All posts by z3u9t.icu

The transfer window may be shut, but one West Brom star is being linked with an exit from the Hawthorns this week…

What’s the word?

According to Saudi Arabian outlet Okaz, Baggies centre-back Ahmed Hegazi is attracting the interest of Jeddah duo, Al-Ahli and Al-Ittihad, with the latter appearing to be the front-runners to land his signature.

Saudi Pro League teams are able to sign players until November 12th despite the English window closing earlier this month.

The 29-year-old joined Albion from Egyptian outfit Al Ahly in 2017 for £4m and is thought to be on wages of around £26.5k-per-week.

Unforgivable mistake

This would be one baffling move to make on Luke Dowling’s part.

The Baggies picked up their first clean sheet of the season on Monday evening as they held fellow top-flight strugglers Burnley to a 0-0 draw.

Slaven Bilic made the bold call to completely tinker with his backline, dropping his usual first-choice duo Kyle Bartley and Semi Ajayi for the experience of Premier League champion Branislav Ivanovic and Hegazi.

The Egypt international was quickly becoming a forgotten man at the Midlands club having not made a single matchday squad since the season-opener until now.

His first start and full 90 minutes on the pitch resulted in a rare clean sheet, so it would be inexcusable to let him go after that feat.

Per SofaScore, the veteran centre-back recorded seven clearances, won 71.4% of his aerial duels and also made one interception.

If he were to depart the Hawthorns, Bilic would be left limited in options with genuine experience at this level – to add to the four names already mentioned, both Cedric Kipre and Dara O’Shea are still very raw.

Ivanovic is certainly hoping that he and Hegazi can “build on that” performance, so Dowling must resist the urge to cash in on the 29-year-old just yet.

AND in other news, Pulis signing proving to be a TOTAL WASTE of money after latest snub…

With just two games to go in the Championship season, Leeds United need just one point to clinch their return to the Premier League after years of hurt and suffering.

Marcelo Bielsa has been the chief orchestrator behind the Whites’ impressive campaign, and after a hard-fought, grind-it-out victory against Barnsley on Thursday, English football’s top-flight has never looked closer than it has now.

And whilst the plaudits will ring out for the likes of Ben White, Kalvin Phillips and Spanish magician Pablo Hernandez, Leeds fans mustn’t forget the contributions of Illan Meslier.

Can you name every one of the Leeds’ top goalscorers from the past 15 seasons? It’s a tricky one…

World Class score: 95% | Expert score: 80% | Veteran score: 65% | Intermediate score: 45% | Amateur score: 30% | Try Again: 5%

The 6 foot 6 goalkeeper has been an ever-present for Bielsa’s side since Kiko Casilla’s ban, and for a side chasing promotion, losing your number one shot-stopper would surely have left some people fearing the worst.

Instead, Meslier has been nothing short of assured and composed in between the sticks, and it’s a sentiment echoed by both his manager and teammates as well.

Bielsa said earlier this year after a win over Hull: “Calm, confident, he took risks, good in the aerial play, gave us feeling he is confident”.

And Tyler Roberts added:  “He was confident, he tried things and he’s definitely got the ability so it will be good for him to show it in this run of games. He is trying what the manager wants him to try, he’s not backing out of things, he’s being confident and he’s commanding so I think it’s good for the defenders to have him behind them as well.”

Since his introduction into the first-team, Meslier has looked imperious. The man earning a reported £1.5k-a-week hasn’t made a single error leading to a shot or goal, and has a very impressive save percentage of 80%.

And with Bielsa looking to keep things on the deck, and playing out from the back, the Frenchman has looked as comfortable as anyone, averaging a 72% pass accuracy.

So whilst players like Hernandez who have been in and amongst the goals in recent weeks may steal all the headlines, Meslier has been that under-rated performer who Leeds can absolutely rely upon in their promotion hunt.

Chelsea have been on a rampage in the ongoing summer transfer window. After already finalising a couple of rather impressive deals, the Blues have reportedly turned their attention to West Ham United’s Declan Rice.

So much so that one of the transfer news suggested Frank Lampard’s squad has tabled a £50m bid to bring the young star to Stamford Bridge. This, however, was promptly dismissed by the Hammers, as reported in Sky Sports’ latest update.

The same outlet states West Ham are adamant on keeping Rice at the club and maintain that he is simply not for sale. Therefore, a bid of £50m would hardly make them reconsider their stance. David Moyes is seemingly keen on the 21-year-old midfielder staying at the club for many years to come and West Ham’s rebuild for the upcoming campaign would very much be centred around him.

Of course, Rice has played in Chelsea’s academy when he was a youngster but was then released aged 14. Now, he still has a long contract with the Hammers that runs until 2024 and the club have an option to extend it for a further year. For that reason, getting him now would be easier said than done for the Blues.

Still, West Ham are in dire need of quality reinforcements themselves but with no money for such endeavours, they might indeed be forced to sell some of their prized assets.

Rice, however, they maintain, won’t be one of those players.

Verdict

The situation at West Ham is far from ideal. Even though they managed to secure their stay in the Premier League, now comes another difficult part of actually repeating that feat next season.

For that to happen, Moyes will undoubtedly have to refresh and further improve the squad this summer. And that only makes the task of keeping Rice in the team that much more important.

Leeds United still await news on the resumption of the Premier League season, but this has seemingly not stopped them from preparing ahead for next season.

This was the suggestion from Phil Hay in a recent Q&A on The Athletic.

A series of questions were asked about the goalkeeping position and whether reported interest in Burnley’s veteran shot-stopper, Joe Hart, held any truth.

Hay gave these two responses:

“I was told today of a Premier League keeper who Leeds are looking at closely. Need to check it out a bit more but I strongly suspect they’ll be on the look-out – as well as taking Meslier permanently.

“I haven’t had any reliable confirmation of interest in Hart. Another PL keeper was mentioned to me today, although I need to check that out a little more. Someone more suited to Bielsa’s style.”

The situation between the sticks will be an interesting conundrum for Marcelo Bielsa to solve this summer.

There are doubts over the future of Kiko Casilla following his lengthy ban for racism whilst backup glovesman Illan Meslier is only on loan – but Hay does hint that Leeds would like him permanently alongside this mystery top-flight man.

Is it Haaland Snr or David Hopkins? Your Leeds knowledge will be put to the test with this quiz…

World Class score: 95% | Expert score: 80% | Veteran score: 65% | Intermediate score: 45% | Amateur score: 30% | Try Again: 5%

Outside of the aforementioned duo, it’s merely youth pickings, so someone with experience at the highest level may be a wise move to make.

AND in other news, Phil Hay hints at Championship return date for Leeds…

Chelsea are reportedly one of the teams on the market for Schalke’s Weston McKennie this summer.

According to CBS Sports, the 21-year-old is being monitored by the West London outfit as they look to bolster their midfield options. McKennie is allegedly valued at about $25million (£19.7m) but the report claims there has been no official asking price stated by the Bundesliga outfit.

The US international has been compared to Christian Pulisic who also made the move from the States to Germany before attracting a lot of attention. According to the report, McKennie has had offers from England, Spain, France and rival Bundesliga clubs.

This season, the 21-year-old has contributed three goals and one assist in 32 total appearances (via Transfermarkt). He may not have the highest goal creation tally but his versatility makes up for that. The 21-year-old operates primarily as a central midfielder but has been known to play on the right and also drop back into a deeper holding role. McKennie has also made three appearances at centre-back for Schalke this term.

As analysed by football.london, the 6’foot powerhouse is successful in 10 out of 13 defensive actions attempted. He also averages 2.3 successful aerials per 90, which evidences his strong nature and ability to fend off opponents (via WhoScored).

Signing McKennie would be a smart bit of business from Chelsea as it looks almost certain they will part ways with defensive midfielder N’Golo Kante this summer. The Blues will need somebody of similar calibre to help support the defence.

Frank Lampard has been almost continuously rotating his choice of centre-backs this season, with Andreas Christensen looking to be the favoured choice since the restart. The Dane has started every single Premier League match since football resumed and has put in some impressive shifts.

Although he may have contributed to ten league wins this term, Christensen struggled against Sheffield United. The 24-year-old was hauled off at half-time after failing to make a single tackle, clearance or interception (via Sofascore). Adding a strong defensive midfielder to the ranks could help boost Christensen’s performances and tighten up an inconsistent defence.

After rising through the Chelsea ranks, the Denmark international deserves to be the club’s first choice and maybe a little bit of added help can help him keep his place on the team-sheet.

Do you think Chelsea should sign Weston McKennie, Blues? Join the conversation in the comments below…

Ianis Hagi’s impressive form on loan at Rangers has reportedly attracted interest from Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City.

What’s the word?

It appears that Jose Mourinho is already thinking ahead to the next transfer window.

The Portuguese boss is enduring a challenging time at Spurs, and it seems he believes Hagi can turn the tide in his favour.

Spot the fact from the fib: Are these Premier Legue records true or false?

World Class score: 95% | Expert score: 80% | Veteran score: 65% | Intermediate score: 45% | Amateur score: 30% | Try Again: 5%

Indeed, according to a recent report from the Daily Mail, Mourinho and Manchester City director of football Txiki Begiristain have personally asked the 21-year-old’s agent, Giovani Becali, about how he is getting on.

And Becali goes on to laud the promising attacking midfielder in a comparison with his legendary father, Gheorghe, who was named Romanian footballer of the year on seven different occasions during an esteemed career.

“He has many other qualities and is actually more graceful than his father ever was. He runs like a gazelle compared to him! I think he is improving all the time at Rangers.”

Tottenham’s own Santi Cazorla

Hagi has shown fleeting glimpses of immense promise during his time at Ibrox.

His finest moment in the famous blue shirt arrived in a Europa League clash against Braga in February in a game that saw his reputation and popularity skyrocket in the space of just 15 exhilarating minutes.

Firstly, with the Gers 2-0 down at home to Braga and already staring European exit in the face in the first leg, he got the hosts back into the game with a fine left-footed strike which tickled the inside of the post on its way into the net.

And shortly after Joe Aribo had levelled things up at 2-2, he showcased his ambidextrous ability by scoring a right-footed free kick to give Steven Gerrard’s side a narrow 3-2 victory on the night.

The pair of strikes underlined his ability to strike the ball with equal vigour with both feet, and that is a quality he inherited by virtue of his father’s advice, per Sky Sports.

“Since I was a kid, he always told me that it’s really important to have both [feet] in football. At two or three years old I have videos at home in which I kick only with my left foot, but since then he taught me to play also with my right foot. Now I have both feet. I feel better shooting with the right, but my control of the ball is with my left.”

Players who are equally adept on both sides are a seldom seen footballing niche, but Kevin De Bruyne is a high-profile Premier League talent who currently boasts that quality.

Before him the former Arsenal star Santi Cazorla was a player capable of spraying a 50-yard diagonal, or even a free-kick, with both feet.

During his esteemed career, the Spanish magician scored 39 goals with his right-foot and 17 with his left, a return which underlines his ambidextrous ability.

Hagi, unlike Cazorla, plays on the wing or in a number ten role, but he could become the next big star in north London to earn praise and popularity for his rarely-seen quality.

Unpredictable, captivating, promising and coming from a rich footballing heritage, Mourinho could well be looking at the next both-footed star to rise to prominence in north London.

This week sees the launch of Football Beyond Walls, an initiative that pairs young people and professional footballers for a game of FIFA and a meaningful conversation about their lives in lockdown.

Ahead of the launch, Fulham’s Cyrus Christie spoke to Football FanCast about his involvement in the initiative and his thoughts on mental health and Fulham’s promotion chances.

It’s a very strange time for a lot of us right now, but there are still some things that remain the same, the joy of FIFA bringing people together.

Now the popular video game is being used as a tool to help people open up about their mental health and how they can deal with the stresses of the lockdown whilst at the same time coming together to talk about their problems whilst with the comfort of a controller in their hands.

Speaking to FFC, the Fulham defender talked about how the idea of using FIFA to inspire teenagers to open up about the subject came about.

“I spoke to Jasper [Jasper Kain, Director of Football Beyond Borders] and I was speaking to him about running a FIFA tournament that I was running, which is still ongoing now. I was speaking to him in the build up to it and I was saying that maybe we can partner with him and do it. And then he mentioned that they’ve also been speaking about a thing for FIFA and they said “Are you interested in playing FIFA against some of the kids and talking to them.”

In the film, Christie talks with his FIFA partners about how they are all coping with isolation during the lockdown and when speaking to Football FanCast he talked about how difficult a time like this is going to be for a lot of people given the circumstances.

“In general it is going to be tough for a lot of people. A lot of people obviously are going to be in certain different situations, maybe their home life might not be great. I think the cases of domestic abuse has gone up, and there are obviously people out there that are struggling on a day to day life of being locked in because they have got their freedom that potentially bravely keeps them sane.”

When asked whether or not he felt that there were enough safeguards in place to help people cope with their mental health, Christie felt that the way things were handled so haphazardly by those in charge, there wasn’t really a lot of time put aside to make sure that every single aspect of society was taken care of.

“I think on that kind of aspect, this obviously has not been thought about, but there’s not many measures are in place because we reacted so late to the virus that it kind of all come out at once, so people weren’t able to maybe plan and get themselves right for the potential of what’s happened. So, you know, it’s I think it’s like we said, it’s great that with the FIFA thing that their kids were able to talk and express themselves.”

The good thing about FIFA, and technology the way that it is today, is that it has allowed people to connect with others that they wouldn’t have had before, and Christie notes that for kids today, having this technology at their disposal has opened up great new possibilities that might not have come about if it were not for the lockdown.

“I think really, for a lot of people, especially when you look at the older people, their social life is people coming round to see them and them talking to people so I think you might find that a lot of these old people haven’t got maybe haven’t got the internet to talk to people. Whereas obviously, with a kid, it’s easy to communicate with others.

I think it’s been a blessing that it’s allowed other people to maybe give themselves a mental break and explore different avenues that they’re in, and work on themselves that they might not have had the time to do.”

The first footballer taking part in Football Beyond Walls is Fulham’s Cyrus Christie, who took on two teenagers at FIFA. You can see the results in this brilliant film – https://vimeo.com/415466197/45f135a012

He may not generate the same amount of excitement as Jadon Sancho or James Maddison – what with him being a left-back – but Ben Chilwell certainly produced a performance that has gotten Manchester United fans purring.

The England international has been linked with a big-money move to the Red Devils in the future, and on Thursday night against Montenegro, he showed exactly why Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side are interested in signing him.

As per Sofascore, he recorded a 9.2 match rating (the highest of any player on the pitch), no doubt thanks to his hat-trick of assists and incredible five key passes in total.

After seeing Chilwell’s display, United fans flooded to Twitter to voice their thoughts on their reported transfer target.

Many supporters of the Manchester side insisted he showed exactly why he is far better than current Red Devils left-back, Luke Shaw, and urged the club to sign him as soon as possible.

Check out some of the reaction of United fans 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…

Son Heung-min was in poor form despite Tottenham Hotspur’s 4-2 win over Olympiacos on Tuesday evening.

On the chalkboard

The South Korea international has usually been such a reliable presence on the left flank – he has scored nine goals in all competitions this term – but flattered to deceive under Jose Mourinho against the Greek giants.

Spurs, of course, fell 2-0 behind but rallied to win 4-2 thanks to goals from Dele Alli and Serge Aurier and a Harry Kane brace.

Per WhoScored, Son had 45 touches of the ball throughout the 90 minutes but completed just one dribble, despite attempting four, and was also dribbled past on two occasions.

He was dispossessed on three occasions and had just one shot on target throughout the encounter, while he did inadvertently assist Serge Aurier’s sweet half-volleyed strike, as his attempted header fell into the path of the right-back.

This was a disappointing display from a player who can be so electric going forward.

[ad_pod ]

A passenger

Mourinho showed that he can be as ruthless as ever on Tuesday as he substituted Eric Dier after just 29 minutes to replace him with Christian Eriksen.

It remains a surprise then that Son was not hooked later on, too.

He did not do anything of note as he repeatedly attempted to move the ball forward, failing to beat his man on repeated occasions and never finding himself in a position to really trouble Jose Sa in the Olympiacos goal.

This is something of a one-off, though, with Son having scored against West Ham United at the weekend.

Mourinho will surely be hoping that this is merely a blip but Son has certainly blotted his copybook with this placid display.

He can ill-afford to fall into a rut under his new manager.

Meanwhile, Spurs fans have laid into another player for his display against Olympiacos.

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

When Mark Warburton took over at QPR back in May, things looked far from convincing at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium.

Steve McClaren had just been sacked following a run of just one win in 15 league games, and the R’s disappointingly went on to finish the campaign in 19th place.

To make matters worse, star man Luke Freeman – who scored seven goals and recorded six assists in 2018/19 – left the club and became Sheffield United’s club-record signing.

Warburton had a lot to do, and he has coped admirably.

The R’s currently sit 5th in the Championship having won seven of their 13 league games, scoring 23 goals along the way – they sit just three points off the top of the table.

However, their fine campaign is being tainted by one very concerning statistic, one that needs sorting as soon as possible.

QPR are the only side in the Championship yet to keep a clean sheet this season. The ONLY side.

Out of all 24 teams, everyone else has managed to keep a shutout apart from the R’s. That includes 24th-placed Barnsley, a side with just one win all season who have shipped 25 goals along the way – worryingly, they are the only side to have conceded more goals than QPR.

As things stand, the likes of Nahki Wells, Jordan Hugill and Eberechi Eze are masking Yoann Barbet and others’ errors at the back.

Wells has seven goals in eight league starts. Hugill has seven goals in 10 starts. Eze has an impressive six goals and three assists in 13 starts – the trio are certainly helping to paper over the cracks at the back.

Sooner or later, the goals will dry up over the course of a gruelling 46-game Championship season, where defensive solidity will be needed to grind out results.

It has been an impressive season so far, but if Warburton cannot figure out a way to put together some clean sheets, it’s only a matter of time before it all comes crumbling down.