All posts by h716a5.icu

Dele Alli remains a Tottenham Hotspur player.

The 24-year-old midfielder was the saga of the winter transfer window as his future in north London was in doubt amid interest from former manager Mauricio Pochettino at Paris Saint-Germain.

It’s thought that a loan move to the French capital fell through at the final hurdle as Spurs couldn’t secure a replacement, though this now leaves Jose Mourinho with plenty to ponder.

His side have hit a wall with their recent form, back-to-back defeats in the Premier League have cast uncertainty over whether or not the perennial underachievers can break their trophy hoodoo.

They still remain in all cup competitions, in which there’s a Carabao Cup final to come, but having held the lead in the English top-flight just a few months ago, it now looks a hard ask to break into the top four.

Surely Alli can still play a major part?

He’s only featured for a total of 472 minutes in all competitions this campaign, but it’s time for Mourinho to make a major U-turn on him.

According to the Evening Standard’s Dan Kilpatrick, Giovani Lo Celso is set to miss the whole of this month, and a return in March is by no means certain and whilst some fans are clamouring for the involvement of Carlos Vinicius in the absence of Harry Kane, he’s not necessarily the answer.

Across matches against Liverpool and Brighton – those two successive defeats – Mourinho’s men have combined for an xG of 0.47. By comparison, they had 1.28 against Sheffield United, 3.14 versus Fulham and 2.53 at home to Leeds, via Understat.

It would be easy to point the finger at Kane’s injury, but the defeat to the Seagulls highlighted a creative problem.

As per SofaScore, Spurs failed to create any big chances and managed only three shots inside Brighton’s penalty box – nearly four times fewer than the home outfit. Perhaps they were unlucky to only win by one goal.

Tanguy Ndombele, who has become a regular starter under Mourinho this season, hasn’t delivered an assist in nine straight league outings, only further highlighting the lack of creativity behind the frontline.

So even if Vinicius leads the line against Chelsea tomorrow night, there is no guarantee that he will successfully deliver as the likes of Heung-min Son and Gareth Bale – two seasoned stars in the Premier League – are barely getting any service themselves.

This is where Alli has a shot at redemption. In his last appearance, albeit against non-league Marine, he ran the show as you can read here.

The £36m-rated attacking midfielder provided at least seven assists across three successive top-flight campaigns between 2015 and 2018, and has a career average of 1.6 key passes per 90, via WhoScored.

Ndombele has only just hit seven assists for Spurs and it’s taken him 18 months, whilst Lo Celso has only managed four, so evidently, there’s a clear lack of attacking influence from midfield.

Now that Alli is staying in N17 for the time being, he must be unleashed and given a fair crack of making a difference – starting with their arch-rivals tomorrow evening.

The 37-time England international has scored more goals (six) against the Blues than any other team in his career.

Only in November did the Spurs boss laud the out-of-favour star as a “team player,” which perhaps makes his constant exclusion even more baffling.

So forget Vinicius, Mourinho must start Alli vs Chelsea.

AND in other news, Levy could land Mourinho his own Van Dijk in £35m Spurs swoop for 6 ft 4 “top talent”…

After picking up a hugely impressive 3-1 win away at Southampton last time out, Mikel Arteta will be hoping his Arsenal side can continue their Premier League rise when they take on Manchester United at the Emirates.The Gunners have been on a bit of a roll in recent weeks, with five wins in their last six league games, but do head into the game against Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side with a couple of injury concerns, none more so perhaps than Thomas Partey.The Ghana international has endured a difficult debut campaign in English football, with injuries restricting him to just ten appearances for his new club.And after being forced off with an issue mid-way through the second-half of the Gunners’ win over the Saints, there were some questions about whether he would be available to play against United.Now, Goal journalist Charles Watts has delivered a huge boost on the eve of the game, confirming that Partey has “recovered well”, and that he is “expected to be fit to face United”.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of the United game on Thursday, Arteta said: “I don’t know (whether Partey and Emile Smith Rowe would be fit for Saturday). They had some discomforts in different parts, Thomas and Emile, and we will have to see how they evolve. We still have some days until the game but not long so let’s see how they recover.”

But with Watts confirming that Partey is all set to go, that will no doubt have the Arsenal boss absolutely buzzing. The former Atletico Madrid star has already shown in his limited game-time how he can be a major game-changer for the Gunners – Roy Keane tipped him to become the north London side’s modern-day Patrick Vieira after his superb performance in the 1-0 win against United at Old Trafford.

Partey’s availability is a huge boost to Arsenal and Arteta.

Meanwhile, Arsenal could sign their perfect Lacazette successor in this striker…

Many Crystal Palace fans have been reacting to a tweet about Jean-Phillip Mateta following the South London side losing 2-0 on Monday night.

The Frenchman made his debut but it will not be one to remember and journalist for The Athletic Matt Woosnam tweeted: “An underwhelming debut for Jean-Philippe Mateta but a performance that largely wasn’t his fault. The same old problems reared their head last night for #CPFC. It’ll need better service & creativity for Mateta have a chance to thrive.”

From the first minute you could tell it was going to be a hard game in the attacking sense for Palace as they immediately set up in a defensive 4-4-2 shape. This meant that the midfield and attack had no real link up and this was shown by the fact that they only managed three shots on target during the match (SofaScore).

Mateta had been in great form this season for Mainz before his move to Palace (WhoScored). He haf played 17 times in all competitions and picked up ten goals and one assist, with seven of these goals coming in the Bundesliga. He is only 23 so has lots of potential, however, the South London faithful will not see his proper quality in attack if Roy Hodgson remains so defensive tactically.

Here is how Palace fans reacted to the tweet:

“Our constant lethargic approach generally to play in the first half since the restart can not just be a coincidence. I think the management is now stale and the players not motivated to play for this management anymore. The training must be extremely dull based on the tactics.”

Credit: @MilesMonty

“Worrying trend no creativity, people will say it’s cause of no wilf, but I think there’s a really lack anyway. Can only pray they get someone in that can rebuild the squad in the summer, dream of Gerrard expect a 1 extension for Roy”

Credit: @GMCRae91

“How can our forwards score when all the other player are on the half way line not allowed to attack . Even when we were 2-0 down no support.”

Credit: @Jameso04

“It’s as if maybe it’s not the strikers themselves that are the problem…”

Credit: @Sitdown_Jim

“If all he’s doing is receiving the ball with his back to goal on the halfway line then there’s no hope.”

Credit: @El_Vim_Fuego

“Hard to impress when there is such a lack of midfield creativity. The hope is that tbe team will accumulate a few more points to stay in the league. Then, set more ambitious goals with a progressive coaching team.”

Credit: @Coxee

In other news, Palace are willing to offer more money for a European midfielder after their first bid was rejected. Have a read who they are after here!

After his stunning strike in the Europa League in mid-week, Dele Alli is surely pushing for a chance to start when Tottenham take on Burnley on Sunday afternoon.

Speaking after the game against Wolfsberger, Jose Mourinho was quick to lavish praise on his star, saying: “The goal I don’t need to speak, because everyone watched it and I believe that all around the world on all these sports TV, people are going to watch it, no need to talk about it.

“But for me the globality of the performance is what matters. He played very well in every aspect of the game, he played very well. In this moment when we are going to play every three days, 10 matches in March, to have Dele back at this level is amazing.”

Then, in his pre-match press conference ahead of the game against the Clarets today, Mourinho added that he is “very happy” with the £26m-rated Alli now, and insisted that as he works his way back up to full fitness, he will continue to get better.

Speaking on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football, Gary Neville laid down the gauntlet to Alli about stepping his game up, saying: “I want a lot more from him. He’s an outstanding player. There’s a reason why his career is doing what it’s doing at the moment. It’s not just Jose Mourinho. Dele has to get hold of that himself.”

Well, his performance on Wednesday night against Wolfsberger certainly showed that the talent is still very much there, and as Mourinho says, it was his all-round performance that really offers signs of encouragement going forward.

With Burnley awaiting the Lilywhites on Sunday afternoon, Alli’s ability to create a bit of magic could be the kind of game-changer that the Spurs boss needs to break down a Clarets defence that have come to be known as one of the most stubborn in the Premier League in recent seasons – even this year with them lying just above the drop zone, only seven other teams have conceded less than them.

Alli’s introduction into the starting line-up is something Mourinho must seriously consider.

According to a report by Italian news outlet TUTTOmercatoWEB, Tottenham Hotspur and, by extension, chairman Daniel Levy are ‘ready to take the next step’ for midfield maestro Sasa Lukic – with the Torino ace being one of a few positives in what has been a dismal season for the Serie A side. 

Daniel Levy and Spurs readying next step for Lukic

Lukic, who has started 17 league matches for Davide Nicola over 2020/2021, scoring three goals from central midfield (WhoScored), is touted by this report as a ‘perfect’ and ‘hot’ target for Spurs – coming amid heavy links to RB Leipzig star Marcel Sabitzer.

The 24-year-old, an established Serbia international with 17 caps to his name, has London calling according to TMW – with Crystal Palace interested in signing him alongside Tottenham and Levy.

As per the news outlet, Spurs are ‘ready to take the next step’ for Lukic as they eye potential summer signings – with manager Jose Mourinho currently in a fight to protect his position and guide the Lilywhites into a Champions League place.

Transfer Tavern take

Tottenham will need reinforcements for next season as TMW report they have their eye on the ‘perfect’ man – but even though he is only valued at a meagre £4.5 million by Transfermarkt, Torino could potentially demand a lot more given he has been one of their only bright sparks this campaign.

Time will tell whether this alleged ‘next step’ will be in the form of an offer during the next transfer window, but Levy firmly has his eye on Lukic according to this report.

In other news: Alasdair Gold criticised this £200,000-per-week star after his Fulham display, find out more here.

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Tottenham Hotspur legend Gary Mabbutt believes that the club can win two trophies this season and qualify for the Champions League in the process.

Spurs had endured a major dip in form in recent weeks, slipping to ninth in the Premier League table, before a recent resurgence against the likes of Burnley, Fulham and Crystal Palace.

Of course, a top-four finish may not be required to seal European football, with victory in the Europa League a realistic route into the Champions League.

Spurs will play Dinamo Zagreb in the last-16, a tie that is surely seen as winnable, while they have also reached the League Cup final, where they will play Manchester City, who were beaten 2-0 at Spurs back in November.

Mabbutt, speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, believes the glass is firmly half full, and thinks that Tottenham could end a difficult season remarkably successfully, especially given that Jose Mourinho ended his first season at Manchester United with the League Cup and the Europa League in the bag.

He said: “Well, yeah, I mean, that’d be fantastic. Jose did it, I think, probably against the odds at times at Manchester United.

“Yeah, we’ve shown in the League Cup and our Europa League performances that we are certainly a team who nobody wants to play in those competitions. Against Manchester City at home, I think we dominated the game as far as tactically, and obviously scoring the two goals won us the game.

“It’s all to fight for as far as I’m concerned, I think we’re a great group of players. Getting those players in the right frame of mind, and man-management, that’s down to the manager. And what I’m seeing over the last few games, it is starting to fall into place.”

Spurs host Zagreb in the capital on Thurday before facing arch-rivals Arsenal at the Emirates in the latest north London derby on Sunday.

Newcastle United have been dealt an injury blow, with Steve Bruce confirming that Callum Wilson will not return until after the March international break.

That’s according to The Northern Echo, who quote the Toon boss as voicing doubt in having his side’s 10-goal top-scorer plus fellow forwards Miguel Almiron and Allan Saint-Maximin back in time to face Dean Smith’s Aston Villa this weekend or Brighton and Hove Albion next week.

There had been some hope that Wilson could return from his deep hamstring tear to feature in some capacity at the Amex Stadium a week on Saturday, but none of the trio are now likely to play again until United host Tottenham Hotspur on April 3rd at the earliest.

Newcastle have been without Wilson for four games after losing their £20m summer signing late in the first half of last month’s 3-2 win over Southampton. Almiron and Saint-Maximin were ruled out with knee and groin injuries after the 1-1 draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers on February 27.

Wilson has stepped up his rehabilitation with a return to training on the grass and Bruce believes he, Almiron and Saint-Maximin are all showing promising signs in their recoveries.

“Callum is four weeks in, so we’re seeing him on the grass and he’s progressing. That goes for Allan and Almiron as well,” the Toon boss said.

“We’ve just got to let nature take its course. They’re working as hard as they possibly can. We hope the international break will maybe do us a turn, and we hope that by the end of the international break, they’ll be there or thereabouts.”

Bruce added that he feels everything is going to plan and that Almiron is making “particularly good progress,” while Javier Manquillo is nearing a return from a muscular injury sooner than Newcastle initially predicted.

“We’ve got no new injuries to report,” he noted. “Manquillo has worked extremely hard and was a week or two quicker than expected, so it was good to see him around it. [Federico] Fernandez is back amongst it too [after a calf injury], which is good news.”

Bruce sharing that Wilson, Almiron and Saint-Maximin will all miss Newcastle’s Premier League games with Aston Villa and relegation-rivals Brighton and Hove Albion will surely leave the Magpies head coach deeply disappointed.

United are just a single point better off than the Seagulls heading into this weekend’s round of fixtures, but Graham Potter’s side would move above the St. James’ Park natives should they avoid defeat at Southampton on Sunday and Aston Villa win on Friday thanks to a superior goal difference.

Regardless of results this weekend, next Saturday’s meeting at the Amex will be a pivotal six-pointer in the fight for survival, too, with 18th-placed Fulham hot on Newcastle and Brighton’s tail after a run of form that saw Scott Parker nominated for February’s Manager of the Month award.

Having just Wilson back for the Toon’s trip to the south coast could have been huge, with the 29-year-old not only the club’s top-scorer but also lead assist maker with five over 21 outings in the Premier League so far this season.

Wilson, Saint-Maximin and Almiron account for 59% of the 27 goals scored by United players in the top-flight this term, along with 53% of the 17 assists registered.

The Toon have also scored just twice in the four games played without Wilson to date, and will be desperate to see Dwight Gayle, Andy Carroll or Joelinton change their fortunes on Friday.

AND in other news, Newcastle eye summer swoop for £16k-p/w maestro once lauded for being “the most gifted” player…

Managers will come and go at Arsenal but the same old problems will remain.

Arsene Wenger isn’t in London anymore but defensive errors are still rife. Unai Emery tried his utmost to eradicate them while Mikel Arteta has come close on occasions.

However, some painstaking individual mistakes have cost them in recent weeks. Whether it be Dani Ceballos against Benfica and Olympiacos, Bernd Leno versus Wolves or Granit Xhaka in the draw with Burnley, it has been nothing short of calamitous.

It appears that when it comes to defending, the club are cursed. Though, there is another area in N5 that appears to be a poisoned chalice; Arsenal’s captaincy.

Ever since Patrick Vieira left back in 2005, the Gunners have been through plenty of captains. Thierry Henry led from the front with his on-field displays but after that, it has been a tale of woe for pretty much each and every one of the club’s skippers.

William Gallas was the first antagonist back in 2007, tarnishing the captaincy and thus, beginning a remarkable trend at London Colney.

On the day that Eduardo broke his leg after a horrific challenge, Arsenal lost to Birmingham and with it, started their title collapse. Gallas was slumped on the floor at full time and sat motionless on the St Andrew’s Turf, waiting for the ground to swallow him up.

If anything encapsulated a host of Arsenal captains in the last 14 years it would be that moment. Cesc Fabregas took on the mantle next and like Henry, led well on the pitch.

However, he eventually moved to Barcelona and even missed an Arsenal game to go to watch the Spanish Grand Prix.

Robin van Persie took on the baton from the midfielder but similarly to Fabregas, departed shortly after following demands he made about the direction of the club. Thomas Vermaelen became his successor but a different kind of curse took over; one where their captain very rarely played.

The Belgian featured just 43 times in the league during his two years as captain. His replacement, Arteta, then played in just 16 matches during his final few campaigns in north London.

Per Mertesacker (seven games) and Laurent Koscielny (17 matches) took on the honour of wearing the captain’s armband afterwards. Koscielny, however, left in bizarre circumstances.

One moment, the French defender was happy and then the next, he was refusing to go on Arsenal’s pre-season tour of America in 2019. He subsequently moved to Bordeaux and then proceeded to rip off a Gunners shirt during his unveiling video.

Though, the worst of all was Granit Xhaka. The Swiss was horrendously torn apart by the club’s supporters in a 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace during the 2019/20 campaign.

As he was being substituted, Xhaka proceeded to rip the armband off, give the crowd some stick and then throw his shirt to the ground in disgust.

Emery consequently relieved him of his duties and made Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang the skipper.

Like Henry, he has led from the front. Without Aubameyang, Arsenal wouldn’t have won the FA Cup last term. However, in recent days, we’ve seen the curse begin to blow up in Arteta’s face.

There has been a certain negativity attached to the honour of Arsenal captain over the last decade and now their star man is the latest to be caught up in some drama.

Aubameyang reported late when the team met up ahead of the north London derby with Tottenham on Sunday and as a result, he was dropped to the bench. It was a major call from the manager in what was their biggest game of the season.

The Gabonese forward failed to get any minutes and then while Arsenal’s subs warmed down on the Emirates pitch at full-time, he got in his car and sped off into the distance.

Time will tell whether that was a landmark moment in his career at the club. Aubameyang has often been the joker of the pack, the go-to man when Arsenal are in a crisis. On this occasion, however, he was nowhere to be seen.

After what’s happened in years gone by, Arteta will be wary of escalating this situation. After all, Arsenal’s number 14 had just started to rediscover his best form; the last thing they need is a starting XI without his name on.

AND in other news, Imagine him and Partey: Edu could sign Xhaka upgrade for AFC with “complete” £22m star…

Manchester City continued their march towards a potential quadruple in March, winning five of their six games this month, which saw them progress in the FA Cup and Champions League, whilst also pushing themselves closer to the Premier League title.

Although Pep Guardiola’s side have undoubtedly been in sensational form in recent months, not all of his players have been at their best and Bernardo Silva, in particular, had a disappointing month.

The Portuguese forward appeared in all five of City’s wins, in which they managed 16 goals, and yet the former AS Monaco man failed to register a single goal or assist.

The 26-year-old has been utilised in a number of different positions by Guardiola this season, featuring as a false nine, on the wing and in midfield, yet he struggled to really have much influence on any of the games he appeared in during March.

His first appearance came in the 4-1 win against Wolves, where he earned a solid, if unspectacular, 6.7 rating – which is lower than his 7.09 average in the top-flight so far this season.

He followed that up with two fairly strong performances against Southampton and Fulham, although when you consider the number of chances City had in both of those games, it is disappointing that he wasn’t able to get himself on the scoresheet or provide an assist.

This may have knocked his confidence, as he then slipped back down to a 6.7 rating for his performance against Borussia Monchengladbach, before producing his worst display of the month against Everton last time out, earning a less than impressive 6.37 rating for his performance.

After recent seasons where he has been a solid contributor of goals and assists, his measly return of two goals and three assists in just 22 Premier League appearances this season is slightly concerning, and also baffling when you consider how dominant City have been in recent months.

Therefore, you could definitely argue that Silva, who is currently valued at £63 million by Transfermarkt, dropped his standards in March after an impressive February, as he once again failed to contribute a single goal or assist in all competitions.

And, in other news… Some City fans were ‘underwhelmed’ by 23 y/o beast, but Txiki has delivered again

Croatia manager Zlatko Dalic explained his decision to take Glasgow Rangers’ Borna Barisic off against Slovenia on Wednesday.

Dalic criticises Barisic

Barisic was named in the starting XI for the Balkan side in their first 2022 World Cup qualifier – they reached the final in the tournament’s last edition in Russia.

However, he was hauled off after just 45 minutes as he was in danger of picking up a red card. Dalic revealed (via 24sata.hr):

“Borna received a yellow card early, then committed a foul on the edge of the red card. I was looking for more penetration on the left flank, so I transferred Perišić to the left back and introduced Oršić to the wing.”

Harsh

Indeed, the £4.95m-valued 28-year-old (Transfermarkt) was on the edge of being dismissed against Slovenia and really gave Dalic no choice but to take him off. He must do more to make sure he does not put himself in such positions, especially so early on in the match.

However, his overall display was not that bad. He won two of his three duels, landed 86% of his passes and completed 100% of his attempted dribbles (SofaScore). Still, if he wants to play for Croatia both at the European Championships this summer and beyond, he must improve. After all, he has started just four of his nation’s last 10 matches (Transfermarkt) as Dalic appears to be exploring other options.

In other news, this Rangers man’s performance against Celtic has been hammered.