All posts by n8rngtd.top

David Moyes should push West Ham to bid for Jesse Lingard at the end of the season after Rio Ferdinand urged the on-loan midfielder to quit Manchester United for good.

What’s the word?

While speaking on BT Sport, via quotes by The Sun, Ferdinand claimed Lingard’s temporary move to the London Stadium will be seen as a failure if the Irons do not make efforts to retain the England international beyond his half-season deal.

Lingard joined West Ham on loan for the remainder of the campaign during the winter transfer window, but no purchase clause was included in the terms of his move.

The 28-year-old is expected to hold talks over his long-term Old Trafford future with Red Devils chiefs in the summer, at which point he will have one-year remaining on his £100,000-per-week contract.

Lingard could cost West Ham up to £4m for his six-months on loan, having paid Manchester United a £1.5m loan fee, agreed to cover his salary in full and pay a £500,000 bonus should Moyes guide the east London outfit into Europe.

And the spending may not stop there, as Ferdinand believes Lingard has to leave Old Trafford in the summer as his parent side have now moved on from the playmaker.

“What’s his ambition here, beyond this season? What is he looking to do?” Ferdinand said. “If West Ham don’t put a bid in to buy him at the end of this loan, I think this loan has to be seen as a failure.

“That’s got to be his aim – to get a bid from West Ham and other clubs to take him out of Man U. Because I don’t see him going back to Man U and really affecting that squad now.

“I think they’ve moved past him with the players they’ve recruited, he doesn’t feature and hasn’t done for so long.”

Should West Ham bid for Lingard?

West Ham will be in a strong position to purchase Lingard at the end of the season should he continue featuring as often as he has since arriving at the London Stadium, as he will know the future can be bright in claret and blue.

The picture was very bleak for the £9m-rated maestro at Old Trafford before leaving on loan, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer only awarding 179 minutes of action across all competitions this season – less than he has featured for under Moyes (262) already.

Lingard has enjoyed an impressive start to life in east London, as well, having scored twice on his debut in a 3-1 win away to Aston Villa and turned in a vastly influential display in Monday night’s 3-0 win over Sheffield United.

He was always a threat on the break and looking to get West Ham moving in the right direction, with a game-high six attempted dribbles and the joint-most successful efforts (3) with Blades defender Chris Basham, per WhoScored.

No one who featured for either side took more shots than Lingard (5), too, while also finding the target (4) at least twice as much as any other player, though unable to find a way past Aaron Ramsdale.

His performance was at such a level that Lingard now leads West Ham for average shots per game in the Premier League this season with 3.7 – 1.5 more than second-ranked Michal Antonio – and is first for dribbles with 4.3 attempted – 1.4 more than Antonio (2.9).

If Lingard keeps up these performances, Moyes should have no reason to not bid for his signature in the summer, having already stated that he is open to a potential deal.

AND in other news, West Ham may rue not signing a £1.8k-p/w target in January as he nears a pre-contract agreement…

Things are looking a lot rosier for Wolves all of a sudden.

Of course, they aren’t completely out of the woods yet, but a win over Arsenal and then a draw with Leicester demonstrated they still have what it takes to mix it with the top half of the Premier League.

Though, could their squad for the back half of the campaign been bolstered more?

What’s the word?

January wasn’t a particularly busy month for Wolves but they did welcome a new striker to the club in the shape of Willian Jose.

However, it’s been revealed that Jeff Shi and the club’s recruitment team had another forward on their radar last month.

According to Transfermarkt (via Sport Witness), Wolves approached Frankfurt in a bid to sign Portuguese striker Andre Silva.

Atletico Madrid were also pursuing Silva but had a bid rejected for his services. This link certainly makes sense given he’s a client of super-agent Jorge Mendes.

The intermediary currently has a number of Wolves’ players on his books.

Forget Jose

This would have been a seriously eye-catching move for Nuno Santo and Shi to make. They were linked with a swoop for the 25-year-old in 2019 when he was still at Milan but he has come on leaps and bound since.

In fact, he’s far more prolific than Real Sociedad loanee, Jose. So far this season Silva has found the net on 18 occasions in just 21 outings compared to Jose’s meagre haul of four strikes. It’s been a near impeccable campaign for the striker who has earned comparisons to a certain Bayern Munich forward.

After scoring against Mainz last month, Frankfurt boss Adi Hutter commented: “Andre Silva is the solo forward up top, but he does it really well. He wasn’t rewarded against Leverkusen, today he was. His composure on penalties reminds me of Robert Lewandowski, who always turns ice cold.”

Silva has gone from an erratic striker to one that shows remarkable composure in front of goal. Though, that’s not the sole reason Wolves should have signed him over Jose.

He’s confident in the penalty area, but most importantly has similarities to Raul Jimenez. Silva revealed what he brings to the Frankfurt attack last year: “My job at the moment, like a striker, is to score goals, to gain the ball in the air and to protect the ball in the front, so my teammates come more forward. So, I think it’s my job. But the most important in the final is the three points or the winning.”

Jimenez does a wonderful job of protecting the ball and you only need to look at Silva’s stats this term to realise what he could have offered to the Old Gold.

He has won 2.4 aerial duels per game which outmuscles Jimenez by 0.9. It’s a tally that also betters Jose’s in 2020/21 who has only prevailed in one aerial duel a match.

Hailed an “entertainer” for his performances this term, Molineux would surely have been a better place with Silva leading the line.

Depending on the cost, this would have been the perfect striker for Wolves in January. Let’s hope they don’t live to regret their decision.

AND in other news, Forget Aaron Ramsey: Nuno could unleash “special” rarely-seen Wolves gem instead…

Liverpool may well be regretting their decision not to sign reported target Aissa Mandi from Real Betis during the summer transfer window when you consider the centre-back crisis at the Merseyside club in recent weeks.

Jurgen Klopp has been without first-choice centre-backs Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez for much of the season through injury, whilst Joel Matip has also struggled to stay fit.

The Reds coped well with the likes of Rhys Williams and Nathaniel Phillips partnering Fabinho at centre-back but in recent weeks, the wheels have started to come off.

Sunday’s 3-2 defeat against Manchester United was evidence that Klopp desperately needs a senior centre-back in his side, otherwise, Liverpool risk losing any chance of retaining the Premier League title, as both Williams and Fabinho’s vulnerabilities at the back were exposed by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side.

Therefore, it seems as if the German manager will be frustrated that during the summer, the club failed to bring in Mandi from Betis, as at one point it seemed likely that he would arrive at Anfield as Dejan Lovren’s replacement, with the Croatian joining Zenit St Petersburg.

Algerian journalist Hafid Derradji reported during the summer that the centre-back, who reportedly earns £23k per week with Betis, was close to joining the Reds but the deal fell through due to Liverpool refusing to up their offer.

The print version of the Mirror (via Express) suggested that Liverpool tabled an offer of £9 million for the experienced Algeria international, but Betis wanted another £1.8 million on top, which Michael Edwards was clearly unwilling to pay, as he ended up staying with the La Liga side.

His performances this season suggest that the 29-year-old would have been a solid player and an older head for Klopp to have during this injury crisis, as other than a 5-2 defeat to Barcelona in which he got sent off, his performances this season have been consistently good.

He also has three goals in just 14 La Liga appearances this season, suggesting that he could have gone some way towards replacing the goal threat of Van Dijk in Klopp’s side.

Therefore, when you consider that Klopp doesn’t seem confident of adding a centre-back during the current window despite their lack of options at the back, the German manager will surely be frustrated that just £1.8 million stood between him and a new centre-back during the summer.

And, in other news… Tackles more than VVD: Edwards should swoop for 21 y/o beast

Celtic have been linked to several new faces this month as the January transfer window fast approaches. Their disappointing season will have only encouraged Peter Lawwell, Nick Hammond and co to scour the market for some fresh personnel.

However, whilst they have been linked to potential incomings, some Celtic stars could also be on their way out. Kristoffer Ajer is a man who has a lot of speculation surrounding him at the moment and it seems like it’s only a matter of time before he bids Parkhead farewell.

AC Milan are one of the latest clubs to show interest in the centre-back and they have an ace up their sleeve to sweeten the deal.

Laxalt for Ajer?

According to Calciomercato, the Italian giants are keen on moving for Ajer this window and would be willing to let Diego Laxalt join the Hoops permanently in return.

The latter joined the Glaswegian outfit last summer and has been one of Neil Lennon’s more impressive players this season. Sofascore reports that he has averaged 2.2 tackles per game so far this term, which is much higher than any other defender at Celtic.

Laxalt has also quickly become a Lennon favourite, thanks to his hard work and balance between attacking and protecting the goal. Recently speaking to the Daily Record, the boss waxed lyrical about the £22,000 per week left-back, labelling him an “aggressive” player who he believes has been a “great addition” to the Hoops.

Indeed, Celtic have come to rely heavily on the 27-year-old. He has played all but one Premiership match this season and contributed an important goal against Hibernian in November, as per Transfermarkt.

Ajer has received a lot of interest recently and Celtic may need to concede the fact that another big side is likely to come in and tempt him to leave. If they are going to lay down their sword and let him transfer, they would do well to at least bank an equally solid defender in Laxalt for their troubles.

Lennon has Christopher Jullien, Shane Duffy and young Stephen Welsh to deploy at centre-back, but appears to only trust Laxalt to get the job done on the left. Losing him would be a huge blow on top of a miserable season in which they will almost certainly give up their crown to Rangers.

In other news, Celtic signing this striker could edge out Leigh Griffiths…

Arsenal could find their next Santi Cazorla in Barcelona starlet Riqui Puig.

What’s the story?

The Gunners have endured a difficult start to the new Premier League season, sitting in the bottom-half of the table and struggling to score goals. And it now appears Mikel Arteta’s side are keen on making some reinforcements in the January transfer window.

The Athletic revealed: “Given the difficulty of buying in January, it may be that Arsenal need to scour the market for opportunities. There is one such potential case in Barcelona. Before the dismantling of their international scouting network, Arsenal had watched Barcelona’s young attacking midfielder Riqui Puig on several occasions.

“Puig’s recent fallout with head coach Ronald Koeman means he is likely to be available for transfer next month, with talk of interest from Leeds United. Technically, the Spaniard fits the profile of midfielder Arsenal require.”

Imagine him and Thomas Partey

Ever since Cazorla left the club, Arsenal have struggled to find someone even near to the little Spanish magician. But in Puig, the Gunners could find exactly that.

The £18m-rated ace has already earned rave reviews for his performances, with former Milan boss Gennaro Gattuso even going so far as to describing him as “spectacular” after his side played Barcelona.

And in a profile done by The Athletic back in December 2018, it said: “Puig plays on that weird tightrope like Iniesta, even as we should shun any and all comparisons. When he has the ball, he moves, makes the ball move as though they both have somewhere to go: Forward. Puig rarely plays a pass that isn’t forward.

“People talk about Arthur, a wonderful addition to the first team who, more than any other transfer, has shown up equipped to play Barça football. But he doesn’t have what Puig has, even as he is older and more accomplished. Few players do and you can’t teach it, even as you can teach proper play.”

In a midfield partnership of Puig and Partey, Arsenal could find the perfect blend of power and guile, and really set them up for the future.

Luke Edwards has given a rather damning update on the proposed takeover of Newcastle United by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) consortium.

Revealing among a thread of tweets, the Daily Telegraph journalist said:“I’m told the Newcastle Consortium Supporters Ltd (NCSL) legal challenge is flawed on the basis of standing.”

He went on to tweet that the NCSL have to show that they were directly damaged by the failed £300m deal between Mike Ashley and the KSA group, and added that they cannot claim damages on behalf of the chief executive of Sports Direct or indeed the Tyneside club itself.

Edwards also revealed that he had been informed that the letter sent by the Premier League would have had this featured heavily in it, in what could be a big blow to hopes of the takeover eventually going through at St. James’ Park.

Newcastle takeover in doubt

Indeed, this may have put a spanner in the works for the NCSL, especially considering that they tweeted just how confident they were that they could win their dispute with the English top flight.

England’s highest division and indeed its CEO Richard Masters may still be taken to court by the Magpies to settle their legal battle, with Ashley already seemingly having top lawyers ready to represent him, but it is unclear as to what the outcome of this legal battle would be.

Nonetheless, it will certainly be interesting for the Toon Army to see how this all plays out in the end, but this latest update from Edwards has likely knocked the confidence of some fans.

In other news, find out which manager has been tipped to lead NUFC through a post-takeover era here!

Tyrone Mings has been dealt a lucky break by the Premier League postponing Aston Villa’s upcoming clash with Newcastle United amid an outbreak of coronavirus cases at the St. James’ Park outfit.

Steve Bruce’s Toon were due to visit Birmingham on Friday night but lodged a request with the league for the match to be delayed after a “significant increase” of covid-19 cases, which saw Public Health England advise the closure of the club’s training ground at Darsley Park.

Five Newcastle players and two members of staff are believed to have tested positive, resulting in the Premier League reaching the verdict that Friday’s fixture had to be postponed with group training not permitted until Friday at the earliest.

Newcastle being unable to visit Aston Villa on Friday night will be welcome news for Mings, as the extended break following Monday’s defeat at West Ham United will afford the centre-back a chance to reset after underperforming in recent weeks.

Mings has been letting Villans boss Dean Smith down badly with his displays of late, that are far from befitting of a player England boss Gareth Southgate lauded as an “outstanding” leader after handing the 27-year-old his senior international debut last year.

“Since I have been watching him for the past 12-months or so, he’s displayed outstanding leadership qualities. I thought I would see that [against Bulgaria] and I did. He’s an impressive young man,” Southgate said, via quotes by iNews.

Mings has started all nine of Aston Villa’s Premier League fixtures thus far this season and is yet to miss a minute of action, but was miles off the pace in last month’s 2-1 defeat at home to Brighton and Hove Albion and was at fault for overplaying in Monday’s loss at West Ham.

Danny Welbeck picked Mings’ pocket for Brighton’s opener at Villa Park upon the defender’s return from England duty, having been handed his sixth and seventh Three Lions caps in UEFA Nations League fixtures with Belgium and Iceland.

Mings’ error that led to Welbeck opening the scoring for Brighton was not the £80,000-per-week defender’s only mishap, either, with Smith let down by his star man who won just two ground duels, one aerial contest, lost possession 12 times, made one successful tackle and failed to register an interception, per SofaScore.

Smith would have hoped to see Mings bounce back at West Ham, but rather witnessed the 27-year-old fail to register a single successful tackle or interception, lose possession 15 times, attempt – though win – one ground duel and misplace nine of ten long passes.

Mings must now use the extended break between fixtures to hit the reset button to ensure he can hit the ground running when Aston Villa visit West Midlands rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers on December 12, as Smith can ill-afford to see another woeful display.

Celtic’s pursuit of ten Scottish Premiership titles in a row is going disastrously.

They got to nine with a canter, fighting off the competition in unrelenting fashion as they made a mockery of their rivals Rangers.

However, in 2020/21, it is the Gers who are doing the mocking.

At the time of writing, Celtic sit a colossal 11 points behind their old nemesis and are in danger of losing their grip on the league crown for the first time in a decade.

It’s refreshing to witness a changing of the guard but how on earth do the Hoops get themselves out of this mess?

Well, the man with the keys to success or failure is Peter Lawwell, Celtic’s CEO.

It’s thought that after the Bhoys’ 2-2 draw with Hibernian that Neil Lennon’s job is still safe at Parkhead but if results continue as they are, it surely won’t be long before Lawwell pulls the trigger and moves for a new manager.

One figure who could replace Lennon is a certain Eddie Howe. Previously touted as a coach to go on and take charge of England, he is now without a job after quitting Bournemouth following their relegation from the Premier League.

A perfectly reasonable option for the Hoops, he could help banish Celtic’s current nightmares on the training ground.

Earlier this week, a shocking revelation came to light from pundit Simon Fry: “I know they still do Brendan Rodgers training, which worries me. If you’re the manager you can’t be doing someone else’s thing you need to do what you want to do.”

Now, we know that Lennon is more of a man-manager than he is a coach, but this is why Howe would be absolutely perfect for Celtic. He is a hard-working trainer and puts in considerable hours on the training ground.

He is the definition of a tracksuit manager, leading his own sessions and staying behind after hours.

Former Bournemouth man Brett Pitman previously said: “It wouldn’t just be ‘do you want to do a session’ and a coach would be there. He [Howe] would be the one taking it, with all his staff – that is special. People might think that is a norm in football but it really isn’t. It is what makes him different.”

Already we can see the stark differences between Howe and Lennon – it really is night and day.

Simon Francis, another of Howe’s ex-players once noted: “He is meticulous. He does not leave any stone unturned. And he instils that work ethic into the players. Because you know that he is buying into it. Not turning up late, not strolling out onto the training pitch late, he is always the first. You can never question anything he does.”

Despite the numerous titles Lennon has brought to Celtic since Brendan Rodgers departed, it’s clear that everything is not quite right at Lennoxtown. This season proves that they’re still living off the Leicester boss’ past glories and methods – that really isn’t good enough for a manager as experienced as the one Celtic currently have.

Perhaps with fresh ideas and a different approach their fortunes will improve. Lawwell must pursue Howe.

Meanwhile, here’s how Celtic can FINALLY replace Scott Sinclair… 

Celtic supporters got a glimpse of two of their former players earlier this week as Jason Denayer and Dedyrck Boyata both started alongside each other for Belgium against England in the UEFA Nations League.

The latter is perhaps the more memorable ex-City man given he won three trebles with the Scottish giants between 2016 and 2019.

In that time, Boyata made 135 appearances and contributed towards 24 goals, via Transfermarkt.

The 29-year-old’s Bhoys career came to a controversial end last summer as he left the club on a free transfer. He had been accused of refusing to play for ex-Hoops boss Brendan Rodgers again thanks to a battle with his agent.

So how is he getting on elsewhere?

Where is Boyata now?

Now a regular in the Bundesliga for Hertha Berlin, Boyata has continued to thrive, so much so that he’s now the captain of the team after Vedad Ibisevic’s departure to league rivals Schalke 04.

Last season, the Belgian international made 28 appearances in the league, averaging 5.6 clearances, 2.7 aerials won, 2.2 interceptions and 0.9 tackles per game, via WhoScored.

He’s been an animal in one of Europe’s best leagues.

It’s no wonder that he has become a regular for Roberto Martinez on an even bigger stage having now racked up 19 appearances for the Red Devils. He featured the full 90 in both of their Nations League matches this week.

According to Transfermarkt valuations, the colossal centre-back is now valued at £9m, which makes him the ninth-most valuable player for the Bundesliga outfit.

Germany legend Jurgen Klinsmann hailed Boyata as “one of the best defenders in Europe” back in January, adding: “He’s at the top of his game and he’s been absolutely terrific for me. Since I arrived here, at every training session and every game he’s been inspirational. He makes a difference to us in every match he plays. He reads the game and is a great leader and the rest of the team have recognised that. He’s been excellent.”

Surely Celtic rue not keeping him longer as his career as still come on leaps and bounds even after an illustrious time at Parkhead.

AND in other news, not signing £14.4m-rated maestro has been one of Lawwell’s biggest failures this century…

Liverpool will be looking to build on their win over Ajax in the Champions League by restoring their form against Sheffield United. The Reds will play host to Chris Wilder’s side who are desperate to claw their way out of the relegation zone. Jurgen Klopp will be equally eager to get three points on the board, so a tense affair could be on the cards.

After Aston Villa’s loss to Leeds, Everton look clear at the top of the Premier League table, something that will be a dismal sight for Liverpool fans. Catching up to their rivals will be a big target for the Reds right now.

Football FanCast has predicted how Klopp might set up to vie for a win over the Blades…

Whilst the news of Virgil van Dijk’s injury will have many fearing the worst, Klopp has potentially dropped a huge boost regarding first choice goalkeeper Alisson. Speaking to the club’s website, the manager refused to rule out any players who were attending training, which could suggest the Brazilian is ready to make his long-awaited comeback.

After an impressive performance against Ajax, Fabinho has shown he is confident in defence. Sheffield will have hoped van Dijk’s absence would mean an easy result but this could be Liverpool’s match to get themselves back into winning ways, thanks to a makeshift yet strong defence.

After making a cameo appearance, it could be time to see Jordan Henderson return to the action for his side. The Reds have missed the captain’s influence and he could be crucial against a side like Wilder’s. Without the leadership of van Dijk, Liverpool will need Henderson giving directions and keeping everything running smoothly from the middle of the park.

The only other predicted change that could be on Klopp’s mind is to bring Takumi Minamino in. His new found central position could bring a whole new dynamic to Liverpool’s attack and he could be a danger when slotting in just behind Roberto Firmino. It could finally be time for the £9m-rated signing to show what he’s really made of.

In other news, Liverpool may have identified a cut-price replacement for Virgil van Dijk…