All posts by h716a5.icu

Former Wolves striker Steve Bull has exclusively told Football FanCast that he’s confident Harry Kane will spend the rest of his career at Tottenham.

Since becoming one of the Premier League’s best strikers following his breakthrough into the first-team under Mauricio Pochettino, Kane has been continuously linked away from north London.

Those reports have surfaced once again in recent days after Spurs crashed out of the Europa League, meaning Kane’s only chance of winning silverware this season is a long-shot in next month’s Carabao Cup final against strong favourites Manchester City.

Kane has previously admitted in an Instagram live that he remains committed to the club, but wouldn’t stay for the “sake of it”.

But Bull is expecting Kane to stay at Tottenham this summer and has tipped the England captain to follow in the footsteps of former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard and become a one-club man.

He told Football FanCast:

“I can’t see him not being the Gerrard of Liverpool, Giggs of Manchester United, Bully of Wolves. I can’t see him going anywhere because of Mourinho – he wants to win trophies and Kane wants to win trophies.

“And I think he can do it with him. Mourinho is the one that has got to entice him and say ‘we are going places. I am stopping here, you need to stop here’.

“I don’t think he should go anywhere, he should carry on ticking away scoring goals for fun, winning the Golden Boot year in year out and playing for his country.”

With Kane turning 28 in July, it does feel like now or never if he’s to leave Tottenham. And knowing that both Manchester clubs, plus Real Madrid need a new striker, Kane’s loyalty to Spurs might well be tested in the coming months.

Rangers striker Jermaine Defoe has been touted as a possible option for Sunderland recently and Steven Gerrard should allow the 38-year-old veteran to leave Ibrox this summer.

According to The Scottish Sun, the striker doesn’t want to quit football, with Paul Robinson suggesting that Sunderland would definitely be interested in re-signing him should the opportunity arise.

The former England international spent time with the Mackems between 2014 and 2017, contributing an impressive 37 goals and four assists in 93 appearances.

Whilst Defoe was impressive for Rangers last season, hitting 13 goals in 20 Premiership appearances, he has found himself on the fringes of Gerrard’s squad this season, managing just 13 appearances in all competitions, although he has contributed four goals and two assists in that time.

The experienced forward is one of the top earners at Ibrox, as he reportedly earns £30k per week, and unfortunately, rare appearances from the bench do not justify that sort of wage, and therefore, Gerrard should allow him to leave and continue playing football elsewhere this summer when his contract with the Gers expires.

The former Liverpool man may well be tempted to keep his former England teammate to keep some experience in his first-team squad, but really, he should cast one eye towards the future at Rangers, and instead focus on the development of some strikers in the academy sides, as if Defoe were to sign, you feel that his game time would be extremely limited.

Gerrard already has the likes of Alfredo Morelos, Kemar Roofe and Cedric Itten as striker options in his side, so you feel that Defoe won’t be missed too much if he is allowed to leave in the summer, plus, freeing up such a large salary may make things a bit easier for Gerrard in the transfer market.

Therefore, despite his solid contribution during his time as a Rangers player, Gerrard should not consider handing Defoe a new deal. He should axe the 38-year-old this summer, allow him to move on to pastures new and start focusing on the future for Rangers.

And, in other news… Changing of the guard: Rangers getting a guard of honour in the Old Firm derby sums up Gerrard’s time at Ibrox

Kevin Phillips has exclusively told Football FanCast that Portsmouth would be “crazy” to get rid of Kenny Jackett, but isn’t surprised by the pressure from the Fratton Park faithful.

Pompey topped the League One standings at Christmas following victory at Hull, but their league form has taken a dramatic turn for the worse in recent weeks, which has led to a number of supporters calling for Jackett to be sacked.

Having suffered another damaging defeat to Phillip’s former side Sunderland on Wednesday, the South Coast outfit have slipped 10 points behind the automatic promotion places, and are just about clinging onto their top-six place with the likes of Ipswich and Charlton breathing down their neck.

But Portsmouth will be given a welcome break from League One action on Saturday when they take on Salford City in their rearranged 2020 Papa John’s Trophy final.

Phillips told Football FanCast:

“I’ve been around football a long time. Am I surprised? No, not really. Football supporters are what they are. And a club the size of Portsmouth, a bit like Sunderland, having been in that league now for a while, they feel that they shouldn’t be there.

“Getting into the position they have done a few weeks ago to have tailed off in the last three four weeks, they will be disappointed. 

“So I’m not surprised. But I am little bit because he’s an experienced guy, they’re in the playoffs, they still have a great opportunity to get a good result this weekend to really kick on and find some form again.” 

But does the ex-Sunderland frontman believe that Jackett should be given time despite Pompey’s recent struggles.

He added:

“Definitely. Kenny’s an experienced guy. Who are they going to bring in that’s got as much experience as Kenny? He’ll turn it around, I’m sure he’ll keep them in the play-offs. I think it’d be crazy to get rid of him. Just go with it, and hopefully they’ll turn it around.”

Kevin Phillips will be a studio guest for Quest’s highlights of the Papa John’s Trophy Final on Sunday. Stream on discovery+

Jean Philippe-Mateta will likely be thrown straight into Crystal Palace’s first team for the Premier League clash with Wolves at Selhurst Park on Saturday afternoon.

Roy Hodgson confirmed Mateta has been training with his teammates following his high-profile move from Mainz and it looks like he could be in line to link up with Wilfried Zaha upfront.

Palace played a strong side for their midweek defeat to West Ham, which they lost courtesy of a brace from Tomas Soucek. The Eagles have now lost nine of their past 10 games in all competitions, although most of the starters should keep their places, with Hodgson left to decide which of Jordan Ayew, Christian Benteke, Michy Batshuayi or Mateta to pick alongside Zaha in attack.

With that in mind, here is Football FanCast’s predicted starting line-up, which sees Hodgson make three changes to the defeat to West Ham.

Hodgson has some decisions to make after clearly being left frustrated by their abject first half performance against West Ham. Despite this, Vicente Guaita will keep the gloves, which means Jack Butland will have to settle for a place on the bench at Selhurst Park.

The Palace boss will probably go with a largely unchanged back four from the defeat to David Moyes’ side, with Nathaniel Clyne the only change replacing Joel Ward at right-back.

Palace are of course without the injured James Tomkins, who has been ruled out due to an eye injury he sustained during first-team training.

Jairo Riedewald could be handed a rare start against Wolves, despite the left-footed midfielder being restricted to ten top-flight appearances as a substitute this season.

Hodgson dropped a strong hint in his press conference that Mateta could start against Wolves, though it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him start from the bench.

AND in other news, Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson dealt James Tomkins injury blow before Wolves clash…

Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Braut Haaland sent Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer an instant reminder of his obvious talents just a day before the Red Devils drew a blank with West Brom.

Haaland burst onto the scene last season at Red Bull Salzburg before Dortmund beat United to sign the Norway international from the Austrian side for a mere £17m in 2019.

In retrospect, that looks to have been an absolute snip, especially considering the price they paid, as the 20-year-old has scored 39 goals in 41 appearances across all competitions for the Bundesliga giants.

He is, by quite some margin, one of the most exciting and prolific strikers in European football right now, so it’s no surprise to see that he finds himself on the Red Devils’ radar once again, according to the latest reports.

However, despite Haaland and Jadon Sancho both finding the back of the net, Dortmund had to settle for a draw with Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga on Saturday as their struggles this season continued.

Although the towering 6 ft 3 in centre-forward was unable to arrest his side’s recent slump in form, as Edin Terzic’s side fought back to secure a point on the day, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer would have been left highly impressed by what he would have seen from Haaland had he been watching.

In one of the more controversial moments of the game, he scored a late equaliser after latching onto a misplaced pass before bursting into the box and firing home.

Ihlas Bebou’s header from close range gave Hoffenheim a well-deserved lead yet the Norwegian superstar stayed on the offensive as he tried to salvage a point for Terzic’s side, ending his 90′ minutes with two successful dribbles from three attempts, as per SofaScore.

He also won six out of his nine duels overall, showing that despite their best efforts the Hoffenheim defenders found it incredibly difficult to get the better of him with his duel success rate a fine 66%, which is more than can be said for Edinson Cavani, who was largely anonymous against the Baggies with the 33-year-old failing to win a single duel from two attempts, per SofaScore.

In addition, Haaland – who is currently valued at €200m (£178m) via CIES Football Observatory – took three shots in total in the entire game, including two on target, which is vastly superior to Cavani, as the Uruguayan striker couldn’t register a single attempt all game, let alone a shot on target.

Haaland finished with a match rating of 7.4 as per Sofascore, with only two other players on the pitch scoring higher, and showed off his credentials as a big-moment play by rescuing Dortmund in the final ten minutes of the game.

With Anthony Martial struggling to replicate the form that saw him score 17 goals in the Premier League last season, Haaland’s latest heroics will no doubt have sent the Old Trafford hierarchy an instant reminder that he needs to be their top priority in the summer.

Given how Bruno Fernandes had to be United’s savior once more at the weekend by dragging the team back into the game with a stupendous volley, Haaland’s arrival would give the Portuguese talisman a genuine world-class talent for him to supply.

The pressure would be off Fernandes’ shoulders, and the former Sporting man would be able to trust in Haaland to deliver the goods week-in and week-out for Solskjaer’s side just like he is doing at Dortmund.

Haaland’s display on Saturday sent Solskjaer a message that he could well handle the burden that comes with being a number nine for United, and would also have left the boss wondering just how much of a partnership he could strike up with Fernandes.

AND in other Man Utd news, Bruno Fernandes was Manchester United’s one shining light vs West Brom…

Many Wolves fans were amazed by a statistic that defender Willy Boly generated during his side’s 3-2 defeat against arch-rivals West Brom yesterday.

According to Opta (relayed by Talking Wolves), the 29-year-old was the first player of the West Midlands club to concede a penalty, score and provide an assist in the same match since Adlène Guédioura back in May 2011, which also happened to be against the Baggies at Molineux.

Boly was criticised for his tackle that saw Wolves go behind in the game, one which resulted in a penalty that Matheus Pereira converted. The Brazilian would then go on to score another spot-kick in the second half as he and Semi Ajayi confirmed Wolves’ misery.

The Ivorian added to youngster Fabio Silva’s opener for the hosts but it was not enough to topple Sam Allardyce’s side, and have now won just one game of their last seven (Fotmob).

With this in mind, supporters were amazed by Opta’s revelation and shared their views via @TalkingWolves to reveal their overall thoughts.

Fans stunned by Boly stat

“Might be the greatest stat I’ve ever seen”

Credit: @Harvey_897

“That’s a stat and a half”

Credit: @Jai_wwfc

“What an insane stat.”

Credit: @wwfcscott

“Amazing”

Credit: @GS070483

“That’s a stat and a half”

Credit: @Injury_20

“Wow”

Credit: @charlpardoe_x

In other news, Pundit believes that Wolves’ big-summer signing should go out on loan.

Tottenham Hotspur may endure a quiet January transfer window unless they can find a viable option at centre-back and according to latest reports, they might have just done that…

What’s the word?

Turkish outlet Fanatik claims that Spurs are one of several teams eyeing a move for Juventus titan Merih Demiral this month with the 22-year-old out-of-favour under Andrea Pirlo.

The north Londoners are set to battle top-flight rivals Liverpool and Leicester City as well as the likes of Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid.

It’s claimed that a loan deal with an option to buy won’t be possible as the Serie A champions are wanting around €50m (£45m) for his signature.

Instant upgrade

It was only 18 months ago that the Turin-based side paid €18m (£16m) for the Turkey international from fellow Italian outfit Sassuolo, but evidently, he has found it hard to break into the starting XI over either Matthijs de Ligt or Leonardo Bonucci.

When he has played, however, he’s been one of Pirlo’s best performers, managing an average rating of 7.05, which is above that of the aforementioned duo.

Throughout his career so far, Demiral has averaged 4.6 clearances, 1.7 interceptions and 1.5 tackles per game, via WhoScored. This only shows the sort of resolute and imposing presence he can have at the back.

Something that Spurs could do with – ultimately, they are merely one injury away from a nightmare as they are yet to replace Jan Vertonghen.

The young centre-back has also been likened to Premier League legend Nemanja Vidic due to being a “natural leader” who is “cool under pressure,” so if he’s even half the player of the former United monster, then Daniel Levy would be onto a major signing.

Spurs may only be in the Europa League but imagine pairing Demiral alongside Toby Alderweireld and Sergio Reguilon, all in front of Hugo Lloris, and slightly behind Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.

That would start to look like a defensive unit fit for Europe’s elite.

AND in other news, £120k-per-week dynamo has just given Mourinho a fresh dilemma…

After yet another supreme performance for England, it’s been no surprise to see Jack Grealish’s name once again hit the headlines.

But whilst the Aston Villa star produced a fine display in the Three Lions’ victory over Iceland on Wednesday night, one of his teammates at club level also delivered a timely performance: Conor Hourihane.

With John McGinn and Douglas Luiz holding down the two central midfield positions for Dean Smith’s side this season in the Premier League, Hourihane hasn’t had much of a look-in thus far, making just three appearances and 151 minutes of football.

Hilariously obscure Premier League players – Can you name them all?

World Class score: 95% | Expert score: 80% | Veteran score: 65% | Intermediate score: 45% | Amateur score: 30% | Try Again: 5%

When on international duty with Ireland however, it’s been a different story, featuring in all of their UEFA Nations League and friendly games over the past couple of months.

And against Bulgaria on Wednesday, Hourihane sent a message to Dean Smith that he’s ready to be called upon whenever he’s needed. Whilst the game ended in a 0-0 draw, the midfielder showed off his typically silky passing, and a more defensive edge too.

As per Sofascore, his 7.4 match rating was the highest of any midfield player on the pitch, and it was easy to see why. He boasted an impressive 92% pass accuracy and 73 touches, whilst he also sent in five crosses and completed seven of his ten attempted long balls.

That’s not to mention that he made a team-high four tackles – including one last ditch one – and one interception too. If Smith was keeping an eye out on how his players were getting on over the international break, then he would have been left impressed by Hourihane’s display in mid-week.

After parting ways with Phillip Cocu back in November after a run of just one win from their opening 11 Championship games, Derby County are on the hunt for a new long-term manager.

Wayne Rooney has currently stepped into the hot-seat for the time being, and whilst reports have suggested that he is keen on taking the job full-time, that may not be the smartest play in the book right now.

The other big name of course that is being linked with taking the vacant Derby job, is John Terry. The former England international is currently working alongside Dean Smith at Premier League level with Aston Villa, and would once again be another unproven option for the Rams.

Stuck in lockdown? Our mega footy quiz will cure any boredom…

World Class score: 95% | Expert score: 80% | Veteran score: 65% | Intermediate score: 45% | Amateur score: 30% | Try Again: 5%

The man they should surely be trying to get though, is someone who’s performing fantastic work at another Championship club, Swansea. Steve Cooper hasn’t been in the managerial game long himself, but the job he has done in Wales has been nothing short of fantastic.

The Swans currently find themselves fourth in the table and well in the mix for a play-off spot at the end of the season, and boast the division’s best defensive record with just ten goals conceded in their first 17 games.

It has led to Tony Pulis to heap praise on the 40-year-old, saying: “I think the manager has done an absolutely fantastic job there… If you look at the recruitment – and lets not forget the players he’s sold – it’s been very, very good. It suits what Swansea want to do, and I think an identity for a football club is very important.

“You look at Swansea, and the manager, and they’ve put an identity together. I think he’s done an exceptional job.”With a potential takeover on the horizon, Derby desperately need someone at the helm who can establish an identity from top to bottom, and Cooper’s rapid work at doing just that at Swansea should be hugely appealing.His previous experience with working with the England youth set-up bodes well for nurturing some of the Rams’ younger talent, and it can allow the club to properly plan for an exciting future.

Lucas Digne has dealt Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti a selection headache ahead of facing Newcastle United this Sunday, but the Football Association’s decision to reduce the Frenchman’s ban from three games to one will come as an unfortunate blow for Everton prospect Niels Nkounkou.

The FA have confirmed that Digne will only serve a one-match suspension for his sending off against Southampton, after an independent Regulatory Commission upheld the Blues’ claim of clearly excessive punishment for his alleged serious foul on Kyle Walker-Peters.

Ancelotti was left incensed that Digne was shown a straight red by referee Kevin Friend during his side’s 2-0 loss, telling reporters after the match via quotes by The Guardian: “The red card was a joke. It was not intentional. Maybe it could be a yellow but for sure it was not violent conduct. They could check better.

“Maybe all the rumours all week against [Jordan] Pickford, against Richarlison, affected the decision and if it is like this, it’s not right, it’s not fair. He did not have the intention to hurt the player, or to use violent conduct. It was not the right decision.”

Ancelotti will now only be without his first-choice left-back for Everton’s trip to Newcastle this weekend, rather than in subsequent Premier League meetings with Manchester United and Fulham too.

This break will be an unfortunate blow for Nkounkou, though, as the summer arrival could have been set for an unexpected run in the first-team following his stellar efforts in the Carabao Cup.

Nkounkou made his Toffees debut in the Blues’ Second Round win over Salford City and kept his place in the starting line-up for subsequent victories over Fleetwood Town and West Ham United, while assisting Moise Kean against the League One Fishermen on route to the supporter’s Man of the Match award.

Ancelotti’s trust in young talents was one of the reasons why Nkounkou chose to join Everton following his release by Olympique de Marseille last season, while Toffees Director of Football Marcel Brands is a clear admirer of his abilities.

“Niels is a young, talented player with good technical and physical skills,” Brands said in July, via quotes by Goal. “We have been following him for months.”

Nkounkou may now get the chance to put those skills front and centre at St. James’ Park against Newcastle this weekend, but no matter how well the 19-year-old plays, Digne will return to the line-up once his suspension is over.

Only James Rodriguez (five) has created a higher number of big chances for Everton than Digne (two) in the Premier League this season, while also being the only Toffees player to record more key balls (18 to 11) or assists (three to two), per SofaScore. The French full-back also ranks first for accurate crosses (12).

Nkounkou, meanwhile, has averaged 2.0 key balls, 1.0 accurate crosses, 48.0 accurate passes, 2.7 tackles and 1.7 successful dribbles per game over his three outings in the EFL Cup, and now has a great chance to put that into use against Newcastle on Sunday.

AND in other news, Everton must secure a January loan move for a talented ace in the “mould of Makelele”.