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Leeds could find a midfield partner for Kalvin Phillips in Fulham’s Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa.

The Athletic’s Phil Hay suggested that the Cottagers ace should be the man Marcelo Bielsa’s side look to target when the transfer window rolls around.

Speaking on The Phil Hay Show, he said: “He’s a player I would go for, yeah, absolutely. I think they’ll try and find somebody potentially younger or somebody who is more willing to be a backstop to Phillips. But Anguissa, to me, looks extremely talented and a player I would have.”

Anguissa has established himself as an important part of Scott Parker’s side this season, playing in every single Premier League game bar one, and has even chipped in with three assists, including one against Leeds near the start of the campaign.

Toni Conceicao, his coach for Cameroon, said: “He’s a quality player. In football, the collective is the most important, so you have to have players that work for the team. And although Anguissa is not a Messi or Ronaldo, he’s a player that has a lot of capacity to influence the match. He brings a lot of tactical culture and rigour to the team.

“He has got a really good passing ability, long and short, and is one of those players that makes the team tick without necessarily being the standout. As a coach and with all due respect to Fulham, which I know is a great club, Anguissa can reach an even higher level.”

Joachim Andersen, his teammate at Craven Cottage, has also raved about about the £70,000-a-week earning midfielder, saying: “He’s a top player. He’s a machine in the midfield. He’s winning so many balls and driving forward with it.”

Given how he can not only pass the ball either short or long, but also bring a different dimension by carrying it forward (2.8 successful dribbles per game), Anguissa seems like he could actually play alongside Phillips rather than just provide cover for him.

It would offer Bielsa a different option in the middle of the park, perhaps someone who could slot in for different tactical needs whenever the Argentine thinks his team could do with it.

Victor Orta could strike gold by making a move for the Fulham ace this summer.

Meanwhile, Victor Orta pulled off an absolute masterclass for Leeds with this signing…

Many Sheffield Wednesday fans are reacting to a tweet from Dom Howson in which he discusses midfielder Sam Hutchinson.

The journalist tweeted: “Why I think Sam Hutchinson could solve Darren Moore’s key defensive problem”, with an accompanying link to a Yorkshire Live article explaining his stance, and this caused many to start debating the Hillsborough ace.

The Englishman left the Owls in September and moved to Cypriot side Pafos FC (The Star). However, he was soon released and this has opened the door to him coming back to Hillsborough. The 31-year-old had a successful career at Wednesday as he made 165 appearances over seven seasons for the Yorkshire outfit.

The Owls are suffering in the Championship and need a miracle to reduce the seven-point gap to 21st before the end of the season. Since re-signing for the club, Sam Hutchinson has featured 11 times and has contributed much defensively as he has averaged 1.9 tackles, 2.4 interceptions and three clearances per game (WhoScored).

Therefore, it is easy to see why Howson believes he could solve the defensive issues and hopefully he can help turn things around for the club. However, the 31-year-old seems to be a divisive figure, judging by these replies from Wednesday fans on Twitter:

Here is how Wednesday fans reacted to Howson’s tweet:

“Are you on his payroll mate”

Credit: @kanewhelan2

“I was so excited listening to the early interviews with the new Boss. He came across as being positive, dynamic and passionate. Sadly, that hasn’t yet seemed to have transferred over to the players. Sam is a player who usually embodies those things, so you could be right.”

Credit: @NelsPalmerur

“Do you ‘think’ this could do it as it already has? when he was first re-signed he was next to Lee’s and they were solid”

Credit: @chrisma50n

“Got to be better than he is in midfield, not as good as Joey, he’s either not fit, trying not to get hurt /sent off or his legs have gone. He’s been poor.”

Credit: @SteveAuntsVan

“If we’re going to play it out from the back Hutchinson and Dunkley should be our centre-backs”

Credit: @DeLudoScribo

“Agree; hutch is a centre half not a holding midfielder player anymore.”

Credit: @hirsty9

In other news, these SWFC fans discussed one player that got away!

Many Crystal Palace fans are over the moon are hearing the latest injury update on star player Wilfried Zaha.

The Ivory Coast international might go down in history as the best player to appear for the South London side, and his attacking influence is really needed as the club are lacking a threat upfront without him.

According to journalist for The Athletic’s Dominic Fifield, the winger is fit and available to face London rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday. One fan called this update ‘huge’.

This is great news as Zaha is the top goal scorer this season, managing nine goals and two assists in his 19 Premier League appearances this term. He also ranks highest when it comes to shots per game (WhoScored).

The results for Palace have picked up lately, with the club winning one and drawing two in their last three games, which included a 0-0 draw against Manchester United. With that return to form, Zaha’s recovery has come at a perfect time, and Spurs will know that they don’t have an easy challenge this weekend.

Here is how Palace fans reacted to the news:

“Happy daaaaayyyyzz”

Credit: @BlueCPFC

“Yessssss”

Credit: @danofthesouth

“Things you love to see”

Credit: @lxk3ybxii

“Huge news”

Credit: @nikolmorgan

“TEARS IN MY EYES”

Credit: @CPFCWill

“Zaha & Schlupp back is a game-changer.”

Credit: @ohjoewalker

In other news, many Palace fans reacted to these Hodgson comments!

In October 2019, Andrea Radrizzani told The Times that finance from Qatar Sports Investments could put Leeds on a pedestal with Manchester City.

Extra assets from Middle Eastern shores has long been a subject of interest at Elland Road but despite Radrizzani being close with QSI chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi things haven’t materialised beyond a general chat in a restaurant.

Instead, the Leeds owner looked towards American shores to secure extra money for the football club. The interested party happened to be the San Francisco 49ers.

Their attraction to Leeds has been well documented and they were already involved in the financial aspects of the football club. Though, they will have even more power now after a reported £50m investment from America was gleefully accepted by Radrizzani.

As a result, Paraag Marathe – the 49ers Enterprises President – has become the vice-chairman at Leeds and in the process, secured 37% of the club.

It’s a move that has the potential to be game-changing for Leeds. Their finances might not stretch to the degree that QSI have ploughed cash into Champions League runners-up PSG but it could help take Leeds to a new level.

But why is that? Well, the 49ers and Leeds share similar thoughts and ideas.  Marathe has helped take the San Francisco 49ers from a struggling NFL franchise to one that reached the Super Bowl in 2020.

Speaking to ESPN this week, Leeds’ new vice-chairman said: “Leeds today reminds me of the 49ers 15 years ago. Both teams with a great fanbase and history. The 49ers had such great success in the ’80s and ’90s, like Leeds in the ’70s, and both were struggling a little bit on and off the pitch and the 49ers were playing, at the time, at the oldest un-renovated stadium in the NFL.”

Marathe consequently helped his NFL franchise to build a new stadium and in his words, it “completely transformed” the entire business and team. He reveals that’s something he wants to do at Leeds and that follows a similar tune to Angus Kinnear.

The Leeds managing director previously revealed that he had ambitions of extending Elland Road but it looks as though the club’s new investors could take that to a level.

Marathe added: “We have the right people, the expertise and the playbook blueprint to be able to intellectually grow our broader organisation and we wanted to go into the Premier League and use that expertise to be able to help another club grow in the same way that we grew the 49ers from a bottom-tier franchise to a team which came a few minutes short of winning the Super Bowl last year.”

Leeds are certainly an ambitious club and they’ve already achieved great things under Marcelo Bielsa. His tactical nuances coupled with an adept hierarchy could lead to incredible achievements.

“We want to be in the Premier League for the next 2-3-4-5 years and beyond and then it’s qualify for the Europa League and then the Champions League, to be competing with the best clubs,” Marathe remarked.

Of course, those could be famous last words but as the vice-chairman says, Leeds already have the infrastructure in place for success.

If a fancy new stadium is built, it will only become an even greater lure for new players. The Whites have already been in the Champions League before – it’s time to bring those days back.

If they achieve that, the 49ers will undoubtedly have played a considerable part in making it happen.

AND in other news, Leeds could save millions by unleashing rarely-seen 20 y/o, he’s endorsed by Ian Harte…

Speaking after Tottenham Hotspur’s 4-0 win on Sunday, Jose Mourinho praised the performance of Spurs centre-back Davinson Sanchez.

Having started just 10 Premier League fixtures this season prior to the clash with Burnley, Sanchez was perhaps a surprise inclusion in Mourinho’s starting XI on Sunday, with the 24-year-old coming in for Tottenham at the expense of Eric Dier.

However, despite his lack of game-time so far this term, the £36m-rated defender highly impressed against the Clarets, making 10 clearances, winning two tackles, blocking one shot and winning 14 duels over the 90 minutes, earning a SofaScore match rating of 7.8 for his efforts.

Speaking after the match, Mourinho singled out the Colombia international for praise, claiming that the £65k-per-week centre-back put on a dominant display against Burnley. He said: “I think the team played well defensively, it was a good compromise from the team. Then Davinson played a very good game, very dominant, fresh, didn’t play the last match and he was very good.”

Transfer Tavern Take

Indeed, Sanchez’s display against Sean Dyche’s side was comfortably his best of the season, with the centre-back earning a WhoScored match rating of 8.25 for his performance, with his next highest rating this term coming in Spurs’ 2-0 win over West Bromwich Albion at the beginning of February, when he scored 7.19.

With important games against Arsenal, Manchester United and Everton coming up in the Premier League, as well as a round of 16 tie against Dinamo Zagreb in the Europa League, Sanchez hitting form now would provide a very welcome boost in Mourinho’s hunt for a top-four finish, as well as the club’s chances of winning a European trophy.

In other Tottenham news, this Spurs transfer admission lifted the lid on a failed Daniel Levy coup with Pochettino – find out more here!

Manchester United have got their transfer business off to a flying start this year. Having added Timothy Fosu-Mensah to the list of players departing from Old Trafford, Ed Woodward has started to create some space in the squad for new additions. However there is still much more to be done if the Red Devils are to reduce their wage bill and bring in more quality signings.

What’s the word?

According to Sky Sports, French side Nice have reportedly held talks with Jesse Lingard’s representatives over a possible loan move in January.

It’s claimed the French Ligue 1 club have held initial discussions and an formal offer is expected to arrive next week, although it remains to be seen if the Red Devils will allow him to depart Old Trafford halfway through the season.

Lingard made his first-team debut in the 2-1 defeat to Swansea City under former United manager Louis van Gaal in 2014 and has since gone on to make over 200 appearances for his boyhood club.

But chances have been hard to come by for the 28-year-old this season, as he has been restricted to just two starts so far and hasn’t started in a Premier League game for over a year – a clear sign that he isn’t offering Ole Gunnar Solskjaer anything at the current moment in time.

It’s time for Woodward to get rid of the deadwood

With the 18-year-old Amad Diallo’s arrival at Old Trafford from Serie A side Atalanta this month, it seems like Lingard’s services are no longer required.

United have an abundance of quality and depth in almost every area with their current squad intact, none more so than the wealth of riches currently available to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The club’s official website currently lists 13 first-team players in the midfield, and that’s without even mentioning the likes of Anthony Martial, Mason Greenwood, Marcus Rashford and Edinson Cavani upfront.

Considering that the club were heavily linked with a £100m move for Jadon Sancho in the summer, it’s safe to assume that Lingard has been deemed surplus to requirements, as the former England international has been limited to solely three cup appearances this season – which is even fewer than his teammates Daniel James and Juan Mata.

In actual fact, in a similar way to Fosu-Mensah, Lingard could leave the club without requiring any replacement. Bruno Fernandes and Greenwood have become regular starters in the Premier League, meaning his options are limited once more, as he has fallen even further down the pecking order.

Peter Schmeichel certainly didn’t pull any punches when he appeared to take aim at Lingard after a number of poor performances in 2018. He told MUTV’s Group Chat, via talkSPORT: “I’m on record for saying this a long, long time, since Ole came, that his most important job is not really to sign players, it’s to get rid of players.

“There’s a few players in the squad that we absolutely do not want there.

“They’re not there to play for the badge. They’re there to create a profile for themselves.

“I was reading about one player trying to make themself a brand like Beckham which is shocking really. But there are players there that do not belong in the dressing room.”

Whilst he didn’t specifically mention Lingard, one would have to assume it was the right winger who drew Schmeichel’s ire. After all, he earned the wrath of fellow club legends Gary Neville and Roy Keane for launching a clothing line days before the Liverpool clash in 2018.

Given he earns around £100,000-per-week at Old Trafford, it’s fair to say that Lingard has outlived his purpose, as Greenwood has emerged as a reliable option on the right wing while James, too, has started to show flashes of his obvious potential, and that’s without even mentioning Diallo and Facundo Pellistri, who are waiting in the wings as well.

It has left Solskjaer with several options out wide and although the Norwegian needs two wingers in his preferred 4-2-3-1, Ed Woodward must offload a couple of his options in the coming weeks and months ahead. Lingard, therefore, should be the one to accompany Fosu-Mensah out the Old Trafford exit door.

AND in other news, Luke Shaw slammed by Carlton Palmer for decision-making during Man Utd’s defeat to Man City…

Crystal Palace winger Andros Townsend proved costly against Arsenal as it ended all square at the Emirates Stadium on Thursday night.

Alexandre Lacazette came close to breaking the deadlock before Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang forced a fine save from Vicente Guaita.

But Roy Hodgson’s side dug deep and held firm against Arsenal to secure a point at a ground where Chelsea and Newcastle have previously come unstuck.

Having endured a torrid night at Molineux last time out, where they lost 1-0 to Wolves after Adama Traore scored his first goal of the season, it looked like Hodgson’s side hadn’t shaken off the hangover from the FA Cup when Aubameyang evaded Townsend to cut inside from the left flank and fire off a shot on target.

While Tyrick Mitchell may receive a portion of the blame for the early lapse in concentration, it would be wrong to pin the blame solely on the 21-year-old, who otherwise enjoyed a solid, if unspectacular, performance on the left-hand side of the back four.

In fact, Mitchell received the joint fourth-highest SofaScore rating out of all his teammates, including midfielder James McArthur. Despite his diminutive stature, the 5 ft 7 in left-back was a colossal at the back for Hodgson’s side – he made one tackle, four clearances and four interceptions, which was more than he is currently averaging per game this season so far, meaning he was a level above his average work rate in terms of his defensive shift.

The same can’t be said for Townsend, who was also utterly wasteful in terms of his possession, as the right winger managed to lose control of the ball ten times despite taking 52 touches throughout the entire 90 minutes.

Indeed, the 29-year-old lost 12 out of his 16 duels overall (75%) on the right wing last night, and was dribbled past five times, which shows that he was run ragged by the likes of Aubameyang and Ainsley Maitland-Niles all evening, with the pair winning the same number of individual battles between them, as per SofaScore.

On top of that, Townsend took one shot off target to sum up his frustrations after he blasted a shot well over the bar inside the first ten minutes of the first half following a promising passage of play, so it’s perhaps hardly surprising he failed to find the back of the net for the 16th game in a row this season. He also only managed to produce one accurate long ball from four attempts, which just goes to show the kind of quality Christian Benteke and Wilfried Zaha had to work with on the night. It’s fair to say that he lacked any real ambition and looked fairly sloppy on the ball.

The former England international didn’t take too kindly to Arteta’s tackle whilst he also intervened to separate Zaha and David Luiz, but those were his only real contributions of note as he endured a night to forget at the Emirates.

SofaScore graded Townsend as the worst Palace player on the pitch with his 6.5 score and quite rightly, too, after his lack of genuine quality in the final third proved costly as the two sides were forced to settle for a point apiece.

The Independent’s Karl Matchett was left unimpressed by his performance and noted he was ‘a hard-running but peripheral figure.’

The £8.5m-rated right winger, who earns around £55,000-per-week at Selhurst Park, was largely ineffective against an Arsenal side who otherwise struggled to break down the well-drilled visitors. He failed to record a shot on target for the second time in as many games in all competitions this season, via SofaScore.

Had he decided against lashing a hopeful shot into the stands, the score line may have read very differently indeed, as he could have created a chance for either Benteke or Zaha instead.

AND in other news, Crystal Palace shouldn’t renew Nathaniel Clyne’s contract…

Everton have no new injuries ahead of visiting Burnley in Saturday’s lunchtime Premier League kick-off, but Carlo Ancelotti must make two changes against Sean Dyche’s side at Turf Moor.

The Toffees travel to Lancashire striving to bounce back from a 1-0 loss at home to Championship title-holders Leeds United last time out, as their torrid run of form continued with just one win in their last six top-flight fixtures.

But Everton could still move back within the top-four places with a win over Burnley, who have won just once all season and sit above basement boys Sheffield United with the division’s third-worst defensive record having conceded 17 times in nine games.

Ancelotti will be eager to see his side deal further damage to the Clarets’ record this weekend and has confirmed Seamus Coleman and Lucas Digne are his only absentees through injury.

But, if the Italian is to win at a ground the Blues have only won at twice in their last 10 visits, he will have to make changes. So, with that in mind, here’s a predicted line-up the Toffees could name at Turf Moor on Saturday…

Despite conceding the game-winning goal when Raphinha let rip from range, goalkeeper Jordan Pickford enjoyed a strong performance at home to Leeds last time out with five saves, one high claim, a 100% runs out success rate and 13 accurate long balls, per SofaScore.

Pickford’s display between the posts saw him lauded by Aston Villa hero Gabby Agbonlahor, who praised the England international’s “strong personality” for not allowing the relentless criticism following his collision with Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk to affect his performances.

Everton have not kept a clean sheet in the Premier League since the opening day of the season when Ancelotti oversaw a 1-0 win over table-toppers Tottenham Hotspur, while allowing six goals in their last three games, meaning the pressure will be on Pickford to deliver again if he wishes to avoid being benched for AS Roma loanee Robin Olsen.

Ancelotti, meanwhile, will be expected to name an unchanged central defensive pairing of Mason Holgate, Michael Keane and Ben Godfrey at Burnley with the trio recording five, six and four clearances respectively against Leeds, while blocking one, two and two shots and recording two, two and one interceptions, per SofaScore.

Holgate was also the only one of Everton’s defenders to be dribbled past by a Whites player, while Godfrey won all five of his duels.

Ancelotti faces a selection headache at full-back, however, with Coleman and Digne still out, having struggled to see Tom Davies and Alex Iwobi impress against Leeds when fielded in unfamiliar surroundings.

Iwobi lost possession nine times, won just one duel, misplaced each of his two crosses, failed to register a shot on goal and offered one tackle before being replaced in the 67th-minute, per SofaScore, while Davies struggled on the opposing side with two tackles and 11 accurate passes before his early exit despite creating a big chance to score.

Niels Nkounkou, who his agent Yvan Le Mee describes as a “strong, powerful, technical and very fast” defender, should expect to start in place of Iwobi at Burnley after Ancelotti discussed the Frenchman’s omission from the squad to face Leeds.

“Nkounkou was not in the squad because I have 11 players, I decided to put Iwobi on the left. The squad is really big,” the Italian said, via quotes by the Liverpool Echo. “He’s still young, he needs more experience, he needs to work more. But I am honestly satisfied for what he is doing. He will have time in the next game because we have a lot of games.”

Ancelotti awarded Nkounkou his Premier League debut at Newcastle United last month, while favouring the 20-year-old in all three of Everton’s Carabao Cup fixtures thus far this season.

Ancelotti faces more debate over who starts at right-back, having so far only trusted Jonjoe Kenny with playing 77 minutes in the Premier League since his return from a season-long loan with Bundesliga side FC Schalke 04.

But the Italian tactician faces less question marks over his midfield and offensive options with Dominic Calvert-Lewin the top-flight’s top goalscorer with 10 to his name, while James Rodriguez ranks third for big chances created (six) and fourth for key passes (24), per SofaScore.

Summer signing Allan also ranks second only to Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish (83) for ground duels won (64) by any Premier League player thus far this term, and Richarlison registers the seventh-most successful dribbles per game (2.57) despite missing three fixtures through suspension.

AND in other news, Carlo Ancelotti could unearth his ideal James Rodriguez heir in an Everton sensation David Unsworth loves.

When it comes to playing the top six in the Premier League, there are few better than Wolves.

Time and time again, they upset the apple cart, rocking the division’s best teams with some scintillating counter-attacking football.

Against Arsenal a few weeks ago they made the most of the Gunners’ torrid defence to win 2-1, but they were then battered 4-0 without Raul Jimenez against Liverpool.

However, they bounced back from a loss against Aston Villa to see off the challenge of high-flyers Chelsea.

Pedro Neto and Daniel Podence, as they did at the Emirates, put the Blues to the sword with a clinical attacking display that eventually saw the Midlanders prevail 2-1.

However, for all their wonderful attacking play, it was a defender that stole the show against one of the most powerful strikers in the league – Olivier Giroud.

Wolves went back to their tried and tested three-man defence on Tuesday and Romain Saiss was the stand-out player for Nuno Santo’s men.

The Moroccan was an absolute rock at the back, completing all of his tasks to near perfection.

Saiss impressively won 100% of his duels throughout the contest, winning four aerial duels and two tackles. Furthermore, he also didn’t concede a single foul which is particularly eye-catching when you consider he was up against the likes of Christian Pulisic and Timo Werner.

The centre-back also played out well, completing 86% of his passes and proving accurate with four of his seven long balls forward.

If that isn’t enough, Saiss also made five clearances in a battling display which ensured Chelsea could never really get going.

He wasn’t even in the side when Wolves conceded four to Liverpool, so he is now proving his worth to Nuno and demonstrating that he’s a key component of this side.

To outshine both Conor Coady and Willy Boly from a defensive point of view isn’t easy, but that’s exactly what he did at Molineux this week. Let’s hope we see more of it.

In other news, Wolves can land their dream Adama replacement with 8-goal behemoth…

Writing on Twitter, reliable Spurs correspondent Alasdair Gold heaped praise on midfielder Tanguy Ndombele as the one ‘real ray of light’ after his first-half performance against West Brom at the Hawthorns.Â

Ndombele, who impressed during a somewhat lacklustre first 45 minutes, made two key passes over that time whilst standing out above the likes of Harry Kane, Son Heung-min and Gareth Bale – with that front trio tipped to take the game by storm.

Ndombele praise

However, during the first period, one man who really stood out for Gold was Ndombele – and the journalist called him a ‘real ray of light’ for his brilliant showing after he has seemingly been rejuvenated under Jose Mourinho.

Spurs went through a scare with the star man going down in a lot of pain at one stage, and was substituted soon after, with supporters potentially hoping it isn’t serious.

A report by Get French Football News earlier in the summer claimed both the Frenchman and Mourinho had a behind the scenes bust-up, with his future looking severely in doubt at one stage.

Transfer Tavern take

Signed for a club-record £53.8 million, a significant investment by chairman Daniel Levy, Spurs supporters could now be glad they’re currently seeing the very best of Ndombele after a brief spell of tension at the club.

Indeed, the ‘phenomenal’ 23-year-old has shone in a role more further forward recently in central attacking midfield, arguably a tactical masterclass by Mourinho which has allowed him to express his ability in a less shackled role.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Moussa Sissoko, the enforcers sitting just behind Ndombele, give license for the player to wreak havoc with his boundless energy and creativity.

After his first-half showing, as Gold says, it’s safe to assume Spurs won’t want to lose him.

In other news: Fans were in full reaction after Mourinho’s comments, find out more here.Â