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Loads of West Ham fans have been running the rule over Angelo Ogbonna, who was fantastic in Saturday’s win over Chelsea.

The Italy international had not been on the winning side for the Hammers since the 2-0 victory over Manchester United in September, but his return to form certainly helped his side grab three points at Stamford Bridge.

The 31 year-old has been rated above 7 out of 10 in each of his last four appearances, per Whoscored, and his performance in Saturday’s win was the best of the lot.

Per Sofascore, Ogbonna made a remarkable ten clearances in the match, as well as two blocks, two interceptions and one tackle.

While Issa Diop made a really promising start to his career in east London, it’s difficult to see him displacing Ogbonna or Fabian Balbuena based on current form, and fans have been giving their thoughts on the improving 6 foot 3 defender.

You can find some of the best Twitter verdicts down below…

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

Leeds face off against a Neil Harris managed Cardiff City on Saturday, and while United may have never played against this team and manager combination, the Whites should know exactly what to expect from the game, and exactly what they need to do in order to get a result.

There are lessons to be learnt from Leeds’ last meeting with a Neil Harris managed outfit as United just about scraped a win against Millwall last term.

Marcelo Bielsa’s men beat the Lions 3-2, and despite dominating the possession and shots stats, they had to leave it late to get a win.

Harris’ Cardiff are likely to lineup in the same way as Millwall did that day as they look to soak up pressure and capitalise on any mistakes Leeds make.

In the aforementioned Millwall game, United started sloppily as they conceded a goal within the first ten minutes, and from that point, they were under pressure to find a goal.

In the end, their quality shone through and they got the win, but Harris now has a much more talented squad at his disposal as he’s taken over a recently-relegated Cardiff City packed full of Premier League calibre talent.

United need to come out of the blocks quickly on Saturday and attempt to grab an early goal in order to force the Welsh outfit to come out and play a bit, otherwise, it could be a tough afternoon for the Whites as they attempt to break down Harris’ organised backline.

Meanwhile, Leeds have been linked with a striker who has been outperforming Kemar Roofe in Belgium.

Wolverhampton Wanderers’ battle with Manchester City may be the final game of matchday 19 of the 2019/2020 Premier League season, but some of the best is being saved until last.

The encounter pits two of the better sides in the English top flight against each other and there’s bound to be fireworks.

The last meeting between these two certainly didn’t disappoint, with Nuno Espirito Santo’s men snatching away the three points late on thanks to a sensational double from Adama Traore.

Watch Wolves vs Man City Live and Free with Amazon Prime on December 27th

It was around this time last season that Pep Guardiola’s outfit started to take back control of the title race from Liverpool, however, one would feel that they’ve just let themselves drift too far behind this term.

Meanwhile, the East Midlanders are once again looking to break into the top six and beating the champions for a second time in the space of just a couple of months would send big warning signs to those more vulnerable clubs who finished there in ’18/19.

How to watch football on Amazon Prime

Amazon Prime’s first season of live Premier League action concludes with their 20th match, this interesting matchup in the East Midlands.

This means that, despite it not being played on Boxing Day, the encounter will be shown live and exclusive for Prime Video customers in the UK in 4K Ultra HD.

Prime Video costs £7.99 for every month and £79 for a whole year, but there’s still time to start a 30-day free trial, available to cancel at any point before expiry, in time for kick-off at Molineux and get free UK next day delivery on goods from the Amazon site.

Viewers will once again be treated to some of the top faces in football punditry and commentary on the service available on Smart TV, Fire TV, games consoles, BT TV, Apple TV, Virgin’s V6 TV Box, Chromecast, TalkTalkTV and online.

Furthermore, they will have the ability to enter Stadium Atmosphere mode where they will only be able to hear the crowd and not the commentators, watch three matches at once on three different devices and see each strike as it goes in across the nation on the Goals Centre channel.

Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho has been handed another major blow after Japhet Tanganga was ruled out of the Premier League clash with Manchester United.

According to an exclusive from The Telegraph, Tanganga has sustained a stress fracture to his back and he will miss the match against the Red Devils as a result.

Last week, BBC revealed that Spurs star Dele Alli has been banned for the game against Mourinho’s old club following a post on social media about coronavirus. As it stands, this latest development spells further bad news for Mourinho.

It is fair to say that Tanganga has been one of the very few success stories in an otherwise difficult period for the Lilywhites. After impressing the manager in his debut against league leaders Liverpool, he has been deployed in a number of different positions across the back.

Having been handed his competitive debut by former boss Mauricio Pochettino in the Carabao Cup, the 21-year-old has played six games in the Premier League so far, making 2.8 tackles per game, averaging 1.8 interceptions and completing a staggering 4.8 clearances per game on average (via WhoScored).

Alasdair Gold recently revealed that he is now part of the club’s plans for the future, despite the fact he was only given a one-year-deal last summer. Indeed, Spurs have reportedly activated an option in that agreement to keep him in north London for at least another year.

Nevertheless, he suffered an injury during training ahead of the Premier League’s return next week, at a time when Mourinho arguably needs him the most.

Mourinho has been plagued by persistent injury setbacks, with Harry Kane, Son Heung-min, Moussa Sissoko and Steven Bergwijn all missing a large chunk of the season so far.

At the moment, the Lilywhites sit in eighth in the table, four points behind his former club Manchester United, who are now managed by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Spurs have lost the last two meetings between the teams, which could be playing on Mourinho’s mind, as they must win on Friday to keep their chances of a top four finish alive.

Adding insult to injury, Tanganga will be unable to play and the manager may be forced to use Jan Vertonghen instead. The wantaway veteran has fallen out of favour with the head coach in recent months and Mourinho may have to swallow his pride just weeks after calling off talks with Vertonghen’s representatives.

Although it can’t be helped, the Englishman’s injury couldn’t have come at a worse time for the club as they enter the crunch stage of the competition.

Tottenham fans, do you think Tanganga will be sorely missed against Man United? Let us know in the comments below!

Liverpool’s transfer speculation has plummeted from Timo Werner to the younger brother of current Reds teenager Sepp van den Berg.

According to Calciomercato (relayed via @AnfieldEdition), the Merseyside outfit are on the market for Rav van den Berg, the younger brother of their under-23 defender.

The oldest of the two joined Liverpool last summer from PEC Zwolle for a fee of £1.3m (via BBC Sport) but, at just 18, he has only been very sporadically used in Jurgen Klopp’s senior team. Now, the club could have two young Van den Bergs on their hands if they opt to sign Sepp’s brother Rav, who is just 15.

Many Reds fans are far from pleased with the link to the teenager, especially after suffering a surprise blow to their plans to sign Werner. Some Kopites have taken to Twitter to vent their frustrations but there are some supporters who believe the 15-year-old would be a good addition to the Reds.

One fan has tweeted ‘it’s like deja vu’ as they reflect on signing Sepp just one year ago. Another fan is curious as to why people are complaining and thinks Klopp should ‘sign him up’.

Check out some of the feedback from the Anfield faithful below:

What do you think of the link to Sepp’s brother, Reds fans? Should the club sign him up? Have your say in the comments below!

Portsmouth have ended their pursuit of Dunfermline Athletic striker Kevin Nisbet, according to Portsmouth News who spoke with manager Kenny Jackett.

Jackett’s side are said to have been monitoring the prolific striker over the course of the 2019/2020 season and a potential move had developed after seeing him net an impressive 18 goals in 25 games in the Scottish Championship.

Nisbet, who was born in Glasgow, joined Dunfermline last summer after having a handful of mixed spells with the likes of East Stirlingshire, Ayr United, Dumbarton and Raith Rovers.

Declaring their interest in the young striker, Portsmouth were also been joined by a number of Scottish sides looking to seal his signature.

Impressing in Scotland’s second tier and with said offers on the table to remain in his homeland, it now looks increasingly likely that he will do just that after Jackett spoke about the interest.

Speaking to the Portsmouth News, Jackett said: “We were asked about him [Nisbet] last year. We’ve got strikers on contracts here anyway.

“If we’re looking at Ryan Williams, Marcus Harness, Ellis Harrison, Reeco Hackett-Fairchild, John Marquis and Ronan Curtis – there’s six forwards there for our front three positions.

“All of them are under contract for the next year, so it’s not an area we’re necessarily looking at now.”

Pompey boss Jackett will be fully focused on his side’s next game, facing Oxford United in the League One play-off semi-final in the coming weeks.

Jackett’s comments all-but rule out a move for Nisbet and rightly so. The Pompey boss has plenty of options available to him at the moment and his prime objective is to attempt a promotion to the Championship.

Nisbet has performed well in the Scottish second flight this season but Portsmouth could look to a more established and experienced front man if they go up a division.

Do you think Nisbet would have been a good striker for Portsmouth? Let us know in the comments section below…

Leeds have often looked to make signings for the future.

Indeed, last summer saw a number of young players arrive at the club with the likes of Rafa Mujica, Guille Amor and Liam McCarron joining the club, while January saw Ian Poveda and Elia Caprile come in.

It seems as though the policy of signing players for the future could continue this summer as Goal are reporting that the Whites are interested in 19-year-old Liverpool left-back Yasser Larouci.

The Algerian has been cited by Liverpool academy manager Alex Inglethorpe as one of the Reds’ most-promising young players calling his natural ability to go forward eye-catching in an interview with The Athletic.

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Leeds’ interest in the young full-back may raise a few eyebrows amongst the Elland Road faithful due to the fact that the Whites already have their own promising young talent in that position in the shape of Leif Davis, who has actually previously been linked with Liverpool.

However, there is an argument to be made that Larouci’s arrival could aide Davis’ development rather than hamper it.

A look back to the comments Graham Smyth made when the 20-year-old played against QPR earlier this season show exactly why having Larouci could actually help the youngster.

“When Leif Davis came on, he just really showcased his pace. Legs were tiring and QPR were maybe a little bit more open because they were 2-0 down away from home and thinking they had to go for it a little bit and Davis just exploited that space on the left flank,” the journalist said.

“For a defender that would be terrifying, somebody coming on with that kind of pace. It was reminiscent of Gareth Bale against Inter Milan, pushing the ball ahead and backing himself to beat anyone else to it.”

Bale, of course, started his career at full-back before transitioning into one of the world’s premier wingers, winning four Champions League’s at Real Madrid, and if Larouci’s arrival can allow Davis to move further forward it could be very lucrative considering the pace and attacking intent he has shown thus far.

Davis has played further forward previously, and if he and Larouci break into the first-team at a similar time he could be allowed to play there more often if there’s adequate cover at full-back.

According to The Daily Mirror, Tottenham are set to enter the race to sign Brentford star Said Benrahma this summer.

What’s the word?

After the Bees failed to gain promotion to the Premier League following their Championship play-off final defeat to Fulham, reports are already beginning to emerge about rival clubs circling over some of their star players, including Benrahma.

The Daily Mirror claim that Spurs are set to be the latest side to join the running in the bid to sign the Algerian winger, and with the 24-year-old “determined” to play in the top-flight next season, is likely to be on his way out of Brentford.

Is it Mido or Pedro Mendes? This Spurs quiz will separate the loyal from the fake…



World Class score: 95% | Expert score: 80% | Veteran score: 65% | Intermediate score: 45% | Amateur score: 30% | Try Again: 5%

The report does add that London rivals West Ham could also be suitors for Benrahma.

Priority for Daniel Levy

Given his performances in the Championship, it’s been no surprise to hear Benrahma’s name being linked with a high-profile move to a Premier League club this summer.

The Algerian racked up an impressive 17 goals and ten assists in total for Brentford, and has been widely hailed for leading the Bees’ play-off charge.

His manager, Thomas Frank, said: “For me he’s a quality player with top skills but also finishing skills. We actually worked very hard with him to arrive in the box at the right situations. In there when he’s turning and running at people – oof, I don’t want to defend against him!.”

Whilst Spurs may have bought a winger in Steven Bergwijn in the January transfer window, Benrahma has proven why he is far more of an influential figure, with a greater scope for growth.

After a stunning debut against Manchester City, Bergwijn really showed no other sign of proving his worth. As per Whoscored, he averaged a hugely disappointing 0.6 shots, 0.9 key passes and 0.6 dribbles per game in the Premier League. Whilst Benrahma may have been playing in the division below, he averaged a ridiculous 3.8 shots, 2.1 key passes and three dribbles per match.

Daniel Levy could well transform Spurs’ attack with a winger who has a real end product to his game, and ease the burden on the likes of Harry Kane and Heung-min Son, unlike Bergwijn.

According to The Express, West Ham are eyeing a potential deal for Chelsea striker Michy Batshuayi this summer, if Sebastien Haller leaves the club.

What’s the word?

Despite arriving for a club-record fee last summer, reports have suggested that Haller could be on his way out of the London Stadium after a difficult debut campaign – the Frenchman has scored just once this calendar year.

Spot the fact from the fib: Are these Premier League records true or false?

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And as per The Express, if Haller does leave, then the Hammers are lining up Batshuayi and Real Madrid marksman Luka Jovic as potential replacements.

The report claims that Haller’s former manager at Eintracht Frankfurt, Niko Kovac, is keen on a reunion with the striker at his new club, AS Monaco.

A GSB disaster

Whilst the Hammers’ reported interest in Jovic is something to get excited about given his goal-scoring pedigree, the same cannot be said for Batshuayi.

The Belgian arrived at Stamford Bridge back in 2016 for a fee in the region of £33m, and there can be absolutely no question that he has not justified that price tag at all.

Despite being on a hefty £90k-a-week wage as well, the 26-year-old has been anything but clinical in front of goal since then. He has scored just 25 times in 77 games for West Ham’s London rivals, whilst the fact he has been shipped out on loan to the likes of Crystal Palace, Valencia and Borussia Dortmund shows just much of a turn his form has taken.

Aside from Paul Merson simply insisting that he is “not good enough”, the late Ray Wilkins even called him a “liability” after a particularly anonymous performance against against Palace. He added: “His movement is almost null and void and when you’re playing in a team like Chelsea, your movement has to be first-class up front.”

The Hammers could do without another well-paid centre-forward who actually contributes very little. And in actual fact, Haller has proven that he is a better striker than Batshuayi this season too. As per Sofascore, the West Ham man averaged 1.4 shots, 0.8 key passes and 0.8 dribbles per game whilst missing six big chances in 32 Premier League games.

On the other hand, Batshuayi played just 16 times in the top-flight, but missed four big chances, and averaged a dismal 0.7 shots, 0.2 key passes and 0.3 dribbles per match. The fact West Ham are supposedly interested in a striker like that just reeks of yet another GSB transfer disaster.

The summer transfer window is now in full effect and things are moving at an incredible pace. Just around 36 hours ago, Hibernian’s attempt to land Rangers’ Ross McCrorie seemed to be under the bus but now, according to an exclusive report from The Scottish Sun, the move is back on.

Hibs have apparently returned with an improved offer after the initial one was seemingly declined by Steven Gerrard’s squad. Jack Ross is adamant on securing the versatile star, the same report states, and he is willing to offer more money to get him.

Of course, despite his quality and undeniable talent, McCrorie has seen his chances at Ibrox quite limited and having impressed on loan at Portsmouth last season, could be prime for another move.

The same paper also reminds that Gerrard himself has stated before that there is indeed interest in the player and his future at the club remains uncertain. He said, as quoted by The Scottish Sun: “We have had some interest from Hibs in Ross McCrorie. Those talks are ongoing. Ross and Greg Docherty will not be going on loan. If we get bids that we like, that are good enough and big enough, we will consider them.”

While this doesn’t outright confirm the deal is happening, it does suggest it’s on the cards and there’s a real possibility the 22-year-old’s days at Rangers might be numbered.

For Hibs and Ross, this is surely wonderful news.

Verdict

Even though the report doesn’t exactly state the figure Hibs are offering for McCrorie, with Rangers willing to sell and the player out of favour at Ibrox, it should be an acceptable deal for both sides.

The youngster is quite talented and versatile, being able to slot in various positions across the pitch, and that’s something Ross values highly. If this goes through, it could be a win-win scenario for all parties involved.