All posts by z3u9t.icu

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Leeds United fans have been voicing their concerns on social media amid news of Swansea City’s asking price for Daniel James, according to The Sun on Sunday per HITC.

The 21-year-old has been linked with a move to Elland Road throughout the January window, as the Whites look to add more creative midfielders to their roster in order to maintain their promotion push – and Yorkshire Evening Post have recently labelled him as Marcelo Bielsa’s preferred target for that position.

Figures of around £3million, per Yorkshire Evening Post, and £5m, according to TeamTalk, have been bandied around, although no official bid has been placed.

Who are the best away fans in the Championship? Pl>ymaker FC’s Thogden gives his top 10 in the video below…

Despite that, the Welsh outfit now want £12million for their in-demand winger, according to The Sun on Sunday.

Leeds will have to seriously consider if meeting that valuation would be worthwhile, as it would signal a sizeable increase on previous figures touted by the aforementioned sources.

£12million is also a rather hefty fee to pay for a 21-year-old who is still in his breakthrough season, and has only started 12 of his 17 senior appearances for the Liberty Stadium outfit.

Clearly these Leeds fans would rather their side now walk away from any negotiations…

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According to a report by The Sun on Sunday, Leeds United are considering a summer move to bring former winger Aaron Lennon back to the club, and Whites fans have been quick to react to the rumour when posted by the writer of the article, Alan Nixon, on Twitter.

The 31-year-old started his career at Elland Road and has since played for Tottenham Hotspur, Everton and now Burnley, where he is currently on the sidelines because of a knee injury he suffered in mid-December, which The Sun on Sunday reports could keep the wide man out of action for the remainder of the campaign.

The Sun on Sunday adds that United manager Marcelo Bielsa is compiling checks on the speedy player as he targets taking the Yorkshire outfit back to the Premier League this term, although their hopes did suffer a blow after they were beaten 3-1 at home by fellow automatic promotion contenders Norwich City on Saturday.

As per Transfermarkt, Lennon has made 22 appearances in all competitions for the Clarets during the current season, scoring one goal and providing one assist.

Leeds supporters took to Twitter to have their say on the story, and while one said “it would be a step backwards”, another said “hope not, he’s well past his best”.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

Thogden has ranked his top 5 sets of Championship away fans for Pl>ymaker FC. Did your club make the list? Find out in the video below…

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Loads of Tottenham fans have been reacting to some comments from Moussa Sissoko, who has insisted the Lilywhites are in the title race.

It seems quite ridiculous that the title race is being largely portrayed as a two-horse race, especially considering Tottenham were ahead of one of those horses before they played two games in the space of four days.

This could of course work to Tottenham’s advantage, and Sissoko says they are “not far” from the two favourites.

Pl>ymaker FC Exclusive: Jermaine Jenas reveals he would have snubbed Tottenham for Arsenal if they’d come knocking in 2005…

“We are not far,” he told The Telegraph. “If people want to talk about Liverpool and Man City then it’s better for us. We can follow our way in… how can I say it in English?”

“Ah, yeah, we will be like that,” the Frenchman agreed after being asked if Spurs are flying under the radar.

“Under the radar, I like that – and try to win and see where we are. For me, I prefer that. It means we can just do our job. We will fight to the end and anything can happen.

“And yes, I think we can win the league because we have a good team.”

Sissoko has gone from zero to hero in north London, as the former Newcastle man spent his first two seasons in a white shirt crumbling under the pressure of his £30m price tag.

He is now a very popular figure inside Wembley though, and Pochettino clearly loves his work rate and versatility.

That said, talking about being under the radar is probably not the best way to stay under the radar, and plenty of fans have been reacting to his comments.

You can find some of the best Twitter verdicts below…

Lacking in home-grown talents in their squad, Tottenham Hotspur must start targeting some English players in the summer.

Indeed, they need to fulfil their Premier League as well as Champions League home-grown quotas and are targeting Che Adams as their next coup from the championship in the summer, according to Daily Mirror via HITC.

Having spent nothing last summer, Daniel Levy will be under pressure to shell out cash to bulk up Spurs squad this time around. Adams could be a really clever signing, as Birmingham could sell him for relatively cheap and hand them a real talent. The Birmingham star’s been on a roll this season, having scored 19 goals in 32 appearances (stats via WhoScored).

Not only is he a potential goal-scorer, but a delight to watch, as the youngster loves to run with the ball and possesses commendable dribbling ability. Adams’ shooting ability from distance is promising, as his impressive link-up play means he can fit right into Mauricio Pochettino’s system.

Under the tutelage of Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen, Adams can slowly unleash his utmost potential at Spurs. His ability to play as a striker or even as an attacking midfielder means Pochettino can revolve him around in different positions.

The 22-year-old’s hunger for goals can help him thrive at Spurs, where the biggest requirement is to go forward and score goals. He can blend into their fast-paced, incisive system pretty well and considering how big a hit Dele Alli’s been, Adams can also blow up at Spurs.

[ad_pod ]Crystal Palace fans have taken to Twitter to react after it was revealed that they would be facing Watford in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.The Eagles will travel to Vicarage Road in what will be a repeat of the 2016 semi-final, in which Palace got the better of the Hornets by two goals to one at Wembley before losing the final to Manchester United.Roy Hodgson’s men and Javi Gracia’s side are starting to see a lot of each other on the big occasions, as the south Londoners also went up against Watford in the 2013 play-off final – another fixture in which Palace emerged victorious from.It should be a real blood-and-thunder FA Cup tie, especially if Wilfried Zaha is to play.The Hornets’ fanbase have been rattled by the Ivorian as he has won penalties against them in the league and the play-off final in the past, but with VAR present for the quarter-final, there will be no debate as to whether the 26-year-old had ‘dived’ or not this time around.Let’s see how Palace supporters on Twitter reacted to the draw…

Not keen myself.

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Arsenal have been linked with a £40million move for Crystal Palace right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka this summer, according to The Sun.

The Gunners have reportedly identified the 21-year-old as a potential solution to their lack of depth at full-back.

Wan-Bissaka has enjoyed a sterling season under Roy Hodgson at Selhurst Park, making 28 appearances in all competitions.

Unai Emery’s side have struggled with the right-back position thus far this season, with Hector Bellerin injured and 35-year-old Stephan Lichtsteiner struggling as backup.

Wan-Bissaka has been capped at Under-21 level by England but has yet to make his senior debut under Gareth Southgate.

Nevertheless, his form has attracted interest from a number of clubs, per the aforementioned report, including Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Everton.

But Gunners fans on Twitter are split on the idea of securing the youngster this summer, particularly with Bellerin soon set to make his comeback.

Look at the best of the reaction on social media below!

[ad_pod ]Arsenal youngster Xavier Amaechi is wanted by Bayern Munich, per Football.London.The 18-year-old, the report states, is seen as one of the most prodigiously talented youngsters in the club’s youth academy.Amaechi signed his first professional contract on his 17th birthday and is currently tied to the club until 2022.German clubs have been attempting to secure young English talent in recent transfer windows, with Borussia Dortmund luring Jadon Sancho away from Manchester City and Bayern attempting to sign Callum Hudson-Odoi from Chelsea.It appears that Amaechi is the next in line, despite the fact that he has yet to make his Premier League debut for the club.

Instead, the right winger has scored four goals and laid on five assists for the club’s youth teams this season, with his contributions spanning both the Under-18 and Under-23 sides.

The report claims that 14 clubs were expected to watch the Under-23s play Swansea, as the two sides drew 2-2.

And Gunners fans on Twitter are desperate for the club to retain Amaechi, with many insisting he can become a star in north London.

Take a look at the best of the reaction below!

Sunderland dropped crucial points in the race for League One promotion this weekend as they were held to a 1-1 draw at Wycombe.

In a bitter blow to the Black Cats and their hopes of bouncing back to the Championship immediately, the results also saw second placed Barnsley take all three points in their home tie with Accrington.

And we here in the Tavern feel this could be a pivotal weekend in the race for the top two, and that it might just be the week when Sunderland finally say goodbye to their chances of automatic promotion.

For one, Barnsley are on a fine run of form, and having not lost at home all season under manager Daniel Stendel, there’s a growing feeling inside the South Yorkshire club that they can get themselves back into the second tier at Sunderland’s expense.

While Sunderland manager Jack Ross has done a good job in the main since arriving in the summer, the loss of Josh Maja in the January window could prove to be a bitter blow which even the signing of Will Grigg fails to sort out.

Grigg is of course a proven goalscorer at this level, but in Maja they had a player who had the unknown about him, with his pace and power mixed with his raw ability causing problems galore for defences.

Sunderland do remain in contention to win one of the coveted automatic promotion spots, but as discussed, it could well be a crucial weekend like this which ultimately decides the promotion race.

Black Cats fans, what do you think? Have you blown your chances? Let us know your thoughts!

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Marco Silva should stray away from his preferred lone striker system for the big match against Chelsea, and instead deploy a two-man attack with Cenk Tosun partnering Richarlison up front.

Why should he do this?

Despite having a fantastic first half of the season, summer signing Richarlison has endured a woeful 2019, in which he has scored just three goals in three-and-a-half months, compared to nine goals before the turn of the year.

At times, the big-money striker signed from Watford has looked lost upfront, with little aerial support or any form of hold up play from those around him such as Bernard, Theo Walcott and Gylfi Sigurdsson.

In this era of ‘big 6’ dominance, has finishing 7th become as good as winning a trophy? The Pl>ymaker FC squad have their say in the video below…

In Tosun, Silva has a decent frontman who has been criminally underused this season, despite a fantastic end to the previous campaign in which he hit five goals in 12 starts.

The Turkish international is a far more physical presence than his Brazilian teammate Richarlison, but much less mobile – combined, however, the two could be the perfect foil for each other’s talents and wreak havoc up front against the Blues.

Who would make way?

A much maligned figure who somehow keeps his place in the team week in, week out, is Walcott.

The former Arsenal man, who turns 30 today, has managed to score just twice in the league this season, whilst setting up three more, but has somehow made 29 appearances, 23 of them from the first whistle.

A much more effective looking attack would be for Silva to switch his preferred 4-2-3-1 system into a 4-2-2-2 formation, with Bernard and Sigurdsson as the central attacking midfielders, and Tosun and Richarlison in the two central striking positions.

By doing this, the Toffees will hopefully see Richarlison return to his best form, whilst they would also be able to afford Tosun some much needed game time which could put him in the shop window for the summer if he performs well – the 27-year-old has made just nine league starts this season.

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Everton fans on Twitter don’t know how to react to the latest news reported by their club on Wednesday, following Gareth Southgate’s latest England squad announcement.

Toffees learned that centre-back Michael Keane, a mainstay of the Three Lions set-up in recent times, had made the cut for 2020 UEFA European Championship qualifiers against the Czech Republic and Montenegro, alongside goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.

It was the selection of the latter that made the most waves among the bemused fan base.

What they couldn’t understand was why Southgate had picked Pickford after a string of recent mistakes, and after the 25-year-old made a fool of himself at St James’ Park on Saturday.

The Sunderland academy product should have been sent off in giving away a first-half penalty that he then saved, winding up the Newcastle United faithful after making the stop, only to concede twice late on in a 3-2 defeat.

What a comeback by Newcastle against Everton on Saturday! Check out what the jubilant Geordies made of it all in the video below…

Clearly, Southgate wants to show the troubled shot-stopper loyalty after his heroics at the 2018 World Cup, but maybe he should pay more attention to his more recent club performances.

Some Evertonians have asked if Pickford could be left in Montenegro, while others have expressed their pure disbelief and listed other members of Marco Silva’s team that should have been picked, instead.

Check out our list of the best Tweets from confused Toffees supporters about the news, below…