All posts by z3u9t.icu

Leeds United picked up their first Premier League win and clean sheet of the season last weekend as they beat Watford 1-0 at Elland Road.

Whites centre-back Liam Cooper played an important role in the result, with an excellent WhoScored rating of 7.27 for his performance. He made one tackle, one interception, two clearances and two blocks, whilst also winning two aerial battles.

The Scotland international has had a solid start to the Premier League campaign and has started all seven of the club’s matches so far, proving himself to be a key member of Marcelo Bielsa’s squad.

Would anyone have predicted this after the 2017/18 season at Elland Road? Cooper played 30 times in the Championship and averaged a rating of 6.83, as Leeds finished 13th in the table and had little in the way of promotion expectations for the future.

In September 2018, Transfermarkt valued the centre-back at a measly £900k. That summer, however, everything changed for Leeds and Cooper as Marcelo Bielsa was appointed as the head coach on an initial two-year deal.

The Argentine manager has since gone on to lead Leeds to third and first in the Championship, winning promotion with the latter, and then ninth in the Premier League last season. He has been able to take the club from midtable mediocrity in the second tier to competing at the top level whilst pulling off a coaching masterclass with some of the players, one of them being Cooper.

In the 2019/20 promotion season, Cooper averaged a sensational WhoScored rating of 7.29 in 38 Championship starts for the Whites. This was a marked improvement from the 6.83 he managed in his last season before Bielsa came through the door, with the Yorkshire-born Scotsman being named in the PFA Team of the Year.

The Leeds warrior was then able to make the step up to the Premier League and thrive under Bielsa’s management last season. He averaged a score of 7.11 as he captained the side to a top-half finish, making an impressive 3.2 tackles and interceptions per game.

At the time of writing (10/10 /21), Cooper is valued at £6.30m by Transfermarkt. This is a 600% increase from his value at the time of Bielsa’s appointment and shows how the Argentine has pulled off a masterclass in coaching with the defender.

Bielsa has been able to turn Cooper into a player capable of producing excellent, consistent, performances in top-flight, having been a solid, albeit uninspiring, player in the second-tier beforehand. This shows the 66-year-old’s coaching ability and why he has been an inspired appointment at Elland Road.

AND in other news, Bielsa could save Leeds millions by unleashing “multi-faceted” 18 y/o “metronome”…

As per a report by the reliable Gary Jacob of The Times, Southampton are in the mix to sign bright Hull City forward Keane Lewis-Potter alongside a few big Premier League clubs.

The Lowdown: Semmens eyeing moves?

Saints chief Martin Semmens has kept his role even after Serbian-born businessman Dragan Solak completed his £100 million takeover earlier this month (Sky Sports).

The powers at be clearly still show faith in Southampton’s long-serving chief executive as he continues to oversee their transfer activity behind-the-scenes – with reports suggesting they are weighing a couple of moves.

Semmens and manager Ralph Hasenhuttl have been reliably tipped with an effort to make loanee Armando Broja’s stay on the south coast a permanent one (Sky Sports), meanwhile Dean Jones of Eurosport says they are in pole position to sign Fulham attacker Fabio Carvalho (GiveMeSport).

The Latest: Southampton eyeing Lewis-Potter…

According to Jacob’s information, Southampton are one of four English top flight sides eyeing a move for Hull’s exciting forward Lewis-Potter – with the 20-year-old attracting plenty of attention.

As well as Hasenhuttl’s side, Spurs, West Ham and Leicester City are in the mix as his suitors from the Premier League continue to grow.

The Verdict: Get it done…

Racking up 13 goals and six assists in Hull’s third tier promotion campaign over 2020/2021, Lewis-Potter has maintained that dazzling form into his first full Championship season at the MKM Stadium.

Indeed, the Englishman has so far bagged five goals and four assists in the league under manager Grant McCann – leaving little wonder he has been turning heads and Southampton are interested.

He’s even been compared to superstar winger Eden Hazard, with former Tigers player Craig Fagan calling Lewis-Potter ‘similar’ to the Belgium international (The Athletic).

Meanwhile, McCann also hasn’t held back in his praise for the ‘special talent’, and we believe he could well be a brilliant signing for Southampton if they can win the race.

In other news: ‘Inspiring’, ‘Yes yes yes’ – Many Saints fans rave as their club eye ‘unreal signing’, find out more here.

Tottenham Hotspur have been dealt a major blow in their attempts to sign another centre-back this week…

What’s the word?

Over the past week, the north London outfit have been linked to further central defensive additions as sporting director Fabio Paratici looks to bolster Nuno Santo’s backline.

Two key names that have surfaced are Nikola Milenkovic and Pau Torres.

Sky Sports reported that Spurs were ‘in talks’ to sign the Fiorentina colossus after a potential move to Premier League rivals West Ham United seemingly fell through, whilst The Times suggested the Lilywhites would launch a bid for the Villarreal star.

However, it seems that neither has a chance of happening after renowned Italian transfer expert Fabrizio Romano dropped a huge claim to Twitter.

“Tottenham are not planning any bid for Nikola Milenkovic – after talks collapsed with West Ham he’s now discussing a contract extension with Fiorentina,” he said.

“No chance for Pau Torres deal, no talks with Villarreal and never been close – he wants Champions League football.”

Big blow

This will come as a massive setback to Nuno, Paratici and Spurs.

Of course, the Premier League side have already seen Cristian Romero walk through the door, signing on loan from Atalanta earlier this month but the arrival of just one centre-back isn’t going to cut it.

Spurs’ biggest problem last season was that backline and with several culprits still remaining in north London, it’s no wonder the club are seeking another addition.

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The north Londoners recorded the worst defensive record of any of the ‘big six’ last term and that was largely down to a lack of leadership, following the departure of Jan Vertonghen, and several individual mistakes, leading to Davinson Sanchez and Eric Dier being dubbed “one of the worst partnerships in the Premier League” by ex-midfielder Jamie O’Hara.

Both of the two error-prone centre-backs remain at the club and are now the likely partner to Romero after Belgian veteran Toby Alderweireld was granted a move to Qatar.

Whilst Joe Rodon is currently out through injury and lacks experience at this level.

Therefore, to not sign either of Milenkovic or Torres is a massive blow to Nuno and his chances of building on Sunday’s impressive victory over defending champions Manchester City.

Not only will the Portuguese be fuming by this fresh update but the fans will be too as many were very, very eager to see someone like the Spanish international arrive in N17.

Time is running out to find another centre-back, with less than two weeks to go until Deadline Day.

AND in other news, Imagine him & Hojbjerg: Paratici could form lethal Spurs duo by signing £26m “machine”…

Speaking to Football Insider, BBC Radio 5 Live pundit Alan Hutton has been left in disbelief at something Fabio Paratici has been doing at Tottenham Hotspur.

The Lowdown: Paratici cooking…

It’s safe to say the Paratici era at Spurs is well and truly underway and his first transfer window arguably went smoothly, albeit not exactly mind blowing.

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The Italian transfer chief managed to shift plenty of deadwood, freeing up some much-needed salary space, whilst making shrewd signings in promising starlets Bryan Gil and Pape Matar Sarr.

In terms of more senior first-teamers, 2020/2021 Serie A MVP award-winner Cristian Romero comes in as a hopeful solution to Tottenham’s long-time central defensive issues and Pierluigi Gollini adds some steel between the sticks.

Spurs also snapped up exciting full-back Emerson Royal from Barcelona.

Paratici has been a busy man at Spurs, with former Lilywhites defender Hutton in disbelief at something else he has been doing.

The Latest: Hutton can’t believe Paratici habit at Spurs…

Speaking to Football Insider, the BBC Radio 5 Live pundit and ex-Scotland international has been left baffled by his decision to sit in the dug-out with Tottenham players during Premier League matches so far this season.

Both the 49-year-old and fellow club chief Steve Hitchen have been present in the technical area for Spurs’ last two home matches in the English top flight, something which is said to unsettle some Lilywhites players according to The Sun.

Giving his take, Hutton is in full agreement that this practice is ‘strange’.

“That’s a strange one – I’ve never seen that before,” he explained.

“You don’t see Daniel Levy down there sitting next to the manager.

“I know the manager and the director of football have to have a good working relationship, but when it comes to game day and matters on the field – it’s all about the manager and the players.

“I don’t think the director of football has to be anywhere near that.

“He’s done his job with the recruitment; he doesn’t have to be down there.

“If I was sitting there and the director of football was sat next to me – that would feel a little bit strange.”

The Verdict: Unneccessary?

While it is fairly entertaining as a bystander getting to watch the enigmatic Paratici and co in the dugout with Nuno Espirito Santo’s squad, if it makes players uncomfortable, the former Juventus transfer guru should return upstairs.

The last thing Nuno needs as he aims to nurture Tottenham’s steady momentum is needless disruption, especially from the club’s managing director of all people.

In other news: ‘So excited’, ‘Start him vs Palace’…Many Spurs fans wowed by another ‘generational’ talent, find out more here.

After cruising to a 5-1 victory over FC Porto in their latest Champions League fixture thanks to goals from Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino, Liverpool are back in Premier League action today with a showdown against Manchester City at Anfield.

Ahead of the clash against Pep Guardiola’s side, the Reds were handed a double injury blow with Jurgen Klopp revealing that Trent Alexander-Arnold and Thiago Alcantara will be unavailable through injury.

Taking this into account, let’s take a look at how we think Liverpool will set up against City – we expect Klopp to make two changes from the team that started in midweek.

How will Liverpool line up against City?

In goal, we expect Alisson Becker to continue despite managing to concede three goals in Liverpool’s previous league outing in their 3-3 draw against Brentford.

At right-back, with Alexander-Arnold out and Klopp listing Neco Williams, James Milner and Joe Gomez as potential replacements for the injured defender, we feel as though Klopp will stick with Milner, who played in the right-back position against Porto before being substituted in the second half, perhaps to rest him before the City game.

At left-back we expect Andy Robertson to start after impressing in midweek by earning himself an overall match rating of 7.9/10, the highest of any Liverpool defender on the day according to SofaScore.

For the two centre-back positions, we feel Klopp will stick Virgil van Dijk but drop Joel Matip to give £70k-per-week Ibrahima Konate the chance to prove himself against a top team after taking part in Liverpool’s 3-0 Carabao Cup match against Norwich City.

In midfield, we expect Liverpool to stick with the same trio that played against Porto with club captain Jordan Henderson, Fabinho and Curtis Jones, who provided two assists in midweek and earned himself a higher match rating than any other Reds player on the day with 8.5/10 (as per SofaScore).

As for Liverpool’s attacking line, we think Klopp will stick with Mane and Salah after their success in midweek but replace Diogo Jota with Roberto Firmino to reward him for his goals against Porto.

Whether Klopp makes these changes or not, everyone who plays in the match will have to be at the top of their game if the Reds are going to beat the Manchester club, especially in an attacking sense given City have only conceded one goal so far this season.

In other news: Klopp must trust “remarkable” £140k-p/w LFC ace on Sunday, could be difference-maker – opinion

Aston Villa announced on Thursday afternoon that assistant manager Richard O’Kelly has decided to leave the club.

And, as to be expected, a number of Villa fans have been sharing their thoughts on the confirmed news on social media.

O’Kelly, who arrived alongside Dean Smith at Villa Park back in 2018, becomes the second member of staff to leave this summer after John Terry’s departure in July.

The club didn’t reveal why the 64-year-old has left, with O’Kelly describing his time at Villa as a ‘tremendous privilege’.

Villa are now expected to recruit a new coach over the coming weeks to work alongside Smith and remaining assistant Craig Shakespeare.

It’s not exactly ideal news for Villa with O’Kelly leaving just days before the new season gets underway, and some supporters appeared to be shocked.

Villa fans react

The club shared the news regarding O’Kelly on their official Twitter page. These Villa fans all seemed to be stunned at the update, with one describing it as ‘worrying’.

“I’m actually done”Credit: @MDavidson1874″Wow, gobsmacked by this one.”Credit: @luckysalt”Gutted. Best of luck Ned!”Credit: @jonesy73″Yes but worrying trend…”Credit: @chaiwaller8″John Terry, Jack Grealish and now Richard O’Kelly I can’t believe this”Credit: @catrinavfc”What, why!? I hope it’s not health related! I remember watching the video of him with Buendia only a week or so ago with him saying he’s looking forward to working with him. :/”Credit: @AVFCJono”sorry?”Credit: @M10Packed

In other news: ‘As if’, ‘Gets no bigger than this’, ‘Brilliant’ – Many AVFC fans react to ‘class’ news. 

According to journalist Pete O’Rourke (via GIVEMESPORT), West Ham signing Eden Hazard would be a ‘real signal of intent’ to the rest of the Premier League.

The Lowdown: Struggling in Madrid

Since joining Spanish giants Real Madrid in 2019 in a deal worth £103.5m, Hazard has not looked like the same player who tore up the Premier League in a Chelsea shirt a few years ago.

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The Belgian winger has failed to score in 13 appearances for Los Blancos this season. This follows his poor form since his arrival in the Spanish capital, where he has scored just five goals in 56 games during an injury-plagued stint at the Bernabeu.

When compared to his stats in a Chelsea shirt, where he scored 110 goals and produced 92 assists in 352 games, it is evident that Hazard is a shadow of the player he once was.

The Latest: Hazard linked with Hammers move

El Nacional previously reported that West Ham had made a €25m (£21.3m) offer for Hazard. This fee seems low at face level, but when combined with his reported £381,000 weekly wage, the finances soon add up.

O’Rourke believes that the Hammers’ prospective signing of Hazard would be a huge signal to the rest of the Premier League if it materialises.

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, he said: “West Ham, they can offer him Premier League football, and could match his wages, you can never say never in football. It would be a real signal of intent if West Ham can convince Eden Hazard to move to the London Stadium.”

The Verdict: Return to London unlikely

Earning 116 caps for the Belgium national side, Hazard has not been short of praise. Back in 2018, Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher compared the winger’s power to that of Diego Maradona and Pele, also claiming that he was ‘the best player in the Premier League’ at the time.

This was reinforced by former Manchester United midfielder Ander Herrera, who said that the Belgian is ‘the best player I have ever played against in my five years playing in the Premier League’.

With these glowing testimonies, it is easy to see why the arrival of Hazard would send a huge message to the rest of the league. Challenging for Champions League qualification, West Ham could be the ideal destination for Hazard to revive his career.

If the Hammers manage to scrape together the money, this transfer could prove to be a shrewd move for both parties. However, his staggering weekly wage could prove to be too much for the Irons, and that may be the rock on which this intriguing rumour perishes.

In other news: West Ham eyeing ‘unbelievable’ ace for Moyes as contact is made with agent

Leeds United’s return to the Premier League saw them embark on a bit of a spending spree under Marcelo Bielsa, and the Whites’ most high-profile signing was undeniably the capture of Valencia star Rodrigo.

Reports claimed that the Yorkshire club shelled out a club-record sum to bring the Spain international at Elland Road, and almost a couple of years later, it’s quite safe to say things haven’t really worked out for the forward – he’s managed just 12 goals and three assists in 55 games across all competitions for Leeds.

What perhaps makes a move for Rodrigo even worse now on reflection, is that they were actually also attempting to sign Rafael Leao at the same time back in 2020.

Football Insider claimed that the Portugal Leao was of interest to Leeds, although it was suggested that luring him away from the San Siro may prove to be “complicated” as Milan still had “high hopes” for him.

It was added the Whites had made enquiries for the attacker, and that if Milan were going to sell, it would be for nothing less than the £20m they themselves have paid to sign him for French side Lille.

Since that deal failed to come to fruition, Leao has come on leaps and bounds in his time in Serie A.

Now valued at £60m by CIES, the 22-year-old – almost a decade younger than Rodrigo – has really come to the party for Milan this season, bagging 11 goals and providing another six assists in 34 games across all competitions – including notching in the Champions League earlier this year.

The president of Leao’s former club, Lille, Gerard Lopez simply declared him the “Portuguese Mbappe”, while Sporting CP’s former youth coach, Tiago Fernandes, proclaimed: “I pushed (then-Sporting coach) Jorge Jesus to take him in the first team and I said to him: ‘Yes, Gelson Martins has talent but Rafael is the best player in the history of the Sporting Academy’. At youth level, he was better than Cristiano Ronaldo.”

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Dubbed as an “extraordinary talent” by Croatia legend Zvonimir Boban, it’s clear missing out on Leao may rank as one of  Victor Orta’s biggest howlers at Elland Road, especially when you consider how Rodrigo’s career has turned out.

The man with 34 career goals to his name could have been a superstar signing for the Whites up front.

AND in other news: Orta can now axe “awful” £55k-p/w flop as Leeds eye “underrated” £12.5m-rated “threat”

A behind-the-scenes Rangers setback has emerged on the make-up of Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s backroom team…

What’s the talk?

According to the Daily Record, Jean-Paul van Gastel may not be able to link up with the 46-year-old at Ibrox until January due to his contract with Chinese cliub Guangzhou City.

The report claimed that the Dutchman has been lined up to join Van Bronckhorst’s coaching team, having worked as his assistant at Feyenoord, but they will need to iron out a deal with Guangzhou if they want him to arrive before the next transfer window.

Gutting blow

This news will surely be gutting for Rangers fans as it appears to be a sizeable blow to Van Bronckhorst’s short-term plans at Ibrox. The issue with him joining in the middle of a season whilst out of a job is that he has to piece together a backroom staff from scratch with certain people in work elsewhere, with Van Gastel still under contract in China.

Gastel and Van Bronckhorst worked hand-in-hand at Feyenoord and were hugely successful as a pair in the Netherlands. In four years, they won five trophies for the Rotterdam club and averaged 1.99 points per game across 176 matches – finishing third, first, fourth and third in the Eredivisie in that time.

In the 2016/17 campaign, they led the team to 84 points and the league title as they won 26 of their 34 matches and averaged 2.41 points per game. This provides an insight into how well they worked together at Feyenoord and the sort of influence they could have in Glasgow moving forward, which is why Van Gastel not arriving until January could be a big blow for both Van Bronckhorst and Rangers.

Therefore, Gers fans may not see the full potential of Van Bronckhorst’s staff until the second half of the season. They may need to wait until January for the 46-year-old’s right-hand man to come through the door for his management to be as effective as possible. Van Gastel already worked with him at Feyenoord and will know exactly what he wants from the players, which could make him a useful coach to have on the training ground to ensure that everyone knows what is expected of them.

This is why Gers supporters may be gutted by this update on the 49-year-old coach. Hopefully Ross Wilson will be able to work out a deal with the Chinese club to bring him to Scotland sooner rather than later, but it remains to be seen whether or not that will be possible.

AND in other news, Van Bronckhorst can find his next Van Persie at Rangers in £33k-p/w gem who’s “like a jungle cat”…

Things look to be on the up for Wolverhampton Wanderers under the leadership of Bruno Lage in recent weeks, with the team picking up 10 points from a possible 12 over their last four Premier League fixtures, and the 45-year-old will undoubtedly be hoping for yet another positive result when Everton visit Molineux on Monday night.

With the Toffees currently on a run of contrasting form, having picked up just four points from as many games, Lage will know that his side have a fantastic opportunity to close to the gap to those currently occupying the European places in the Premier League table, with Wolves just one point behind Manchester United in seventh going into the weekend.

However, after Fernando Marcal missed out on the 1-1 draw with Leeds United last weekend as a result of a calf injury, the performance of Rayan Ait Nouri while standing in for the 32-year-old will have presented the Wolves manager with something of a selection headache ahead of the Everton clash.

Indeed, over the course of his 83 minutes on the pitch at Elland Road, the £16.2m-rated youngster impressed on the left-hand side of Wolves’ back five, making three clearances, one interception and five tackles, as well as successfully completing two dribbles and two long balls and winning eight duels.

These returns saw the defender receive a match rating of seven from Birmingham Live’s Alex Dicken, with the journalist stating of Ait Nouri’s display: “The Frenchman justified his selection with a good performance. He offered a threat going forward and worked Meslier on one occasion, whilst competing with Leeds’ star man Raphinha.”

It remains unclear at present whether the £29k-per-week Marcal will be fit to face the Toffees on Monday, but even if the player who Romain Saiss dubbed a “strong” option has recovered from his knock, Lage must ensure that he sticks with Ait Nouri. The 20-year-old proved last time out that he is more than capable of doing a better job at left-back than the Brazilian, which is reflected in the youngster’s 6.78 WhoScored rating this season compared with Marcal’s 6.63.

In other news: Wolves handed major boost over “special” £41k-p/w beast, Bruno Lage will be buzzing