All posts by z3u9t.icu

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Kevin Phillips, who made 513 career appearances, has been impressed with on-loan Wolves defender Dion Sanderson and wants to see him at Sunderland again next season.

Sanderson has impressed at the Stadium of Light this season making 22 appearances in all competitions and helping to shore up a previously leaky Sunderland defence.

Phillips believes if the 21-year old was to return next summer on loan or permanently, he would continue to improve as a player with the Black Cats.

The defender has started the club’s previous 12 league games, keeping seven clean sheets in the process, including two against promotion rivals Portsmouth and Ipswich Town.

Speaking on Sanderson’s form this season and why he would like to see him back on Wearside next season, Phillips told FFC exclusively:

“Yeah, he’s impressed me. I think over the last six weeks, he’s probably been one of the best defenders, alongside Luke O’Nien, they’ve formed a good partnership in the centre of that defence.

“He’s been very impressive and has looked assured and confident on the ball.

“I hope that he finishes the season strongly and helps them go up. I’d love to see him stay at the club next year because I think he’ll just continue to get better.”

Sanderson was, unfortunately, cup-tied for their Papa John’s Trophy final victory over Tranmere after playing in the same competition for Wolves’ U23s earlier this season, but returned against Accrington on Wednesday in a 2-0 win and yet another clean sheet.

Glasgow Rangers fans have been reacting to comments from Kemar Roofe on their Premiership title triumph.

The Gers were confirmed as champions almost two weeks ago, and they didn’t have to play. Their fierce rivals Celtic could only draw 0-0 with Dundee United, meaning they could no longer mathematically catch the Ibrox outfit. Cue pandemonium and jubilation amongst both the Gers players and the Gers supporters.

28-year-old Roofe was speaking to the Super Six Podcast about Rangers finally having their status as champions confirmed, and while he admitted it was fantastic to win the title regardless of the way they did it, a number of the club’s players wanted Celtic to beat the Tangerines so the title could be won at Parkhead the following week.

These comments were relayed on Twitter by The Scottish Sun, and as you can imagine, the Gers fans were absolutely delighted with what Roofe had to say. They took to the social media platform to share their pleasure.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about the comments from Roofe below

“My team”

Credit: @ORANGEMAN_1690

“Ouch”

Credit: @Championees55

“As if being remembered as the team who lost the holy grail of 10 in a row in their clubs most important season of their history wasn’t bad enough,the rangers players still want to be Piling on the agony”

Credit: @AyeReady_444

“Oh I love this squad hahahahahahah”

Credit: @PipoSilvia

“Weren’t we all”

Credit: @Wuldo1872

“We just treat them as a joke”

Credit: @joe_black1509

In other news, Rangers fans react to this injury update.

Aston Villa must make a ruthless call on Ross Barkley amid claims West Ham are interested in signing him this summer.

What’s the story?

Reports in recent weeks claimed that Christian Purslow was the driving force behind doing a permanent deal for Barkley come the end of the season, despite Dean Smith himself being “unconvinced” over whether the 27-year-old is worth the money needed to sign him.

Now, TEAMtalk have suggested that Hammers boss David Moyes has added Barkley to his list of targets this summer, while Villa themselves have now indicated they will not be looking to sign him.

NSWE will be fuming

Given how Barkley’s campaign has really fizzled out after some promising early appearances for the club, it would be a major blunder from Villa to be looking to sign the £18m-rated ace permanently.

After scoring twice in his opening two Premier League games for the club, Barkley has scored just once since in the top-flight, while he still only has one assist to his name in the competition too.

Speaking after he was taken off yet again in the second half against Leicester last month, Sky Sports pundit Alex Scott slammed him for his display, saying: “For me it’s another missed opportunity for Ross Barkley to show up and demand, he’s been subbed off again and you can see in his face he’s not happy. But how many chances does a player need?

“You need to take it upon yourself. There’s only so many chances that he can be deserving. He’s missed another opportunity today.”

With reports initially claiming that Purslow was spearheading Villa’s permanent move for Barkley, the chief executive must now make a ruthless U-turn. NSWE certainly won’t be happy at forking out a shed-load of money for a player who’s barely performed for them this season.

Meanwhile, Villa are eyeing a move for this 6 foot 6 giant…

Many Everton fans have been welcoming the news that the South American FIFA World Cup qualifiers due to take place in March have been cancelled.

As per Sky Sports, the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) has decided to suspend March’s double header of qualifiers for Qatar 2022 amid concern over the impact of the global pandemic and quarantine restrictions.

The tightening lockdown and quarantine regulations mean that numerous European-based players will be unable to travel, which may come as a benefit for the Goodison Park club.

The likes of Allan, James Rodriguez, Richarlison and Yerry Mina would have all joined up with Brazil and Colombia if not for the restrictions, which now means that they will all get two weeks’ worth of rest instead.

It means that the Merseyside club will be able to have all of their players fresh and ready for the end of the 2020/21 campaign as Carlo Ancelotti’s men look to chase automatic qualification for the Champions League for next season.

Everton fan reaction to South America news

These Toffees supporters lauded the news on Twitter, with one Blues supporter even going as far as to excitedly claim that it was the ‘best news ever’:

“Yaaaas.”

Credit: @JohnDiazTheOne

“Perfect”

Credit: @cjohno1001

“Huge. Absolutely huge, for our season.”

Credit: @GrantyBoy78

“Wonderful! They could all use a rest and get fully fit!”

Credit: @MrSherminator8

“This is a blessing”

Credit: @ComedianConn

“Best news ever!”

Credit: @Eric_Howell

In other news, find out which two Champions League aces Ancelotti wants to sign!

Marcel Brands must secure a last-ditch loan deal for Everton midfielder Beni Baningime to join Wayne Rooney’s Derby County on Deadline Day.

What’s the word?

According to Football Insider, Rooney has contacted club figures at Goodison Park to sound out the 22-year-old’s availability in late efforts to bolster the core of his Rams side.

Derby are staring down the barrel of a full-blown relegation fight this season, with even a run of three-straight wins only moving the Pride Park outfit five points clear of the Championship drop zone, where 22nd-placed Rotherham United hold two games in hand.

Carlo Ancelotti is said to be happy to sanction a deal for Baningime to see out the rest of the season away from Merseyside, following several enquiries from clubs showing an interest in the Toffees product during the winter transfer window.

Derby are on pole for his signature, as Rooney looks to replace Millwall-bound George Evans and Swansea City-bound Morgan Whittaker.

Baningime is yet to play a second of senior football this season with Ancelotti opting to omit the £1m-rated talent from each of his matchday squads across all competitions, but has started all 13 of Everton’s Premier League 2 fixtures under David Unsworth this term.

Unsworth has previously described Baningime as a player in the mould of former and current Chelsea enforcers Claude Makelele and N’Golo Kante, but has failed to see the £8,000-per-week prospect build on his 12 career first-team outings for the Blues.

Should Everton let Baningime join Derby?

Everton’s Director of Football Brands should be leaping at the chance to reach an agreement for Baningime to see out the remainder of the season at Derby, as Ancelotti clearly does not consider the 22-year-old to be at a high enough standard for the Toffees first-team.

It has been a long time since the midfielder featured in the senior fold at Goodison Park, with his last outing coming back in April 2018, despite Unsworth lauding the “class act” and suggesting he “shouldn’t be playing at this level” following an U23s win in September 2019.

Derby would represent a great opportunity for Baningime to kick start his career with Rooney being an admirer of his potential, having played alongside the DR Congo-born enforcer during the England icon’s second spell with Everton.

Rooney is also showing that he is not afraid to place his trust in young players now that he has taken the step into the management, with 19-year-old talent Jason Knight playing the full 90 minutes in each of his four games in charge and even captaining the Rams in three of those matches.

Kamil Jozwiak, 22, also opened all four of those Championship fixtures, while 20-year-old Max Bird played the last 135 minutes of the Rams’ second-tier encounters after a bit-part campaign.

Baningime needs that level of trust placed in him in a senior setting for his development, otherwise the youngster’s progress will only continue to stagnate. With his Everton contract also up in the summer of 2022, the Toffees need him playing if they are to ever see him as a part of their future, and Derby could be the dream destination for all involved.

AND in other news, an Everton gem with “unbelievable pace” must step up as £13.5m-rated flop nears exit…

Celtic suffered heartbreak in the January transfer window when the tale of Ben Davies took a dramatic last-minute turn.

The defender looked certain to be making the move to Scotland as talks between the two parties reached an agreement. However, some late negotiations from Liverpool coaxed Davies to join the Premier League champions on deadline day.

It looked like a massive loss for Celtic at the time as they have been struggling immensely across their backline this season, leaking 22 goals, some 14 more than the league leaders.

However, Davies is currently out of action due to injury, just weeks after signing for his new club. Liverpool are suffering a similar defensive crisis and this news will have infuriated the fanbase.

In the last two seasons, the 25-year-old has had three recurring hamstring injuries which resulted in him missing a total of 94 days with Preston North End.

For Peter Lawwell, he can feel glad that he didn’t reach into his pocket and splash £1.6million on the centre-half.

The Hoops are limited in their defensive options, especially at centre-back. Shane Duffy has disappointed with his loan spell from Brighton and Christopher Jullien has been injured for a total of 29 matches so far this season, playing next to no role in their holding Premiership campaign, according to Transfermarkt.

Celtic have recruited Jonjoe Kenny on a temporary basis to plug some of their backline leaks.

But it’s not been enough to see the Bhoys to a tenth consecutive title win this season. They have shipped plenty of goals in the league this season as mentioned, which is already more than the 19 they conceded throughout the 2019/20 campaign.

The Glaswegians can return to the transfer market in the summer to hopefully bring in a new defender, but for now, the peace of mind that they didn’t sign the injury-prone Davies will be a weight off Lawwell’s conscience.

In other news, Lennon must prioritise starting Ismaila Soro over Scott Brown…

Marlon Harewood has urged West Ham United to sign Tammy Abraham after the Daily Telegraph reported that they are interested in the Chelsea striker.

Speaking to Football FanCast, the former Hammers forward thinks that the England international should be given a chance at his old club:

“That’s where West Ham should be looking, and I think Moysie [David Moyes] is that sort of person that he will be looking for a striker of that calibre, young, he’s ready to go, he’s been in the Premier League quite a while now. 

“I think he needs a chance, just like (Jesse) Lingard coming from Manchester United obviously not playing coming into the club, got a lot to show, and Tammy is one of them, got a lot to show [too] and would complement Antonio very well.”

West Ham should sign Abraham

If Abraham becomes available for sale in the summer transfer window, then the London Stadium faithful should absolutely jump at the chance to sign him.

The 23-year-old still has a lot of potential, and has scored no fewer than 12 goals and made a further six assists in 30 games in total over all competitions so far in the 2020/21 term (Transfermarkt).

It is not just this season that Abraham has proven himself to be a prolific goal scorer either, with a total of 91 strikes combined for both club and country at senior level.

With Michail Antonio currently being the only recognised senior striker at the East London club, he could definitely use some help up top, and Abraham could well be that man.

Currently valued at £36m by Transfermarkt, he certainly would not come cheap, but Abraham is most definitely a player that the Irons should seriously be looking at to sign should he be made available for transfer.

In other news, find out what big West Ham update has erupted fans here!

Steve Bruce risks making a transfer error in the January window with a move by Newcastle United to sign SSC Napoli defender Faouzi Ghoulam.

What’s the word?

According to Le Buteur, the Magpies have approached Ghoulam’s agent to request a potential half-season loan for the Algerian, who finds himself as the third-choice option at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona under Gennaro Gattuso.

Newcastle are seen to be targeting the 29-year-old as Bruce strives to strengthen his backline amid a difficult campaign, with United now only seven points clear of the relegation zone and having played more games than two of the sides below them in the table.

It is believed that there is a strong chance in Ghoulam leaving Napoli in the winter market with interest growing in the Premier League, where Chelsea are also said to be convinced by the £4.5m-rated left-back’s potential benefits.

Ghoulam has only featured for 406 minutes across all competitions so far this season, with one start in seven Serie A outings, two in four Europa League appearances and one in the Coppa Italia against second-tier FC Empoli.

Newcastle must think again

Newcastle must urge Bruce to think again before pursuing a deal for Ghoulam to join the Toon on loan in the January transfer window, as the 29-year-old is an outcast at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona for a reason.

Gattuso stated earlier in the campaign that he is not afraid to upset Ghoulam’s agent, Jorge Mendes, by overlooking the left-back, after instructing the Algerian to watch Napoli’s 1-0 win against Bologna in November from the stands.

The Italy icon decided to punish Ghoulam and teammate Mario Rui by forcing them to travel to Bologna without including either in his matchday squad as he felt the pair had been lazy in training.

“They stayed in the stands, because they were jogging around in training yesterday. I brought them along anyway because it’s too easy to just let them stay home and watch it on the couch.” Gattuso told Sky Sport, via quotes by Football-Italia.

Napoli’s Sporting Director Cristiano Giuntoli added: “They weren’t concentrated or sharp enough in the final training session, so he made this decision. He saw they weren’t entirely on their toes and made this choice.”

Bruce would no doubt be reluctant to use his limited resources to sign a player who may not be as committed to the cause as Newcastle need, therefore must seriously reconsider a deal for Ghoulam who has not played regularly for Napoli since the 2016/17 season.

His rare outings in the Serie A this term would suggest Ghoulam may not be an upgrade on any of the players Bruce has already called on to play at left-back in the Premier League this season, anyway.

Jamal Lewis has been offering on average 1.8 successful tackles per game since his summer move from Norwich City, enough to rank first ahead of Paul Dummett (1.0) and Matt Ritchie (0.8) at St. James’ Park, per WhoScored, and ahead of Ghoulam (0.6) for his Italian top-flight exploits.

All Lewis (0.6), Dummett (1.5) and Ritchie (0.8) have also offered a greater number of interceptions than Ghoulam (0.3) to show Bruce they can break up play far better, and provide far more clearances with 1.7, 3 and 3.5 respectively to the Algerian’s 0.1 to show they would be better-placed to clear the Magpies’ line.

Lewis (0.6) and Dummett (0.5) are also offering a higher amount of successful dribbles to Ritchie (0) and Ghoulam (0), who are struggling to bring play forward on the ground, while Lewis (0.8) and Ritchie (1.5) are providing more key passes to the Napoli outcast (0.6) to show their box-to-box threat in the North East.

Bruce may feel Newcastle need more depth at left-back in the January window, but a move for Ghoulam would likely fail to offer the Toon chief an upgrade on his current options at either end of the field.

AND in other news, forget Ryan Fraser: a £46k-p/w Newcastle man who lost 63% duels seriously betrayed Steve Bruce vs Sheffield United.

West Brom were linked to an array of striking options before finally clinching Karlan Grant on the eve of the domestic deadline, and they can count their lucky stars that they didn’t secure one name.

Luke Dowling’s connection with former club, Watford, brought about links to their forward and captain, Troy Deeney.

According to Sky Sports back in August, the Baggies were interested in bringing the 32-year-old powerhouse to the Hawthorns as Slaven Bilic looked for further top-flight experience in attack.

Deeney has that in abundance having featured 163 times in the Premier League, scoring a total of 47 goals and providing 21 assists, as per Transfermarkt.

Since the summer window, the veteran forward has only played 85 minutes in the league for the Hornets, and has failed to score, so the decision to not sign him is now looking every bit like a masterstroke – or at least a massive bullet dodged.

Even more so when you consider the wages he’s on at Vicarage Road.

It’s thought that the Watford skipper is earning around £65k-per-week in north London, via Spotrac, which puts him as their second-highest earner behind Andre Gray, another player that Albion were linked with throughout the summer.

Whether the move for Deeney would have been a loan or a permanent deal very much remains to be seen, but with extortionate wages like that, they can be glad that Dowling didn’t take the risk in signing him.

Only Charlie Austin (£70k-per-week) is on more at West Brom, and you only have to look at how that has gone since his £4m arrival last year.

In the past, Deeney has been lauded as a “real handful” as well as a “great leader,” so there’s always a chance he was going to offer something different – that much some Baggies fans already know after terrorising Alan Pardew’s side back in 2018.

However, it would’ve been a massive financial gamble and that’s just something Albion cannot afford under the penny-pinching Guochuan Lai. They, perhaps, got away with one here.

AND in other news, West Brom heading for another disaster if they sign flop Pulis once slammed as a “disappointment”…

Southampton rose into the Premier League’s top four by whitewashing rock bottom Sheffield United at St Mary’s Stadium this lunchtime.

Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men were convincing in victory, starting with Che Adams’ opener just after the half-hour mark. He pounced inside the six-yard box to produce a proper poacher’s finish before Stuart Armstrong bagged a second and Nathan Redmond came off the bench to add a third.

For now, Saints are sat in third place depending on this evening’s result at Leicester City – a defeat there and the south-coasters could only be behind Spurs and Liverpool.

Adams took many of the plaudits, rating out as the home side’s best player at 8.0 on SofaScore but another one of Hasenhuttl’s stars stood out in what will undoubtedly be an underrated display.

After all, they did keep a clean sheet, so the defence deserves plenty of credit too. None more so than the right-back.

Kyle Walker-Peters was heavily involved for the Saints, recording 82 touches throughout the 90 minutes he was on the pitch, only one other midfielder or attacking player managed more, also via SofaScore.

The £13.5m-rated dynamo won seven of ten duels, made 100% of his two dribbles, put in two tackles and even enjoyed a shot at goal.

He was also particularly accurate in his passing, making 87% of 60 attempts, which was even better than attacking playmaker Armstrong.

HampshireLive summed up his performance well, giving him an 8/10.

They said:

“Energetic from the get-go at St. Mary’s and a player who looks as if he will only get better and better with fans present. He was trusting in his teammates and crucial to a fine first-half performance.”

Walker-Peters is looking more and more like a fine piece of business by the Saints as he continues to star at right-back.

Industrious as ever, the 23-year-old has now started and played the full 90 in all 12 of their top-flight outings this term, and with continued showings like that, he’ll be a hard man for Hasenhuttl to withdraw in the future.

AND in other news, Bye-bye Redmond: Saints handed transfer boost in pursuit of “bizarre” £14m magician…