All posts by z3u9t.icu

With Sheffield Wednesday currently sat ninth in the League One table, 13 points away from Rotherham United and Sunderland at the top of the pile, the January transfer window could give the Owls the best opportunity to strengthen their squad so that they can make a strong push towards a play-off place.

However, it seems as though Wednesday fans may have to sit tight for the time being when it comes to seeing any potential new players come into the club.

What’s the latest?

In a recent online Q&A for Yorkshire Live, Howson was asked if there are currently any new signings in the pipeline for Darren Moore’s side.

In response, he said: “As things stand, there is nothing close. I am not expecting a new player to come in before Plymouth. Wednesday are working hard behind the scenes on a number of deals. DM has a few irons in the fire.

“The issue is clubs are hoarding players. They are worried about the possibility of being hit by a [virus] outbreak. Clubs don’t want to leave themselves short in the second half of the season.”

Sheffield Wednesday fans could be sweating

With just three centre-backs, one left-back and two right-backs in their squad at the moment according to Transfermarkt, it seems as though the Owls could do with adding some defensive reinforcements to their ranks at some point this month.

Given how Moore’s side have conceded six goals in their two previous league outings, this only highlights the need for some extra stability and strength at the back if they are to have any chance of making their way up the table in the coming weeks and months.

Moving forward, with just over two weeks left until the January transfer window closes, Wednesday will need to ensure that the “irons in the fire”, as Howson put it, will materialise into one or two new recruits at Hillsborough, particularly in defence. Otherwise, Owls fans could well be sweating over the possibility of facing up to another season in League One.

In other news: Howson drops transfer claim on “key component” at Hillsborough which will have fans buzzing

West Ham United were dealt a frustrating setback in their quest to qualify for the Champions League this season after they were held by relegation-battling Burnley at Turf Moor.

And it was yet another game in which Michail Antonio struggled in the final third.

The Clarets, who have won just once all season, largely matched the fourth-placed Irons and were resolute enough to not hand them many chances. That said, the 31-year-old put in another lacklustre display and that would’ve undoubtedly contributed to their futile attempts up top.

Across the 90 minutes he had on the pitch, Antonio failed to register a single shot on target, with both his efforts going wide. Even central defenders Issa Diop and James Tarkowski managed to hit the target.

His lack of influence for the visiting east Londoners was reflected by the fact that he recorded the fewest touches of any Hammers starter (34). One less than even goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski (35), as well as managing only ten accurate passes all game, too.

Elsewhere, the Jamaican international struggled to combat the physical threat on offer from the home side, losing possession a whopping 16 times, almost once every other touch of the ball, whilst he also won just 46% of his 15 battles, both on the ground and in the air, only further highlighting the way in which he was dominated by Sean Dyche’s towering backline.

‘Another Hammer who had a quiet game with the striker’s poor touch on a couple of occasions costing him the chance of a sight of goal,’ was how football.london reporter Tom Clark described Antonio’s performance after the match.

Indeed, that was the case and it has been that way for several games now. The former Nottingham Forest ace has scored just once in ten games and has now failed to surpass a 6.9 WhoScored rating in five of his last six matches.

His form has to be a major cause for concern to manager David Moyes and the club. He will certainly feel badly let down by his star man once again because if Antonio isn’t firing, West Ham often aren’t either.

The £70k-per-week forward must do better in the coming weeks, especially as he’s the only option in the role. He must do better.

AND in other news, Rob Newman can seal West Ham’s biggest signing since Payet in “complete” £24.3m-rated gem…

Flocking to Twitter, these Liverpool fans have voiced their opinions as a fresh update emerges on their pursuit of Barcelona star Frenkie de Jong.

The Catalans maestro has been linked with a move to Anfield recently with the club, and by extension owners Fenway Sports Group, seemingly eyeing moves to bolster Jurgen Klopp’s options in the middle of the park.

Borussia Dortmund sensation Jude Bellingham is another midfielder to have been mentioned alongside the Reds but it’s news on de Jong which now has some Liverpool fans talking on Twitter.

Indeed, according to Spanish media outlet Sport, the 24-year-old is not happy at his current club and there are ‘several’ clubs, including Liverpool, who are ‘crazy’ about signing him.

However, as his future hangs in the balance, it will depend on the player himself with Barcelona under some pressure to convince him that their project will eventually be a winning one.

Liverpool fans react…

Reacting to news that their club are ‘crazy’ for the £81 million-valued man, while there are those who doubt whether Liverpool can afford his lofty estimated price tag, others would simply love him at Anfield.

Going by his statistics, it’s not hard to see why, with the defensive midfield sensation proving to be an adept, assuring presence.

According to WhoScored, whilst averaging an impressive 91.4% pass accuracy so far this season, he’s also completed more dribbles per 90 (2.4) than any Liverpool player – including superstars Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane.

Taking this into account, it’s little wonder some supporters believe he would come as an ‘insane signing’ for the right price – find all of their reactions down below:

“Would be an insane signing if we could get for around 60m ish. If they want 80m though, I’d rather spend it on Bellingham ngl“

Credit: @LewYNWA

“I’d do anything for this transfer pleasseeeeee”

Credit: @DiogoJotaFC20

“Be a good signing this if it happens”

Credit: @garth_23

“Pleaseeeee”

Credit: @97HassanM

“He ain’t coming to Liverpool would cost too much”

Credit: @andy_shirlaw

“Think he suits a Klopp system tbf”

Credit: @BenHatcher19

In other news: ‘Yesssss’, ‘It’s time’, ‘Finally’ – Many Liverpool fans go wild for club’s teasing two-word message, find out more here.

Everton have received a potentially significant boost after it was revealed Paris Saint-Germain have ended their pursuit of star forward Richarlison.

What’s the story?

In the final weeks of the summer transfer window, it was revealed that the Ligue 1 giants had identified the highly-rated 24-year-old as a potential replacement for Kylian Mbappe.

However, according to Spanish outlet El Espanol, PSG have now moved their attention to RB Salzburg attacker Karim Adeyemi after his incredible start to the campaign.

The report states that: “On the table was the Brazilian Richarlison, but Everton did not let him out. Now the main candidate is Karim Adeyemi, from Salzburg and sought after throughout Europe after adding 15 in 22 games so far this season.”

Everton fans will be buzzing

News that the Parisians are no longer believed to be interested in acquiring Richarlison’s services will leave Everton fans buzzing with excitement, given his importance to the club.

As per WhoScored, the Brazil international bagged seven goals in his 34 Premier League appearances last term, averaging 2.4 shots per game and 1.8 dribbles, placing him in the top two for each metric amongst his teammates.

In the current campaign, a knee complaint has kept him sidelined for several weeks, but he’s still managed three goal contributions in just seven outings, highlighting his influence over proceedings.

And Richarlison’s integral nature to Everton’s success has only been exaggerated this term.

Key striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin is facing a lengthy spell on the treatment table following a setback in his recovery from a quadricep injury while his replacement Salomon Rondon has been hugely underwhelming.

Calvert-Lewin was the Blues’ top scorer last season and Rondon hasn’t come close to replacing the Englishman’s output, failing to find the back of the net in any of his seven outings.

Therefore, the threat of Richarlison departing in January could have ended any realistic hopes Everton had of finishing in a European qualification spot come May, changing the outlet of their season completely.

As a result, this latest revelation will be met with a huge sigh of relief on Mersyside, and everyone associated with the club will be hoping to see Richarlison pull on their famous blue jersey many more times in the years to come.

And, in other news…EFC may repeat Iwobi disaster by signing “lacklustre” £140k-p/w dud, Brands must avoid 

Joe Gomez’s protracted move to Aston Villa in January rests on him pushing for a transfer if he wants to get his England place back for next winter’s World Cup in Qatar.

The Liverpool defender has struggled for regular first-team minutes since recovering from a serious knee injury during the summer, with manager Jurgen Klopp relegating him to fourth-choice after the signing of Ibrahima Konate from RB Leipzig.

Gomez was a regular in the Liverpool side during their title-winning campaign, making 28 appearances in the Premier League and 43 in all competitions. However his injury last year saw him lose his place and this season he has made just three starts with none coming in the league.

Steven Gerrard’s arrival at Villa Park has instantly seen him linked with some Liverpool stars and Gomez is a player who many believe can boost their defensive structure with his versatility and ability to play out from the back.

Klopp has previously described the 6 foot 2 defender as “sensational” but he currently doesn’t have space for him in his starting lineup thanks to the form of Joel Matip and the arrival of Konate.

Former Tottenham and England goalkeeper Paul Robinson believes the deal would be a “massive coup” for Villa, but says it rests on Gomez pushing for the move.

“It would be a massive coup for them,” Robinson told Football Insider.

“The only way I can see that deal going through is if the player pushes for a move. Gomez might drive a move himself given the World Cup is coming up next year. I can only see Gomez joining Villa if he pushes for a move to get into that England squad.”

With the World Cup taking place next December, Gomez knows that regular game time is his best hope of getting into the England squad.

Gareth Southgate has got his four favoured centre-back options in John Stones, Harry Maguire, Tyrone Mings and Conor Coady, while Ben White is also knocking on the door for a place after being involved at Euro 2020. But Gomez was a regular in the squad before his injury, earning three of his 11 caps in 2020 before getting injured while with the national team.

A move would do him good to get back out on the pitch regularly and Gerrard would surely be happy to have a player of his quality in the squad to pick from too. After all, it’s an area that lacks depth and long-term solutions with Axel Tuanzebe only on loan from Manchester United.

Southgate has shown he has no problem picking past options if they play regularly, as shown with Jesse Lingard last year so Gomez should take this opportunity and make the most of it. It would be a deal that suits all parties, especially with Villa conceding 24 times, more than Leeds, Southampton and Brentford – all of whom are languishing near the bottom of the table.

On that evidence, Johan Lange clearly needs to add defensive recruits if they are to climb up the division and signing a player from one of the top sides in the league to fix that hole would be a sizeable coup.

AND in other news, Ashley Young can help Aston Villa forget about Matt Targett injury.

Interest in Wolverhampton Wanderers centre-back Conor Coady is growing ahead of the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to Alan Nixon’s recent report for The Sun, with the journalist claiming that insiders close to Newcastle United have revealed that the England international is an active part of the newly-rich Magpies’ discussions regarding January transfers.

Nixon continues to state that Coady is a favourite of leading advisor to Newcastle and trusted friend of Amanda Staveley, Frank McParland, who is set to be instated in a senior position at St. James’ Park ahead of the winter window.

Finally, it is claimed that Wolves have no intention of parting with the 28-year-old in the January transfer window, and would command a fee of £20m or more in order to consider his sale.

Fans would be gutted

Considering just how important a part of the Wolves team Coady has become in recent years, should Newcastle lodge an offer that the club simply cannot refuse in the winter window, it would undoubtedly leave the Molineux faithful gutted.

Indeed, over his nine Premier League appearances this term, the £22.5m-rated man has helped his side keep two clean sheets and has scored one goal, as well as making an average of one interception, one tackle, 2.7 clearances and winning 2.2 duels per game.

These returns have seen the player Tim Spiers dubbed an “authoritative” figure average a SofaScore match rating of 6.93, ranking him as Bruno Lage’s seventh-best performer in the top flight.

Furthermore, the £62k-per-week defender also ranked as Wolves’ 10th-best player in the club’s 2020/21 campaign, the club’s ninth-best performer in 2019/20 and the 12th-best in 2018/19 – demonstrating the 28-year-old’s impressive consistency for the Premier League side.

As such, should Wolves indeed lose the former Liverpool centre-back in the January transfer window, it would undoubtedly be something of a disaster for Lage – not only because of Coady’s impressive level of performance for the club but also as the 45-year-old is already extremely short of options in the heart of his Wolves backline.

In other news: Forget Dendoncker: “Frustrating” £84k-p/w liability who made 8 passes let Wolves down

A number of Aston Villa fans have hit out at winger Anwar El Ghazi on social media for his display against Southampton.

Dean Smith made three changes to the side that lost 4-1 to West Ham, with Tyrone Mings, Axel Tuanzebe and El Ghazi coming in on Friday evening.

However, the trio couldn’t help turn Villa’s fortunes around, with Adam Armstrong’s early strike making it five losses in a row.

El Ghazi was making just his fourth Premier League start of the season, turning out on the left-hand side of a 4-2-3-1 formation.

The 26-year-old was booked early on and was fortunate to remain on the pitch before being replaced by Keinan David in the final stages.

As per SofaScore, El Ghazi was Villa’s joint-worst starter alongside Tuanzebe with a match rating of 6.4/10. He gave the ball away on 16 occasions, lost seven duels and failed to complete a cross or a dribble.

Villa fans react

This is what these Villa fans had to say about the wide man on Twitter, with one labelling him as a ‘pony’ while another feels the winger will get Smith ‘the sack’.

“El Ghazi you fraud get out of my club you embarrassment”

Credit: @avfc_jf

“Take El Ghazi off immediately. Should have had a red already. Awful.”

Credit: @FauxniqueJ

“This is hurting my eyes How is El Ghazi still on the pitch”

Credit: @PongoVilla

“El Ghazi is and always has been absolute pony”

Credit: @Wainwright6Avfc

“Genuinely astounded he’s not at least taken El Ghazi off here, guys gonna get him the sack”

Credit: @JBaker_24

“This is close to total meltdown. Bailey can’t/won’t defend. El Ghazi had enough & trying to get sent off? We look a bunch of strangers!”

Credit: @RichTidmarsh

In other news: NSWE now looking at another Newcastle-linked boss for Villa; he’s mates with Purslow. 

A number of Manchester City fans have been reacting to reports that the Citizens could allow Bernardo Silva to leave on loan until the end of the season.

So far this term, the 27-year-old has featured heavily, making nine appearances in all competitions under Pep Guardiola (Transfermarkt). He made the switch to the Etihad Stadium in 2017 and has already played 210 games for the Cityzens, scoring 36 goals and providing 44 assists.

However, it seems that he could be out the door in January. As per Calciomercato (via Sport Witness), Juventus are interested in capturing the £63m-valued Portuguese international (Transfermarkt), and City would be open to an “interest loan”. However, the Turin club would first need to offload players to be able to intensify negotiations with the Premier League champions.

The news was shared on Twitter by @City_Xtra, and it attracted plenty of attention from Man City supporters. These fans took to the social media platform to share their thoughts on the transfer rumours, and it is fair to say they were not best pleased with the notion of loaning out Silva. Indeed, one even said that club executives Txiki Begiristain and Ferran Soriano should be sacked if they sanction any such move.

Let’s see what these fans had to say about the Silva news

“Txixi and Soriano out if this happens”

Credit: @ThomasSowell90

“NO! I want to retire at City, he loves this club”

Credit: @mcfcrr

“What? Why would we do that when he is one of our best players so far”

Credit: @RealSlimFoden

“If we do this then Txiki needs deporting to North Korea”

Credit: @TeacherOfBall

“Simple, if Bernardo left permanently or on loan it would be one of the biggest mistakes that the club had ever made regarding transfers, madness”

Credit: @BowdenJoniebee

“Yes let’s loan him for a year making maybe a couple mil, then discuss a straight loan to run down his contract and let them sign him for free or peanuts. Who comes up with this… surely they’re writing this laughing knowing it’s a complete joke”

Credit: @ManCitizen06

In other news, lots of Man City fans were gutted with this news on one of Bernardo’s team-mates

Dominic Calvert-Lewin is on Newcastle United’s shopping list, according to a Wednesday transfer update.

The Lowdown: Fonseca to Newcastle?

It appears as though Paulo Fonseca is getting closer to becoming Newcastle’s next manager, with Sky Sports reporter Keith Downie confirming talks were held this week.

Alongside a new man in the dugout though, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) consortium are likely to want one or two marquee signings to really stamp their mark on the new era, and after reports from Italy revealed three Roma players Fonseca may be chasing, The Telegraph have now pointed to Everton’s star number nine.

The Latest: Calvert-Lewin on the list

Indeed, according to The Telegraph’s Mike McGrath, the new owners have Calvert-Lewin on a list of potential targets.

The striker is said to ‘fit the bill’ as a possible marquee signing on Tyneside, although his contract does not expire until 2025 and Transfermarkt value him at a huge £40.5m – just over the £40m Mike Ashley shelled out for Joelinton.

Alan Shearer is a big admirer of the 6 foot 2 target man, hailing how he ‘batters’ defenders after the Toffees beat Chelsea 3-1 last season (Liverpool Echo).

The Verdict: Perfect signing

While the price tag may bear a resemblance to Newcastle’s misfiring Brazilian, the goal record certainly doesn’t, as Calvert-Lewin fired in 21 goals in 39 matches in all competitions last term – he even started off with three in three this season before picking up an injury.

His former manager at Goodison Park, Carlo Ancelotti, has poured praise on the England international, likening the ‘fantastic striker’ to Italy and Milan legend Filippo Inzaghi (Read Everton).

Gary Lineker, one of the greatest goalscorers to ever don a Three Lions shirt, is also a big fan, hailing the Sheffield-born starlet’s instincts after he found the net on his England debut (Liverpool Echo).

Fans will surely be drooling at the prospect of a proven Premier League goal machine linking up with Allan Saint-Maximin and Callum Wilson at St. James’ Park.

In other news, reports in Italy are claiming Paulo Fonseca has already picked out his first three NUFC signings…

West Ham United opened their Europa League account with a bang as they won comfortably at Dinamo Zagreb to go top of the Group H table.

David Moyes’ side ran out 2-0 victors thanks to Michail Antonio’s fifth goal of the season, latching onto a defensive error in the 21st minute before Declan Rice netted a sublime solo goal five minutes into the second half.

Both players were obvious candidates for the ‘Man of the Match’ award, particularly the former, who ran the Croatian’s rugged with his tireless work rate.

He enjoyed two successful dribbles, won 100% of his ground duels and created three key chances. However, there was another, and perhaps more surprising name, who arguably stole the show.

Issa Diop was handed a rare start in defence alongside summer signing Kurt Zouma and he made the most of the opportunity.

As per SofaScore, the young French centre-back proved to be rather effective and industrious in the heart of the backline, where he recorded a squad and match-high of three interceptions.

This was also complemented by two tackles, one clearance and one block, combining an impressive ability to read the threat of the Croatian champions and displaying his physical attributes – something that once made former Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho laud him as a “monster” for in 2018.

Diop, who is valued at £18m by CIES Football Observatory, even won 100% of his aerial battles, further reinforcing his imposing 6 foot 4 stature, whilst a passing accuracy of 85% suggests he did his job in playing out from the back, too.

Considering it was his first appearance of the 2021/22 campaign, the 24-year-old may have just given Moyes plenty to think about as he certainly shone in defence on Thursday night.

He struggled for minutes on the pitch last season, managing only 15 starts in the Premier League but after that display, he could well be in line for a permanent recall.

Forget the free-scoring Antonio, Diop deserves plenty of credit for his performance on the night.

AND in other news, Signed for £15m, now worth 140% more: Moyes struck gold over “unplayable” West Ham gem…