All posts by z3u9t.icu

Callum Hudson-Odoi has dominated the headlines at Chelsea over the last few weeks, with the English winger linked with a move to Bayern Munich (via the Daily Mail). He hasn’t featured all that much at Chelsea this term, all things considered, and Bayern seemingly want to offer him more minutes and a more prominent role in the squad.

Naturally, then, it would be a blow for the Blues if they were to lose him, but make no mistake: Hudson-Odoi isn’t the crown jewel of the Chelsea academy that some are making him out to be. Is he a brilliant player? Of course he is, but 18-year-old ace Ethan Ampadu is even more deserving of a first-team role than the in-demand winger.

Hudson-Odoi has incredible talent, but it’s obvious that he’s raw. Though he scored for Chelsea against Sheffield Wednesday, that was pretty much all he did, with many of his other passes and strikes missing their desired targets. That’s fine, of course, as he’s still developing – but that highlights how much training he still needs.

Ampadu, meanwhile, is already looking like a player that should be playing every week. The 18-year-old – who Chelsea signed from Exeter in 2017 – is equally capable in defence and midfield, and he proved that on Sunday, with a great performance for the Blues.

He tailed off slightly towards the end of his 60+ minute run in in the team, but for much of the game, he looked brilliant.

Perhaps most impressive is his leadership. From the first minute, despite being a teenager, Ampadu was consistently pointing and screaming at his teammates, directing them where to pass it and highlighting where the space was.

In addition, his range of passing was evident, whilst his brilliant tackling was proven by the overturned VAR decision that prevented Sheffield Wednesday from getting an undeserved penalty.

Hudson-Odoi is great, but Ampadu is emerging as Chelsea’s best academy star.

Thoughts?

The star of the show for West Ham United against a mighty opposition on Monday night was once again young Declan Rice. The hard-working midfielder put on another admirable performance, keeping Liverpool’s midfield quiet as well as nullifying their attacking threat.

The twenty-year-old is the Hammers beloved possession right now and quickly becoming a fan-favourite. Possession the ability to operate both as a centre-back as well as a defensive midfielder, Rice has really thrived in a midfield role. An energetic figure in the middle, Rice always keeps his opposition on their toe and works his way into nullifying their threat.

The youngster’s crowning moment came when he scored the winner against Arsenal, his first for the club. However, it’s not his goals or assists, but his defensive capabilities which must have impressed big sides. In a league full of teams desperate for a stable defensive midfielder, Rice easily fit into sides like Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur or even Manchester United.

He’s also reportedly being chased by a few and considering the ability in his arsenal, he should look for a big move soon. Rice’s 64% tackling success, 36 interceptions and 192 recoveries (stats via WhoScored) of possession prove how much of an intelligent, tough-working midfielder he really is.

Declan Rice possesses the pedigree to thrive at the top and could become England’s mainstay midfield option if honed well. Watching his passion during games, maturity and ability to turn up on the big occasions, the Hammers’ youngster is destined to evolve into a potential world-class midfielder.

Like Joe Cole, Michael Carrick and Rio Ferdinand before him, Rice will surely outgrow his current settings.

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Liverpool made the decision to allow Nathaniel Clyne to leave Anfield on loan last month, but that dubious call has already come back to bite them.

With Joe Gomez and Trent Alexander-Arnold both sidelined through injury, Jurgen Klopp has been forced to play Jordan Henderson and James Milner at right-back in recent weeks.

Milner has been found wanting on a couple of occasions since deputising at full-back, with his lack of pace proving problematic against electric wingers Wilfried Zaha and Felipe Anderson, and his unfamiliarity with the role has forced fans to question why Clyne was allowed to depart in January.

The former Southampton man showed promise against Manchester United on a rare start in December, but his impact wasn’t enough to convince the Liverpool boss to keep him for the remainder of the season.

On paper, Clyne is the club’s third choice right-back so his departure was understandable under the circumstances.

But the mini injury crisis which has emerged in light of his loan move to the south coast has put Liverpool in a difficult situation, forcing supporters to point accusative fingers at Klopp over the questionable decision.

Here’s what a handful of Liverpool fans on Reddit have had to say about Clyne’s departure:

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Tottenham Hotspur are no strangers to missing out on key transfer targets, but there is one setback from their past which leaves a bitter taste: Chelsea’s hijacking of the proposed Willian deal.

Missed opportunity

In August 2013, the rivalry between Spurs and Chelsea took on a new dimension. In light of Gareth Bales’ departure, Andre Villas Boas turned to the transfer market for a replacement and identified Willian, then of Anzhi Makhachkala, as the man he wanted to bring in.

The Brazilian completed a Spurs medical and seemed set to sign for the club, but their fierce London-rivals hijacked the deal at the last minute, leaving Daniel Levy incandescent and Jose Mourinho in a typically smug mood as he suggested the Lilywhites had merely paid the price for not concluding the medical in secret, as per The Guardian.

But Spurs were not to be deprived of a new signing and the highly-regarded Erik Lamela eventually completed a move from AS Roma.

Erik Lamela’s progress proves it was a blessing in disguise

The manner in which the Argentine has developed under Pochettino suggests that the failed Willian bid was actually a blessing in disguise.

Chelsea’s hard-working winger has commanded huge levels of praise from time to time during his career in English football, but he has never managed to totally convince the Blues faithful and that is telling about his overall quality.

Lamela, valued at £18 million per Transfermarkt, has endured problems of his own, predominantly injury related. Those problems have persisted this season and limited his involvement of late, but he proved how far he has developed at the beginning of the campaign with a series of glowing performances, prompting Alasdair Gold to label him as the clubs ‘most lethal player’ in October 2018, per football.london.

Gold’s admission represented a true indicator of how far Lamela has come under his compatriot’s tutelage, with his determination to return stronger after every injury setback proving that he has the mental resilience to match his attacking prowess.

And, considering Lamela is four years younger than his South American counterpart, it’s fair to say that the Willian debacle can be considered as a blessing in disguise.

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Cenk Tosun has been at Everton for more than a year now but he is still yet to make his mark at Goodison Park, but has a big opportunity to do so when his side face Cardiff City on Tuesday night.

On the chalkboard

After scoring 64 goals in 142 matches for Besiktas, hopes would have been high that the Turkey international would come in and be the number nine that the Toffees had been searching for ever since Romelu Lukaku departed for Manchester United in 2017.

However, things haven’t quite worked out that way with the 27-year-old visibly struggling to adapt to life in the Premier League, netting just eight times in 38 appearances in all competitions to date.

It appeared as though Marco Silva didn’t fancy the £27m signing after picking winger Richarlison ahead of him in the centre-forward role earlier in the campaign, although Tosun has been given more of an opportunity in recent weeks.

Ready-made for Cardiff battle

During his time in Turkey, the striker was known for being up for a battle and giving opposition defenders plenty of grief when he was on the pitch, but we just haven’t really seen that from him enough since he arrived in English football.

While he may have got the nod recently he is still yet to prove himself as a focal point, but he should be ready-made for the clash against Neil Warnock’s strugglers.

Sol Bamba and Sean Morrison are both physical centre-backs that will let Tosun know they are there, but it is a battle he should thrive upon and use it to prove to Silva that he has a future as an Everton player.

Considering the hosts conceded five against Watford last time out, it should also be viewed as a big opportunity for the 27-year-old to get back on the goal trail and score his first Premier League goal since October.

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Tottenham spurned a golden opportunity to heap pressure on the top two on Saturday afternoon, but one BBC pundit thinks the Lilywhites were never even in the title race.

After scraping wins against Newcastle, Leicester and Watford, it was perhaps unsurprising to see Tottenham falter this weekend.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side may have been picking up results in Dele Alli and Harry Kane’s absence, but outside of the 3-0 win over Borussia Dortmund the performances have generally been poor.

The display was sub-par again even with Kane’s return on Saturday, as goals from Chris Wood and Ashley Barnes were enough to life the Clarets to a 2-1 win, and Shearer believes that this has been coming for quite some time.

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

What’s the word?

“Tottenham didn’t do enough to win the game – despite having Harry Kane back from injury,” Shearer, a fixture on BBC’s Match of the Day, wrote for The Sun.

“Mauricio Pochettino can complain all he likes to the referee at the end but he’s got to look at his own players for not defending the corner properly.

“I thought Spurs were out of it (the title race) after their defeat to Wolves on December 29,” he continued.

“I don’t think there was ever a serious title threat from Tottenham and I never thought they would win it.”

Has he got a point?

Shearer is spot on in his criticism of Spurs’ performance, as the visitors at Turf Moor created little of any substance, yet looked vulnerable to every high ball into their box.

However, to say Pochettino’s side are out of the title race is truly absurd, as they still have games play against both of the sides above them.

The north Londoners are just six points off the top of the league, with trips to Anfield and the Etihad still to come.

Those will of course be mightily difficult fixtures to take three points from, but counting Spurs out is short-sighted and foolish.

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Spurs host Arsenal on Saturday where they will be hoping to make a big improvement on performance standards having lost to both Burnley and Chelsea in their last two games, but it seems they may have to take on their bitter rivals without Jan Vertonghen and Harry Winks.

The pair have been two of Spurs’ most consistent players this season but both are doubts for the north London derby due to injuries and will be assessed ahead of the 12:30pm kick-off.

Winks has been the Lilywhites’ breakout star of the 18/19 season and the 23-year-old has filled the void left by Moussa Dembele capably, while Vertonghen has been typically solid at the heart of defence or at left-wing-back – see his man of the match performance versus Dortmund.

Who have been the biggest title race bottlers? Liverpool? Spurs? The Pl>ymaker FC squad discuss in the video below…

The duo may join Dele Alli (late stages of rehab) and Eric Dier (rebuilding fitness after illness) on the sidelines and Spurs fans on Twitter were, once again, cursing their luck ahead of the highly-anticipated clash…

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Charlton took a huge stride towards the play-offs with a 2-1 victory over fellow promotion hopefuls Portsmouth on Saturday, with Lyle Taylor netting his 16th goal of the season in all competitions to secure a crucial three points.

The 28-year-old stabbed home the winner just after the break to cap off what he feels was a fantastic performance. Speaking after the game, the striker said:

“At the end of the day, regardless of if we make the top two or the play-offs, we have to carry momentum into it.

“I know from my time at Wimbledon. We finished seventh, but we were unbeaten in something like seven games and we just went from nowhere in mid-table into seventh and we carried the momentum to Wembley and we were never going to lose.

“Momentum is the biggest thing in football – belief. And you are only going to get that from going out there and dominating games like we did today.”

With just 10 games to go, the Addicks will almost certainly secure a play-off spot or better if they can continue to register performances like the one they produced at The Valley at the weekend.

Former Wigan & Fulham man, Jimmy Bullard recently showed that he’s still got it! Check out the video below…

Lee Bowyer’s side applied wave after wave of pressure to their visitors, whose one goal – from a corner – was a soft once to concede from a Charlton point of view, and that eventually paid off for the south east London outfit.

The game certainly could have been won by a greater margin – Josh Cullen was denied by teammate Igor Vetokele in the first half when he fired against the striker’s back – and Charlton will surely cruise to promotion if they keep up that standard if performance.

Could the Addicks’ end to the 2018/19 season mirror that of Wimbledon’s promotion to League One in 2015/16, in which Taylor was also essential to?

Celtic absolutely have to splash the cash again this summer despite potentially winning another treble this season. Every Bhoy reading this know that kind of statement is made around this time every year but, having seen what a lack of spending can do this season, decision makers at the club can’t allow that to happen again. 

With only a temporary manager in charge, the Hoops will be looking to find a boss they trust with a war-chest so he can push them further into the European spotlight. That can’t be a lost cause. At a club like Celtic, there can’t just be an acceptance that they’ll fall at the first continental hurdle every season.

Indeed, the squad is also littered with a number of loan players and with it being a possibility none will stay permanently, they have voids to fill.

One of those who looks likely to leave Celtic Park is Leicester’s Filip Benkovic and his replacement could be sourced in the form of Chelsea’s Tomas Kalas.

Kalas, (who is valued at £3.6 million on Transfermarkt) is a player who, according to reports from the Scottish Sun, is being targeted by Celtic after his superb displays for Bristol City whilst on-loan there this season.

The Czech international is another example of a youngster who came to Chelsea dreaming of playing in the Premier League, only to be shipped out on-loan upon arrival. Now 25-years-old, he would no longer be considered a young talent but, considering his rather slow career trajectory, a cheap one potentially. Still, that shouldn’t take away what a solid player he is now and has been for Bristol City this season.

In 30 appearances, Kalas has helped reserve ten clean-sheets and that goes to show what a helpful loan he has been. Just imagine what he could do in Scotland, completing changing the Hoops’ backline.

He is gifted with both pace and strength, allowing him to also be able to play right-back if needed, providing an answer to two of Celtic’s biggest problems when it comes to their rearguard.

Therefore, a bid from Celtic must be imminent.

Celtic fans, how much would like to see Kalas arrive in Glasgow? If not, why not? Join the discussion by commenting below…

Newcastle are looking more likely to be plying their trade in the Premier League again next season, after another post-Christmas magic trick performed by Rafa The Great.

There are many comparisons between this season and last, but the one constant is that neither would have been possible without their Spanish wizard Rafa Benitez.

It is imperative that the club convince him to sign a new contract at St James’ Park, and they should be pulling out all the stops to do so.

The best way to extend his stay is to let him know that their vision for the future matches his.

One way to do that is to make signings that are a statement of intent.

The Newcastle transfer blueprint has long been known — buy talent under the age of 25, and see their value increase as they are nurtured by one of the best coaches and tacticians in the game.

While this philosophy has some merit, it is which talent they bring in that will ultimately prove whether it works or not.

This summer sees Newcastle likely to lose Mo Diame on a free, Jonjo Shelvey for a modest fee and Isaac Hayden, who has requested a move all season for family reasons.

With a midfield overhaul on the cards, Newcastle will need someone to partner their academy graduate, and now key member (when fit) of their midfield, Sean Longstaff.

James Ward-Prowse would be the perfect fit for Newcastle and their transfer policy. He is 24-years-old, English and a rising star in the Premier League — as recognised by his call-up to Gareth Southgate’s England squad this week.

Southampton are still in serious danger of going down, and with Ward-Prowse now getting a sniff of international football, he will surely not be keen on playing Championship football, should the worst happen to the Saints.

He has scored six goals in 21 appearances for the South coast club this season, and his ability to control games from the middle of the park is exactly what Newcastle need.

The last time Newcastle made (and tried) such an ambitious signing was Shelvey himself back in 2016 from Swansea – prizing a talented fairly young England international from a fellow Premier League struggler – and look how well that turned out.

Why not give it a go? With talk of a potential marquee signing coming in (as per the Chronicle) to appease Benitez, a player of Ward-Prowse’s profile would be excellent.

What would you make of Newcastle bringing in a player like James Ward-Prowse? Would he be the perfect fit? Let us know what you think…