All posts by n8rngtd.top

Sunderland have had a horrible habit in recent years of letting their academy gems walk through the exit door for not very much money.

Sam Greenwood was one of the first to start the trend. He departed Sunderland for Arsenal in 2018 and is now on the cusp of senior football with Leeds United.

Josh Maja is the most high profile case. His agent convinced him his future lay elsewhere and he left for Bordeaux in January 2019. Now playing at Fulham in the Premier League, there seems to be a familiar trend here.

Other young prospects like Joe Hugill, Bali Mumba, Luke Hewitson, Morten Spencer and Logan Pye have also all departed.

Though, if you cast your mind back to 2014, there is a name who is arguably doing better things than any of those mentioned above.

That happens to be John Egan. The centre-back never made a first-team appearance for the Mackems before being released seven years ago.

He subsequently joined Gillingham on a free transfer, before moving to Brentford and then Sheffield United.

The Irishman has been a wonderful presence in the Blades’ backline, very rarely missing a game. He played 44 matches during their promotion-winning campaign from the Championship in 2018/19 and since they were promoted, he’s been absent for only two games.

During that time, the 28-year-old has become an established international, earning 12 caps for his country, the Republic of Ireland.

Egan has very much become a classic case of one who got away. The defender is Premier League proven and was part of a backline that proved one of the best in the top-flight last term.

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The former Sunderland academy graduate helped Sheffield United to the fourth-best defensive record in the entire division. They conceded 39 times, a better tally than Arsenal, Tottenham and Chelsea.

Egan has come on leaps and bounds over the last few years, being described as “rock-solid” by Chris Wilder.

It’s unsurprising, therefore, that his value has risen so dramatically. Released on a free transfer by Sunderland all those years ago, he is now rated at an eye-catching £9m by Transfermarkt.

That kind of fee is one to bulk at, especially for a club now plying their trade in League One. As the Black Cats tumbled down the leagues, it would have been difficult for them to keep hold of him.

That being said, they got rid of him at a time when they were in the Premier League. He has since proven he is up to the challenge of performing at that very level.

AND in other news, Rarely-seen 18 y/o could rival Diamond at Sunderland, he’s a “talented lad”…

Carlo Ancelotti should urge Everton to seal the Italian a reunion with SSC Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly and sign a commanding partner for Ben Godfrey this summer.

What’s the word?

According to Football Insider, Koulibaly tops Everton’s shortlist for defensive signings after Ancelotti made centre-back upgrades a priority for the next transfer window.

The Italian tactician is understood to be chasing the arrival of a world-class option capable of delivering the same level of impact that Liverpool saw from £75m signing Virgil van Dijk and that Manchester City have benefited from with their £65m capture Ruben Dias.

Everton chiefs are understood to be structuring a deal that would see the Goodison Park outfit sign Koulibaly, despite knowing a move for the Senegalese powerhouse would have little resale value as he turns 30 in June.

Napoli had demanded £69m for Koulibaly’s exit amid interest from Liverpool and Manchester United last summer, but reports by Gazzetta dello Sport via FourFourTwo have claimed the Serie A side are now willing to slash their asking price.

The Diego Armando Maradona Stadium hierarchy believe this summer is the right moment to sell the 43-cap international, as Koulibaly will have two years remaining on his £195,000-per-week contract come the end of the season.

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Ancelotti has instructed Director of Football Marcel Brands and his team to target a new centre-half in the off-season, as he does not believe Everton’s current options have the right skill set to work together long-term.

Michael Keane has opened the most Premier League fixtures at centre-half for the former Napoli head coach at 25 from a possible 28 so far this season, while Yerry Mina has started 19, Ben Godfrey has opened 11 of his 21 outings in the centre and Mason Holgate six of 18 appearances.

Should Everton sign Napoli’s Koulibaly?

A move for Everton to sign Koulibaly in the summer would likely still come with a hefty price tag, despite the reports from Italy that Napoli are willing to lower their asking price for the £54m-rated titan.

Koulibaly’s representatives from Lian Sports Group will likely also push for a hefty wage after securing Leroy Sane a £298k-p/w deal when he left Manchester City for Bayern Munich last summer, which was more than three times the salary the German was on at the Etihad Stadium.

But Ancelotti convincing Everton’s owner Farhad Moshiri to sanction a swoop could see the Italian acquire a dream partner for Godfrey, who the Toffees boss is said to consider as the best of his current central defenders and the one with the most potential.

Blues supporters are often bowled over by Godfrey’s performances, as well, with the £20m signing from Norwich City earning a wealth of praise for his efforts against Manchester City in the FA Cup last Saturday despite losing the quarter-final tie.

Koulibaly could be the perfect partner for Godfrey, having been lauded by Kevin Campbell as an “excellent” target for Arsenal last summer, while former Chelsea star Craig Burley claimed “is Koulibaly a great get for most clubs? Absolutely, he is a fantastic centre-half,” amid Liverpool and Manchester United’s interest.

Koulibaly’s experience and knowledge could also help Godfrey fulfil the potential Ancelotti sees in him, even if bringing the 6 ft 1 brute to Goodison Park would likely be an expensive operation for Everton.

AND in other news, Everton are monitoring a £17m ace dubbed the next Erling Haaland…

What promised to be a Premier League thriller between Leeds and Chelsea ended 0-0 at Elland Road, with Marcelo Bielsa’s side earning a rare draw.

The Whites were involved in only their second 0-0 stalemate of the league season, but things could have been different had some first half opportunities in particular go their way – most notably an effort from Tyler Roberts which struck the crossbar, with the same player having a goal ruled out for offside.

Given Chelsea’s imperious form under new manager Thomas Tuchel – the latest result seeing the Blues remain unbeaten under the German – a point is certainly a more than credible result.

One man who let Bielsa down, though, was Jack Harrison.

The Manchester City loanee was drafted back into the starting line-up in place of Helder Costa having been dropped to the bench in the last couple of weeks.

However, aside from one delicious cross early on, Harrison just couldn’t seem to get involved in the game, instead spending most of his time just trying to chase Chelsea down rather than offering anything note with the ball.

He had fewer than half the number of touches of goalkeeper Illan Meslier (23 to 50) and made far fewer passes (eight) than the Leeds shot-stopper (21) too, while he failed to provide a single key pass or have a shot on goal – the game just seemed to pass him by offensively, with much of his side’s best openings coming through Roberts.

While Harrison, to his credit, worked hard, he wasn’t his usual snappy self tracking back either – this season, he has averaged 1.6 tackles per game in the Premier League, but made none against the Blues this afternoon and also lost both of his duels.

Writing in his post-match player ratings for Leeds Live, Beren Cross gave him the Whites’ joint-lowest score of five, adding: “Another difficult afternoon for the loanee. One excellent cross which deserved to be buried, but anonymous otherwise.”

After being handed the chance to start, Harrison just couldn’t deliver on his opportunity, and that surely would have frustrated Bielsa.

Manchester United were frustrated in their attempts to cut the gap at the top of the Premier League table as they were held to a 0-0 draw by Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.

The Red Devils stuttered throughout the game, struggling to get any real attacking rhythm going.

One of the main culprits of that was Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani, who returned to the starting lineup having missed the last four matches with a muscular injury.

It was certainly not the glorious return that he might have envisaged.

The former Paris Saint-Germain man struggled to really threaten the home side’s defence all evening, eventually having just 23 touches of the ball according to WhoScored – just six more than United goalkeeper Dean Henderson.

When he did receive the ball, he was not able to do much with it. The striker, rated at £10.8m, only managed to complete 16 passes, the lowest of the entire starting XI, with just one of those passes being classed as a key pass.

As a matter of fact, his pass accuracy was worse than any other Manchester United player who managed to get on the pitch during the entire match.

Whilst he did manage to have two shots on goal, neither of them were on target or forced Palace stopper Vicente Guaita into any kind of strenuous work.

Cavani was eventually withdrawn in the 75th minute for Daniel James, having endured a fruitless evening in front of goal.

Prior to his injury, has was in a rich vein of goalscoring form in the Premier League having netted crucial strikes against Fulham and Everton, whilst also managing to find the net in the 9-0 demolition of Southampton.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will hope that the Uruguayan turns in better displays as he recovers his match fitness following his time out of the team.

And in other news, take a look at how Manchester United could look to offload Phil Jones…

After booking their passage into the last 16 of the Europa League on Wednesday night, Tottenham turn their attentions back towards the Premier League as they take on Burnley at home.

Jose Mourinho’s side suffered defeat last time out in the top-flight, falling to a 2-1 loss to London rivals West Ham. That game saw the Spurs boss make a couple of half-time changes to try and spark a comeback, and while it didn’t prove to be fruitful in the end, it did underline that one man simply has to be dropped: Erik Lamela.

The Argentine was one of those hooked at the interval at the London Stadium by the manager, with Gareth Bale coming on in his place. The Welshman was unlucky not to find himself on the score-sheet after striking a volley onto the crossbar, while it was his corner that saw Lucas Moura head home.

Lamela, on the other hand, delivered another disappointing display to add to his collection of below-par performances this season, with the West Ham game meaning that the £80k-a-week earning man has still yet to score or provide an assist in the Premier League this season – a truly woeful return for someone who has played out wide on the right and even as a number ten.

Former Villa striker Gabby Agbonlahor delivered a scathing verdict on Lamela’s performances earlier this month, saying: “He’s not the same player he used to be, Lamela.

“When I watch him now, he doesn’t really get past anyone, he doesn’t score or assist. I think Jose Mourinho is just playing him because he’s annoyed at Gareth Bale. He’s just playing Lamela because he’s got nobody else to play. If Jose Mourinho is given a bit of money he will definitely get rid of Lamela.”

But, with Bale arguably producing his best 45 minutes in a Spurs shirt against West Ham last time out in the Premier League, and Mourinho himself claiming that the Welshman is in the best shape he’s been since joining the club, the time has surely come for the 31-year-old to get his chance in the starting line-up.

And that means making a ruthless call on Lamela and dropping him against the Clarets on Saturday afternoon. The fact is that the Argentine has been holding Spurs back with his lack of end product this season, and it’s about time Mourinho takes action.

Leicester hit a roadblock in the Premier League this afternoon as they were well beaten on home soil by Leeds United. The newly-promoted Whites made easy work of brushing aside the title hopefuls, despite their early opener.

Harvey Barnes put the Foxes ahead but Leeds responded immediately as just two minutes later, the visitors were on the scoresheet thanks to Stuart Dallas, with two more goals coming in the second half to put the game to bed.

It was a weak performance from Leicester as a whole, but Brendan Rodgers must be particularly disappointed with centre-back Wesley Fofana.

Fofana stats vs Leeds

Patrick Bamford is undoubtedly one of the Premier League’s most clinical strikers. His goal and two assists this afternoon took his season tally up to ten goals and three assists in 19 appearances, as per Transfermarkt.

However, he can be silenced. Before playing Leicester, he was on a three-game goal drought and had struggled to make an impact against Spurs, Brighton and Newcastle. But today, he clearly had his shooting boots on.

Fofana was unable to deal with the Englishman’s threat and contributed to the poor defensive display from the Foxes. According to Sofascore, the £30million summer signing completed just 68% of his attempted passes and had fewer touches (37) than goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel (42). Fofana also completed more clearances against Everton (4) compared to today’s performance of just two.

These are not great stats for a centre-back who has been solid in his previous appearances. For example, in his last game against Everton, he took 105 touches and was confident in completing 85 of his 96 attempted passes.

Whilst it won’t warrant him being dropped for the next match against Fulham, Rodgers will be more than aware that this wasn’t a performance of Fofana’s usual calibre, both with and without the ball.

In other news, Exclusive: Rob Lee tips James Justin for big England future…

In October 2019, Andrea Radrizzani told The Times that finance from Qatar Sports Investments could put Leeds on a pedestal with Manchester City.

Extra assets from Middle Eastern shores has long been a subject of interest at Elland Road but despite Radrizzani being close with QSI chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi things haven’t materialised beyond a general chat in a restaurant.

Instead, the Leeds owner looked towards American shores to secure extra money for the football club. The interested party happened to be the San Francisco 49ers.

Their attraction to Leeds has been well documented and they were already involved in the financial aspects of the football club. Though, they will have even more power now after a reported £50m investment from America was gleefully accepted by Radrizzani.

As a result, Paraag Marathe – the 49ers Enterprises President – has become the vice-chairman at Leeds and in the process, secured 37% of the club.

It’s a move that has the potential to be game-changing for Leeds. Their finances might not stretch to the degree that QSI have ploughed cash into Champions League runners-up PSG but it could help take Leeds to a new level.

But why is that? Well, the 49ers and Leeds share similar thoughts and ideas.  Marathe has helped take the San Francisco 49ers from a struggling NFL franchise to one that reached the Super Bowl in 2020.

Speaking to ESPN this week, Leeds’ new vice-chairman said: “Leeds today reminds me of the 49ers 15 years ago. Both teams with a great fanbase and history. The 49ers had such great success in the ’80s and ’90s, like Leeds in the ’70s, and both were struggling a little bit on and off the pitch and the 49ers were playing, at the time, at the oldest un-renovated stadium in the NFL.”

Marathe consequently helped his NFL franchise to build a new stadium and in his words, it “completely transformed” the entire business and team. He reveals that’s something he wants to do at Leeds and that follows a similar tune to Angus Kinnear.

The Leeds managing director previously revealed that he had ambitions of extending Elland Road but it looks as though the club’s new investors could take that to a level.

Marathe added: “We have the right people, the expertise and the playbook blueprint to be able to intellectually grow our broader organisation and we wanted to go into the Premier League and use that expertise to be able to help another club grow in the same way that we grew the 49ers from a bottom-tier franchise to a team which came a few minutes short of winning the Super Bowl last year.”

Leeds are certainly an ambitious club and they’ve already achieved great things under Marcelo Bielsa. His tactical nuances coupled with an adept hierarchy could lead to incredible achievements.

“We want to be in the Premier League for the next 2-3-4-5 years and beyond and then it’s qualify for the Europa League and then the Champions League, to be competing with the best clubs,” Marathe remarked.

Of course, those could be famous last words but as the vice-chairman says, Leeds already have the infrastructure in place for success.

If a fancy new stadium is built, it will only become an even greater lure for new players. The Whites have already been in the Champions League before – it’s time to bring those days back.

If they achieve that, the 49ers will undoubtedly have played a considerable part in making it happen.

AND in other news, Leeds could save millions by unleashing rarely-seen 20 y/o, he’s endorsed by Ian Harte…

Everton’s Premier League match with Aston Villa being postponed will come as an unlucky break for Abdoulaye Doucoure.

According to The Guardian, the Birmingham-based outfit were hopeful of seeing the game, originally scheduled for Sunday, delayed as Dean Smith’s entire squad is currently in self-isolation after nine players and backroom staff tested positive for Covid-19.

The outbreak forced Villa to name a team consisting of Under 23 and Under 18 players for their FA Cup clash with Liverpool at the weekend, and are not due to have their senior figures available again until Sunday at the earliest.

Villa were said to be concerned about the prospect of heading straight into a top-flight clash with Everton having not trained for almost two weeks, though delaying the match will mean the claret and blue side will have played three fewer fixtures than some clubs.

The Premier League opting to delay Everton’s trip to Villa Park will be a frustrating late decision for Carlo Ancelotti and his side, who were looking to move back inside the top-four places with a win after Manchester City’s 1-0 win over Brighton and Hove Albion on Wednesday night demoted them to fifth.

Everton are also enjoying a strong run of form in the top-flight, with the Blues’ 1-0 defeat at home to West Ham United on New Year’s Day their sole loss in seven league fixtures.

Doucoure, who earns £75,000-a-week according to Spotrac, will be dealt a personal blow by the postponement, too, having been set to miss the West Midlands affair through suspension after being shown a fifth yellow card of the campaign during his side’s 2-1 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers earlier this month.

Being given an additional week’s rest would have come as a lucky break for Doucoure had he not been suspended, as Ancelotti has begun to worry that the 28-year-old is being overused having playing the full 90 minutes in 10 of the Toffees’ last 11 Premier League fixtures.

“He is a key player, it was a fantastic signing in the summer,” said Ancelotti. “He is a fantastic guy and fantastic professional. I think he deserves to rest.”

The Villa fixture being postponed will instead see Doucoure sit out Everton’s home game with Leicester City on January 27, in a crunch fixture for the Toffees as they are currently competing with the Foxes for a Champions League spot.

Brendan Rodgers’ King Power Stadium natives currently sit above Ancelotti’s side on goal difference alone, having scored just three times more than Everton after the opening 17 games.

Ancelotti will likely have preferred to see Doucoure miss the Villa game with Smith’s men not match sharp and being without a league win since Boxing Day, while Leicester are unbeaten in four games and have lost just once on the road all season.

Doucoure has also been an instrumental figure on the pitch for Ancelotti, with the midfielder offering the third-most passes (862) by any Everton player in Premier League fixtures – only defenders Michael Keane (1064) and Yerry Mina (960) see more of the ball, per WhoScored.

The former Watford ace has also offered the fourth-most key passes (12) and fifth-most shots (13), showing the offensive threat Ancelotti will now lack against a Leicester side who give up the fourth-least efforts on goal when away from home with 10.4 allowed a game.

AND in other news, Everton must refrain from making a knee-jerk decision to sign a £9m-rated target…

It wasn’t quite the embarrassing night of the 1986/87 season but Wolves tried their best to fluff their lines against Chorley on Friday evening.

Nuno Santo’s team have been desperately poor in recent weeks, and after their win over the National League North side have now only won three of their last 11 outings.

If anything summed up their abject performances of late it was the display they put in as they made it through to the fifth round of the FA Cup.

On paper, this was a mismatch. Wolves should have been easily out of sight given the opposition, but although they didn’t lose as they did to Chorley over 30 years ago, they were incredibly poor.

Going forward, Nuno’s side were devoid of confidence and authority. For large spells of the game, their non-league hosts looked comfortable and dare we say it, they even looked the better team.

Wolves’ only shot on target in the entire game produced the goal. It was a special one too from Vitinha who let fly from range, but beyond that, there was nothing to write home about.

The Old Gold completed just 25% of their crosses and carved out fewer goal-scoring opportunities than Chorley. A large reason behind that was the performance of Patrick Cutrone.

This was the Italian’s first start since returning from a loan spell with Fiorentina and on his big audition to Nuno, he completely failed. This was a week where Cutrone simply had to prove himself to the manager too.

Willian Jose has arrived from Real Sociedad on loan and thus, the Italy international could be heading for the exit door. After this performance, it proved why.

The striker isn’t good enough and cut an isolated figure against non-league opposition. Truth be told, Cutrone was anonymous.

He completed just 11 passes from 18 attempted, finishing with a success rate of only 61%. For context, only goalkeeper John Ruddy and substitute Adama Traore completed fewer passes in the Wolves side.

The 23-year-old’s tally of 24 touches, meanwhile, was the same as Ruddy’s and only more than Traore and another of Nuno’s substitutes in Pedro Neto.

Against opposition like Chorley, Cutrone should have run riot. Instead, his effort was minimal, registering just two attempts at goal.

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It would be extreme to call this a horror show but Nuno must be incredibly fed up of the Italian now. He has scored three goals in 27 outings for the Molineux outfit. Time and time again he has not been at the races.

Wolves need to get rid of him as soon as possible.

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

Mike Ashley could land Newcastle United their next Allan Saint-Maximin by signing Independiente sensation Alan Velasco in the January transfer window.

What’s the word?

According to El Intransigente, the Magpies are one of a number of potential suitors monitoring Velasco’s situation in the mid-season market, with Parma and Club America providing worldwide competition for the 18-year-old.

Parma are intent on striking a winter deal for the left-winger, as they consider the Argentina U17 international as a weapon who can aid their efforts in securing European qualification after re-establishing themselves as a Serie A side.

Velasco is seen to be one of Argentina’s great jewels after proving his enormous potential at a tender age, having become a staple of Lucas Pusineri’s side in 2020, though Independiente accept it is only a matter of time before he leaves the Estadio Libertadores de America.

Independiente would prefer to retain the diminutive 5 ft 5 forward, who is protected by a $23.5m (£17.5m) release clause, but accept that his sale would help solve several issues with the club facing Fifa-imposed lawsuits for non-compliance with transfer payments.

Velasco provided each of his career three goals and three assists in senior football last year, while Independiente never lost when the Quilmes-born attacker influenced the scoreline.

Bruce’s next Saint-Maximin

Mike Ashley providing the funds needed for Independiente to consider selling Velasco in the January market could see the Newcastle owner hand Steve Bruce the Toon’s next Saint-Maximin, having seen the St. James’ Park natives struggle without the Frenchman.

Saint-Maximin has not featured for United since November after testing positive for coronavirus and remains some weeks away from a return, much to Bruce’s frustration.

“We’re missing him at the moment. He’s had an up and down time, he needs to find that consistency like we all do, if he really wants to hit the heights. When he is on song there is no better sight is there? He gets you on the edge of your seat,” Bruce told the Chronicle.

Velasco could be the one to bring the same level of excitement to St. James’ Park if signed, having proved a creative wonder in South America to warrant vivid transfer interest from Europe.

The youth international made seven of his appearances in the 2020 Copa Sudamericana, in which he also contributed one of his three goals and two of his assists thanks to creating an average 2.9 chances a game with 1.5 shots and 1.4 key passes, per SofaScore.

He additionally offered 15.8 of his 19.9 total passes a game in the opponent’s half, plus 1.1 successful tackles, 1.0 interceptions, 3.0 successful dribbles and wining 5.3 ground duels, with opponents forced into committing 1.1 fouls a game.

Velasco may be small and relatively unknown in England, but may prove the old cliché of the best things coming in small packages true with a successful move to St. James’ Park this winter.

AND in other news, Steve Bruce is keen to sign a “fantastic” £15.5m-rated brute for Newcastle United.