All posts by h716a5.icu

Charlie Austin has described Patrick Bamford’s omission from the England squad as “football snobbery”, likening it to his own experiences. The Athletic’s Phil Hay had previously claimed the striker will have been ‘extremely disappointed’.

Bamford is enjoying a superb season for Leeds United, arguably the star man for the Whites.

The 27-year-old has scored 14 goals in 29 Premier League appearances in 2020/21 to date, also chipping in with six assists for good measure.

It was hoped that Bamford’s excellent form would see him earn an England call-up for the current internationals taking place, but Gareth Southgate opted not to pick him.

[freshpress-quiz id=“347980″]

Austin sticks up for Bamford

It seemed a harsh decision, considering the striker’s influence at Elland Road, and Austin was one of those left frustrated by it.

Speaking on talkSPORT, the on-loan QPR marksman drew parallels with his own experiences at international level, claiming there is a bias towards the bigger clubs:

“I think that goes against a lot of people.

“That’s going against Patrick Bamford right now, because that’s football snobbery. It’s just the way it is. Sometimes faces don’t fit.”

Transfer Tavern take

You have to wonder if Bamford will ever get picked if he can’t earn a call-up currently, considering he is one of the league’s most in-form attacking players.

Ollie Watkins is having a good season in his own right, but for him to be picked ahead of the Leeds man – he has 10 goals and three assists in comparison – doesn’t make a huge amount of sense.

In other news, one Leeds player is believed to be attracting significant interest from other clubs. Find out who it is here.

Rangers can take a step closer to the Scottish Premiership title on Wednesday night and manager Steven Gerrard can give his side a boost by unleashing 19-year-old right-back Nathan Patterson from the start.

In the absence of captain James Tavernier, who is currently sidelined through injury, the former Liverpool midfielder opted to deploy centre-back Leon Balogun at right-back for the Europa League game against Royal Antwerp in midweek.

However, the Nigerian international looked uncomfortable at times at Hampden Park, with Antwerp’s left wing-back Jordan Lukaku causing a lot of problems down his side, which would lead to the Belgian side’s equaliser, as Lukaku nutmegged him before crossing for Lior Refaelov to score.

The former Brighton man was then forced off at half-time after picking up a knock, with Patterson sent on as his replacement.

The academy graduate made an instant impact, taking just 17 seconds to restore Rangers’ lead after racing on to a through ball from Alfredo Morelos before finishing superbly.

It was something of a redemption for the young defender, who was one of five Gers’ players found guilty of breaking the current lockdown guidelines by attending a party, earning a club fine in the process.

Patterson is young and will learn from his mistakes, and after scoring his first goal for the club on his seventh appearance, he deserves another chance to show what he can do when Rangers take on Livingston at the Ibrox on Wednesday.

After the game, pundit Chris Sutton was full of praise for the youngster, saying:

“What an impact. He’s a young lad, he’s made a mistake, but he is a fine, fine talent. He’s going to have a big future.”

His only start this season came in the 2-0 win against Lech Poznan in the Europa League, where he would earn an excellent 7.2 rating, but he has still been limited to just two substitute appearances in the SPFL, perhaps due to the excellent form of Tavernier.

However, whilst the captain recovers from injury, and with Balogun potentially unfit too, it could be the perfect chance for Patterson to enjoy a run of games in Gerrard’s side, starting with Wednesday’s game against David Martindale’s side.

And, in other news… Gerrard must hand new Rangers deal to £18k-p/w beast

According to a report by the Daily Star, West Ham United have Brentford striker Ivan Toney on their radar and potential list of strikers for the summer – supporting ExWHUemployee’s recent claim that GSB are in fact keeping tabs. 

Toney, who has enjoyed a prolific season in the Championship, is reportedly being eyed alongside the likes of Eddie Nketiah and Tammy Abraham – coming after West Ham failed to sign a striker in the January transfer window.

Toney eyed by West Ham and GSB

David Moyes managed to secure Jesse Lingard on loan from Manchester United but little progress was made in terms of finding a replacement for Sebastien Haller, who departed for Ajax at the beginning of the window.

Now, the Daily Star have supported ExWHUemployee’s recent claim that West Ham are keeping tabs on Toney and have him on their radar – with Nketiah and Abraham also touted as forward’s GSB hold an interest in.

The 24-year-old has come on leaps and bounds for Brentford, evidenced by his 25 league goals – six more than second place in the Golden Boot race (before tonight’s Championship action, BBC).

Transfer Tavern take

Football Insider pundit Gabriel Agbonlahor recently urged West Ham to get a deal done for Toney. He claimed that the striker would ‘100%’ be a ‘great signing’ for the Hammers, going as far as to say Toney could even usurp Michail Antonio’s place in the starting eleven and give him some much needed competition (Football Insider).

West Ham appear to lack options in the forward department, but only time will tell whether GSB will make a more concrete move in the summer for Brentford’s rising star.

In other news: West Ham fans blasted links with this ace, find out more here.

According to a report by the Daily Star, West Ham are set to push for Celtic star Odsonne Edouard before the end of January – with GSB now potentially about to join the race for a striker also currently linked with a move to Leicester City (talkSPORT).

Edouard, who has debatably been one of Celtic’s only positive points this season, still managing to net seven goals in 12 SPFL starts despite the Hoops currently being some way off arch-rivals Rangers, is now attracting even more interest – this time from West Ham.

West Ham set to join Edouard race

As per the Daily Star, David Moyes is ‘desperate’ to sign a forward this month, with the club now turning to Edouard as a solution and they are expected to push for him in a late January move.

However, while this report claims that the 23-year-old is yearning for a Premier League switch and ‘fancies’ a move to London in particular, it doesn’t appear to be for a transfer ti the Irons.

Indeed, Edouard is apparently more keen on English capital rivals Arsenal and Tottenham, but that is only his ideal scenario – with a move to West Ham seemingly not ruled out.

Given the fact Celtic are ‘ready’ to ‘cash in now’ for the correct bid, and that both north London clubs won’t be able to move until summer, West Ham could hold a slender hope in potentially signing him.

As a result, GSB are reportedly set to attempt a swoop before the closure of this transfer window, with Moyes reportedly having him watched north of the border on several occasions.

Transfer Tavern take

Recently described by Hoops boss Neil Lennon as ‘magnificent’ after a 3-0 win over Hamilton in December (Glasgow Live), it’s little wonder why Moyes is keen – especially taking into account his excellent goal tally over 2020/2021 (WhoScored).

However, a late swoop may prove difficult – with it being hard to imagine GSB forking out his £35 million price tag.

In other news: West Ham have been ‘offered’ this striker, Di Canio is a huge fan…find out more here.

The first Football League World’s Fans’ Player of the Month awards of 2021 are here and, in this instance, we’re looking at the best performances in the Sky Bet Championship.

January is always a testing time for clubs in the EFL and the second tier arguably sees the most frantic fixture list with FA Cup football coming into the equation.

Throw in the unprecedented circumstances this season has provided and you get quite the potent mix for players and managers to deal with, though the six footballers below seem to have done so with aplomb.

Here, we take a look at the six Championship players who impressed us so much that they’ve earned nominations for the Football League World’s Fans’ Player of the Month award.

All stats courtesy of Whoscored.

The Goalkeepers Nominee: Seny Dieng

Dieng became QPR’s number 1 stopper at the start of the season and hasn’t looked back ever since.

The winter window saw him linked with the likes of Arsenal and Leeds United but there were no concrete offers and QPR will be delighted about that.

The Hoops embarked on decent form in January with their away form particularly pleasing as Dieng recorded clean sheets against the likes of Cardiff City and Luton Town.

The Defenders Nominees: Grant Hanley, Darragh Lenihan

Norwich City continued their promotion challenge in style during January and Hanley was a key part of their good form.

The likes of Teemu Pukki, Emi Buendia and Todd Cantwell obviously get the lion’s share of the headlines but without the likes of Hanley at the back, the Canaries wouldn’t be where they are.

He helped the Yellows record four clean sheets in January.

Blackburn bolstered their play-off challenge in January with some impressive results.

Many have marvelled at their attacking potency this season in the Championship and rightly so but it was their defensive work that really earned them the points in January.

Skipper Lenihan was crucial in that as they recorded three clean sheets with him in the side, with two of those matches seeing 1-0 scorelines in favour of Rovers.

The Midfielders Nominee: Matt Crooks

Rotherham United really upped the ante in the relegation battle in the Championship with some excellent form for Paul Warne’s men.

Matt Crooks enjoyed a fine time of it, as well, with him regularly breaking lines and linking up nicely with Millers forward Michael Smith.

They’re dovetailing well and Crooks scored three and set up another in a strong month, with big performances coming against Stoke City, Middlesbrough and Derby County.

The Strikers Nominees: Lucas Joao, Ivan Toney

Reading forward Joao was back in the Royals’ side after a recent injury and underlined the quality he brings with a stellar January.

Veljko Paunovic’s men have been one of the stories of the season with their play-off challenge and last month suggested they are going to be there for the rest of the campaign.

Joao scored four goals and set-up another one during the month of January.

Joao, though, is chasing Toney in the Golden Boot race with the Brentford star continuing his exemplary form in front of goals for the Bees.

Thomas Frank’s side really are hitting their stride at the moment and will be eyeing the title, with Toney leading the charge.

He scored six goals and added three assists in the month of January, with a hat-trick coming in the 7-2 demolition of Wycombe Wanderers.

Reports by TEAMtalk earlier in the week claimed that Everton are considering a half-season loan deal for Felipe Anderson in the January transfer window, but Carlo Ancelotti must place his trust in Everton product Anthony Gordon over the West Ham United forward.

Anderson is understood to be on the verge of returning to the London Stadium after a troubled spell in Portugal, having made just five appearances across all competitions for FC Porto after joining Sergio Conceicao’s side on loan at the end of the last transfer window.

The one-time Brazil international had hoped to get his career back on track with a move to the Liga NOS giants after falling out of favour at West Ham, but that clearly has not been the case and he now awaits an unnerving January and he is facing an uncertain future in east London.

David Moyes is thought to have little interest in offering Anderson a second chance with the Irons this season and instead, he will look to send the 27-year-old out on loan once again, which could appeal to Everton as the Blues eye a potential replacement for Bernard.

Ancelotti likely remembers Anderson well from the attacker’s time in Italy with SS Lazio, where he offered 34 goals and 39 assists in 177 games, and he will need additional width should Bernard leave, but a move to Everton has been questioned by former Blues goalkeeper Nigel Martyn.

“I think we definitely missed Richarlison when he was injured. That was the one that really worried me,” Martyn told HITC. “So, if there’s somebody of his ilk around, that would be good – but they don’t come cheap.

“Anderson – at West Ham – the worry is he hasn’t been playing much at Porto. If he’s not played at West Ham, they’ve obviously gone: ‘Oh god, he’s not what we were expecting’. Then he’s not been played at the club he’s going to, so he’s possibly not at the level Everton want.”

Anderson has seriously struggled to force his way into Conceicao’s plans at Porto this season, yet during his efforts at the London Stadium last term, he did offer brief glimpses of why West Ham spent a then-club record £36m to sign him in 2018.

The 27-year-old provided 0.6 shots and 1.0 key balls a game in the Premier League over 2019/20, while making 2.5 successful dribbles and offering 0.4 accurate crosses, per SofaScore.

Those numbers would have seen the Brazilian rank 10th for shots and third for key passes at Goodison Park last season, or ninth and fourth among Ancelotti’s current players. Those stats are comparable with Bernard, who has taken 0.7 shots and created 1 chance to score a game over his mere 273 minutes of top-flight action thus far this season.

So, instead of taking on another Premier League side’s deadweight for the remainder of the campaign, Ancelotti ought to look in his squad and place his trust in Gordon to play in wide positions at a far more regular rate than he has to date.

Ancelotti was full of praise for Gordon when the 19-year-old broke into his senior fold last term, lauding the Toffees product for the way he went about his business.

“How he is playing gives me a lot of confidence and trust in him,” Ancelotti told Everton’s official website last July. “He is a player with personality. You can find a lot of players with quality, but you have to show strong personality.

“In football, you need players with personality and character. Players who are not afraid to make decisions. Anthony is one of these. He is ready to be with us and part of what we are doing.”

However, Ancelotti has only fielded the Liverpool-born prospect for 87 minutes in the Premier League this season, with Gordon starting just one of his meagre three outings.

Now, moving for Anderson would place yet another hurdle in Gordon’s path, but the Italian tactician should be seeing the potential exit of one of his lesser-favoured options in Bernard as his chance to truly promote the teenager, and he should back him to make the step-up to become an established top-flight player.

Anderson would likely struggle to be a game-changing option at Goodison Park anyway, given how his numbers at West Ham were comparable with his compatriot Bernard, a player who may be deemed surplus to requirement, plus the total lack of confidence shown in him by Porto is hardly a ringing endorsement.

So, more than ever before, now should be the time Gordon is backed, or he should be banging on Ancelotti’s door demanding answers once more.

AND in other news, Everton must refrain from making a knee-jerk decision to sign a £9m-rated target.

According to Spanish outlet AS, Jose Mourinho has personally shortlisted Real Madrid outcast Eder Militao as a potential January reinforcement – with the Tottenham boss still keen to add a star centre-half after falling short in the summer. 

Militao, who has been largely out-of-favour under Zinedine Zidane this campaign, with the £104,000-per-week titan reduced to very minimal playing time, is now being eyed by Spurs and Mourinho as they seek to reinforce the Lilywhites back four.

Militao shortlisted in defender search for Spurs

Indeed, as claimed in this report, the Tottenham boss is eager to bolster his defensive options given his lack of depth – with the out of favour Davinson Sanchez and inexperienced Joe Rodon the only options if key starters like Toby Alderweireld suffer injuries.

Chief scout Steve Hitchen flew out to Italy last summer in a bid to sign Milan Skriniar, but negotiations fell flat and Spurs had to settle on not bringing in a star-studded centre-half option.

Now, Mourinho is eyeing a potential return for Militao after shortlisting him among a list of candidates – coming after the Portuguese was eager to bring him to Spurs last season.

El Desmarque reported in 2020 that Mourinho personally phoned Madrid president Florentino Perez in an effort to sign Militao for the Lilywhites, but it eventually came to nothing.

Transfer Tavern take

Described as ‘excellent’ by Steve McManaman, despite only playing one Champions League game this season for the Galacticos, he averaged a head-turning 96% pass accuracy – numbers that would impress any coach looking for a ball-playing centre-half.

Whether or not Spurs act on Mourinho’s interest remains to be seen, but he would be a good alternative in an otherwise difficult January market.

When Southampton released Ben White as a 17-year-old, few would have predicted that he would go on to establish himself as a Premier League centre-back who has been attracting interest from Premier League champions Liverpool.

The Englishman left the South Coast club in 2014 to join Brighton and he has enjoyed a meteoric rise to fame with the Seagulls, mostly due to his impressive displays out on loan.

After promising displays in League Two and League One with Newport County and Peterborough United respectively, the young defender joined Leeds United on loan for the 2019/20 Championship season and it was here that a lot of people started to take notice of the Brighton man.

White played every single game in the second division for Marcelo Bielsa’s side, as they were promoted as champions, sealing a return to the Premier League for the first time in 16 years (per Sky Sports).

Across his 46 games in the Championship for Leeds, the 23-year-old averaged a superb 7.09 rating for his performances (per WhoScored), so it was no surprise to hear that the Yorkshire club were desperate to sign him permanently during the summer transfer window.

His performances also caught the eye of Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool side, as the Reds were also linked with signing the defender during the summer transfer window.

However, he opted to sign a new deal with the Seagulls and has been a mainstay in Graham Potter’s side so far this season, having made nine appearances in the Premier League, in which he has averaged a sold 6.73 rating (per WhoScored).

During his time with Leeds, former player Noel Whelan told BBC Radio Leeds (via HITC):

“He’s a special player, isn’t he? He’s a special player. I know he doesn’t belong to us, I wish he did. That kid seems to have everything.

“If he does get us up to the Premier League, maybe there is a deal to be done. But I can imagine that he’s going to cost a lot of money, but he would be worth it.”

Jamie Carragher also suggested that an England call-up may not be too far away for the youngster, so it could definitely be argued that the Saints will be regretting releasing him in 2013, as he is now quickly becoming one of the hottest prospects in English football.

Former England international Rob Lee, while speaking exclusively with FootballFanCast, has claimed Newcastle United will be interested in a January loan deal for Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Harry Winks.

Winks has grown disgruntled at being a bit-part player in north London this season and is ready to discuss a loan move away from the club with Spurs chairman Daniel Levy, fearing a lack of game time will hinder his chances of being named in Gareth Southgate’s England squad.

Jose Mourinho has rarely trusted the 24-year-old with occupying a regular role in his plans so far this term, with Winks starting just three Premier League fixtures and not playing a single minute since October.

Mourinho would not have named Winks in his 18-man matchday squad for last weekend’s north London Derby had it not been for a late injury to Tanguy Ndombele, which marked the Spurs product’s return to the fold for only the second time since facing West Ham United.

Winks may be denied a move away from Tottenham in the upcoming window with Levy more inclined to sanction a winter exit for Dele Alli, who has similarly been shunned this season, making eight outings across all competitions.

Everton have been linked with a potential bid to sign Winks on loan in January should he leave Spurs, though Lee – who made 267 Premier League appearances for Newcastle – believes his former side will also be keen.

“Harry Winks is a good player, very good player. Because [Pierre-Emile] Hojbjerg has come in, where do you play him? That’s the problem,” Lee told FootballFanCast.

“He seems to like Hojbjerg and [Moussa] Sissoko’s done very well; he’s that sort of player where he’s big, strong, he works, got a great engine and they seem to work well together.

“So, there’s no room really for Harry Winks to play. But if Spurs want to get rid of him for a little while, then I’m sure Newcastle will be interested in him because he’s a top player.”

Newcastle were linked with a move to sign Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka last winter amid doubt over his long-term future at the Emirates, after the Switzerland international swore at his own supporters whilst they jeered his substitution and threw the captain’s armband to the ground.

Xhaka bounced back following a change in manager at the north London side, with Mikel Arteta offering the 28-year-old a new lease of life and minutes in all but four of his 31 Premier League fixtures at the helm to date.

Winks is yet to be offered an olive branch by Mourinho at Tottenham and may urge Levy to sanction a move in January, opening the door for Bruce to strike amid claims the Newcastle boss will be active in the loan market and suggestions he will target a box-to-box midfielder.

Whether or not Bruce targets Winks remains to be seen, though in doing so he could acquire an eight-cap England international desperate to prove himself to Southgate.

AND in other news, Mike Ashley’s January transfer stance could see Newcastle miss out on a £30m gem compared to Alan Shearer.

According to Football Insider, Preston North End want to give Glasgow Rangers target Daniel Johnson a new contract amid interest from Steven Gerrard’s side.

What’s the word?

Reports in recent months suggested that the Light Blues were targeting a move for the former Jamaica international. In the end, the Ibrox outfit ended up signing Bongani Zungu from Amiens a season-long loan deal, with the option to offer him a pre-contract in January instead.

It’s claimed that Rangers refused to meet Preston’s £4m asking price for the attacking midfielder, but he could be available for a cut-price deal if he rejects a contract extension at Deepdale.

And Ross Wilson must sanction a swoop for Gerrard’s long-term target before it is too late.

Better than Bongani?

Alright, we get it. The Gers just crushed Celtic in a comfortable 2-0 win at Parkhead in the first Old Firm derby of the season on Saturday. But they shouldn’t rest on their laurels, as their arch-rivals certainly won’t be in the winter transfer window.

Last term the Jamaican, who is valued at £3.6m via Transfermarkt, scored twelve goals and supplied eight assists in all competitions, whilst he averaged 1.3 shots and 1.4 key passes per game in the Championship, via WhoScored.

In contrast, Zungu failed to muster a single goal or assist for the Unicorns in Ligue 1 last season, as he registered fewer than one shot and one key pass per game, as per WhoScored.

Now, that’s not to say that we think that the 29-cap South Africa international is necessarily a bad signing. As we previously discussed, we believe he could turn out to be a real bargain, but only time will tell.

In any case, competition for places is important, especially when you consider the fact that Gerrard has to juggle domestic and European games this season.

Johnson, who has previously played for Aston Villa, could take his game to a whole other level if he gets the chance to play in the Europa League. He was described by his former teammate Chris Humphrey as “one of the best” in the number ten role, claiming “his all-round game is phenomenal.”

If Rangers are to regain their title, and the versatile player does indeed arrive in January, we suspect that he may have a part to play. It’s now up to Wilson to get a deal done.

AND in other news, Former Glasgow Rangers starlet John Fleck has thrived since his Ibrox exit…