All posts by h716a5.icu

Jim Pallotta namechecking Newcastle United as a Premier League club he could look to buy in the future may be music to the ears of Matty Longstaff.

The former owner of Serie A outfit AS Roma mentioned the Magpies to The Athletic recently while discussing his ambitions to one day explore purchasing an English club.

Pallotta has previously been linked with a potential takeover at St James’ Park, with it even claimed that a viability study into buying Mike Ashley out was conducted last year.

The American businessman, who had a net worth of $1bn (£723m) in 2019, has also raised further capital following the €591m (£505m) sale of Roma in August 2020 by cashing in his 8% stake in NBA team Boston Celtics.

Pallotta now appears to be itching for a return to football ownership, joking: “I was hiding for a while but since I put an offer in for Newcastle…”

He added: “I do think that if there’s a place that makes sense for me, it’s the Premier League. I think there are interesting teams in the Premier League that have great history and it would be nice to see them getting back to it.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/the-latest-newcastle-news%2c-gossip-and-views-2″ title=”The latest Newcastle news, gossip and views!”]

“The Newcastles of the world. Great, great fanbase. Those are the kind of things I think would be interesting to be a part of with a good group [of investors] and there’s more rationality there [at league level] in many ways.”

Ashley is said to value Newcastle at £300m but the figure is expected to be under serious threat if United are relegated from the Premier League this season, per Chronicle Live.

Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has previously suggested that Ashley may have to lower his demands by as much as £100m if Newcastle become a Championship club, while overseas buyers have already been linked with discounted approaches based on relegation.

It would remain to be seen where Ashley values the Magpies as a second-tier outfit and just how open investors truly are to financing a takeover, but Pallotta’s comments may come as music to the ears of those currently on the fringes of the first team.

A new owner may look to remove Steve Bruce from his position and hire their own head coach, a decision Ashley is currently reluctant to make due to the 60-year-old’s loyalty to the Sports Direct tycoon and his passion for the club, per Sky Sports.

Longstaff would likely be one player eager for a fresh start under a new manager, having seen his game-time fall off a cliff under Bruce this term, with Sunday’s draw with Tottenham Hotspur his first inclusion in a matchday squad in six matches.

The 21-year-old has not featured at any stage over Newcastle’s last 12 Premier League fixtures, either, having been cast into the wilderness after a run of four starts from a possible five post-Christmas.

Bruce’s position is perplexing to the player and his teammates, as he is and has been fully fit throughout his time out of the starting XI, per The Athletic, while Chronicle Live’s Ciaran Kelly quoted the Toon boss last month as claiming the midfielder’s time would come.

“He’s not in the side but let’s not forget he’s got a huge future – there’s no question about that,” Bruce said. “He had a big rise last year and finds himself not in the team at the moment, so he’s just got to stick with it. His time will come again, that’s for sure.”

It remains to be seen whether Sunday’s recall to the matchday squad was a sign of Longstaff making his way back into contention, or if he will have to wait for someone like Pallotta to arrive and dispatch Bruce for his next chance at becoming a regular in black and white.

AND in other news, Newcastle are keen to sign a £14.5m-rated star who gives Steve Bruce “something completely different”…

Many fans of West Ham United have been reacting to a post on Twitter in which Hammers centre-forward Michail Antonio reflected on the Irons’ recent draw with Arsenal.

Following the 3-3 draw with Mikel Arteta’s Gunners – a game in which Antonio registered two assists, but also missed two big chances for David Moyes’ side – the 30-year-old took to Twitter, claiming that the result against the Gunners was “hard to take” for him and his team, before suggesting that he will use the international break to work towards “putting it right” with a win in the Hammers’ next Premier League fixture.

In reaction to his comments, numerous fans of West Ham flocked to have their say on the comments, with many offering messages of support for the £70,000-per-week striker. However, some took the opportunity to criticise Antonio for the chances he missed in the game, as well as for his dip in form in recent weeks, with just two goals across his last nine league appearances. One supporter even accused the striker of “sulking”.

So, what exactly did these West Ham United fans have to say in reaction to Michail Anotnio’s post-match comments?

“How about getting your finger out? Your game has dropped recently.”

@td67coyi

“Feels like a loss almost but least we didn’t lose. That could be a vital point for us during the run-in, so keep the faith man and you did a lot of good things yesterday.”

@RockyWhu

“Just make sure you don’t miss another tap in. Love you.”

@conor56747940

“A bootlace away from the winner. Still, a point gained in this unexpected season. Enjoy the rest and come back hungry for more.”

@greg10217

“The goals stopped coming when you said you were going to score 4 against Liverpool. Jinxed it.”

@PessimisticHam1

“Sulking when your teammate scores? Bad mentality.”

@JHHWHUFC

“Well played but the chance you missed gave me a heart attack.”

@JessseLingaard

“Unlucky mate, recharge your batteries – one big push.”

@Mexico20000

In other news: these West Ham fans slammed this club figure with “no ambition” after footage surfaced – find out more here!

Many Glasgow Rangers fans have been reacting to a video of Joe Aribo scoring against Progres Niederkorn at the start of the 2019/20 campaign.

The season has been a fantastic one for the Gers. Not only have they already claimed the Premiership title, they are also unbeaten both in the league and in the Europa League (Sky Sports). They have a strong chance of progressing to the quarter-finals of the latter competition after drawing 1-1 in the first leg of their round of 16 clash with Slavia Prague last week.

They did rather well in European competition last year, as well, as they managed to reach the round of 16 of the Europa League before losing to Bayer Leverkusen. Their journey kicked off with a 10-0 aggregate victory over St Joseph’s before they beat Progres Niederkorn 2-0 across two legs. In the first match, Aribo scored a lovely goal to put the Gers ahead.

Their victory over the Luxembourg outfit avenged a shock defeat to the same opponents in 2017, when Pedro Caixinha oversaw a humiliating exit in the first qualifying round of the Europa League.

Aribo’s strike from their 2019 clash was shared by Rangers’ official Twitter account as part of their Goal of the Day series, and these fans took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about the goal from Aribo below

“We need a collection of top 5 European goals Mr Rangers since the gaffer came in PLEASE… We’ve scored some crackers. Rapid Wein 3rd goal to start you off Aribo’s dance No2”

Credit: @Bike_Nut69

“And he’s still doing it!”

Credit: @timcc_tw

“Reality check for progrès”

Credit: @IAmSilkyPaws

“No fear! No doubt! Relentless!!!”

Credit: @Valerie33087475

“lovely Goal”

Credit: @OyekanAribo

“That was revenge for Pedro”

Credit: @staunchdaviderc

In other news, some Rangers fans were worried by this open letter.

According to a recent report, Tottenham Hotspur have put a price on Giovani Lo Celso amid interest in a summer move from Juventus.

The report by Calcio Mercato claims that Juventus, who courted Lo Celso prior to his move to Paris Saint-Germain back in 2016, are once again interested in making a move for the £31.5 million-rated midfielder this summer, who is said to have been in ‘the pits’ at Spurs this season due to injury troubles.

Furthermore, Calcio Mercato also report, rather bizarrely, that Cristiano Ronaldo has given Juventus his approval in making a move for Lo Celso, before claiming that Jose Mourinho’s side would want a fee of ‘no less’ than €25m (£21.6m) if they were to sell the 24-year-old this summer.

Transfer Tavern Take

While it is indeed true that Lo Celso has not enjoyed his best football for Spurs so far this season – with the Argentina international featuring just 11 times in the league, averaging a disappointing WhoScored match rating of 6.56 along the way – it would appear incredibly unlikely that Tottenham would sell the midfielder for considerably less than the £28.8m he cost to bring to the club last season.

Furthermore, with it being reported that Lo Celso is a part of many Tottenham fans’ ‘dream midfield three’ – comprising of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg playing just behind Tanguy Ndombele and Lo Celso – selling the 24-year-old this summer is not likely to be something that many of the Spurs faithful would get behind.

In other Tottenham news, this Spurs transfer admission lifted the lid on a failed Daniel Levy coup with Pochettino – find out more here!

Leeds United have been handed a major boost in their chase to sign MK Dons starlet Matthew Sorinola.

What’s the story?

Reports back in December suggested that Marcelo Bielsa’s side were one of a number of Premier League teams interested in signing the 20-year-old, whose contract with the Dons comes to an end this summer.

Now, the club’s manager, Russell Martin, has delivered a major update on his situation, admitting that Sorinola has still yet to put pen to paper on a new deal, and seemingly opened the door to a potential summer exit.

The MK Dons boss said: “The situation with him hasn’t changed. He got offered a contract a long time ago, one which we consider fair and fits in with the structure of our club and for a young player but he hasn’t signed it. There has been no real discussion from his end.

“He has a decision to make at some point, but I cannot let it rumble on to the end of the season – that’s not ideal for anyone.”Bielsa’s protegeAt just 20, but able to play at left-back, left-midfield and right-midfield, Sorinola already has the kind of versatility that would surely make him an immediate Bielsa favourite given the likes of Stuart Dallas, Gjanni Alioski et al.Martin has made clear just how much he rates his starlet, saying: “I really like him as a player and as a person. He’s technically right up there with anyone in the squad. I love his calmness. He wants to play. For a young lad, he’s so composed and he defended really well tonight.”People may question his size but when you’re as brave as he is to play with the ball, and get in people’s faces and shut them down, he has so much ability and potential. It’s up to us now to develop him.”That composure and braveness in possession would be music to Bielsa’s ears, who’s tried to shape this Leeds team in his mould over these past few seasons. Sorinola’s youth and versatility could see him become a protege under the Whites boss, with the Argentine taking the 20-year-old under his wing and giving him a priceless footballing education at such an early age.Add that to the fact a move won’t cost Andrea Radrizzani a penny in terms of a transfer fee, and it’s all set up for Victor Orta to pounce.Meanwhile, Leeds could hire Bielsa’s dream successor in this maverick…

Eberechi Eze’s wonderful solo goal against Wolves helped Crystal Palace to a 1-0 win at Selhurst Park on Saturday.

Roy Hodgson has had to endure harsh criticism from a section of Palace fans this season whilst his side had only won one of their past nine Premier League fixtures prior to the clash with Wolves.

But after switching to a 4-2-3-1 formation Hodgson’s side held on to secure all three points, with Eze’s sensational strike helping to beat a toothless Wolves.

Wilfried Zaha, who went close either side of the break, came close to adding a second in the second half, only to see his effort slam against the crossbar.

Eze, on the other hand, looked a real handful, losing his marker in Leander Dendoncker, before curling the ball into the back of the net, which led Sky Sports’ Paul Merson to exclaim:

“What a big goal this is. He hit it as hard as he could, it wasn’t far from the goalkeeper, but it was a great strike. Eze is a class player.”

A moment of individual brilliance from the 22-year-old helped Palace put their poor form behind them with a 1-0 victory over Wolves.

As per SofaScore, the attacking midfielder – who earns around £30,000-per-week at Selhurst Park – earned a high 7.1 match rating for his performance, bettered only by the likes of Patrick van Aanholt, Luka Milivojevic and Vicente Guaita.

He took two shots in total, including one shot on target, which is far better than his seasonal average of 0.9 per 90 minutes, and shows that he was performing at a higher level than previously expected.

Despite taking 55 touches, Eze lost possession of the ball just eight times in the entire game, this being fewer than any attacking player on the pitch besides Andros Townsend, and also significantly less than the 11.8 he has averaged per game in the Premier League this season thus far.

The victory has moved Hodgson’s men back into 13th place in the Premier League with Wolves a place below them in 14th.

If Palace are to stay above the relegation battle this season, on this evidence alone, we suspect Eze will be central to their hopes of Premier League survival. There’s no doubting the fact that Steve Parish will be delighted with his performance, having spent £19.5m to prise him away from Queens Park Rangers in the summer.

AND in other news, Crystal Palace can sign perfect Vicente Guaita replacement in Manchester United’s Sergio Romero…

Leeds United have seemingly been pipped to the post to sign French striker Jean-Philippe Mateta amid advanced talks with Crystal Palace. BBC Sport reports that the Eagles are close to agreeing terms for an 18-month loan deal, seeing the 23-year-old make the move from Mainz.

The Whites have been scouring the transfer market for a forward who can contribute to Patrick Bamford’s heavy burden of carrying his team’s attack. According to French outlet Le Phoceen, Victor Orta was keeping tabs on Mateta, who has been valued at about £13.5million.

But with a move to a Premier League rival looming, Leeds must be kicking themselves that they couldn’t get a deal over the line.

Mateta misery

The Yorkshire outfit spent a hefty sum of money over the summer on six new permanent contracts. The arrivals included the likes of Raphinha, Robin Koch and new No.1 Illan Meslier. However, not all of the new recruits have made the desired impact and Leeds are now forced to return to the market.

Bamford leads the way as the club’s top scorer this season by some margin. The 27-year-old currently has ten goals to his name, with the next highest being Mateusz Klich on three, as per BBC Sport.

Adding another proven goalscorer to their ranks would have hugely benefitted Bamford and potentially changed Leeds’ entire attacking dynamic. Mateta has netted ten goals in 17 appearances for Mainz this season, very similar to the Whites’ goal-poacher.

Bielsa more often than not sticks to his comfort zone of a 4-1-4-1 formation, which many Premier League sides appear to have figured out. Lately, the Leeds attack has been easy to nullify, with just one goal on the board in their last five matches across all competitions, via Sofascore.

Changing up their tactics and pairing Bamford up with a 6 ft 4 goal-getter would have been an ideal move for Leeds, but now they will likely be preparing to defend against Mateta’s threat instead.

In other news, Leeds move for Riqui Puig would benefit both player and club…

If West Brom boss Slaven Bilic’s job is truly hanging by a thread, then visiting Manchester City in the Premier League is probably the last game he needs, though he ought to do himself some favours over his team selection.

The Baggies have won just one game all season with their latest defeat coming on Saturday afternoon as former loan sensation Dwight Gayle scored on his return to action following injury.

They now sit second from bottom, three points from 17th-placed Burnley, who defeated Arsenal a day after.

Only two teams in the top-flight have scored fewer goals than Albion and Bilic’s task in changing that have been made harder as Matheus Pereira serves the second of his three-game suspension.

Summer signing Karlan Grant has hardly hit the ground running either, so might it be time for a change upfront? We certainly think so…

Grant’s current form

The 23-year-old forward has managed to find the net once in eight starts, that goal coming seven matches ago in a 1-1 draw with Brighton and Hove Albion.

At St James’ Park, Grant was hooked at half-time, the first real sign of Bilic losing his patience with the former Huddersfield Town star and as such, he must show no mercy and leave him on the bench against Pep Guardiola’s men.

The £13m-rated Englishman has struggled immensely in the big time, averaging just 1.5 shots, 0.8 dribbles and a 69.9% passing accuracy per appearance, via WhoScored.

This is a striker that was lauded by ex-boss Lee Bowyer, who claimed he’s a “kid who causes problems and scores goals” whilst another former manager of his, Nicky Cowley, dubbed him “ruthless.”

Replacements?

Bilic is hardly short on options in attack either.

Until the weekend, Charlie Austin was practically frozen out at the club but given his experience in the Premier League – playing 107 times, scoring 34 goals – he ought to be helping their cause.

There’s also joint-top goalscorer Callum Robinson and Hal Robson-Kanu as potential alternatives.

Either way, there’s only so long you can stick with the faltering Baggies flop. It is indeed still early days in his career at the Hawthorns, but he has done nothing to warrant a continued place in the starting XI.

Bilic must show no mercy and desperately hand the reins to someone else.

Grant will have plenty of time to turn it around after signing a six-year deal upon arrival too. At least the Baggies will be extremely well-equipped if they do return to the Championship.

AND in other news, Worse than Sawyers: Pathetic Albion ace who lost 84% of his duels badly let Bilic down…

Liverpool have seriously struggled in front of goal in recent games, scoring just once and managing just seven shots on target in their last three fixtures against West Brom, Newcastle United and Southampton respectively.

The likes of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino have shown in those fixtures that they cannot always be relied upon to save the day for Jurgen Klopp’s side and in the absence of Diogo Jota, they are lacking any real goal threat on the bench.

Fortunately for the Reds, they have an immensely talented youngster coming through their academy ranks in Layton Stewart and his performances this season must surely have put him in with a chance of earning a first-team debut in the near future.

The 18-year-old scored 13 goals and contributed one assist in just nine games in the U18 Premier League earlier in the season before earning a promotion to the U23s, where he has since made three appearances.

In a recent article for The Athletic, Liverpool correspondent Caoimhe O’Neill picked out Stewart as her Liverpool prospect to keep an eye out for in 2021 and considering his performances with the academy this season, it is no surprise why.

O’Neill also suggests that Stewart’s goalscoring prowess has earned him comparisons with young versions of Robbie Fowler, Michael Owen and Fernando Torres, all of whom proved to be a huge success with the Reds during their time at the club.

The youngster is yet to make a first-team appearance but considering Liverpool’s current woes in front of goal, there seems no reason why Klopp shouldn’t promote the 18-year-old in the near future and give him a chance to impress.

It has been suggested that Stewart has trained with the first-team in the past, so Klopp is clearly aware of his ability and perhaps it won’t be too long until we see the academy star make his first senior appearance for the Anfield outfit.

AND, in other news, Bye-bye Phillips: Edwards can solve LFC crisis with deal for £16.5m “leader” likened to Vidic…

The 20/21 Premier League campaign has already created some extremely memorable games, none more so than Aston Villa’s 7-2 dismantling of reigning champions Liverpool. The league is more open than ever before, and nobody is yet to stamp their mark on it. Let us take a look at some of the key stats from this season so far.

Are Manchester City as Potent as They Used to Be?

Since Pep Guardiola became the manager at Manchester City, their stunning attack has seen them win two Premier League titles and break plenty of scoring records along the way. Their front-line used to frighten the life out of defenders, but they do not have that fear factor so far this season.

With 17 goals in 10 league games, they are not scoring the same number of goals that their fans expect from them, and they are going to have to improve their form in front of goal if they want to get anywhere close to the 102 goals that they scored last season. It is safe to say that injuries to Gabriel Jesus and Sergio Aguero have not helped their cause, but both should be coming back to full fitness soon.

Manchester City were inconsistent last season, and that was because of their defence. Guardiola spent the pre-season trying to improve his defence, but they have already nearly shipped a third of the goals that they did last season. If they want to be challenging for the title come May, they will need to get both their attack and defence firing on all cylinders.

Brighton Are Better Than Their League Position Suggests

Brighton can consider themselves to be rather unlucky to be where they are in the Premier League table – 16th place and 4 points above the relegation zone. They have definitely not had much luck this season and have picked up just two wins from their first 11 games. This had led many to believe that there is a good chance that they will be relegated this season. However, while they might not have picked up the points that they would have liked, they have statistically been the better team in 6 of their 11 league matches. If a bit more luck had gone their way, they definitely would have been in the top half of the table. If they keep it up, the points will soon start to come, and they will move clear of the relegation zone.

Truth be told, I hope they do stay up because at the start of the season I placed a bet on three teams to go down, and Brighton was not one of those three. My friend will be hoping the same, as he also bet on the same three teams to be relegated that I did.  Okay, I do not stand to win an awful lot of money (enough for some free rounds of beer), but I will win more than my friend despite the fact that we both bet the same amount of money. The reason why I stand to win more is because I used the odds comparison site https://www.mybettingsite.uk/. Another friend of mine introduced me to this site, and it has allowed me to find all the best odds for the events I want to bet on.

Tottenham Could Mount a Serious Title Challenge

Not many Premier League fans would have backed Spurs to mount a title challenge before the season started, but after 11 games they sit at the top of the table with 24 points to their name. Last season they were scoring an average of 1.41 goals per game and conceding an average of 1.54 goals per match. However, they have improved that this season and currently average 2.09 goals per match and 1.22 goals conceded. After their first eight games people were saying that they had easy fixtures and will soon fade away, but in their last three games they have beaten Manchester City, drawn with Chelsea, and beaten Arsenal. The reason for their success is their strike partnership of Harry Kane and Son Heung-min – the pair have scored 21 goals and provided 16 assists between them in the first 11 games. If they keep on like this and if the defence stays watertight, they could be picking up the Premier League trophy come May.

The Relegation Battle

We know that there is still quite some way to go but it is already not looking too good for the likes of West Brom, Sheffield United, Burnley, and Fulham.

Sheffield currently only have 1 point from their opening 11 matches and have scored just 5 goals and conceded 18. Last year they did so well because of their tight defence, but now they cannot score goals and are shipping them for fun. They will need to find out a way to stop the rot otherwise they could find themselves pretty much relegated come the end of February.

Many believed that West Brom would struggle to adapt to life in the Premier League, and so it has proven. They score an average of 0.73 goals per match and concede 2.09. Unless Slaven Bilic can turn things around pretty quickly, they will be playing in the Championship again next season.

Burnley are currently 18th in the table with 6 points from 10 games, meaning they do have a game in hand over their rivals. Sean Dyche’s men are known for being quite solid at the back, but so far this season they have been shipping 1.8 goals per game and scoring just 0.5 goals per match. If they carry on like this, then their time in the Premier League will surely come to an end in May.

Fulham currently have 7 points from their opening 11 matches, meaning they sit just 1 point outside the relegation zone. They play some attractive football at times, but when you score an average of 1 goal per match and concede an average of just over 2 goals, you are not going to win many football matches. With the fixtures that they had to start with Scott Parker would have been hoping for more points.