All posts by z3u9t.icu

Scottish Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf has suggested Glasgow Rangers’ Old Firm clash could be postponed if he does not receive ‘absolute assurance’ over security concerns ahead of the game.

Yousaf drops Old Firm bombshell

The Gers are set to face their fierce city rivals Celtic on March 21st. The Gers have already wrapped up the Premiership title, but that is unlikely to take all of the tension out of the clash.

Speaking to the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland radio programme (via The Evening Standard), Yousaf said:

“We are at the most critical juncture in our fight against the virus and we cannot, simply will not, tolerate the scenes that we saw last weekend.

“And therefore if I cannot get absolute assurance, and the government cannot get absolute assurance, that we won’t see a repeat of such scenes or even worse things – potentially scenes of disorder involving groups of fans – then of course every option will be considered, that would include deferring the game.”

More threats

This is not the first time a member of the Scottish government has threatened football. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon previously said the campaign could be ended prematurely if clubs did not do more to avoid coronavirus outbreaks (The Guardian).

As the Gers’ status as champions was confirmed last week, thousands of supporters took to the streets to celebrate. Given there is no longer any competition to worry about, it is unlikely so many fans will go outside before, during or after the match.

In other news, Rangers fans react to this journalist’s tweet.

According to reports, Leeds United have got their eye on Juventus star Douglas Costa as a potential replacement for Raphinha.

What’s the story?

Reports in recent days have suggested that Raphinha is attracting admiring glances from reigning Premier League champions Liverpool, and that appears to have set things in motion behind the scenes at Elland Road.

According to Fichajes, Marcelo Bielsa has already identified his ideal replacement for the Brazilian, in Juventus’ Costa, who is currently out on loan at Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich this season.

The report adds that the 30-year-old “meets all the requirements for Bielsa” in terms of his style of play, and that Costa himself would be “delighted” to embark on a new challenge in English football.

Perfect for Bielsa

While he might be getting on a bit now, there’s no questioning that Costa remains a very dangerous player, and someone who boasts very similar characteristics to Raphinha, which is exactly why he would be perfect for Bielsa.

Both Brazilians are left-footed and play off the right flank to cut in onto their strong foot, and are really prolific dribblers. Last season, Costa averaged 1.9 dribbles per game in Serie A, whilst Raphinha has averaged slightly less this campaign in the Premier League with 1.5.

As much as they are about beating a man with a piece of skill and trickery, the duo also have the composure to really pick a teammate out, with Costa averaging 1.3 key passes last year, and Raphinha managing 1.6 this time around.

Costa’s former manager at Juventus, Massimiliano Allegri, hailed him as a “player who breaks matches often” ie. a game-changer. And then, the Italian’s successor at the Bianconeri, Maurizio Sarri, echoed those sentiments by saying “he is able to shift the balance of the games”.

The £190k-a-week earning Costa has been playing Champions League football year-in and year-out with the likes of Juventus and Bayern Munich, and is a serial winner, picking up league titles and domestic cups at an astonishing rate – he’s won eight trophies in the past five years alone.

Costa’s directness and eye for goal makes him a dangerous threat, and it’s no wonder Bielsa’s got his sights set on the Brazilian. He seems tailor made for the Leeds boss, and has got all the tools in his locker to really fit in seamlessly at Elland Road.

Meanwhile, Phil Hay has delivered an update on this Leeds United star…

Since Virgil van Dijk sustained his long-term injury against Everton at Goodison Park, Liverpool have been linked with a raft of centre-backs.

The Reds managed to bring in both Schalke 04’s Ozan Kabak and Ben Davies of Preston North End in the January transfer window but those arrivals have not stemmed the tide of the rumour mill and one of the latest names to be linked is Raphael Varane of Real Madrid.

As per Mundo Deportivo, the Reds are reportedly the ‘main club’ thought to be interested in acquiring his services.

However, reports in the Manchester Evening News suggest that Manchester United are eyeing the Frenchman as a signing – something that the Reds cannot afford to let happen.

The 27-year-old, whoever he signs for, would instantly improve a defence’s quality. In his time in Madrid, he has played a key role in four UEFA Champions League successes, as well as three La Liga title wins. He’s also been capped 70 times by France and is a World Cup winner to boot.

It’s not his personal trophy haul that would improve the Reds’ however, his sheer statistics also speak for themselves.

When compared to Joe Gomez, who he would likely displace in the Reds’ starting lineup, the Frenchman contributes more tackles, interceptions and blocks, as well as fewer fouls per 90 minutes, according to WhoScored.

His presence at the back would hugely help a defence that has been extremely leaky this season having conceded 34 goals all season.

It is not just imperative that the Reds bring in Varane though; it is crucial that they stop Manchester United from recruiting him.

For a long-time under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the Red Devils have also struggled defensively, with a new centre-back to partner Harry Maguire thought to be high on their priorities.

Currently the top scorers in the Premier League this season and boasting the talents of Marcus Rashford, Edinson Cavani and Bruno Fernandes, it appears that Varane could be the missing piece in the Red Devils assembling a title challenge.

Liverpool would, obviously, rather get back to competing for a title first though and that could start with the arrival of Varane.

AND in other news, take a look at Michael Edwards’ summer transfer masterclass.

Southampton return to Premier League action with a tricky game against league leaders Liverpool at St Mary’s on Monday night.

After an impressive start to the 2020/21 campaign; the Saints have now failed to win any of their last four fixtures in the top-flight, with just one goal in that time.

Fortunately for the South Coast club, they are able to welcome back manager Ralph Hasenhuttl to the touchline after he missed the game against West Ham after having to self-isolate and he will be backing his side to pull off an upset against the Merseyside club on Monday.

However, it seems likely that the Austrian will make some changes to his side, with the Saints looking tired at times in their 0-0 draw with West Ham last time out.

Here’s how Football FanCast expects Hasenhuttl to line his side up against Liverpool, with two changes from the side that started against the Hammers…

It was confirmed on Sunday that Alex McCarthy will have to miss the game after testing positive, so it seems likely that Fraser Forster will start in his place in goal.

There’s one change in the Southampton defence, as whilst Jack Stephens has performed well in the absence of Jannik Vestergaard recently, he is not blessed with pace and could be exploited by the lightning-fast Liverpool front three.

This allows summer signing Mohammed Salisu to make his first appearance for the Saints and with Vestergaard having labelled the 21-year-old a “big talent” earlier this season, what better way for the centre-back to prove it by showing his quality against the Champions.

There’s one change in the Southampton midfield too, as Stuart Armstrong reclaims his place in the starting XI after signing a contract extension last week and he replaces Moussa Djenepo, who has been disappointingly ineffective lately.

Che Adams and Danny Ings weren’t at their best against West Ham, but their pace and link-up play in the Saints attack could cause real problems for this makeshift Liverpool defence, so it would be a surprise if Hasenhuttl didn’t start them together up front.

And, in other news… Saints must axe 21 y/o once dubbed “fantastic” in January; he has no future under Hasenhuttl 

Southampton lost pace in the race for the top four spots in the Premier League as they were beaten 2-0 by Leicester City at the King Power Stadium on Saturday night.

The Saints rarely looked like scoring against Brendan Rodgers’ side as they missed Danny Ings up front, but it was perhaps the performance of Kyle Walker-Peters that will have disappointed Ralph Hasenhuttl the most.

The right-back has been superb for the South Coast club since joining on a permanent deal from Tottenham Hotspur during the summer, averaging a solid 7.03 rating for his performances in the Premier League.

For his performance at Leicester, however, the 23-year-old would earn a disappointing 6.44 rating, which was his third-worst rating of the season so far, emphasising that he was nowhere near his best against the Foxes.

During the 90 minutes, the former Spurs man won just eight of his 15 duels, resulting in an overall success rate of just 53%. This is a sharp decline from his last appearance in the 1-0 win against Liverpool, where he won 11/16 duels.

During the game against Leicester, Walker-Peters struggled from a defensive point of view too, as he made no clearances, no interceptions and just one tackle, compared to the seven clearances, one interception and six tackles he made against Liverpool.

It was also a sloppy performance when you consider the defender’s passing against the Foxes, as he gave away possession on 25 occasions, compared to the 12 times he lost the ball against Liverpool.

The Englishman also completed just 31/46 of his attempted passes, resulting in a less than impressive success rate of 67%, which is some way below his season average of 80.7%, emphasising that this was simply not the defender’s night.

To compile his misery, Walker-Peters’ direct opponent winger, Harvey Barnes, would pick up an 8.05 rating for his display, his best rating in any league game this season, as he got the better of the Saints full-back throughout the game before sealing the three points with a late goal.

It is clear that the Saints defender was nowhere near his best against Leicester on Saturday night, which will surely frustrate Hasenhuttl, as it was a huge opportunity for his side to move back into the top-four spots with a win. Hopefully for Walker-Peters and Southampton, this was just a blip on an otherwise impressive season.

And, in other news… 20 touches, 8 passes: Southampton ace badly let Ralph down with an absent display

Former Leeds United goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell has not seen his career progress in the way he might have hoped since joining Burnley, suggesting that Leeds’ director of football Victor Orta did extremely well to sell him for the price he did.

After making 41 appearances for the Whites, in which he conceded 53 goals and kept 11 clean sheets, the shot-stopper completed a move to Sean Dyche’s side in the summer of 2019.

Since then, he has managed just three appearances for the Clarets’ first-team, one of which came in their recent 5-0 defeat against Manchester City, where the 24-year-old produced a disappointing display, earning a 4.72 rating for his performance.

Whilst he has managed to establish himself as a regular in the Northern Ireland team, with 14 caps to his name, the former Leeds man has struggled for game time at Burnley, which is perhaps partly due to the superb form of Nick Pope in recent seasons.

Considering Leeds received £2.5 million for Peacock-Farrell, whilst he is now valued at just £1.08 million by Transfermarkt, it looks as if Orta did superbly in his negotiations.

When you consider the form of 20-year-old Illan Meslier so far this season, who Leeds were able to sign for just under £6 million, the deal Leeds got for Peacock-Farrell looks even better.

It seems unlikely that the 24-year-old will be able to establish himself as first-choice at Burnley anytime soon but hopefully, for the former Leeds man, he can prove himself as a Premier League goalkeeper in the future.

The young ‘keeper did earn some praise from Marcelo Bielsa after saving a penalty in the 1-0 win against Reading in 2018, with the Argentinian saying after the game:

“I’m very happy for him and I’m very happy for the team.”

“We had an intervention which resolved the game. He has a very big influence.”

[freshpress-quiz id=“562145″]

However, his form this season suggests that Orta sold him to Burnley at the perfect time and that Leeds won’t be having any regrets about letting him leave.

And, in other news… Carlton Palmer claims Leeds shouldn’t “rush into” contract decision for Bielsa favourite

Leicester City leapfrogged into second place in the Premier League table after an emphatic win over Tottenham Hotspur last night. Despite going into the fixture as the underdogs, the Foxes dug in their claws and made sure they weren’t leaving without all three points.

There are now just four points between them and leaders Liverpool right now, a gap which could easily be eradicated as this unpredictable campaign unfolds.

Brendan Rodgers will certainly be delighted thanks to his side’s hugely important 2-0 win and his club’s next match will see them take on Manchester United, on the back of their mammoth 6-2 victory over Leeds.

The manager will be especially pleased with James Maddison, who produced a creative masterclass in north London.

James Maddison impressed vs Spurs

Whilst Jamie Vardy was the stand-out performer for Leicester in attack, his teammate was another influential asset to the Leicester lineup.

According to FotMob, Maddison completed the highest percentage of passes out of anyone on the field with an impressive 96%. He was also the most fouled player on the pitch, showing just how much Spurs struggled to contain his attacking prowess.

Additionally, the midfielder contributed 3/3 long balls, five key passes and hit the target twice, as per Sofascore. Whilst he may not have been involved in the two goals scored on the road last night, nothing should take away from Maddison’s creative performance. He was the real driving force in Leicester’s engine room on Sunday.

Rodgers realises how lucky he is to have a playmaker like the 24-year-old on his books. He lauded the midfielder as having “immense quality” following his show-stopping performance against Brighton.

Maddison is key for this Leicester side and he could be one of the main ingredients to help guide the Foxes to their second Premier League title this season.

In other news, Carlton Palmer waxes lyrical about Leicester’s transfer policy…

David Moyes’ hope of bringing Luka Jovic to West Ham United have been dealt a major setback with reports Real Madrid will not greenlight a January move for the outcast striker.

What’s the word?

According to Defensa Central, Jovic is enduring an unstable and uncomfortable time at the Santiago Bernabeu with Zinedine Zidane often overlooking his services, but the door to a mid-season move has been slammed shut.

Reports had surfaced suggesting the Irons were looking to rival Leicester City in pursuit of the Serbian centre-forward, with Moyes considering a loan bid that features an option to buy Los Blancos’ £52.4million signing next summer.

The Galacticos are currently opposed to allowing Jovic to leave the Spanish capital in the winter market, however, as they wish to afford the 22-year-old further opportunities to build on his mere two goals scored across all competitions since joining in 2019.

Real had considered offloading Jovic during the summer window and are said to have come very close to doing so, as the former Eintracht Frankfurt sensation is desperate to play more frequently and does not feel those opportunities will occur under Zidane’s watch.

The French icon has awarded Jovic just 201 minutes of first-team football this season, and opted to ignore the 8-cap international in his side’s last four fixtures as Real claimed victories over FC Barcelona, Borussia Monchengladbach, SD Huesca and Inter Milan.

Madrid’s stance could yet alter with it added that Los Blancos chiefs are offering a non-committal response when questioned over Jovic’s future, stating: “At the moment we do not contemplate any exit, but until January anything can happen.”

It remains to be seen if the door re-opens for Jovic to leave the Santiago Bernabeu, but for now Real are dealing a hammer blow to Moyes’ hopes of making the Serbian an Irons player.

Never give up

Real Madrid’s non-committal response to questions over Jovic’s future should see that Moyes does not give up on his hopes of adding the centre-forward to the squad in east London come the New Year, as the 22-year-old’s outcast role can easily see that he pushes for a move away.

Jovic joined Los Blancos with eyes of achieving success in Spain after lighting up the Bundesliga with 17 goals in 32 appearances, including a five-goal haul against Fortuna Dusseldorf plus braces against FC Schalke 04 and 1.FSV Mainz 05.

His efforts saw that Frankfurt CEO of Sport Fredi Bobic was far from surprised to see clubs lining up to sign the young sensation, stating via Bundesliga.com: “He’s been the talk of Europe. He’s explosive and a real threat in front of goal and will be a big miss.”

Jovic will clearly not be a big miss for Madrid given his form and lack of game time under Zidane, but Moyes’ need for offensive depth will ensure that opportunities are forthcoming with Sebastien Haller boasting just three Premier League goals in 2020.

Haller and Jovic enjoyed a strong relationship in Germany, too, as the Frenchman assisted three of the Serbian’s Bundesliga goals in 2018/19, as he ended the campaign with a hand in 24 goals (15 scored, nine assisted) – something Moyes desperately needs from Manuel Pellegrini’s £45m capture.

AND in other news, a Manuel Pellegrini flop has been dubbed a “big disappointment” in a further blow to West Ham.

Marcel Brands can conquer a major Everton hurdle in January by offloading Cenk Tosun to Besiktas after President Ahmet Nur Cebi confirmed they are keen to re-sign the Turkey international.

What’s the word?

While speaking with BeIN Sports, Cebi has confirmed Super Lig giants Besiktas are intent to lure Tosun back to Vodafone Park in the winter market, as he and manager Sergen Yalcin strive to improve the Black Eagles after a woeful start to the 2020/21 season.

Besiktas currently sit in a lowly 11th place, having won just three of their opening seven league fixtures, while relying on Cyle Larin to lead the scoring with four of his side’s 10 goals.

Making Besiktas a success again is the only goal for Cebi and Yalcin, who intend to use the mid-season window to hire a new striker and particularly wish to land club icon Tosun after the 29-year-old’s 64 goals in 142 games with the Turkish side.

“There is a saying: ‘My dear wants heaven, but my sins do not leave,’” Cebi said. “I also want Besiktas to get better players for success. We want to rejuvenate the team. I want a striker transfer.

“Cenk Tosun comes to the fore as a name. Cenk Tosun is with a club now, connected, but I would like to try it if there is a chance to play a ball for Besiktas at half-time.”

It remains to be seen if Besiktas approach Everton wishing to discuss a potential permanent or loan deal for Tosun, who remains under contract at Goodison Park until 2022 on a £60,000-per-week deal.

A major hurdle finally conquered

Everton Director of Football Brands looking fondly on an approach from Besiktas this winter could allow the Dutchman to finally conquer a major hurdle, having relentlessly failed in efforts to offload Tosun over the past two years.

The Toffees slapped a £20million asking price on the 43-cap international in January 2019 as they looked to offload the striker after he fell out of favour under Marco Silva, who awarded the £27m Sam Allardyce signing just 12 Premier League starts throughout his tenure.

No permanent offer was agreed, despite Everton fielding enquiries from Premier League sides, and Tosun’s future remained under threat until the striker Allardyce lauded as “the best in Europe” joined Crystal Palace on loan this January in a deal that featured a £20m option to buy.

“He is two-footed, perhaps not the biggest but he’s very efficient in the air and in the box he gets good space to get his head on the ball,” said the former England manager, via quotes by BBC Sport. “We looked at the qualities of the player, his talent and goalscoring, and his resilience, too. I do not think you can look any more than we have done.”

But a serious knee injury that forced the 29-year-old to undergo surgery saw Tosun’s spell in south London last just two months, before stating this summer that he would only agree to leave Goodison Park once he had fully recovered.

That time is now after Tosun made his return to the field after an eight-month hiatus versus Newcastle, before featuring for an additional 10 minutes at home to Manchester United.

AND in other news, Everton have reached a decision on the future of a “quality” but rarely-seen £4.5m-rated talent.

Aston Villa’s summer spending spree is by no means complete just yet and they could soon add yet another attacker to Dean Smith’s exciting frontline.

Over the weekend, the Midlands outfit have been linked to a new name in the form of Norwich City striker Teemu Pukki.

According to the Press Association’s Nick Mashiter, the Villans have held an interest in signing the 30-year-old for most of the transfer window, although the Finnish talisman could be poised to remain at Carrow Road for the time being.

If he does, they could look to bring him in during January should the Canaries falter with their bid to return to the Premier League.

Leeds United, West Brom and Sheffield United have also been courting Pukki since their relegation.

The veteran joined Norwich on a free transfer in 2018 and they’ve certainly reaped the rewards. Pukki has delivered 42 goals in just 86 appearances for the club, including 11 in his first-ever campaign in the English top-flight.

Although he struggled against Villa in both fixtures with Smith’s men winning 5-1 and 1-0 in the space of just three months.

Tyrone Mings has him for toast during the thrashing at Carrow Road, recording six clearances, four blocks and 75% aerial duels won, per SofaScore.

Former Villa striker Paul Merson is a huge fan, once claiming that: “I look at them and I look at Aston Villa and think – who is going to score their goals? If Pukki had been playing for them, they would have beaten Bournemouth on Saturday. And that is it, you need firepower to stay up.”

Canaries teammate Marco Stiepermann even believes Pukki is much “colder” in the box than Robert Lewandowksi, adding: “Of course we don’t have to speak about [Lewandowski] because he is a world class player, but Teemu Pukki is special.”

Valued at just £7.2m by Transfermarkt, the Finland international would be a rather intriguing option behind Ollie Watkins, that’s if Villa still hold genuine interest.

AND in other news, many Villa fans rave about transfer links to an “absolute baller”…