All posts by z3u9t.icu

Some Liverpool supporters have been mocking Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s comments regarding Jurgen Klopp and Manchester United not getting penalties.

The Reds are preparing to face Brentford on Saturday evening, as they look to carry on their almost perfect start to the Premier League season.

Klopp’s men are currently level on points with Chelsea and United at the top of the table, with the title race set to be a fascinating one.

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Someone who appears to be rattled by the Liverpool manager is Solskjaer, who hinted on Friday [via Sky Sports News on Twitter] that the German is the reason his team have stopped being awarded penalties.

That dates back to Klopp stating that United were winning more spot-kicks than anyone last season, at a time when it seemed to be a freakishly regular occurrence.

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Liverpool fans mock Solskjaer’s remarks

These Liverpool fans have been mocking Solskjaer on Twitter, claiming Klopp has got into his head.

“Rattled by Kloppo. Great to see”

Credit: @Only1Seany

“Love this. In other words: ‘thanks to Klopp referees don’t give us free penalties every game now’”

Credit: @LFCTransferRoom

“These tears are delicious if I do say so myself”

Credit: @sxlang_

“I’m in tears”

Credit: @GeirIvanTorvik

“Cracking up?”

Credit: @mariustoftdahl

“We’re massive and live rent-free in the heads of each and every Premier League team. Up Jurgen’s Reds”

Credit: @advaitlfc

In other news, some Liverpool fans are fuming after a fresh injury update emerged. Read more here.

Everton’s transfer window has hardly been a barnstorming affair but the business Rafa Benitez has concluded has surprisingly paid off.

Demarai Gray is looking like an instant bargain after scoring twice in two games following a mere £1.7m move.

His goals have been vital in the Toffees securing seven points from their opening three matches but they aren’t done in the market just yet.

What’s the word?

Anything can happen in the remaining few days of the transfer window but despite Everton’s restricted finances, they are looking to conclude business.

Richarlison could still depart Goodison while James Rodriguez is looking increasingly likely to leave.

The Colombian is due to return to Porto in a swap deal involving Luis Diaz. That news broke on Friday and on Saturday, Fabrizio Romano posted an exciting update on the progress of the move.

He said: “Everton are confident to complete the agreement with FC Porto to sign Luis Díaz. Talks progressing on a permanent move – James Rodriguez expected to join Porto if salary agreement will be completed. Luis Díaz wants Everton as priority, now waiting for final agreement.”

Complete player

If Benitez can conclude a deal for the 24-year-old then he will have every right to be delighted. After all, the Toffees require an extra dose of quality in the final third to take them to the next level.

Gray has started his Everton career in scintillating fashion but if Richarlison does head for the exit door, it would leave them in the lurch.

That’s why the acquisition of Diaz is such an exciting one. He starred at the recent Copa America for Colombia, scoring four goals in five outings. He has hit the ground running in the top-flight of Portuguese football this term too.

In fact, he’s arguably been one of the best players in the division. The winger has beaten the goalkeeper on two occasions and claimed an assist in his first four outings.

Those numbers add to the nine goal involvements he managed in Liga NOS last term.

Diaz doesn’t just bring goals and assists to the table, however. He has won an impressive three aerial duels per game this term and has managed 2.3 dribbles per outing.

If we compare those statistics to those at Everton, he stands out considerably. Only Mason Holgate and Dominic Calvert-Lewin have won more aerial battles while no one has been able to replicate his dribbling.

On that evidence, he’d be a wonderful signing for Everton and a deal that surely suits the Toffees more.

They’ll be losing an unhappy ageing player and signing a young vibrant individual with the world at his feet. Benitez should be extremely pleased with Marcel Brands’ work.

AND in other news, Forget Gray: £22.5m-rated Everton dud who won 100% duels stole the show vs Brighton…

Many Everton fans are livid with the club’s transfer dealings after Seamus Coleman picked up an injury while away with Republic of Ireland on international duty.

The Toffees brought in four new players during the summer transfer window – Demarai Gray, Andros Townsend, Asmir Begovic and Salomon Rondon were the faces to make the move to Goodison Park. However, given Coleman’s previously known injury issues (Transfemarkt), it was a surprise the Merseyside outfit did not look to bring in another right-back, where Jonjoe Kenny is the only natural backup to the Irishman.

Rafael Benitez has been left in a potentially difficult position after what occurred during the international break. Coleman was in action for Ireland against Azerbaijan in World Cup qualifying on Saturday, but the 32-year-old picked up an issue and may now be a doubt for Everton’s clash against Burnley this weekend.

Unsurprisingly, many of the club’s supporters are fuming with Marcel Brands and the Toffees’ board for failing to bring in another right-back.

The fans took to social media platform Twitter to share their anger over the state of affairs.

Let’s see what these fans had to say about Coleman’s injury

“So Coleman gets injured and Everton didn’t buy the replacement. Clowns”

Credit: @beachy4579

“7 windows of incompetence by Brands”

Credit: @ste50efc

“All of a sudden I’m less confident about upcoming games…”

Credit: @shaun00012

“The club is an absolute joke – nailed on he’d get injured sooner rather than later”

Credit: @StevenRoche2

“You could write this at 22:55 on transfer deadline day. We’re Everton, make ludicrous and costly decisions & still cannot run a business no matter which multimillionaires are involved. I’ve been disgusted like never before the last few months.”

Credit: @KingMantisBand

“Well done Brands , Not signing a quality backup for Coleman is the latest in a whole string of bad judgement calls by Brands @everton. We need to give JJ his chance if our captain is out for a while. In our badly depleted squad. Anyone else wants Brands’ head.”

Credit: @chloewil82

In other news, this man spoke to Everton about a potential transfer.

Alex McLeish has been left lauding the new deal that has been given to Son Heung-Min from Tottenham Hotspur.

The Lowdown: Son contract

As confirmed on their official website, Son has signed a new four-year contract at Spurs, which will keep him at the North London club until 2025.

Fabio Paratici is ‘delighted‘ with the deal, and the South Korea international himself claimed that it was ‘easy’ to sign a new contract with Nuno Espirito Santo’s team.

The Latest: McLeish lauds Son deal

Speaking to Football Insider, McLeish, a pundit who has previously been a manager in the Premier League, has lauded the new contract given to Son, and even admitted that he had doubts that he would sign on:

“I think that’s a brilliant re-signing.

“I had my doubts that Son would stay but that is brilliant news for Tottenham fans.

“He’s been an integral part of any of the marginal success Spurs have had over the past few years. Champions League finals and all that stuff.

“He’s shown some fantastic, world-class performances against top-class clubs. I remember the Man United 6-1 game a couple of years ago.

“He’s just a dream of a footballer, a dream of a player to have in your squad.”

The Verdict: Brilliant news

As McLeish rightfully puts it, Son signing a new deal is brilliant news for the Lilywhites.

The winger had such a good individual 2020/21 term, scoring no fewer than 22 goals and supplying a further 17 assists in 51 matches in total across all competitions (Transfermarkt).

He has shown on countless occasions how reliable of a player he is in the final third, and has been rightfully rewarded with a new bumper contract.

Nonetheless, it is so important for THFC to keep their best players at the club for as along as possible, and Son certainly fits into that category.

In other news, find out what transfer claim has left Lilywhites erupting here!

Aston Villa have made a £10m offer for RC Lens midfielder Cheick Doucoure, according to Made in Lens, cited by Sports Witness.

The Lowdown: Doucoure profiled

Doucoure is 21 years of age and already has seven caps for Mali under his belt.

He’s been with Lens since 2018 and has racked up 95 appearances for the Ligue 1 side, scoring seven times, mainly as a holding midfielder.

He can also play at centre-back, has three years left on his Lens contract and appears to be at the top of his game with his career-high £5.4m Transfermarkt valuation.

The Latest: Villa bid

Made in Lens, relayed by Sports Witness, shared the story on Wednesday regarding Doucoure.

Serie A side Atalanta and Premier League giants Arsenal are thought to be on Doucoure’s case, but it is Villa who are the first club to make a bid.

The report claims that the offer was worth £10m (€12m), however, Lens are holding out for a fee in the region of €15-€18m.

The Verdict: Doucoure in Nakamba out?

With Villa firming up their interest in Doucoure with an official bid, the future of Marvelous Nakamba could well be up in the air.

Nakamba is being monitored by both Everton and Watford, and should Villa cash in on the 27-year-old, they would be in line to make a profit on the £11m they paid Club Brugge two years ago.

Should Villa manage to bring Doucoure to Villa Park, Dean Smith may well be willing to move Nakamba on – only time will tell.

In other news: ‘Biggest own goal since Xia bought the club’ – Many AVFC fans fume as ‘awful’ news is confirmed. 

Speaking to Sky Sports, pundit Sue Smith has raved over a ‘huge boost’ out of north London involving Tottenham Hotspur superstar Son Heung-min.

The Lowdown: Son contract confirmed…

Reports had indicated that the 28-year-old agreed to put pen to paper on a new deal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with Football Insider recently reporting that terms had been finalised and a deal ‘done’.

Now, as announced today, Son has indeed extended his deal in north London – signing a four-year contract which will run until 2025.

The Latest: Smith raves over ‘huge’ Son boost…

Speaking to Sky, Smith has raved over the announcement whilst predicting Spurs supporters will certainly be ecstatic with the development.

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As well as this, she describes the news as a ‘huge boost’ for the Lilywhites.

“I think it’s a huge boost for everyone linked with Spurs,” she explained to the broadcaster.

“It’s just a huge boost like I say, he’s such a good player to watch, I really enjoy watching him every week in the Premier League.

“He’s vital to Spurs’ attack, I think when they go forward in terms of his running with the ball, his running without the ball, his assists, his goals.

“He’s a really intelligent player and Spurs fans will certainly be happy that he’s been tied down.”

The Verdict: Absolutely massive…

Given Spurs supporters have been waiting for the better part of 9 months for Son to officially extend his stay, with reports emerging as far back as October 2020, this certainly comes as massive bit of news.

The South Korea star was, by some distance, Tottenham’s second-most important player behind Kane and even managed to get into the PFA Premier League Team of the Year.

Amid the noise surrounding Kane and his future, news of Son committing his future is definitely a welcome update – if the talisman does depart, Son will become the face of the club.

In other news: ‘Massive’, ‘Exactly what Levy wanted’…Sky pundit has also raved over this Tottenham Hotspur Stadium announcement, find out more here.

Luke Edwards has dropped some worrying insight on Newcastle United ace Allan Saint-Maximin.

The Lowdown: Speculation

There has recently been some speculation that Everton could make an ambitious move to try and sign Saint-Maximin before the summer transfer window shuts.

However, the French winger would likely cost in the region of £70m, which the Goodison Park faithful are very unlikely to be able to afford, although that price could be negotiated down.

The Latest: Edwards on Saint-Maximin

Writing on his official Twitter page, The Daily Telegraph journalist Edwards has shared some insight on Saint-Maximin’s current situation at St. James’ Park, claiming that he is ‘unsettled’ and that there are people around him who ‘would like’ to see him move on from the North East club:

“And on Saint-Maximin, I have no doubt he is unsettled and there are plenty of people around him who would like to get him a move, but they are same people who got him to sign a six-year contract last year and valuation is £70m+, #nufc have strong hand – no pressure to sell.”

The Verdict: Worrying

Although the Tyneside club are under ‘no pressure’ to sell Saint-Maximin as Edwards claims, the fact that he is ‘unsettled’ is certainly worrying in terms of his near future.

As good as he is, Steve Bruce will surely not want to keep a player who does not want to play for him, and with the speculation that the Toffees may come in for him, the Magpies may still opt to sell if the price is right.

Nonetheless, the Toon Army will no doubt be trying to persuade Saint-Maximin to stay, especially with the start of the new 2021/22 season just around the corner and very few players in the squad anywhere close to the level of excitement the Frenchman brings to St James’ Park.

In other news, find out what definitive takeover claim has been made here!

Tottenham Hotspur are about to be handed a timely financial boost, according to emerging reports.

It’s claimed that the North London outfit have sealed a new lucrative sponsorship deal that’ll help boost the coffers after dealing with the difficult repercussions of the pandemic over the past year.

The ever-reliable Alasdair Gold revealed the news on football.london earlier this week.

“football.london understands that Tottenham are set to boost their finances with a new training kit partner sponsorship deal, which is believed to have already been tied up and will see the new partner’s name visible on the Nike apparel,” he wrote.

Lilywhites chairman Daniel Levy stated that the club were expected to lose around £200m in revenue due to the lack of crowds and events at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, which led to him taking out a £175m loan from the Bank of England.

That has since been paid off but it’s hard to imagine that they have regained much of the funds lost throughout the previous 12 months as fans aren’t expected back in the ground until the new season gets underway.

Therefore, any new finances will surely come as a huge bonus to Levy and the club.

It is the first time that Spurs have dipped their toes into this kind of sponsorship, even though it is prevalent right across the Premier League these days.

For instance, in 2018, Liverpool struck a four-year deal worth £20m-a-year with insurance provider AXA to sponsor their training kit. That relationship has since increased to include sponsorship of their new training base.

Similarly, Manchester United had American insurance giants AON on their training tops until May and that was thought to be a £120m deal across eight years.

Now Spurs are set to join the party, you can expect a little boost to the finances and that should leave Nuno Santo absolutely delighted as he looks to stamp his authority down in N17.

He and new sporting director Fabio Paratici could now get to work on potential arrivals in the transfer market, they’ll surely be working together at Hotspur Way knowing that they have a little more money to work with.

This is a great boost for for Levy, who’ll be buzzing to get some extra funds in the Spurs account after such a difficult 18 months.

AND in other news, Paratici should seal Spurs summer swoop for “excellent” beast admired by Lionel Messi…

Celtic have registered their interest in River Plate striker Santos Borre, according to Football Insider.

The Lowdown: Borre profiled

Borre is 25 years of age and has four caps to his name for Colombia. He currently plies his trade for Argentine side River Plate but is out of contract in seven days time.

The centre-forward has scored 74 times and registered 23 assists in 212 club appearances for River Plate, Deportivo Cali and Villarreal.

He’s won five honours during his career and two individual accolades, and it seems as if the Hoops are plotting a move for the South American.

The Latest: Source shares news

Football Insider shared a story on Borre on Wednesday morning, claiming Celtic have joined rivals Rangers in the race for his services.

They have been informed by a Celtic source that the Hops have registered an interest in Borre.

The striker, currently on £11,000-a-week, is after a lucrative long-term contract, with those demands set to be pivotal when it comes to choosing his next club.

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The Verdict: A possible Edouard replacement?

Odsonne Edouard is still expected to leave Celtic despite his move to Leicester City falling through. So, should the Frenchman move on, Borre could well be a suitable replacement at Parkhead.

He has experience of playing in Europe with Villarreal and appears to be the calibre of forward required to replace someone like Edouard, who has netted 83 goals in 168 Hoops appearances.

Borre’s wage demands could also be in Celtic’s price range, with the club’s top earner Callum McGregor on £20,000-a-week.

Edouard is on £19,000-a-week in Glasgow, so perhaps Celtic could offer Borre an £8,000-a-week increase on his current salary to win the race for his services.

In other news: Charlie Wyke prefers Hoops move, find out more here. 

Aston Villa could land a massive upgrade on Anwar El Ghazi in the form of Burnley’s exciting winger, Dwight McNeil.

What’s the story?

Reports in recent days have suggested that Dean Smith’s side remain interested in signing the England U21 international this summer, and the Villa boss will know all about the danger that McNeil can cause.

He was incredible against Aston Villa

In Burnley’s 3-2 Premier League win over Villa back in January, the 21-year-old scored one and made one as the Clarets came from behind twice to win at home and silence Smith’s side.

As per Sofascore, he finished with a match rating of 8.0, which was by far the highest of any player on the pitch, and when you look at some of the key underlying numbers, it’s easy to see why.

He provided the joint-high amount of key passes for his side, delivered the most accurate crosses of any player on the day, and also came up with two shots on goal, including the one to make it 2-2.

That directness and exciting potential is something that has his teammate at Burnley, Ashley Westwood, raving about him.

He said: “He’s really mature. I think the world of him, he’s a special talent. It’s been good to see him grow up because when he first came training with us he was really quiet.

“He’s already racked up more than 50 games in the Premier League now, which at his age is phenomenal. He’s producing as well so if he keeps doing that and we all keep doing what we’re doing then there will be teams circulating.”

And, when you compare his stats to that of El Ghazi, it really is night and day.

While the Dutchman averaged more shots than McNeil, in every other department, the Burnley man betters him considerably.

As per Whosored, he averaged more key passes, dribbles and crosses per game in the Premier League, while also boasting a far better passing accuracy and being fouled more times per match too.

And, a lot of El Ghazi’s success for Villa came in just two streaks rather than any real consistency, with runs of five goals in five games in December, and then four in seven to close out the season.

Not only did he virtually take down Villa on his own, but McNeil showed on the day and over the course of the entire Premier League season, that he really would be a major upgrade on El Ghazi.

Meanwhile, Matt Maher has dropped a major Aston Villa transfer update…