All posts by h716a5.icu

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According to the Daily Mail, Everton are checking on Lille striker Rafael Leao, who they are reportedly looking to sign in the summer as Marcel Brands looks to build a team that ‘can move forward’.

What’s the word, then?

Well, the Portugal Under-21 striker only joined Lille back in the summer on a free transfer after his departure from Sporting Lisbon, which came following a training ground invasion which saw some players assaulted.

Since his arrival in France, Leao has performed admirably, showing the form which caught the attention of Manchester City before he opted to move to Ligue 1 in hope of more first-team football – the 19-year-old has hit seven goals and recorded two assists in 15 league starts.

In this era of ‘big 6’ dominance, has finishing 7th become as good as winning a trophy? The Pl>ymaker FC squad have their say in the video below…

Leao is a direct, pacy forward who can play on the left or in the centre, and is a player that Lille reportedly don’t want to lose, despite being braced for offers – the teenager has four years remaining on his contract.

Everton moving in the right direction

Marco Silva and Brands are moving in the right direction with their work in the transfer market.

Following their capture of Richarlison, the Toffees are snapping up just the right kind of player – young, hungry footballers whose values will only increase as they get older.

This has been proven by AC Milan’s interest in Richarlison, with Everton wanting around £60m for their 21-year-old Brazilian, a fee which could easily be met by one of Europe’s giants.

Leao is a dynamic, young forward who looks to have bags of potential, highlighted by Manchester City’s interest in him, as aforesaid.

Along with the signings of Jordan Pickford, Lucas Digne and Bernard, Brands is certainly identifying, and signing, the correct profile of player, and moving away from the scatter-gun approach of old which saw names such as Davy Klaassen, Theo Walcott and Morgan Schneiderlin arrive.

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Tottenham Hotspur’s fanbase on Twitter can’t make their mind up after the latest rumours linking key playmaker Christian Eriksen with a move away from north London in the summer transfer window.

Calciomercato have reported that Italian giants Juventus are ready to rival Real Madrid in landing the Dane’s signature at the end of the season, despite Spurs being hopeful that their star man will sign a contract extension and stay at the new White Hart Lane.

This has caused a great deal of division among the supporters of the club and there are strong arguments on all sides, with some even questioning whether his form is good enough for a move of this stature.

On one hand, one fan wanted to “get him sold if he won’t sign a new contract,” while another proclaimed that “selling Eriksen would be stupid”. The argument that the Denmark man hasn’t played well enough in recent times to draw this kind of interest, meanwhile, has also  been flying around on Twitter.

Check out some of the best reactive Tweets to the rumour from Lilywhites fans, below…

Chelsea are set to emulate the Lukaku disaster with another prodigy reportedly keen on leaving this summer, according to Sport Bild (via Sport Witness).

Daishawn Redan, a former product of the illustrious Ajax youth system, only moved to Chelsea two years ago but could be leaving as early as summer after finding notoriously limited opportunities at Stamford Bridge hard to come by.

Once billed by Chelsea’s official website as a ‘versatile forward who can operate on the wide-left or as a number 10’ and someone who ‘developed an incredibly habit for scoring goals’, Redan’s ambitions have now outgrown the confines of youth football.

According to Sport Bild (via Sport Witness) the Netherlands youth international sees ‘no chance’ of making his way in the first-team setup and is setting his sights on a move way from the club.

Borussia Monchengladbach are said to be interested in the player with sporting director Max Eberl keen on strengthening his attacking options next season, but there are a number of admirers from the Premier League also mentioned in the report, including West Ham, Everton and Leicester City.

Everton, who benefited from one of Chelsea’s former castoffs, Romelu Lukaku, whom they signed in 2014 (as per BBC Sport), and scored 87 goals in 166 appearances, will be paying close attention to how the story unfolds.

The Toffees have struggled in the forward position of late. Indeed, their most recent out-and-out striker, Cenk Tosun, has failed miserably to meet the standards of the Premier League and whilst summer recruit Richarlison has done an admirable job, they will be keen on signing a top-quality candidate in the next window to allow him to move back to his natural left-wing spot.

Everton fans, would you prefer to sign an established player or invest in youth, like Redan, this summer? Let us know in the comments below…

There was a point on Saturday afternoon when Sheffield United looked like they were about to open a four-point gap between themselves and promotion rivals Leeds United.

However, in typical Championship fashion, things changed in an instant as Andreas Weimann fired in a superb hat-trick for Bristol City at Bramall Lane to secure a 3-2 victory over the Blades. Meanwhile, Leeds, who were losing 2-1 at home to Millwall, completed a stunning late comeback to claim all three points which resulted them leapfrogging Chris Wilder’s side in the league.

What could have been a four point lead in the standings had turned into a two point deficit for the Blades who saw all their hard-work in defeating the Whites at Elland Road in March wiped out at the weekend. Nevertheless, Wilder will know that their chase for automatic promotion to the Premier League is far from over and so they shouldn’t let their defeat to the Robins define their season.

With seven fixtures to go in the Championship, United only have to face two sides who are in contention for the play-offs whilst Leeds have three tough fixtures against the likes of Aston Villa, Preston North End and Sheffield Wednesday. Even if Marcelo Bielsa’s side slip-up just once in the next five weeks, goal-difference could become a key factor as the Blades are currently on +29 which is four better than their Yorkshire rivals.

Wilder will be hoping that his side will be able to replicate the same form that they illustrated when they last recorded a poor result in the league against Aston Villa. Following a 3-3 draw with the Lions at the start of February, United went on a run of six wins and a draw which saw them accumulate 19 points from a possible 21. If they can do this again, they will finish the season on 93 points, a total that will tough for Bielsa’s Leeds to match.

What do you think Blades fans? Can your side bounce back from Saturday’s defeat? How many points do you think they will need to overcome Leeds at the end of the season? Get in touch below.

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Loads of Rangers fans have been sharing their views on the club’s award ceremony, which took place on Sunday night.

Rangers got back to form last week with two clinical and professional performances.

After the Old Firm heartbreak, the Gers responded with a 3-0 domination of Hearts at Ibrox before a trip to Motherwell, where a Scott Arfield hat trick was enough for all three points again.

Pl>ymaker FC Exclusive: Jermaine Jenas reveals he would have snubbed Tottenham for Arsenal if they’d come knocking in 2005…

Following Sunday’s game, the players attended the club’s yearly award ceremony, the results of which you can find here.

Unsurprisingly, Alfredo Morelos swept up top goalscorer, player of the year and players’ player of the year, while Ryan Kent won young player of the campaign and Ryan Jack claimed goal of the season with his effort in the Old Firm.

Meanwhile, fan favourite Allan McGregor was handed the John Greig Achievement Award, an extremely prestigious achievement.

As a player and manager, Greig racked up five league titles, eight Scottish Cups and seven Scottish League Cups at Ibrox.

The club spoke to McGregor after he collected the award, and he appeared to be stumbling over his words as he expressed his delight.

Fans are heaping praise both on his clear passion for the club and the award, as well as the fact that he seems to have had a little bit too much fun at the ceremony.

Either way, you can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…

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Aston Villa’s wonderful run of form continued on Wednesday night as they recorded a 2-1 win away to Rotherham United.

Villa have now been victorious in each of their last seven Championship matches, with Dean Smith’s side hitting form at the perfect stage of the campaign.

John McGinn once again lined up in central midfield for Villa and it was another hugely impressive performance from the Scotland international.

According to WhoScored, McGinn had four dribbles, won three tackles and dispossessed Rotherham on three occasions.

McGinn was absolutely everywhere for his team on the night and it would be fair to say that he is one of the most talented midfielders in the Championship.

Whether Villa can secure promotion this season is largely going to depend on the 24-year-old, who brings so much to the team.

As expected, the Villa fans were absolutely delighted with what they saw from McGinn on Wednesday evening and a number have taken to social media to hail the 2018 arrival from Hibernian:

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Southampton’s spectacular run of form continued with a brilliant 3-1 win over Wolves, who appeared to be suffering from their FA Cup heartbreak, with goals from Nathan Redmond (2) and Shane Long enough to ensure all three points remained on the south coast.

The performance was the latest in a sequence of stellar showings from the Saints, who now look certain to avoid relegation despite the dire mess they were in when Ralph Hasenhuttl took over before Christmas.

One man certainly won’t be pleased with his efforts considering the extremely high standards he sets for himself these days.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg is just one of many beneficiaries from Hasenhuttl’s arrival at St Mary’s Stadium, with the Dane having been handed the armband on a permanent basis by the former RB Leipzig boss having previously deputised as captain for Ryan Bertrand while the left-back was injured.

A recent interview with the 23-year-old on Southampton’s official website offered an insight into why Hasenhuttl made that decision, with Hojbjerg’s excellent attitude evident in this excerpt:

“I don’t do very much, but what I do has to be the best possible.

“I don’t like the word perfectionist, because it can sometimes be overdone and overthought, but to be the best you can be and still have an edge is very important. That creates who you are.”

Indeed, the former Bayern Munich man has hardly put a foot wrong in 2019, although he will have been highly frustrated with his sloppy display in the middle of the park on Saturday.

Usually a reliable distributor of the ball, Hojbjerg was well below his 83% passing success average for the season, registering 65% accuracy against Nuno Espirito Santo’s side, and also took a team-high three unsuccessful touches.

A Southampton fan shares his most gutting moment of the last 10 years supporting the Saints in the video below…

Regardless, he was always on the ball and looking to be involved, with 62 touches to his name, but he was uncharacteristically wasteful on Saturday and, on another day, that could cost his team. There is no doubt that the number 23 will be keen to get back to his best when the Saints travel north to face Newcastle this weekend.

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With West Brom’s Easter Monday clash with Reading finishing in a goalless draw, it gave manager James Shan a lot to think about.

One of the main positives he will have taken from the game was the performance of Sam Field who stood out in just his fourth Championship start this term.

He was hugely impressive in midfield and as a result, Baggies supporters debated his performance on Twitter after the game, questioning why he hasn’t been featuring more.

One fan called it a scandal that he hasn’t been playing whilst another couldn’t understand why he is behind Jake Livermore in the pecking order. A similar tweet was made regarding Rekeem Harper’s involvement.

Two further supporters compared the 6 ft 1 midfielder to Claudio Yacob, with one tweet labelling him a fitting replacement for the former Albion man. Another failed to understand why there had been calls for Wes Hoolahan to play over him.

The 20-year-old has featured 17 times in all competitions throughout the campaign but made his first appearance under Shan this week.

Field scored his first goal of the season against Bolton back in January but has struggled for regular game time since Darren Moore’s sacking. That could now be about to change, though.

Here’s the best of the reaction from the Hawthorns faithful.

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Blackburn Rovers fans on Twitter are split on the crucial question of who should be named the club’s Player of the Year for the 2018/2019 season.

This came after they were asked by the club’s official Twitter account as voting for the annual award was declared open.

The accolade is voted for by the supporters each year with voting ending on Wednesday 1st of May and, after an impressive first season back in the Sky Bet Championship, in which Rovers sit 14th in the table with just two matches remaining, there’s no shortage of contenders.

The likes of goalkeeper David Raya, defenders Charlie Mulgrew and Darragh Lenihan, midfielders Elliott Bennett, Harrison Reed, Lewis Travis, reigning champion Bradley Dack and prolific forward Danny Graham are all in with a major shout.

However, the Ewood Park faithful seem to be more focused on just three of those names and you can find out who they are in our list of reactive Tweets, below…

Arsenal fans were baffled, neutrals were baffled, and even the Arsenal players were baffled by Unai Emery’s squad selection.

It’s rare you hear rumblings out of a club that the players are confused by their manager’s squad choice for an important game, and if any Premier League club was to have such a story break it would be from Arsenal, and that’s exactly what’s happened.

According to the Telegraph, Arsenal players were left confused about Emery’s first-team selection for their home game against Crystal Palace that saw Mohamed Elneny partner Matteo Guendouzi in midfield with Carl Jenkinson as right-wingback.

As well as odd picks, the report also claims Arsenal players are confused with the Spaniard’s continued faith in defender Shkodran Mustafi, who has been a mainstay in the Gunners XI despite calamitous performances for the majority of his career in north London.

With Arsenal losing the last three games in the league and looking likely to miss out on Champions League football barring a Europa League triumph, the revolting players have a point about Emery’s questionable squad choices.

The Palace game should have been an easy win for Arsenal, but because of Emery’s weird experiential team, the Gunners fell to the Eagles 3-2 and squandered a golden chance to take hold of a top-four spot.

Arsenal have played themselves into a hole that will be hard to get out of, and although the players lack of a professional attitude plays as big a part as Emery’s tactics, the Spaniard’s squad selections have cost the Gunners points in the league, and it is up to him to take responsibility and own up to his mistakes and rectify them.

Arsenal fans, what would your ideal Gunners XI be? Let us know!