All posts by n8rngtd.top

Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly eyeing a bargain swoop for Leicester City outcast Demarai Gray, with the north London outfit open to a pre-contract agreement.

What’s the word?

According to Duncan Castle, while speaking on the Transfer Window Podcast, Spurs are looking to seal Gray’s services with the winger out of contract at the end of the season and available on a free.

Gray joined Leicester in 2016 from Birmingham City and helped the Foxes to clinch their 5,000-1 Premier League title, but has found game time increasingly hard to come by since and is yet to feature in a top-flight fixture this term.

Brendan Rodgers has not chosen to include the pacey 24-year-old in any of his nine matchday squads thus far this season, either, but has previously stated that his intentions were to retain Gray nonetheless.

“He’s obviously a player we want to keep,” Rodgers said, via quotes by the Leicester Mercury. “He’s got wonderful talent. He can dribble, he can do everything. With Demarai, it’s always been about that end product, creating goals and assisting goals on a regular basis, and then working with an intensity to fit in with the structure of the team.”

But Leicester chiefs have grown resigned to losing Gray for free at the end of the season, and expect the England international to join Spurs when his £55,000-per-week contract expires.

Tottenham are believed to be interested in a deal for Gray, although it is not guaranteed the winger will move to north London with interest expected to be high given the need for homegrown players in Premier League and European squads.

Should Spurs sign him?

With Gray set to be available in the summer and able to agree pre-contracts in January, he could make a wise addition to Jose Mourinho’s squad at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and without Chairman Daniel Levy having to pay a single penny toward a transfer fee.

Mourinho and Levy will have to prove to Gray that Spurs represents the best club for him to develop his talent, though, as the winger has allegedly grown frustrated at being shunned to the fringes at Leicester.

Gray is also said to have been informed that Rodgers will not offer regular game time with his contract expiring, something that may see the winger fear a move to north London with Carlos Vinicius playing just 12 minutes, Dele Alli just 67 minutes and Giovani Lo Celso just 210 minutes in the Premier League this term.

But his potential – as described by Rodgers in a glowing endorsement of the man he believes “can do everything” – should be reason enough for Mourinho and Levy to at least try and sign Gray to a pre-contract in January, as well as adding another homegrown player for the quotas.

AND in other news, a Spurs gem who isn’t “shy” has a mountain to climb if he’s to win Jose Mourinho over.

Leeds are amongst the many high level English clubs who are keeping tabs on rising talent Dean Henderson. The goalkeeper enjoyed a success loan stint with Sheffield United, helping them achieve promotion into the Premier League and contributed to their impressive finish last season.

His strong performances for the Blades won Ole Gunnar Solskjaer over and he has featured five times for Manchester United since his return. He was deployed in their last two matches against Southampton and West Ham, which both ended in victory. However, with Spain international David de Gea still at the club, it’s unlikely Henderson will be able to overthrow the club icon just yet.

The Englishman would benefit from another loan move in January, before he considers his options for his future. He’s certainly not short of offers, receiving recent praise from the likes of former teammate Sander Berge who labelled him an “insane” player.

Leeds United are a club who are interested in his services, but signing him could be more of a curse than a blessing.

Why Leeds should avoid Dean Henderson

Snapping up the shot-stopper would be a huge move for the Whites and he would undoubtedly improve their defence. But in signing such a big talent comes the risk of him stunting the growth of Illan Meslier.

The 20-year-old was brought to the club during the summer for a fee in the region of £5million, after a superb loan spell in which he achieved promotion under Marcelo Bielsa. Whilst the step up to Premier League football has been tough on the whole team, Meslier has done well to adapt.

The Frenchman has already usurped Kiko Casilla as the Leeds No.1, so bringing another young goalkeeper to the club would only get in the way of Meslier’s progress. He has already proven to be a solid signing made by Victor Orta and he needs to keep his confidence high if he is going to be a success at Leeds.

In other news, Radrizzani must not waste money on signing Gyrano Kerk…

Carlo Ancelotti must unleash Bernard on Manchester City with the Everton manager considering changes for Monday night’s Premier League meeting.

The Toffees welcome Pep Guardiola’s Citizens to Goodison Park looking to maintain their position in second in the table after edging a nervy 1-0 win over Sheffield United at the weekend, but would fall behind the Etihad Stadium natives with a defeat.

Everton are without a win over Manchester City since January 2017 when a Ronald Koeman led side stormed to a 4-0 victory, and any hopes of claiming a first win in seven games will have to come without star forward Richarlison in the line-up.

Ancelotti has confirmed that Richarlison will miss the Monday night affair through the Premier League’s concussion protocol following his collision with Manchester United’s Eric Bailly in last week’s Carabao Cup quarter-final, which ruled the Brazilian out of Saturday’s clash with Sheffield United.

Anthony Gordon stood in for the missing Richarlison at Bramall Lane to earn his first top-flight start of the campaign, but struggled to find a groove in the game to work one-on-one situations with the Blades swamping the academy graduate.

Ancelotti ultimately saw enough from the floundering 19-year-old to replace the teen talent 10 minutes into the second half, with Bernard introduced from the bench for only his fifth league outing this term.

Bernard had been an unused substitute in five of Everton’s last six Premier League fixtures following his sole start of the season at home to Manchester United, while featuring for the final half-hour in the Carabao Cup loss to the Red Devils after opening roles in the second and third rounds.

Ancelotti must see a reason to hand Bernard his first starting call in any competition since November 7 with the Italian considering changes whilst Richarlison is still sidelined, having looked lively throughout his time on the field at Sheffield United.

Following his introduction early into the second-half, Bernard recorded 30 touches at Bramall Lane, with which he played 16 accurate passes, won three of five ground duels, took one shot, made a successful tackle and won his sole attempted dribble, per SofaScore.

The Brazilian, who Danny Mills believes is blessed with “fabulous ability on the ball”, also provided a deft delivery into Abdoulaye Doucoure for the Frenchman to tee Gylfi Sigurdsson up for the Iceland international’s match-winning strike.

Ancelotti will stand to benefit far more from Bernard and his experience against Manchester City than to see Gordon struggle again, even though the Italian is reportedly likely to make the former AS Roma target available for a January transfer.

AND in other news, Marcel Brands faces uncomfortable questions on a “wonderful” Everton gem’s Goodison Park future.

Ralph Hasenhuttl was handed a huge boost at Southampton on New Years’ Day as Stuart Armstrong committed to a new contract with the club, signing until 2024.

The Scottish international, who signed from Celtic in 2018, has established himself as a key part of the Southampton squad in recent years, having made 79 appearances, in which he has contributed 11 goals and seven assists.

The 28-year-old has been especially impressive so far this season for the South Coast club, having contributed two goals and two assists in 13 top-flight appearances, which has seen him average a solid 6.83 rating, which is comfortably better than the ratings he has posted with the Saints in the previous two seasons.

Whilst this season has seen Armstrong mainly feature as a right-winger, his versatility is also no doubt appreciated by Hasenhuttl, as he has played across the midfield and on either wing in his career thus far.

The Scottish winger has also taken the fifth-most shots in the Premier League for the Saints this season, which emphasises that he is an important player in this Southampton side from an attacking point of view.

Whilst the 28-year-old has never really rediscovered the sort of attacking output he showed during his time at Celtic, as he managed 15 goals and seven assists in 31 games in the 2016/17 season, he is showing signs of improvement with the South Coast club this season, which is something consistent with a lot of players this season, as the Saints currently sit just three points off the top four spots.

During his time with the Bhoys, manager Brendan Rodgers was full of praise for the midfielder, saying:

“The one player who stood out above them all was Stuart Armstrong.

“Technically he has everything. He’s strong. I wasn’t sure tactically how he was but he looked like he had an idea. Physically he has everything: he’s fast, he’s strong, he’s powerful.”

Therefore, it can only be good news that Armstrong has committed his long-term future to the club and hopefully he will continue to impress in Hasenhuttl’s side this season.
And, in other news, Hasenhuttl must axe Saints flop who’s stealing a wage in January amid manager admission…

David Sullivan must strike a deal with AFC Bournemouth that would see Joshua King join West Ham United during the January transfer window following the forward’s masterclass in Saturday’s FA Cup win at home to Oldham Athletic.

King has been linked with a potential return to the Premier League during the winter market with a host of sides said to be monitoring his situation at the Vitality Stadium, including the Irons, who see the Norwegian as Sebastien Haller’s likely replacement, according to The Sun.

Haller finalised a £20m deal to join AFC Ajax on Friday, leaving Michail Antonio as David Moyes’ sole senior centre-forward, while King has now entered into the final six months of his £45,000-per-week contract on the south coast.

West Ham strived to sign King during the previous transfer window but saw a £13m bid rejected, yet while the Hammers are now claimed to still value the 28-year-old at the figure, they face competition from Newcastle United and West Bromwich Albion who are willing to match Bournemouth’s £15m demands.

Sullivan is understood to be reluctant to offer more than he tabled in the summer, even though Moyes has marked King as his top January target and is thought to see the forward’s ability on the ball, willingness to lead the line and physicality as traits he would love to have in his squad.

Former England international Carlton Palmer also praised King’s energy and endeavour, but he exclusively told Football FanCast that he doubts the 51-cap international could be anything more than a squad player at the London Stadium.

However, King showed on Saturday as Bournemouth beat Oldham 4-1 in the FA Cup third round what he could offer West Ham, as the former Manchester United trainee produced a masterclass performance to open his account for the season with a brace.

King was making only his ninth outing of the campaign across all competitions, having previously been sidelined with a thigh injury and after testing positive for coronavirus, but he led the line supremely and settled the tie with two goals in the closing stages.

He struck home his first goal by heading in Adam Smith’s cross with 15 minutes left to play, before driving in a low effort four minutes from time to seal victory for Jason Tindall’s side with his third and final on-target effort of the day, per SofaScore.

The 28-year-old either beat or forced Oldham goalkeeper Will Dennis into action with each of his three shots, while creating two further chances for Bournemouth to score with two key balls from 27 accurate passes – including setting David Brooks up to break the deadlock moments before half-time.

King further took 57 touches, was successful with each of his two attempted dribbles, won six of 12 ground duels and one of four aerial contests, was fouled four times and offered two clearances.

It was a masterclass display that Premier League suitors will no doubt have taken note of, and it could leave Sullivan needing to dig a little deeper to meet Bournemouth’s demands to hand Moyes the forward he wishes to replace Haller with.

AND in other news, David Sullivan can seal West Ham’s dream Sebastien Haller heir in an “extraordinary” gem.

Recent Leeds recruit Rodrigo has made some interesting comments on his preferred position to play in. Speaking to BBC Sport, the £57,000 per week summer signing admitted that he is most comfortable operating just behind the striker.

Despite being pegged as a centre-forward, the Spaniard would rather play in support of Patrick Bamford in order to maximise threat in front of goal.

According to Transfermarkt, Rodrigo has made just four appearances in his preferred role out of his total 18 as a Leeds player. In other matches, the 29-year-old has been deployed as either a striker or attacking midfielder.

Voicing his preference and where he feels most clinical may have thrown a spanner in the works for Marcelo Bielsa. The Argentinian rarely strays from his 4-1-4-1 staple formation, which leaves little room for Rodrigo to operate in his favoured role.

However, his comments may make Bielsa sit up and listen and start to experiment more with his lineups. Leeds have struggled in attack recently, winning just four of their last ten fixtures across all competitions. Their unstoppable flair from last season seems to have dimmed since their promotion and they must dig deep to rediscover it.

The Premier League is a cruel mistress and it can chew up and spit out the lesser prepared teams with ease. After 16 years away from the top flight, the Whites can’t afford to fall at the first hurdle.

Bielsa must dare to do something different and catch his opponents off guard. Although they bagged an impressive 5-0 win over West Brom last month, Leeds have been very inconsistent with finding the back of the net. They also rely heavily on Bamford, who is the club’s leading scorer by a landslide right now, with 10 goals to the next in line’s three, via BBC Sport.

Switching up his formation and trusting in players like Rodrigo’s ability could transfer Leeds and spark up their clinical nature once again.

In other news, Marcus Tavernier would be ideal Jack Harrison replacement…

For Leeds, their season has been a very inconsistent affair. Their opening two games saw a scoreline of 4-3 but entertainment has followed in its droves since then.

Marcelo Bielsa likes his team to play wonderful free-flowing football but that often leaves them open at the back.

You only need to look at their wretched run of form in 2021 so far. The Whites are yet to win, yet to score and have conceded seven times in three outings.

Considering how 2020 panned out for Leeds, the New Year has been in stark contrast. Though, there are still positives to be had.

One of which is the performances of Brazilian winger Raphinha. The attacker arrived in the summer for a fee of £17m but it’s hard to suggest many supporters knew anything about him.

He’d played just one season in Europe’s top five leagues but on the contrary, was a player that Victor Orta had been tracking for a while. In fact, the Spaniard was watching Raphinha when he was still playing in Portugal.

The 23-year-old learnt his trade at Vitoria Guimaraes and then Sporting Lisbon, before moving to Rennes in France. His impressive and consistent displays subsequently earned him a move to the Premier League.

Since signing, he has been nothing but superb. Although he’s contributed to just four goals in the top-flight so far, his dazzling dribbling skills leave plenty of defenders face down in the turf. He is a wily character, a winger full of tricks, creativity and most importantly work rate.

An attacker player can have all the talent in the world but if he doesn’t put in the hard yards for a manager like Bielsa then they’re destined to fail under him. You only need to look at Jean-Kevin Augustin’s ill-fated spell in England for context there.

It’s a big achievement to work yourself into Bielsa’s good books this quickly but that’s exactly what Raphinha has done, racking up 1.5 dribbles per game – a team-high.

It takes plenty to impress the Leeds boss, but it also takes something to impress pundit Graeme Souness, someone who gave the youngster the seal of approval earlier this term. He said: “He’s a flair player but works his socks off. I think there’s a goal in him. There’s lots to like about him.”

Clinton Morrison echoed those thoughts in December, commenting: “He’s brought into it. He works hard. He tracks back. And he creates chances. But he’s just so lively. He doesn’t hug the touchline. What he does is that he comes in off the line and he makes it difficult for fullbacks to mark him. I think he has been an excitement for Leeds and long may it continue.”

That is the primary difference between a player like him and Helder Costa. The Portuguese has struggled for game time this season and doesn’t work nearly as hard as Raphinha does. That speaks volumes when you consider the latter has only been at Elland Road for a matter of months.

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

For evidence of how hard Raphinha works, you only need to assess the number of loose balls he has recovered. Per game, the Brazilian recovers 6.83 balls per game, that’s just 0.01 behind Jack Harrison.

A further litmus for his hard work is the amount of progressive ball carries the £60k-per-week earner makes per game compared to his teammates. Once more, he is ahead of Costa.

Raphinha carries the ball forward towards the penalty area on average 6.63 times per 90 minutes. Costa, by comparison, has only done so 4.4 times.

The canny winger may provide plenty in attack but ultimately, it’s his work rate that has made him such a genius piece of business from Orta. Given his potential, too, £17m is looking like a snip.

AND in other news, Leeds could find their new Roofe by signing £27k-p/w beast with a “love of scoring”…

Tottenham Hotspur’s defensive frailties were once again exposed on Sunday evening as they were defeated for a second successive time in a week.

Indeed, Jose Mourinho’s men followed up their embarrassment against Liverpool in midweek with a loss at Brighton, meaning their chances of breaking into the top four this season have taken a serious hit.

The 58-year-old tinkered his backline again, snubbing Serge Aurier entirely and axing mainstay Eric Dier, but it failed to pay off. It’s becoming increasingly clear that he doesn’t trust his current defensive options.

And that much can be seen by a recent claim from the Evening Standard’s Dan Kilpatrick, who wrote last week:

‘Mourinho wants his own transformative signing, a defender who could have the same impact on Spurs as Van Dijk at Liverpool or Ruben Dias at Man City.’

Well, if Spurs are going to achieve a signing of that proportion, then they should be looking no further than a player who they have not only been linked with in the past few days but one that has drawn serious comparisons to the Liverpool colossus.

According to BILD’s head of football Christian Falk, Spurs are one of the teams eyeing up a move for RB Leipzig titan Ibrahima Konate, who is said to have a release clause of €40m (£35m).

Mourinho recently blamed Fulham’s late equaliser on Davinson Sanchez and Dier, Alderweireld had been snubbed from four of their last five league games until last night and that display has done himself no favours at all, whilst summer arrival Joe Rodon still “has a lot to learn” and he was at fault when Sadio Mane scored for Liverpool in midweek.

It’s no wonder the Spurs boss seeks that ‘transformative’ central defender and perhaps Konate could be exactly that.

Bundesliga.com likened his playing style to that of Van Dijk, they wrote:

‘Whether it be in terms of positioning, sticking tight to the striker, intercepting passes, tackling or building from the back, Konate cannot just do it all, he makes it look easy. He has the pace to match the quickest of attackers and the physique to bully.’

Upon signing the Frenchman for the Bundesliga outfit, former Leipzig sporting director and head coach Ralf Rangnick lauded him a “highly-gifted player” who is a “top talent.”

At only 21, he has already gone onto prove these words to be true.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/spurs-deadline-day-latest-news-transfer-rumours-and-more” title=”Deadline day is here: Read the latest Spurs news, transfer rumours and more!”]

During the 2018/19 season, only three other German-based players to start 23 or more matches graded better than Konate (7.19) as per WhoScored ratings, whilst throughout his relatively short career to date, he’s become a rock-solid defender.

On average, the 6 foot 4 centre-back has been a colossal presence in the air, managing 2.9 aerial duels won per 90 minutes, whilst he’s a hard man to bypass having also managed 1.8 tackles per 90 at a success rate of 78%, via WhoScored.

By comparison at Spurs this term, Dier only manages 0.5 tackles per 90, whilst Alderweireld matches Konate’s numbers, which is a good sign towards him being a nice fit for Mourinho’s backline.

Konate is similar in stature to Van Dijk at 6 foot 4 inches and based on the above, there can’t be a more suitable candidate to fulfil Mourinho’s desire for a transformative beast in the heart of his backline.

Spurs missed out on Dias in the summer and couldn’t seal a deal for Milan Skriniar, but as he’s only 21, Konate could be the long-term piece that The Special One needs to revamp Spurs’ fortunes.

£35m could be a bargain compared to the £75m Liverpool paid for Van Dijk and £65m that Man City paid for Dias.

Daniel Levy must get this deal done, whether that’s now or later in the year.

AND in other news, Forget Eriksen: Spurs need £30m “goal threat” who’s “perfect for Jose”….

Leeds United enjoyed a solid summer transfer window last year, signing the likes of Illan Meslier on a permanent deal and exciting winger Raphinha. Business was silent in January but Victor Orta and co will be looking ahead to when the market opens up once again this summer as they hope to bring in more reinforcements.

However, they will likely be looking at some departures from Elland Road as well. One man who looks set to be leaving the club is outcast left-back Barry Douglas.

Football Insider reports that the Whites are planning to let the 31-year-old depart upon the expiry of his contract in four months’ time, regardless of performances this season.

Douglas has spent the 2020/21 campaign on loan with Blackburn Rovers, where he has played just 18 matches across all competitions. He missed three matches due to coronavirus and was left out of the match day action on four different occasions, as per Transfermarkt.

Since joining Leeds back in 2018, Douglas has made a total of 44 appearances and struggled to adapt to the revolutionised full-back role of contributing to the attack. He has just five assists to his name in that time.

Despite the fact Marcelo Bielsa is short on defensive options, especially with Ezgjan Alioski being linked with leaving the club as well, it shows that Douglas really has ran down his time at Elland Road. The Scot is currently on a £40,000 per week deal, which will be money that Andrea Radrizzani could do without spending.

The Whites don’t have a massive warchest like some of their Premier League counter-parts, and will need to be shrewd with their dealings.

If Leeds are to bring in some new signings in the summer, they will need to free up some wages and having Douglas’ £40,000 wages off the books will be a huge boost for when Orta gets down to business in the transfer market.

Douglas simply hasn’t cut it for Bielsa, with The Athletic’s Phil Hay even remarking earlier this season that the left-back is “on the fringes” of things at Elland Road.

Cutting their losses on him this summer just seems like the best step for all parties involved, and Radrizzani will be happy that the club are finally making a ruthless call.

In other news, Marcelo Bielsa new deal is huge boost for Leeds…

Leeds have been handed an injury setback ahead of the Premier League clash against Southampton tonight, with Marcelo Bielsa confirming that Kalvin Phillips will once again be missing from action.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of the game against the Saints, Bielsa said: “He’s not available for tomorrow’s game. Rodrigo also. But Llorente is back. Berardi is evolving, the same as Poveda. Forshaw is in a process which is a lot slower.”

He added: “I’ve been saying it since the day they’ve been injured, but I’ll say it again. Rodrigo slipped in the game against Leicester and his legs separated a big width apart and he has a small problem in the inside of his groin. Kalvin has a muscular problem in his calf.”

Given that Bielsa spoke ahead of the Arsenal game that his midfield talisman was almost touch-and-go to play against the Gunners, he may have been expecting to have the England international back for tonight’s game, but it seems that the problem with Phillips is a little more serious than first thought.

Of course, with it being a muscle injury, the Leeds boss is being understandably cautious, no doubt on the recommendation of the club’s medical staff.

And with still plenty of games to go in the Premier League, simply rushing him back only for him to break down again and be out for even longer, would be bordering on negligence on the part of Bielsa.

But that is no assurance to the Argentine, who will once again be without one of his key players when Southampton make the trip to Elland Road tonight.

The Whites have lost the last three Premier League games that Phillips has missed, while Darren Bent has previously spoken about the kind of importance of the England international.

He said: “It is a unique role, and you think who else can they get in that position who can do the job effectively. The answer to that is no one. He’s that good of a player that it’s hard to replace him.”

Phillips – valued at £17.5m by CIES – has been an ever-present under Bielsa, playing 105 games for the manager, and developing into a full England international under his guidance.

Make no mistake about it, given Leeds’ results with Phillips being out, and just how important he is, the whole situation is surely a major concern to Bielsa. The Whites boss will be incredibly worried about how long he’ll be without his midfield maestro.