Phil Foden has delighted numerous Manchester City supporters after winning the Premier League Young Player of the Season award [Manchester Evening News].
In a sparkling campaign, the 21-year-old dazzled fans and pundits alike as he registered 14 goal contributions from 28 Premier League appearances, with nine goals and five assists in the division [Transfermarkt].
Following a season in which he helped the club to a Premier League and Carabao Cup double [Manchester City], the man famously dubbed the ‘Stockport Iniesta’ is now set to be a major player in England’s Euro 2020 bid as he was called up to Gareth Southgate’s 26-man squad [Eurosport].
In terms of his Young Player of the Season accolade, few could argue against Foden missing out on the prize. Integral to the Citizens’ offensive weaponry, it’s little wonder that so many Manchester City supporters took to Twitter to revel in this news.
City fans react to Foden’s award
Here is what some Manchester City fans had to say about Foden’s Premier League recognition, with one supporter dubbing the 21-year-old a “special guy”:
“Completely deserved”
Credit: @MiIton47″Most goals and assists compared to the nominees + standout performances = deserved win”Credit: @Messiregen47″congrats starboy”Credit: @mxnciteh”Special guy”Credit: @I_am_Karrl”Never in doubt”Credit: @Darlanjude”Our pride and joy”Credit: @TendzzXOIn other news, these City fans have been reacting to a recent update on a club stalwart.
Lisbon Lion John Hughes has credited Ange Postecoglou with transforming the fortunes at Celtic this season.
The lowdown: A Green and White resurgence
Appointed in June 2021, the 56-year-old has taken Celtic back to the top of the Scottish Premiership table and to the brink of a 52nd title success.
One of the Greek-Australian’s methods towards success has been utilising smart recruitment by tapping into his experiences in previously unknown markets, namely Japan by raiding the J-League for the likes of Kyogo Furuhashi, Daizen Maeda and Reo Hatate.
Now an ex-Celtic Park favourite has joined in on the praise of the manager…
The latest: Hughes impressed
Speaking with Celtic Quick News, the legendary 79-year-old, who made 255 appearances for the Hoops and was nicknamed ‘Yogi’, admitted he had been impressed with the man in the hot seat before tipping further improvements.
“It has been a joy to watch what Ange has done with the team after the wreckage of the previous campaign.
“He has brought in 17 players in both transfer windows and most of his signings have been inspired.
“However, I believe there is a piece of the jigsaw still to be put in place and I have every confidence the manager will rectify the situation in the summer.”
The verdict: More to come…
Given the impressive body of work already in place in such a short period of time, it’s hard to believe that there won’t be yet more developments in the squad following another summer transfer window.
Whilst nobody is expected a mass overhaul at Lennoxtown, the board should back Postecoglou to the hilt to oversee another successful delve into the market.
As for the mystery missing piece of the jigsaw, the Bhoys squad is arguably at its weakest in the central defensive department and even the potential permanent capture of Cameron Carter-Vickers may not suffice, given the injury hell suffered by Christopher Jullien.
Perhaps we could see a new ‘Yogi’ type colossus arrive this summer, but this time in the heart of defence.
In other news, former Celtic striker Chris Sutton has been left fuming. Read more here.
In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Steve Howey, who made 157 appearances for Newcastle United, has given his full backing to The Athletic writer, George Caulkin, for his piece revealing all the hurdles which the potential owners had to overcome.
Caulkin wrote a piece for The Athletic which highlighted everything that was put in front of the potential new owners by other clubs and the Premier League in attempts to block the deal.
It recently came out that Prince Mohammed bin Salaman, asked Boris Johnson to intervene with the deal and usher it through, otherwise tensions between the two countries would grow.
Speaking on how it’s all about not what you know, but who you know and why Caulkin was correct in his piece, Howey told FFC:
“As always, it’s a case of not what you know but who you know, and I know Boris Johnson passed it on because he claimed it had nothing to do with him.
“I believed George [Caulkin] because I’ve known him for 30 years so I wouldn’t have thought George being sort of the person that he is, would put something out there in The Athletic if it wasn’t true.”
Mike Ashey thought he was finally going to get out of running Newcastle United when Amanda Staveley’s consortium offered him £300 million for the club, however 12 months later and there has been no change in ownership.
The Magpies appear to have secured their Premier League safety after a run of four games without defeat which has included two wins and two draws.
There is a phenomenal feeling about Nottingham Forest at the moment.
Steve Cooper has worked his magic at the City Ground and they now sit right on the cusp of a play-off place in the Championship.
What’s sparked that is a wonderful run of form throughout 2021, with Forest losing just a single game in the league this calendar year as they time their run towards a potential place at Wembley just perfectly.
To see such a historic outfit back in the top-flight would be quite the sight and it would be interesting to see whether they’d be able to keep the likes of Joe Worrall, Brennan Johnson or Djed Spence in their ranks as a result.
The trio have been outstanding this season and Spence, in particular, has finally filled the vacant area left behind by Matty Cash following his move to Aston Villa.
Yet, speaking of full-backs, it is apparent that Forest nearly had one of the brightest talents of a generation in their ranks all the way back in 2009.
That just so happens to be Gareth Bale, an individual who transitioned from a flying wing-back into a devastating and dynamic offensive weapon.
Over ten years ago now, Bale was struggling to get in the side at Tottenham and was the subject of a £2m bid from Nottingham Forest for his services.
A move came pretty close too but it unfortunately eventually fell away. Recalling negotiations in 2013, Clive Allen commented: “It did go pretty close.
“I know there were discussions between the clubs. The clubs had agreed the potential of the move, so it was something that he had to think about.”
Sadly for the Garibaldi, a move never materialised and they were left to wonder what if.
Bale eventually broke into the Tottenham team and was a revelation, scoring 72 goals and registering 61 assists for the Lilywhites.
He would then travel to Real Madrid in a then world-record move worth £85m and since that moment, his career has been nothing short of remarkable.
Gao, Dragan Solak, Ralph Hasenhuttl, Saints, Southampton, Premier League, Premier League news, SFC, St. Marys, Southampton news, Southampton update, Southampton transfer news, January transfer news, Gareth Bale, Real Madrid,
The Wales international has won the Champions League four times, has picked up two La Liga titles, one Copa del Rey and four Club World Cups too. Furthermore, the 32-year-old has found the back of the net on 106 occasions, scoring some quite magical goals in the process too.
Who could forget the moment he took Marc Bartra to the cleaners or his absurd overhead kick goal that beat Loris Karius in the Champions League final.
He has also represented his country at two major tournaments and is on the verge of securing a third following a stunning free-kick against Austria last week. It was trademark Bale who stepped up, sent the ball fizzing over the wall and then into the top corner.
The veteran has done that on countless occasions for club and country, but the Forest fans never got to see him turn out for them.
It’s enough to provoke a sense of regret with the Madrid star being hailed as “legendary” and as a “messiah” to Wales by writer Megan Feringa.
Those two words aptly describe him and although it’s unlikely Forest would have been able to keep hold of him anyway, it was a mistake not to do more in order to bring him in.
AND in other news, Cooper can finally axe Forest “bulldog” by signing “very impressive” £135k-rated gem…
Manchester United secured second place in the Premier League with a 1-1 draw against Fulham last time out, but it was a far from satisfactory performance from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side.
The Red Devils took the lead in spectacular, if controversial, style when Edinson Cavani floated the ball over Alphonse Areola from 40 yards out.
Cavani latched onto David de Gea’s long pass downfield after VAR importantly adjudged that the ball had touched Bruno Fernandes on the way through before executing an exquisite lobbed finish that gave the 10,000 fans in attendance something to cheer.
However, despite dominating possession and carving out the better opportunities, United failed to finish Fulham off, and suspect defending allowed Joe Bryan to ghost in at the far post and nod home an equaliser from Bobby Decordova-Reid’s cross.
It was a poor performance all round from the 20-time English champions, but one man who was particularly disappointing, though, was Paul Pogba.
The 28-year-old midfielder has been one of United’s standout performers since the turn of the year, bagging five goals and providing seven assists in all competitions throughout 2021, although Tuesday nights display was certainly one to forget.
As per SofaScore, Pogba received a miserly 6.1/10 rating, which was by far the worst of any player to feature in this midweek encounter.
During the 90 minutes, the France international lost 11 of his 12 ground duels with Scott Parker’s men and won just three of his six aerial duels despite his 6 ft 2 frame.
To top off an extremely below-par display from the star, who takes home a reported £290,000-per-week wage packet, Pogba also failed to complete any of his four dribbles, lost possession 16 times and completed just 50% of his long passes. It was unquestionably the former Juventus man’s worst performance in quite some time, but he has been known to have the odd stinker like this from time to time.
United fans will be hoping it was just another one-off with the Europa League final around the corner, but Pogba clearly let Solskjaer down once again against Fulham.
And, in other news…Woordward masterclass: MUFC must seal £22.5m-rated gem with “excellent left foot” – opinion
Lots of Everton fans have been left to react to a transfer update on Gylfi Sigurdsson.
As per football journalist and transfer expert Ekrem Konur, the Goodison Park faithful are ‘looking positively’ at Al Hilal’s bid for the attacking midfield player, but he does not want to leave the Premier League at the moment.
Marcel Brands is now set to hold talks with Rafa Benitez over what to do with Sigurdsson with the bid in mind.
The Iceland international did not have his best season last term, and was often heavily criticised by some Merseyside club supporters for some of his performances.
He managed a mere six goals and a further five assists in 36 matches in total in the top flight (Transfermarkt), which for an attacking midfielder on set pieces, should be better.
At 31, it may well be the right time for the Toffees to cash in on the Iceland star.
Everton fans on Sigurdsson transfer update
These Blues gave their reactions as the transfer update was shared across Twitter:
“Please order him to leave @everton”
Credit: @richythepigeon
“Earn your keep Brands”Credit: @Philatty”This would be a great start to a new era get rid of Mr Pointer. Iwobi, Gomes and Delph out as well. We need a whole new midfield AGAIN!”Credit: @davies_pint2″He just rarely does. Points and pretends to close down opponents. Time up for him I’m afraid. £10m about right!!”Credit: @drussell1710″Talks shouldn’t take long then? Your taxi is booked”Credit: @PaulJeffers4″Get rid ASAP”Credit: @eamonn_bennett2In other news, find out what Calvert-Lewin and Southgate footage has Evertonians talking here!
Dean Windass reckons that David Moyes will be banging on GSB’s door to deliver him Jesse Lingard this summer.
Lingard enjoyed a scintillating loan spell with the Hammers in the second half to help them finish in the Europa League for the first time.
However, convincing the 28-year-old to sign permanently could prove a difficult task for the West Ham owners, especially with the Daily Star reporting that Manchester United have offered the attacker a lucrative deal to extend his stay at Old Trafford.
According to the Evening Standard, Lingard remains Moyes’ number one transfer target having scored nine goals and laid on six assists in just 16 Premier League appearances for the Hammers.
Lingard will undoubtedly be looking for regular first-team football wherever he ends up next season, although the signing of Jadon Sancho will have damaged his chances of that being at Man United.
And with just one-year remaining on his United contract, West Ham will be hoping to bring him back to the London Stadium at a cut-price.
But Windass exclusively told The Transfer Tavern that his next move won’t be east London:
“He’s done fantastically well Lingard, and David Moyes will be banging on the chairman’s door to sign Jesse Lingard, although I don’t think it will happen.
“Jesse Lingard, if he doesn’t stay at Man United, I can’t see him going back to West Ham.”
Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa is facing a key issue that needs solving for the club in the Premier League as Patrick Bamford remains out injured.
The Whites head coach has already confirmed that the forward will be absent for the League Cup clash with Arsenal, with question marks still hovering over his availability for next weekend’s huge clash with Norwich at Carrow Road.
Bamford watched on from the sidelines as Leeds scraped a 1-1 draw at home to Wolves on Saturday, which came after he also sat out of the 1-0 defeat to Southampton the previous week.
With one goal scored in two games, which came from the penalty spot, Bielsa clearly needs to inject some attacking quality into his team to improve their chances of picking up points. A defeat to Norwich next weekend would see Leeds just two points ahead of the Canaries, who are currently bottom on two points after nine games.
One thing he could do to improve the attack is unleashing 19-year-old gem Joe Gelhardt. Starting the promising young attacker could add some much-needed energy, enthusiasm, and quality to their frontline, against both Arsenal and Norwich.
Leeds Live reporter Beren Cross once claimed that Gelhardt is ‘absolutely outrageous’ and hailed the club’s work to bring him to the club from Wigan.
He said: “I think it remains, It’s very opportunistic. I think as we saw with Gelhardt, I think that was very much, unfortunately for Wigan, a case of Wigan were in administration, and they had to take what they could get.
“And as I’m sure we’ll find out in the years ahead, Gelhardt may well be the best bit businesses the club has done in the last 20 years, if not ever, because he just looks absolutely outrageous, very, very good player.”
Gelhardt came off the bench against Wolves at the weekend for his second-ever Premier League appearance, with both of his top-flight displays to date coming as a substitute.
He came ever so close to scoring his first goal in the cameo, with Jose Sa pulling off a sensational fingertip save to deny him. The youngster did make a telling contribution in the end, though, as he won the penalty after a silky piece of play in the box before Rodrigo stuck away the spot-kick to secure a point.
The former Wigan man has scored 17 goals in 23 Premier League 2 matches for Leeds, suggesting that he is too good to be playing development football. That is why Bielsa must unleash him from the start against Arsenal and Norwich, as he could solve the goalscoring issue they are facing with Bamford on the sidelines, judging by his performance against Wolves and his incredible record at youth level.
AND in other news, Leeds sealed dream deal over “very talented” gem whose value has increased 2300%…
Glasgow Rangers have snubbed new SPFL title sponsor Cinch, which has now led to a legal dispute with the league’s governing body.
The Lowdown: Gers kick off Premiership campaign
The Gers started the defence of their Premiership title on Saturday with a 3-0 victory over Livingston – they already lead Celtic by three points after they were defeated 2-1 by Hearts.
Next up, the Gers face Malmo in the Champions League third qualifying round as they aim to reach the group stages of the competition.
The Latest: Gers in hot water
Against Livingston, the Gers did not feature Cinch on their sleeves, while they also refused to advertise the sponsor on their hoardings around the pitch.
As such, the Gers are in a battle with the SPFL as the former believe there are gaps in the contract, meaning there is no need for them to fill the obligations (The Daily Record).
The Verdict: Needless row
This, quite frankly, feels like a needless row. The Gers do have a fraught relationship with the SPFL, of course, and there is clearly no love lost between the two (The Herald).
However, this does feel like an argument for the sake of one between the two sides as the season starts.
In this case, the SPFL have managed to bring in a new sponsor that will no doubt benefit all of the clubs in the top flight. It feels a little in this case that Rangers have decided to cut their nose off to spite their face. They have a huge season ahead of them – they should be looking for as few distractions as possible.
In other news, Rangers fans were livid with this journalist’s tweet.
Aston Villa are preparing to make a new move for Juventus star Weston McKennie in the January transfer window.
What’s the story?
Italian publication Sport Mediaset claimed that the Bianconeri would be willing to let the USA international go this summer, with “strong interest” from both Villa and fellow Premier League side Spurs.
While a move failed to materialise before the deadline, journalist Alan Nixon has now revealed that Dean Smith’s side will look to make a fresh attempt at signing McKennie in the upcoming January transfer window.
He adds that Juventus have told the midfielder that he can find a new home as soon as possible, and Villa could now look to take advantage of the situation.
Fans will be buzzing
Hailed as a “leader” by David Wagner, McKennie’s performances in the Bundesliga for Schalke earned him a high-profile move to Juventus, where former boss Andrea Pirlo was a big fan of his.
Calling him a “rock”, the Italy icon added: “He’s young and can improve a lot. In my opinion, he’s a midfielder who can play as a No 8 in a three in midfield, right or left. He gets in the box and scores goals but he’s also very good at winning the ball back.
“His role is in a three in midfield as one of the two players on either side of the regista. Last year we played in a different system, so he had to adapt.”
Dubbed as an “outstanding talent”, the £22.5m-rated McKennie is as Pirlo says, a real box-to-box threat. While the end product hasn’t always been there – he’s only scored 11 goals in his short career thus far – all the key elements are: the power, the pace, the tackling and the energy to get up and down the pitch.
As per Whoscored, he has an impressive career average of making 1.3 tackles and 1.2 interceptions per game, while also managing just a shade under one shot and key pass per match too – a real indication of his all-action style of play.
Johan Lange renewing his interest in the midfielder is sure to have fans buzzing.
Given they failed to bring in a new central midfielder in the summer transfer window – the club were trying to sign Southampton’s James Ward-Prowse – a move for McKennie would go a long way to addressing that iss
Meanwhile, Ashley Preece has confirmed this major Aston Villa boost…