All posts by z3u9t.icu

Fans of Southampton have been reacting to a post on Twitter, which relayed a report that claimed Saints are interested in a summer swoop for Arnaut Danjuma.

According to a report by Football League World, sources have revealed that both Brighton & Hove Albion and Southampton, as well as numerous European clubs, are closely monitoring the AFC Bournemouth forward ahead of the summer transfer window.

So far this season, the £28,000-per-week 24-year-old has highly impressed over his 25 Championship appearances for Jonathan Woodgate’s side, scoring 10 goals and registering four assists, as well as averaging a WhoScored match rating of 7.13 – ranking him as the club’s best performer in the second tier.

And, after Southampton Page relayed this report on Twitter, fans of the Saints flocked to have their say on the matter, with many appearing delighted at the prospect of their club making a move for Danjuma in the summer transfer window.

So, what exactly did these Southampton fans have to say in reaction to their club’s link with a move for Arnaut Danjuma?

“Dude was their only impressive player in our game against them. He could be a good signing.”

@Zack_Benjy

“Get him in, decent player. Better then Redmond.”

@CallumSFC18

“He was their best player, needs to work on his final product but looks like he could handle himself in the Prem.”

@thesotonsaint

“Bags of potential, hope this is true.”

@CLJH4

“Yes please.”

@sfcliam_

“I BEG.”

@McrCr_

‘Thought he looked dangerous in the early stages against us at the weekend. My question is why do we persist with wingers when we never attack the space in behind the full-backs.”

@oursouthcoast

In other news: these Saints fans were delighted with their club’s link to this “absolute steal” – find out more here!

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, former Premier League midfielder Lee Hendrie has suggested that Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero and Danny Ings are very alike.

Ings, who is currently being linked with a move to Manchester City, could be brought into the Etihad this summer to replace Aguero.

The 33-year-old’s contract is up at the end of the season and, according to Sky Sports, the Citizens have identified the Southampton No.9 as a potential successor.

Ings was in brilliant form last term, finishing the 2019/20 Premier League campaign with 22 goals, and Hendrie believes going to Manchester City would be a fabulous move for him as he drew comparisons between the England international and the man he could be replacing.

Discussing the speculation surrounding Ings’ future with FFC, Hendrie said:

“I think this is where Man City are sort of looking at. You compare him to Aguero and there’s a lot of likeness between them. They score goals, creativity. I’ve seen Danny Ings this season and he’s dropped into areas where, you know, he’s almost been in the 10 at times and gone into wide areas, sort of like a free role with [Che] Adams. It’d be a fabulous move for him.”

On the same topic, the former Aston Villa player added:

“Man City, it would be a fabulous signing and obviously for Ings it would be. But, again, it’s just whether he’d get as much game time as what he was getting at Southampton, and that’d be my only question mark.”

Should Aguero indeed leave Manchester City in the summer, one possible destination could be Chelsea. According to the MailOnline, the Blues, as well as Barcelona, are weighing up a move for the Argentina international.

Leeds must surely regret missing out on Celtic starlet Leo Hjelde, amid claims the club “were after him” before he joined.

What’s the story?

The 17-year-old joined fellow Scottish side Ross County on loan, and the club’s boss, John Hughes, has admitted that he could have linked up with Marcelo Bielsa in the Premier League instead.

He said: “Leo is going to be the next Van Dijk – trust me on that. The quality he has shown, the physical challenge, playing real men’s football and standing up to it – it’s been a wonderful experience for Leo.

“Before he came, Leeds United were after him. I think he had to sign an extension to his contract for the loan to go through.”

Orta howler

Despite only being 17, the centre-back has quickly established himself as a key part of Ross County’s defence, starting eight out of the last nine games in the Scottish Premiership.

Hughes has also placed a lot of faith in him by using him in multiple positions, including at left-back and further forward in left-midfield.

And, after seeing him score his first professional goal against Kilmarnock last month, Hughes was quick to shower him with praise.

He said: “He found himself out of the team a little bit, then came on there and got his goal. He’s destined for big, big, big things. He won’t be far away from the Celtic first-team when he goes back, but this is what he needs to be doing.”

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-transfer-rumours-and-news” title=”Latest Leeds transfer rumours and news”]

Given his ability to fill in at both centre-back and left-back in particular, Hjelde would have been hugely useful to Bielsa over these past couple of months where Leeds have badly struggled with injuries defensively.

That priceless versatility, and the fact he seems to have an absolute abundance of potential given Hughes’ comments on him, surely marks this down as being somewhat of a Victor Orta howler.

Meanwhile, Leeds could sign another Stuart Dallas in this ace…

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, former Aston Villa striker Marlon Harewood has heaped praise on Emiliano Martinez, claiming every team needs a goalkeeper like the Argentinian.

Martinez joined the Midlands club from Arsenal in the last summer transfer window and has firmly established himself as the first-choice No.1 at Villa Park.

Despite a good spell in between the sticks last season, which included a successful FA Cup final appearance against Chelsea, the 28-year-old was unable to dethrone Bernd Leno as Arsenal’s main shot-stopper, prompting him to make that switch.

Speaking on his move to Villa Park and the impact he has made in the current campaign, Harewood told FFC:

“He has been a really good signing for them. They’ve needed it, every good team needs a good ‘keeper, a steady goalkeeper, and he’s shown it. All the top teams, whoever wins the league, you know your ‘keepers and clean sheets and how he’s saved goals throughout the season [makes a difference].

“You need that as a back four, as a team, that when you’re going forward to know that your ‘keeper’s a solid ‘keeper. He’s helped them this year.”

Based on current form, finding a goalkeeper better than Martinez in the country is a difficult challenge.

The Aston Villa man has kept 14 clean sheets in 26 Premier League appearances, one less than Manchester City’s Ederson, who currently leads in that category. The Villans’ defence as a whole, though, has been solid this season.

Dean Smith’s side have conceded just 27 goals in the 26 games they have played so far, showing an overall improvement to the backline. By the end of the 2019/20 Premier League campaign, Villa’s defence had been breached 67 times — the second-worst record in the division.

Leicester City have added another vital three points to the bank as they continue to push to keep hold of their top four spot this season. Their win came after carving open Liverpool’s defence at the King Power Stadium and hitting three goals past Alisson.

Despite the goalless first half and going one behind in the 67th minute, the Foxes didn’t allow their heads to drop. After a penalty opportunity was ruled out by VAR, James Maddison popped up with the equaliser in the 78th minute. It took Leicester just seven minutes more to find another two and really hammer the final nail into Liverpool’s coffin.

Jamie Vardy and Harvey Barnes got themselves on the scoresheet with the latter also picking up an assist, but one man hugely went under the radar with his solid performance in midfield.

Wilfred Ndidi vs Liverpool

Three points on home soil against the reigning Premier League champions will have elated the levels of morale in the Leicester camp. For the Reds, hope and confidence continues to plummet. They were hugely outperformed in the second half and couldn’t find a way past Leicester’s bodies on the line.

Wilfred Ndidi was a man in particular who impressed in Brendan Rodgers’ engine room. Not only did the Nigerian pop up with the assist for Barnes’ goal, but his defensive display was solid and paramount in keeping Liverpool’s trademark blistering attack out of the danger zone.

According to Sofascore, Ndidi put in five tackles, which was more than any other midfielder on the pitch and the joint-highest on his team. Only Ricardo Pereira matched the amount of tackles he completed. Additionally, the £75,000 per week midfielder contributed five clearances, three blocks and three interceptions, earning a the highest rating of the match with 8/10.

Considering Ndidi has missed 12 of the 24 Premier League matches this season, his impact since returning reads like he has never been away. Without his contribution, Liverpool could have had more chances to get themselves back into the game, but the Foxes made handling the champions of England look easy.

In other news, Exclusive: Steve Howey labels James Justin injury a “huge blow”…

Many Sheffield Wednesday fans are reacting to the latest comments from Dejphon Chansiri around midfielder Liam Shaw and his future at the club.

It is reported that the 19 year-old academy product will be joining Scottish giants Celtic in the summer when his contract runs out at Hillsborough.

Shaw has started to emerge into the senior squad this season and has featured 13 times in the Championship (WhoScored). Journalist Dom Howson posted a tweet which linked to some answers from the owner on this situation and he said: “We tried to extend his contract but the agent asked to wait and wait. We knew something was wrong and it’s normal in football. When a player tries to be good, then they already try to find another club.”

With the club in a relegation battle and six points from safety (SofaScore), the last thing you want to hear is players seeking to depart. This is even more worrying when it is an emerging academy star as they can often resonate with the fan base and be championed as ‘one of our own’.

No matter what Chansiri thinks, this situation should have taught him a lesson to make sure that he doesn’t run down contracts and lose key or emerging players in the future.

Here is how some Wednesday fans reacted to the news:

“Loves the old blame game, don’t think I’ve ever heard him take responsibility for anything”

Credit: @AaronAPG23

“Had to put a negative on a very positive press conference didn’t he. Can’t help himself old DC.”

Credit: @OwlPricey

“Always someone to blame. It’s boring now”

Credit: @dickyowl

“I’ve said it all along, Shaw’s agent playing both clubs off against each other looking for the best deal.”

Credit: @nanjayman

“Ask him why the kids that are playing in the first team are only offered a grand. They can make more playing in league 1 so they’re not going to stay are they.”

Credit: @chappersowl14

“It’s not about the fans talking about him it should be done by the coaches. Players of potential should never be allowed into there last year. It’s the club who’s wrong not agents”

Credit: @DutchMcLovin

“You can say that about any player. Has he produced the goods in the first team? Does it save you a transfer fee? How does long does he get to prove his ability? You’ve paid Premiership youngsters a first team wage? Why not our own?”

Credit: @PCGuru07

In other news, many Sheffield Wednesday fans reacted to this big update!

Many fans of Manchester City have been reacting to a post on Twitter which relayed Sam Lee’s article regarding the future of Erling Haaland.

In his article for The Athletic, Lee claims that City representatives have been in contact with Haaland’s father in recent weeks, meaning that the “wheels are in motion” regarding a move for the £141,000-per-week centre-forward this summer, in addition to the fact that the club have “sanctioned” the potential transfer.

So far this season, the £99m-rated 20-year-old has been in astonishing form for Borussia Dortmund, scoring 21 goals and providing four assists over his 21 Bundesliga appearances, as well as bagging 10 goals and one assist in just six Champions League fixtures.

After City Xtra relayed Lee’s report on Twitter, these fans of Manchester City flocked to have their say on the matter, with many appearing to be ecstatic at the prospect of Pep Guardiola’s side landing Haaland this summer.

So, what exactly did these Manchester City fans have to say in reaction to the report regarding Erling Haaland?

“This is genuinely happening.”

@OliverBoisen

“OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG.”

@SilkyCyrus_74

“Wow.”

@Vrishab05777495

“He’s coming home.”

@CityJoul

“SAM LEE? This is becoming serious man.”

@agboladephilip

“This is what we like to see.”

@alexpaolo9

“OHHHHHHHH.”

@Prince_Ederson

“IT’S HAPPENING! IT’S REALLY HAPPENING!!”

@Citizenani06

In other news: loads of Manchester City fans loved this news about a former Etihad hero – find out more here!

Tottenham Hotspur will be looking to bounce back from their midweek heartache later this afternoon as they head to rock-bottom Sheffield United in the Premier League.

It was the same old problem for Jose Mourinho as his Spurs dropped points when holding 1-0 lead once again, something we’ve seen in games against Newcastle, Palace and Wolves.

Spurs did have plenty of chances to double their lead as Heung-min Son missed a whopping four big chances, and he was also found offside when Sergio Reguilon fired home in the second half.

Mourinho made a surprising call in starting central midfielder Moussa Sissoko at right-wing and that experiment ultimately failed.

The 31-year-old is just not cut out for an attacking role like that – per SofaScore, he managed to win only six of 14 duels (42.9%), lost possession 13 times, was dribbled past three times, and was graded a disappointing 6.6.

That meant he ranked as Spurs’ fourth-worst player whilst only two other members of the squad lost more duels. He was simply wasteful and ineffective.

But that’s hardly a surprise given he’s an ageing midfielder who has averaged a shocking 0.1 key passes and 0.1 shots per game in the Premier League this term.

Why Mourinho thought he could offer anything in attack is surprising when looking at those figures. They only prove his inefficiency. He’s either got to start further back or not at all, which is why a ruthless decision must be made against the Blades tomorrow.

The Frenchman, signed for £30m by Mauricio Pochettino, ought to be axed for an actual winger as both Lucas Moura and Erik Lamela were on the bench against Fulham.

Once dubbed “remarkable” by Arsene Wenger and compared to Steven Gerrard by Kevin Phillips, the £80k-per-week Sissoko clearly still has a lot to offer but neither of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg or Harry Winks should be expended for his presence in the engine room.

The one-time “disgrace” and “liability” has turned his career around at Spurs since Mourinho was appointed, but after that shocker in midweek, he must be dropped.

AND in other news, Spurs dodged a £27m bullet in “phenomenon” who’s WORSE than Janssen…

Leeds United bolstered their academy set-up during the summer with the signings of Joe Gelhardt from Wigan and Sam Greenwood from Arsenal, but there’s another hot-shot that could be soon fast-tracked into the first-team.

The Yorkshire giants announced today that 19-year-old defender Niall Huggins had signed a new long-term extension, keeping him at Elland Road until at least 2023.

Huggins has been part of the academy at Thorp Arch for 13 years, progressing into the U18 and U23 squads in recent seasons, and he has also caught the eye on the international stage featuring for the Welsh U21 side.

His impressive form in the youth ranks earned the young left-back a senior spot on the bus to Everton recently, and even though he was not officially named in the matchday squad, the experience and involvement with some of Leeds’ biggest stars would have been invaluable.

And it says an awful lot about what Marcelo Bielsa thinks about the teenage sensation – perhaps the Whites have found their next Ian Harte.

That left-back spot could soon become an issue for the Argentine as Gjanni Alioski is more a winger by trade whilst Stuart Dallas has been back playing in central midfield and Barry Douglas is currently out on loan to Blackburn Rovers in the Championship.

The Leeds legend himself has even hailed the recent decision, he tweeted: “Fantastic experience for Niall Huggins, travelling with the Leeds United first-team for the win v Everton,” as per LeedsLive.

Huggins has proven to be a touch in front of goal too, scoring 12 goals in 29 matches at U18 level, which only compounds the comparison to Harte further as he was a specialist from set-pieces.

He’s also impressed former shot-stopper Paul Robinson, who told MOT Leeds News: “Huggins is a very good player who’s performed really well in the Under-23s this season. I’ve seen a bit of him actually.”

It could only be a matter of time before Bielsa hands him an opportunity, he’s certainly more likely to breakthrough than Gelhardt, who has the in-form Patrick Bamford to beat right now.

AND in other news, Leeds must swoop for beast who “terrifies defenders”, he won’t cost Radrizzani penny…

Exciting news on Celtic’s summer target Mark McKenzie has emerged after the defender admitted that he would be open to a move to Parkhead in January.

Speaking to Sky Sports, the Philadelphia Union ace highlighted Virgil van Dijk’s success story as something that has inspired him. If the Hoops return for the £2.7million-valued centre-back next month, they could be looking at their next big club project.

McKenzie can be Celtic’s Ajer replacement

The 21-year-old defender has already dropped a huge hint with his recent interview and if that’s not enough to convince Peter Lawwell, he must look at the bigger picture. Celtic run a very high risk of losing star centre-back Kristoffer Ajer amid a flurry of interest all across Europe.

Several clubs came knocking for his services in the summer but the Hoops were able to hang onto their 6’5 colossus. However, as he continues to shine in Glasgow, it’s surely only a matter of time before he is whisked away on his next journey.

AC Milan prepared a summer offer of £14million for the Norway international and it’s unlikely they – and many others – will just drop their interest completely. Should Ajer be poached in summer, or even in January, Lawwell will have to make a new central defender his priority. Especially given the fact that Shane Duffy is only on loan and will return to Brighton in six months.

McKenzie is the perfect fit to join the Hoops and he has already expressed his desire to make the move sooner rather than later. His ability to stand strong in the heart of the defence as well as ping long balls towards the attackers will suit Neil Lennon’s team very well.

This move is something that Lawwell should be all over, as it would be a huge statement for both the club and the player.

In other news, Rangers transfer blow could be big positive for Neil Lennon…