All posts by h716a5.icu

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Tottenham Hotspur fans have been on social media discussing a potential move for Benfica defender Alex Grimaldo in this summer’s transfer window.

According to A Bola, via Hotspur Lane Twitter account, Spurs have scouted the left-back on a number of occasions this season with the view to a potential bid.

Grimaldo came through the youth system at Barcelona, but did not make a single first-team appearance for the Spanish giants before joining Benfica in 2015.

The 23-year-old has scored an impressive seven goals and contributed six assists in 43 appearances in all competitions for his Portuguese club this season.

It would not be a surprise to see Spurs move for a new left-back this summer as neither Ben Davies nor Danny Rose have really convinced for long spells this term.

Pl>ymaker FC Exclusive: Jermaine Jenas reveals he would have snubbed Tottenham for Arsenal if they’d come knocking in 2005…

And it seems that the London club’s fans are in favour of chairman Daniel Levy pursuing Grimaldo’s signature.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

[ad_pod ]West Brom starlet Morgan Rogers found the back of the net twice for England U17s this week as they beat Switzerland 5-2.The 16-year-old opened the scoring after 22 minutes before completing the rout late on.It provoked plenty of fan discussion on Twitter with a host of supporters urging for careful consideration when it comes to the club’s up and coming players. This is because of an apparent trend that sees the Baggies prospects leave too easily.Some individuals ignored those concerns, though, merely praising the midfielder for his display as they labelled him an unreal prospect.Rogers is clearly one of the best talents coming through at the club and has already made his senior debut, playing in the FA Cup earlier this season as he featured off the bench.He has caught the eye recently, winning the PL2 Player of the Month award after scoring four goals in one game against Norwich. It was a month that also saw the impressive youngster claim three assists.

March has been a tough period for West Brom with the sacking of Darren Moore dampening the mood around the club. However, Rogers’ performances provide something to get excited about.

Here’s how some of the Hawthorns faithful reacted.

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Tyrone Mings has gone from being a spare part at Bournemouth to a huge hit with the fans at Aston Villa, where his performances have earned rave reviews almost every single week. Clearly the defender is enjoying his spell in the Midlands, perhaps partly because of how tough his time at the Vitality Stadium was prior to his January loan move.

The behemoth centre-back’s Cherries career has been plagued with long-term injuries in recent years – knee ligament and back injuries have accounted for 608 days out and 81 games missed between August 2015 and September 2017 – however he is proving to be a fantastic signing for the Villans, who have climbed into promotion contention.

Having rejuvenated his career at Villa Park and referred to his recent time at Bournemouth as ‘jinxed’, the 26-year-old expressed how much the past couple of months have meant to him:

“This loan is massive for me. I don’t think I could underestimate how big it is and how big a decision it was to choose where to go because everything had to click immediately.

“The aim is obviously to make the play-offs, but coming here and playing games, and feeling wanted was so important. Personally, it was a big choice and I 100 per cent believe I made the right one.”

Watch the video below to see the most insane overhead kick you will see this week…

Certainly, the Bath-born big man wasn’t all that useful on the south coast – he accumulated just 140 Premier League minutes last campaign, but has played the full 90 minutes in each of his eight appearances under Dean Smith since joining Villa in January.

Now a firm fan-favourite further north, the 6-foot-5 brute will surely be reluctant to return to Bournemouth in the summer if these comments are anything to go by.

It’s safe to say Naby Keita hasn’t lived up to his price tag since arriving at Liverpool.

Signed for a then club-record fee of £48 million, Keita was widely seen as the heir to Steven Gerrard at the club, but seven months into his debut season, the former RB Leipzig star hasn’t exactly set the Premier League alight.

Since his move to Merseyside, the Guinea midfielder has six goals and assisted another five in 27 Bundesliga appearances alone.

Of course, you can point to factors as to why Keita hasn’t done well in England from the dramatic change in teams he has played against to the pressure of being dubbed the heir to Gerrard after taking the latter’s iconic shirt number, but there are no two ways about it, the midfielder has had a stinker of a debut season.

With Liverpool chasing City in the league and Keita seemingly benched, Jurgen Klopp’s plan to bring the midfielder in as the true heir to Gerrard at Liverpool hasn’t gone to plan, but an answer for the German isn’t far away from returning.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, you remember him right? The English midfielder has been out of action since his knee injury against AS Roma in last season’s Champions League, but with former Arsenal man returning to first-team football soon, there is a good chance the 25-year-old could be back in time for some Premier League minutes this season.

Chamberlain was a success with Liverpool last season, flourishing in the midfield three and looking likely to be a part of England’s World Cup team, but of course his knee injury through those plans out the window, but with his return imminent, the versatile midfielder now has a chance to show his worth again in the team.

Unlike Keita, Chamberlain has been able to put up the numbers that matter for Liverpool, scoring five and assisting eight in all competitions for the Reds last season, and it won’t be a surprise to see Klopp decide to bring the English midfielder back into the first-team next season as the true heir to Gerrard.

Liverpool fans, would you rather have Chamberlain in the first-team over Keita? Let us know!

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If you told Kieran Dowell when he arrived at Sheffield United that he would become a left-wing-back he’d have probably laughed.

The youngster is an attacking midfielder by trade and although players breaking through have a tendency to claim they’ll play wherever for the team, this is a position where for obvious reasons he didn’t look comfortable.

The Everton man arrived in January on loan from the Premier League club but hasn’t shown too many signs of replicating the displays he turned in for Nottingham Forest last season.

Despite that, he’s still an incredibly exciting talent and after starring for England at the U20 World Cup in which they won in 2017, is one that’s been hotly tipped for a while.

Chris Wilder’s men won 1-0 with Dowell in their ranks last Saturday, but the experiment of playing him at left wing-back didn’t pay off as the 21-year-old was substituted after just 63 minutes.

KIERAN DOWELL (Preston vs Sheffield United)

33 touches

71% pass success

0 key passes

0 dribbles

0 tackles

Stats courtesy of WhoScored

After an injury to Jack O’Connell two weekends ago, Wilder was forced into bringing on Marvin Johnson to play in the left wing-back role against Bristol City after Enda Stevens was moved into the three-man defence.

It was a decision that proved disastrous for the Blades with the Yorkshire club losing 3-2 a fortnight ago, despite being in a winning position when Johnson came on.

So against Preston, the manager chose to go with Dowell and although they won it’s probably something he won’t opt for again.

Dowell’s pass completion rate wasn’t particularly amazing whilst he was ineffective going forward.

Who would make a combined Sheffield XI? Ingood Nick makes his picks in the video below…

One of the main qualities a wing back must possess are phenomenal attacking traits but he failed to provide the Blades with much in the final third, not completing a single dribble or key pass.

To get the best out of Dowell during the promotion run-in, he must play in a more advanced and central role.

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Watford progressed to the FA Cup final at Wolves’ expense and they largely have super-sub Gerard Deulofeu to thank – the Spaniard came off the bench after Raul Jimenez doubled the Midlands outfit’s lead and completely changed the game with a moment of sheer brilliance.

The former Barcelona man picked his head up and what he did next stunned everyone inside Wembley Stadium – the winger audaciously lobbed a helpless John Ruddy and gave the Hornets fans the glimmer of hope which would soon be turned into a real opportunity after Troy Deeney equalised from the spot with seconds to go.

The Vicarage Road outfit would go on to win, with Deulofeu scoring his second – a feat that has landed him in Garth Crooks’ team of the week. Here’s what the BBC pundit had to say:

“I don’t think I’ve seen such a beautifully executed goal in an FA Cup semi-final before. Gerard Deulofeu’s goal to put Watford back in the game against Wolves was a thing of beauty.

“What I don’t get with Deulofeu is how he can be so sublime one game and so painfully ordinary the next. The Spaniard came on, played for 46 minutes and walked off having suffered a knock.

“I find Deulofeu as frustrating as he can be devastating. I didn’t want to select him – but he’s just got his team to the FA Cup final. I don’t think I have a choice.”

Wolves Fan TV place the blame for Wolves’ FA Cup semi-final collapse on John Ruddy in the video below…

Indeed, the speedster’s first strike was surely up there with some of the competition’s best, although Crooks was almost pained to choose him alongside Jamie Vardy and Mohamed Salah, pointing to the fact that the only reason he made the XI was because of what his brace gave Watford – a shot at Manchester City in the final.

While Deulofeu has been largely a dependable player for Javi Gracia, the pundit isn’t far wrong – the number 7 has games where he looks unplayable and others where he looks apathetic but, fortunately for Watford, his latest outing was one of the former.

Having bagged nine goals and chalked up five assists in 29 appearances this campaign, the 25-year-old is relishing his new, more advanced role, although he will clearly have to do a lot more to convince Crooks that he is a top player.

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Axel Tuanzebe was in fine form for Aston Villa on Wednesday night as Dean Smith’s side recorded a 2-1 win at Rotherham United in the Championship.

Recently back from a foot injury, Tuanzebe starred in central defence and the on-loan Manchester United ace will be looking to inspire Villa to promotion this term.

It remains to be seen whether Villa can keep hold of the Englishman next season, with United in need of centre-backs of their own.

And surely Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be thinking about the 6 ft 1 ace.

The Villa fans are certainly enjoying watching the 21-year-old at the moment, though, and a number have taken to social media to hail the defender.

Tuanzebe’s return has come at a crucial time with Tyrone Mings now facing a suspension and James Chester still not ready to feature.

A selection of the Twitter reaction from the Villa supporters can be seen below:

Steven Gerrard will certainly want Ryan Kent back at Ibrox for their title challenge next season! It’s easy to see why though, and Liverpool’s decision on the youngster will define the Gers chances of winning their first major trophy since their liquidation.

Gerrard told the Scottish Sun he’d spoken to Liverpool about the possibility of them allowing his to return to Rangers, whether that be a loan or permanently. Indeed, the 22-year-old has made 21 starts and scored six goals in a real breakthrough year for the youngster.

If the winger chooses to return, it’d be ideal for Gerrard on two fronts. First of all, he’s proven this season that he can perform under the pressure of playing for such a big club. It’s clear he’s bedded himself into the team well and next season he’ll only improve with the rest of the squad.

The Englishman coming back would also mean Gerrard doesn’t have to spend money replacing him in the summer. Cash may be relatively tight, but Gerrard knows he has to upgrade some of his starting 11 in other areas to have a chance of beating Celtic to the title next season.

There’s no guarantee a new player would fit in or even be as successful as Kent has and could be at the club. That’ll worry Gerrard and, if he decides to stay it could be a choice that the fans look back on as a turning point in this Gerrard revolution.

There’s limited resources at the club, so when they find a gem like Kent, they need to keep him as long as possible. If he signs, that’s one huge step towards a title challenge. If he doesn’t, it’s one huge step backwards. It’s time to pull a few strings, Gerrard!

Rangers fans, who do you see starting on the left wing next season? Join the discussion by commenting below.

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Shane Long scored in 7.69 seconds of play to give Southampton the lead in their 1-1 draw at Vicarage Road on Tuesday night.

Southampton’s point takes them within three of the 40-point target, which would likely keep them up in the Premier League for another season having been greatly improved since the departure of Mark Hughes and the arrival of Ralph Hasenhüttl.

From the Hornets’ kick off, Shane Long pressed the back four before intercepting Craig Cathcart’s clearance and finding himself in on goal to give the Saints the lead.

The goal was the fastest in Premier League history, and puts Long ahead of Ledley King, Alan Shearer and Christian Eriksen in the list of fastest ever Premier League goals.

Watford added some drama of their own as Andre Gray fired late in the game to earn the home side a point.

The main talking point of the game was Long’s goal, and such is the nature of his name, Twitter had many football fans making the same terrible joke…

Let’s at least leave the best joke of the lot till to the end…

With safety secure, Newcastle fans can really sit back and enjoy their summer, knowing they will be watching Premier League football again next season. 

Oh wait, no they can’t!

For relaxation to commence, Rafa Benitez needs to sign a new contract with the club, or the same old fears will come flooding right back for those fans. It must be gutting to be a member of the Toon Army under the reign of Mike Ashley, truly miserable.

All the foundations have been laid by Benitez but he needs to be the man to orchestrate the changes at St James’ Park, if he is given a big budget. Everyone knows that. Apart from the Ashley regime, it seems.

Nothing major needs to happen in terms of chopping and changing players but an influx of quality would do no harm. To that end, on a free transfer, the addition of Hull City’s Markus Henriksen (who was linked by the Sun with a move to Tyneside in January) would be one that interests all and it could be very shrewd business for the Magpies.

Henriksen, (who is valued at £3.6 million on Transfermarkt) has without a doubt been one of the shining stars for Nigel Adkins and Hull this season and he would prove to be a steal for a team like Newcastle. His quality is obvious and there is no question that he is good enough to play higher up in the Premier League.

With 37 Championship matches to his name this season, Henriksen has added 3 goals and an assist during those as well.

Newcastle were rightly interested in the Norwegian international during the January transfer window but now he is completely free, the deal makes so much sense and they should look to beat the competition to secure his signature. Surely it makes too much sense not to.

Surely.

Midfield quality is something Rafa Benitez has been vocal about getting so his answer – sign Markus Henriksen.

Newcastle fans, do you agree? If not, why not? Join the discussion by commenting below…