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This time last year, Leeds United were pursuing an experienced goalkeeping option with the young Bailey Peacock-Farrell being Marcelo Biela’s first-choice starter.

Whites director of football Victor Orta identified a big name as the solution, one that had won multiple Champions League titles and more.

That man was Kiko Casilla.

Nearly a year to the day, the Yorkshiremen clinched the signing of the Spaniard from La Liga giants Real Madrid with him signing a four-and-a-half-year contract.

But his latest string of performances are starting to show why that may have been a huge mistake, especially in a financial sense.

It is no secret that his move to Elland Road was quite costly in terms of wages, he arrived as ‘comfortably’ the highest-paid earner, as Phil Hay once said.

Casilla’s form has been patchy since being handed the shot-stopping reigns – that playoff game against Derby County last term will long live in the memory of some, others will never be able to let it go either.

According to LUFC data, Leeds have conceded from the first shot on target they’ve faced in five of the last six Championship outings, while it has also happened a total of ten times this season.

The same source also states that they have conceded 60% of their home goals past the 81st minute.

While it is believed that the 33-year-old has leaked 76.47% of the shots he’s faced in the same timeframe as above.

This just isn’t good enough, especially when you consider the sort of deal the goalkeeper is on. He must perform to that standard each and every week, and currently, he’s far from doing that.

Illan Meslier stunned on debut against Premier League opposition in Arsenal, so it’s not as if his place amongst the starting XI should be guaranteed.

Football Insider claim Casilla is on £40k-per-week, an extortionate deal and one they could do without if he continues to disappoint.

Virtually impossible: Can you name the year all of these Leeds flops arrived at Elland Road?

Leeds can barely afford to many additions after Phil Hay ruled them out of signing Hull City hotshot Jarrod Bowen this month, with the club needing to satisfy FFP regulations, and there’s no doubt that deals such as the one with the Spanish keeper has contributed severely.

It’s starting to look like one big financial mistake on Orta’s part.

And in other news, Leeds interested in signing a Championship rival hotshot, but would he be a good signing? We assess…

Arsenal’s winning run, albeit a short one consisting of just two victories, came to an end at Selhurst Park on Saturday against Crystal Palace.

The Gunners did get off to the better start, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang opening the scoring following a slick move from the visitors. However, Jordan Ayew pulled things level before the Emirates outfit’s goalscorer was sent off for dangerous play.

In the end, Mikel Arteta had to make do with a solitary point.

Quickfire Quiz: How much do you know about Arsenal’s history in the January transfer window?

Lucas Torreira was included once again in the starting line-up, having started all three previous Premier League games under the new boss. He was clearly not a Unai Emery favourite, having started just four league matches under the former manager, but he seems to be a big part of Arteta’s plans moving forward.

Against Palace, the Gunners supporters were very happy with his display.

In that first half at least, he was very impressive. He helped the Gunners have 67% possession and dominate the game – the Eagles managed just one shot in the whole of the first 45 minutes.

In this match, the Uruguay international was back in a defensive midfield position after having featured at times in attacking midfield under the former boss. Many supporters can not believe he was deployed in that role previously.

With just four goals and five assists in 76 matches for the Gunners, it does seem like a bizarre choice to play him further forward. It is perhaps decisions like that that led to his departure from the hot-seat.

At half-time though, the 23-year-old was withdrawn and replaced by Matteo Guendouzi. Given his performance, the assumption is that it was because of an injury, and that has worried some Arsenal supporters.

The fans will be hoping that it is nothing serious, and that he will soon be able to return to the action.

In other news, Arsenal’s transfer plans are revealed by Mikel Arteta.

According to a fresh report from the Daily Mail, Leicester City are on a lookout for a full-back that could compensate for the potential departure of their first-choice star Ben Chilwell.

The Foxes are bracing for Chilwell’s exit with Chelsea said to be contemplating a bid in the summer and Sunderland’s Ryan Bertrand is currently pretty high on their wishlist.

Call yourself a Premier League expert? How much did each of these big-money January signings cost?

The current Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers was actually a youth coach at the Blues’ camp during Bertrand’s time in their academy so he knows the now 30-year-old player quite well.

This could help them make a decision or even give them a boost in their potential chase of the veteran if Chilwell does end up leaving.

But when comparing the two players in question, it becomes apparent that Bertrand wouldn’t really represent an improvement of any kind at Leicester.

Both players have been given a similar amount of game time in the ongoing campaign – 1394 minutes for Sunderland’s star and 1610 for Leicester’s – but their stats were taken prior to the weekend’s Premier League action, which has to be taken into consideration.

With all of that being said, it’s pretty evident that Chilwell is simply the superior of the two in almost all important categories across the board, starting with his defensive contribution.

Even though Bertrand boasts a better average of 1.3 interceptions per game as opposed to Chilwell’s 1.1, the latter player is a better tackler – with 1.3 compared to 1.2 – and it’s also slightly more difficult to dribble past him, as evidenced by his 0.8 times dribbled past compared to his rival’s 1.1.

And this could indeed be a warning sign for Leicester.

Let’s not forget that their aspirations are high under Rodgers with the Foxes currently occupying a place in the Champions League spots,

Needless to say, if they end up losing Chilwell, they need to bring in a quality reinforcement who could give them a boost for next season and ensure the England international’s void is adequately filled.

But Bertrand is not really an offensive outlet either as he has recorded just 0.9 key passes and 0.2 dribbles per game. The Foxes’ quick and aggressive style of football might not be compatible with their current transfer target.

When everything is said and done this seems like a blunder waiting to happen for Leicester.

When James Maddison slotted home Leicester City’s ninth of the evening as a freezing, taunting rain whipped around St Mary’s it surely spelt the end of Ralph Hasenhuttl’s brief stint at Southampton.

He was a dead man walking. By all reasonable estimation his P45 was in the post. The jubilant Foxes fans didn’t even bother with the traditional chant reserved for such occasions. Everybody knew he was getting sacked in the morning.

The Austrian had arrived on the South Coast in early December 2018 with an air of mystery to him. He was supposedly nicknamed the ‘Alpen Klopp’ for his love of pressing in the final third while his work at RB Leipzig came with its own reputation. It all looked rather promising for the Saints who had seemingly recruited shrewdly.

And that certainly appeared to be the case as the 52-year-old’s recalibrated side pulled away from a relegation that looked to be a certainty under his predecessor Mark Hughes. Prior to Hasenhuttl’s arrival Southampton had been mired in a winless run that stretched back 11 games but soon the turnovers improved; the passing sequences; the running off the ball. Tactics were rejigged and the form of key players picked up sharply.

Southampton finished the campaign five points clear of the drop and rightfully optimistic about a bright future with their erudite new charge.

Are you a true Saints expert? Test your knowledge on these famous academy graduates…

Only things went quickly and spectacularly awry and by the time Leicester came to town on a wild October evening the Saints had managed to win just twice in their opening nine games this season. By the time they left, the home side was a national punch-line.

It wasn’t simply that Southampton were beaten 9-0 at home, as humiliating as that was. Freak results can hit anyone. Infinitely worse than even the score-line was the manner in which the team accepted it. They were beaten but also broken; abject and lost.

It was a great surprise then when the Saints board continued to back their man as his side proceeded to lose their next two fixtures. Whatever were they playing at? They were entrusting the restoration of a project to the very person who had sent it to wrack and ruin. This was a colossal gamble.

That Hasenhuttl has somehow transformed his team and so dramatically is to his enormous credit, while his players too deserve a huge dollop of kudos. The largest share of the acclaim, however, should go to Gao Jisheng, the club’s chairman and his board, for sticking with their appointment through the thin times and going against an established way of thinking that has governed football for aeons: if in trouble start from scratch.

Watch Southampton Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

Since the nadir of that Leicester trouncing, the Saints have won seven of their 14 games. They lie third in the Premier League form table. This week’s 2-0 triumph at Crystal Palace was their fourth successive away win too.

Revived under a 4-2-2-2 formation that the coach initially enjoyed success with before abandoning it unwisely is a side that poses a genuine threat up front in the form of 14-goal Danny Ings and bolstered too by a defence now more than capable of grinding out clean sheets. They are a formidable and buoyant proposition with one eye on finishing within the top ten come May.

None of this seemed remotely possible just a few short months ago and promotes as it does the benefit of showing patience in a manager. Will others look, listen and learn? Let’s hope so. It’s unlikely they will, but let’s hope so.

West Ham fans have taken to Twitter to react after the signing of Jarrod Bowen was announced on deadline day.

The 23-year-old arrives from Hull City in a deal worth over £20m according to the BBC, and he has signed a five-and-a-half year contract with the Hammers.

It means that Bowen’s six-year stint with the Tigers has come to an end, after he joined them from Hereford United back in 2014 – in total, the Englishman scored 54 goals in 131 games for the club, while also registering 14 assists.

West Ham’s latest arrival has already scored 17 goals in the current campaign, with 16 of those coming in the Championship while he has also grabbed one in the Carabao Cup – he has seven assists to his name as well.

His impressive haul comes after he notched 22 Championship goals last term – no player in England’s second tier has been involved in more goals than Bowen since the start of the 2017/18 campaign, in which time he has netted 52 goals and tallied up 12 assists according to Opta.

Let’s see how the West Ham fans on Twitter reacted to his arrival…

To kick off the reaction, these three West Ham fans couldn’t contain their happiness at finding out that the deal had been completed.

Jackson said that it was a “huge signing” before calling Bowen a “great player”.

Cory then added that he was “so made up with this” before Tommy said he “can’t understate how happy” he was with the signing of the prolific Championship marksman – he then made the bold prediction that the forward is “gonna score lots of goals for us”.

Elsewhere, Jay decided to comment on the announcement video specifically, saying “so this is what you were doing while we were waiting all night” – it simply had to be done for a marquee signing like this one, Jay.

Meanwhile, Asad believes that Bowen’s arrival will get West Ham into Europe. Ambitious thinking considering West Ham are currently battling relegation.

Lastly, Nath was just shocked that the Hammers managed to pull the transfer off, saying that he “can’t believe we actually got it done”.

In fairness, the Hammers did leave this one very late, and at one point looked like they were struggling to agree personal terms with the striker – a ‘relegation clause’ was believed to be holding up the deal.

Calling all transfer experts! How much did each of these Deadline Day signings cost?

In other news, this report says that a 9-goal striker wanted a surprise return to West Ham in the January window…

Melissa Reddy has revealed that Jurgen Klopp and his recruitment team are “big admirers” of Heung-min Son and Marcus Rashford.

What did she say?

The Independent journalist was talking about Liverpool’s transfer plans for the summer and what they will be looking to do.

Can you name the result these iconic Liverpool images belong to? Give it a go now…

Speaking about the Premier League duo, she wrote: “Interest, though, is only the starting point and a tiny part of transfer thinking. The recruitment team and Klopp are big admirers of Heung-min Son and Marcus Rashford, as examples, but that interest is immaterial given neither are available to them.”

Impossible moves

Son and Rashford are amongst two of the best players in the Premier League right now. Between them, they have scored 32 goals and provided 14 assists in all competitions, and are instrumental to their respective sides.

Both valued at £72m by Transfermarkt, their potentially big transfer fees are not the reason why a move to Anfield is all but impossible.

Whilst it is hard to say whether they would ever leave their current clubs, if they were to depart they would surely not be allowed to move to Merseyside. Can you imagine the uproar if the Red Devils allowed arguably their best player to make the switch to their fiercest rivals? If you think the hatred towards the Glazers is bad enough as it is, the sale of Rashford would take the toxicity at Old Trafford to a new level.

Not only that, Liverpool already have a star trio of attacking players.

Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino are already household names on an international level, as the latest Ballon d’Or rankings indicated, and they have 43 goals and 32 assists between them already this term. Despite their obvious quality, Rashford and Son would have their work cut out to break in to that team.

It remains to be seen whether the European champions will look to add a star signing this summer – Jadon Sancho and Kylian Mbappe have been previously linked – but they will need to look a little further from home than this Premier League pair.

Meanwhile, this man was Liverpool’s weak link against Southampton.

Ex-Crystal Palace striker Clinton Morrison has revealed that he was left disappointed with the club’s transfer business in the January window and also felt that the club should’ve backed Roy Hodgson.

The Eagles ended up signing only Cenk Tosun on loan from Everton, while also offloading Connor Wickham and Victor Camarasa, as well as academy players Scott Banks, Dion-Curtis Henry, Giovanni McGregor, James Daly and Jason Lokilo.

A move for West Brom’s Nathan Ferguson fell through after the 19-year-old’s medical flagged up a knee problem, while Crystal Palace also lost out to West Ham in the race to sign Jarrod Bowen.

What did he say?

Morrison told talkSPORT: “You’ve got to back him. Roy Hodgson has done an unbelievable job at Crystal Palace, and with the injuries he’s had as well recently, it’s been superb – credit to him and they should’ve backed him in the window. There should’ve, at least, been three of four players come through.”

Couldn’t agree more

Since stepping into the hotseat in September 2017, Steve Parish and those on the board at Selhurst Park have given the former England manager little funds to work with – the only players that have arrived for a fee have been Cheikhou Kouyate for £11m, Alexander Sorloth for £9m, Jordan Ayew for £2.5m and James McCarthy for £3m.

A £25.5m outlay in almost two-and-a-half years in the job is not sufficient backing for a Premier League side, especially seeing as the Eagles’ squad is creaking – of the players currently at the club, only Jairo Riedewald and Max Meyer are under the age of 27, not including 18-year-old Brandon Pierrick.

Hodgson badly needed backing in January with his squad pushed to its limits, although only Tosun arrived – in fact, that cannot even be considered as an extra body in when Wickham has since left Selhurst Park.

Premier League experts will get full marks: The ultimate quiz on top flight transfer flops…

Morrison is right – Hodgson has done well with what he has at his disposal, and the club should’ve backed him.

In other news, this piece of transfer news is testament to Dougie Freedman’s fine scouting…

Tottenham Hotspur fans have reacted to Moussa Sissoko’s tweet on his injury recovery.

The midfielder sustained a ligament injury in the club’s Premier League clash with Southampton on New Year’s Day, along with striker Harry Kane.

Spurs issued an update later in January confirming that the France international was not set to return to training until April.

He posted an update on Tuesday afternoon, though, showing him undergoing his recovery, while also writing: “No pain, no gain. I will be back soon.”

Forever a Spurs legend: Honour Pochettino by getting 100% on this all-Poch quiz…

And a number of Spurs fans have hailed the 30-year-old, who made 26 appearances in all competitions prior to his injury.

And a number of supporters also appear to be counting the days until Sissoko’s return.

Indeed, the only Premier League game he had missed prior to that fateful Southampton clash was against Norwich City and that was due to a suspension for accumulated yellow cards.

Spurs are currently sixth in the league, four points behind Chelsea and two behind Sheffield United, though they have a game in hand on Chris Wilder’s side.

Meanwhile, Spurs almost signed a Russia international in January!

According to a report from Belgian publication HLN, Sheffield United are eyeing up striker Emmanuel Dennis ahead of the summer window.

The 22-year-old is on the wishlist of many clubs around Europe, with the Nigerian attracting plenty of suitors in the Premier League.

As well as the Blades taking an interest, Newcastle, Brighton and Watford are keeping an eye on his situation.

However, if United are to snatch him out of the jaws of Club Brugge, they will have to fend off Sampdoria, AS Monaco and Borussia Dortmund.

It’s a big list of teams which means Chris Wilder’s men presumably won’t have negotiations all their own way if they do make an offer for the forward in the summer months.

The report suggests he could cost at least €25m (£20.8m). It would come close to breaking the Blades’ record fee paid for a player. That did stand at £20m with Oliver McBurnie until Sander Berge arrived for £22m.

With that in mind, would he be a good capture? We asked our team of writers at FFC for their answers.

Lewis Blain:

“Chris Wilder can continue Sheffield United’s incredible PL story by landing Emmanuel Dennis this summer. The Englishman has got them in contention for a Champions League place in their first season back in the top-flight, so an addition with experience in that very competition will do wonders for their progression – even if they falter at the last hurdle and miss out on European football entirely.

“Dennis was once dubbed the Nigerian Neymar by fans of his old club Zorya, and this campaign he has bagged twice against the Brazilian’s old foes Real Madrid in the UCL – even celebrating like Cristiano Ronaldo for the ultimate troll. Despite not having the greatest goals to game ratio, he’s managed just eight in 33 apps this campaign, he brings so much more in terms of physicality and pace, which are the two key facets to his game. He’s more of an attacking outlet that brings others into play, one that can chip in occasionally too. 

“The very fact that Borussia Dortmund see him as a replacement for the impressive Jadon Sancho speaks volumes, and if they can land the 22-year-old for £20.8m ahead of the Bundesliga giants, then it would be a touch of genius from Steve Bettis and all those involved. A genuine coup for the Blades.”

Charles Jones:

“It’s easy to paint Emmanuel Dennis as a good option by spinning the narrative that he scored twice against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu earlier this season, but those goals weren’t anything special if you watch them back, with both coming by virtue of luck. The Nigerian mis-hit his first effort and clumsily bundled the ball into the net for his second.

“The Belgian League isn’t really the greatest measuring stick either, Wesley was a hotshot over in Belgium, and he’s not done all that much at Aston Villa, scoring just five times.

“Chris Wilder’s side is built on hard work and doing the dirty work in every area of the pitch, and while a man once dubbed as the Nigerian Neymar would be exciting to watch, this just isn’t a good fit.

“I don’t think the Blades should be looking at signing him this summer.”

Who is that?! Nobody has been able to name the teams all of these obscure managers were once in charge of…

Viji Jeevathayalan:

“Whilst some may unfairly judge Emmanuel Dennis on the fact he has just eight goals all season, that completely takes away from just how hard he works for his team – and that’s exactly why he would be a perfect fit for Chris Wilder. As per Whoscored, the Nigerian averaged a remarkable 2.2 tackles per game in the group stages of the Champions League. To put that into context, that’s more than centre-backs like Joe Gomez (1.8) and Davinson Sanchez (1.8), and even more than Liverpool’s much-lauded workhorse Roberto Firmino (1.7).

“Dennis puts a real shift in, and that mentality would gel superbly at Bramall Lane. Yes, his goal-scoring record is not the greatest, but Wilder more than most would surely appreciate a striker who puts the team first. Sheffield United have been the ultimate underdogs this season as they chase a European spot. With his under-appreciated style of play, Dennis is the perfect symbol of the Blades.”

Matt Dawson:

“I think this would be a clever addition for Sheffield United, particular as he’d be able to offer the Blades something completely new in attack.

“Dennis was sensational when he scored twice inside the Bernabeu earlier this season but one of the most vibrant aspects of that performance was his dribbling ability. Embracing his inner Galactico, the 22-year-old registered three dribbles, a tally that stands at 2.7 per game over the entirety of the 2019/20 Champions League.

“Comparatively, no player in the Blades squad has managed more dribbles than Enda Stevens’ 1.9 per game. On top of that, only David McGoldrick has more than one dribble per match in United’s forward line. It’s clear they need someone more dynamic so Dennis could provide them with exactly that.”

In other Blades news, Chris Wilder’s NIGHTMARE trend looks like it could soon end…

Leeds United are on the verge of returning to the Premier League, but if they do go up there are a few players on the books who aren’t likely to get a shot at playing in England’s top-flight.

One of these players is Laurens De Bock.

The full-back is clearly out of favour at Elland Road, and United are more than happy to part ways with him, installing an option to buy clause in his latest loan deal.

However, recent news seems to suggest that they might not be receiving any such fee for the Belgian.

Indeed, the left-back’s time at ADO Den Haag hasn’t quite gone to plan, and one recent report perfectly highlights what a disaster it has been.

The Eredivisie outfit are six points from safety, and for some supporters, it’s got a bit too much.

Watch Leeds United Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

Indeed, reports state that a group of fans stormed the training ground to take matters into their own hands.

Now, that sounds like it could be an aggressive process or something much more sinister, but the supporters actually gave manager Alan Pardew some tactical analysis, coming armed not with weapons, but with a flipboard presentation highlighting his errors.

De Bock has been at the club for less than two months, and things have already descended into this type of chaos.

We can’t imagine that Den Haag will be too keen to sign the Leeds man permanently this summer after his disastrous start at the club, and this situation will only put off any other potential suitors. Since arriving, he’s won an average match rating of just 6.56, via WhoScored. Clearly, he has not been good enough.

When De Bock joined the Dutch outfit we wrote that Pardew’s influence could be a good thing due to his trend of starting quickly at a club, but it seems that any semblance of optimism at his new side has vanished after failing to win any of their last five games, shipping 13 goals in the process.

All things considered, De Bock’s chances of attracting a new club aren’t looking too good.

In other news, Leeds dodged a bullet in January by not bringing in this man.