Leeds United have secured another signing in the form of midfielder Ouasim Bouy from Juventus.
The Championship outfit announced the news on Wednesday, confirming that the versatile player has penned a four-year contract.
However, instead of throwing him into first-team contention, the club have decided to loan him out to Spanish second division club Cultural Leonesa.
Bouy can play as a central defender or as a defensive midfielder, and some fans are scratching their heads about the decision to offload him temporarily.
The Whites have plenty of options in midfield, but at the back, only Pontus Jansson, Matthew Pennington and Liam Cooper are available for head coach Thomas Christiansen.
On top of that, Jansson is suspended for Leeds’ first Championship game of the season this Sunday against Bolton Wanderers.
The fans took to Twitter to give their views on the club’s latest transfer deal, with many happy to sign Bouy but frustrated that he will not be at the club this season.
West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic has insisted that Manuel Lanzini is “happy” at the club and is expected to stay, reports the club’s official website.
What’s the word?
The Argentine quickly emerged as a transfer target for Liverpool when it became clear that Philippe Coutinho was wanted by Barcelona.
As it stands with less than two weeks left to go until the window closes, the Brazilian remains a Liverpool player.
The club released a statement last week insisting that the 25-year-old will not be sold, despite the player submitting a transfer request.
This stance, of course, helps West Ham if Liverpool have indeed placed Lanzini on their list of replacements, as reported by the Daily Star.
Hammers manager Slaven Bilic has reiterated that the 24-year-old is content with life at the London Stadium and is expected to be at the club for the rest of the season.
“He knows if he has a good season at West Ham, he has the chance to improve, to have a better contract with West Ham and to play for Argentina. He is very happy here.
“I am sure he is going to stay with us. He knows that he is wanted. He was voted the Players’ Player of the Year, which is a really good thing. It makes you feel really wanted at a place. He likes it here.”
West Ham must not be swayed
If a big club like Liverpool come calling, it would be understandable if Lanzini’s head was turned, particularly as he would have the opportunity to fill Coutinho’s role.
Keeping hold of the midfielder would be a major victory for the Hammers, who were forced into selling their best player in January.
The East London outfit went through some turmoil when Dimitri Payet shockingly refused to play for the club again.
The Frenchman instigated a move back to Marseille, and he eventually got his wish.
There does not seem to be any indication that this situation would repeat itself with Lanzini, but losing a key player would reflect negatively on the club’s image and reputation.
According to reports in The Sun, Chelsea are set to launch a £50m bid for Tottenham Hotspur left-back Danny Rose just hours after the club meet in the Premier League this Sunday.
What’s the word, then?
Well, The Sun says the Blues will submit an offer for the 27-year-old after two sides clash at Wembley at the weekend, with the England international now their leading left-back target with a move for Juventus’ Alex Sandro now looking unlikely.
The Sun says that Spurs’ London neighbours would likely have to bid £50m to have any chance of interesting Daniel Levy, who has already sold Kyle Walker to Manchester City earlier this summer.
Rose’s future a with Tottenham was thrown into doubt following an explosive interview with The Sun last week, but it is still unclear whether the full-back, who the report adds is a long-term for Manchester United, will be sold before the transfer window slams shut at the end of the month – particularly as he is still recovering from a knee injury that has kept him on the sidelines since January.
How did Rose do last season?
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The 27-year-old has become a key player for Tottenham across the last two campaigns especially as they have challenged for the Premier League title, and he was certainly an impressive performer in the first-half of the previous campaign before picking up the injury.
The left-back scored two goals and provided a further four assists in 21 appearances in all competitions, showing that he adds an attacking dimension to the Spurs side as well as being strong from a defensive point of view.
Would he be a good signing for Chelsea?
He certainly would be.
Rose has established himself as one of the best in his position in the Premier League and for his country in recent years and while he is used to play at left-back for Tottenham, he has all of the attributes to play the left wing-back role at Stamford Bridge if he did join the Blues.
Antonio Conte is desperate to bring in more competition for Marcos Alonso in that position and not only would Rose provide that, but he probably automatically become the first-choice option.
What’s the verdict, then?
Well, Tottenham certainly won’t be willing to sell Rose to Chelsea unless they are offered a sum of money they can’t refuse, but £50m might just be enough to do that considering they already have Ben Davies and would be able to buy a decent replacement.
Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino has confirmed that Victor Wanyama will be out of action for a “few weeks” with injury.
What’s wrong?
The club’s official website claims that the midfielder suffered a knee problem in training prior to the Burnley match, in which Spurs drew 1-1.
The injury was suffered almost two weeks ago, but it seems that Wanyama will have an extended spell on the sidelines.
Pochettino did not give a definitive timeline for recovery, but the 26-year-old will miss Saturday’s Premier League match against Everton at Goodison Park.
Tottenham head into the game on the back of a two-match winless run.
Who can replace him?
Eric Dier is the natural option to come in for the injured Wanyama due to the England international’s ability to play in defensive midfield as well as at the back.
There is no denying that Spurs will miss Wanyama’s power in the middle of the pitch, though.
The former Southampton man has become a reliable figure in Pochettino’s team after a stellar first season at the club.
Wanyama’s ability to stand firm and break up play will be missing at Goodison Park, where pressure will be on for Spurs to get back to winning ways.
Another concerning factor is that there has not been a specific comeback date.
Tottenham are known for being vague with regards to injuries, particularly with Erik Lamela and Danny Rose, who have both been on the sidelines for lengthy spells.
Chelsea were left frustrated at Stamford Bridge on Sunday after a dogged Arsenal visited and took a point away with them, after a 0-0 draw in the English Premier League.
Antonio Conte’s side met their match against an impressive performance from a Gunners team that could have actually nicked all three points towards the end, after the Blues went down to ten men.
It was Arsene Wenger’s first point at the home of Chelsea in a massive six years.
The home side had been hoping to keep pace with Manchester City above them, who were so impressive on Saturday afternoon.
Chelsea fans were not particularly pleased with their side’s performance, especially from the midfield into the final third, with some reckoning Conte got his selection all wrong by starting Brazilian attacker Willian.
The 29-year-old was ineffective while on the pitch and he’s been receiving most of the criticism in the wake of the dropped points.
Supporters took to Twitter to share their thoughts…
Tottenham’s 4-0 thumping of Huddersfield in Saturday’s early kickoff will mostly be remembered for Harry Kane’s stunning second as the Spurs striker twisted his way past two defenders before unleashing a left-footed curler beyond a helpless Jonas Lossl.
While the England international was undoubtedly vital in unlocking a Huddersfield defence that had previously conceded just one goal at home, however, it was Tottenham’s full-backs that made the biggest difference, overlapping to great effect with an abundance of creativity that David Wagner’s side simply found too hot to handle.
Between them, left-back Ben Davies and right-back Kieran Trippier produced a staggering three assists (although the England international’s throw-in for Kane’s wonder-strike was awarded to him as a set-up rather generously) and one goal, the Welshman galloping forward to finish off a fine Tottenham breakaway built on one-touch passing.
In total, the wing-back duo created eight chances, flung nine crosses into the box and had a whopping 160 touches of the ball, highlighting how crucial they were to Spurs’ efforts going forward in an incredibly convincing performance from Mauricio Pochettino’s side.
Ironically though, neither arguably make Tottenham’s strongest starting XI, with Serge Aurier arriving from PSG during the summer and Danny Rose set to return from injury late next month. So, Spurs fans, who do you view as Pochettino’s best full-back options? Let us know by voting below…
As reported by The Telegraph, Tottenham Hotspur are hopeful of signing up Dele Alli to a new contract.
What’s the story?
For a club like Spurs, when players produce excellent performances and find consistent form, it inevitably leads to speculation that these stars will move away from the club for riches elsewhere.
In an effort to combat that, it’s important they sign their players up to contracts that keep them happy and focused on life in London.
To that end, Spurs are set to offer Dele Alli a pay rise, despite him signing a six-year deal with the club just last year.
That’s according to The Telegraph who say that the club are confident they can add an extra year to the attacking midfielder’s contract while bumping his pay from £50,000 to £80,000.
The paper reckon that’s in an effort to protect the club from unrealistic demands down the line, or in the wake of a storming performance for England at next year’s World Cup.
Worth it?
It might seem odd for a club to scramble to offer a player a new contract just 12 months after a six-year deal, but frankly Dele Alli is worth making a fuss over considering the talent he has and the potential player he could yet become.
It’s easy to forget, but he’s still just 21 years of age and could still improve beyond his form of last season which saw him score 22 goals and create 13 assists for his teammates.
That kind of contribution is going to be integral if Mauricio Pochettino’s team is going to achieve their ambitions of winning serious silverware and it’s worth paying for.
Despite having a Premier League winners’ medal, Michy Batshuayi has not had the most successful time at Chelsea so far.
The Belgian arrived at Stamford Bridge from Marseille last year for a £30m+ figure, but he has struggled to make an impact.
Manager Antonio Conte played the striker 20 times in the Premier League, but only included the 24-year-old in the starting lineup once, which was after the team had secured the title.
Following the summer acquisition of Alvaro Morata from Real Madrid, it became clear that Batshuayi would not be promoted to a regular spot.
This season, the striker has featured six times in all competitions, scoring five goals – in the Carabao Cup and Champions League.
The fans have been frustrated with Batshuayi’s displays in the top flight, and they are not the only ones, with former Premier League player Jamie Redknapp criticising the forward.
The ex-Tottenham Hotspur midfielder has claimed that 20-year-old Tammy Abraham, who is currently on loan at Swansea City from Chelsea, could easily replace Batshuayi.
The football pundit wrote for the Daily Mail:
“If you put Tammy Abraham into Chelsea’s team now in place of Michy Batshuayi, I don’t think he would do any worse but Swansea is the best place for him right now.”
Most football clubs’ social media teams like to make the most of an event, and many came up with Halloween-themed tweets on October 31.
West Ham United decided to come up with new ‘spooky’ names for a best XI, with ‘Witcharito’ and ‘Marlon Scarewood’ leading the line up front.
The club hoped that the fans would interact by coming up with their own versions, but rather than play along, the supporters took a different approach…
The negative mood among the fans comes from an inconsistent spell on the pitch from the players.
The East London outfit have won just two of their 10 Premier League games, drawing three and losing the other five.
At the weekend, Slaven Bilic’s side squandered a two-goal lead to eventually settle for a 2-2 draw with bottom-placed Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.
Pressure is growing on the manager and players, particularly as the club reside just one point above the relegation zone.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan is perhaps the only player at Manchester United Jose Mourinho allows to shirk his defensive responsibilities at times. The 68-cap Armenian isn’t gifted the off-the-ball apathy he showed during his first few appearances for the Red Devils, but there is nonetheless an acceptance that he doesn’t always have to be as relentlessly industrious as the rest of the team.
The trade-off, though, is that Mkhitaryan should be United’s talismanic spark – the go-to guy who can provide a moment of glistening creative magic when they need it most. In big games like Manchester United’s Premier League clash with Chelsea on Sunday, those players can be all the difference.
In fact, with Mourinho adopting such a pragmatic and defensive strategy against such opposition on the road, United need that flash of genius more than most sides in the top six.
And yet, barring a winning goal against Tottenham at Old Trafford last season followed by a strike against Ajax in the Europa League final, we’re yet to see Mkhitaryan truly deliver on the most important occasions. The defeat to Chelsea last weekend provides the most recent example of not only Mkhitaryan failing to provide a much-needed telling moment, but also going completely missing just when you’d expect a player of his calibre to come through.
Indeed, Mkhitaryan failed to produce a single shot or created chance before being subbed off in the 61st minute. But perhaps most damningly of his modest contribution, he had just five more touches of the ball and completed only three more passes than Marouane Fellaini – the man brought on to replace him with less than half an hour left to play.
Some may question Jose Mourinho’s tactics and it’s certainly true his United team have struggled offensively in away games against the big six. But that’s because he expects players with Mkhitaryan’s attacking quality to muster up a moment brilliance that will decide the game or at least give United a chance of doing so. Since his move from Borussia Dortmund, that simply hasn’t happened on a consistent enough basis to justify how little Mkhitaryan offers off the ball.