As quoted by Football London, West Ham United manager Manuel Pellegrini has confirmed that Manuel Lanzini is close to a return to action, following a lengthy spell on the sidelines. The Chilean coach said, “this week I think we will have the squad list [on Thursday] and maybe Lanzini and Nasri can be included on the squad list…We will talk [Thursday] with the medical staff and then we will decide.”
Whether or not it is in time to face Fulham at the London Stadium on Friday night, the 26-year-old attacking midfielder is clearly close to a return to field. This will be welcome news to Hammers fans, as the Argentine can certainly have an impact between now and the end of the season.
On the chalkboard
The midfielder was expected to miss out on the entirety of this campaign after he sustained a knee injury during preparations for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. However, he now looks to be on schedule for a return ahead of the initial 15-month diagnosis.
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The team he is coming back into though is very different to the one he left. The Hammers have improved their attacking contingent whilst Lanzini has been sidelined, and summer arrival Felipe Anderson could make it tricky for the 4-cap Argentina international to get back into the team.
Pellegrini will have to find a way to balance his side so that Lanzini and the Brazilian can play alongside each other without leaving the Irons defensively exposed.
Finding the balance
With both Anderson and Lanzini on the pitch, the east London club would boast a great deal of creativity, technical ability and flair. However, neither are the most defensively aware or diligent of players. Despite all their quality, the Irons could find themselves missing the work rate currently brought to the side by the likes of Mark Noble, Robert Snodgrass and Michail Antonio – and there isn’t room for all of them in the starting XI.
Jack Wilshere and Andriy Yarmolenko’s own returns to fitness could intensify this selection headache for the manager. Pellegrini will likely have to make some tough choices in the summer, or else find a way to accommodate all of this attacking midfield talent, to ensure that the Iron’s don’t become a top-heavy, unbalanced outfit.
According to reliable West Ham United insider ExWHUemployee on Episode 124 of ‘The West Ham Way’ radio show, Winston Reid has said he will be back in full training next week after almost a year on the sidelines, and Irons fans have been quick to react.
The 30-year-old has been out of action ever since landing awkwardly during a Premier League clash against Swansea City in March 2018, and it was reported back in July that he would be out for at least three months following surgery.
However, that timeframe didn’t prove to be very accurate at all and it is now only nearly 12 months on that the New Zealand international looks set to return to the training ground, having told people there he expects to be back in action next week.
In his absence the likes of Issa Diop, Fabian Balbuena and Angelo Ogbonna have featured at the heart of the defence, with the former duo – both summer additions – in particular impressing.
West Ham supporters have taken to social media to have their say on Reid’s imminent return, and while one said “OMG finally”, another said it is “exciting times”.
Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…
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Middlesbrough manager Tony Pulis decided to take the rare decision of starting two strikers up top when his side faced Newport County in their FA Cup fifth-round replay in Wales on Tuesday night, but his pre-match comments via The Gazette suggest it is something that won’t be repeated anytime soon.
What happened?
The 61-year-old has often chosen to play a formation that only incorporates one striker so far this season, but with Jordan Hugill in form and Britt Assombalonga coming off of the substitutes’ bench and scoring a brace in the 3-2 win against West Bromwich Albion on Saturday, he obviously thought Tuesday was an ideal opportunity for an experiment.
It wasn’t one that paid off on a poor night for the Teesside outfit, and the experienced Welshman was quick to have his say on the decision post-match.
According to quotes via The Gazette, he said: “We’ve got the best away record in the Championship. The majority of away games we’ve been very good. Today was a different challenge, different conditions and we didn’t cope with it.
“I came here to be strong, to give us a chance, play with two up front but it just wasn’t to be. They were better than us.”
What did his words really mean?
Pulis has always been known as something of a conservative manager and you know if you are watching one of his teams that they generally aren’t going to be free-flowing from an attacking point of view.
That is backed up by the fact that Boro have scored 34 goals and conceded just 22 in their 29 Championship matches this term thus far, and he will know that his team will be more defensively stable – especially on the road – if they only play with one striker.
The fact that the 61-year-old pointed out that his side have the best away record in the league proves that he probably isn’t willing to change his ways to entertain the fans more, and the Riverside Stadium faithful shouldn’t expect to see two up top anytime again soon following their FA Cup disaster.
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Loads of Sunderland fans have been giving their verdict on their fourth signing of the January transfer window, as Celtic youngster Lewis Morgan has joined on loan.
Morgan will join the Black Cats on loan until the end of the season, the club has confirmed.
The 22 year-old, who has made 13 Celtic appearances in all competitions this season, per Transfermarkt, is a versatile attacking player who usually plays on the left wing.
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He started his career at St Mirren, where he struck 29 goals and 23 assists in 118 appearances, though his summer move to Celtic hasn’t quite worked out thus far.
Still, the youngster is packed with potential and the Black Cats are crying out for more pace and goals in the side after the departure of Josh Maja, so the move makes sense for all parties.
You can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below, where fans are loving the latest loan addition…
Daniel Levy is one of the most stubborn men in the business. Tottenham Hotspur have signed just one player in the last three transfer windows and, with the lack of strength in depth clearly tarnishing the club’s title chances, the supporters are growing increasingly frustrated with his tight-fisted approach.
The move into the new stadium is on the horizon, and the crippling financial implications of the move are surely influencing Levy’s transfer strategy. But, with the implementation of a coherent summer plan, Tottenham’s chief executive could free up a large chunk of cash from the wage bill.
Using figures obtained from Spotrac, we’ve taken a look at a collection of players who should be offloaded in the summer in order to make way for two elite-level footballers.
Cut the deadwood – plus Aurier
There are a handful of players residing within Pochettino’s squad who simply aren’t up to the standard required. Fernando Llorente is currently earning £3.9m per year and Spurs would be foolish to extend his deal when his contract expires at the end of the season.
Although it’s verging on the harsh side to place him in the deadwood category, Serge Aurier is far too inconsistent, so his £3.64m per year salary should be slashed and Kyle Walker-Peters should be given a more prominent role in the senior squad.
Michel Vorm, who earns £2.08m per year, should be released when his deal expires in the summer, while Georges-Kevin Nkoudou, Vincent Janssen, Josh Onomah and Cameron Carter-Vickers, who earn £1.82m, £1.76, £1.54m and £1.04m respectively, are all disposable talents with no future in north London.
Soccer Football – FA Cup Fourth Round Replay – Tottenham Hotspur vs Newport County – Wembley Stadium, London, Britain – February 7, 2018 Tottenham’s Fernando Llorente reacts after a missed chance Action Images via Reuters/Peter Cziborra
Result of Tottenham’s clear-out
If Levy managed to successfully find new clubs for all of the aforementioned players, he would slash a healthy £15.78 million from the yearly wage budget.
To place that into context, that’s enough to pay the yearly salary of Son Heung-min – which is currently £7.28m per year – twice over with some cash left to spare.
The South Korea international is the club’s second-highest earner after Harry Kane, and it’s the kind of salary which Levy will surely need to offer to lure two game-changing players to the club.
Soccer Football – Champions League Round of 16 First Leg – Tottenham Hotspur v Borussia Dortmund – Wembley Stadium, London, Britain – February 13, 2019 Tottenham’s Son Heung-min celebrates scoring their first goal Action Images via Reuters/Matthew Childs
Two more Son Heung-min’s?
Son’s weekly salary breaks down to £140k per week and, on current form, that wage has been thoroughly justified. But how long can Spurs continue to expect to compete at the top level if they have just two players earning more than £100k per week?
Naturally, there is not always a direct correlation between wages and positive contribution to the squad, as Llorente’s wage aptly reflects, but there is no question that, generally speaking, it pays dividends to employ a handful of mega-money earners.
Manchester City, for example, have ten players earning in excess of £100k per week; Liverpool have nine; Manchester United top the lot with twelve; Chelsea and Arsenal both have eight.
It’s about time Levy delivered the goods in the transfer market, and a mini exodus could be all he needs to make room on the wage bill for two marquee signings earning figures in the region of £140k per week.
If Spurs want to keep pace with their top-six rivals, they better start acting like them too.
Tottenham Hotspur agreed a deadline day deal to send Georges-Kevin N’Koudou on loan to Monaco, leaving the club rather thin in the left midfield position.
Son Heung-Min is clearly the club’s undisputed first-choice in the position but, behind him, there may be cause for alarm, such is the dearth of options behind him.
On the chalkboard
It has to be said that N’Koudou was hardly Tottenham’s best player.
But the Frenchman, signed from Marseille in 2016, showed in a brief cameo against Fulham in the Premier League that he can be a match-altering presence. Introduced off the bench, N’Koudou provided the cross for Harry Winks’ injury-time winner.
A full game against Crystal Palace in the FA Cup followed and was far less productive, as Spurs were shockingly beaten 2-0 at Selhurst Park.
That may well have coloured Mauricio Pochettino’s thinking when signing off on the deal but there is a risk that Son, who has only just returned from the Asian Cup, could well be burned out if he is tasked with playing every game between now and the end of the season.
Eriksen the answer?
Of course, when everyone is fit, the forward line boasts Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Son and Christian Eriksen.
It works because of its fluidity, the interchanging of positions regularly bamboozling opposition defenders.
Without Kane and Alli, though, there has been a creativity vacuum, with Eriksen asked to play in a deeper, less effective role.
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And it may well be that he is needed on the left flank in the coming months, particularly when Son is given a rest.
That would allow Eriksen to change games from the flank and, while he does not possess the searing pace or trickery of Son, he could routinely cut inside and split defences from the side of the pitch, just as he usually does in the middle.
Pochettino also has the option of moving Danny Rose or Ben Davies into a wing-back position, but the idea of Eriksen on the flank does nothing to compromise Spurs’ defensive shape.
Whatever happens, it is clear that Son will need a rest, sooner rather than later.
[ad_pod ]Ryan Jack has been on a fine run of form of late at the heart of Steven Gerrard’s midfield and his performances suggest he will have a huge role to play in Rangers’ future.
On the chalkboard
Within most squads there are normally a handful of players who manage to cement themselves as one of the first names on the teamsheet, and Jack is a player who is beginning to fall into that category under Gerrard.
Exactly who should play alongside him, though, remains up for debate. There are plenty of options available in the likes of Lassana Coulibaly, Steven Davis and Glen Kamara, for example, but the best of the rest are struggling to build a case as compelling as Jack’s.
With that said, it will be interesting to see how Jordan Rossiter fares during his loan spell with Bury for the remainder of the season, but the reaction to his man of the match performance against Oldham Athletic last weekend suggests he has already won over some of his new supporters.
Long-term partner for Jack?
The 21-year-old has been ravaged by injuries since he moved to Ibrox from Liverpool back in 2016. The early promise which characterised his teenage years has become an afterthought due to his lack of competitive action, but a series of games without suffering an injury could be what he needs to resurrect his career.
Naturally, League Two football is below the standard which will be required for Rossiter to thrive at Rangers, that much is clear.
But minutes on the pitch are imperative for the Liverpool academy product at this moment in his career, and a return to full match fitness could be exactly what he needs to play his way into Gerrard’s long-term plans ahead of pre-season.
Jack has established himself as a core component of the long-term future at Rangers, and Rossiter could force Gerrard to place him in that category alongside the 26-year-old in 2019.
يبحث ظهير أيمن الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي ساو باولو، داني ألفيس، عن فريق جديد من أجل الرحيل إليه في الميركاتو الصيفي الحالي.
ويبلغ ألفيس من العمر حاليًا 37 عامًا، وبحسب شبكة “جول” العالمية، يريد العودة إلى قارة أوروبا من جديد بعد الرحيل عن باريس سان جيرمان في عام 2019.
ربما كان يعتقد الكثيرين أن عودة ألفيس إلى البرازيل من أجل ختام مسيرته الكروية واعتزاله النهائي من حيث ما بدأ في عام 2001، ولكن ظهير برشلونة السابق يريد الرحيل رغم سريان عقده مع ساو باولو حتى ديسمبر 2022.
يريد ألفيس الدخول في تحدٍ جديد في أوروبا، فهل ينتقل إلى الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز أم ربما يعود إلى برشلونة الذي يبحث في الوقت الحالي عن ظهير أيمن جديد بعد اقتراب، نيلسون سيميدو، من الرحيل إلى ولفرهامبتون، وهذا ما أشارت إليه صحيفة “سبورت” الكتالونية.
الجدير بالذكر أن البرازيلي كان قد اعترف من قبل برغبته في الانتقال إلى الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز، واقترب قبل أعوام من الانتقال إلى مانشستر سيتي ولكن الاتفاق لم يتم في النهاية.