All posts by z3u9t.icu

West Ham United progressed to the fourth round of the FA Cup on Sunday afternoon as they beat fellow Premier League outfit Leeds United 2-0 at the London Stadium.

Manuel Lanzini gave the Hammers, who host the Yorkshire club again next Sunday, the lead just after the half-an-hour mark before Jarrod Bowen secured the East London club’s place in the next round in added time.

However, despite Lanzini and Bowen being the players on the score sheet, another attacking midfielder impressed for David Moyes’ side: Nikola Vlasic.

According to SofaScore, the Croatian enjoyed a 91% passing accuracy against Marcelo Bielsa’s side as well as making three key passes.

Furthermore, the 24-year-old completed 80% of his dribbles and only lost possession on seven occasions whilst making 56 touches.

The attacking midfielder has endured mixed fortunes since returning to the Premier League from CSKA Moscow, having been at Everton previously.

Vlasic has only managed nine Premier League appearances this term, starting two games in the top-flight.

However, the Croatian has been of great use in other competitions, with the Hammers new to balancing four competitions, making a combined nine appearances in the Europa League, EFL Cup and FA Cup.

Moreover, the attacking midfielder is starting to find form in East London, scoring his first goal for the Hammers against Watford at the end of December as well as impressing in West Ham’s cup success over the Whites.

With fellow attacking midfielder Said Benrahma set to be absent over the coming weeks whilst with his native Algeria side at the Africa Cup of Nations, Vlasic has the opportunity to impress Moyes and put together a run of games in the top-flight.

Prior to the Leeds game, the Scotsman said to West Ham’s official website: “Niksi [Vlasic] will have opportunities and we’re trying to break him in.

“He’s beginning to show some good signs so let’s hope he can step up when he gets the opportunity. I do see opportunities for him with Saïd away.”

Furthermore, the £25m signing was labelled as “versatile” upon him signing for West Ham in September by former Hammers assistant Nikola Jurcevic and could start to justify that transfer fee in the coming weeks.

In other news: West Ham interested in promising forward

Celtic are thought to be closing in on a move for Yokohama F. Marinos forward Daizen Maeda, according to reports in Japan, as relayed by Daily Record.

The Lowdown: Maeda profiled

The 24-year-old is under contract with his current employers until 2024, as per Transfermarkt, and has just come off the back of his best goalscoring year.

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Capable of playing as a centre-forward, second striker or as a left winger, the Japan international netted 23 times and registered five assists in 36 J1 League appearances.

He has previously worked under Ange Postecoglou, and it seems as if he could reunite with the 56-year-old, as well as international teammate Kyogo Furuhashi, at Parkhead.

The Latest: ‘Final stages’

The Daily Record cited reports from Japan in a story on Tuesday afternoon, claiming that a move for the 24-year-old is in the ‘final stages’.

The report claimed that Maeda, labelled a ‘tireless worker’ by Kieran Devlin, could join on a permanent deal or a loan-to-buy move.

The Verdict: Ange not hanging around…

Postecoglou will know just what Maeda could bring to Celtic’s attacking ranks, and it seems as if a winter move to Scotland is edging ever closer for the 24-year-old.

Like Furuhashi, the forward will be able to occupy a central role or ply his trade from the left, and his energetic attributes should see him fit right in at Parkhead.

Giorgos Giakoumakis has struggled to get going in Glasgow, whereas Albian Ajeti could be on the way out, so adding another attacker seems to be a shrewd move.

It seems that the Hoops manager isn’t hanging around when it comes to January signings, and Reo Hatate and Yosuke Ideguchi could also be jetting over from Japan along with Maeda by the looks of it.

In other news: Sky Sports share more Celtic news with £20k-p/w colossus now ‘open’ to Parkhead exit

Celtic midfielder David Turnbull is the latest player to suffer a muscular injury, with Ange Postecoglou believing that it is down to the number of games the Hoops are playing, as per Football Scotland.

The Lowdown: Ange’s first trophy

Postecoglou won his first trophy as Celtic boss on Sunday after an entertaining 2-1 win over Hibernian in the Scottish League Cup final. Kyogo Furuhashi made a return from injury and was the hero for the Hoops, scoring both goals after Paul Hanlon opened the scoring for Hibs.

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Celtic were without the likes of Albian Ajeti, Karamoko Dembele, Giorgos Giakoumakis, Jota and Christopher Jullien for the final due to injury, and it now seems as if Turnbull could join them in the treatment room.

The Latest: Hamstring injury

Celtic have had a number of their attacking players sidelined in recent weeks, especially due to hamstring problems, with Turnbull even occupying a centre-forward role against Motherwell earlier this month.

He hobbled off with a hamstring problem in the first half at Hampden Park and was replaced by Nir Bitton, with Football Scotland sharing Postecoglou’s comments regarding Turnbull after the game.

The Hoops manager fumed: “David suffered from the amount of games we are playing at the moment. We are suffering because of that.

“We have not been able to rotate the squad a lot and that is hurting us at the moment, picking up these injuries. We will just see how he is.”

The Verdict: Doubt for St Mirren…

You’d expect that Turnbull, who Postecoglou has called ‘outstanding’, will now be a doubt for Celtic’s trip to St Mirren tomorrow night and could miss his first game of the season.

They won’t want to take any risks on the attacking midfielder as he has been so influential this season, contributing to 16 goals and playing in a variety of different positions.

The Hoops have had just 72 hours to prepare for the St Mirren clash, so it could be a wise decision to leave Turnbull out for that game and look to use him for the three remaining fixtures before the winter break, should his injury not prove to be too serious.

In other news: Nicholson makes Celtic move on the day of Hampden Park final to sign speedster with ‘great feet’.  

After taking over from Dean Smith during the international break, new Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard will take charge of his first game when Brighton come to town on Saturday afternoon.

The 41-year-old will have some big calls to make in terms of naming his first starting line-up, and one man who must surely be dropped is Anwar El Ghazi.

The Dutchman was recalled to the first-team fold against Southampton in Smith’s last game in charge of the club just before the international break, but delivered a woeful performance which was rather summed up by his awful attempt to try and win a penalty.

Writing in his post-match player ratings for The Birmingham Mail, Ashley Preece gave him a measly two, saying: “Should have had an early bath after his 11th-minute booking before another clear foul and then a dive. Livramento wouldn’t have had an easier game this season.

“El Ghazi kept losing the ball while he spurned a golden chance after Livramento slipped before firing high and wide. El Ghazi struck a powerful one which was tipped over by McCarthy after the break as Villa initially went to a 4-4-2. Poor on his return to the starting XI.”

He has played just six times in the Premier League this season and hasn’t completed the full 90 minutes since the 1-1 draw against Brentford in late August, which has been an indication of how far he’s fallen down the pecking order at Villa Park.

Before he was brought on against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium in mid-October, he was an unused substitute for the previous five top-flight games, even with the injuries to both Leon Bailey and Bertrand Traore.

With reports in recent weeks and months already indicating that Villa would be open to selling the winger, the £8.5m-rated Dutchman simply must be taken out of the line-up for the clash against Brighton.

His performance against Southampton was the latest in a series of disappointing displays this term, with just the one top-flight goal to his name.

Gerrard must make a ruthless call and drop him from the team to take on Brighton on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Villa must finally sign this long-term transfer target…

Everton will be hoping to end their seven-game winless run when they welcome locals rivals Liverpool to Goodison Park for the Merseyside Derby this evening.

A hugely underwhelming 1-0 defeat to newly-promoted Brentford over the weekend dropped the Toffees down to 14th position in the Premier League table, piling the pressure on new manager Rafa Benitez as a result.

Despite a fast start to life under the 61-year-old tactician, Everton have been struggling for some time at both ends of the pitch, scoring just four goals and conceding a whopping 13 times since their last victory on 25 September.

That run now includes a period of 295 minutes without scoring a goal after firing blanks in their last three outings against Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City and the Bees.

Injuries to key attacking players such as Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Abdoulaye Doucoure have certainly hindered Benitez’s cause, but he’ll be desperately disappointed with how the side have coped in their absence.

However, a much-needed reprieve could return to the starting lineup against Jurgen Klopp’s high-flying Reds as star forward Richarlison is once again available following suspension.

The Brazil international was a key player for Everton last term, bagging seven goals, averaging 2.4 shots per league game and 1.8 dribbles, placing him in the top two for each metric compared to his teammates, as per WhoScored.

Richarlison’s impressive exploits earned several plaudits throughout 2020/21, including from former manager Carlo Ancelotti.

“Richarlison is a modern striker, a complete striker because he is a striker who works really hard – the physical statistics of Richarlison are really high, like a midfielder – but he has speed, and he is really clinical in the box,” said Ancelotti.

“Fantastic with the head and clinical in front of the goalkeeper, and his movement without the ball is really good. I think he can be one of the top strikers in Europe.”

A knee injury and suspension has slowed the 24-year-old’s progression down so far this season, limiting the £90,000-per-week gem to just two goals and one assist in eight top-flight appearances.

Nevertheless, Richarlison undoubtedly contains the quality to unlock a stubborn Liverpool defence, providing Everton with their best chance of securing a positive result, meaning Benitez must unleash him this evening.

And, in other news…Huge boost: Everton receive big selection lift ahead of LFC, Benitez will be buzzing 

Having joined Celtic on a season-long loan deal this summer, Jota has wasted no time in winning over the Parkhead faithful, with the 22-year-old having already turned in a number of remarkable performances during his short time in Glasgow.

And, with the Bhoys holding the option to make the Portugal U21 international’s loan a £6.5m permanent move next summer, speculation has already begun as to whether Celtic’s acting CEO, Michael Nicholson, will active the clause – with Ange Postecoglou recently hinting that the 22-year-old would like to stay at the club.

Speaking about Jota’s future, the 56-year-old said: “Jota is just starting his career but he’s already fallen in love with the club. He loves the environment here and the supporters. Who wouldn’t?

“Who wouldn’t want to play for a football club where you get 60,000 cheering you on. The crowd is something special. Let’s just let him enjoy it. Those kind of decisions will come in due course.

“From our perspective, I know everyone here is the same, we’ll do what’s best for the football club moving forward and that will be in consultation with the player’s wishes.”

However, while all the noise surrounding Jota’s permanent switch to Parkhead is positive at present, considering just how impressive the winger has been so far this season, it would appear highly advisable for Nicholson to complete a deal for the youngster sooner rather than later, in order to remove the possibility the forward being tempted by another potential suitor at the end of the current campaign.

Indeed, over his six Scottish Premiership fixtures this term, the £3.15m-rated man has scored two goals, registered two assists and created one big chance for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 3.5 shots and making 1.8 key passes per game.

These returns have seen the player Postecoglou himself dubbed an “unbelievable” talent average a SofaScore match rating of 7.42, ranking him as Celtic’s fifth-best performer in the league – while the forward has also bagged one goal over one appearance in the League Cup.

The winger has also been in excellent form over his three appearances in the Europa League, registering two assists, creating four big chances and averaging a SofaScore match rating of 7.63 – ranking him as the Hoops’ second-best player in the competition. With that in mind, it’s obvious why supporters would love to see him become a permanent part of the furniture.

Despite it being so early in his Celtic career, it would nevertheless appear as if Jota has already proven he would be worth splashing £6.5m on to sign on a permanent basis, and Nicholson should be aware that it will no longer just be the Bhoys and their fans aware of this fact.

In other news: Ange must finally unleash “talented” 22 y/o starlet, he could be “huge” for Celtic

Many West Brom fans have been slamming the performance of Semi Ajayi in their 3-0 loss away to Fulham in the Championship on Saturday.

Aleksandar Mitrovic grabbed the headlines as he bagged himself a hat-trick, while both teams had a player sent off, Tosin Adarabioyo for the hosts and Darnell Furlong for the visitors.

The Baggies’ back five endured a torrid time in general, and Ajayi was no exception, as he picked up an early yellow card midway into the first half.

The 27-year-old also lost out on seven of his duels, the joint-most out of any player on the pitch, and failed to block any shots or make any interceptions in the entire game (SofaScore).

The West Brom defender also lost possession of the ball on 14 separate occasions, the joint-fifth most out of his teammates, and only managed 46 touches of the ball, four fewer than his own goalkeeper Sam Johnstone (SofaScore).

West Brom fans on Ajayi’s display

These Albion supporters on Twitter slammed Ajayi’s performance at Craven Cottage, with one even going as far as to claim that he was ‘shocking’:

“Never a penalty but putting that aside, the team is clearly missing Molumby’s energy, passing & composure. Ridiculous from Val to change that. Ajayi looks shot of any confidence at all. Giving away foul after foul. Too many players hiding yet again in that 1st half.”

Credit: @A_Kemo26

“Snodgrass shocking. Ajayi shocking. The front three are ghosts. Not sure our wing-backs are playing either. Shocking.”

Credit: @wookiedacookie

“Can’t bear watching Ajayi any longer”

Credit: @Brad_WBA

“Has Ajayi ever made a tackle without giving a foul away?”

Credit: @JimmyCroome

“Ajayi makes that sort of unnecessary foul every game I swear. Does he not learn?”

Credit: @luke_millichamp

“Clumsy that Ajayi”

Credit: @HalesowenBaggie

In other news, find out who else was slammed by some WBA fans for his performance yesterday

Tottenham Hotspur are now reportedly fighting a number of clubs in the UEFA Champions League to sign Ryan Gravenberch.

The Lowdown: Emerging talent

Gravenberch is certainly one of the biggest emerging talents in world football at just 19 years of age, having played in ten games in total over all competitions so far this season for Ajax already, scoring one goal and making one assist (Transfermarkt).

Former Spurs star and fellow countryman Rafael van der Vaart has recently been singing the praises of the Netherlands international, claiming that he is ‘big’, ‘strong’ and ‘calm on the ball’ (Ziggo Sport Voetbal).

The Latest: Plenty of interest

As per Fichajes, there is now plenty of interest in Gravenberch from a number of top teams in Europe.

As well as the Lilywhites, UEFA Champions League sides Chelsea, FC Barcelona and Juventus all reportedly have the central midfield player in their sights, while north London rivals Arsenal are also following his situation.

However, Ajax currently value him at a whopping €75m (£64.2m), as his current deal at the Dutch giants does not end until 2024.

The Verdict: Break the bank

It is not often that Daniel Levy decided to break the bank on a signing, but if he gets the green light, he must go out and sign Gravenberch at all costs.

It is scary just how much potential he is at 19, and the number of top European clubs courting him should tell its own story.

Nonetheless, if THFC can raise some money through the sales of a few of their fringe players, then that cash should not be spent anywhere else.

In other news, find out who now wants to leave Tottenham here!

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has done a tremendous job of eradicating the many mistakes his predecessors made in the transfer market, but there are still a handful of underperforming flops lingering around the club.

During his two-and-a-half-year stay as Red Devils boss, the Norwegian tactician has shown the door to the likes of Alexis Sanchez, Marouane Fellaini and Matteo Darmian, replacing them with astute purchases that have transformed the fortunes of the 20-time English champions.

However, Solskjaer’s squad overhaul is not quite complete yet. And one player who continues to raise question marks due to his disappointing displays is Diogo Dalot.

The 22-year-old defender arrived at Old Trafford back in the summer of 2018 from boyhood club Porto via a £19.8m move, and former United boss Jose Mourinho couldn’t hide his delight after the deal was concluded.

“Diogo is an extremely talented young defender with all the qualities to quickly become a great player for this club,” said Mourinho at Dalot’s unveiling.

“He has all the attributes that a full-back needs: physicality, tactical intelligence and technical quality, combined with a Porto academy mentality which prepares players for the maturity they need at the professional level.

“In his age group, he is the best full-back in Europe, and we all believe he has a bright future ahead of him at Manchester United.”

However, things have not worked out as planned for the Portugal international. During his first two seasons with United, Dalot made just 13 Premier League starts and largely failed to impress during his time on the pitch.

Things started to look up for the youngster last term, though. He joined Serie A giants AC Milan on a season-long loan and played a pivotal part in the success that Stefano Pioli’s charges enjoyed.

Throughout his 12-month spell at San Siro, Dalot made 33 appearances in all competitions, achieving a highly respectable 6.76 WhoScored rating along the way.

And £25k-per-week earner’s contribution to the Rossoneri was sizeable, making 1.5 tackles, 1.2 interceptions, and 1.8 clearances per league game as Milan finished in second place in the Serie A standings.

Nevertheless, he’s struggled to replicate that sort of form since returning to English shores. In his five appearances for United during the opening weeks of 2021/22, Dalot has been awarded a rating of just 6.67 for his exploits, highlighting his unsatisfactory output.

The right-back’s performances levels have seen his market value plummet to just £9m despite his age and current contract not expiring for another two years, illustrating how a much-celebrated transfer has turned into a nightmare.

At 22, the best could still be to come from Dalot and he will have ample opportunity to finally fulfill his potential, but he will have to improve his game quickly if he’s to get many more chances in a United shirt.

And, in other news…Rob Dawson reveals worrying Man Utd transfer update, Ole may be concerned 

After 71 attempts at goal and 360 minutes of football, Wolves finally have a goal to savour and a win to celebrate.

It has been an arduous slog for Bruno Lage and his players so far this term but as they took on Watford at Vicarage Road, the Old Gold were victorious for the first time in the league under their new boss.

Lage had secured a 4-0 win in the Carabao Cup but they came into this weekend’s clash without a point or goal to their name in the top-flight.

They have spurned some guilt edge chances in weeks gone by with Adama Traore chief suspect in that.

However, when Nelson Semedo failed to score two one-on-ones, it didn’t look as though a Wolves player would ever ripple net again.

He was set free by Trincao on the stroke of half-time but struck his effort straight at the goalkeeper. Another attempt that came from a Raul Jimenez backheel was also somehow put wide of the target.

Though, step forward Mr Own Goal who managed to score Wolves’ very first strike of the season.

It wasn’t how supporters envisaged the opening goal of Lage’s tenure to come about but after several weeks of trying, they simply didn’t care.

What was jubilant to see was Hwang Hee-chan scoring on his debut. It was a rescue act from the South Korean who must have had Semedo breathing a huge sigh of relief.

The Portuguese was a constant presence on the right-hand side but the fact of the matter was, he let the manager down on Saturday afternoon.

His two opportunities to score could so easily have cost Wolves and had they come in the opening three weeks of the season, they would have.

The Old Gold have played some pleasing football this season but until they improve their finishing, a place in the top half of the table will elude them.

Although the Portuguese offered a valued outlet on the right flank, he did lose the ball 15 times during the encounter; the highest number from a Wolves perspective.

On top of that, the £84k-per-week wing-back won just 38.4% of his defensive duels as he once again looked weak when targeted by an offensive player.

With Ki-Jana Hoever constantly looking for a route into the team, Semedo needs to watch out.

AND in other news, Wolves may have a new Conor Coady in rarely-seen 17 y/o who’s a “super kid”…