All posts by z3u9t.icu

Former Man City defender Micah Richards has defended Trent Alexander-Arnold, after hearing of the Liverpool star’s omission from England’s latest squad.

The right-back has been a sensational performer for the Reds for a number of years now, almost redefining his role and providing endless quality from out wide.

At just 22, Alexander-Arnold is already a Premier League champion and a Champions League winner, also winning 12 caps for England.

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After a slight dip in form this season, however, Gareth Southgate has dropped the youngster from his squad for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers.

It is a decision that has left many baffled, especially as both Kyle Walker and Kieran Trippier haven’t been regulars for their respective teams this season.

Richards sticks up for Trent

Liverpool and City may have a fierce rivalry these days, but someone who has stuck up for Alexander-Arnold is former Citizen right-back Richards.

Taking to Instagram on Thursday, the pundit bemoaned Southgate’s decision to drop him, highlighting his quality:

Transfer Tavern take

Southgate’s decision makes little sense, especially as Alexander-Arnold’s form for Liverpool has actually been good recently.

It feels a little like he has been singled out when others often make England squads regardless of their form, and the hope is that it fires the Reds superstar up between now and the end of the season.

From a selfish Liverpool perspective, Alexander-Arnold will now enjoy a much-needed rest in the coming weeks, which can only be a good thing.

In other news, Liverpool fans are keen for the Reds to sign one Bundesliga star, but it’s not Erling Haaland. Read about it here.

If one Dembele wasn’t enough at Celtic, how about having two? The Hoops currently have Karamoko Dembele on their books but they’re now being linked with a move for his brother Siriki.

GIVEMESPORT reported earlier this week that Celtic were interested in signing the Peterborough forward during the summer window.

The Hoops have already agreed a pre-contract with Sheffield Wednesday’s Liam Shaw and they could settle on the same sort of arrangement with Dembele.

That’s because the EFL star is out of contract in the summer. The frustrating thing for Dembele, though, is that he’s unlikely to feature alongside his brother.

That’s because Karamoko’s own contract expires in a few months time and he’s set to leave Parkhead on a free.

Another player alongside whom the Celtic target may not feature too often is Ryan Christie. That’s because his arrival could finally give the Hoops an excuse to put him on the bench.

Christie has been desperately poor this season compared to the form he showed in 2019/20. Last term the Scottish winger found the net on 20 occasions but he’s managed just five goals in 2020/21. To make matters worse, he has beaten the goalkeeper on only one occasion so far this calendar year.

Often vilified by fans and pundits alike, he’s one of a number of players who could relish a new manager coming to the club.

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That being said, the entrance of another winger, especially one as creative as Dembele, would surely be bad news for him.

Like Christie, the 24-year-old has the ability to play on either wing but also through the middle. The former has started to appear more in a central area and starred in that position for Scotland in midweek when they drew with Austria.

Unfortunately for Christie, Celtic’s summer target has been “outstanding” in the middle, according to Peterborough boss Darren Ferguson.

Indeed, he’s not only scoring goals but he’s also registering assists on a regular basis. Dembele has netted eight times this season while providing 12 assists. That takes his tally in a Posh shirt to 28 goal creations.

Dembele is a creative marvel and, if there is any aspect for which you can applaud Christie this season, it would be the same trait. However, that is exactly why the London-born flanker could replace him in the starting XI, as they are very much alike.

AND in other news, £833k per goal: “Anonymous” Celtic flop has robbed Desmond of £5.4m this season…

Fans of Glasgow Rangers have been reacting to a post on Twitter, which relayed the comments of Alan Rough, who called for an extension to Glen Kamara’s ban.

Following the news that both Ondrej Kudela and Kamara have been handed bans by UEFA for their part in the incidents in the Gers’ Europa League clash against Slavia Prague – with Kamara’s three-game suspension coming as the midfielder was found to have assaulted Kudela after the match – Rough recently gave his opinion on the matter when speaking on the PLZ Soccer YouTube show.

However, rather surprisingly, the former Scotland goalkeeper actually called for Kamara’s ban to be extended from three to six games, as he didn’t believe the midfield’s current suspension “sends the right message.”

In fairness to the former Partick Thistle mainstay, he did also say he believes Kudela should get an even longer ban too, clearly feeling that UEFA have not stamped any authority on the incident.

That said, after one Rangers fan shared the comments of Rough on Twitter, fans of the club flocked to have their say on the matter, with many appearing, quite frankly, furious at the pundit’s remarks.

So, what exactly did these Rangers fans have to say in reaction to Alan Rough’s comments?

“He’s a nobody.”

@billyfaefife

“That’s disgraceful.”

@CraigSim

“What a disgrace.”

@iainmacrae

“Spoken like someone who is completely out of touch with modern society and football.”

@SandyG1410

“‘I don’t know maybe 6 or something’ – top quality punditry on PLZSoccer, maybe try and think before you speak? Absolutely disgraceful.”

@RangersRabble

“What the actual hell?”

@doolsy21

“What did I just hear? Absolute dinosaur. Shouldn’t be given a platform to speak on.”

@Sharpy1872

In other news: Gerrard set to pull plug as rivals near £300,000 move, claims Gers source – find out more here!

Gary Mabbutt has told Football FanCast that he would welcome Luka Modric back to Tottenham Hotspur with “open arms”.

The Real Madrid midfielder has gone from strength to strength since leaving Spurs in 2012.

Since then, he has won La Liga twice, the Champions League four times, and captained Croatia to the World Cup final in 2018. He also became the first player to break the Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo duopoly on the Ballon d’Or, winning the individual award in the same tournament as his country’s appearance in the final.

He has been with Real for nine years at this point, but Spurs still hold an affection for their former player.

They signed Modric for £16.5m in 2008 from Dinamo Zagreb, the team they play in the Europa League last-16, and Spurs’ official Twitter account posted a tweet with Modric’s best bits ahead of the game.

Gareth Bale, of course, made a sensational return to Spurs from Real in the summer, joining on loan, and Mabbutt would love to see the same happen with Modric, who earns £210,000-a-week.

Sport Witness carried a report from Spain in December claiming that Spurs boss Jose Mourinho had been in contact with Modric over a possible return.

And while Mabbutt is unsure if it will actually happen, he admits he would love to see the midfielder back in north London.

He said: “I’d welcome him back with open arms.

“I don’t think that is the current situation of where he is though. He was with us before Christian Eriksen and I thought Christian was a great player for us.

“At Spurs, we’ve always been a club that if we see a player that’s available, that we believe could actually enhance the good players that we have, then we will be interested in those players.

“Whether, when push comes to shove, we can actually get those players remains to be seen.”

Modric has a contract that expires at the end of the season so he could well be available if he does not put pen to paper.

It remains to be seen if Spurs will try to bring the 35-year-old back, but he can certainly play!

Steve Bruce should use the ace up his sleeve to see that Newcastle United win the race to sign Blackburn Rovers’ sought-after striker Adam Armstrong this summer.

What’s the word?

According to Chronicle Live, Armstrong would be open to making a return to St. James’ Park three years after being sold by Rafa Benitez.

The former Toon boss sanctioned the 24-year-old’s £2m move to Ewood Park in 2018, in a decision that select club staff did not agree with at the time.

As part of the transfer, Newcastle inserted a 40% sell on clause, that would have left Blackburn with a paltry profit had the striker been sold in the January transfer window amid rumours David Moyes weighed up West Ham making an £8m offer.

Rovers are thought to have valued the forward at closer to £30m earlier in the season, but are expected to be more realistic in their appraisal this summer should Tony Mowbray fail to secure promotion into the Premier League.

Armstrong, who left Newcastle on excellent terms with those at the executive level, has less than 18-months remaining on his current Blackburn contract and is said to have been watched by a clutch of clubs from across the Premier League, Europe and Major League Soccer.

The forward has earned his array of potential suitors after thriving in the Championship over the last two seasons, hitting 17 goals in 26 games this term and 16 in 46 across 2019/20. He also fired home once in the EFL Cup earlier in the campaign, to move to within two goals of his career-best return of 20 achieved in 2015/16 while on loan with Coventry in League One.

Yet Mowbray confirmed on Deadline Day last week that his outfit did not receive any official bids, noting via quotes by the Lancashire Telegraph: “Am I surprised? Probably yes. I’m not disappointed, but am I surprised? I thought the phone might have rang.”

Should Newcastle bring Armstrong back?

Armstrong made his Newcastle debut way back in March 2014 as a fresh-faced 17-year-old, yet was never really given a run in the side whilst Benitez was at the helm with just two appearances under the Spaniard compared to 10 under Alan Pardew between 2014 and ‘15.

The forward never truly hit the ground running when on the field, either, having failed to score in any of his 21 career games for the Magpies, but has clearly come on leaps and bounds since moving to Blackburn Rovers with an increasingly prolific record in front of the net.

Mowbray also lauds Armstrong for his play off the ball for the way it creates obstacles for opponents to overcome, with the 24-year-old proving a menace in the second-tier.

“His explosive pace at the top end of the pitch allows you to play both ways, to not be overly concerned if you’re pinned back around the edge of your box because one pass releases pressure to someone like [Harvey] Elliott to play the pass that he can hit, just leaving it in the space for the speed and dynamic movement of Armstrong – it’s a devastating effect for the team,” the Rovers boss said earlier in the season, via quotes by FourFourTwo.

Bruce would surely benefit greatly from having another option like that at St. James’ Park who can supplement the threat of players like Allan Saint-Maximin and Miguel Almiron, so should be urging Mike Ashley and Managing Director Lee Charnley to use their 40% sell-on clause to bring the striker back to his boyhood side.

Newcastle may soon be depleted in attack with Dwight Gayle and Andy Carroll both now in the final six-months of their respective contracts, so using the sell-on clause could be particularly beneficial in driving Rovers’ asking price down and saving funds that can be used to sign other options as well.

Neither Gayle nor Carroll are currently playing their way into new deals with just a goal each in the Premier League this term, so United will have to box smart in rebuilding their attack. And only an astronomical asking price should rule Armstrong out of that remodel.

AND in other news, a £47k-p/w colossus is weighing up his future at Newcastle United…

Divisive defender Matt Doherty answered his harshest Tottenham Hotspur critics with an impressive performance on Wednesday evening.

Spurs advanced into the final 16 of the Europa League with another resounding victory over Austrian minnows Wolfsberger AC, the second-leg result of 4-0 took the aggregate score to a whopping 8-1 win.

In the lead up to the encounter, reports had surfaced via ESPN that claimed the 29-year-old Irishman was facing a dubious future in north London as Jose Mourinho remained unconvinced about his ability to deliver in a Spurs shirt.

It’s thought that the Portuguese is mulling up whether or not to put the £15m summer signing on the transfer list come the end of the campaign, but after performances like that, he may want to think twice.

In response to the emerging news, much of the Hotspur faithful were quick to slam Doherty. As seen via This is Futbol, many urged the club to get rid – for example, one supporter dubbed him “awful” whilst another questioned whether he was actually a footballer.

Considering the vast change in system from Nuno Santo’s back-five set-up at Molineux, it was always going to be hard for the £18m-rated defender to simply slot right in with Mourinho usually deploying a flat back-four.

And in the win over Wolfsberger, Doherty rose to the challenge of proving so many wrong.

As per SofaScore, the 15-cap international graded as Spurs’ best defender across that backline – earning a 7.6 rating – which ranked him fourth of all home starters overall.

Dele Alli will quite rightly take most of the plaudits, having recorded two assists and a sublime bicycle kick, but Doherty matched him in terms of creativity as the right-back notched a joint-high three key passes.

He also worked hard defensively, both on and off the ball – no Spurs player matched his three tackles, whilst he only lost two of his eight duels (75%), via SofaScore.

The former statistic is way above what he would normally achieve in the Premier League, having averaged 1.6 tackles per game, whilst he also outperformed in terms of creativity as he averages only 0.6 key passes per game, as per WhoScored.

Dan Kilpatrick at the Evening Standard was also impressed with Doherty as he handed him a 7/10 rating – again, the best across the backline – whilst football.london’s Alasdair Gold believed he was the man ‘trying to make things happen’ for Spurs.

All in all, the £60k-per-week dynamo silenced his detractors with an outstanding display. That should be enough to for both Mourinho and some of the fanbase to hold fire over the next few weeks.

AND in other news, Mourinho handed a major double injury boost this week…

According to recent reports, Tottenham Hotspur are interested in the possibility of making a move for Juventus forward, Paulo Dybala, this summer.

The report by France Football (via Sport Witness) claims that Juventus could look to offload the £237,000 per week Dybala in the summer transfer window and that both Tottenham and Chelsea are contenders for the signature of the 27-year-old, should he indeed leave Turin.

According to the report, Thomas Tuchel and Jose Mourinho would be willing to part with between €50 million (£43 million) and €55 million (£47 million) for the £63 million-rated Argentina international, who has struggled for game time at Juventus this season due to a number of injury problems.

Transfer Tavern Take

With Tottenham seemingly being linked with a move for Dybala in almost every transfer window over the past few seasons, the fact the story has popped up once again is hardly surprising. Mauricio Pochettino was reportedly (talkSPORT) very close to signing his compatriot, who he described as a ‘special’ and ‘wonderful’ talent who is one of the world’s best.

However, if it is indeed true that Juventus could be actively looking to offload the 27-year-old this summer, the path to the signing of the forward would appear rather more clear than on previous occasions.

And, with Chelsea now also reported to be keen on the signing of the 29 times capped Argentine, perhaps this will force Tottenham’s hand in a move to finally get a deal over the line for one of their long term targets.

In other news: Tottenham have been sent a warning over Harry Kane – find out more here!

Liverpool are being linked once again with a move for Brighton and Hove Albion centre-back Ben White, with the Reds seemingly likely to move for the 23-year-old in the summer transfer window.

What’s the word?

According to the Liverpool Echo, Jurgen Klopp’s side are scouting the centre-back ahead of a potential summer move and have kept a close eye on him since his loan spell with Leeds United last season.

Despite the current defensive injury crisis, the report suggests that Liverpool were keen to see how White performs in his first full season in the Premier League, before weighing up a move ahead of the 2021/22 campaign.

Bye-bye Matip?

If White were to arrive in the summer, then he would presumably compete with the likes of Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip for a starting spot in Jurgen Klopp’s side, once they return from their respective injuries.

This could be bad news for the Cameroonian centre-back as, despite his impressive performances at times with the Merseyside club, he has proven himself to be extremely unreliable with injuries since joining the Reds.

This season in particular, the former Schalke man has suffered injury setbacks at a time where Klopp was relying on him to stay fit, which may well cast doubt over his long-term future with the club.

White has proven himself to be reliable, as he played every single minute of Leeds’ promotion-winning campaign last season, and has started all but one of Brighton’s games in the Premier League so far this season.

The young defender has earned a lot of plaudits for his performances in recent seasons, with former Liverpool midfielder Jamie Carragher full of praise for the Brighton ace, saying:

“I have got to mention Ben White, there is a centre-back there who is going to go right to the top.

“He is so comfortable on the ball, you can see why Leeds wanted to keep him.

“That young man is destined for an amazing future, he’s comfortable on the ball, brilliant defensively and I love him.”

Therefore, considering White has averaged a solid 6.61 rating for his performances in the top-flight so far this season, despite Brighton’s poor start, it seems clear that he has proven he can perform in the top-flight, and therefore it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Michael Edwards make his move for the 23-year-old during the summer.

He is also more versatile than Matip, having featured across the defence and in defensive-midfield at times in his career, which is surely something that is desirable to Klopp, considering how he has relied on Fabinho’s versatility so much this season.

However, he won’t come cheap, with a report suggesting that the Seagulls would demand £50 million for his services, but if Edwards can work his magic and negotiate a lower price that would see him join Klopp’s side, then you do worry that his arrival could lead to Matip’s departure, as unfortunately, he has shown that he cannot be relied upon.

And, in other news… Klopp can unearth his next VVD in academy “big talent” …

West Brom chief Luke Dowling could deal their top-flight relegation rivals an almighty blow this January…

What’s the word?

According to Football Insider, the Baggies are eyeing up a move for Sheffield United centre-back Rhys Norrington-Davies, who has been impressing out on loan at Luton Town.

Burnley are also said to be keen on the 21-year-old Welshman, so three of the Premier League’s bottom four could be thrown into a tug-of-war over his future.

Norrington-Davies is primarily a left-back but can play further forward and also in central defence whilst his form for the Hatters this season earned him his first international cap. He started both of Wales’ UEFA Nations League matches in the latest break.

Relegation blow

Albion currently hold the unwanted record of being the leakiest side in the Premier League so far this season, conceding 18 goals from their opening nine matches. That’s an average of two per game and is only matched by Fulham.

Bolstering the left-back spot could be a good place to start – when Conor Townsend is starting over Kieran Gibbs, you know it’s a troublesome position.

The Daily Mail’s ‘Secret Scout’ has been to watch him, and said (via YorkshireLive):

“[Norrington-Davies is] a tall, powerful player, he is difficult to shake off the ball when he moves forward.

“He has the build of a central defender and perhaps he may settle there.

“He looks an excellent competitor and for the present, he seems better equipped for an orthodox left-back role.”

As per WhoScored, the Saudi-born Hatters loanee has averaged 1.4 clearances, 1.1 tackles and 0.8 key passes each game in the Championship this season.

You’d imagine that if the likes of West Brom and Burnley are eyeing a move, then the Blades must be considering a recall to Chris Wilder’s first-team, especially with them likely to be embroiled in this relegation battle into the New Year too.

Nathan Jones has also waxed lyrical over his loan star, dubbing him a “wonderful player” who was “the best about” in his search for a left-back in an interview with Luton Today.

Maybe the Baggies could do with an “upbeat character” such as Norrington-Davies.

Dowling should do all he can to sucker-punch their nearest rivals.

AND in other news, West Brom dodged a financial nightmare with £65k-p/w summer target…

Leeds will be on cloud nine after their midweek thriller against Newcastle gave them a well-deserved three points to hoist them further up the Premier League table. The Championship winners hit the Magpies for five goals, with five individual goal-scorers impressing on the night.

Their next test will come as they face Manchester United on Sunday at Old Trafford. It will be a very tasty affair as both sides are coming off the back of a hard-fought victory and neither will be prepared to drop points.

Marcelo Bielsa’s secret weapon comes in the form of Raphinha, who has been troublesome for the opposition down the right-hand side. Whilst he may have just the one Premier League goal so far this season, his ability to create chances and break down defences has been crucial for Leeds.

In his last outing against Newcastle, Raphinha made two key passes, completed 100% of his attempted long balls and 100% of his dribbles (via Sofascore). Comparing that to the performance of Alex Telles for Man United against Sheffield United, the defender could be in for a difficult game.

The Reds’ summer signing had a tough time against the Blades, losing the ball 24 times and struggling to create his usual sharp long-range passes from the backline. If Telles is up against a speedster like Raphinha, he could easily be forced into a mistake and runs the risk of losing possession just like he did at Bramall Lane.

Bielsa’s creative winger has attracted a lot of praise for his performances in his maiden Leeds season. Graeme Souness recently labelled him a “flair player” and lauded his work ethic both on and off the ball. The £27,000 per week playmaker has already shown his promising potential as a player the team has been crying out for to help Patrick Bamford break down tough opposition defences.

In other news, Radrizzani will be glad to offload Eunan O’Kane next summer…