All posts by z3u9t.icu

There is a feeling that the Netherlands believe Virgil van Dijk could be fit for Euro 2020, alleging that Jurgen Klopp is currently holding him back.

The 29-year-old continues to recover from the cruciate ligament injury he suffered back in October following a shocking tackle by Jordan Pickford in the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park.

[freshpress-poll id=“348883″]

Van Dijk’s absence has been an almighty blow in a season which has slowly fallen part, with the Reds’ Premier League title defence fizzling out because of injuries and poor form.

The centre-back has been pictured various times in recent weeks as he works on his return to action, with the Dutchman back in the gym and also jogging on the training pitch.

Netherlands believe Klopp is holding Van Dijk back

According to Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf [via Sport Witness], the Netherlands national team believe Van Dijk is closer to a return than Klopp is claiming and the player knows that his boss cannot make the decision on whether he plays a the Euros.

They reported: ‘Klopp has put the brakes firmly on in England, but Van Dijk knows that the German coach cannot forbid him to travel to the Oranje training camp at the end of May or the beginning of June for the final round of the European Championship. There is a good relationship between the player and Klopp and the Dutchman will not do ill-considered things.’

Klopp is reportedly hesitant to allow his key man to play a part in the Euros this summer, no doubt wanting to keep him wrapped in cotton wool ahead of next season.

It is stated that there is a ‘good relationship’ between the Liverpool manager and Van Dijk’s national setup, though, so the right decision will likely be made in terms of what is most beneficial to the Reds superstar.

Transfer Tavern take

From a selfish Liverpool perspective, Van Dijk will hopefully not feature at the Euros, avoiding the risk of another injury setback ahead of the 2021/22 campaign.

It could be that the defender still features for the Reds late this season, which would then make it difficult to deny him the chance to represent his country at a major tournament – a dream for so many players, and one which the defender hasn’t experienced even at 29.

Van Dijk needs to be managed extremely carefully by both club and country, ensuring he gets back to being the world-class footballer he had been before his injury.

In other news, many Liverpool fans have been begging the Reds to clinch the signing of one centre-back this summer. Read about who it is here.

Jose Mourinho faces several selection dilemmas as his Tottenham Hotspur side welcome his former club, and local rivals, Chelsea to N17 this evening.

Spurs have slipped in terms of form over the last seven days, recording back-to-back losses and that has seen them drop to seventh in the Premier League standings.

A win for the visitors at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium would see them leapfrog Spurs too, so there is plenty at stake tonight.

Harry Kane won’t be rushed back, which is cause for concern as only Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s wonder strike has meant that Spurs didn’t go two games without scoring.

So how will they lineup this evening? Here’s our predicted XI as well as the latest team and injury news…

Spurs are set to be without Kane, Sergio Reguilon, Dele Alli and Giovani Lo Celso, according to the Evening Standard’s Dan Kilpatrick.

Mourinho’s three-at-the-back ploy lasted just 45 minutes on the south coast, so it would be a surprise to see him revert back to it. Therefore, we may well see Davinson Sanchez and Toby Alderweireld axed in favour of an Eric Dier and Joe Rodon partnership.

Dubbed “the general” by Spurs legend Gary Mabbutt and a “good leader” by Gary Neville, the £26m-rated Dier was surprisingly axed for the Seagulls defeat after starting Spurs’ previous 14 league games. He should come straight back in.

Whilst on the flanks, Ben Davies will surely continue in the absence of Reguilon, but there’s a decision to make on the right. Serge Aurier wasn’t involved whatsoever after he reportedly left at half-time against Liverpool, so we could see Matt Doherty given the nod.

In midfield, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg could reignite a partnership with Harry Winks, which would allow Tanguy Ndombele to be deployed in a more advanced role. This would see Moussa Sissoko axed.

Gareth Bale is another who is facing the chop tonight. He failed to make much of an impact at Brighton, starting only his second Premier League match since he made his sensational return to the club.

Instead, Mourinho is surely likely to turn to back-up Carlos Vinicius as he’s the only true replacement for Kane. It would allow Steven Bergwijn and Heung-min Son to play their natural wing positions.

That would make it a total of four changes.

AND in other news, Mourinho MUST ruthlessly AXE £90k-p/w passenger tonight, he’s held Spurs back for weeks…

Carlo Ancelotti must ruthlessly axe Bernard from the Everton starting line-up for Monday’s Premier League clash with top four rivals Chelsea.

The Toffees visit Stamford Bridge with a chance to move above Thomas Tuchel’s Blues in the race for Champions League qualification, having lost ground after the west Londoners’ 1-0 win over Liverpool at Anfield on Thursday night.

Everton momentarily sat fourth after beating West Bromwich Albion thanks to a sole strike from Richarlison, after the Brazilian headed home his 12th goal of the season in all competitions by connecting with Gylfi Sigurdsson’s delivery.

Bernard had opened the midweek affair at The Hawthorns for only his third start of the Premier League campaign, as Ancelotti sought to afford Sigurdsson a rest after the Iceland playmaker featured in Monday night’s 1-0 win at home to Southampton.

Ancelotti was without summer signing James Rodriguez against Sam Allardyce’s relegation-threatened Baggies due to injury, and the Colombian remains a concern for Monday’s trip to the capital to face Tuchel’s high-flying Chelsea.

The Blues are unbeaten in their 10 games played under the former Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund head coach to date, winning seven and drawing three of all fixtures across all competitions since his appointment in January.

Everton have claimed 14 points from a possible 27 in the Premier League to Chelsea’s 18 from 24 in the same period, only Manchester City (24 out of 24) have claimed more than the Londoners.

If the Toffees are to now deal Chelsea their first defeat under Tuchel, Ancelotti will have to axe Bernard, having seen the Brazilian maestro fail to offer anywhere near enough during his time on the field against West Brom.

While the intent was often there from Bernard on Thursday, his influence on proceedings was far too infrequent, and not much of what the £13.5m-rated midfielder attempted came off.

A January target for United Arab Emirates outfit Al Nasr, the Brazilian’s best moment of the match came late in the first half when he was involved in a nice piece of interplay with Abdoulaye Doucoure and Dominic Calvert-Lewin which would only result in Richarlison’s effort being deflected out for a corner.

Bernard can argue that he was not match-sharp, having only played 22 minutes of Premier League football since starting on New Year’s Day before featuring at The Hawthorns, but his display only served to prove why Ancelotti is seemingly reluctant to field the 28-year-old. He failed to pick out a team-mate from any of his crosses and gave the ball away 16 times, a figure exceeded by just one Everton player (via SofaScore).

Sigurdsson, in contrast, made his impact tell from the off after replacing Doucoure in the 64th minute, with the former Swansea City playmaker providing the delivery for Richarlison’s goal and earning Ancelotti’s praise post-game.

“I think when he came in, we changed the system on the pitch, we played with a diamond,” the Italian said, via quotes from the Liverpool Echo’s Adam Jones. “When Sigurdsson came in, he played his game, he played 30 minutes with confidence.”

Ancelotti will need that confidence from all of his players at Stamford Bridge if Everton are to beat Chelsea, and Bernard will not be expected to offer it.

AND in other news, Everton can sign a £13.5m-rated brute Carlo Ancelotti thinks is “excellent” for free…

Manchester United may be about to land one of the bargains of the January transfer window by bringing in Moises Caicedo from Independiente del Valle.

What’s the word?

With Paul Pogba heavily linked with the Old Trafford exit and Donny van de Beek having so far failed to hit the ground running, United’s need for an attack-minded midfielder has arguably never been greater.

United have taken full advantage of the January transfer window in recent times with Bruno Fernandes turning out to be a total revelation ever since he first arrived at the Red Devils from Sporting Lisbon at the start of the year.

And they could be about to add yet more firepower to their midfield in the shape of Caicedo. Renowned transfer guru and journalist Fabrizio Romano claims “his contract won’t be a problem” which suggests that the ball is very much in United’s court, and if Ed Woodward can get a deal over the line, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer could set his side up very nicely for the rest of the season.

Imagine Caicedo and Scott McTominay

While Caicedo is primarily a defensive-minded midfielder, he can also play in a more central role or even further up the pitch (like he did during his international debut in the World Cup qualifier against Argentina), which is precisely the sort of free-roaming option Solskjaer has taken a shining to just like Fernandes and to some extent Pogba as well.

Equally capable of dropping deep to break up attacks or carry the ball forward into the opposition half, the 19-year-old could work in tandem with Scott McTominay in the midfield to protect the defence at the back and build up a partnership in the years to come akin to Solskjaer’s former teammates Roy Keane and Paul Scholes.

It’s claimed United have reportedly reached an agreement with the Ecuadorian side Independiente del Valle for a £4.5m deal for the teenager. However, they face stiff competition from Premier League rivals Chelsea for his signature, with Frank Lampard also keen to secure his services.

Given his age, the Ecuador international is obviously intended to be an investment for the future, but there’s no doubt he’d be able to land firmly on his feet and hit the ground running at Old Trafford, as he has scored six goals and supplied two assists across all competitions so far this season, via Transfermarkt.

With Chelsea waiting in the wings, Solskjaer must push Ed Woodward to wrap up a deal as soon as possible.

AND in other news, Manchester United’s interest in Fiorentina defender Nikola Milenkovic spells trouble for Victor Lindelof…

West Brom have a medical scheduled for Wednesday over a potential new addition, according to reports…

What’s the word?

The Daily Mail claim the Baggies are interested in bringing in former Leicester City forward Ahmed Musa with a view to signing him on a short-term contract this week.

Musa has been a free agent since leaving Saudi side Al-Nassr in October, and it is also thought that arch-rivals Wolves and fellow Premier League strugglers Fulham are also keen.

Albion are set to bring him in after requesting a UK visa and should all go well, he will sign on for the remainder of the season.

Big Sam’s next Okocha?

It wouldn’t be the first time that Big Sam has had an enigmatic Nigerian in his attack, so this move would certainly be shades of Jay-Jay Okocha, who was a sensation under the 66-year-old at Bolton Wanderers.

Similarly, the attacking maestro left PSG on a free transfer in 2002 following the World Cup and ended up at the Reebok Stadium. While Musa isn’t fresh off a major competition, it was only in 2019 that Nigeria won bronze at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Throughout Okocha’s time at the Trotters, he was regarded as a ‘flair’ player capable of trickery with the ball and creativity, but he was also known as being vastly inconsistent – only 18 goals and three assists in 143 appearances would reinforce that view, though he still had many fans on the edge of their seats every time he played.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-west-brom-news-and-rumours-copy” title=”Read the latest West Brom news, transfer rumours and more!”]

Once again, Musa isn’t too different.

The 28-year-old has already flopped in the Premier League before – following a then club-record £16m move to Leicester City in 2016, but he could only deliver five goals in 33 appearances.

But elsewhere, he has proven to be a prolific option, only adding to him perhaps being a bit of an enigma. At CSKA Moscow, the versatile wide man contributed towards 99 goals in 184 matches, whilst at Al-Nasser most recently, he delivered 11 goals and 14 assists, via Transfermarkt.

The Baggies desperately need firepower in attack as following Charlie Austin’s departure to QPR on loan, it leaves Allardyce with only one senior striker and right now in Karlan Grant, and he’s currently on the treatment table.

Valued at £5.4m by Transfermarkt, Musa would be a decent addition considering Luke Dowling and co won’t have to pay a penny in transfer fees. However, he cannot be the only attacking signing before the February 1st deadline.

AND in other news, Why West Brom need to take a punt on Christian Benteke

Liverpool are desperately short of defensive options at the moment, following the long-term injuries suffered by both Joe Gomez and Virgil van Dijk, but Jurgen Klopp may have identified a replacement for the Dutchman ahead of the January transfer window.

It has been reported recently that the Reds have submitted a bid for Ajax defender Perr Schuurs ahead of next month’s window and the 21-year-old could potentially be Van Dijk’s long-term replacement, rather than just being a stop-gap whilst the former Southampton man is sidelined.

Klopp has been lucky enough to get a close look at the centre-back this season too, with him having played in both of Liverpool’s 1-0 triumphs against the Eredivisie side in the Champions League.

The young defender impressed in the game in the Netherlands, earning a solid 6.82 rating for his performance against the Reds, whilst he struggled in the fixture at Anfield earlier this week, receiving a disappointing 6.27 rating for his display.

However, he was part of an Ajax defence that limited one of the best attacking sides in the world to just two goals across 180 minutes, so it will be interesting to see if his performances were enough to convince the club to try and sign him during the January transfer window.

Schuurs is currently valued at £8.1 million by Transfermarkt and has been likened to former de Godenzonen centre-back Matthijs de Ligt, who was instrumental to the Dutch side’s run to the Champions League semi-final in 2019, before completing a move to Juventus.

The young defender has shown his quality in his performances in the Eredivisie this season, averaging a superb 7.20 rating across his nine appearances in the Dutch top-flight, per WhoScored.

Therefore, it seems as if Schuurs has a big future and should he join Liverpool in January he could well prove to be the long-term replacement for Van Dijk, as unfortunately, the 29-year-old may not be his former self once he recovers from his current injury.

Even if he does, he is still approaching the latter stages of his career, whilst Schuurs obviously still has a lot of time to improve and perhaps bringing him to the Merseyside club in January could prove to be a masterstroke by Michael Edwards, especially if he can learn from Van Dijk and go on to become as important as he has for the Reds in recent seasons.

And, in other news… LFC leader who made no tackles and won no duels endured a nightmare game against Ajax

A seven-goal thriller unfolded at Elland Road this evening as Leeds United hit top-flight rivals Newcastle for five in a tense Premier League battle.

Despite Steve Bruce’s side doing well to cancel out the Whites’ first two goals, their fluid attack proved to be too much for the opposition defence.

Not only did Leeds bank five goals, but they all came from different goal-scorers, which will be a great boost for the team’s confidence.

Jack Harrison seriously impressed by scoring and creating a goal, but one man who went under the radar with a creative showing was Raphinha.

Raphinha excels

The right-winger may not have got himself on the scoresheet or provided an assist, but his ability to create chances really helped Leeds secure their emphatic win tonight.

According to Sofascore, Raphinha completed 100% of his attempted dribbles and long balls, and also made two interceptions and two tackles.

Not only did he cause problems for the defence, but he also helped contribute to his own, striking a perfect balance between his attacking and defensive input.

As it stands, Leeds have three recognised right-wingers on their senior roster – Ian Poveda, plus summer signings Raphinha and Helder Costa have been competing for a spot in Marcelo Bielsa’s starting lineup.

The latter started the first eight games of the season before he started dropping to the bench in favour of his Brazilian teammate.

The 24-year-old signing has made a huge impact already and has impressed the likes of Phil Hay. The journalist lauded him for being a “bargain” signing after he joined from Rennes in October for £17m.

This win is a huge result for the Whites, who have now leapfrogged today’s opposition thanks to their hefty 5-2 scoreline. Their next match will be against Manchester United on Sunday, which will be a big hurdle to clear for the newly-promoted club.

In other news, Carlton Palmer fears Robin Koch injury is “massive blow” to Leeds…

Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl has criticised the professionalism of Michael Obafemi whilst explaining why he has not featured too often for the Saints so far this campaign.

Hasenhuttl slams Obafemi

Hasenhuttl was asked about the Ireland youth international during his pre-match press conference ahead of the clash against Newcastle on Friday.

When asked about Obafemi’s situation, he said:

“The problem with Michael was always he would play one good game and then fall back a little bit and was not professional enough to force or keep his position in the team or in the squad.“This makes it too easy for others to go above him. I think this is what he must learn.“Once he is in the squad, don’t give it away so easily and try to be aggressive and dangerous in front of the goal.“I think this is something he misses, but he’s young, he still has to learn a lot and this is a kind of mentality but is also a kind of quality.”

Message clearly sentHasenhuttl has not been very subtle in making it clear to the £4.05m-valued 20-year-old (Transfermarkt) – and indeed every other player at the club – what he expects from his players. One strong performance is of course a step in the right direction, but the Austrian demands consistency from his players.In 35 games for the south-coast outfit so far, Obafemi has five goals and four assists. He has shown himself to be a regular member of Southampton’s squad already, but it is clear that if he does not display the right attitude he will not be making many more appearances for the Saints in the near future.In other news, Hasenhuttl lays down a challenge to this Saints man.

Aston Villa fans will want to forget about the squad that took them down to the Championship in 2016 but one man has thrived since that fateful campaign.

Signed for £12m under Tim Sherwood, striker Jordan Ayew quickly turned out to be one hell of a flop at Villa Park, scoring just ten times in 58 appearances, which is nearly an average of one goal every six matches.

After half a season in the Championship, the Ghana international linked up with his brother, Andre, at Swansea City in a swap deal for Neil Taylor plus the potential of £5m in add-ons.

But how is he getting on these days?

Where is Ayew now?

You’d have to say pretty well as he finds himself still plying his trade in the Premier League with top-flight rivals Crystal Palace, where he has proven to be quite a consistent option to lead the line for Roy Hodgson.

Last season alone, he scored nine goals in the league, which is one fewer than what he could manage during his entire stint in the Midlands.

According to CIES Football Observatory, the 29-year-old is valued at €20m (£18m) – over three times what Tony Xia sold him for in January 2017.

The versatile forward has also gone onto pick up a total of 58 caps for his national side, and he even beat new Arsenal star Thomas Partey to their Player of the Year award.

Hodgson has even labelled Ayew a “phenomenon,” adding: “One can’t speak highly enough of a player like that. The mere fact that he’s been there through the two seasons we’ve done quite well… his contribution has been enormous.”

Ayew has certainly thrived since his time in the Midlands, so they’ll be hoping that it doesn’t come back to sting them on Boxing Day when he makes that return to Villa Park.

AND in other news, Maupay 2.0: Smith made another transfer mistake with “fearless” £10m sensation…

In the end, West Brom couldn’t quite hang on for what would surely have been one of their greatest victories of the Premier League era. But even despite Chelsea overcoming a three-nil deficit at half-time with a last-gasp equaliser from Tammy Abraham, there is no questioning that Slaven Bilic’s side put in an exceptional display.

They were incredibly clinical with Callum Robinson netting twice, whilst Kyle Bartley got in on the act with a great finish from a well-worked corner straight off the training ground.

Spot the fact from the fib: Are these Premier League records true or false?

World Class score: 95% | Expert score: 80% | Veteran score: 65% | Intermediate score: 45% | Amateur score: 30% | Try Again: 5%

And whilst Robinson may be the talk of the town for his two finishes, it was West Brom’s other goal-scorer on the night that really shone brightest for the Baggies in their Premier League encounter against the Blues on Saturday.

As per Sofascore, the 6 foot 4 central defender led the back-line superbly, and whilst Chelsea may have breached the West Brom net three times in the second-half, it wasn’t for a lack of effort from Bartley.

The 29-year-old threw himself in front of everything, not being scared to take one in the face for the cause. Any deliveries from out wide that came in Bartley dealt with – in fact, he made a whopping 11 clearances on the night, which to no surprise, was a game-high and only one less than the number managed by both Dara O’Shea and Semi Ajayi combined.

The centre-back also showed off a fine ranger of passing and launched a couple of counter-attacks with some direct passing into the channels, completing four of his five attempted long balls. And whilst Chelsea looked to press more in the second-half in particular, Bartley never looked in panic, and incredibly, only lost possession once in the entire 90 minutes – the least of any outfield player (apart from Sam Field who came on for the final minute).

Bartley was unlucky not to see his efforts rewarded with all three points for West Brom, but his display would have left Bilic raving on the touch-line.