All posts by z3u9t.icu

With just three wins, seven draws and five defeats under their belt, it’s safe to say that Southampton have had a rather mixed season in the Premier League so far.

One man who has played a big part in their campaign so far is Mohamed Elyounoussi, who has scored four goals and provided two assists in 13 appearances across all competitions.

After spending a couple of years on loan at Celtic, where he racked up 24 goals and 17 assists in 67 appearances, the winger has been a regular figure for Ralph Hasenhuttl this season.

Back in October, it was reported that fellow Premier League clubs Arsenal and Leicester City were interested in signing the Norwegian, who has been described in the past by Tom English as a “dangerous” player.

However, it seems as though the south coast club have been handed a boost regarding his future, which will surely have a lot of fans buzzing. Elyounoussi has revealed in recent days that he and his family are comfortable living in Southampton at the moment and that it’s where they “belong.”

This should be a big relief to the club and any Southampton fans who may have been concerned about a potential exit being on the cards for the 27-year-old, who is currently earning £59k-per-week according to Salary Sport.

Taking into account how Southampton have a track record of selling players to fellow Premier League clubs in recent years – such as Sadio Mane and Virgil van Dijk to Liverpool, Matt Targett and Danny Ings to Aston Villa and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg to Tottenham Hotspur among others – it seems unlikely that fans would have been open to seeing their club flogging yet another one of their assets to a top-flight rival.

Moving forward, if Elyounoussi can add some more goals and assists to his tally for the season in the Premier League, he could finally prove himself to Hasenhuttl after spending such a long time in Scotland with Celtic.

If that is the case, however, there’s every possibility that other clubs could then have an interest in signing Elyounoussi and could make it difficult for Southampton to keep hold of him, especially if a club which can offer him European football and higher wages were to come in for him.

With that in mind and his current contract at St Mary’s set to expire in the summer of 2023, it could be worth the hierarchy at Southampton offering him a new deal before this one runs out.

In other news: Gao could replicate Adam Armstrong masterclass at Southampton with “elite” 16-goal ace

When Carlo Ancelotti left Everton, they were losing one of the most decorated coaches in world football.

The Italian is a proven winner who has lifted major trophies in Germany, England and Spain. Ancelotti is also a manager who’s had the privilege of coaching some of the finest footballers to grace the modern game.

Therefore, to even have him at Goodison Park in the first place was a considerable coup for Farhad Moshiri.

As the hierarchy contemplate replacements, they will need to consider more proven winners.

Rafa Benitez, a Champions League winner with Liverpool, has been contacted, while Manuel Pellegrini is also an option. The Chilean is another coach with a background of success, guiding Manchester City to the Premier League title in 2013/14.

A fresh name in the hat to become Everton’s new manager is one of the most successful around. In this instance, we’re talking about Turkey’s answer to Pep Guardiola – Fatih Terim.

According to Fotospor, Everton have made an offer to the 67-year-old in a bid to bring him to England. Moshiri ordered Marcel Brands to speak with Terim and a meeting has taken place behind the scenes as the club step up their chase for Ancelotti’s successor.

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Dubbed the “Emperor” in his home country, the veteran has only ever had two spells outside of Turkey, with Fiorentina and Milan.

That said, he’s enjoyed an enormous amount of success throughout the years. When it comes to winning titles on a regular basis, there are few better around Europe.

Terim impressively won the UEFA Cup with Galatasaray at the turn of the millennium and has gone on to win the top flight of Turkish football with the same club on eight different occasions. He has three Turkish Cups to his name and also reached the semi-finals of the European Championship in 2008 when he led his home nation.

His record is fabulous, but whether he’d be able to impress in English football remains to be seen.

As we all know by now, the Premier League is a different beast to many leagues around the world. The money and expectations are huge but Terim has achieved above expectations in the past – that UEFA Cup win and European Championship run tell a fascinating story.

There might more eye-catching candidates in the form of David Moyes and Christophe Galtier, but Terim certainly isn’t a bad option for Everton to consider.

AND in other news, Everton to make their move for “special” 47 y/o manager, it’ll upset Kenwright…

Southampton fans were far from happy with the performance of Jan Bednarek during their defeat on Monday in the Premier League.

Saints were soundly beaten 3-0 by West Bromwich Albion away from home in a display that will not have pleased manager Ralph Hasenhuttl. Goals from Matheus Pereira, Matt Phillips and Callum Robinson put the St. Mary’s outfit to the sword, and they now have plenty of work to do this week ahead of their F.A Cup semi-final clash with Leicester City.

The showing from Bednarek was one of the reasons why Southampton were so soundly defeated. Him and his partner in the centre of defence, Jannik Vestergaard, struggled to keep their opponents at bay, and the Poland international often looked flustered as he attempted to show defensive solidity.

The Southampton fans were far from happy with what they saw, and they took to social media platform Twitter to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about Bednarek below

“Tella, Minamino… possibly even Salisu for Bednarek. The stats cover up some dreadful performances”

Credit: @salterjack

“Has Bednarek’s woeful run for the last 3 months surely earns Salisu a start ahead of him?”

Credit: @mattjamesy

“Bednarek is having a mare atm, I’d stick Salisu in. Moussa or Tella could be “options” too. I’d be tempted to start Moussa for Redmond next week after this performance”

Credit: @cj_garrett

“Bednarek has been shambolic recently, we aren’t incisive enough when we attack and we lack quality in areas like left back. It’s a miracle we did as well as we did between lockdown and January”

Credit: @sfcmaxx

“Defensively we’ve been a shambles for months now. Bednarek needs dropping most of all and Salisu in for him. Need better protection from midfield. Jwp and diallo don’t seem to compliment each other.”

Credit: @gregvul

“Worth bringing on before the games gone, no? Or at least take Bednarek off when he’s having a 0/10 performance? Or Walcott who was having a similar showing? This isn’t even my biggest criticism of him, it’s fairly small compared to 2 win in 15 or whatever it is”

Credit: @fletchsfc

In other news, Southampton fans rage at these Hasenhuttl comments.

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has offered an update on the fitness of defender Andreas Christensen, following Wednesday’s shambolic 4-2 defeat to Arsenal at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League.

What’s the word?

Speaking in his post-match press conference, Tuchel revealed that the Denmark international had been withdrawn at half-time against the Gunners due to injury, despite suggestion that the change had been a tactical substitution.

The 26-year-old centre-back set the wheels in motion for what was to be a bruising night for the Blues, with his tame backpass allowing Eddie Nketiah to net his first Premier League goal of the season.

Having not resurfaced for the second half, it was believed that the £31.5m-rated man had been dragged off by his manager for that error, although the former Paris Saint-Germain moved to quash that speculation, while also blaming the pitch for the player’s early error: “He said he cannot continue, so I think he had some problems. I don’t take a player out because he makes one mistake.

“To say the pitch is difficult to play here it maybe sounds like an excuse, but it is a very, very difficult pitch that we have here. It’s not in our favour.

“The ball bounces very awkwardly in front of Andreas when he wants to play this ball. But still, we had the same mistake against Real Madrid that cost us the next round of the Champions League, and this one cost us the next match. I can’t remember when we got two goals like this.”

A Blessing in Disguise

While his manager may be attempting to dig him out of a hole by targeting the home turf, there is no denying that it was a costly error from the 55-cap international, with that early blunder setting the tone for what would be a dismal defensive display all-around.

Although Christensen has since come out and taken responsibility for his high profile mistake, it will do little to appease his doubters, namely talkSPORT pundit Dean Saunders, who suggested that the £80k-per-week man is “not good enough” in the wake of the defeat.

That view was echoed by club legend Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, who admitted that both the Dane and a handful of his teammates, simply weren’t up to scratch: “Lukaku, Christensen, Sarr and Alonso were just not good enough for a Chelsea team who should be challenging for the Champions League or Premier League.”

That may appear a rather brutal assessment, although in truth, should his injury complaint cause him to miss this weekend’s game against West Ham United, it could well prove to be something of a blessing in disguise, with the more experienced Thiago Silva likely to be a welcome addition to the side in his absence.

While not the worst performer among Tuchel’s squad this season – he currently ranks 15th for average match rating – the 6 foot 2 giant has not set the world alight either, with the player ranking in just the top 70% for tackles made among central defenders in Europe’s top five leagues over the past year, as well as ranking in just the top 44% for clearances made, as per FBref.

There are also those of a Chelsea persuasion who are simply keen to see the back of the one-time Borussia Monchengladbach loanee, amid reports that he has agreed a deal to join Barcelona this summer on a free transfer.

While the fact that the west London outfit are currently unable to offer new deals may have been a factor in that decision, supporters will no doubt be angered by the player seemingly jumping ship, particularly after he suggested last year that he was in it for the “long-run” at the club.

As they prepare for the visit of the Hammers on Sunday, his name not being mentioned on the teamsheet may prove something of a boost rather than a notable blow.

In other news, Forget Christensen: Chelsea “shambles” who lost ball 22x was real villain vs Arsenal – opinion…

Fans of West Ham United have been reacting to a post on Twitter, in which the club shared a post concerning the Hammers centre-back, Craig Dawson.

Having joined West Ham on a season-long loan deal last October, Dawson’s life in east London got off to a rather slow start, with the 30-year-old making just one league appearance for the Hammers in 2020.

However, since then, the £3.6 million-rated defender has become a stalwart in David Moyes’ starting XI, having not missed a minute of Premier League action since his league debut in December, with one supporter calling him an ‘unreal’ find by the manager.

And, following yet another impressive performance in West Ham’s 2-0 victory over Leeds United – in which Dawson scored one goal, made one interception and three clearances – on Monday evening, the West Ham Twitter account singled out the centre-back for praise, simply posting “CRAIG DAWSON” accompanied by two praying hands emojis.

In reaction, fans of West Ham flocked to have their say on the man who has gone from a seemingly pointless singing into an absolute bargain, with many taking the opportunity to call for the club to make Dawson’s loan deal a permanent move this summer.

So, what exactly did these West Ham United fans have to say in reaction to the club’s post regarding Craig Dawson?

“Better than Ramos.”

@JOHNSMITHH66

“Craig Dawson superb yet again against Leeds tonight – very solid as always. Seems to be improving and proves the initial doubters wrong every game he plays. He’s the kind of player West Ham fans love – old school CB who plays for shirt every time wears it. Needs to be permanent.”

@WestHamJoshV

“£3 million in the summer! That’s criminal!”

@Nobby_1977

“What a find from Moyes, he looks unreal.”

@conko97

“VIRGIL VAN DAWSON.”

@joelitt78828048

“Sign him up and be done with it.”

@bianchibully

“Get him on the plane.”

@Westhamfan987

“Break the bank for this man! He is massive!”

@TCootie

“Please just please buy him.”

@stoffer_charlie

“Absolute rock at the back!”

@Josephsimon007

“Sign him now pls.”

@mike_deas

In other news: Many West Ham fans responded to this club update, find out more here!

Speaking in a football.london Q&A, reliable correspondent Alasdair Gold has dropped a behind the scenes Tottenham Hotspur transfer claim involving Fabio Paratici.

The Lowdown: Paratici and Spurs

While Tottenham weren’t able to get former Chelsea boss Antonio Conte through the door, sporting director Fabio Paratici is now set for a big role in north London.

Indeed, reports in the Athletic and the Telegraph believe that the 48-year-old will have a major say on footballing matters including Spurs’ manager search and both incoming/outgoing transfers.

The Latest: Gold drops behind-scenes transfer claim

Speaking in a Q&A, football.london correspondent Gold has backed the reports while dropping an enticing claim involving Paratici.

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As explained, the journalist believes that he has already commenced work in north London on outgoings as Spurs attempt to bolster Tottenham’s finances for possible signings this summer.

“Paratici is working already on potential transfers out to create funds for signings,” Gold stated when asked if Spurs have deals lined up and ready to go.

“The good thing about a director of football structure is that it creates the continuity and the squad and the head coach comes in to coach that.

“Of course certain players can be tailored to different types of head coaches but ultimately you choose a head coach that fits the club and target rather than randomly going after contrasting managers – yes, exactly as Tottenham have done this summer.”

The Verdict: Good news…

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, Spurs will need to adopt a sell-to-buy policy and operate within their means.

News of Paratici’s immediate hustle behind the scenes will come as a boost for the club given the transfer window is now open and Tottenham will want to operate as quickly as possible.

The priority, of course, is appointing a new manager at N17 but laying the groundwork for summer deals is arguably just as crucial.

Spurs ended up finishing seventh last season in what was a disappointing campaign and supporters will be hoping Paratici can build the foundations for a much stronger 2021/2022, regardless of who leads the side from the dugout.

In other news: Paratici eyeing this big name for Spurs, Harry Redknapp called him ‘top class’…find out more here.

Steve Cooper does not look certain to leave Swansea City this summer, despite strong rumours of his exit from the Liberty Stadium.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to The Sun journalist Alan Nixon, who claimed in a post on Twitter that the 41-year-old is not nailed on to take over the vacant managerial position at Crystal Palace this summer.

The Swansea City manager has been heavily linked with the Premier League club in recent weeks, following Roy Hodgson’s retirement from football at the end of last season.

Levien will be buzzing

Having worked wonders since being appointed as the Swansea head coach in June of 2019, the fact that the former England U17 manager does not look certain to leave the Championship club this summer, despite being heavily linked with the Palace job, is sure to leave both fans and Jason Levien buzzing.

Indeed, in his first season in Wales, the 41-year-old led his side to a rather unexpected top-six finish in the second tier, before ultimately falling to a narrow play-off semi-final defeat to Brentford.

Cooper then bettered this feat in his second season at the club, finishing the regular season in fourth place and reaching the play-off final after beating Barnsley in the play-off semi-final, before once again losing out to Thomas Frank’s Brentford in the play-off final.

The 41-year-old’s reputation for developing young players has also resulted in Premier League sides offering the Swans a host of their young talents on loan deals, while the Englishman has also drawn praise for the style of football his side have demonstrated during his time at the club, as well as from his players, with Andre Ayew stating his belief that Cooper is a “quality” manager.

As such, with Levien undoubtedly hoping that his side can go one better than last season and clinch promotion to the top flight in their upcoming Championship campaign, retaining Cooper’s services this summer would very much appear to significantly increase the club’s chances of going on to achieve this feat.

In other news: Forget Grimes: Cooper must sanction Swansea summer swoop for “perfect” £32k-p/w dynamo

Bruce had alluded to Wilson nearing a return to fitness before the international break, but he had not improved enough for consideration for Saturday’s shambolic 3-0 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion.

Newcastle come out of the pause in domestic fixtures with a tough trip to Tottenham, and they will then face Burnley, West Ham, Liverpool, Arsenal, Leicester and Manchester City before two crucial six-pointers with Sheffield United and Fulham.

Wilson returning to feature in north London would come as a huge boost for Bruce, who has missed the England forward’s creativity in recent weeks, having lost not only his top-scorer but also the Toon’s lead creator with five league assists.

Goals have come few and far between for Newcastle since beating Southampton at the start of last month, with the Tyneside outfit only netting three times in their past six games.

Points have been just as challenging for the Magpies to secure in that period, with three from a possible 18, to extend the side’s torrid form to two wins in 18 Premier League fixtures.

Bruce will hope to see Wilson’s seemingly imminent return inspire a turn of form that will keep the St. James’ Park natives in the top-flight for another year, as Dwight Gayle and Joelinton have failed to carry the burden with Andy Carroll out of favour.

After cutting an invisible figure on the periphery against Aston Villa, Gayle was an unused substitute against Brighton beside Carroll, who has only featured for three minutes in Newcastle’s last five games combined.

That’s despite Joelinton being fielded on the wing at the Amex Stadium, where Gayle and Carroll stormed down the tunnel at the full-time whistle and did not reappear for the post-game workout, per the Daily Mail.

Bruce clearly does not feel the trio of forwards are able to lead the line like Wilson can, making the striker’s return – however soon it will be – vitally important.

AND in other news, Newcastle are ready to bring a “special” talent back to St. James’ for eight-times what they sold him for…

Derby County remained in the Championship after a dramatic 3-3 draw with Sheffield Wednesday at Pride Park on the final day of the season.

Sam Hutchinson gave Wednesday the lead in the relegation shoot-out on the stroke of half-time.

Martyn Waghorn equalised four minutes into the second half before an excellent Patrick Roberts strike gave Derby the advantage.

Incredibly, though, the visitors then wrestled back control through goals from Callum Paterson and Julian Borner.

But Kamil Jozwiak entered the fray on 73 minutes, replacing Graham Shinnie, and he came up with a crucial contribution.

The Pole won a penalty just over 10 minutes from time after he was taken down by Chey Dunkley.

Waghnorn stepped up and scored to restore parity – meanwhile, Cardiff City found an equaliser against Rotherham in the dying stages, and that proved to be enough to keep Derby up.

Here’s what Derby fans had to say about Jozwiak after his vital contribution.

Jozwiak plays key role as Derby survive

“I WANT TO CUDDLE KAMIL JOZWIAK”

Credit: @RJConway92

“Get in line pal”

Credit: @Joeya7xdcfc2000

“Jóźwiak was a hero when he came on. Performed a textbook reducer when they were on the break to stop them, won the penalty, took a bruising tackle at the end to take time off the clock. Hopefully we’ll see the best of him next season”

Credit: @bojanglez

“Jozwiak my boy”

Credit: @rheaakilgourr

“Kamil Jozwiak appreciation post”

Credit: @JakubKrupa

“go on kamil”

Credit: @joepotts_

“Jozwiak proving his worth too great performance”

Credit: @DannyPorter97

In other news, fans fumed at this takeover development.

Many West Ham United fans have been reacting on Twitter, after transfer insider Dean Jones suggested to The Football Terrace that Jesse Lingard is likely to join from Manchester United next week, [via The Express].

Of course, the England international was influential for the Hammers in a loan spell in 2020/21, registering 14 goal contributions in 19 appearances; nine goals and five assists [Transfermarkt].

Now, he could well be on his way back to the London Stadium as Jones told The Football Terrace (via The Express) that a move is ‘likely’ before the deadline next week.

West Ham and the Red Devils are believed to have aligned somewhat in terms of their valuation of Lingard, with the 28-year-old looking set to move to the Irons before the closure of the window according to Jones.

In light of this news, no wonder loads of West Ham United diehards took to social media to comment on the latest developments.

West Ham United fans react:

Replying to popular West Ham United outlet West Ham News & Views, here is what some Irons fans had to say about the situation, with many not getting their hopes up over the claims from Jones:

“What a great source”

Credit: @conwhufc03″Well if dean Jones soccer says it’s true it must be gospel”Credit: @JoshM28617481″I dont believe it that dean jones guy calls it soccer”Credit: @Lucas27858628

“Source ain’t reliable mate”

Credit: @central_louis

“No thank you”

Credit: @MorganMcginley4″No No No”Credit: @Sami95934013In other news, West Ham United fans react to a Fabrizio Romano update. Read all about it here.