All posts by z3u9t.icu

Sunderland are unbeaten in their last three games in the Championship, but as a result of their draw with Preston North End yesterday, the Black Cats have now fallen to seventh in the very tight league table.

Tony Mowbray’s team are now eight points adrift from Sheffield United at the top of the table, and if Sunderland want to compete for a chance at promotion, winning games is an absolute must.

Despite having the majority of possession (63%), twice as many shots at goal (16 v eight) and far more accurate passes (81% v 68%), the hosts were unable to find a goal to take all three points from the game.

It seems like the striker injury crisis is finally taking its toll on the Black Cats, as, in the first half, they had six shots on goal but only one of those was on target. In fact, it was much the same in the second half, with 10 shots on goal and only one shot on target again.

It’s clear Sunderland are starting to feel the lack of creativity and absence of Ross Stewart and Ellis Simms, but there was one player in particular who failed Mowbray over the course of the game and could’ve caused a lot more trouble.

Corry Evans struggled to dominate the centre of the pitch throughout his performance and even had fewer touches of the ball than Anthony Patterson (36 v 39).

Before being hooked back to the bench by Mowbray in the 60th minute, the 32-year-old midfielder lost 75% of his duels, made no attempts to dribble the ball and lost possession every five touches, further proving that Evans lacked resilience and failed to deliver any creativity in his position.

Sunderland will need to quickly recover as they are set to take on Blackpool at the Stadium of Light again on Tuesday night, and they will be even more desperate to take all three points in their attempts to close the gap between themselves and the top spots in the table.

With that being said, Mowbray will be hoping his injury problems become a thing of the past sooner rather than later, as there is still a huge chunk of the Championship season left and many points to pick up – with Sunderland undoubtedly hoping they have a chance of competing for back to back promotions come the end of the season.

Crystal Palace have been championing youth since the arrival of Patrick Vieira last summer, and this change of tack in recruitment saw the Eagles deliver some of their most exciting and entertaining football in many a year throughout last season.

However, the promising performances of the last Premier League campaign have struggled to carry through into the current campaign, as the Eagles are currently teetering on the edge of the relegation zone in 17th place with just six points collected over their first seven top-flight outings.

Indeed, the squad is suffering from several injury issues to established players, with Joachim Andersen, James McArthur and Nathaniel Clyne all doubts to feature against Leeds United this weekend. However, there are ways in which Vieira could reignite the Eagles’ more impressive form of the past few months.

Injecting some fresh perspectives into the team is one way that the Palace manager can give his side the boost that they need, and it is clear that he is already considering some of the youth talents rising through the ranks of the academy.

Youth goalkeeper Owen Goodwin was spotted in training at Copers Cope Road with the senior squad this week. The same is true for 16-year-old Jake Grante, who could be the Eagles’ next version of Andersen if he continues his blossoming development at the south London club.

The talented teenage defender has clearly caught the eye of the Palace manager with his performances for the under-18 side, which is an extremely promising sign for Grante, who has been with the club’s academy since 2014.

Making five appearances in the youth team so far this season, the gem will surely be highly motivated to continue excelling after being invited to join the first-team training session, and he is already being noticed on the international stage too.

Grante, who is noted as a ball-playing centre-back by Crystal Palace’s official website, earned his first call-up to the Republic of Ireland under-16s for a tournament in Serbia in April, further illustrating that he is one to watch for the future at the south London club.

That ball-playing trait, along with his position on the field, marks him out as having echoes of Andersen. The Denmark international has completed the second-most passes in Vieira’s squad so far this season (269) and also ranks in the 83rd percentile for passes made among positional peers in Europe’s top five leagues over the past 12 months.

With that in mind, the future is looking bright for the 16-year-old, and it may only be a matter of time before we see him featuring in the first-team squad, with the potential of one day becoming the successor in Andersen’s centre-back position should he continue to flourish in the academy and on the international stage.

Crystal Palace are reportedly interested in signing Rhys Norrington-Davies from Sheffield United and the left-back could form an electrifying duo with Wilfried Zaha in Patrick Vieira’s side.

According to Football Insider, Palace, Leicester City and Bournemouth are all keen on signing the Wales international in the January transfer window.

The 23-year-old has been a key part of Sheffield United’s rise to the top of the Championship table this season, featuring in every single game for Paul Heckingbottom’s side.

Norrington-Davies has shown his versatility too, featuring as an overlapping wide centre-back in the Blades’ notorious five-at-the-back formation, which suggests that he could provide cover in a number of roles at Selhurst Park.

After proving himself in loan spells with the likes of Barrow, Rochdale, Luton Town and Stoke City, Norrington-Davies is now one of the first names on the team sheet at Sheffield United and looks set to be a key part of their promotion push this season.

His contract at Bramall Lane is set to expire at the end of next season, which suggests that he could be available for a cut price, unless the Blades can tie him down to a new deal.

He will undoubtedly have aspirations of playing in the Premier League and while the Blades look very strong at the start of the new season, a move to Selhurst Park would guarantee top-flight football for the 23-year-old defender.

During his time on loan at Luton, manager Nathan Jones was full of praise for his potential.

He said: “It’s all an education as he’s still young and he needs to learn and he wants to learn, then the boy could have a fantastic career.”

Should he move to Crystal Palace, he would likely compete with Tyrick Mitchell for the starting role at left-back, meaning he could form a frightening partnership with the talismanic Zaha down the left-hand side.

While Mitchell continues to impress having progressed from Palace’s academy, he has contributed just one goal and four assists in his senior career.

Norrington-Davies meanwhile, has two goals and nine assists to his name, with WhoScored suggesting that one of his main strengths is passing, while he has also featured further forward as a left-midfielder in the past.

Wales manager Robert Page emphasised this after Norrington-Davies equalised in a game against the Netherlands, saying:

“Rhys was exceptional. He’s got great energy and he scored a great goal.”

Therefore, it seems likely that he would get forward far more than Mitchell down the left and could be a great overlapping option for Zaha in Vieira’s side should they bring him in during the January transfer window.

Adding his attacking spark alongside Zaha, a man with four goals in six outings already this term, would be a terrifying prospect for any defence; Palace must make it happen.

When John Bostock became Crystal Palace’s youngest-ever player aged just 15, there seemed little that would stop him from becoming a top player in the future.

However, a move to Tottenham Hobtspur the following year arguably ruined his chances of development and now, aged 30, he finds himself without a club following his exit from Doncaster Rovers during the summer.

Bostock made his first-team debut for the Eagles in October 2007, coming off the bench in a 2-0 defeat against Watford, and he looked set for a bright career at Selhurst Park.

However, his head was turned by a move to Tottenham Hotspur in 2008, with that transfer seemingly a huge factor in Bostock failing to live up to his immense potential.

Former Palace chairman Simon Jordan was less than impressed when Bostock made the switch to Spurs, saying:

“Like everything in this miserable game, it comes down to pounds, shillings and pence. Surely it should be down to what is best for a 16-year-old boy and where he is most likely to play.”

Jordan wasn’t far wrong, as in five years at Spurs, Bostock would make just four first-team appearances before he was released in 2013.

Since then, the midfielder’s career has taken him far and wide, with his best spells arguably coming in Belgium with Oud-Heverlee Leuven and France with RC Lens, where he hit 26 goals and 14 assists in a combined 106 appearances.

The former Palace wonderkid would return to England in 2019, signing for Nottingham Forest, where he would make only nine appearances in the 2019/20 campaign.

He continued to struggle for consistency and joined Doncaster Rovers in League One, but endured an injury-disrupted spell at the Keepmoat Stadium, and left the club after their relegation to League Two last season.

Despite being a free agent for more than four months now, it seems as if no side is willing to take the gamble of signing Bostock, which shows how far he has fallen since his move to Tottenham Hotspur.

Had he remained with Crystal Palace and continued to play first-team football as a teenager, there is no telling how much he could have achieved, but sadly it seems as if money ruined his chances of a career at the top.

Southampton are on a decidedly poor run of form at the moment, with a misfiring attack underpinning Ralph Hasenhuttl’s big issue.

They have scored just ten goals this campaign but have also shipped 18.

Although they recorded a decent victory last night against the Premier League’s in-form team in AFC Bournemouth, they are still just two points from the relegation zone and had lost four of their last five before last night.

Despite this result, the Austrian manager does not have Mohammed Elyounoussi to thank for this change in fortune.

He was once again disappointing last night, and despite being handed a SofaScore rating of 7.0, he was actually rather useless once again.

The Norwegian averaged a woeful 69% pass accuracy and lost possession 13 times throughout his 90 minutes.

Despite these numbers outlining an all-around disappointing display, creatively he also offered little to break down the stubborn Cherries.

He did not manage to complete one key pass or have a single shot on target.

With each passing game, he seems to prove the long-standing claims that football analyst Ben Wells relayed from supporters: he is too “one-dimensional”.

It marks yet another game without a goal contribution for the 28-year-old, with this being his tenth appearance in the league.

This is not just a problem from this season though, as Elyounoussi is yet to really kick on his career at all on the south coast.

Across his 63 appearances in total for the club, he has scored just eight times and assisted four more.

To think that whilst at Celtic, he played just four more times for them yet has 26 more goal contributions than he does for his current club, is rather telling.

He has been given plenty of chances now by Hasenhuttl, and yet lets him down on every occasion.

Last night marked a great opportunity to showcase what talents he does have, but yet again failed to hit the mark.

Time might finally be up for the toothless winger who has offered next to nothing since joining in 2018 for a mouth-watering £16m.

Frank Lampard made some excellent decisions during the summer transfer market that have given Everton a solid foundation to build on this season as they chase a top-half Premier League finish.

Signing Conor Coady, James Tarkowski and Amadou Onana has created a spine in the team which has seen them concede just 12 goals in 11 top flight fixtures so far.

With the January window fast approaching, the onus is on Lampard to move a few players who aren’t justifying their wage, and defender Yerry Mina should be one of them.

 Mina must go

The Colombian centre-back is earning £120k-per-week and having played just once in the Premier League this season due to injury, he is not justifying this massive weekly outlay.

In fact, since joining the Toffees in the summer of 2018 from Barcelona, Mina has missed 60 matches for the club, playing 91 times in over four seasons.

According to Calcio Dangolo (via Sport Witness), AS Roma are interested in bringing Mina to Serie A as they are on the hunt for a centre-back.

With his contract expiring at the end of the season and the club not willing to renew his deal, recouping some of the £27.2m fee they splashed out on the player will be one of Lampard’s main aims during the winter window.

With Coady and Tarkowski forming an excellent partnership in the heart of the defence, even when Mina does become fit, there is no guarantee he will oust any of them from the starting XI.

Journalist Martin Mucha described Mina as a “titan” following his performances for Colombia at the 2018 World Cup, becoming the first defender to score in their first three matches in the competition.

With Lampard aiming to significantly reduce the wage budget, helped by the departures of Fabian Delph, Jonjoe Kenny and Cenk Tosun, moving on Mina will suit all parties.

Hopefully, the club can get some sort of fee for him in January and potentially use this to improve other areas of the team.

Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou has no doubt inspired a real reversal of fortunes at Parkhead over the past year or so, taking a side that had finished 25 points off leaders Rangers prior to his arrival to Scottish Premiership glory last term, with that stellar form continuing with ten wins from their opening 11 league games this season.

One major success story of the 57-year-old’s time in Glasgow thus far has been that of Anthony Ralston, with the academy graduate having gone from peripheral figure to valued squad member under the former Yokohama boss’ tutelage.

The 23-year-old had previously made just a solitary top-flight appearance during the 2020/21 campaign under Neil Lennon – following earlier stints on loan at the likes of Dundee United and St Johnstone – with it looking as if the Scotsman had no long-term future at Paradise.

As it proved, however, the attacking right-back went on to play a key part in the Old Firm outfit’s domestic success last term – despite the arrival of fellow defender Josip Juranovic – scoring four goals and providing nine assists in the league alone.

That stunning form also saw the 6-foot machine register 13 big chances and average 1.3 key passes per game from his 28 league outings, having seemingly thrived in the new manager’s inverted full-back system.

Such form has also seen the Bellshill-born starlet force his way into Steve Clarke’s plans at senior level for Scotland, with the £1.8m-rated ace notably scoring in the win over Armenia in the Nations League back in June.

As pundit Craig Levein noted, it has been some transformation for the six-cap colossus to go from something of an “ordinary” figure with the Hoops to an “international player” over the past 12 months, with that no doubt a marker of his manager’s quality as a coach.

Postecoglou will likely be looking to the academy once again to try and find another hidden gem in the youth ranks, with 18-year-old right-back Ben McPherson potentially one who can follow in Ralston’s footsteps in the near future.

The promising teen is yet to enjoy a taste of life in the first team, although has caught the eye with his display for both the club’s B team and in the youth ranks, having made nine appearances in all competitions this term.

While a red card in the 6-0 defeat to Real Madrid in the UEFA Youth League was a notable low point for the youngster, the Scotland youth international was then part of the side that claimed victory over RB Leipzig a few weeks later, with coach Stephen McManus subsequently lauding his exciting side as full of “terrific young players” who have a “bright future” in the game.

Postecoglou has previously suggested that he is keen to get that “conveyor belt of talent going between the B team directly up to the first team”, with McPherson one of those who he may well be keeping an eye on at present.

Liverpool are likely to be ‘tracking’ Borussia Dortmund striker Youssoufa Moukoko ahead of the January window, according to transfer insider Dean Jones.

The Lowdown: Alongside Bellingham

The Premier League giants have been strongly linked with a move for Jude Bellingham for a long time, although it appears that he isn’t the only star turn at the Signal Iduna Park that the Merseyside outfit admire

Moukoko’s deal with the Bundesliga side expires at the end of the season, with the Reds believed to be the favourites to land the 17-year-old at this moment in time.

Football Insider reported earlier this month that Jurgen Klopp is hot on the tail of the teenager, with a move to Anfield a serious possibility for the youngster.

The Latest: Liverpool ‘tracking’ Moukoko

Speaking to GiveMeSport, Jones was full of praise for Moukoko and claimed that Liverpool will be one of the clubs monitoring his contract situation.

He said: “Moukoko is going to be one of the best players in the game. The next time we’re looking at Golden Boys, you’re probably looking at Moukoko being part of that conversation.

“There are going to be lots of teams tracking him at the moment, and it makes sense to me that Liverpool will be one of them.”

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The Verdict: Get it done…

Liverpool’s interestin Moukoko comes as no surprise given his outstanding track record, which has seen him being dubbed a ‘machine’ by football talent scout Jacek Kulig.

The Bundesliga starlet made an astonishing 106 goal contributions in just 56 appearances for Dortmund’s under-17s (90 goals and 16 assists).

He has already gone on to become an integral member of the first team at Signal Iduna Park, making 55 senior appearances before he reaches his 18th birthday.

The Reds are renowned for trusting in young players, giving the likes of Harvey Elliott and Fabio Carvalho plenty of game-time, and adding Moukoko to that list should be a no-brainer of a deal for FSG t to try and complete.

Crystal Palace are close to agreeing a new deal with forward Jordan Ayew, according to reporter Richard Cawley.

The Lowdown: Ayew at Palace

Ayew made the move to Selhurst Park in 2019 and is approaching 150 appearances as an Eagles player, contributing to 27 goals during that time.

The 31-year-old, on £40,000-a-week, has been a regular under Patrick Vieira in the Premier League but will soon be entering the final six months of his current contract.

He’ll be hoping to feature at the World Cup later this month for Ghana, and it looks as if Steve Parish and Dougie Freedman are closing in on a new deal for the forward before the trip to Qatar.

The Latest: New deal

Cawley shared a story for London News Online on Friday regarding Ayew.

He revealed that the club are close to agreeing on a contract extension which will keep the player at Palace until 2024.

The Verdict: Good news

Ayew is one of 11 Palace players who will be out of contract at the end of the season, so it’s good to see that the club are making a start on some in-house business.

The forward appears to be an important member of Vieira’s side, mainly providing an option on the right-hand side so far this season. He now has plenty of top-flight experience in the Premier League, so it would be welcome news if an extension was triggered before the World Cup begins.

Palace could then move on to more contract extensions within the first-team squad, with Wilfried Zaha the most high-profile Palace player whose contract will also soon expire.

Aston Villa could soon be offered the chance to sign Barcelona midfielder Franck Kessie in a deal which would see Douglas Luiz head to the Nou Camp.

The Lowdown: New deal for Luiz

The Brazilian was heavily linked with a move away from Villa Park over the summer, with Arsenal reportedly making three bids for the player on transfer deadline day.

The 24-year-old has since signed a new long-term deal in the Midlands, but that hasn’t stopped rumours circling once again heading into 2023.

The Latest: Luiz for Kessie swap?

Calciomercato shared a story on Monday regarding Luiz and Barcelona. They claimed that the Spanish giants have identified the Villa midfielder as a January target and are even readying an offer for him.

The report states that Barcelona are ‘seriously considering’ using Kessie as part of a deal for Luiz, despite the Ivory Coast star only joining the Blaugrana in the summer.

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The Verdict: Interesting

Kessie, who was labelled a ‘complete player’ by his former AC Milan manager Stefano Pioli, was linked with a move to the Midlands earlier this year.

Valued at €35m (£30.8m) by Transfermarkt, the 25-year-old has played in a variety of midfield roles for Barcelona, making 13 appearances in all competitions.

Who knows, Unai Emery and Villa may well entertain the idea of a potential swap deal involving the two midfielders despite Luiz’s new contract, so this could be one to watch heading into 2023.