All posts by z3u9t.icu

Leeds United fans have every right to feel miffed after their move for Michael Cuisance collapsed at the 11th hour.

The Whites looked to be on to a winner when trying to sign the former European Golden Boy nominee, but the deal fell through due to problems with his medical.

We don’t have all of the information at the moment about why his medical went awry, but we can only assume that Leeds had a good reason to pull the plug.

While missing out on Cuisance is something of a blow, the fact that the club haven’t jumped the gun and signed a player who may have fitness problems is a good sign.

The Whites have been stung before when signing a player who wasn’t fit enough to come into the team with Jean-Kevin Augustin’s fitness being questioned by Marcelo Bielsa almost immediately after he signed, and a string of further problems meant that the RB Leipzig man failed to start a single game during his loan spell.

Perhaps a medical that didn’t take place in a hotel room would have seen these problems come to light before Leeds agreed to sign him, giving the Whites time and money to spend on another striker who could’ve made more of an impact.

In the end, it didn’t matter too much, as Patrick Bamford proved to be good enough to lead the line in United’s promotion push, but Augustin’s failing still has to go down as a black mark on Leeds’ recent transfer record.

Luckily, Leeds seem to have been a lot more stringent this time around, and they may well have just avoided another Augustin-type scenario by doing their due-diligence on Cuiscance’s medical.

According to Football Insider, Brentford have entered the race for Glasgow Rangers transfer target Ivan Toney.

The ‘Gers are said to be interested in signing the Peterborough striker.

They are not the only side in for him, though, with Celtic and West Brom also mentioned, and now they have even more competition in the form of the Bees, as per Football Insider.

This is far from the best news for the ‘Gers. As it stands, it is said that Posh are looking for £8m for the 24-year-old, who netted 24 goals in 32 matches in League One last season – that is likely to be a stretch for the Ibrox outfit and could well depend on whether Alfredo Morelos, who has been linked with a move elsewhere, leaves the club.

Whilst the Championship is still a second-tier league, there is arguably more money in that division than in the Scottish Premiership – Ruben Neves is the record transfer in the English second tier at £16.11m, whilst Tore Andre Flo holds the Scottish top-flight record for his £12m move to the Gers in 2001.

The Bees have made a profit of £63.78m in transfers since 2015 – £8m could well be a drop in the ocean for them. This, unfortunately, is a blow to the Light Blues’ hopes of securing Toney’s services.

‘Gers fans, are you confident that the club can sign Toney or will he stay in England? Let us know what you think by commenting below!

Tottenham Hotspur have completed a rather impressive turnaround under Jose Mourinho.

When the controversial Portuguese manager was appointed in November, the 2018/19 Champions League runners-up were languishing in 14th position but Spurs ended the campaign in sixth place and will compete in the Europa League next term.

Whilst he’ll still have his doubters due to his pragmatic nature, Mourinho does indeed deserve praise for what he’s just accomplished and it should after all be merely a solid foundation to life in north London.

It’s clear that some sort of overhaul or turnaround in players is required. That much is already known with the club reportedly seeking both Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Max Aarons as their top targets this summer, as per The Athletic.

However, Sunday’s drab draw at Crystal Palace should have given Mourinho plenty more food for thought, particularly at left-back after Ben Davies dropped a clanger.

Per SofaScore, the 27-year-old won just two of his 12 duels (17%), recorded zero tackles, lost possession 21 times and also committed three fouls. It was quite a disastrous display all-round.

And it’s not like the Welshman has pulled up any trees throughout the course of the season – in fact, he’s been distinctly average, which is summed up by his WhoScored rating of just 6.77.

He’s gone missing in big occasions too – against the likes of arch-rivals Arsenal, Man Utd, Wolves and Chelsea, he’s struggled to surpass the 6.66 mark.

Spurs’ attacking output from the left flank also ranks as the worst in the division at just 35% and given Heung-min Son has bagged ten goals from that side this season, the brunt of the blame falls with Davies.

As much as Mourinho could probably do with a defensive lynchpin now that Eric Dier has cemented his place in the backline – something Hojbjerg certainly would bring having averaged 2.4 tackles and 1.5 clearances per game – it’s clear to see that left-back spot is one of the weakest spots in the team.

Whether young starlet Ryan Sessegnon or a mooted target such as Ben Chilwell can fill that attacking void very much remains to be seen.

But if the two-time UCL winner is to bring what Mauricio Pochettino couldn’t to north London, then he ought to find his next Ashley Cole or Cristian Chivu before bolstering elsewhere.

AND in other news, Mourinho eyeing timely transfer reunion with ex-Spurs man…

Former Sheffield Wednesday man Jose Semedo has vowed to keep this huge promise to Owls fans…

The Portuguese midfielder and close friend of world icon Cristiano Ronaldo wants to ensure an old promise is kept to the Wednesday fans. Speaking to The Star, Semedo has revealed his plan to bring the Real Madrid legend to Hillsborough once the pair have both retired, which the 35-year-old hopes will be around the same time.

Ronaldo and Semedo enjoyed playing together during their early days with Sporting CP, before they went off in search of pastures new. As CR7 famously dominated the Premier League and La Liga and now features as the star of Juventus, Semedo made himself a Wednesday legend after devoting six years to the club.

In his interview with Joe Crann, the former Owls captain has said he wants Ronaldo to ‘see what I went through’ after both Portuguese players have hung up their boots.

“It’s for sure, one of the things is that when I retire from football I’ll have more time,” Semedo said. “I promised to the crowd that I would take Cristiano there, and I will pay my promise, 100%…

“When we’ve finished football, me and him will go to watch a game in Hillsborough together – for him to see what I went through.”

The 35-year-old, currently playing for Vitoria Setubal, has proudly said he wants Ronaldo to feel the atmosphere from ‘the amazing fans Sheffield Wednesday has’.

Do you think Jose will keep his promise and bring CR7 to Hillsborough one day? Join the conversation in the comments below!

Portsmouth have ended their pursuit of Dunfermline Athletic striker Kevin Nisbet, according to Portsmouth News who spoke with manager Kenny Jackett.

Jackett’s side are said to have been monitoring the prolific striker over the course of the 2019/2020 season and a potential move had developed after seeing him net an impressive 18 goals in 25 games in the Scottish Championship.

Nisbet, who was born in Glasgow, joined Dunfermline last summer after having a handful of mixed spells with the likes of East Stirlingshire, Ayr United, Dumbarton and Raith Rovers.

Declaring their interest in the young striker, Portsmouth were also been joined by a number of Scottish sides looking to seal his signature.

Impressing in Scotland’s second tier and with said offers on the table to remain in his homeland, it now looks increasingly likely that he will do just that after Jackett spoke about the interest.

Speaking to the Portsmouth News, Jackett said: “We were asked about him [Nisbet] last year. We’ve got strikers on contracts here anyway.

“If we’re looking at Ryan Williams, Marcus Harness, Ellis Harrison, Reeco Hackett-Fairchild, John Marquis and Ronan Curtis – there’s six forwards there for our front three positions.

“All of them are under contract for the next year, so it’s not an area we’re necessarily looking at now.”

Pompey boss Jackett will be fully focused on his side’s next game, facing Oxford United in the League One play-off semi-final in the coming weeks.

Jackett’s comments all-but rule out a move for Nisbet and rightly so. The Pompey boss has plenty of options available to him at the moment and his prime objective is to attempt a promotion to the Championship.

Nisbet has performed well in the Scottish second flight this season but Portsmouth could look to a more established and experienced front man if they go up a division.

Do you think Nisbet would have been a good striker for Portsmouth? Let us know in the comments section below…

Despite finding himself on loan once again at Sheffield United, it appears Manchester United fans haven’t forgotten about Dean Henderson – certainly not after his very impressive comments.

The 22-year-old has yet to play a game for the Red Devils’ senior side, but only headed out to the Blades for another year after signing a new long-term contract at Old Trafford earlier in the summer.

Now, speaking to The Daily Mirror, the goalkeeper admitted that he still doesn’t believe he is a United player yet, and that he feels as though he has a lot of work to do.

The 6 foot 2 man further insisted that the reason behind his loan moves were for him to seize the initiative and not simply stay in a “comfort zone”.

After hearing Henderson’s words, United fans took to Twitter to voice their thoughts about their loanee.

Many supporters of the Manchester side insisted that the young shot-stopper proved he has an “elite mentality” and that he has an attitude that will take him very far in the game.

Check out some of the reaction of United fans below:

It’s hard to ignore the impact Carlo Ancelotti has had on this Everton side in just four months.

A shell of the team they used to be, Marco Silva’s reign ended with the Merseyside outfit fighting a relegation battle. Now Everton are sitting nicely in 12th place, just six points behind sixth-place Wolves and a ticket into the Europa League looking more than attainable.

But the squad the Toffees are still faring is in need of some desperate refurbishment, and it’s likely Ancelotti will start with a summer overhaul.

Everton’s midfield appears to be their biggest cause for concern this season, particularly with players like Gylfi Sigurdsson and Tom Davies who have played 47 Premier League goals between them this term and tallied a measly combined two goals and two assists.

According to Football Insider, both Everton and Manchester United are linked to swoop for Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish, with the Toffees confident they can come up with a better offer than the Reds. Despite currently being valued at just £27.4million, both parties are looking to place a bid in excess of £50m for the 24-year-old this summer, with Spurs also willing to meet that price (via Daily Star).

Aston Villa are currently fighting a difficult relegation battle, with Grealish playing his part in trying to keep his side in the Premier League. The Englishman currently has seven goals and six assists this campaign, more than Everton’s entire midfield combined.

A young playmaker is exactly what the Toffees have been crying out for as they’ve struggled with woeful performances from Sigurdsson who – despite sporting the captain’s armband – has been the most disappointing.

His most recent outing against Chelsea will have been the final straw for a lot of Everton fans after the Icelandic international attempted no dribbles, no shots and no tackles.

Everton expert? Prove it by naming these obscure Toffees…

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The addition of Grealish would make a positive difference to Ancelotti’s team and judging by his stats this season, would add a much more potent threat from midfield that the Everton’s chiefs current options.

West Bromwich Albion extended their run at the top of the Championship table with a resilient 1-0 victory over Hull City on Saturday afternoon, but not everything was completely positive.

Slaven Bilic’s men are well on course for automatic promotion this season as if they keep progressing at this current rate, then their projected points total has been enough in four of the last five seasons.

The Baggies keep hold of their two-point cushion over second-placed Preston North End and Leeds United as they embark on a two-week hiatus for the third international break of the season.

Watch West Bromwich Albion Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

Albion captain Jake Livermore netted the only goal of the game against his old side with a fantastic strike from 25 yards out in the 28th minute.

However, the 29-year-old picked up his fifth booking of the season, meaning he will be suspended for the first game after national team duty when West Brom host Sheffield Wednesday, who are on the cusp of a playoff position.

But the bad news doesn’t stop there as his midfield partner, the influential Romaine Sawyers, also picked up his fifth yellow, so Bilic will be without two integral players who have started every single Championship game this campaign.

Livermore’s reaction below quite rightly sums up the situation considering they won the match…

Livermore and Sawyers have been the engine room to the Croatian’s system paying off with the latter topping the midfielder charts for passing success rate in the league while no player in the Albion squad averages more tackles per game than the skipper.

They look awfully light on backup options too as Gareth Barry has only just re-signed for the club despite nearly facing a career-ending injury while the promising Rekeem Harper has only played six minutes all season and hasn’t been in the matchday squad for months.

That leaves the possibility of Semi Ajayi stepping out of defence into midfield despite picking up back-to-back clean sheets for the first time this season or number ten Filip Krovinovic dropping deeper.

Losing just one of the duo would have been fine for one game, but to lose them both at the same time, it’s the worst nightmare for anyone involved at West Brom.

Check out the most insane fan meltdowns in the video below…

The following article is a special report; all information presented has been gleaned from Football FanCast sources unless otherwise stated.

Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino has refused to resign from his position despite increasing pressure surrounding his role, sources have told Football FanCast.

Various reports on Monday evening suggested that the Argentine is likely to leave the club, with The Daily Mail claiming it is a matter of when, rather than if, he departs north London.

However, sources within the club have informed FFC that, while chairman Daniel Levy and Pochettino did hold a meeting over the international break, Pochettino is adamant that he will not walk away.

It is unclear if Levy asked him to do so, but there are plans being drawn up in case a change is made at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Spurs are currently 14th in the Premier League and a loss to West Ham United this weekend could well see Levy’s hand forced, particular if they slip three further points behind the top four. They are currently 11 behind Manchester City.

Any deal to sack Pochettino would involve a hefty compensation fee; £12.5m is the figure quoted by The Daily Telegraph, but he has made it clear that he does not intend to walk away mid-season. One source intimated that the former Southampton boss had essentially told Levy he would have to sack him if he wanted him gone.

FFC reported earlier this month that RB Leipzig head coach Julian Nagelsmann is their top choice to replace him should he leave the club.

Levy is said to be “all over” the German, who is just 32 and has taken Leipzig to second in the Bundesliga.

However, they have not placed all of their eggs in one basket, with another source confirming that talks have taken place with Jose Mourinho’s camp.

Indeed, the former Manchester United and Chelsea boss is currently out of work and contact was initiated in order to gauge the Portuguese’s interest in taking over in north London.

Sources say that Mourinho is not the front runner for the role but he is available and would be able to step in without any compensation being paid to another club, while Massimiliano Allegri, who is also unemployed, has been mentioned as another possible contender.

Dismissing Pochettino ahead of the January transfer window would bring with it a cadre of issues, not least surrounding recruitment, but Spurs may now have entered a period of brinkmanship.

It all comes down to who is willing to blink first.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

Barcelona and their Champions League exploits are by now a well-known love story.

The Catalans have been chasing the coveted cup for years now, failing in extraordinary fashion ever since the 2014/15 season when they clinched the trophy for the last time.

First came Juventus, who smashed the Catalans in Turin, then Roma at the Stadio Olimpico and finally Liverpool at Anfield and every single time they were outclassed, outgunned and quite frankly – embarrassed.

Watch Spanish Football Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Needless to say, the whole team constantly underperformed and while it’s difficult to point towards a single player for those disasters, Luis Suarez comes really close to taking the prize by himself.

After all, the Uruguayan has been sub-par for quite a while now and interestingly enough, his last away goal for the club in the Champions League was four years ago as he failed to rattle the net in the last 19 games.

To be more precise, since his last successful strike, he attempted 59 shots and none have ended up beating the opposition goalkeeper.

Of course, with Suarez disappearing in crucial games on the road, it isn’t a surprise that Barcelona were largely outgunned when it mattered most.

Not to mention that a similar thing happened just the other night when the Catalans travelled away to Slavia Prague and just barely got away with a narrow 2-1 victory.

Watch Lionel Messi and Gareth Bale answer the internet’s weirdest questions in the video below…

Despite having five shots on the night, Suarez was nowhere near his best, failing to make simple passes work and losing possession. As a direct result of that he tallied a disappointing 64% passing accuracy, one big chance missed and lost possession 15 times.

Of course, he has been quite effective in the domestic league, tallying five goals already in La Liga, but those goals just paper over the cracks that are starting to show repeatedly.

The occasional wonder goal shouldn’t be enough for the 32-year-old to be constantly picked and Valverde’s blind trust in the Uruguayan will sooner or later catch up with him once again.

His performance against Slavia Prague was nowhere near an isolated case as we’ve seen a similar thing happen against Borussia Dortmund in Europe or even against Granada and Villarreal in La Liga, just to name a few.

This is slowly but surely turning into a horrible trend for the Uruguayan and the time has finally come for Valverde to make a bold decision and drop the star who’s clearly past his prime.

Let’s see if he musters the courage to do so.