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”…

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. 

Many Glasgow Rangers fans have been left buzzing over a hat-trick scored by Tony Weston for the club’s B team on Wednesday afternoon.

The striker helped himself to three of the four goals which saw his team win 4-2 away to Septemvri Sofia in the first leg of their UEFA Youth League tie, with Cole McKinnon grabbing the other as they had to come back from 2-1 down (rangers.co.uk).

Weston grabbed all the headlines in what was a spectacular individual performance which puts Rangers B in firm control going into the second leg.

At 18 years of age, the Englishman is certainly a prospect, and aside from scoring in the Challenge Cup for Rangers B earlier in the season, he has also featured at senior level for Blackpool, albeit a very brief cameo in the FA Cup in the 2019/20 campaign (Transfermarkt).

Nonetheless, Weston is surely a player who Giovanni van Bronckhorst will be keeping a close eye upon as he develops.

Rangers fans on Weston hat-trick

These Rangers fans were buzzing as Weston’s hat-trick was announced on Twitter, with one Light Blues supporter claiming that the youngster is a ‘quality’ player:

“This boy is insane”

Credit: @Gravybawz

“Baller!”

Credit: @CraigStewartRFC

“Quality wee player”

Credit: @N18721

“This boy’s a goal scoring machine.”

Credit: @dave_n84

“Get in there Tony. I hope GvB is watching”

Credit: @harryhastings

“This kid is on fire.”

Credit: @Govanbronkhorst

In other news, this official club post has left many Gers fans fuming

An update has emerged regarding Celtic’s interest in Derby County left-back Lee Buchanan.

What’s the talk?

According to the Daily Record, the Hoops are monitoring the 20-year-old as they eye up potential defensive reinforcements before the end of the transfer window.

The report claims that Nottingham Forest are also interested in the defender and have already had a £1.2m bid rejected by their fierce rivals Derby.

Ange would be delighted

Celtic must seal a deal for the 1.75m (5 foot 9) beast this summer as he would be a terrific addition to the squad and improve their defensive options in the short- and long-term. He could come in and compete with Greg Taylor for the left-back spot and provide a healthy competition for places which could help drive on both players to improve.

Taylor played 22 games in the Premiership last season and averaged an impressive WhoScored rating of 6.96. Buchanan, meanwhile, played 35 games in the Championship and averaged a rating of 6.92 when starting as a left wing-back and 6.63 overall. This suggests that he could come in and be a reliable option for Postecoglou to call upon either to start ahead of Taylor or as a backup to the 23-year-old initially.

Rams manager and Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney has said that the 20-year-old has a “bright future” and believes that he will become an England international.

He told the Derby Telegraph: “I think I can speak on behalf of my players. Lee Buchanan has got a really bright future and I am sure he will play for England within the next couple of years.

“He is getting better every game. The small sides of the game he needs to improve, he is improving on massively.”

This is high praise indeed from a man who knows exactly what it takes to play for England and in the Premier League and Champions League at the highest level. Therefore, Buchanan could have the potential to be a phenomenal player in the future if he lives up to the hype Rooney has placed on him.

Postecoglou would surely love it if the club brought in the 20-year-old because it would represent an exciting coaching challenge for him. He would be tasked with helping Buchanan become the England international Rooney believes he can be, and if he is able to reach those levels, Celtic would have a terrific player on their hands and all parties will be delighted with the outcome.

AND in other news, Celtic must axe £14k-p/w beast whose career is in “freefall”, his time’s up…

Leicester City may be looking for a striker to potentially replace Jamie Vardy this season or just planning ahead, however former Foxes defender Steve Howey admits that he can’t see Luis Suarez arriving at the King Power Stadium.

The Uruguayan enjoyed a stellar season with Atletico Madrid as they beat both Barcelona and Real Madrid to the La Liga title after being sold by the Catalan giants just last summer.

Suarez managed to find the net an impressive 21 times last season, only bettered by Gerard Moreno (23), Karim Benzema (23) and Lionel Messi (30), and after being linked with a move 12 months ago he may feel like a reunion with Brendan Rodgers could be a good way to go out.

Rodgers will obviously have a good relationship with Suarez as he managed the striker during his time at Liverpool, but Howey does not expect to see the 34-year-old linking back up with his former manager, as he exclusively told The Transfer Tavern:

“Rodgers knows him from his Liverpool days and Suarez got a few goals last season and obviously Atletico won La Liga, but I’d be surprised if he comes to Leicester to be honest.”

If the Foxes are looking for someone to replace Vardy, it would not be a 34-year-old striker that may only have a couple of seasons left in him at the top level and will surely demand a huge wage packet.

They appear to have found someone that could potentially take over from Vardy and that is Odsonne Edouard, who they are reportedly in talks with to bring in from Celtic and link up once again with Rodgers.

Sheffield United have confirmed Robin Olsen’s arrival at Bramall Lane.

What’s the latest?

In a statement posted on the Sheffield United website, the Blades revealed that the AS Roma goalkeeper had completed his switch to the Championship side, with the 31-year-old linking up with Slavisa Jokanovic’s side on a season-long loan deal.

The statement went on to claim that, following Aaron Ramsdale’s move to Arsenal earlier this summer, United have filled the 23-year-old’s gloves with an established international ‘keeper in the form of Olsen.

Jokanovic will be buzzing

While losing the services of Ramsdale will have undoubtedly come as a blow to Jokanovic, who himself claimed that he had no intention of parting with the England international this summer, the fact that the club have managed to replace the departed shot-stopper with a ‘keeper as talented as Olsen is sure to have left the 53-year-old manager buzzing.

Indeed, the £14k-per-week man highly impressed over his seven Premier League appearances while on loan at Everton last season, keeping two clean sheets, as well as conceding an average of just 1.3 goals and making three saves per game.

These returns saw the man Alexander Isak dubbed an “incredible” goalkeeper earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 6.87, ranking him as the Toffees’ 12th-best performer in the top flight.

The £2.7m-rated Olsen also impressed over his four appearances for Sweden at Euro 2020 this summer, keeping two clean sheets and making an average of 2.8 saves per match for his country – seeing him earn an average SofaScore match rating of 7.05.

As such, the addition of the 48-cap shot-stopper certainly looks to be something of a coup for Sheffield United, with his last-minute arrival undoubtedly providing Jokanovic with a substantial boost at a time the Serbian manager desperately needs one – with his side currently sitting in 23rd place in the Championship standings.

In other news: Reliable journo sheds light on failed last-gasp SUFC swoop, Jokanovic will be fuming

Newcastle United are now reportedly ‘close’ to signing Santiago Munoz before the summer transfer window ends.

The Lowdown: Agreement reached

According to ESPN, Munoz is one step away from signing for the St. James’ Park faithful, who have reached an agreement with his club Santos Laguna.

However, with the deadline just a few days away, they need to act fast if they are serious about bringing the striker in.

The Latest: Deal ‘close’

Writing in his latest piece for The Chronicle, Mark Douglas has said that a deal to bring Munoz to the North East is now ‘close’, as he was withdrawn from the Mexican league’s all-star match to hold talks with the Tyneside club.

However, the journalist has warned that a move will depend on whether the Premier League will give the club a permit, which is currently in the balance at the moment given the new Governing Body Endorsement (GBE) rules.

The Verdict: Sign

The Magpies are in desperate need of some more bodies to add to Steve Bruce’s squad, and while Munoz may not get into the set-up straight away given that he is just 19 years of age, he would at least offer another option.

The Mexican starlet has shown that he can score goals for both for club and country already, scoring eight goals in 16 matches for the Mexico U17’s as well as netting three strikes in 19 games for Santos (Transfermarkt).

Nonetheless, he is a player for the future who can certainly develop with the Toon, perhaps offering the club a chance to make a hefty profit in the future.

In other news, find out who NUFC are ‘in talks’ to sign here!

Fabio Silva arrived at Molineux with a lot of hype and excitement surrounding him but despite being just 18-years old and having been throwing in at the deep end, he’s flattered to deceive a lot of the time, but Wolves legend Steve Bull still holds out hope for him.

During his time with Porto, Silva was described as the ‘€125 million boy’ because of his release clause in his contract which was, and still is, the highest to ever have been inserted into a contract in Liga Nos.

Former manager Nuno Espirito Santo may not have expected to have handed Silva as many as 12 Premier League starts but his hands were tied when Raul Jimenez was ruled out for the season in November.

Four goals in 32 league appearances doesn’t scream wonderkid however, and he came under scrutiny from Jamie O’Hara on Twitter following his appearance against Tottenham earlier this month, with the talkSPORT pundit labelling him as “absolutely shocking”.

Bull, though, does believe that he will prove his worth in the future and justify his huge price tag and then some more, as he exclusively told Football FanCast:

“Mendes and the club must have seen something in him and they did say when he first joined the club that in four years he’ll be worth £100 million.

“The club must see something that a lot of supporters can’t, but I do think you might see him gradually blend into a well-established centre-forward.”

Just this week, Jeff Shi admitted that he thinks Silva is the best wonderkid in the world at his age but his goal-scoring record at Molineux says otherwise when you look at what players such as Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland have been and are doing.

Next season could be a huge one for Silva’s development as he can hopefully have an entire season playing, training and learning from Jimenez who is expected to start next season fully fit.

Tottenham Hotspur are plotting an ‘ambitious’ bid to sign Serge Gnabry, according to reports…

What’s the word?

The Daily Star claim Spurs are keen on landing the Bayern Munich contract rebel as he enters the final year of his current contract at the Allianz Arena, where he is thought to be holding out for a salary of around £13m-per-year.

The Bundesliga champions won’t be held ransom by his demands, so that has alerted many teams around Europe, including the Lilywhites and Real Madrid, though it remains to be seen how much the German side would sell him for – if at all, given their track-record in letting players leave for nothing.

CIES Football Observatory currently value him in the region of £60m.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-spurs-news-transfer-rumours-gossip-levy-conte-paratici-thfc” title= “Read the latest Spurs news!”]

Major coup

Whilst an ex-Arsenal player, Gnabry would be something of a coup for Spurs, should they manage to secure his signature in the coming months.

The German international struggled to make much of an impact during his time in England, eventually being sold to Werder Bremen for just £5m in 2016 but he has since emerged as one of the best wingers in Europe.

Across 168 appearances for the Bavarian giants, Gnabry has provided 63 goals and 40 assists, averaging a direct contribution once every 104 minutes, via Transfermarkt.

Spurs know too well of his ability after he absolutely tore Mauricio Pochettino’s side apart with four goals in Bayern’s 7-2 win in the Champions League back in October 2019.

His form has led to quite the praise indeed, including a particularly glowing endorsement from BT Sport pundit Rio Ferdinand, who claimed last season:

“His stats are phenomenal. He’s sitting in the top-level, world-class. He’s come to Germany and set the place on fire, he was absolutely stunning tonight. His decision making has been extraordinary.

“I’ll go as far as to say he’s one of the most improved players in football at the moment. I don’t think anyone’s upwards trajectory is as sharp as his.”

Also lauded as a “real weapon” by his former manager Niko Kovac to Bundesliga.com, Gnabry would certainly add a new dimension to Conte’s attack and given his links to the Gunners and exploits for Bayern, he’d be quite the stunning signing for the north Londoners.

If sporting director Fabio Paratici can pull this off, it would certainly be another one of his masterclass-like swoops.

AND in other news, Contact made: Spurs in talks for “phenomenal” £33m signing, he’s better than Bremer…