All posts by z3u9t.icu

It has been an incredible season to be a Sheffield United fan hasn’t it?

Having exceeded all expectations this year, the Blades are now preparing for a return to the Premier League after sealing automatic promotion last week following Leeds United’s 1-1 draw against Aston Villa.

Whereas it is safe to say that Chris Wilder will be aiming to make improvements to his squad in a number of different areas in the summer, it is imperative that he does everything he can to resolve United’s goalkeeping conundrum between now and August.

With Dean Henderson’s loan deal set to expire at the end of the month, the Blades should go all-out to permanently sign the Manchester United shot-stopper when the transfer window opens in July.

An incredibly talented player, the 22-year-old has been exceptional for the Yorkshire-based outfit throughout the 2018/19 campaign with his 21 clean sheets playing a major role in helping his side clinch a top-two finish in the Championship.

Yet despite his brilliant abilities in between the sticks, the defining reason for why Wilder should splash out on Henderson is his strength of character.

After suffering his first major setback as a professional footballer during a 3-3 draw against Aston Villa in which he was culpable for all of the goals that he conceded, it would have been understandable for the keeper to retreat into his shell.

However, Henderson instead used the situation as a motivating factor to not make the same mistakes and has concede just five goals in 14 games since since this particular clash.

According to the Sun (as quoted by Hitc), the Blades will have to pay the Red Devils £7m for Henderson if they are to guarantee his return to Bramall Lane next season.

Whereas 20 years ago this would seem like an extortionate fee to shelve out on a player who has yet to feature in the top-flight, given the state of the current transfer landscape, it could prove to be a bargain buy for the Blades as the England under-21 international has all the ingredients to become a modern-hero at the club.

What do you think United fans? Should Wilder go all-out to bring in Henderson? How impressed have you been with the 22-year-old this season? Get in touch below.

Manchester City wrapped up the Premier League title with a 4-1 win at Brighton and Hove Albion this weekend, beating Liverpool to the top prize in English football.

A superb run of form which saw the Manchester club win 14 games in a row ensured the title remains in Manchester for a second consecutive season.

However, manager Pep Guardiola will be perfectly aware that there could be a big period coming up for the club in terms of the transfer market, and the Spaniard will know full well he has some big players to try and replace in the coming seasons.

That’s why we here in the Tavern believe the club need to act swiftly to try and convince Dortmund and England starlet Jadon Sancho to move to the Etihad.

Sancho has reportedly pledged his immediate future to the German club and it is unsurprising given his form and the amount of game time he gets with the Bundesliga giants.

However, City are a club who can surely have the lure to get Sancho to move to the Premier League, and he would slot in nicely to the style of play and attacking footballer that Pep Guardiola employs amongst his squad.

Sancho has plenty of ability already, but his scope for improvement is the thing which separates him from many other players across the continent.

Despite only leaving City for the German league a few years back, there will surely be an element within Sancho that feels he has a point to prove in England, and in particular at City.

If Sancho is to fully develop and reach the potential he so obviously has, then a move to a club with the size and ambition of City is something which needs to happen sooner rather than later.

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Arsenal are currently enduring a 17 day wait between their last Premier League game of the season against Burnley and their final in Baku to compete for the Europa League trophy and a place in the Champions League.

It’s a long time to be going without competitive action; longer than your average international break, and even longer than some winter breaks in other countries.

Chelsea would have faced the same prospect had they not flown to Massachusetts to face New England Revolution in a charity match named ‘Final Whistle on Hate’, a battle against anti-semitism.

They won the game 3-0, though it cost them dear as Ruben Loftus-Cheek was ruled out of the final with an achilles injury – a player who’d developed into one of Chelsea’s best and most reliable in recent months.

In an attempt to stay sharp and match fit, Arsenal appeared to have booked in a behind closed doors friendly against LASK Linz. This isn’t too strange for the Gunners and Emery to do, having played a few fixtures away from the media in their summer preparations as well.

Despite the good intentions, this news hasn’t gone down very well with the fans, who are terrified of losing one of their best players to injury before the big, season-defining final.

Here’s a quick look at what they’re saying about the club’s decision to host a friendly…

It’s that time again. With Wembley awaiting Aston Villa’s presence, all fans are hoping the Villans can pull through and return to the Premier League.

To find yourself in the play-off final two years in a row is some achievement and Dean Smith should take massive credit for what he has thus far achieved in a short space of time at Villa Park.

A depleted, beaten group of players is what he most likely saw when walking into the changing room in October but now Aston Villa are a group of individuals highly motivated to achieve what was the unthinkable at one stage in the season and that’s gain promotion.

The turnaround hasn’t been easy but one thing that definitely made it more straightforward is the impact Tyrone Mings has made.

Mings (who is valued at £3.1 million on Transfermarkt) has been nothing short of brilliant since joining Aston Villa in January.

Alone, he has massively helped improve their overall ability to defend and Aston Villa have surged into the play-off final almost because of it.

His form has been so good that plenty of teams will be flocking to try and sign him as well, though if Villa do gain promotion back into the Premier League, they should really fancy their chances of keeping him on a permanent basis.

The 26-year-old was completely out of favour at Bournemouth and this loan to the Villans has brought him back to life and he’s currently playing some of the best football of his life.

Their fate is soon to be sealed and as soon as it does happen, great effort must straight away go into signing Tyrone Mings.

Do you want Aston Villa to sign Tyrone Mings whatever the cost… Let us know!

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Last summer, Everton are understood to have made a strong attempt to sign winger Malcom from Bordeaux.

As it turned out, Barcelona took the Brazilian to Spain, but it has not happened for the 22-year-old at Camp Nou.

Indeed, ahead of the Copa del Rey final, Malcom has scored just four times in 23 games for the Spanish champions, including just one in La Liga.

A report from Sport has suggested that Borussia Dortmund are keen to sign the attacker as a replacement for Christian Pulisic, while Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal are also interested parties.

With speculation beginning to heat up, the Everton fans have been on social media discussing whether their club should make another attempt to land the South American in the summer.

Pl>ymaker FC’s Matchday with Max caught up with Jamaica’s women’s team. See what happened when he met the history makers in the video below…

There are those who feel that the Toffees should move on and forget about a deal for the former Corinthians academy product.

However, others have urged the club to reignite their interest in this summer’s transfer window.

A selection of the Twitter reaction from the Merseyside club’s supporters can be seen below:

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Last week Sky Sports claimed that West Brom were going to approach Bruno Labbadia over their vacant managerial position.

The German saved Wolfsburg from relegation last season before guiding them to an impressive sixth place in the Bundesliga this term.

However, with his contract set to expire, he will leave his post imminently. West Brom are looking to capitalise on that and Technical Director Luke Dowling is now set to meet with the 53-year-old, per Express & Star.

So with Labbadia potentially walking through the doors at the Hawthorns, how could Albion look next season?

At Wolfsburg this term Labbadia favoured a very attacking 4-3-3 which is something Baggies supporters can expect to see more of in 2019/20 should he join.

On the final day of the German season, his side beat Augsburg 8-1 so that gives a flavour of just how effective it can be.

The former Hamburg boss had his team playing an expansive and open game which should excite those attending the Hawthorns as West Brom aim to get promoted.

It’s set to be a busy summer for Albion with Dowling confirming that as many as five players could walk through the exit door. That’s alongside those whose contracts will expire.

It’s not yet known who may leave but the most recognisable change from Jimmy Shan’s tenure is the lack of a back three, meaning that Ahmed Hegazi and Craig Dawson could form the pairing in defence. That’s despite the latter attracting the interest of Burnley.

The options out wide could be particularly exciting and Labbadia may be the manager to finally get the best out of Oliver Burke. He’s been poor on loan at Celtic but now seems as good a time as any to utilise him again in England.

Academy products Sam Field and Kyle Edwards could be the beneficiaries of players departing over the summer and both start in our predicted XI.

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According to Ole and The Daily Mail, Everton could land River Plate midfielder Santiago Sosa in this summer’s transfer window.

However, there will be the issue of securing a work permit for Sosa, who has only just made the breakthrough for River.

Indeed, the 20-year-old has only made five first-team appearances for his current club, meaning that sorting out a work permit would be very, very difficult.

Ole have actually claimed that the Toffees have agreed a £13.2.5m deal with River to sign the holding midfielder.

However, it would be fair to say that the news has not gone down well with the Everton supporters – their issue is not with Sosa himself but rather with signing a player who might not actually ever turn out for the club.

It is a tough one and it will be very interesting to see how the situation develops.

A selection of the Twitter reaction from the Everton fans can be seen below:

Last season was probably one to forget for Jean Michael Seri, with the 27-year-old having really struggled as Fulham went on to see relegation back to the Championship.

Even so, Seri is still a very good technical player, as he showed at Nice prior to his move to Craven Cottage. Based on that, the Ivory Coast international is probably one of the more exciting names currently being linked with Crystal Palace.

In contrast, Eintracht Frankfurt loanee Martin Hinteregger is likely to be a name that has left some supporters feeling pretty underwhelmed. He is currently attracting interest from the south London club, according to SportBild (via Sport Witness), and is not expected to cost a fortune.

Indeed, the Augsburg-owned player is not the most exciting of potential signings. However, he could prove to be a useful addition if his second-leg performance against Chelsea in the Europa League semi-final is anything to go by, with the Austrian’s sturdy defending on the night earning him a 7.17 match rating on WhoScored.

That alone, though, will not be enough to convince Crystal Palace supporters of Hinteregger’s quality. But for now, that is arguably not the most important thing.

Rather, it is the fact that the Eagles seem to be looking for a new central defender. As well as up front, it is an area of Roy Hodgson’s squad that could do with some fine-tuning.

Both James Tomkins and Scott Dann are in their 30s while Mamadou Sakho, who will also be 30 next year, has had trouble with injuries. Last season, the Frenchman picked up a serious knee injury in a 4-1 win over Leicester City having damaged his calf and ligaments prior.

When you consider all of that, targeting a new centre-half this summer is a smart move.

Crystal Palace fans, do you want to see Hodgson add a new defender to the squad? Would you be happy with Hinteregger? Let us know in the comment section below!

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Amid all the money and fame that comes with playing football at the highest level, sometimes as a fan you forget to appreciate the kind gestures and good deeds that certain footballers do.

Arsenal playmaker Mesut Ozil has been a huge proponent of helping children get life-changing surgeries with his charity work, and it appears Liverpool midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum is also cut from the same cloth.

The Dutchman took to

/Byk2FZyouM-/” data-lasso->Instagram to reveal the opening of ‘Cruyff Court Georginio Wijnaldum’ in his childhood neighbourhood of Schiemond, Rotterdam.

The facility will allow children to play football in a safe environment, with the Dutchman hoping that they can learn “valuable experiences” whilst they’re there.

After hearing the news, Reds legend Ian Rush replied to the midfielder’s post and sent him his love and support for the project.

Aside from his excellent work off the pitch, Wijnaldum also enjoyed an impressive campaign on it, and was one of the heroes of the Anfield side’s incredible Champions League semi-final comeback against Barcelona.

The 28-year-old struck the back of the net five times across all competitions, and will be hoping to add more goals and assists to his tally when Liverpool return to competitive action later this summer.

Football fans up and down the country can rejoice as the 2019/20 Premier League fixture list is now out.

It means that despite the long break from any actual football, the clubs and fans can start preparing for the opening day of the season. Get your diaries out, guys, those away days need booking up.

Indeed, Southampton are probably one of the teams who will be looking forward to its beginning, after a solid end to the season under Ralph Hasenhüttl will have left the fans feeling optimistic. Clearly, it’s been difficult for the fans over the past few years but a new regime is now in place, though it wouldn’t be fair to suggest that all the worries are gone.

It’s hard to put the last few seasons behind the Saints, such has been their malaise of late. Yes, there are many reasons to be excited but caution must be applied here.

So, let’s have a look at some of the more concerning fixtures ahead of the 2019/20 campaign.

Southampton vs Sheffield United

Now, this is perhaps a rather pessimistic choice. However, with league finishes of 16th and 17th in the last two seasons, it’s somewhat understandable.

Southampton will finish the 2019/20 season at home to newly-promoted Sheffield United.

Indeed, this is not a fixture that alone strikes fear in the hearts of Saints fans. But it’s one that could have so much significance in the race to avoid relegation. Frankly, it would not be at all surprising to see the two clubs fighting for their lives come the last game of the season.

With Southampton playing Arsenal, Watford, Manchester City, Everton and Manchester United consecutive before the final three games of the season, they could well be desperate for a win come the final game.

The history in this one favours Sheffield United, who have won 25 of their meetings, as opposed to Southampton’s 16.

Manchester City vs Southampton

This is a fixture that will terrify most football fans out there

However, for Southampton, the game arrives during a particularly horrific looking spell of fixtures. Southampton travel to City on the 2nd of November, during a run of eight games that sees them play Tottenham, Chelsea, Wolves, Leicester, City, Everton, Arsenal and Watford consecutively. Should Southampton fail to win a single one of those games, it would surprise few.

Perhaps things look even worse when noted that Southampton have won just one of the last 12 meetings between the two, a 4-2 victory at home in 2016. They shipped nine goals against City last season, with a goal difference of -7 so it certainly doesn’t make for pretty reading.

It’s one Saints fans will not look forward to, especially given the number of difficult games surrounding it.

Southampton fans, what do you make of the fixture list? Are there any other noteworthy nightmare games? Comment below…