Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer confirmed in his Southampton pre-match press conference that Marcus Rashford will “probably start” on Saturday, and the news will leave Jannik Vestergaard sweating.
What’s the word, then?
Well, the England international picked up a knock against Liverpool last weekend but given they made three first-half substitutions against the Merseyside outfit, the 21-year-old still stayed on the pitch for the entirety.
He was unable to start against Crystal Palace in midweek but was in the 18-man squad and did feature from the bench for the final 13 minutes of the 3-1 win.
Ahead of the Red Devils’ clash with Saints at Old Trafford, Solskjaer says the explosive attacker is ready to take his place on the team-sheet.
The Norwegian told manutd.com: “Rashford is fully fit now. I’ll probably start him.”
Bad news for Vestergaard?
It certainly might be, as he would have been looking forward to potentially only having to deal with Romelu Lukaku, who he is perfectly suited to given his height and lack of pace.
While the Denmark international has improved significantly since manager Ralph Hasenhuttl arrived at St Mary’s in December, there is no doubt that his lack of speed and agility means he can suffer against players like Rashford.
In the reverse fixture in December which proved to be Mark Hughes’ final one at the helm, the 26-year-old struggled as the young forward ran rings around the south coast outfit’s defence, providing two assists as well as being clattered by the giant centre-back on the right-hand side in the 51st minute.
Given Romelu Lukaku scored twice in the 3-1 win against the Eagles the likelihood is that Rashford will either replace Diogo Dalot on the right of a 4-3-3 system with Alexis Sanchez on the left, or he will partner the Belgium international up top.
Whichever happens Vestergaard will be sweating to come up against an unpredictable and quick player he simply isn’t built to effectively defend against, and he will need help from the likes of left wing-back Ryan Bertrand.
Liverpool are interested in signing Celta Vigo hitman Maxi Gomez to provide depth in attack, after former Reds striker Luis Suarez sang his fellow countryman’s praises to boss Jurgen Klopp, as reported by The Sun.
What’s the word, then?
Well, the Premier League title hopefuls are particularly light in attack compared to their league rivals, Manchester City.
Where Pep Guardiola has the likes of Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus to choose from, Klopp is perhaps over-reliant on Roberto Firmino with Divock Origi and Daniel Sturridge less fancied up top – the pair have made a combined four league starts this season.
Gomez hit 17 goals in what was his first La Liga campaign last year, and has continued his form with nine goals and five assists so far this term as Celta Vigo battle to avoid relegation.
The ruthlessness that Liverpool are missing
Standing at 6′ 1″, 22-year-old Gomez is a real powerhouse thanks to his height and stocky physique, although he is not just a towering lump as he possesses great technical skills.
Suarez has given a glowing recommendation of his fellow Uruguayan for a reason, and with Chelsea and West Ham also lurking, the Reds should try hard to get this deal done.
Firmino has been less of an out-and-out striker this season and more of a No.10, so the Merseysiders lack a real frontman to aim for at times.
Football is a squad game, and it doesn’t take a genius to see that Liverpool lack City’s depth.
Klopp has been fairly lucky with injuries so far this season, hence his side’s lofty position in the table, but if one of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane or Firmino are hit with a serious problem, their ambitions will be dealt a severe blow with no one in reserve capable of matching their impact on the pitch.
For the reported price tag of £35m too, a move for Gomez should be a no-brainer.
Barnsley boss Daniel Stendel has been nominated for the Sky Bet League One Manager of the Month award, as confirmed by the club’s official website.
The German coach is in contention for February’s award, alongside Plymouth Argyle boss Derek Adams, Luton Town coach Mick Harford and Sunderland gaffer Jack Ross. The winner of the award will be announced on Friday March 8th.
Whilst Stendel undoubtedly deserves to be in contention for this recognition given the Oakwell club’s February form, he faces stiff competition. Sunderland themselves have been impressing recently and have re-entered the race, alongside the Tykes, for automatic promotion into the Championship.
The Black Cats currently sit in third, just two points behind Barnsley and with a game in hand.
Surprisingly, it would seem that many Reds fans would prefer to see Ross win this manager of the month award instead of Stendel, as some supporters see it as a bad luck omen.
After the announcement, plenty of Barnsley fans to took to Twitter to give their reaction to Stendel’s inclusion amongst the nominees…
Mesaque Dju is hoping to keep scoring for West Ham after netting his first goal for the club’s Under-23 side on Monday.
Dju netted in the Hammers’ 3-0 win over Swansea City after coming on as a substitute.
What’s the word?
Dju joined the Hammers in January, arriving on a free transfer from Benfica.
The winger had played just 82 minutes of football for the club prior to the encounter with Swansea, where he scored with his first touch.
And he has expressed his delight at hitting the back of the net as the Hammers’ Under-23 team battle against relegation.
“I am very happy to get my first goal for this big club,” he told the club’s official website. “Now I have to keep going because we need the points in the league. We have worked hard every day and it was a good win for us tonight.
“It was my first touch I think but I didn’t think – my focus was on the team and doing my best out there and I was very happy to be in the position to score the goal. It was a good touch for me to score and it’s a good night for me.
“When Nathan [Holland] received the ball, I saw him and my first thought was to get inside the box because I know Nathan has the quality and the speed to get across and put the ball in the centre. Luckily, I was in the right place and I am very happy when I touched the ball to score.”
An exciting time for Hammers fans
Dju has only just scored his first goal for the club but fans should be excited.
A Portugal youth international who has been capped at every level from the Under-16s to the Under-20s, he may well be the next exciting academy graduate in east London.
It remains to be seen how long it will take for him to earn senior recognition, but there is surely more to come from Dju.
That has been the Terriers’ main downfall, hasn’t it? Accompany a lack of defensive stability across the course of the season has been a lack of a regular goalscoring output, which is key as to they find themselves slumped at the bottom of the Premier League.
Huddersfield Town have scored just 18 goals this season in the League, with their joint top scorer being Karlan Grant, a January transfer window signing.
Following Grant’s brace at the weekend, it seems certain he will be Jan Siewert’s first-choice striker for their remaining seven games of the season, but we can still discuss the impact that the main two options offer…
Steve Mounie
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Mounie has just two League goals and three assists in 26 League games this season. A woeful return.
The 24-year-old’s all-round game has been poor this season as although he has had a lack of service, he has certainly struggled to bring teammates into play and be clinical in front of goal, which is what his play-style is based around.
Grade: D-
Karlan Grant
After scoring 14 goals and providing five assists for Charlton in the first half of this campaign, Grant signed for Town in late January and since his arrival, he has looked bright in his six appearances so far.
The 21-year-old offers a completely different outlet to Mounie and one that is more efficient too, given his three goals in a Huddersfield shirt already. He makes lots of runs in-behind the opponent’s backline, gets involved in the build-up play often and has a relentless work-rate – all of these traits will serve him well with Town in the future.
Grade: B+
TT VERDICT
Provided he is fit, Grant must be Siewert’s only striking option for the latter stage of the season. With fate all but sealed, it provides a good opportunity for Grant to develop chemistry between his teammates and continue to prosper in West Yorkshire, which will only better Town’s chances of making it back to the Premier League at the first time of asking.
It’s about time Seamus Coleman was replaced at Everton. With that in mind, and while the club surely has the funds to splash the cash, the best option would be to give Mason Holgate a chance instead.
The 22-year-old, dubbed the ‘next John Stones’, went out on loan to West Brom in January and has made 10 appearances in the Championship, even scoring a goal and making three assists. He made 38 appearances for Everton before the loan spell but it was seemingly deemed he needed to grow more as a player.
That seems to have happened and now’s the right time to bring him back and ease him into this youthful squad Marco Silva is building. If he’s not brought back now, it’s hard to see how he’ll ever make it in this Everton team, because they’ll have to buy someone for Coleman’s position soon.
Everton will have to spend a lot of money to catch up with the big six in the Premier League as they hope to do, so saving money by promoting youth talent when it’s there will mean more cash is available for other positions. There’s no harm in giving the youngster a chance.
He could even act as Coleman’s understudy for a period, so the pressure isn’t all on him to perform as first choice. That way he can apply his skills acquired in the Championship to the Premier League as he’s bedded in slowly.
Holgate has done what Everton have asked him to do by proving his worth out on loan in the Championship, so next season it’s time to reward him with the opportunity to join this Everton squad that hopes to break into Europe.
Everton fans, what do you think your club should do with Holgate when he returns from his loan this summer? Join the discussion by commenting below.
[ad_pod ]It’s official. Manchester United have confirmed the appointment of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as their manager on a three-year contract, after the Norwegian impressed hugely in an interim role having succeeded Jose Mourinho towards the end of December.The Red Devils’ former No.20 has suffered defeat on just three occasions since stepping into the hotseat, whilst noticeably improving the squad’s morale which had suffered significantly under Mourinho’s harsher management style.
Everything about the appointment looks rosy. Solskjaer gets the club and its ethos, is adored by the fans and the players, and has been getting results to boot – however, the history of appointing interim managers on a permanent basis suggests that United have gotten overexcited in handing the former Cardiff boss a three-year deal.
When Roberto Di Matteo won the Champions League and the FA Cup for Chelsea as interim boss, he was consequently, and deservedly, handed a two-year contract in the summer of 2012; the Italian lasted until November after a few poor results.
Which “global superstar” has just been named Man Utd’s worst ever January signing? Find out in the video above…
If the same ends up happening to Solskjaer, which it very well could given his not-so-impressive managerial career to date prior to his current stint at Old Trafford, then the length of contract handed to him by United chiefs could be a costly decision.
The 20-time Premier League champions were forced to shell out around £24m to Mourinho after giving him his marching orders back in December, having already payed out a combined £13.6 to get rid of David Moyes and Louis van Gaal.
If Solskjaer does turn out to be yet another interim-turned-permanent flop, then United could be setting themselves up for yet another hefty pay-off, and yet another search for a manager who can take them back to their glory days – even someone who could achieve a quarter of what Sir Alex Ferguson achieved would be deemed a hero.
The faith United have shown in Solskjaer after just three impressive months is admirable, if ill-advised and something they may very well end up regretting before the year is up. Solskjaer has the potential to be a huge hit at Old Trafford, but he’s equally capable of becoming a victim of his own early success.
There has not been much to shout about this season if you are a Huddersfield Town fan.
The Terriers are currently bottom of the Premier League, 16 points from safety and facing the prospect of relegation to the second tier of English football at the weekend if results do not go their way.
However, off-the-pitch the club have posted some good news which may be vital for the future of the Yorkshire-based outfit. The end of year accounts for the previous year saw Huddersfield make a profit of £23.2m (via the BBC) which is a vast improvement on their 2017 postings which resulted in a £21.9m loss. Although this only accounts for expenditure up to last June, when you consider that the Terriers spent modestly in both the summer and the winter transfer windows, they should be in a good financial position for next season.
In contrast, Fulham’s decision to blow £105.3m (via Sky Sports) could prove to be incredibly detrimental for the club as they are almost certain to join Huddersfield as one of the three clubs who will be relegated to the Championship in May. Whereas Jan Siewert’s side could look to strengthen their squad in the summer, Scott Parker may have to offload a number of his players to finance any future moves as the Cottagers discover the costs of over-spending.
Even though they face a return to the second tier after just two years in the Premier League, the Terriers will undoubtedly benefit from the parachute payments that relegated sides receive. In 2018, the figure paid out to club’s who failed to avoid the drop was £40m (according to the Sun) with an extra £35m given in 2019 and £15m in 2020. However, if a side is promoted within three seasons of getting relegated the payments will stop.
What this ultimately means for Huddersfield is that if they wanted to, they could keep the majority of their key players for at least the 2019/20 campaign. However, giving how poor they have been this season, it would be a surprise if Siewert doesn’t completely overhaul the current squad in the summer.
What do you think Terriers fans? Should the club use their financial status to bolster the squad in the summer? Who should Siewert keep at the John Smith’s Stadium? Let us know below.
Tottenham Hotspur opened their glistening new stadium two weekends ago, as their Under-18s team took on Southampton and won 3-1.
On Saturday, another match was played, this time from the other end of the era spectrum as a legends team took on Inter Forever.
The likes of Dimitar Berbatov, Robbie Keane and Darren Anderton all took to the pitch, and all took the time to give their take on the ground, which was home to 45,000 fans against the Nerazzurri.
Take a look at their verdicts below!
Darren Anderton – Long-serving former midfielder
Anderton, who played for the club between 1992 and 2004, believes the club are now well-positioned to bring in some of the best players in the world, saying:
“The club wants to be one of the best clubs in the world and to do that you have to have one of the best stadiums in the world, that’s exactly what we need and you want the best players to want to come and play for you and who wouldn’t want to play out there every week?
“The wall was unbelievable. Even in the warm up it really was a different sort of sound and it reverberated around there, it was amazing. I can’t wait to hear Wednesday night, when it’s a full stadium.”
David Ginola – A free-scoring dribbler in his heyday
Liverpool v Tottenham 8/11/97 Premiership
Pic : Darren Walsh / Action Images
Tottenham’s David Ginola gets away from Liverpool’s Steve McManaman
Tottenham Hotspur
Ginola insists that Spurs are now well-placed to enter something of a golden era, adding:
“For the club it is a massive step forward because playing away from your home is not something that you want and it’s been for a long time now.
“First of all, they deserve to play at their home ground and now it’s over, the wait is over and Wednesday is going to be the start, hopefully, of something really, really interesting and I think it’ll be fantastic.
“The stadium is part of the whole project, there’s the training ground, the new stadium, everything is going forward, so I think the future of Tottenham Hotspur is really bright.”
Steffen Freund – cult hero and former coaching staff member
Freund enjoyed a five-year spell at the club before returning in 2012 as assistant head coach, and believes the club have sent a message to the entire footballing world, claiming:
“It’s a special place and you can see the difference to other new stadiums, like Arsenal, the Etihad, supporters are closer to the pitch and the south stand is a bit like the south stand at Borussia Dortmund. Everything, from the whole staff here at Tottenham was well organised.
“I came in 2012 as assistant coach, I saw the plans of what they could do and now the stadium is even bigger, that time it was 55,000, now 62,000, the second biggest in London. That’s a message to everyone in England, and to the world, that you can build a nice stadium with a nice atmosphere and still have over 60,000 supporters.”
Robbie Keane – The club’s 11th-highest goalscorer
Keane scored a genuinely brilliant goal during the legends game, having played for the club across two spells, and was especially impressed with the south stand, the largest of its kind in England. When asked about the atmosphere, he said:
“In terms of atmosphere, yeah. You can see it tonight, the atmosphere was fantastic.
“It’s certainly a historic moment for Tottenham Hotspur and it’s a credit to everyone at the club, certainly that big wall at the back there will put shivers down their spine.”
David Howells – A 13-year veteran
Howells, at the age of 51, completed the entire 90 minutes against Inter, having played as a midfielder for the club between 1985 and 1998, and believes Spurs have replicated the feel of the old White Hart Lane, claiming:
“The first thing I noticed was the noise. When we went out, the crowd, just when they were cheering the names as they were read out, it was ‘oh my god, that is noisy’. We all noticed it.
“It feels like home, it really does, I know it’s brand new and the standard of the whole building is absolutely phenomenal but it feels like home, it feels like you’ve come home, which is amazing. I suppose because the journey’s the same, we’re in the same area, but it does still have that feeling.”
Dimitar Berbatov – Former striker
Berbatov played for the club between 2006 and 2008 before earning a major move to Manchester United and was impressed with the facilities in north London, saying:
“It’s going to be a big step to getting Tottenham even bigger, in the world, as a club. They have everything now.
“I think this is one of the best stadiums I’ve been in, if not the best one. So now it’s down to them to show on the pitch how good they are.”
Neil Lennon planning Celtic’s rebuild for next season is like a person organising their partner’s future wedding…except they’re getting married to someone else.
The uncertainty shrouding Neil Lennon’s future at Celtic will surely be frustrating for both him and the fans alike.
The 47-year-old, who’s on his second stint at Parkhead, has fully aware that the club is in the midst of a major transition and has readily offered his services to ease the process, as a number of current squad members – either out of contract is due to return to their parent clubs – face imminent departure (as per Daily Mail).
While Lennon’s commitment could be thrown into question during this tumultuous period of uncertainty, John Kennedy, his assistant, has insisted that his partner is actively committed, as he waits in limbo for a decision to be made on a possible long-term contract.
‘Neil has come in and he is looking at the squad,’ said Kennedy (via Daily Mail). ‘We have sat down and we have had meetings about next season, if everything goes to plan, and what it might be. There is a bit of work to be done, there’s no getting away from that. A bit of work in terms of planning, which the club will continue.
‘Hopefully, when that happens, it’ll be pretty smooth, and we’ll hit the ground running next season.’
‘…Neil has treated the job like he’s going to be in it and doing all of the work he can,’ Kennedy added. ‘He is involved with, from his perspective, what the club might need, giving his opinion on things.’
Lennon clearly has a special place in his heart for the club he has achieved immense personal success with, and Celtic likewise. However, there must be something holding the club back if they’re yet to offer him a permanent residency.
Whatever it is, both parties need to come to some sort of agreement – sooner rather than later – before a lack of leadership begins to jeopardise the next campaign.
Celtic fans, would you be happy to keep Lennon on or would you rather gamble on fresh talent? Let us know in the comments below…