so they will arguably need to add someone such as Zakaria who can compete with the Spaniard for a starting spot in this City side.

Considering the 24-year-old’s performances for Marco Rose’s side in recent seasons, he could be a superb addition to Guardiola’s squad.

In 23 Bundesliga appearances last season, the Swiss midfielder averaged a superb 7.15 rating, averaging 2.1 tackles and 1.6 interceptions per game in Germany’s top-flight.

Fernandinho meanwhile, would average 1.7 tackles and 0.8 interceptions in the Premier League last season, which certainly emphasises that the Monchengladbach man could step up as his replacement.

Zakaria also scores impressively on FBref when it comes to his defensive attributes, despite arguably not being at his best this season, perhaps due to a knee injury that kept him out for much of 2020.

However, it seems clear that the £36m-rated Zakaria is a quality defensive-midfielder when he is at his best, and if Fernandinho does end up departing this summer, City’s sporting director Txiki Begiristain should definitely try and bring the Swiss international to the Etihad as his replacement.

And, in other news… Ilkay Gundogan voted Premier League fans’ player of the month for January

West Brom have been told how much it’ll cost to sign one of their mooted transfer targets…

What’s the word?

According to Football Insider, Celtic are willing to sell midfielder Olivier Ntcham for just £7m this month as the SPFL giants have given a green light over his potential departure.

They claimed just three days ago that the Baggies were one of several teams interested in signing him alongside Premier League rivals Southampton.

It is thought that his asking price has been slashed by around £5m since the summer window as the Hoops are resigned to the fact they will not receive in excess of £10m anymore.

Bargain move

Whilst it’s not the holding midfielder that Sam Allardyce is thought to be desperate for, Albion cannot sit back and watch now Ntcham’s price has been made.

The 24-year-old has endured a mixed campaign in the league as Celtic struggle to make ground on Rangers, but in Europe, he has really thrived.

Per WhoScored, the French midfielder has displayed his box-to-box abilities by averaging two dribbles, 1.4 shots, 1.2 tackles and 0.8 key passes per game.

Considering they were in a group with AC Milan and Lille, these are really impressive returns as it shows he’s been able to make an impact at both ends of the pitch.

Over the course of his Parkhead career, Ntcham has proven to be a goal threat, managing 24 goals and 13 assists in 147 appearances per Transfermarkt, which only emphasises the impact he could have in attack too.

By comparison, he ranks pretty well to the Baggies’ current options in the role – he’s managed more key passes than either of Romaine Sawyers, Conor Gallagher or Jake Livermore, while neither of the trio are close to matching his dribbling ability, via WhoScored.

Only the Chelsea loanee is managing the same number of shots per game as above.

Ntcham has often been praised by those in charge at Celtic Park. The man who signed him, Brendan Rodgers, dubbed the maestro a “terrific talent” and with his current Foxes side in the title race, it’s fair to suggest that he knows a player when he sees one.

Meanwhile current Hoops boss Neil Lennon once said they had “one hell of a player” on their hands in an interview with the Celtic View, via 67hailhail.

£7m seems like a bargain when you remember that the likes of Oliver Burke, Nacer Chadli and Brown Ideye all cost more.

Albion sporting and technical director Luke Dowling ought to get this done before it’s too late.

AND in other news, West Brom can upgrade Romaine Sawyers with swoop for £9m-rated colossus…