All posts by z3u9t.icu

Celtic look to have been handed a huge injury boost ahead of their Champions League meeting with FC Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday evening.

What’s the latest?

That’s according to a recent report by the Daily Record, who claim that, after being limited to an 18-minute cameo in the Hoops’ 3-0 defeat to Real Madrid as a result of a shoulder injury, the centre-forward now appears to be fully fit ahead of the club’s second group stage game in Warsaw tonight.

Good news for Postecoglou

While it is true that Giorgos Giakoumakis put in two extremely solid performances when leading the line against Rangers and Madrid in the absence of Kyogo, considering just how impressive the Japan international has been for the Bhoys so far this season, the 27-year-old’s apparent return to full fitness is undoubtedly good news for Ange Postecoglou and his side.

Indeed, over his six Premiership fixtures in 2022/23, the £5.4m-rated forward has been in astonishing form, having already bagged six goals and provided his teammates with one assist, in addition to taking an average of 2.3 shots – 1.3 of which have hit the target – and completing 0.7 key passes per game.

These metrics have seen the £52.5k-per-week talent average a quite extraordinary SofaScore match rating of 7.68, ranking him as the joint second-best player – behind only teammate Jota – in the top flight of Scottish football so far this season.

In comparison, while it is true that Giakoumakis’ physical presence and work rate are his biggest strengths, the Greece international has scored just two goals and registered no assists over his five Premiership fixtures so far this season, as well as averaging a SofaScore match rating of 6.80.

As such, should Kyogo indeed be deemed fit enough to start this evening, it would undoubtedly come as a huge boost to Postecoglou’s chances of picking up all three points against Shakhtar – a result Celtic will be desperate for in order to give them the best possible chance of making out of the group stages of the competition.

Celtic have reportedly twice missed out on the chance to land current Aston Villa striker Danny Ings over the last decade, with the Parkhead outfit likely ruing their inability to sign a player who has been a real potent threat in front of goal in recent years.

The Winchester-born marksman was reportedly a target for the Old Firm outfit prior to the January transfer window in 2014, with then-Hoops boss Neil Lennon said to have sent assistant coach Gerry Parker to watch the Englishman in action for Burnley.

No move came to fruition, however, as the centre-forward ended the 2013/14 campaign with an impressive haul of 21 goals and seven assists in 41 Championship games, with the Glasgow side ultimately signing Leigh Griffiths in that winter window – a player who enjoyed a mixed stint with the Scottish giants.

After subsequently impressing in the Premier League the following season at Turf Moor – scoring 11 league goals – Ings was then snapped by Brendan Rodgers’ Liverpool side on a ‘free’ transfer in 2015, albeit with the Anfield outfit forced to fork out around £8m in compensation.

After three, injury-plagued years on Merseyside that saw him make just 25 appearances in all competitions, the 5 foot 10 menace was ultimately snapped up by Southampton on an initial loan deal in 2018, albeit with the Hoops having reportedly been keen on a deal themselves.

Amid that speculation, however, then-boss Rodgers had quashed suggestions that he was looking to reunite with the forward at Celtic Park, with the Northern Irishman insisting that he had ample depth in the striking department in the form of Griffiths, Odsonne Edouard and Moussa Dembele.

That decision not to pursue a deal ultimately backfired as the Scottish Premiership side saw Dembele depart for Ligue 1 side Lyon in the same window, while Ings went on to sparkle during his time at St Mary’s.

The one-time Bournemouth striker scored 46 goals in just 100 games during his time with the Saints – having signed permanently in 2019 – after emerging as one of the league’s “most prolific strikers” in the words of writer Daniel Bettridge.

A move to Villa Park followed last summer for the “phenomenal finisher” – as dubbed by pundit Noel Whelan – with the 30-year-old having since registered 16 goal contributions in just 38 games for the Midlands side.

It will no doubt remain a real source of frustration for those at Parkhead that they were unable to land a player who now has 110 club career goals to his name, with such an asset likely to have sparkled north of the border.

Wolverhampton Wanderers are planning a January move for Strasbourg defender Alexander Djiku, according to Ghana Soccernet.

The lowdown

The report claims that the centre-back was close to joining Wolves in the summer, only for the deal to collapse ‘at the eleventh hour’. It also notes that Bruno Lage’s side failed to secure a move for West Ham United defender Craig Dawson as they unsuccessfully sought a last-ditch central defensive addition.

Significantly, the 28-year-old is out of contract at the end of this season, so Strasbourg may be inclined to sell him on the cheap in the winter.

The latest

As per Ghana Soccernet, Wolves are now lining up ‘another offer’ for the Ghanaian defenfer at the turn of the year.

Lage still views him as the ‘ideal candidate’ and has refused to give up on the transfer. Also, the player is expected to be keen on any such move, having already expressed his desire to play in the Premier League.

The verdict

Wolves could definitely do with another body at centre-half, especially one like Djiku who’s in the peak years of his career. They currently have Nathan Collins, Max Kilman, Yerson Mosquera and Toti Gomes at their disposal, but it’s a group which lacks experience, with their average age coming to just 22.5 years.

From that point of view, offloading Conor Coady (29) and Willy Boly (31) after Romain Saiss (32) had already left on a free transfer looks like a potential mistake.

However, they could remedy it with a move for Djiku, a modern defender who posts very high volumes of progressive passes (95th percentile among centre-backs in Europe’s big five leagues) and progressive carries (81st percentile).

He has been dubbed ‘outstanding’ by former Ghana boss Charles Akonnor and has now racked up 18 caps for his country, so he seems like a target who’s well worth a renewed pursuit.

Chief figures at Everton reportedly think that Dele Alli will not play at Goodison Park again.

The Lowdown: Besiktas loan

The England international has been sent out on loan to Besiktas this season to get more game-time and try and recapture some of the form that he showed early on his Tottenham Hotspur career before moving to Merseyside.

Hailed as a ‘top-class’ player by former Spurs and Premier League goalkeeper Paul Robinson, the attacking midfielder reached 19 years of age.

However, the 26-year-old has since moved to the Toffees, where it has just not worked out, with no goals or assists in 13 appearances before being shipped out to Turkey on loan.

The Latest: Alli to leave?

As per Football Insider, Everton chiefs privately ‘do not expect’ Alli to wear the club’s shirt ever again, meaning that he will likely depart for good after his loan spell at Besiktas ends.

The move could be made permanent at the end of the campaign, depending on performance triggers in the deal.

Alli joined Everton on a free transfer, rising to £10m once he played 20 games, and then potentially to £40m if all objectives were met. With just the 13 appearances under his belt, though, it looks as if he could be leaving Goodison Park sooner than may have been expected.

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The Verdict: It’s a shame

It is a shame that the move to Everton has not worked out for Alli, and it is probably best for all parties that he leaves permanently at the end of his loan in Istanbul.

The Toffees signed fellow midfielders Amadou Onana, Idrissa Gueye and James Garner in the summer, meaning that the 26-year-old would likely find it even harder to break into the first team under Frank Lampard.

Nonetheless, Alli departing before he has played 20 matches would save the club a considerable chunk of money which could be invested elsewhere in the squad.

Dick Advocaat brought the good times back at Glasgow Rangers following the demise of the legendary nine-in-a-row side.

The 1998 appointment of the Dutchman gave the Ibrox side a new lease of life, as they embarked on a trophy-laden two-year spell, winning five out of the six domestic trophies available to them.

It all started to unravel in season 2000/2001 however, with Celtic, having appointed Martin O’Neil as their new manager, sweeping the board, and leaving Rangers to lick their wounds.

The Dutchman’s transfer business was also poor that season, with one particular signing proving to be a giant waste of money…

Marcus Gayle proved to be a poor investment

Rangers signed Gayle from Wimbledon for a fee of £1m, a decent sum for a 30-year-old approaching the end of his career.

His arrival in March 2001 meant he only had a few matches left of the season to prove his worth to Advocaat, but the Englishman didn’t exactly get much of a chance.

Having scored 34 goals in the Premier League, there was hope he could shine in Scotland, however, Gayle played just four matches and failed to score in any of them.

As quick as he arrived at the club, the striker was departing, with Watford sealing a deal to bring the Jamaican international back to England for £900k and playing for another 6 years.

It was a strange transfer and there is no doubt if he had been given longer, Gayle would have showcased his goalscoring abilities.

The 52-year-old looks back fondly at his time in Glasgow however, saying:

“I could probably have done with that move two years previously but I cherished the experience I had.”

Who knows what might have happened had he moved while at the peak of his powers back in 1999, but Advocaat made a big howler by bringing him to the club.

Liverpool will host their long-term Premier League title rivals Manchester City at Anfield tomorrow in one of the most highly-anticipated fixtures in the top-flight calendar, but this season so far the two teams are already very far apart in their start to the domestic campaign.

Jurgen Klopp’s side are currently 11th in the league table with just 10 points tallied up after eight games, making it Liverpool’s worst start to a season in over a decade, leaving them 13 points adrift of Man City.

The two teams were only separated by a point in first and second at the top of the table last season, and the German will surely be hoping that securing all three points at Anfield on Sunday might put them on the path of regaining their momentum and previously impeccable form in the Premier League.

Therefore, Klopp must deploy his very best team and shrewd tactics which have been witnessed on many occasions before when coming up against the current league champions if they are to have any chance of stealing points from Pep Guardiola’s formidable team this weekend.

One player who could make a huge difference upon his return from injury is Andy Robertson, with the left-back giving supporters a glimpse of his talent when returning as a second-half substitute in the 7-1 win over Rangers earlier this week.

The £160k-per-week Scotland international, who was hailed as “outstanding” by team-mate Trent Alexander-Arnold, has been sidelined with a knee injury for a few weeks.

He spoke out on his return to action in a post-match interview at Ibrox on Wednesday night, saying: “It’s been five weeks, it’s not too long for the outside world but for someone who is not used to being out injured it is a long, long time.”

“I am just glad to be back to fitness. Hopefully that’s all behind me now.”

The talented dynamo has been a loyal servant and a consistent performer for the Reds since arriving at Anfield from Hull City in 2017, costing the club just £8m, and it’s safe to say that Liverpool hit the jackpot with Robertson.

The 28-year-old has made 255 appearances, scoring eight goals and delivering a whopping 55 assists from his position in the back-line. That has contributed to the team’s feast of trophies over the last five years, with the Champions League, FA Cup, Carabao Cup, UEFA Super Cup and the club’s first Premier League title all won whilst Robertson has been playing a key role.

Kostas Tsimikas has stepped into the Scottish left-back’s shoes whilst he has been in recovery for the last five weeks, but it is without a doubt that Robertson has both the ability to impact the game and the experience to terrify Man City on Sunday afternoon, considering that he has scored once and set up four goals in 19 meetings against them.

With that in mind, Klopp must unleash Robertson in this important game for Liverpool, and the 28-year-old’s return to full fitness could not have come at a better time as the Reds will need all the experience they can get in order to take points from City tomorrow.

West Ham United were left to rue what might have been as David Moyes’ side slipped to a 1-0 defeat away to Liverpool on Wednesday evening, with the Hammers squandering notable missed opportunities as they continued their miserable record at Anfield.

The visitors had gone into the match having won just one of their past 49 meetings with the Reds on the road – with that solitary triumph coming back in December 2015 – with it looking set to be more of the same as Darwin Nunez headed home early on.

The east Londoners did, however, have a perfect chance to drag themselves level just before the break only for Jarrod Bowen to see his spot-kick comfortably saved by opposition stopper, Alisson, while midfield maestro Tomas Soucek saw his late effort somehow denied by a brilliant block from the evergreen veteran, James Milner.

As it proved, it was ultimately a tale of frustration for the London Stadium outfit as Jurgen Klopp’s side claimed all three points after what was a hard-fought encounter, with the Irons now languishing in 13th after a mixed start to the new campaign.

One figure who notably underwhelmed on the night for the away side was summer signing Gianluca Scamacca, with the Italy international – who joined from Sassuolo on a £35.5m deal in the recent window – having been particularly anonymous in his centre-forward berth.

That lack of impact is best illustrated by the fact that the 23-year-old made a measly tally of just 17 touches in his 90-minute outing – 26 fewer than teammate Lukasz Fabianski between the sticks – while squandering possession on eight occasions as he failed to make the most of his rare involvement in the game.

The 6 foot 5 powerhouse also recorded just three passes and won only one of his five total duels, with the nine-cap marksman’s evening having been somewhat epitomised as he wasted a potential opening in the closing stages, lashing his strike high and wide from the angle.

The £27m-rated brute has enjoyed an encouraging start to life in English football thus far – having scored two goals in his past three league outings heading into last night’s clash – although was unable to showcase his quality against the Merseyside outfit, with his match rating of 6.4, as per SofaScore, the joint-worst on the day among his teammates.

Such a limp showing also saw Scamacca criticised by the Evening Standard’s Malik Ouzia, who awarded the towering striker a measly 4/10 match rating, while writing that the one-time Genoa man ‘barely had a kick’ against the likes of Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez.

With a meeting with newly-promoted Bournemouth up next for Moyes and co on Monday, the former Everton boss will likely be hoping that his new acquisition can take on a more prominent role against the Cherries, having been simply anonymous last night.

Tottenham manager Antonio Conte is determined to win a trophy with the club, although quitting cannot be ruled out if the Spurs hierarchy fail to meet his demands, according to Sky Sports reporter Dharmesh Sheth.

THE LOWDOWN: CONTE COMMITTED TO SPURS…FOR NOW

Having taken Tottenham from eighth upon his arrival to the club to third in the Premier League as of now and top of their Champions League group, it’s fair to say that Conte has worked his magic in N17 inside 12 months of his appointment.

His efforts were noticed by Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain, who emerged as prospective suitors for him earlier this year, although the Italian rebuffed that interest, demonstrating his commitment to achieving success at Spurs.

However, with Conte’s current contract at Tottenham expiring next summer, there may be some concern that he is yet to commit his long-term future to the club.

THE LATEST: SHETH’S CLAIM ON CONTE

Sheth spoke to GIVEMESPORT about the situation surrounding Conte at Spurs, claiming that the Italian will want to abide by his objective of winning silverware for whatever club he manages.

The journalist said of the 53-year-old: “He wants to make sure he wins a trophy because he does it at every single club that he goes to and that’s his calling card, ‘I will bring you a trophy’.

“So, I think he would want to do that before he even thinks about leaving to deliver a trophy at Tottenham, but we all know how Antonio Conte works, if something is not right, be it with recruitment or be it with the challenge for a title or trophies is not good, he’s got history and will leave that club, but Tottenham will 100 per cent want to keep him.”

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THE VERDICT: THE RIGHT MAN

Having turned Spurs back into a Champions League club once more and vastly improved their league position, Conte has shown that he is the right man for the job and should be backed by Daniel Levy with the fast-approaching winter transfer window in mind, if that is what may be needed to turn Tottenham from trophy contenders into winners.

Ultimately, the club should learn from the mistake they made by sacking Jose Mourinho a week before the Carabao Cup final in 2021 and afford Conte ample time and due backing to deliver silverware to a club which has been starved of it for 14 seasons and counting.

Wolves are hoping to make some backroom additions next week in order to aid Steve Davis’ job in charge of Wanderers, according to journalist Liam Keen.

The Lowdown: Davis in charge until 2023

Bruno Lage was sacked as manager earlier this month, and while the search continues to nail down his successor, it has been confirmed that Davis is expected to take charge until 2023.

He will likely be in the role as interim manager until after the World Cup, allowing some stability in the coming weeks as Wolves look to improve upon a mediocre start to the season.

Now, a key update has emerged regarding his coaching team at Molineux.

The Latest: Keen provides new update

Taking to Twitter, The Express & Star‘s Keen said that new faces will hopefully arrive early next week, giving Davis a helping hand in the process:

“Although it’s unclear how long Steve Davis will be in charge for the time being, he has revealed that Wolves hope to make some backroom staff appointments to help him next week.”

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The Verdict: Sensible decision

This is an encouraging update for Wolves, with Davis hugely inexperienced as a top-level manager and needing others to help him along until the World Cup.

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It will bring fresh ideas to the dressing room, in a tactical sense, and while it could only be for a short-term period before the new manager arrives, it makes sense.

Wolves can’t afford to fall asleep during this short spell before the World Cup and find themselves in a Premier League relegation fight, and this update will help alleviate that issue.

West Brom reporter Joe Chapman has been reacting to a positive injury update he’s heard from The Hawthorns.

The Lowdown: West Brom blighted by injuries

The Baggies have had a dreadful start to the Championship season and currently sit bottom of the table, although their cause has not been helped by injuries.

Semi Ajayi and Daryl Dike have been out of action since August, while Kean Bryan has been sidelined for almost 12 months after suffering a cruciate ligament injury.

However, the latter is progressing well, while Chapman has shared positive news about the other duo which will be most welcome for new manager Carlos Corberan.

The Latest: Chapman’s update

The journalist took to Twitter on Monday afternoon to share a corresponding article for Birmingham Live regarding the status of Ajayi and Dike ahead of tonight’s clash against Blackpool.

Chapman tweeted: “Some much needed encouraging news on the #wba front – Ajayi and Dike could be back in these final three games before the World Cup”.

The Verdict: Spot on

The Baggies haven’t had much to cheer about this season, so this off-field update, especially on Ajayi and Dike, is welcome news.

You’d expect that the centre-back and centre-forward will be crucial players for Corberan over the coming months, so getting some minutes in their legs prior to the World Cup would be ideal.

Who knows, we may see the trio in and around the matchday squad over the coming weeks, where hopefully the Baggies will pick up some positive results to take them out of the relegation zone.