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…
According to The Sun’s Alan Nixon, Leeds United are one of a number of clubs chasing Jordan Hugill this summer.
The Whites are in need of a striker after their inability to put away chances cost them a place in the Premier League.
Indeed, the Yorkshire club had the worst conversion rate of any team in the Championship.
Marcelo Bielsa’s system hasn’t steered Leeds too far wrong, and it would be surprising to see him veer away from the 4-1-4-1 formation he has favoured since his arrival at the club.
The above infographic takes stats from one of Hugill’s performances last year that perfectly encapsulates what he would bring to Elland Road, but also why he wouldn’t fit into Bielsa’s system or solve the Whites’ problems up top.
The first thing to note is that Hugill was playing up top on his own on this day, and his pass success rate was just 37.5 per cent. The striker is strong and can hold up the ball, but when he is up top on his own the majority of his passes don’t find the mark.
Even the passes he did make weren’t all that effective as he failed to a make a single key pass at Pride Park in January.
He did win an impressive 10 aerial duels however, but Bielsa’s side aren’t reliant on winning headers up top as they contested only 44.9 aerial duels per game last season, which is one of the lowest tallies in the Championship.
He also took three shots in that match and managed only one on target indicating that he wouldn’t be a huge help when it comes to Leeds’ conversion rate problems.
Hugill isn’t best equipped playing as a lone striker, and it is hard to believe that Bielsa will change his entire system to accommodate a forward who scored just six times last term.
This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…
Sunderland have completed the free signing of right-back Conor McLaughlin, which is surely the best news Luke O’Nien will get this summer.
What’s the story?
Sunderland confirmed the beginning of their summer business on Monday with a swoop for McLaughlin, who was a free agent after his release from Millwall.
The Northern Echo claimed multiple clubs had approached the defender and offered him a deal, but clearly the Black Cats have now won the race.
The 27 year-old made 37 appearances in two seasons at The Den, scoring once, and there’s one very crucial reason why signing a right-back was an excellent decision from the club.
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Big boost for O’Nien
McLaughlin has struggled to make an impact at Millwall, rarely forcing his way into Neil Harris’ plans and making just 11 total appearances last season.
Before that though, he spent five years with Fleetwood, racking up nine goals and ten assists in a whopping 200 appearances for the club. He also has 34 Northern Ireland caps to his name.
It is clear then, that despite his recent struggles this is a right-back with bags of experience in the position, music to the ears of O’Nien, who was forced to make 29 appearances at right-back in the last campaign.
Adam Matthews left when his contract expired this summer, meaning O’Nien was the only remaining “right-back” in Jack Ross’ ranks, despite the little bundle of energy being much better in his natural spot in midfield.
McLaughlin will not set the world alight, but he will allow O’Nien to play in his natural position, which is surely the best thing Ross could possibly do for the 24 year-old’s development at this stage.
The Millwall man averaged an impressive 2.1 tackles per game in his limited time on the pitch last year, and if he both improves the stability of the defence and allows O’Nien to flourish further up the pitch then he will turn out to be an excellent free signing.
This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…
A tweet that has now gone down in Liverpool folklore, club owner John W Henry famously wrote: “What do you think they’re smoking over there at the Emirates?”
This was in response to Arsenal’s £40m+£1 bid for Uruguay forward Luis Suarez, which they were aware would be enough to get the Merseysiders to inform the player of the bid and begin negotiations – as revealed by former Arsenal transfer fixer Dick Law.
To be ridiculed by the actual owner of Liverpool, enough so that the tweet is still up on Henry’s account to this day and has nearly 60k retweets, isn’t fair on the Gunners.
Yes, it was a unique offer, but what would the point have been in offering £50k, £500k or even £1m if the north Londoners were aware that anything over £40m would trigger the agreement? The backlash that the offer faced makes no sense whatsoever.
The offer did in fact get the ball rolling and Suarez even told The Guardian that he felt Liverpool should let him leave so he could play Champions League football and honour their promise to him.
“It reminds me of a bus seat!” – Watch a damning verdict on Chelsea’s new kit in the video below…
But for Steven Gerrard convincing the former Ajax man to stay put, Arsenal may have got their man and it would’ve been because of the cheeky offer.
Law reveals that anything over the £40m mark was enough to force Liverpool to inform the 6 foot striker of the offer – something that clubs aren’t obliged to do usually – and allowed the striker to discuss a transfer to the Emirates.
The Gunners knew that it wasn’t a buyout clause, or a release clause, or anything like that.
As a result, they almost got what they wanted from offering just a pound over £40m, and if Gerrard hadn’t been able to convince his teammate to stay put, we may have instead been discussing Arsenal’s cheeky offer as a transfer masterstroke instead of the harsh joke that it has now become.
Leicester City defender Filip Benkovic posted a goodbye message to Celtic fans on Instagram on Wednesday, suggesting he won’t be returning on loan during the summer transfer window.
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The Croatian enjoyed a successful 2018/19 season on loan at the Scottish champions, making 27 appearances and helping the club lift their third successive treble of domestic trophies.
C’mon the Hoops’ Keith remembers the late Phil O’Donnell in the video below…
There had been speculation he could return for a second season on loan at the Hoops, a door opened by former manager Brendan Rodgers back in May.
However, his latest Instagram post would suggest that won’t be the case given he has wished the club well in their quest for ‘ten-in-a-row’.
He had formed a partnership in defence with Dedryck Boyata and the duo’s departure has prompted the club to make a big move for Christopher Jullien since the end of last season.
Benkovic was a popular figure with supporters, as demonstrated by the reaction to his latest message, with many fans taking to social media to lament the fact he won’t be playing in Celtic colours next term…
The 2019/20 season is just around the corner, so now is the time to piece together your Fantasy Premier League team.
As the season starts afresh, you are given £100million to spend on your squad of 15 players – but it’s not just a simple case of picking the best ones.
Your bench is equally as important as your starting XI; finding cheap, value for money purchases will give you the platform to succeed over the course of a long season.
Injuries and suspensions are frustrating, so being equipped and prepared for those is important.
Want to find out the best bargains for your Fantasy Premier League team this season? Look no further…
Matthew Ryan (Brighton) – £4.5m
Although Ryan only kept six clean sheets last season, Brighton will be hopeful of bouncing back and improving on last year’s disappointing season. Graham Potter will be desperate to get off to a good start managing his new club, and his priority will be keeping clean sheets and setting his team up to avoid defeat.
A defensive set-up is expected, and this will help with the points Ryan will accumulate, whether that be through saves or clean sheets.
Lukasz Fabianski (West Ham) – £5m
Lukasz Fabianski, West Ham, David Moyes, Alphonse Areola, London Stadium, London, England, Premier League
Fabianski made the most saves in the Premier League last season and the Hammers are recruiting well again this summer.
West Ham signed three defenders last season, all of whom are regular starters in the side, and with the players more familiar with the speed of the Premier League, you can expect to see more clean sheets this coming season.
Rui Patricio (Wolves) – £5m
Wolves’ goalkeeper surprisingly only kept eight clean sheets last season. However, this side will now be accustomed to life in the Premier League and will be aware of the quality on display going forwards.
Coming off the back of a phenomenal campaign, Nuno Espirito Santo will be focusing on solidifying his back five to improve on their seventh placed finish.
Ryan Fredericks (West Ham) – £4.5m
After an injury-hit first season in the Premier League, Fredericks has been extremely undervalued at £4.5m. Given Manuel Pellegrini’s attacking intent and philosophy, coinciding with Fredericks’ pace and danger going forwards, it is a steal of a purchase.
Even if he makes up your bench, I would label him as one of the bargains of the season at just £4.5m, which could also free up extra cash for other players.
Max Aarons (Norwich City) – £4.5m
This is a gamble on a newly-promoted player. However, given Norwich City’s attacking philosophy and the style of football they play, Aarons could be a real coup.
You can find excellent value when looking at the promoted teams, and I believe this is one of them. The young left-back will be keen to impress on his first Premier League season, and I feel he will have a great season.
Patrick van Aanholt (Crystal Palace) – £5.5m
The Crystal Palace left-back racked up the points last season, accumulating a total of 140. Van Aanholt registered three goals and two assists in the 2018/19 campaign, and with the departure of Aaron Wan-Bissaka to Manchester United, you can expect those figures to rise this season.
Roy Hodgson is a manager who plays counter-attacking football, and that was reflected in the 12 clean sheets Crystal Palace kept last season. This player looks great value.
Ben Chilwell (Leicester City) – £5.5m
Chilwell accumulated a respectable 118 points last season, and under further guidance of Brendan Rodgers, that tally will inevitably rise for this forthcoming campaign.
The Foxes look like a team to watch for next season, and Rodgers is all about attacking football. The left-back may not get you the points you want from clean sheets, but his attacking capabilities makes him a real bargain.
Matt Ritchie (Newcastle United) – £5.5m
Under the leadership of Rafa Benitez, Ritchie was converted into a wing-back to suit the style of the Spanish manager. However, he has since departed, yet the recognised winger is listed as a defender.
Essentially, you can get an attacking player, who I must add is one of Newcastle’s better players, in a defensive position for your squad. Again, a great option for your bench to boost points or replace an injured player.
Ilkay Gundogan (Manchester City) – £5.5m
The German midfielder will likely get more game time next season, especially given that Fernandinho isn’t getting any younger. Gundogan registered six goals and three assists last season, and given Manchester City’s firepower and relentless nature, £5.5m for one of their midfielders is a steal.
With Champions League the target next season for Pep Guardiola, Gundogan will be sure to play more minutes in the Premier League as Fernandinho will be used for European nights.
Roberto Pereyra (Watford) – £6m
The Watford midfielder registered six goals and four assists last season in the Premier League. However, given the Hornets’ success in the F.A Cup where they reached the final, focus was turned away from the league campaign.
This season, it is unlikely they will be strained in as many cup competitions, and this should allow Pereyra to flourish and improve his numbers from last season.
Harvey Barnes (Leicester City) – £6m
The talented youngster was recalled from his loan spell at West Bromwich Albion mid-way through last season, and it somewhat disrupted his football.
However, he looks an exciting talent and Rodgers will be keen to utilise his pace and attacking threat. This could be a great season for Barnes and will relish playing under Rodgers’ attacking mentality.
Mason Mount (Chelsea) – £6m
Mount was a key figure for Derby County in the Championship last season – netting eight times and chipping in with five assists in 35 league appearances – and he continues to play under Frank Lampard’s leadership with Chelsea.
The departure of Eden Hazard coupled with the Blues’ transfer ban this summer forces Lampard to bleed youth into his plans; Mount is strongly admired by the manager and he will have a key role for the forthcoming season. £6m is cheap for a player who is likely to be an influential character for a top-six side.
Emil Buendia (Norwich City) – £6m
The Argentine registered eight goals and 12 assists last season in the Championship, but with his quality, there is no reason he cannot produce similar numbers in the Premier League this season.
At just £6m, it looks worth the gamble and could be a fantastic player to have on your bench. As previously mentioned, it is more than just having a strong starting line-up, the bench should also be a key part of your planning process.
Ayoze Perez (Leicester City) – £6.5m
Perez had an excellent finish to his 2018/19 Premier League season. The Spanish forward has switched to Leicester City this summer for £30m, and with the creativity they have behind him, it’s a great purchase.
Labelled as a midfielder, Perez often plays as a forward and, although a little more expensive, is still a bargain. He will score you goals, and it looks a sneaky coup for Fantasy Premier League players.
Danny Ings (Southampton) – £6m
Ings has been riddled with injuries over the past few years, and it’s safe to say his switch to Liverpool didn’t exactly go according to plan.
However, he has moved to Southampton on a permanent deal, and could be the striker the Saints have been crying out for. At 26-years-old, we could see him hit his peak, and when Ings in firing, he fires on all cylinders.
Diogo Jota (Wolves) – £6.5m
The Portuguese forward had an excellent first season in the Premier League, scoring nine goals, accompanied with eight assists. At just 22-years-old, he is not even close to his peak, and will improve and adapt as each year passes.
Jota accumulated 139 points last season, and when you compare that to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s 205 points, it’s a cheaper, but worthwhile alternative to the highly-priced players.
Gerard Deulofeu (Watford) – £6.5m
Soccer Football – FA Cup Semi Final – Watford v Wolverhampton Wanderers – Wembley Stadium, London, Britain – April 7, 2019 Watford’s Gerard Deulofeu celebrates after the match REUTERS/Ian Walton
Watford endured a lot of success last season, and Deulofeu is responsible for large amounts of that success. The Spanish forward scored 10 goals and registered five assists last season – relishing a more attacking, striker role.
Javi Gracia plays two strikers, with Deulofeu given more freedom to attack, rather than have the defensive duties a winger has, so expect another high-scoring season from the Spaniard.
Teemu Pukki (Norwich City) – £6.5m
Pukki scored 29 goals and registered 10 assists in the Championship last season. The Canaries have a prolific goal scorer in their side, and with numbers like those, you cannot help but notice him.
He is 29-years-old, but he has demonstrated that he will score you goals, and I see no reason why that will change this season. A gamble worth taking.
Olivier Giroud (Chelsea) – £7m
Due to Chelsea’s transfer ban, it looks like Giroud will be their main striker next season. The Frenchman only started a handful of games in the 2018/19 Premier League campaign, but with a run of games under his belt, everyone knows how prolific he can be.
There is a reason Giroud finished top goalscorer in the Europa League with 11 goals last season, and if he gets regular starts for Chelsea, he will score them in the Premier League, too. To get a striker from a side in the top six for £7m is extremely rare, so this is certainly a bargain.
Sebastien Haller (West Ham) – £7.5m
The France striker will undertake his debut Premier League season and, even at £7.5m, he is undervalued. Haller joins the Hammers as their club-record signing (£45m) and brings the goals with him – netting 20 times last season for Eintracht Frankfurt.
With the attacking talent of Felipe Anderson, Pablo Fornals and Manuel Lanzini creating chances for the 25-year-old, we can expect to see a plethora of goals in his first season at London Stadium.
To a backdrop of supporter unrest and seemingly endless upheaval the appointment of Steve Bruce as Newcastle United’s new manager was never going to be widely celebrated by the St James’ Park faithful.
Just last month it appeared that a takeover of the club was on the cards which would have meant not only a significant injection of funds for a squad in desperate need of it but also the welcomed exit of Mike Ashley, Newcastle’s widely despised owner after a decade of chronic parsimony and division. Just last month they also happened to have Champions League winner Rafa Benitez at the helm which at least offered some cause for positivity.
Now, the takeover talk has grown stagnant while Benitez has finally grown tired of Ashley’s ways and headed to China. Now it’s back to square one.
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Worse, it’s back to square one but with a manager in charge who has become a by-word for mediocrity. In over twenty years of staring out of dug-outs Steve Bruce has overseen four promotions; two relegations; a trip to a FA Cup final with Hull but not a lot else besides. Certainly in the top flight his record is somewhat uninspiring, with just two top ten finishes and a win percentage of 28.1% while the style of football he favours can be perceived as functional and pragmatic, some might even say nondescript.
All of which has understandably resulted in Newcastle’s long-suffering fan-base responding to the appointment with an air of defeated resignation…
And it is not only Bruce’s credentials that have provoked such ire. With the former Manchester United defender on a rumoured £1m a year contract the assumption of Ashley once again indulging in cost-cutting measures has surfaced and unsurprisingly so given that this will be the lowest managerial wage in the Premier League, a sixth of what Benitez was getting.
Then there’s the fact that Bruce’s most expensive ever signing was Asamoah Gyan for a relatively measly – by modern standards at least – £13m. Might this also have been a factor in his selection? It absolutely would be fitting after all that Ashley favours a manager who doesn’t knock his door down every transfer window expecting a fortune at disposal.
Prior to his friend taking on the onerous task Alan Shearer urged Bruce not to leave his tenure at Sheffield Wednesday, calling the job at hand ‘the toughest and most toxic situation’.
So all round then the latest instalment of the Geordie soap opera is a tragi-farce. Doom and gloom abounds because Steve Bruce is destined to fail and Newcastle are destined to drop.
The video below highlights just how mad Newcastle were to let Ayoze Perez go…
But hold on: while all that is written to this point is incontestable – besides the apocalyptic paragraph above – some balance is required. Because so many of the aspects detailed have a flip-side, as so many aspects do.
The general consensus is that Bruce won’t rock the boat. Surely though this is a good thing, when the club is constantly lurching from chaos to crisis, and Benitez consistently pulled off survival with an arguably inadequate squad? If Bruce can keep the fundamentals Benitez left behind in tact, surely he’d be doing something right.
The general consensus is additionally that Bruce will just do enough. Right now, just enough is fine, with stability on the pitch affording the fans to concentrate on ousting their deeply unpopular enemy in Ashley. It should be remembered too that the seasoned coach has only experienced relegation twice, and that relegation will be a disastrous proposition for the Toon regardless of who resides in the boardroom because a Championship club in freefall is a far less attractive model for perspective purchasers.
This is not a question of what Newcastle fans deserve or what they should settle for. They deserve the world. They’re the best.
But in a horrible circumstance is Bruce the man to propel Newcastle forward, onward and upwards? Probably not. Is he a pair of safe hands, to steer the Toon through the choppy waters of the short-term until a brighter sky is spied? He just might be.
Xherdan Shaqiri is still one of the new faces at Liverpool.
The 27-year-old winger joined last year from Stoke and had a modest opening campaign.
In a total of 30 games across all competitions, Shaqiri managed to bag six goals and add five assists to his tally, which was a decent return considering he was often used as an impact substitute.
He also finished it strongly despite being on the bench in the Champions League final against Tottenham Hotspur.
However, he suffered a setback on international duty.
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A calf injury in June meant that he could only recently rejoin the rest of the squad on the training grounds but he is now making promising progress in his recovery.
Shaqiri took to
/B0l-_SiiuHV/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link” data-lasso->Instagram to celebrate his return to the squad as he accompanied his teammates in Geneva, where the Reds won their game against Lyon.
Some of his teammates were quick to reply and welcome him back into the grind.
Dejan Lovren and Georginio Wijnaldum were among the first ones to send their best wishes and message to the returning Red.
Now that the pre-season friendlies for Liverpool are all done, they will gear up for the Community Shield game against Manchester City.
Norwich City are hoping to agree on a fee with Sheffield Wednesday for striker Jordan Rhodes, according to The Sun journalist Alan Nixon.
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The Yorkshire club are hoping to fetch a sizable fee for the Scotland international, though £4m is thought to be a reasonable compromise, according to Nixon.
Rhodes was an unused substitute as Sheffield Wednesday opened the new Championship season with a 3-1 win over Reading.
Links with the Sheffield Wednesday man fail to go away, with the Canaries having been linked with a move for the 29-year-old last week. Rhodes was on loan with Norwich City last season, making more than 30 appearances as the Norfolk club won promotion to the Premier League. The striker managed to score nine goals in England’s second tier.
However, Norwich City seemed to have filled the void left by Rhodes who returned to Sheffield Wednesday this summer, with the acquisition of Josip Drmic from Borussia Mönchengladbach. The Switzerland international seems to have hit the ground running as he notched up a ‘perfect’ hat-trick in the pre-season friendly against Luton Town.
The Norfolk club have also added Manchester City youngster Patrick Roberts on loan, adding depth to the squad ahead of the new season.
Ultimately, with the signings of both Drmic and Roberts, Norwich City have two players in each attacking position of the 4-2-3-1 formation Farke prefers. The squad has the depth required to try and avoid relegation this upcoming season, making a move for Rhodes pointless.
Norwich fans, does Farke need Rhodes for the 2019/20 campaign? Comment below!
It has been some time since Alex Iwobi decided to join Everton from Arsenal, officially agreeing on a five-year deal that will keep him as one of the Toffees until at least June 2024.
The 23-year-old forward joined the team as their seventh and final signing of the 2019 summer transfer window and arrived following the purchases of Jonas Lossl, Djibril Sidibe, Andre Gomes, Fabian Delph, Jean-Philippe Gbamin, and striker Moise Kean.
It’s safe to say that the Blues have been extremely busy in the market this year.
Be that as it may, Iwobi has now finally taken to
/B1E7PirAXQ3/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link” data-lasso->Instagram and social media to share some of the first snaps in his new colours.
He even captioned it as “Liking the new Everton colours”, which will probably be something the fans and the club will be delighted to hear.
Iwobi came through Arsenal’s youth academy before making his debut in 2015.
As a whole, he played 149 games for the senior team, scoring 15 and assisting 27 goals in the process.
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…
Writing in his weekly Sky Sports column, Paul Merson has claimed Tottenham took an “absolute battering” at the hands of Manchester City on Saturday.
What did he say?
Mauricio Pochettino’s side rode their luck at the Etihad to earn a 2-2 draw with the Premier League champions, and managed to avoid a late defeat thanks to an intervention from VAR.
The post-match stats revealed how the north Londoners faced thirty shots on goal from the home side, whilst they only managed three of their own. Now, Merson has insisted Spurs could not have had any complaints had they suffered a heavy loss.
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He said: “Let’s be honest, it is not like Spurs went there and ripped Man City apart! It was an absolute battering! If I were Tottenham, they just got over the line against Villa and let’s be honest, they got rinsed on Saturday. And if that had ended up six or seven, Tottenham would not have complained, they could not have moaned.”
A point is a point
Pep Guardiola’s side may have thrown the kitchen sink at Spurs over the course of the 90 minutes on Saturday, but in the end, the score-line read 2-2. For all of City’s dominance, they left the game with just a single point to their name.
There may be occasions over the course of the season where Spurs’ fortune at the Etihad slips away, but come the end of the season, taking a point from the home of the champions could be a major advantage for the north London side.
Nobody looks back and talks about how they were “battered” or “rinsed”. What matters is the end result, and Spurs will rightly head into the next couple of weeks with a spring in their step.
Be sure to check out the incredible story of the man who rose from a Tanzanian refugee camp to become one of Australia’s biggest football stars in the video below…
Indeed, a draw at the Etihad arguably takes some of the pressure away from having to secure a big result against Arsenal on September 1. Another point at the Emirates would make that a pair of unbeaten games away from home against two of last season’s top six, and firmly set Spurs up for the rest of the campaign.