All posts by z3u9t.icu

Many Glasgow Rangers fans have been left buzzing over the assist that Joe Aribo picked up for Nigeria in their 1-0 over Egypt at the African Cup of Nations.

As per footage shared by the official Twitter page of the Ibrox faithful, Aribo cushioned a header into the path of Leicester City striker Kelechi Iheanacho, who then thumped the ball into the top corner of the net to give the Super Eagles the win in their opening AFCON group game.

The 25-year-old was impressive throughout the match, winning all four of his duels, while he also recorded a successful dribble, clearance, two tackles and two key passes in total (SofaScore).

Journalists hailed his display as ‘absolutely outstanding’ and even called him the ‘best player on the pitch’, while his national side’s fans were busy comparing him to the legendary Edgar Davids.

Aribo has been linked with a move to Aston Villa in the January transfer window, and while performances like these showcase what he can do, some Light Blues supporters may now be worried that a bid could be put in from the English Premier League team, of course managed by former boss Steven Gerrard.

Rangers fans on Aribo assist

These Teddy Bears buzzed as the assist was shared on Twitter, with one even going as far as to call Aribo a ‘king’:

“Yessssss Joe!!!!”

Credit: @speedy430

“GOAT”

Credit: @SpecksRSC2

“He’s the best in the world his name is Ariboooooo”

Credit: @kyleewen14

“Unbelievable player, going be to tough to keep hold of him”

Credit: @pendy_c

“Get the new contract sorted! Give him whatever he wants.”

Credit: @FacelessRanger

“The king”

Credit: @TroyTh3Gardener

In other news, find out which Ger has now been backed to leave this month here!

An update has emerged on Newcastle United target Ousmane Dembele regarding interest from elsewhere in the Premier League…

What’s the talk?

According to Mundo Deportivo, Manchester United and Tottenham have both joined the Magpies in the race to land the French international.

The report claims that Barcelona want to keep hold of the 24-year-old and will offer him a contract extension to avoid losing him for nothing.

ASM 2.0

Eddie Howe could find Newcastle’s new Allan Saint-Maximin by sealing a deal for Dembele either in January or at the end of the season. He is out of contract in 2022 and the Magpies could land him on a pre-contract in the winter window to sign him on a free next summer or they could look to strike a cut-price deal to have him for the second-half of the campaign.

Like Saint-Maximin, Dembele is a tricky winger who can use both feet and likes to dribble with the ball to create openings for himself and his teammates. He has a career average of 2.5 dribbles completed per game, whilst the Magpies forward has a career average of 3.6 per game.

The Frenchman has also shown that he has the quality to provide end product at the top level, with 51 goals and assists in 121 games for the Spanish giants.

Barcelona president Joan Laporta claimed last year that the forward is a better player than PSG’s Kylian Mbappe, saying: “I like Ousmane Dembélé, for me it’s clear: he’s better than Kylian Mbappé. He wants to stay and we want him to stay here”

This is high praise from Laporta and highlights the natural talent of the £45m-rated beast. Mbappe has 141 goals and 74 assists in 192 games for PSG, showing his immense quality in the final third, with more than a goal contribution per match.

If the Barcelona president feels that Dembele has the ability to be better than the 22-year-old, then Newcastle could be landing a sensational player. However, at his current level he could still be a fantastic addition and excite supporters with his dribbling skills.

He has shown that he can pop up with goals and assists for Barcelona whilst regularly taking players on with the ball at his feet, much like Saint-Maximin does for Newcastle, and Dembele could get fans off their seats by committing defenders and opening up space to drive forward at the top end of the pitch. It is now over to Howe to ensure that he can get a deal over the line…

AND in other news, “Among leading NUFC targets”: David Ornstein drops transfer update which will excite fans…

The January transfer window is fast approaching and Giovanni van Bronckhorst will have his first opportunity to bring his own players to Rangers.

He joined the club last month after Steven Gerrard’s departure for Aston Villa and that means that he is yet to experience a window at Ibrox as the club’s manager.

Time’s up

With this, the ex-Feyenoord coach has the chance to both sign players and let others go, with certain moves in the market affecting other players in the squad.

One player who has been linked with the club since the 43-year-old’s arrival in Glasgow is Dutch centre-back Wesley Hoedt. The Anderlecht man is reportedly under consideration by the Gers ahead of January, with Ross Wilson having signed him during his time at Southampton in England.

Bringing Hoedt to the club could result in a centre-back being shipped out permanently to offset the place he takes up in the squad. This could mean that Nikola Katic is jettisoned from Glasgow upon the end of his loan spell with Hajduk Split in Croatia.

The 25-year-old was sent out on loan at the start of the campaign and the signing of another central defender could push him further down the pecking order at Ibrox and potentially even mean that his time at the club is up.

Back in 2019, then-Gers boss Gerrard was full of praise for Katic, saying: “The kid is a winner and a warrior. We know what he gives. Anyone his age, after giving the penalty away, might have gone into their shell. It might have affected their performance.

“But if you knock Niko Katic down, he’s gonna get back up and come again. That’s the man, that’s the player.”

As much as he may be a warrior and a leader at the back, the £10k-per-week beast could have a struggle on his hands to force his way back into the first-team picture. Calvin Bassey, Leon Balogun, Jack Simpson, Filip Helander and Hoedt could all be in his way, whilst Connor Goldson’s future also remains undecided with his contract up at the end of the season.

Upon his arrival at Southampton, Les Reed referred to Hoedt as a ‘top quality’ centre-back who had ‘proven’ his talent at Lazio in Italy. The 6 foot 3 colossus has averaged a SofaScore rating of 7.02 for Anderlecht in Belgium this season, completing 87% of his passes and making 4.2 clearances per game.

This shows why Rangers may want to sign him in January, as he has previously shown his ability at the top level in Italy and is now thriving in Belgium. His statistics and pedigree also suggest that he would not be coming to Ibrox to sit on the bench, and that is why Van Bronckhorst may be forced to offload Katic, as the prospective signing of Hoedt could leave the Croatian without a route back into the first team picture.

AND in other news, Fewer touches than McLaughlin: Rangers dud with 56% pass accuracy let GvB down badly…

Leeds have faced struggles at the top end of the pitch this season as they sit on 11 goals scored in 11 Premier League games.

Patrick Bamford has only played five league matches due to injury, scoring once in those games, and summer signing Dan James is yet to score his first goal for the club since his summer move from Manchester United.

In order to solve this issue, Marcelo Bielsa could look to the younger players in the squad to burst onto the scene and inject some fresh energy and enthusiasm in the final third instead of going into the transfer market to buy a new player.

Forget Gelhardt

One youngster who has been given a taste of Premier League action this season is the talented Joe Gelhardt. He has played twice in the top-flight, winning one penalty, and showed signs of promise. However, forget Gelhardt, there is another young player in the academy who plays in a similar position who could come through and make a big impact on the first-team – Sam Greenwood.

The 19-year-old is capable of playing across the front line, as a striker, second forward and winger, and could be a versatile, energetic, option for Bielsa to call upon.

Ex-Whites forward Noel Whelan once hailed the youngster’s ‘immense’ ability and compared him to Southampton’s James Ward-Prowse. He told Football Insider:

“Free-kicks are his forte. Immediately you think about someone like James Ward-Prowse and what an unbelievable dead ball specialist he is. When you see the goals Greenwood has scored from set pieces you put him up there on that mantle.

“It took him a couple of attempts but he got his range right in the end yesterday.

“Another player who possesses an immense amount of ability. To have a weapon like that in your side is great.

“You can see the ability he has but the free-kicks are about the hard work he puts in on the training ground and for that he deserves to be praised.”

In the Premier League 2 this season, Greenwood has five goals and three assists in 10 matches. He also scored in his one EFL Trophy appearance, showing that he can do it against senior opposition. This, along with Whelan’s comments, suggests that he could have the potential to make the step up to first-team football.

If Bielsa unleashes him and he shows a similar run of form in the Premier League and is able to find the back of the net then it could save Orta millions ahead of the January transfer window. That is why the Argentine should unleash Greenwood in the coming weeks and offer him the chance to show that he can make a difference in the top-flight to reward him for his form in the academy.

AND in other news, Possession lost 103x: “Headless” Leeds flop who’s lost 62% duels has let Bielsa down…

After rescuing a point in their previous Premier League outing and the first match in Eddie Howe’s reign at the club with a 3-3 draw against Brentford, Newcastle United are back in action this afternoon with an early kick-off against Arsenal.

In terms of injury news, as well as still having Paul Dummett out with a calf issue, Newcastle striker Dwight Gayle picked up a hamstring injury in training earlier in the week and will apparently be assessed before the match at the Emirates Stadium.

With Magpies manager Eddie Howe set to make his debut in the dugout for the club after being absent from the Brentford game due to a positive virus test, from which he has now recovered, it will be interesting to see which players he selects for his starting line-up today.

On the chalkboard

One Newcastle player who did not feature in the draw against Brentford but should be in the starting XI to take on Arsenal is Isaac Hayden.

In his 10 league games so far this season, he  has proven to be a useful defence-minded midfield option by averaging 2.4 tackles, 1.7 clearances and one interception per game.

Additionally, his overall performances have earned the 26-year-old, who is currently valued at £9m by Transfermarkt, a season rating of 6.53/10, making him Newcastle’s sixth-highest rated player at this point in the campaign according to WhoScored.

Given that Arsenal have only lost one of their nine previous league games, scoring 13 goals in the process, it could be the smart option if Howe were to restore Hayden today to add some defensive stability to the team and see if they can secure a positive result.

The 26-year-old also managed to show his predatory instincts in the opposition box by scoring in Newcastle’s 1-1 draw against Brighton & Hove Albion earlier this month.

Also, with former Arsenal midfielder Joe Willock failing to impress against Brentford, this could make it an easy decision for Howe to get Hayden back in the team at the other ex-Gunner’s expense.

Taking all this into account, Hayden definitely has what it takes to bully Arsenal’s players today, and he could well be the difference in Newcastle picking up a positive result or not.

In other news, PIF submit NUFC proposal to beast tipped to be “one of the best”, fans will be buzzing…

Nottingham Forest confirmed on Thursday morning that they are expecting their biggest crowd of the season this weekend against Blackpool.

And, as to be expected, a number of Forest fans have been reacting to the update on social media.

Steve Cooper is unbeaten in his first three games as manager after replacing Chris Hughton in September, with wins over Barnsley and Birmingham City coming after a draw at home to Millwall.

The 1-1 draw at The City Ground last month was Forest’s highest attendance of the season with 25,589 supporters in attendance.

Forest sit second on the average Championship attendance table behind Sheffield United, and it seems as if that figure will increase after the meeting with The Tangerines, with a season-high crowd expected.

Forest fans react

Forest shared the attendance update on their official Twitter page on Thursday. This is what these supporters had to say in reply, with one labelling it as ‘positive’.

“love a full City Ground. Just need every fan to get behind the team and make some noise”

Credit: @PMarshall78

“Feel good factor is back”

Credit: @DarrenWeston82

“Think it’s the most positive I’ve been for about 18 months.”

Credit: @JamieBriody

“Love this”

Credit: @NFFC_Woodz

“How quickly things change in football, the fans are buzzing again”

Credit: @NottinghamGupta

“What happens when we start playing decent football!!”

Credit: @gavreds84

Tottenham Hotspur have informed their players to prepare for the arrival of Antonio Conte.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to The Telegraph journalist Matt Law, who revealed in a post on Twitter that Daniel Levy and Fabio Paratici have told the playing staff to expect the former Juventus, Chelsea, Inter Milan and Italy manager to be leading training on Tuesday morning.

In his tweet, Law said: “Tottenham’s players have been told to prepare for the fact Conte could take training tomorrow.”

Fans will be buzzing

Considering just how impressive Conte’s CV in football management is, the news that the 52-year-old could be leading proceedings at the Tottenham Hotspur Football Club Training Ground as soon as tomorrow is sure to have left fans buzzing.

Indeed, being appointed at Juventus after mediocre seventh-placed Serie A finishes in both of the two seasons prior to his arrival, Conte not only led the team he captained as a player to the Scudetto during his first season in charge, he did so without seeing his side lose a single game.

The Italian then repeated his title-winning heroics in the following two campaigns, before leaving Turin for the previously underachieving Italian national side, who he led to the quarter-finals of Euro 2016 – losing 7-6 to Germany on penalties.

After leaving the Azzurri in the summer of 2016, Conte went on to experience his first taste of English football the following season, rather remarkably guiding a Chelsea team who had finished the previous season in 10th place to the Premier League crown in his debut campaign – picking up 93 points along the way.

One more less successful season at Chelsea followed, before the 52-year-old returned to Italy, taking over an Inter Milan outfit who had not finished higher than fourth in the league since 2010/11.

However, once again, Conte exceeded expectations in his first season in Milan, narrowly missing out on the Scudetto with a second-place finish, before securing the Nerazzurri’s first league title – and subsequently ending his beloved Juvetnus’ domestic dominance – in 10 years in the 2020/21 campaign.

As such, with Conte very much appearing to possess the ability to lift a team out of a decline and rather rapidly bringing them success – a trait that is much-needed in Tottenham’s next manager – the news that Conte looks close to becoming Nuno Espirito Santo’s successor would seem to bode very well for Spurs indeed.

In other news: Journo issues teasing 3 word Spurs manager update after Nuno sack, fans surely buzzing

West Ham United will throw the chequebook at Declan Rice in a bid to keep him at the London Stadium for the foreseeable future, according to Irons hero Frank McAvennie…

What’s the word?

During an interview with West Ham Zone this week, the former Hammers striker – who enjoyed two spells in east London – claimed the club were prepared to pay “big bucks” to tie him down for the long-term.

“Listen, from what I’m hearing the club want to keep him and they’re willing to pay big bucks.

“Now, I don’t know if he’s wanting to go somewhere. [But] I think this team [and] this squad of players, could be challenging for the Champions League for the next two or three years. I think they’ve got a decent squad, keeping everyone fit. They’ll buy more players in.

“From what I’m hearing, the owners are willing to give Declan pretty much on a par with everyone else in England, so that’s a good thing.”

Encouraging news

The 22-year-old midfielder has been continually linked with a move away in recent transfer windows, with the likes of Chelsea and both Manchester giants mooted with interest.

All three of these teams made a final of last season’s European competitions. The Blues defeating City in the Champions League, whilst United were beaten by Unai Emery’s Villarreal in the Europa League.

They can clearly offer Rice a better chance of achieving silverware sooner than West Ham can, so it would be no surprise to see him keen to join any of these teams.

During the summer, the £63m-rated star was said to have rejected fresh contract advances from the Irons’ hierarchy and according to the ever-reliable ExWHUemployee, this was because his salary was not in line with some of the club’s highest-earners, such as the rarely-seen Andriy Yarmolenko, who is thought to earn a whopping £115k-per–week in east London.

However, offering the England international a new deal that would see him match similar quality players in his position is certainly a positive step in the right direction, especially after Ex’s revelation.

Rice is believed to be on just £60k-per-week at the London Stadium, which is poor considering he has now amassed 26 caps for the Three Lions since his debut in March 2019, whilst he continues to be a major influence for West Ham under David Moyes.

Last season, he ranked amongst the Hammers’ four best performers and he has continued that form into the new campaign, where he has already registered two assists in seven starts and averaged a squad-high two interceptions per game, via WhoScored.

He’s also managing the best passing accuracy in the team (92.7%), by quite some margin, too.

If the club are indeed prepared to pay him what he wants and deserves, then it should leave much of the Irons faithful absolutely buzzing as there is the intention to put right their previous offers.

Whether he wants to stay or go remains to be seen, though given he is under contract until 2024, he’s likely to remain for at least the next season or so.

AND in other news, Newman could become an instant hit at West Ham by signing £36m-rated “world-beater”…

Ben Godfrey came under fire from numerous Everton fans for his performance in Sunday’s 1-0 defeat against West Ham United. 

The 23-year-old moved into the heart of defence alongside Michael Keane, with Yerry Mina rested after playing three games in seven days for Colombia.

Godfrey’s struggle against West Ham

Godfrey was beaten in the air by Angelo Ogbonna for West Ham’s winning goal 15 minutes from the end.

Beyond that, he finished the game with a passing accuracy of just 65.7%, ranking ninth among Everton’s starters, with only Keane and goalkeeper Jordan Pickford less precise with their distrubition (via WhoScored). In total, he lost possession 14 times over the course of the game.

Rafael Benitez’s side missed a chance to climb into the Premier League’s top four and instead find themselves in eighth place ahead of their clash with Watford next weekend.

Godfrey faces a battle to retain his place for the visit of the Hornets, with Mina’s form being hailed as ‘fantastic’.

Here’s what some Everton fans made of the 23-year-old’s display at Goodison Park yesterday, with one Toffees supporter describing the defender’s recent form as “horrendous”.

These Everton fans blast Godfrey

“What has gone wrong with Godfrey? Played poorly again and looked slow and out of breath at the end”

Credit: @syd_EFC

“Godfrey at fault for the goal, exact same thing happened at Villa. Been poor this season.”

Credit: @efc_bible

“When do we start to admit that Godfrey is not a good centre half”

Credit: @EFCparkender

“What has happened Ben Godfrey?”

Credit: @ian0p0wer

“Godfrey has been horrendous this season”

Credit: @jt1998efc

“Godfrey nowhere”

Credit: @BlueDanEFC

In other news, this team-mate of Godfrey also attracted criticism on Sunday.

Some Liverpool supporters are fuming with the fact that Jurgen Klopp has named four goalkeepers in his 2021/22 Premier League squad.

Following a quiet summer at Anfield, Liverpool only brought in defender Ibrahima Konate from RB Leipzig and failed to add further depth to their squad over the course of the transfer window.

With Xherdan Shaqiri departing for French side Lyon, Klopp confirmed his 24-man Premier League squad earlier this week, naming four goalkeepers.

Alisson and Adrian were joined by Caoimhin Kelleher and Loris Karius as the four, and some Liverpool fans aren’t happy with the German’s inclusion in particular.

The 28-year-old hasn’t appeared in a competitive fixture for the club since his nightmare Champions League final against Real Madrid, whilst Kelleher played in Premier League games with Wolves and Brighton last season.

That leaves only 20 outfield players and demonstrates Liverpool’s issues going forward with their lack of depth, although the likes of Harvey Elliott and Curtis Jones can feature without being registered due to being under 21.

Liverpool fans fume over squad

Responding to a tweet from Anfield Edition, these Liverpool fans have taken to Twitter to share their feelings on the matter, with one fan stating he would ‘tear up’ Karius’ contract.

“That looks bang average apart from the starting 11”

Credit: @TD_Tishen

“I really don’t think we need 4 GKs”

Credit: @juliabuzniak

“Why the hell is Karius still here, I’d tear up his contract. Cost us the champions league”

Credit: @frankfrance12

“We have the same amount of goalkeepers as usable attackers…..”

Credit: @LFC_James

“4 keepers? I am done with this club”

Credit: @arun_sarai

“Just sad”

Credit: @Ybr_Manu

In other news, some Liverpool fans don’t want this player to be signed. Find out more here.