All posts by n8rngtd.top

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.

AND in other news, Everton must swoop for “absolutely crazy” £27k-p/w maestro, he’s got “brutal dynamism”…

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.

This is a season that Wolverhampton Wanderers will want to quickly forget about.

Any chance of securing European football has evaporated quickly while they have been dealt a number of catastrophic injury blows.

On the chalkboard

One of the injuries in recent weeks was to Joao Moutinho. It may not have been a season-ending problem like Jonny and Pedro Neto received but it still kept him out for a few weeks.

Moutinho’s form has improved in recent months with a goal against Arsenal and an assist versus Manchester City.

That being said, his opening to the season was rather poor. He was off the pace and didn’t register a single goal involvement until February.

It was form that sparked words of negativity from Wolves reporter Tim Spiers who claimed this could be the veteran midfielder’s final campaign as a regular in the starting XI.

He said: “I think you’ve got to question if this is his final season, certainly as a first-choice player.

“I think he’d be good to have around the squad, he’s important in the dressing room, but [not] as a first choice. He’s 35 this year, he can still have an impact on games, but not nearly as regularly as he was doing it before.”

Who is his replacement?

Trying to replace someone like Moutinho will be an incredibly tricky task. He has defined the very essence of consistency since joining Wolves from Monaco.

However, now in the twilight of his career, the Old Gold could perhaps benefit from someone with a bit more energy and vibrancy.

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The man they should target this summer is Ainsley Maitland-Niles. Wolves were interested in the Arsenal man back in January but he joined West Brom on loan instead.

However, a new report from The Telegraph expects the Molineux outfit to revisit the £48k-per-week earner when the summer window opens.

Maitland-Niles has made his name as a wing-back in the Arsenal set up but his preferred role is in the middle of the park.

Described as a “Rolls-Royce” by Martin Keown, he’s made a seamless transition to the Baggies and is now starring as a midfield player.

He was named the Man of the Match during West Brom’s win over Southampton last weekend, producing two tackles and two interceptions in what was a combative display.

Maitland-Niles covers the ground impressively and unlike Moutinho, is a more mobile individual. He can pick out a pass like the Portuguese can and his defensive attributes have come on leaps and bounds in recent years.

He’d be a real asset to Wolves and could be their perfect player. After all, Nuno loves someone who can play in more than one role.

Speaking about this quality, Chris Sutton once said: “The young man’s versatility is a weapon. He is such a versatile talent – a diamond.”

Moutinho hasn’t had a disastrous campaign but it’s clear that time is winding down on his glistening career. Maitland-Niles would be a top-drawer replacement.

AND in other news, Wolves could have their new Conor Coady in 18 y/o “leader” who’s been “outstanding”…

Alan Hutton believes that Jordan Jones has played his last game for Glasgow Rangers despite his impressive form on loan at Sunderland in League One.

Hutton thinks Jones is finished at Ibrox

Jones moved to the Stadium of Light on loan in January and has done well so far for the Black Cats, scoring twice and providing three assists in nine league matches (Transfermarkt).

However, speaking to Football Insider, Hutton does still not believe the 26-year-old has a future at Ibrox. He said of Jones:

“It’s one of those ones where he had opportunities at Rangers. Gerrard put him in and sometimes we would see the best of him but not enough.

“Obviously the Covid issues, hampered by injuries, I’m not going to say I’m on the fence. I believe the time’s passed. He’s went down, he’s moved on, he’s playing well at a decent level and scoring goals.

“I just feel his time that Rangers, he’s had enough opportunities, it’s not quite worked out. The player has to think of himself as well, he obviously wasn’t happy when he was there.”

Difficult

On Wearside, Jones has shown he has plenty of talent, but it is hard to disagree with Hutton. Jones did break into the Gers’ starting line-up towards the start of this season, even scoring in a 5-1 win over Motherwell, but he betrayed the trust of both his teammates and Steven Gerrard when he broke virus regulations to attend a house gathering along with George Edmundson. That led to a seven-game ban (BBC), preventing him from playing on a regular basis for the 55-time Scottish champions.

In 19 matches for Rangers since making the move from Kilmarnock, that goal against Motherwell is the only time he has hit the back of the net. Quite frankly, that is not good enough, especially when he has Ryan Kent to contend with on the left wing. It seems only a matter of time before Jones leaves Ibrox on a permanent basis, as Hutton has predicted.

In other news, many Rangers fans hammered this man’s performance against Celtic.

In a recent interview, Alan Hutton praised the Glasgow Rangers manager, Steven Gerrard, for his keeping of Gers’ traditions.

Speaking recently to Sky Sports, Rangers’ majority shareholder and former chairman, Dave King, claimed that Gerrard has always insisted on keeping the traditions that 10 times Scottish championship-winning manager Walter Smith instilled in his time at the club.

One of these traditions included the Gers boss wearing a suit and tie for the club’s fixtures, and, in a recent interview with Football Insider, Hutton heaped a considerable amount of praise on Gerrard for upholding these particular customs of the club.

He said: “This is the thing. It’s the little things that make the difference. They all build-up to the collective, what you’re looking for.

“He’s totally right. When you think back to the likes of Walter Smith, it was always that – the navy blazer, grey trousers and brown shoes. That’s how Rangers were.

“It’s good to hear that Steven Gerrard was buying into all of that. He wanted to be part of all the little things that make Rangers, Rangers. It’s brilliant to hear.”

Transfer Tavern Take

Whether or not Gerrard’s maintaining of Smith’s traditions directly had an effect on the players, it certainly does not appear to have done them any damage, with the Liverpool legend leading the club to their first Scottish top flight title for 10 years this season.

And, hopefully – for fans of the club, at least – it is not only Smith’s dress sense that Gerrard brings back to Gers but also the unprecedented levels of success the 73-year-old did during his time spent in Glasgow – with the former Everton boss winning 10 league titles, six Scottish League Cups and five Scottish Cups at Rangers.

In other news: some Rangers fans slammed this politician’s comments – find out more here!

Many Wolves fans ripped into defender Nelson Semedo after their 0-0 draw against Aston Villa on Saturday evening.

The 27-year-old started at wing-back for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side as his team were unable to break down the resolute Villans.

Semedo has been a regular for Wolves this season, starting all but one Premier League game, but bizarrely divides opinion among the fanbase. Despite this, few will argue about his showing at Villa Park.

Per Sofascore, the Portugal right-back lost 11 duels, gave the ball away 19 times, was dispossessed four times and made no interceptions. No Wolves player lost more duels while only one was more careless in possession.

While many fans made their feelings clear on social media – one dubbed the £27m signing a “big flop” in frustration at his performance – others offered their towards journalist Nathan Judah, who suggested that Semedo looked tired rather than playing poorly.

Wolves fans slate Semedo

“Until Semedo starts trying to take people on in dangerous areas and doesn’t always turn back in the final third he’s going to be a big flop at the price we paid”

Credit: @Danrose93

“I’ve always stuck up for the bloke but IMO worse Semedo performance today”

Credit: @mitchdavis_1

“2nd half has been like a different team but Semedo, Adama, Moutinho and Donk have been awful”

Credit: @drawlings27

“I might be wrong but the guy can’t control a ball or defend and cost £35m”

Credit: @8clay23

“This awful…again…no concentration and can’t pass to each other!”

Credit: @julescrow1

“No he doesn’t”

Credit: @DavidYa42784426

In other news, Wolves fans not impressed with transfer report concerning Molineux star.

According to a recent report, Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho is plotting a summer move for Ciro Immobile should Harry Kane leave Spurs.

The report by Spanish outlet Fichajes (via Sport Witness) claims that the current relationship between Mourinho and Kane is ‘not very good’, with the England captain being linked with a summer move to Mauricio Pochettino’s Paris Saint-Germain.

Should Kane depart north London this summer, it is reported that Mourinho could look to Serie A in order to replace the 27-year-old in the shape of Lazio centre-forward Ciro Immobile, who has 14 league goals to his name so far this season.

Fichajes claimed that the £40.5m-rated 31-year-old is one of the most ‘underrated footballers on the market’, as well as being ‘very much to Mou’s taste’ – before stating that the signing of the £79k per week striker would ‘not be a problem’ for Spurs following the injection of cash from Kane’s potential sale.

Transfer Tavern Take

Recent reports in England have directly contradicted Fichajes’ claim that Kane could be leaving Spurs this summer, with The Telegraph stating that the £108m-rated man looks set to say in London for ‘at least another year’ – if true, this would immediately render the club’s links with a move for Immobile redundant.

However, in the theoretical event that Kane does leave Tottenham this summer, then it would be difficult to argue that the 31-year-old Immobile would be a bad fit for Mourinho’s side, with his proficiency in goalscoring in both European and domestic competitions over recent seasons speaking for itself.

In other Tottenham news, this Spurs transfer admission lifted the lid on a failed Daniel Levy coup with Pochettino – find out more here!

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…

When it comes to Wolves’ promotion-winning squad of 2017/18 there are a host of names that’ll spring to mind.

Ruben Neves will be one, Diogo Jota is probably another. John Ruddy’s immense campaign will even be remembered with fond memories too.

Although his football has been limited since they were promoted to the Premier League, it has not been as worse as Roderick Miranda’s.

The centre-back played 17 games en route to gaining promotion but unfortunately, he’s not made a single appearance for the Old Gold since they came up to the top-flight.

That means that despite still being on Wolves’ books, his last appearance for the club came in 2018. Considering he’s now 29, it’s dumbfounding to think that he still holds a contract with the club.

Signed for an undisclosed fee four years ago, his £10k-per-week contract at Molineux finally ends in the summer but the player is hoping a resolution to his future is found soon. After all, he is merely blowing a hefty hole in Jeff Shi’s pockets.

He’s earning a wage at Wolves but isn’t playing and after a set of loan spells at Olympiacos and Famalicao, is training with the youth players at Compton.

It’s a sorry state of affairs for a player who was actually quite important in the back half of their triumphant Championship-winning season.

He was named in their Premier League squad for the current term, but unsurprisingly, he’s not played a single minute and has become nothing short of a flop in the Midlands.

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He’s watched the likes of Max Kilman picked ahead of him, while he couldn’t even earn a spot on the bench when Wolves travelled to play non-league Chorley in the FA Cup.

Instead, young defenders Lewis Richards and Nigel Lonwijk were among the substitutes instead. It’s damning that even in a game of this magnitude he is ignored.

If Wolves can’t find any suitor for him this month, they’d be wise to just terminate his contract entirely. It’s a method Arsenal used with wantaway defender Sokratis so it’s certainly not unfashionable to do so.

The Old Gold have tried desperately to find a new striker this month and after securing the signature of Willian Jose, must take it upon themselves to get rid of deadwood.

That starts with Roderick. He isn’t good enough for Wolves and Nuno clearly has no plans to use him.

AND in other news, Shi must seal Wolves swoop for “outstanding” 6-goal gem, he’s shades of Bakary Sako…

West Brom manager Sam Allardyce is reportedly eyeing a reunion with one of his former players this January transfer window…

What’s the word?

According to the Sunday Mirror [10/01, page 72], the Baggies could want Bordeaux striker Josh Maja on a loan deal for the rest of the season.

It’s claimed that the Midlands outfit could sign him permanently in the summer should they keep their top-flight status, which right now looks to be in serious jeopardy.

Maja was a 17-year-old rookie at Sunderland when Big Sam was in charge back in 2015/16.

Shades of Berahino?

The need for a new striker at the Hawthorns has increased tenfold in recent weeks.

Allardyce’s side already ranked among the Premier League’s worst attacks having scored just 11 goals in 17 outings – only better than two other teams in the division.

And now they have moved on Charlie Austin, who has rejoined former club QPR on loan, despite the devastating injury blow to summer signing Karlan Grant, who is now out for the next six weeks at least.

Against Blackpool in the FA Cup on Saturday, the 66-year-old had to deploy a strikerless formation which saw Matheus Pereira act as a false nine – they were subsequently knocked out, so it clearly didn’t go to plan.

The 22-year-old, who earns a reported £57k-per-week, could be an interesting solution to this nightmare.

Maja enjoyed a very decent run in Ligue 1 last term, bagging six goals, primarily from the bench as 15 of his 21 appearances were as a substitute, though this season, he’s not been able to replicate such form with just two goals in 11 starts, per WhoScored.

Despite the way he acrimoniously departed the Black Cats in 2018, the young striker still received many plaudits from his time at the club – former boss Jack Ross lauded him “fantastic” to work with on and off the pitch, whilst his ex-Bordeaux manager Paulo Sousa dubbed him a “scorer” with “sharp and strong qualities.”

At 5 foot 11, he’s the exact same fit and profile of former Albion frontman Saido Berahino, especially as Jermain Defoe mentored him at the Stadium of Light – a player who Victor Anichebe compared to the controversial striker in 2013.

Two years later, Berahino bagged 14 goals in 38 games for West Brom in the top-flight, Allardyce would surely love to see Maja come in and replicate such form.

Once dubbed a “unique talent” by local Sunderland journalist Phil Smith, Maja could be a bargain solution to Big Sam’s increasing problems.

AND in other news, Allardyce must axe £38k-p/w disaster after another pathetic display…