All posts by n8rngtd.top

When Bjorn Engels joined Aston Villa in the summer of 2019, Dean Smith would no doubt have been hoping that the 6 foot 4 giant would help create a formidable back-line for the club at Premier League level.

Signed for a reported £9m from French side Reims, Engels was among a clutch of signings spearheaded by the influence of then sporting director, Suso.

Speaking after confirmation of his arrival at Villa Park, Smith said: “Björn is a player that I’ve been watching for the past 18 months. We’re very happy to have secured his services and look forward to working with him.”

But, sadly for both Engels and Villa, things just haven’t quite worked out for either party.

Injuries have played a considerable part in his lack of game-time for the club, but it’s been quite telling that even despite recovering from a couple of different problems this season, he’s still yet to make a single competitive appearance this campaign – the Belgian has either been an unnamed substitute or just completely out of the match-day squad.

And, earlier this calendar year, former Villa striker Gabby Agbonlahor urged the club to get rid of him, saying: “It’s time for him to move on. The problem with the Premier League now is you have to have pace in defence.

“Unless you’re an unbelievable defender and you can read the game unbelievably you need to have the pace at the back. That’s what Ezri Konsa, Tyrone Mings and Kortney Hause allow you. If they make a mistake they’ve got the pace to make up for it. If they’re left one-on-one they’ve got the pace to stop the attacker. The problem with Engels is that if he’s left one-on-one he hasn’t got that pace so he’s going to get found out a bit.”

 Now, CIES have him valued at just £1.7m, a real statement of just how far his stock has fallen during his time at Villa Park, and perhaps throwing even further weight behind why the club should simply cut their losses on him.

With Ezri Konsa and Tyrone Mings fully established as the club’s main centre-back partnership, there’s simply no room for Engels. While £9m may not sound like too much in the modern market, it’s still surely a transfer blunder that Villa regret making.

Meanwhile, this Villa man was shocking in the defeat to Spurs…

Premier League giants Arsenal are reportedly set to return for Emiliano Buendia in the summer transfer window.

Arsenal were linked with a move for Norwich’s Buendia in the January transfer window but ended up signing Martin Odegaard on loan from Real Madrid. Now though, it has been suggested that they could return to go after Buendia in the summer.

Norwich will fight to keep Buendia

EuroSport have recently reported about Buendia and Arsenal. The report states that Norwich will fight to keep their best assets at the club in the summer transfer window and this includes not just Buendia, but Todd Cantwell and Max Aarons as well.

The report mentions interest from Arsenal and suggests that while they wanted him in the winter, they were told that the Argentine wasn’t available at any price. But the Gunners will look to reignite their interest in the midfielder in the summer and they are also expected to make an official offer for the Argentine.

Buendia’s Norwich find themselves at the top of the Championship and they’re ten points clear of second-placed Watford. Buendia has had a superb campaign, with the 24-year-old scoring ten times and picking up 12 assists as well.

Buendia would be a good signing for Arsenal

Since Odegaard is at Arsenal on a loan deal the Gunners may need to replace him if they want to have a creative threat to rival Emile Smith Rowe for playing time. Buendia’s 12 assists are more than Willian (six) and Nicolas Pepe (three) combined.

Buendia’s goalscoring contributions this season suggest that he could add a lot of goals from the midfield for the Gunners. He is valued at only £14.40 million, meaning even if Norwich demand more than that valuation he certainly wouldn’t break the bank. All signs point towards this being an excellent move from Mikel Arteta and the club.

In other news, Arsenal have been linked with a move for a Ligue 1 defender – read more here.

Tottenham could land the perfect midfielder for Jose Mourinho in Inter’s Nicolo Barella.

What’s the story?

With Spurs stumbling somewhat in the Premier League – they now find themselves nine points behind fourth-placed West Ham – it’s no surprise that the club are already being linked with a number of players ahead of the summer transfer window.

According to Italian publication CalcioMercato, Inter’s Barella is attracting more and more attention from the likes of Spurs, but that the Nerazzurri are intent on tying him down to a new contract.

Perfect for Mourinho

Wherever Mourinho has been, having players who are mentally strong and tough is something the Portuguese man appears to really lean towards – you only have to look at how Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg has become a firm favourite of his since his move from Southampton last summer.

And, in the £49.5m-rated Barella, Spurs could give Mourinho another player in that mould.

Italian icon Arrigo Sacchi has spoken glowingly about the kind of characteristics that Barella possesses that would surely make him an instant favourite of the Spurs boss.

He said: “He is a warrior full of determination. He is humble, he remembers his mistakes and has a desire to correct them. Nicolo had humility and passion, the two things I was looking for in my players, long before he had good feet.”

And, his former coach at Cagliari, Rolando Maran, raved about his passing abilities, saying: “He is extraordinary. I put him as a playmaker in front of the defence towards the end and he didn’t put a foot wrong. He just gets better and better.”

Having Barella alongside Ndombele could give Spurs two exciting midfield talents who are capable of getting their foot on the ball and dominating proceedings in the middle of the park.

While Ndombele has got the guile and power to skip past challenges and beat the press, Barella can help set the tempo and feed the likes of the Frenchman and those further forward with his incisive passing – his tally of five assists in Serie A is comfortably more than any Spurs midfielder (Hojbjerg with three).

Given his personality and his actual ability on the pitch, Barella seems like he’s the perfect midfield man for Mourinho.

Glasgow Rangers could have Scott Arfield fit for their clash with Kilmarnock at Ibrox on Saturday.

What’s the word?

The midfielder was absent for the Scottish Premiership draw at Hamilton Academical that saw Rangers surrender the lead.

Arfield has missed the past seven weeks of action for the Light Blues having last played against Hibernian on Boxing Day due to an ankle injury.

Joe Aribo has stepped up in his absence to calm any concerns from Rangers fans, as he has provided a goal and an assist in his past four Premiership fixtures, although Bongani Zungu’s struggles at Ibrox have continued after an abject performance against Hamilton.

However, Steven Gerrard has confirmed Arfield could feature against Killie, as could Jermain Defoe with the striker not playing since the 5-0 win over Ross County on January 23.

Gerrard said: “Scott was back and it was great to watch him bring enthusiasm back and see him smiling again. He seems close to being ready to go, but has been out for seven weeks.
“Kemar will miss the game and Alfredo serves his last game. Jermain has been out for two or three weeks and will come into the squad so we are in a good place in terms of health and availability but we have a couple of suspensions to serve.”

Huge boost for Steven Gerrard

Gerrard confirming that Arfield could be fit to face Kilmarnock will come as a boost for the Light Blues following a mixed run of results for the Premiership league leaders after Rangers opted against strengthening in the midfield in the winter transfer window.

The Gers were linked with a plethora of options to add depth behind the likes of Alfredo Morelos and Kemar Roofe, with Preston’s Daniel Johnson, Bournemouth’s Jack Wilshere, Chelsea’s Billy Gilmour and Coventry City’s Gustavo Hamer among their reported targets.

However, the Ibrox hierarchy ultimately decided against splashing the cash on a temporary replacement, which could work well in their favour if Arfield is able to hit the ground running after recovering from injury.

But the fact remains that Gerrard now faces one of the biggest selection headaches that the 40-year-old has had to deal with since taking charge of Ibrox.

For now, Aribo, Glen Kamara and Steven Davis are Gerrard’s preferred midfield three, with the trio all starting against Celtic in the second Old Firm derby of the season.

The Finland international himself has started 20 out of 28 Premiership fixtures this season so is a safe bet to start against Tommy Wright’s team, whilst Davis is expected to replace the struggling Zungu at the base of the midfield.

Instead, Arfield may come in for Aribo, but dropping the Nigerian would be an incredibly harsh decision off the back of his recent performances.

The 32-year-old is clearly held in high esteem by the manager, but he’s got to consider his options carefully before making such a cut-throat decision.

We don’t envy him the decision, that’s for sure.

AND in other news, Bongani Zungu is starting to run out of time to impress at Glasgow Rangers…

According to Sunday World’s Kevin Palmer, Liverpool are likely to revive their interest in Lille centre-back Sven Botman following the injuries to Joel Matip and Fabinho, which could leaves Klopp with no senior centre-back options ahead of the weekend’s game with West Ham.

What’s the word?

Liverpool’s need to sign a centre-back has been clear to fans, and most likely Jurgen Klopp, for some time now but following the injuries suffered by Fabinho and Matip recently, the Reds must bring in a defender before the transfer deadline, otherwise, they risk providing a feeble title defence.

Matip was forced off at half-time in the 3-1 win against Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday night after damaging his ankle ligaments, and the early suggestions are that it could be a long absence for the Cameroonian international.

Fabinho, meanwhile, missed the game at Spurs with a minor muscle injury, but there is currently no timescale for when he might return to action.

It was no surprise, therefore, that after the final whistle, links to Lille centre-back Sven Botman resurfaced, with the young defender having been heavily linked with a move to Anfield earlier in the window.

Should LFC sign him?

Botman’s reputation in France is quickly growing after impressing with his performances for the Ligue 1 side following his summer arrival from Ajax.

In 21 appearances in the French top-flight, the Dutch centre-back has averaged an excellent 7.07 rating, which ranks him as Lille’s fourth-best performer so far this season.

He has also helped Les Dogues to an impressive 10 clean sheets so far this season and on an episode of the Transfer Window podcast, journalist Duncan Castles relayed the thoughts of his centre-back partner Jose Fonte:

“Fonte has played with an array of top-class centre-backs in his career including Virgil van Dijk, Toby Alderweireld, Pepe in the Portuguese national team and Gabriel last season who is now at Arsenal.

“From what I understand of Fonte’s impression of Botman, he thinks he’s the best of all of them.

“He describes him as a machine and a man who doesn’t make mistakes and also indicates that for a young player playing alongside an experienced professional, he’s very open to learning and taking instruction and improving his game.”

If Fonte is rating Botman higher than Van Dijk, with whom he played with at Southampton, then he would surely prove to be an excellent signing for the Reds.

Botman has won 3.6 aerials per game on average so far this season, which is more than any of Van Dijk, Gomez, Matip or Fabinho, which suggests that he would be a useful addition to Klopp’s squad this month.

As he is just 21-years-old, he certainly wouldn’t be a panic buy and could be an excellent long-term option for the Reds to have, so it seems as if the £22.5 million-rated defender could well be the man to solve the defensive crisis in Klopp’s squad if he is brought to Anfield by Michael Edwards this month.

And, in other news… Forget Trent: LFC “machine” who played four key passes was Klopp’s star vs Spurs

David Moyes will not find his Youssef En-Nesyri alternative in Anthony Lozano amid claims West Ham United are considering a move to sign the Cadiz CF striker.

What’s the word?

According to Goal, the Irons have turned their attention to Lozano’s potential availability after Sevilla forward En-Nesyri declared he had no intentions of leaving his La Liga side this month.

Lozano is one of a number of options the Hammers have since turned to in search of a replacement for Sebastien Haller, with talks also said to have taken place with FC Girondins de Bordeaux over Sunderland product Josh Maja.

Cadiz are reluctant to part ways with Lozano mid-way through the season but will grant the 27-year-old a move should they receive offers worth at least €10m (£9m), as the sum would simply be too good for the Nuevo Estadio Ramon de Carranza natives to turn down.

Lozano, who only boasts a TransferMarkt valuation of £2.25m, has started 11 of Cadiz’s La Liga fixtures this term and made five appearances from the bench, while scoring two of his mere three goals for the season following the turn of the year.

The Royal Spanish Football Federation communicating that Lozano now has federal approval for Spanish nationality is thought to have acted as encouragement for those tracking the Honduras forward this month, including West Ham.

It has previously been speculated in the Spanish media that the Irons could offer as much as €15m (£13.5m) for Lozano, as Moyes strives to add depth behind Michail Antonio in his attacking ranks following Haller’s move to AFC Ajax.

Should West Ham sign Lozano?

Haller’s departure certainly left a hole in Moyes’ squad that the West Ham boss needs to fill before the winter market slams shut on February 1, as he can ill-afford to not replace the Ivory Coast international and see Antonio again be sidelined after two hamstring injuries.

But whether Lozano is the answer to Moyes’ problems remains to be seen, as it is very much unlikely that the 27-year-old would be anything more than an underwhelming addition doomed to fail in the Premier League.

The £7,500-per-week attacker has only scored three goals in 16 La Liga games this season, and is even underperforming with FBref data showing an expected goals of 3.8. Part of the problem for Lozano has been the timid nature of his attempts, with an expected goals per game of only 0.39 thanks to directing just 13 shots on target to date.

It is taking close to ten shots for Lozano to score in the Spanish top-flight this term due to his wayward efforts and the low frequency of his firing, while needing close to five shots to find the mark before one beats an opposition’s goalkeeper.

Lozano bringing an attacking presence beyond goals would be doubted, too, with only 0.1 assists per game – above his expected assists of 0.07. He has further made only 28 progressive carries to bring Cadiz further up the pitch, with 134 of his dribbles failing to see the Honduras international move play more than five yards with the ball at his feet.

En-Nesyri, for comparison, has struck home 12 goals in 19 La Liga games for Sevilla this season as the 23-year-old finds the net with one in every three shots taken, to see that he significantly outscores his expected goals of 6.9, per FBref.

With Moyes also playing with one centre-forward and favouring Antonio due to his high work-rate, it would be a wonder if Lozano even gets on the pitch when West Ham boast a fully-fit squad. This makes it ever more pressing that David Sullivan and Moyes walk away from any deal with Cadiz.

AND in other news, West Ham are working on a deal to sign a £13.5m-rated striker on loan…

As the January transfer window draws near, Leeds United could be forced to scour the market for even more new signings. Despite their fruitful summer haul, Marcelo Bielsa currently finds himself with just one fit senior centre-back ahead of their clash with Burnley at the weekend.

His defence is undoubtedly where the Argentinian must focus his attention, but his attacking options could also do with some love. At the moment, Leeds’ only major source of goals is Patrick Bamford, which isn’t good enough for a side looking to survive in the Premier League.

Despite all their options out wide, the Whites are struggling to leave their mark when it comes to getting forward. However, there is a man that Leeds have been linked with who could help solve these worries.

Leeds interested in Ryan Christie

According to 90min, Ryan Christie has attracted a lot of attention from the Premier League. Both Leeds and Leicester are reported to be considering tabling an offer for the Scot’s services. Should the right one come Celtic’s way, Peter Lawwell might be forced into selling up, especially following the Glasgow outfit’s inconsistent form this season and the financial impact of their European exit.

Christie has contributed four goals and ten assists to his side’s campaign so far, along with his iconic performance for Scotland in their Euro qualifying win over Serbia last month. His influence on his country, along with his versatility to play in both midfield and on the wing, have seemingly made him a very hot target ahead of the January window.

Indeed, he recently received top praise from Chris Sutton, who lauded the £8,000 per week gem as a “manager’s dream”.

Christie would be a great addition to this Leeds side if Celtic are willing to let him go and Victor Orta must make him a priority for the club’s winter shopping. The 25-year-old’s attacking influence would be ideal in support of Bamford, who is extremely overworked in Bielsa’s front-line.

In other news, Orta must move for “real talent” Michael Olise to replace Forshaw…

According to an injury update by Evening Standard journalist Dan Kilpatrick, Tottenham and Jose Mourinho will be without ‘phenomenal’ star Giovani Lo Celso for Brentford and he is now ‘expected’ to miss the rest of January in a big blow for Spurs. 

Lo Celso had been shining in the number 10 role alongside Tanguy Ndombele this season, becoming a creative spark for Mourinho behind a typical front three of Steven Bergwijn, Harry Kane and Son Heung-min – but Tottenham are expecting to be without his influence for the rest of the month.

Lo Celso blow emerges in injury update

Despite already being injured, the previous time frame wasn’t this severe, but Kilpatrick has explained in an update that Lo Celso is likely to be out of action for longer than was first reported.

Originally, the Argentine was set to miss the festive period after Spurs confirmed a muscle problem, but this news means Mourinho will be without Lo Celso for Brentford as well as for the entirety of January.

Transfer Tavern take

In a fresh setback for the 24-year-old, Tottenham will have to heavily rely on Ndombele as the sole number 10 option – with Mourinho possessing a severe lack of attacking midfield depth bar the Frenchman.

Lo Celso’s untimely absence potentially highlights the club’s need to land a capable attacking midfielder in January, with Daniel Levy linked to a potential swoop for RB Leipzig star Marcel Sabitzer.

Time will tell whether Spurs dip into the transfer market, but if more injury problems arise, Levy may be forced to invest yet again despite a fruitful summer for the club.

In other news: Jose Mourinho dropped a two-word January update, find out more here.

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, former West Brom and England midfielder Carlton Palmer has offered insight into how Slaven Bilic’s relationship with sporting director Luke Dowling might have broken down.

The Baggies sacked the Croatian earlier this week, less than 24 hours after picking up an impressive 1-1 draw at Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.

They acted very quickly in finding a successor as Premier League veteran Sam Allardyce was appointed on an 18-month contract with the sole aim to steer Albion to safety.

If the 66-year-old pulls that off, then he’ll be in line for a £1.5m bonus whilst there’s also a break clause should the Midlands outfit get relegated this term.

Bilic led West Brom to promotion from the Championship last term, but could only manage seven points from their opening 13 matches, though he largely missed out on numerous transfer targets throughout the summer window.

He even saw a key member of his squad in Ahmed Hegazi sold behind his back by Dowling, against his wishes too, which Palmer believes was the major turning point that turned things sour at the Hawthorns.

The ex-Baggies man told FFC:

“Is it a case that Slaven’s been very vocal about the board and how they haven’t supported him, and the way that he’s been treated by the board? It could be a reason why they decided to let go of him.

“As a manager or a coach, you’re not going to be happy when you’ve not been kept in the loop about a player that has been sold. That’s not acceptable and I know Slaven wasn’t very happy about it, and quite rightly so.”

Indeed this appears to very much be the case.

The Athletic’s Steve Madeley revealed that Bilic told staff privately, “It sometimes feels like we’ve been relegated to the Premier League, not promoted,” following the sale of the Egyptian to Al-Ittihad – one of the Croatian’s former clubs.

Whilst the Daily Mail have also reported of a rift between Dowling and Bilic as Albion sat by and watched the likes of Ollie Watkins and Eberechi Eze join their Premier League rivals.

Big Sam may have to do wonders with what he’s already got with the January window on the horizon.

AND in other news, Exclusive: Pundit drops West Brom takeover hint after Sam Allardyce appointment…

Glasgow Rangers manager Steven Gerrard must give Glenn Middleton his time to shine at the Govan stadium amid reports Leeds United remain interested in Ryan Kent.

What’s the word?

Former England international Danny Mills claims Rangers could insert a colossal new release clause into Kent’s contract as they are prepared to increase his wages in an attempt to convince him to stay at the club.

The Light Blues remain locked in negotiations with the £3.1m-rated winger’s representatives as his current contract will run out in 2023 and they are keen to offer him a contract extension with new and improved terms.

Speaking to Football Insider, Mills said: “Their value will definitely be going up because of their performances in the Europa League.

“Ryan Kent’s release clause previously was £20million and he has a fantastic season do they have the right to say ‘hold on, he’s now worth £30million or £40million’.

“They’ll be lots of negotiations going round with how the deal works and what their valuation is now.”

But, whilst it remains to be seen if Leeds will return for their long-term target in January, such an offer somewhere in that region might prove to be too tempting to ignore. If this is indeed the case, Gerrard must give Middleton the time to shine more often.

Time to shine

The 20-year-old has become something of a forgotten man in recent times, having burst on to the scene as a fresh-faced teenager, but failed to impress during two unsuccessful loan spells at Hibernian and Bradford last season.

He has been hampered by injuries so far this season whilst he has largely been starved of opportunities due to Kent’s emergence on the left wing.

Gerrard has given the current Scotland U21 international just 35 minutes of first-team football so far this season, whilst he has been omitted from the Europa League squad, and has yet to feature in the Scottish Premiership so far.

But, whilst we said just this last month that Rangers should get rid of the versatile player in January, we may have been just a tad too hasty.

The Ibrox boss believes Middleton can still have a part to play as the Gers seek to regain the title for the first time since the 2010-11 season after he was handed a surprise recall as he replaced Borna Barisic at left-back during the 4-0 victory over Falkirk in the Betfred Cup.

When asked about his future, Gerrard offered some words of encouragement, saying: “Glenn has been on loan and had injuries but he has been back within the group for four or five weeks now.

“He has been working hard and playing for an opportunity.

“We think he can do left-back, left-wingback or left-wing and it was a strong cameo from him.”

In 29 games for the Gers, the youngster has scored five goals and supplied five assists in all competitions, including scoring a sensational screamer against Spartak Moscow in the Europa League.

Middleton clearly left quite the lasting impression after his brief cameo against Falkirk, so Gerrard must give the young Scotsman more opportunities to prove himself on a regular basis, rather than handing him a few minutes here and there as this will only serve to hinder his development as a player.

AND in other news, Steven Gerrard may regret his decision to axe Jermain Defoe from the Europa League squad…