All posts by z3u9t.icu

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Arsenal boss Unai Emery believes that Eddie Nketiah will eventually play regularly at Leeds United while on loan at the club, per Football.London.

What’s he said?

The striker joined the Championship club in the summer as he looked to gain more minutes and experience away from north London.

He has struggled for game time in Yorkshire, however, and has yet to make a start in the Championship.

In his seven substitute appearances, he has managed to score twice and has also netted two in the Carabao Cup, in games against Salford City and Stoke City.

Emery, though, insists that the youngster will be given opportunities to impress by Marcelo Bielsa.

He said: “Now is not the moment. We are in October. He’s now on loan at Leeds.

“I respect his coach, his decision and I think he’s going to play more. He’s going to deserve it.

“Each match he is playing with his national team, with Leeds is very important for him and for Arsenal. Our way with him is to give him the possibility of going on loan to play and to take confidence, rhythm and experience to use in the future for us.

“He is doing that. He is playing less than we want but I am sure he is going to play more.”

A close eye

Arsenal need to monitor Nketiah to ensure he is getting the playing time he so desperately needs.

As it stands, he is more regularly used as a substitute than a starter.

He is clearly a goalscorer – he netted 28 goals in 38 games for Arsenal’s U23 side and hit 15 in 16 for the U18s.

If he is to develop properly, if he is to become the striker the Gunners seem to expect him to be, he needs to play and he needs to be trusted.

As it is, he isn’t being given an opportunity; if that doesn’t change, Emery should take the difficult decision to bring the youngster back to the capital.

Arsenal will be hoping to build on their impressive start to their Europa League campaign against Standard Liege at the Emirates Stadium tonight.The Gunners triumphed in their first game of the European competition against Eintracht Frankfurt 3-0 in what was an impressive away performance.Watch Arsenal Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

For that match, outcast Shkodran Mustafi was included in the starting XI despite Unai Emery telling him he could leave in the summer. The fact that he kept a clean sheet will have boosted his confidence.

The Germany international is not exactly popular in north London, and he has often been criticised by the club’s supporters for his lacklustre displays in the past.

However, it seems that the Emirates Stadium faithful would now like to see him from the beginning again against the Belgian side.

They have taken to Twitter to share their thoughts, and you can see some of the best comments from the social media platform below.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Real Madrid had been chasing Paul Pogba for the entirety of last summer. Reports coming from Marca stated Zinedine Zidane wanted the Frenchman exclusively and no one else but Manchester United’s presumed price of €120m (£107.9m) proved to be too much.

And now, it seems like there’s a scenario in which they won’t even have to spend any money at all and could still get their desired player profile.

On the chalkboard

Pogba and Real Madrid had been a true love story throughout the summer.

The question of whether he would make the move was the talk of the transfer window for Los Blancos and after a price was slapped on him that not even Zidane’s club could match, the Frenchman remained at Old Trafford.

Watch Spanish Football Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

And obviously, Pogba is a player of great quality, that much is known to the footballing world, so Real’s interest doesn’t really come as a surprise.

But now, with the recent emergence of Valverde, it seems that chasing Pogba in a multi-million deal would be an unwise decision. After all, the 21-year-old Castilla talent fits the description perfectly.

A better alternative

Saying that Valverde is better than Pogba would be absurd. After all, we’re talking about a World Cup winner and one of Premier League’s best midfielders at the moment, despite United’s current struggles.

The Frenchman has averaged 1.8 shots and 2.6 key passes per game in the 2019/20 Premier League campaign and already has two assists to his name.

But even though Valverde can hardly match him stat to stat, he is just 21 and offers a similar output and similar qualities to Pogba.

Watch Lionel Messi and Gareth Bale answer the internet’s weirdest questions in the video below…

Just last weekend, in Real Madrid’s 4-2 victory over Granada, the young midfielder was incredible, tallying nine recovered balls, two of which then ultimately led to Los Blancos’ second and third goals.

Not to mention that he has one assist himself already and is capable of playing across multiple positions – as he confirmed himself when asked about his role in the team – offering Madrid the true box-to-box player they’ve been looking to find in Pogba.

With similar qualities that are bound to improve and with no price tag on his head, Valverde definitely looks like the better and cheaper alternative to the £107.9m-rated Frenchman.

His age is just a bonus and so is the fact he is a product of Castilla.

With enough trust and development, Valverde just might save Real Madrid a lot of money come next summer.

Paul who?

Of course, we’re joking about Kasper Schmeichel being a replacement for Vardy, but you can’t help but marvel at that overhead kick, and it’s certainly not something we expected the shot-stopper to be able to produce.

Watch Leicester City Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

The Dane clearly takes after his dad in the goalscoring department, as the Manchester United legend is one of few goalkeepers who have found the net in the Premier League era.

Don’t be too surprised if Schmeichel junior joins his father on that list in the future, as he’s shown in the above clip that he has something spectacular in his locker that nobody knew about.

[ad_pod ]

[ad_pod ]

Leeds came away with a 2-0 victory from Oakwell on Sunday as Eddie Nketiah and Mateusz Klich were on the scoresheet against Barnsley.

However, before the match even kicked off there was a rather comical moment in the tunnel surrounding the regular joker of the pack, Ezgjan Alioski.

In a video posted on Twitter, the North Macedonian can be seen teasing a former Leeds man in Aapo Halme.

Halme left Elland Road over the summer and was making his first appearance against his ex-employers but couldn’t get the best of his old teammates.

Alioski’s words in the tunnel provoked quite the reaction from Leeds fans on Twitter who were all quick to throw love his way.

One said that was the reason they got him on the back of their shirt while a further individual suggested he was an absolute nutter.

Another fan went as far as saying they wanted to name their child after him.

The left-sided player has played six times in the Championship this term, scoring once in the process and has since cemented his place over Barry Douglas.

[ad_pod ]

Southampton target Joakim Maehle has confirmed that he would be interested in a move to the Premier League in the summer in a report by Het Belang van Limburg, via Sport Witness.

The Saints lined up an €11.5million (£10m) bid for the Genk right-back in January, per Het Belang van Limburg via Sport Witness, but no transfer came off.

What’s the word?

Southampton’s reported interest in Maehle came after the Saints allowed Cedric Soares to join Inter Milan on loan.

Maehle has made 64 appearances for Genk since joining the club from Aalborg BK and has won two caps for Denmark’s Under-21 side.

And he admits that he was interested in moving to St Mary’s, while admitting that he hopes to complete a similar transfer in the summer.

Speaking to Het Belang van Limburg, via Sport Witness, he said: “I’m not going to say that I wasn’t interested. This was a nice proposal from a big club from a top competition.”

Former Wigan & Fulham man, Jimmy Bullard recently showed that he’s still got it! Check out the video below…

Asked if he could move in the summer, he added: “We will see that. If I keep on performing, this opportunity definitely needs to happen again. But whether that will be at the same club or in the same competition, you cannot predict now.”

Reignite interest in summer

This sounds very much like a come-and-get-me plea from Maehle.

The right-back would have the opportunity to link up with fellow Danes Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Jannik Vestergaard for the south coast outfit.

And it makes complete sense for the Saints to pursue a deal, particularly now that Cedric has been allowed to depart St Mary’s.

If Saints stay up – they are currently two points clear of 18th-placed Cardiff City in the Premier League – their interest may well be reignited, as Ralph Hasenhuttl looks to shore up his defence.

Indeed, the club have conceded 42 goals thus far this season, only four fewer than rock-bottom Huddersfield Town.

Plenty of Rangers fans have been left annoyed by Michael Stewart’s verdict on their swoop for Ryan Kent, and they all have the same response for the former Hearts and Hibs midfielder.

Finally. After an entire summer of Gers fans begging their club to sign Kent, the Liverpool winger has made the permanent switch to Ibrox.

At just 22 years of age and already with a PFA Young Player of the Year award under his belt, the value of the move is there for all to see.

£7m is a lot of money in the Scottish Premier League, sure, but Steven Gerrard is getting the player he wants and one young enough to make an impact in Glasgow for years to come.

Watch Rangers Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Stewart however, is baffled by the Gers’ investment, saying: “Liverpool were keen to sell him rather than loan him out again and if it was the case and they were going to sign him, why wasn’t it done before and get him settled into the team?”

He continued: “Rangers lost £15m (exact figure is £14.3m) in their last accounts just under a year ago in November when they came out, so £7m is a big chunk of money and it’s a case of where is that money coming from?”

Perhaps needless to say, these comments have not gone down well with the blue half of Glasgow, and after one fan responded to the comments by tweeting that they got the money from getting a pound for every time Stewart has said something “stupid”, several others responded with the same joke.

Take a look at some of the best Twitter reactions down below…

[ad_pod ]

West Ham United have opened talks concerning a deal to bring Patrik Schick to the London Stadium in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Italian media outlet Calcio Mercato (via London World), who claim that David Moyes’ side have entered into negotiations with Bayer Leverkusen regarding a £40m deal for the 25-year-old centre-forward.

The report goes on to state that the 58-year-old manager is keen to bring in attacking reinforcements into his side this month, as, since the sale of Sebastien Haller to Ajax in January last year, the Scot has had to make do with only Michail Antonio as an out and out centre-forward.

Moyes can finally replace Haller

Considering just how impressive Schick has been in Germany so far this season, in addition to the fact that the 6 foot 3 Czech international resembles the 6 foot 2 Haller in physical stature, should Moyes be able to get a deal over the line for the Leverkusen striker this month, he could well have finally replaced the Ivory Coast international at the London Stadium.

Indeed, over his 16 Bundesliga appearances in the current campaign, the £36m-rated man has been in devastating form, having already bagged an astonishing 18 goals, provided one assist and created one big chance for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 3.6 shots and making 0.6 key passes per game.

These returns have seen the £82k-per-week hitman who Bayer manager Gerardo Seoane dubbed an “incredible” talent average a quite remarkable SofaScore match rating of 7.33, ranking him as the ninth-best performer in the top flight of German football.

As such, should Schick be able to replicate this level of form following a potential switch to East London this winter, the 25-year-old would not only fill the Haller shaped hole in Moyes’ West Ham squad, but he could well go on to take Antonio’s starting spot leading the Irons’ attack.

In other news: Moyes must now launch WHU bid for £46k-p/w “phenomenon” as key transfer twist emerges

Newcastle United are keen on bolstering their goalkeeper options in this January transfer window, with Arsenal star Bernd Leno now being name-checked as a target.

What’s the story?

While the Magpies are keen on sealing a deal for Lyon midfielder Bruno Guimaraes, they are also actively seeking a new number one shot-stopper, and Sport BILD journalist Christian Falk has revealed that Leno is someone who the club are interested in.

Howe can finally axe Dubravka and Darlow

Both Dubravka and Darlow have come in for heavy criticism for their performances this season in the Premier League, with some fans dubbing the duo as liabilities following a couple of poor performances against Manchester United and Brentford respectively.

The latter in particular has arguably been the biggest source of frustration, and the stats point to why that is the case. As per FBREF, he has let in 3.4 goals more than he has been expected to keep out, which ranks him as the fourth-worst performing goalkeeper in the entire division.

Indeed, following that performance against Brentford, Martin Keown slammed: “Darlow, the goalkeeper, had a nightmare. It goes through him, it’s really poor. You want everyone to do everything right in those first few minutes when you score.

“I think everyone just got carried away in the euphoria of the goal. You just need that period to settle. You want your goalkeeper to do the basics, and he didn’t do that.”

Â

In Leno, the Magpies would be getting someone who has got vast experiences of playing at the highest level, having competed in the Champions League with Bayer Leverkusen and winning FA Cups with Arsenal in his time of England.

Despite losing his place towards the back end of last year to Aaron Ramsdale, Mikel Arteta was quick to insist that Leno has been as professional as ever, something that should impress Howe.

He said: “No that’s not true. He was top with his teammates in training and everything. That’s not true.

“Bernd was not pleased when I told him he wasn’t playing. But he is a top professional and a top person. He should be disappointed and he should support his teammates like they all have with him. That’s exactly what he’s done.”

Dubbed an “incredible talent”, the £100k-a-week earning Leno could provide Newcastle with a reliable first-choice goalkeeper that can finally axe some of the liabilities they’ve had in goal previously.

Meanwhile, Newcastle are keen on a deal for this Ligue 1 star…it’s not Bruno

Rangers go into their clash on Boxing Day at Ibrox seeking a ninth consecutive win in the Scottish Premiership as well as extending their lead at the top of the table.

The Gers are six points clear of their fierce rivals Celtic at the summit and Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side will be looking to further boost their title credentials vs St Mirren on Sunday afternoon.

Here is the side Football FanCast believes will start for Rangers as the Dutchman makes three changes from the 1-0 win over Dundee United.

As expected, goalkeeper Allan McGregor keeps his place in between the sticks with three of last weekend’s back-four retaining their spots. In comes Leon Balogun who could return from injury after a month out.

The £720k-rated Nigeria international, who has been labelled as “unbelievable” by Rangers legend Barry Ferguson, has returned to training and could make his first appearance under van Bronckhorst at Ibrox.

The further two changes come in the midfield as Scott Wright and Joe Aribo come in for John Lundstram and Scott Arfield.

Lundstram was replaced by Wright at halftime of the Dundee United victory, with the score being level, and the latter was awarded man of the match after making a crucial impact, something that should be on van Bronckhorst’s mind.

Aribo was also introduced before the Gers found their equaliser and is the club’s third-top-scorer so far this season with six goals making him a key player.

On the left of the midfield three is Glen Kamara, who has been a regular all season making 26 appearances in all competitions.

As for the front three, it is the usual combination of Ianis Hagi, Alfredo Morelos and Ryan Kent.

AND in other news, GVB receives huge Christmas injury boost at Ibrox that will leave Rangers fans buzzing…