According to O Jogo, West Ham United are interested in signing Sporting Lisbon midfielder Rodrigo Battaglia in this summer’s transfer window.
What’s the story?
West Ham have not yet guaranteed their Premier League position for the 2018-19 campaign, but the Hammers took a big step towards top-flight survival by beating fellow strugglers Southampton on Saturday afternoon.
It is understood that plans for this summer’s transfer window are well underway, with West Ham prepared to spend in a bid to avoid another difficult season.
According to O Jogo, the London club are closely monitoring the performances of Sporting midfielder Battaglia, with the 26-year-old identified as the perfect player to boost David Moyes’ options in the middle of the park.
It would not be a surprise if West Ham, who have also been linked with Bournemouth’s Callum Wilson, faced a battle from a number of clubs if Sporting decided to sell, but the appeal of London would place the Hammers in a strong position.
What are Battaglia’s credentials?
The former Argentina Under-20 international is valued at £5.9m by transfermarkt.co.uk, and that is not a figure that would put West Ham off this summer.
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It has been a busy campaign for the midfielder, who has scored three times and registered three assists in 46 appearances in all competitions for his Portuguese club.
Battaglia actually started his professional career with Huracan in Argentina, before a short spell at Racing Club led to a move to Braga in the summer of 2014.
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The Argentine moved to Sporting in last summer’s transfer window, and his performances throughout the season have reportedly attracted a host of interest.
Ar 6ft 1inches, Battaglia certainly has the physical attributes to operate in the Premier League, and it could well turn out to be a bargain buy for West Ham at the end of the season.
Since Wayne Rooney has switched to play in a midfield position, Manchester United have lost the influence of one of their best attacking players. Rooney does have the ability to play in central midfield due to the work rate and passing ability of the England captain. However, Van Gaal’s desire to accommodate both Robin van Persie and Radamel Falcao up front has meant that Rooney has been consistently played out of position.
There has been a lot of criticism surrounding United’s attacking play this season. At times they appear almost one dimensional, with Sam Allardyce claiming that the Red Devils adopted the long ball approach against his side at the weekend. One of the reasons behind this rather sluggish play is the fact that their attack lacks any real pace. Both Falcao and van Persie are not the quickest, whilst Angel Di Maria is the only player in United’s midfield to possesses any real speed. Clearly, this is an issue for Van Gaal as the team cannot unlock defences due to the slow, laboured build-up play.
As well as an absence of rapidity in the side, playing Wayne Rooney out of position is costing Van Gaal. Rooney is yet to score or provide an assist in 2015 – he hasn’t even registered a shot on target. At the beginning of the season, it looked as if a lot of United’s problems would lay at the base of their team. However, the basis of United’s problem couldn’t stem from more of an opposite effect. On paper, the attacking options Van Gaal has available at his disposal looks very encouraging. Although there is still a lot of attacking class in the team, things are not coming together for United in the final third.
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Van Gaal has looked to set up in a diamond formation in recent weeks, with Di Maria playing in behind the two strikers. This has left Wayne Rooney in a deeper role, denying him the opportunity to contribute as much as he would like to United’s attacking play. It is looking more and more likely that Van Gaal will have to adjust his team yet again this season.
Although he has quality players available, the system simply doesn’t suit his captain. The Dutchman may have to consider sacrificing either Falcao or van Persie in order to allow Rooney to play in his preferred advance role. The former Everton man is United’s second top goalscorer this season behind van Persie. His lack of goals in 2015 should be a cause for concern for Van Gaal and he should be looking to fix things sooner rather than later.
Rooney’s recent struggles could also be bad news for England as well. If he keeps being played out of position it will likely impact the national side negatively, with Hodgson tending to prefer Rooney in a more advanced role. It might be difficult for Rooney to quickly adapt to a more attacking mindset for his country when he is playing his club football in a deeper midfield position.
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It looks as if Manchester United have wasted Wayne Rooney in recent weeks due to the fact that he hasn’t been able to get involved in United’s forward as often as he should. He has been a real problem for West Ham in recent seasons due to his goalscoring form against the East London side, but on Sunday he was almost non-existent in terms of an attacking threat. If Van Gaal wants to see more from his Manchester United side, he should opt to play his captain in his more favoured position, as he looks a frustrated figure in midfield at the moment.
Southampton’s decision to relieve Nigel Adkins of his duties and immediately replace him with former Espanyol coach Mauricio Pochettino last week was quite rightly labelled a harsh move by the club’s chairman Nicola Cortese considering the form of the improving side, but did the 47-year-old lose the image battle more than anything else? And is this simply the latest instalment in an increasingly clear trend of clubs favouring ideas over experience?
There had been rumblings that Adkins was at risk after the newly-promoted team’s patchy start to life in the top flight, but enjoying a heroes status among the fans after leading the club to two successive promotions, it was thought that Cortese would be unable to justify removing such a popular figurehead, especially when you consider that the original plan laid out by the Italian owner included a five-year plan for promotion back to the promised land of the Premier League, not just two.
Cortese released a statement with the following: “This decision has been made with the long-term ambitions of Southampton Football Club in mind. Whilst we acknowledge the contribution Nigel has made during the past two years, for the Club to progress and achieve our long-term targets a change was needed. Mauricio is a well-respected coach of substantial quality who has gained a reputation as an astute tactician and excellent man manager. I have every confidence that he will inspire our talented squad of players to perform at the highest possible level.”
He goes on to talk about the Argentine’s record at nurturing youth prospects, something Adkins was also extremely adept at considering the involvement of the likes of Luke Shaw and James Ward-Prowse this term at such tender ages, while the timing of the dismissal also seemed extremely odd at first, with Southampton having lost just two of their last 12 games and having secured laudable draws against both Arsenal and Chelsea. They were 15th at the time of the sacking, three points clear of safety and picking up points regularly and starting to look more and more like a team that had enough in the tank to stay up.
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Of course, Cortese is known to be something of an egotist and will have no doubt have been put out by the fans continued support of Adkins despite their poor early season form and penchant for letting in bundles of sloppy goals, treating it as a personal affront. He has previous when it comes to clashing heads and sacking perfectly qualified managers, with current Newcastle boss Alan Pardew also unfathomably dismissed back in September 2010.
Similar to how Manchester City prepared for Roberto Mancini’s arrival by letting Mark Hughes take the brunt of a tough sequence of games, Cortese approached Pochettino weeks ago, seemingly anticipating that the side would lose against both Arsenal and Chelsea, leaving them some way closer to the drop zone, thus making the decision somewhat easier to justify. That’s not only reprehensible, it’s depressingly cynical.
Pochettino may well go on to be a success on the south coast, with the early signs of his pressing style visible during an excellent first half performance against Everton before tiring late on. He has a clear plan and ideology, which seems to be the most attractive principles around to prospective chairman these days above other qualifications such as experience and silverware. He may well be to the club what Pardew was to Newcastle after Chris Hughton was ridiculously sacked.
His sacking at Espanyol back in November was widely seen as a reluctant one; the board loved him, the fans did too, and he’d done a marvellous job to make the club so competitive and entertaining with such a paucity of resources, with the cash-strapped outfit forced to sell off star players at every turn, including Jose Callejon to Real Madrid, Victor Ruiz to Napoli and Daniel Osvaldo to Roma.
The BBC profile piece on him introducing him to the wider English world hailed him as a “forward-thinking and thoroughly modern coach.” Now, I’m not entirely sure what that means. Are there backward-thinking managers out there? Are there ‘keep it steady, don’t rock the boat’ centrists? Is it merely an age issue? Are older managers being phased out because they lack a clear footballing ‘philosophy’? It would seem so.
Liverpool have 39-year-old Brendan Rodgers in charge, appointed off the back of one season of top flight experience at Swansea. Tottenham have 35-year-old Andre Villas-Boas at the helm, a man who managed his first team at the age of just 21, while 39-year-old Roberto Martinez at Wigan is casually referred to as a ‘footballing purist’, quite what that means is anyone’s guess, but it’s clear, just as much with styles of football, a hierarchy has been formed in terms of the crucial currency of status – young is good, old is bad, in-between like Adkins is just plain dangerous.
We’ve certainly moved away from the days of the ‘old boys club’, whereby a decent playing career would inevitably set you up for life as a manager, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing by any stretch, it’s a welcome one, but it’s when this shift starts claiming the scalps of credible managers such as Adkins for shinier, newer managers like Pochettino that it starts to get worrying.
It’s very telling that in the list of managers to have taken charge of the most Premier League games, with the usual lot of Ferguson, Wenger, Redknapp, Moyes, Allardyce and O’Neill at the top, that George Graham is still sixth with 332 games despite not having managed in the league since 2001. Alan Curbishley is joint-seventh on 328 games even though he has been unemployed since leaving West Ham in 2008. Graeme Souness is ninth on 319 games, without a job since Newcastle in 2006. New Scotland coach Gordon Strachan hasn’t managed in the top tier since 2004 with Southampton but is 12th. Joe Kinnear, an 18-game spell at Newcastle aside, hasn’t been around since leaving Wimbledon in 1999. It’s taking on an increasingly ‘us’ and ‘them’ mentality.
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The attraction with a young manager is clear – they are vibrant, media-friendly and come with 100-page dossiers on what their style means and how best they can implement it. Some dip their toes too far into manager speak, with ‘going forward’ and other made up words like ‘diversivise’ or ‘conversate’, gradually helping corporate, middle-management jargon infiltrate the game; language that’s sole objective in mind is to make the person using it sound more intelligent than they actually are and their ideas appear more worthy of listening to.
Football needs to evolve and fresh ideas are a positive step on the well-worn path of progress (see, I can do it too), but they should not come at the expense of proven managerial talent that’s been successful elsewhere in their career, otherwise, what’s the point of it all? All managers need to get their break in the game somewhere, but now it’s happening right at the top and is used as a statement of intent by owners to the fans, ‘look, we’ve appointed a young coach, aren’t we progressive’.
It’s not reckless, but it’s a gamble, a risky move that has become an accepted truth which has helped give birth to an established trend, with the spiel that these appointments have both ‘the long-term and short-term’ of the club in mind, therefore insinuating that appointing an older manager doesn’t. Every club now looks as if they’re trying to build a lasting legacy, which is admirable, but as with all trends, it’s just not realistic.
According to The Mirror, Aston Villa are considering a move for veteran goalkeeper Brad Jones at the end of the 2017-18 campaign.
What’s the story?
Sam Johnstone is currently Villa’s number one goalkeeper, with the 24-year-old impressing for the club since joining on loan from Manchester United.
It is understood that Villa have been told that it will take £6.5m to sign Johnstone on a permanent deal this summer, which would be very difficult for the club if they did not manage to secure promotion from the Championship this season.
According to The Mirror, Villa have a back-up option if they fail to sign Johnstone, with 35-year-old goalkeeper Jones in the mix.
The former Liverpool stopper helped Feyenoord win the Dutch title last term, but he will be out of contract at the end of next season, and Villa would hardly have to break the bank in order to sign the Australian at the end of the 2017-18 campaign.
Would Jones be a good signing?
Jones has been in the professional game since 2001, and he represented Middlesbrough as a first-team player for nine years before leaving for Liverpool in 2010.
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The stopper only made 11 Premier League appearances during five years at Anfield, however, before joining Bradford City in 2015.
Jones moved away from the English game with NEC in 2016, before switching to Feyenoord, where he has helped the club win their first league title in 18 years.
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The Australian’s form for Feyenoord has been very impressive, and it has previously been suggested that he would be open to a return to England this summer.
There is no question that Villa’s first choice is Johnstone, but Jones would be a decent option if Financial Fair Play restrictions prevented Steve Bruce’s side from spending big this summer.
After suffering back-to-back Premier League defeats, the Hammers fans didn’t have an awful lot to shout about over the festive period.
West Ham kicked off their Christmas fixtures with a tough trip to table-toppers Chelsea on Boxing Day. Sam Allardyce’s side travelled to Stamford Bridge full of optimism, but they also knew just how difficult a task that stood in front of them. The Hammers boss rested a couple of his big guns in Diafra Sakho and Alex Song, and subsequently ended up on the wrong side of a 2-0 scoreline. West Ham were second best for the majority of the game, and goals either side of half time from John Terry and Diego Costa was enough to give the Blues the points.
But West Ham’s clash with Arsenal two days later was a completely different game. Allardyce recalled Sakho and Song back to the starting line-up for the visit of Arsene Wenger’s side. The Gunners ended up winning the game 2-1, but it could have so easily been a completely different outcome. Ex-Arsenal midfielder Song had a superb 20-yard volley controversially disallowed for offside after just five minutes – then a debatable Santi Cazorla penalty and a Danny Welbeck strike put Arsenal surprisingly 2-0 up the break. Big Sam’s side rallied and pulled one back through Cheikhou Kouyate shortly after half time. They pressed until the final whistle – but Wenger’s side did enough to secure the win.
But the Hammers’ disappointing festive period must not take anything away from what has been an incredible campaign at Boleyn Ground thus far. This time last year, West Ham were easily beaten 3-1 by the Gunners on Boxing Day, before a 3-3 home draw with West Bromwich Albion. The Hammers went into the New Year second from bottom – with just 15 points gained from 19 games. This season though, after the same amount of matches, the east London club sit 6th in the Premier League table, with 31 points banked already.
It’s a remarkable achievement from West Ham, considering Allardyce was heavily tipped to part way with the Hammers in the summer. Even after the disappointment of losing to a 90th goal against rivals Tottenham Hotspur on the opening day, what they’ve accomplished since is nothing short of exceptional.
It’s imperative for the Hammers that they get straight back on track against West Brom this afternoon. The Baggies are currently without a boss after the sacking of Alan Irvine yesterday, and Allardyce’s side must take full advantage and get back to winning ways. The defeats to Chelsea and Arsenal were the first time the Hammers have lost back-to-back games this season. The next few games will paint a clearer picture of just how good the Hammers are. After welcoming West Brom, West Ham face a trip to Swansea City before entertaining relegations strugglers Hull at the Boleyn Ground.
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Whatever happens from now to the end of the season must not take anything away from West Ham’s incredible progress this season. The bookies had the Hammers down for another season of struggling and another dogged fight for survival. But after already gaining nine wins so far – including excellent victories over Manchester City and Liverpool – it has already been a season to remember for the Upton Park faithful.
Arsene Wenger has admitted that Napoli striker Edinson Cavani and Wilfred Zaha of Crystal Palace are high on his list of transfer priorities this season at Arsenal, according to Sky Sports.
Wenger has concentrated on signing Theo Walcott to a new long-term deal and now feels that as the player moves closer to resigning, he can begin to focus his attention on strengthening elsewhere.
“Cavani is a player that I like. Will he cost a lot of money? That’s for sure. Nobody would deny that. Our banker lives just next to me at the moment and he is ready if we find the right player,” quipped Wenger.
Commenting on his interest in Zaha – who is also the object of Sir Alex Ferguson’s attention – he said, “We are looking at him, but at the moment we have not made any bid for him.
“I don’t know if Manchester United are in for him. Anyway, if you call any club for any player, they will tell you Man United, Milan, Real Madrid are as well in for him, but it is always difficult to know if it is true or not.”
The Gunners boss is well-known for his frugal attitude toward player recruitment, however he might be forced to bring in an expensive new face to strengthen the midfield.
Speaking of the best way to manoeuvre in the transfer window, he said, “The prices always go up at the start of the transfer market and go down in the last week.
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“Sometimes as well they go up in the last week, but it depends. Most of the time they go down in the last week and you know as well that 90 per cent of transfer activity happens in the last week, if not in the last 48 hours.”
Newcastle United fans have been keeping a close eye on Aleksandar Mitrovic ever since he made the move to Fulham in January.
The North-East outfit offloaded the Serbian to Craven Cottage on loan until the end of the season.
The transfer was not a huge surprise given that he had played just seven matches in the first half of the season under manager Rafael Benitez.
Although, some fans were disappointed by the decision to let him go as they felt he deserved more of a chance.
Those supporters may feel even worse about the decision given that Mitrovic has been performing well in the Championship.
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The forward has netted seven goals in eight matches, helping the Cottagers in their campaign for Premier League promotion.
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According to the Chronicle, Rafael Benitez has not ruled out keeping Mitrovic at the club for next season once his loan at Fulham comes to an end.
Now the fans have had their say, and the view is very mixed.
Liverpool’s season of disaster and catastrophe lurched into the realms of nightmare yesterday as they slipped to a 3-0 loss at the home of arch-rivals Manchester United. Circumstance has not been kind to the Reds so far this term – Daniel Sturridge has played just three league games – but there is indeed a long way to go this term, so a quick turnaround may be enough to get the 2014/15 campaign back on track.
Could there actually be a silver lining to this massive raincloud? Here are FIVE reasons why there may be…
Big week ahead
Okay, defeat at Old Trafford by three goals to your most bitter rivals is far from ideal. But, Liverpool have a massive week to switch their attention to, and there could be a very different outlook at Anfield by next Monday, should results go their way. Next up for the Reds is a trip to AFC Bournemouth in the Capital One Cup, which, on paper at least, should be an ideal fixture to get some confidence back and book a spot in the last four of a major completion. The Cherries may top the Championship table, but divisional superiority might be enough to get Rodgers’ side over the line.
Following the cup clash, Liverpool will play host to Arsenal, who have stuttered as well this season. Victory over the Gunners, who are top four rivals, could give the table a slightly more positive look, with the sides between fourth and tenth tightly bunched.
Proof that the ‘false nine’ doesn’t work
With Daniel ‘man of glass’ Sturridge out injured, Rodgers has had to rotate his forward options in a bid to find a formula that works. Yesterday he went all ‘football hipster’ with a striker-less system, deploying Raheem Sterling as the ‘false nine’ and focal point of his attack. Although supremely talented at just 20-years-of age, the Jamaican-born England international is not really cut out to be a centre-forward, and some wayward finishing exposed the lack of killer instinct he has. On numerous occasions Sterling got into good positions, but the outcome was never positive.
For all his critics, Mario Balotelli gave the Reds a better option when he came on at half-time, and was unlucky not to score. Surely the much-maligned Italian is the best option from now on.
Liverpool actually out-played United for large spells
You can prove anything with stats, and Rodgers clearly went for that approach after the game when he claimed his side “did enough” to win. Although he talks some tosh at times, the Northern Irishman can cite his team’s 19 efforts on goal as proof they enjoyed the lions’ share of the attacking play, with more corners won also evidence of territorial advantage.
Yes, three goals were let in at the other end. But had the Merseysiders had David de Gea in goal the boot could well have been on the other foot.
Darkest before the dawn…
This may be a little cheesy and the sort of proverb found in a self-help book, but things cannot get much worse for Liverpool, right? A thumping loss at the home of your greatest rivals has to be a wake-up call, and any self-respecting professional football player will surely want to use the blow as a source of inspiration.
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‘Kick up the arse’ for underperforming newbies
Building on the last point, some of Liverpool’s new signings have to use yesterday as the turning point. The majority of the Reds’ summer buys have been poor so far, but we’ll focus on Dejan Lovren and Alberto Moreno from the Threatre of Screams. The Croatian produced another limp clearance to effectively hand Robin van Persie a golden chance to make it 3-0, while Moreno was massively at fault for the opening goal after getting caught out of possession.
The pair have been woeful since pulling on the red (or yellow) shirt, so hopefully, from and Anfield point of view, this will be the point at which the need to focus and pull their weight clicks.
In an era when football matches are a constant part of life, cup fixtures still bring that little extra sparkle to the minds of players and fans alike. In the Capital One Cup this season, that sparkle has often translated into goal-scoring frenzies, and on the odd, special occasions, it produces a memorable solo performance from a player who may not always be the centre of attention. In this series, FFC takes a look at some stellar one-man displays…
The peak of Matt Elliott`s career came in the 2000 League Cup Final when his two goals in the 2-1 victory over Tranmere Rovers not only earned him his place in Leicester City folklore but also in Wembley history.
It was the first time since the final became a one-off game that a centre half scored twice. It remains a record and because it was the last League Cup Final before Wembley was bulldozed, it is one that will always belong to Matt Elliott.
It was City`s third final in four years and their second in a row and Matt`s goals were almost identical. Just short of the half hour, Leicester won a corner and when Steve Guppy swung the ball in Elliott rose, near the penalty spot and powered a header goalwards. The ball struck the bar, bounced down on the line and spun into the goal to give Martin O`Neill`s team the lead.
Tranmere equalised in the 77th minute through former Leicester player David Kelly. His near post shot not only gave the First Division underdogs hope but was Kelly`s eighth goal of that competition and saw him finish top scorer in the 1999-2000 League Cup.
Rovers` joy was short lived however, and it was almost a case of de ja vu four minutes later when Guppy swung another corner in and his skipper rose, on the six yard box, to head his second goal.
Matt led Leicester up the steps to become the last League Cup winners at the original Wembley. He also picked up the Man of the Match Award to cap the best day of his career.
Born in Wandsworth, London, Matt began his football career in non-league with Leatherhead and Epsom and Newell before joining Charlton Athletic in 1988.Unable to break through at the Valley, Matt dropped down the football pyramid to Torquay United. After three seasons at Plainmoor he joined Scunthorpe and spent just 18 months there before he made the move to Oxford United. Matt`s performances in Oxford`s run to promotion as runners-up in the Second Division in 1996 finally gave Matt his dream of Premier League football.
Leicester City manager Martin O`Neill paid £1.6 million for the defender early the following year and that remains the highest transfer fee received by Oxford. Matt helped Leicester to reach the 1999 League Cup Final but they were beaten 1-0 by Tottenham. But the following year City returned to win the competition against Tranmere.
That final proved to be Martin O`Neill`s swansong as he departed for Celtic and could have been Elliott`s too as O`Neill immediately tried to sign his former skipper for £3.5 million. Elliot however, agreed a new contract with Leicester where he remained until 2005.
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The end of his career was accelerated by a serious knee injury though he still managed a brief loan spell with Ipswich before quitting in January 2005.
Though born in England, Matt was eligible to play for Scotland and made his international debut against France in November 1997. In total he won 18 caps, 16 as a starter, and scored one goal, a header against San Marino on 7th October 2000 in a 2-0 win.
In 2008 Matt began a short career in non-league football and had several assistant manager jobs before opening the Matt Elliott Football Development Scheme in Leicestershire in 2011.
Gaetano Berardi has slammed Leeds owner Andrea Radrizzani for his harsh criticism of the Leeds players.
Leeds right back Berardi told reporters today that the players “don’t care” about the criticism they’ve taken from the Leeds owner.
Radrizzani bashed the players’ “commitment, passion and spirit” on TalkSport earlier this week, after last weekend’s 2-2 draw with Reading. The result at Reading stopped the rot after two straight 3-0 defeats, but nonetheless Radrizzani was clearly disappointed by his team’s effort.
Speaking at the press conference before Leeds’ clash with Sheffield Wednesday this Saturday, Berardi said the players ignore what the owner says and are giving their best to fix their mistakes.
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While we don’t all share the luxury of openly admitting we ignore our boss, most fans are backing up Berardi after the comments.
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The Italian full back moved to Elland Road from Sampdoria in 2014, and while his quality is not always top of the pile his effort can rarely be questioned.
Fans have been reacting to the comments on Twitter, and there are certainly more siding with Berardi than Radrizzani. Some of the best reactions can be found below…