All posts by z3u9t.icu

Wolves are very nearly back in top gear. They have lost just one of their last seven league outings and slight fears of relegation that were had are beginning to be wiped away.

Nuno Santo has taken his side back to their infamous three-man defence, and it’s paying off.

On the chalkboard

Despite the renewed positivity surrounding Molineux, their 1-1 draw with relegation candidates Newcastle last weekend was perhaps rather disappointing.

We got to watch a feast of dribbling from Adama Traore and Allan Saint-Maximin, and in the process, Leander Dendoncker was caught out time and time again.

The attacking duo are a joy to watch for their respective sides and they caused carnage on Saturday evening.

Traore gave Emil Krafth a torrid time down Newcastle’s right-hand side with the Spaniard completing as many as 14 dribbles; the winger’s highest successful tally this season.

Though, down Wolves’ right side, Dendoncker was also given a frightening time by Saint-Maximin. The Belgian can play in a multitude of positions but when selected in defence on Saturday, he let his team down.

The Frenchman gave Dendoncker a horrible time, providing four key passes and also managing four successful dribbles. In the words of Birmingham Live reporter Alex Dicken, he was “skinned” by the dazzling Saint-Maximin on a frequent basis.

Drop him

With that in mind, Nuno should be worried about fielding the Belgium international in that position on Tuesday evening.

If he struggled with Newcastle’s tricky winger at the weekend, just imagine how difficult he’ll find life against Manchester City.

It remains to be seen who starts in Pep Guardiola’s attack but with Raheem Sterling rested against West Ham, he is more than likely to feature on the left-hand side of City’s forward line.

The Englishman has completed 2.4 dribbles per game this term so Dendoncker could struggle yet again. It would be a surprising decision for Nuno to take though, especially given previous praise for the £90k-per-week Belgian.

Earlier this season, the 25-year-old became a combative force in the middle of the park. Dave Edwards deemed him undroppable, suggesting that it was “Dendoncker and one other” that Nuno would have to pick in his midfield.

Yet, now playing further back in defence, he’s being defeated. Dendoncker is usually so reliable but after the stifling night he was given by Saint-Maximin, trusting him against Sterling would be risky business.

AND in other news, Better than Jose: Wolves could rue missing £18m target once dubbed “out of this world”…

Whilst Liverpool will be frustrated to have suffered defeat in the FA Cup at the hands of their old rivals Manchester United on Sunday afternoon, one positive from the game was the performance of Roberto Firmino.

The Brazilian looked back to his best at times during his time on the pitch and was arguably Liverpool’s best performer at Old Trafford.

As per SofaScore, the former Hoffenheim striker would earn an 8.7 rating for his display, which comfortably ranked him as the best player on the pitch from either side.

For comparison, Mason Greenwood would earn an 8.3 match rating, whilst the scorer of both Liverpool goals Mohamed Salah picked up an 8.1 rating.

Firmino picked up two assists during the game, as he found Salah for the opening goal with a perfectly-timed through ball, before cutting the ball back for the Egyptian to make it 2-2 in the second half.

The 29-year-old was easily the most creative player on the pitch, as he played four key passes and created three big chances for his teammates at Old Trafford.

Considering he has averaged just one key pass per game in the Premier League this season, it definitely seems that Firmino was at his creative best on Sunday afternoon.

The striker, who earns £180k per week at Anfield, was far more involved than his opposite number Edison Cavani, as he had 48 touches compared to the Uruguayan’s 31 and played 16 more passes than the former PSG man, despite playing fewer minutes.

Firmino would also impressively win all three of his ground duels during the game suggesting that he was able to get the better of the Manchester United midfielders and defenders, as he regularly picked the ball up deep in order to create opportunities for the Liverpool wingers.

The only thing missing from his performance was a goal, and it could definitely be argued that he did not deserve to be on the losing side.

Hopefully, he will be able to start adding more goals to his game, as the Reds look to turn their form around in upcoming Premier League fixtures.

And, in other news… Worse than Williams: £67.5m-rated LFC gem who lost all of his duels was Klopp’s worst vs MUFC 

Former Glasgow Rangers defender Alan Hutton has slammed Alfredo Morelos and believes teams interesting in signing him will think he is a liability.

Morelos causing problems

For the second time this season, Alfredo Morelos received a retrospective ban after stamping on Hibernian’s Ryan Porteous during the Gers’ 1-0 win over the Edinburgh outfit (BBC) – the Colombia international scored the only goal of the game.

Speaking to Football Insider, Hutton suggested teams will be put off signing him due to his temperament. Asked whether his indiscipline is causing his market value to drop, Hutton responded:

“Yes.

“Clubs and managers are always looking at and thinking ‘is he a liability? Is he too much of a risk? Is he going to cost us in those situations and scenarios?’

“He has to be careful to not push it too far.

“We keep saying he has to learn and learn quickly and it doesn’t appear as if he’s been able to do that so far.

“It’s a shame because he’s obviously a talented player and a good goalscorer. But he just has to keep his head under control.

Hard to disagree

It is hard to disagree with Hutton – Morelos is turning into a player that just cannot be trusted. He still knows where the back of the net is – he has scored 11 times in 32 matches so far this campaign, while he has 88 goals in 168 games throughout his time at Ibrox (Transfermarkt) – but he is no use to Steven Gerrard if he is constantly on the sidelines.

At the age of 24, you would have hoped he would have eradicated these problems from his game by now. However, there is a real worry that he may never learn the error of his ways. If that remains the case, it would be foolish for any club to invest heavily in the former HJK Helsinki forward.

In other news, Rangers fans rage at this latest SFA decision.

After suffering a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Liverpool last week, Wolves will be hoping to bounce back to winning ways when they take on Aston Villa at Molineux.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s side were ruthlessly put to the sword by the reigning Premier League champions, but face a Villa side who have had some difficult results in the past couple of weeks, losing back-to-back games in the top-flight.

It’s a chance for Wolves to put things right immediately, and Nuno might take the chance to field a couple of surprise changes in his starting line-up for the game.

In front of regular number one Rui Patricio, Nuno may consider giving 19-year-old Rayan Ait-Nouri the chance to start from the off, and leaving Marcal on the bench.

And having gone with a midfield three against Liverpool, the Wolves boss may opt to return to a formation with holding midfielders like he did in the win over Arsenal, with Joao Moutinho and Leander Dendoncker screening in front of the defence.

Ahead of them, there could be a very pacy looking front-line, with Daniel Podence playing just behind the striker, and Pedro Neto and Adama Traore on the left and right hand sides respectively.

The other big call Nuno may make is giving Fabio Silva the opportunity to start in the Premier League, and an out-of-sorts Villa side could be the perfect way for him to finally make his mark in English football after his summer arrival.

Predicted XI: Patricio; Semedo, Boly, Coady, Ait-Nouri; Dendoncker, Moutinho; Adama, Podence, Neto; Silva.

When the January transfer window comes around, Victor Orta must yelp in horror at what could be to come.

In the last two years, his work with Leeds has been nothing short of a nightmare, but that’s not entirely been his fault.

In 2019, a deal had been agreed to sign Daniel James from Swansea. The winger penned his contract and was pictured holding a Leeds shirt at Elland Road. However, in the dying embers on deadline day the Swans didn’t pick up the phone and a move fell through.

Then, just a year later, a move for Jean-Kevin Augustin turned into a complete failure.

The Frenchman had enormous potential but he is failing to discover it, and his spell at Leeds summed things up. He played just 48 minutes for the first-team with a major flaw proving to be his fitness.

He didn’t work himself into Marcelo Bielsa’s plans and then a fierce legal battle followed. The Yorkshire side had an obligation to buy but failed to cough up the money required to RB Leipzig because of how the loan spell had gone.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t look as though Leeds have learnt their lesson. That’s because they’re supposedly chasing Fiorentina striker Christian Kouame this month.

The forward, who earns £16k-per-week in Italy, has been nothing short of a flop in Serie A and has scored just once for La Viola. His season has been disastrous and bears huge similarities to the one that Augustin was having before he came to Elland Road.

He spent the first half of last season at Monaco but like Kouame, scored a solitary goal. Therefore, one has to question why Leeds are pursuing someone with such a shoddy record once again.

Of course, adding squad depth is important but Patrick Bamford has been the undisputed number 9 for the last two and a half years now. Even when he’s not playing well Bielsa still picks him.

Though, the fact of the matter, is that the attacker is in the form of his life. Bamford already has ten goals in 17 outings this season so it’s not as though he’s going to be dislodged in a hurry.

Consequently, signing Kouame would be nothing more than a waste of money. Like Augustin, he wouldn’t play and thus, would find it difficult to score goals.

AND in other news, Leeds must swoop for £13m brute with “long levers”, Orta has found the new Phillips…

Tottenham Hotspur romped to a resounding victory in the Europa League on Thursday evening, defeating Ludogorets in their own back yard 3-1, and whilst Jose Mourinho will be happy with his side’s reaction, he himself is playing a rather risky game.

The north Londoners finally ended their hunt for a back-up striker after they brought in Carlos Vinicius on loan from Benfica, paying £2.7m in fees with an option-to-buy thought to be around €45m (£40.5m).

Although, the Brazilian powerhouse has struggled thus far but he isn’t the man to be blamed.

The 25-year-old scored 18 goals in 32 league appearances last season and has failed to get off the mark for his new club in three Europa League matches, per WhoScored.

On Thursday night, Vinicius was granted another opportunity – replacing Harry Kane at half-time – but failed to impress. Football.London’s Alasdair Gold graded his second-half display a 4/10, and said:

“Another 45 minutes for Spurs’ number 45, he skied an opportunity moments after the hosts’ goal which perhaps summed up his night. Worked hard but his quality was sorely lacking in the final third and this was the least promising of his three appearances so far.”

Well, it’s no surprise that he’s lacking in confidence after he was wrongly part of the four players that were hauled off during last week’s defeat to Royal Antwerp.

Mourinho launched a scathing attack on his squad, claiming that his future choices would now be “very easy,” It was a warning shot at the likes of Vinicius, Dele Alli and Steven Bergwijn.

The Benfica loanee would then be left out of their Premier League win over Brighton at the weekend.

At Ludogorets, Vinicius at three shots – none on target – and also won just 33% of his duels, was offside once and lost possession five times, via SofaScore.

Dubbed “exciting” by Spurs legend Glenn Hoddle on BT Sport (via the Daily Mail), Mourinho is on verge of making a huge blunder over his no.2 striker – they surely do not want another Dele Alli situation on their hands.

Nor will they want Vinicius to follow the same path of Roberto Soldado or Vincent Janssen. That would be inexcusable after Daniel Levy backed him to the hills this summer.

AND in other news, Spurs chasing “fearless” BEAST who has outperformed Milan Skriniar this season…

Leeds United have made an admirable start to their first season back in England’s top flight after 16 years of waiting.

The Whites have already banked impressive results including a win over Everton and a surprise 1-1 draw against Manchester City.

However, Marcelo Bielsa seems to rely too much on star striker Patrick Bamford and this has been made clear on several occasions this campaign.

Indeed, the 27-year-old is the club’s top scorer this term by some margin with eight goals. The next highest scoring Leeds player is Mateusz Klich, who has just two to his name (via BBC Sport).

The gap in stats in worrying for the Whites, who are in need of an extra injection of creativity.

Rob Lee spoke to Football FanCast about this and he believes that Victor Orta must take to the market in January and recruit a partner for Bamford.

“Patrick Bamford has done brilliant, I think he’s done a fantastic job,” the ex-midfielder said. “He’s their focal point, he plays every game, he’s scoring goals – which people probably questioned whether he would in the Premier League. But I think they need someone who can help him.”

Whilst Leeds aren’t in any danger right now, they risk slipping into extremely hot water if Bamford is to pick up an injury at all throughout the season. Bielsa also risks over-working him as he is currently the only source of the team’s goals.

Come January, Orta and Andrea Radrizzani must put their heads together and poach someone who can lighten the load on Bamford’s shoulders and help the Whites develop their attack.

In other news, Signing Dean Henderson will only hinder growth of Illan Meslier…

£18 million. That’s how much Leeds United will be paying to make Michael Cuisance their newest summer signing if a deal comes to fruition.

It seems to be just a matter of time before the Bayern Munich man is announced as a Leeds player, and while it’s incredibly exciting to see such a highly-rated young midfielder sign for the Yorkshire outfit, it does leave a number of questions around Adam Forshaw’s future.

The 28-year-old hasn’t played much football over the past 12 months, with an injury keeping him out of action since United’s game against Charlton last October.

Forshaw is undoubtedly a Bielsa favourite, with the Argentine saying that he defends in a similar manner to Kalvin Phillips and attacks in a similar way to Mateusz Klich, and when you consider that those two have started every Premier League game so far, that is high praise.

However, with Forshaw still out with injury and Cuisance coming in, it’s hard to see how he gets back into the first-team picture.

Klich and Phillips are nigh on undroppable, with Klich starting all-but-one of Leeds’ league games since Bielsa took charge, while Phillips is arguably United’s best player, earning an England call-up before he even made his Premier League debut.

Of course, there is a third midfield role that is usually taken up by a more attacking player with Rodrigo, Pablo Hernandez and Tyler Roberts all playing that role in recent weeks, but there is sufficient strength in depth in that role to the point where Forshaw isn’t really an option.

A lot has changed at Elland Road since Forshaw went down injured, including new recruits coming in and taking his spot. Now, the 28-year-old is in something of a no man’s land at Leeds where he is a depth option in a position that doesn’t really get rotated all that much.

In other news, one Leeds loanee showed exactly what he can do last weekend.

Liverpool have been handed a major blow in their reigning title season as Virgil van Dijk could miss the remainder of the term with ACL damage.

The centre-back picked up the injury in the Merseyside derby, following a tackle from Jordan Pickford in the opening minutes. The Reds must now adapt to their backline without the influential Dutchman, but Anfield legend Jamie Carragher has his doubts.

Speaking to Sky Sports, the ex-defender raised his worries over how Liverpool will cope with such a reduced roster (via The Mirror).

“Dejan Lovren went and they didn’t replace him so they only have three centre-backs and one of those, Joel Matip, is always injured,” he said. “There are question marks now about Joe Gomez. So there is no doubt that Liverpool had to go big in the transfer market.”

Can Gomez step up in van Dijk’s absence?

After their 7-2 defeat to Aston Villa, a draw at Goodison Park and now their top centre-back sidelined, hope will be bleak in the red district of Merseyside. With Joel Matip also reported to have picked up an injury, it’s ultimately down to Gomez to command the backline and step up to the plate.

It’s likely Jurgen Klopp will be forced to play Fabinho alongside the Englishman, with fellow Three Lions international Jordan Henderson filling the empty No.6 slot. The versatile Brazilian recently played in defence alongside van Dijk and put in a solid shift, but it may be a lot to ask of him to keep up appearances for potentially the entire season.

Last campaign, the £75million record signing played every minute of Premier League football for the Reds. His influence showed, keeping 15 clean sheets and contributing to six goals (via Transfermarkt). Indeed, it was more than enough to see Liverpool over the line and lift their first ever Premier League trophy – setting a new record for the fastest time, no less.

Tough times for Liverpool ahead

Gomez’s stats for the 2019/20 season were mostly inferior to his defensive partner. Not only did van Dijk look a lot more solid in defence, but he was also much more of a threat going forward. According to WhoScored, the Netherlands international averaged more passes (85.8) and more accurate long balls (5.4) than his teammate, with 71 and 3.7 respectively.

Gomez also fell short with 2.1 clearances to van Dijk’s 4.3 and picked up six more bookings in fewer appearances.

Trusting £36m-rated Gomez to command the same kind of authority as van Dijk is a tall ask. Indeed, he was even criticised by his own teammate Alisson after the Reds’ 3-0 defeat against Barcelona in 2019 after failing to block a Lionel Messi free-kick.

There will be enormous pressure on him to not just perform at the highest standard, but to also ensure he himself doesn’t risk an injury or suspension, which will only further endanger Liverpool’s title chances.

In other news, Michael Edwards may have put clever plan in place with deadline day deal…

We always knew that Manchester United’s chase of Jadon Sancho would likely turn into a summer saga. And a summer saga it’s really turning out to be. Borussia Dortmund are still adamant on the youngster not being let go for anything south of £100m while the Red Devils don’t want to offer more than £80m.

However, according to a new report from the Daily Mirror, both Real Madrid and Barcelona might enter the race to sign Sancho next summer if Man United don’t pull the trigger in the ongoing transfer window.

Of course, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer understands that this could very well be a ploy to force his hand and pressure them either into bidding for the young star now or simply luring them into making a forced decision.

It’s quite a risky business considering that the alternative could be much worse. If the La Liga giants truly are contemplating an approach next summer and Man United also decide to wait that long, they might enter a bidding war that could easily escalate into something they can’t afford.

The Premier League giants usually have the funds for such exploits but the outside circumstances regarding the recent outbreak have impacted everyone’s finances, Man United included.

For that reason, they can’t afford to go into bidding wars and they can also not afford to splash the cash for Sancho now. At the moment, they are stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Verdict

Slowly but surely, Man United’s chase of Sancho is starting to become too big of a hassle for the English side. Yes, he may be a generational talent and one of the best players of the immediate future but he simply seems unattainable right now.

However, the same could be said for Barcelona and Real. Neither of them have gone through lockdown unscathed and it’s unlikely they have heaps of money just lying around. But Solskjaer has to ensure he’s not bullied into a deal he can’t afford.