All posts by rastrear-estafeta.com

Pep Lijnders stated that the Liverpool side to play Arsenal will be “hungry and fresh”, and that has caused excitement among fans that some youngsters could get a chance to impress again.

In particular, the prospect of Harvey Elliott lining up against the Gunners is being eagerly anticipated, as he was one of five academy players to feature in the previous round against MK Dons.

Watch Liverpool Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

If he does he will not only be making his home debut, but he will be the youngest ever Red to play at the ground in a senior match, and the youngest ever scorer for the club if he manages to get on the scoresheet, which he should have done already at Stadium MK.

Despite that miss from just a few yards out, he was impressive throughout. He showed a range of abilities with both feet and also provided a brilliant cross for James Milner to score from close range, only for the 33-year-old to miss.

As a result, Liverpool supporters have enjoyed what they’ve seen from the youngster so far and are keen for him to get another opportunity, judging by the reactions below.

Arsenal youngster Reiss Nelson is set for a fresh spell on the sidelines of around three weeks after picking up a knee injury while on international duty.

Nelson, 19, underwent a scan on Friday and has returned to London Colney after being sent home by England U21s head coach Aidy Boothroyd.

The academy player has had a significant role in Arsenal’s first-team this season, featuring six times and scoring one goal for the Gunners.

Nelson missed three games last season while on loan at the German side Hoffenheim with respective thigh and back injuries.

But the 19-year-old will now step away from his England responsibilities temporarily and will aim to return to fitness as quickly as possible.

James Benge broke the news on Twitter (via @jamesbenge) and Arsenal fans are disappointed with the news of Nelson’s injury. However, it could open the door for the 18-year-old Bukayo Saka to collect more minutes under his belt.

Here you will find some of the best reactions from Arsenal fans:

This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Leeds United are once again right up there in the Championship this season.

The Whites are currently second in the league, but it’s fair to say that their current position doesn’t represent how well they’ve been playing, and that’s down to one key thing.

Last season

If you feel like you’ve read this before it’s because you probably have.

Leeds were let down massively by their finishing last term. Despite finishing third in 2018/19, the Whites actually had the worst conversion rate in the entire division.

Watch Leeds United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

If they could’ve been more effective in front of goal they probably would have been promoted, but it wasn’t to be for the Whites.

You’d have thought that the Yorkshire outfit would have done everything possible to remedy that situation this term, but those issues are once again causing problems.

This season

Leeds are once again in and around the automatic promotion places this campaign, but the Championship expected goals table shows that they should be running away with the league.

The table reckons that the Whites should have scored 7.9 more goals than they actually have – the highest differential between xGS and actual goals scored in the entire division.

Ever wondered how modern day skills would cope with the world’s oldest football? Find out in the video below…

It also indicates that Marcelo Bielsa’s side should have an eight-point lead at this stage of the campaign. Eight points. That paints a damning picture of just how bad they’ve been at taking their chances.

This goes to show how imperative it is for Leeds to either find a goalscorer, whether that means dipping into the transfer window, giving Eddie Nketiah a proper chance or awakening something within Patrick Bamford.

If only there was a striker already at Elland Road who has scored goals at an impressive rate wherever they’ve played, perhaps someone who has recently scored hat-trick at international U21 level, or maybe a player who’s netted at a rate of a goal every 103.5 minutes in the league so far this season.

Step forward Nketiah.

Aside from posting a clip from a Hulk film, it’s the caption that should excite West Ham supporters.

The attacker clearly wants to take inspiration from the Marvel hero as he says he’s going to ‘smash’ his recovery.

Watch West Ham United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

It remains to be seen whether or not Antonio can stay fit this time though as he’s suffered this same injury multiple times now.

Hopefully, this is the end of his injury hell, and he can get back to the form that saw him score nine Premier League goals in the 2016/17 season.

For Leeds the injuries that engulfed last season are seemingly back. The Whites may be sitting in second place but there was obviously negativity from supporters when Liam Cooper was ruled out for six weeks.The Whites bounced back from their loss against Charlton last weekend by defeating previously unbeaten West Brom on Tuesday but the challenge of Millwall now faces them.Leeds will be hoping to go into the international break with all three points, especially after Swansea leapfrogged them into top spot on Wednesday.

Bielsa chose to go unchanged in midweek, perhaps something that was a gamble given they lost prior to that meeting.

However, this time around he’ll be forced into making a switch. Here’s what we’re tipping him to go with.

With Cooper and Jamie Shackleton absent, that means changes will have to be made to the XI at the Den.

Luke Ayling could be set for his first start for the senior team since returning from injury as he came off the bench in midweek.

The former Arsenal man replaced Tyler Roberts as Leeds favoured a more defensive look for the final quarter at Elland Road. Stepping in for Cooper could be Gaetano Berardi.

Stuart Dallas moved into central midfield and that remains a possibility this weekend. He’s become a key figure in the side and has started every league match this term.

This change is something Bielsa claimed could happen in his press conference on Thursday.

Pablo Hernandez is set to miss out again so Helder Costa should be given another opportunity on the right flank.

Patrick Bamford has gone goalless in his last five outings but received praise from supporters after that win over the Baggies as he impressed with his work rate.

Eddie Nketiah, therefore, will have to wait patiently on the substitutes bench again.

[ad_pod ]

Arsenal fans have taken to Twitter to discuss Carl Jenkinson’s performance against Bournemouth, as the former Charlton man put in an inspired display.

The 27-year-old played every minute of the resounding 5-1 win over Eddie Howe’s men on Wednesday evening in what was his first start for the Gunners in 830 days, last appearing from the first whistle in a draw against Manchester United at Old Trafford in 2016.

Staggeringly, his last start at the Emirates came 1,907 days ago, way back in December 2013 against Everton.

Boss Unai Emery has deployed all of Hector Bellerin, Stephan Lichtsteiner and Ainsley Maitland-Niles at right-back this season, but after the former suffered a serious injury, the latter pair have failed to impress, opening the door for Jenkinson.

The Englishman excelled against the Cherries, and seems to have worked his way back into the Arsenal fans’ goodbooks after knuckling down and trying hard to get himself back in the team, if their reactions on Twitter are anything to go by…

[ad_pod ]

Former Tottenham Hotspur star Micky Hazard has made a bold prediction about the club and its players if they can win their first trophy, speaking on the latest Last Word on Spurs podcast.

What did he say?

The chat on the podcast was about whether the north London outfit should focus on winning either the FA Cup or Carabao Cup this term, and the 59-year-old was clear on his thoughts and what he believes will happen if/when this team and manager Mauricio Pochettino pick up the club’s first trophy since 2008.

Hazard told the Last Word on Spurs (56:30):

“When we get over this line for the first time, the belief that will give the players. We’ve been there, we’ve seen it and we’ve done it, and we can go and do it again. You don’t know how to get over the line until you get over the line. Once you do, the next time you’re in the same scenario you know you’ve got what it takes to do this.

“This team is so, so close, and has been three or four years to getting that first trophy under their belt, and once they do watch them take off. They will take off and we’ll go to another new level.

“Once you’ve got that, the players can surge on and win more and more trophies.”

Verdict

Hazard certainly raises an interesting point, and you would think that finally ending their long spell without a trophy would provide some confidence not just for the players and the management, but in general throughout the whole club.

Momentum is a word that is used a lot in football, and once you have some it can be difficult to stop it.

Who’s to say that if this talented group of players – who showed what they are capable of with their four-goal first half blitz against Crystal Palace at the weekend – get that first trophy over the line, it won’t drive them on and give them that experience to lift many more.

Tottenham fans will just be praying that their former man is right and that success isn’t too far away.

Everton have made a breakthrough in talks regarding a deal to bring Dele Alli to Goodison Park on transfer deadline day.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a recent claim made by Paul Gilmour, with the reporter revealing on Sky Sports News (15:50) that Frank Lampard’s side are now in extremely advanced talks with Tottenham Hotspur regarding a last-gasp deal to sign the 25-year-old midfielder.

Speaking about the deal, Gilmour said: “Things moving very quickly. Talks between Everton and Tottenham. We are told a breakthrough has been made and even a medical has been booked. Two and a half year deal. Sources telling us this is looking good for Dele Alli to make a permanent move. Frank Lampard, we are also being told, a key factor in this deal going through.”

Major coup

While it is true that Dele has been in far from his best form in recent seasons, it is undeniable that the former England international is nevertheless a player who possesses a considerable amount of ability.

Indeed, the £22.5m-rated man burst onto the Premier League scene following his £5.97m move to Spurs from Milton Keynes Dons back in 2015, scoring ten goals and registering nine assists over 33 league outings in his debut campaign, before following this up with returns of 19 goals and nine assists over his 36 top-flight fixtures in 2016/17, as well as nine goals and 11 assists over 36 appearances in 2017/18.

As such, with Lampard currently lacking any natural option in attacking midfield, should the 43-year-old believe that he can help the £100k-per-week number 10 refind this form following a switch to Everton, the signing of the forward could prove to be a major coup for Everton – as a fit and firing Dele has already proven that he can be one of the most exciting players in the top flight of English football.

In other news: “It’s true…”: Journo drops major update on last-gasp EFC deal, Lampard would love it

Medical expert Ben Dinnery believes Celtic won’t have a fully fit Kyogo Furuhashi until the summer, Football Insider report.

The Lowdown: Spotted at Lennoxtown

Furuhashi has been out since December with a hamstring problem but has recently been spotted back on the grass at Lennoxtown.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/celtic-updates-23/” title=”Celtic updates!!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

He was seen in the background of a training video with a ball at his feet and there is hope he could make a return to action against Rangers following the international break, leading to much excitement from those in the media.

The Japanese forward was enjoying a fine first season in Glasgow prior to his injury issues, starring in the Scottish League Cup final against Hibernian at Hampden Park.

The Latest: Dinnery’s comments

Dinnery, who contributes for Sky Sports, was talking to FI and had this worrying ‘pre-season’ view in regards to Furuhashi and ‘that hamstring’ making a full recovery.

“It will depend on how much he is playing and the environment at the time.

“He has spent over three months on the sidelines. It will take a while before he gets to pre-injury levels in terms of sharpness and match fitness.

“It may be that we don’t see Kyogo hitting those pre-injury levels this season.

“It might just be an opportunity to get some minutes in his legs and test that hamstring.

“But ultimately, we won’t see a fully fit Kyogo back in that Celtic team until pre-season.”

The Verdict: Caution needed

The last thing anyone would want is for Furuhashi to come back too soon and suffer a fresh hamstring problem. On that basis, having the top scorer on the bench at Ibrox could be a wise move, with a view to a brief cameo display as an impact substitute.

There is still a lot of football to be played between now and the end of the season, with a domestic treble still a possibility, and hopefully, Furuhashi will get better and better in the final weeks of the campaign and will have his opportunity to start against Rangers in two more Glasgow derbies in all competitions.

In other news: ‘Worrying…’ – Sky Sports man claims ‘brilliant’ Celtic ace may now have suffered ‘bone damage’. 

Blackburn Rovers are set to beat Celtic in the race to sign Tottenham Hotspur’s Dilan Markanday. 

The lowdown

The Evening Standard reported in December that Celtic were among the clubs chasing Markanday ahead of the January transfer window.

Arch-rivals Rangers were also said to be in the frame, along with ‘a number of the Championship’s leading clubs’.

And it seems that Blackburn, currently third in England’s second tier, have seen off the competition to sign the 20-year-old, whose contract was due to expire at the end of the season.

The latest

According to The Evening Standard’s Dan Kilpatrick, Blackburn are now ‘close to agreeing’ a permanent deal for Markanday.

Rovers will pay £500,000 up front but the fee could rise beyond the £1million mark if add-ons are triggered, while Spurs have also insisted upon a ‘significant’ sell-on clause.

The ‘deal could be announced next week’, he says.

The verdict

Losing out on Markanday is a blow for Celtic. He’s only made one senior appearance for Spurs, featuring in a Europa Conference League group game against Vitesse, but he boasts an exceptional record at youth level.

In 14 Premier League 2 appearances this season, he’s been directly involved in 17 goals (scoring 12 and assisting five more).

European football journalist Alex Barker has also raved about his ‘really clever footwork and dribbling ability’.

All this points to a very bright future indeed, and Blackburn have only paid half a million for a potential star in the making.

In other news, Alan Hutton has dropped this intriguing claim on Stephen Welsh.