All posts by n8rngtd.top

Sunderland’s season is going from bad to worse at the moment. Without a win in their last four league outings, they are in danger of failing to get promoted for a third consecutive season in League One.

It’s a troublesome time for the Mackems, but there could be a light at the end of the tunnel. At present, Stewart Donald is locked in talks with Juan Sartori and Kyril Louis-Dreyfus over a takeover so new faces could walk through the door very soon.

On top of that, they are also in the hunt for a new manager.

Before their draw with Burton on Tuesday, the club took the decision to sack Phil Parkinson and as a result, Andy Taylor has taken caretaker charge.

There are a number of replacements lined up including Lee Johnson and Danny Cowley. Although that will be their first priority, it’s thought that Dreyfus and co want to broaden the club’s pool of staff by hiring a sporting director.

The man who may be tasked with that role is former Sunderland midfielder Stefan Schwarz.

Speaking on the What the Falk podcast, Sky Sports presenter Tom White said: “The obvious choice would be Stefan Schwarz. I’ve no idea there’s any truth but it would make sense as they’ve said in interviews it’s someone English and Scandinavian.”

Of course, whether Schwarz is genuinely interesting Sunderland is merely speculation at this point but bringing him to the north-east wouldn’t be the best of ideas, certainly judging by his track record in the transfer market.

The 50-year-old’s latest job was with Augsburg in Germany where he spent a total of £12.7m across the two seasons he spent as the club’s technical director.

Before that, he was the chief scout and helped to bring players like Martin Hinteregger to attention but when he was the lead man, it wasn’t a particularly successful operation.

Writer Robert Goetz revealed in 2017: “The flops category includes players such as Daniel Opare, Nikola Djurdijc, Mathias Fetsch and Raphael Holzhauser. The currently loaned striker trio Tim Matavz, Shawn Parker (both Nuremberg) and Albian Ajeti (FC St. Gallen) are among the wrong purchases for some of the FCA fans.”

One of the main problems for Schwarz, however, was that transfers took a long time to complete, meaning they had to pay some pretty hefty fees in the process. Hinteregger, for example, was an estimated £7m.

Though, he didn’t just have issues at Augsburg – he also experienced them at 1860 Munich and Hoffenheim when he was a scout. “From a celebrated scout to a bogeyman, it goes quickly on the Munich boulevard. “Suddenly he wasn’t there, but nobody noticed,” was one of the headlines,” wrote Goetz.

That doesn’t exactly bode well for someone Sunderland could charge with leading their recruitment and negotiations.

Speaking about his time at Hoffenheim, Schwarz previously said: “In Hoffenheim we worked with a large scouting department. But sometimes too many cooks spoil the broth. As a result, some transfers were also broken.”

Again, this isn’t a great omen for the Black Cats, a club who could have plenty of cooks in the kitchen once the takeover is done.

Sartori and Dreyfus will be joint owners while Donald is set to maintain at least a 15% stake. Add the various scouts and a new manager into the equation and all of a sudden, you have plenty of minds all potentially offering varying opinions.

Perhaps Sunderland ought to look elsewhere in pursuit of a sporting director.

In other news, someone other than Max Power stood out for Sunderland on Tuesday…

After slipping to yet another defeat in the Championship – albeit one they perhaps may have expected – Nottingham Forest are deep in the midst of a relegation battle 17 games into the season.

Chris Hughton’s side lost 2-1 to high-flyers Norwich in mid-week, and although they ended a horrific run without scoring in the clash, they had no points to show by the end of it.

And with their next opponents, Brentford, enjoying another season full of promotion potential, Forest face an extremely tall order to end their winless streak.

Hughton will surely have to make some big changes to try and spark some life into his side and get them back to winning ways.

Despite the fact Brice Samba hasn’t been entirely convincing this season – his clanger against Reading was particularly awful – Hughton may resist the temptation to drop his number one for this game.

In front of him, the Forest boss could make the big call to finally drop Tobias Figueiredo after his latest shocker in mid-week, and that could see veteran defender Michael Dawson come in.

Further forward, Anthony Knockaert’s goal against the Canaries may see him return to the starting line-up in place of Sammy Ameobi, and Hughton could well get the Frenchman to start on the right hand side and get Joe Lolley to move over to the left in a bid to change things up.

Predicted XI: Samba; Christie, Dawson, Worrall, Ribeiro; Sow, Cafu; Knockaert, Arter, Lolley; Taylor.

Leeds United are currently in the middle of a huge defensive crisis after Liam Cooper picked up an injury against Manchester United. He joins Robin Koch on the sidelines ahead of their clash with Burnley at the weekend.

Speaking to Lancashire Live, Marcelo Bielsa has confirmed that Diego Llorente will return to training ahead of the Elland Road clash, but there is no guarantee that he will start.

Pascal Struijk, Leif Davies and 20-year-old Oliver Casey are currently the only central options the boss has to choose from unless he dips into the youth team.

The former came on in place of Kalvin Phillips in midfield last time out, but Bielsa now has no other choice but to deploy him in his natural position in defence.

Bielsa must start Struijk vs Burnley

Despite being an excellent option to select, Struijk has made just three Premier League starts so far, tallying five appearances in total this season.

However, his absence is not something that’s new. Since joining the club’s youth ranks in 2018, the Dutchman has made a total of 11 appearances for the Whites, as per Transfermarkt.

In the absence of key players like Koch and Cooper, now could be the perfect opportunity for Struijk to show his worth at the Yorkshire outfit. It would be a huge confidence boost for the £25k-per-week workhorse, but it will also resurrect team morale following their lofty 6-2 defeat to Man United.

According to MOT Leeds News, Paul Robinson has expressed his concern over Leeds’ injury worries. He described the loss of captain Cooper as a “massive blow” that would “cripple any team”.

Indeed, the Whites will be fearful of Burnley’s star striker Chris Wood, who could seriously trouble their backline on Sunday. They should know all too well about his abilities.

Bielsa has been deploying Luke Ayling in the middle of the defence recently, but to maximise his chances of coming away with a result, the Argentinian needs to put faith in Struijk.

The 21-year-old could be vital against Burnley, allowing Ayling to perform more comfortably in his natural role at right-back.

In other news, Orta must move for “real talent” Michael Olise to replace Forshaw…

Leeds have a battle on their hands this afternoon as they take on Burnley in their next Premier League fixture. The fight will get underway at Elland Road at lunchtime and despite the Clarets being below them in the table, it will be no easy feat for the Championship winners.

Due to a major injury blow, the Whites will be without Robin Koch and captain Liam Cooper today, via premierinjuries.com. The crippling news of the skipper joining the two summer recruits on the sidelines could spell huge trouble for Marcelo Bielsa unless he comes up with a solid back-up plan.

Luke Ayling has been operating from the centre-back position in the absence of regular starter Koch, but without Cooper, Leeds look even more exposed.

Illan Meslier could be the man to pull his side out of a hole if he can put in a solid performance between the sticks this afternoon. With a weakened backline, the 20-year-old will need to be alert and at the top of his game in order to protect his goal from the threat of Burnley’s attack.

Whilst the French youngster has been a little off form in several games this season, he has also pulled off some superb performances. If he can keep a clean sheet or at the very least, help Leeds to a win today then it will be a huge confidence boost for the summer signing.

Meslier joined the Whites on a permanent £20,000 per week deal after enjoying a title-winning loan spell last campaign. He has been lauded as a “remarkable” bit of business by Graham Smyth, speaking on the Inside Elland Road podcast (via This is Futbol).

There’s just four points between Leeds and Burnley at the moment – another three for the Whites will put them on their way to comfortably surviving their first season back in England’s top flight.

In other news, Marcelo Bielsa could axe summer signing Helder Costa already…

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, Dean Windass hinted that Wolves should consider a move for former Chelsea striker Diego Costa.

The Spaniard had his contract with Atletico Madrid mutually terminated last month and as a result, he’s now available for clubs to sign on a free transfer.

Wolves are one of the sides reportedly interested in the forward but according to Fabrizio Romano, the forward only has one offer on the table at the moment – from a team in Saudi Arabia.

Tottenham and Leeds have also been mentioned in the same breath as Costa but it looks as though he’ll take some time to make a decision before throwing himself back into football immediately.

It’s thought the Old Gold are on the hunt for a new striker with Raul Jimenez currently absent through injury and thus, Windass thinks that Costa would fit the bill at Molineux.

When asked which Premier League sides should consider a move for Costa, Windass told Football FanCast: “Wolves could [be a good] fit, obviously, with Jimenez fracturing his skull. That could be a good fit.”

Wolves signed Fabio Silva for £35.6m in the summer so any January transfer will presumably have to be done at cut-price.

Costa may cost a pretty penny in terms of his weekly salary but the club would do little wrong by acquiring him on a free transfer.

The 24-cap Spain international has already made 89 appearances in the Premier League, scoring 52 goals in the process.

His record this season isn’t so impressive, however. The 32-year-old netted twice in seven appearances for Atletico before he was allowed to end his contract in the Spanish capital.

AND in other news, 70 aerials won: Shi can find Wolves’ perfect Jimenez heir with move for £23k-p/w beast…

The Papa John’s Trophy may not be of much significance to Sunderland but it was an excellent excuse to rediscover their confidence on Tuesday evening.

The Black Cats have drawn two successive games since returning from a bout of Covid that saw four matches postponed but they finally returned to winning ways this week.

They secured a comfortable 2-0 win over Port Vale but they were quite unfortunate it wasn’t more. Lee Johnson’s team selection was close to spot on as his dynamic attack tore the opposition to shreds.

Aiden O’Brien and Aiden McGeady popped up with the two goals, but it was hard to ignore the performance of Elliot Embleton.

The attacker has predominantly played in midfield this season but was given a rare chance to flourish further forward on Tuesday. It was an opportunity that he took brilliantly, running the Vale defence ragged.

Embleton set the tone in the first-half when he very nearly won his side a penalty. He got beyond his man and then looked to have been brought down just inside the area. However, the referee awarded a free-kick just outside the 18-yard box.

From that moment onwards, the youngster didn’t look back and was a constant threat down the flanks. Previously described as a “nightmare” to play against by Max Power, he lived up to that billing in midweek.

The 21-year-old was an absolute dynamo, striking the woodwork with an attempt on goal that he was mightily unfortunate not to score with.

Furthermore, Embleton was successful with all three of the dribbles he attempted – more than anyone on the team – and was fouled two times by Port Vale defenders.

The winger didn’t just show good qualities technically, but he was outstanding physically too. Embleton won 87.5% of the duels he contested, meaning he lost just one.

On top of that, the wide man also completed 88% of his passes in what was an assured display. A goal would have capped off his night beautifully and it was unfortunate that he didn’t find the net.

On another day, he could easily have had a couple.

AND in other news, Bye-bye Grigg: Speakman can boost SAFC promotion bid by signing “terrific” 12-goal gem…

Liverpool face Manchester United for the second time in a week on Sunday, as they travel to Old Trafford to face the Red Devils in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

The third-round win against Aston Villa’s youngsters remains Liverpool’s only win of 2021 so far, with Jurgen Klopp’s side having been far from good enough in recent top-flight fixtures, which has seen them drop off the top of the Premier League table.

Thursday’s home defeat against Burnley, which brought an end to the Reds’ impressive undefeated record at Anfield, was perhaps the clearest example that Liverpool are not the force they were last season, and they will have to perform significantly better on Sunday if they want to beat Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side.

Here’s how Football FanCast expects Klopp’s side to line up against Manchester United, with four changes from the side that started against Burnley…

Alisson unsurprisingly keeps his place in goal, and he will be hoping for a similarly impressive performance against United this time out.

There is one change in defence, as Klopp rests Trent Alexander-Arnold after some woeful recent displays, with Neco Williams given the opportunity to impress.

With Jordan Henderson reportedly unlikely to feature, Thiago starts in the defensive-midfield role once again, with Curtis Jones coming in for Xherdan Shaqiri in midfield, despite the Swiss international being one of the better performers in recent games.

In attack, there are two changes, as both Divock Origi and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who earns £120k per week at Anfield, drop to the bench after poor performances against Burnley.

Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino replace them to start at Old Trafford, and Klopp will be desperate for his front three to rediscover their goalscoring touch against Liverpool’s old rivals.

And, in other news… “Of course he would” – Exclusive: Pundit suggests PL beast would join LFC

When Wolves came into the current season, they had high hopes of qualifying for European football once again.

After all, Nuno Santo has guided his team to consecutive top-seven finishes, bringing an eye-catching brand of football to the top-flight with him.

The Old Gold would often line-up in the same fashion – a three-man defensive shape – but despite that, they managed to prove unpredictable. That was a positive trait but right now, they’re unpredictable for all the wrong reasons.

Nuno continues to tinker with his side and after Raul Jimenez suffered a fractured skull against Arsenal, they have won just three of their last 13 outings in all competitions.

With that in mind, they could do with some new vigour arriving in the January transfer window. Willian Jose has been signed from Real Sociedad on loan but it would be criminal if Jeff Shi didn’t look for more recruits.

One area they desperately need an improvement in is in midfield. Joao Moutinho and Leander Dendoncker failed to offer rhythm and purpose to the play against Crystal Palace. Wolves lost and in the process, they managed one key pass and one dribble between them. That game was a reflection of Wolves’ general midfield woes in recent weeks.

Thus, the perfect man to target on deadline day would be a certain Renato Sanches. The Portuguese sensation was linked with a move to the Midlands back in November and there’s every reason to believe that a deal could be put in motion once again.

His agent is currently Jorge Mendes, someone who not only has Nuno as one of his clients but also host of Wolves’ Portuguese playing contingent.

Though, there is more to Sanches than just his agent. The £25.2m-rated midfielder is a positive player in the engine room and provides plenty going forward – something Ruben Neves, Moutinho and Dendoncker are failing to produce at the moment.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-wolves-transfer-news” title=”Read the latest Wolves transfer news”]

For Lille this season, the 23-year-old has registered 1.3 shots per game and 1.8 dribbles a match. For context, his dribbling statistics would put him fifth in the Wolves squad, above every single central midfield player. His shots per appearance, meanwhile, are better than Moutinho’s.

When Sanches was still playing for Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga, the league’s official website wrote the following review: “A box-to-box midfielder with the strength of a WWE heavyweight and the nimble feet of a ballet dancer, Sanches is very much like Clarence Seedorf.”

They continued: “He also comes complete with an impressive range of passing, an absolute rocket of a shot and loves nothing more than to drive at opposition defenders. If he had wheels, he’d probably be a bulldozer with a V8 engine.”

It’s been evident this season that Wolves lack midfielders who are willing to drive at opposition defenders. That’s precisely why they must revive their interest in the Portugal international before the deadline closes.

AND in other news, Shi must reignite Wolves swoop for 23 y/o “Rolls-Royce of a player” who bullied Traore…

Steven Gerrard should unleash Calvin Bassey in Rangers’ Scottish Premiership tie with Hamilton Academical on Sunday to see if he can deputise for Borna Barisic.

First-choice left-back Barisic has barely been able to catch a break this season, having made 35 appearances across all competitions, that being bettered only by the likes of Connor Goldson, James Tavernier and Ryan Kent respectively.

A Rangers victory over the Accies at New Douglas Park will see the 54-time Scottish champions widen the gap between themselves and the chasing pack, and take one step closer to their first title in a decade.

Barisic has played more often in the top flight than any other Rangers defender bar Goldson and Tavernier, with the 28-year-old featuring for 2,047′ of a possible 2,405′ minutes after starting the majority of their games so far.

The £6k-a-week earning Bassey, on the other hand, has hardly featured at all so far this season, with the former Leicester City youth prospect having the eighth-lowest playing time out of the entire Rangers squad.

The last of the 21-year-old’s three Premiership starts came in the 4-0 win at Ross County, with the youngster playing the full 90′ minutes.

But it is in the Europa League where he has made the biggest impression, with Gerrard heaping praise on his young charge for his performance against Standard Liege in the group stages.

Speaking after the game, Gerrard said, as quoted by the club’s official Twitter account.: “I thought he was outstanding, coming into a game of that level with so little experience. We are all proud of him and with time we believe we can develop him even further. He is in a good place and he is ready, every time he has been called upon he has produced.”

However, since then he has found his chances hard to come by, with his last appearance and fifth start of the season coming by way of the 3-2 defeat to St Mirren in the Betfred Cup.

But it’s fair to say that Barisic, given the sheer amount of volume this season, has earned a well-deserved rest and Gerrard may not get a better opportunity than against the Accies, who are rock-bottom of the table. And, should this prove to be the case, Bassey should be the one to step in and fill his boots.

By the numbers, in terms of the statistics at least, there actually isn’t that much to choose from between them. Like Barisic, Bassey attacks the byline and looks to put the ball in dangerous areas – his 33.4 passes per 90 is only slightly less than the veteran’s 44.7.

Defensively, he’s also shown that he’s prepared to put the graft in to deny opponents, as evidenced by his 1.7 tackles and one interception per game, via WhoScored. For context, that’s more tackles than Barisic himself has managed this season (1 per 90).

Bassey started the last time the two sides met in the top flight, and thus he must be unleashed against a side who sit bottom of the Premiership. Otherwise, Gerrard may risk hindering his development. It’s the perfect chance to rest one of his key stars, and simultaneously hand out an opportunity to a player who’s on the fringes.

AND in other news, Exciting Rangers wonderkid Kai Kennedy is making waves in the Championship…

David Moyes risks laying bare West Ham United’s desperation by pursuing a deal to sign a free-agent to solve his lack of depth at striker after Sebastien Haller’s exit.

What’s the word?

According to Irons insider ExWHUemployee, while speaking on The West Ham Way podcast, Moyes could look to explore the free-agent market after refusing to sign a centre-forward during the mid-season window.

The Hammers boss was adamant that he would not bring a player in “just for the sake of it”, and instead opted to keep the £20m raised from Haller joining Ajax to put toward his budget for the summer.

But things have only gotten worse at the London Stadium since that decision, with doubt now lingering over Michail Antonio’s fitness after showing signs of serious fatigue at Fulham and being rested for the FA Cup defeat to Manchester United.

West Ham have also lost Andriy Yarmolenko for the foreseeable, after the Ukraine winger sustained knee ligament damage at Old Trafford while leading the line in the absence of Antonio.

Teen prospect Mipo Odubeko came on to replace Yarmolenko but struggled to get going and was eventually replaced in extra-time, yet he and Jarrod Bowen may be Moyes’ only options for when the Irons host Sheffield United on Monday night.

Hammers insider ExWHUemployee believes the situation could force the club to look into signing a free-agent to help add depth until the end of the season, but West Ham currently have no active plans in place.

Laying West Ham’s desperation bare

Moyes potentially now looking at adding a free-agent to support Antonio would prove his decision not to sign a striker in January was a huge blunder, and one that will lay bare his desperation to atone for the mistake.

West Ham will not be blessed with that many great options should they hit the scrapheap, either, with ex-Chelsea forward Diego Costa the only free-agent striker with a TransferMarkt valuation above £3.5m after he agreed to have his £265,000-per-week Atletico Madrid contract terminated early.

Costa departed the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium in December as Atleti sought to reduce their wage bill, and agreed to tear up the final six months of his deal after spending periods out since September with coronavirus, a hamstring injury and deep-vein thrombosis.

The Spaniard returned earlier than expected to score the last of his 83 career goals for Los Colchoneros in a 3-1 La Liga win over Elche in December, and was linked with a move to the London Stadium in January.

Former Premier League striker Dean Windass urged West Ham to make a move for Costa while speaking exclusively to Football FanCast last month, but reports by football.london on Deadline Day claimed there was no truth in the rumours of a move to the Hammers.

If Costa is still not a target, other free-agents to consider include Daniel Sturridge – who has been without a club since March – Alexandre Pato – without a club since August – and Wilfried Bony – who has played 10 games since April 2019.

Clearly, then, the options are not great, so it remains to be seen if even desperation will force Moyes into accepting he was wrong and now signing someone no one else wants.

AND in other news, West Ham will have to pay in excess of £26.5m to land a prolific 18 goal striker in the summer…