All posts by h716a5.icu

Throughout the summer of 2020, Leicester were heavily linked with a move for Barcelona’s Francisco Trincao.

At the time, it was reported in The Guardian that the Foxes had tabled a two-year loan offer for the Portuguese wideman with an added obligation to buy after that period.

A move never came to fruition, with Director of Football Jon Rudkin instead signing off a deal for AS Roma winger Cengiz Under.

However, reports in El Confidencial now indicate that a ‘system change’ under Ronald Koeman at the Nou Camp could see Trincao pushed out of contention, with the East Midlands talked up as a potential destination, so Leicester have to ensure that they secure their man this time around.

At just the age of 21, the Portuguese international has already displayed immense promise. With boyhood club Braga, he scored nine goals and notched 13 assists in all competitions from the right flank before his big move to Barca.

He has continued that form throughout the current campaign despite having started only nine matches, just two of those coming in La Liga. Trincao has three goals and two assists in all competitions, which are respectable numbers considering his lack of game-time.

For context, that is a higher tally than Marc Albrighton and Cengiz Under, and the same amount as Ayoze Perez.

He would seem a great addition considering Leicester’s wide options. Under is set to leave following the expiry of his loan deal, leaving a space in the Foxes’ squad.

Valued at just £22.5m by Transfermarkt at the time of writing, he would only be slightly more costly than the reported £20.4m fee that it would take to bring the Turk to the King Power Stadium on a permanent basis.

With Trincao now available and the Foxes needing a right winger, the club should look to renew their interest in him and secure his signature at the second time of asking.

AND in more news, read about a sale in 2017 that Leicester City played perfectly…

After being held to a damaging 1-1 draw against Burnley in the Premier League at the weekend, Arsenal return to action when they take on Olympiacos in the first leg of their Europa League clash on Thursday night.

Mikel Arteta’s side were of course knocked out by the Greek giants last year in this same competition, with a late goal from the visitors seeing their European hopes go up in smokes at the Emirates.

The Gunners boss also has to contend with the small task of a north London derby against Tottenham on Sunday afternoon, but there’s no questioning that he will look to go as strong as possible with his starting line-up tonight.

And, with that in mind, below is a look at how Arsenal might line up when they make the trip to face Olympiacos.

In goal, Bernd Leno will be looking to keep a clean sheet after his involvement in the Gunners’ defensive howler against Burnley last time out.

The back-four could see one significant change with Hector Bellerin returning at right-back after Calum Chambers was drafted in at Turf Moor, perhaps to deal with the physical and aerial threat of the Clarets.

In midfield, Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka should continue their partnership in the engine room, with the former surely hoping to get to full speed as quick as possible after recently returning from injury.

Further forward, the £36m-rated Nicolas Pepe is surely in line for a return to the starting line-up after his lively cameo against Burnley – the Ivorian missed a glorious opportunity to score, before being involved in two controversial penalty incidents that failed to go Arsenal’s way.

Given Willian’s last Europa League display against Benfica, in which he helped inspire the Gunners’ comeback by assisting Kieran Tierney, it would be a big call from Arteta to drop him.

Up front, it’s a far easier decision, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang once again leading the line.

Predicted XI: Leno; Bellerin, Luiz, Mari, Tierney; Partey, Xhaka; Saka, Odegaard, Pepe; Aubameyang.

Crystal Palace are trying to revolutionise their squad as they have a number of players with contracts expiring in the summer. One of the players they are keen on bringing in is Dion Sanderson.

The latest on Sanderson

According to the Daily Mail, the Wolves defender is attracting interest from Palace as well as fellow Premier League sides Brighton and Sheffield United.

This would be an interesting signing for Palace

The defender is currently on loan at League One side Sunderland and is clearly impressing. He has played 18 times (seven from the bench) and has been a rock at the back as he has averaged 1.1 tackles and 2.4 clearances per game (WhoScored).

He has received a lot of praise in recent times. Sunderland manager Lee Johnson said: “He’s a centre-half and at his age level he is an absolute Rolls-Royce”, whilst former Wolves striker Stephen Elliott claimed that “Sanderson has a huge future in the game”.

With the centre-back only 21, he looks to have bags of potential to succeed at a top level. A young defender is just what Palace need, as all their centre-backs who have featured in the league this season are over the age of 30, with Cahill the oldest at 35 (Transfermarkt). Therefore, if they could manage to tempt Wolves to let him go, then it could be a very good acquisition.

In other news, many Palace fans reacted to this update!

West Bromwich Albion fans were far from happy with the performance of Robert Snodgrass during their side’s 2-1 defeat to Sheffield United.

The Baggies lost despite taking the lead through Matt Phillips as Jayden Bogle and Billy Sharp scored in the second half for the Blades to turn things around. This result now leaves Sam Allardyce’s side nine points adrift of Brighton in 17th place (Sky Sports) – their chances of survival are getting slimmer and slimmer.

Snodgrass is a winger by trade, but Allardyce decided to play him in central midfield alongside Jake Livermore. The two together failed to provide any dynamism and intensity in the middle of the park. It was an experiment that just did not the work.

The Baggies fans were far from happy with his display, and they took to social media platform Twitter to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about Snodgrass below

“Snodgrass, Livermore and Townsend all very poor tonight #wba”

Credit: @TRCodie_

“Phillips was having a rare good game, looking confident, while Snodgrass was very poor and sloppy….so naturally, he subs Phillips off. Terrible management.”

Credit: @cggo123

“They’ll be no new player bounce. Snodgrass already looks like he has PTSD”

Credit: @jahwibble

“I thought Snodgrass and Perriera were very poor tonight, but that’s just me.”

Credit: @WBALewis99

“These players are a disgrace. Zero leadership or drive from Livermore or Snodgrass. Most of the defence are hopeless at this level (Furlong, O’Shea, Ajayi, Bartley, Gibbs) & we may as well play with ten men when Pereira isn’t having a good game. Allardyce not blameless though.”

Credit: @thejonreeve

“Did Snodgrass play the last two games? Awful”

Credit: @jdcecfc

In other news, West Brom failed in a bid to sign this international during the transfer window.

Joelinton’s late miss at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday night proved costly as Newcastle United failed to secure all three points for the 19th time this season.

The Toon are now on the cusp of the Premier League relegation zone in 17th-place after three-straight winless affairs, having let a rare victory slip away after failing to bounce back again after Ruben Neves’ equaliser.

Newcastle had started the brighter of the two sides but they lost their way following injuries for Miguel Almiron and Allan Saint-Maximin, who join top-scorer Callum Wilson and defenders Fabian Schar and Javier Manquillo in the treatment room.

United still had chances to seal only a third win in their last 15 top-flight games but were punished by Joelinton producing a costly miss in the dying stages.

The Brazilian had the better of Wolves goalkeeper Rui Patricio from 12-yards out after being found in an open pocket of space in the heart of the visitors’ box by Jacob Murphy, only for Romain Saiss to block his effort on the line and see the ball loop over the crossbar.

Joelinton’s strike marked one of three efforts taken on Saturday night, no Newcastle player took more, but failed to turn either home despite finding the target each time to remain on a single goal for the Premier League season, per WhoScored.

Bruce could only rue United’s number of missed chances to score against the Molineux natives, having seen the Magpies take 19 shots as a team but only find the net with one of seven on-target attempts.

“It’s the same story, if you create chances but don’t take them, in the Premier League you’ll get punished,” Bruce said, via quotes by Chronicle Live, following the 1-1 draw. “We’ve had three wonderful chances and then one with Joelinton with 10 minutes to go.”

Newcastle cannot afford to see chances like Joelinton’s go to waste given their peril at the bottom end of the Premier League table, with the Brazilian’s timid finishing only serving to hold United back in their quest for safety.

It was a much more productive performance from the £18m-rated flop, signed for a club-record £40m in 2018, who offered three shots and direct each on target, compared to his average 0.6 from 1.3 efforts per game in the top-flight this term, per WhoScored.

But with Wilson still out for the next three to four weeks, Bruce had to see Joelinton take up the burden and instead only witnessed the 24-year-old miss a huge chance to seal a much-needed win. His miss could have cost the Toon all three points too, had Martin Dubravka not been positioned well to deny Fabio Silva in stoppage-time.

Dubravka was done no favours by Isaac Hayden in the lead-up to Wolves’ equalising effort, as he failed to track Neves as he moved to meet Pedro Neto’s cross.

Yet the midfielder can be somewhat pardoned, given he was shifted to right-back following Emil Krafth’s injury but without receiving the instructions soon enough – much to the frustration of captain Jamaal Lascelles.

AND in other news, Newcastle have joined the race for a sought-after “real talent” capable of “outstanding” displays…

At long last, Wolves have signed a new striker. Willian Jose is the name on supporters’ lips with the Brazilian arriving on loan from Real Sociedad.

However, it would appear that Jeff Shi isn’t quite done in the transfer market yet.

What’s the word?

Football Insider reported back in November that Wolves were keeping tabs on Peterborough winger Siriki Dembele.

However, there has now been an update on the future of the impressive 24-year-old forward.

According to the same publication, Nottingham Forest have made a loan to buy bid for Dembele who has reportedly put in a transfer request to leave Posh.

FI go on to reiterate Wolves’ interest in the player, also stating that Celtic, Fulham and Crystal Palace are all in pursuit.

Shades of Sako

Wolves fans won’t want to be reminded of their spell in League One back in 2013/14, but one player they will probably remember fondly is Bakary Sako.

At that level of the English football pyramid, the forward was close to unstoppable, proving to be a valuable asset as the Old Gold tried to climb back through the leagues.

Sako netted 12 goals in 40 outings, also providing 15 assists for his teammates. It was a mesmeric campaign from the Malian who proved equally devastating at Championship level.

The attacker netted 15 times and picked up a further ten assists for his troubles, putting in performances that terrified defenders. During the 2014/15 term, he produced 2.9 shots per game, 1.5 key passes a match and also 2.8 dribbles over the same metric.

But why does this hold any relevance in the present day? Well, Dembele has been producing similar performances at the same level for Peterborough.

The Wolves target, who like Sako can play on the wing or up front, has been nothing short of exceptional over the last two seasons. Speaking about the Posh striker last year, his manager Darren Ferguson said: “The boy has been absolutely outstanding since realising he can play as a central striker.”

Indeed, Dembele has scored six goals and provided seven assists this season. That adds to the six strikes and nine assists he amassed in 2019/20.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-this-weeks-latest-wolves-news” title=”Read this week’s latest Wolves news”]

Though, to compare him more closely to Sako, we can analyse the more detailed stats. The fearsome Peterborough man has managed fewer shots than the former Wolves flanker – two per game – but his creativity and ability to beat a man is better.

Dembele has delivered 1.8 key passes a match while his dazzling capabilities have led to an eye-catching three dribbles per game.

It remains to be seen what Dembele could do at a higher level but those attributes certainly demonstrate that he’d bring an awful lot to Wolves.

Nuno Santo has regularly developed talent from the lower leagues and you only need to look at the likes of Matt Doherty and Diogo Jota to understand how you can rise up the leagues with Wolves before thriving in the Premier League.

With Wolves struggling and lacking goals with Raul Jimenez out injured, signing another forward on top of Willian Jose certainly wouldn’t be a bad idea.

AND in other news, Wolves could find their dream Traore successor by landing “extremely quick” 31-cap ace…

Carlo Ancelotti should consider sending Everton defender Niels Nkounkou out on loan in the January transfer window.

Nkounkou joined the Toffees last summer with the intentions of building his reputation in David Unsworth’s Under 23s, yet was swiftly made a first-team player with roles in the Merseyside outfit’s Carabao Cup fixtures.

A Premier League debut soon followed at Newcastle United following an injury for Lucas Digne, yet has only been given 25 minutes of senior action since after being called on as an extra-time substitute in Everton’s FA Cup third round win over Rotherham.

Everton supporters have rarely seen Nkounkou turn out in the youth ranks, either, with Monday’s start in the junior derby with Liverpool only the 20-year-old’s second outing in the Premier League 2 and first appearance since facing Chelsea in November.

Nkounkou is finding himself very much in limbo, midway between being a first-team player and the understudy of Digne to being a youth player looking to cut their teeth with regular football in the U23s.

But the youngster has admitted that he expects the picture to remain as it currently is for the time being, and will have to wait for his chance should he remain at Goodison Park in January.

“Over the next few months, they’ll stay just the same, to keep learning and developing. Looking further ahead, of course I have objectives that I’m aiming to achieve in the future,” he told Everton’s Official Matchday Programme for their FA Cup tie with Rotherham.

“I have to be patient and show the manager in training I’m working even harder and he can count on me to deliver. Once I get the opportunity to play, it will be all about showing him I’m ready to perform whenever a position in the team opens up.”

Nkounkou has also admitted to finding his Premier League debut at Newcastle a more challenging affair than he expected it to be, adding: “I put in some good performances in the Carabao Cup, but the league game against Newcastle was a bit tougher for me.

“But, as we stand right now, I wasn’t expecting all that so soon, so I’m very happy to have already made those initial small steps.”

Monday’s clash with Liverpool in the Premier League 2 did not go entirely to plan, either, as the Liverpool Echo note that his performance was rather laid back and lacked the level of ability shown in his Carabao Cup exploits.

Nkounkou’s shortcomings were also well documented before joining Everton, with French football journalist Jeremy Smith citing a handful of key issues with the defender’s game.

“He’s a potential Benjamin Mendy type — strong, solid, good engine and can cover the whole flank all match,” Smith told The Athletic. “He has a good cross on him too. He’s seen as having lots of potential but his concentration still seems to wander. He needs to work on positioning as well.”

Training with Everton’s first-team and Ancelotti’s coaching staff will no doubt have helped Nkounkou’s development, but the Italian tactician should be open to sending him out on loan this month like the Toffees have done with Jarrad Branthwaite.

The centre-half has already made his Blackburn Rovers debut with an impressive display at the weekend, as he looks to play week-in, week-out after featuring just once in Everton’s first-team all season.

Branthwaite’s progress should only continue now that he is at a club where chances are more regular, and that ought to be the same for Nkounkou with Ancelotti able to rest easy knowing Ben Godfrey can deputise for Digne following his efforts in the role of late.

AND in other news, Everton must end the 14-year club association of a player completely frozen out by Carlo Ancelotti…

Glasgow Rangers have found themselves in a difficult position with Jordan Jones for quite some time so far this season.

Jones has hit all the headlines for all the wrong reasons in recent weeks after being hit with a seven-game ban by the SFA after breaching Covid rules.

The Northern Ireland international was once heralded as a future star by his former Middlesbrough manager Michael O’Neill.

Steven Gerrard signed Jones from Scottish Premiership rivals Kilmarnock on a four-year pre-contract deal last year but the Rangers winger has been reprimanded by the Ibrox boss for bringing the game into disrepute.

His career seems to be in danger of going off the rails big time as he finds himself in a precarious position at the club, having last played for Rangers against Livingston in a brief cameo before the international break.

Now it transpires that he actually earns more than Joe Aribo, which we can’t quite get our heads around, as the Nigerian has been an integral part of Gerrard’s side so far this season, with a tally of four goals in eleven games to his name.

It’s fair to say that Ross Wilson simply can’t afford to keep the 25-year-old for much longer, especially when you consider the fact he has hardly featured at all for the first team so far this season, irrespective of his suspension.

Jones currently earns wages worth £9,100-per-week as per his contract despite the fact he finds himself on the fringes of the squad.

In his 19 appearances for the Gers, he has only managed to contribute one goal and two assists in all competitions, which is a pretty meagre return for a player who was once tipped to take the club to the very top.

Therefore, Wilson must cut his losses and get rid of the outcast once and for all, otherwise he will most likely be left to rot on the bench for the rest of the season.

AND in other news, Forget Barisic: Rangers striker Jermain Defoe has sent Gerrard a timely reminder…

Marcel Brands must deliver Leon Bailey to Everton next summer amid reports the Blues will scout the Bayer Leverkusen winger on Thursday night.

What’s the word?

According to the Daily Mail, the Toffees will have keen eyes fixed on Bayer Leverkusen’s Europa League Group Stage tie at home to Slavia Prague as they weigh up a potential 2021 move for the Jamaican.

Peter Bosz is expected to name Bailey in the starting line-up for the top of the table clash, with both sides vying for first place in Group C having already guaranteed their progression through to the Round of 32.

Bailey has become the figurehead of Leverkusen’s midfield following the departure of Kai Havertz in the summer, but has stepped into the Chelsea star’s shoes with five goals and six assists across all competitions.

The 23-year-old was forced to miss the start of the season after attending sprinter Usain Bolt’s birthday party in Jamaica, but hit the ground running to help guide the BayArena natives to sit just a point behind leaders Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga standings.

Only striker Lucas Alario (10) has netted more often for Die Werkself thus far this term, too, while a string of standout displays have sparked Everton, plus Arsenal, Tottenham, Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan to place Bailey on their radars.

The Toffees and Spurs were touted as potential destinations for the 23-year-old, who has never hidden his dream to play in the Premier League, this summer.

Richarlison 2.0

Bailey has been seen as a player on Brands and his scouting team’s radar for several months now, and will no doubt be one of the stars of the show when Bayer Leverkusen host Slavia Prague on Thursday.

Bailey has forever been lauded since breaking onto the scene in Germany back in 2017, with Ajax youth coach Ronald de Boer a known fan of the wing wizard.

“He’s so fast, it’s not normal. His speed, combined with his technique, is very rare. Exceptional. He has no weak points,” De Boer once noted.

Leverkusen head coach Bosz, too, can only wax lyrical over the 23-year-old’s abilities, claiming earlier this season how Bailey is just getting better and better after a troublesome 2019/20 campaign featuring seven goals and three assists but two red cards and muscular injuries.

“Leon had it very hard, last year and early this season,” Bosz said after a win over Augsburg, in which Bailey set-up Moussa Diaby’s goal. “But I see that he gets better with every game – physically, but also in terms of his football.”

Brands faces a mammoth fee to lure a second Richarlison-type to Goodison Park, though, as reports this summer claimed Leverkusen had slapped a price tag of just over £40million on the 8-cap international who came close to joining Bayern Munich for £55m in 2018.

AND in other news, Everton already have their answer to a 48-goal target “every coach wants”.

Glasgow Rangers have a pretty stacked squad after a hefty summer spending spree, but if there’s one position Steven Gerrard still needs to fill, it’s a goalscoring, box-to-box midfielder.

What was the story?

Reports in recent times revealed that Rangers were interested in signing Lewis Ferguson from Scottish Premiership rivals Aberdeen after Gerrard had identified the former Hamilton Academical academy product as one of his top targets in the summer.

In the end, the Gers signed Bongani Zungu from Amiens on an initial loan deal on transfer deadline day instead. However, Glen Kamara’s future remains uncertain amid interest in the midfielder from Premier League clubs like Leeds United and Newcastle United and European giants such as Borussia Dortmund and Monaco, whilst Steven Davis’ contract is set to expire in 2021, with Gerrard remaining coy over talks of a potential extension.

Coupled with the fact that Scott Arfield also isn’t getting any younger, there may soon come a point where Rangers will have to rejuvenate their aging midfield – they have the second oldest squad in the Scottish Premiership. So, Ross Wilson must return for Ferguson in the near future.

Gerrard’s dream

Gerrard knows a thing or two about being a hardworking box-to-box player, as he carved out a career by playing as a central midfielder, featuring as a second striker, holding midfielder, an attacking midfielder, right back and right winger on several occasions as well – you get the idea.

Whilst we aren’t for one minute suggesting that Ferguson is anywhere near as good as Gerrard right now, as there is still room for improvement in terms of the diversity of his passing, he has been one of the best players for Aberdeen over the past couple of years.

Like Gerrard, the 21-year-old, who is the nephew of Rangers legend Barry Ferguson, prefers to play with his right foot. He has scored 8 goals and supplied 2 assists in the Scottish Premiership this season so far, whilst he is averaging 2.2 shots, 1.8 tackles, 1.7 interceptions and 1.2 clearances per game, via WhoScored. In contrast, even Kamara is managing fewer than one tackle, one interception and one clearance per league game, as per WhoScored.

Ferguson famously scored an overhead kick to take the Europa League qualifier against Burnley at Turf Moor to extra time. Whilst his efforts were ultimately in vain, Aberdeen boss Derek McInnes heaped praise on the youngster for his performance, saying he will “only get better.”

Granted, Gerrard isn’t short of options, as he has generally opted for a combination of Kamara, Davis, Scott Arfield, Ryan Jack and Joe Aribo in the middle of the pitch so far this term, whilst Zungu is yet to make his first-team debut for the Ibrox outfit, although he is in contention to start against Hamilton on Sunday afternoon. However, as we all know, that could all change in a matter of months when the transfer market opens again.

Ferguson won’t come cheap, as he is currently contracted until 2024 at Pittodrie, whilst the Dons are keen to keep a hold of him for as long as they can. One thing’s for sure, he’d be a perfect option for Gerrard if the chance to sign him arises once again.

AND in other news, Bassey & Balogun start, no Helander: Glasgow Rangers Predicted XI vs Hamilton…