All posts by z3u9t.icu

When West Bromwich Albion resigned Romaine Sawyers for around £2.88m back in 2019, hopes at The Hawthorns were extremely high for the Baggies academy product.

Indeed, the 29-year-old had just enjoyed an impressive season with Brentford, providing six assists, creating two big chances and averaging a SofaScore match rating of 6.89 over his 42 Championship appearances for the Bees.

This initially appeared to be form that Sawyers would continue for Albion, with the midfielder turning in a number of solid performances during his first season back in the West Midlands, scoring one goal, registering one assist and averaging a SofaScore match rating of 6.80 over his 42 Championship fixtures in 2019/20.

The Saint Kitts and Nevis international’s partner in the middle of the pitch, Jake Livermore, also seemed to be extremely impressed with the ability of Sawyers, with the West Brom captain stating back in 2019: “He is fantastic. I love the boy as a kid and I love him as a player. I love playing alongside him. He is a nice calming influence. I think we bounce off each other quite well.

“He was at West Brom as a kid and credit to them because he has been fantastic since he has come back. I back him to be a real, real top player and I have played with a few. But I back him to be as good as anyone I have played with, to be honest. And I mean that.”

However, upon the Baggies’ promotion to the top flight, things started to take a turn for the worst for the £1.8m-rated midfielder.

Indeed, over his 19 Premier League appearances the following season, Sawyers failed to have any real impact for Albion, scoring no goals, registering no assists and earning an extremely disappointing seasonal SofaScore match rating of just 6.47 – ranking him as the club’s joint-worst performer in the league.

This is a trend that has continued for the £10k-per-week man in the current campaign, as, after being bombed out of the Albion side by Valerien Ismael this summer, the 29-year-old has failed to impress over his eight Championship appearances while on loan at Stoke City, scoring no goals, registering just one assist and averaging an extremely shoddy SofaScore match rating of 6.58.

As such, despite signs of early promise upon his return to West Bromwich a little over two years ago, Sawyers’ poor displays at the bet365 Stadium, coupled with the fact that his contract at The Hawthorns expires next summer, could well indicate that the academy product has played his final game for the club.

In other news: Forget Bartley: WBA’s £36k-p/w “leader” who made just 4 passes failed Ismael once more

West Ham recorded a crucial 2-1 victory over Everton in the Premier League this afternoon as goals from Aaron Cresswell and Jarrod Bowen secured three points for the Hammers in the quest for European qualification.

The left-back scored an excellent free-kick to give David Moyes’ side the lead going into half-time before defender Mason Holgate volleyed a deflected equaliser past Lukasz Fabianski in the second half.

However, Bowen, on return from a month-long injury layoff, scored the decisive goal, tapping into an empty net after Michail Antonio’s strike was parried by Jordan Pickford.

To make matters even worse for Frank Lampard’s relegation-threatened side, captain Michael Keane was shown a second yellow card, the third consecutive league game in which Everton have seen a man sent off.

Although the English duo scored the goals, fellow countryman and midfielder Declan Rice was a rock in the middle of the park for the East London outfit at the London Stadium.

According to SofaScore, the Englishman recorded a 7.2 match rating after making 95 touches and enjoying a 94% passing accuracy against the Merseyside outfit.

Moreover, the 23-year-old won half of his ground duels whilst contributing one key pass, losing possession just nine times, an average of every 10.6 touches.

From a defensive point of view, the colossus showed just why he’s been dubbed an “explosion” and a “revelation” by his manager, contributing three interceptions as well as two blocks and one tackle.

It’s no surprise that West Ham’s prize asset was impressive, particularly against one of the top-flight’s biggest strugglers in Everton.

Rice has been repeatedly subject to a potential big-money move away from East London this summer, with Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola labelling the 23-year-old as “an exceptional player.”

However, Moyes has recently stated that the midfielder isn’t for sale and that a fee north of £150m would be the minimum asking price if he is to depart.

The Irons are now back into the Premier League’s top six after their important league victory, however, seventh-placed Manchester United are level on points and have a game in hand.

Next up for the Hammers is the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final against Lyon, another crucial game that Moyes will need all of his players to step up for. A performance similar to that of today’s from Rice certainly won’t be objected to by those associated with the Stratford side.

AND in other news: Moyes can finally axe “shocking” WHU dud as claim emerges, supporters surely buzzing

Aston Villa would’ve reportedly had to pay around £40m to secure reported transfer target Harry Winks this summer, as reported by The Times.

The Lowdown: Winks on the periphery at Spurs so far this season

The 25-year-old has been on the periphery at Spurs this season, with two of his four appearances coming in the UEFA Conference League qualifiers [Transfermarkt].

Trailing the likes of Pierre-Emile Højbjerg and Giovani Lo Celso in the midfield pecking order, could it be time for the England international to move on for the good of his career?

The Latest: Tottenham wanted £40m to sanction Winks’ departure

Of course, there was previous interest in Winks over the summer months, with Everton and Aston Villa both keen on his services [The Times].

However, it has now emerged that the north Londoners wanted to receive a sum of around £40m to part ways with their academy graduate, eventually putting off prospective suitors from making a move.

The Verdict: Right decision not to spend big money on Winks

All things considered, avoiding spending quite an extensive outlay on someone like Winks was the right decision by the Aston Villa hierarchy.

Dean Smith already has excellent midfield options at his disposal such as John McGinn, Douglas Luiz and Morgan Sanson, even though Winks is a talented player himself when at his best.

Capable of rotating the ball with ease, he managed to record an impressive passing accuracy of 84.9% across the 2020/21 Premier League [WhoScored]. He also showed his desire to get stuck into the opposition, making 60 successful ball recoveries across the campaign [Premier League], while he was dubbed ‘amazing’ by his former boss Mauricio Pochettino back in 2019.

Should Winks be available for a more modest fee in upcoming windows, he may be a name worthy of consideration, but £40m seemed that bit steep considering that the prolific Ollie Watkins cost £28m.

In other news, many Aston Villa fans react to a moment of magic from a teenage prodigy. Find out more here.

Liverpool are set to reignite their interest in Sporting Braga defender David Carmo according to a report from Portuguese newspaper O Jogo (via Sport Witness).

The lowdown: A series of unfortunate events

The Reds were heavily linked with a move for the 22-year-old back in January 2021 when Jurgen Klopp’s squad was plagued by defensive injuries, with Joel Matip, Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez all long-term absentees at the time.

Liverpool instead completed a double deadline day swoop for Ben Davies from Preston North End and Ozan Kabak on a loan deal from FC Schalke to join Nat Phillips and Rhys Williams as the only recognised centre-backs at Anfield.

Soon after missing out on a move to Merseyside, Carmo suffered a broken leg in the Taca de Portugal semi-final against FC Porto in an incident with now Kop favourite Luis Diaz.

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Having made a successful return to action, an interest could once again be arising from the Anfield club…

The latest: Contact made

As per O Jogo, translated by SW, Liverpool didn’t ‘erase the name’ of the Portuguese youth international following their initial interest.

It’s claimed that scouts from the club continue to ‘follow closely’ Carmo’s development and have already made contact following a ‘recommendation’ from Klopp. New sporting director Julian Ward could make the powerful defender an early transfer target ahead of the summer window.

The report also states that the 6 foot 5 powerhouse, who has been likened to Van Dijk no less, is ‘very likely’ to leave Braga should a €40million (£33.7million) release clause be met.

The verdict: Positional overkill?

After the arrival and subsequent instant impact of Ibrahima Konate from RB Leipzig, Klopp currently boasts four high quality central defensive options in the Liverpool squad.

Albeit both Matip and Van Dijk are over 30, neither are showing signs of an early demise and look set to play a huge role over the coming years.

However, should Gomez become restless with his own spot in the pecking order and seek pastures new, the Reds would need a replacement and that is where Carmo may come in.

Possessing strong aerial, tackling and passing ability (WhoScored), the talented seven-cap Portugal Under 20 starlet appears ready-made to enhance Klopp’s defensive department and at the mooted release clause would represent supreme value for money.

In other news, Dominic King confirms Liverpool transfer interest. Read more here.

West Ham United have submitted an application to build a new training resource at the club’s Rush Green location, which is scheduled to be completed in September 2023 [Romford Recorder].

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Irons were not able to officially move towards starting the work after initially being given the opportunity to initiate this proposal in 2018 [Romford Recorder].

Permission has since lapsed, prompting the Hammers hierarchy to re-apply for specialised status to carry out the work needed to build the facility.

The purpose of building the new area at Rush Green will be to raise the quality of the West Ham Women’s team’s facilities at the club. The final outcome of the proposal is set to be revealed on October 13th.

In light of this news, many West Ham United fans took to social media to portray their opinions on the training centre update.

West Ham fans react:

Replying to West Ham Central on Twitter, here is what some fans had to say about developments:

“I don’t mean to be that guy, but maybe that’s why we have a littler budget to expected?”

Credit: @JBtalksFootball

“New portacabin being installed next week”

Credit: @AaronHa77625127

 “B&q sheds I bet ya”

Credit: @Hasan1Turgay

“This is the same proposal put forward & approved in 2018, it’s not new news, has nothing to do with PAI & has no links to no transfers etc. The proposals are also totally inadequate for a PL club and is nothing more than a temp sticking plaster and prob a max cost of approx £5m.”

Credit: @c_woodgate93″Unfortunately… I can’t imagine how much better we would be if we didn’t have cheapskate owners…”Credit: @thebeerpops”I’ve also just submitted an application to build the batcave under my house. Waterfall exit and all”Credit: @gammer91In other news, ExWHUEmployee has dropped an exciting transfer update. Find out who it is about here.

Some Tottenham Hotspur players are reportedly unhappy about the behaviour of two senior staff in the dugout after only three games of the season.

The Lowdown: Paratici’s influence in the transfer window

In June, Fabio Paratici left Juventus after 11 years to join Tottenham Hotspur as Managing Director of Football.

His arrival, alongside the appointment of Nuno Espirito Santo as manager, has seen a different flow in how Spurs work in the transfer market, with Emerson Royal the oldest permanent signing made at just 22.

Bryan Gil (20) and Pape Matar Sar (18) also joined in the summer window also as Spurs brought players in for the future in the mind as they go in search of their first trophy in 14 years.

The Latest: Players unhappy with Paratici and Hitchen

However, despite the positive feeling around the club given their presence at the Premier League summit, it has been reported that some players are unhappy about Paratici and technical performance director Steve Hitchen being present in the dugout during games.

The report in The Sun states that a few Spurs players are ‘uncomfortable with the presence and behaviour’ of the pair. Paratici was shown on camera jumping and shouting in the 1-0 victory over Manchester City at the start of the season.

A Tottenham source claimed: “It just doesn’t sit right with the players. The substitutes on the bench don’t feel they are able to speak freely among themselves with those guys sitting next to them,

“The players as a whole don’t like it when the two of them are on their feet shouting at the match officials or the team.”

The Premier League’s pandemic protocols requires all players and staff in the ‘red zone’ testing pool to be together in designated areas, so the players will have to continue with the current setup for at least the rest of this month.

The Verdict: Not ideal, but at least Spurs remain unbeaten

The apparent discontent from some Tottenham players over the presence of Paratici and Hitchen so close to them on matchdays is understandable.

Players use the dugout to have private chats and not having the opportunity to do so because there are two senior club stuff in such close proximity may not go down well with the squad the longer it goes on.

It hasn’t unduly affected the Lilywhites on the field, though, as they sit at the top of the Premier League table with three wins in three.

In other news, one Spurs player ended up impacting the club’s decision on a reported transfer target. Find out more here.

Reliable Leeds United reporter Phil Hay thinks Luke Ayling, Patrick Bamford and Junior Firpo all have a chance of featuring against Norwich City this weekend.

The Lowdown: Injured trio

Marcelo Bielsa has been without a number of key players this season, with the Whites flirting above the relegation zone as a result.

Bamford and Ayling have missed Leeds’ last six in all competitions with ankle and knee issues respectively, whereas Firpo hasn’t been seen for the last three.

However, ahead of the trip to Carrow Road on Sunday, Hay believes all three could feature in some capacity following Bielsa’s comments last week.

The Latest: Hay’s tweet

Hay replied to a Whites fan on Twitter on Wednesday morning who asked about Bamford’s situation.

The Athletic reporter claimed that after Bielsa admitted Ayling and Bamford would be missing for Wolves and Arsenal, the media took that as ‘they had a chance of Norwich’ – a big six-word update.

The same goes for Firpo, as Hay mentioned.

“Bielsa said last week that Bamford and Ayling would miss Wolves/Arsenal. We took that to mean that they had a chance of Norwich. Same with Firpo.”

Hay’s tweet was liked just 60 times as of Thursday lunchtime – 0.028% of his 211,000 followers, so it seems to have gone under the radar due to it being a reply in a thread rather than a regular post.

The Verdict: Fingers crossed

Bielsa already has a relatively small Leeds squad when everyone is available, so being without three players for a period of time, especially the likes of Bamford, Ayling and Firpo, was always going to make life difficult.

Hopefully, Hay’s interpretation regarding the trio will prove accurate, and that they can all feature in some capacity on Sunday.

Even if it is a place on the bench, it may give Leeds a boost they need in their attempts to gain a second league win.

In other news: Pundit spots Bielsa fury at something 18-cap Leeds man did. 

Aston Villa were involved in one of the biggest transfer deals the Premier League has ever seen last summer when they sold Jack Grealish to Manchester City for a fee of £100m.

Now that the next summer window is on the horizon, it seems as though the Villans and Steven Gerrard could be set to cash in on another player that has been a part of the club for a fairly significant period of time.

What’s the news?

According to Football Insider’s sources, Norwich City are eyeing up a summer transfer move for striker Keinan Davis.

The report also claims that Gerrard is expected to give the green light to allow the striker to leave Villa Park this summer, with a reported transfer fee of £4m being touted for Davis’ signature.

Great news for Gerrard

Having joined Villa’s U18 side back in 2015, the centre-forward has gone on to make 122 appearances for their U23 and senior teams combined.

In those appearances, the striker found the back of the net 16 times and delivered 16 assists along the way.

Back in the previous January transfer window, the Englishman joined Championship club, Nottingham Forest, on loan until the end of the season.

Since joining the Reds, the 24-year-old has scored five goals and provided three assists in 19 appearances across the Championship and FA Cup.

To highlight how impressive the Villa man has been on loan, he is currently listed as Forest’s highest-rated player by WhoScored with a rating of 7.27.

He is also listed in the top five out of Forest’s players for the average of shots, key passes and dribbles per game he’s made in the second division.

Unfortunately, the attacker will have to spend the rest of the season on the sidelines after picking up a campaign-ending injury.

Having been described as being “a very difficult player to play against” by Lee Bowyer, Davis has shown that he has what it takes to play in the Championship and be an effective striker.

However, with only one goal in 34 Premier League appearances to his name for Villa, it’s safe to say that he hasn’t been able to cut it at that level.

With Norwich now looking likely to get relegated, it’s easy to see why they would want a player like the Villa loanee, who Dean Smith knows about, in their ranks for next season.

If Villa pick up a suitable transfer fee for the striker that they can then put towards adding some top-quality players to their squad, this would surely be great news for Gerrard.

In other news: Lange must seal £10m AVFC deal for “unplayable” £45k-p/w talent, Gerrard will love him

Everton are in an extremely vulnerable position right now in the Premier League as they battle relegation this season, but if Frank Lampard can keep them up there is the potential to add quality to improve the squad this summer by replacing some faces who haven’t been performing.

One of the biggest problems the Toffees have faced is a lack of goals, with the side conceding 20 more than they’ve scored, with only 32 goals so far, and if they were to stay up in the Premier League this is an area that will need desperately addressing.

Furthermore, both Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison have been touted with moves away from the club, with Calvert-Lewin strongly linked to joining Arsenal this summer and his Brazilian strike partner linked to a move to Manchester United.

Although losing both players would be disappointing for fans, it may actually be a blessing in disguise now that an approach has reportedly been made by Everton for Barcelona forward Memphis Depay.

Depay has scored ten times in 30 appearances at the club, but since his Achilles tendon injury has struggled to get game time for the La Liga giants featuring for less than 20 minutes per game over his last five appearances.

The 28-year-old who was hailed “one of the best” by Riqui Puig, had a much more prolific output at his former club Lyon, where he netted 76 times and contributed 55 assists in 178 appearances, with a goal involvement every 1.3 games, which is an attacking threat Everton desperately need to add to their team.

The report from the Spanish news outlet claims that the centre-forward’s future at Barcelona is looking doubtful and the club could put him onto the transfer market this summer, giving Everton the opportunity to swoop in and potentially cash in on their current attackers that are not delivering the output needed to maintain safety in the top-flight.

With that being said, Lampard has a huge task ahead of him to secure Premier League football next term and to even approach a player of Depay’s calibre at this point would seem a pointless venture with their chances of relegation growing. However, if he can keep the side up it is a potential transfer that the club should seriously consider.

In other news: Alan Myers drops four word Everton update that’ll leave supporters relieved

Gary Neville has seemingly mocked Leeds United’s disappointing start to the season with a cutting response during a Q&A session on social media.

The Lowdown: Leeds suffer another loss

Marcelo Bielsa’s side produced a disappointing performance on Saturday afternoon, losing 1-0 at Southampton in limp fashion.

The defeat leaves Leeds 17th in the Premier League at the moment, leaving them perilously close to the relegation zone and struggling for form, with only one win from their eight top-flight matches thus far.

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The Latest: Neville mocks Leeds

The hope is that the Whites’ fortunes improve soon, but former Manchester United defender Neville doesn’t seem to be too upset over their current predicament.

Speaking on Instagram live on Sunday, the Sky Sports pundit said “I hope so” in response to a question about Leeds being “in trouble”.

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The Verdict: Don’t take it too seriously

While Neville’s three-word verdict may rile some Leeds fans, it should be taken as fairly tongue-in-cheek.

There is no doubt that the 46-year-old likely has little time for the Whites, given his Old Trafford past and the rivalry between the two clubs, but he will have (and has had) similar jokes at the expense of other rivals such as Liverpool and Manchester City.

It is Leeds’ job to improve dramatically and give Neville nothing to laugh about, as was invariably the case last term upon their impressive return to the Premier League. Don’t forget, Gary, the Red Devils still have to come to a packed Elland Road this season, too!

In other news, Phil Hay has provided a key update on one Leeds hero. Find out who it is here.