All posts by n8rngtd.top

Chelsea’s handling of Hakim Ziyech’s failed transfer to Paris Saint-Germain has been disgraceful and their business may cause a problem for Graham Potter, Scott Minto has claimed.

What’s the word?

Ziyech looked set for a deadline day loan move to PSG, but a problem with the paperwork meant the move did not go through, much to his disappointment.

Chelsea spent heavily in the January window, signing in eight players, including four attackers in Noni Madueke, Joao Felix, Mykhailo Mudryk and David Datro Fofana, meaning Ziyech’s game time could become severely reduced.

However, the Morocco international started in their following game, a goalless draw with Fulham, and this decision has now been questioned, given that he was close to leaving just days before.

Speaking on TalkSPORT, Minto claimed that the messy situation will do Graham Potter no favours.

“You’ve got at least half a dozen, if not double figures, of players who can’t even get in the squad. How do you keep players happy all the time?” He stated.

“An example is Hakim Ziyech. What happened was disgraceful, really. I blame his agents more than anyone but Chelsea as a club should have sorted that out and should have made sure it happens.

“Why is he going to Fulham just days after he should have joined PSG? It makes no sense. So that’s Graham Potter saying, ‘I’ve got to bring this guy onside’ and that’s a distraction.”

Ziyech harshly treated

The biggest victim of the whole saga was Ziyech himself, who now finds himself in limbo at Chelsea.

With his future almost certainly being away from the club, he will now have to settle for a role which is unlikely to include regular starts for the rest of the season, and his head will be elsewhere having nearly secured a move away.

Potter has a difficult task to keep him happy, whilst also keeping his younger new arrivals content with the amount of game-time they will receive, and with Chelsea out of both domestic cup competitions, there are less fixtures for rotation.

YouTuber Conor McGilligan has urged Leeds United to avoid a “U-turn in strategy” and go and hire Ralph Hasenhuttl as the club’s new manager.

What’s the word?

Interim boss Michael Skubala will remain in charge for this weekend’s home clash against Manchester United, having overseen the mid-week draw against the Red Devils.

Despite that, with Jesse Marsch now sacked, the Whites are on the lookout to hire a new manager as soon as possible. However, certain targets have already ruled them out of contention.

For instance, Feyenoord manager Arne Slot has committed himself to his current job amid talk that Leeds could be trying to bring him in.

With that in mind, while talking on the One Leeds Fan Channel, McGilligan urged the club to keep looking for a new type of manager instead of hiring someone similar to Marsch, such as Hasenhuttl – who has been mentioned in the media as a possibility.

He said: “I’m just really hoping they don’t go down the Ralph Hasenhuttl route, because that, for me, would be a complete U-turn in strategy, philosophy, idea.

“They’ve been looking at [Marcelo] Gallardo, they’ve been looking at Arne Slot, they’ve be looking at – publicly, as well – [Andoni] Iraola, who were very, very different to the Red Bull system.

“So, Leeds are to trying to move away from that. If they went to Ralph Hasenhuttl now, they clearly just don’t know what they’re doing. There’s no strategy, there’s no tactical plan. It seems like it’s all PR. So that’s the problem.”

Time for a change

As alluded to by McGilligan, Hasenhuttl is similar to Marsch in the fact that both men have built their reputations as coaches with Red Bull-affiliated football clubs.

Indeed, before joining Leeds, the American worked for clubs such as New York Red Bulls, RB Leipzig, and RB Salzburg – while Hasenhuttl spent two seasons at Leipzig.

As a result, both men seem to enjoy playing the narrow 4-2-2-2 formation with the Whites often using that setup during Marsch’s time in charge. And so, if the club do hire Hasenhuttl, you can expect thing to tactically remain fairly similar.

Seeing as the club have tried to hire other managers first, however, it sounds as though this isn’t Plan A. And so it will be interesting to see if the Leeds hierarchy change their approach and go in for the former Southampton boss in the face of rejection from preferred targets such as Slot.

An update has emerged on Newcastle United and their interest in signing Antonee Robinson in the summer transfer window…

What’s the latest on Antonee Robinson to Newcastle?

According to Football Insider, the Magpies are eyeing up the Fulham left-back as their number-one target to bolster their options in that position ahead of the 2023/24 campaign.

The report claims that the club have been scouting the USA international, formerly of Wigan, but could face competition from Inter, AC Milan, and Manchester City, who are all looking at the dynamo.

It is stated that the club ‘desperately’ want to improve their left-back choices and would like to sign a younger full-back who offers more of an attacking threat than Dan Burn.

Is Robinson better than Dan Burn?

Eddie Howe could land an upgrade on his current first-choice in that position by securing a deal to sign Robinson ahead of City and the two Italian giants this summer.

The former Brighton defender has averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.84 across 23 appearances for the Magpies in the Premier League so far this season.

Burn has been a solid defender at the back for the Toon with 1.9 tackles and interceptions per game and has won 55% of his duels in the top flight, which shows that the gem can hold his own in physical contests and regularly cuts out opposition attacks.

Robinson, meanwhile, has made 2.8 tackles and interceptions per match and won 55% of his battles in 21 outings for Fulham in the division this term.

These statistics indicate that the 25-year-old enforcer could offer a similar level of defensive efficiency whilst completing more defensive actions to win the ball back for his side.

On the ball, the USA international, who is five years younger than Burn, has created 15 chances in 21 matches, six more than the current Toon man has managed (nine) in 22 games.

Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic once hailed the battler as “electric” and described his progression of the ball as “fun to watch”. Indeed, Robinson is in the top 10% of left-backs in Europe’s top five leagues over the last 365 days for progressive carries per 90 (3.40), whilst the Newcastle defender is in the worst 1% (0.60).

This suggests that the Fulham defender would be a sizeable upgrade on the 30-year-old in terms of what he offers in possession, in both carrying the ball forwards to progress play and in creating opportunities for his teammates, which is why Howe must bring him in this summer.

Eddie Howe says that Joe Willock is ‘touch and go’ to be fit for Newcastle United for the Carabao Cup final against Manchester United on Sunday afternoon.

The Lowdown: On the sidelines

Willock had to be forced off through injury during the first half of Newcastle’s 1-1 draw at Bournemouth in the Premier League earlier this month, with Howe admitting that he was concerned over the extent of the issue.

Consequently, he was left out of the squad for their 2-0 loss at home to Liverpool on Saturday evening, and will be sweating over whether he can make his return in the final.

The Latest: ‘Touch and go’

Speaking to the media, Howe has claimed (via The Northern Echo) that Willock will be ‘touch and go’ in terms of being fit for the final, and that they will have to make a ‘late decision’ on him:

“He’ll be touch and go during the week.

“He’s improved, it will probably be a late decision on him.”

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/newcastle-news-7/” title=”Newcastle news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: Fingers crossed!

All fingers will be crossed in terms of hoping that Willock will be fit enough to play in the final for the Magpies.

He has been one of their standout players in an impressive Premier League season, scoring two goals and making two assists, as well as ranking highly among his team-mates for average tackles, interceptions, blocks, shots, key passes, dribbles, pass success and crosses per game (WhoScored).

Willock also has the experience of playing in a major domestic final before, having won the FA Cup with Arsenal in 2020, and so his experience could prove vital in trying to overcome United on Sunday.

West Brom midfielder Brandon Thomas-Asante has been ruled out of the Championship clash with Hull City, journalist Lewis Cox has confirmed.

The Lowdown: Big game for Baggies

Carlos Corberan’s side are back in league action on Friday evening, with victory at Hull taking them to eighth place in the table, for the time being at least.

West Brom’s opponents are in 16th position and are neither threatened by relegation or pushing for promotion, so it is a winnable fixture for the visitors.

Ahead of the game, the Baggies have suffered a concerning injury blow, though.

The Latest: Thomas-Asante ruled out

Taking to Twitter, Cox said that Thomas-Asante is definitely of Friday’s game through injury and could miss more action:

“Been to Albion and it’s a big blow. Brandon Thomas-Asante (hamstring) misses tomorrow and poss next week too.”

Grady Diangana, Jake Livermore and Karlan Grant are also out.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/efl-news/” title=”EFL news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: Undoubted setback

This is a clear blow for West Brom, with Thomas-Asante an important figure throughout this season, scoring five goals in 11 Championship starts and also netting twice in as many FA Cup appearances.

The 24-year-old is a strong source of end product and has been described as ‘unbelievable’ by Cox himself, following his dramatic late equaliser against Burnley earlier in the season.

Hopefully, Corberan’s men will have enough to get past Hull, however, with a victory there feeling big in the promotion battle, not to mention putting pressure on their rivals ahead of the weekend fixtures.

A shock report from Turkey has claimed that Alex Iwobi ‘wants to leave’ Everton, as he is ‘unhappy’ at the club, and Fenerbahce could sign him ‘shortly’.

The Lowdown: New contract?

It was only reported in February that Everton were ‘pressing ahead’ to tie Iwobi down to a new contract, with his current deal set to expire in 2024.

However, shock reports have emerged that he now wants to leave, and he could make an out-of-window move to Turkey, with their mid-season transfer window still open.

The Latest: Could leave ‘shortly’…

As per Turkish news outlet A Spor, Iwobi is ‘unhappy’ at Goodison Park, and ‘wants to leave’.

Fenerbahce could sign him ‘shortly’ on loan with an option to buy, and the Merseyside club are ‘working hard’ to get a deal done before their deadline day on Sunday.

Sean Dyche has actually responded to the rumours, claiming he believes an exit is ‘unlikely’.

The Verdict: Big shock

It would be a big shock if the report is true and Iwobi is set to leave over the next couple of days.

The Nigeria international has really stepped up this season, with his former manager Frank Lampard hailing his development as ‘brilliant’.

His form has continued under Dyche, as he is currently the highest assister in the squad, while he has also averaged more key passes per match in the Premier League than any of his team-mates (WhoScored).

The Toffees now have a huge decision to make, as they will not want to keep an unhappy player, and being the joint highest earner on £120,000-per-week, they have to weigh up whether it is worth letting Iwobi go that they currently find themselves in a relegation battle.

West Ham could look at a move for Rafael Benitez to possibly replace David Moyes, according to The Daily Express.

The Lowdown: Moyes chants

The Hammers lost 4-0 at Brighton in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon, with the travelling supporters chanting ‘you don’t know what you’re doing’ and ‘you’re getting sacked in the morning’ at Moyes in either half.

West Ham continue to flirt with the bottom three following their 14th league defeat and potential replacements for the Scot are being mooted in the media, although Roshane Thomas has stated that Moyes still has support from the board.

The Latest: Benitez claim

Jack McEachen of The Daily Express shared a story on Saturday evening following the 4-0 defeat to Brighton, looking at five possible options to replace Moyes with the pressure mounting.

One of those was Benitez, with the reporter saying that the Spaniard is after a ‘project’ in his next job, something which the Hammers would represent.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/west-ham-latest-news-6/” title=”West Ham latest news” poster=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/cropped-david-moyes-premier-league-scaled-1.jpg” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: Needed?

A change appears needed at the London Stadium in what has been a hugely frustrating campaign, and Benitez could be the man to turn things around.

He has actually defeated Moyes 11 times during his career and has plenty of experience in England with Liverpool, Newcastle and Everton.

The 4-2-3-1 manager also has experience of managing a side in the latter stages of a European competition, and with West Ham still in the Europa Conference League, bringing in Benitez could be a wise move, both in the short and long run, especially with the available 62-year-old seemingly looking for a long-term role.

Robbie Mustoe believes that Roberto De Zerbi would be a great David Moyes successor at West Ham.

The Lowdown: Pressure growing on Moyes

The pressure is certainly growing on David Moyes with every passing week and every passing Premier League fixture at least as the Hammers find themselves outside of the bottom three but only via goal difference.

While West Ham are very impressive in Europe this season having won every game in the Conference League, if they end up winning that competition but get relegated, not many people will be impressed.

Despite West Ham’s poor run of form this entire season, there have been no grumblings from inside the club with reports suggesting Moyes does indeed still have the backing of the board.

The Latest: De Zerbi would be a top appointment

While nothing appears to be imminent in terms of sacking Moyes, Mustoe has admitted on The 2 Robbie’s podcast that Brighton’s De Zerbi would be a top replacement for Moyes having shown his ability this season averaging 1.44 points per game in the Premier League.

He said: (59:30) “If I was Director of Football at West Ham I would be like, let’s stick with David Moyes, trust him to get us out of it as he’s done it before but in the summer let’s have a look around a little bit.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/west-ham-latest-news-6/” title=”West Ham latest news” poster=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/cropped-david-moyes-premier-league-scaled-1.jpg” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

“De Zerbi, Roberto De Zerbi I think there’s quite a lot [of potential managers] but how good would he be for West Ham by the way.”

The Verdict: West Ham have a huge decision on their hands

The idea of bringing in De Zerbi to West Ham will be exciting and something the Hammers faithful would likely love to happen, but given where Brighton and West Ham are in the table, it would be a big decision for him to leave the Seagulls.

As things stand, Brighton are on the cusp of securing European football for the first time in the club’s history and that would likely be too good to ignore and not want to build on for next season from De Zerbi’s point of view.

Even if Moyes is able to turn West Ham’s season around, it would be quite a surprise for them to stick with the Scott heading into next season, just because he seems unable to get the most out of an expensively assembled squad under his watch.

Celtic ‘should elaborate’ further on the injury to defender Greg Taylor, according to Scotland manager Steve Clarke.

The Lowdown: International omission

The Hoops left-back was noticeably missing from the matchday squad for the 3-1 Scottish Premiership victory over Hearts last week, causing initial concern among supporters.

Ange Postecoglou later put minds at ease during his post-match interview by revealing that the 25-year-old simply wasn’t risked due to feeling soreness in training:

“Greg should be fine. No problem, he probably could’ve played tonight at a stretch but we just thought we’d be a bit cautious there.”

However, it would appear that he’s still not over his problem…

The Hampden Park international boss has omitted the star from his Scotland squad for the European Championship qualifiers against Cyprus and Spain later this month.

The Latest: Clarke’s comments

Speaking after the squad announcement, Clarke confirmed that he’d spoken to Taylor about his decision and urged Celtic to lift the lid on exactly what his situation is. He said:

“I have had a chat with Greg. It is really a Celtic issue, more than for me to comment on. He is carrying a little injury.

“He will probably benefit from a rest rather than coming away with the national team. Celtic should elaborate on that a little bit.”

The Verdict: Fast recovery needed

Taylor has become a regular feature under Postecoglou and the Celtic boss will be hoping that he overcomes his injury as soon as possible to continue helping the team.

The Bhoys defender has posted 18 assists and five goals in 117 appearances since joining, and it’s fair to say he’s enjoying a mightily impressive season.

The Greenock-born talent currently ranks in the 97th percentile for most progressive passes and is averaging 1.3 key passes per league game, which has seen him bag four man-of-the-match awards (WhoScored).

The left-footed ace also offers versatility with his ability to operate in five different positions, including higher up in the midfield and on the opposite flank, making him a useful option for the manager to have at his disposal.

The Australian previously publicly praised Taylor for his individual contribution to the side and has backed him to carry on performing at a high level:

“I can’t talk about before I got here, but since I’ve been here, he’s really embraced the challenge of being a key part of this team.

“Obviously, the way we play is a little bit different, I think he’s embraced that, and he’s continuing to improve.”

Callum Hudson-Odoi looked destined for great things when he first broke into the team at Chelsea but he has sadly failed to live up to expectations with the Blues and Graham Potter should look to get rid of him in the summer.

Should Chelsea get rid of Hudson-Odoi?

Hudson-Odoi joined Chelsea 16 years ago in 2007 and would dazzle in his time in the academy, memorably scoring ten goals in seven appearances in the FA Youth Cup in the 2017/18 campaign.

His incredible form in the academy saw him earn his first four senior appearances that season, as he featured twice in the Premier League and twice in the FA Cup, despite still being a teenager.

Further appearances and his first senior goals would follow in the 2018/19 season, with an impressive four goals and two assists in nine Europa League appearances as the Blues won the trophy under Maurizio Sarri.

It was no surprise therefore that when Frank Lampard took over from the Italian he was keen to utilise one of Chelsea's most exciting young talents, and Hudson-Odoi would register one goal and five assists in 22 Premier League outings in the 2019/20 campaign but averaged a disappointing 6.56 rating from WhoScored for his performances.

Soon, the England international would transition from a promising youngster to an established member of the first team, who was sadly failing to perform consistently.

Under Thomas Tuchel in the 2021/22 campaign, he enjoyed the most Premier League starts of his career with 11, but failed to make that opportunity count, with just one goal and two assists to his name.

Alan Shearer and Ian Wright were both critical of the winger, who earns £120k-per-week at Chelsea, when speaking on Premier League Productions after a particularly poor display away at Brighton in January of last year.

Shearer suggested that the 22-year-old was "really poor" while Wright blasted his failure to find Romelu Lukaku on a counterattack, saying that he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Following the takeover from Todd Boehly, Chelsea have seen an influx of wingers arrive at the club, with Raheem Sterling signed from Manchester City in the summer, which was perhaps a catalyst in Hudson-Odoi being loaned to Bayer Leverkusen for the 2022/23 campaign.

His return of no goals and just one assist in 13 Bundesliga appearances does not bode well for his future at Stamford Bridge, especially given the January arrivals of Mykhailo Mudryk and Noni Madueke.

Therefore, it seems clear now that Hudson-Odoi won't be good enough to be a regular at Chelsea and Potter should look to get rid of him in the summer before his market value drops significantly, bringing an end to his 16-year stay at the Bridge.