All posts by h79snht.top

Celtic’s European dream, or lack of, is finally over as Ange Postecoglou’s men bailed out of the Champions League in torturous fashion.

This has not been a good campaign on the continent for either Scottish club, but the Hoops can at least take comfort that it’s their rivals and not they, who will go down as the worst team in group stage history.

That said, their defeat to Real Madrid on Wednesday evening was a battering and one that summed up how Celtic and Rangers have fared in Europe this term; a leaky backline and a lack of goals.

A 5-1 score line was fully merited for the hosts in midweek, with three penalties awarded during the course of the game. One of those was missed by Josip Juranovic but he was among a host of Bhoys who failed to perform in the Spanish capital.

One of the chief among them was Kyogo Furuhashi, who badly let his manager down on the night. The Japanese striker has endured a rough week, perhaps surprisingly being left out of Japan’s World Cup squad and it got no better for him inside the Bernabeu.

He was given a bizarre yellow card for an incident with Real defender Eder Militao while his finishing deserted him again.

So often ruthless in the Premiership, his form in Europe has been decidedly toothless.

He failed to score in the Champions League this term and his only goals in continental action came in the Europa League again with Ferencvaros at the beginning of last term.

For a man with 29 goals in his Hoops career, it is puzzling that he can’t find the extra quality against sterner opposition.

Jota has previously described the Japanese forward’s movement as “world-class” and that it may. His finishing at the elite level, however, is anything but.

As Kyogo toiled and ultimately failed to have an impact in Spain, he managed fewer touches (12) and passes (7) than goalkeeper Joe Hart (31 & 14).

Typically for the competition, he missed a gilt-edged chance he should have scored too.

It was an all-round poor evening for the forward who also lost 100% of his physical duels throughout his 62 minutes of the contest.

Kyogo has largely been excellent in Celtic colours but there is now a feeling that if they are to ever go deeper in Europe’s elite competition, they will need someone better, someone with a meaner streak inside the opposition’s half.

Giorgos Giakoumakis has already achieved something his Japanese colleague hasn’t, a goal in the aforementioned competition, so perhaps he is where they need to turn to in the future.

Wolverhampton Wanderers will be aiming for a new lease of life under newly appointed manager Julen Lopetegui.

The Old Gold find themselves second bottom of the Premier League table, scoring just eight goals and winning only two matches league matches since the start of the season.

The Spaniard has a massive job on his hands in order to maintain the club’s top-flight status, and there will be certain players who might soon find themselves out of the team.

Following on from another poor performance in Saturday’s 3-2 defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion, Joao Moutinho could soon find himself making way for another player in the starting XI.

On the chalkboard

Against Brighton, the midfielder looked a shadow of his former self, with Express & Star’s Liam Keen noting of his display that in “similar fashion to other games this season, the game largely passed Moutinho by”.

Indeed, the Portuguese made just 25 passes and took 38 touches of the ball during the match, failing to exert his experience or influence in a Wolves side that played the whole second half reduced to ten men.

His overall SofaScore rating that the 36-year-old has achieved this season is a more than respectable 7.01/10  however, certain performance indicators suggest he is having less of an impact on the team.

Last season, on average, Moutinho took 68.5 touches of the ball per match, but this season that has dropped to 58.9 per match. Meanwhile, he has made only 50% of his attempted dribbles so far this campaign, compared to an impressive figure of 76% last year.

Even defensively, his numbers have dropped with fewer interceptions (1.0 to 0.8) and clearances (0.9 to 0.6) this season already and this may have played a small part in the Molineux side’s shoddy defensive record this season, conceding 22 goals in 14 matches.

Those numbers are perhaps even more damning when you consider the Old Gold have had more defending to do in 2022/23.

In September, the £100k-per-week midfielder was left out of the Portugal squad with writer Zach Lowy claiming that “he’s dispensable now”, especially with the quality of players that Fernando Santos has available to him, such as Otavio, former Wolves man Vitinha, and Joao Palhinha. With a World Cup kicking off in a matter of days now, it’s hardly ideal timing for the former Monaco man.

If the veteran doesn’t start contributing more effectively for Wolves, Lopetegui might just feel that he can be dispensable for his club too, with plenty of youngsters aiming to break into the starting XI and take his place.

Glasgow Rangers have stuttered their way throughout the opening few months of the campaign. Many thought reaching the Champions League group stages following a playoff victory against PSV Eindhoven could spur the side on to greater heights, although it hasn’t quite worked out that way.

The Ibrox side finished bottom of their group, recording zero wins and scoring just twice, while their Premiership form recently has allowed Celtic to open up a seven-point gap at the top of the table.

It’s not all bad news for the club, however, as Giovanni van Bronckhorst might have just unearthed a rough diamond.

When Rangers signed Malik Tillman on loan from Bayern Munich in the summer, much was made of his potential, especially after making a handful of appearances for the German heavyweights. In the deal, it was revealed that the Light Blues have the option to buy the attacking midfielder for €7m (£6m) and this is something the club should be exercising over the winter break.

The 20-year-old is a raw talent and has sometimes struggled with the physicality of Scottish football, however, there have been glimpses of his potential while he has registered seven goal contributions in 23 matches this season.

Van Bronckhorst even heralded him as an “epic talent” back in August while Ibrox teammate John Lundstram has described the American as “one of the best young talents I’ve seen” and this is high praise from two key figures at the club.

£6m may sound like a big fee for Rangers, but this move could become an investment. With Van Bronckhorst seeing Calvin Bassey and Joe Aribo leave Ibrox for £23m and £10m respectively, there is no doubt Tillman could generate millions in profit for the club.

The youngster missed out on a place in the USA World Cup squad, yet this may be a blessing in disguise, as he could come back from this setback stronger and put together more consistent performances in the second half of the season.

The Dutchman should be trying to make his move permanent sooner rather than later, especially if he kicks on after Christmas and attracts attention from clubs with much greater financial resources than the Gers.

The pressure is on Van Bronckhorst, that’s for sure.

Manchester Evening News journalist Alex Brotherton has reacted to VAR’s decision not to award a penalty during Manchester City’s clash against Brentford in the Premier League this afternoon.

The Lowdown: Honours even

The Sky Blues hosted the Bees at the Etihad Stadium but suffered a shock 2-1 defeat, with two first-half goals coming from Ivan Toney and Phil Foden, before Thomas Frank’s number 17 netted the winner in stoppage time as he doubled his tally for the day.

One of the most notable moments other than the goals was when Rico Henry stuck out an arm on the edge of the penalty area to try and prevent Bernardo Silva’s cross coming in from the byline, but despite a VAR check, no spot kick was given.

The Latest: Brotherton’s reaction

Taking to Twitter, Brotherton was shocked by the decision and insisted that City should have been handed the chance to score from the 12-yards spot.

He fumed: “Peter Walton saying on BT Sport that there was no conclusive evidence that the handball took place inside the box – looked pretty clear to me that the ball was on the line. Should have been a penalty.”

The Verdict: No need to panic

With the incident taking right on the edge of the penalty box, it did seem difficult to conclusively deduce if it was in or outside the white line, but Brotherton’s stance is understandable when such a marginal call could easily have gone for the home side on a different occasion.

Whilst City would have wanted to secure victory against lower-placed opposition, there’s definitely no cause for concern when it comes to the Sky Blues’ form this season.

The Manchester outfit have won 10, drawn two and lost just two of their opening 14 league games, leaving them two points behind current leaders Arsenal ahead of their trip to Molineux tonight.

The title race will rage on for some time given how tight it is at the top, and Guardiola will be given the perfect chance to regroup his team during the international break and get them ready for the return of domestic action after Christmas.

Everton reportedly have a long-standing interest in Villarreal defender Pau Torres ahead of the January transfer window.

The Lowdown: Going to the World Cup…

The 25-year-old will be one of many stars to look out for at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, as he heads to the tournament with Spain.

The 2010 champions won 3-1 against Jordan in a friendly in preparation for the World Cup on Thursday afternoon, in which Torres played the full 90 minutes.

The Latest: Everton interested in Torres

Writing in his latest piece for 90min, transfer expert Graeme Bailey has revealed that Everton have a ‘long-standing interest’ in Torres ahead of January.

They are ‘ready to move on’ from the likes of Michael Keane and Yerry Mina, and Torres could come in as a replacement for the duo.

Villarreal are open to selling him in January, but will demand a fee in the region of £40m-£55m for his signature, and Aston Villa, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea, Wolves, Manchester United, PSG and Inter Milan are also thought to be interested in his signature.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/everton-news-8/” title=”Everton news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: Unlikely

Given the calibre of clubs who are in for Torres, with some playing in the Champions League, it seems highly unlikely that Frank Lampard’s team would be able to persuade him to move to Everton.

The 6 foot 3 colossus has played 150 times for Villarreal at the highest level, including 12 appearances in the Champions League last season as he helped his side to reach the semi-finals of Europe’s premier club competition (Transfermarkt).

Hailed as a ‘sensational’ and ‘superb’ defender by Spain boss Luis Enrique, it is easy to see why he has picked Torres in his squad heading for the World Cup, and the 25-yer-old will only be under the spotlight even more as the tournament begins.

It seems likely that Everton would find it very hard to sign him in January ahead of the level of competition.

West Bromwich Albion have been a club that have shown a willingness to utilise the young talent available to them, of which they have produced plenty in recent years.

With Carlos Corberan likely to uphold this value, outlined in his continued use of Taylor Gardner-Hickman, it bodes well for the young Baggies in the academy.

The former Huddersfield Town head coach will have had a say in the recent decision to hand Harry Whitwell his first professional contract too, who will likely look to the aforementioned star as the one to follow.

He stands as proof that there is a clear pathway for academy players to make the breakthrough into the first team, and now this 17-year-old will look to do exactly that.

It could mark the perfect excuse to ditch the ageing Jake Livermore, in favour of a midfielder who is noted as “exciting” and “energetic” in Lewis Cox’s relaying of the new deal.

The 33-year-old is performing admirably for his age, with a 6.70 average SofaScore rating denoting hardly worrying form, but with an academy that has already produced a number of their current starting squad, they should soon look to dip into it once more as he comes to the twilight of his career.

Academy boss Richard Stevens was the first to praise him in the report, detailing that “For a young lad who has just turned 17, he has shown he has the capability of playing regularly in the PL2 team. This shows how highly we rate Harry…”.

The U23s coach Richard Beale would also note:

“He’s going from strength to strength, Harry. He’s had a fantastic year. He’s already trained in the first team under the new manager, he has had several sessions with the first team this season.”

This exposure to Corberan’s methods will already give him a huge advantage in breaking into the senior squad, whilst his inclusion is indicative of how highly thought of he is at the club despite having only featured 14 times for the under-18s and nine times for the under-21s.

Regardless, the future is clearly bright for this young starlet who appears as the new shining light of the West Brom academy.

Manchester City star Phil Foden has been told he is having his best-ever season after a first World Cup start for England against Wales.

The Lowdown: Foden performs on cue…

The 22-year-old was made to wait for his first start in Qatar by Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate, despite calls for the City fan favourite to be drafted into the line-up.

Foden’s creativity could have been an asset against the USA, but after England’s dreary 0-0 draw against their cross-Atlantic rivals, Southgate opted to hand Foden the nod against Wales in their final group game.

The Sky Blues star repaid that faith and put in a brilliant display, helping to guide his nation to top spot in their group. Foden finished the 90 minutes of their 3-0 victory as one of England’s highest-rated players and grabbed a goal for his efforts, feeding off a sublime cross from team-mate Harry Kane for their second.

The Latest: Whelan praises Foden…

Speaking to Football Insider, former Leeds United striker Noel Whelan has claimed that the City midfielder is having his best-ever season for club and country off the back of his performances.

The 47-year-old explained: “The Wales game was a perfect opportunity to put Foden in. He is the one player who was going to unlock defences, especially as Wales started to push players forward to try and get a result.

“We’re going to need him in the knockout stage, and he needed a game. Everyone knows the quality he has and he’s shown that with Man City so far this season, he’s having the best season of his career so far.

“No one can question the job that Sterling or Saka have done so far but giving them that rest was exactly what Southgate should have done.”

The Verdict: He must start against Senegal

Next up for England – a crunch round-of-16 tie against African champions Senegal on Sunday night.

Judging by Foden’s outing against Wales, where he had a real creative influence in the attacking areas and appeared hungry to prove a point, we believe that he ought to be a sho0-in for England’s all-important knockout tie.

Aston Villa have undergone plenty of change over the last few months with the appointment of former Arsenal manager Unai Emery just before the World Cup break, and considering how his first two Premier League games in charge went, there is a lot of anticipation at Villa Park.

The 51-year-old took two victories from his debut fixtures as the new Villa boss, beating Manchester United and Brighton and Hove Albion to leave them 12th in the table after an initial struggle in the top flight.

Emery will be hoping that he can continue his positive influence and impact on the Villains when they return to action after Christmas, and he will be able to put his own personal mark on the team by going into the January transfer window to acquire the services of players who fit his philosophy to improve performances on the pitch.

One man who has been linked with a move to Villa Park this week is Portugal and Atletico Madrid star Joao Felix, who could be absolutely perfect for strengthening the Midlanders’ attacking threat over the second half of the season.

The 23-year-old – who was dubbed “immense” by journalist Thomas Holland – ranks in the top 15% of his positional peers across the top five European leagues for assists, progressive passes, interceptions and dribbles completed.

In fact, Emery could land the dream Philippe Coutinho heir in Felix, as the 30-year-old Villa star has not been at his best over the current campaign, and the young Atletico winger has proven to be much more effective in front of goal so far this term.

From the same number of games, the £113m-priced Portugal international has outperformed the Brazilian in many attributes in 2022/23, including goal contributions (6 v 0), shot-on-target rate (47.4% v 37.5%), shot-creating actions per 90 minutes (3.68 v 2.99) and aerial duels won (46.2% v 25%).

Increasing the goal contributions in the team should be the ultimate priority for the powers at Villa Park, as the more chances converted, the more likely it is that the team will pick up the crucial points that they need in order to climb the Premier League table.

With that in mind, the signing of Felix would be a huge coup for Aston Villa and would certainly be a statement of the club’s ambitious intent to not only improve current performances on the pitch but also to build a team which can compete at the highest level for years to come.

Time is running out for Queens Park Rangers to appoint a new manager ahead of the Championship’s resumption this weekend but Chris Wilder could be the man to right Michael Beale’s wrongs.

The Hoops are currently managerless after Beale made the move to old club Rangers last week and with a game against table-toppers Burnley to come at the weekend, it is looking increasingly likely that QPR will be without a permanent manager for that game.

One man who has been linked with the vacant post at Loftus Road is former Northampton Town, Sheffield United and Middlesbrough manager, Chris Wilder.

The 55-year-old is currently out of work after being sacked by Middlesbrough earlier in the season, but his previous jobs in management suggest that he could a huge hit at QPR.

After leading Northampton to the League Two title, Wilder won League One with Sheffield United the following season, before taking them to the dizzy heights of the Premier League in his third season with the club.

He would enjoy a hugely successful first season in the top flight with the Blades but was harshly sacked when things went sour the following season, but is still highly regarded for the work he did at Bramall Lane.

Steve McClaren was full of praise for the job Wilder did at Sheffield United saying:

“And what he’s doing, he’s getting 100 per cent – it’s phenomenal – (first) in the Championship and now in the Premier League.”

Sheffield United’s promotion season from the Championship saw them combine a dangerous attack with a rock-solid defence, and Wilder would surely be aiming to implement the same combination at Loftus Road.

The Blades were only outscored by three teams in the 2018/19 season, while they had the joint-best defensive record in the division, so it is easy to see why they were able to go up automatically.

Despite their strong current standing in the Championship, which sees them sit sixth in the second tier after Millwall’s heavy defeat on Saturday, QPR’s wins have often come from a narrow margin this season.

The Hoops have been outscored by eight teams, and have conceded more than ten sides, which suggests that their place in the playoffs is simply not sustainable unless changes are made.

Therefore, if Wilder does arrive as Beale’s replacement, he will have to implement a tactic which sees QPR become far more dangerous going forwards and far less susceptible at the back, something which he has proven he can do in his previous spell with Sheffield United.

QPR must look to make him their man, sooner rather than later.

West Bromwich Albion were shoehorned into a summer of limited spending, with Steve Bruce suffering due to years of financial mismanagement by the club.

It culminated in a total summer expenditure of just £1.1m across eight signings, with the former Baggies boss forced to work the free transfer market.

To his credit, costless recruits such as Okay Yokuslu and Tom Rogic added pedigree, whilst Jed Wallace and John Swift had dominated the Championship for years beforehand.

It therefore made Albion’s start to the season all the more disappointing, as they endured a run of just one win in 11 games in the league before the hierarchy called time on Bruce’s tenure.

Languishing in the relegation zone, they called upon former Huddersfield Town boss Carlos Corberan to turn around the sinking ship and whip what on paper was a decent side into shape.

Although their loss to Sheffield United in his opening game in late October may have caused initial concern, the current boss has since guided West Brom to four straight victories, propelling them to within eight points of the play-off spots.

Their recent win over Sunderland was particularly impressive, given how the Black Cats were in similarly imperious form and could have risen to seventh with a win.

Although goalscoring substitutes Daryl Dike and Rogic might have stolen the headlines with their match-wining displays, it cannot be forgotten that it was Jed Wallace’s teasing delivery which allowed the former to head home the winning goal.

It marked the seventh goal contribution of the season for the winger, who has admittedly endured a tough start to life at The Hawthorns after his heroics for Millwall in the 2021/22 campaign.

Having assisted twice in his last six games, the 28-year-old will be hoping that he can reinstate his scoring touch now that he has the faith of a manager who encourages free-flowing attacking play.

Last season he scored six goals and set up 12 for a Millwall side which finished ninth, with his then-manager Gary Rowett dubbing him “unplayable” at times.

It is worth reminding that, having signed for nothing, he is now worth €5m (£4.3m). Regardless of whether or not he finds his best form, this was a relatively risk-free deal which already appears to have worked out for West Brom.

However, it seems that Corberan is now starting to get the best from Wallace, who has averaged a 6.95 Sofascore rating throughout the season.

Despite his somewhat underwhelming goal contributions tally, he has still recorded 1.9 key passes and two shots per game.

Should Wallace manage to convert these into actual goals and assists, Corberan might finally be able to see the player who has lit up the Championship throughout his career.