All posts by z3u9t.icu

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The race for the PFA Player of the Year award has been depicted as a foregone conclusion. A clear favourite has been established and all alternative candidates appear to have been cast into the shadows of Virgil van Dijk.

BT Sport commentator and ESPN writer, Ian Darke, has boldly claimed that Liverpool’s defensive colossus deserves the reward irrespective of how the Premier League title race unfolds.

Similar sentiments have been offered by his Liverpool teammate, Andrew Robertson, and Anfield legend, Jamie Carragher, who claimed Van Dijk “looks like a man playing in a kids’ game” after the Reds drew 0-0 with Everton at Goodison Park earlier this month.

With so many big names backing the £75million signing to the tilt, it seems pointless to even build a case for an alternative winner; that would be about as meaningful as Huddersfield’s endeavour to remain in the top-flight this season.

But in the midst of the Van Dijk mania there is a humble outside contender who is far more deserving of the award, Son Heung-min.

Son has been dubbed as ‘a leading Premier League star’ by Sky Sports, but he is so, so much more than that. No player in the league has travelled such immense distances and thrived in season-defining circumstances while consistently remaining infectiously likeable and exuberant in the public eye.

His season started in the most unprecedented of circumstances. Mauricio Pochettino offered his blessing as Son jetted off to Indonesia for the Asian Games knowing that anything less than a gold medal would leave him facing two years of mandatory military service.

Like all great champions, Son, who captained South Korea at the games, excelled under life-changing circumstances and led his side to the gold medal, earning him exemption from military service. The 2-1 final victory over Japan brought Son to tears in a state of sheer cathartic relief. This achievement, though, merely represented the beginning of one of the most compelling individual stories that the Premier League has ever witnessed.

Emotional and physical fatigue excused an indifferent spell of form shortly after Son’s triumph in Indonesia, but his first league goal of the season against Chelsea at the end of November triggered a significant upturn.

The magnificent solo effort against the Blues included, Son went on to notch eight goals and provide five assists in his next ten league appearances, enabling Spurs to storm a march on their pace-setting title-rivals Liverpool and Manchester City.

But international duty once again beckoned in January. Fortunately for Spurs his trip to the Asia Cup was short-lived as the hotly-fancied South Korean side crashed out at the quarter-final stage.

Back to north London he went, with the mammoth challenge of filling the void left by injured Harry Kane lying ahead. Responsibility accepted. Son characterised everything that was brilliant about Spurs in the absence of their talisman-in-chief, scoring late goals against Watford and Newcastle to keep the league’s dark horses in the mix.

Spurs have stayed true to ‘Spursy’ form thereafter and faded into insignificance quicker than Portsmouth can say Sunderland, but without Son they would be lagging desperately behind in the race for elite European football.

And then there’s his display against Borussia Dortmund in the last-sixteen of the Champions League, in which he notched the momentum-shifting winner to catalyse a second-half performance for the ages.

Jan Vertonghen expertly delivered the ball on a silver platter, the earth stood still as Son levitated in the air, and the tectonic plates of Wembley shattered as he planted the ball into the top corner. Only the elite players in world football maintain their composure in moments of that magnitude.

Admittedly, his performances have dipped since Kane returned from injury and familiar trends of short-term thinking embedded at the core of the football media have extinguished his once stark claims of winning the PFA award. But, while the media are insistently championing Van Dijk and neglecting outside contenders, Son’s season merits a broader analysis.

This is a man who has conquered adversity, competently deputised for one of the best strikers in Premier League and England history, scored priceless goals when Tottenham needed it most, and flourished under the immense physical strain which thousands of miles of travelling naturally induce.

Through all of this Son has remained incredibly down-to-earth and humble in-front of the media and an emblem of professionalism in Lilywhite.

Son is a credit to the game and a role model for every aspiring young footballer in a sport which is becoming increasingly polluted by the greed and extravagance of a multi-billion pound industry.

Van Dijk is no doubt a worthy winner, but it would be criminal shame for Son to be overlooked at the end of his unparalleled whirlwind season.

Long story short, Naby Keita, who is valued at £58.5 million (by Transfermarkt), has flopped since making his highly anticipated switch from Red Bull Leipzig, and it is up to Jurgen Klopp now to make the savage decision to cut his Liverpool experience short and trade him in for cash.

The Guinea international made quite an impression during his two-year stint at Bundesliga villains, Red Bull Leipzig.

Small and agile, possessing admirable technical ability and creative talents akin to the departed Phillipe Coutinho – he was the man touted to fill the void and add a bit of much-needed zest to an area that so desperately needed it.

But things have hardly gone to plan in his debut season.

Indeed, it became increasingly obvious that Keita’s staggered introduction to Premier League football was not only because he needed time to adjust to the unparallel speed and intensity of the English game, but because he was simply not good enough. A single assist in 27 appearances says it all.

According to Team Talk, Jurgen Klopp is prepared to allow the player to move away for £10 million less than the initial £50 million the spent last summer, with Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich ready to turn time and bring him back to the Bundesliga.

He would not be the first big-money signing axed by the German; Christian Benteke, who had made a £32.5 million switch the season Klopp arrived, was swiftly and unceremoniously moved on within the space of eight months, and we expect a very similar outcome to end Keita’s Anfield experience.

Free up some funds and move him on – it makes perfect sense.

Liverpool fans, would you miss Naby Keita if he was sold during the next window? Let us know in the comments below…

It might be a long summer for Portsmouth.

After an already brilliant season that has seen Pompey claim the EFL Trophy and potential snatch a promotion spot to the Championship, it’s only natural that some of their star players catch the eyes of the teams in the higher divisions, and one figure who is attracting interest is Matt Clarke.

According to the Times, the defender is wanted by Championship sides Leeds United and Stoke City after an impressive season at Pompey that saw the 22-year-old be picked in the League One Team of the Season.

Reportedly valued at £4 million by Portsmouth, Clarke is a player with the potential to go all the way to the top in English football, but for at least this summer it is vital the south coast club keep hold of their prized defensive asset for another season.

If Pompey are promoted to the Championship this season, the club must do everything they can to keep hold of Clarke.

The defender has been with the club since their League Two days and would relish representing Portsmouth in the second-tier of English football if the club can make it this season.

Not only would another season with Pompey in a better league be beneficial for Clarke in terms of his development and getting regular minutes in the Championship, it will also be a smart move for the club, who could get a few more millions out of their defender should they decide to cash in on him in 2020.

Clarke is a player who can go far in England, at just 22 and over 150 first-team appearances in the Football League not many players in that age bracket can bolster the CV the defender already has, but it would be a smart move for both him and the club if he was to remain a Pompey player at least for another season.

Portsmouth fans, would you cash in on Clarke this summer? Let us know!

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This season Aston Villa have done tremendously well in the loan market. Tammy Abraham has been scoring goals for fun whilst Tyrone Mings’ addition in January couldn’t have turned out any better.

But one loanee, who may well now be a bit of a forgotten man having been out for so long through injury, is Axel Tuanzebe.

The Manchester United man performed well during the first half of the season but hasn’t pulled on a Villa shirt since 15th December due to a metatarsal problem.

However, after appearing among the substitutes bench for the first time since his return against Blackburn on Saturday, Tuanzebe is ready to play a major part in Villa’s remaining matches.

A play-off place is anything but secure for Dean Smith’s side who, despite occupying sixth place, have Derby breathing down their necks. The Rams are a point behind with a game in hand so it’s likely it’ll come down to the wire. Villa still have to play Sheffield Wednesday, Leeds and Norwich this term too.

But the return of Tuanzebe is timely and can give them the defensive foundations required to remain tight and compact during such a pressure point of the season.

It may be a significant amount of responsibility to harbour on a 21-year-old’s shoulders but now in his second spell with Villa, he knows how to meet expectations.

The return of the 6 ft defender could see either him or Kortney Hause move into a full-back position. Both are adept in those roles and there is no moving Mings who has one of the centre-back roles on lockdown.

Tuanzebe’s composure with the ball at his feet makes him a great candidate for either role, though, with the defender boasting a better best pass % rate, per WhoScored, than Hause and Mings.

James Chester leads the way in terms of clearances per game for the club, but Tuanzebe is then only second to Mings in that regard. The versatile defender is only behind his fellow loanee in tackles per game too.

But an area where he is greater than the Bournemouth loan star is headed aerial duels, an attribute that without Chester and Tommy Elphick, Villa haven’t always dominated in.

It might feel strange to pin your hopes on such a young player, but among the creative hubs of John McGinn and Jack Grealish and the attacking potency of Abraham, Tuanzebe can become key.

A few questions arose regarding Phil Jagielka’s future after Everton slumped to a rather disappointing 2-0 defeat at Fulham on Saturday.

Obviously, the experienced defender had a poor afternoon at Craven Cottage and didn’t have anything positive to say when he faced the media following the match. But, despite the 36-year-old’s future remaining in the dark (as per the Liverpool Echo), Everton should be careful what they wish for and think realistically about the direction the club is heading into.

A couple of good results recently showed why the experience and work ethic of veteran players like Jagielka and Seamus Coleman are still so important and valuable to the club.

Marco Silva and his administration should therefore highly consider keeping Jagielka at the club for another season, until the manager knows who his full set of centre-backs are going to be.

Kurt Zouma could be on his way back to Chelsea come the summer, while new man Yerry Mina has also had a turbulent first season at the Toffees with not a lot of first-team action. The only other solid centre-back remaining is Michael Keane but he was sat on the bench again on Saturday with Jagielka and Zouma taking up the responsibilities at the back.

An extension for Jagielka could be just the type of foundation Everton need to really build a strong and organised squad for the future.

Once Silva has settled with a good and structured defensive unit then he can let Jagielka go, who also isn’t getting any younger.

Everton’s inconsistent season has shown why leadership is so important for a transitional phase to take place and letting someone with a strong presence like Jagielka or Coleman go could be problematic for the club in the near future.

Everton could be set to have another busy summer transfer window and some new signings could be expected to boost Silva’s squad.

Everton fans, would you keep Jags for another season? If not, why not? Join the discussion by commenting below… 

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Liverpool fans on Twitter have been reacting to the latest Champions League performance of club captain Jordan Henderson.

The 28-year-old has never been the most talented footballer, but the 6 ft central midfielder started and impressed hugely in Tuesday night’s quarter-final first-leg win over Porto at Anfield.

Henderson was far from the player the critics sometimes say he is as Roberto Firmino and Naby Keita goals gave Jurgen Klopp’s men a 2-0 victory and one foot into the semi-finals of the competitions for a second consecutive campaign.

The England star’s swashbuckling display caused supporters to drool and they showed that when replying to a tweet from their team’s official account featuring a picture of Henderson and the words, “The skipper.”

One commented “Jordan Tremenderson” as a comical play on his surname, another claimed that he should have won the man of the match instead of fellow midfielder Keita and one even gave the superb showing a rating of 10/10.

Below is a list of the best reactive Tweets from Reds fans to the stunning performance…

Are the media letting Jurgen Klopp off lightly for his lack of silverware? The Pl>ymaker FC squad have their say in the video below…

Third in the Premier League scoring charts, a brace against Bayern Munich, scoring one of the most important goals of the season. It’s time Sadio Mane got the recognition he deserves.

When talking about Liverpool’s most dangerous player, Mohamed Salah is normally the one that first comes to mind, and it’s a fair assumption to make.

The Egyptian has turned the Premier League upside down since returning to the league from Roma in 2017 and has been one of the main reasons the Reds find themselves closer than ever to a league title, but Mane has been just as important for Jurgen Klopp this season.

The former Southampton man has scored just one goal less than Salah in the league this season with 18, but his real claim to fame has been his ability to score and perform in every occasion whether it be a small, non-important game to Liverpool’s biggest match of the season.

Mane’s ability to turn up in the games Salah and Roberto Fimirno don’t is a large reason as to why Liverpool have found themselves in this position in the league this season. Without the winger, the Reds would be a lot worse off in the Premier League table.

The Reds 2-0 win over Chelsea is a testament to Mane’s underratedness in the Liverpool team when the winger scored the opening goal of the game, but with Salah scoring one of the goals of the season to round off the result and the three points for Liverpool, the former Southampton man’s goal will be nothing but a footnote when fans from the future look back at this game.

Liverpool is Salah’s team, but there is no question that without the former Roma attacker in the side Mane would be the man taking all the headlines and plaudits from fans and the media, and being away from the spotlight has made the winger arguably the best underrated player in world football.

Liverpool fans, how vital is Mane to the team? Let us know!

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Many West Ham United fans on Twitter have been reacting to huge news for their club, the nomination of Academy product Declan Rice for a top PFA award.

The 20-year-old getting nominated for the Professional Footballers’ Association Young Player of the Year award was announced by the Hammers’ official account on the social media platform on Saturday, just hours before the 2-2 Premier League draw with Leicester City at the London Stadium.

And supporters were delighted by the announcement, which comes as just the latest feather in the cap of Rice who has recently made his England debut.

A great deal of those Claret & Blue Army members will also feel he has a good chance of winning the accolade, having made the shortlist alongside the likes of Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling and Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford – “can’t think of a better young player in the PL.”

Other fans solely focused on the player with their gleeful replies as comments of the “we’re proud of you” type flew around the Twittersphere, while one even went as far as claiming that this news is the only good thing to have come out of Manuel Pellegrini’s first season in charge.

Check out the best of the positive West Ham reactive Tweets, below…

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Rangers are reportedly eyeing a move for Andre Gray, but is he the right man to possibly replace Alfredo Morelos?

What’s the story?

According to The Evening Times, Steven Gerrard is considering a loan approach for Gray, who has scored nine times for Watford this season.

The report continues that Jordan Jones, Jake Hastie and Greg Stewart are all expected to become Rangers players this summer, and that Gray is now a target as well.

The 27 year-old cost Watford £18m two years ago but has struggled to hit the back of the net consistently, which begs the question; why on Earth would Rangers want to sign him?

Former Wigan & Fulham man, Jimmy Bullard recently showed that he’s still got it! Check out the video below…

A dreadful signing

A recent report in The Express said Morelos is on “thin ice” after his red card in the Old Firm, so one would have to assume Gray is being targeted as a possible replacement for the Colombian.

However, the problem is that there is nothing in Gray’s past to suggest he can come anywhere close to the 29 goals Morelos has bagged this campaign.

Gray has struck 30 goals in a season once in his career, in the fifth tier of English football in 2013/14, and he did break the 20-goal barrier with 23 Championship strikes in the 2015/16 season, per Transfermarkt.

Since entering the top flight though, he has mustered ten, five and nine goals in the last three seasons, a truly woeful scoring record of just 24 league goals in three whole years..

There seems to be an assumption that any striker capable of scoring a few goals down south will be unstoppable in the SPFL, and Jermain Defoe has certainly looked comfortably since his move to Ibrox, but the difference is Defoe actually scored goals in the Premier League.

Gray has struggled to be anything more than an average top flight player, and given that he would likely want to become the highest-paid payer at Ibrox – he currently makes £70,000-a-week, per Sportrac – this is a move Gerrard and the Gers should steer well clear of.

When Michael Hector arrived at Hillsborough last summer on a season-long deal from Chelsea, you wouldn’t have blamed any Sheffield Wednesday supporter if for being a tad concerned about his suitability for the Championship.

Despite only being 26-years-old, the defender has played for a remarkable total of 17 clubs since making his senior debut in 2009 with this lack of stability clearly hampering his development.

However, if his performances throughout the 2018/19 campaign are anything to go by, it seems as if Hector has finally found a place which could allow his career to thrive after so many setbacks in recent years.

After establishing himself as a mainstay in the Owls’ starting eleven at the start of the season, the Jamaican international has gone from strength to strength since the appointment of Steve Bruce in January as he has delivered a number of outstanding defensive displays in recent months.

Having been rewarded for his outstanding levels of consistency earlier this week by being named the club’s Player of the Year (via the Star), it is clear that Hector is enjoying his spell in South Yorkshire and so Wednesday should do everything they can to sign him on a permanent deal in the summer.

With the defender’s current contract at Stamford Bridge set to expire in 2020 (via BBC Sport), he may be available on a cut-price deal when the transfer window opens in July and so it is imperative that if Bruce decides to swoop, he does it early to avoid any potential bidding wars.

For the sake of his own career, a move away from the Blues could be highly beneficial for Hector as the £2.7m-rated ace (via Transfermarkt) is extremely unlikely to force himself into Maurizio Sarri’s plans next season when you consider that the likes of Antonio Rudiger, David Luiz and Andreas Christensen are all ahead of him in the pecking order.

What do you think Owls fans? Should Bruce go all-out to sign Hector in the summer? How much do you think it would cost to lure him away from Chelsea? Get in touch below.