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West Ham United must box smart in discussions with Fabian Balbuena after the defender stated that he expects to sit down and discuss his future with David Moyes’ side in due course.

What’s the word?

Speaking with Versus Radio, via quotes by La Lazio Siamo Noi, the centre-half admitted he envisages that he will hold clear the air talks with the London Stadium hierarchy in the coming weeks regarding his future in claret and blue.

Balbuena is currently due to be a free agent at the end of the season with his £40k-per-week contract due to expire this summer.

There had been expectations that West Ham would table a new deal for the 29-year-old, who was linked with a last-ditch exit on Deadline Day if suitable offers were received.

Balbuena has previously been touted for a return to South America, with Brazilian giants Flamengo seen as a potential destination for the 16-cap Paraguay international should he leave the Irons as a free-agent.

Italian Serie A side SS Lazio have also been mentioned over the past three years to have an interest in the £7m-rated enforcer. However, Balbuena denies ever having a formal offer to join the Rome outfit.

“Surely, [one of] these days, we will sit down with the management to talk about it [my future],” the defender said on Wednesday. “West Ham have an option for renewal.

“I have never received anything from Lazio. I only read the rumours on social media.”

Should West Ham retain Balbuena?

Balbuena’s future will be a tricky case for West Ham to deal with, having seen the former Corinthians defender fall drastically down Moyes’ pecking order over the last few months.

After watching the first two games of the Premier League season from the bench, Balbuena started 12 of the following 13 but has not been seen on the pitch since a 2-2 draw with Brighton and Hove Albion on December 27.

Moyes has even opted to omit the 29-year-old from three of his following nine matchday squads since the Seagulls encounter, despite managers now being able to name nine substitutes – up from seven – for top-flight matches.

The reports claiming the Hammers were open to offers on Deadline Day also go to show where the club place Balbuena in the pecking order, but it will be worthwhile to act clever in discussions over his future and activate their option to extend the centre-back’s contract.

Doing so will allow West Ham to protect a base value for the summer transfer market when they can look to move the Paraguayan on again, rather than accept a total loss on the £6.5m Manuel Pellegrini signing.

The Irons are already expected to accept sizable hits on the fees Pellegrini and former Director of Football Mario Husillos paid for Andriy Yarmolenko and Felipe Anderson, so will surely like to have an exit strategy in place for Balbuena that returns at least a few million pounds.

Given his current value of £7.2m as per Transfermarkt, the east London outfit should be able to recoup some of the money back in any future sale, which is why he must be handed that extension before the summer.

AND in other news, West Ham weigh up free-agent deal for 28-y/o who flopped after a £16m Premier League move…

Reports by BUT! Football Club earlier this week claimed that the agent of Alban Lafont had contacted Allan Saint-Maximin’s representatives with a view to securing a Premier League transfer, and Steve Bruce should utilise his star winger to lure the Fiorentina goalkeeper to Newcastle United.

Lafont is currently in Ligue 1 on loan with FC Nantes and has emerged as a rare star of an otherwise bleak French top-flight season for La Maison Jaune, with the 22-year-old frequently key to preventing Raymond Domenech’s side any further embarrassment.

If he can work a deal with Lafont’s parent Serie A outfit, Nantes owner Waldemar Kita would like to retain the former Toulouse talent beyond his temporary spell. And while the shot-stopper is not expected to head back to Italy for long at the end of the season, is projected to attract an array of interest.

Clubs in England, Germany, France and Italy are all thought to be scouting Lafont, including Olympique de Marseille who may pursue the £11.5m-rated youngster this summer as they look to secure Steve Mandanda’s successor.

Lafont’s desire is to join a European side where he can continue to evolve and had his eyes fixed on a transfer to the Premier League, however the impact of Brexit and Covid-19 is seen to have placed additional hurdles in the way of a move across the Channel.

Nonetheless, his agent appears to have begun sounding out the chances of establishing a route into the country by contacting Saint-Maximin’s representatives, after they concluded a £16.5m deal for the winger to join Newcastle from OGC Nice in 2019.

Bruce should now attempt to utilise Saint-Maximin and his representatives to push United as a worthwhile destination for Lafont, as the France U21 international could easily prove to be the Toon’s long-term option in goal rather than for Marseille.

Newcastle would appear to have reformed a strong relationship with Saint-Maximin’s representatives after working on a new double-your-money deal for the winger last year, after he had reportedly grown frustrated at still being on the £36,000-per-week terms penned upon his initial arrival.

That rapport could prove vastly beneficial in any efforts to sign Lafont, who The Guardian have previously described as a cat-like ‘keeper for his instinctive reflex saves.

He may have conceded 39 times in 24 Ligue 1 games this season, keeping only three clean sheets, due to Nantes’ dire form that sees them fighting for survival. Yet the 6 ft 4 Lafont still boasts a save percentage that can rival the efforts of Bayern Munich’s UEFA Men’s Team of the Year star Manuel Neuer or Liverpool’s Allison Becker.

According to FB Ref data, Lafont has saved 69.8% of all on-target shots faced in the French top-flight this term, having turned away 74 of the 106 efforts that La Maison Jaune have allowed. Neuer, meanwhile, has saved 69.9% of the 83 shots he’s faced in the Bundesliga, while Allison boasts a 70.4% success rate from the 54 shots the Reds have given up in the Brazilian’s 19 Premier League games to date.

Still only 22, Lafont also has years to grow and continue establishing himself in a bigger environment. So, if the contact is there, why shouldn’t Bruce urge Newcastle to utilise what options are at their disposal to try and bring the goalkeeper to St. James’ Park?

AND in other news, Newcastle have an ace up their sleeves in efforts to sign a striker valued at £30m earlier this season…

Celtic must fend off transfer interest for Ryan Christie amid reports Arsenal are interested in signing him in the January transfer window.

What’s the story?

Recent reports have suggested that the 16-cap Scotland international is a wanted man, with Premier League new boys Leeds United eyeing him up.

Now, 90min claim that Arsenal have joined the race to lure him away from Celtic Park, and that with the attacking midfielder set to enter the final year of his contract next season, “that has put a number of major players in the transfer market on notice”.

The report adds that Christie is considering his options, and would think about a move away if Celtic were to accept an offer for him.

Celtic have to keep him

Whilst Christie might have gone off the boil over the past couple of months – he hasn’t scored in the Scottish Premiership since Aberdeen back in late October – there’s no questioning he’s a player who consistently gets a tonne of goals and assists each season.

He’s already got 15 goals contributions this term, whilst his previous two campaigns with Celtic have also seen him break double figures for both goals and assists each.

Dubbed a “manager’s dream” by Chris Sutton, he’s been one of the first names on the team-sheet this season for Lennon, missing just two games in all competitions, and both of them were for enforced reasons too.

His former teammate at Celtic, and fellow Scotland midfielder Stuart Armstrong, said: “Especially in these last couple of seasons, he’s taken it to another level with Celtic and has been fantastic.

“Even in the European games, he excels. He has so much energy. His technique is spot-on, especially his first touch at speed – that’s incredible. He just poses that attacking threat that every player likes to have.”

It would be a major howler from the Hoops to let him go right now, especially when you consider he’s just 25 and has got the peak years of his career still to come.

MatériaMais Notícias

Na última rodada do Mineiro, o Cruzeiro superou o Tombense fora de casa, mas não agradou. Desta vez, o clube volta ao Mineirão para receber o Tupi, neste domingo, às 17h, e quer apresentar um futebol bem melhor. Para alcançar o segundo triunfo no ano, o técnico Deivid aposta na mudança do esquema tático para passar menos sufoco dentro de campo.

Desde que assumiu o Cruzeiro, Deivid abandonou o antigo 4-3-3 de Mano Menezes e promoveu o 4-2-3-1. No entanto, o desempenho defensivo do clube nas primeiras três partidas do ano não agradou. Contra o Tupi, o treinador voltará a escalar a Raposa com três jogadores executando a função de volante, mas com características ofensivas. A estratégia tem como objetivo preencher mais os espaços e impedir buracos na defesa.

– O que tem me incomodado foi a forma como a gente estava jogando. No 4-2-3-1, não estávamos recompondo e acabamos deixando buracos no meio. Você tem de propor o jogo, mas tem de marcar, tem que recompor. A gente não estava conseguindo marcar. Nesta formação, vamos ficar mais protegidos – comentou o treinador.

Ainda sem poder contar com Willian, Rafael Silva permanece como atacante de referência, auxiliado por Alisson. Sánchez Miño será o meia central, enquanto Marcos Vinícius ficará mais recuado para ajudar Henrique e Ariel Cabral na marcação. Poupado no meio de semana com dores no joelho, Fábio não é dúvida e vai para o jogo.

Sem vencer nas duas primeiras partidas do ano, o Tupi já trabalha com certa urgência para somar seus primeiros pontos, e para isso vale até treino fechado. O técnico Ricardo Drubscky chegou a testar a equipe com três volantes, mas fez mistério sobre o time que enfrenta o Cruzeiro no Mineirão.

CRUZEIRO x TUPI
Motivo: 3ª rodada, Campeonato Mineiro 2016
Data/Hora: 14/02/2016, às 17h
Local: Estádio Mineirão, em Belo Horizonte (MG)
Árbitro: Wanderson Alves de Souza
Auxiliares: Felipe Alan Costa de Oliveira e Leonardo Henrique Pereira.

CRUZEIRO: Fábio; Mayke, Dedé, Manoel e Fabrício; Henrique, Marcos Vinícius, Ariel Cabral e Sánchez Miño; Alisson e Rafael Silva. Técnico: Deivid.

TUPI: Glaysson; Osmar, Sidimar, Fabrício Soares e Pirão (Thiaguinho); Filipe Alves, Rafael Jataí, Recife, Vinícius Kiss e William Kozlowki; Michel (Michel Douglas). Técnico: Ricardo Drubscky.

A new year means new hope and new beginnings, but before we all get carried away thinking about what the next twelve months might have in store, there’s the not-so-small matter of the final chapter of 2020 to deal with first.

Christmas practices may have been significantly different this time around but there was one constant to keep us all entertained – Premier League football which, even during these trying times, rarely manages to disappoint.

In fact, December was a pretty interesting month in the Premier League with all but two clubs, Crystal Palace and Burnley, finishing the 31-day period in a different position to the one they started it in.

Spurs plummeted from first all the way to seventh, while City jumped up from eleventh to eighth and Burnley managed to escape the relegation zone at Fulham’s expense.

But away from the teams and onto the individuals. Here are the six players who impressed us so much during the dying embers of 2020 that they’ve earned nominations for the GMS Fans’ Premier League Player of the Month award for December.

All statistics courtesy of Whoscored.

The Goalkeepers

Nominee: Nick Pope

34 clean sheets were kept by goalkeepers in the Premier League throughout December, which is pretty astounding considering how many goals were flying in during the first few months of the season. Top flight defences have got their act together and the glovesmen are benefitting from that, albeit some inevitably more than others.

Nick Pope may not have been at the top of December’s clean sheets table, but having come in a respectable joint-second while recording 24 saves and conceding only three goals, the Burnley No.1 managed to tick boxes on multiple fronts.

Perhaps we’ve unfairly overlooked Emiliano Martinez, who made just two saves less than Pope while keeping an extra clean sheet, but it shouldn’t be forgotten that Burnley entered last month in 19th place, whereas the Argentine has been luxury to an in-form Villa side playing in front of him.

Pope has been crucial to Sean Dyche’s side escaping the relegation zone, making six saves in their 1-0 away win over Arsenal alone.

The Defenders

Nominee: James Justin

Before we begin discussing individuals, honourable mentions must go to the backlines at Aston Villa and Manchester City – they conceded just one goal apiece throughout the last month, resulting in four clean sheets each from five games.

Nonetheless, another defensive player has caught our attention for his December efforts – Leicester City’s versatile full-back James Justin. Last month saw him weigh in with an impressive 21 tackles across six games, as well as 13 key passes and five dribbles.

More than just impressive statistical returns, however, the 22-year-old gets the nod for two particularly noteworthy performances.

After completely embarrassing Dan Burn during Leicester’s 3-0 win over Brighton in which Justin nabbed his first assist of the season, his partnership with Marc Albrighton drew praise from Match of the Day’s Dion Dublin and Micah Richards as Brendan Rodgers’ side expertly dispensed of Spurs in a 2-0 win last month.

The Midfielders

Nominees: Anwar El Ghazi, Tomas Soucek, Bruno Fernandes

There’s a pretty good chance November’s winner Bruno Fernandes will make it onto the shortlist for the majority of monthly Premier League awards this season, which not only attests to his impeccable playmaking abilities but also how much Manchester United rely on their talismanic midfield maestro.

December was another affluent month for the Portugal international with three goals and four assists, including a brace and a setup in Manchester United’s 6-2 demolition of Leeds at Old Trafford. He also managed to set a record for the most key passes in a single game this season (eight) against West Ham, despite only coming on at half-time to lead a glorious comeback for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side.

However, Fernandes was outscored by Aston Villa’s Anwar El Ghazi, whose incredible run of five goals in as many appearances throughout December saw him net the joint-most times of any Premier League player, while few could hold a candle to his return of 15 shots on target either.

But we aren’t only interested in the Premier League’s engine room tricksters, and thus the final midfield nominee of this month is a particularly unique one.

Tomas Soucek may not be the most fashionable of players by modern standards but his towering 6 foot 4 frame is certainly effective – he’s won the most headers of any midfielder in Europe this season by a gargantuan margin of 34. That’s almost as many as he won in December alone, while six outings last month yielded a return of three top flight goals.

The Strikers

Nominee: Mohamed Salah

Having both matched El Ghazi’s haul of five goals, albeit enjoying the luxury of one extra appearance each, the striker section of December’s GMS Fans’ award was always going to be a battle between two forwards on either side of the famous Northwest rivalry – Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah and Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford.

And although the England man will feel aggrieved to have missed out, ultimately he can’t have too many complaints with Salah adding an extra two assists on top of the aforementioned quintet of strikes. Fernandes is the only Premier League player to match his seven goal involvements in December.

Salah also produced one of the most potent cameo performances you’re ever likely to see in the Premier League, the Egyptian coming on with just 33 minutes left to go against Crystal Palace and yet still bagging two goals and one assist to help Liverpool to a stunning 7-0 victory.

Admittedly, the goals have dried up entirely since then, but Salah had already done enough by Christmas time to earn himself the final spot amongst this month’s nominees.

After a couple of impressive results, things looked like they might just be heading in the right direction for Newcastle. And lo and behold, the Magpies saw any momentum gained in recent weeks go down the drain with a 2-0 defeat away to Southampton.

It was a performance that saw Steve Bruce’s side take another two steps back, and whilst the manager will take a lot of the flak – and rightly so for their lack of attacking intent – there was one man in particular who really let him down: Sean Longstaff.

Hilariously obscure Premier League players – Can you name them all?

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After returning to the side last week in the win over Everton, it looked like Longstaff had put a marker down and given Bruce no option but to play him for the foreseeable future. And to his credit, the Newcastle boss rewarded his midfielder with some faith and kept him in the line-up for the visit to St Mary’s.

Sadly for him, he delivered anything but the kind of performance he put in against the Toffees. As per Sofascore, he lost possession a staggering 15 times over the course of the game, and lost eight of his twelve total duels too.

The Saints simply ran over him in midfield, and his dilly-dallying on the ball didn’t help his teammates either, leaving them in trouble more often that not.

He failed with both of his attempted dribbles, made no tackles or interceptions whatsoever, and made just 26 passes too. For someone trying to establish himself as a key part of this Newcastle midfield, it was as bad as it gets.

Bruce gave him the opportunity to impress once again, and he let his manager down big time.

Celebrity Celtic fan Rod Stewart believes that his club have their “work cut out” if they want to win ten-in-a-row this season.

Stewart worried

The Hoops find themselves second in the Scottish Premiership table during the international break, nine points behind Rangers who are still unbeaten this season (via BBC Sport).

Neil Lennon’s side have also been struggling in Europe and are yet to register a win the continent on the back of their 4-1 defeat to Sparta Prague at Parkhead.

Speaking to talkSPORT, Stewart gave credit to his side’s arch-rivals and believes that it will be difficult for Celtic to do the unthinkable this season.

“I must give full credit – although it breaks my heart – to Rangers,” he said. “They are playing so well.

“We’ve got our work cut out to stop us doing ten-in-a-row. It’s going to be a real finale. I do hope the fans are back, I think the Celtic boys miss them.”

Transfer Tavern take

Celtic have an uphill battle to conquer if they are to secure the elusive ten league titles back-to-back, and it must have hurt Stewart to have to give credit to the other half of Glasgow.

That being said, the season is still young and it’s better to be in this scenario in November as opposed to March or April.

There are lots of games still to play and plenty of points still to accumulate. Lennon must make sure their trip to Ibrox in the New Year is one that ends in victory for the Bhoys.

In other news, pundit believes Celtic could find it easier signing speedster after £400k bid rejected.

After taking the lead through a wonder strike from Grady Diangana, West Brom came away from their clash against Everton on Saturday afternoon with nothing to show at the end of it.Slaven Bilic’s side hit the self-destruct button right on the stroke of half-time when former Arsenal man Kieran Gibbs retaliated and stuck out a hand in James Rodriguez’s face, earning himself a straight red card from referee Mike Dean.

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The Baggies battled back to make it 2-2 thanks to a free-kick from Matheus Pereira, but the Toffees eased to a victory in the end against ten men.

And after watching him lose his cool and get himself sent off, West Brom fans took to Twitter to voice their frustrations with Gibbs.

A couple of fans suggested that the Baggies desperately need a new left-back before the end of the transfer window, with one supporter even insisting that Gibbs should never play for the club again.

Make no mistake about it, up until that sending off, West Brom looked in control of the game, registering the same number of shots on target in the first-half (3) and being unfortunate with the nature of Everton’s equaliser through Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

But Gibbs’ sending off completely changed the complexion of the game, and it was no surprise to see the Toffees run away with it after the break.

When Bilic heads back on to the training field, he’ll have to have a serious think about Gibbs going forward.

MatériaMais Notícias

Autor do gol que garantiu a permanência do Figueirense na Série A, Marcão foi um dos destaques do confronto entre a equipe catarinense e o Fluminense. Confira a avaliação de cada jogador.

FLUMINENSE

6,5
Júlio César
Realizou saídas com segurança, quando precisou, e fez uma defesa importante no fim do primeiro tempo.

6,5
Wellington Silva
No ataque, esteve bem nos cruzamentos. Fez cortes eficientes no campo de defesa do Tricolor.

6,5
Ygor Nogueira
Bem na cobertura, mostrou mais segurança que seu companheiro, nos momentos de pressão do time da casa.

4,5
Artur
Mostrou insegurança, apresentando dificuldades. Evitou um gol, mas desistiu do lance que culminou no tento do rival.

5,0
Léo Pelé
Deixou o jogo ainda no primeiro tempo, após receber forte entrada. Teve participação irregular em campo.

6,5
Pierre
Cortou jogadas importantes de ataque dos catarinenses e apresentou boa recuperação e tempo de bola.

6,0
Edson
Afastou bolas perigosas. Cabeceou mal, numa oportunidade de balançar as redes na capital catarinense.

6,0
Gustavo Scarpa
Levantou boas bolas na área, que não resultaram em gol por detalhes. Poderia fazer mais na segunda etapa.

6,5
Cícero
Foi importante nas idas do Fluminense ao ataque. Porém, apagou, como todo o time, na metade final da partida.

5,5
Marcos Júnior
Irritado, abusou das trombadas. Mesmo assim, levou risco para a defesa do time de Santa Catarina.

6,5
Magno Alves
Criou e teve algumas boas chances. Quase marcou o seu. Foi um dos mais participativos pelo lado do Tricolor

5,5
Jonathan
Substituiu Léo na etapa inicial. Realizou roubadas de bola, errou passes curtos e apoiou bem no campo de ataque.

5,0
Robert
Pouco apareceu, ao entrar no segundo tempo. Ainda se esforçou para mudar o panorama da partida.

5,5
Lucas Gomes
Tentou chutes no ataque e optou por parar jogadas com falta na defesa.

5,0
Eduardo Baptista
Com um time alternativo, o Flu segurou o Figueira até quando pôde e mostrou ineficiência no sistema ofensivo.

RelacionadasFutebol NacionalFigueirense derrota o Fluminense em Floripa e se livra do rebaixamentoFutebol Nacional06/12/2015

FIGUEIRENSE

6,5
Alex Muralha
Precisou fazer ótima defesa no primeiro tempo

5,0
Leandro Silva
Perdeu lances fáceis e desperdiçou oportunidade.

6,5
Bruno Alves
Errou na defesa no início, mas cabeceou boas bolas na frente.

5,5
Thiago Heleno
Foi ao ataque para tentar resolver. Sem êxito nas investidas.

6,5
Marquinhos Pedroso
Muito bem nos cruzamentos para a área.

6,0
Fabinho
Realizou cortes eficientes no meio de campo.

5,0
João Vitor
Deixou o campo, depois de uma atuação discreta.

5,0
Yago
Atuação normal, sem comprometer sua equipe no jogo.

6,5
Carlos Alberto
Participou, levou perigo, mas perdeu chances claras.

6,5
Dudu
Importante nas investidas do Figueirense pelas laterais.

6,5
Clayton
Protagonizou lances bonitos, dando certo trabalho aos tricolores.

6,5
Marcão
Entrou para fazer o gol.

5,0
Paulo Roberto
Bem discreto. Entrou durante a partida.

–
Dener
Só teve dez minutos em campo.

6,5
Hudson Coutinho
Mais na vontade do que na qualidade, o Figueira fez o que precisava e evitou mais uma queda para a Série B do futebol brasileiro.

Sheffield United are reportedly very close to the signing of Wigan Athletic’s Antonee Robinson, and the defender has spoken about his future following these reports.

Speaking to the Liverpool Echo about leaving the Latics, Robinson said: “The main thing for me next season is I want to keep playing and keep doing well and performing. If it looks like I’m not going to start, it (Milan) might not be an option unless I’m not getting the offer to start elsewhere.

“My goal next season, no matter where I am and what I’m doing, I just want to play. We’ll just see what happens.”

It is understandable that he wants to play, he is 23 years-old and his performances have attracted interest from big teams like AC Milan. However at Sheffield United, there is a feeling that you have to earn your place in the squad, this is highlighted by the fact that Chris Wilder trusted many of the side that got the Blades promoted to play in the Premier League.

Even when players like Sander Berge signed in January, he wasn’t always guaranteed a place, and sometimes had to settle with the idea of coming on as a substitute, per Transfermarkt.

The positive for Blades supporters who are excited for the signing is the fact that with current left-back Enda Stevens 30, it will not be very long until Robinson would replace him, and if he did sign this summer and get a chance to impress sooner rather than later, then he would be rewarded with game time if he performed to the high standards of Wilder.

The fact is that when a Premier League side comes calling, especially with Robinson currently a League One player, he cannot afford to say no due to being worried about his lack of game time.

Blades fans, what are your thoughts on this news? Comment below!