All posts by z3u9t.icu

Lucas Moura put on a show as Tottenham Hotspur returned to winning ways after a disastrous week.

Jose Mourinho made a statement with his team selection, dropping the likes of Eric Dier and Gareth Bale following two abysmal defeats in key fixtures.

Spurs first lost the North London derby without putting up much of a fight and then were embarrassingly knocked out of the Europa League to Dinamo Zagreb, who mounted a stunning three-goal comeback in Croatia on Thursday.

But this win over Aston Villa in the Premier League moved them back into European contention and sixth place, and centre to it all was the Brazilian.

Talismanic striker Harry Kane got on the scoresheet once again – taking him to the top of the goalscoring charts – but he also provided a key involvement in their opening goal, finding Moura before he fired across the goal for Carlos Vinicius to tap home.

He will reap the rewards and take much of the plaudits, as he often does, though the £22.5m-rated dynamo was fully in control of this match in an unfamiliar no.10 role.

As per SofaScore, Moura was graded among Spurs’ best performers with a rating of 7.9 – only Tanguy Ndombele got close (7.7).

The 28-year-old attacker was heavily involved in every attack, as seen by the sheer number of touches he had on the ball.

His 85 touches was only bettered by one player, and by one touch too, in Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (86). The pair were a good 20 touches ahead of any other Spurs star, so that speaks volumes on his influence in the match.

Similarly, Moura proved to be a major source of creativity, managing four key passes from his 35 successful passing attempts (80% accuracy rate) and five successful dribbles. Both of which will have contributed to Spurs’ attacking returns substantially.

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By comparison, the rest of the Spurs squad could only combine for three key passes between them – one each from Giovani Lo Celso, Sergio Reguilon and Kane.

Villa could barely stop him, as he drew a whopping six fouls, three more than Kane, who is the most fouled player in Mourinho’s squad, as per WhoScored statistics.

Moura also put in a great shift defensively, and that’s the sort of attitude Mourinho would have been looking for in response to their nightmare of a week.

He won 14 duels from 21 battles, both on the ground and in the air, and even recorded four clearances and one tackle. Joe Rodon, who started at centre-back, didn’t clear the ball from danger as much as Moura whilst only three other players managed more tackles.

The Evening Standard’s Dan Kilpatrick dubbed the £110k-per-week winger his ‘star man’ and added: ‘Easy to see why Mourinho loves him after an excellent display offensively and defensively. Ran tirelessly, with and without the ball and got a superb assist for Vinicius.’

Kane may have bagged the winner, but based on the evidence above, Moura absolutely stole the show at Villa Park.

AND in other news, Levy could seal a perfect Winks upgrade with Spurs swoop for £65k-p/w “amazing talent”…

West Brom could have a future star in Cheikh Diaby. And there won’t be a better time to unleash him than next season.

The Baggies are quickly heading towards an instant return to the Championship, just one season after gaining promotion to the big time under Slaven Bilic.

With only nine games remaining, Sam Allardyce has an impossible task in keeping Albion up as they sit ten points adrift of safety.

The 66-year-old brought in several players during the January transfer window to aid their quest, but evidently, that has failed to pay off despite an upturn in performances as they have won just once since the market closed.

A lot of the incoming were loanees, so it is hard to envisage them sticking around if – and likely when – West Brom are confirmed as a second-flight team once again.

That includes the impressive-looking Mbaye Diagne, who could be quite the force in the Championship, as explained by Football FanCast last week.

Though, he shouldn’t be short of suitors in the Premier League nor should a return to Galatasaray be off the cards.

Both Charlie Austin and Kenneth Zohore have spent the season out on loan, so it’s hard to see them having much of a future at the Hawthorns, meaning whoever is in charge next term is likely to be short on options upfront.

Out-of-favour Karlan Grant could be the only viable option, unless they turn to Diaby.

The Athletic’s Steve Madeley named the 21-year-old as ‘one to watch’ for the Baggies back in January, claiming that despite being ‘raw and unpolished’, he could be a potential option for Allardyce given his ‘physicality, power and pace’ – very much similar in nature to Diagne.

He also went onto suggest that he has an ability to play on the left flank, but his best position is through the middle as an ‘explosive centre-forward with a knack for scoring goals.’

Indeed, that has been the case for the academy set-up thus far. Diaby has bagged five goals in ten games for the U23s in the Premier League 2 this campaign, which included a run of four straight goal-scoring matches, as per Transfermarkt.

The young forward came through the promising Le Harve academy, where the likes of Paul Pogba and Dimitri Payet first emerged onto the scene, and Albion even beat off La Liga outfit Valencia to secure his signature.

At one stage, Diaby was heading for a loan exit, according to the Express & Star but evidently, that didn’t come to fruition. And considering his age, he ought to be in West Brom’s plans for next season.

“He’s a powerful boy, he’s going to score goals, he’s going to give defences a problem because of his physicality,” explained academy boss Richard Stevens.

Indeed, he has all the hallmarks of Diagne but is just hugely inexperienced. Unleashing him after the summer could save the Midlands outfit millions in the transfer window.

He could well be the ideal successor to the 29-year-old colossus.

AND in other news, Exclusive: Steve Bull wants to see Eddie Howe as West Brom manager

Charlton Athletic midfielder Marcus Maddison has announced he is taking a break from football after having his loan spell at Bolton Wanderers cut short this week.

The 27-year-old wouldn’t have been able to feature for the Addicks anyway, so it gives him an opportunity to evaluate his options for the long term, having cited the “abuse, pressures and monotony” of football finally getting to him.

In the summer, Maddison was released by Peterborough United after a six-year stint, and it was Lee Bowyer and the southeast Londoners that finally took a punt on him in October.

The former Hull City loanee agreed to a one-year deal with the option of a second as the third new arrival of the Thomas Sangaard era, so that does leave the Addicks with a decision to make themselves.

“He brings goals. His stats over the last few years are excellent, he regularly gets to double figures in goals and gets a lot of assists, so he brings about 25 goals to a team in a season, claimed Bowyer. “He’s an experienced player that knows this league inside out.”

Indeed, Maddison’s vast experience in this division was an appealing attribute. He has played 220 times in League One, where he has provided 53 goals and 76 assists, via Transfermarkt.

But after just two goals in ten appearances, he was shipped out on loan to League Two but again, struggled for game time starting just four matches for Ian Evatt’s side.

Bowyer’s attitude towards him soon changed within months, as following his loan move in February, he told the official website: “We took a gamble bringing him in, but it hasn’t quite worked out as we hoped. We wish him the very best for the future.”

That gamble is now something the current Addicks set-up are paying the price for, possibly this was the 44-year-old’s final mistake at The Valley, leaving the likes of Nigel Adkins, Steve Gallen and Sandgaard with a tricky call to make.

Maddison’s potential in this division is undoubted, after all, he was once lauded as an “unbelievable talent” and a “match-winner,” so if Charlton remain in the third tier, it could be worth activating that year extension following some time off but if they don’t, then this may be a risk too far.

Either way, the 27-year-old’s health should be his top priority right now and perhaps a fresh start elsewhere for 2021/22 could be what’s needed.

AND in other news, Adkins could save Sangaard a lot of money this summer in “strong-willed” Charlton gem…

Southampton were heavily linked with a loan move for Manchester United full-back Brandon Williams throughout the winter transfer window and considering the lack of options Ralph Hasenhuttl has available in that position right now, he will surely be frustrated that a deal wasn’t able to be completed.

It had seemed as if it was only a matter of time before Southampton announced the loan signing of the 20-year-old full-back in January but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer decided late on that he wanted to keep the academy graduate in and around his first-team squad for the rest of the season.

This forced the Saints to look for other options but they couldn’t bring in any defenders before the deadline, despite trying to bring in the likes of Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Japhet Tanganga and Neco Williams on loan.

Despite this, the South Coast club sent back-up options Yan Valery and Jake Vokins on loan to Birmingham City and Sunderland respectively, leaving just Kyle Walker-Peters and Ryan Bertrand as senior options at full-back.

As Williams can play as both a left-back and a right-back, he could’ve been the perfect man to provide cover in Hasenhuttl’s side, especially in recent weeks where Walker-Peters has been sidelined through injury.

The £9.9 million-rated defender has had his game time limited at United this season as a result of Luke Shaw’s excellent form and the signing of Alex Telles, with just two brief substitute appearances in the Premier League to his name.

Since January, he has made just two substitute appearances in the Europa League, totalling 61 minutes, so it is difficult to see why he wasn’t allowed to leave on loan.

Hasenhuttl should be fuming that Solskjaer, rather selfishly, decided to keep Williams rather than allowing to get first-team minutes at Southampton, as it could’ve benefitted all parties.

Considering the awful run of form that Southampton have endured in 2021 thus far, any added options would’ve been appreciated by the Austrian and Williams’ versatility could’ve been ideal to have in the current situation, so it is surely frustrating for everyone involved with the club that he wasn’t allowed to join.

And, in other news… Semmens could sign Saints’ Ings replacement with bargain swoop for in-demand 24 y/o

Talk of sacking Jose Mourinho seems very premature, though it appears that pressure from the media is starting to build on the Tottenham Hotspur boss.

According to the Daily Mail, ‘pressure is starting to mount’ on the 58-year-old following the 1-0 defeat to Brighton on Sunday night.

Spurs were atop the Premier League table in the middle of December but after a lifeless run of two wins in nine outings, their chances of making the top four are in tatters, let alone the idea of them contending for the title.

Mourinho, of Chelsea stardom, was always going to be a marmite appointment from Daniel Levy given his history and style of management. Indeed, you’ll rarely find a Spurs fan sitting on the fence over whether or not he should be in charge of the Lilywhites.

Across their last two outings alone, back-to-back defeats against the Seagulls and defending champions Liverpool, the squad have failed to combine for an xG of over 0.47, as per Understat.

By comparison, Harry Kane on his own is managing a 0.58 xG per 90.

Dele Alli has become a forgotten man, playing only 472 minutes all campaign, whilst Serge Aurier is the latest name to face Mourinho’s wrath.

Rotten form, a dull brand of football and scapegoats aplenty. It’s no wonder some murmurings over the suitability of the one-time ‘Special One’ have started to creep in.

And this was the topic of discussion on the ‘Last Word On Spurs’ podcast earlier this week.

Regular contributor and journalist John Wenham put forward the idea of the club appointing current Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers as a potential successor to Mourinho. He said (via This is Futbol):

“For me – I’m not saying sack the manager – but if I was, he would certainly be the man I’d go for. I think on limited resources, he buys extremely well and I just think he’d fit into the ethos of Tottenham Hotspur in terms of how he works in the transfer market.”

It’s far too early to be sacking Mourinho, after all, they remain in all cup competitions and have a Carabao Cup final on the horizon, but it is an interesting point to consider as ultimately, he’s been brought in to end that run of one major trophy in 21 years.

If he fails to do that, then why shouldn’t he face the axe?

In Rodgers, they’d be getting a very Mauricio Pochettino-esque appointment, and that would suit Daniel Levy right down to the ground. As Wenham suggests, he’s astute in the transfer market on a tight budget, just like the Argentine.

Whilst at the helm, Spurs went 517 days without making a signing, and he still got them to the Champions League final. His reward? A sacking in the November after and firm backing to Mourinho in the transfer market.

For Rodgers, the current Spurs boss was a bit of a mentor in his early coaching career, and that’s come full circle.

“Anything he’s doing in his career is not a surprise for me, not at all. He’s very talented, he was and probably still is a guy who likes to study, learn and improve. He’s creative, he knows what he wants. He’s a very good coach. Period,” lauded Mourinho only last month.

Like Pochettino with Southampton, Rodgers has been tried and tested in the Premier League too with spells across both Liverpool and the Foxes.

If Mourinho were to face the axe anytime soon, then there can’t be a better candidate out there.

AND in other news, Spurs must swoop for “fearless” beast amid Romano claim…

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer faces a difficult decision over how he deals with Manchester United defender Phil Jones in the coming weeks and months – with the Red Devils reportedly open to selling him this summer.

What’s the word?

According to ESPN, United could look to sell Jones on one condition, with Solskjaer seeking to bolster his defensive options before the start of the new season.

Jones has long been linked with the Old Trafford exit, and several clubs have looked at him closely, including Premier League strugglers West Brom, who wanted him to shore up their leaky defence during the winter window.

The former England international is just the latest player tipped to be on the move in the next summer market as Solskjaer has already started to clear out the deadwood by selling Timothy Fosu-Mensah to Bayer Leverkusen for a mere £1.8m fee.

Time’s up

With the emergence of academy graduate Axel Tuanzebe, Jones has been relegated to fourth choice this season.

The 28-year-old, who is currently valued at £5m via Transfermarkt, has not played for United since January 2020 after a string of injuries and has spent the entire time up until now working his way back to fitness.

He had attracted interest from several clubs across the country in the hope of a possible move in January earlier this year, but in the end, nothing materialised, and on £75k-per-week, it might be hard to offload him without forcing him to take a drastic pay cut.

However, fitness issues aside, it’s become increasingly apparent that Jones simply isn’t up to the standards required at Old Trafford.

Whilst it could be argued that injuries have meant he has never been able to reach his full potential, having been tipped for greatness by Sir Alex Ferguson himself.

In his last season alone, the versatile defender, who has played in the centre, in the midfield and on the right in his career so far, averaged just one tackle and one interception per 90 in the Premier League, via WhoScored.

By comparison, Tuanzebe is averaging 1.2 tackles per game in six top-flight appearances this season, suggesting that he is already a  significant upgrade on his injured teammate.

Solskjaer will also be well aware that Jones needs to be playing regularly to attract any potential suitors in the summer, which could prove to be a stumbling block unless he can make a full recovery from injury.

Should he recover from injury, there will be a dilemma over giving him any game time at all and whether that’s a good idea right now still remains to be seen with the Red Devils in hot pursuit of both domestic and European success.

There’s nothing to suggest that the unseen Englishman could bolster their current defensive issues.

AND in other news, Manchester United face stiff competition in pursuit of Fiorentina defender Nikola Milenkovic…

Preston North End boss Alex Neil has fired Carlo Ancelotti a huge warning over Anthony Gordon after revealing why the Everton loanee did not face Middlesbrough on Tuesday night.

The Lilywhites travelled to the Riverside Stadium for a midweek clash but returned to Deepdale without any points to show for their efforts, after an own goal from Jordan Storey and strike from Marcus Tavernier saw Neil Warnock’s Boro triumph.

Gordon had been a regular member of Neil’s plans since joining the Championship side on loan for the remainder of the season during the winter transfer market, but played no part in the defeat for only his second non-appearance in 10 games for the club.

Preston supporters were at a loss as to why Gordon was not fielded in the starting line-up on Tuesday and later not given any minutes from the bench, despite their side later being reduced to 10 men following a red card for Alan Browne.

Neil has since explained why Gordon was overlooked against Middlesbrough, in a potentially huge warning for Ancelotti and the winger’s hopes of establishing himself back at Everton next season.

“It’s different being a fan and being a manager, because my job is to try and put the team out to try and win the game,” Neil explained, via quotes by Lancs Live. “Fans want to see exciting players and I understand that, so that’s not lost on me.

“But my job at the moment, certainly with the difficult run we’re on, is to try and get some points and listen – the one thing I can assure everybody and Anthony, because I speak to him regularly, is that if I think he is the best option for a game coming up, I’ve got no reservations whatsoever of putting him in.

“The thing is with Anthony is that he wants to take touches, and against Middlesbrough, they want to lock you in, so you need to limit your touches – certainly if you’re high up the pitch. That’s why I put three runners behind Ched [Evans], so it [the ball] goes up, sticks, gets set back and then guys run.”

Gordon had been noted to have offered a positive impact from the bench in Preston’s prior 1-0 defeat to Wycombe Wanderers last Saturday, but has now not started a fixture under Neil in four possible games and remains without a goal or an assist.

Neil’s reasoning behind overlooking Gordon against Middlesbrough on Tuesday should act as a warning for Ancelotti, and raise concerns back at Everton of what sort of impact the £4.5m-rated forward will be able to offer the European football hopefuls next season.

The Preston boss clearly feels Gordon still has some room to develop before he is consistently making the correct decisions in the final-third, which in turn is likely helping toward his wait for a first contribution to the scoring with the Championship side.

Yet Gordon has shown over his outings for the Lilywhites that he can be a productive member of Neil’s attacking options, even if the chances have not yet been converted, and it is surely only a matter of time before the Liverpool-born talent is influencing games.

Despite taking just 25.9 touches per Championship game over his eight appearances to date, Gordon has offered on average 0.9 shots and created one goalscoring opportunity, including two big chances and missing one clear cut opening, per SofaScore.

Richarlison offers Everton 40.5 touches per Premier League game over his 24 outings so far, for comparison, which have seen the Brazilian produce on average 1.7 shots and 0.6 key passes for six goals and three assists, along with creating three big chances and missing six.

The 23-year-old plays on average 83 minutes a game, while Gordon only registers 49 having made half of his appearances from the bench, to show that the Toffees product is establishing a solid baseline to build on over the final quarter of the second-tier season. However, if he’s not trusted to play in a big Championship clash, then maybe he isn’t close to being ready for the Premier League just yet.

AND in other news, Everton have their eyes on a £105k-p/w striker with three goals in 34 games for his current side…

Italian football journalist Fabrizio Romano has recently suggested that Liverpool are working to extend the contract of Virgil van Dijk and will open negotiations with the Dutch international this year.

The 29-year-old defender has well and truly established himself as one of the world’s best in his position since joining from Southampton in January 2018, as he came second in the Ballon d’Or awards in 2019, with Lionel Messi beating him to the award.

The centre-back was instrumental in Liverpool’s title win last season, as he appeared in every single Premier League match, scoring five goals and averaging an incredible 7.32 rating.

Unfortunately, a shocking tackle from Jordan Pickford resulted in the defender damaging his cruciate ligament in October 2020, ruling him out for much of Liverpool’s 2020/21 season but he is making strong progress in the gym and could well make a return before the end of the current campaign.

Despite this injury, which may result in the former Celtic man no longer being the same type of player, the Reds must prioritise tying him down to a new deal this year, as his current deal is set to expire in 2023, and this new contract would surely see him stay with the Reds for the rest of his peak playing days.

Whilst Liverpool are said to be in negotiations with Georginio Wijnaldum over a new deal, as his contract expires in the summer, the former Newcastle man is far more replaceable than Van Dijk is.

The 30-year-old has disappointed with his performances this season, averaging a 6.66 rating for his performances in the top-flight, with fellow midfielders Jordan Henderson, Naby Keita, Fabinho and Thiago all rated higher, whilst young Curtis Jones is narrowly behind, suggesting that he would not be missed if he left this summer.

Meanwhile, both Real Madrid and Barcelona have been linked with Van Dijk in the past and if he is able to rediscover his form from last season when he returns from injury, it would not be a surprise to see those transfer links resurface.

Therefore, extending the £72 million-rated centre-back’s contract must be a priority for Liverpool, as he is clearly a huge part of the way Liverpool play, evidenced by him winning the Premier League player of the year last season following the title win.

And, in other news, 10 duels won: LFC target’s monstrous weekend display proves that Edwards must swoop…

As Tottenham aim to keep their place at the top of the Premier League table, this recovery update and eventual comeback tease could excite supporters – especially with Alderweireld looking determined to get back to full form imminently.

In other news: Jose Mourinho could be set to call upon this unused Spurs ace, find out more here. 

Steven Bergwijn has managed to cement his place down as Jose Mourinho’s first-choice right-winger at Tottenham Hotspur ahead of the likes of Gareth Bale and Lucas Moura.

Although his returns, on the face of it, have been far from impressive – failing to score or assist a single goal in eight appearances, four of which have been starts in just as many outings.

Indeed, the £64m-rated Dutch speed demon has only managed to deliver three goals and four assists in 32 matches since his £26.7m arrival last January.

However, his influence under the ‘Special One’ far exceeds that of merely goal contributions as his selfless work rate at either end of the pitch is absolutely everything the Spurs chief is after, which is why he’s starting and lasting in so many matches lately.

Bergwijn, the sacrificial lamb, as he should be known…

On the Chalkboard

Statistically, of any Spurs player that has started five more matches in the English top-flight, Bergwijn ranks as the worst per WhoScored with a rating of just 6.36.

The 23-year-old has failed to register a shot in matches against Arsenal (2-0 win) and Crystal Palace (1-1 draw) but has instead recorded four tackles and three clearances, as well as delivering four tactical fouls across both games.

Mourinho hasn’t selected him to follow in the footsteps of the free-scoring Heung-min Son, who acts as an inside-forward on that left flank or Harry Kane, who often drops deep to help the cause.

No, instead, Bergwijn is almost being deployed as either a wing-back or someone that can occupy the half-spaces in midfield, this is most seen by his heat map from the victory over the Gunners two weeks ago – per SofaScore:

The majority of his 31 touches throughout the 89 minutes he was on the pitch were literally just outside of Hugo Lloris’ penalty box, which speaks volumes as a player that is renowned for his attacking prowess.

His role has changed substantially since his debut goal against Manchester City and is why he continues to be handed the reins over either Bale or Moura.

The £75k-per-week dynamo is doing his job to a tee, and yet, it goes unnoticed from everyone besides the boss, who told dubbed Bergwijn “incredible” after the north London derby.

Teammate Eric Dier knows it all too well having regularly faced him in training, speaking to the Premier League’s official YouTube channel, he said:

“Steven Bergwijn is a player I enjoy to watch in training and in games. He has that Dutch-style about him. He’s so good in possession, keeps the ball so well, technically so sound.”

Take a step back and truly appreciate what the 5 foot 8 sensation is truly doing for Spurs right now.

AND in other news, Exclusive: Spurs star compared to Grealish after moment in Palace draw…