[ad_pod ]

Last week’s Fixture in Focus wasn’t exactly a thriller but it didn’t disappoint either: Tottenham pushed Liverpool all the way in an Anfield affair that was played at exciting pace but lacked moments of pure final-third quality.

Nonetheless, there was plenty for the Fixture in Focus crew to get stuck into, ranging from Liverpool’s lust for lady luck to Tottenham’s sudden lack of confidence and continuity at the back.

After that, the #FIFpod team switched their attentions to this week’s Fixture in Focus – Chelsea vs West Ham. The Hammers have a knack of only turning up when the cameras are showing, so Monday night’s encounter at Stamford Bridge should be an intriguing clash.

West Ham’s inconsistency this season, and their return of just four points against the teams in the seventh-place-mini-league, is a key part of this week’s agenda, as well as Declan Rice’s prospects of becoming a world-class talent and Chelsea fans turning on Maurizio Sarri.

If you love what we do and don’t want to miss another episode, don’t forget to subscribe on your preferred podcast platform by clicking here – but you can check out the latest episode below!

[ad_pod ]

Following a candid interview, in which he revealed that he needs to leave the club to be with his partner and their sick daughter, Isaac Hayden is expected to leave Newcastle in the summer after having his wish of a move away denied in January.

Given his amazing performances of late, where he has emerged as one of the first names on Rafa Benitez’s teamsheet, there will be a huge gaping hole where he once stood if he does end up departing St James’ Park.

Who can replace him?

It will be tough to replace a player of Hayden’s quality on the cheap and as we all know, Mike Ashley doesn’t often spend huge sums of cash nor does he enjoy loosening his purse strings.

Has injury cruely robbed Sean Longstaff of a potential England place? The Magpie Channel’s Matty belives he was nailed on in the video below…

Hayden is 24 years of age, English and could easily get better, but given his difficult personal circumstances, it would be unfair to keep hold of him against his will, especially as he has been a model professional throughout the whole situation.

As a result of that, Newcastle should look within their ranks right now to find the answer, and it could well be right before their eyes in Fabian Schar.

Why would he be a capable replacement?

Schar, a £3m bargain summer signing, has been arguably one of the Magpies’ best players this season.

His quality is there for all to see. The Swiss international can pass the ball, dribble with it, time his tackles well and is a dominant presence in the air – all of which are traits that are pivotal parts of Hayden’s game.

If you’re wondering how Rafa Benitez will cope with losing a centre-half to play him in midfield, natural left-back Paul Dummett has excelled in the centre of defence in recent weeks, whilst he also has Jamaal Lascelles and the currently injured Florian Lejeune to choose from.

By making this shrewd move, Benitez can save some cash this summer and allow his team to remain settled.

Is anyone going to land the final blow in this year’s race for the top two in the Championship?

Whereas Norwich City look almost certain to secure their return to the top flight of English football, Leeds United and Sheffield United have switched positions in the league standings on four occasions in the last 25 days. The latest momentum swing occurred on Wednesday night as the Blades were held to a 1-1 draw at Birmingham City, a result which saw Chris Wilder’s side fail to regain second place from the Whites.

Whether this will prove to be the decisive moment in this almighty battle between the two Yorkshire-based clubs will depend largely on if Leeds can maintain their composure over the coming weeks.

Marcelo Bielsa’s side currently hold a one-point advantage over United and are just five games away from securing the historic achievement of promotion to the Premier League. However, in order to realise their dream, they must first overcome clashes with Sheffield Wednesday and Aston Villa who have both experienced a resurgence in recent months under their respective managers.

With both fixtures occurring at Elland Road, Bielsa’s side will be confident of securing maximum points if they can produce a similar level of performance which has seen them light up the Championship at times this season. However, if they slip-up in either match, they could hand the advantage back to the Blades at the worst possible stage of the year.

Ideally, Leeds will want to embark on a run of five victories which will guarantee their passage into the top flight yet if they cannot achieve this, they must try to accumulate as many points as possible between now and May.

What do you think Whites fans? How many points do you think your club needs to overcome United? Does your club have what it takes to maintain their composure between now and the end of the season? Get in touch below.

عاد أليكس تيليس إلى قاعدة تدريب كارينجتون التابعة لنادي مانشستر يونايتد صباح الإثنين، لكنه غادر بعد 15 دقيقة فقط من وصوله.

وكان البرازيلي قد انتقل إلى الأولد ترافورد قادمًا من بورتو، في موسم الانتقالات الصيفي لهذا العام.

وشارك تيليس في مباراة واحدة فقط وذلك أمام باريس سان جيرمان، في دوري أبطال أوروبا.

وغاب تيليس بعد ذلك عن كتيبة أولي جونار سولشاير بسبب إصابته بفيروس كورونا المستجد، كوفيد 19.

وحسب شبكة “Manchester Evening News” الإنجليزية، فإن تيليس تواجد صباح اليوم الاثنين في مقر تدريبات مانشستر يونايتد.

وأوضحت أن السبب في ذلك يعود إلى أن تيليس خضع لفحص كورونا آخر في مانشستر يونايتد.

وأشارت إلى أن صاحب الـ27 عامًا دخل مقر التدريبات في حوالي الساعة 9:40 صباحًا، وشوهد مرة أخرى وهو يغادر قبل الساعة العاشرة.

يُذكر أن تيليس غاب عن مواجهة تشيلسي ولايبزيج وآرسنال نتيجة الاختبار الإيجابي.

When Bradford City announced the signing of Sean Scannell in the summer, not many of their supporters would have predicted just how bad their season would turn out.

The 28-year-old was expected to lead his new side to a higher finish than the 11th place that the Bantams had achieved during the 2017/18 campaign after playing the majority of his career at a higher level than League One.

With the Yorkshire-based side announcing the deal on Twitter, these fans expressed their delight on the social media platform.

Unfortunately for Scannell, he has failed to live up to the expectations as a serious back injury suffered in November saw him miss 29 consecutive games before finally making his return last Saturday as a substitute against Doncaster Rovers.

In the midfielder’s absence, Bradford have experienced a truly miserable campaign which has seen them sack yet another manager, lose 16 games, concede 48 goals and move within five games of a return to the fourth tier after six years away.

The appointment of Gary Bowyer at the start of March has ultimately been an unsuccessful ploy by the club’s owners to try and avoid an almost inevitable relegation yet is clear that they now need to back their new boss when the transfer window opens in July.

Whether Scannell is willing to make the drop down to League Two may depend on the club’s financial position. As with any side who fail to achieve survival, Bradford will have to consider a complete overhaul of their squad and despite the midfielder being injured for the majority of the season, he could end up having to leave Valley Parade just twelve months after making his initial move to the club.

كشفت شبكة “Soccer Laduma” الجنوب إفريقية المبلغ الذي سيتحصل عليه المدير الفني للفريق الأول لكرة القدم بالنادي الأهلي، بيتسو موسيماني، كمكافأة في حالة التتويج ببطولة دوري أبطال إفريقيا هذا الموسم.

ونجح موسيماني في التأهل للمباراة النهائية والتي ستقام يوم 27 نوفمبر الجاري في ملعب “برج العرب” في الإسكندرية، بعدما قاد الأهلي للفوز على الوداد البيضاوي في نصف النهائي بنتيجة 5-1 ذهابًا إيابًا.

اقرأ أيضًا.. موسيماني يوجه رسالة إلى مؤمن زكريا

وبحسب الشبكة الشهيرة، سيحصل المدرب الجنوب إفريقي على مبلغ 450 ألف دولار حال الفوز ببطولة دوري أبطال إفريقيا وهو نفس المبلغ الذي حصل عليه المدرب السابق للأهلي، رينيه فايلر، نتيجة لفوزه ببطولة الدوري المصري.

وتحلم جماهير الأهلي بالتتويج بالبطولة الإفريقية الغائبة عن خزائنه منذ 7 سنوات مع موسيماني، وتحقيق النجمة التاسعة في دوري أبطال إفريقيا والثانية للمدرب بعد الحصول على اللقب في عام 2016 أمام الزمالك.

وينتظر الأهلي الطرف الثاني المتأهل للمباراة النهائية في مواجهة الإياب اليوم، الأربعاء، بين الزمالك والرجاء البيضاوي، وكانت نتيجة مباراة الذهاب هي فوز العملاق المصري بنتيجة 0-1.

[ad_pod ]

Ruben Neves has easily been one of the brightest talents in the Premier League this season and as a result, is attracting the interest of one of Europe’s biggest clubs.

According to El Gol Digital, Atletico Madrid are lining up the Wolves midfielder as a possible replacement for Thomas Partey who may leave the La Liga club in the summer.

The report claims that he could cost as much as €50m (£43.1m) so Nuno Santo’s team would end up getting quite a significant financial windfall should he leave.

In the past, Neves has also caught the eye of Manchester City and Liverpool but nothing concrete has come forward for the Portuguese star.

The 22-year-old has been phenomenal since arriving from Porto ahead of Wolves’ Championship winning campaign last term. With this in mind, can the club afford to lose him this summer? Football FanCast writers give their verdicts.

Ben Goodwin:

“I think Wolves can easily cope without Neves mainly because they will get a massive transfer fee for him. The 22 year-old is a crucial cog in Nuno’s system, but he is not irreplaceable, and so long as the money from his exit goes towards signing one or perhaps two elite passers of the ball to take over his role in the midfield they will be fine.”

Harry Elnaugh:

“I think it would be a huge step back for Wolves to sell Neves. Few players outside the top six can pass a ball with the consistency and range that the Portuguese can, and the Wolves hierarchy would have to be mad to cash in on that commodity.” 

Jack Saville:

“I think this summer is a brilliant time to cash out on Neves. One positive season in the top-flight will naturally command plenty of suitors, but if he fails to kick on next year questions will be asked of his true scope for development. He has been brilliant at times this season and tepid at others, so I don’t think it would be as cataclysmic a loss as one might have thought during the early stages of the season.

With the likes of Moutinho and Dendoncker in the squad and a massive fee likely to arrive in exchange for Neves’ services, Nuno should be entertaining the possibility of selling Wolves’ crown jewel this summer.”

Liverpool are in trouble if recent reports regarding teenage prodigy are true.

According to Football Insider, RB Leipzig are preparing a £10million-plus bid to sign Liverpool forward prospect Rafael Camacho after he rejected a new contract.

A source close to Leipzig has apparently revealed that the club are incredibly keen on bringing the player to Germany and are more than prepared to beat off the interest from other suitors, which includes Sporting Lisbon and clubs from Spain and France.

The side renowned for growing young talents, including Naby Keita, Timo Werner and Ademola Lookman, are said to weighing up an eight-figure move for the player as it becomes increasingly likely that he will be made available in the summer transfer window.

Camacho has made a couple of appearances for the first-team this season, one in the Premier League and FA Cup, but both were in an unnatural right-back role.

That being said, it is hardly surprising that the winger – who has been in tremendous form when playing in the forward positions, scoring 12 goals and providing eight assists from just 19 appearances – looks convinced by a move to Germany. The promise of senior football and an option to operate in his preferred role evidently a huge factor in his future decision. We know who we would pick.

This is a problem for the Reds. It is not often that a club a young, promising player can be bought the nominal sum of £10million in this day and age. Indeed, even some of the most average youngsters can fetch two times as much with increasingly more clubs try to tap into the lucrative prodigy market.

Should Camacho leave, then Liverpool could well find themselves on the end of a Jadon Sancho situation. And we are sure no one at the club wants that to happen. It is like throwing away a winning lottery ticket.

Liverpool fans, would you be upset if Camacho left for just £10m? Join the discussion by commenting below… 

[ad_pod ]

It would take a very brave person to write off David Silva so consistently sublime has the Spanish midfielder been since his arrival to our shores in 2010. Such is the notable descent in his performances in recent months, however, that slowly nerves are being plucked up and we’re now beginning to hear the highly unusual sound of criticism being aimed in the direction of a player nicknamed ‘Merlin’ for his magical qualities.

What jolts most of all is where much of this disparagement comes from: a Manchester City fan-base who idolises and cherishes their favourite son in equal measure. For close to nine years now the slightly built schemer, who boasts 127 assists during his time in Manchester, has conjured up an astonishingly high standard of creative football at the Etihad and elsewhere and this has won him plaudits far and wide across the game.

His peerless puppeteering has been unparalleled with a masterful appreciation of space and a supernatural capacity for knowing when to release the ball, and to whom, and at what weight. There was once mischievous a rumour going around that Silva misplaced a ball. Nobody believed it.

By playing such an integral part in three Premier League titles, and having done so with balletic panache, it cannot and should not be underestimated how beloved Silva is by the blue half of Manchester. Yet with heavy reluctance still the criticism has come; or more accurately a concern that the passing of time is finally starting to fade the player’s powers and influence on games.

Last Tuesday evening at Tottenham’s magnificent new stadium a great deal of responsibility was placed on their veteran star to connect a team set-up to largely contain with the forward forays of Aguero and Sterling. Not for the first time this season, however, the 33-year-old failed in this task and by doing so it left Aguero isolated and equally as anonymous.

Anonymity is one thing though, what really startles is the increasing habit of a player who for so long appeared to swish around in velvet slippers now passing with leaden feet. Away to Watford in December – in an otherwise immaculate display it must be said – Silva horribly misjudged a pass sending it to touch. It drew an audible gasp of shock from the away end. Now, witnessing such sights only prompts a grumble of annoyance so regular are they becoming.

Though his stats still bear up to previous campaigns – 9 goals and 12 assists this term should eventually surpass his overall contribution to last season – it should be acknowledged that most of his good work occurred prior to Christmas and with a dip in form now prolonged questions are being asked as to why this is.

Is age now impacting on a body that has put itself through over 28,000 hours of competitive football in England? Are the psychological effects of last year – when Silva continued to play through personal turmoil – finally taking their toll? Is rest the answer?

Sadly there is scant opportunity for the latter as the games now come thick and fast, each one crucial and must-win. As City embark on a potentially momentous month ahead, can they afford to keep relying on arguably their greatest ever player?

[ad_pod ]

West Ham United fans on Twitter are not having any of the latest update on the fitness of injury-prone midfielder Jack Wilshere.

On Thursday, the Hammers’ official account Tweeted out a quote from Manuel Pellegrini’s pre-Manchester United press conference about the former England international.

The under-pressure veteran gaffer revealed that his summer signing, who has been out since the start of December and suffered further set-backs before that, is “almost ready” and will return to full training with the squad next week.

However, members of the Claret & Blue Army were not buying any of it as they blasted the important club update with comments such as “expect him to be back on the treatment table the following week then” and the rather comical “did Theresa May say this?”

Wilshere has made a measly five appearances in all competitions in his first campaign at London Stadium and supporters, left frustrated by the likes of Andy Carroll and Winston Reid in recent times, are clearly fed up.

Check out their best replies to the news, below…