All posts by h716a5.icu

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Swansea City are currently in talks with Lille over Leroy Fer, as covered by Sky Sports and BBC Sport.

Fer, 29, has been impressive for Swansea this season, having stayed with the club following their relegation from the Premier League last term.

The midfielder’s contract will expire at the end of this season, however, and the above sources have claimed that Lille could sign him before the end of the week.

Who are the best away fans in the Championship? Pl>ymaker FC’s Thogden gives his top 10 in the video below…

There is absolutely no question that his exit at this stage would be a blow.

And the Swansea fans have been on social media urging their club to keep hold of the Netherlands international.

Indeed, Swansea are only six points off the playoff positions in the Championship.

If the Welsh outfit are to challenge for the top six this term then surely they need to keep hold of their captain beyond the end of the January window.

A selection of the Twitter reaction from the Swansea fans can be seen below:

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West Ham United are poised to sign Mesaque Dju on a free transfer from Benfica, per Football.London.

The teenager was to undergo a medical with the Irons on Tuesday and will initially play for the club’s Under-23 squad.

What’s the word?

West Ham have agreed a free transfer to sign the 19-year-old from Benfica, per the aforementioned report.

The deal also reportedly includes a 50% sell-on clause payable to the Portuguese club if the Irons move Dju on in the coming years.

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

Per Transfermarkt, the 19-year-old has been capped at numerous youth levels by Portugal, playing for the Under-16s, Under-17s, Under-18s, Under-19s and Under-20s. He has won the European Championship at U17 and U19 level.

Dju has played 13 times for Benfica’s UEFA Under-19s team and has also racked up eight appearances for the club’s B team. A right-winger, he is remarkably quick and enjoys getting chalk on his boots on the flank.

West Ham youth academy thriving

This is remarkably exciting for West Ham fans.

A move for the teenager proves that the club is an attractive destination for young players as gems continue to come through.

Xande Silva has already moved from Portugal to east London and the two will now link up in the Under-23 squad, with a clear path laid out to the first-team.

The likes of Declan Rice and Grady Diangana have graduated from the youth team to the first-team squad already and the former has since been marked out as one of the finest young players in the country.

And it would not be surprising to see Dju eventually pull on the claret and blue at the London Stadium – the contract is due to include a two-year option, meaning the Irons will be able to extend the teenager’s deal if he develops as expected.

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Aston Villa produced a remarkable comeback on Saturday night to cancel out a three goal deficit and claim a point against Sheffield United.

The Blades could have consolidated their place at the top of the table with a win, and Billy Sharp’s hat-trick set them well on their way to doing just that. However, three late goals, from Tyrone Mings, Tammy Abraham, and Andre Green, brought the Villans level in dramatic circumstances.

The indoor football skills in the video below have to be seen to be believed…

The result was a major setback for Sheffield United, but a positive outcome for Dean Smith’s side whose form has been decidedly average of late. The draw was also great news for Leeds United, as it prevented Sheffield United from pulling away from them at the top of the table.

Instead, the result meant that a point against Middlesbrough would be enough to restore Marcelo Bielsa’s side to first place. The Whites duly got that point via a late Kalvin Phillips equaliser.

After Villa’s comeback, plenty of Leeds fans took to Twitter to join in the celebrations of the Midlands club’s result…

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According to The Liverpool Echo, Everton are reportedly growing increasingly confident that Henry Onyekuru will be lining up for them next season after what will be two years out on loan.

What’s the word, then?

Well, The Liverpool Echo report that the Merseyside club have been unable to utilise their 2017 summer signing because of ineligibility issues, which means the 21-year-old has spent time out on loan at Anderlecht, and now Galatasaray this term.

However, The Liverpool Echo report that the Toffees are hopeful the Nigeria international will finally be able to obtain a work permit at the end of the season, and they believe they have a robust case to present to the Football Association.

As per the same report, Marco Silva has also confirmed that the club is keeping tabs on the exciting attacker’s performances in Turkey.

He said: “Yes, we are doing our work and are aware of everything he is doing.

“It is the same with all of our loan players and at the end of the season we will take a decision.”

Could he start for Everton next season?

Should he get his work permit, then there is certainly no reason why he wouldn’t be competing for a spot in Silva’s XI.

Onyekuru showed just how good and dangerous he can be with 30 goals and 11 assists in 60 appearances for Eupen – despite playing out wide – prior to his move to Goodison Park, while he has also netted an impressive nine times in 19 Super Lig matches for Galatasaray this term.

In this era of ‘big 6’ dominance, has finishing 7th become as good as winning a trophy? The Pl>ymaker FC squad have their say in the video below…

With the likes of Bernard, Ademola Lookman and Theo Walcott not putting in consistently good performances on the wing for Everton there certainly looks to be a chance for the 21-year-old African to make his mark, and he may well get it if the Merseyside outfit are proved right with their confidence about him soon being eligible.

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Leeds United’s mini-break from Championship action could serve them well in the promotion race, Quest pundit Dean Ashton has told Football League World.

Leeds were not involved in the fixtures over the weekend and will have had a rest of 1o days by the time they take on Bolton Wanderers on Saturday.

What’s he said?

Leeds are currently third in the Championship but they are level on points with Sheffield United, on whom they have a game in hand, and only two behind leaders Norwich City.

And Ashton, speaking to Football League World, has backed Leeds to take advantage of an impromptu rest.

He said: “I think if you were to give all the teams at the top the chance to have 10 days break they would all snap your hand off.

“At this time of the season where you’ve come through Christmas, it’s a difficult period I think it could make a huge difference.

“You’re still going to have to play that game later on down the line but at this moment in time it could give the boost you need and the recovery they need to push on until the end of the season.

“There’s time for any niggling injuries that you carry to settle down. I can see both sides but it could be quite important for them to have a break to try and settle those injuries down.”

Leeds have the advantage

Sheffield United played Reading over the weekend, while Norwich met Bolton. Leeds, meanwhile, sat pretty at home.

Promotion is so often a game of fine margins and Ashton is right to call attention to the break Marcelo Bielsa’s men have had.

They have the opportunity to get back on the field against Bolton this week – Norwich beat the Trotters 4-0 on Saturday – and start to make up that gap to the leaders.

Both of the clubs ahead of them will be watching on with interest, and they will likely see a completely fresh XI gunning for goals and three vital points.

If Leeds are promoted, they may well pinpoint this rest period as a key moment.

Aston Villa manager Dean Smith will probably feel his team deserved a bit more than a single point after their 1-1 draw with Stoke City on Saturday afternoon.

The Villans dominated possession at the bet365 Stadium and had more shots on goal than the Potters, while their passing game was also more clinical.

Villa were presented with a number of good chances in both halves but they failed to make the most of them.

Indeed, the Midlands club did eventually equalise in the second-half as an excellent run down the wing by Anwar El Ghazi presented Albert Adomah with a shooting chance in the box, which the 31-year-old calmly converted.

Aston Villa dominated in the final 25 minutes of the match as they threw everything at the Stoke defence, forcing goalkeeper Jack Butland to come out and make a number of crucial stops to deny the likes of Tammy Abraham and Tyrone Mings, who both came very close of finding the winner.

Heading into the match, Villa would have had their sights set on securing all three points after winning only one of their previous ten encounters in all competitions.

It has been quite a while since Villa controlled a match like they did against Stoke and a draw was probably a very good result for Nathan Jones’ men, but for Smith it actually showed the type of football his team is capable of playing.

If the Birmingham club took all of their chances they could have easily won by three or four goals.

One man who Dean Smith relies on is Tammy Abraham, but he hasn’t looked himself in recent times.

It’s safe to say that Abraham’s recent rough patch has ruined Aston Villa’s play-off chances as the Englishman has failed to score in his last three games, despite being presented with a number of opportunities. Indeed, Bristol City currently occupy sixth position and are eight points above the Villans with two games in hand, so Villa’s hopes of securing a play-off spot have all but dried up.

The performance should, however, be encouraging to the manager and the players, which should provide them with a boost as they head into their next encounter with Derby County at Villa Park.

If players like El Ghazi, Ahmed Elmohamady and Jonathan Kodjia manage to keep hold of possession like they did at Stoke, then they will be able to dictate play against the Rams as well.

As much of an improvement former Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini has made at West Ham United this season, it would take an ambitious punter to suggest that he and the club can challenge for the top six next campaign. A boardroom shaped punter.

Yes, that is right. The objective for the Hammers next season is reaching the dizzying heights of the top six, and why not?

It wasn’t too long ago that former boss Slaven Bilic, who’s recently been sacked by Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad after only 15 games, nearly secured the Hammers a place in Europe (source: The Sun).

According to The Sun, West Ham are preparing to give their man a huge transfer kitty, with wantaway Marko Arnautovic, side line rebel Lucas Perez, and misfiring Javier Hernandez all set to be sold.

Pedro Obiang, who’s been at the club for four years since joining from Sampdoria, will also be allowed to leave despite the club rejecting £8.9m advances from Fiorentina in January (Sky Sports).

In theory, this should release some serious funds for Manuel Pellegrini to invest in the market and build on his already impressive transfer history, with the likes of Balbuena, Anderson and Diop all impressing this season.

Although it isn’t quite on the level of his former employers, both in England and in China, there is enough there for the boardroom to believe the right players can be recruited for future success.

But will it be enough?

Indeed, the board are understood to want to challenge for the top six, something an awful lot of Premier League clubs struggle with despite the huge amount of money available to them as a result of merely being in England’s top division.

The Premier League is as hotly contested as ever; “big” clubs Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham, Arsenal are all vying for the elusive top four spots, leaving behind very few scraps for those below to feed on.

The 13-point gap between 6th and 7th says it all.

Do West Ham really have enough to make up this deficit?

It’s still tough to understand quite how Liverpool have found themselves in their current position. Despite leading the way in the Premier League title race during the early stages of 2019, they’ve lacked the bite and consistency that made them such a deadly force earlier this season, and as the end of the season edges ever closer, the pressure on the shoulders of Jurgen Klopp is increasing by the week. 

This, according to Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson, has left the German panicking and struggling for the answers that he needs to help take Liverpool to the promised land. 

Speaking on The Debate, via Sky Sports, Merson said: “Jurgen Klopp is panicking”.

He offered a number of examples, noting: “Panic is setting in, as shown by his substitutions, bringing on Adam Lallana for Sadio Mane – you’ve got to win that game. Everton were never going to win the game – they had settled for a point. James Milner coming on… I like him, but you’ve got to win the game. You’ve got Daniel Sturridge and Xherdan Shaqiri on the bench. I’ve been a manager myself and sometimes you sit there after a game and think ‘I shouldn’t have done that’.”

Klopp, of course, finds himself in a very high-pressure situation. The Premier League title race is as close as it gets, and Liverpool have drawn the majority of their games over the last few weeks. Indeed, they’ve won just 2 of their last 7 games in all competitions, and that’s not title-winning form.

Is the situation getting to him? Maybe, but it’s also important to recognise that he’s been here before. He managed to win the Bundesliga in 2011 and 2012, despite the might of Bayern Munich, and that came with all the same pressures that he’s having to negotiate with now.

Some would argue that Merson, who has only managed one team – Walsall, for less than two years – is not in a position to criticise Klopp, and that’s certainly a fair comment to make, but the visibly frustrated, often angry Klopp of the last few weeks differs from the smiling, relaxed Klopp that began the season. There’s no way around that.

Still, the German has got his team into this position, and he’s got the ability to take things to the next level. It’s hardly panic stations, after all. Liverpool are just one point behind Man City – and it’s all to play for.

Thoughts?

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Leeds United are currently on course to achieve automatic promotion into the Premier League at the end of this season. The Whites are second in the Championship, behind only Norwich City. 

However, the Yorkshire club’s triumph is by no means certain. Sheffield United are hot on their heels and there’s still plenty of time for the Whites to capitulate.

Slipping into the play-offs at the end of the season would be a sickening outcome for Marcelo Bielsa’s side, who have been in and around top spot for the most of the campaign so far.

Are fans being priced out of the Championship as well as the Premier League? The angry Bolton fan in the video below certainly believes so…

Although the play-offs would still give them a chance of going up, Danny Mills believes that this is an opportunity that the club would fail to take.

What he said

Speaking to Jim White on talkSPORT (12/03, 12:45pm), as quoted by HITC, the former Leeds and England full-back said: “The fear is if they drop into the playoffs like they have done in the past, it goes wrong. And that’s a big, big fear. It’s always that team that have been so close in the top two pretty much all season, at the very last minute, you drop into the playoffs, there’s a huge disappointment and a big sigh.”

Prepared to bounce back

Certainly, the disappointment of missing out on automatic promotion could knock Leeds off their stride and batter their confidence.

If, in this situation, morale were to be allowed to ebb away at Elland Road then there would be no chance of success in the play-offs. In that sense, Mills’ fears are perfectly legitimate.

However, fans can take heart from how well their side have reacted to disappointments at times already this season. Frustrating defeats to QPR and Norwich City were both followed up with more positive results. This ability to bounce back is something Leeds will have to call on if they end up in the play-offs.

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West Ham United fans have slated the performance of Marko Arnautovic against Huddersfield Town on Saturday.

The Austria international started his first game since the January transfer saga that saw him flirt with a move to China at the weekend.

However, he struggled to have any effect as the Hammers came from behind to win 4-3 at the London Stadium and fans have vented their fury.

Per WhoScored, Arnautovic had one shot on goal throughout the game, was dispossessed twice and touched the ball just 39 times, the second-lowest number of any starting Hammers player.

The performance was such that Manuel Pellegrini substituted the striker in the 68th minute to be replaced by Lucas Perez; a chorus of boos rang out at the stadium as he departed the pitch.

The Hammers were 3-1 down when Arnautovic went off and rallied to take all three points in spectacular style after his withdrawal, as substitute Javier Hernandez scored a brace.

And supporters have called on Pellegrini to drop the Austrian for good as they look to climb the table.

Take a look at the best of the reaction on Twitter below!