All posts by n8rngtd.top

[ad_pod ]

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

According to The Daily Mail, Tottenham are one of a number of teams following Rennes starlet Eduardo Camavinga.

What’s the word?

The 16-year-old burst onto the scene in Ligue 1 last season, registering seven first-team appearances for the French side.

The report adds Spurs were keen to sign the teenager during his breakthrough campaign, and the north London side will now have to fend off serious competition to land their man.

The Daily Mail claim that Spurs, Manchester City and Arsenal all had scouts in attendance at Roazhon Park to cast their eye over the midfielder in Rennes’ clash with league champions PSG on Sunday evening.

Watch Tottenham Hotspur Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Camavinga stole the show in front of his keen onlookers, completing every single pass he attempted as he dropped a midfield masterclass to help his underdog side clinch a memorable 2-1 win over Thomas Tuchel’s men.

Statement signing

Having missed out on St Etienne’s centre-back prospect William Saliba to Arsenal this summer, Spurs could deliver an emphatic retort to their north London rivals by sealing a move for Camavinga.

The Daily Mail further add that Barcelona and Real Madrid are also interested in securing the Angola-born ace, so Mauricio Pochettino’s side do have their work cut out.

But ultimately, this is the kind of business Spurs need to do. The top sides across Europe have scouts everywhere, and very rarely does a player go under the radar. Camavinga’s inexperience hasn’t stopped people from already taking notice, and so it’s important to get the groundwork for a deal done as quickly as possible.

Having already made a statement signing in Tanguy Ndombele from Lyon, Spurs could land another highly promising French-based midfielder in Camavinga. It would reiterate the idea the north London side are a viable destination for many of the game’s biggest prospects, and not just a stepping stone to the likes of Barcelona or Madrid.

Check out the below above to see football played as you’ve never seen it before… in a maze!

Statements are made on the pitch, but they can equally be made off it too. And luring a 16-year-old who dominated the likes of Marco Verratti and Marquinhos in midfield would be send a message that the Lilywhites are here amongst the big boys and here to stay.

[ad_pod ]

[ad_pod ]

Having arrived from Torino in the summer of 2015 for a reported £12.7m, it’s fair to say Matteo Darmian hasn’t exactly enjoyed the finest of Manchester United careers.

The Italy international has struggled to establish himself in the Red Devils’ first-team, and has been on the fringes of the squad for the past couple of seasons.

Reports in recent weeks had suggested the versatile full-back had agreed a deal to join Inter on a free transfer next summer, but it appears the 29-year-old could be set for a much quicker Old Trafford exit.

According to Gianluca di Marzio, Darmian will instead be moving to fellow Italian side Parma on a permanent transfer before the end of the transfer window this summer.

After hearing the update on the defender’s future, United fans took to Twitter to voice their opinions on the situation.

Many Red Devils supporters hailed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for getting rid of even more deadwood, and felt the Norwegian is showing he is a “man of his word”.

Some fans also praised Darmian for the way in which he has handled his reported departure, and thanked him for being the model professional and never complaining.

Check out some of the reaction of United fans below:

[ad_pod ]

[ad_pod ]

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

In a conversation with Off the Ball, Gary Neville has thrown down the gauntlet to Paul Pogba on what he needs to do to become a success at Manchester United.

What did he say?

The France World Cup winner has come under heavy criticism in recent weeks and months amidst speculation linking him with a move away from Old Trafford.

The 26-year-old publicly admitted he would embrace a “new challenge” before sparking major controversy with his role in the penalty fiasco at Wolves this season.

Neville, who criticised Pogba in the aftermath of that clash at Molineux, has now revealed the Frenchman has to carry United on his shoulders as the side’s best player.

Watch Manchester United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

He said (as quoted by The Manchester Evening News): “When I criticised Paul Pogba after the penalty incident at Wolves, I don’t see it as being any different than the criticism of Roy Keane or David Beckham or Wayne Rooney. The best player, the leader, the captain in the team, will stand up and he will take the brunt of the criticism. Just as the manager will and the coach will.

“He’s the Bryan Robson of the 80’s now. United were in trouble, people hung everything on Bryan Robson, everybody now hangs a lot on Paul Pogba. But that’s the pressure that he wants, he wants to be the best player in the world. So now go and show us you’re the best player in the world.

“What does he need to do that? Carry Manchester United into the Champions League, win the Europa League, drive them forward. That’s what I want from Paul Pogba, that’s what I want from him because I believe he’s capable of doing it. I have faith in him to do it.”

Responsibility

Whilst Neville has previously criticised Pogba, his latest comments on the Frenchman certainly do have a lot of weight to them. The 26-year-old is seen as the main man at United, and as such will take the bulk of the flak when things don’t go the right way.

The pressure of being the Red Devils’ star player inevitably brings about increased attention. Mistakes are heavily scrutinised whilst below-par performances are simply not accepted. The Manchester side are in a period of transition at the moment and so things are understandably a little more tense. But if Pogba can embrace the responsibility and thrive in it, he could yet turn his United career around and cement a far more positive legacy.

[ad_pod ]

Leeds United are thought to have rejected an offer of around £27m for Kalvin Phillips during the summer transfer window, according to a report by Football Insider.

Although no club has been named, it is said the offer for the defensive midfielder would have been made up of additional add-ons and bonuses.

[ad_pod ]

Indeed, Phillips has just signed a new five-year deal to remain at Elland Road, although it is understood that a release clause of between £20m and £25m was inserted, should the club fail to win promotion to the Premier League this season.

Phillips has been an instrumental figure for Leeds and Marcelo Bielsa over the last year or so and has been nothing but impressive for the Whites with his performances on the field.

Having recorded statistical data such as an average of 4.7 tackles (in which he leads the rest of the squad), 1.3 interceptions and 1.8 clearances this season (WhoScored), he has been steadily building on the previous campaign’s impressive averages of 2.6 tackles, 1.3 interceptions, 2.6 clearances, 0.6 key passes and a passing success rate of 82.1%.

Indeed, it is no surprise that there were clubs interested in signing the 23-year-old throughout the summer, with Aston Villa having been heavily linked with a potential deal following their promotion to the Premier League.

Although it might not have been a surprise that Leeds rejected an offer in the region of £27m, they may have shot themselves in the foot in regards to getting a figure any higher than that.

As Football Insider recently reported, should Bielsa fail to get the club into the top-flight at the second time of asking, the Elland Road outfit are going to have to accept any offers that come for Phillips at a slightly reduced rate.

Phillips is, undeniably, an important member of the Leeds squad and he will, surely, play a vital role in trying to help the club finally make their return to England’s top division.

It does not come as a surprise to hear that an offer was rejected for one of their top performers, though it could only be a matter of time before the 23-year-old is packing his bags and leaving Elland Road, especially if Bielsa does not get them back to the Premier League.

Leeds fans, what do you make of Leeds’ decision to reject a £27m offer for Phillips? Let us know your thoughts by sharing them in the comments section below!

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

Barcelona host Valencia at the Camp Nou this Saturday and if the past encounters are any indication this one is gearing up to be another special clash.

On the chalkboard

The two have faced each other 25 times since 2011, counting all competitions, and Barcelona are currently leading the way with 14 wins while Los Che only have three. But there were also eight draws recorded during that time as well.

What is interesting is that the Blaugrana have recorded two draws and a Copa del Rey final defeat in the last three games, which emphasises how tricky an opponent Valencia actually are for the Catalans.

Watch England Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

With that being said, Ernesto Valverde will absolutely have to make sure that his troops win the battle in the midfield. Sergio Busquets and Daniel Parejo will most likely go head-to-head in this exchange.

The battle of the captains

If Busquets can establish dominance and control the proceedings, Barcelona will surely have a bigger chance to win the game when everything is said and done.

But Parejo is a huge presence in the opposite camp, and the stats he accumulated this season can attest to that.

The 30-year-old midfielder has so far averaged 2.5 key passes per game, 86.4% passing accuracy and 70 average passes per game in the two outings he has had in La Liga so far. Busquets has a similar tally: 1.5 key passes, 89.5% passing accuracy and 76.5 average passes per game so far, also in two games played in the 2019/20 campaign.

Of course, the duo have slightly different arsenals at their disposal and thrive at different things. Busquets is naturally more defensive as Barcelona’s number one pivot and Parejo is more inclined to attack, dictate the play and rattle the net, which he has done twice so far this season, while his 31-year-old Spanish compatriot has one assist to his name.

Busquets has also registered 3.5 tackles per game and was only dribbled past once per game so far. Parejo is not far behind on this one, either, with two tackles per game but he was dribbled past 2.5 times on average.

By the looks of it, both players have huge influences on their respective teams and it’s difficult to escape the feeling that whoever wins this battle and establishes dominance just might win the game as well.

We’ll have to wait until Saturday, however, to get our answer.

[ad_pod ]

[ad_pod ]The FIFA 20 ratings have caused a lot of controversy amongst the Leicester City camp this week.Wes Morgan tweeted his disdain about the way EA Sports have judged him, especially his speed.This led to a number of his teammates tweeting in his defence, and now the official club account has provided video evidence to show that the in-game rating he received is wrong.

The Foxes aimed to prove that their captain is quicker than the 29 pace rating he has been given in this year’s game.

In order to dispute the rating he was given they timed him running the length of the pitch.

He clocked a time of 9.59 seconds, convenientlyÂ0.01 second slower than Usain Bolt’s 100m world record pace.

Watch Leicester City Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Unfortunately for Morgan, the footage was quite clearly sped up, so he doesn’t have the pace of a world-class sprinter.

Ben Chilwell tweeted that he found the video hilarious.

While the footage may be funny, it doesn’t do Morgan’s case for changing his rating any favours as the club had to edit the clip to make him seem quicker than he actually is. Sorry Wes.

[ad_pod ]

[ad_pod ]

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…

Tottenham Hotspur fell to a disappointing 2-1 defeat against Leicester City at the King Power Stadium on Saturday, but the match could have bigger consequences for two of their players – one of whom was involved against the Foxes, and one who wasn’t.

Kyle Walker-Peters started the 2019/20 season in the starting XI following the departure of Kieran Trippier to Atletico Madrid and with Serge Aurier seemingly out of favour, but he picked up an injury against Newcastle United that saw him miss the subsequent Premier League clashes against Arsenal and Crystal Palace.

However, with Aurier not travelling to Greece to face Olympiacos as Mauricio Pochettino rotated his team, the 22-year-old was back in the matchday squad in Athens.

He had to settle for a spot on the substitutes’ bench though as Pochettino selected Davinson Sanchez at right-back despite the same experiment not going well previously against Arsenal, as you can see from these fans’ reactions on Twitter.

That was a signal that the Argentine manager doesn’t fully trust the right-back seeing as he was surely fit enough to start having been named on the bench, and worse was to come for the trip to face Brendan Rodgers’ men at the weekend as he was omitted from the 18 altogether.

The situation is an indication of where Walker-Peters stands with the north London outfit, and that he isn’t viewed as good enough even when the only other options available aren’t natural full-backs.

Meanwhile, Victor Wanyama was linked with a move away from Tottenham during the summer, but both the English and European transfer windows closed without an exit materialising for the Kenya international, as a transfer to Club Brugge collapsed.

Prior to the Leicester encounter, the 28-year-old had been on the bench on three occasions this term, as well as missing out on the squad on three occasions as per Transfermarkt, but Pochettino decided to introduce him as a 67th minute from the bench against the Foxes with the visitors leading 1-0.

It’s fair to say that it was a disastrous cameo from the former Southampton and Celtic man, as he gave the ball away in the build-up to the hosts’ equaliser, before failing to close down James Maddison effectively for the winning goal.

Watch Tottenham Hotspur Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

The African looks to be firmly behind the likes of Harry Winks, Tanguy Ndombele and Moussa Sissoko already in the central midfield pecking order, and this latest display may have just sealed his exit in the New Year if there are some takers for him.

[ad_pod ]

It was vital that Tottenham got back to winning ways against Southampton on Saturday.

What should have been a stroll in the park against Colchester on Tuesday night ended up being something of an embarrassment. Spurs were beaten on penalties by the League Two side after failing to score during the initial 90 minutes.

Against the Saints though, they had a better day. Mauricio Pochettino’s men grabbed a 2-1 victory courtesy of goals from Tanguy Ndombele and Harry Kane in the first half. Danny Ings was the only man able to respond for the visitors.

The celebration for the former was rather funny. Ndombele, along with teammate Serge Aurier – who was later sent off – decided to mock VAR following the strike.

The moment clearly went down well with the north London outfit’s supporters, who enjoyed the light-hearted interaction. They took to Twitter to share their thoughts, and you can see some of the best comments from the social media platform below.

Aston Villa face a tough trip to Norwich as the search for their first away win in the Premier League this season continues.

Dean Smith’s side have struggled so far with only one top flight win and that has partly been due to the inconsistency in his team selection, although he does appear to have narrowed in on his preferred starting XI.

John McGinn impressed many with his performance against Burnley last time out, and Conor Hourihane playing alongside him allowed Jack Grealish more freedom in attack, with the Irishman also unlucky to see a first-half assist ruled out for offside.

Midfield could prove to be very important for Villa once again.

They enjoyed a lot of the ball against the Clarets but Norwich promise to be a different proposition, having had the majority of the ball in the league games they’ve played in 2019/20.

Watch Aston Villa Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Daniel Farke’s side have looked impressive at Carrow Road, beating Newcastle and Manchester City whilst showing confidence and ability on the ball that could allow them to play the ball around with ease.

However, they have looked vulnerable in defence at times, and with the likes of McGinn and Anwar El Ghazi taking up goalscoring positions of late, the visitors could find a breakthrough.

Here is how they could line-up against Norwich on Saturday.

The Canaries may have lost all of their away matches but they have scored eight in three games at home, and therefore an improved defensive performance is needed from the Villans.

Who says there’s no atmosphere at the Emirates? The evidence in the video above suggests otherwise…

Marvelous Nakamba is central to that, and if he performs to the level he has shown this season then his side should have some joy.

He has made a great start to his Premier League career with an average of 4.7 tackles per game, and his handling of players like Todd Cantwell and Emiliano Buendia could be pivotal.

The pair have a combined total of six assists and have been instrumental in the success of six-goal Teemu Pukki – the one player Villa must watch out for.

In order to do so, Mings and Engels will need to organise the defence better than they have done so far, with 11 goals conceded from seven matches.

Frederic Guilbert will need to step up too, as he could drop out for Elmohamady if he fails to stop crosses coming into the box, as he did for Jay Rodriguez’s goals last weekend.

One player who may consider himself unfortunate to miss out is Hourihane. His energy and pass accuracy of 92% was important in Villa having as much possession as they did against Burnley, and he could be involved if Smith decides to play Grealish out wide once again.

However, Trezeguet made an immediate impact when he was brought on in the last match, assisting McGinn with a well-picked out cross and also enjoying a pass success rate of 100%, so he is deserving of a return to the starting line-up.

You’d have to go back to 1974 to see the last time Manchester United were dumped from the English top flight, but given how they’re currently performing, there’s a very real chance we’ll see history repeat itself in 2020.Following their 1-0 defeat to Steve Bruce’s Newcastle United side on Sunday, the 20-time champions of England have slumped to just two points above the relegation zone where Everton, Norwich City and Watford are currently keeping the seats warm.Watch Manchester United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

The concept of United suffering relegation seems fairly alien to most that have only ever experienced the wonder that was Sir Alex Ferguson and the success that he brought.

However, after years of unrest following his departure, and as they tail off in a new direction under one of the stars that helped develop the invincible façade, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, there’s a creeping feeling that maybe, just maybe, the unthinkable could happen at the “Theatre of Dreams.â€

Speaking to talkSPORT, former England manager Sam Allardyce recalled the last time the Red Devils dropped into the second tier and explains why he thinks there’s a chance they could suffer the same fate again…

Bold. Very bold indeed.