All posts by z3u9t.icu

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

It’s never too early to start talking about the managerial hot seat.

With manager’s never too far away from the sack in the modern game, and given Birmingham City’s history when it comes to managers, you can never be too sure how safe Pep Clotet is in his job.

What’s he said?

Speaking during a Q&A on Birmingham Live, before the Blackburn Rovers game, journalist Brian Dick says that he believed Clotet was doing enough to keep the board members on his side, and that he doesn’t believe he’ll be ‘in the firing line’ any time soon:

“He’s been given a very difficult job, challenge for promotion, with a new style and young players. I think you’d have to say given the upheaval he’s doing OK.”

“As regards the firing line, show me a Blues manager that hasn’t been for the last few years. I hope not, he’s an interesting guy to listen to who clearly knows his football.”

Watch Birmingham City Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Managing expectations

As Dick mentions, the upheaval that took place in the summer with the sudden departure of Garry Monk, as well as the dangling Sword of Damocles that was their Financial Fair Play misconduct last season, it would have left any manager in charge somewhat handcuffed when it came to doing their job this campaign.

With a poll in September among Birmingham City fans on Twitter giving an indication of what the majority of supporter’s expectations were this term, many believed they’ll be a lower mid-table team.

Thus, it is somewhat baffling to see the Birmingham faithful constantly calling for Clotet to be sacked.

Fans need to be a little calmer when it comes to results and performances this season.

This campaign should always have been about stability and getting the skeleton of a side in place during the first two transfer windows, then using that as a way of building towards something next season.

Birmingham aren’t in any position to be challenging for promotion just yet, so fans need to lower their expectations. If results like these continue into next season, then there will be cause for concern. But just like Jude Bellingham, the best is yet to come.

Wolves are back in Europa League action tonight as they make the trip to Turkey to face a Besiktas side who too have had their domestic struggles.

Nuno Santo’s men go into the fixture having picked up their first win of the season against Watford last weekend while the Black Eagles sit third from bottom in the Super Lig after winning just one of their six league matches.

Both teams were also defeated in the opening game of the group stage as Braga managed to nick a 1-0 win at Molineux and Besiktas collapsed in injury time to hand Slovan Bratislava a 4-2 victory.

Watch Wolverhampton Wanderers Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Wolves were without Diogo Jota against the Hornets and Nuno has since confirmed that the 22-year-old forward will remain absent through injury.

So, who will replace him tonight and will anyone else be a surprise inclusion at Vodaphone Park?

Much of the side should remain the same considering Wolves managed to pick up their first win of the Premier League season on Saturday.

That would mean Romain Saiss keeps his spot at left centre-back with Willy Boly moving over to the right-hand side.

Matt Doherty also keeps his place after being awarded the Man of the Match award by WhoScored for his goalscoring performance against Watford.

He formed a nice partnership with Adama Traore, who moved into his old right forward position.

Another player who looked the part was Pedro Neto – despite being withdrawn after just 57 minutes – he should be given another chance to prove his worth in attack, especially in Jota’s absence.

The only change in the side may come in midfield as Ruben Neves regains his spot next to Joao Moutinho – Belgian midfielder Leander Dendoncker was favoured over the Portuguese anchorman at the weekend.

Patrick Cutrone started the Braga game and with Raul Jimenez lacking a goal in his last four games, Nuno faces a tough decision.

Although he is most likely to side with the Mexican striker.

Real Madrid fans were left lauding Federico Valverde’s performance on Twitter after he helped them to a 4-2 victory against Granada CF.

Karim Benzema opened the scoring inside the first couple of minutes before Eden Hazard opened his account for Los Blancos with his first goal just before the half-time interval.

Luka Modric almost put the tie out of the visitor’s hands when he made it three just after the hour-mark, however goals from Darwin Machis (via the penalty spot) and Domingos Duarte made it a nervy 12 minutes or so for the Madridistas.

However, James Rodriguez made sure Zinedine Zidane’s side would take all three points just before the final whistle just ten minutes after being introduced. The victory meant that Real Madrid would remain at the top of the La Liga table with 18 points (BBC).

Indeed, fans were delighted to see their side win, however Federico Valverde was the man that appeared to win plenty of plaudits for his performance in the middle of the park.

The 21-year-old Uruguay international has not been a mainstay for the club this season – making just four appearances prior to the match against Granada (Transfermarkt), however it would seem many of their fans want to see more of him in the future.

Here are some of their reactions…

Real Madrid fans, did you share the same reactions to Valverde’s performance? Let us know your thoughts by sharing them in the comments section below!

[ad_pod ]

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

Speaking to Dutch publication Voetbal International, Tahith Chong has revealed he is in discussions with Manchester United over signing a new contract.

What’s the word?

The 19-year-old joined the club from Feyernoord back in 2016, and was named the Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year back in May 2018.

The Dutchman made his senior debut for the club last year, and featured prominently in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s first-team over pre-season this summer.

Now, Chong has confirmed he is in the midst of contract talks with the club, and revealed he decided to stay at Old Trafford due to being given reassurances that he will be handed chances to play.

Watch Manchester United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

He said (as translated by The Daily Mail): “Of course we are talking, but it’s still too early to say anything about it. The season is still long and we will see what happens. There are a lot of competitions coming up and I will focus on that.

“Ole tells me to keep working hard and my chances will come. That’s nice to hear. There are a few players who left and I’m climbing up the pecking order. It’s always nice to come back to the Netherlands, but in the end I have to do what I find best for myself. That’s why I decided to stay.”

Youth revolution

Since taking over from Jose Mourinho last December, Solskjaer has frequently insisted he will give opportunities to youngsters in the United first-team. But so far this season, none of the fresh faces who lit up the Red Devils’ pre-season tour have started a match. The likes of Mason Greenwood, Angel Gomes, Axel Tuanzebe and Chong, amongst others, have patiently waited in the wings.

Reports earlier this summer suggested Chong could be heading out of Old Trafford on loan, so Solskjaer’s personal intervention in getting him to stay comes with a huge responsibility to actually play him.

Failing to fulfil that promise would raise important questions about just how serious the Norwegian is in promoting young talent into the senior set-up.

United have a clutch of hugely impressive prospects knocking on the door at the moment, and if the Red Devils boss doesn’t open it for them, then some other clubs will. And that really would be a damning statement for the kind of rebuild Solskjaer wants to implement.

[ad_pod ]

[ad_pod ]

Sheyi Ojo has started well in his loan spell at Rangers and a brilliant strike against Feyenoord in the Europa League has caught the attention of Liverpool fans.

He pounced on a loose ball around 30 yards from goal before taking the ball forward and unleashing a drive into the top corner, which proved to be the matchwinner.

It was his fifth goal in 12 games, with four assists also in that period, and the quality of the goal has led to a positive response from some fans.

He is now 22, so it will take a few more impressive performances like last night if he is to work his way into Jurgen Klopp’s plans, but if he proves himself capable of playing in the Europa League then he should have a good future ahead of him.

Watch Liverpool Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Whether he makes it at Liverpool or not, fans are still pleased to see an academy product doing well, and have praised his strike as a result, as the reactions below show.

[ad_pod ]

With an FA Cup fourth round tie against Brighton on the horizon, West Brom boss Darren Moore has an ideal opportunity to experiment with his lineup in the hope of finding an able replacement for the departed Harvey Barnes.

How big a loss will Barnes be?

Whilst the Baggies will undoubtedly want to progress in the competition, and should view the Seagulls as beatable opposition, Moore should take a few risks to see if he can find someone to replicate the talents of Barnes in that creative role supporting the strikers.

21-year-old Barnes, who was on loan from Leicester, was recalled by the Foxes (as per the BBC) thanks to his scintillating form at the Hawthorns. Barnes managed to score nine goals and record six assists in 26 Championship starts for the Midlands-based side as per Whoscored, which prompted boss Claude Puel to bring him back to the King Power Stadium and throw him in against Wolves for his first Premier League start.

Thogden has ranked his top 5 sets of Championship away fans for Pl>ymaker FC. Did your club make the list? Find out in the video below…

Whilst that is good news for Leicester and for Barnes, it is a big problem for West Brom who were surely hoping for the Englishman to stay and aid their push for promotion.

What can Moore do?

The Baggies boss should hand young forward Jonathan Leko a rare start for the trip to the Amex Stadium, having started him in the 1-0 win against Wigan in the earlier rounds of the FA Cup. The 19-year-old has only made one other start this season, coming in the Carabao Cup, but he will be hoping for more game time following Barnes’ departure.

Leko is predominantly a winger, but is a skilful player who has a good eye for a through ball and decent dribbling ability, which suggests that he could be an able performer in a central attacking midfield role too.

The teenager has featured in that position sporadically this season already (as seen on Transfermarkt), and the game against Chris Hughton’s men will give Moore a great chance to test out a 4-2-3-1 system with Leko in behind one of Dwight Gayle or Jay Rodriguez, having favoured a 4-3-3 system in recent weeks.

Moore has opted for a 3-4-1-2 system frequently this season, which would also be an option that deploys Leko in the no.10 role.

[ad_pod ]

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

Everton were on the verge of signing Fikayo Tomori before Chelsea pulled out of the deal late on, Football Insider has revealed.

What’s the word?

The Toffees last season enjoyed the luxury of having Kurt Zouma on loan from Chelsea, and had hoped to replace him with another Blues centre-back this summer, and did agree on a loan move.

Tomori was willing to make the switch to Goodison Park before Arsenal’s approach for David Luiz scuppered the deal, with the London club unwilling to allow too many defenders to leave Stamford Bridge.

Everton had been looking to add another defender to their ranks for much of the summer, with Manchester United’s Marcos Rojo also on the radar, but it was the Chelsea man who seemed to be in pole position to join.

A failure to finalise the switch means the club is left with just three senior centre-backs to choose from, and whilst Michael Keane and Yerry Mina have started the season well, Marco Silva may well be taking a risk by solely relying on the relatively inexperienced Mason Holgate as a back-up option.

Lack of planning

Although it was an unexpected blow to miss out on the 21-year-old so late on, the Toffees had all summer to prepare transfer targets and make their move for them, so it is a sign of poor organisation that they were unable to complete a deal for a defender before the deadline.

Watch Everton Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Tomori gained many plaudits for his performances on loan at Derby last season and the Everton hierarchy would have been well aware of him heading into pre-season, so could have arranged a deal with Chelsea early in the summer.

They were able to complete seven deals in total and it is unforgivable that they have lost out on a player who could have proved very useful because of their delayed action.

The club has to learn from this incident moving forward and ensure Silva is able to strengthen in all the areas he wants to, otherwise they could suffer on the pitch.

[ad_pod ]

Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly still eyeing up a move to sign Franck Kessie in the January transfer window.

The Lowdown: Shining at AFCON

Kessie is currently shining at the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) with Ivory Coast, recently putting in a man-of-the-match performance against reigning champions Algeria with a goal that helped knock them out of the group stages.

He is ranking highly among his teammates in terms of average shots, key passes and dribbles per game so far in the tournament (WhoScored), and will now look to continue his impressive performances in the knockout stages.

The Latest: Tottenham lurking

As per The Daily Telegraph, Spurs are now getting ready to make their swoop for Kessie this month, despite his contract at AC Milan running out in the summer.

This is to fend off the inevitable competition for his signature once his deal expires and he becomes a free agent.

The Verdict: No-brainer

It is certainly a no-brainer for the North London club to sign Kessie up in January, as they could potentially get a bargain with only six months left on his contract.

Yes, that bargain becomes even more enticing if he is free at the end of the campaign, but there’s no telling which other teams will be interested, and who will be able to offer Champions League football.

Described as a ‘devastating’ player by AC Milan legend Antonio Cassano, the sky is the limit for the Ivorian, who is only 25 years of age.

Antonio Conte is even said to be a ‘huge fan’ of his, and he should know all about him having watched him in the Serie A while managing rivals Inter.

Nonetheless, as pundit Kevin Campbell has previously pointed out, it would no doubt be an ‘exciting’ move for the Lilywhites should they be able to pull it off.

In other news, find out whose THFC future is to be decided ‘this weekend’ here!

Celtic have enjoyed an absolutely sensational transfer window with Ange Postecoglou delving deep into his box of tricks to bring some extra quality to his Hoops side from foreign soil.

He has looked to replicate the success of Kyogo Furuhashi’s move to Parkhead by luring Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate and Yosuke Ideguchi to the club.

Matt O’Riley has also penned terms with the Bhoys in what has been a hugely exciting time for everyone associated with Celtic.

However, a move that would leave everyone at Paradise bouncing is still yet to be completed.

That’s a deal to bring Portuguese sensation Jota to Celtic on a permanent basis. A fee has been agreed according to Mark Guidi but if a deal ends up being off the table, an alternative will need to be sourced.

One player who’s been linked with a move in the early stages of this year is Iran international Mehdi Ghayedi.

This rumour has become a saga in itself with one claim suggesting interest was fake but one report this week suggested it would take Celtic as much as £3.5m to secure his services.

Should they decide to splash the cash on the 21-year-old, he’d be a phenomenal capture. Boasting 41 senior goals to his name, he is cut from a similar cloth as Jota, possessing the ability to dazzle defenders and beat the goalkeeper on a regular basis.

In fact, Bhoys Analytics on Twitter recently dubbed the forward as a “Jota-type trickster,” which makes for a hugely exciting comparison.

However, by luring the Iranian hotshot to Celtic this year, it could finally give Postecoglou and the club’s transfer strategists the opportunity to axe Mikey Johnston from the squad.

A move to Hibernian has been talked about but feels unlikely at this point. Yet, the addition of a winger, specifically one as impressive as Ghayedi could all but seal the Scot’s fate.

Once described by Chris Sutton as the “new Ryan Christie,” it’s sadly not quite happened for Johnston at Parkhead.

He’s endured injury hell over the last few years and as a result, has missed 68 matches and 557 days since 2019.

The 22-year-old has featured 18 times this term but is yet to score for his side, registering just the solitary assist in Celtic colours.

With that in mind, it’s particularly evident that he is not of the quality or fitness to make a big impact for Postecoglou. Consequently, he would be the prime candidate to be shown the exit door if Ghayedi arrives.

AND in other news, “Fee is already agreed”: Guidi drops big Celtic transfer update, fans will be buzzing…

Manchester United see Leeds stalwart Illan Meslier as a potential goalkeeping transfer target to bring in next summer, according to a fresh rumour which has emerged.

The Lowdown: Meslier a huge figure for Leeds

Despite still only being 21, the Frenchman has already matured into one of the Whites’ most important players, proving to be a model of consistency between the sticks.

Meslier recently became the youngest goalkeeper in Premier League history to make 50 appearances in the competition and has been hailed as ‘fearsome’ by Tony Cascarino. He has been ever-present in the top flight so far this term and missed just three league games in 2020/21.

The only downside of the youngster being so highly regarded is that heavyweight clubs could show an interest, and that is exactly what appears to be the case here.

[freshpress-quiz id=“383507″]

The Latest: Man United keen on Meslier move

According to The Daily Star, Manchester United are ‘hot on’ the idea of signing Meslier as they look for possible long-term successors to David De Gea. The Red Devils see the £22k-per-week Leeds goalkeeper as ‘one of the best young stoppers around.’

Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martinez is also seen as a target at Old Trafford following an impressive start to life at Aston Villa since joining from Arsenal last year.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-united-news-29/” title=”Latest Leeds United news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: Massive potential loss for Leeds

Much like Kalvin Phillips and Raphinha, who have also been linked with exits, there needs to be an acceptance from Leeds fans that Meslier will not be around forever at Elland Road, with WhoScored ranking him as their fourth-best player so far this season.

The Whites are languishing in 16th place in the league, and with a possible relegation battle on the cards, the goalkeeper could feel that his future lies at a club playing Champions League football.

If Meslier is to leave Yorkshire, Leeds should at least receive a huge transfer fee for his services considering his current deal doesn’t expire until the summer of 2026, giving them the funds to bring in reinforcements of similar or superior quality.

In other news, Graham Smyth has provided a key update regarding one Leeds player. Find out who it is here.