All posts by h716a5.icu

It is easy to forget that Wolves starlet Morgan Gibbs-White is only 20 years old.

He made his Wolf Pack debut back in 2017 – aged just 16 – when he came on as a substitute during their 2-0 victory over Stoke City in the FA Cup, and it was only the following month in which he made his maiden league bow.

The England U21 international has gone on to play a whopping 70 times for the Midlands outfit since but during the past 18 months, he has found it hard to cement his place under Nuno Santo.

His actions during lockdown probably didn’t help things either after he was fined and disciplined for breaking rules to attend a party back in May.

The 20-year-old signed a new three-year deal in the summer, which signals some sort of future intent, but was loaned out to Championship side Swansea City for a season-long loan.

He looked not only rejuvenated but also like the sort of player he had been touted as from a young age – Gary Lineker once tipped him for an England call-up two years ago whilst Danny Murphy has previously lauded him as “sensational.”

Usually at Molineux, once you’re out the door on loan, you’re finished. Nuno is never one to utilise the system to produce youngsters for the first-team set-up, they’re usually in from day one.

Gibbs-White picked up his first assist in nearly two years, a shock for a creative influence, and has also bagged for the Swans but now he faces his toughest test yet having suffered a devastating injury blow.

It could be a cruel sucker-punch to his Wolves prospects as he’s set to miss the next three months at least. A fractured foot isn’t the easiest to come back from considering a footballer’s trade is built upon that very limb.

Nuno clearly has a soft spot for the homegrown sensation but now he’s without a consistent flow of games to excel, thrive and prove his worth, time could well be running out to salvage his Wolves career.

The Athletic’s Tim Spiers described his display against Millwall in glowing light, he said: “He’s got his arm in the air more than a world semaphore champion, constantly demanding the ball, be it from the keeper, the defence or his fellow attackers. He comes deep to collect possession but also makes those positive, darting runs between the lines that would, dare it be suggested, be something his parent club would richly benefit from.”

Only time will tell if the £30k-per-week prospect can come back from yet another annoying setback in his Molineux career.

AND in other news, Premature exit of £6.4m talent haunts Fosun’s long-term vision…

Celtic are currently on an extremely narrow balance beam as they continue to plod their way through the 2020/21 season. As it stands, the Hoops are nine points behind rivals Rangers, who top the Premiership table with 12 wins, two draws and no registered defeats yet.

Neil Lennon’s side look far from comfortable this term, struggling in both the league and in Europe. They have banked just the one point out of their Europa League group stage and have suffered two losses.

The manager will have a lot on his mind as he looks to make his two games in-hand over Rangers count. But there are a number of worries in his squad, with one being his inconsistent attack.

Lennon must act fast to resurrect Celtic’s form

The Bhoys may be coming off the back of a convincing victory over Motherwell, but the cracks are still very much there for everyone to see. Lennon’s attacking options have been unconvincing as of late, with Odsonne Edouard particularly surprising with his subpar performances since his return from self-isolation.

Leigh Griffiths has been subject to the bench and has made all of his impact as a substitute recently. The only solid option Lennon has is Mohamed Elyounoussi, who bagged a hat-trick against Motherwell last time out. The Southampton loanee’s tally now shoots up to an impressive 10 goals and four assists in 18 appearances this season (via Transfermarkt).

Despite being a left-winger by trade, Lennon has played Elyounoussi up front alongside a strike partner on several occasions this campaign. With Edouard seriously struggling to make an impact, the 49-year-old could opt to drop him and play the Norwegian up top with a new face coming in on the left.

Mikey Johnston has been waiting patiently for his chance with the Celtic first team. He has had some good chances under Lennon, but they have been peppered across the last few seasons. Now could be his chance to fully establish himself in the senior squad. With no margin for error, the manager must be brutal in his decisions and should consider phasing out Edouard and trying something new with Elyounoussi and 21-year-old Johnston.

Chris Sutton lauded the youngster as a “real talent” last December – Johnston went on to bag six goals and six assists in 21 appearances last season.

In other news, Celtic risk losing Kristoffer Ajer at the end of this season unless results change…

Glasgow Rangers return to action this evening, as Steven Gerrard’s side host Benfica in the Europa League for the first time this season.

In what was a thrilling encounter from start to finish, the two sides shared the spoils in Lisbon after the Light Blues gave away a two-goal lead last time out. The result left both sides unbeaten in their last four outings in the Europa League, but Rangers will want to make amends when they take on the Portuguese giants tonight.

Gerrard’s side are currently unbeaten with 18 wins from 21 games in all competitions in total this term, whilst Benfica will be looking to rebuild having suffered back-to-back defeats to Boavista and Braga respectively before the international break.

Here at Football FanCast, we’ve worked on a predicted starting line-up, which sees the Rangers manager make three changes to the team that thumped Aberdeen at the weekend.

The Gers will be well aware that they could move three points clear of Jorge Jesus’ side at the top of Group D and qualify for the knockout stages, so Gerrard will want leave nothing to chance.

Allan McGregor is expected to keep his place between the sticks with Jon McLaughlin once again having to settle for a place on the bench.

It’s hard to imagine Gerrard making any changes to the back four, with Borna Barisic, Leon Balogun, Connor Goldson and club captain James Tavernier likely to start after keeping a second consecutive clean sheet in a row against Aberdeen.

Calvin Bassey could come off the bench, but we’re backing the Ibrox boss to keep his faith in Barisic, for now at least.

Ryan Jack remains a doubt after suffering an injury against Aberdeen, whilst Bongani Zungu has been ruled out due to injury, so bringing Steven Davis back into the fold alongside the in-form Glen Kamara makes sense, meaning Joe Aribo will be the man to drop out of the midfield three.

Kemar Roofe has been impressing on the right wing in recent weeks but Gerrard may opt to bring Ianis Hagi in on the right instead. The Romania international has been so strong in Europe since he first arrived at the Govan stadium, with two goals and an assist in six games in the Europa League (excluding the qualifying rounds) for the Gers so far.

Therefore, the ever-reliable Ryan Kent is likely to keep his place on the left flank with Alfredo Morelos leading the line once again.

AND in other news, Glasgow Rangers must recall Steven Davis to face Benfica in Europa League on Thursday night…

After an impressive display from the bench in Fulham’s 3-2 defeat against Everton last weekend, Scott Parker must trust Chelsea loanee Ruben Loftus-Cheek with a start in the Cottagers’ next game against Leicester City.

The West London club travel to the King Power Stadium on Monday in the hope of picking up their first away win of the 2020/21 Premier League season.

Parker’s side produced a promising second-half display against the Toffees in their last fixture but despite pushing hard for an equaliser in the late stages of the game, they fell to a 3-2 defeat.

One man who impressed with his display against Carlo Ancelotti’s side was Loftus-Cheek, as he came off the bench to score Fulham’s second goal, which earned him a 7.71 rating from WhoScored.

The England international was far better than teammate Mario Lemina, with the Gabonese midfielder earning a shocking 6.23 rating for his performance in the same game, so surely Parker won’t opt to start the Southampton loanee again on Monday night.

Following the game, the Fulham manager was full of praise for Loftus-Cheek, saying:

“I thought he was brilliant. Ruben came in and we’ve worked really hard together, in terms of the information I’m trying to give him and how he can have a big impact on the pitch.

“Sometimes I feel as if Ruben has a tendency for games to drift by him, and today was everything that we spoke about with him.

“He came on and made a real difference. He looked every bit of a top, top player.

“He got the ball, was brave, scored a goal, got in the box, and was dynamic in between the lines.

“He’s got a real ability and he’ll be big for us this year. He needs to keep working on it and keep listening to what we’re saying.

“No doubt he’ll keep improving like we’ve seen today.” (per West London Sport)

You could also argue that Loftus-Cheek has a lot to prove during his time with Fulham, as he will no doubt be pushing for a spot in Gareth Southgate’s England squad for the Euros next summer, so will be desperate to impress.

The injury-prone 24-year-old must also ensure that he performs with Fulham, otherwise, he may well be axed by Chelsea boss Frank Lampard next summer, considering the number of top-quality players the Blues brought in over the summer.

Therefore, Parker should reward his impressive display against Everton with a start against Leicester City on Monday in the hope that he can inspire the Cottagers to just their second Premier League win of the season.

AND in other news, Scott Parker must consider giving”brilliant” academy talent a chance in his first-team

Jose Mourinho will be disappointed that his side couldn’t come away with the goods as they took on Chelsea last night. Tottenham Hotspur struggled to make much of an impact in front of goal, with the Blues defence working well to silence the in-form duo Harry Kane and Son Heung-min.

However, whilst the pair are more than entitled to an off day following their incredible performances so far, the same cannot be said for Steven Bergwijn. The Dutch international is currently fighting for his place in the starting lineup and has been given chances ahead of the likes of Erik Lamela and Lucas Moura. Unfortunately, his Stamford Bridge display left a lot to be desired.

Steven Bergwijn vs Chelsea

Aside from his early attempt which he sent flying over the bar, the £75,000 per week winger struggled to produce anything of value against Chelsea. According to Sofascore, Bergwijn completed just 22 accurate passes in 89 minutes and he failed to register a single shot on target, successful dribble or long ball.

The 23-year-old also managed to win just one of his seven duels, meaning he lost 86% of those attempted.

Whilst a draw against Chelsea isn’t a bad result by any means, Mourinho’s winning mentality will surely mean he is unhappy with a lot of things from the match. Spurs have Arsenal next in the North London Derby and whilst it could spell a win for the Lilywhites on paper, Mikel Arteta’s frustrations could be taken out on the current league leaders.

Spurs must field their strongest XI in order to set themselves up with the best possible chance to avoid any surprising Arsenal attacks. Whilst Kane and Son are almost nailed on to shine, Bergwijn should not be a name included in the starting lineup after his silent performance on Sunday.

In other news, Exclusive: Gary Mabbutt lauds this recent Daniel Levy transfer decision…

It has been suggested recently by talkSPORT journalist Alex Crook that Southampton are now close to agreeing a new deal with left-back Ryan Bertrand, which would be a huge boost for Ralph Hasenhuttl.

The 31-year-old has been a mainstay in Southampton’s side so far this season, having made 10 appearances in the top-flight, averaging a solid 6.63 rating.

Since joining from Chelsea in 2015, the former England international has gone on to make 217 appearances for the Saints, in which he has contributed eight goals and 19 assists.

However, there was some concern that Bertrand’s time with the South Coast club could be coming to an end, as his current deal is set to expire at the end of this season.

Therefore, the report that he is close to signing a new contract with the club can only be good news for Hasenhuttl and Southampton, as it now seems likely that the left-back could finish his career at the top with the Saints.

The defender certainly seems to be enjoying life under the Austrian at Southampton, as earlier this year he told CaughtOffside:

“Football under Ralph [Hasenhüttl] has been great, it’s modern-day high intense with quick transitions. It’s perfect for my style of play.”

Southampton are also currently low on left-back options, with Sam McQueen still sidelined with a ligament injury, whilst young Jake Vokins has just three senior appearances to his name, so it was vital that the Saints agreed a new deal with Bertrand ahead of next season.

You imagine that the 31-year-old could be a perfect role model for Vokins, who may well be the man to replace Bertrand in the Saints first-team when he eventually does leave the South Coast club.

For the immediate future though, it seems as if Hasenhuttl is securing the final piece of his jigsaw, following the contract renewals of Jan Bednarek and Oriol Romeu in recent weeks, as it should ensure that no regular member of the Saints first-team squad is set to leave the club this summer.

And, in other news… Southampton can bring an end to three-year nightmare by taking a loss on £15m flop in January

Celtic move a step closer to closing the gap on runaway Premiership leaders Rangers thanks to their Wednesday win over Ross County. The reigning champions secured a convincing 2-0 win over the Staggies, who remain bottom of the table having won just three matches this season.

It’s a big ask for Neil Lennon and co to go on and win this term’s title, but they have enough time for their luck to turn. They also have strong players who have been impressing in recent weeks. One man who will be crucial in any potential Celtic comeback is Ryan Christie.

The midfielder has got many singing his praises since he helped Scotland secure their qualification for the Euros. His hard work and skill on the ball left Chris Sutton in awe, describing him as a “manager’s dream” in a recent column for the Daily Record.

Ryan Christie vs Ross County

Not only did Christie provide the assist to set up Leigh Griffiths’ goal, but he put in a superb shift in the middle of the park. According to Sofascore, the 25-year-old made four key passes, five tackles and completed 100% of his attempted dribbles.

His enviable balance between his attacking contributions and his ability to defend is what makes him a driving force in Lennon’s engine room. Christie is one of the only players who has survived the manager’s recent changes in his lineup. Even Scott Brown has been axed from the starting XI on several occasions, but Christie is a player that Lennon simply cannot afford to keep on the bench.

The Scotland international has been linked to a potential move away from Glasgow, with both Leeds United and Leicester showing keen interest in his services. There will be a gaping hole in this Celtic squad if the £5.8million-rated workhorse is to leave the club. Fans will certainly be heartbroken if he leaves, especially during these recent tough times.

In other news, Odsonne Edouard was disappointing yet again vs Ross County…

Carlo Ancelotti must sanction a January loan move to Blackburn Rovers for Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite amidst interest from the Championship side.

What’s the word?

According to LancsLive, Rovers chiefs are hopeful of completing a deal to take Branthwaite to Ewood Park until the end of the 2020/21 season.

Head coach Tony Mowbray has been given the backing of the club to make at least one loan signing this month, and he is seemingly intent on using any available funds to strengthen the core of his defence with a left-sided centre-back.

Branthwaite is one option under consideration with Scott Wharton, Derrick Williams and Daniel Ayala some of the other known alternatives, with Rovers forced into temporary transfers after a summer splurge in search of promotion back into the Premier League.

Everton are expected to consider sending Branthwaite out on loan following Seamus Coleman’s return from injury, which has eased concerns over a lack of depth that forced Mason Holgate and Ben Godfrey to provide cover at full-back over the festive period.

Branthwaite missed parts of the start of the campaign with an ankle injury, after sustaining ligament damage just 24 minutes into his sole start of the season during September’s Carabao Cup win at Salford City.

The 18-year-old has since featured as an unused substitute in four Premier League squads following his return to fitness, after making four top-flight appearances last term.

Should Everton loan out Branthwaite?

With Coleman returning from injury allowing Holgate to contend with Yerry Mina and Michael Keane for minutes in central defence, Branthwaite will struggle to establish himself as a first-choice option at Goodison Park anytime soon.

Lucas Digne is also nearing a return from his ankle ligament surgery, which will free Godfrey up to act as an additional hurdle in Branthwaite’s path, making a loan spell with Blackburn an ideal option for both the player and Everton to consider.

Rovers are seemingly in need of a left-sided centre-half, so should be able to grant Branthwaite regular game time in their push for promotion, a push that currently sees Mowbray’s side sit five points outside of the play-off places and nine points behind second-placed Swansea City in the automatic promotion places.

Blackburn have not had the best of defensive units this term, either, with the Ewood Park natives conceding more goals than eight of the 10 sides currently sitting above them in the table after 23 games, having kept just one clean sheet in their last 10 matches.

Ancelotti is apparently a keen believer in Branthwaite’s potential, describing the 6 ft 4 teen talent as a “fantastic” prospect, and could be happy to see the 18-year-old display his potential week-in, week-out, with a temporary spell out on loan in a competitive environment.

“He showed quality and personality and character,” Ancelotti told EvertonTV about the player. “He is really calm with the ball, really comfortable, and really aggressive without the ball.

“He can be a fantastic player for us.”

AND in other news, Marcel Brands can atone for his £18m summer mistake with an Everton raid for a relentless gem.

It seems silly season has begun already as Tottenham Hotspur have been linked with a surprise swoop for Manchester United outcast Jesse Lingard this transfer window.

According to ESPN’s Rob Dawson, Spurs are among the teams eyeing a move for the 28-year-old attacking midfielder. However, the Red Devils are yet to categorically say whether or not he’s available for transfer this month.

Premier League rivals Sheffield United, who are rock-bottom in the standings, and West Ham United are also mentioned with interest, which tells you everything you need to know.

Spurs are out here battling for a place in Europe, so their name sticks out like a sore thumb alongside those two as well as Marseille, Nice and Jose Mourinho’s former club, Porto.

A switch to north London makes little sense as the ‘Special One’ already has plenty of options of an attacking nature – he’s got both Tanguy Ndombele and Dele Alli currently vying for an advanced midfield role, with Giovani Lo Celso due back from injury too.

And then on the wings, there is an abundance of talent – indeed, Gareth Bale, Steven Bergwijn and Lucas Moura are all fighting it out for one right-wing place right now.

The 25-time England international has fallen heavily out-of-favour at Old Trafford, staring only nine matches last season, whilst he’s yet to play in the Premier League this term. And his output was very mediocre as he managed only 0.9 key passes per game, proving a not-so-creative influence, and 0.6 dribbles per game, which shows he’s failing to beat his opposite number, per WhoScored.

Indeed, as many as eight Spurs starters have managed more dribbles per game, while Heung-min Son and Harry Kane have averaged over double the number of key passes per game this campaign too, also via WhoScored.

Instead, for a much cheaper price, Mourinho should turn to the young, but talented, exploits of midfield prodigy Alfie Devine, who etched his name in the record books earlier this month by becoming the youngest ever player and goalscorer to d0n the famous Lilywhites strip.

Despite it being against an eighth-tier outfit, the teenager still looked hugely promising.

In 45 minutes of action, he enjoyed 46 touches, proving to be heavily involved in the match, made 91% of his passes, including one key pass, which is above Lingard’s career mean, and even put in two tackles to display a more defensive side to his game, via SofaScore.

That senior bow was merely the icing on the cake as, since his arrival in the summer from Wigan Athletic, the 16-year-old sensation has contributed towards five goals in 11 appearances for the U18s and U23s.

Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher is a big fan too having dubbed the young midfielder “top class” before his summer switch to N17, whilst ex-academy man Japhet Tanganga claimed “Every time he’s come up [to first-team training] he’s looked a real spark” and that Devine has “shown he can hustle.”

Also lauded a “very talented” player with “huge potential,” Devine could well be an alternative to splashing out on the £9m-rated Lingard, who is thought to earn in the region of £90k-per-week at United.

Mourinho can save Levy millions this January by unleashing the future midfield star – they simply do not need Lingard at all.

AND in other news, Levy should cash in on £25m Spurs star; Dier thinks there’s “no one worse” to train with…

West Brom may have picked up their first win under Sam Allardyce at the weekend, defeating arch-rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers, but there is still so much work to be done to salvage their season.

And next up is the 66-year-old’s former club, West Ham United.

Indeed, the Baggies’ only second win of the campaign would have lifted spirits in the dressing room considering they’ve just seen off their local neighbours, though they were fortunate to be gifted two penalty decisions.

“But again we conceded poor goals and we cannot do that against West Ham,” said Allardyce after the game, he also added: “Our goals have been stupid mistakes in open play and allowing the opposition to capitalise on those mistakes and score.”

This is certainly the case as no other Premier League team has leaked as many as the 41 goals that Albion have this term. In fact, that’s seven more than Leeds United.

Big Sam needs to find a new way to help his backline, and that may well be through the introduction of a proper holding midfielder. We know the Midlands outfit are looking for one in the transfer market amid links to Hamza Choudhury, William Carvalho and Okay Yokuslu.

But maybe it’s time to finally unleash Sam Field now he’s back from injury?

The 22-year-old enforcer was a surprise name on the bench up at Molineux despite Allardyce practically ruling out him being involved, which means he’s surely fit enough to feature having been back in training for several weeks now.

Last season in the Championship, West Brom did not have a better option in the role statistically, as per The Athletic.

Since the start of the 2020/21 season, Albion’s midfield has been far too easy to bypass, summed up by neither Jake Livermore nor Romaine Sawyers managing an average WhoScored rating above 6.22 despite being the two usually sitting deeper.

As you can see above, Field offers far more stability as he outscored the duo (whilst on loan at then-league rivals Charlton) for every facet one might expect an anchorman to be good at.

He won possession back more than Livermore and put in more tackles than either of the duo too.

Once again, if Field were to perform at a similar output in the top-flight, he would still rank above both of them for tackles, clearances and blocks, per WhoScored.

“He is a proper holding midfielder,” said ex-boss Slaven Bilic in the summer, adding: “He’s very good tactically, he keeps his position, he’s very good at slowing the play down, very good at helping the centre-backs when they need it, he’s quite tall so is good at heading the ball and good at tackles, reading balls and opening attacks with a good range of passing.”

Whilst Tony Pulis, who handed Field his Premier League debut, once claimed: “I think he’s going to be a fantastic player for the club. Technically, he’s as good and as gifted as any footballer I’ve seen at that age.”

Also dubbed an “intelligent player” by Darren Moore, it’s a travesty that we haven’t seen Field play more than five times in the past 18 months.

He could well be the solution to Albion’s defensive problems, he must be unleashed against the Hammers this evening. He’d be a much better option than Sawyers, that’s for sure.

AND in other news, Albion can kill two birds with one stone with Jan swoop for £9m-rated colossus…