All posts by h716a5.icu

A lot of the Crystal Palace fan base are gutted following Roy Hodgson’s injury update on key player Wilfried Zaha.

The attacker had to limp off in the second half of the 2-1 victory against Newcastle United during the week after attempting to win a 50/50.

Roy Hodgson provided the latest update in his press conference before the Eagles play Leeds on Monday night. He said: “He [Zaha] has got a hamstring injury so we don’t know how long it’s going to keep him out. It’s the early stage of the injury and he’s still being assessed. It’s totally unrealistic to suggest he’d be ready for this game.”

This is a big worry as hamstring injuries can see players on the sidelines for a long period, and can often reoccur if the player is rushed back – just look at across to Monday’s opponents, who have seen summer signing Diego Llorente constantly scuppered by issues in that area.

For the South London side, this is the worst player an injury could have happened to, leading one fan to call it a ‘huge blow’.

Zaha is their talisman and has managed nine goals and two assists in his 19 Premier League appearances this campaign. In the two games he has missed against Burnley and Newcastle this campaign, Palace looked to lack creativity and lost both the matches without scoring a single goal, so all associated with the club will be hoping he can return as soon as possible.

Here is how fans reacted to the news:

“Champagne but the Cham is silent…”

Credit: @DrizzyCPFC

“Pain”

Credit: @cpfcbailey

“Boooo”

Credit: @RoccoSeipel

“Wilf missing 2 or 3 games 3 times a season means we never train to a different way to manage without him as we know he’ll be back soon. Him being out longer might mean we shift focus as a team and get the best out of others. Obviously a huge blow, but also an opportunity.”

Credit: @liamb0117

“We’re Done for”

Credit: @cpfc_Sean

“Pain”

Credit: @CPFC_Harv

In other news, CPFC fans were fuming at one-star during a recent loss. Have a read who it was here!

Considering how poor Celtic have been this season, the idea of adding nobody to their squad in January seems hard to believe.

Yet, that’s the conclusion we look to be reaching. Despite sitting 23 points behind Rangers in their quest for a tenth SPFL crown in a row, they are seemingly happy with their squad.

If we’re searching for positives then they have at least kept hold of their best players. Kristoffer Ajer is still in Glasgow while the highly sought after Odsonne Edouard remains a Hoop for now.

Though, they do look as though they’ll see Olivier Ntcham walk through the exit door. The Frenchman has been out of Neil Lennon’s plans in recent months and is now being linked with a loan move to Newcastle. If that does materialise, it’s likely there will be an option to buy in the terms.

Celtic arguably needed an extra protective layer in their midfield anyway but if Ntcham leaves, that only becomes even more important.

Fortunately, they have a player on their radar that could fix a number of their problems. That happens to be former Stoke City midfielder Giannelli Imbula.

The 28-year-old is out of contract and available on a free transfer after departing Sochi earlier this season so represents a fantastic option in the market. Not only would he give them more depth, but he’d help to replace Ntcham and also potentially make the Bhoys better defensively.

Celtic have been terrible at the back this season and have shipped 13 more goals than Rangers in the league, despite playing two fewer matches. An eye-watering number of individual errors have plagued their backline but in signing Imbula, it could ensure that the ball doesn’t reach the centre-backs as regularly.

That’s because the Frenchman is a tough-tackling brute in the middle of the park, earning comparisons to one of the greatest box to box midfielders we’ve ever seen. During his time at Stoke, Xherdan Shaqiri only had praise for Imbula, saying: “You can compare him to Patrick Vieira, only Gianelli is all left-footed.”

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-this-weeks-celtic-transfer-news” title=”Read this week’s Celtic transfer news!”]

At his peak, the midfield general won 2.4 tackles per match for Marseille. With someone like that added to Celtic’s ranks, just imagine the incredible force they’d have with both Imbula and Ismaila Soro.

The Ivorian has very quickly become one of Lennon’s most important players and has won a colossal 3.7 tackles per game in the Europa League. He’s also recorded 1.8 successful challenges per match in the Scottish Premiership.

Only a few days ago, Soro made as many as eight tackles in a Man of the Match display against Hamilton. He may have given more protection to this Celtic team but they are still leaking goals, something emphasised during the 2-1 defeat to St Mirren.

Therefore, signing another defensive midfielder in the shape of Imbula is vital. Celtic recruiter Nick Hammond must get this deal done if Celtic have any desires of improving at the back.

AND in other news, Celtic could have their Frimpong heir in rarely-seen 20 y/o with “excellent pedigree”…

Everton visit Anfield on Saturday evening looking to end a 22-year wait for an away victory over Liverpool, and can move level on points with Jurgen Klopp’s defending Premier League champions with a victory.

The Toffees have not tasted success on the red side of Stanley Park since 1999 but have been gifted a huge boost ahead of the Merseyside Derby, with Carlo Ancelotti confirming that top-scorer Dominic Calvert-Lewin will make his return from a hamstring injury.

Calvert-Lewin’s 13 top-flight goals have earned the Blues 15 of their 37 points this season and has seen his side lose each of the two fixtures he sat out this month. Neither Richarlison nor Gylfi Sigurdsson could get the Blues ticking on the same beat against Fulham or Manchester City.

So, with Calvert-Lewin due to be welcomed back into the Everton starting line-up, here’s a potential XI that Ancelotti could name against Liverpool…

Calvert-Lewin’s recall will be expected to see Richarlison return to the wing, having occupied a central role during Wednesday night’s 3-1 defeat to Manchester City, likely forcing Lucas Digne to revert to his natural left-back position in turn.

But Ben Godfrey will not be forced to vacate the starting line-up, as Ancelotti will be without centre-half Yerry Mina against Liverpool with the Colombian sidelined due to a calf issue sustained in midweek.

The injury could see Mason Holgate retain a central role in defence after replacing Mina at home to the Citizens, though he will likely keep his spot at right-back, having initially been preferred at full-back against Pep Guardiola’s title-chasing side before the enforced change.

England internationals Jordan Pickford and Michael Keane will each anticipate a continued presence in the Toffees side, having coped with a majority of the danger City posed in midweek.

Calvert-Lewin is not the only injury boost Everton have been gifted ahead of Saturday’s Merseyside Derby, with Ancelotti also confirming that Allan will make his return to the XI for the first time since December 16.

Allan has missed the past two months of action with a hamstring injury sustained against Leicester City, which has ruled the 10-cap Brazil international out of nine of the Blues’ last 10 Premier League fixtures after starting 12 of the opening 13 following a £21m summer switch.

Tom Davies will be the most at-risk player to make way for £70k-per-week Allan’s return after Ancelotti opted to haul the Toffees product off midway through the second half on Wednesday night as the first of his unforced changes.

Ancelotti faces a dilemma over his central playmaker option for Everton’s trip to Anfield after underwhelming performances from Gylfi Sigurdsson and James Rodriguez in midweek.

However, the Italian can be expected to stick with the Iceland international after an ineffectual cameo performance from the ex-Real Madrid maestro against Manchester City.

Alex Iwobi will hope to retain a starting berth alongside Abdoulaye Doucoure after earning a recall in midweek when he would prove to be the Blues’ silver lining of a 3-1 defeat by providing an important role in Everton’s only goal as well as a rare driving force in an otherwise timid side.

Iwobi dropped to the bench for Liverpool’s visit to Goodison Park in October, despite assisting the Toffees’ third goal while starting a 4-1 win over Brighton and Hove Albion the game prior.

AND in other news, Everton face a £35m asking price to land Carlo Ancelotti’s 21-year-old target…

Wolves come into their clash with Manchester City in decent form. We haven’t been able to say that too regularly during their season so far.

They have tasted defeat in just one of their last seven league outings and with the Old Gold moving back to their tried and tested three-man defence, the signs are looking better at Molineux.

That being said, they face their toughest clash of the season so far when they travel to the Etihad to face Manchester City on Tuesday evening.

Pep Guardiola’s men have won 20 straight games so this will not be easy by any stretch of the imagination.

With that in mind, how could Nuno’s XI look for their clash with the Citizens? Here’s how we reckon the Portuguese could go.

We’re tipping the Wolves boss to continue with his three-man backline but to make two changes to the side that drew with the Magpies.

One of those changes is in attack while another comes in the defence. We’ve already discussed the need for Leander Dendoncker to be dropped from the starting line-up.

The Belgian was given a torrid time by Allan Saint-Maximin on Saturday, being consistently skinned by the Newcastle winger. He recorded four key passes and four dribbles, carving out a major opportunity for Joe Willock.

With that in mind, he could struggle against Raheem Sterling if he’s picked on the left of City’s attack. As such, we’re tipping Max Kilman to come into the backline.

The other change is up top where Pedro Neto and Adama Traore start in a two-prong attack. Willian Jose drops out with Owen Otasowie coming in to offer more protection and steel in the midfield.

Jose is yet to score in a Wolves shirt and was desperately poor against Newcastle. The Brazilian made just 11 passes all game and failed to have a single shot towards goal.

Clearly, he has not offered the much-needed presence the Old Gold needed in attack.

AND in other news, Better than Jose: Wolves could rue missing £18m target once dubbed “out of this world”…

Speaking recently to Football Insider, Kevin Campbell discussed the reasoning behind Jack Harrison’s omission from Marcelo Biela’s Leeds United side.

Having highly impressed over his 24 Premier League starts prior to the club’s clash with Aston Villa on Saturday, scoring six goals, providing four assists and averaging a WhoScored match rating of 6.90, Harrison was a surprise exclusion from Bielsa’s starting XI against Dean Smith’s side last weekend.

However, in a recent interview with Football Insider, Kevin Campbell claimed that the Argentine manager will learn a great deal about the £8.1 million-rated Manchester City loanee this week, in how he reacts in training after being benched, as well as offering his opinion on why Harrison was dropped.

He said: “One thing Bielsa is not going to allow is complacency. If you are complacent and you are not doing what he wants you will be taken out. A little stint on the sidelines will definitely liven Harrison up.

“Bielsa will find out a lot more about him now. He’ll find out if Harrison is a sulker or whether he is a player who rolls his sleeves up. That is what Harrison has got to do, he needs to roll his sleeves up.”

Transfer Tavern Take

Considering the fact that Harrison has been one of United’s better players in the Premier League so far this season – with his average WhoScored match rating ranking him as the club’s sixth-best performer – as well as the fact that Bielsa himself recently stated that the 24-year-old is a “very strong player mentally” as well as a “very dedicated professional,” it is questionable whether Harrison’s sleeves have not already been rolled up this season.

Having said that, the winger’s form has dipped considerably in recent weeks, so perhaps Bielsa’s dropping of the £15k per week man will provide him with the wakeup call he requires to refind his impressive levels of performance, as Campbell suggests.

In other news, Phil Hay shed light on this Leeds star’s contract details – find out more here!

Such has been Manchester United’s need to sign a centre-back, they appear to be linked with a new name every day.

The latest player to appear in the gossip is Bayern Leverkusen’s Edmond Tapsoba, with suggestions that the club have been monitoring his performances ahead of potentially swooping for his signature.

The Burkina Faso defender has been in brilliant form for the Bundesliga outfit recently and would be the perfect partner for the world’s most expensive defender in Harry Maguire.

After joining from Vitoria Guimaraes in January 2019, Tapsoba has enjoyed a meteoric rise, slotting straight into the first team and making 51 appearances.

His defensive statistics are supremely impressive, too.

In the 2020/21 season alone, he is averaging 2.1 tackles, 1.4 interceptions, 2.4 clearances and 0.8 blocks per game, according to WhoScored. That all adds up to a remarkable 6.7 defensive contributions per game, a truly astounding figure for a player so young.

However, this is even more impressive when looking at the options that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer currently has at his disposal at Old Trafford.

If analysing Victor Lindelof’s statistics, the Swede does not get anywhere near the young Leverkusen defender. Indeed, the current Manchester United man can only boast 0.7 tackles, 0.9 interceptions, 3.1 clearances and 0.6 blocks – just 5.3 defensive contributions per match.

Rated at £36m, just £5.3m more than the fee that the Red Devils paid out for Lindelof, it appears that they would be getting a better and more accomplished, and not to mention younger, defender should they elect to make a move for Tapsoba in the near future.

With the Red Devils reportedly keen to add a central defender to their squad in the upcoming summer transfer window, Tapsoba could well be the perfect arrival at Old Trafford to partner Maguire at the back.

AND in more news, take a look why we think Manchester United should avoid splashing the cash on Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland…

Southampton could lose midfielder Mario Lemina on a permanent basis this summer.

Lemina is currently on loan from Southampton at Fulham and the midfielder had spent the 2019/20 campaign on loan at Turkish club Galatasaray. It now seems as though Saints could be set to lose the former Juventus man permanently in the summer.

Fulham have growing belief about Lemina signature

The Sun have recently reported about Fulham’s stance on summer transfers and they say that the Craven Cottage-based side now have a growing belief that they can keep the players who are currently only there on loan, Lemina included.

Lemina is one of four loanees that the relegation battlers have a permanent option on, and there’s an increasing likelihood of that route being taken.

The report claims the London outfit expect to keep those players if they avoid relegation, which appears increasingly likely given their changing fortunes compared to the likes of Newcastle and Brighton.

The 27-year-old Gabonese midfielder has made 20 appearances in the top flight this season for Fulham and he recently scored for them against Liverpool in a 1-0 win.

Lemina could still be a first-team option for Saints

As things stand, Southampton have three out-and-out options in central midfield, but Will Smallbone finds himself on the sidelines because of an injury. Ibrahima Diallo is also injured and he can also play in central midfield (as per Transfermarkt).

Southampton may need extra depth in midfield and Lemina can add that, if he does return to the club.

We feel it could be a mistake to let him leave for good, given that Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side have been so harshly struck by injuries this term.

In other news, many Southampton fans have been talking about the injury to Danny Ings – read more here.

After pulling off an impressive comeback victory over Tottenham in the Premier League on Sunday, Arsenal return to Europa League action when they take on Olympiacos.

Mikel Arteta’s side secured bragging rights in the north London derby thanks to goals from Martin Odegaard and Alexandre Lacazette, and appear to have picked up a bit of momentum at a crucial time in the season.

And, with a 3-1 advantage to their name against Olympiacos, the Gunners look all set to progress into the next round of the competition, as they host the Greek giants at the Emirates tonight.

With West Ham on the horizon at the weekend, Arteta may consider freshening things up for Thursday’s game given their lead from the first leg, but it should remain a strong starting line-up.

And with that in mind, below is a look at how the Gunners might line up.

In goal, Bernd Leno will be hoping to fare better than he did in the first leg, where he played a huge part in the Gunners’ awful defensive gaffe for Olympiacos’ goal.

The defence could see one key change with Hector Bellerin coming in for Cedric, with Arteta potentially looking to rest the Portuguese man ahead of the clash against the Hammers on Sunday.

In midfield, the £200k-a-week earning Thomas Partey may find himself back on the bench after starting the past few games for the north London side – Mohamed Elneny is surely pushing for a recall, especially after his long-range screamer over in Greece.

Further forward, Nicolas Pepe has also made a good case to start, after coming on at half-time for the injured Bukayo Saka and playing the pass leading up to Alexandre Lacazette’s penalty.

And up front, Arteta may give Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang the opportunity to make amends for his mistake at the weekend, which saw him dropped from the starting line-up against Spurs.

In total, the Arsenal boss could make five changes from the starting line-up against Spurs with Willian also coming in for the rested Emile Smith Rowe.

Predicted XI: Leno; Bellerin, Luiz, Gabriel, Tierney; Elneny, Xhaka; Pepe, Odegaard, Willian; Aubameyang.

According to a recent report, Tottenham Hotspur are considering a summer move for Dusan Vlahovic should Spurs decide not make Carlos Vinicius’ stay in north London permanent.

The report by Italian publication La Repubblica (via Sport Witness) claims that Borussia Dortmund, West Ham United, AS Roma, AC Milan and Spurs are all interested in the £22.5m-rated Fiorentina centre-forward, who has 12 Serie A goals as well as two assists to his name so far this season.

For Tottenham in particular, it is claimed that a move for the £28,000-per-week 21-year-old would be dependent on whether Daniel Levy decides to make Carlos Vinicius’ loan deal at the club a €40m (£34.5m) permanent move at the end of the current season.

Transfer Tavern Take

Despite scoring his first Premier League goal for Tottenham against Aston Villa last weekend, as well as having bagged 10 goals and provided three assists over his 21 appearances in all competitions for Jose Mourinho’s side, this does not particularly tell the whole story of the Brazilian’s time in north London thus far.

Aside from Villa, the 25-year-old’s goals this season have come against Ludogorets Razgrad, Royal Antwerp, Wolfsberger and Marine – all of whom are arguably much weaker opponents than what Tottenham face on a regular basis in the Premier League.

As such, it could be argued that, despite an impressive scoring rate on paper, Vinicius has hardly proven he would be worth shelling out £34.5m upon at the end of the season, which would appear to clear a path for Levy to pursue a move for Vlahovic in the summer market.

In other news: Sources have revealed that Daniel Levy will be “all over” one club targeting multiple Spurs transfers this summer – find out more here!

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, ex-Newcastle midfielder Rob Lee has praised Dean Smith’s transfer business this season, describing it as “smart”.

Having survived on the final day of last season by drawing at West Ham, Villa invested heavily in their squad last summer, with sporting director Johan Lange spearheading a spend of more than £70million in a bid to improve the squad.

Perhaps their biggest success story has been Emiliano Martinez, whose kept 14 clean sheets in 28 games in the Premier League this term following his move from Arsenal, leaving him in with a chance of winning the Golden Glove for the first time ever.

Meanwhile, former Brentford man Ollie Watkins has reached double figures in terms of league goals, whilst Matty Cash, Bertrand Traore and on-loan Chelsea midfielder Ross Barkley have all had positive impacts at Villa Park this season to leave Smith’s team in touch with the European places.

Villa’s form has dipped in recent weeks following the injury to Jack Grealish, but Lee believes their fine campaign has been down to their transfer window.

He told Football FanCast: “They were smart signings. They bought players that I think had a good chance of doing well in the Premier League. Matty Cash, did well in the Championship for a long time.

“I think they spent wisely. They paid over the odds for a few players, but are reaping the rewards.

“Ollie Watkins, 30-odd million, but you know he’s strong, quick and will score goals, so let’s take a chance on him. They are players that are very good Championship players that want to prove they can be in the Premier League, or players that have been in the Premier League and we know they’re not going to fail in the Premier League.”

Whilst Villa’s campaign is somewhat petering out, the fact that a midtable finish might now be viewed as a disappointment is the biggest compliment you could pay Smith after last season.