All posts by z3u9t.icu

Given he came through the club’s academy, Leeds United’s return to the Premier League perhaps means more to Kalvin Phillips than most.

The 25-year-old has proven to be a vital cog in the Whites’ midfield over the past few years, playing well over 200 times now.

But while he was already playing first-team football before Marcelo Bielsa brought his magic to Elland Road, it was the Argentine who has really helped step his game up.

Phillips has been a cornerstone of Leeds’ impressive displays in the top-flight this season, featuring 21 times in the competition, with the only games he’s missed being a result of injury.

It’s no surprise that plenty of people have raved about Phillips’ progress under Bielsa’s direct management, with even Neil Redfearn quick to give him his dues just last year.

The former Whites boss said: “Leeds create overloads all over the field. Bielsa is very clever with that but Kalvin is key to it. He is the perfect build for that position, a powerful player but also has a fantastic range of passing.

“When he was younger, we used to have him as a box-to-box player who would score plenty of goals. Bielsa has made Kalvin an expert deep-lying midfielder but he could do both roles.”

Not only has Phillips grown into an England international under Bielsa’s leadership, but his market value has risen up considerably too.

When the Argentine took over as Leeds boss back in the summer of 2018, replacing Paul Heckingbottom in the dug-out, Phillips was only rated at £4.5m by Transfermarkt.

But gradually over time, that has gone up, before really spiking thanks to the Whites’ promotion to the Premier League – his value now stands at an impressive £24m, which is actually good enough to rank him as Leeds’ most valuable player right now, even ahead of summer signing Raphinha (£22.5m).

Being the man to guide Leeds back to the promised land of the Premier League will forever etch Bielsa’s name into folklore at Elland Road, but the instrumental role he has played in Phillips’ career has been just as big of a win in his book.

Meanwhile, Leeds must reignite their interest in this star…

Not a day goes by without Arsenal surely ruing letting Serge Gnabry go in the summer of 2016.

Sold for just £5m to German side Werder Bremen, Gnabry has since blown into superstardom, becoming a star at both club and international level with Bayern Munich and Germany, respectively.

The forward, now 25, is currently lighting up the Bundesliga with Bayern, and has already scored nine goals and provided a further three assists in just 22 games in the league this season.

With Germany, Gnabry’s record is even more impressive netting 15 times in just 19 senior games, and that’s a real testament to how much he’s grown over the years.

Speaking just last summer, Arsene Wenger – the manager who of course sold him back in 2016 – delivered his verdict on the winger and the situation behind his surprising exit, saying: “We had an agreement with him you know. I had given him out on loan to West Brom and he didn’t play a game. He came back, he was injured. We worked very hard with him for six months and he went out with the German national team, under-21’s, and Bayern made a deal with Werder Bremen.

“He wanted to sign in the end, didn’t want to extend his contract (with Arsenal) and I was very sad. But we couldn’t get over the line with him because I knew he would have a great career.”

Now, CIES value him at a massive £102m, more than twenty times what Arsenal actually sold him for a few years ago – if there ever was a move that underlined the kind of bad business the Gunners have done in recent seasons, then Gnabry is arguably right there at the top of the list.

Gnabry has become an established star shining at the very highest level, even helping Bayern to Champions League glory just last league – a run that saw the German winger tear apart Tottenham in their new stadium by netting four in a thumping 7-2 triumph.

Arsenal will surely never be able to live down letting Gnabry go.

Many Southampton fans were livid with the performance of Theo Walcott during their 3-0 defeat on Monday evening in the Premier League.

The Saints were defeated by 19th-placed West Bromwich Albion in a very poor display at The Hawthorns. Matheus Pereira, Matt Phillips and Callum Robinson were all on hand to net against the visitors’ defence, leaving Ralph Hasenhuttl with plenty of work to do ahead of the FA Cup semi-final against Leicester City next Sunday.

The display of Walcott in particular will have disappointed the Austrian. The 32-year-old landed just 71% of his attempted passses, prevailed in only three of his eight duels (SofaScore) and spent much of the game as a passenger on the right of the midfield four. Given his showing, it was unsurprising to see him hauled off first by Hasenhuttl.

These Saints supporters were far from happy with what they saw, and they took to social media platform Twitter to share their thoughts. One frustrated fan even branded Walcott as “useless”.

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

“Sorry to offended all the nostalgia bashers but Theo Walcott is a washed up baller just because he ‘suits our system’ doesn’t mean he plays well in it”

Credit: @JackKnutsen_

“Ask him why he never changed it at half time, also tell him to drop Walcott Sunday, absolutely useless”

Credit: @saintsfcloyal

“Walcott – shockingly bad !”

Credit: @saintcullen70

“Yeah no way we sign Walcott on a permanent, he’s just not it”

Credit: @RahilMajid

“If we give Walcott a contract after his performances this season it just goes to show we have no one at the club with any understanding of how a football club is meant to be run. Good lad, atrocious footballer.”

Credit: @SaintMatt7

“Why sign Walcott! He’s had his day. We need hungry young players. Invisible tonight”

Credit: @COYSaints

In other news, many Southampton fans rage at these Hasenhuttl comments.

Carlo Ancelotti can still urge Everton to launch a summer swoop for Tariq Lamptey as the Brighton and Hove Albion defender’s season-ending injury should not stop a move.

That’s the view of former England international Kevin Phillips, who has told Football Insider that the right-back may still be on the move at the end of the current campaign.

The Seagulls have confirmed that Lamptey’s campaign is done and dusted, as club staff feel the 20-year-old’s hamstring has not responded to treatment as well as they would have liked and will now need an operation.

Lamptey had visited a specialist at the start of the month after suffering a setback in his recovery, having been expected to be in contention for his first Premier League minutes since December when Brighton hosted Leicester City.

Being ruled out for the remainder of the season could have thrown a spanner into the works for any side wishing to sign Lamptey after The Athletic claimed in January that Everton, Arsenal and Manchester City were not discouraged by the right-back’s new contract.

Phillips does not believe those clubs will see the right-back’s hamstring problems as reason to walk away, as his performances on the south coast rightly attracted their interest.

“He’s a fantastic young player, it’s no surprise that he’s being linked with some big clubs,” the 47-year-old said. “At the end of the day, it’s not dead. Years and years ago it probably would’ve been but nowadays with the medical side of it, you wouldn’t say so.

“The way they bring these players back so quick and the professionalism of those players who want to get back and do things right. I don’t see it as a major issue, if a club wants him now, I don’t think being injured for the rest of the season will damage it at all.

“Not just Everton, he’s been linked with other clubs. I still think he could move on in the summer, injured or not, because he’s a quality player.”

Brighton had been expected to listen to offers for Lamptey at the end of the season despite his new £40,000-per-week contract, providing Albion receive a suitable offer having not upped their asking price from before he penned the deal.

The Liverpool Echo claimed that the fee is in the region of £30m and that Everton staff consider the electric wing-back to be a ‘great talent’, having established himself as one of the Premier League’s in-form right-backs before his crushing injury problems.

Lamptey’s issues not being expected to block a move away from the Amex Stadium should now be seen as a positive for the Toffees, as Ancelotti can persist with bringing the defender to Goodison Park as his Seamus Coleman successor.

Some clubs may baulk at a deal with Lamptey not featuring since mid-December, but that may just free the path for Ancelotti and Marcel Brands to sign a target who had taken the top flight by storm.

In his 11 outings this term, Lamptey provided three assists and scored once – only Manchester United’s Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Fulham’s Bobby De Cordova-Reid, Tottenham’s Serge Aurier and Leeds’ Stuart Dallas (two each) have scored more from right-back.

Lamptey also ranks sixth in his position, among those who have played five or more times, for accurate crosses per game (0.9), while Coleman and Mason Holgate both offer just 0.3, per WhoScored. The Brighton youngster has also recorded some of the fastest sprints in the top flight this season, clocking 22.8mph at one stage against Newcastle earlier in the campaign.

Accurate crosses from the right-hand side is considered to be a growing concern for Ancelotti as Everton have become heavily lopsided with their efforts, making a swoop for Lamptey evidently worthwhile despite his injury setback.

AND in other news, Carlo Ancelotti is eager for Everton to sign a £32.5m-rated titan who top clubs would sign “without thinking twice”…

Fans of Liverpool have been reacting to a post on Twitter, which relayed Stan Collymore’s calls for the Reds to launch a bid for Harry Kane this summer.

Writing in his column for The Mirror, the former Liverpool star claimed that Jurgen Klopp’s side need to ‘wake up and smell the coffee’ and urged the club’s owners to go ‘toe-to-toe’ with Manchester City’s spending this summer.

He continued by stating his belief that, if Pep Guardiola’s side manages to land Borussia Dortmund centre-forward Erling Haaland in the close season, Liverpool must ‘buy the next Robert Lewandowski’ or even put in a bid for Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane.

However, after the Liverpool Echo relayed Collymore’s claims on Twitter, fans of the Reds flocked to have their say on the matter, with many appearing to be firmly against the idea of their club making a move for the £108 million-rated Spurs man.

So, what exactly did these Liverpool fans have to say in reaction to Stan Collymore’s calls for Liverpool to sign Harry Kane?

“Harry Kane? No thanks. Son? Hell, yeah. Buy him today.”

@mynumbe17510130

“Injury-prone Harry Kane for £150mil+? No thanks!”

@KodaK203

“NOOOOOOOOOO”

@myhouseSTILL

“No thanks”

@simonmaroulis

“Sick-note!! No thanks”

@marionmurray13

“No thanks, Kane’s ankles are made of Rich Tea biscuits”

@Tom92855662

“As if we haven’t already got enough injury problems in the team? Spending another £100m+ on someone with Weetabix for ankles? No thanks… Son, however… Bring it on”

@strebby1

In other Liverpool news, this ‘catastrophic’ claim from James Pearce has shocked many fans, find out more here!

Lee Johnson has guided this Sunderland side to fourth in League One and the good times should carry on this weekend.

The Mackems are getting ready to face a Rochdale side who occupy a relegation place in the division. They have only won one of their last 15 outings, so it should be an uphill struggle for The Dale at the Stadium of Light.

That being said, the Black Cats did need a rescue act last weekend against Crewe in order to salvage a point.

It’s also hard to look past a number of injuries with which Johnson is having to contend. With a succession of players still on the sidelines, how could their XI look on Saturday afternoon?

The Mackems are likely to be without Grant Leadbitter this weekend as he recovers from a dislocated shoulder.

Tom Flanagan is looking stronger in his bid to return to fitness but will miss out this weekend. The same goes for Ross Stewart and Denver Hume. Bailey Wright will unfortunately also be absent on Saturday afternoon.

As a result, the makeshift pairing of Dion Sanderon and Luke O’Nien occupy the central roles in the defence.

With Sunderland taking on weaker opposition, it could give the manager a chance to go more attacking, something he did in the second half of their clashes with Crewe and Swindon.

That sees two changes made from Tuesday night, with Chris Maguire and Aiden O’Brien coming into the side. Maguire replaces Lynden Gooch in the number 10 role.

Gooch starred against Swindon but went off with a minor calf problem. Johnson wasn’t too worried at full-time but, given the number of injury problems they have, they can’t afford to take risks. That means the £5,000-per-week winger is dropped from the XI.

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The other change is on the left, where Jordan Jones comes out of the team for O’Brien, someone who has been an influential member of the team since Johnson was given the job.

The winger started on the bench in midweek but scored 11 days ago against Fleetwood. With his importance in mind, it’s not beyond the realms of fantasy to suggest he could start again.

After all, Jones still appears to be struggling for match fitness; he was hooked after just an hour on Tuesday night.

AND in other news, Sunderland must unleash “top player” who Johnson once dubbed “Championship-class”…

Swansea City’s automatic promotion hopes appear to have suffered another significant blow, with midfielder Conor Hourihane looking set for a spell on the sidelines after picking up a hamstring injury in the South Wales derby at the weekend.

The 30-year-old, who joined Swansea on loan from Aston Villa in the winter transfer window, was forced off in the first half of the 1-0 defeat against Cardiff City on Saturday with a hamstring problem.

Manager Steve Cooper has admitted that he doesn’t know the extent of the injury yet, whilst Hourihane was included in the Republic of Ireland squad before his injury, so you would imagine that he will likely be forced to withdraw.

The former Barnsley man has been impressive since joining the Swans on loan, having contributed five goals and one assist in just 13 Championship appearances, resulting in a solid 6.86 average rating from WhoScored.

This puts him third in Swansea’s top scorer list this season, with Cooper’s side having been extremely reliant on the goals of Andre Ayew in recent weeks, especially with Jamal Lowe enduring a woeful run of form in front of goal.

Therefore, it would be a huge blow if they were to lose Hourihane for an extended period as we approach the final stages of the Championship season, as other midfield regulars Jay Fulton, Matt Grimes and Yan Dhanda have just five league goals between them this season, so can’t really be considered goalscoring threats in this Swansea side.

After making his debut for the Swans, Cooper was full of praise for Hourihane, saying:

“I thought he (Hourihane) was excellent.

“He’s been so impressive from the day he’s come through the door, which wasn’t that long ago.”

[freshpress-quiz id=“532484″]

Cooper clearly values the Irish international highly and he was undoubtedly hoping that the 30-year-old could help Swansea earn automatic promotion this season but given recent results and Hourihane potentially being set for a spell out injured, it seems unlikely that Cooper’s side will be able to catch Watford in second place, and may instead be forced to settle for a playoff spot.

And, in other news… Fewer passes than Woodman: 27 y/o Swansea ace let Cooper down with a woeful display

It wasn’t quite the embarrassing night of the 1986/87 season but Wolves tried their best to fluff their lines against Chorley on Friday evening.

Nuno Santo’s team have been desperately poor in recent weeks, and after their win over the National League North side have now only won three of their last 11 outings.

If anything summed up their abject performances of late it was the display they put in as they made it through to the fifth round of the FA Cup.

On paper, this was a mismatch. Wolves should have been easily out of sight given the opposition, but although they didn’t lose as they did to Chorley over 30 years ago, they were incredibly poor.

Going forward, Nuno’s side were devoid of confidence and authority. For large spells of the game, their non-league hosts looked comfortable and dare we say it, they even looked the better team.

Wolves’ only shot on target in the entire game produced the goal. It was a special one too from Vitinha who let fly from range, but beyond that, there was nothing to write home about.

The Old Gold completed just 25% of their crosses and carved out fewer goal-scoring opportunities than Chorley. A large reason behind that was the performance of Patrick Cutrone.

This was the Italian’s first start since returning from a loan spell with Fiorentina and on his big audition to Nuno, he completely failed. This was a week where Cutrone simply had to prove himself to the manager too.

Willian Jose has arrived from Real Sociedad on loan and thus, the Italy international could be heading for the exit door. After this performance, it proved why.

The striker isn’t good enough and cut an isolated figure against non-league opposition. Truth be told, Cutrone was anonymous.

He completed just 11 passes from 18 attempted, finishing with a success rate of only 61%. For context, only goalkeeper John Ruddy and substitute Adama Traore completed fewer passes in the Wolves side.

The 23-year-old’s tally of 24 touches, meanwhile, was the same as Ruddy’s and only more than Traore and another of Nuno’s substitutes in Pedro Neto.

Against opposition like Chorley, Cutrone should have run riot. Instead, his effort was minimal, registering just two attempts at goal.

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It would be extreme to call this a horror show but Nuno must be incredibly fed up of the Italian now. He has scored three goals in 27 outings for the Molineux outfit. Time and time again he has not been at the races.

Wolves need to get rid of him as soon as possible.

AND in other news, Wolves could find their dream Traore successor by landing “extremely quick” 31-cap ace…

Liverpool were boosted by the news this week that Alisson has returned to first-team training following a brief period out injured, but Jurgen Klopp should keep faith in young Caoimhin Kelleher for the game against Fulham on Sunday.

The Brazilian has missed the last three games in all competitions, with the 22-year-old shot-stopper deputising extremely well and showing that he can be a reliable back up to the former Roma man in goal.

Kelleher kept clean sheets against Ajax and Wolves respectively, before the Reds’ 1-1 draw against FC Midtjylland in midweek, which is an excellent return for the Irish ‘keeper.

Whilst Klopp might be tempted to restore Alisson to his starting line up for Liverpool’s trip to Craven Cottage on Sunday, the German manager should have one eye on next Wednesday’s clash against Tottenham Hotspur, where he will surely want to have his world-class goalkeeper between the sticks.

Therefore, he should keep faith in Kelleher for the game against Fulham on Sunday, as it would be unwise to throw the Brazilian straight back into the starting XI if he has only just recovered from injury.

Following the win against Wolves recently, Klopp was full of praise for the young goalkeeper, saying:

“Yes, goalkeepers are all about saves, of course, and it was brilliant, and apart from that, it’s about contributions, what can he bring, involved in the game, and that makes him a really special talent because he is really calm on the ball, his personality is very calm, and technically he is outstanding with his feet.”

Therefore, he clearly trusts Kelleher to do a job in his first-team, and whilst he is not yet at Alisson’s level, giving him more Premier League experience in games against the likes of Fulham, where the Reds are expected to win, is only going to make him better.

It also ensures that the £72m-rated Brazilian isn’t rushed back too quickly after his spell on the sidelines, and he will therefore be more likely to be fully fit for the game against Spurs on Wednesday.

And, in other news… Sold for £15m, now worth £1.8m – LFC sold ace Klopp dubbed a “big talent” at perfect time 

Glasgow Rangers dodged a massive bullet by not signing Sheffield United striker Rhian Brewster this summer after Rangers emerged as one of several clubs who were said to be battling to secure the services of the former Liverpool academy graduate.

What was the story?

According to The Sun, Ross Wilson sought to bolster Steven Gerrard’s firepower in the summer with a raid on Anfield for Brewster after he scored 11 goals in 22 games across all competitions whilst on loan at Swansea City last season.

Jurgen Klopp admitted it wasn’t an easy decision to sell the highly-coveted 20-year-old after he left the club due to doubts about the amount of game time he would get at Anfield.

His heroics at the Liberty Stadium saw him courted by some plenty of clubs in the summer, including Premier League sides like Aston Villa, Brighton, Crystal Palace and Sheffield United.

It’s fair to say that Rangers would have faced a tough task trying to acquire his services as he had made it clear that he wanted to play Premier League football, but they appear to have dodged a bullet given his obvious struggles so far this season.

Dodged a bullet

The England U21 international was previously described as a “nightmare” in training by Liverpool first-team assistant goalkeeping coach Jack Robinson, with John Achterberg’s assistant saying: “You sort of get an idea for how good they are, but then you put them into the environment that they’ve had with Vitor and the first team, and with the finishing sessions that Pep and Pete put on as well, they are a nightmare.”

However, Brewster has found goals hard to come by in the current campaign, as he has failed to find the back of the net in 11 appearances across all competitions, having started just four games in the Premier League so far.

It’s believed that Sheff United signed him from Liverpool for £23.5m on a five-year contract, according to the BBC.

United boss Chris Wilder has even been open to benching the club’s record signing on a regular basis as well, with the youngster absent from the first four matchday squads in a row and coming off the bench as the Blades pushed for an equaliser against Manchester United at Bramall Lane last time out.

In fact, his start at Brighton was his first since the 4-1 defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge back in November, while he is averaging just 0.7 shots per game in the league, via WhoScored, all of which will give the Gers plenty of reasons to see why they should count their lucky stars that they decided against pursuing a deal for the misfiring centre-forward.

AND in other news, Glasgow Rangers must cash in on Greg Stewart in January…