All posts by n8rngtd.top

Sunderland have a real chance to move into the League One automatic promotion spots this weekend.

They will need to see off the challenge of Bristol Rovers first and foremost before hoping that Peterborough suffer defeat.

Their little hiccup against Blackpool in midweek has made the race for promotion even more intense.

The Mackems are one of the most in-form sides in the division, so you’d be hard-pressed to bet against them taking all three points again on Saturday.

They come into this clash having won seven of their last nine matches in League One.

With that in mind, there is surely little room for change in the Black Cats starting XI? That being said, we’re predicting two to be made from the team which drew with Lincoln.

We think that Johnson will continue with the 4-3-3 formation he adopted against Lincoln. That means a trio of Lynden Gooch, Aiden McGeady and Charlie Wyke start in attack.

There is one change in midfield, where the £13,000-per-week Grant Leadbitter drops out. We’ve already labelled the problems with his game in recent weeks, so now feels like a timely occasion to put him back on the bench. Consequently, Josh Scowen starts in the middle of the park.

We’ve also championed the need for Ollie Younger to get more minutes. He started against Rochdale and, with another game against a relegation-threatened side, Johnson should put him in at right-back today.

Conor McLaughlin has only just returned from a hernia operation and should be rested as he continues his comeback trail.

Sunderland are still without a number of players heading into this clash. The match will come too soon for Bailey Wright, while Tom Flanagan remains sidelined.

Also out is Jordan Jones – Johnson gave him a 30% chance of being ready for this match so he is a major doubt.

AND in other news, Forget Willis: SAFC must unleash rarely-seen 21 y/o, Johnson said he’s a “great kid”…

Everton have landed a huge boost in the race to sign Kalidou Koulibaly, with Fabrizio Romano claiming that the Napoli defender “would be interested” in a reunion with Carlo Ancelotti.

What’s the word?

While speaking with Give Me Sport, transfer guru Romano has claimed that Koulibaly may consider a move to the Premier League this summer.

The Senegalese star has been widely linked with a switch from the Serie A, with Everton said to have marked Koulibaly as their top defensive target and that Ancelotti is willing to sell Yerry Mina to fund a deal.

Napoli are expected to hold out for €50m (£42.5m) to sell Koulibaly, who also has suitors in Bayern Munich and Manchester City, having lowered their £89m asking price from last summer to ward off interest from Manchester United.

Romano notes that Koulibaly was close to joining Manchester City in 2020, but adds that the opportunity to be reunited with Ancelotti may prove more attractive.

“I think he would be interested because he’s always had this attractive situation with the Premier League,” Romano said, when asked if Koulibaly would consider a reunion.

“He’s always been attracted by the Premier League clubs.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/the-latest-everton-news-gossip-and-views” title=”The latest Everton news and views!”]

“Also, last summer, he was really close to Manchester City, so his agent is strong with Premier League clubs.”

Should Everton sign Koulibaly?

Romano claiming that Koulibaly would be interested in a move to Goodison Park and being reunited with Ancelotti will come as a huge boost for Everton, given the 29-year-old is noted to be the Toffees’ top defensive target for the summer market.

However, Everton still have a relative mountain to climb in order to obtain the 43-cap enforcer’s services in the off-season due to the rival competition, plus the Merseyside outfit’s need to first sell Mina in order to raise the necessary funds.

Finding a suitor for Mina should now become priority number one for Marcel Brands, so that the Blues’ Director of Football can limit the opportunities for the likes of Bayern Munich and Manchester City to strike a deal.

Ancelotti was a huge advocate of Koulibaly’s talents during his time in charge of Napoli, so it is no wonder that the Italian is now seemingly keen to acquire the £195,000-per-week titan amid questions over his best defensive pairing.

The Toffees manager described Koulibaly as “the best defender in the world” back in 2019, and strongly believes that the 6 ft 1 centre-back owns a place among the greats of the game.

“Koulibaly belongs to the category of [Paolo] Maldini, [Lilian] Thuram, Thiago Silva and Sergio Ramos. He’s very intelligent,” Ancelotti once told La Stampa, via quotes shared by Football-Italia.

“Usually those who are as strong and quick as him think nothing else is needed to resolve problems. I divide players into optimists and pessimists. He’s a pessimist, he knows that [pace and strength] isn’t enough, so he’s very attentive and he has a strong character.”

It remains to be seen if that character will be on show in the Premier League wearing royal or sky blue next season, but Romano’s comments will undoubtedly come as a boost for Everton.

Click here to see the full interview with Fabrizio Romano.

AND in other news, Everton can potentially save £13m by turning to this Max Aarons alternative…

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, former Aston Villa midfielder Lee Hendrie has urged Marcelo Bielsa to address Leeds United’s defensive structure so that they can reach that next level.

Offensively, Bielsa’s side have been superb this season. When it comes to goals scored and average possession in the Premier League, they trump most teams (via WhoScored).

However, defensively, there is much work to be done. Having conceded 48 goals in 30 games, Leeds have one of the worst records for goals conceded.

If Bielsa can solve that issue, Hendrie believes the Whites would go on to become a serious outfit in English football’s top flight.

Speaking exclusively to FFC on the matter, the retired Premier League footballer said:

“My big point with Bielsa is that he’s so attack-minded in his style of play that if they got a defensive structure in place, I think Leeds would be a big force. Now whether that means bringing in someone who’s going to deal with defensive duties and Bielsa gets on with what he does…”

Hendrie later went on to add:

“We all like to watch Leeds, but defensively there’s been a massive, massive question mark and that’s why they haven’t kicked on again this season, because they’re coming into the Premier League against very good attack-minded football sides and top-quality players. I feel if they got that defensive structure right, I feel that Leeds would be a really big force.”

The above is certainly something for Bielsa to consider, especially if he wants his side to compete for European football next season.

The likes of West Ham, Everton and Aston Villa, who are all in or around those European qualification spots, all boast significantly better defensive records.

Crystal Palace are reportedly lining up a sensational swoop for former Arsenal and current Juventus midfielder Aaron Ramsey.

According to journalist Nicolo Schira, the Eagles have enquired about the Welsh international, requesting information about a potential switch to Selhurst Park.

His arrival at the club would certainly be a statement of intent and one which Steve Parish might follow through on.

Owing to his huge Premier League and European experience, Ramsey would almost certainly be one of the first names on the team sheet at Selhurst Park.

The 30-year-old has made 262 appearances in the top flight of English football, scoring 40 goals and providing 51 assists.

Former Arsenal manager Unai Emery praised the midfielder in his final season at the Emirates Stadium, highlighting his “amazing” attitude and performances.

Even though Ramsey has not had the best time of things in Turin, only starting 32 matches in his year-and-a-half with the club, his statistics would still see him rank above any current Crystal Palace midfielder, including captain Luka Milivojevic.

According to WhoScored, the Welshman is averaging 1.3 shots, 1.3 key passes and 0.6 dribbles per match. This is considerably higher than the Serbian’s 0.6, 0.6 and 0.3 respectively for those metrics. Ramsey also keeps the ball far better than his opposite number, averaging an 85.8% pass completion rate to Milivojevic’s 82.5%.

It makes a lot of sense, therefore, for the Welsh ace to replace the former Olympiakos man in the heart of the Crystal Palace midfield. With James McArthur and James McCarthy also set to depart Selhurst Park come the end of their deals this summer, the arrival of Ramsey would certainly compensate for their losses and more.

Rated at just £18m and with only two years remaining on the big-money deal he signed at the Juventus Stadium, Palace might well be able to afford bringing the midfielder back to London.

It would certainly be a sensational move from Parish and the Eagles, and one which they must prioritise.

AND in more news, read why Palace must avoid signing an alternative midfielder currently plying his trade in Serie A…

After being tested in a new right-back role against Manchester City in midweek, Ryan Bertrand returned to a more natural left-back position for the Saints’ game against Brighton on Sunday afternoon.

Unfortunately for Ralph Hasenhuttl, the 31-year-old produced another poor display, as the Seagulls claimed a 2-1 victory which leaves Southampton looking over their shoulders at the relegation spaces, as their woeful run of form continued at St Mary’s.

The former Chelsea man is yet to agree to a new contract with the South Coast club and Arsenal are reportedly taking an interest in him ahead of the summer, which makes you question whether he is completely focussed on Southampton right now.

As per SofaScore, Bertrand would earn a 6.8/10 rating for his performance, which was nowhere near the worst of any Saints player, however, his attacking play against Brighton was truly awful.

The left-back would fail with his only dribble attempt, whilst only one of his six crosses during the game would find a Southampton shirt.

His passing was nowhere near its usual standard, as he would complete just 33/49 of his passes, resulting in a poor accuracy rate of 67% – significantly below the 79.5% he has averaged in the Premier League this season.

None of his four long balls were accurate and he managed to lose possession on a remarkable 28 occasions, which was the most of any Southampton player on the pitch, and only second to Pascal Gross from Brighton’s team, with the German losing the ball 32 times during the game.

Whilst his defensive game was fairly solid, as he made four tackles and three clearances, the experienced defender’s attacking output has been a cause for concern all season, as he has just one assist to his name in the top-flight, and the game against Brighton was unfortunately no different.

Bertrand has to start offering Hasenhuttl more down the left-hand side from an attacking perspective, especially with the Saints struggling to create opportunities in the absence of Danny Ings.

As one of few experienced options in a fairly young Southampton side, it was a disappointing display from Bertrand once again against Brighton, and hopefully, his form will improve before the end of the season as Hasenhuttl really has his hands tied behind his back when it comes to possibly selecting an alternative, with back-up left-back Jake Vokins having left on loan in January.

And, in other news… Forget Forster: Saints can sign serious McCarthy upgrade in £8.6m beast

According to The Mirror, Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos is reportedly pushing for a move to the Premier League amid interest from Manchester United.

What’s the word?

The centre-back has been heavily linked with the Red Devils for much of the window, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer seemingly keen to bolster his defensive reinforcements.

Boss Solskjaer is reportedly looking to bring in a new centre-back to provide cover and competition for the likes of Harry Maguire, Eric Bailly, Victor Lindelof and Axel Tuanzebe.

And now, it seems that Ramos is so desperate to move to the Premier League, he is getting his agent and brother Rene to pull out all the stops to get a deal done.

It’s claimed contract talks between Madrid and the defender have collapsed, with the Spain international likely to leave the defending Spanish champions in the summer.

Solskjaer’s plan B

Maguire is pretty much guaranteed to start but Solskjaer has struggled to find consistency alongside the club captain, as Bailly and Lindelof are battling to bag the unreserved spot, though there are still question marks over both.

But if United nip and snap up the 34-year-old, who earns around £312,000-per-week at the Bernabeu, they could find the ideal partner for captain Maguire.

Signing Ramos would be a significant upgrade on Lindelof, who has struggled for consistency so far this season – against Liverpool, he was rated as the joint-worst player on the pitch for the Red Devils, along with Edinson Cavani in the 3-2 win at Old Trafford.

Despite his age, the veteran Ramos has shown no signs of slowing down anytime soon, as he currently averages more tackles (1.1) and more interceptions (1.5) per match across all competitions than Lindelof, per WhoScored.

Ramos is widely regarded as one of the finest defenders of his generation, with current Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane calling the Spanish international “a complete player” in an interview with SPORTbible.

Ed Woodward, therefore, would be wise to sanction a move for the experienced colossus in the summer as not only would he provide cover and competition for the likes of Maguire, Lindelof and Bailly, but he’d also offer an alternative threat in attack as well, having scored two goals in 14 top-flight appearances this season thus far.

AND in other news, Exclusive: Carlton Palmer rubbishes talk of Donny van de Beek leaving Man Utd on loan…

Many Liverpool fans have been left slamming some comments that were made by Jurgen Klopp after they lost 4-1 at home to Manchester City.

Speaking after the game, the German boss said (via Emma Sanders): “Big parts were brilliant from our side. I really liked it. In the first half we played really good football. Start of the second half, City changed slightly & it’s a little adaptation. We didn’t give enough options to play. We gave the first goal away.”

It is quite odd for Klopp to suggest that his team were ‘brilliant’ for ‘big parts’ in the game despite them ultimately getting well-beaten in the end by Pep Guardiola’s team.

While the Reds recorded more possession than their Premier League title rivals, they hardly posed too much of a threat, with MCFC recording more shots on target, big chances and dribbles than their opponents, as well as being much more solid defensively with more duels won, tackles, interceptions and clearances in the match (Sofascore).

It is now three losses in a row at Anfield and several Kopites have started voicing their concerns.

Liverpool fan reaction to Klopp comments

These LFC supporters slammed the comments made by Klopp on Twitter, with one fan even going as far as to call them ‘disturbing’:

“I know he has to be positive but that’s delusional. What saves did Ederson make?”

Credit: @Ciaran_El

“He’s watching a different game to the rest of us. I wish he’d be more honest and shake the players up instead of giving them an excuse.”

Credit: @stayleyvegas

“Disturbing remarks if he really means it”

Credit: @ArchivesHammer

“Is he being sarcastic? Is he concussed? Somebody should check on him. The ‘this is fine’ mentality was warranted for a while but now it’s a concern.”

Credit: @Ghostcrisps

“This type of rhetoric is never good.”

Credit: @Sacrebleu2021

“The man is deluded, as good as admitted his tactics didn’t work…… again.”

Credit: @AdamDan61875427

In other news, find out which transfer link Liverpool fans are lauding here!

Manchester City have been linked with a move for Real Sociedad striker Alexander Isak recently, and he could be a serious upgrade on Gabriel Jesus in Pep Guardiola’s squad if he were to join.

What’s the word?

According to the Mirror, City are keeping close tabs on the 21-year-old forward after his impressive run of form with the Spanish side, and they could make a move for him in the summer.

Whilst Borussia Dortmund have an option to re-sign him for just £25 million, it is suggested that he doesn’t want to return to Signal Iduna Park anytime soon, which could open the door for City to bring him to the Premier League.

More clinical than Gabriel Jesus?

Whilst City have been unbelievably good at times this season, winning their last 20 fixtures in all competitions, there have been times where you feel they could have been a lot more comfortable if they possessed a quality finisher up front.

Sergio Aguero made his return from injury against West Ham at the weekend but struggled to have any real impact on the game, and with his contract up in the summer, it is still up in the air as to whether he will still be a City player next season.

Despite City’s dominance in league and cup competitions this season, Jesus has just nine goals and three assists in 26 appearances and has been guilty of being wasteful in front of goal on a number of occasions.

Isak, meanwhile, has 12 goals and two assists in just 20 La Liga appearances this season and has averaged an impressive 7.22 rating for his performances in the Spanish top-flight.

The Swedish forward, who is valued at £19.8 million by Transfermarkt, also averages more shots per game than Jesus (2.5 compared to 1.7), suggesting that he is more goal-hungry than the Brazilian, which is a trait City arguably lack, as sometimes it is better for a striker to be greedy and shoot rather than looking for the pass.

The football scouting website FBref suggests that Isak has scored more goals than his expected goals rate, and is expected to score 0.51 goals per game, whereas Jesus has scored fewer goals than expected, and is expected to score 0.48 goals per game.

Therefore, you could definitely argue that Isak is much more clinical than the 24-year-old, despite being just 21-years-old, and therefore, sporting director Txiki Begiristain should definitely consider him as an option for the summer transfer window.

And, in other news… Fewer passes than Ederson: £45m-rated City ace failed to seize rare opportunity vs WHU

Many Liverpool fans were left stunned by reports regarding Bayern Munich defender David Alaba.

According to the Mirror, the 28-year-old is beyond the Reds’ reach as far as finances are concerned despite the Austrian centre-back due to be out of contract in the summer, news which some fans found ’embarrassing’.

Alaba is deemed to be too expensive for Liverpool due to his wages, while Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly and RB Leipzig’s Dayot Upamecano are also out of reach.

The nine-time Bundesliga champion has scored 32 goals from 405 appearances for Bayern over the course of 10 seasons, which included a brief loan spell at Hoffenheim in 2011 (TransferMarkt).

With the likes of Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez out for the season due to knee injuries, supporters were livid with this update. With Joel Matip unable to stay fit, some supporters felt humiliated about the fact their side couldn’t afford a player of Alaba’s calibre.

Fans in shock by Alaba update

“That’s literally not possible. We are one of the wealthiest clubs in the world. I could understand if he wanted £1m a week but he is not out of reach at all.”

Credit: @ronakricky

“embarrassing if true.. getting him in a free, wages should not be a problem!”

Credit: @RyanKeyo

“Wow. Financially out of reach in signing or wages, I don’t get.”

Credit: @Alexand36742345

“Embarrassing owners how are we so poor when we are champions”

Credit: @jmwLFC2000

“This is where FSG let themselves down and invite scrutiny on themselves. We clearly aren’t poor but they make out like they are so they don’t have to spend money.”

Credit: @Braden_Simmonds

“FSG out”

Credit: @SeanMG_

In other news, Exclusive: Carlton Palmer provides viewpoint on potential Georginio Wojnaldum replacements.

Leeds United are set to face a real battle in the race to sign Reading starlet Michael Olise in the January transfer window.

What’s the story?

Reports in recent weeks have suggested Marcelo Bielsa’s side are interested in landing the £7.2m-rated talent this month, but The Daily Mirror’s latest update on Olise’s future may have handed the Whites a major blow.

The report claims that fellow Premier League side Aston Villa are now also eyeing up a potential move for the 19-year-old, and that Dean Smith is keen to add more younger players to his first-team squad, and has been given the green light to make some major moves in the transfer market.

Radrizzani must cough up

Given Olise’s performances this season for the Royals, it’s no surprise to see plenty of clubs lining up to try and sign him. He’s bagged four goals and provided an impressive eight assists in just 24 games this campaign, and with his ability to play anywhere behind the striker, could give Bielsa another attacking weapon.

His teammate at Reading, Sam Baldock, said early last year: “Michael is a real talent, he’ll get on the ball in any situation. He’s fearless, if you ask him today I’ll guarantee that he had no nerves. He’s a lively character and one who I’ve noticed a real change in the last couple of months.”

Given his age, there’s real potential for Olise to go far, and nabbing him at a low price now would gift Leeds an incredible asset both in terms of what he could offer on the pitch, and how much he could sell for down the line.

Andrea Radrizzani must surely consider coughing up the money Reading want for him now, and making sure that Villa or any other club don’t swoop in under their noses. It would be a nightmare for the Whites if Olise turned into a superstar elsewhere and they look back on the moment they snubbed a move for him.