All posts by h716a5.icu

Crystal Palace are interested in signing Reading defender Omar Richards, if recent reports are to be believed…

What’s the word?

Earlier this week, we told you about Roy Hodgson’s interest in Royals skipper Liam Moore. Now, it turns out the Eagles have turned their attention to his teammate as well.

According to The Reading Chronicle, Palace face stiff competition from Premier League rivals West Ham for his signature.

It’s claimed that Hodgson’s side have a long-standing interest in the former England U21 international, as they have been keeping close tabs on the situation for some time.

Sign him up!

Let’s face it, Palace have the oldest squad in the Premier League, which has become a bit of a problem in recent times. Don’t get me wrong, having an experienced defence isn’t always a bad thing, as Brazilian centre-back Thiago Silva has impressed for Chelsea, but there will come a point where they will have to start planning for the future.

To compound the problem even further, several Palace players are out of contract in the summer, including defenders such as Scott Dann, Gary Cahill, Martin Kelly and Mamadou Sakho, as well as academy graduate Tyrick Mitchell, who has made six appearances in the Premier League so far.

Palace fans will have to wait and see if Mitchell will decide to try his luck elsewhere instead, as Hodgson has backed the left-back to follow in the footsteps of Aaron Wan-Bissaka. Meanwhile, HLTCO regular Dan Cook believes “the vultures will begin to circle” as the uncertainty surrounding his future at Selhurst Park continues to build.

In fact, we’d even go so far as to say that the 22-year-old would be the perfect replacement for Mitchell.

Once hailed as an “outstanding” player by former Reading boss Mark Bowen, the £1.35m-rated ace has played seven games in the Championship this season, whilst he has made 2.9 tackles, 1.6 interceptions and 2.3 clearances per game, via WhoScored. By comparison, Mitchell has only managed fewer than one interception in the Premier League so far, as per WhoScored.

Whether Richards is a one season wonder or not, it’s surely worth the risk anyway, especially when you take into account the fact that he could be available for a cut-price deal as his contract is set to expire next year. Get it done Eagles, whilst you still can.

AND in other news, Steve Parish must sanction audacious swoop for Crystal Palace target Liam Moore in January…

After Fulham picked up their first three points of the Premier League season last time out against West Bromwich Albion, Scott Parker’s side now travel to West Ham United on Saturday evening in the hope of picking up their first away win of the season.

Goals from Bobby Decordova-Reid and Ola Aina were enough to earn the Cottagers maximum points against the Baggies but we still feel that the 40-year-old manager should make a couple of changes to try and counteract the threat that West Ham pose.

David Moyes’ side have been in impressive form of late, with the narrow defeat against Liverpool last weekend ending an unbeaten run that saw them pick up superb wins against Wolves and Leicester City, as well as draws against Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City (per Sky Sports).

Therefore, Fulham would be unwise to underestimate the threat that the Hammers possess, although it seems as if they will be without the in-form Michail Antonio.

Football FanCast has predicted how Parker will line his side up this evening…

Despite his goal last weekend, we feel that playing two strikers away at the London Stadium might be slightly too attacking for this match, so Reid drops to the bench whilst Ruben Loftus-Cheek comes in to add a bit more steel in the Fulham midfield, with the £21.6 million-rated loanee having impressed in the recent draw with Sheffield United.

We also feel that Joe Bryan should get the nod to start at left-midfield for Parker’s side as he has played in that position regularly in the past. He would be able to track back and help out Antonee Robinson at left-back, who is no doubt in for a tough game against Jarrod Bowen given the attacker has started the season in strong form.

Unsurprisingly, the defence stays the same after they picked up their first clean sheet of the season against West Brom, with Ola Aina, in particular, impressing in that game with his superb goal.

Meanwhile, Ademola Lookman should keep his place in the Fulham starting XI having impressed since joining on loan from RB Leipzig in the summer transfer window. He has averaged a superb 7.49 rating across his four appearances, which ranks him as Fulham’s best performer in the Premier League so far this season (per WhoScored).

It will be interesting to see if Parker does make any changes for this evening’s game, or whether he keeps faith with those who started the game against West Brom.

Thanks to goals from Odsonne Edouard and Diego Laxalt, Celtic managed to scrape a point from their recent meeting with Hibernian in the Premiership. The former’s penalty pulled a goal back when the home side were 2-0 up, but the left-back popped up with a last gasp goal to split the spoils.

However, a draw isn’t good enough for the Hoops. As it stands, they trail to Rangers by eight points and Steven Gerrard’s side are still to play Aberdeen this weekend. Celtic’s inconsistent run of form only continues to suggest that they will lose out on the title this season.

A lot of Neil Lennon’s players were poor on Saturday, with Scott Brown receiving some personal criticism from his manager, but one man who had a surprisingly lacklustre game was Mohamed Elyounoussi.

Elyounoussi stats vs Hibs

The Southampton loanee has been one of Celtic’s best performers this campaign. He has been unstoppable in front of goal and a real thorn in the side of oppositions defenders, tallying ten goals and four assists across all competitions so far and pulling the Bhoys through some tough fixtures.

But Hibernian on the road just wasn’t his day. According to Sofascore, the 26-year-old only managed to complete 21 passes before he was hauled off the pitch after 72 minutes. Elyounoussi struggled to find his usual attacking form and lost the ball 21 times as well as failing to complete 58% of his attempted duels.

Additionally, he was unable to muster up a single shot on target or key pass. He looked a shadow of his usual fiery self and whilst it might just be a blip on the radar, it won’t be helping Lennon’s nerves. There’s been a lot of talk over whether the Northern Irishman will be given the sack from the club.

Chris Sutton thinks that whilst dismissing Lennon after the Hibs draw would be too rash, the decision could be coming if the Bhoys continue to struggle in Europe.

This is where the boss will need key players like Elyounoussi to step up their game. Not just to give Celtic a better chance at winning the league, but giving Lennon a better chance to keep himself in a job.

In other news, Ryan Christie was Neil Lennon’s only positive in Hibernian draw…

After an inconsistent start to the season, Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer could do with some good news for once.

Whilst much has been made of Frank Lampard’s decision to give the youth a chance at Chelsea, the Red Devils know exactly what a young talent (or two) can do to brighten the mood at Old Trafford – the famed Class of ’92 springs to mind, although the likes of Marcus Rashford, Mason Greenwood and Brandon Williams have all played their part in recent memory as well.

Solskjaer has had his fair share of criticism in recent weeks, but if there’s one thing the critics cannot fault him for, it’s giving the academy graduates the time to shine. Now he must put his faith in Donny van de Beek if recent reports are to be believed…

According to The Manchester Evening News, Paul Pogba has spoken quite candidly about leaving United whilst away on international duty with France, which is precisely why Solskjaer must unleash Van de Beek against West Bromwich Albion at the weekend.

United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward signed the Dutch midfielder from Ajax for £35m on a five-year contract, with £5m in add-ons in performance-related bonuses. Since then, the 23-year-old has made just ten appearances in all competitions, with the majority coming by way of a cameo as a substitute from the bench.

In five games in the Premier League this season, Van de Beek has already scored one goal so far, despite the fact Solskjaer still hasn’t handed him his first start in the English first division. By comparison, Pogba has only scored once in the top flight since April 2019, which is quite shocking for one of the highest-paid players at the club.

There’s no denying the fact that Pogba is one of the best players in the world when he is firing on all cylinders but the trouble is that his form (no goal in the league this season) has been far too inconsistent in recent weeks.

Van de Beek’s habit of breaking into the box and finding the back of the net is something that United don’t have in many of their central midfield options which is why he must be knocking on Solskjaer’s door as he will be desperate for the chance to prove himself on a regular basis.

The club legend once lauded him as a “fantastic” beast, whilst former United player Owen Hargreaves claimed he could become the English club’s version of Thomas Muller. The versatile player has played a pivotal part in Bayern Munich and Germany’s successes in recent years, with 205 goals and 201 assists to his name in all competitions for the defending Bundesliga champions.

Similarly the Dutchman, who predominantly plays as a centre-midfielder, can also be deployed in the defensive midfield and attacking midfield. He still has some way to go before he can hit the same heights as Muller but he has taken a big step in the right direction, having scored 41 goals and supplied 34 assists in 175 games for Ajax.

Solskjaer has shown he is willing to give the youngsters a chance like he did with Greenwood last season. Doing the same with Van de Beek will go some way towards justifying his hefty price-tag. The ball is in his court, that’s for sure.

AND in other news, Exclusive: Carlton Palmer makes stunning prediction about Paul Pogba’s future at Manchester United…

Roy Hodgson must axe Crystal Palace centre-back Scott Dann from the starting line-up after the two-time former England U21 international produced a poor performance against Newcastle United at Selhurst Park in the Premier League.

Hodgson handed Dann his fifth consecutive start of the season on Friday night, which was his sixth appearance in all competitions so far this season, having played the full 90′ minutes in the defeat to Burnley at Turf Moor on Monday.

But the busy schedule has evidently taken its toll on the 33-year-old as he was made to toil against the Magpies, with Joelinton coming closest to breaking the deadlock before the break.

Dann has arguably been one of the club’s best players in recent years but it’s fair to say that the defensive stalwart had a night to forget on Friday as his overall display was rather disappointing.

He gifted Joelinton a golden opportunity as he misplaced a pass on the edge of the box just before the break, before he was then outmuscled by the Brazilian striker, although Vicente Guiata spared his blushes with a fine save, and he was one of several Palace players at fault for the first goal in the closing stages of the game.

There was more misery for Dann as the Magpies piled on the pressure with Callum Wilson and Joelinton combining to take an unassailable lead.

Palace were put under pressure for large parts of the game but the defender only made one tackle. As per SofaScore, he failed to block a single shot throughout the game and was dribbled past twice – which was the most out of any Palace player on the pitch.

On top of that, he lost possession of the ball 17 times, so it’s quite surprising he played the full 90′ minutes, given the nature of his performance.

Keeping that in mind, Hodgson simply must give him a rest, that’s for sure, as the £2.5m-rated colossus has started to show signs that he is close to a burnout.

The Palace boss could use the Premier League game against West Bromwich Albion as the ideal opportunity to rest his weary legs, with James Tomkins and Mamadou Sakho both capable of stepping in and doing a job against the top-flight strugglers.

AND in other news, Get rid: Crystal Palace should offload Patrick van Aanholt in January…

Writing on Twitter, Spurs legend Graham Roberts has heaped praise on new Tottenham talent Sergio Reguilon as a ‘top man’ whilst revealing how he has taken to the club after a brief conversation – with Daniel Levy’s summer signing apparently ‘loving life’ at the club amid claims Real Madrid are eyeing a return.Â

Reguilon, who was brought in as Spurs’ fourth acquisition over a busy transfer window, joining the club in a deal which could rise to £32 million, has certainly won over both the fans and Jose Mourinho in that time.

Roberts in awe of Reguilon

Alongside Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, it’s safe to say the 23-year-old starlet has proven to be one of the Lilywhites’ crown jewels of the summer transfer market – starting seven Premier League games already this season and putting his stamp on the left-back position.

Reguilon was a player Spurs had been admiring from afar, and when he became available for a price too good to resist, Levy promptly instigated the deal despite not having a left-back high on his priority list.

Tottenham legend Roberts, taking to social media, has been in awe of Reguilon after meeting him in person – sharing his feelings on life in north London with supporters after meeting the defender and talking.

Indeed, apparently he ‘could not speak more highly’ of Spurs boss Jose Mourinho, all the while ‘loving life’ at the club amid speculation Real Madrid could opt to activate a buy-back clause in the not-too-distant future.

Transfer Tavern take

Described as a player turning heads behind the scenes, with staff and coaches describing his work in training as ‘phenomenal’ (Football Insider), Roberts’ update that he is in fact loving Tottenham could come as music to the ears of supporters.

As his stance on Spurs is revealed, this could come as a massive boost in Mourinho’s hopes to keep him, with Reguilon having a right to reject the buy-back clause if he is indeed happy with his current position.

Whether or not the Galacticos come calling eventually remains to be seen, but this new Tottenham talent has certainly got plenty of admirers both in and outside the club.

In other news: Tottenham could lose this ‘beast’ in January, find out more here.Â

West Brom’s plight in the Premier League went from bad to worse on Tuesday evening as Sam Allardyce was handed a stark warning.

The Baggies were thrashed 5-0 by Leeds United at the Hawthorns, a defeat that sees the Midlands outfit move five points adrift of safety heading into January.

Big Sam has it all to do to ensure he’s not dealt that first-ever relegation on his CV.

The tone of the match was set early on after Romaine Sawyers’ calamitous back pass found its way into Sam Johnstone’s net before the Whites were rampant with four strikes of their own.

After the match, the midfielder was quick to put the weight of the result on his shoulders due to the nature of his mistake, but in reality, that moment was far from the reason that Albion were embarrassed.

Indeed, there were ten other players on the pitch and four more goals conceded, so other members of the squad need to be looked at. Perhaps none more so than Grady Diangana.

The 22-year-old made his loan move permanent from West Ham for a whopping £18m this summer and we’re yet to see a fraction of the form that saw him spearhead the Baggies’ attack to promotion last term.

Again, he was anonymous and devoid of ideas against Leeds this week.

Per SofaScore, Diangana failed to deliver a single accurate cross or long ball, managed just one shot and only pulled off 50% of his dribbling attempts.

The enigmatic winger also won just 41% of his duels both on the ground and in the air, and was dribbled past twice by the more impressive Raphinha.

It means he has only contributed to one goal in 14 appearances in the Premier League this season – shocking.

BirminghamLive reporter Joseph Chapman graded his performance a three out of ten, he wrote:

“Wasn’t able to lay a glove on Leeds in an attacking sense throughout the game. Came up against an inspired Alioski who was in no mood to give him any change. Spurned Albion’s only real chance which was born out of Leeds’ defensive and goalkeeping complacency.”

Clearly, the €10m-rated (£9m) wide man has shown very little and is worthy of the axe heading into fixtures against Arsenal and Blackpool in the FA Cup. Sawyers, however, should be given an opportunity to reprieve himself.

AND in other news, Exclusive: Sam Allardyce tipped to sign former West Ham star in January swoop

This has been a horrific season for Celtic and it is showing no signs of getting any better.

A 1-0 defeat to Rangers was the worst possible way to start the New Year and it feels as though not even some investment in the January transfer window will save them.

What’s the word?

If there were two areas that Celtic needed to focus on the most this month it would be in defence and on the flanks.

The Hoops have conceded a bucket load of goals in the SPFL and shipped 19 in just six Europa League outings. On the wing, meanwhile, they have a lack of depth with James Forrest out injured for the majority of the season.

As a result, two attacking players have already been targeted this month. One is young Airdrie winger Thomas Robert and the latest link emerging regards Exeter man Joel Randall.

According to The Athletic, both Swansea and Celtic are understood to have expressed their interest in signing the 21-year-old wide man.

Others are also reportedly monitoring Randall’s situation so it may not be a straightforward pursuit.

The next Sinclair

Signing a player from League Two in England might not be the most attractive of proposals for Hoops supporters but the immense potential and talent Randall possesses cannot be underestimated.

Capable of playing on either wing and using both feet, he is a dynamic player capable of causing carnage from a wide area.

Randall has already scored eight goals and registered five assists for Exeter this term so it’s no great surprise to see him linked with bigger pastures.

But what sets him apart from the rest? Well, we’ll let his manager Matt Taylor do the talking: “He’s had talent and potential in him since a young age. His running stats are phenomenal but he’s added an extra dimension to his game in terms of the end product,” he began.

Taylor continued: “He’s been a constant threat down that left side, worked tirelessly for the team and contributed at all times this season. He’s been a standout player.”

Also described as “energetic,” it’s clear to see why we’re comparing him to former Hoops attacker Scott Sinclair.

Like Randall, the winger is a menace to the opposition and can cause a nightmare for defenders.  Sinclair was always a constant threat down the left and worked relentlessly hard.

He scored 62 goals in 167 games for the Glaswegians and although that’ll be hard for Randall to live up to, there are already incredibly positive signs.

The Grecians winger is certainly one to watch.

AND in other news, Christie 2.0: Hammond must seal Celtic swoop for 4-goal dynamo…

There has been a lot of speculation about the future of Liverpool midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum in recent months, with the Dutch international’s contract talks with Liverpool seemingly at a standstill.

His contract with the Reds is set to expire at the end of this season, meaning foreign clubs are now free to negotiate with the former Newcastle man with the view to signing him on a Bosman transfer in the summer.

Barcelona look to be amongst the favourites to sign the 30-year-old, who has established himself as a key player in Jurgen Klopp’s side in recent seasons, having made 211 appearances for the club, contributing 21 goals and 16 assists.

Italian football journalist Fabrizio Romano has recently provided an update on the midfielder’s situation at Liverpool.

Speaking to Give Me Sport, he said:

“Talking with people around Gini, I’ve been told that he has been respectful to Liverpool. Before Christmas, he spoke with the club, he received a new bid from Liverpool, like in the first week of December, to try to extend his contract and it was not an amazing bid in Gini’s idea.

“He was expecting something different but he said ‘okay, let’s take some time. I want to speak with my family. I want to decide in the next week, so give me some time to decide and I won’t talk with any other clubs’.

“If he will refuse Liverpool, for sure, Barcelona will be one of the options because as you said, like last summer, they were pushing and pushing to get him.”

Therefore, it seems as if Wijnaldum was not happy with Liverpool’s opening contract offer and unless we see an improved offer from Michael Edwards, it seems as if he could well depart the club on a free transfer this summer.

Wijnaldum will turn 31 this year and perhaps Liverpool are keen to ensure that they don’t offer too much money to a player that may soon be past his best, especially when they have young talent such as Curtis Jones coming through as his potential replacement.

However, the Dutch international has been a key player at Liverpool for so long and has appeared in all of the Reds’ Premier League fixtures so far this season, so he is clearly valued by Jurgen Klopp.

Whilst there has been reports of Mohamed Salah being offered a new deal with the club in recent times, his deal is set to expire in 2023, so Wijnaldum should be the club’s priority.

Back in 2019, the German manager was full of praise for Wijnaldum, saying:

“It is just so obvious his importance. It is both directions, small spaces, big spaces, it is hard challenges, fine football, pretty much all of that.

“Is he the perfect midfielder? From the skillset 100 per cent.”

Therefore, despite Wijnaldum’s advancing age and contract demands, Edwards must do all he can to ensure that the midfielder is still with Liverpool next season.

Click here to see the full 30 minute video of Fabrizio Romano’s interview with Give Me Sport

And, in other news, Lost possession 22x: Klopp favourite endured a bittersweet night against Aston Villa…

According to The Daily Mail, Crystal Palace are one of several clubs chasing Manchester City prospect Timi Sobowale.

What’s the word?

It’s claimed that Sobowale finds himself on Roy Hodgson’s radar but Palace face stiff competition from Championship clubs Millwall, Stoke City and Blackburn Rovers.

The 18-year-old has seen his progress limited under Pep Guardiola, as he is still yet to feature for the first team, having made just one appearance across all competitions for the development team this season, via Transfermarkt.

He has also held talks with Major League Soccer side Real Salt Lake over a possible move in the January transfer window.

Must avoid at all costs

Hodgson could face an exodus of defenders as Palace have several senior players whose contracts are set to expire at the end of this season.

Mamadou Sakho faces an uncertain future at Selhurst Park, which has led to calls from Football FanCast to cut ties with him completely, while Gary Cahill’s recent injury struggles have been well-documented.

Nathan Ferguson, who can also play in this position, is yet to make his Palace debut since his arrival from West Brom in the summer after he suffered another injury setback, which has cast doubts about his long-term future at the club.

It’s believed Sobowale has held initial discussions with the MLS side and could be heading for the Etihad exit door to get some game time.

Will he get that at Selhurst Park? Probably not. Thrusting a vastly inexperienced defender who is unproven in the Premier League straight into the limelight seems like a daft idea.

There must be a reason why Sobowale has barely played at all this season, whilst the last thing Palace need is another Zeki Fryers, as the former Manchester United academy graduate failed to make the grade. Nine appearances for £3.4m is frankly appalling.

In Gary Cahill and Scott Dann, Palace have two experienced centre-backs who should be able to tide them over until at least the end of the season. The veterans are both of a similar age and the similarities don’t stop there, either, with both producing a high volume of clearances per game, with Cahill slightly ahead of his teammate in terms of the numbers with 4.4 and 4.3 respectively, via WhoScored.

Simply put, there surely have to be better options out there, perhaps none more so than Reading captain Liam Moore. Given his age, he’d fit the bill perfectly for Hodgson’s side more than an unproven youngster.

AND in other news, Crystal Palace can end four-year nightmare with swoop for Newcastle striker Dwight Gayle…