All posts by z3u9t.icu

Glasgow Rangers boss Steven Gerrard has suffered a fresh blow ahead of their crucial Europa League tie this evening…

What’s the latest?

Speaking ahead of kick-off, Gerrard confirmed that midfield favourite Ryan Jack would not be involved as the Scottish Premiership champions host Slavia Prague, even though he is seemingly close to a return to action. Jack missed the first-leg tie, but Gerrard said at the time that he could have played but that the Rangers staff chose not to risk him.

Scotland were keen to have Jack as part of their squad, which Steven Gerrard has spoken to Steve Clarke about, which suggests he is close to a return, but tonight’s game, unfortunately, comes too soon for Jack to feature in, suggesting he’s had a bit of a setback, given that he was seemingly fit to play last week.

Gerrard said, via the Daily Record:

“I had a chat with Steve Clarke and obviously that will remain private.

“We’ve been in touch over Ryan and a few other players for some time now but I’m not going to divulge what gets said in the conversation. I don’t think that’s fair or respectful.

“We will make a decision on the weekend when we need to but he is ruled out for tomorrow’s game.”

The 29-year-old missed last week’s 1-1 draw in the Czech Republic and is now a major doubt for the Old Firm derby this weekend.

Bad news for Gerrard

Even though they’ve secured their first title in ten years, this update will come as a major setback for Gerrard and Rangers.

Jack has emerged as a regular starter when fit, with 16 of his 19 league appearances coming from the off, whilst he also started the big group games against Standard Liege and Benfica.

In terms of central midfield options this season, the Scottish powerhouse tops the charts for average WhoScored rating (7.03) ahead of veteran Steven Davis (7.01), Glen Kamara (6.93), Scott Arfield (6.67) and Bongani Zungu (6.26), so evidently, he’s Gerrard’s best man when available.

Speaking about the situation last week, the 40-year-old revealed he was “upset” by the injury and reinforced Jack’s influence to the side. He added: “He’s so important to us.”

Admittedly, he’s vital to Rangers’ fortunes – for creativity in the middle, there’s no one better as he’s managed one key pass per game, which is more than the aforementioned quartet of alternative options, whilst 1.1 tackles and 1.1 interceptions per match suggest he’s just as prominent defensively – only Davis betters such returns, via WhoScored.

It is this ability to read the game and snuff out any danger which could prove to be a big miss on the night, especially in such a huge fixture.

Ex-Gers star Thomas Buffel recently compared him to Barry Ferguson, which is high praise indeed. He told The Sun: “His consistency levels are incredible and he is the one player the manager can always rely on. He really reminds me of Barry — and that is the highest compliment I can pay him.”

If Gerrard’s side loses tonight, then their European dream is over for another season and their chances of finding a way past the Czech champions will be all that more harder without the industrious Jack pulling the strings in the engine room.

AND in other news, Bye-bye Kent: Rangers must swoop for magical 18-goal gem, he’s made 109 dribbles…

Numerous Aston Villa supporters have been reacting to Tammy Abraham’s recent social media activity.

As reported by Birmingham Live, Abraham, who scored 26 goals for Villa in a season-long loan during the 2018/19 season, still keeps an eye on his former club.

Aston Villa posted on Instagram to congratulate forward Ollie Watkins for scoring on his England debut against San Marino, which led to the Chelsea man commenting with clapping and fire emojis.

Abraham, valued at £36m by Transfermarkt, has been linked with a return to Villa Park earlier this month after falling out of favour under new Blues boss Thomas Tuchel.

The 23-year-old has been in-and-out of the Chelsea team since January, scoring once following the German’s arrival.

Villa fans react

Birmingham Live shared their story on social media on Friday evening, teasing a possible partnership between Abraham and Watkins.

This is what these Villa fans had to say, with one believing the acquisition of Abraham could help Jack Grealish remain at the club.

“If Villa buy Tammy then Jack stays, if they then change the system to play Tammy & Ollie up top, with Jack behind them as a 10, we could really threaten this league!”

Credit: @chris1974jones

“Please x”

Credit: @thevillaboys_

“I genuinely believe having Tammy back home up top with Ollie will fire us into the top 4 with a couple of other creative additions”

Credit:@UTViIIa

“Smith will make him average”

Credit: @bltashcroft

“no it equals a dream for us all. but how many times do we need to keep being teased with this story”

Credit: @derekhi45270958

“Nope nope I get his tongue but this is not where we need to strengthen right now we have way more vastly important roles that need to be put straight”

Credit: @starblind1988

In other news: Villa worried over £16.2m-rated star who is difficult to manage, find out more here. 

Southampton are one of a number of Premier League clubs reportedly taking an interest in Barnsley youngster Callum Styles, and the 21-year-old could be an excellent addition to Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side.

According to Football League World, Southampton, Leeds United and Norwich City are all keen on the Barnsley man, who has been a key part of their impressive season in the Championship.

After featuring as a midfielder earlier in his career, Styles has been converted to a left wing-back this season by Barnsley boss Valérien Ismaël and has enjoyed a lot of success in his new position.

This season has seen the former Bury youngster contribute four goals and two assists in 36 Championship appearances, whilst he has averaged a solid 6.86 WhoScored rating for his performances.

Although Styles is contracted at Barnsley until 2023, you would imagine that unless they can pull off a shock promotion to the top flight, he will depart the Tykes this summer, given that all three of Southampton, Leeds and Norwich are looking highly likely to be in the Premier League next season.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/southampton-saints-ralph-hasenhuttl-martin-semmens-st-marys” title=”Latest Southampton news, transfer rumours and more”]

During his time with the Yorkshire club, Styles earned himself the nickname of ‘The Bury Baggio’ from supporters, with the club themselves regularly likening their young defender to the Italian legend on Twitter.

Given that Ryan Bertrand is yet to sign a new deal at Southampton, it seems clear that the Saints are looking into bringing a left-back to the club this summer, and Styles’ superb performances with Barnsley this season certainly suggest that he would be a worthwhile addition.

Hasenhuttl is renowned for loving versatile players and therefore he should definitely appreciate someone such as Styles, who is comfortable playing in midfield and defensive roles.

[freshpress-quiz id=“594431″]

Therefore, vice-chairman Martin Semmens should certainly consider bringing the 21-year-old Barnsley ace to St Mary’s this summer, as he looks destined to be playing in the Premier League next season.

In other news… Southampton could sign a Diallo upgrade in £4.05m-rated “class act”

Many Liverpool fans are fuming after Jurgen Klopp revealed defender Ozan Kabak picked up an injury during his side’s 1-0 defeat to Chelsea on Thursday.

The German tactician revealed (via Anfield Watch) during his pre-match press conference that the 20-year-old is doubtful to feature in Sunday’s home game against Fulham.

Kabak will join the already overcrowded Anfield treatment room, with Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez, Jordan Henderson and Joel Matip out for a significant amount of time.

Klopp’s team has been seriously hampered by injuries, which has forced them to chop and change centre-backs, effectively halting their title charge this season and leaving them in a battle just to clinch top four.

Unsurprisingly, supporters were furious with the reveal from Klopp. One fan, bizarrely, broke into Bohemian Rhapsody. Somehow, the lyrics were appropriate to how the fans were feeling, as you can see below.

Kabak injury angers these fans

“Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Mammaaaaaaaaa WHYYYYYYYYY?”

Credit: @eriksgrafs

“This season is a joke”

Credit: @Fifi4Lfc

“Oh boy, here we go again”

Credit: @Ruddy_Strange

“This gonna be our 21st defensive duo this season? Fire the whole medical staff”

Credit: @paulo060802

“All the physio staff members should get sacked”

Credit: @sreqiri03

“Is this normal? The rate and amount of injuries we have? Is there something wrong with our fitness trainers or something ??!”

Credit: @blackpe96003219

In other news, Liverpool fans were not happy with Jurgen Klopp after what he said post-Chelsea.

According to The Daily Mirror, Bristol City are interested in signing Aston Villa midfielder Henri Lansbury in this January transfer window.

What’s the story?

The 30-year-old has endured a difficult season thus far, having been omitted from Dean Smith’s Premier League squad and only being restricted to three appearances in the Carabao Cup.

Now, with his contract expiring in the summer at Villa Park, The Daily Mirror claim that Championship side Bristol City are ready to make their move, and that Lansbury is “now ready to quit Villa and move either permanently or on loan with a view to landing a future contract”.

Lange’s perfect chance

With Lansbury’s contract coming to an end in the summer, these last few days of the January transfer window remain the only chance for Villa to recoup some sort of fee for the midfielder’s services, or else risk seeing him leave on a free.

Bristol City’s late interest in the 30-year-old has given Johan Lange a perfect opportunity to trim down Smith’s squad, and also potentially free up some funds for use on new signings too.

Make no mistake about it, the fact that Nassef Sawiris has had to continue pay Lansbury’s pretty sizeable £40k-a-week wages (he’s in the top ten earners in Villa’s entire squad) will have the club’s co-owner fuming.

Paying that much amount of money for someone who wasn’t even named in Smith’s Premier League squad at the start of the campaign must be driving him insane, so it’s exactly why Lange must surely seize this perfect opportunity to get the midfielder off the club’s books.

Meanwhile, this Villa star was Dean Smith’s only silver lining vs Burnley…

According to the Daily Mail, Tottenham Hotspur have made Nick Pope a top transfer target ahead of the summer window…

What’s the word?

It’s claimed that the England international is their first-choice candidate to succeed the long-serving Hugo Lloris in north London, though they face competition from rivals West Ham.

The French veteran will enter the final year of his current contract at the end of the season and is thought to be a target for former boss Mauricio Pochettino at Paris Saint-Germain.

Burnley reportedly value their 28-year-old goalkeeper in the region of £30m.

Football Insider have also reported this week that Spurs could sign two new goalkeepers in the summer as they desire a potential new no.1 and a reliable back-up option.

Spurs rebuild

In the summer before his fateful sacking, ex-Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino warned supporters that a “painful” rebuild was needed, and you could argue that the same still applies to this day, as much of the same plethora of players and deadwood still remain at the club.

Only two new signings have come in and cemented their place amongst Mourinho’s starting XI – Sergio Reguilon and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, but the likes of Erik Lamela and Danny Rose are still under contract.

And then there are plenty of question marks surrounding the consistency of players like Lloris, Serge Aurier, Lucas Moura and Moussa Sissoko – all of these players have been in north London a very long time and should be moved on sooner rather than later.

As described in the Daily Mail earlier this month, Mourinho ‘still has plenty of deadwood to clear out before this Spurs team is shaped into his mould,’ which merely backs up claims from former top-flight defender Alan Hutton, who claimed they would need a “few” summer windows to resolve this mess to Football Insider back in March 2020.

Evidently, a rebuild is needed and starting between the sticks is a wise place to start, regardless of whether the 34-year-old stays or goes.

Lloris has come under increasing pressure over the past 18 months or so as he frequently has a mistake or two in him – most recently during their FA Cup defeat to Everton, a game in which he conceded a whopping five goals, he was slammed by numerous pundits.

Trevor Sinclair called him “lettuce wrists,” echoing the thoughts of Rio Ferdinand, who dubbed the experienced star “weak” and “embarrassing,” via talkSPORT.

Meanwhile, Pope has proven to be a more reliable option, so much so that Jurgen Klopp hailed him as “sensational.”

The Clarets ‘keeper tops the charts for save percentage (80.6%), even above clean-sheet king Ederson, which far exceeds that of Lloris (76.9%) and is even more impressive considering Pope faces nearly one more shot than the Spurs man each outing, via FBRef.

Pope also ranks first in the Premier League for post-shot expected goals, when removing the actual number of attempts conceded, which means he is displaying an incredible ability to stop the ball from finding its way in, in comparison to the rest of the league. Lloris is lingering behind in fifth place for this metric, also via FBRef.

Earlier in the campaign, the Burnley sensation was unlucky to not keep a clean sheet against Spurs as he had silenced Harry Kane all afternoon – he made two saves and enjoyed one successful run-out, thwarting his international teammate, who had a total of four shots that day, as per SofaScore.

Mourinho’s defensive problems are well-documented, as individual errors constantly let the side down, so adding a player as impressive as Pope should restore some stability to that inconsistent backline, which is why Spurs must begin their rebuild with the 6 foot 3 colossus.

It’s time to wave goodbye to the deadwood and bring through a new breed to elevate the club onto the next level under Mourinho.

Pope would be a mouth-watering and exciting way to kickstart exactly that.

AND in other news, £26m-rateed “animal” drops a major statement as Spurs advance in Europa League…

Celtic have no manager at present but that doesn’t seem to matter to the club’s hierarchy, who are busy tying up some pre-contract deals.

Liam Shaw has already agreed a move with the Hoops while they’re also targeting Kyle Joseph from Wigan Athletic.

What’s the word?

It appears that the Bhoys are making an effort to bring plenty of young talent to Glasgow over the summer. That’s because fresh reports state that they’re targeting another teenager embedded within the English Football League.

GIVEMESPORT reported that Rochdale’s flying winger Kwadwo Baah is a target for Celtic ahead of the next window. The 18-year-old’s contract expires this summer and thus, the Hoops will be able to sign him on a free transfer.

However, they face competition from both Manchester City and West Ham to secure his signature.

Timely move

With Cameron Harper now back in America and Karamoko Dembele set to wind down his contract (via reports relayed by The Scottish Sun), securing some more young talent is a timely statement from the Hoops.

Dembele has long been the darling of the Celtic academy but, after finding first team opportunities hard to come by, he is seemingly on the hunt for chances elsewhere.

It will be a shame, especially given his glowing qualities. The teenager made his debut as a 16-year-old but hasn’t really built on what was a very early glimpse of his qualities.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/latest-celtic-manager-hunt-stories-wagner-marsch-martinez-lennon-news” title=”The last stories on Celtic’s hunt for a new manager!”]

Signing Baah would therefore seem an excellent addition in order to replace him. The two players possess similar characteristics, too.

In League One this term, the Rochdale forward has scored three times and provided two assists, but one of the most eye-catching aspects of his game is the ability to take on and beat a defender.

Like Dembele, Baah loves to leave full-backs in a tangle, something his 1.6 dribbles per match signifies.

Judging by their ages – Dembele is also just 18 – they are at a similar stage of development, too. That being said, the Celtic target has far more senior experience and exposure to his name.

While the Hoops prospect has made just five senior appearances, Baah has featured on 37 occasions for Rochdale, being praised highly in the process. Speaking in December, Dale manager Brian Barry-Murphy said: “He’s a very special talent, he’s going to attract the headlines – and rightly so because he’s a very dangerous player.”

Barry-Murphy clearly rates him highly, commenting after Baah signed a new deal a year ago: “His talent is exceptional and he’s someone we’re very excited about for the future. He’s made a huge impact on the squad already.”

In terms of the impact made at senior level, Baah is already ahead of Dembele. That should be music to the ears of Hoops supporters.

AND in other news, 108 aerials won: Celtic could replace Edouard with “special” 6 ft 7 colossus…

Many Liverpool fans reacted in delight over a transfer update regarding Bayern Munich midfielder David Alaba.

According to Goal journalist Romeo Agresti (via Anfield Edition), the Reds have submitted a contract worth in the region of £9m a year in line to a free transfer in the summer, with his Bavarian contract due to expire at the end of the 2020/21 campaign.

If this deal was to go through, the Austria international will reunite with his former teammate Thiago Alcantara – who left the Bundesliga champions to join Jurgen Klopp’s side for £20m.

Alaba has been hugely successful with Bayern, winning nine Bundesliga titles and two Champions Leagues with over 400 appearances to his name (TransferMarkt).

In light of Liverpool’s catastrophic injury crisis at the back, with both Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez ruled out for a significant time, supporters were keen to see Alaba in a red shirt as soon as possible.

Fans gush over Alaba bid

“Big if true”

Credit: @benharding__

“We really need this guy, he will fit in directly”

Credit: @slivarado

“Amazing, really versatile player and a great Wijnaldum replacement (can play in the midfield), but we need him NOW, not in the Summer, this doesn’t help us at all right now”

Credit: @anfieldfocusuk

“Pleaseeee”

Credit: @sisenor_9

“Oh yes please”

Credit: @frickkerrr

“Get it done”

Credit: @ElliottPurcell2

In other news, Paul Joyce drops huge Michael Edwards claim which will be grim news for Liverpool fans.

Leeds United have taken to the Premier League like a duck to water, they belong amongst the big boys and that much was clear from their season-opener at Anfield against Liverpool.

The Whites were perhaps unlucky to come away in a narrow defeat. That display left Jurgen Klopp in awe, he said after the match: “What a game, what an opponent, what a performance from both teams.”

That was the rest of the league’s one warning shot.

And whilst they may only sit in 12th place, they have indeed grasped the top-flight by storm.

After two poor performances against Leicester City and Crystal Palace, Marcelo Bielsa’s men have bounced back with a pair of frightening displays.

United picked up four points from Europe-chasing duo Arsenal and Everton, and despite scoring just one goal, the Yorkshire giants amounted a whopping 48 shots across both fixtures.

The Championship-winners are more than holding their own in the big time, so much so that they have created more ‘big chances’ than Pep Guardiola’s City and the lethal-looking attack at Frank Lampard’s disposal; seen in the following table as per Phil Hay at The Athletic:

Leeds have done this largely without the influence of Pablo Hernandez too, especially over their last three outings as he’s not even been named in their matchday squad.

That means they’ve created those 48 shots at goal without a major creative influence, so perhaps this is a signal of things to come for the 35-year-old Spaniard.

He was first dropped for the Palace game and Bielsa hinted it was down to team selection. He told West Yorkshire Sport post-game: “The decision may seem strange but I choose the 18 players who I feel are most apt for the game.”

It has since been revealed that he’s been absent with a muscle injury, but in all honesty, he may not be needed anymore.

Hernandez, on his day, can produce game-winning class. We saw that frequently during the title run-in – six of his nine goals came in the second half of the season, as did five of nine assists, per Transfermarkt.

Last week, former Leeds defender Pontus Jansson told Sky Sports’ EFL podcast that his old teammate was “something special” as he put him alongside Zlatan Ibrahimovic for the best players he’s played with.

But we’re just not seeing that in the Premier League anymore, Hernandez hasn’t provided any goals or assists, and is averaging a measley 0.3 key passes per game, via WhoScored.

By comparison, Jack Harrison (2.6), Mateusz Klich (1.8), Kalvin Phillips (1.7) and summer signing Rodrigo (1.1) have all been more creative.

Time is running out for the long-serving Garry Monk signing. This could well be the beginning of the end for the Elland Road favourite, maybe they ought to get rid entirely.

AND in other news, Leeds will forever regret not signing “unplayable” £20m dynamo as he continues to soar…

David Sullivan and David Moyes must take action in the January window to resolve Felipe Anderson’s continued nightmare with the West Ham United winger still frozen out at FC Porto.

What’s the word?

Anderson moved to the Estadio do Dragao on a season-long loan this summer but has featured only three times for the Liga NOS giants, with Sergio Conceicao awarding the Brazilian just 110 minutes of action to date.

Conceicao handed Anderson his full Porto debut against third-tier minnows Fabril Barreiro in the Taca de Portugal last month, only to then omit the 27-year-old from his following two league fixtures.

Anderson has not featured in one of Conceicao’s Liga NOS squads since serving as a late substitute in a 3-2 loss to Pacos Ferreira in October, sparking the Irons’ former club-record £36million signing’s sister to hit out at Porto.

“Felipe was brought to Portugal by agents who are no longer part of his career. Only I can I speak officially on his behalf,” Juliana Gomes, who is also Anderson’s agent, said, via quotes by Record.

“I will have a meeting with the club to inform them of this new scenario and also to try to understand if we can do something so that Felipe can do as quickly as possible what he came to do in Portugal, which is to play his football and help FC Porto.”

Conceicao responded to Anderson’s agent by stating, via quotes by O Jogo: “Nobody spoke to me, now what they [want to] talk to the Board.

“I am not going to ask the President what he said to Felipe Anderson’s sister. Why his sister says she needs a meeting, I don’t know, he has to ask, she is not me. If it’s about adapting Felipe, it’s up to me, I can talk, it’s up to me. There are some who adapt faster than others, it’s normal.”

Action needed

With Anderson’s nightmare situation only continuing with a third straight omission from Porto’s Liga NOS squad, tensions must be on the rise in east London fearing that the winger may never establish himself at the Estadio do Dragao in the manner that will support their cause.

Anderson, who his former SS Lazio teammate Bruno Pereirinha describes as “an extremely unbalanced and explosive player”, will return to West Ham at the end of the season with just a year remaining on his £85,000-per-week contract.

The Irons will find it hard to see a reason to offer the forward an extension to his terms after falling out of favour under Moyes last term, making just eight appearances, but may struggle to secure a representative fee in the transfer market unless they find a new home for the £22.5m-rated outcast this winter.

It is not expected that Anderson will return to the London Stadium in January with the Hammers holding no interest in a mid-season reunion, though a move away from Porto simply has to be on the cards amid his crisis.

AND in other news, a “powerful” West Ham dud has given David Moyes all the evidence in the world to why he will never be trusted.