Marcus Rashford has hit back at the treatment he has received in the media, while reaffirming his commitment to Manchester United.
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Jose Mourinho should unleash Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg on West Ham this Sunday after seeing Moussa Sissoko struggle against Wolfsberger in the Europa League.
The Tottenham boss took the opportunity to rotate and provide some game time for the fringe players after losing Harry Kane, Sergio Reguilon, Giovanni Lo Celso and Serge Aurier to injury in quick succession, but Sissoko struggled to have much of an impact occupying a deep-lying role.
Goals from Heung-min Son, Gareth Bale and Lucas Moura gave Spurs the lead in the first leg of the Europa League last 32. Yet, Sissoko threatened to undo all their hard work after his clumsy challenge in the box allowed Wolfsberger to pull one back by way of a penalty from Michael Liendl.
It was a night to forget for the Frenchman in Budapest and may have damaged his chances of starting again anytime soon. An uncharacteristically lightweight display from the 31-year-old saw Sissoko lose 70% of his duels overall, winning just four out of his 13 ground duels in total, as he struggled to get a foothold in the game.
Compare this to that of Hojbjerg’s with the Dane’s duel success rate a fine 51% this season, and it’s clear just how much they missed out by having Sissoko on the pitch for as long as they did instead.
Hojbjerg burst onto the scene at Southampton after a brief stint with Bayern Munich. Having excelled for the Saints, Spurs took a punt on the versatile midfielder and have been duly rewarded, with the 25-year-old establishing himself as one of the club’s most consistent and reliable performers this season.
In 23 Premier League appearances this season, he has so far averaged a WhoScored match rating of 6.97 for his efforts, that being the best of all midfielders and the fourth-highest overall, bettered only by the likes of Kane, Son and Tanguy Ndombele.
And this is simply why he must start against West Ham on Sunday. “Pierre is, first of all, very intelligent. He reads the game very well. He’s going to be a coach one day, for sure,” Mourinho said after the 2-0 win over Arsenal.
He added:
“Physically, he’s very, very strong, and technically he’s much better than people think. Because sometimes people think the guy that is good technically is the guy that does the backheel. The guy that is good technically is the guy that does something wonderful. But these are not my words. These are words from coaches of 30, 40 years ago. Simplicity is genius.
“And the guy is so simple in everything he does with the ball. And I think he’s a phenomenal player. Congratulations, Mr Levy.”
Having Hojbjerg at their disposal is at least one of the few positives for the Lilywhites, who have otherwise endured a rather frustrating season as they currently lie six points adrift of the top four
No other Spurs star is averaging as many as Hojbjerg’s 2.8 tackles per game, while he also tops the charts for interceptions (1.3 per game) and is third behind Kane and Son for assists this term, as per WhoScored.
That merely shows how big an influence he is on this Spurs team – a game-changer.
Starting the Danish midfielder against David Moyes’ side would be a good step in the right direction and could put them back on track heading into the business end of the season.
He has the ability to change the game in their favour from the anchorman role, especially with Manchester United loanee Jesse Lingard in fine mettle in front of Tomas Soucek and Declan Rice.
AND in other news, Tottenham Hotspur’s Gareth Bale stole the show in vital Europa League win…
Jamie Carragher reckons that Michael Keane and Ben Godfrey are the ‘future’ for Everton in the centre-back position.
Carragher was speaking to one of the club’s fan channels, Toffee TV.
Keane has played 90 minutes in all but three of Everton’s Premier League games this season. He has averaged 2.9 successful aerial duels, 1.4 interceptions and 4.6 clearances per 90 minutes (via WhoScored), but the 28-year-old was still overlooked for the latest England squad by Gareth Southgate.
Manager Carlo Ancelotti urged him to channel that disappointment into motivation, hailing his ‘really good’ performance levels.
£25m summer signing Godfrey, who was called-up by the England under-21s this month, has been almost an ever-present at Goodison Park as well.
Ancelotti has only left him on the bench twice since his arrival from Norwich City, and the defender been averaging 2.3 successful aerial duels, 4.3 clearances and 1.7 blocks per game (via WhoScored). The Everton manager has made use of the 23-year-old’s versatility by deploying him as a full-back on nine occasions.
Godfrey has earned plenty of plaudits this season, with Rio Ferdinand among his admirers. The ex- Manchester United defender labelled his performances ‘absolutely outstanding’.
Carragher has followed Ferdinand’s lead in championing Godfrey’s credentials, as well as those of fellow Toffees defender Keane.
“I do look at Keane and Godfrey as the future for Everton at centre-back,” the Liverpool legend said. “I’m a big fan of both players.
“I really like Michael Keane. He’s a seven out of 10 man every game. His passing’s very good from the back.
“And in Godfrey, I think you’ve got a super player. It’s a great signing. I think he’s going to be a top centre-back.”
Both players have clearly done well this season, but is Keane and Godfrey a partnership which could sustain a top four challenge? Probably not, and that’s where Everton are aiming under this manager.
A serious offer for Kalidou Koulibaly has been mooted and would be an immense show of ambition from the Toffees.
In other news, Everton will listen to offers for another of their defenders.
The Parisians may be losing a club legend, but they have plenty of options as they look to spend the surplus cash he'll leave behind
Kylian Mbappe's departure is not a good thing for Paris Saint-Germain. They will lose the club's all-time leading goalscorer, a global superstar, and the face of French football.
However, there is some solace to be found in the money that they can now spend to flesh out the side. With Mbappe's astronomical salary off the books, the Parisians are ready to spend big this summer in an ambitious rebuilding mission. Transfer guru reported that they are after a top-tier attacking player, midfielder, and perhaps a long-term centre-back replacement for Marquinhos.
As such, the rumour mill has immediately gone into overdrive, and so who are the players PSG are likely to be targeting once the transfer window opens this summer as they move on from Mbappe? GOAL breaks down 11 top options…
A Manchester United fan has gone viral for noting down 11 Marcus Rashford mistakes in his "absolutely embarrassing" display against Newcastle.
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In recent comments made on Patreon, ExWHUemployee revealed the West Ham United board’s summer valuation of defensive midfielder Declan Rice.
According to ExWHUemployee, David Moyes recently stated that the West Ham board believe Rice is “worth £100 million” in the summer transfer market.
However, the manager claimed that he “wouldn’t put a price” on the head of the £49.5m-rated 22-year-old, as well as confirming that he “wouldn’t be sanctioning” the sale of the midfielder for the figure at which owners David Gold, David Sullivan and Karren Brady (GSB) value the England international.
ExWHUemployee also revealed that Moyes claimed he wants Rice to know his “ambitions can be achieved” while playing for West Ham and that he is “pushing” this stance with both the £32,000 per week ace as well as the club’s board.
So far this season, Rice has proven himself an indispensable part of Moyes’ highly impressive West Ham side, with the midfielder starting all 26 of their Premier League games, over which he has scored one goal, provided one assist and averaged a WhoScored match rating of 7.0 – ranking him as the fourth-best performer in a team currently occupying seventh place in the Premier League.
As such, it is not surprising to hear that Rice’s valuation in the board’s eyes has increased from the reported £80m figure which Chelsea were quoted for the midfielder last summer, with West Ham’s hopes of European qualification very much alive this season.
In other news: Many West Ham fans responded to this club update, find out more here!
A concussion sustained on the training field has sidelined Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard.
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Whenever Wolves have taken a step forward this season, it’s traditionally then meant they take another giant leap backwards.
Nuno Santo’s men had, up until this season, defined the very essence of consistency since he took over.
They were promoted from the Championship and have established themselves among the best of the rest in the Premier League.
This term, however, has been a complete write-off. Injuries have pillaged them severely and they lie in the bottom half of the table having shown no consistency at all.
The win over Brighton a couple of weeks ago felt like a turning point. Nuno had looked towards the future and when picking his most inexperienced XI of the campaign, his side won 2-1.
Though, since that victory, they’ve lost consecutive games to Tottenham and Everton. These are the types of matches that Nuno’s men usually thrive in but to coin an old phrase, they already look as though they’re on the beach.
That’s especially the case for Joao Moutinho, a man who will be dreaming of lifting the European Championships this summer.
He will have to perform better for Portugal than he’s done for Wolves during 2020/21 because at the moment, the midfielder looks past his best.
Towards the beginning of the year, Wolves reporter Tim Spiers commented that this could his final campaign as a regular starter at Molineux.
It was an intriguing argument but judging by his performance against Everton, he has a very valid point.
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Moutinho is a player who has always oozed class but at Goodison Park on Wednesday, he endured an average display in the middle of the park as they slipped to a 1-0 defeat.
This display was anything but classy as the Portuguese surrendered possession of the ball on 21 occasions. This is an alarming number of times for a player who is usually so calm and composed.
For instance, he has only lost the ball on average 9.7 times per match. His performance was extraordinarily out of character.
The £100k-per-week earner’s passing was also slightly down on what we’ve come to expect from him. Often the creative heartbeat of this Wolves team, he completed just 82%, lower than his 88% average throughout the term.
Moutinho did provide three key passes but he showed his age when he was dribbled past on two occasions during an Everton attack.
On this evidence, Nuno can certainly find better options to fill his midfield.
After all, they do have Moutinho 2.0 lying in wait if they choose to exercise the option to buy in Vitinha’s loan contract.
Having been given a platform to earn more starts towards the end of the season, the youngster has finally demonstrated how impressive he can be at the elite level.
Everton have a wonderful chance of securing European football next season, with the Toffees standing an outside chance of reaching the top table.
Carlo Ancelotti’s men have a game in hand and are just six points behind Chelsea in fourth place, so a Champions League place may await them if everything goes their way.
They will have to overcome a number of tough tests, though. Everton still have to face West Ham United and Manchester City, so it won’t be easy for them to gatecrash the top four.
That said, they did rise to the challenge of Arsenal last time out, winning 1-0 at the Emirates Stadium. They will be able to take plenty of confidence into their clash with Aston Villa on Saturday night but how will they line up?
Here’s the XI we’re predicting from Ancelotti tonight…
We’re tipping the Italian to make three changes to the side which defeated the Gunners just over a week ago.
Ancelotti sticks with the same formation but he takes Andre Gomes out of the firing line. He returned to the starting XI in north London after two games out but doesn’t start this time.
Gomes showed some nice touches against Mikel Arteta’s side but didn’t make a big enough impression in his 66 minutes on the pitch.
He produced two tackles but had fewer touches in the game than Jordan Pickford and failed to offer impetus alongside James Rodriguez, unable to play a single key pass. As such, Tom Davies comes back into the starting XI.
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The second change is out on the flanks, where Gylfi Sigurdsson misses out. The Iceland international struck the bar against Arsenal but his threat waned significantly as the game went on. Like Gomes, he had less of the ball than Pickford and didn’t provide a key pass.
For someone in his position, Sigurdsson should be doing a lot more to feed Dominic Calvert-Lewin. With the need for a bit more swagger and energy in attack, the £100,000-per-week Alex Iwobi comes back into the fray.
Abdoulaye Doucoure misses out through injury but Michael Keane is back in the side. He replaces Seamus Coleman, with Ben Godfrey moving to right-back.
In an exclusive interview with The Transfer Tavern, Steve Howey, who made 278 appearances during his career, believes that Ryan Kent would struggle to perform in the Premier League if he moved to Leeds United.
Kent has been linked with a move to Leeds this summer, much like he was last year, as Marcelo Bielsa clearly thinks he can add something to a high energy Leeds attacking side.
The Rangers winger was only signed permanently by Steven Gerrard in 2019 when he brought the 24-year old from Liverpool after he failed to make the grade at Anfield with competition fierce in their attacking line-up.
Speaking on why Kent would struggle if he moved to Leeds and why he must have something which Bielsa admires if he wants to bring him to Elland Road, Howey told The Transfer Tavern:
“He’s had a good season without a doubt but I think he will find it difficult because in the Premier League it’s week-in-week-out and it is relentless. That’s not being disrespectful to the Scottish League but it’s not the same as the Premier League.
“I’m sure if Bielsa fancies bringing him to Leeds then he’s got to have something about him because he is a top manager – you just have to look at what he’s done with that Leeds side.”
Bielsa pulled off a great signing last year when he brought in Raphinha on deadline day from Rennes for what has turned out to be a bargain price of £17 million.
The Argentine’s future, however, is not clear with his contract set to expire at the end of the season and the hierarchy are planning for life without him next season.