All posts by z3u9t.icu

Gary Mabbutt has told Football FanCast that Harry Kane has gone from being doubted at youth level to becoming one of the best strikers in world football.

The Tottenham Hotspur striker has been in absolutely electric form this season, with Spurs attempting to claw their way back into the Champions League qualification race and also attempting to break a trophy drought that stretches back to 2008.

Kane has been central to everything Spurs have done well, scoring 26 goals in all competitions and also laying on 16 assists. That’s 42 goal involvements in 37 games.

The 27-year-old turned in another virtuoso display against Crystal Palace on Sunday as Spurs won 4-1.

Kane scored twice, including a brilliant curling strike from the edge of the box, and also laid on two assists as Spurs won their third successive top flight game, before he followed it up with another brace against Dinamo Zagreb.

Of course, Kane was doubted earlier in his career as he failed to make his way into the Spurs team and went on various loan spells, playing for the likes of Millwall, Norwich City, Leicester City and Leyton Orient.

He only scored 16 goals across those loan spells in 60 games, but he has been prolific since his breakthrough at Spurs, netting 212 times in 323 games.

Kane has never scored fewer than 15 goals in a single Premier League season and Mabbutt believes he has now earned his place as one of the single best strikers in world football.

He told FFC: “Harry himself is somebody that, at times, in his younger days there were questions being asked about would he make it from development level to first team level. Now he’s up there with the best strikers in the world.

“Obviously he’s a goalscorer, he creates goals, causes havoc in defences. I’ve seen him a lot over the years in training and I’ve been fortunate to play with some of the best strikers in era and Harry’s certainly up there amongst them.”

Mabbutt is particularly impressed with the way Kane scores his goals, insisting that he has a particular technique that flummoxes both goalkeepers and defenders.

He added: “His finishing is phenomenal. Harry has this unbelievable skill of being able to basically have a very short backlift before getting a shot in and that catches out goalkeepers, defenders and everyone around him.

“He’s one of the best strikers in the world.”

The football community was left shocked by West Ham’s Tomas Soucek and his red card during his side’s 0-0 draw against Fulham on Saturday evening.

Terry in disbelief

The Czech midfielder was sent off during the dying embers of the game at Craven Cottage after he was judged by referee Mike Dean to have maliciously elbowed Aleksandar Mitrovic in the face.

However, replays showed that the Serbian striker looked to have made a meal of the contact. Despite referring to VAR and a lengthy wait, Dean believed it was worthy of an instant dismissal.

In reaction to this, Terry, now a coach at Aston Villa, initially spoke about the incident on his Instagram story. He said: “Never a red card. There is no way he has meant that.”

Following on from his brief 12-word outlook, the former Chelsea captain then reacted to Danny Murphy’s post, who applauded what Jamie Redknapp said after the full-time whistle.

“Outrageous decision after watching it 20 times,” wrote Terry. “I see it once and knew 100% it was an accident.”

Transfer Tavern Verdict

We have to agree with Terry completely. It was quite obviously an accident and we are not quite sure what Dean, or VAR official Lee Mason, saw that everyone else missed.

There is no aggression in his movement towards Mitrovic. To us, it looks like he is trying to get his body in front of his opposition number, rather than have his back to him.

That being said, referees do not take any accountability for their actions and offer no explanations for the calls they make. Until then, unfortunately, these decisions will continue week in, week out.

In other news, West Ham to take second bite of the cherry in pursuit of sign £35m-rated star.

Jurgen Klopp looks to have been handed a timely injury boost at Liverpool, with Fabinho reportedly back in training after his recent injury problems.

The German manager recently lost captain Jordan Henderson, who is expected to be sidelined until April, so Fabinho’s return to fitness could be the ideal timing for the Reds, who now look desperately short on senior options at centre-back.

The former Monaco man was impressive at centre-back earlier in the season, with Klopp forced to drop him back there after the injuries to Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez.

Henderson joined him at centre-back after the injury to Joel Matip, whilst Ozan Kabak has become a regular since his loan switch in January, and it seems likely that Fabinho will partner him at the back once he is ready to feature again.

Klopp confirmed ahead of Sunday’s game against Sheffield United that the Brazilian international has now returned to training after his minor muscle injury, so whilst the game at Bramall Lane could come too soon for him, a return to action in upcoming games seems likely.

The Reds have now lost four consecutive games in the top-flight and will now be content with a top-four finish this season, so Klopp will be hoping that Fabinho can come in and steady the ship, with his defence showing their vulnerabilities in recent fixtures, particularly in the 3-1 defeat against Leicester.

Considering the German manager was quick to sing Fabinho’s praises earlier in the season when he returned from injury, dubbing him “world-class”, his return could help Liverpool turn their season around, should he be able to repay his manager’s faith in him by performing well on his return to action.

In the absence of Henderson, perhaps Fabinho can be the leader Liverpool need for the rest of the season, as he has consistently shown with his performances in recent seasons just how important he can be for Klopp.

AND, in other news… Klopp can finally sign his Coutinho heir at LFC with swoop for £63.5m-rated whizz loved by Del Piero

Glasgow Rangers will be well aware of the scale of the task at hand when they travel to Paisley to take on St. Mirren in the Scottish Premiership on Wednesday afternoon.

Steven Gerrard will be hoping his side can exorcise their demons after they crashed out of the Betfred Cup when they were humbled by the Saints.

The game gets underway at the Simple Digital Arena at 3pm and despite John Goodwin’s side being below them in the table, there’s no doubt the 54-time Scottish champions could have a fight on their hands.

It’s likely that the Ibrox boss will be without both Scott Arfield and Ryan Jack tomorrow, with the latter ruled out of action due to injury. The Gers have conceded four goals in their past five games across all competitions but with just three centre-backs competing for two places in the starting XI, Gerrard will have to find a different solution to fix his problems at the back.

Allan McGregor has been Gerrard’s trusted man for as long as we can possibly remember but Jon McLaughlin may be pushing for a recall.

If the 33-year-old 6 ft 3 in colossus can put in a solid shift between the sticks, he could be the man to stop the Saints from scoring, having been left as an unused substitute on the bench in the Scottish League Cup.

The Scottish international has been in decent form this season, providing nine clean sheets and conceding just two goals in the Premiership so far, via Transfermarkt. Despite his impressive performances, McLaughlin has made just nine starts in the Premiership this season as he finds himself below McGregor in the pecking order.

Keeping another clean sheet could improve his chances of being named in Scotland’s Euro 2020 squad and help Rangers to extend their sizeable lead at the top of the table.

His former Sunderland manager Jack Ross has previously gone on record to say about McLaughlin: “I’m obviously biased and there might be other managers that say it, but I believe I have the best goalkeeper in the league.

“He was outstanding for me last season, he is such a low-maintenance player in terms of how he goes about his business and he is unflappable.”

There’s 14 points separating Rangers from their arch-rivals Celtic at the top of the table – if he can keep a clean sheet or at the very least secure a victory, those three points could prove vital to putting Gerrard’s side on course to regain the title for the first time since the 2010-11 season.

AND in other news, Steven Gerrard dealt huge blow as Rangers midfielder Ryan Jack remains sidelined due to injury…

Glasgow Rangers secured a 23-point lead in the Scottish Premiership with an emphatic 5-0 win against strugglers Ross County on Saturday afternoon.

Ryan Kent scored his first goal of the year to give the Gers the lead before goals from Filip Helander and Joe Aribo extended their lead before half-time.

And Steven Gerrard will have been delighted by the fact that Ryan Jack got himself on the scoresheet after a lengthy injury absence before Connor Goldson’s well-timed header wrapped up victory in the closing stages of the game.

We must reserve special mention for Jack, who has struggled with his fair share of injury problems this season, but this doesn’t mean that the performance of Joe Aribo on the right of the midfield should go unnoticed.

As per SofaScore, the 6 ft 1 Nigerian midfielder earned a 7.6 rating for his display, which was higher than Kent himself (7.4).

Against the Staggies, the 24-year-old simply dominated the midfield battle, and it was an equally dominant display from the Ibrox side, who largely controlled proceedings from start to finish.

Indeed, he won six of his ten ground duels against John Hughes’ side (60%), and seven overall, which is above his season’s average of 5.5 per game, emphasising the fact that he managed to get the better of the opposition, particularly in the first half,with his counterparts not getting near him at times.

By comparison, his opposite number Iain Vigurs endured a torrid time against the Gers, receiving a low SofaScore rating of 6.9 for his efforts, and it’s no surprise he was replaced with 20 minutes left on the clock.

Aribo has become a key man in Rangers winning their midfield battles having formed a formidable trio with Glen Kamara and Steven Davis since the turn of the year.

Not to be outdone by the likes of Kent and Alfredo Morelos, he took more shots (5) in total than any other player from either side, per SofaScore, which is a marked difference in comparison to his season average of 0.9 shots per game in the Scottish Premiership.

For context, even Kent could only muster four shots throughout the game, whilst Morelos himself surprisingly failed to find the back of the net for the second game in a row, having bagged a brace against Aberdeen.

While admittedly it was against a weaker level of opposition, with Ross County currently lying tenth in the table, that should take nothing away from Aribo’s performance, as there’s no denying the fact that he bullied the opposition, and was a big reason why Rangers were able to secure all three points.

AND in other news, Rangers dealt transfer blow after Nottingham Forest launch bid for Siriki Dembele…

Crystal Palace crushed West Bromwich Albion in a comfortable 5-1 victory at the Hawthorns as the Eagles took advantage of Matheus Pereira’s dismissal to claim their first points in their last three games.

Christian Benteke and Wilfried Zaha were restored to the starting line-up and they marked their respective returns to action with two goals apiece as Roy Hodgson’s side hammered the Baggies to score five goals away from Selhurst Park for the first time in the Premier League.

Whilst Zaha has matured into the talisman that Palace hope to have for some time, having bagged a brace against West Brom after recoving from coronavirus which kept him out of action for two weeks, you can’t help but feel like there is a new young buck waiting in the wings to steal his spotlight.

It’s fair to say that Palace have unearthed some unblemished gems over the years – the likes of Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Victor Moses immediately spring to mind – and Eberechi Eze could find himself in the same esteemed company before too long.

The England U21 international – who has earned two caps for the national team development squad – has made 11 appearances for Palace in all competitions so far this season, whilst he has scored one goal and supplied two assists, via Transfermarkt.

But how did he end up at Selhurst Park?

Well, after an impressive season with Queens Park Rangers in which he bagged 14 times in the Championship, Hodgson and Palace chairman Steve Parish moved to bring him to the south London club in the summer.

Parish parted ways with £16m up front which could rise to £20m with performance-related bonuses, and Eze became a Palace player – and it’s safe to say that it has turned out to be a very good move for all parties involved, as he currently earns wages worth £30,000-per-week.

Zaha has heaped praise on his young teammate, as he described him as a “quality” player after he helped him bag a brace against West Brom. Speaking after the game, the Ivory Coast international couldn’t contain his excitement, as he believes they have both started to form a promising partnership, which suggests that he has been a pretty good value for money.

“[Eze] is a quality player, he literally glides through people,” he told the club website.

“It’s nice [having] someone on your wavelength, that’s a tricky player as well because I know half of the stuff he’s going to do, so I just position myself to get the ball. It’s been a joy.”

In 11 games in the Premier League, the 22-year-old has bagged once and provided two assists so far this season, whilst he is averaging 1 shot and 1.9 dribbles per game, via WhoScored, whilst he has also been fouled 2.6 times on average – second only to Zaha, who is fouled at least three times on average per game.

Therefore, it’s fair to say that Hodgson and Parish can consider the signing of Eze as a shrewd bit of business, as his market value will surely skyrocket if he can maintain his current run of form.

AND in other news, Crystal Palace star Wilfried Zaha was Roy Hodgson’s hero vs West Brom…

Wolves head into their clash with Burnley with the bit between their teeth.

After back to back defeats, they sensationally beat Chelsea at Molineux, putting the Premier League high-flyers to the sword in a 2-1 victory.

On the chalkboard

Nuno Santo has a pretty big dilemma as his side get ready to travel to Turf Moor on Monday evening.

His side have swapped between a three-man and four-man backline over the last month or so but it was the switch back to their tried and tested system that worked so well against Chelsea.

Consequently, the head coach will probably go with the three-man defence once again when they head up north.

That being said, who plays in attack alongside the effervescent Pedro Neto is interesting. Of course, Raul Jimenez is still out and recovering from a fractured skull which means that in any normal scenario Fabio Silva would take his place.

The club-record signing is enjoying his first real run in the Premier League side but it hasn’t proven altogether very fruitful.

He may have scored twice in the EFL trophy but he is yet to come close to netting when it really matters in the top-flight.

The solution

When Wolves forked out £35.6m for the young Portuguese striker, they knew they were paying for the potential more than the instant impact.

However, little did Nuno know that just months into the new season they’d be without their talisman in Jimenez.

Silva has yet to produce much and failed to have a single shot against Chelsea’s stern defence.

Therefore, we have to worry about how he’ll shape up against Burnley – a side known for being bullies – especially with James Tarkowski and Ben Mee at the back.

The teenager is new to the English game and a trip to Turf Moor is unlikely to be too welcoming for him. After all, Tarkowski has won 4.7 aerial duels per game this season compared to Silva’s meagre tally of just 0.6 a match.

This game isn’t set up for Silva to thrive and as a result, Nuno must take the ruthless decision to axe his £80k-a-week forward.

Against Chelsea, the manager favoured a two-prong attack so Adama Traore could quite easily come in. Possessing immense physicality, he could be exactly what the Old Gold need to upset a rugged Burnley backline in the absence of Jimenez.

AND in other news, Nuno made a COLOSSAL blunder over “exciting” £40.5m star…

Newcastle United star Miguel Almiron has been hailed for a ‘magnificent’ display by Marca, as he won Paraguay a penalty versus Argentina in a FIFA World Cup qualifying game.

The spot kick was converted by Angel Romero, with Nicolas Gonzalez equalising and Lionel Messi having a goal ruled out by VAR for a foul in the build-up later on.

Nonetheless, Almiron was instrumental in his country gaining a point from the clash, which will surely please Newcastle fans when he returns to St. James’ Park after the international break.

Almiron was magnificent

Indeed, Almiron was magnificent in general for Paraguay, as he won a very impressive seven duels and made no fewer than six recoveries in the game (Fotmob), showing off his ever-impressive work rate.

The attacking midfielder player was fouled three times, showing that he was a menace all match, and also made a key pass and had a 100% success rate in dribbles and tackles, highlighting his influence on his team.

Almiron needs to replicate this display for Newcastle

Indeed, the challenge for Almiron will be to now replicate these kinds of influential displays at club level.

The Transfermarkt).

Perhaps he needs to knuckle himself down to one position, having played in four different roles for Steve Bruce’s team so far this season.

Nonetheless, it was a magnificent performance that he put in for Paraguay and supporters of the Tyneside club will now be hoping that he can replicate his form for the Magpies.

In other news, find out which Toon player had a horrid game on international duty here!

With the start of the Premier League just this weekend, there are plenty of talking points to take from the opening weekend of fixtures.

But nothing is more exciting to talk about when it comes to the Premier League than Fantasy Premier League football. It always comes up in conversation each game week – “how did your team do this weekend?”, or “mate I’ve absolutely wasted my triple captain this weekend, Kane had a stinker!”.

Despite this, it’s always good to evaluate your options and find some of the bargains buys that could save you cash and get you the points you still need. The midfield is an area that requires some of your most money spent – with many people filling it out with some of the best players in the league, and then scrimping and scrapping to fill the rest of the midfield spots.

That’s why today, we’re going to take a look at four of the best midfield options to choose from this season – ranging from all prices and from a mix of clubs in the league…

Leandro Trossard – £6.0m

The Belgian midfielder had a moderate season last time out, securing five goals with three assists – and accumulating 104 points in FPL.

During that time though, we were able to see glimpses of just how talented the 25-year-old is, and this season with the club’s new signings and Potter’s style of play slowly taking form, I can see Trossard enjoying a fruitful season.

At just £6.0m and with only 0.4% selection, Trossard is  a hidden gem that has gone under the radar.

Pablo Hernandez – £6.0m

After Leeds’s promotion to the Premier League, midfielder Pablo Hernández played an integral part in getting them there.

Many Premier League fans will remember him from his time at Swansea, but since joining Leeds in 2016 the 35-year-old has matured like a fine wine.

Last season saw the Spaniard register nine goals with nine assists and will only cost you £6.0m if you were to slot him into your team, much like the other 2.1% of people have.

Mohamed Salah – £12.0m

Despite being the joint highest expensive midfielder in FPL, Mo Salah has been a shoo-in for me ever since he joined Liverpool.

Last season was the Egyptian’s worst since joining the Reds in 2017, yet he still managed to score 19 goals and provide 10 assists, totaling to 233 points.

His cost of £12.0m has been enough to put a lot of users off him this season for some strange reason, only being selected by 30.8% – but I assure you that the 28-year-old is a must in anyone’s squad.

And that was backed up on the opening weekend, with the forward netting a hat-trick and 20 FPL points against Leeds United.

Bukayo Saka – £5.5m

The youngster impressed a lot of people last season, including Mikel Arteta, for his versatility and creativity no matter where he was on the pitch.

Scoring once and providing five assists in 26 appearances, most of which came from left-back, Saka managed 71 FPL points in that time – but it is this season that will see the 19-year-old make the biggest jump.

Arteta is expected to keep Saka in his starting XI, given the defensive additions made this summer as well as Kieran Tierney now being fully fit – meaning a more advanced position for Saka to up his goal and assist tally could be up for grabs.

At just £5.5m, Saka is a bargain choice and is only selected by 8.9% of other users.

Manchester United’s incredible demands for outcast defender Phil Jones to leave Old Trafford in January further highlights why a move to West Ham this summer would have been the wrong decision by David Moyes.

What’s the word?

According to The Sun, Manchester United are demanding £20million to sell Jones in the upcoming January market after boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer opted to omit the former England international from his 25-man Premier League squad.

The 28-year-old has not featured for the Red Devils in any competition this term and only managed to earn two Premier League appearances last season, the last of which came in January while scarcely being named in any of Solskjaer’s matchday squads.

A number of top-flight sides are said to have shown interest in potential deals to lure Jones away from Old Trafford in the past, but no move was ever secured for the £100,000-per-week centre-half who only penned new terms in February 2019 running to 2023.

Jones is also noted to love being at United, though would consider leaving the Red Devils to play regular first-team football again in the hopes of earning a recall to the England squad two years after his 27th and final cap.

Information collected by TodoFichajes suggests West Ham would be the main candidate to sign Jones, having held interest in the summer and feeling his exclusion from Solskjaer’s squad could aid efforts to finalise an agreement.

Wise to walk away

While reports are identifying West Ham as the main candidate to sign Jones, the east London outfit were right to walk away from negotiations in the summer when Moyes was first alleged to be keen on securing a reunion.

The Mirror noted back in March that Moyes was considering rivalling Newcastle United for Jones’ signature, which was thought to be available for £12m at the time.

Even at the lower figure, Football Insider cited three reasons why a deal would not occur even though Jones was seen to fit the profile Moyes was after, as the Irons boss questioned whether the 28-year-old had the desire to reignite his wavering career, refused to match his Red Devils salary, and was seen to be on the decline rather than on the up.

Claims that United will now demand £20m for Jones adds a fourth reason as to why West Ham were wise to walk away, while the defender’s comments from 2015 also add a fifth.

Following a 2-1 defeat to Norwich City that marked a third loss in a row for Louis van Gaal’s side, Jones noted that the mood in the Old Trafford dressing room was still not as bad as it once was during Moyes’ tenure.

“I wouldn’t say it’s the lowest moment,” said Jones, via quotes by BBC Sport. “I think it became pretty glum under David Moyes.”

Jones’ comments ought to have raised fierce concerns in the West Ham hierarchy this summer that a deal to bring the defender to the London Stadium would have been inane, but not as absurd as striking a deal in January despite the mounting reasons against a move.

AND in other news, West Ham won’t be missing a £22.5m-rated man after his summer transfer after a forlorn debut with his new side.