All posts by n8rngtd.top

A number of Manchester City fans are livid with their rumoured third kit for the 2021/22 season.

The Citizens are enjoying a fantastic campaign – they are within touching of distance of claiming the Premier League title, while they have one foot in the Champions League final after beating Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their semi-final. They have already secured the Carabao Cup as well, meaning they could end the season with three trophies.

Their attire for the season have been made by Puma, their kit provider since 2019. Next season is already not too far away, and plans are already being made for the shirts they will wear in 2021/22 as a rumoured City third kit for the upcoming campaign has been leaked. Remarkably, it does not seem to contain the club’s crest.

A photo of the reported new kit was shared on Twitter by @City_Xtra, and it attracted plenty of attention from the club’s supporters, some of whom have dubbed it “terrible”. These fans took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what these Man City fans had to say about the kit leak

“Hate this so much, wish we can go back to Nike”

Credit: @jason23ortega

“Is this club trying to punish we the fans or what”

Credit: @chetambe_

“That looks terrible”

Credit: @FUTJPO

“This can’t happen…. there’s no badge man!”

Credit: @danthedrummer12

It’s like @PUMA are trying to outdo themselves in terms of dreadfulness. Got to say, they’re knocking it out the park every single time.

Credit: @phil_ribchester

“This makes me feel ill”

Credit: @Ethan4707

In other news, some Man City fans are unhappy about this Raheem Sterling news.

Nikola Milenkovic is on Tottenham Hotspur’s transfer radar ahead of the summer transfer window…

What’s the word?

According to football.london reporter Alasdair Gold, Spurs are making the arrival of a central defensive leader their top priority when the window reopens, and the 23-year-old Fiorentina star is among their targets.

His contract is set to expire 12 months after the current season ends, meaning the Serie A outfit would have to cash in if they are to make any money on his signature.

The Serbia international is currently valued at €30m (£26m) by CIES Football Observatory, whilst reports emerged last month suggesting La Viola’s asking price was around €35m (£30m).

Solid Spurs unit

Gold also claims that, despite Tottenham having the third-best defensive record in the Premier League, there has been a clear lack of cohesion and leadership at the back.

Spurs have dropped 13 points from a winning position, with individual defensive mistakes clearly a major problem, and this is where Milenkovic could be the solution.

Much of Tottenham’s defensive record may well be attributed to the arrival of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, who has been a rock-solid presence in front of Mourinho’s ever-changing backline.

Of all of Mourinho’s regular starters (20 or more starts), he leads the squad for tackles (2.8) and interceptions (1.3) per game, proving to be an industrious workhorse and contributing far more to stopping the opposition compared to the likes of Eric Dier, who has started the most matches of any centre-back in the league. He has managed only 0.8 tackles and 0.9 interceptions, via WhoScored.

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At 6 foot 5, Milenkovic has drawn comparisons to arguably one of the greatest defenders to grace the English top flight in Nemanja Vidic.

“Milenkovic is better than Vidic with the ball at his feet, and he is much calmer on the field,” said Mozzart journalist Dejan Stankovic to ESPN. “He is the most talented centre-back Serbia have had since Vidic, and they definitely have one thing in common – both are fearless.”

If Spurs want a colossal presence to lead them out from the back, then they shouldn’t look much further than the Fiorentina titan.

Only Franck Ribery has performed better in Serie A for them this season, with the Serbian recording an average WhoScored rating of 6.83. In terms of key defensive attributes, he is performing exceedingly well too, managing 1.4 tackles, 1.3 interceptions and 3.5 clearances per game.

This shows that, despite his towering height, he’s an equally hard man to defeat on the ground – just as much as in the air – and he clearly has a great ability to read the game and then snuff out any danger.

That is something his former Partizan boss Ivan Tomic has pointed out before, as he said: “Milenkovic has [the] physical characteristics of a beast. He reads the game well, plays the ball, and should have a great career ahead of him.”

Daniel Levy ought to swoop this summer if he is to vastly improve Spurs’ defence, and in doing so, he could begin to create a dream spine for several years.

Milenkovic would be a fine addition to Spurs.

AND in other news, 19x possession lost: Spurs gem drops int’l disaster, Mourinho claim proving to be true…

Manchester United could be bolstered by the return of Eric Bailly this weekend as they face Leeds.

The Ivorian centre-back has been missing for the past month, having tested positive for COVID-19 whilst on international duty.

As a result, he missed the last five matches in all competitions, sitting out three Premier League games along with both legs of United’s Europa League quarter-final tie with Granada.

However, he is now back in training according to the Red Devils’ official website, handing the team a huge boost for the final month of the campaign as they attempt to secure a place in the top four as well as aiming to win the Europa League.

Whilst Bailly has by no means been first choice under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer this season, having started just 13 matches in all competitions and being behind Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof in the pecking order, he provides excellent injury cover should neither of the aforementioned options be available.

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For instance, with Maguire being suspended for the second leg against Granada, Solskjaer was forced to deploy Axel Tuanzebe at centre-back. Whilst not the worst selection the manager could make, the United youngster is probably not a viable option long-term as the Red Devils continue their challenge for honours.

Bailly returning means that the Red Devils have an “immense” defender (in Solskjaer’s own words) they can call upon should either Maguire or Lindelof indeed suffer an injury or become suspended once more during the final few matches of the season.

Whilst the return of the £80,000-per-week defender might not initially be perceived as having a massive impact for Manchester United, it could be pivotal in terms of squad depth for the remainder of the season.

AND in more news, find out why Donny van de Beek is simply not deserving of more starts with the Red Devils…

Glasgow Rangers fans are delighted after the club confirmed Leon Balogun has signed a contract extension to keep him at Ibrox until the end of next season.

Balogun made the move to Glasgow last summer from Brighton and has proven to be an astute signing from Steven Gerrard and co. Despite a couple of injuries, he has still managed 28 appearances in all competitions, and the Gers have shipped just 20 goals during that time (Transfermarkt).

Now, he has signed a new contract to keep him in Glasgow for another 12 months. Clearly, Gerrard still sees him as a part of the club’s future and trusts him to continue to perform even as the 55-time Scottish champions aim to qualify for the Champions League group stages.

The news was shared on Twitter by the Gers’ official account, and it attracted plenty of attention from the supporters. They took to the social media platform to share their thoughts, with one fan hailing it as ‘fantastic news’.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about the Balogun news below

“Tremendous scenes”

Credit: @afgavinstan

“Fantastic news!”

Credit: @thisisibrox

“Outstanding news Don’t let a shaky performance at right back against Slavia cloud your judgement of what has been a ridiculously good season from an absolutely cracking free transfer.”

Credit: @Rangers_View

“Great business once again by Rangers”

Credit: @the_bluenose1

“That’s just won us the league, so it has.”

Credit: @deecee1872

“Might be unpopular but delighted with this. Never seen anything but fight from the boy.”

Credit: @paddyjaque

In other news, Rangers fans are livid at this journalist’s comments.

When Kyril Louis-Dreyfus walked through the door as Sunderland’s proud new owner, there was a huge sigh of relief from many supporters.

After all, Stewart Donald’s time at the club was marked with overspending and, ultimately, a failure to get promoted.

It was the perfect Christmas present for the Mackems, as Louis-Dreyfus was announced late on 24th December.

Since he entered the Stadium of Light, he has had some very clear policies. One of them has been to improve the club’s academy and the pathway to senior level.

With the likes of Sam Greenwood, Bali Mumba and Joe Hugill all exiting the northeast in recent years, it’s led to an unhealthy academy. The under-23s didn’t win a single game last term, for instance.

However, we are already seeing the fruits of the new owner’s labour. In the Papa John’s Trophy final, young talents Dan Neil, Benji Kimpioka, Jack Diamond and Ollie Younger all appeared on the bench.

Diamond has received plenty of minutes this term but we believe Younger is now ready for a few more opportunities.

The 21-year-old played three times during the Black Cats’ run to Wembley in the EFL Trophy and has recently earned his league debut. That came in a 2-0 win over Rochdale, a match where Younger didn’t really put a foot wrong.

Traditionally a centre-half, the academy gem played at right-back on that occasion. Younger didn’t look out of place, winning 50% of his defensive duels and completing 80% of his passes. The defender also helped his side to record a clean sheet.

Speaking before that game, Lee Johnson waxed lyrical about the youngster, saying: “I do trust Ollie Younger, I think he is a great kid.

“I haven’t seen him enough in games yet to know whether he can handle that situation, but as a personality and in terms of his performances in training, he has been really impressive.”

With defensive injuries still plaguing the Sunderland squad – Jordan Willis, Bailey Wright and Tom Flanagan are all out – he should be entrusted more often.

That starts with the clash against Bristol Rovers on Saturday. They currently sit in the relegation zone, so on paper it’s a good match in which to trust Younger.

AND in other news, Sunderland must swoop for £1.2k-p/w “danger in the box”, he’s shades of Bergkamp…

Mark Warburton’s Queens Park Rangers attacking midfielder, Ilias Chair, is attracting a significant amount of interest ahead of the summer transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by The Athletic, who claim that all four of Watford, Anderlecht, Club Brugge, Bologna and Genoa are keen on a move for the £3.6 million-rated 23-year-old in the upcoming transfer market.

It is reported that Watford’s interest is particularly strong, although Xisco Munoz’s side are not thought to be preparing an offer for the 23-year-old at present.

Bhatia must not sell

So far this season, Chair has been in excellent form over his 45 Championship appearances for Mark Warburton’s side, bagging eight goals, registering four assists and creating seven big chances, as well as making an average of 1.6 key passes and taking 1.9 shots per game, culminating in an average SofaScore match rating of 7.04 – ranking him as QPR’s joint fourth-best performer in the second tier.

As a result of this fine form, the Rs tied Chair down to a new four-and-half-year deal at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium back in January, with the Morocco U23 international now reported to be earning £7,100-per-week until the summer of 2025.

However, despite the fact that this contract means Amit Bhatia could demand a relatively high transfer fee for the midfielder this summer, it is crucial that the club retains the services of Chair beyond the upcoming transfer window, in order to provide Warburton with the best possible chance of mounting a push for promotion in QPR’s next league campaign.

Furthermore, despite the fact that the youngster has returned a tremendous amount of goals and assists this season, considering he is still only 23-years-old very much helps to form the argument that Chair still has much improving to do as he matures as a footballer, opening the possibility of QPR earning a higher fee for the midfielder further down the line.

As such, it would appear highly advisable that Bhatia should do all he can to reject the advances of any potential suitors for Chair this summer.

In other news: Get him gone: Warburton must axe £7k-p/w QPR flop this summer, fans have had enough – opinion

This season has been a wretched one for Nuno Santo’s small squad at Wolves.

They have been dealt countless injury blows which means we won’t see the likes of Jonny, Daniel Podence, Pedro Neto or Raul Jimenez until next season.

That being said, a return is edging ever closer for their Mexican sensation.

Jimenez has been missing since November after a horrifying clash of heads with Arsenal defender David Luiz.

The forward fell to the floor in agony as he was then stretchered from the field. The prognosis was that Jimenez had fractured his skull, an injury that would keep him out for an extended period of time.

He’s been able to progress from basic fitness work into full competitive training from March but has been unable to fully involve himself in powered heading and aerial duels.

Wolves announced on Wednesday evening that he wouldn’t play again this season but they did provide an exciting update on when he may back in action.

In a club statement, they revealed that Jimenez is expected to be fit and ready in time for the start of the 2021/22 campaign.

Club doctor Matt Perry said: “His skull fracture has now healed well; he will wear a protective headguard to cover the area of bony injury for the remainder of his career, but it is adjudged strong enough for him to return to play with this protection.

Perry continued: “A brain injury such as concussion can take weeks and months to recover fully and TBI will sometimes leave lasting deficits. It is wonderful to be able to say that Raul has made a remarkable and excellent recovery to date.

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“Further match-based rehabilitation will start in July and will be tightly controlled initially. This respects the fact that although his recovery appears to be total there is a big step from training to competition.”

This is simply wonderful news, and it’s likely to leave the manager absolutely buzzing.

Without Jimenez this season, Wolves have struggled significantly in the final third.

Their top scorers are Ruben Neves and Neto on just five goals while Fabio Silva and Willian Jose have only netted a handful of times between them as well.

Silva has started to progress nicely in the back end of the campaign but Jose’s arrival from Real Sociedad has not gone according to plan.

He hasn’t suited the club’s style of play and has one goal to show for his efforts at Molineux.

Jimenez is a natural born goal scorer so to have him back next season will be a massive boost to their chances of finishing in the top half.

Last term, the 30-year-old bagged 27 strikes and also racked up ten assists. To have that sort of volume missing from your attack will trouble any team.

Nuno will be dancing for joy that his main man is making a full recovery.

AND in other news, Tim Spiers delivers exciting transfer update, Wolves fans should be buzzing…

According to a report by German news outlet Sport Bild, as relayed by Sport Witness, long time Tottenham Hotspur target Marcel Sabitzer will listen to proposals from elsewhere before even thinking about signing a new deal at RB Leipzig – and he particularly wants ‘to look for offers from England’.

Sabitzer has been on Spurs’ transfer radar since last summer, with talkSPORT journalist Alex Crook saying Daniel Levy and co were ‘looking to pull off a coup’ back in August 2020.

Sabitzer boost emerges for Spurs

Links haven’t died down since then and Sport Bild now provide an update on the 27-year-old Bundesliga star and his possible move to north London.

They claim that the Austrian’s priority is to ‘look for offers from England’ before even considering a new contract at RB Leipzig – gifting Spurs and Levy a transfer boost as they reportedly aim to snap him up.

Reliable sources, like football.london correspondent Alasdair Gold, say Tottenham do indeed want Sabitzer this summer – especially considering he is out of contract in 2022 as it stands.

Transfer Tavern take

This could hand Levy more negotiating wiggle room as Leipzig risk losing him for nothing at the end of next season.

As a result, this news from Sport Bild comes as a boost for Spurs – but a caveat in the report details that a ‘turnaround is possible’ on the new RB Leipzig deal if Sabitzer doesn’t receive an ‘interesting’ offer.

Lilywhites fans, as a result, may be hoping that a fitting proposal is tabled and Tottenham take advantage of his current stance.

In other news: Tottenham touted as possible move for ‘extraordinary’ star, find out more here.

It isn’t often that news from Leicester City and the King Power Stadium catches supporters off-guard.

Indeed, rumours of a new signing or indeed of an extended deal usually begin developing days or even weeks before anything is usually confirmed by the club.

That is not quite exactly what happened on Thursday, however, with Danny Ward having penned a new contract at the club – and quite a lengthy one at that, with the former Liverpool stopper now tied down until the summer of 2025.

Whilst there was a real lack of any fanfare for Ward’s new deal, it was a shrewd move from Brendan Rodgers, and one which could allude to the Welshman being the natural successor to the now 34-year-old Kasper Schmeichel.

Despite having only appeared on 14 appearances for the Foxes since his 2018 arrival under Claude Puel, Ward has performed very well. In those limited appearances, he has racked up eight clean sheets, whilst only conceding eight goals in total throughout those matches.

His best performance arguably came in his first season at the club as he saved three penalties in a shootout victory against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Carabao Cup.

Even current Leicester teammate Marc Albrighton is fully aware of Ward’s abilities despite his limited game time, labelling him as “incredible” following the aforementioned win against Wolves.

Considering that ability, it certainly made sense to keep Ward at the club as a hugely competent backup to regular number one Schmeichel.

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Whilst the Dane has expressed no intention of stepping away at any point yet, Ward – who is seven years his junior – could definitely be his replacement should the inevitable moment come that the long-serving Schmeichel retires.

The 27-year-old’s new deal could be the first steps in preparation for the long-term future and is an extremely shrewd move from Leicester despite catching most off-guard.

AND in more news,  Leicester have been handed a considerable injury boost ahead of the FA Cup semi-final…

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Marlon Harewood, who scored 54 goals for West Ham United, believes Jarrod Bowen is good enough to play as a striker in Michail Antonio’s absence.

West Ham were rocked by a huge injury blow to their only striker, Antonio, when he limped off during their 3-2 win against Wolves, with reports claiming he could miss the remainder of the season.

Since Antonio’s injury however, West Ham have not faltered in front of goal as they’ve found the back of the net five times, with three of them coming from on-loan midfielder Jesse Lingard.

Speaking on why Moyes will not struggle without Antonio and if Bowen is good enough to play as a striker, Harewood told FFC:

“Yeah I definitely think he’s good enough. I think they had a little bit of rotation amongst each other against Leicester, which is good because they’ve got three midfielders that can play in that role.

“It’s not just Jarrod who has to play there because he likes to go wide and get at players as well. So they’ve got others who can fill that spot.”

Bowen arrived in January on deadline day last season for £20 million and he’s taken to life in the Premier League seamlessly with eight goals and five assists in the league this season.

West Ham currently have six games left to play in the league and only lie outside of the Champions League places on goal difference from Chelsea.