All posts by h716a5.icu

After stealing the show in their FA Cup defeat to Liverpool earlier this year, it’s no surprise that Aston Villa’s array of young talent have really captured the imagination at Villa Park.

Louie Barry was the name on everybody’s lips after netting against Jurgen Klopp’s mighty Reds, but since then, a couple of Villa’s other stand-out youngsters have emerged on the scene.

In Villa’s 3-0 victory over Brighton in the FA Youth Cup fourth round on Wednesday night, Aaron Ramsey (2) and Kaine Kesler got themselves on the score-sheet, with Sean Verity’s side booking their passage into the next stage of the competition.

But while Ramsey bagged himself a couple, it’s Kesler who’s the Villa academy player who Dean Smith must surely consider unleashing in the Premier League.

The 18-year-old right-back was a bundle of energy against the Seagulls, even showing off his athleticism with a superb acrobatic effort that was well stopped by the Brighton keeper.

And then, Kesler opened the scoring for the home side after latching onto Arjan Raikhy’s free-kick midway through the second-half, with the floodgates opened after that.

If Smith was watching, then he no doubt would have been impressed with the teenager’s efforts, and will surely be contemplating whether he may have something to offer right away in the first-team.

Matty Cash has only recently recovered from a muscle injury, and the signs of rustiness were there for all to see in his below-par display against Tottenham last time out in the Premier League.

Then, when you factor in reports claiming Smith is ready to wave goodbye to veteran full-back Ahmed Elmohamady in the future, there is surely a chance for Kesler to stake his claim.

In fact, speaking to The Athletic, one source said: “He looks like he’s got a real chance of featuring for the first team in the future. His speed is frightening and that could set him apart.”

And writing for The Athletic, Gregg Evans revealed that “senior players have been taken back by his blistering pace and his desire to make an impression when called upon”, and that “Smith rates the rapid right-back highly”.

So, given Elmohamady’s uncertain future, and Cash’s recent injury struggles, there really is an opportunity for Kesler to come bursting through the door at Villa Park.

Meanwhile, Villa must sell this disaster this summer…

As relayed by reliable journalist James Pearce, Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group have confirmed the £543 million sale of 10% stake in their company to RedBird Capital Partners – prompting many Reds supporters to drop their wide array of verdicts on social media.

The multi-million pound investment deal, as explained by the Athletic, now values FSG at around $7.35 billion (£5.32 billion) – coming as a potentially big financial boost for Liverpool amid the coronavirus pandemic.

American basketball superstar LeBron James, who has long held a stake in the Merseyside giants, will also a gain a stake in the Boston Red Sox as a result of these negotiations.

In terms of what it means for the Reds and manager Jurgen Klopp, the agreement will allow FSG to navigate these unprecedented financial circumstances brought upon by the pandemic (The Athletic).

As well as reducing club debts accumulated over these last 12 months, it authorises Liverpool to continue their careful and calculated transfer strategy despite huge losses since the pandemic began.

Given these benefits, it’s little wonder some Reds fans sees this as ‘good news’, but other supporters are also disappointed it won’t be the huge transfer kitty injection they’d hoped for.

Find all of their social media verdicts down below.

Liverpool fans react to FSG development.

“Good news”

Credit: @nochdawe

“Hold me James”

Credit: @WeHaveKlopp

“Wow FSG not spending who would’ve thunk it”

Credit: @ChrisHPE

“SIIIUUUUU”

Credit: @LFC_Ox

“Just means Liverpool are a massive, massive club.”

Credit: @wesrowe123

“This good James it is very good.”

Credit: @MrCharlieGill

“That can only be good news if it happens”

Credit: @tomehoban

“Announce Mbappe”

Credit: @davidc98

In other news: Liverpool fans blast this transfer rumour, find out more here.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, ex-Leeds United midfielder Carlton Palmer has backed Illan Meslier to play for France in the near future.

Following an impressive display against Chelsea, where Meslier was able to keep a clean sheet, former Premier League striker Tony Cascarino lauded the 21-year-old and tipped him to succeed Tottenham’s Hugo Lloris as France’s No.1 – something Palmer can see happening.

And it appears such performances have not gone unnoticed outside of England, with Meslier now being linked with a return to his homeland.

According to The National, Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain are considering a move for the French youngster as they look to sign a new goalkeeper this summer.

Discussing the 6 ft 4 stopper’s chances of becoming a France international in an exclusive interview with FFC, Palmer said:

“If you’re playing in the Premier League and you’re playing well, as he’s doing, of course, of course. It’s all about consistency, it’s all about keep performing and if you’re doing well for your club, then there’s every chance you’re going to play, get picked for the national team.

“And if you’re playing well for your club in the Premier League, there’s always going to be people who are looking to bring quality players into their football club. The key is always performing and performing consistently well, and if you do that, at the highest level, then the rest follows, the rest follows, international honours follow, big moves follow.”

Presently, the goalkeepers in Didier Deschamps France squad are Lloris, Marseille’s Steve Mandanda and Mike Maignan of Lille. But with Lloris 34 years of age and Mandanda now 36, there certainly could be room for Meslier in the France set-up very soon.

Rangers have been linked with a move for Dijon centre-back Senou Coulibaly recently and if he were to make the move to Ibrox this summer, he could prove to be a great addition to Steven Gerrard’s side.

What’s the word?

According to French news outlet Foot Mercato, via Get Football News France, Rangers have registered an interest in the 26-year-old defender ahead of the summer transfer window, with Huddersfield Town also reportedly keen.

The report describes him as an ‘all-action’ defender with serious pace, as he was clocked running at 36km/h playing in Ligue 1 last season, which immediately marks him out as someone who could add something different in Gerrard’s defence.

Would he be a good signing?

Coulibaly has been a regular for Dijon since signing from Football Club Mantois in the summer of 2018, making 43 appearances since then, in which he has contributed three goals.

Football scouting website FBRef rates the centre-back extremely highly in terms of his goal threat, with his 6 foot 3 frame making him a danger man from set-pieces, which immediately marks him out as someone Gerrard would appreciate in his side, when you consider that both Connor Goldson and Nikola Katic have been surprisingly prolific during their time at Ibrox due to their aerial ability.

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Coulibaly also looks to be impressive when it comes to tackling, interceptions and progressive passes, whilst his zero errors per 90 minutes is exactly the sort of statistic you want to see when scouting a centre-back.

Therefore, Coulibaly is seemingly adept at defending, passing and attacking, whilst his excellent pace is an added bonus for Gerrard, as you could argue that other than perhaps Leon Balogun, none of Rangers’ centre-back options are blessed with much speed.

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Transfermarkt currently values the centre-back at just £720k, which suggests that he could be a bargain option for Ross Wilson this summer, so the sporting director should definitely look to bring him in despite Rangers’ extensive centre-back options, as his pace and aerial ability certainly suggest that he is the sort of player Gerrard would love to have at Ibrox.

And, in other news… Wilson must seal Rangers swoop for 12-goal beast who had £36m star on toast

Liverpool could be set to make a costly transfer error this summer with the signing of Barcelona’s Pedri.

According to The Mirror, FSG have made their interest in the young Spaniard clear, with Barcelona set to hand him a new contract in an effort to ward off any overtures.

Whilst the 18-year-old is of course a promising talent, bringing him to Anfield would be a mistake.

As it stands, Liverpool do not need any more midfield recruits. Competition for starting berths on Merseyside is incredibly fierce with the likes of Fabinho, Georginio Wijnaldum, Thiago Alcantara, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Naby Keita, James Milner, Curtis Jones and Jordan Henderson all options.

Judging from just that, it is clear that Klopp does not need any more additions in that department even if Georginio Wijnaldum departs as is expected.

Should Pedri be considered as the Dutchman’s potential replacement at Anfield, it would be somewhat baffling.

According to WhoScored, the current Reds’ midfielder attempts more shots, dribbles and loses the ball on fewer occasions per game this season.

Wijnaldum also has a far better pass completion rate of 92.3% compared to Pedri’s 87.7%.

Whilst it could be argued that the Spaniard will improve being only 18, he is simply not the immediate option that Liverpool require should they harbour ambitions of replacing Wijnaldum in the summer.

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The price that it would take to bring Pedri to Anfield should also be enough for FSG to walk away from any potential deal.

At his young age, he is already rated at £63m so it is likely to take a similar fee to be able to prise him out of Barcelona. Considering there are departments that need far more pressing investment in Jurgen Klopp’s squad, spending that amount on a player who is unlikely to be first choice seems unfeasible.

Liverpool then should move on and leave Pedri to sign his new Barca contract instead of pursuing a transfer.

AND in more news, take a look at who was the real hero in Liverpool’s win against Aston Villa…

It isn’t often that news from Leicester City and the King Power Stadium catches supporters off-guard.

Indeed, rumours of a new signing or indeed of an extended deal usually begin developing days or even weeks before anything is usually confirmed by the club.

That is not quite exactly what happened on Thursday, however, with Danny Ward having penned a new contract at the club – and quite a lengthy one at that, with the former Liverpool stopper now tied down until the summer of 2025.

Whilst there was a real lack of any fanfare for Ward’s new deal, it was a shrewd move from Brendan Rodgers, and one which could allude to the Welshman being the natural successor to the now 34-year-old Kasper Schmeichel.

Despite having only appeared on 14 appearances for the Foxes since his 2018 arrival under Claude Puel, Ward has performed very well. In those limited appearances, he has racked up eight clean sheets, whilst only conceding eight goals in total throughout those matches.

His best performance arguably came in his first season at the club as he saved three penalties in a shootout victory against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Carabao Cup.

Even current Leicester teammate Marc Albrighton is fully aware of Ward’s abilities despite his limited game time, labelling him as “incredible” following the aforementioned win against Wolves.

Considering that ability, it certainly made sense to keep Ward at the club as a hugely competent backup to regular number one Schmeichel.

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Whilst the Dane has expressed no intention of stepping away at any point yet, Ward – who is seven years his junior – could definitely be his replacement should the inevitable moment come that the long-serving Schmeichel retires.

The 27-year-old’s new deal could be the first steps in preparation for the long-term future and is an extremely shrewd move from Leicester despite catching most off-guard.

AND in more news,  Leicester have been handed a considerable injury boost ahead of the FA Cup semi-final…

A number of Liverpool fans have been reacting to Curtis Jones’ return from injury, with plenty of positivity in the air ahead of Saturday’s clash with Newcastle.

The Reds have experienced a hugely frustrating season, with their defence of the Premier League title going out in a whimper.

Jurgen Klopp’s champions are now desperately battling for a top-four finish, with that race looking like it could go down to the final day.

One of the few positives to emerge in 2020/21 has been the form of Jones, who has continued his meteoric rise from academy hopeful to first-team regular.

[freshpress-quiz id=“350790”]

The midfielder has chipped in with four goals and three assists this season, providing end product that can sometimes be lacking in the middle of the park for Liverpool.

Jones has been absent in recent weeks with a muscle issue, however, not playing since the 1-0 defeat at home to Chelsea in early March.

It has now been reported by This Is Anfield that the youngster is back in the fold, though, and he was pictured training alongside his teammates on Thursday.

That suggests Jones is in contention to start at home to Newcastle United on Saturday lunchtime, in what is a must-win game for Liverpool.

Liverpool fans rejoice at Jones return

These Reds supporters took to Twitter to provide their thoughts on the update.

“Oh yeah babeeey. That’s the stuff”

Credit: @abraham_san

“Should start ahead of Gini pls”

Credit: @Alexand36742345

“Finally, some goals”

Credit: @TysonFREE

“The PRESENT And FUTURE”

Credit: @andrewkemavor

“Nice to see, hopefully he’s gonna be a great player for us in the coming seasons”

Credit: @ForzaVSTGN1964

“Great, now get fit and back into the team”

Credit: @seunolami

In other news, some Liverpool fans have been reacting to the Reds reportedly agreeing a new signing. Read more here.

Sunderland head into their fixture with Blackpool on Tuesday evening looking to end a six-match winless run, with Lee Johnson undoubtedly hoping to all but secure a place in the League One play-offs with a victory for his side.

The Black Cats once again failed to secure a win against Accrington Stanley on Saturday and now face a tougher test on paper, with Blackpool fighting for a top six finish themselves.

However, a victory against Neil Critchley’s side on Tuesday would represent a huge step to securing a play-off place for Sunderland, so will Johnson make any changes from his starting XI last time out at the Stadium of Light?

Here’s our predicted XI, along with the latest team and injury news…

With Johnson having to deal with a significant number of injuries in his first team squad, the 39-year-old has some big decisions to make ahead of Tuesday evening’s CLASH. As a result, we’re expecting there to be two changes to the line-up from the game against Accrington Stanley three days ago.

The Sunderland manager will be without centre-back Dion Sanderson – who has been ruled out for the rest of the season – alongside fellow long-term absentees Jordan Willis and Arbenit Xhemajli, while Tom Flanagan and Conor McLaughlin have also been ruled out of contention for the match.

We expect there to be a change in the heart of the Sunderland defence, with 21-year-old Ollie Younger replacing Luke O’Nien. The 26-year-old has made a number of costly errors at centre-back in recent weeks, as well as averaging a WhoScored match rating of just 6.3 over his last four appearances in that role.

However, O’Nien does not drop out of the side altogether but instead replaces Carl Winchester in the middle of the park, with the 28-year-old moving to the bench.

The only other change sees 26-year-old Rangers loanee Jordan Jones come in alongside Charlie Wyke in the Sunderland attack, with Aiden O’Brien – who had a quiet game in the 3-3 draw with Accrington Stanley – making way.

In other news: £382,000 per goal: Sunderland simply must axe “humble” flop, he’s cost them for years – opinion

Celtic manager John Kennedy implored referees to ‘at least make the right calls’ after his team lost 4-1 in Sunday’s Old Firm derby.

Kemar Roofe scored twice as their rivals completed a first unbeaten season against the Hoops since 1999/20.

The odds were stacked against Celtic just 26 minutes in when Callum McGregor was shown a second yellow card and they were reduced to 10 men.

Kennedy shares biggest disappointment after heavy defeat

Kennedy did not dispute the latter decision, admitting that McGregor ought to have been booked for taking down Glen Kamara in the build-up to Roofe’s opener.

However, he disputed the notion that there was any ‘recklessness’ in the first tackle on Ryan Kent, and he pointed to another instance which underlined a lack of consistency in the officiating.

“There was an incident with Edouard on the far side when he was breaking through into the final third and he got taken down with a slide tackle and it was only a free-kick,” Kennedy told Sky Sports.

“There’s no consistency there. That’s what I’m most disappointed with. Red cards can happen, but at least make the right calls.

“It didn’t quite fall into place today. I’m disappointed with the result, massively. But, as you can see, I’m a bit annoyed with the sending off.”

Kennedy nearing the end of Celtic manager stint?

Kennedy may only take charge of two more games before handing the reins over to Neil Lennon’s long-term replacement at Parkhead.

Celtic host St Johnstone a week on Wednesday before travelling to Hibernian on the final day of the season.

Up to this point, he’s overseen three wins, three draws and two defeats during his time at the helm.

Transfer Tavern verdict

Kennedy may have a point about the foul on Edouard, but the question that has to be asked is why McGregor would make the challenge on Kamara so soon after being booked.

Remember, he is the vice-captain and the likely successor to Scott Brown for the permanent captaincy. A cooler head was needed from such an experienced leader..

In other news, Kennedy had this to say about Oliver Ntcham’s future.  

Many Wolves fans have been buzzing as early team news has emerged ahead of their game at West Brom in the Premier League on Monday evening.

As per the Irish Independent, Nuno Espirito Santo has claimed that Raul Jimenez ‘could be involved’ in the Black Country Derby.

The Mexico international has not played since fracturing his skull in the 2-1 win at Arsenal back in November, and it is clear that Wolves have missed him while he has been absent, losing 12 of their last 26 matches across all competitions (Transfermarkt).

The prospect of having him back playing against their Midlands rivals would certainly add a goal threat back up top for Wolves again and could well give them the edge.

Wolves fans on Jimenez injury update

These supporters were buzzing upon reading the injury update as it was shared on Twitter, with one fan describing it as ‘huge’:

“HUH. Tears are in my eyes”

Credit: @Lem_WWFC

“Oh my oh my oh my could be happening”

Credit: @rylandavies16

“Huge if true”

Credit: @wwfcjack5

“Back to score against the Baggies, you really love to see it”

Credit: @Millenwwfc

“Imagine”

Credit: @ryangill126

“Wow”

Credit: @danwallisx

In other news, find out what damning statistic has left these Wolves fans fuming.