Leeds’ torrid run continued on Friday night with a 1-0 defeat at Villa Park, and fans are furious with defender Matthew Pennington’s performance.
Despite a somewhat spirited performance in the second half, Leeds fans were yet again left disappointed on Friday night, as their side’s lifeless first half performance made life easy for Aston Villa.
Leeds have won just twice since Paul Heckingbottom arrived, and although scoring goals has been a problem, the side’s soft centre and leaky defence has infuriated fans perhaps more than anything else.
Pontus Jansson and Liam Cooper have been far from perfect this season, but nonetheless their injuries are a massive loss, as Heckingbottom was forced to start the young pairing of Matthew Pennington and Paudie O’Connor on Friday.
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While the inexperienced O’Connor has drawn plenty of plaudits since his emergence last week, fans are blasting Pennington for his performance.
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The 23 year-old, on loan from Everton, hasn’t even come close to what fans expected from a Premier league defender, and his weaknesses were magnified on Friday when Lewis Grabban comfortably rose above him to head home the winner.
Some of the best Twitter reactions can be found below…
The term ‘the next’ gets bandied around a lot in football – especially by the tabloids generating the ever-rotating transfer rumour mill.
Indeed, one impressive appearance at right-back for Fleetwood Town could soon lead a young starlet to the unofficial moniker of ‘the next Gary Nevillem’ or a handful of promising performances up front for Santos could quickly earn a striking whipper-snapper the title of ‘the next Pele’ – regardless of the fact he’s considered to be the greatest player in the history of the sport.
None the less, ‘the next’ is a description that always captures the imagination, somehow propelling the past into the future, leaving you to consider what the 2015 equivalent of Dennis Bergkamp, Paul Ince or Bobby Moore might well look like.
And just like the rest of you, Football Fancast have been successfully drawn in, spending the last few hours trawling the darkest corners of the internet to find the top FIVE ‘the next someones’ all linked to Premier League side Manchester United.
THE NEXT PAUL SCHOLES
A comparison that will be of particular importance to Manchester United fans, upon The Daily Star’s revelation that virtually every major Premier League club wants to get their hands on Leeds midfielder Lewis Cook this summer, the Whites youngster has been dubbed ‘the next Paul Scholes’.
The 18 year-old has emerged as a key member of Leeds’ starting Xi since his Championship debut in August, going on to make 37 league appearances. And he’s become so important manager Neil Redfearn specifically bemoaned the midfielder’s absence during a recent run of poor results – as reported by Here Is The City.
He’s certainly a talented prospect, but does the Scholes comparison really hold up? Cook’s pass completion rate stands at just 75% this season – even as a teenager, such an unspectacular return would’ve given the ginger maestro nightmares.
THE NEXT XAVI
Brendan Rodgers gave us the Welsh Xavi when he signed Joe Allen for Liverpool, and Feyenoord have now given us the Dutch Xavi – aka, Jordy Clasie, who will be no stranger to Manchester United fans.
The Netherlands international has been in strong form this term, bagging one goal and five assists from 27 Eredivisie appearances whilst creating 1.4 chances per match.
And as you’d expect from an apparent incarnate of the Barcelona icon, the 23 year-old boasts the second-most passes per match of any player in the division this season, after Ajax defender Niklas Moisander.
Clasie’s been linked with an Old Trafford switch before, in no small part due to him featuring in Oranje’s World Cup semi-final against Argentina last summer under then-Netherlands boss Louis van Gaal.
The midfielder has recently admitted his desire to try opportunities abroad, suggesting a summer move is on the cards. Unfortunately for the Red Devils, however, he views Italy as his likeliest next destination – as reported by The Daily Star.
THE NEXT NEYMAR
According to reports from talkSPORT in March, the Red Devils are currently courting Fluminense starlet Kenedy, who has earned himself the unofficial moniker of ‘the next Neymar’.
Much like the Barcelona star, the 19 year-old forward is famed for his fleet of foot, trickery and netting prowess, having already bagged five goals in 36 appearances for the Rio outfit – alongside six goals and thirteen caps for the Brazil U17s.
The young striker, nowadays representing Selecao at U20 level, has been linked to some major clubs before, namely Barcelona, Chelsea and Inter Milan, but talkSPORT claim United have put a £5.7million offer on the table. We’re waiting for confirmation on whether it’s been accepted or not.
There’s one key difference between Kenedy and Neymar, however – the Fluminense prodigy is predominantly left-footed.
THE NEXT ARJEN ROBBEN
Over the weekend, The Express reported Manchester United’s apparent interest in FC Twente youngster Bilal Ould-Chikh, who has drawn comparisons with Bayern Munich winger Arjen Robben.
Much like the former Chelsea man, the 17 year-old is sensationally quick, especially with the ball at his feet – this term averaging 1.4 successful dribbles per match.
He’s been used sparingly by coach Alfred Schrueder and confined to a cameo role, making just four starts and eleven substitute appearances, but grabbed his first Eredivise goal back in January during a 2-0 win over Heracles – as shown in the video above.
That’s built upon the reputation Ould-Chikh gained for his impressive performances during the U17 European Championships, in total boasting 13 appearances for the Netherlands across the junior levels.
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Most appealingly, Twente may be forced to surrender their prodigious wideman on the cheap this summer, according to The Express once again, with his contract set to enter its final year.
THE NEXT SERGIO AGUERO
Finishing off this list is a striker every major club in Europe – including Manchester United – apparently want to get their hands on this summer, Palermo’s Paulo Dybala.
Indeed, it’s been a mesmerising campaign for the Rosanero front-man, propelling his side to eleventh in the Italian table with a potent haul of 13 goals and nine assists in 29 Serie A appearances.
He was dubbed ‘the next Sergio Aguero’ when he moved to Italy in 2012 and the 21 year-old is certainly living up to that moniker, sharing the Manchester City striker’s blend of mobility, creativity, dribbling ability and deadly proficiency in front of goal.
And it looks like the young Argentine will be on the move this summer, with Palermo president Maurizio Zamparini claiming he’ll even be sold by the end of April – as reported by The Daily Star.
That doesn’t give the Red Devils much time to pull their finger out.
Everton boss David Moyes is hoping to fight off competition to sign CSKA Moscow attacking midfielder Keisuke Honda in the summer according to talkSPORT.
Neighbours Liverpool have also been linked with the Japanese international who looks set to leave Russia in the summer as his contract comes to an end at the end of the year.
The Merseyside duo will have to lock horns with clubs from Spain and Italy to ensure the 26 year old comes to the Premier League before the start of next season.
CSKA will not want to lose their star man for free next January and so may look to take whatever they can for him in the summer.
Honda has revealed he won’t be signing a new deal in Russia and so Moyes will look to make his move swiftly.
The Everton boss will want to sort his own future out before making any summer additions but Liverpool are set to pounce if the Toffees cannot pull their finger out.
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Everton midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin, rated at £18m by Transfermarkt, has hinted at a summer exit from Goodison Park in his latest interview with beIN SPORTS, and Toffees fans have been quick to react to his comments.
The Frenchman looked as though he would go on to become a star for the Merseyside outfit following some impressive performances in the first-half of 2017 following his move from Manchester United, but he has struggled to find any form whatsoever during the current campaign, and has often been criticised by the Goodison Park faithful for both his displays and his attitude.
Speaking on his future to beIN SPORTS, the 28-year-old said: “If I have to leave Everton, I’d like a different challenge than the Premier League. I’ve already been to Southampton, Manchester United and Everton. I don’t see myself going anywhere else in England.”
The latest quotes won’t have impressed those Everton supporters that have been on his back this term, and they were quick to give their thoughts on social media.
While one simply said “cheerio then, Morgan”, another described him as being “never an Everton-type player”.
Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…
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Last season’s top two success brought Liverpool high praise and Champions League football. And though they didn’t make it far in that competition after a few seasons out in the wilderness, the Reds had a chance to remember what it was like to be one of England’s best. Coming so close to title glory had made them want more.
Though fighting for fourth is not quite what they were hoping for at the beginning of this campaign, when you think of the absences they have suffered this time around, then even just being able to challenge the top teams is an achievement.
The lingering problem is that they never made up for the loss of last season’s top league goal scorer Luis Suarez.
Daniel Sturridge is a very capable forward and since his transfer from Chelsea in 2013, the 25-year-old has been integral to the Reds’ recent success. But his injury early this season and new signing Mario Balotelli’s failure to adapt to his role has held Liverpool back.
It is only since Sturridge’s return that the club has been able to challenge for the top four. Balotelli, despite his attempts, has failed to produce the goals that were expected of him and either a summer move or life on the bench awaits him.
For a team with the ambitions that Liverpool have they needed to replace like with like. Suarez and his 31 league goals left Anfield and Balotelli, who has never been that prolific of a goal scorer throughout his career, took his place. That was not like for like. This summer transfer window Rodgers needs to find that world class striker who can either partner up with Sturridge or play upfront by himself. It truly is a wonder why anyone at Liverpool thought Balotelli would be that man.
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On a more positive note, Liverpool have been linked with forwards such as Edinson Cavani, Theo Walcott and even Radamel Falcao. The latter would be a big risk but if the price was right, for any of them, then Liverpool should take it.
Falcao may not have settled into Manchester United but at his best he was scoring 24+goals a season. Perhaps, as some have suggested, it is not a lack of talent from the player but instead a lack of playing time and opportunities that have failed him. And if that is not a route the club want to take then a player like Walcott, who bears similarities to Liverpool’s own Raheem Sterling, may be a good option. Especially if the winger does decide to leave Anfield.
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Then there is Cavani. He has been overshadowed by the force that is Zlatan Ibrahimovic at Paris Saint-Germain. Even at the grand old age of 33, Zlatan is still PSG’s number one strike option. He has scored 17 league goals to Cavani’s eight this term and doesn’t appear to be leaving the Parc des Princes just yet. Perhaps Cavani needs to be top dog. When he was at Napoli he was scoring freely and looked set to be one of Europe’s top forwards, but since his move to the French capital he has lost some of his sharpness. A move to Liverpool might just rejuvenate him.
If Liverpool do make the top four and are playing in Europe next season, or even just want to be challenging for that honour, then they will definitely need more firepower than they currently have. Sturridge can’t be left to do it all on his own and with quality strikers out there he shouldn’t have to.\
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is keeping tabs on Saint Etienne striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang with a view to summer move, according to the Metro.
Aubameyang has been dubbed the ‘African Neymar’ due to his silky skills, electric pace, eye for goal and nifty hair cut.
The Gabon born forward has been in sparking form this season netting 16 times already, including one on Friday night in front of Arsenal scout and former player Gilles Grimandi.
It is not the first time Wenger has sent one of his staff to monitor the 23-year-old who was subject to a January bid from French raiders Newcastle United, only to be turned down.
It is though that the French club want in excess of £15million for their star man but Wenger will look to negotiate that fee as he has done successfully in the past.
The Gunners boss wants to add more firepower to his front line after Olivier Giroud and Lukas Podolski have failed to set the Premier League alight in their debut seasons.
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Gabriel Jesus made an instant impact on his arrival to Manchester City from Palmeiras in January last year.
The Brazilian forward scored three goals in his first four outings for the North-West outfit before suffering a metatarsal fracture.
This season, in 31 appearances in all competitions, Jesus has found the back of the net 12 times and has created three assists.
In the 21-year-old’s last three matches, one of which was an international fixture for Brazil, the forward has scored twice.
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Throughout the season questions have been raised over whether Jesus should be picked ahead of Sergio Aguero, or if they can play together.
In total, the Brazilian has started 21 games in all competitions, 14 of which have been in the Premier League and six in Europe.
On Wednesday night, Jesus was the main focal point of attack for City in their Champions League quarter-final first leg against Liverpool at Anfield.
However, he failed to make an impact, with The Telegraph claiming that the forward strung just six passes together in the first half, and three of them were kickoffs.
In the end, Pep Guardiola’s side were beaten 3-0 by Liverpool, which means that they have plenty of work to do for the second leg at the Etihad Stadium.
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The Reds comfortably dominated the first half as Mohamed Salah, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Sadio Mane got on the scoresheet.
Trent Alexander-Arnold received special praise from Liverpool fans for keeping Leroy Sane quiet.
The same could not be said for Jesus, who was criticised by City supporters on Twitter.
January, so far, has been a little quiet on the transfer front in the Premier League. Aside from Manchester City’s addition of Wilfried Bony, who is currently in a different continent representing his nation at the AFCON, there have been few headline-grabbing moves, yet one ‘addition’ appears to have been a very good one. Francis Coquelin was re-called from a loan deal at Charlton in mid-December, and since then he’s been so impressive for the Gunners that there’s talk of Arsene Wenger renewing his contract.
Although not strictly a ‘January signing’, the bulk of Coquelin’s minutes for Arsenal this term have been in 2015 – he started once prior to Christmas this season – making him one of the best newbie’s of the month. Has Wenger’s call been a masterstroke? We think so, and here’s why…
Better holding midfielder than Matic, Fernandinho, Schneiderlin & Fernando…
Wow! On an average of the 90 minutes played, Coquelin is better than some of the most established and respected holding midfielders in the Premier League. The young Frenchman has well and truly out-shone Fernandinho and Fernando of Manchester City as well as Nemanja Matic at table-topping Chelsea and even Southampton’s sought-after star, Morgan Schneiderlin. Coquelin has played fewer games than his foes, but he registers in excess three tackles and intercepts per game and boasts the best percentage of duels won – both aerially and on the deck. His shorter passing distance also contributes to Arsenal’s silky style of play.
Just what Arsenal have been missing
For some years now, fans have been calling for Wenger to bring in an orthodox holding midfielder. For too long the Gunners have had a soft underbelly, which has been exposed on the big occasions, with a lack of physicality, work ethic and desire all major issues. Although nowhere near the level of the north Londoners’ last true general in the engine room, Patrick Vieira, Coquelin does indeed do the work others in the Gunners’ set-up have been less willing to do, with his can-do attitude, mobility and bravery all vital tools.
Young and home grown
At 23, Coquelin’s best years are ahead of him. The Frenchman has been knocking around the Arsenal set-up for some time, but the past few weeks have been, arguably, his most successful on the red and white (or yellow and blue) shirt. He may not be the name some in the Emirates Stadium stands have been calling for, yet the man who spent some of the season on loan with Charlton my be a long-term answer to a big, big question in north London.
Could save Wenger up to £30m
A number of targets – chiefly William Carvalho and Morgan Schneiderlin – have been linked with Arsenal as solutions to the midfield ‘crisis’ Wenger has suffered, yet Coqulein seems to be doing the job. The aforementioned duo are valued at upwards of £20m, making the current Gunners flavour of the month a cost-effective option… and we all know how Arsene loves a bargain.
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Upturn in results…
17 points from a possible 21 and an FA Cup third round win, not bad at all. The last eight games have been fruitful for the Gunners, and have coincided with Coquelin’s return on the 12th December. Okay, the Frenchman didn’t start a game until the final few days of 2014 – he had been a late sub until then – but his influence has since been great, and bar the loss at Southampton, so have the Gunners. The presence of an energetic midfielder and the upturn in results are surely linked, illustrating the 23-year-old’s importance.
Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric has been linked with a dramatic move back to the Premier League after failing to fully settle in Spain, with both Manchester United and Chelsea among the interested parties, but which would he suit best and what are the chances of it happening?
In a recent vote conducted by Madrid-based newspaper and mouthpiece of the administration at the club, Marca, Modric collected 32.2% of the vote, beating Barcelona’s summer signing, former Arsenal midfielder Alex Song into second place as the La Liga’s worst signing of the season.
While the 27-year-old finally completed his move from Tottenham after protracted negotiations with chairman Daniel Levy, he has failed to make a spot fully his own in Jose Mourinho’s side as they’ve struggled with poor form all campaign. In total he has made 14 league appearances, but only managing 717 minutes playing time in total with just eight of those appearances coming from the start.
The suspicions of many, myself included, that Modric was a needless indulgence have been confirmed and he lacks a clearly defined role in the side, failing to catch light in a more advanced role in place of Mesut Ozil or in a deeper-lying one alongside Xabi Alonso when granted the rare opportunity to try and impress. In essence, he was signed because Mourinho was unsure about who else to move for and who could actually improve his starting eleven and £33m looks an expensive price for a player sat warming the bench and confined to a rotation role.
After the recent 2-2 draw against Espanyol at home, Mourinho intimated that Modric’s fitness was the main cause for concern: “Modric is still having some small problems, especially when playing two consecutive matches in three days. Each time we pick him twice in a row his performance has not been the best. I took a strategic decision. I thought putting Di Maria on and opening up the flanks could help the team. And it did, because I think that in the second half the team produced more attacking football. So that is why I was sorry to take off Luka, but it was for strategic reasons.”
With the reigning champions sat way back in third place at present, five points behind rivals Atletico Madrid and an insurmountable 16 points off Barcelona at the top, it all adds up to a meek defence of their league title and Mourinho has cut an increasingly divisive figure on the sidelines, being booed by the home support and seeming every inch a man trying to get fired rather than resign, with his continued reluctance to start club legend Iker Casillas proving puzzling to say the least.
While Modric will be reluctant to cut his time in Spain short at such an early stage, the club is besieged by a poisonous environment at the moment and having been pursued so vigorously by Mourinho in the summer, the club may wish to get rid of the last remnants of a failed era in the summer, with the Croat a likely casualty. He would not be the first superb midfield player to have been harshly treated by Real Madrid, with Wesley Sneijder, Esteban Cambiasso and Rafael van der Vaart all serving as prime examples that logic need not always apply to the inner wranglings of the Santiago Bernabeu.
Obviously in the world of football transfer rumours, this equates to him being ready to move and given what time of the year it is, 2+2=5 and Modric is apparently being targeted by both Chelsea and Manchester United; it looks far fetched to say the least in January, but is a summer switch back to these fair shores really that difficult to see?
Firstly, it would take something approaching the £33m Real Madrid paid for him for them to even consider letting him go and with Xabi Alonso now 31 years of age, the diminutive playmaker might be regarded as the Spaniard’s long-term successor in the side. Nevertheless, Chelsea could certainly do with a central midfield player capable of dictating the tempo from deep, with John Obi Mikel failing to impress for the most part during his time at Stamford Bridge and Ramires perhaps best utilised further up the pitch where his all-action style can do the most damage.
With Frank Lampard certain to depart in the summer now after his agent’s revelations earlier today, despite David Luiz’s successful conversion in recent weeks under interim boss Rafa Benitez to a midfield role, there certainly looks like there’s a spot up for grabs in the squad and meddling owner Roman Abramovich has form when it comes to foisting players onto managers in the past with Andriy Shevchenko, Fernando Torres and to a lesser extent, Luiz, all bought at the Russian oligarch’s behest.
Manchester United would possibly be an even more attractive destination, though, and Ferguson is known to be a long-term admirer of Modric’s, even if he has seemed reluctant to address a systemic problem with the club’s midfield in recent years.
Many have conveniently blamed the club’s back four for the way in which the side have leaked so many goals so far this season and gone behind first in over 15 games across all competitions this term, but it seems a rather simplistic way of looking at things and surely it has just as much to do with the lack of pressure on the ball in midfield from first-choice pairing Michael Carrick and Tom Cleverley.
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Of course, bringing in Modric would not change that flaw, nor does it look like it will have an impact on the club’s march to the league title this campaign, but Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs will need replacing eventually, and along with a more combative holding man, the former Tottenham star could bring an element of control to proceedings which they’ve lacked in big games, particularly in Europe in recent years.
At the moment, a return to the top flight all looks a little pie in the sky with regards to Modric and Real Madrid, Mourinho and the player himself will all be reluctant to give up on the move after such a rocky start, with so much invested in the switch, both in terms of money and the reputations at stake. Moreover, while United may have splashed the cash on van Persie in the summer, Ferguson’s lack of movement in that area of the pitch in the last few years means this one just isn’t a goer at the moment, but when it comes to Chelsea, though, it’s difficult to rule them out with any confidence given their penchant for pulling off the odd transfer surprise.
Leeds United could miss out on signing Jerry Mbakogu as the Carpi striker is being eyed by Udinese, according to Tuttomercatoweb.
What’s the word?
The website cites the print edition of II Gazzatino as saying that Udinese are pondering a swoop for the forward at the end of the season.
According to the Daily Mail, Leeds first took an interest in Mbakogu in the January transfer window, but a move never came to fruition.
The publication states that the Yorkshire outfit could move for the striker when the market reopens, but it seems that they face competition.
Leeds have fallen in their hunt for Premier League promotion as they currently reside 14th in the Championship table, 12 points adrift of the playoff places.
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Due to their hardships, the club could make some changes in the summer, but it looks as though they will have a battle on their hands to secure Mbakogu’s signature.
Would it be so bad if they missed out?
If Leeds’ season ends with a whimper then bringing in a new striker could boost the club, but only if he can provide quality in front of goal.
Mbakogu would be a big risk for many reasons; including the fact that he has only managed to score six goals in Serie B this season.
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On top of that, the forward is currently on the sidelines with a knee injury and has not found the back of the net since the start of February.
If the Whites want a reliable striker then the Nigerian may not be the best option, particularly as he has no experience in English football.