All posts by h716a5.icu

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Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl is clearly already thinking ahead to the summer transfer window given his comments before the trip to West Ham United this weekend, and he has hinted at the type of profile of player the club will sign.

What’s the word, then?

Well, despite only having nine points when the Austrian replaced Mark Hughes in December, the south coast outfit have secured their Premier League survival with two matches to spare.

Now the work will begin to ensure they aren’t battling relegation for a third successive top-flight season, and that will include bringing new players to the club before the next campaign kicks off in August.

What’s Hasenhuttl said?

When asked about new signings in his pre-match press conference on Thursday, the 51-year-old told southamptonfc.com: “I guarantee we will try to bring players here who see us as the next step in their development.

“That is the most important goal we have – that they are not too old, they are signing their first or second contract and they see us as a big chance to show up in the Premier League.

“If they are hungry and want to hunt, then they are welcome and can help us to develop this club.”

Sensible idea?

It certainly is.

Following a successful period where they signed the best younger players from smaller European leagues – see Sadio Mane and Virgil van Dijk who shone for the club before moving on – Saints’ success in the transfer market has seriously regressed in recent years.

Now is the time to revert back to their old ways, and that means signing players that are aware that if they succeed at St Mary’s, it could be a springboard for a move to a Liverpool or a Manchester City.

Has Jack Stephens unfarily been made a scapegoat at Southampton? The Ugly Inside discusses in the video below…

Hasenhuttl’s comments indicate that Southampton will likely be targeting players in their late teens/early 20s, which is backed up by the fact that the Daily Mail reported this week they are ready to ramp up their interest in 22-year-old Birmingham City attacker Che Adams.

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Ahead of West Brom’s match with Derby last weekend, James Shan revealed that he knew his best Albion team.

However, his starting XI against the Rams in their 3-1 defeat was anything but their best. For starters, it lacked Chris Brunt, one of the most impressive men under Shan since he took the reins.

But the main issue was not his exclusion. Instead, it was the switch of formation, something that was arguably the Baggies’ downfall as they were defeated in their final game before the play-offs.

At times, playing with two up front in Jay Rodriguez and Dwight Gayle has been devastating, but with one of them shifted out wide once again last Sunday, it didn’t go well.

On the chalkboard

Where do we begin with Jacob Murphy? The Newcastle loanee clearly has talent, but his performance against Derby only provided yet more evidence of why West Brom simply aren’t as good when they play with wingers, and it wasn’t his first disappointing display of the campaign.

There was one small glimpse of what he could do, performing an intelligent cut-back for Gayle, but in missing a shot on goal and boasting a quite frankly awful pass success percentage of 67%, he displayed why he can’t be relied upon in the play-offs.

Shan has mixed his formations and system since being given the managerial role and it’s in a 3-5-2, not a 3-4-3 that he went with last weekend, that has worked the best.

Given the midfielders Albion have at their disposal it’s baffling that the manager would think anything other than a bulky midfield would be wise.

There is a distinct lack of quality from wide areas, with Kieran Gibbs on the left the only man to really provide anything from that area of the pitch in recent weeks.

With this in mind, playing with wing-backs, rather than more attacking wingers must surely be the way forward.

Sunday could have been used as a real audition for Murphy. Likewise with Matt Phillips who has looked considerably better in the middle, as opposed to on the flanks. However, both disappointed.

If Shan does know his best team, we’ll get a glimpse of it in the play-off semi-final next week.

But if it’s the same system to the one he deployed at Pride Park it won’t only be incredibly surprising, but also deeply concerning.

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According to WiwSports, Leicester are in the race to sign young winger Ismaila Sarr from Rennes this summer.

If the Foxes are able to bring him to the club then it would solve a major issue.

What’s the word?

Sarr has been exceptional in Ligue 1 this season so it’s no surprise that the Premier League is being touted as his possible destination should he leave.

He’s been in explosive form, scoring 12 times and also creating eight goals for his teammates in all competitions.

The 21-year-old has made a real impact after arriving two seasons ago but he could now be on the move once again. Transfermarkt value him at £24.3million.

Problem solved

Since Riyad Mahrez departed the King Power last summer Leicester have lacked goals from anyone other than Jamie Vardy and especially from the wide positions.

Neither Damarai Gray nor Mark Albrighton find the net on a regular basis whilst Harvey Barnes has only scored once since returning from a loan spell with West Brom.

It’s been a real problem area, not only for Claude Puel but also for Brendan Rodgers. However, the possible signing of Sarr would put those issues to bed.

His pace would be enough to frighten anyone in the Premier League and his goals record this season speaks for itself.

Sarr can play on either flank too so his versatility is another crucial aspect he could bring to the King Power.

The Senegalese still has a long way to go before he completes his development but with him and Barnes on the wings, Leicester would well and truly banish any thoughts still lingering over Mahrez’s sale.

After facing a bitter reality check in the hands of rivals Aston Villa, West Brom clearly need an awful lot of changes. 

Even after building such a strong squad to win promotion this season, the inability to do so must have frustrated the owners, who’s decision to sack Darren Moore months ago is surely now under more scrutiny. Now, they need to be ruthless to oversee a proper overhaul.

The Baggies are surely bound to have a busy summer, where not only new players but a new manager could also be brought in. Indeed, to make way for new talent, the old ones have to be removed first. Out with the old and in with the new, right?

Well, according to reports (via BBC), West Brom are not going to offer new contracts to ageing Gareth Barry and James Morrison.

While both have been crucial to the team in recent years, they’ve looked well past it this season. Indeed, Barry wasn’t the assertive leader they needed in midfield, while Morrison couldn’t even contribute to a single goal in 21 appearances. It’s quite inevitable that these rapidly declining players won’t be much use in their hunt for promotion.

What’s pretty obvious is that the club need a complete overhaul. Their drop out of the Premier League was a prolonged mess after things went so stale and a root-and-stem-rebuild is in order if such demons are ever truly going to be exorcised.

Their recent setbacks proved the old players are useless to the cause. Barry tended to crumble under pressure and was also plagued with injuries recently. Morrison’s attacking spark has also withered away, making him a pretty pointless footballer in all honesty. Frankly, the Baggies need to copy the promoted teams into encouraging vibrant young talents to get back into the Premier League.

West Brom have made one of the potentially multiple sensible decisions in phasing out yesterday’s men.  They will be a much better team without Barry or Morrison’s “experience”, relying on which partially resulted in their woeful predicament.

West Brom fans, will you be disappointed by Barry or Morrison’s departures? Join the discussion by commenting below…

Finding a partner for Virgil van Dijk seems easy enough, but it could prove to be an important mission for Jurgen Klopp this summer.

With Matthijs de Ligt no longer on Liverpool’s radar, the club have turned their attention to other defensive players around the continent to see who could line up against the big Dutchman next season as the Reds aim to challenge for the Premier League title yet again, and an interesting name has to light in recent days.

According to AS via Sport Witness, Liverpool are interested in Real Sociedad star Diego Llorente, who has caught the eye of many teams this season after an impressive year with the Basque club, and although the Spaniard largely plays as a holding midfielder, he has played as a centre-back during his professional years.

With a reported asking price of £26 million and a Transfermarkt valuation of £15.75 million, Llorente would be a smart bit of business for Liverpool.

Elegant on the ball from his development and years at Real Madrid and touch in the tackle, Llorente could be the perfect partner for van Dijk, who prefers a more physical approach to defending.

The Spaniard will bring a flair of modern defending to Liverpool, being able to start off counters from the back with his technical ability and being able to unleash both Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold down the wings.

Llorente might sound like an underwhelming name at first, but partnered with van Dijk could see Liverpool’s defence improve greatly.

Liverpool fans, would Llorente be a good partner for van Dijk? Let us know!

Newcastle fans cannot even begin to imagine how the 2019/20 season will go until they’ve got a couple of key people tied down. The first of those is Rafa Benitez, and the longer the uncertainty of his future rolls on the more the worries will increase. Then there’s the issue of a goalscorer, although the Magpies may have a secret weapon for the season.

The Magpies have got to come to terms with the fact that without Rafa Benitez, Salomon Rondon simply will not be signed up at St James Park this summer. However, if that’s the case, the club has both Dwight Gayle and young Elias Sorensen who are already at the club, and whilst Gayle has never proved to be a goalscorer in the top flight, Sorensen could be the breakthrough star.

The Geordies have already been given a brilliant example as to why they should trust their youth system and give Sorensen his chance by seeing Sean Longstaff come to prominence. The young midfielder has been absolutely class in the middle of the park for the club and now it could be time for the St James Park faithful to trust in the youngsters at the club with Sorensen surely next in line.

The Danish U20 international has had a strange season. With the Magpies, he’s shone at youth level and has scored 16 goals in 25 games across the Premier League 2, EFL Trophy and a single game in League One, as he had a failed loan spell at Blackpool which was blighted by injury. Now, though, it looks like he could come of age next season, and as he turns 20-years-old in September he could be set to star.

It won’t be easy for Sorensen if he is thrown in at the deep end, but the striker is a different type of striker to Rondon, and whilst the season just gone we’ve seen the Rondon used to bring the likes of Ayoze Perez and Miguel Almiron into the game, next season will be different. If it is Sorensen, he won’t have the burden of having to bring others into the game and will be focused on just scoring, which would suit the youngster well.

Newcastle fans, do you want to see Sorensen used next season? Comment below!

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According to The World Game, Wolves are one of the teams interested in Huddersfield midfielder Aaron Mooy.

Per the report, It’s set to be a hotly contested chase for the Australian who is also on the wanted list of a host of Premier League clubs including West Ham, Watford, Southampton, Newcastle, and Leicester.

The Australia international was recently relegated with Huddersfield so his services could be easier to secure than if the Terriers had stayed in the division.

Mooy found the net three times this season, adding to the four goals he scored in the Yorkshire side’s first season in the Premier League.

Since arriving from Manchester City, the 39-cap man has been a reliable performer for Huddersfield but hasn’t usually been one to grab the headlines.

If he signed for Wolves you’d imagine he’d play back-up to the likes of Ruben Neves, Joao Moutinho and Leander Dendoncker.

With a possible transfer on the cards, we asked three of Football FanCast’s writers to give their verdicts on whether he’d be a good signing for Nuno Santo’s team. Here’s what they said.

Harry Sherlock

“No, he wouldn’t. Mooy is a fine shuttler for a lower-tier team but Wolves should be aiming much higher. If they simply want to bring in a player to boost numbers and potentially make an impact off the bench, he’s fine. But he’s unlikely to ever dislodge Moutinho and Neves from that Wolves midfield; the club need to make a statement of intent by bringing in the best possible players they can this summer. Mooy is certainly not that.”

Billy Meyers:

“I think a player of Mooy’s ability would be a fantastic addition to most sides, but maybe not Wolves. In Moutinho and Neves, they have arguably the best midfield pairing outside the top six, and it is unlikely that Mooy will break that apart. A fine option for the bench, but nothing more unfortunately.”

Raul Jimenez is turning it on for Wolves and Mexico right now! He definitely deserves the song in the video below…

Ben Goodwin

“Mooy would be a total waste of money for Wolves. Nuno’s side already have a superb midfield pairing in Neves and Moutinho, and the manager’s system doesn’t really have room for a roaming midfielder anyway, relying on more technically gifted players to string things together and afford space to the attackers and wing-backs. The Australian international is also not a Europa League calibre player, so signing him for depth and to use in that competition would be pointless as well.”

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It’s safe to say that Theo Walcott has been a bit of a flop since joining Everton from Arsenal nearly 18 months ago as well as a massive financial disaster for the club.

Signed for a reported £20 million and penning a contract worth £100,000-a-week by Spotrac, Walcott’s time at the Toffees has seen fans begging the club to search far and wide for a new winger this summer, and with the transfer market now open for business, the wait could soon be over.

Two wide-men recently linked with the club are Roma winger Cengiz Under, who TuttoMercatoWeb report has already been the subject of a €28m (£25m) bid from Everton, which was rejected, and Lyon attacker Bertrand Traore, who Football Insider claim is one of Marco Silva’s attacking targets this summer.

Both players are key starters for their respective clubs, and with Everton seemingly keen to replace Walcott this summer, how do Under and Traore compare with one another after the 2018/19 season?

Aside from both outperforming Walcott fairly easily, it’s fairly obvious to see which winger enjoyed the best season – that being Under, who contributed to 14 goals compared to Traore’s 11 in domestic league and European competitions, and although the Lyon man scored more than the Roma youngster, it’s the number of assists the Turk reached that could make him a more suitable signing.

When it comes to creating assists from the midfield at Everton, Gylfi Sigurdsson remains the key man, creating six goals in the Premier League this season alone as the Icelandic international yet again proved to be the creative heartbeat of the side. If a player like Under was to partner him alongside him, though, it will take some of the playmaking burden off the former Swansea man.

Sigurdsson has shown this season as well in previous campaigns that he is at his best when he is given free attacking reign, and if Under was to join the team, the 29-year-old number 10 could become a real asset for Everton next season in front of goal.

As well as adding more assists to Everton, Under has the advantage over Traore in terms of key passes, a quality that will benefit Sigurdsson more as well as the likes of Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who will easily improve their goal tallies with the Turkish international in the squad.

Traore does boast a higher number of completed dribbles, but the fact those dazzling slaloms have not garnered more assists is telling about the effectiveness of his final ball.

There is no question that Walcott has been unsuccessful at Everton, but in Under, the club will have a winger built perfectly for Silva’s style who will add goals to the side as well as assisting and taking some of the burden from those who need it most.

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Although Manchester City have created a reputation for throwing money at any problem that comes their way, there are few Premier League players in their squad that have stood the test of time quite like David Silva.

The creative midfielder was one of the biggest names to join City in the first few years following the club’s financial takeover, joining the club in 2010 from Valencia with a World Cup winners medal around his neck following Spain’s first triumph on the biggest international stage of all, and since then Silva has become synonymous with the blue half of Manchester.

But who has been the Spaniard’s most prolific partners at the club, and which players has the former Valencia playmaker managed to get the best out of with his creative ability? Below, we take a look at the City stars who Silva has been involved in the most goals with – whether striking himself or assisting – throughout his Etihad career…

Sergio Aguero – 41 goal contributions

It’s no surprise that Sergio Aguero is Silva’s most prolific partner, but what a partnership the duo have had in their eight years together in Manchester.

In their first game together the two players that would one day become legends of the club immediately clicked as Aguero assisted Silva in a 4-0 win over newly promoted Swansea City. 257 games together later, and the pair are still doing it as the midfielder teed-up the City number 10 in a 4-1 win against Brighton to seal their fourth Premier League title.

Edin Dzeko – 21 goal contributions

One of the more underrated heroes from City’s early years of dominance in the Premier League was Edin Dzeko, and it was Silva who would assist the Bosnian’s most important goal of all when the Spaniard’s corner found the head of the striker, who made it 2-2 against QPR in the game that would see the Citizens lift their first league title in nearly half a century.

Dzeko is a beloved figure in Manchester but without the contributions of Silva, it is hard to see where the former Wolfsburg man fits in the history of City.

Check out a fan’s outrageous call for England to take a leaf of out cricket and rugby’s book after a limp Nations League performance in the video below…

Raheem Sterling – 14 goal contributions

With Raheem Sterling firmly establishing himself as City’s top attacker this season, it’s surprising to see the number between him and Silva so low despite four full seasons together.

The duo have been two of City’s most important players over the past few seasons, yet when it comes to working on the pitch together they are surprisingly uncooperative, combining just twice this campaign alone.

Yaya Toure – 12 goal contributions

Fans often forget just how good Yaya Toure was for Man City during the Manuel Pellegrini years of the club as the Ivorian international bossed the midfield in every sense of the word, and it was made all the easier with Silva alongside him.

10 assists to the former Barcelona man allowed Toure to form a good relationship with Silva that saw the Spaniard play out on the left with the City number 42 playing in the centre of the park, and boy did it cause some damage over the years.

Carlos Tevez – 9 goal contributions

Although Carlos Tevez’s time on Manchester ended poorly, the Argentine striker made the most out his minutes with Silva.

The duo only played 91 games with each other, a small number compared to others in this list, with their most notable performance coming against Barnsley in the FA Cup fifth round in the 2012/13 season when Silva assisted Tevez twice and the striker returned the favour with one of his own to the Spaniard in a 5-0 win.

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A report from the Yorkshire Evening Post has named Helder Costa as Leeds’ number one target in this upcoming transfer window.

Marcelo Bielsa’s priority this summer has been to strengthen the wings and bringing in Costa would undoubtedly do that.

Getting a deal done for the Portugal international may be a bit more complicated though, and Leeds must be careful not to get stung by Wolves when moving for their man.

Number one target

If a deal was more straightforward then making Costa their number one priority this summer would be a stroke of genius by Leeds.

The winger is fantastic at this level, and the performances he put in during the two seasons he spent with Wolves in the Championship were impressive – 15 goals and 14 assists in 71 outings.

If Bielsa does want to strengthen his wide areas, then the 25-year-old’s arrival would be a step in the right direction.

Could backfire

Nuno Espirito Santo isn’t going to be easy to negotiate with. Wolves have already reportedly been looking at a swap deal with the Yorkshire club which would see Kalvin Phillips go the other way.

It has also been reported that Wolves want to get rid of Ivan Cavaleiro along with Costa, but they want to receive a fee for at least one of those players meaning that the Whites may have to cough up for their target.

The Whites mustn’t spend too long pursuing him as they risk putting all of their eggs in one basket. Their other targets could slip away while they focus on the Wolves man.

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The Yorkshire club are interested in other wingers, but they may go elsewhere if Bielsa’s side focus too much on a deal for the former Monaco man.

For example, Ryan Kent is being eyed by the Whites, but he could very easily go back to Rangers if Leeds don’t move quickly as the Glasgow outfit are also keen.