Former Arsenal teammate Jack Wilshere also responded.
Wilshere is a man who knows all too well about the trials and tribulations of an injury-laden career so one can be certain that, when it comes to sending messages of support, his remarks are truly sincere. Great stuff.
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Some Liverpool fans are plotting out a deal for Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Kai Havertz after a report by German publication Bild (subscription needed) said that the Bundesliga outfit are interested in signing Dejan Lovren.
The transfer window for European clubs is due to shut in just under a fortnight’s time, and according to Bild the Croatian centre-back is a loan target for Leverkusen.
In that respect a deal looks unlikely, with a potential exit for the 30-year-old to Roma already falling through with the Merseyside outfit said to want a permanent move, and the Serie A club only wanting the 2018 World Cup finalist on a temporary basis.
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Meanwhile, Sport1 reported on Tuesday that the Reds were one of a number of major European forces tracking 20-year-old ace Havertz, who has followed up on his 20 goals in 42 appearances in all competitions in 2018/19 with two in two this term, according to Transfermarkt.
Liverpool supporters on Twitter appear particularly keen to use the reported interest from the German club in Lovren to work out a deal for the promising starlet, with one saying “Michael Edwards do your thing”, and another simply saying “swap for Havertz”.
Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…
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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…
Barcelona officially confirmed that Juan Miranda will be joining FC Schalke 04 on a two-season long loan. And looking at the details of that deal, Barcelona were definitely right to go through with it.
What’s the word, then?
After some days of initial speculation from the media, the Catalans have actually confirmed the transfer and the young 19-year-old will indeed be heading to Germany. Miranda had a short stint with the first team in the 2018/19 season but he was only reduced to four outings and couldn’t really bring the much-needed competition to Jordi Alba who remained the undisputed starter. The 30-year-old racked up an incredible 54 games last season.
But the talent was certainly there for everyone to see. Miranda won the U19 Euros with the young Spain squad and was one of their big performers on such a huge stage. In a total of five games he played in the competition, he scored two goals and assisted one but also tallied four assists in the qualification round before that.
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With the arrival of Junior Firpo to the senior squad, however, the path is seemingly blocked for a while now and that was a clear sign it would be for the best if Miranda continued his development somewhere else. But there are two key parts of this deal that make it all worth it.
One step back, two steps forward
Apart from stating that the loan has happened, Barcelona also confirmed that there will be no purchase option on the table for the Germans.
This is fantastic news and a brilliant piece of business by the Catalans. Not only will Miranda be able to play at the top level instead of being stuck with Barcelona B but in case this loan deal does him the world of good, Barcelona can reclaim their talented player and slot him into their own squad without worrying that Schalke might snatch him.
And Mundo Deportivo, who broke the story a couple of days ago, also claim that the Blaugrana have inserted a clause which states that Miranda has to play at least 20 games or otherwise he will be recalled after the first season. This means that he is more likely to get game time and experience but if he doesn’t, he’ll just return to Barcelona B.
And sure, Alba is 30 but he might still have some time in his legs before he calls it a day while Firpo is there to relieve him this season and make sure he doesn’t have to play 50+ games again. With that in mind, losing Miranda for now is not a catastrophe.
Removing that buy option from the deal, however, was crucial for Barcelona and that simple detail, along with the 20 games condition, makes this transfer all that much more acceptable.
Sending La Masia kids on loan is never ideal but with this one, Barcelona just might have hit the bullseye.
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International breaks are usually the time when football fans go crazy.
There’s no club football on the telly and international football seldom commands the same level of interest as domestic football until a big tournament swings around?
And while this may or may not be true for everyone, Barcelona couldn’t be happier that the break arrived when it did, and all for one simple reason: injuries.
Currently, their whole attacking trident of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Ousmane Dembele are out sidelined by various injuries and the Blaugrana have been without their star forwards for the majority of the first three games they’ve played.
Messi is yet to make his 2019/20 debut, Suarez played one half of the first game and the young Frenchman only featured in the curtain-raiser against Athletic Bilbao, after which he headed straight for the stands and has remained there ever since.
But the international break, as annoying as it gets for fans of club football, is now a true blessing in disguise because it means those injured players won’t miss any action and have extra time to recover.
Of course, one has to consider the “FIFA virus” that usually takes at least a couple of victims during the break.
And Ernesto Valverde, of all people, will feel extremely lucky because he can use this time, until 14 September when Barcelona welcomes Valencia to the Camp Nou, to figure out how to organise his squad with some of their returning stars.
Barcelona are hoping that Messi returns after the break, but as much as the return of the wizard will be a huge boost for the squad, it may also cause Valverde a headache or two.
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One key thing he absolutely has to figure out before those games is how to put Antoine Griezmann and Messi in the same lineup so that he gets the best from both without one limiting the other.
The little Argentine doesn’t need much instruction, granted, but his freedom does affect other players around him. Messi operates with a license to practically go anywhere he wants on the pitch and he has, in every sense of the word, warranted such freedom. But we’ve all seen how that affected players, such as Philippe Coutinho, who never got to express themselves because their roles were maybe more unfamiliar or even limiting at Barcelona.
It would be a catastrophe if Griezmann ended up going down a similar path, especially considering how expensive he was to bring in. Valverde will absolutely have to find an optimal system in which Messi and Griezmann can co-exist so that both players’ strengths are emphasised and utilised.
Maybe it sounds simple. After all, they are two world-class players when everything is said and done but Griezmann, just like Messi, enjoyed a certain dose of freedom at Atletico Madrid and was their main man throughout all those years he spent in the capital.
Now it will be up to Valverde to make sure he remains as successful at Barcelona as he was under the stern hands of Diego Simeone prior to his big-money move to Catalonia. The first three games Barcelona played were packed with mixed results. After all, Blaugrana registered a win, a draw and a defeat but there’s one key thing to note about those matches: they were all played without Messi.
Whatever tactics we saw on the pitch back then can effectively be thrown out of the window because once Messi returns, they will undoubtedly look far, far different. Usually, of course, that means a change for the good but Valverde’s goal should be to minimise that “Messidependencia” as much as possible.
The Argentine is, after all, already taking strides in his 30s and won’t be here in the squad forever, as much as everyone would love him to be.
It remains to be seen what kind of a change in tactics the return of the little magician will stimulate and how exactly Valverde will make sure he and Griezmann complement each other on the pitch next time out.
With their start to the new 2019/20 season as shaky as they come, there won’t be much room for error or improvisation.
Let’s see what card he plays next.
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Cenk Tosun has played just 16 minutes of football for Everton this season, which came at the end of the 4-2 Carabao Cup win over Lincoln City, as per Transfermarkt.
However, this wasn’t enough to prevent him from being called up to Turkey’s squad for their Euro 2020 qualifiers against Andorra and Moldova.
Having played the entirety of the 1-0 win over Andorra, Tosun then got two goals and an assist to help earn a 4-0 victory over Moldova.
Though it was this moment, tweeted by The Toffee Blues, that has caught the most attention:
The skill and composure shown in flicking the ball over the goalkeeper’s head, before volleying it into the net with the inside of his foot, has had some supporters calling for the Turkish striker to be given more of a chance in the Everton team.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin has been the club’s most prominent striker so far this season, having played 261 minutes across five matches, though he is yet to score.
Moise Kean has managed 217 minutes across five games, having recorded one assist in an Everton shirt so far with no goals.
A selection of Twitter reaction to the goal, including posts from impressed Everton fans, can be seen below:
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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…
According to The Shields Gazette, West Brom could go back in for former loan star Dwight Gayle in the January transfer window.
What’s the word?
The 28-year-old striker was on loan at the Hawthorns last season under former boss Darren Moore and quickly became an influential member of the squad.
Gayle scored 24 goals in 41 appearances as the club made the playoffs last season. He also added eight assists, showing how much of a team asset he really was.
In the summer, Bilic tried to get his hands on the forward but his parent club, Newcastle United, kept hold of him at manager Steve Bruce’s request.
At the time, they valued their frontman at between £15-20m which West Brom simply couldn’t afford.
The Croatian has added fuel to the fire by stating he would, in an ideal world, like another striker.
Music to Albion’s ears
If the Baggies can find the money for him, he could be one of the signings of the season based on how he performed last term.
He’s clearly a very popular figure at the Hawthorns despite only being at the club temporarily and several supporters wanted him to re-sign this summer.
The move would not only add goals to a frontline which has scored just two in six between them, but it would also enable Bilic to play the two striker system he spoke about when he first arrived at the club.
Gayle predominantly played in a two last term and alongside Jay Rodriguez, they scored 46 times.
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Charlie Austin and Kenneth Zohore could really benefit from having someone like Gayle alongside them and a possible pairing could bring fruitful benefits to all concerned, specifically with Austin.
West Brom could have two proven goalscorers leading the line for them in the second half of the season if the attacker signs again. Austin has 68 in 135 Championship appearances, per Tranfermarkt, and the Newcastle man showed his potential last season.
Landing a player like Gayle could well be the difference between securing promotion or remaining in the Championship.
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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…
West Brom’s summer arrival Romaine Sawyers has lauded teammate Chris Brunt in an interview with the club’s official website.
What’s he said?
Sawyers re-joined the Hawthorns this summer for around £3m from fellow Championship outfit Brentford, returning to the club that handed him his first professional contract in football.
The 27-year-old has played in every minute of their seven Championship matches so far this season as manager Slaven Bilic has guided his side to an unbeaten start.
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No midfielder in the league has been better with the ball than he has, averaging a passing success rate of 92.1%, per WhoScored.
Bilic brought in new faces over the summer but some still remain from the previous regime including Chris Brunt.
He has received a massive compliment from Sawyers despite only featuring for four minutes this league campaign.
He said:
“Sounds ridiculous but just playing alongside him [Brunt] still excites me. I’m in training and he’s still a class act.
“He wants to push you to new boundaries – as does the manager.
“The platform is there for us to take the next step. I need to push myself to be the best I can be and hopefully that resonates with everyone else.”
A big influence
Brunt has been at the Hawthorns since 2007 – that’s a year before Sawyers even earned his first professional contract at the club which really puts it into perspective.
Therefore, it is easy to see why the 5 foot 9 midfielder holds the Northern Irishman in such high regard.
As a young player, he was probably the one player to look up to, and he’s since gone on to make 412 appearances in the blue and white stripes.
In that time Sawyers has left the club and gone on to play permanently for two others in Walsall and Brentford.
At 34 years of age, time is certainly not on Brunt’s side, but it’s clear to see he still plays a huge role in the squad, even if he’s not getting much game time.
Judging by the way Sawyers looks up to Brunt, it’s unsurprising that he was Brentford’s captain for a period of time.
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This article is part of Football FanCast’s In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets…
Aston Villa advanced into the fourth round of the Carabao Cup to set up a tie with local rivals Wolves after beating Brighton at the Amex Stadium on Wednesday night.
Jota opened the scoring with his first goal for the club before Conor Hourihane doubled the lead just after the half an hour mark with his third in the competition.
The home side were able to pull one back through youngster Haydon Roberts, but Jack Grealish put an end to any chance of a comeback with a fine half-volley to hand Villa a 3-1 victory.
Dean Smith made nine changes to his side as he looked to rest several of his first-team stars – winger Trezeguet kept his place while John McGinn was drafted in due to an injury to Henri Lansbury, who had been expected to feature.
It meant that Villa’s entire backline was rotated thus giving a rare opportunity to Kortney Hause and Ezri Konsa, who both joined the club permanently in the summer.
Neither player has been able to start a Premier League game yet this season with Bjorn Engels and Tyrone Mings forming a formidable partnership that has kept two clean sheets in six appearances, per the Premier League.
Therefore, they would have had to put in a very promising showing to prove their worth to Smith, but Konsa seemingly failed to do so.
The 21-year-old didn’t track Roberts as he gained a yard on the Villa man to head home their consolation goal.
Konsa also failed to register a single tackle or interception in the match and was dribbled past on one occasion, per SofaScore.
Despite playing the entire game, he failed to make his mark which only puts his hopes at gaining a shot amongst Villa’s Premier League line up in flames.
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Brighton boss Graham Potter named an entirely new XI to the one that drew at Newcastle United on Saturday, a side that had an average age of just a little over 21 suggesting it was primarily the youth setup involved.
Konsa’s showing is far from what would have been expected, especially if he’s wanting to break into the first-team picture anytime soon.
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…
Arsenal’s second-highest scorer in history, Ian Wright, questioned why Unai Emery did not start Mesut Ozil or Dani Ceballos against Manchester United on Monday whilst covering the match for Optus Sport.
What did he say?
The Gunners faced the Red Devils earlier this week at Old Trafford in what was a rather dour game played out by two of the Premier League’s fallen giants. In the end, the match ended as a 1-1 draw.
Watch the Flying Pig tear into Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Jesse Lingard following Man Utd’s limp draw with Arsenal in the video below…
In midfield, Emery chose to go with three defensively-minded players in Granit Xhaka, Lucas Torreira and Matteo Guendouzi. Wright, it seems, did not agree with this gameplan, saying at half-time: “In respects to the selection, you look at it now, yes, no Ozil, no Ceballos, creative midfield players.
“No one to really get the ball and control the game from an Arsenal perspective so Arsenal can get on the ball and maybe get their players into it.
“Everything is on the actual counter-attack so its going to be interesting to see what he does because at the moment it looks like we’re just waiting for something to happen and then give it to our top man Aubameyang to nick a goal and I don’t think it’s a good enough tactic.”
Too negative from Emery
It is baffling as to why the former Sevilla boss chose to start with that trio in the middle of the park. First and foremost, they are all similar types of players. Their best play comes facing their own goal rather than attacking the opponents’ net. Between them, they have a combined total of 15 goals and 25 assists in 254 appearances for the north London outfit (Torreira: 3G and 5A in 58; Guendouzi: 1G and 4A in 55; Xhaka: 11G and 16A in 141).
Against Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side, there was no need to play so pragmatically. In the last two games before this fixture, the 20-time English champions had lost 2-0 against West Ham and were taken to penalties by Rochdale. They were clearly a side low on confidence, and were there for the taking.
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Ceballos and Ozil would have both added some extra attacking quality to the team, and that could have seen the Gunners edge proceedings. The former already has two assists since joining in the summer, whilst the latter, with 52 goals created in the Premier League for Arsenal, is in the top 40 on the all-time list.
The plan could still have been for Aubameyang to nick a goal, but he would have at least had more service in his attempts to do so. Wright’s theory of Ceballos and Ozil making the side more dangerous was eventually proven, even if not directly by either player.
The 23-year-old came on with 55 minutes on the clock, and within 200 seconds the Gunners were level through the Gabon international. Ceballos’ sheer presence and offensive intent alone seemed to create a few extra problems for United’s backline.
This should be a lesson for Emery. When a side is there for the taking and is in the midst of a poor run of form, they need to be put under pressure from the start. In this case, the 47-year-old showed too much respect, and that is something he must avoid in the future.
This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
Garry Monk suffered his first defeat as Sheffield Wednesday boss on Tuesday night as Hull City managed to claim a 1-0 victory at the KCOM Stadium.
Previous to that, the 40-year-old had steered his side to seven points from a possible nine, so his start to life at Hillsborough has been rather solid.
One thing against Monk is that he’s having to operate with a squad of players that were signed by his predecessors. Therefore he can’t put his own stamp on the side until at least January and even then maybe not until the summer.
In midweek, Sam Hutchinson picked up his fifth yellow card of the season, meaning he will be a guaranteed absence this weekend when they host Wigan Athletic – the 30-year-old was particularly weak in midfield, which undoubtedly contributed to their downfall.
Therefore, it could be a blessing in disguise for Wednesday as one player is set to gain from his suspension.
On the Chalkboard
Against Hull, Hutchinson recorded a poor passing success rate of 71%, which is his worst effort of the season alongside picking up a dire rating of 6.05, per WhoScored.
The defensive midfielder has just been too inconsistent in the passing game meaning several turnovers of possession surely lie in his hands as he has struggled to find a man in the blue and white stripes regularly.
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Massimo Luongo replaced Hutchinson at Middlesbrough when he had to come off through injury and did a decent enough job as they won, but he’s only managed to make five substitute appearances thus far, so he could do with a run in the team.
The other midfielder in line to feature would be Kieran Lee, who has started just one game under Monk since his appointment last month.
Monk should probably side with the Australian for this fixture as in his sparse 118 minutes, he’s managed to register a passing success rate of 87.7%, which is above that of Hutchinson’s recent showing.
The 27-year-old showed his quality for Queens Park Rangers before clinching a move to south Yorkshire this summer – he has managed at least three assists per season from defensive midfield since 2015.
Their suspension, therefore, could be a blessing in disguise.