Leeds fans are still fuming that Pablo Hernandez wasn’t nominated for the Championship Player of the Season award.
The EFL awards ceremony was held on Sunday night with Teemu Pukki picking up the prestigious accolade.
Despite Leeds sitting in third place in the division, they didn’t have a player on the shortlist for the Player of the Season award.
Pablo Hernandez was the name that sprung to mind for Leeds fans with many claiming that the 33-year-old was overlooked when the EFL were making their decisions.
The Spaniard has netted 12 goals already this season whilst also getting 11 assists.
Pukki was a worthy winner as he tops the scoring charts in the Championship with 26 strikes but Leeds fans argue that Hernandez was deserving of at least a nomination.
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Nominated alongside Pukki were Billy Sharp and Che Adams; several supporters on Twitter have been voicing their opinion that Hernandez deserved a place amongst those stars.
According to Sky Sports, West Ham rejected a £35m bid from China for Marko Arnautovic last week but Shanghai SIPG are set to come back with an improved offer – with the striker seemingly keen to leave, the Hammers have reportedly started looking for a replacement, but which of Krzysztof Piatek and Callum Wilson would be a better fit?
On the chalkboard
Arnautovic has become an unlikely talisman at the London Stadium after arriving in 2017 as a controversial player with loads of talent that he can choose to use or not – fortunately for the Irons, he has stepped up and the £20m they shelled out to land him from Stoke is looking like a steal.
The 29-year-old is their joint-top scorer in all competitions with eight strikes to his name – an output West Ham cannot afford to lose – and so finding a player who can replicate his form in front of goal is a must should he head out the door this month.
TalkSport have linked the club with a move for Genoa’s Piatek, while Sky Sports have reported that they will join the race for Wilson. Both are completely different moulds of striker and will have polarising impacts on the Hammers attack.
Krzysztof Piatek
The 23-year-old has been in red-hot form this season following a £4m move to Italy fro Cracovia Krakow in the summer, as he breaks league records and scores an impressive 19 goals in just 21 appearances in all competitions.
A powerful forward with clearly a lethal scoring touch, the Pole represents a more direct replacement for Arnautovic – he would be able to hold up the ball and bring the likes of Felipe Anderson into play, while also being an ever-present in the box to target.
Given a chance, the £44m 6-footer will bury it and this could be the difference for West Ham as they look to become eventual top six challengers.
Callum Wilson
Despite being a proven Premier League talent, the 26-year-old has looked a man possessed this season as he and his side take huge strides towards becoming top-half regulars.
The former Coventry forward has chalked up an impressive nine goals and six assists in the league this season and his pace makes him a threat on the counter; while he may be criticised for sprinting into an offside position on occasion, the England international’s movement would open up space for Anderson to cut inside and score even more goals.
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He may not be as natural a finisher as Piatek but Wilson’s athleticism would add another dimension to the Hammers attack – signing the number 13 would perhaps, despite his £75m valuation, represent less of a risk than bringing a potential one-season wonder in for just over half the price as Wilson has shown he can do it in England already.
We, here at Football Fancast, think that Piatek would be the better option – What do you think, West Ham fans? Who would be a better buy in your opinion? Let us know by voting in the poll below…
Leeds United fell to defeat at Blackburn Rovers at the weekend and lose ground in the Championship title race.
The Whites fell behind after just two minutes when Danny Graham headed home from a corner, but Mateusz Klich equalised on the stroke of half-time. Both sides squandered chances before Darragh Lenihan scored with 20 minutes on the clock to give Rovers a memorable victory. The win marked the first time since 2014 that Blackburn had defeated Leeds.
After making a flying start to Marcelo Bielsa’s reign as manager, Leeds have won just one of their last five fixtures. The Argentine’s intensive methods could be starting to have a negative effect on the squad and reinforcements should be bought in the January transfer window. Reports have suggested Leeds will target Tottenham’s Juan Foyth to improve their depth in defence.
However, Bielsa should return to La Liga to sign Villarreal defender – Victor Ruiz. Valued at £10.8m by Transfermarkt, the 29-year-old has been a key player for the Yellow Submarine this season, making seven appearances in La Liga. However, the former Napoli and Valencia defender has less than one year remaining on his contract and could be available for a great price in January.
Ruiz is a no-nonsense defender who could give Leeds a welcome boost in the New Year. He reads the game expertly, averaging 2.3 interceptions per game this season. Ruiz is also tough in a tackle and strong in the air meaning he should have no problems adapting to life in England. The Spanish defender is also fantastic on the ball, completing 89% of his passes so far this season (WhoScored).
Landing someone of Ruiz’s quality would be a real coup for the Whites and help them finally secure a return to the Premier League.
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Southampton may well be in for a busy summer in the transfer market after they only narrowly avoided relegation from the Premier League this season.
Saints ended the campaign in 17th position following four successive top-eight finishes in the top flight, and the south coast outfit and vice-chairman Les Reed – who will go from zero to hero if he completes these three summer deals – will be determined to return to the top-half of the table next term after a disappointing year.
New manager Mark Hughes will already be planning the players he wants to bring to St Mary’s and the ones he wants to ship out, and he will be hoping that he is given a fair chunk of the £75m that was received for Virgil van Dijk in January to spend.
They have already been linked with a whole host of players this summer, including £25m-rated Norwich City playmaker James Maddison, and the highly-rated 21-year-old should be their top target as they look for more creativity and goal threat in the final third next term.
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The left-back, centre-back, right-back, wing and striker positions could be others Hughes chooses to target if he gets the job, and the Welshman will know that he is under a little more pressure to get deals over the line with the window slamming shut on August 9 – two days before the new campaign gets underway.
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So, Southampton fans, who would you like to see the club sign this summer? Let us know by voting on the poll below…
According to Sky Sports News, Marouane Fellaini is still locked in contract talks with Manchester United, and has not told the Red Devils that he wants to leave.
What’s the story?
Reports on Tuesday morning claimed that Fellaini had informed Man United boss Jose Mourinho that he would not be signing a new contract.
The Belgium international will see his current deal with the Red Devils expire at the end of the season, and he is currently free to discuss terms with foreign clubs.
It has been reported that Fellaini had already decided his future, but according to Sky Sports News, the 30-year-old is still very much in discussions with his English club.
Fellaini, who is valued at £10.8m by transfermarkt.co.uk, has been strongly linked with a move to Turkey, whilst it is understood that there is interest from the super-rich Chinese Super League.
The midfielder is currently with the Man United squad in Dubai as the team enjoy a warm-weather training camp ahead of Monday’s Premier League clash with Stoke City.
What will be the outcome of this one?
It is extremely difficult to say at this stage. It had been suggested that Fellaini’s mind was made up, but that no longer seems to be the case.
Fellaini has had an up and down time at Man United, but it is worth pointing out that Mourinho has been very good to the former Everton midfielder.
The Portuguese has shown Fellaini a lot of attention since coming through the door, and has consistently spoken about the midfielder’s importance to his plans.
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Fellaini only returned from a knee injury as a late substitute against Derby County in the FA Cup on Friday night, and as mentioned, is currently with the squad in Dubai.
It is understood that he turned down a new two-year contract in September, and the fact that there will be no improvement to the deal currently on the table seems to suggest that the Belgium international will move on. However, nothing is certain at this stage.
According to reports on BBC Football, Preston North End and former Leeds United boss Simon Grayson is set to be appointed as the new Sunderland manager.
The Black Cats suffered a miserable relegation from the Premier League last season and David Moyes resigned as a result in May.
The Mackems are now looking for the man that can lead them to promotion to the Championship, and they believe Grayson – who has a wealth of experience at this level and was a popular figure during more than three years at Elland Road – is the man to do it.
Leeds supporters were quick to have their say on the news via social media, and while many were pleased that the 47-year-old has got a big move and should be given funds to work with, others believe that he will bring stability rather than promotion, and it is one less team that the Yorkshire outfit have to worry about next season.
Wigan Athletic fans may not have felt too excited when they were drawn Manchester United in the fourth round of the FA Cup.The Championship outfit will face Jose Mourinho’s men at Old Trafford at the end of the month, and the action is more than likely going to be televised.Of course, the TV revenue will be handy for the Latics, but history suggests that they could be embarrassed by the Red Devils.[ad_pod id=’now-tv’ align=’centre’]If United were not strong favourites already given their Premier League heavyweight status,ÂOptaJoeÂhas uncovered a statistic that firmly puts them in the driving seat.
Gulp. On one occasion Wigan have scored at Old Trafford, and that was on Boxing Day in 2006 when Leighton Baines – now of Everton – scored a 90th minute penalty.
It proved to be a consolation goal, though, as Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice in four minutes during the second half, and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer nabbed one for himself to give United a 3-1 triumph.
Overall, these two sides have gone head to head 18 times, with United winning 17 and Wigan claiming a solitary victory.
It came in 2012 and Shaun Maloney’s 50th-minute goal was the only thing to separate the teams in the Premier League clash at the DW Stadium.
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Memphis Depay arrived at Manchester United to a great fanfare over the summer. The Red Devils paid a significant fee for the Dutchman, beating Liverpool, and a host of top European clubs, to his signature while prompting much optimism in the Old Trafford stands.22 goals for PSV Eindhoven in their Eredivisie-winning campaign certainly suggested that he would be a big hit, but just one effort in English league action has already prompted suggestions from former Netherlands international Youri Mulders that the club are “fed up†with his attitude and output.
And it seems that Mulders’ words may have some credibility, with the forward having been relegated to the bench for the trip to Everton. Quite a few Red Devils followers are pretty happy with Louis van Gaal’s call…
Newcastle United isn’t the kind of club that oozes the idea of stability.
At the managerial helm, they have a boss in Alan Pardew whom through his clichéd soundbites, obnoxious demeanour and subtle undertones of desperation, is perhaps the Premier League’s closest current equivalent of Alan Partridge.
Above him, you have Mike Ashley. A man who is at such constant odds with the St. James’s Park faithful he recently banned journalists from the infamously renamed Sports Direct Arena for reporting on protest campaigns against his ownership.
And somewhere in between lies Joe Kinnear, who as a player, manager, and now transfer honcho, could never be described, in any manner of the word, as ‘stable’.
Last season, as the Magpies finished in 17th place and recorded a disturbing 17 Premier League defeats, in stark contrast to their continental qualification the year previous, perhaps the biggest example of the club’s persistent turbulence, these three stooges became the poster boys for the discontent of the fan base.
Even Graham Carr, the Chief Scout once applauded for his ability to snap up cheap and promising talents from Ligue 1, came under attack for his role in creating a squad filled with Frenchmen, most of which were hopelessly underperforming last term, with pundits such as Gary Neville quipping that Newcastle had lost their vital English identity through the influx of foreigners.
At such a point, especially in the summer, it would have been incredibly easy for Mike Ashley to give Alan Pardew his marching orders, and scapegoat the former West Ham and Charlton manager for the sorry campaign. It’s not as if we haven’t seem a similar pattern of overachievement followed by underperformance from Pardew before.
Fans further baulked as the summer transfer window slammed shut. For three months worth of work during the off-season, Kinnear, Pardew and Ashley had brought in just a single new player to a squad filled with unknown quantities, in the form of loan signing Loic Remy. Questioning whether the club’s management and board shared the same ambitions as the supporters, divisions on the terraces intensified.
But how quickly things can change in the world of modern football; Newcastle suddenly find themselves in sixth place in the Premier League table after 13 games, claiming surprise wins against Chelsea and Tottenham, and reminding the St. James’s faithful of the Magpies side we saw clinch fifth spot two years ago. Not to suggest tensions between fan and boardroom have anywhere near diminished due to results.
So what’s been the turning point? What’s the deciding factor in Newcastle’s fortunes taking a sharp upturn from the troubling season previous?
Well, Alan Pardew is currently the second-longest serving manager in the English top flight, not that that’s too much of an achievement nowadays considering he’s been Magpies gaffer for just two and a half years.
But the correlation is obvious, bearing in mind the Premier League’s first longest-serving head coach, Arsene Wenger, has enjoyed a similar flurry in form this season that’s seen his Gunners side leave pundits eating their words as they claim pole position in the English table, while the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United are still struggling to overcome changes in management and first team personnel from the summer.
It’s consistency and stability, despite Newcastle’s customary negative stigmatism otherwise, that they’re reaping the benefits from this season, just as Wenger is at the Emirates.
The same goes for the Newcastle roster. The likes of Mathieu Debuchy, Moussa Sissoko, Yoann Gouffran, Davide Santon, Fabricio Coloccini, Hatem Ben Arfa and Cheik Tiote weren’t at anything near their best last season, and after such a terrible campaign many expected a mild overhaul of the first team squad in the summer, or at least the arrival of some home-grown talent to balance out the roster. In a sense, the summer transfer window could have represented the end of Graham Carr’s transfer policies.
But just as Ashley stuck to his guns in not relinquishing Pardew of his duties, who was at times last season looking like a sitting duck waiting to be put out of his misery, the club’s management did the same regarding the squad over the summer, and now last year’s flops are emerging as the stars of the Newcastle show.
Apart from Pablo Zabaletta, Debuchy has been the best right-back in the English top flight this year. Davide Santon is finally delivering on his obvious potential, Yoann Gouffran – once described as a Gabriel Obertan who can be bothered to run – has claimed three goals and one assist in his last four appearances, Hatem Ben Arfa has charged himself with the monumental task of winning the Ballon D’or, and Tiote and Coloccini are putting in the levels of performance we’ve come to expect from the defensive duo.
Meanwhile, the Magpies’ only summer addition, loan star Loic Remy, is proving to be the missing ingredient, with eight goals in 10 appearances putting him in sixth in the Premier League’s goalscoring charts.
Once again, we have obvious comparisons with the Premier League’s leaders. Wenger was implored by fans and pundits alike at the end of last season to finally spend big, and he resisted the urge until late in the summer window, eventually forking out £42million on Mesut Ozil.
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It wasn’t quite the spending spree supporters had envisaged, with still obvious weaknesses in depth in several departments, but adding selectively to his squad rather than administering a sudden turnaround has allowed the Frenchman to build astutely, and has undoubtedly contributed to the Gunners’ meteoric rise this season whilst their divisional rivals have squandered.
For a club that’s most closely resembled a plank of wood delicately hanging over either side of a wire-thin tight rope throughout the last 18 months, it’s surprisingly Newcastle’s stability and consistency that’s got them to turn their fortunes around.
Refraining from panic and sensationalism, the Magpies have emerged as a rare beacon of interior loyalty and constancy in a division continually caught up with the notion of instantaneous progression, keeping the faith in their transfer philosophy, management and playing staff, and they are now reaping the just rewards for doing so.
Manchester City defender Gael Clichy has hailed the importance of Carlos Tevez at the club.
The Argentina international had a controversial 2011-12 as he went AWOL after refusing to come off the bench in a Champions League defeat to Bayern Munich.
However, with the South American forward restored to the Premier League champions’ squad, Clichy has stated that Tevez is a crucial player for Roberto Mancini’s men.
“He has been our best player so far this season,” the France international told The Sun.
“He’s scored goals, worked really hard. He’s just a great player.
“What happened in Munich, and after, is nothing to do with me. It was between him and the boss.
“It’s all sorted now. Carlos in top form would be a great player for any team. Let’s hope he can carry on scoring.
“The passion he has for the game, the way he presses defenders, lifts the team — we need a player like this so well done Carlos.
“We want players who bring something extra and he does that. He can make a big difference for us this season,” the full-back concluded.
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City take on German side Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Wednesday night.