All posts by z3u9t.icu

As per Football Insider, Tottenham Hotspur have set their sights on England international Sam Johnstone, with one mainstay’s future now in ‘major doubt’.

The Lowdown: Lloris’ future up in the air

Hugo Lloris, signed by chairman Daniel Levy in the summer of 2012, has been a long-standing Tottenham servant and fixture in the starting line up, playing every single Premier League match so far this season.

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However, with the 34-year-old Frenchman’s deal due to expire next year, it now remains to be seen whether this season is indeed his last in a Spurs shirt.

As such, the club and its managing director Fabio Paratici are keeping their eyes peeled for worthy replacements, with fresh reports about Johnstone coming to the fore.

The Latest: Spurs eye Lloris replacement…

Despite signing Atalanta shot stopper Pierluigi Gollini on a season-long loan with the option to buy, it appears that Spurs have a contingency plan as they set their sights on Johnstone.

Having recently established himself both at club level and with England, the 28-year-old is firmly on Tottenham’s watchlist. A senior Lilywhites scout is even said to have watched him in action as recently as last week when his West Brom side took on Preston North End.

Spurs are now believed to be compiling a dossier on Johnstone with the view to making a move, according to Football Insider.

The Verdict: Ideal?

Even though Gollini hasn’t really been given his chance to prove whether he is worthy of taking the mantle from Lloris, you could argue that signing Johnstone is a no-brainer going by his homegrown status.

West Brom were also apparently willing to accept around £15m for the goalkeeper last summer, arguably a bargain price given his status as a Three Lions international and his concession rate of just 0.66 goals per game in the Championship so far this term (six in nine games).

He has also been called ‘world class’ by Wolverhampton Wanderers legend Steve Bull (This is Futbol), so could he be the perfect Lloris replacement in N17? They could probably do a lot worse.

In other news: Levy plan to offload big name Spurs player emerges as source leaks damning Hotspur Way behaviour, find out more here.

Newcastle United star Allan Saint-Maximin will face a late fitness test ahead of the Magpies’ clash with reigning champions Manchester City on Sunday afternoon.

What’s the latest?

The 24-year-old was forced off late in their 3-1 defeat to Liverpool on Thursday night and could be a potential absentee ahead of the visit from Pep Guardiola’s side on Sunday.

“With Maxi, he took a really nasty tackle,” said Newcastle manager  Eddie Howe. “I don’t know whether his injury is related to that tackle, or is more muscular. I’ve no idea.

“Fingers crossed for him, he’s such a big player for us. We don’t want to lose him for any amount of time.”

Furthermore, Federico Fernandez and Paul Dummett still remain unavailable with their respective injuries.

The Frenchman is the latest name added to what appears to be a growing injury list for Howe. Jamal Lewis was also withdrawn against Liverpool and will be facing a spell on the sidelines with a hamstring injury.

Fans could be gutted

The £27m-rated Saint-Maximin will be a major loss for the Magpies if he is ruled out for a significant spell, particularly if his injury makes him unavailable for a chunk of Newcastle’s hectic festive period.

Now in his third season with the club, the Frenchman is certainly a fan favourite amongst many Geordies, and a prolonged absence would leave supporters gutted if he is set to miss a sizeable portion of their upcoming schedule.

United will play four Premier League matches within the next 15 days as things stands and will need their main creative output available, with their top-flight status at risk given their precarious position in the league table.

Saint-Maximin has contributed three goals and three assists in the Premier League thus far this season, playing a part in 33% of Newcastle’s top-flight goals and level with six-goal Callum Wilson in terms of overall contributions.

According to SofaScore, the Frenchman also averages a 76% passing accuracy, as well as 63% dribble success and two shots per game; while WhoScored rank him as by far the Magpies’ highest-rated player so far this term.

Therefore, if the 24-year-old is sidelined for the whole festive period and beyond, his absence would be a huge blow for Newcastle and would leave fans feeling gutted.

In other news – “Senior source says”: George Caulkin delivers DOF update which will delight NUFC fans

Reliable journalist Gary Jacob has made a claim on defender Angelo Ogbonna amid recent hopes he could make a return before the end of 2021/2022.

The Lowdown: Insider shares West Ham hope?

The Italian, who hasn’t featured since November, sustaining an ACL injury against Liverpool, has been at the centre of claims in recent days that he could in fact be available for the final few games of this season.

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Indeed, West Ham insider Claret & Hugh believe that there is hope within the club that Ogbonna could make a contribution for manager David Moyes over the last couple of matches.

This comes after the centre-half returned to light training and travelled to France, watching the Hammers’ historic victory over Lyon in the Europa League, though he was not a squad member.

It’s also been claimed that Ogbonna, if Moyes’ men make the Europa League final, ‘could be fit enough’ to start.

However, issuing a claim to the contrary, Jacob has more pessimistic news amid this update.

The Latest: Jacob makes Ogbonna claim…

Jacob, writing for The Times in midweek, says that Ogbonna is in fact ‘out for the season’ with West Ham suffering somewhat of an injury crisis at the back.

Kurt Zouma could already be sidelined for ‘several weeks’, meanwhile Issa Diop’s ankle injury could rule him out for the remainder of this campaign.

This may leave Craig Dawson as Moyes’ only fit, natural centre-half for the final run-in.

The Verdict: Blow for Moyes…

Amid C&H’s update, Irons supporters will be hoping that there is in fact hope of an Ogbonna return despite Jacob’s firm claim.

The colossal 6 foot 3 defender was a mainstay in Moyes’ side before the ACL injury and has been an arguably crucial player for nearly two full seasons.

Former Hammers defender James Collins has labelled Ogbonna ‘phenomenal’ for his contribution at the London Stadium and his return would be a real boost.

However, as things stand, it appears Moyes may not be able to rely on the 33-year-old’s surprise early comeback.

In other news: Moyes set for GSB backing as West Ham insider makes exciting big-money claim, find out more here.

Tottenham Hotspur right-back Matt Doherty is expected to leave north London in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to Fabrizio Romano, with the journalist revealing on a recent episode of the Here We Go podcast that Spurs boss Antonio Conte is looking to move a number of first-team players on in the upcoming winter market, and that the 29-year-old defender is one of them.

Speaking about the potential exit of the Republic of Ireland international next month, Romano said: “Doherty has a serious chance to leave in January. Tottenham are also thinking about the outgoings. Doherty is going to leave.”

Fans will be buzzing

Considering how poor Doherty has generally been for Tottenham since his £15m move to North London back in the summer of 2020, the news that Spurs are looking to move the right-back on this winter is sure to have left many of the club’s fanbase buzzing.

Indeed, over his 17 Premier League appearances last season – only 13 of which came as starts – the £10.8m-rated defender helped his side keep a mere three clean sheets, as well as being beaten by an opponent an average of 1.2 times and losing possession of the ball a whopping 13.3 times per game.

These returns saw the £74k-per-week man earn an extremely disappointing seasonal SofaScore match rating of just 6.76, ranking him as Spurs’ 11th-worst performer in the top flight of English football last time out.

Things have not improved for the right-back over his four league outings this season, with the former Wolverhampton Wanderers defender averaging a SofaScore match rating of 6.72 – ranking him as Antonio Conte’s eighth-worst player in the division so far.

As such, it will perhaps come as no surprise to many Tottenham fans that, in a recent poll ran on Football FanCast, the overwhelming majority of Spurs supporters voted in favour of their club moving the 29-year-old onto pastures new this winter.

As a result, Romano’s latest update will undoubtedly come as music to the ears of many involved with the club, and we would have to agree that Doherty’s rather hefty weekly wage could easily be put to much better use by Fabio Paratici and Conte in the January transfer window.

In other news: Conte may have found his new Skriniar as THFC make contact for £76m-rated “oil tanker”

A number of Liverpool supporters have slammed Jordan Henderson’s performance against Arsenal, despite the Reds reaching the League Cup final.

Jurgen Klopp’s men produced an impressive display away to the Gunners on Thursday evening, winning 2-0 at the Emirates.

Liverpool dominated the game barring a slow start, with Diogo Jota twice finding the net to fire his side to Wembley and a final against Chelsea next month.

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There were standout performers for the Reds in north London, from Jota to Trent Alexander-Arnold, but Henderson was again a long way short of his best.

The Liverpool captain played no key passes on the night and lost possession five times, according to Sofascore, lacking his usual energy in the middle of the park.

He was dribbled past once and only registered 39 touches, which was a whopping 20 less than his own goalkeeper, Caoimhin Kelleher.

It is not the first time the skipper has struggled this term, ranking as Liverpool’s 14th-best player for the season on Whoscored.

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Liverpool fans criticise Henderson display

Henderson’s performance wasn’t ignored by some Reds fans on Twitter, who took to the social media platform to lambast his display.

“Henderson plays against us now. Man just got the ball off from Fabinho there”

Credit: @LuffyLFC

“Henderson had a very poor game. Really struggling for a bit of form at the minute”

Credit: @ciarano44

“Henderson did nothing all game yet again. Nobody has been good. But Henderson was invisible. He never came back from the Euros”

Credit: @AndyLFC17

“I’m better than Jordan Henderson and I’m 17”

Credit: @JacobSize3

“That was a truly anonymous performance from Henderson there”

Credit: @DollyDevereaux

“Henderson now is so poor in midfield and not improving at all. I miss players like Elliot, Thiago, Keita. Only Jones is doing anything in attack”

Credit: @Horlawale3043

In other news, some Liverpool fans are buzzing over a Reds transfer update. Read more here.

Man Utd have had a slow January transfer window, with the Red Devils yet to sign anyone. Of course, that was always expected, given that they’re currently in somewhat of a transitionary period under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The board aren’t likely to be willing to invest big money under a boss that may not be there in six months.

However, that doesn’t mean that the Man Utd board aren’t working hard. Indeed, attention has already shifted to the summer window, at least if the latest exclusive report from the Metro is to be believed. According to the Metro, Man Utd are tracking Borussia Dortmund sensation Jadon Sancho, with the club potentially looking to make a move in the summer. 

Dortmund are said to value him at £90 million, which is a huge fee for the teenager, but Man Utd have shown a willingness to invest that sort of money in top talents – and Sancho certainly falls under that banner.

He’s enjoyed a fantastic season so far this year, with a brilliant return of 6 goals and 9 assists from just 12 league games. He offers incredible ability and drive down the flanks for Dortmund, and he’s regularly kept big-name Chelsea-bound attacker Christian Pulisic out of the team.

Significantly, Man Utd look to be building for the future, with Anthony Martial handed a new deal by the Red Devils. In Sancho, the Red Devils could have the ideal long-term partner for the Frenchman, especially with Alexis Sanchez struggling.

Make no mistake, Sancho is one of Europe’s best young players, and they’re always going to come at a premium.  He could help usher in a new era at Old Trafford.

Thoughts? 

So far this season, Southampton have only managed to score eight goals in their opening nine Premier League games of the season through five different goalscorers.

One player that hasn’t had a good start to the season in an attacking sense is 32-year-old winger Theo Walcott, who has yet to score a goal or provide an assist in any competition so far this season for Southampton despite making seven appearances.

Given his age, his lack of attacking impact he’s had so far this season and the fact that his current contract at St. Mary’s is set to expire in 2023, we think the club should be thinking about a potential replacement for the Englishman sooner rather than later.

However, we feel as though the club could already have their ideal long-term replacement for Walcott at the club with 18-year-old winger Kazeem Olaigbe.

Olaigbe joined Southampton’s U18 side back in the 2019 summer transfer window from RSC Anderlecht’s youth system for an undisclosed fee.

Since then, the Belgian has gone on to make 21 appearances for Southampton’s U18 side, scoring three goals and providing six assists, as well as making 37 appearances for Southampton’s B team, scoring eight goals and providing one assist across all competitions, showing how much of an attacking talent he is.

So far this season, Olaigbe has played 90 minutes in all of the Southampton B team’s nine league games so far this season in which he has managed to rack up three goals and one assist, with his latest appearance coming in their recent 1-0 win over Reading.

This shows just how important the winger is for the club’s B team and how highly thought of he is there, despite having yet to make a senior appearance for Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side.

Looking ahead to the future, we think that if Olaigbe keeps performing regularly for Southampton’s B team and keeps racking up goals and assists on a regular basis, he could well break into the senior side at some point soon and go on to become a suitable, money-saving long-term replacement for Walcott if he ends up leaving the club when his contract expires.

In other news: Fewer touches than Forster: 22 y/o Saints passenger badly let Ralph down vs Chelsea – opinion

Celtic winger Jota is set to be missing for ‘a few weeks’ with a hamstring issue, Ange Postecoglou has confirmed.

The Lowdown: Jota’s form

Jota has been in brilliant form in recent months after settling into Parkhead life following a summer switch from Benfica.

The 22-year-old, who the Hoops have the option to sign permanently, has been involved in 14 goals in 18 appearances in green and white.

However, he went off injured against Hearts at the beginning of the month and missed the 3-0 win over Dundee United on Sunday.

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The Latest: Four-game absence?

As reported by John McGinley, Postecoglou – who has called Jota ‘outstanding’ – revealed prior to the win at Tannadice that the Portuguese winger will ‘miss a few weeks’ with his hamstring problem.

Should that prove to be two weeks, the 22-year-old could miss up to four games for the Hoops, including the League Cup final against Hibernian on December 19.

The Verdict: Injury issues continue…

Jota wasn’t the only absentee against Dundee United on Sunday. Anthony Ralston and Stephen Welsh also picked up injuries against Hearts and missed the game, while Christopher Jullien is still yet to feature under Postecoglou.

Giorgos Giakoumakis is out with a knee issue and youngster Karamoko Dembele has also been missing since pre-season, and even though Greg Taylor made a return on the weekend, Postecoglou can’t seem to catch a break when it comes to injuries.

Hopefully the New Year will bring better luck on the injury front, but Postecoglou will be without Jota for a while and may have to rely on Mikey Johnston against Real Betis on Thursday.

In other news: Devlin claims Celtic may now seal move for 12-goal beast before 2022 training camp

Eddie Howe’s Newcastle United face off against Wolves tonight as they return to Premier League action at St James’ Park.

The Magpies were left humbled last time out in the top flight as Tottenham smashed them 5-1 in north London, after Fabian Schar had given the Toon the lead with a fine free-kick.

Howe’s side have now lost three games in succession and they will be hoping to turn things around against Wolves in front of their own supporters.

How many changes will the 44-year-old make to the team from last Sunday? Here is our predicted starting XI…

We are predicting that he will make three alterations to the side, with Jamaal Lascelles, Jacob Murphy and Bruno Guimaraes all coming in.

Wolves typically play in a 3-4-2-1 or 3-5-2 formation and Howe may look to counter that by moving to a 3-5-2 of his own, particularly after the manner of the defeat last week.

This means that he will need to bring in another central defender to play alongside Dan Burn and Fabian Schar. In that case, Lascelles must come in as the middle centre-back in the three, as he is strong in his individual duels and can win headers in the box.

He has won an outstanding 75% of his aerial battles this season and averaged 4.8 clearances per game. This suggests that he will be perfect for the role, as he has the defensive quality to deal with crosses coming into the box, which is why he must start tonight.

With the change in formation, Murphy could come in to play at right wing-back. Javier Manquillo lost three of his five duels and only made one tackle and interception combined last Sunday, and he could now be dropped to the bench to make way for the former Norwich man because of his poor display in north London.

Finally, Guimaraes may come in to replace Joe Willock. The English gem is struggling with an injury and is a doubt for the game tonight, which means that his place in the middle of the park may be up for grabs.

The £40m man should start next to Jonjo Shelvey and Joelinton if the ex-Arsenal youngster misses out. He impressed upon coming off the bench against Spurs last week and deserves his chance to show what he can do from the start tonight. As per SofaScore, he won seven duels and four tackles and completed 96% of his attempted passes in the 5-1 defeat, showcasing his quality as a substitute.

Guimaraes has been dubbed as “exceptionally talented” by former Celtic manager Neil Lennon and he must line up in the middle of the park for Newcastle tonight.

AND in other news, Signed for free, now worth £9m: Ashley sealed his final NUFC gift in £35k-p/w “dream”…

Celtic centre-back Stephen Welsh was forced off for Scotland’s U21 side with what appeared to be a groin problem, The Daily Record report.

The Lowdown: Welsh under Postecoglou

Welsh began the campaign as a regular under Ange Postecoglou and has made 22 appearances in all competitions this season.

The 21-year-old, who Celtic youth coach Martin Miller hailed as a ‘fan favourite’ and ‘phenomenal’, made his last start in green and white back in February against Bodo/Glimt in the Europa Conference League.

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Cameron Carter-Vickers and Carl Starfelt have established themselves as Postecoglou’s first-choice pairing, with Welsh and Christopher Jullien on standby.

The Latest: Welsh’s injury

Welsh was one of a number of Celtic players who have been away on international duty and captained Scotland’s U21 side against Kazakhstan on Monday.

The Daily Record revealed that the centre-back had to be taken off shortly after half-time with what appeared to be a groin injury days before a crucial Glasgow Derby with Rangers.

The Verdict: Never ending

You’d expect that Welsh wouldn’t have started at Ibrox on Sunday, however, it would have been handy for Postecoglou to be able to call upon the defender from the bench if needed.

He may not get that luxury following this injury update, with Postecoglou already having concerns over Daizen Maeda and Tom Rogic during the current break.

The Celtic boss hasn’t had the best of luck when it comes to injuries during his first season in charge, and unfortunately, they aren’t showing any signs of slowing up.

In other news: ‘As well…’ – Journalist drops claim on more exit news at Celtic Park; it’s a potential ‘bonus’.