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When Lee Johnson announced last Friday that Bailey Wright had returned to training, the Sunderland manager had a beaming smile on his face.

Little did he know, however, that his Australian stalwart was going to be thrown in at the deep end after their first defeat in 14 matches.

The Mackems have been brilliant in recent months but their 2-1 loss at the hands of Charlton last weekend dealt an almighty blow to their hopes of earning automatic promotion.

Though, those hopes were dealt another potentially catastrophic blow when they lost to Wigan Athletic on Tuesday evening. This was arguably one of the worst performances under Johnson as the Black Cats were made to rue a number of defensive errors.

This was a display that was completely out of character with how their defence have shaped up since February. With Luke O’Nien and Dion Sanderson a centre-back pairing, Sunderland had kept seven clean sheets in 12 games.

That being said, things have fallen by the wayside in the last few weeks; Johnson’s men now haven’t kept a shutout in four matches.

As they fell to a dismal 2-1 defeat on Tuesday, it was their defence who came under scrutiny. Wright was welcomed back into the starting XI after a late injury to Conor McLaughlin which meant that O’Nien had to shuffle across to right back with the Aussie coming in at centre-half.

Unfortunately, both players were left exposed. O’Nien could have done more for both goals as a pair of defensive calamities led to strikes being conceded from two set-pieces.

Wright has usually been so reliable for Sunderland and until his calf injury in February, had only missed one league game.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/latest-sunderland-transfer-rumours-and-news-grigg-denayer-louis-dreyfus-sanderson-melamed” title=”Latest Sunderland transfer news and views!”]

Though, on this display, he could be missing a few more between now and the end of the season. The defender tried to play long balls forward on a regular basis and that led to him conceding possession of the ball on a whopping 19 occasions.

For context, no Mackems played lost it more. That also led to a measly pass success rate of just 69%. Of those to start the game from an outfield perspective, only Charlie Wyke and Denver Hume registered a worse percentage.

Wright did prevail in eight aerial duels but ultimately, he looked off the pace and unfit. That’s hardly surprising given his lack of action but considering how adept he’s been in the past, he appeared to be a shadow of his former self.

At full-time, Johnson claimed that he felt “a little bit let down” by the performance of some of his players.

That was certainly the case with Wright. The boss should revert back to a centre-back partnership of O’Nien and Sanderson next time out.

AND in other news, Sunderland graduate saw value rise by £15.5m after leaving, he’s a “manager’s dream” …

Southampton are looking increasingly likely to sign Theo Walcott from Everton in the summer, and if he were to join the Saints permanently, it could prove to be bad news for rising star Nathan Tella.

Speaking to Hampshire Live recently, Raph Hasenhuttl hinted that the 32-year-old could join from the Toffees permanently this summer, saying: “I am very happy that he is comfortable here now and that he is happy to play for us and there is no reason why we should not think about keeping him longer.”

The Athletic have also suggested that Southampton will look to sign the former Arsenal man on a permanent deal, with his contract at Everton set to expire this summer.

Therefore, given that the £5.4m-rated Englishman has been a regular in Hasenhuttl’s side so far this season, making 16 appearances in the Premier League, it seems fairly likely that he will be with the Saints again next term.

Unfortunately, this could prove to be bad news for 21-year-old Tella, who enjoyed a run in the Southampton side earlier in the season when Walcott was injured.

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He particularly impressed in the 2-0 win against Sheffield United in March, when his pace caused the Blades defence all sorts of problems and led to him winning a penalty in the first half, which James Ward-Prowse duly tucked away.

Tella has shown this season that he is too good to be playing in Premier League 2, as he memorably scored four goals as a striker against Leicester City under-21s earlier in the season, so he needs to be playing regular senior football for his development next season.

However, with the likes of Nathan Redmond, Moussa Djenepo and Stuart Armstrong already at the club, you worry that the permanent signing of Walcott is going to mean the 21-year-old is afforded very little playing time by Hasenhuttl.

[freshpress-quiz id=“594431″]

Therefore, perhaps we will see Tella leave Southampton on loan next season, for if Walcott does join on a permanent deal, it is difficult to see where the youngster fits in.

In other news… Southampton could find their ideal JWP replacement in 23 y/o beast who is a “joy to watch”

Sheffield Wednesday will make a decision on free-agent trialist Ravel Morrison this week…

What’s the word?

Speaking after the Owls’ impressive 2-1 win over high-flying south Yorkshire rivals Barnsley, Wednesday manager Darren Moore revealed he was taking a look at the 28-year-old midfielder. He said, via The Star:

“What we’ll do is take a good look at Ravel and make a decision in the next two, three, four days so we know what we’re doing with Ravel going forward.”

The former Manchester United graduate has been without a club since leaving Dutch outfit ADO Den Haag and is free to join the Owls as he contract was terminated by mutual consent in January.

Polarising maverick

It’s not been too long since Wednesday last had a player who will cut the fanbase like a knife through butter. Indeed, Fernando Forestieri was that man for a very long time at Hillsborough.

After playing an instrumental role in back-to-back playoff campaigns under Carlos Carvalhal, the Argentina-born Italian soon saw his Owls career dogged by injury problems and disciplinary issues before leaving in the summer after a divisive five years.

Morrison has played for 11 different teams, including arch-rivals Sheffield United, and has struggled for regular game-time and consistency in that time. This is something he acknowledged during an appearance on Rio Ferdinand’s ‘Vibe with Five’ podcast, via The Star:

“I think it’s because a lot of people already have a picture in their head of what I am like, so people don’t want to commit and say: ‘We’ll bring him to the club for two or three years’. They think: ‘We’ll give him six months because he might be a problem.'”Chris Wilder also described him as a “maverick” and has previously lauded the midfielder as an “undoubted talent” with “serious ability”, yet his track record would say otherwise. He would likely be another polarising figure at Wednesday.You couldn’t say Forestieri didn’t lack ability – after all, he produced 40 goals and 18 assists in 134 appearances – it’s the fact that it could’ve been so much better with more application and fewer problems, both on and off the pitch.That very much is the same for Morrison.At Manchester United, he was thought to be “better than” the likes of Paul Pogba and Jesse Lingard coming through, according to Wayne Rooney. “He struggled with lifestyle and his environment which was sad for him,” explained the Red Devils legend to The Sunday Times.The Owls could do with all the help they can get right now, so taking Morrison on board for the remainder of the season could be a smart ploy, but they will need to be weary for the long run. Things quickly turned south for Forestieri, and that’s not something that needs to be repeated at Hillsborough again.

AND in other news, Lost possession 40x: Owls star the one negative from Moore’s first Owls win… 

MatériaMais Notícias

Depois de ser goleado pelo Cruzeiro, por 5 a 2, dentro de sua Arena, o Botafogo se reapresentou em General Severiano. Com segurança reforçada e reunião interna, tanto entre os jogadores e quanto entre a diretoria e o técnico Jair Ventura, que, depois, comandou atividade técnica dos reservas na sede.

Além de quatro seguranças particulares contratados pelo clube na porta da sede, um carro da Polícia Militar ficou do lado de fora, vigiando caso alguém decidisse protestar por conta do resultado negativo da última quinta-feira.

O clube buscou se precaver para que não pudesse acontecer outro episódio de cobrança e invasão da torcida, como o do início de junho, quando uma organizada pulou a catraca da entrada e cobrou os jogadores no gramado.

Dentro do clube, antes do treino, a alta cúpula da diretoria alvinegra se reuniu e discutiu alguns pontos após a goleada sofrida na última quinta. Estiveram presentes o presidente Carlos Eduardo Pereira, o gerente de futebol Antônio Lopes, o vice-presidente de futebol, Cacá Azeredo, e o técnico Jair Ventura.

Depois, o comandante reuniu todo o elenco no centro do gramado – até mesmo os jogadores titulares que já estavam liberados, por terem feito o treino regenerativo antes – e teve uma conversa de cerca de dez minutos com eles.

A atividade foi marcada por um treino em campo reduzido para os reservas. O ponto de destaque foi a presença do boliviano Lizio. Ele está recuperado de cirurgia e treinou com bola. O próximo compromisso do Botafogo será contra o Grêmio, neste domingo, na Arena da Ilha do Governador, pelo Brasileirão.

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Many Manchester United fans were left to slam the display of Fred in their 0-0 away draw at Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Wednesday night.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men really struggled to break the South London club down at all and in the end had to settle for a point, which meant that they lost further ground on their local rivals Manchester City in the title race and will now surely be looking more over their shoulders than in front of them.

Fred’s performance in particular flattered to deceive several members of the Old Trafford faithful, as the central midfield player lost out on no fewer than eight of his duels in the game, while also failing to record a single clearance and losing possession of the ball eight times, earning him a quite measly 6.6 overall rating on Sofascore, the second-lowest out of any of his teammates to have started the match.

Manchester United fan reaction to Fred display

These Red Devils slammed his performance on Twitter, with one MUFC supporter saying that the Brazil international was ‘poor’ while another claimed he is ‘one of the worst players’ in the team:

“Fred is one of the worst players in the @ManUtd team. He cannot pass or shoot. To think we had midfielders like Scholes, Carrick and Keane and now we rely on Fred and Matic. I would rather we lose a game 1-0 but have ten shots on goal. This park the bus tactic is sickening #MUFC”

Credit: @mojodurbs

“You could see Rashford especially get frustrated playing in front of Fred and Matic because they offered absolutely nothing to the forward players. Zero service all night. Way too safe. Which is their job. It’s the attributes they have. They just shouldn’t be #mufc starting CMs.”

Credit: @Kyles_Page

“Fred was awful and not for the first time but why wait 75 minutes when it was clear from the first half? We do the same things and expect different results. Einstein’s definition of insanity is proving true #mufc”

Credit: @thereddevilway

“One of the worst collective performances I can remember in the Bruno era. Marcus, Fred & Bruno particularly off it. Henderson and Bailly probably the only players who were up to the standards tonight #MUFC #CRYMUN”

Credit: @BenrubiLiam

“United are dropping more points then leaking tap l have say there was no creative in United team apart from Bruno. Needs some help. Fred was poor again but no one mentions it he’s not good enough #mufc”

Credit: @mahadnur93

“I AM SICK OF #FRED… THAT’S A BRAZILIAN WHO CANNOT PASS OR SHOOT #MUFC need to move these players”

Credit: @SebastienRault5

In other news, find out whose display against Palace was also slammed here!

David Moyes risks laying bare West Ham United’s desperation by pursuing a deal to sign a free-agent to solve his lack of depth at striker after Sebastien Haller’s exit.

What’s the word?

According to Irons insider ExWHUemployee, while speaking on The West Ham Way podcast, Moyes could look to explore the free-agent market after refusing to sign a centre-forward during the mid-season window.

The Hammers boss was adamant that he would not bring a player in “just for the sake of it”, and instead opted to keep the £20m raised from Haller joining Ajax to put toward his budget for the summer.

But things have only gotten worse at the London Stadium since that decision, with doubt now lingering over Michail Antonio’s fitness after showing signs of serious fatigue at Fulham and being rested for the FA Cup defeat to Manchester United.

West Ham have also lost Andriy Yarmolenko for the foreseeable, after the Ukraine winger sustained knee ligament damage at Old Trafford while leading the line in the absence of Antonio.

Teen prospect Mipo Odubeko came on to replace Yarmolenko but struggled to get going and was eventually replaced in extra-time, yet he and Jarrod Bowen may be Moyes’ only options for when the Irons host Sheffield United on Monday night.

Hammers insider ExWHUemployee believes the situation could force the club to look into signing a free-agent to help add depth until the end of the season, but West Ham currently have no active plans in place.

Laying West Ham’s desperation bare

Moyes potentially now looking at adding a free-agent to support Antonio would prove his decision not to sign a striker in January was a huge blunder, and one that will lay bare his desperation to atone for the mistake.

West Ham will not be blessed with that many great options should they hit the scrapheap, either, with ex-Chelsea forward Diego Costa the only free-agent striker with a TransferMarkt valuation above £3.5m after he agreed to have his £265,000-per-week Atletico Madrid contract terminated early.

Costa departed the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium in December as Atleti sought to reduce their wage bill, and agreed to tear up the final six months of his deal after spending periods out since September with coronavirus, a hamstring injury and deep-vein thrombosis.

The Spaniard returned earlier than expected to score the last of his 83 career goals for Los Colchoneros in a 3-1 La Liga win over Elche in December, and was linked with a move to the London Stadium in January.

Former Premier League striker Dean Windass urged West Ham to make a move for Costa while speaking exclusively to Football FanCast last month, but reports by football.london on Deadline Day claimed there was no truth in the rumours of a move to the Hammers.

If Costa is still not a target, other free-agents to consider include Daniel Sturridge – who has been without a club since March – Alexandre Pato – without a club since August – and Wilfried Bony – who has played 10 games since April 2019.

Clearly, then, the options are not great, so it remains to be seen if even desperation will force Moyes into accepting he was wrong and now signing someone no one else wants.

AND in other news, West Ham will have to pay in excess of £26.5m to land a prolific 18 goal striker in the summer…

Glasgow Rangers are expected to rotate their squad once again when they return to Scottish Premiership action against Hamilton on Sunday afternoon.

Rangers manager Steven Gerrard is set to make a few changes for the Gers’ clash with the Accies this weekend.

Gerrard fielded a largely-unchanged side for the Premiership tie against St Johnstone and he was rewarded with a solid 1-0 win over the struggling Saints.

However, the Ibrox boss is expected to take the opportunity to rest a number of first-team stars on Sunday as he reverts to a starting XI similar to that which triumphed 8-0 against Hamilton last time out.

So, without further ado, here is Football FanCast’s predicted starting line-up, which sees Gerrard ring three changes to the team that beat the Saints.

As is often the case, it’s likely Allan McGregor will start in goal behind a traditional back four once more.

Connor Goldson and James Tavernier will both retain their starting berths but Borna Barisic and Filip Helander are likely to drop out as Calvin Bassey and Leon Balogun return to the starting line-up.

Glen Kamara was rested against the Saints but should return in place of Steven Davis in the midfield, while Gerrard could opt for a slight formation change against the Accies so Joe Aribo and Ryan Jack will keep their places.

Scott Arfield is edging closer to full fitness but is unlikely to feature here, while Alfredo Morelos serves the second of his three-match suspension following his stamp on Ryan Porteous.

Kemar Roofe has been served with a notice of complaint by the SFA after his controversial challenge on St Johnstone’s Murray Davidson so could miss out in favour of Cedric Itten, although Roofe is the more likely pick having started the previous Premiership fixture.

Meanwhile, Ianis Hagi should continue on the right wing with Ryan Kent lining up on the opposite wing if Gerrard sticks with Roofe as his central striker.

AND in other news, Steven Gerrard should unleash Rangers defender Calvin Bassey against Hamilton Academical…

Reports emerged earlier this week suggesting Wolves are interested in Club Brugge defender Odilon Kossounou.

Kossounou to Molineux?

The 20-year-old has caught the eye with the Belgian Jupiler League outfit, having accumulated over 3,000 minutes in 41 appearances.

Kossounou, who is valued at £7.2m by Transfermarkt, spent six months with the Swedish side Hammarby but despite only making nine appearances, this encouraged Brugge to make the move for him in 2019.

Hammarby’s sporting director has now responded to these reports as Liverpool, Inter Milan and Arsenal are also believed to be interested in his services. It appears the Swedish club’s chief is a big fan of the rising talent.

“No, I’m not surprised (about interest from big clubs) because I followed him when he was here,” he told Fotbollskanalen. “We have followed him down in Belgium and his progress at Club Brugge.”

Transfer Tavern Verdict

With Wolves having conceded 32 goals from 25 games this season, it is sensible for Nuno to look to the market for a new centre-back in the summer.

However, they face incredibly stiff competition to capture him and whether superagent Jorge Mendes can provide the pulling power to tempt the Ivorian centre-back to Molineux – remains to be seen.

It would be prudent for Nuno to compile a shortlist with several individuals for the role, with clubs expected to be cash-strapped due to the pandemic.

In other news, Wolves could capture European wonderkid for bargain six-figure sum next summer.

Newcastle United must learn from West Ham United’s decision to sell Sebastien Haller to AFC Ajax for a £25m loss and consider the consequences of keeping Joelinton in January.

What’s the word?

West Ham agreed a £20m deal with Ajax on Friday to end Haller’s miserable 18-month stay at the London Stadium, having decided that now is the best time to cut ties with their £45m record signing.

Haller offered just 14 goals in 53 games for the east London outfit across all competitions, but his biggest failing was through his inability to lead the line as David Moyes’ solo centre-forward.

Moyes has admitted the Irons were not planning on selling Haller this month but felt obliged to accept Ajax’s surprise offer, as retaining the Ivory Coast international would have risked his side losing even more in the future on the £115,000-per-week dud.

“The Seb Haller situation was simply that we got an offer, we didn’t expect it, we weren’t planning to lose Seb this window,” Moyes said, via quotes by the Daily Mail. “He’s done great for us, he’s won a few games recently with his goals, so we wish him well.

“I think it’s a really good move for him to go to Ajax and it was something which, maybe if we didn’t take this offer now, maybe we would not have got it at a later stage. So, we just felt it was the right thing to do. But it certainly wasn’t planned.”

Newcastle chiefs must take note of Moyes’ comments and consider the similarities West Ham faced in Haller’s situation with that of Joelinton, who arrived at St. James’ Park for a club-record £40m just six days after the Irons finalised their club-record deal.

Newcastle must take note

The Magpies’ decision to break the bank for Joelinton has been questioned ever since the Brazilian’s capture in the summer of 2019, having flopped like a lead balloon with seven goals and seven assists in 65 appearances (3 goals in 53 Premier League games) to date.

Steve Bruce has even taken to fielding Joelinton at left-midfield in the search of a way to get the best from the £87,000-per-week forward, notably Newcastle’s top-earner, yet a miserable 45 minutes at Arsenal in the FA Cup on Saturday saw Alan Shearer unleash a scathing attack on the 24-year-old.

“A lot of money he cost, and he finds it really difficult. His touch is really poor, and he hasn’t posed a threat,” the Toon icon said during BBC Sport’s half-time coverage of the game (9/1, 18:15). “It’s been really frustrating watching him. I actually feel sorry for him because when the ball goes to him, it’s bouncing off him and he’s offering nothing going the other way, also.”

Bruce eventually hauled Joelinton off in the 81st-minute having seen enough from the Brazilian, with the forward offering no shots, just one dribble, one key ball from 14 accurate passes, one cross, and losing nine of his 16 combined duels, per SofaScore.

Mike Ashley is likely to be loath to parting ways with Joelinton anytime soon through fears of the financial hit his exit would bring, but retaining the attacker for much longer could risk Newcastle being met with the eventual circumstances that Moyes jumped at the chance of avoiding with Haller.

Newcastle may even struggle to find suitors willing to sign Joelinton after his Tyneside horrors, which have seen his TransferMarkt value plummet to just £18m.

His value will only continue to fall the longer his struggles persist, leaving the Toon paying out excessive wages on a player who brings little – or nothing – to the table, and it could push the Magpies to a point where they will need to jump at whatever bid will end their nightmare.

West Ham learned that the hard way with Haller, whose market value dropped from a career-high £40.5m in 2019 to £27m before leaving this month for £20m, even having moved to the Premier League boasting a superior track record to Joelinton.

Haller struck 33 goals in 77 games with Eintracht Frankfurt to catch the Hammers’ attention, while Joelinton offered just 11 goals in 36 appearances for Hoffenheim to warrant a £40m move to England.

The Irons have given Newcastle the case study to consider with Haller’s costly departure, which can only be seen as a panicked response much more than a masterclass, it is simply now up to the St. James’ Park natives to learn from it.

AND in other news, a Newcastle gem embarrassed his teammates as Steve Bruce’s only positive at Arsenal.

أعلن المدرب الإنجليزي، مايكل كاريك، المدير الفني المؤقت لنادي مانشستر يونايتد، تشكيل فريقه الرسمي لمباراة تشيلسي في البريميرليج.

ويحل مانشستر يونايتد ضيفًا على تشيلسي، في تمام الساعة السادسة والنصف بتوقيت القاهرة، على ملعب “ستامفورد بريدج”، وذلك ضمن لقاءات الجولة الثالثة عشر من الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

ولم يتواجد في التشكيل الأساسي لليونايتد، النجم البرتغالي كريستيانو رونالدو، حيث قرر كاريك تركه على مقاعد البدلاء ويعتمد على الثنائي ماركوس راشفورد وجاودون سانشو في الهجوم

ويحتل تشيلسي حاليًا صدارة الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز برصيد 29 نقطة، بينما يتواجد مانشستر يونايتد في المركز التاسع برصيد 17 نقطة. تشكيل مانشستر يونايتد اليوم أمام تشيلسي

حراسة المرمى: ديفيد دي خيا.

خط الدفاع: آرون وان بيساكا، لينديلوف، إريك بليلي، أليكس تيليس.

خط الوسط: فريد، ماتيتش، ماكتومناي، برونو فرنانديز.

خط الهجوم: ماركوس راشفورد، جادون سانشو.

مقاعد بدلاء مانشستر يونايتد

دين هندرسون، فيل جونز، دييجو دالوت، خوان ماتا، جيسي لينجارد، دوني فان دي بيك، ماسون جرينوود، مارسيال، كريستيانو رونالدو.

🚨 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠 𝗡𝗘𝗪𝗦 🚨#MUFC | #CHEMUN — Manchester United (@ManUtd) November 28, 2021