All posts by z3u9t.icu

Chelsea are reportedly searching for a new left-back, with neither Emerson Palmieri nor Marcos Alonso in the club’s long-term plans.

[ad_pod ]

An exclusive report by 90 min claims that the Blues are desperately searching for a first-choice left-back with Leicester City’s Ben Chilwell top of their list.

The west London club have successfully promoted a host of youth team players into the first-team fold throughout the previous year, including the likes of Callum Hudson-Odoi, Mason Mount, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Tammy Abraham. Meanwhile, 19-year-old defender Reece James is also starting to emerge as a future prospect at Stamford Bridge.

They are, however, on the lookout for someone adept to playing on the left-hand side of defence, with the two players currently tasked with playing that position – Marcos Alonso and Emerson Palmieri – not thought to be in the club’s long-term plans moving forward.

Emerson started the campaign as first-choice left-back but has missed Chelsea’s last three league games with a hamstring injury (via Transfermarkt).

Alonso, on the other hand, has performed well in the Italian’s absence and scored the Blues’ match-winner against Newcastle on Saturday afternoon, drilling home in the latter stages of the second-half to ensure the club made it three wins on the bounce in the top-flight.

90 min also report that another possible target for Chelsea – should they fail to land Chilwell for whatever reason – could be Basel’s South American star Blás Riveros, who has gained attention having racked up 72 appearances for the Swiss outfit.

Ben Chilwell is rapidly emerging as one of the best young left-backs in Europe and certainly in the Premier League, so if Chelsea could land him next summer then it would be viewed as great business.

However, with two more than capable full-backs already at the club in the form of Alonso and Emerson, it does seem a little foolish that the Blues would fork out on another (if they couldn’t land Chilwell).

Time will tell, though perhaps focussing on bringing in another centre-back to partner Fikayo Tomori in the heart of defence would be a better option for the club, considering the struggles Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen have faced with injury this term.

Chelsea fans, what do you make of this news? Let us know by commenting below!

This Saturday evening we have a real treat on the menu in La Liga. Real Madrid will face Atletico Madrid at the Wanda Metropolitano and that clash just might be decided in the middle of the park.

On the chalkboard

Real Madrid will be making a short trip across the capital and meeting their city rivals, Atletico Madrid, in one of the first big derbies of the ongoing campaign.

As it currently stands, it will be a clash between first and third-placed teams in Spain and the victory for either would be huge at this point in the season.

Watch Spanish Football Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

But looking at the personnel and the squad both giants have at their disposal, whoever wins the battle for supremacy in midfield just might go on to win the whole game.

With that in mind, Toni Kroos’ clash against Koke is looking likely to be a key battle come Saturday night.

The midfield generals

Real Madrid’s 29-year-old German maestro has really been blowing hot and cold so far this season.

Even though he was harshly criticised recently, Kroos managed a masterful performance against Osasuna which proved that when he’s on his best, not many can go toe to toe with him.

And Los Blancos will certainly need him to be at his best against Atletico Madrid’s own general in midfield – Koke.

The 27-year-old has so far tallied one assist in the ongoing campaign but has also registered 2.7 key passes and 0.5 shots per game in La Liga. Kroos is also not far behind. In fact, he edges Koke out in both with 3.3 key passes and 2.2 shots per game.

The Spaniard, however, makes more interceptions per game with his 1.5 outshining Kroos’ 0.8. As far as tackling goes, the situation is once again pretty close and there’s just a slight margin between the two midfielders.

Koke has averaged 1.3 tackles while Kroos is on two per game but the former is definitely harder to dribble past with that only happening once per game on average so far. The German, however, has been dribbled past 1.5 times per game.

Judging purely by the stats, it looks like Real Madrid just might have a small advantage going into the game but the venue should also not be disregarded.

Atletico Madrid’s home, the Wanda Metropolitano, is definitely not an easy fortress to conquer as Diego Simeone’s men are yet to be defeated there across all competitions in the 2019/20 season.

If, however, the Galacticos manage to dominate the middle of the park, they just might stand a chance of changing that.

In a disappointing display on Friday night, England slipped to a surprising 2-1 defeat away to the Czech Republic in EURO 2020 qualifying action.

Gareth Southgate’s men took an early lead through a Harry Kane penalty, but from then on, it was the home side that dominated proceedings. By the end of the match, the Czech Republic had fired off 17 shots on goal, compared to the Three Lions’ paltry seven.

One man who had a particularly poor outing was Everton’s Michael Keane, with the centre-back seemingly at fault for the equaliser. As well as that error, the 26-year-old lost possession 15 times over the course of the game – the joint-second highest of any England player on the pitch.

Watch Everton Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

After seeing his display, England fans flooded to Twitter to vent their frustrations with the Toffees defender.

Many Three Lions supporters slammed his performance, and one in particular simply labelled him as “utter garbage”.

Some fans insisted Keane should be nowhere near the England set-up, and questioned how Southgate could even consider him to be a starting calibre centre-back.

Check out some of the reaction of England fans below:

The Manchester-born defender spent last season on loan at West Bromwich Albion, where he was trusted to hold the line for 30 Championship games for the promotion-chasing side. Blackburn Rovers are the latest club to host his talents on a temporary basis.

We’re sensing a potential Kompany replacement somewhere down the line, as it is clear the young prospect aspires to be like his parent club’s skipper.

[ad_pod ]

[ad_pod ]

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…

Former Arsenal ace Ray Parlour has told talkSPORT that he rates Harry Kane as a better striker than Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

What did he say?

Aubameyang has had a fantastic start to the campaign. In his first seven games in all competitions, he has seven goals, and has scored in all but one match that he has played.

Kane, too, has done well so far, scoring five in his first seven, and Parlour has said that he believes he is a step above the former Borussia Dortmund man.

Asked by Alan Brazil to pick between the England captain and the Gabon international, he said: “I’ll probably go Harry Kane.”

Expanding, later on, he added: “(Aubameyang) goes in and out of games, he’ll go missing for 10 minutes. But when he gets his chance, when he gets his moment in the box he takes it.”

Watch Arsenal Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Is Kane better?

Is Kane really better than Aubameyang? Let’s have a look at the stats.

Without counting the spells at the start of their careers – there is little sense in comparing the Tottenham man’s goals for Leyton Orient and the Gabon international’s for Lille, for example – Kane has 169 goals in 260 games for Spurs, which have come at a rate of 0.65 per match. Aubameyang, meanwhile, has 230 in 382 games across his times at Saint-Etienne, Borussia Dortmund and now the Gunners. They have come at a rate of 0.6. One point to Kane.

What about in England’s top tier since the 30-year-old’s arrival, though? That statistic actually points in favour of Aubameyang, whose 48 in 72 come at a rate of 0.67 per match compared to his rival’s 0.64 (39 in 61).

Let’s move on to trophies. Of course, this has often been used as a way to prove the argument that the England captain is not world class, and it must be stated that his cabinet is bare other than three Premier League Golden Boots. Aubameyang’s record may not be much better, but it is better all the same. He himself has two Golden Boots, and four cups from his various clubs. He has also won the African Footballer of the Year award, in 2015, but bearing in mind Kane’s nationality, it is harsh to use that against him.

Internationally, Kane has shone at a World Cup, picking up the Golden Boot at last year’s edition in Russia. Again, though, as Gabon are unlikely to ever qualify for the tournament, it seems to be an unfair comparison.

The truth of the matter is there is very little, if anything at all, to separate the two.

Really, bearing in mind that Aubameyang has proven himself in three countries, compared to Kane’s one, you could even argue that the former comes out slightly on top.

According to a recent report from Sky Sports, Che Adams was subject of much Premier League interest during the January transfer window. The 22-year-old currently plays his football at Championship side Birmingham City and has done so since leaving Sheffield United back in 2016, with his excellent goal-scoring exploits for the Midlanders this season seemingly attracting interest from some clubs in the top-flight.

And that’s because a recent report from Sky Sports suggests that Burnley tried their hand with many bids for the striker on Deadline Day, while Southampton were also linked with the 22-year-old (as per Sky Sports), only for Garry Monk’s Blues to retain the services of the striking sensation.

And that key January success in keeping hold of one of their prized assets may well give the out-of-form second tier side the lift they so desperately need.

The Breakdown

Ultimately, it has been a strange Championship season for Monk’s men given they took time to get going in failing to win any of their opening eight league matches, only for an unbeaten run of 11 games between August and October to move them up the table.

And while the Blues did well during the festive period to win two and draw three matches between December 15 and the New Year, they are now without a win in five games to somewhat dent their hopes of sustaining a promotion push in the second half of the season.

Ultimately, they are only six points adrift of sixth place Derby County to suggest that they are still well in the race for a play-off place, but they need to get back to winning ways quickly if they are to start moving up the division and build momentum ahead of the run-in.

And in top-scorer Adams, they have the man who can move them out of their current rut and towards the upper echelons of the Championship table.

The 22-year-old has been in scintillating goal-scoring form for the Blues this season with 15 goals from 29 Championship appearances for Monk’s side, a tally that leaves only Tammy Abraham, Billy Sharp, Teemu Pukki, and Neal Maupay ahead of him in the division’s goal-scoring charts.

And even during their recent run of five league games without a win, it’s not through Adams that they are struggling to get those victories given he has netted in each of their last four matches – imagine where they would be without him.

And that is why retaining him beyond the 11pm January deadline on Thursday was so crucial and will surely give St Andrew’s a big boost, as it’s difficult to see how the Blues would have been able to sustain a promotion challenge without him – after all, Lukas Jutkiewicz is the only other Birmingham player to have exceeded five goals so far this season.

However, they did indeed manage to keep hold of the 22-year-old which is sure to delight Birmingham fans, with that retention of the striker possibly giving the Blues the lift they need to get out of their current rut, and thus start making their way up the Championship table.

Birmingham fans… what do you think? Let us know!

The Premier League have dealt Steve Bruce a worrying piece of news, after they announced that Andre Marriner will officiate Newcastle United’s trip to Liverpool on Saturday for their televised encounter with the current league leaders.

Liverpool go into the weekend encounter as the only side to have won each of their opening four Premier League games, in which they have also scored the second-most goals of any side, while Newcastle have taken four of a possible twelve points.

Marriner has so far officiated three top-flight encounters this season, after the Birmingham-born referee oversaw Leicester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers’ 0-0 draw in the opening weekend, before holding the whistle as Liverpool beat Southampton and during Manchester City’s win at Bournemouth.

From those encounters, the 48-year-old has called the third-least fouls per game and the 12th-most fouls per tackle of the 17 officials called on by the Premier League thus far, according to data collected by WhoScored.

Marriner has been keener than some to brandish a yellow card, however, as the West Midlands resident has issued three per game on average – treble that of Chris Kavanagh, the official to have issued the least cautions after refereeing three top-flight fixtures.

Marriner, who first officiated in the Premier League during the 2004/05 season, has also shown a tendency to caution the away side more than the home team this term by a ratio of 2:1.

Assistants Scott Ledger, Simon Long and fourth official Andy Madley will join Marriner at Anfield, while Mike Dean will be in charge of the VAR with Dan Robathan his assistant.

Marriner’s appointment as the referee for Newcastle’s trip to Anfield will spell bad news to Bruce, as Newcastle have lost their last four games with the 48-year-old in the middle (TransferMarkt).

Liverpool, on the other hand, head into the Magpies encounter having last lost a game with Marriner in charge back in October 2017 when Tottenham Hotspur beat them 4-1. Since then, the Reds have played eight, and won five while scoring 17.

One of the Merseyside outfit’s triumphs with Marriner in possession of the whistle also came against Newcastle last season, when Divock Origi struck an 86th-minute winner for Jurgen Klopp’s men at St. James’ Park in May.

Newcastle held Liverpool to a two-all draw the last time the two sides met at Anfield with Marriner in charge, however, although that fixture came in April 2016.

Newcastle fans, does Marriner’s appointment affect your expectations of the Liverpool encounter? Let us know in the comments below…

West Ham United are interested in a deal to bring Fabio Carvalho to the London Stadium.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by ExWHUemployee, who confirmed on a recent episode of The West Ham Way Podcast that, following earlier reports suggesting that West Ham are keeping a very close eye on the situation of the Fulham attacking midfielder ahead of a potential move, the 19-year-old is indeed a player that David Moyes is interested in.

The Hammers insider went on to state that, with the England youth international’s current contract at Craven Cottage set to expire at the end of the season, the 58-year-old manager could make an early move to sign the teenager in the coming months.

Speaking about West Ham’s interest in Carvalho, Ex said: “We are looking at Championship players. Carvalho at Fulham – he is someone we like. He’s out of contract in the summer, a move for him might be on the cards in the summer. He’s not a priority position [but] we could move early for him.”

Fans will be buzzing

Considering the sheer amount of impressive attacking midfield options Moyes currently possesses at the London Stadium, with the likes of Said Benrahma, Manuel Lanzini, Pablo Fornals and Nikola Vlasic all capable of operating in the number 10 role, the further addition of a player as exciting as Carvalho is sure to be a prospect that will have West Ham fans buzzing.

Indeed, the £3.15m-rated youngster has highly impressed over his 15 Championship appearances this season, having already scored five goals, provided one assist and created three big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 1.9 shots and making 1.6 key passes per game.

These returns have seen the £650-per-week forward average a SofaScore match rating of 6.91, ranking him as Marco Silva’s 14th-best performer in the second tier of English football.

As such, it is clear to see that the attacking midfielder is a player who possesses an extremely bright future in the game, leading us to believe that, should Moyes be able to beat the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid, Liverpool and Chelsea – all of whom have been linked with a move for the 19-year-old – to Carvalho’s signature this summer, it would be a major coup for the Champions League hopefuls.

In other news: Sheth reveals West Ham are “looking at” £17m beast, he’d be an “exemplary” signing

Rangers’ January signing Amad Diallo may not be ‘up to it’ at Ibrox, Frank McAvennie has told Football Insider.

The lowdown

With three days of the January transfer window remaining, Rangers signed Diallo on loan from Manchester United until the end of the season.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst inherited the squad of his predecessor Steven Gerrard in the autumn, but this was one of four incoming deals he sanctioned in January as he looked to put his own stamp on the squad.

Diallo made a flying start for the Gers, scoring just five minutes into his debut against Ross County on 29 January.

But Van Bronckhorst then substituted him at half time against Celtic, with Rangers 3-0 down, after he lost five of the six duels he contested and conceded possession 12 times.

He’s only played 22 Scottish Premiership minutes since, and has watched all the Europa League knockout action from the sidelines.

The latest

McAvennie stressed that Diallo has the ability but says he may have encountered something of a culture shock.

And he feels it’s fair to question the wisdom of the signing in light of what we’ve seen so far.

“It’s a different game up here,” he said. “In England, players will take the ball. In Scotland, you take the ball and the man.

“It’s frantic, you get no time on the ball. Diallo doesn’t have the time to run with the ball, it can be a shock to a player.

“He’s only a young boy and he has bags of talent but maybe Van Bronckhorst doesn’t trust him.

“There are loads of options for Rangers in that position so if you aren’t up to the job, you won’t play.

“It just makes me wonder why they signed him if he’s not up to it.”

The verdict

This was a signing that felt like it could go either way.

Diallo had showcased his immense potential at youth level, notching 28 direct goal contributions in 46 appearances for Atalanta’s Primavera side.

But, on the other hand, he’d only made 14 senior appearances for La Dea and Manchester United combined.

Rangers haven’t committed to an expensive mandatory purchase option, so from that point of view it was still perhaps a risk worth taking, but it hasn’t paid off so far.

As McAvennie says, Van Bronckhorst simply seems to have very little trust in him.

After all, BBC Sportsound pundit Derek Ferguson has accused him of looking ‘half-hearted’, while journalist Andrew Dickson described his attitude as ‘really poor’ after he allegedly backed out of a challenge against Dundee United.

If the commitment isn’t there, then he can’t expect to play in important games.

In other news, this BBC man drops a transfer claim on Cedric Itten.

Tottenham Hotspur have edged one step closer to signing Adama Traore this month…

What’s the word?

According to the Daily Telegraph’s Matt Law, Spurs sporting director Fabio Paratici has opened talks with Wolverhampton Wanderers to bring the 25-year-old to north London.

He delivered an update in a series of tweets.

“Daniel Levy travels to the Bahamas for Joe Lewis meeting that could prove key to Conte’s plans/Paratici opens talks over deal to sign Adama Traore from Wolves,” he said.

Before adding: “I’ve never been that fussed about Adama Traore. But I do look at him and think Conte could make him into a really top player. I’d be quite excited if I was a Spurs fan and they manage to get him, as they hope to do.”

Wolves could let the Spain international leave for as little as £20m.

Wing-back monster

As Law suggests, there is plenty for Spurs fans to be excited about amid this major development.

There will be concerns over Traore’s end product, having failed to contribute a goal or assist from 20 appearances this season. However, his fit for Antonio Conte’s system and the Italian’s proven track record in improving players should provide further encouragement.

The Athletic reported earlier in the week that the Spaniard would be viewed as an attacking right wing-back – a role in which he has played before at Molineux – as he can offer more in the final third than Emerson Royal.

There aren’t many players capable of fulfilling that role, so Traore could be transitioned easier than most. Conte did a similar thing at Chelsea with Victor Moses, converting the winger into a wing-back and then winning the Premier League in 2017 and FA Cup in 2018.

Traore leads the division for dribbles (4.5 per game) and has also averaged one key pass per outing, via WhoScored. By comparison, Emerson only manages 0.8 successful dribbles per match in the English top-flight.

Standing at 5 foot 10, the wide man is built like a brick wall – something Rio Ferdinand once referenced on BT Sport (as relayed by Birmingham Live), saying: “He’s a machine. I was watching him pre-game and he could be a powerlifter or a cruiser-weight boxer – he’s huge.”

The praise doesn’t stop there for the Wolves man. It’s never-ending.

Southampton forward Che Adams dubbed him a “monster”, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp deemed him to be “unplayable”, whilst football.london reporter Alasdair Gold believes he “scares defences with his running and strength.”

The £25.2m-rated powerhouse must be doing something right.

On the above evidence, Traore would surely be a fantastic signing for Spurs to make. He would fit right in with Conte’s system and has plenty of experience in the Premier League.

For just £20m, it is surely a no-brainer.

AND in other news, Alasdair Gold issues exciting Spurs transfer update…