All posts by h716a5.icu

When Patryk Klimala made his Celtic debut against Partick Thistle in January 2020, there was plenty of anticipation for what he could bring to Parkhead and Neil Lennon’s side.

That is no different to any new signing but his introduction into the fray was hardly reminiscent of Lionel Messi replacing Deco for his Barcelona debut in 2004.

Klimala replaced Leigh Griffiths in that encounter but unlike Messi, Klimala hasn’t even come remotely close to setting the world alight.

In fact, he’s been incredibly disappointing since signing for the Hoops in a £3.5m deal.

The 22-year-old arrived 14 months ago having scored seven goals in 17 outings for Jagiellonia Bialystok in the Polish top-flight. Unfortunately, those goal-scoring antics have seldom been replicated in Scotland.

Klimala has netted just three times in 28 outings for the Bhoys and had to wait a grand total of nine months before making his first league start.

That came during the club’s 2-1 win over St Mirren last September but since then the Polish forward has started only two further games in the SPFL.

He has scored three goals all season, the last of which came all the way back in October. Lennon didn’t particularly like him but it turns out John Kennedy doesn’t either. Klimala started against Aberdeen but managed just 65 minutes before being hauled off.

He managed only 22 touches of the ball in that clash, a tally that happened to be 13 fewer than goalkeeper Scott Bain. Furthermore, Klimala managed just five accurate passes.

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It was a woeful showing, and it’s rather unsurprising that he’s failed to earn a single minute of football since.

Klimala has been so poor over the last year that his market value since penning terms in Glasgow has dropped dramatically.

Signed for £3.5m, he’s now rated at just £1.8m by Transfermarkt. That’s a considerable decrease of 48%. With a lack of match action and goals, his value will only continue to plummet over the coming months.

There could be an opening at the top of Celtic’s attack if Odsonne Edouard departs, but it would take a brave man to place faith in the young striker.

After all, a brutal assessment from Frank McAvennie sums it up. Speaking about Klimala he commented: “It must be soul-destroying for the full-back to keep putting the ball into the box and look up to see nobody there.”

Indeed, the Pole has been rather anonymous during his stint in Glasgow. Should Celtic cut ties in a few months time? They’d probably be wise before his value completely falls off a cliff.

AND in other news, The 7 transfers Roy Keane could make if he’s appointed Celtic manager…

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, former Premier League striker Dean Windass has urged Tottenham to keep Serge Aurier.

The Ivory Coast international has largely established himself as Jose Mourinho’s first-choice right-back this season, despite the summer signing of Matt Doherty from Wolves.

However, a story from Football Insider hinted that Spurs are looking to offload the former PSG defender – with Mourinho describing Aurier as “uncoachable”, a big problem.

But despite missing Tottenham’s previous two Premier League matches through injury, Aurier has featured heavily for Spurs this season, although he has entered the final 18 months of his current deal.

Windass, though, spoke highly of the full-back when speaking to Football FanCast, and said that Spurs must resolve his contract situation in order to ensure he remains at the club past the summer.

“I just don’t understand the situation. Why would you want to get rid of Aurier? He’s an athlete. He gets up and down, but we don’t know what goes on at the training ground.

“Is he unhappy? Does he want a new contract? But if Daniel Levy can stamp him down or to get him down to a new contract, I wouldn’t get rid of him. Defensively he is solid and when he gets forward he can create chances for the front-three.”

Following a difficult first two seasons since his move from France, Aurier is starting to come into his own at Tottenham – epitomised by the fact he’s largely continuing to keep Doherty out of the XI.

There’s been so much talk about his future, no more so than when he was heavily linked with both Bayer Leverkusen and AC Milan last summer, but he’s on current form, Tottenham should really be looking to tie him down.

Manchester City are reportedly interested in signing Joao Felix from Atletico Madrid this summer, and the Portuguese forward could be the ideal man to replace Sergio Aguero in Pep Guardiola’s side.

According to the Daily Mail, the Argentinian is becoming frustrated at City due to a lack of first team opportunities and is looking increasingly likely to leave the club in the summer when his contract expires.

The report also suggests that this increases the chances of City signing a ‘marquee’ striker in the summer, with the club’s staff ‘firm admirers’ of Felix, who is finding his feet at Atletico after his £113m move from Benfica in 2019.

While the Daily Mail reported that ‘initial contact’ has been made with Borussia Dortmund sensation Erling Haaland by Manchester City, Felix would arguably be a better fit if the Citizens were looking for a natural successor to Aguero.

Haaland is an exceptional talent but he stands at 1.94m (6 foot 4) and is renowned for his incredible pace and strength, whereas the Atletico forward is 1.8m (5 foot 11) and has a similar body type and playing style to the 1.73m (5 foot 8) Aguero.

During his time with Diego Simeone’s side, the 21-year-old has managed 19 goals and eight assists in 67 appearances, which isn’t majorly prolific, although his assists show that he gets involved with the build-up play with the Spanish side, whereas Haaland is more of a goal poacher.

Felix has taken his performances to another level this season after arguably struggling in his first year in Spain, as he has seven goals and four assists in La Liga in 23 appearances, which is already more than the six goals and one assist he managed in 27 league appearances last term.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is clearly a big fan of the youngster, having dubbed him an “outstanding talent” ahead of the Reds’ Champions League tie against Atletico last season.

In his time with Benfica, Felix managed 15 goals and seven assists in just 26 league appearances, so he clearly has the potential to be a serious threat when utilised in an attacking side, whereas Simeone’s Atletico have always been renowned as a defensive team.

Of course, Aguero is a goalscorer before anything else, but the 73 assists he has for City demonstrates that he often drops deep to play in wingers; and Felix could replicate this role superbly if sporting director Txiki Begiristain were to bring the £90m-rated forward to the Etihad Stadium this summer.

In other news… Forget Zinchenko: City can sign their Mendy successor in Serie A beast

West Ham have been tipped to test Rangers’ resolve for lockdown rebel Calvin Bassey this summer by former Premier League striker Kevin Phillips.

What’s the word?

Steven Gerrard named and shamed five players – Bassey, Brian Kinnear, Bongani Zungu, Dapo Mebude and Nathan Patterson – who were allegedly caught breaking lockdown rules at an illegal house party last weekend.

All five find themselves in hot water with the Scottish FA set to launch an investigation into the matter that could mean further sanctions for the aforementioned players, with Zungu and Bassey having only just joined the club in the summer.

Phillips told Football Insider: “I think they will have an eye on the situation.

“West Ham might think to test the water in the summer just in case the club do want to move him on.

“It is a tough one because when you make a mistake everyone jumps on you but Stevie G isn’t daft. I think he will give him the benefit of the doubt.

“I’d presume that he wants to keep Bassey for next season. The last thing you want to do is win the Championship and then get rid of one of your best young player because he has slipped up during the previous season.

“Bassey is a talented player so I would be surprised if Stevie G was to move him on. If anyone was to make an enquiry I think he would squash that straight away.”

Stand firm

Gerrard has shown a ruthless streak when it comes to dealing with those unfortunate souls who have crossed the boundary but he also needs to look at the bigger picture.

Yes, Bassey broke coronavirus protocols. And yes, we might be being just a tad hypocritical – after all, we didn’t afford George Edmundson and Jordan Jones with such comfort and luxury.

Rangers are trying to push on to the next level under Gerrard and the Rangers manager knows he needs his best players around him if they are to take the next step in their development.

On the one hand, Gerrard wants to set a certain precedent about the level of discipline and respect he demands from his players, on the other he will only know too well how selling a young prospect like current Chelsea star Billy Gilmour can cause the club irreparable financial damage in the long-term.

He has even openly admitted how important Bassey is to his future plans for the 54-time Scottish champions, describing him as a “rough diamond” who can be turned into the finished article.

Despite his age, the 21-year-old left-back has settled into life at Ibrox in a rather promising fashion, barring his most recent indiscretion.

Full of energy and tenacity, the young defender has demonstrated an insatiable appetite for work and a fighting spirit. Indeed, he’s extremely effective at winning the ball back for his team, as evident by his one interception per 90 in the Scottish Premiership, that being the sixth-best out of the entire Rangers squad and better than the likes of Connor Goldson and Filip Helander.

Relishing working under Gerrard’s tutelage, Bassey will undoubtedly continue become a key component as Rangers take the next steps towards the next phase of their development.

For all of the above reasons mentioned, therefore, Rangers shouldn’t even begin to entertain such an offer if the opportunity arises.

AND in other news, Latest Rangers off-field drama exposes glaring weakness amid investigation…

Many Aston Villa fans are reacting to the performance of attacker Trezeguet in the match against Wolves on Saturday night.

The winger has now played 17 times this season, and has grabbed one assist, but he is yet to score this term and this will definitely be a worry for a side struggling to find goals without Jack Grealish.

The Egypt star has not shown enough attacking intent in recent months as he has only managed 1.5 shots, 0.6 key passes and 0.8 successful dribbles per game (WhoScored, pre-Wolves).

Trezeguet came in for the Midlands derby as a replacement for Anwar El-Ghazi, who was also unavailable for the match due to a toe injury he picked up against Sheffield United. Clearly El-Ghazi was missed, with one fan calling Trezeguet ‘wasteful’, whilst another said they doubt the winger has a brain.

Valued at £9 million, he is contracted until June 2023 (Transfermarkt), but if he doesn’t start improving, then it would be quite likely that the club will see him as surplus to requirements and look to sell him on sooner rather than later.

Here is how Villa fans reacted to his performance:

“Trez is having a mare. How many times has he given the ball away already?”

Credit: @AvfcSims

“Elmo and Trez shouldn’t be anywhere near this first team”

Credit: @villarichie

“Trezeguet mentally kills me, so wasteful”

Credit: @TommmBrownnn

“If we want to progress next season, definitely going to have to upgrade on Trezeguet & El Ghazi. Both far too inconsistent”

Credit: @GreggMac11

“Not sure trezeguet has a brain”

Credit: @CurtHaycock

“Moronic from Trezeguet there”

Credit: @Paul_725

In other Villa news, fans have been piling praise on one star at the club following his latest comments. Have a read who it is here!

Everton full-back Lucas Digne let Carlo Ancelotti down by producing a performance that was as bad, if not worse, than Robin Olsen’s against Manchester United in Saturday night’s 3-3 draw.

The Toffees salvaged a point in the dying embers at Old Trafford when Dominic Calvert-Lewin slotted home his 17th goal of the season in all competitions, to record strikes in back-to-back Premier League fixtures for the first time since October.

Scott McTominay had appeared to seal the win for the Red Devils when Olsen seemed to slip when scurrying a couple of yards across his line to deal with the midfielder’s header.

McTominay’s goal was not the only time that Olsen struggled, either, with the Sweden international unable to replicate his midweek excellence against Leeds United.

Instead, Olsen was rooted to the spot when Bruno Fernandes’ perfectly placed strike sailed over his head in first-half stoppage-time, caught unaware by the dipping nature of the Portuguese maestro’s shot.

The AS Roma loanee’s blushes were spared thanks to Calvert-Lewin’s late equaliser, poking home Michael Keane’s flick-on following Digne’s deep free-kick into David de Gea’s box.

Digne had come close to causing the home side trouble with his deliveries moments earlier, only to find Marcus Rashford back defending. And while a shot from the £30m-rated gem rattled the woodwork in the final stages, De Gea would argue that he always had that covered.

Yet scoring a first goal of the season would only have seen Digne atone for a difficult performance, having struggled to match his eye for a cross with any real accuracy or defensive support against Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Mason Greenwood’s adventurous runs.

Digne ended the Old Trafford affair with SofaScore’s fourth-lowest match rating by any player who started for either side at 6.3 out of 10, marking his worst performance in a Premier League fixture since 10-man Everton lost 2-0 at Southampton in October.

His influence waned in the second-half, and he ended the day having only managed to find a teammate with one of his eight attempted crosses. On average this season, Digne has found a royal blue shirt with 1.8 deliveries into the box a game and with a 24% success rate.

The Frenchman further performed below his usual standards defensively having offered no successful tackles, interceptions or blocked any shots. He was also dribbled past once and made only one clearance, compared to his seasonal scores of 2.1 tackles, 1.0 interceptions and 2.5 clearances while being dribbled past 1.3 times a game.

Again below his usual standards, Digne won just 20% of his ground duels having lost four of his five contests compared to an average 47% success rate, while Wan-Bissaka won five of his seven, McTominay won four of his six and Greenwood won five of nine as the trio locked down United’s right-hand side.

With Digne enjoying little success on Everton’s left-wing both offensively and defensively, he ultimately let Ancelotti down on a night where the Toffees could have moved to within five points of their opponents with two games in hand. Yet, instead, they now trail by eight points and have lost pace in the race for the top-four.

AND in other news, Carlo Ancelotti faces a key Everton call to unlock an £18m-rated gem’s max potential…

In an exclusive interview for Football FanCast, former footballer and current pundit Carlton Palmer has been discussing reported Tottenham Hotspur transfer target Marcel Sabitzer.

The RB Leipzig midfielder has seemingly been on the radar of Jose Mourinho for some time, although it remains to be seen whether a January deal can materialise for the Austrian midfielder, or if a summer move is more likely.

Sabitzer recently turned down a new contract with the Bundesliga side and given that his contract is set to expire at the end of next season, it seems as if Spurs could seal a cut-price transfer swoop for the Leipzig captain then if they are keen to avoid losing him on a free transfer.

It is no surprise that Spurs are interested in the 26-year-old, considering he managed nine goals and seven assists in 32 Bundesliga appearances, which saw him manage a superb 7.24 rating.

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Here’s what Palmer had to say about Sabitzer when speaking exclusively to FFC:

“It’s not whether you upgrade [Moussa] Sissoko, you’re always in the hunt to bring in quality players. He’s a quality player, so I think they will definitely be in the hunt if the price is right. The aim is, with Jose, make no mistake, the aim is to win trophies and to win the Premier League.”

Therefore, Palmer clearly feels that Sabitzer is a player whom Mourinho would love to bring to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, as he looks to achieve a Premier League title with the North London club.

Although Tanguy Ndombele is starting to contribute more, goals and assists from midfield have been hard to come by for Spurs so far this season, so adding someone such as Sabitzer could make a real difference in Mourinho’s side, and perhaps take some of the burden off of Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son.

It does seem as if the Austrian could be on the move either before this month’s deadline or in the summer, so it will be interesting to see if he does join Tottenham Hotspur before the 2021/22 campaign.

And, in other news… Spurs handed ideal opportunity to axe £42m flop who is “a mistake waiting to happen”

Manchester City return to Premier League action with a game against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Saturday, and Pep Guardiola can give the Citizens a much better chance if he restores Rodri to his starting line up.

The Spanish midfielder was left out of the squad that comfortably beat Marseille 3-0 on Wednesday, but it seems as if that was a minor fitness issue, so it would be a surprise to not see him make the squad that travels to Old Trafford.

So far this season, the 24-year-old has made 10 appearances in the Premier League, averaging a very solid 6.91 rating, suggesting that he has been a big part of City’s impressive defensive record in recent weeks.

Guardiola’s side have kept eight clean sheets in their last ten fixtures in all competitions and will be hoping for a similarly impressive defensive display when they travel to Old Trafford, especially with United having gotten the better of City in recent seasons under Solskjaer.

If City unleash Rodri in a defensive midfield role against United, then perhaps he could be the man to stop Bruno Fernandes, with the Portuguese midfielder undoubtedly the danger man ahead of the derby, when you consider his incredible start to the season.

In 10 appearances in the Premier League, the former Sporting Lisbon man has contributed an impressive seven goals and four assists, resulting in an average rating of 7.65.

This is enough to see him ranked as the fifth-best player in the top-flight so far this season, suggesting that if City can keep him quiet on Saturday, they give themselves a great chance of winning the game.

However, Rodri, who is valued at £57.6 million by Transfermarkt, has shown on occasions this season that he can bully opposition attackers out of the game using his height and strength, so if he sticks to the Portuguese attacker during the game, perhaps he can prevent him from having much influence.

Back in 2019, Guardiola was full of praise for the Spanish international, saying:

“Rodri was incredible today. We knew it but today I can assure you we have an incredible holding midfielder for the next decade or at least the years he will be here with a contract.”

Therefore, it seems clear that he is highly rated by the City manager, and if he is fit, he should definitely start at Old Trafford on Saturday.

And, in other news… Pep’s latest decision could spell trouble for 23 y/o tipped for a “long career” at City

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.

The Rafa Benitez to Newcastle rumours just won’t seem to go away, will they?

The Spaniard left St James’ Park back in the summer of 2019, with the club releasing a statement that despite working hard to extend his contract, they couldn’t reach an agreement with him.

And despite it being well over a year since he made his exit, his name still continues to be a major talking point on Tyneside, and his latest interview during the week once again opened up a tonne of speculation over a potential return.

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Euro Leagues Show, Benitez said: “When I left Newcastle I was waiting until the last minute for a takeover but obviously it didn’t happen. I have a very clear idea that in the situation it was impossible to stay, even if I was really pleased and really happy there.

“So with all of these things in your head, if I decided to stay when we had no money, imagine with a takeover. At the moment I have a lot of respect because I have a job and I am very grateful to Dalian and Wanda but the Premier League is a target for me.”

As the former Magpies boss says himself, he worked under a set of very strict financial restrictions at St James’ Park, and it really is a case of ‘what if?’ in terms of just what he could have achieved had he been given some extra backing.

Newcastle’s outlay after Steve Bruce’s arrival, both last summer and the one just got by, shows that Mike Ashley may be loosening the purse strings ever so slightly, whilst a takeover is still also on the cards.

Many of the players at the club have already worked with him before, with Matt Ritchie admitting that his work was “unbelievable”, particularly tactically.

Described as someone who did miracles in his first stint as Newcastle boss by Ian Wright, just imagine what Benitez could do with the whole club pushing in the same direction as him.