All posts by h716a5.icu

Many Crystal Palace fans have been slamming the display of Patrick van Aanholt despite their side’s 2-1 away win at Newcastle United in the Premier League.

Roy Hodgson’s men actually fell behind to a goal from Jonjo Shelvey within the first two minutes of the match before a great strike from Jairo Riedewald and a towering header from Gary Cahill gave the Selhurst Park faithful the goals they needed to take all three points and ease off any possible fears of relegation.

While there were some very good performers in an Eagles shirt, Van Aanholt flattered to deceive.

The former Chelsea and Sunderland man lost possession of the ball no fewer than 24 times in the match, the most out of any outfield player, and also failed to make a single successful dribble, key pass or accurate long ball, as he earned himself a quite measly 6.5 overall rating on Sofascore, the second-lowest out of any of his teammates to have started against Steve Bruce’s team at St. James’ Park.

Crystal Palace fan reaction to van Aanholt display

These CPFC supporters slammed his performance on Twitter, with a couple of fans even going as far as to describe the Netherlands international as ‘awful’:

“Van Aanholt had been terrible this 2nd half”

Credit: @TomTcoyp

“That van Aanholt is useless. #cpfc”

Credit: @shave_stuart

“He should be criticised for that. He had a bad game. PvA just keeps having bad games whereas Mitchell consistently performs to a level more often.”

Credit: @SamuelMargo

“PVA completed pass ratio is more of a disgrace tonight than that miss by Townsend. Shocking for a professional footballer.”

Credit: @Scottnesbitt

“PVA’s passing has been awful”

Credit: @matthew_poole30

“PVA is unbelievably awful”Credit: @CieronHemIn other news, find out how fans have reacted to Hodgson’s comments about his future here!

Liverpool will undoubtedly be reeling from their shock defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion last time out in the Premier League. The Reds struggled immensely to make any sort of impact in the final third and as such, Robert Sanchez had quite an easy evening.

The Seagulls scraped through with a gargantuan three points thanks to a goal from Steven Alzate to go ahead just after half-time. Liverpool suffered the defeat on home soil, breaking the myth that Anfield is, and will remain a fortress.

Attention now shifts to their next league hurdle. The reigning champions will take on the season’s leaders in Manchester City and it will be a juicy watch for the neutrals.

Pep Guardiola and his men are unbeaten in their last 20 matches and have won the last 13 in a row, according to Sofascore. They are in blistering form despite not having Sergio Aguero and will be hungry to further upset Liverpool and their reigning season as champions.

After losing three of their last five fixtures, the Reds will be desperate to make a swift comeback against rivals City. But to do so, Klopp must reconsider the options he fielded against Brighton.

Starting Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain would be a bold but strong move from the German gaffer. The loss against Brighton showed that Liverpool rapidly ran out of options when it came to their creativity. According to Sofascore, Gini Wijnaldum had a poor performance in midfield, managing just 36 touches before he was hauled off the pitch. This is less than Caoimhin Kelleher put in, which is a concerning stat for a creative midfielder.

Indeed, Wijnaldum looked a shadow of the man who showed up against West Ham to grab himself one of Liverpool’s three goals.

For this reason, Klopp must consider his options and start the more elusive Oxlade-Chamberlain. The England international enjoys taking a crack at goal from outside the box, which could be exactly what the Reds need to thwart Guardiola’s tight defence.

The £21.6million-rated midfielder scored a goal of this nature against City before now. His wonder strike back in 2018 in the Champions League is undoubtedly one of his career highlights and arguably one of the goals of the competition.

The former Gunners ace has the raw pace and power of a winger, but brings it into a more central area, and that directness is what saw him average more shots and key passes than the Dutchman in the Premier League last season.

Having someone who can take a player on and beat them with a quick change of direction when defenders are camped back could be game-changing, with others having to desperately come back in and leaving their own man open. And then, you’ve got Oxlade-Chamberlain’s blistering pace to consider if Liverpool win the ball back and look to counter themselves.

If Klopp deploys the 27-year-old over Wijnaldum on Sunday, he has more chance of Liverpool finding their past a City side that has conceded just two goals in their last ten fixtures. It could be a real game-changer for the Reds.

In other news, Exclusive: Rob Lee drops verdict on Liverpool return for Danny Ings…

Tottenham Hotspur’s Europa League quest gets back underway this evening as they head to Hungary to face Austrian outfit Wolfsberger AC in the first-leg of their Round of 32 tie.

Jose Mourinho will surely be looking for a reaction after his side lost for a fifth time in six matches in all competitions over the weekend, being defeated by Premier League front runners Manchester City.

Spurs qualified for the knockout stages by topping Group J and are now faced with a favourable encounter in which the 58-year-old boss could look at rotating his options.

So, what sort of XI could we see at the Puskas Arena? Here’s the lineup we’re predicting tonight…

There could be as many as six changes to the team that tasted defeat in Manchester on Saturday, and that includes a rest for both Heung-min Son and Harry Kane in attack.

We could see Gareth Bale gifted a rare opportunity to impress having come off the bench with a bright cameo at the weekend, whilst back-up striker Carlos is surely in line to deputise in the absence of the England talisman.

There may even be a return for Steven Bergwijn, who takes the place of Lucas Moura on the right flank. Erik Lamela is another who is facing the chop after a disappointing outing, and perhaps surprisingly, Dele Alli could start in the no.10 role with Tanguy Ndombele also rested.

In the engine room, the industrious Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg will likely remain, though he’s likely to be joined by Harry Winks, who started five of their six group games.

Further back, Hugo Lloris should continue between the sticks despite Joe Hart being a sturdy back-up option and much of the backline remains the same due to injuries and a lack of alternatives.

The only change defensively could see the £36m-rated Davinson Sanchez replaced by veteran centre-back Toby Alderweireld to partner Eric Dier with Japhet Tanganga and Ben Davies continuing on either flank.

Sergio Reguilon was confirmed to be back in training this week but as revealed by Mourinho in his pre-game press conference, he will not make the trip to Hungary as a precaution, as per the Evening Standard.

AND in other news, Spurs “weak link” could be finished under Mourinho after City humiliation…

Celtic are currently linked with a number of names to potentially come in and replace the recently departed Neil Lennon. The Irishman left the club amid talks of his sacking after the Hoops have suffered a lacklustre season in both the Premiership and Europa League.

One name that has been heavily flirted with the idea of stepping in is Rafael Benitez. Before Lennon left the club, The Mirror reported that he was heavily in the picture to take over as head coach following his decision to leave his position in China. Whilst talks may have gone a little quiet since, bookmakers are still including him in the running to take the job.

Benitez himself has since come out with a rather interesting statement about his next career move. Speaking to the Daily Record, the Spaniard admitted he has had “so many offers” since he became available again “from South America to the Emirates”, however he isn’t looking to pursue any of these options.

“I want to stay in Europe and I want to do so to be competitive at a high level,” Benitez continued. “I’m looking for a project that will allow me to be competitive and with time and space to grow.”

This is definitely something to prick up the ears of fans and professionals alike. Due to their disappointing 2020/21 season, Celtic are very much in need of a squad revamp and a new set of managerial tactics. Benitez found success with Liverpool and boasts a Champions League trophy and FA Cup. He also won the Europa League with Chelsea and the Club World Cup with Inter Milan, just to name a few of his accolades.

He managed to drive Newcastle to their promotion from the Championship back in 2016 too, showing he has what it takes to challenge in both league and cup competitions.

His pedigree speaks for itself and his desire to stay in Europa and take on a project that needs some TLC is very telling. Perhaps the Celtic job has been earmarked by the Spaniard as the season in Scotland rounds off.

In other news, Appointing Benitez could hugely improve Stephen Welsh at Celtic…

Former Premier League defender Danny Mills believes that Celtic will not get their hands on Rafael Benitez this summer.

Benitez not convinced?

Neil Lennon recently resigned from his position in the hot seat after his side’s 1-0 defeat to Ross County a fortnight ago, which almost certainly ended their hopes of winning 10-in-a-row.

Benitez, formerly in charge of Liverpool and Chelsea and described as a “great” manager by former Real Madrid star Pepe, recently departed from the Chinese Super League outfit Dalian Professional due to concerns about his health and wellbeing of his family during the pandemic (Sky Sports).

Several big-name figures have been linked to take over Lennon’s role permanently, including Steve Clarke, Roberto Martinez and Eddie Howe.

Speaking to Football Insider, Mills doubts that the attraction of Celtic would be strong enough to convince Benitez to make the switch north of the border, saying: “Celtic should wait until the summer.

“They’re not going to overturn Rangers’ lead, Rangers are a couple of games away from winning it. Just take your time now, look around and get your processes in place. Work out what you need. Work out who you need and why. They’ve now got two or three months to do that.

“In all honesty, Rafa Benitez would be great but I think he might be looking at a big job. No disrespect to Celtic, but is that too low for Rafa Benitez?

“It’s a two or three-year project at least. So you need someone with the energy to do that. I’m not sure Rafa Benitez would look at the Celtic job seriously.

“He’s not desperate to get back into football and he certainly doesn’t need the money – we can comfortably say that. Whereas someone like Eddie Howe is very keen to get back into football as soon as possible.”

Transfer Tavern Verdict

While Mills raises some good points, his comments almost diminish the true size of Celtic as an institution.

Celtic is a huge football club with an illustrious history behind them. The challenge of managing the Hoops is a big job, as much as Mills wants to argue otherwise.

At the same time, he is correct when he says that the team’s rebuild will likely take time and that fans must be patient with whoever comes through the door. With Benitez possessing an impressive CV, the Hoops could appeal to him. Time will tell.

In other news, Celtic-linked manager responds to Parkhead links; Mourinho once dubbed him ‘incredible.’

Tottenham Hotspur take on Dinamo Zagreb in the Europa League on Thursday night, and it could be the ideal opportunity for Jose Mourinho to unleash Steven Bergwijn.

The Dutch winger has found himself on the fringes of Spurs’ squad in recent months, with Gareth Bale’s recent form meaning that he has been rarely seen in the Premier League.

The 23-year-old impressed in his first few performances for Spurs last season after signing from PSV, scoring on his debut in a 2-0 win against Manchester City.

However, he has struggled to impress this season and has endured a torrid time in front of goal, having failed to find the back of the net in 24 appearances for Spurs in all competitions.

He has shown his worth at times as a more defensive-minded winger but considering he has had a number of opportunities to score this season, with his effort at Anfield which hit the post one that will stick in the memory of a lot of Spurs fans, it is disappointing that he hasn’t scored at all.

His last appearance came in the 4-0 win against Wolfsberger in the Europa League and he impressed, earning a solid 7.37 rating from WhoScored for his performance, so he deserves another chance to show what he can do when Spurs take on Dinamo Zagreb.

Unfortunately for the Dutch international, this could well be now or never for the winger, as the impressive form of Bale, combined with Heung-Min Son being virtually undroppable under Jose Mourinho, means that Bergwijn must impress on his rare opportunities, otherwise he is going to struggle to force his way into the Portuguese manager’s Premier League plans.

The £25.2 million-rated winger has also arguably found himself behind the likes of Lucas Moura and Erik Lamela in the pecking order at Spurs, with his last start in the Premier League coming more than a month ago.

Therefore, he deserves another chance to show Mourinho what he can do against Zagreb and hopefully, he can break his goalscoring duck against the Croatian side, but if he struggles to perform once again, you worry that he may never be able to establish himself as a Premier League regular under Mourinho.

And, in other news… Mourinho masterclass: £110k-p/w gem has been revitalised with one simple change at Spurs

Plenty of Aston Villa fans have been sharing their delight at the club’s official Twitter post on Tuesday afternoon regarding striker Wesley Moraes.

The 24-year-old has been out of action for over 12 months after suffering a serious knee injury against Burnley on New Year’s Day last year.

Since then, Dean Smith’s side have gone from strength to strength, avoiding relegation on the last day of the 2019/20 campaign and racking up 40 points after just 26 games this season.

New striker Ollie Watkins has thrived since his arrival at Villa Park, scoring 12 goals in all competitions.

Wesley, who cost Villa £22.5m back in 2019, has made 22 appearances for the club, scoring six goals.

It seems as if a long-awaited return to the first-team fold to challenge Watkins for a starting spot could be gathering pace, though, after he was pictured in training.

The club shared three images from behind the scenes at training, with one fan descirbing the reveal as ‘excellent’.

These Villa fans were buzzing at the post

“Quality to see. Hopefully can kick on from where he left off before getting injured”

Credit: @ryanavfc7

“yessssss”

Credit: @lrwelizabeth

“get him in the team ASAP and give Watkins a hand”

Credit: @pjhollis74

“Great to see”

Credit: @Mattjacques2

“Excellent to see Wesley again. Can’t wait for him to be back on the pitch”

Credit: @VillaNoFiller

“Genuinely love our Wes”

Credit: @_CamMatthews

“Oh he’s beautiful”

Credit: @NCAVFC 

In other news: Plenty of Villa fans have been having their say on Johan Lange’s summer plans, find out more here. 

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer can welcome back one of his big summer signings for the trip to AC Milan – Donny van de Beek.

The Dutchman, signed from Ajax in the summer, has been missing for the last eight games in all competitions with a muscular injury, but has returned to contention and has even been included in the Red Devils’ travelling squad for the UEFA Europa League last-16 tie against AC Milan at the San Siro.

Whilst Solskjaer may think it is slightly too early to bring the midfielder back into the starting line-up due to his long lay-off, he really should think twice.

Put simply, United need goals heading into the second-leg in Italy. Following the 1-1 draw at Old Trafford last week, the Red Devils either need to win or have a higher-scoring draw.

Van de beek could provide that eye for goal from the centre of midfield.

Whilst having not yet displayed that Old Trafford, having scored only once on the opening day of the Premier League season, his goalscoring ability should not be in doubt.

In his previous three seasons at Ajax before arriving in Manchester, he managed to hit double figures in goals, whilst in two out of those prior three campaigns, he also notched over ten assists in all competitions.

Solskjaer then should consider switching out £36m-rated van de Beek for first choice midfielder Fred. Whilst the Brazilian’s personal statistics are slightly more impressive than the 23-year-old’s, with Fred producing more shots, key passes and dribbles than van de Beek per game according to WhoScored, that has not translated to tangible contributions.

When compared, the Dutchman has one more direct goal contribution this season – a remarkable number considering that he has started 19 fewer games than Fred.

Even key Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes has praised van de Beek, saying the former Ajax star “moves really good” in an attacking role, a feature that would really come in handy in Milan.

Solskjaer then really should consider putting him in from the start for Thursday evening’s key clash against AC Milan as the Red Devils hunt a much-needed away goal.

AND in more news, read what other injury boost Manchester United have been given ahead of Thursday’s clash with AC Milan…

Liverpool could be set to bolster their attacking options in the summer with a swoop for Reading starlet Michael Olise.

According to Football Insider, the Reds are among a host of Premier League clubs interested in the 19-year-old French youth international – and now they must ensure they elbow their way to the front of the queue for the midfielder.

Despite having only broken throughout into the Reading first team last year, Olise is having an extremely productive campaign in the Championship.

He has already notched five goals and ten assists for a Royals side gunning for a place in the promotion playoffs come the end of the season. His dribbling and close control of the ball have become hugely potent weapons for Veljko Paunović’s men.

Even before he managed to establish himself in Reading’s first team, his teammates were already aware of his potential, with current Royals frontman Sam Baldock labelling Olise as “fearless” and a “real talent”.

The young Frenchman’s versatility would also see him become an attractive proposition for Jurgen Klopp.

[snack-amp-story url=https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/latest-liverpool-transfer-rumours-and-news” title=” Latest Liverpool transfer rumours and news!”]

Whilst often deployed centrally at the Madejski Stadium, Olise is also equally adept at being pushed further forwards or even taking up a position out wide, per Transfermarkt.

With current Reds winger Xherdan Shaqiri potentially angling for a move away from Anfield in the near future to find a “solution” to his lack of game-time at the club, Olise could be the perfect candidate as a replacement for the Swiss ace.

Rated at just £10.8m but with just over a year left to run on his contract in Berkshire, Olise could certainly be an affordable option for the Reds, allowing them to deploy more considerable funds elsewhere in the squad.

Should they wish to bolster their attack, the promising Olise seems like an excellent option. Liverpool need to make sure they’re first in line for his signature.

AND in more news, read why Liverpool have to secure a bargain deal for Ibrahima Konate…

After being omitted from yet another squad for Serbia in their 3-2 victory against Republic of Ireland, it would be fair to say that Marko Grujic is in footballing purgatory.

The Liverpool midfielder, currently on loan at FC Porto, has only made one appearance for his country since July 2018 in what is a sad summary of his fall from grace over the past few years.

After signing for Liverpool from Red Star Belgrade in January 2016, he was expected to become a key player in the Reds line-up, even being talked up as a “top talent” by manager Jurgen Klopp.

That assessment was certainly justified having turned in a series of exciting performances in his home country, with six goals and seven assists from midfield for Red Star in 2015/16.

He has only made 14 competitive appearances for Liverpool since, though, with just five of those being starts, all coming in the Carabao Cup.

Away from Anfield, the 24-year-old has also failed to have that much of an impact at any of his adoptive clubs.

Farmed out on loan deals to Cardiff City, Hertha Berlin and now Porto, it was only with the Bluebirds that he could find regular opportunities, making 14 appearances in all competitions throughout the second half of the 2017/18 campaign.

Whilst he has been afforded 29 appearances in Portugal throughout 2020/21, just ten of those have been starts. As a matter of fact, he has taken to the pitch for just 307 minutes of Liga NOS action, having been introduced after the 85th minute in his last four league fixtures.

That is not something which will do his chances of first team football with Liverpool any favours, especially as he has considerable competition at Anfield from the likes of Thiago Alcantara, Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, Naby Keita and more.

Now rated at £12.6m by Transfermarkt, it seems unlikely that Grujic’s talent is going to see him break out of the footballing purgatory in which he currently finds himself.

Many of Klopp’s signings at Liverpool have proven to be masterstrokes, but investing in the Serbian was a rare misjudgment from the Anfield boss.

AND in more news, take a look at which fellow Reds’ midfielder has seen his transfer valuation plummet…