Manchester United defender Chris Smalling is astonished by how quickly Robin van Persie has settled at the club.
The Dutchman arrived at Old Trafford from Premier League rivals Arsenal over the summer and has made an instant impact, netting 15 goals in his first 21 appearances.
Smalling hailed the 29-year-old’s start with the Red Devils as all the more surprising due to having a limited pre-season, after signing with the Red Devils in August:
“Obviously he only came in the summer and didn’t have much of a pre-season. But he came straight into the matches and has been such a threat.” He is quoted by The Metro.
“He is putting teams on the back foot and making our job easier at the back.”
Even manager Sir Alex Ferguson revealed his shock at just how easily the £24m arrival has adjusted:
“He has a fantastic record,
“What you are seeing is a player who has come to his mature years.
“Experience is counting for him now. He has the knowledge and ability and last season his form was terrific.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
“Even Arsenal, having had him for a few years, were realising what his best position is. We do the same.”
Van Persie started his career with hometown club Feyenoord, before moving to Arsenal in 2004 for £2.75m
He made almost 200 appearances for the Londoners before switching to United last summer.
‘Cajones’ was the prevailing soundbite from Arsenal’s 3-0 win over Watford on Sunday, having been accused of possessing an abundant lack of by Hornets skipper Troy Deeney after losing the reverse fixture earlier this season – a surprise 2-1 defeat at Vicarage Road. His argument is hardly unheard of in regards to the north London club, suggesting the Gunners are often held back by their own soft core.
Seemingly buoyed by their 2-0 win over AC Milan in midweek though, which has given Arsene Wenger a vital chance to end the season on a positive note with Champions League qualification, Arsenal were certainly up for the physical challenge Watford presented them with at the Emirates Stadium, particularly at the heart of defence which has often been the Gunners’ ropiest department.
Indeed, Shkodran Mustafi rose highest at an early corner to head home Arsenal’s first goal after just eight minutes, while the defender alongside him – youngster Rob Holding – provided a combative, aggressive and physical presence that the Gunners have disappointingly lacked during key moments of their season.
The 22-year-old – who Transfermarkt value at £6.3million – weighed in with the joint-most clearances, the most interceptions and the second-most aerial duels of any Arsenal player, while making one tackle and blocking one shot in an impressive defensive display for a prospect with just 17 Premier League appearances under his belt.
Arsenal welcome AC Milan to the Emirates Stadium later this week for the reverse leg of their Europa League tie. So after such an impressive performance, should Holding keep his place in the starting XI? Let us know by voting below…
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
There’s no question Liverpool have endured a difficult start to the 2014/2015 Premier League season. After last season’s impressive second placed finish in which they were fingertips away from having a their hands on the title, the Reds currently sit in midtable and have already lost to the likes of West Ham and Aston Villa. The departure of Luis Suarez has no doubt put the Merseysiders at a disadvantage, as his replacement Mario Balotelli hasn’t lived up to his £16m price tag so far.
In some respects, Brendan Rodgers’ summer spending spree – he spent in excess of a staggering £110m – has rather gone to waste. Many were expecting young talent’s Emre Can and Lazar Markovic to start brightly and show the Premier League they are future world beaters. But their spell in England’s top flight has thus far been plagued with injury. Rickie Lambert has struggled to get in the first team, but he could never realistically last the full 90 minutes anyway, Dejan Lovren is been part of a defence that has leaked sloppy goals and Adam Lallana hasn’t delivered the goods regularly, with most expecting him to be the shining light in the Liverpool midfield.
The current crop of players that have spent at least one season at Liverpool, including Mamadou Sakho and Daniel Sturridge, have failed to find the superb form they reproduced last season. Another player in this category is Simon Mignolet and questions are being asked about the Belgium international ‘s physicality. This has sparked rumours that former FC Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes, who is a free agent, could come in to replace the signing from Sunderland.
Valdes was Barcelona’s number one goalkeeper since 2002, and was considered one of the best shot stoppers in the world, despite not being first choice for his country. So why hasn’t a club snapped him up yet? Well he’s recovering from a serious knee injury, so any club that takes on Valdes will be signing an unfit player. Mignolet is still relatively young, and has vast experience in England’s top flight. If Rodgers wants another goalkeeper to challenge Mignolet, he should wait until January and nab Chelsea’s Petr Cech.
The 31 year old has been replaced as the Blues’ number one goalkeeper by 21 year old Thibaut Courtois at Stamford Bridge. From 2011-2014 while Cech was still number one for the West Londoners and Courtois was on loan at Spanish side Atletico Madrid, in which time the Czech Republic international had a higher save success rate with 76.8%, made more saves per game and claimed more crosses than his teammate.
Meanwhile in the 2013/2013 campaign, Mignolet’s save success rate was 6% lower than Cech and he conceded 23 more goals than, despite Liverpool finishing above Chelsea in the table. Cech’s Premier League prowess is the reason why he still regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the world, and will certainly make a bigger difference than Valdes if he was to sign for the Anfield club.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Loic Remy is Newcastle’s preferred transfer target should Demba Ba leave Tyneside in January.
Having failed to agree a new contract with Ba, Newcastle boss Alan Pardew is not willing to leave his squad short in attack, and Marseille striker Remy is now the frontrunner for a transfer to St James’ Park, The Northern Echo reports.
The French international’s earnings would fit in to the club’s strict wage structure and not cost beyond the sort of figures they are looking to spend.
Although the 25-year-old is valued in excess of £13m, Marseille are willing to lower their asking price if an agreement can be reached over a part-exchange deal.
Magpies winger and fellow Frenchman Gabriel Obertan has been touted as the player to form part of any player-plus-cash deal, meaning that Newcastle would have to pay around £10m for Marseille’s talisman.
Remy has won 17 caps for France and scored 27 times in his 68 appearances since moving from Nice two years ago, but he has fallen out of favour at the Stade Velodrome this season.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
In an ideal situation Pardew would successfully convince Ba to sign a new deal at St James’ Park and then focus on investing in other areas, as the Toon’s manager hopes to avoid a repeat of January 2011, when Andy Carroll was sold without being replaced:
“It is a difficult window, but I think we would like to get – definitely – one player in and not lose anybody. It could be that we lose a player, you never know.”
Newcastle United fans in the Transfer Tavern will be hoping that Mike Ashley loosens the purse strings and adds some real quality to the squad.
The Toon finished tenth in the League in what was only their second season since being promoted. Back in the Premier League and with a top quality manager, Newcastle need to build on last year and signing some quality players this summer is essential. Although this might seem ludicrous to the Toon faithful, Rafael Benitez should be looking at Real Madrid’s wantaway midfielder, Mateo Kovacic.
Recently the Magpies have been linked with a move for Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish, which be a good signing in itself but if Benitez wants to take Newcastle into Europe, an ambitious bid for Mateo Kovacic is the one to make.
The Croatian midfielder is currently away at the World Cup, revealed last month that he wanted to leave (as per Marca) the Real Madrid in search for more first-team football.
Although he has largely been a bit part player for the Champions League winners, Kovacic is still a top player and would surely attract interest from all the top clubs in Europe.
Kovacic has the rare ability to be able to pick the ball up from deep and drive forward. He’s also technical enough to link up the play from deep and also, when needed, he has the capability to play in a deeper more defensive role which he did superbly for Madrid at times.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Rated at £27 million by Transfermarkt, it would probably take a bid closer to £40 million to secure his services but with the player keen to leave, with the allure of the Premier League, it’s a move that’s not completely out of the question. After all, Benitez was the man who brought him to the Spanish capital in the first place!
According to reports in The Mirror, West Ham United are set to reignite their interest in Anderlecht midfielder Leander Dendoncker, rated at £16.2m by Transfermarkt, during the summer.
What’s the word, then?
Well, The Mirror says that Irons boss David Moyes failed in an attempt to land the highly-rated 22-year-old during the January transfer window, but he remains a big fan of the Belgium international and will try again in the summer.
The Mirror says that the midfield area is one that the Scottish boss is desperate to strengthen at the end of the season, and even if he managed to prise Dendoncker away from Anderlecht he would still be looking to add another one to his squad as well.
How has Dendoncker done this season?
He has once again been a key player for the Belgian club.
The defensive midfielder, who has also played as a centre-back for Anderlecht on a number of occasions during the current campaign, has made 33 appearances in all competitions for them this term, including the full 90 minutes in all six of their Champions League group matches.
He has also captained his team on seven occasions to show the leadership qualities that he has, including as a central defender in the 5-3 win against Mouscron on Sunday.
[ad_pod ]
Would he be a good signing for West Ham?
He certainly would be.
Despite the fact that he doesn’t celebrate his 23rd birthday until April, he has already made 160 appearances for Anderlecht and would arrive at the London Stadium with experience of playing regularly in the Belgian top flight and in the Champions League.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
While he has featured as a centre-back for his current club, Moyes would be more likely to use the 6ft 2in player as a defensive midfielder, given as he is good at winning the ball back and decent when in possession.
Will they get him?
They could well do.
It seems as though they got close to doing a deal in January and while that failed, the player appears to be keen on a move to the Premier League and with none of the top six sides likely to make a move for him as things stand, that could leave West Ham and Moyes in pole position to get their man.
A recent Arsenal rumour gathering momentum seems to be a £24m move for Sevilla’s Grzegorz Krychowiak…
Aside from being a commentators nightmare, the Polish holder isn’t exactly a signing to get pulses racing, with the enforcer having only swapped French minnows Reims for the Spanish side over the summer in a deal worth around £3m. Hardly an established star.
Although he’s by no means a poor player – in fact he’s been excellent this term – there are better value options out there for the Gunners, and here are FIVE…
[ffc-gallery]
CLICK ON ARSENE WENGER TO REVEAL THE FIVE
[/ffc-gallery]
[ad_pod id=’ricco’ align=’center’]
Sami Khedira
Okay, this one’s been dragging along for so long now that it’s beginning to look highly unlikely. But, there’s little doubting that Khedira could be the exact player Arsenal have been missing for some time… and he is available at a bargain rate in January.
The 27-year-old has bags of energy, loads of experience and is a true box-to-box player, which are three characteristics missing from the Gunners’ engine room right now. With his contract due to expire at the end of the season a cut-price January sale is on the cards, even though the German has hinted that he could stay at Real Madrid to see out his deal.
Cheick Tiote
From actively pursuing a move away from Newcastle a matter of months ago, Tiote has been very quiet of late. The Ivorian suggested that he’s ready to leave the North East after just over four years in the black and white shirt, with European football now his aim. Although not the most fashionable of players, Tiote is a genuine midfield destroyer, with his willingness to do the thankless tasks vital to his team-mates.
Having Tiote in his midfield would mean that Arsene Wenger would need to sacrifice some of his creativity, but the Newcastle hard-man may be enough to provide the shield the Gunners have been missing. Around £12m could be enough for the player, but his fee could be reduced if he continues to chase a move.
William Carvalho
Cost effective doesn’t necessarily mean cheap, and due to that we’ve put William Carvalho among the names on this list. The Sporting CP man is valued at just above £20m and is currently thought of as one of the very best young holding midfielders around.
Given the ‘new Patrick Vieira’ moniker already, Carvalho certainly has the billing to be a great option for the Gunners, while his stature and pure physicality make him a fearsome opponent. Unlike many others in the same mould though, he has great attacking abilities and has shown in the past that he’s adept at getting forward to support his attackers.
Fabian Delph
It’s been a whirlwind few months for Delph, who has moved from being a solid Premier League midfielder to a full England international and a wanted man. The Aston Villa ace is believed to be looking at a January move as his contract enters its final six months, despite the Midlanders being desperate to tie him down.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
At 24, soon to be 25, Delph has plenty of scope to improve over the coming years and could become part of an English core – alongside Wilshere, Welbeck and Chambers – at the Emirates Stadium.
Calum Chambers
Now this one is a little left field, but there’s no reason it couldn’t work. Chambers has already shown himself to be adaptable – he’s played at centre-back this term on a few occasions – so converting to a holding midfield role could make some sense, right?
Technically adept and blessed with defensive awareness, Chambers could easily be used as an enforcer, with Philipp Lahm of Bayern Munich and Germany an example that Wenger may look to use as inspiration. Plus, it wouldn’t cost a penny to do so…
Although it’s hard to see anything resembling a silver lining emanating out of the loss of Gareth Bale to injury for Tottenham Hotspur, not everyone involved with the club will necessarily be cursing the Welshman’s loss.
If you’re Gylfi Sigurdsson in fact, you’d imagine it’d be quite the opposite.
While it’s hard to imagine the Icelandic international punching the air with delight to see the side’s talismanic figure sidelines with a hamstring injury, Bale’s loss has in some ways, opened up a desperately needed door for Sigurdsson.
The ex-Swansea man’s struggles at White Hart Lane since his summer switch from Hoffenheim seem to be growing in prominence with every passing game. While he’s not necessarily been granted the game time he’s needed to play himself into form, the longer his lack of meaningful contribution has gone on, the harsher the skepticism has become.
But although it may have only been a fleeting glimpse, Spurs fans were finally treated to a dashing of magic from Sigurdsson during last weekend’s 3-0 win away at Fulham.
Released down the left-hand side, where he’d filled in for the departed Bale, Sigurdsson burst into the box, dropped a shoulder and nearly left Philippe Senderos on his backside, as he cut back for Jermain Defoe to finish from 10 yards. Although he’s netted in both the League Cup and Europa League for Spurs, that wonderful bit of skill was perhaps his best contribution of the season so far.
Supporters have of course, had seldom to pick from in terms of best bits from the Sigurdsson box of tricks this season. While he was starting games under Andre Villas-Boas at the start of the season, a whole 90 minutes on the pitch have been hard to come by. In fact, that’s only come once, in the 4-2 home defeat to Chelsea back in October.
While he has had fleeting opportunities to start, you can’t help but feel a lack of a run in the Premier League hasn’t helped his cause. With Clint Dempsey taking favour in the central role of Villas-Boas’ attacking trio next to Bale and Aaron Lennon either side, that starting place has looked hard to come by. With Dempsey beginning to repay the time invested in him by the Portuguese, Sigurdsson has been left somewhat in the cold.
But with the aforementioned loss of Bale for up to a fortnight, the Icelander has got his foot back in the door in N17. And while some supporters may be slightly alarmed by the notion of Sigurdsson being drafted in for their prized asset, they might in fact be pleasantly surprised by what they might see.
The school of thought when Sigurdsson first signed for Tottenham, was that he appeared to be a natural fit for the No10 like role in the 4-2-3-1. It would be bordering on heresy to supporters to call him a replacement for Rafael van der Vaart. But however you’d like to frame his touted role in this side, the general feeling was that it’d be a central role.
And although he still has time to try and make that role his own at White Hart Lane, from what the small glimpses of excellence that we have seen from Sigurdsson, that might not necessarily be his best fit.
His 20-minute cameo impressing on the left hand side for Spurs against Fulham, wasn’t the first time we’ve seen Sigurdsson prosper in that position. He didn’t quite set the world on fire, but in his one 90 minute Premier League outing for the Lilywhites, he was of the few positives Andre Villas-Boas could take out of the game against Chelsea.
Filling in for the maternity ward-bound Gareth Bale, Sigurdsson looked comfortable receiving the ball down the channel and drifting into the box. It wasn’t the box office pace and the unplayable runs that supporters were used to on the flanks, but Sigurdsson’s craft and guile offered something a little different to the side.
But given the success he had playing for Swansea, it seems strange that many have raised eyebrows at the prospect of Sigurdsson playing down one of the channels. He hardly hugged the touchline in the mould of an Aaron Lennon, but much of his barnstorming success at the Liberty Stadium last term, came from cutting in from the right hand side.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Given the success Clint Dempsey had performing a very similar task but on the left hand side for Fulham, the temptation will be there to perhaps see the American fill in for Bale during his absence. But with Dempsey now finally looking to settle in his more central role within this team, it’s Sigurdsson who could really benefit from a couple of starts on the left.
The pressure will be on for him to start producing as an attacking outlet if he’s given the nod, especially given the man he’s coming in for, but it could be just what he needs. While he prospered in the 4-3-3 like midfield Villas-Boas deployed at Reading earlier on this term, Sigurdsson has often floundered centrally, looking both unsure and unconfident in the role.
Playing on the left gives him a little more freedom, without the pressures of acting as the focal point between attack and midfield. A little more freedom and a remit to cut inside have done him well in the past.
A left hand sided berth doesn’t bode well for him in terms of a long term outlook given who he’s up against, but for Gylfi Sigurdsson, that might not be as important as simply gaining a bit of confidence in this Tottenham team. If football’s all about taking chances, then Sigurdsson would do well to seize the opportunity, starting tonight against Panathinaikos.
Theo Walcott joined Everton from Arsenal during the January transfer window, and the attacker impressed for the Toffees in the second half of the campaign.
[ad_pod ]
Walcott managed over 100 goals during his time at Arsenal – including 19 during the 2016-17 season – but left the Emirates Stadium for Everton in early 2018.
The Englishman managed three goals and three assists in the Premier League after joining Everton, and certainly captured the imagination of the club’s supporters.
Last season was difficult for Everton when considering the timing of Ronald Koeman’s departure, and indeed the struggles of Sam Allardyce.
Marco Silva is now in position as head coach, however, and there is certainly a lot for the Everton supporters to be excited about entering the new season.
[brid autoplay=”true” video=”256220″ player=”12034″ title=”Watch Chattin’ Shirt World Cup Absentees”]
Walcott knows what to say when it comes to winning over the Everton fans, and a number have been on social media paying tribute to the 29-year-old.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Indeed, Walcott has been tipped to enjoy a strong campaign for his Merseyside club next term.
A selection of the Twitter reaction from the Everton supporters can be seen below:
Newcastle manager Rafael BenitezÂhas congratulated the U-23s side for a dramatic penalty shootout win over rivals Sunderland.There hasn’t been a whole lot to cheer about for either of the two North East clubs this season, but fans from both sides turned up to the Stadium of Light on Wednesday to see the U-23s square off in the Premier League International Cup quarterfinals.Sunderland were the better side during the 90 minutes, but fell behind from a Curtis Good header. Lynden Gooch levelled for the hosts from the spot, and his second of the night looked to have won it. That was until Callum Roberts’ incredible 92nd minute free kick sent the match to extra time and penalties.The penalty shootout was quite remarkable, as it made its way all the way through the goalkeepers and back around to the start of the rotation. Newcastle won 11-10, after Jake Hackett blazed his penalty over the crossbar for Sunderland.[ad_pod ]Rafa Benitez was clearly keeping a close eye on the match, and congratulated the lads on Twitter.
Lynden Gooch and Callum Roberts were the standout performers, but there will be plenty of names for Benitez and Chris Coleman to consider in the coming seasons.
Newcastle fans, let us know your thoughts in the comments below.