All posts by z3u9t.icu

This article forms part of our Profit Players feature series, which is where Football Transfer Tavern takes a look at how well a player has fared since being signed or sold, using statistical figures and statements from pundits to prove how good of a deal the club managed to achieve.

There was only one natural right-back in the Crystal Palace squad after Aaron Wan-Bissaka departed, a certain Joel Ward. The 29-year-old only featured seven times in the league in the 2018/19 season thanks to the former’s terrific form, so perhaps the idea of him replacing a man who had just been sold for big money seemed a little optimistic.

Still, eight league games on and Palace haven’t buckled without the youngster. In fact, the Eagles have started terrifically, recording 14 points from their opening eight matches – winning four, drawing two and losing two.

Ward was brought to the club for just £400k (per the club’s official website, via Web Archive) back in 2012 and has since been on quite the ride with the Eagles. In his first season, he was a vital figure in the club’s surprise promotion from the Championship, he has represented the club in an FA Cup Final, and is also in the history books as Palace’s most ever capped Premier League player.

His commitment to the club hasn’t gone unnoticed. This time last week, chairman Steve Parish said that the former Portsmouth man epitomises everything about the club.

The Palace supremo said (via Football.London): “Joel Ward to me epitomises everything we have got in the football club. You can spend £45m on a striker, or £42m on a left-sided player, or £27m on a right-sided player, as it was at the weekend [against West Ham], but Joel Ward was £400,000 from Portsmouth.

“And is there a better servant to the club at the moment?

“People talk about giving 100 per cent, and has anyone ever seen Joel Ward give anything other than everything? To me, he is absolutely everything about Crystal Palace.”

Frankly, it’s hard to argue with Parish.

Ward stayed true to Palace despite being put on the back-burner for a year, coming up trumps again when his team has needed him. It could have been very easy for the player to throw his toys out of the pram and leave the club after he was made the second choice pretty much instantly after Wan-Bissaka had to step up for him when he was injured during the 17/18 season.

Now in his eighth year at the club, Joel Ward is doing what Joel Ward does: churning out consistent performances while putting his body on the line every week. So far this campaign, he has been one of the better players at the club without really standing out. Indeed, he has played every league game this season for Palace with the sixth-highest average rating in the whole squad (6.88, according to WhoScored), as well as the most amount of tackles per game and interceptions per game, with 2.9 and 2.3 respectively.

Considering £400k has earned Palace 226 appearances over eight seasons, there is no doubt that Palace will feel like they have got their money’s worth.

Are you a fan of Joel Ward? Join the discussion by commenting below… 

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Liverpool have confirmed that Naby Keita is back in full training, but not all fans are pleased with the news.

For many, his constant injuries have caused frustration and the news of his latest return doesn’t fill them with hope that he will be fit for long, whilst others simply believe he hasn’t played to a high enough standard since joining.

The Guinea international arrived last summer with big expectations due to his £48m transfer fee and the fact that the Reds were willing to wait a year until he joined.

However, he has started only 22 games since and would likely find himself as a back-up option even if fit, given the number of games Fabinho, Georginio Wijnaldum and Jordan Henderson have played since the beginning of last season.

Watch Liverpool Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

With Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Adam Lallana also returning from injury he faces serious competition for a place in the side, and the League Cup clash against MK Dons, which could have provided him with a starting chance, may come too soon.

Here are some of the reactions from Liverpool fans, as many have just about had enough of waiting for him to come good…

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more… 

However scrappy and difficult it may have been, Liverpool got the job done against Sheffield United on Saturday afternoon. Bramall Lane proved to be a tough ground for the Reds to play their normal game, and so scraping a win by any way, shape or form is always a great sign.

But the 1-0 score-line and overall performance does raise some questions about Jurgen Klopp’s team selection and tactical set-up. The Blades were set up to sit back and soak up the pressure before hitting the visitors on the counter, and it was no surprise to see Liverpool struggle to break them down – the side had just four shots on target as per Sofascore. One man who could perhaps solve that kind of headache in future games is Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

On the chalkboard

The 26-year-old has made his return from a serious injury, and has provided Klopp with another option off the bench. But the unique set of skills he possesses means he may be ideally suited to starting games against teams who want to adopt a similarly defensive approach to the one employed by Chris Wilder’s men on Saturday.

Watch Liverpool Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

The England international has naturally been a winger, having played there for the majority of his career – in his 299 games as listed by Transfermarkt, 171 of them have come on either the left or right flanks. But, in the 42 games he has played in central midfield, the former Arsenal man has produced a fine return of six goals and nine assists.

His pace and athleticism means that if he is used in more central areas, he can commit opposition midfielders by taking them on – in the time he has been on the pitch this season in the Premier League, Oxlade-Chamberlain has averaged one shot and 1.4 dribbles per game.

Speaking earlier this year after the Reds’ 0-0 draw with Everton, Graeme Souness questioned Klopp’s insistence on playing Georginio Wijnaldum, Jordan Henderson and Fabinho (the exact same trio who featured at the weekend).

“They have a fabulous midfield and if you are playing in Liverpool’s back four that is the midfield you want, but if you are playing up front then maybe it’s not the midfield you want. They don’t create too much and they don’t slip clever and cute passes in and I think that’s where they are coming unstuck.”

Having Oxlade-Chamberlain in there however changes all that. The Merseyside club would have someone who can carry the ball from deep in midfield and increase the pace of the game with some powerful running. When the Reds next come up against a side likely to drop deep back and defend the edge of their own box, Klopp may well be better off throwing the 26-year-old in from the start.

Barcelona didn’t really have the best of weekends once again.

The Catalans visited a really tough ground and faced Osasuna away from home, only for the teams to share the spoils after an exciting 2-2 game.

Blaugrana were actually down 1-0 but managed to turn things around and were leading 2-1 until the 81st minute when Roberto Torres equalised from the spot to secure a point.

Watch Spanish Football Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

But the away team could’ve snatched all three points had the young 21-year-old Carles Perez been more decisive in the last minutes of the game when he missed a golden opportunity, fumbling his first-touch and allowing the goalkeeper to claim the ball before he could either square it into the net or pass it to one of his teammates.

And it’s fair to say that loads of Barcelona fans didn’t take kindly to that miss.

They quickly took to Twitter to vent their frustrations and basically slam the young forward for missing a sitter that could’ve won them the game.

You can see some of their reactions below…

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Barnsley could be boosted by the possible returns of Alex Mowatt and Jacob Brown for today’s Yorkshire derby against Leeds at Oakwell.

The Yorkshire Post reported that Reds manager Daniel Stendel has confirmed the potential availability of the pair for the fixture, with both experiencing recent injury problems.

Mowatt missed Barnsley’s last match against Wigan with a neck injury, while a hamstring problem has prevented Brown from featuring so far this season, as noted by The Yorkshire Post.

Stendel added that the club will assess the fitness of Cauley Woodrow and Cameron McGeehan prior to tomorrow’s clash, according to The Yorkshire Post.

Former Leeds player Mowatt has had a stop-start to the season, having already experienced two brief injury spells since the beginning of the campaign.

He missed two games in mid-August against Carlisle and Charlton resulting from a side strain, as reported by The Yorkshire Post, in addition to the aforementioned neck injury that ruled him out against Wigan.

The 24-year-old midfielder has otherwise started every game for Barnsley in 2019/20 and has been one of only two players in the squad to have registered an assist this season, along with Luke Thomas.

Mowatt has been key to the Reds’ passing game, with his 80% success rate from an average 46.3 passes per game the third highest in the squad for both metrics, while only Thomas can equal his match average of 1.8 key passes. [via WhoScored.com]

He will hope to improve upon defensive statistics of just one successful tackle and 0.8 interceptions per game so far in 2019/20. By comparison, fellow defensive midfielder McGeehan has averaged 2.8 tackles per game, while Toby Sibbick won five tackles against Wigan when moved into midfield from his usual right-back role.

Winger Brown scored eight goals in 38 matches last season for Barnsley, a strike rate of one goal per 4.75 games, and could provide some much-needed attacking impetus for a Reds team with only four goals from seven matches so far this term.

Only Woodrow and Kieffer Moore scored more for Stendel’s side in 2018/19, while just four players provided more assists than the 21-year-old’s six from last season. [via TransferMarkt.co.uk]

With Barnsley fielding an unfamiliar defensive midfield duo of Sibbick and Mike Bahre against Wigan last time out, Mowatt’s possible return would strengthen Stendel’s options in that area of the pitch and allow Sibbick to revert to right-back, especially if McGeehan doesn’t make it.

The fine form of Thomas, who was voted the club’s Player of the Month for August, will likely see him keep his place on the right wing, which may result in Brown being deployed at centre-forward if Woodrow is unavailable for the visit of Leeds to Oakwell.

Barnsley fans, do you think Mowatt and Brown should go straight into the starting line-up if they are fit for tomorrow’s clash against Leeds? Comment below with your views!

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According to The Birmingham Mail, Aston Villa could be very busy on deadline day as they look to tie up moves for three players in a bid to push for promotion, one of which is Newcastle’s Isaac Hayden – if the midfielder’s performance against Manchester City on Tuesday is anything to go by, he would be some signing and perhaps the Championship’s best this month.

On the chalkboard

The Magpies needed to bounce back after succumbing to a 2-0 defeat at home to Watford in the FA Cup the week before but, given City’s outrageous scoring record this month, it looked unlikely they would get anything out of it.

However, a resolute performance from back to front saw Rafa Benitez’s men emerge the shock 2-1 victors and thus climb to 14th in the standings – with new arrivals potentially imminent, the St James’ Park outfit look in good shape for the rest of the season, despite a tetchy couple of months.

Villa, meanwhile, are four points away from a top-six spot and need reinforcements in both midfield and defence if they are to give themselves their best chance of reaching a second consecutive play-off final – if they can get Hayden on the books before the window slams shut, their hopes will be massively boosted.

Dominant Hayden

Giving freedom to the likes of Jack Grealish, John McGinn and Conor Hourihane to cause havoc must be a priority for Dean Smith at Villa Park and Hayden would offer ample cover for a defence that has struggled to keep the ball out of the net.

Few can attest to shutting down a midfield containing Kevin de Bruyne and David Silva but 23-year-old Hayden can – Cityzens boss Pep Guardiola paid the former Arsenal man and his partner in crime, Sean Longstaff, a huge compliment post-match, saying his title-winning side could not deal with Newcastle’s holding midfielders.

Smith could do with a player of that calibre in his Villa side – Glenn Whelan and Mile Jedinak are the former Brentford boss’ two best options at the base of midfield and both are well into their twilight years – and, if they can get him, the deal would surely be the best from the Championship this January.

Thogden has ranked his top 5 sets of Championship away fans for Pl>ymaker FC. Did your club make the list? Find out in the video above…

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more… 

It is well known that Aston Villa splashed the cash this summer.

12 players have arrived. £144.5m has been spent. Comparisons to Fulham have been made.

On Friday night, the west Midlands club put some of those ‘doing a Fulham’ doubts to bed by defeating Everton 2-0 at Villa Park, who themselves had not conceded a goal in the Premier League before then.

Club-record signing Wesley, who commanded £22m of that total spend, scored his first for the club whilst playoff hero Anwar El Ghazi nabbed a second in the game’s dying stages.

Most notably, Villa kept their first clean sheet of the season with the partnership of Tyrone Mings and Bjorn Engels probably deserving better than just the one from their three opening games.

One of the biggest question marks this summer was surrounding Mings, who re-joined the club following a successful loan spell last season – his arrival coincided with a record ten straight wins to launch them into the playoffs, which they ultimately went on to win.

Mings’ time in the Premier League has been nothing to shout about in the past, having made just 17 appearances across four seasons on the south coast, but the £20m that looked like an awful lot for someone with so little top-flight success now looks worth every last penny.

On the chalkboard

It may only be three points from three games with five goals conceded, but the 6 foot 5 colossus has made measures to justify his price tag.

His statistics for the season to date are rather impressive – he is averaging 10.7 clearances per game, which is first in the league, with 15 of his 32 being headed clearances – also more than anyone else in the top-flight.

The 26-year-old is second for blocks per match at 2.3, only bettered by Arsenal’s David Luiz, whilst he has rated well both in interceptions per game (1.7) and aerial duels won (3.3), per WhoScored.

Find out which Premier League stadium has been ranked the worst in the video below…

His performances from last season as well as his early showings in the Premier League this campaign have earned the attention of England boss Gareth Southgate, who was in attendance on Friday.

Mings was undoubtedly one of the catalysts to that outstanding winning run and even though there is still a long way to go in this season, the early signs are encouraging in proving he was worth every bit of that high price tag.

Under the stewardship of John Terry, a Premier League great for Chelsea, he will surely only mature further and get better as he enters the peak years of his career.

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Crystal Palace have been enjoying a promising season so far, and Patrick Vieira is now in a position to lead his side to a top-half finish if they can find a good run of form in the last few months of the season.

The club enjoyed a busy transfer window in the summer and have been linked with a few players this month, but emulating the previous transfer window could be off the cards.

What’s the word?

Sky Sports journalist Michael Bridge has made a fresh claim on the likely scenario for the rest of the winter transfer window in terms of the Eagles adding players to their squad during January.

He told GiveMeSport: “Things are going pretty well under Patrick Vieira at the moment. He would like to add maybe one or two, but from what I’m told, they’re happy. And it would have to take a bit of a crisis injury wise to change that at the moment.”

Palace have been strongly linked with two players over the last few weeks, with both Eddie Nketiah and Bamba Dieng having their names put forward as potential targets for the south London club. However, nothing has materialised as of yet, and no bids have been made for either player.

Fans will be fuming

With nine draws in the Premier League this season, there have been plenty of missed opportunities to rack up a few more wins and push even higher up the table. The loss of two points late on against Brighton on Friday night, and the concession of a last-gasp equaliser in the reverse fixture in September, illustrates as such.

Being linked with attacking players such as Nketiah and Dieng could well have strengthened Vieira’s options when it comes to maximising output in the final third of the pitch.

Some Palace fans have been outlining the positions where they feel the squad need strengthening this month, but Bridge’s update suggests that supporters waiting on new arrivals in January will be left fuming.

Although the Eagles are lodged in a comfortable mid-table position, all it takes is a handful of injuries to key players for their squad to suddenly appear threadbare. Therefore, it could be a source of frustration that the club seem content not to bolster their playing ranks this month while they are getting the opportunity to do so.

In other news: Journalist drops huge update on Eagles target Eddie Nketiah

Leeds United could eye a late midfield alternative before Monday’s transfer deadline…

What’s the word?

The Yorkshire giants have been left frustrated in their pursuit of RB Salzburg midfielder Brenden Aaronson so far, having seen a £15m bid for him rejected recently.

And they may well struggle to seal his signature as the Austrian title holders remain in the Champions League, with the 21-year-old a key player for the club.

However, according to the Daily Mail this week, the Whites have held talks with the agent of Marseille midfielder Boubacar Kamara, who could emerge as the ideal alternative to Aaronson.

The Ligue 1 outfit are reportedly prepared to sell him for just £10m, around half of Leeds’ second bid for the Salzburg star.

Forget Aaronson?

Perhaps United chief Victor Orta and his recruitment team should quickly forget about the American international, at least until the summer when he may well be more attainable at their own valuation.

Instead, a move for Kamara could seriously pay off, especially at an absolute bargain price.

The need for a new midfielder has been lingering for quite some time at Elland Road. It’s been four years since they signed someone in the role – that being Adam Forshaw in 2018 – and they have come close, missing out on Conor Gallagher in the summer and seeing a deal for Michael Cuisance fall through a year earlier.

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Valued at £22.5m by Transfermarkt, the France U21 international has already amassed plenty of experience at an elite level, featuring 135 times across Ligue 1 and UEFA’s top two European competitions.

At just 22, that is certainly impressive.

Since making his debut for Les Olympiens, the young midfield beast has put up some remarkable numbers – as per WhoScored, Kamara has averaged 2.8 long balls, 2.3 tackles and 1.3 interceptions per game across his career thus far.

With Kalvin Phillips on the treatment table at Thorp Arch for the next month or two, it would make sense to target a player in this style, so that should make him an intriguing alternative to Aaronson, who appears to be so out of reach by next Monday’s transfer deadline.

“This kid is a phenomenon,” once claimed former teammate Rolando. “When he started training with us, he was 15 years old. And from day one, I said, no, but this little one is going to be a great player.”

Kamara would be a fantastic addition to Bielsa’s squad and for just £10m, it is surely a no brainer, on the evidence above.

Orta and co must now turn their attention to the 5 foot 10 Marseille powerhouse in the coming days.

AND in other news, Leeds dealt late January blow to midfield “machine” perfect for Bielsa, he’ll be livid…

Merry Christmas, Newcastle fans!

It has been another tough year for most of us, so The Transfer Tavern have decided to spread some festive cheer.

To thank you for reading our content over the past year, or simply as a little pointless reward for finding the energy to watch Bruce-ball for months on end, we have made a quiz on the Magpies’ 2021/22 season so far, and we think only the biggest Toon supporters will get 100 per cent on it.

Think you are up to the challenge? There are ten questions in total for you to answer below, with four options for each, whether you want to test your family’s knowledge around the dinner table, or have a go yourself while you are munching on all of that Christmas chocolate!

Of course, do not forget to share your scores once you have finished, and here’s to a better 2022 for the Toon Army!