All posts by n8rngtd.top

According to a report by the Athletic, via West Ham Transfers, GSB and the Irons are ready to offer a new contract to defensive star Angelo Ogbonna following his performances this season – prompting excitement from many West Ham United fans.

Ogbonna, who is currently sidelined through injury, was a mainstay for manager David Moyes again in the centre of defence this season before succumbing to the knock.

Indeed, starting 23 Premier League games, he has seen the likes of Craig Dawson and Fabian Balbuena rotate alongside him while the Italian remained a fixed point in the starting eleven.

Now, as the club reportedly eye a new deal for the 32-year-old, plenty of Irons fans are overjoyed at this update – with one fan calling it ‘excellent news’ whilst others plead with GSB to get it sorted sooner rather than later.

Find all of their best verdicts on the 6 foot 3 West Ham colossus down below.

West Ham fans buzz over Ogbonna update

“Fully deserves, I’d like him to retire at West Ham.

Been massively underrated since the day he arrived, and only the last 18 months have the majority of our fans realised he’s class.

The old system with Masuaku left him covering 2 positions after we lose possession high up.”

Credit: @JameswhufcJones

“Excellent news. Get it done.”

Credit: @pmitchell1969

“Get it done”

Credit: @rustyk1971

“Needs to be done quickly, he has been a monster for us”

Credit: @Mexico20000

“Do it!”

Credit: @MarkEmms4

“Good move great player”

Credit: @SandieBarrick

“Well deserved, blokes a unit”

Credit: @RiddimSlaps

“Too right”

Credit: @callumder123

In other news: West Ham have approached this £120,000-per-week ‘outstanding player’, find out more here.

Liverpool breathed fresh life into their push for the top four on Saturday with an utterly dominant 3-0 win against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.

It was a ruthless and professional showing from the reigning Premier League champions, with Diogo Jota earning huge praise for scoring twice after being introduced from the bench.

Despite the Portuguese’s exhilarating cameo, it would not have been possible without an equally impressive performance from right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold.

After being left out of the most recent England squad by Gareth Southgate, he certainly looked back to his best in North London.

According to WhoScored, he was the highest-rated Liverpool player throughout the game – earning a rating of 8.25, his second-highest rating of the 2020/21 season so far in all competitions.

Alexander-Arnold was a constant threat to Arsenal throughout the game, having 94 touches of the ball which was a figure only surpassed by Thiago Alcantara and Nathaniel Phillips, showing just how much influence he had up and down that right flank.

The right-back also produced moments of quality that allowed the Reds to run away with the game. He contributed four key passes, one of those being a wonderful cross that dropped straight onto the head of Jota to power home.

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As a matter of fact, his crossing was once again a powerful weapon in his armoury against the Gunners. The 22-year-old supplied seven balls into the box throughout the game, as many as the entire Arsenal team combined.

Whilst Alexander-Arnold was vital from an attacking standpoint, he did not neglect his defensive responsibilities at the Emirates.

A further two tackles and three interceptions allowed Jurgen Klopp’s men to keep the hosts at bay, limiting Arsenal to just three shots throughout the entirety of the 90 minutes.

Labelled as “world-class” by Klopp following his England exclusion, Alexander-Arnold certainly proved that on Saturday and will hope to keep doing so as the Reds continue their pursuit of a top-four finish.

AND in more news, find out which Bundesliga maestro Liverpool must bring to Anfield…

Southampton produced an awful display on Monday evening as they were thrashed 3-0 by relegation-threatened West Brom at The Hawthorns.

Goals from Matheus Pereira, Matt Phillips and Callum Robinson secured a comfortable victory for Sam Allardyce’s side, whilst James Ward-Prowse missed a late penalty for the Saints.

Whilst there were very few good performances from a Southampton perspective, one man who particularly let Ralph Hasenhuttl down with a poor performance was Theo Walcott.

As per SofaScore, the on-loan Everton man earned a 6.5 match rating for his display, with only Ryan Bertrand (6.4) Danny Ings (6.3), Ibrahima Diallo (6.3) and Fraser Forster (5.9) rated lower of those who started the game.

The 32-year-old, who is currently valued at £5.4m by Transfermarkt, struggled to get involved in the game at all, as he registered just 27 touches and 12 accurate passes during his time on the pitch, which was fewer than the 31 touches and 15 passes contributed by goalkeeper Forster, per SofaScore.

This is significantly fewer than the 20.2 passes he has averaged per game in the Premier League so far this season, emphasising that he was nowhere near his best at The Hawthorns on Monday.

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On the opposite flank, Stuart Armstrong had 61 touches and completed 27 passes, which is more than double the amount Walcott managed, suggesting that the right winger simply wasn’t sufficiently involved in the game.

West Brom’s left-back Conor Townsend seemingly had the better of Walcott during the game, as he earned a 7.1 SofaScore rating and won six of his 10 duels, whereas the experienced Southampton man won only three of his eight.

Walcott’s replacement Che Adams also came far closer to a goal than the majority of his teammates, as his strike went narrowly wide of Sam Johnstone’s post.

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You could definitely argue that Walcott’s lack of involvement in the game cost Hasenhuttl on Monday, and now the Austrian has a big decision to make ahead of the FA Cup semi-final next weekend.

And, in other news… Forget Williams: Saints should swoop for “special” £4.5m-rated dynamo

Fans of Sunderland have been reacting to a post on Twitter, in which the Black Cats relayed footage of the club’s centre-back, Bailey Wright, reflecting on the recent defeat to Wigan Athletic.

Following the 2-1 loss to relegation-threatened Wigan on Tuesday evening, a result which saw Sunderland fall five points behind Peterborough United in the race for automatic promotion, Wright, who had only just returned to the side following a lengthy spell on the sidelines, stated his belief that the Black Cats were not good enough on the night.

The 28-year-old claimed in his post-match comments that Sunderland are well aware of their capabilities, however, that Lee Johnson’s side “fell well short” of their own standards during the 90 minutes at the DW Stadium, before going on to say that, while the defeat “hurts”, he and his team now need to “regroup” ahead of “another important game on Saturday”.

However, after Sunderland relayed the footage of Wright on Twitter, fans of the club flocked to have their say on the matter, with many appearing furious with the defender’s remarks.

So, what exactly did these Sunderland fans have to say in reaction to Bailey Wright’s post-match comments?

“Humiliating when you hear that, twice they’ve beaten us this season and comfortably beaten us on both occasions.”

@Itssamnthat

“Pretty rattled he said Wigan are a good side.”

@Jack_Tomlinson2

“‘Remain optimistic’, ‘We will put things right’, ‘It’s not over’. Empty gestures. You can’t put it right. It is over. You’re making us fans pessimistic when you bottle it consistently, season on season. Be better.”

@WhatTheFalkPod

“‘They made it difficult, they’re a good side’. OUR players made it difficult for themselves. OUR players made them look good. What an awful mentality that is.”

@kylemurg

“And that interview just about sums up how and why we’ve bottled it. Woeful mentality.”

@AJohno_

“There were times tonight this lad didn’t just look unfit but like he’d never played a game of football before. We don’t have access to the fitness levels and only have hindsight, but do have to wonder if Johnson should have gone with a different option having access to that.”

@davis0688

In other news: ‘Incredible’, ‘Never tire of watching this’ – Lots of SAFC fans buzz as ‘unreal’ footage emerges – find out more here!

Glasgow Rangers’ Commercial and Marketing Director James Bisgrove has revealed that the Gers are closing to selling 500,000 products in association with Castore.

Bisgrove discusses Castore

Despite a few teething problems following the confirmation of their partnership last year – there were reports of kits arriving late (Rangers News) and being damaged upon reaching their destination (The Scottish Sun) – Rangers and Castore now appear to be working well together.

Bisgrove was speaking with Ross Wilson during a Rangers webinar and he revealed just how well the agreement is going. He said:

“Ten months in, it’s been a remarkable period for us and Castore as an organisation.

“The numbers in which merchandise has been bought through the official channels has been phenomenal. We’re close to half a million products being sold across strips, training wear, lifestyle, accessories and the champions collection of products.”

Boost for Rangers

The number revealed by Bisgrove is huge, especially in a season where they cannot have fans at Ibrox. Even if 500,000 purchases were made only of the cheapest product available on the club’s online store – an A5 notepad soft cover (shop.rangers.co.uk) – that would still equate to a revenue of £1.28m. Obviously, the actual figure is going to be an awful lot higher than that.

As mentioned previously, there were initial concerns when the £25m deal was signed off (The Athletic), but now helped by the success of the Gers on the pitch, it appears to be a match made in heaven. The future looks bright for the 55-time Scottish champions.

In other news, many Rangers fans love this man’s pre-Old Firm comments.

According to reports from Turkey, Tottenham Hotspur have enquired about the potential summer signing of Trabzonspor goalkeeper Ugurcan Cakir.

The report by Fotospor (via Sport Witness) claimed that all three of Borussia Dortmund, Atalanta and PSV have already submitted offers for the 25-year-old. However, each of those offers – which are reported to be around €20m (£17m) plus a sell-on fee – was rejected by the Super Lig club.

It is also claimed that Tottenham have contacted Trabzonspor regarding the sale of the £14.4m-rated Turkey international, but the north London side are yet to submit a formal offer for Cakir.

Transfer Tavern Take

With Tottenham’s current number one Hugo Lloris being heavily linked with a summer departure, it is not overly surprising to discover that Spurs are have made an enquiry about the availability of a potential replacement for the Frenchman.

With Cakir having kept an impressive 12 clean sheets over his 32 Super Lig appearances for Trabzonspor so far this season, as well as Leicester City’s head of recruitment Lee Congerton claiming that the 25-year-old is “one of the best goalkeepers I have seen in my life”, it would certainly seem as if the Turkey international is indeed a worthy candidate to take over from Lloris this summer.

In other news: Spurs eye £21.75m swoop for 6 ft 5 powerhouse after Levy turns nose up at £36m deal – fine out more here!

Charlton Athletic midfielder Jake Forster-Caskey endured a disappointing evening at The Valley on Tuesday, as Nigel Adkins’ side slipped up in their push to secure a top-six finish in the league.

Knowing that a win would have significantly boosted their chances of securing a League One play-off spot come the end of the season, the Addicks ultimately failed to see the game out against a mid-table Crewe Alexandra side, as, despite taking the lead twice on the night, a last-gasp Owen Dale strike saw David Artell’s team leave southeast London with a share of the spoils, with the fixture ending 2-2.

The result means that Charlton remain in eighth place in the league standings, two points behind Portsmouth in sixth, albeit with a game in hand on their promotion-chasing rivals.

In the fixture itself, Forster-Caskey was one of the poorer performers for Adkins’ team, with the midfielder winning just four of his 14 duels, totalling a mere 29% success rate.

The £6,000-per-week man also completed just three of his 10 attempted long balls in the match, as well as three of his seven attempted crosses.

The former Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder did see a large share of the ball for his side, with his 64 touches ranking as the most out of any Charlton player on the night, however, the 27-year-old also managed to lose possession for his side on 17 occasions, with no other Addicks player doing so more.

Overall, Forster-Caskey earned a SofaScore match rating of just 6.5 for his efforts over the 90 minutes, the joint-lowest of any Charlton player to start the fixture.

As such, considering just how important the former England U21 international has been within Adkins’ side so far this season – with the midfielder’s seasonal SofaScore match rating of 7.31 ranking him as the club’s best performer in the third tier – it is essential that Forster-Caskey ups his game once again over the three remaining games of Charlton’s league campaign, or else they could be set to face another season languishing in League One. He let his side down on Tuesday, he can’t do that again in the upcoming fixtures.

Leicester City will be aiming to make it back-to-back Premier League victories on Monday evening as they do battle with Crystal Palace.

The Foxes head into the clash at the King Power Stadium having soundly defeated West Bromwich Albion 3-0 last Thursday.

Will Rodgers be tempted to rotate much for the visit of the Eagles?

We are expecting just a couple of changes to the team that dispatched of the Baggies last week.

Kasper Schmeichel will, of course, be in goal as he has been for the Foxes’ last 108 league matches.

The Dane is set to be shielded by a strong back-three with Jonny Evans, Caglar Soyuncu and Wesley Fofana all selected. The former will be hoping to get on the scoresheet once more having netted against West Brom last time out.

There might be a slight alteration out-wide though. Timothy Castagne will doubtless play after an exhilarating showing against the Baggies on Thursday but Ricardo Pereira could return after sitting out the previous game.

Should he be fit enough, he will replace young left-back Luke Thomas, despite it possibly being better for the latter to remain in the starting XI.

Wilfred Ndidi and Youri Tielemans should start again having harnessed a hugely impressive understanding this season.

There should, however, be a slight alteration in front of that duo with £110k per week James Maddison, who is only just making his return from a long-term lay-off, replaced by Ayoze Perez.

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Leicester’s front two should look exactly the same. Kelechi Iheanacho continued his fantastic form with yet another goal against West Brom, whilst Jamie Vardy ended his long run without one against the Baggies.

He will certainly be hoping to continue that goalscoring form on Monday having netted five career goals against the Eagles.

AND in more news, Leicester have been boosted with a major transfer target now potentially available…

According to Football Insider, a Tottenham Hotspur source has explained that the club and Daniel Levy will offer to triple Brendan Rodgers’ salary in an attempt to prise him from Leicester City – even despite the northern Irishman publicly distancing himself from the job.

Rodgers, who has guided the Foxes to a highly likely place in the Champions League next season, explained in a press conference that his focus was purely at the King Power Stadium (FourFourTwo).

Tottenham lining up big money Rodgers offer

Regardless, as per this new information from a Tottenham source speaking to FI, Levy is lining up a big money offer to treble Rodgers’ wages in the hope of tempting him away.

This comes nearly a decade after he was allegedly Levy’s ‘preferred choice’ to replace Harry Redknapp but opted for the role at Liverpool instead.

Spurs have not given up hope of landing Rodgers as per this report and are now willing to table a lucrative offer of £15 million-per-year including bonuses.

The source also explains that Levy is looking to ‘offer him the earth’ – and that is bordering on literate given the £15m-per-year wage is even more than previous boss Mourinho, who was on £12.5m-per-year.

Transfer Tavern take

Mourinho is still getting his full base salary whilst on gardening leave according to reports, so we advise to take this one with a pinch of salt.

Amid the financial implications of the coronavirus pandemic, news of Levy being willing to offer a Mourinho successor £15m-per-season comes as very surprising – especially considering the club still haven’t found a deal for the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium naming rights.

That being said, Rodgers would be a dream appointment for Spurs – with BT Sport pundit Robbie Savage recently dubbing him an ‘elite manager’ (via the Daily Mail).

In other news: Graham Roberts squashes links with this Champions League-winning boss, find out more here.

Plenty of Aston Villa fans have been reacting to the news that Villa Park could play host to this year’s Champions League Final.

Both Manchester City and Chelsea booked their place in the last two following wins over Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid respectively earlier this week, with the final scheduled to take place in Istanbul on May 29.

However, according to reliable Sky Sports reporter Rob Dorsett, Villa have offered up Villa Park to UEFA as an alternative venue.

Dorsett claims that huge changes to infrastructure at the stadium would have to take place should Pep Guardiola and Thomas Tuchel’s sides face off in the Midlands, however, UEFA are thought to be committed to Istanbul at this moment in time.

Villa still have three home league fixtures to fulfil before the end of the season, with fans set to return for the visit of Chelsea on the final day.

Villa fans react

@villareport shared Dorsett’s claims on Twitter on Thursday afternoon.

It didn’t take long for a number of Villa fans to go wild at the update, with one describing it as ‘unreal’.

“This would be massive”

Credit: @Cameron_Avfc

“Scenes”

Credit: @RyRyy69

“Limbs”

Credit: @manj_av

“That’s unreal”

Credit: @Matttavfc

“OH. MY. GOD.”

Credit: @ReubenOwen_

“Make this happen”

Credit: @arjo_97

In other news: Fresh Jack Grealish update emerges, find out more here.