[ad_pod ]

After Oliver Skipp made his full Premier League debut against Burnley last weekend, Mauricio Pochettino was full of praise for the youngster as he slotted seamlessly into the midfield at Wembley.

What did Pochettino say?

The former Southampton boss was speaking after the teenager bossed the midfield against Sean Dyche’s struggling Clarets side, showing composure and assurance beyond his years to make the Tottenham fans forgot all about Eric Dier’s absence through injury.

Pochettino told the Evening Standard: “I think he played like a 30-year-old man. So relaxed, trying to play forward and trying to give the team what the team needs, plenty of energy, full energy, I am so proud of him. I think everyone is proud of him. He is only 18-years-old and I think it was fantastic.

“I remember when it was my first game and I said to him ‘you look so relaxed. When I was 17, going to play I was so nervous’. I said ‘that is the difference between a player going to be a top player and a player who was going to be normal player like me.'”

What’s the significance of the comments?

Well, aside from the fact that the Spurs’ academy looks to have produced another gem, Pochettino’s comments also seem to rule out a possible new signing in January.

With Mousa Dembele and Victor Wanyama struggling for form and fitness these days, a potential dip into the transfer market for a new centre midfielder looked to be on the cards, but Skipp’s emergence looks to have plugged that gap without spending a penny.

Alongside Harry Winks, Skipp is another gem off the Spurs academy production line who is fitting straight into the style of play that Pochettino prefers to tutor to his players; Tottenham is a club that is going places with a sustainable youth academy who will be encouraged by seeing the likes of Skipp play and perform so well.

West Ham supporters will be delighted with how things are currently going for their club.

After wins against Newcastle United, Cardiff City, Crystal Palace and Fulham, the Hammers find themselves sitting ninth in the Premier League table and are just two points behind the now Jose Mourinho-less Manchester United in sixth.

The Portuguese coach was sacked earlier today following the Red Devils’ 3-1 defeat to Liverpool over the weekend in a development that should also be of interest to West Ham fans.

In recent weeks, the Hammers’ talisman Marko Arnautovic had been linked with a move away from the club with Mourinho said to have been interested in bringing the 29-year-old to Old Trafford since the summer (Sky Sports).

But with the former Chelsea and Real Madrid boss no longer in the equation, it is hard to imagine Manchester United following up on their ex-manager’s interest.

While it became apparent that Mourinho had little trust in the likes of Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford to provide adequate cover for first-choice striker Romelu Lukaku, it is well-known that Ed Woodward is a huge fan of the former.

Considering that, the Manchester United CEO is almost certain to push for a manager that will look to fully utilise the Frenchman, which could see more opportunities of playing up front presented to him and thus further reduce the need of a new No.9 such as Arnautovic to be brought in.

[ad_pod ]

Sunderland are in a strong position in League One currently, sitting five points behind Portsmouth with two games in hand. However, things could get a lot more difficult for manager Jack Ross if he loses in-form youngsters Josh Maja and Lynden Gooch in January, with both of their contracts running out in the summer, and the Scotsman has hinted that it is agents who are holding up new deals.

What did he say?

“I’ve spoken frequently and consistently that I believe both players want to stay at the club, they are young enough to understand it is a great place to be and it’s a nice starting point.

“There are external factors which can slow down the process but I would be hopeful they will remain, and to know sooner rather than later.”

What did he really mean?

Both Gooch and Maja came through the Academy of Light system at Sunderland and have been with the club through the youth teams and then into the first team, and it is this that Ross clearly believes will keep them at the club beyond the January transfer window.

Both players are getting regular game time and are seriously impressing, so they are bound to attract interest given their contract situations. However, as Ross says, Sunderland is currently the perfect place for them both to develop.

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”351234″ player=”12034″ title=”Watch The FPL Show Keep an eye on Man United’s postMourinho FPL boost”]

If this desire to stay is true though, the external factors that the Sunderland boss is referring to could be the agents of both players, who may be thinking that their clients could secure a big move if they delay signing on the dotted line at the Stadium of Light.

Huge Loss

Maja and Gooch have both been in exceptional form so far this year though and would be a huge loss for Sunderland. In fact, 19-year-old striker Maja is the Black Cats’ top scorer with 13 in all competitions, whilst the versatile Gooch is their top assist provider having made eight goals – as well as scoring six himself.

Both players have much to improve upon, with Maja’s all-round game especially raw despite his clear natural talent for putting the ball in the back of the net. Ross will be hoping though that their contract situations can be sorted and signed before the January transfer window so that he can focus on pushing for promotion to the Championship in the second half of the season.

Manchester United fans on Twitter have been discussing the future of young centre-back Axel Tuanzebe, and many are already excited for him to return from his current season-long loan deal at Aston Villa.

The 21-year-old re-signed with the Birmingham-based club during the summer after spending the second half of last season at Villa Park. Since re-joining the club, the youngster has managed 19 Championship appearances and he is playing at centre-back under Dean Smith as opposed to being stuck out at right-back by former boss Steve Bruce.

An England U21 international, Tuanzebe looks like he could grow into a top class centre-back and he already has all of the necessary physical attributes.

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”365933″ player=”12034″ title=”Rafa’s Pub Facts West Ham’s Best Month Ever & A Premier League First”]

It’s clear that the United fans want him to remain at Villa for the rest of the season and there are no calls for his loan deal to be ended early. However, many are keen to see him integrated into the first team for the next campaign, although this of course will depend on who the United manager is once Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s temporary reign finishes.

Check out the tweets below where fans of the Red Devils discuss Tuanzebe’s future.

Theo Walcott is having a particularly poor season amongst a much more youthful looking Everton side, with the England international sticking out like a sore thumb in Marco Silva’s lineup on more matchdays than not.

The 29-year-old is clearly exiting his peak years, as shown by his poor record of three goals and two assists in 19 Premier League starts this season, and desperately needs replacing at Goodison Park.

Silva, along with Director of Football Marcel Brands, worked hard in the summer and splashed out a lot on the likes of Richarlison and Lucas Digne in order to freshen up the Toffee’s starting eleven, so it would make sense to assume that Walcott is on borrowed time.

We asked Everton fans who they’d like to see replace the former Arsenal man, with the options being between recalling the promising Kieran Dowell from his loan spell, starting Ademola Lookman instead, or signing one of Nicolas Pepe, Samuel Chukwueze or Joelinton.

As shown by the results below, most Everton fans are keen to stop splashing the cash, and would rather see one of their existing players step up and dislodge the Southampton academy graduate from the starting lineup…

[ad_pod ]

Dean Smith must make an unthinkable decision and drop James Chester for the visit of Hull City, after the 29-year-old’s woeful game at Wigan.

On the chalkboard

No player has started more for Villa so far this season, with central defender Chester only missing one starting XI of a possible 27 in the Championship.

The Welshman has been a key man for both Steve Bruce and Smith since his appointment, but against Wigan showed a side of himself that would be best kept off the field.

Chester is suffering from a niggling knee issue, but it showed massively on Saturday, as the 29-year-old put in his second-worst performance of the season – only his 54 minutes against Preston in October returned a worse WhoScored rating.

WhoScored deemed the 35-cap international to only be worth a 5.9 at the weekend after he failed to register a single successful tackle and lost more aerial duels than he won – his only redeeming feature against Wigan was a game-high six clearances.

Who are the best away fans in the Championship? Pl>ymaker FC’s Thogden gives his top 10 in the video below…

Finally has an alternative

Part of the reason why Chester has featured so heavily for Villa this season is through a lack of alternatives.

Axel Tuanzebe, who is currently out injured, has been his most regular partner, but until Tommy Elphick was recalled heading into the New Year, the next men up were Mile Jedinak, who is a defensive midfielder, and right-back Alan Hutton.

Now that Elphick is back in Birmingham and the loan signing of Kortney Hause from Wolverhampton Wanderers has gone through, Smith can finally take Chester out of the starting XI and let his knee heal.

Smith must be careful

It would be a seriously risky move for Smith to take out the rock in his defence, but with Chester’s injury causing the defender to struggle, he would be better off trying his luck with Hause and Elphick as a partnership.

Besides, Smith has already accepted that the Wolves man struggled on his debut and thought his performance showed signs of rustiness. That is only natural when you are playing your first game in a back four since May 2017 and first match in general since September.

[ad_pod ]

Marcelo Bielsa has revealed the full extent of the “Spygate” scandal that has rocked the Championship.

Leeds United’s manager admitted to spying on Derby County’s training sessions prior to beating them 2-0 on Friday.

And, at an impromptu press conference on Wednesday, he has now amazingly revealed that he has spied on every team Leeds have faced thus far this season.

He said, per the Yorkshire Evening Post: “My goal is to make the EFL investigation easier.”

Bielsa then admitted to spying on every single club they have faced this season, and added: “By doing this, I assume the possible sanction that the authorities might bring.”

It remains to be seen how Leeds may be punished by the relevant authorities.

The Elland Road club are currently top of the Championship, four points clear of second-placed Sheffield United.

Leeds have won 16 of their 27 outings this season, scoring 46 goals and conceding 28 along the way.

And supporters and pundits alike have, perhaps surprisingly, expressed their admiration for the Argentine, with many praising his honesty.

[ad_pod ]

West Ham fans have taken to Twitter in delighted fashion after Sky Sports revealed that talks are still ongoing between the club and La Liga strugglers Celta Vigo for in-demand marksman Maxi Gomez.

The Uruguayan international has a huge £43.3m release clause in his contract with the Spanish side, with Celta Vigo only willing to sell him this month if that figure is met in full, as they don’t want to lose him in the midst of their battle for survival – they sit just one point above the relegation zone in La Liga.

Impressively, the 22-year-old striker has hit nine goals and recorded five assists in 16 league starts so far in the current campaign, as seen on his Whoscored page, which has attracted the Hammers’ attention.

Who should replace Marko Arnautovic if he leaves West Ham? FFC’s James Jones has the answer! Check out the video below to find out…

The east London-based side declared their interest in the Uruguayan soon after Marko Arnautovic was the subject of interest from the Chinese Super League (BBC), but the aforementioned report suggests that Manuel Pellegrini’s Irons will still go ahead with a deal for Gomez even if Arnautovic stays – which seems more than likely after his latest Instagram post (Mirror Football).

Naturally, Hammers fans are excited with the reports, even more so given the fact that the striker in question has previously been linked with Barcelona as a successor for the ageing Luis Suarez, per AS…

[ad_pod ]

Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino has Heung-Min Son to thank for his side’s 1-0 win over Newcastle United on Saturday afternoon. The South Korean forward struck in the 83rd minute to finally break the deadlock, after Spurs dominated much of the game up to that point without being able to produce any end product.

However, it was the introduction of Fernando Llorente, who assisted Son’s winning goal, that truly changed the course of the match.

On the chalkboard

Pochettino’s side were on top throughout the first half. They persistently played crosses into the box from dangerous areas, but the Magpies’ were consistently able to deal with them. This is because Spurs lacked a physical presence.

Be sure to check out the incredible story of the man who rose from a Tanzanian refugee camp to become one of Australia’s biggest football stars in the video below…

With in his introduction on the hour mark, Llorente finally gave the home team a focal point. The 33-year-old Spaniard took up a target man role and was able to use his 6’4” frame to good effect. For Son’s goal, he was able to hold off a Newcastle defender and chest the ball into Son’s path.

Late luck for Pochettino

Llorente was the perfect man to lead Spurs’ attack against Newcastle, who pulled no surprises with their game plan of sitting deep and soaking up pressure, which begs the question as to why Pochettino didn’t include the striker in his starting XI.

Ultimately, the fact that Spurs took all three points is all that matters, but had Llorente been on the pitch in the first half, he could have had an earlier impact and perhaps Spurs would then have enjoyed a more comfortable victory.

By not starting the veteran striker, Pochettino almost cost his side the win, and was fortunate that Llorente was able to make the difference in the final ten minutes. 

[ad_pod ]

Manuel Pellegrini has suggested that he will reintegrate Marko Arnautovic into his starting XI, according to the BBC’s live blog on Thursday (12:38pm).

The striker sustained an injury against Wolves but much of the goodwill he had built up with the club’s fanbase dissipated after his flirtations with a move to China lastmonth.

What’s the word?

The Austria international enjoyed a sterling start to the season, scoring seven goals in 17 Premier League outings.

He was the subject of a bid from the Chinese Super League in January and appeared to wave goodbye to the club’s fans as he was substituted during the 1-0 win over Arsenal.

However, no move materialised and, after signing a contract extension, he was subsequently injured on his comeback against Wolves.

He missed the 1-1 draw with Liverpool but Pellegrini says that he is nearing a return to full fitness.

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

The Hammers boss told reporters, per BBC (12:38): “Marko Arnautovic and Aaron Cresswell worked the complete week but Samir Nasri needs more time to work on his calf injury.

“Marko worked the complete week. It is good news, of course. He is a player who makes a difference and is important for our team. He needs to recover his best form after not playing and his last injury, and I hope he will be an important player for the remainder of the season.”

Pellegrini ready to trust again

Manuel Pellegrini appears ready to trust Arnautovic again.

The Austrian has historically struggled with temper issues and looked set to force his way out of the Hammers.

His new contract was nothing more than a publicity exercise – Football FanCast understands that he remains likely to leave in the summer, as his contract contains a clause allowing him to exit the club if a £45million bid is tabled.

But Pellegrini appears to have opened the door to giving Arnautovic a run in the first-team between now and the end of the season.

The Hammers are hopeful of qualifying for Europe this season – they are just six points behind seventh-placed Wolves – and the former Man City manager clearly believes the maverick striker is too integral to his plans to drop him.

It is a bold strategy, and we must now wait to see if it pays off.