Tottenham fans are desperate to see more of Lucas Moura, and they’re wondering why they even signed the Brazilian if he’s not going to play.
Lucas Moura left PSG in January after not making a single league start for the French giants this season, but he hasn’t exactly got his wish of more playing time at Tottenham.
When the speedy Brazilian signed, fans were delighted to know they finally had a depth of attacking options, with several players competing for those three spots behind Harry Kane.
The 25 year-old Brazilian has started just once in the league for Spurs though, and showed his class in his brief cameo on Saturday.
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Mauricio Pochettino’s side lost 1-0 to West Brom, and no player received more stick for his performance than Erik Lamela, who Lucas replaced in the closing stages.
With many fans feeling Lamela is simply not good enough and concerns growing about Heung-min Son losing his electric form from earlier this year, it does seem strange that Lucas has not played more.
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Some fans are wondering if Pochettino even wanted the Brazilian in the first place, while others are bashing the manager for not giving him more chances.
Either way, some of the best Twitter reactions can be found below…
Tottenham Hotspur will look to bounce back from their disappointing 1-0 defeat against West Bromwich Albion on Saturday, and get their top-four hopes back on track in the process, when they host Newcastle United at Wembley on Wednesday night.
Spurs could have moved a step closer to securing Champions League football for next season when they faced the bottom-of-the-table Baggies at the Hawthorns at the weekend, but they struggled throughout and eventually succumbed to an injury-time winner from one of their former players, Jake Livermore.
The north London outfit’s advantage over fifth-place Chelsea was cut to just two points as their London neighbours beat Liverpool 1-0 at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, and Mauricio Pochettino’s men will certainly be looking nervously over their shoulder with just two fixtures left to play.
The Argentine boss switched to a 3-4-2-1 formation and made four changes to the team that beat Watford 2-0 for the trip to the west Midlands, with Toby Alderweireld, Danny Rose, Victor Wanyama and Erik Lamela coming into the XI, but Pochettino may be considering making more alterations following such a disappointing display.
Here is how Tottenham must line up against Newcastle, ahead of Hugo Lloris in goal…
Pochettino decided to go with a back three of Jan Vertonghen, Davinson Sanchez and Toby Alderweireld – bringing the Belgian in for what is a rare start nowadays – and the Tottenham backline was just seconds away from a clean sheet at the Hawthorns.
With Alderweireld doing a perfectly fine job, the Argentine boss should stick with the three at the back and the same personnel for the visit of Newcastle to Wembley, where they are only likely to come up against one Magpies striker based on the majority of Rafa Benitez’s line-ups this term.
Pochettino’s first-choice central midfield duo has been Eric Dier and Mousa Dembele this term following a significant injury for Victor Wanyama earlier in the season, but the duo were both absent from the XI at the Hawthorns.
While Dembele missed out through injury, Dier was named on the substitutes’ bench with Wanyama and Christian Eriksen starting in the centre.
It wasn’t an experiment that worked particularly well however, but with Dembele and Dier set to be absent again against the Magpies, Wanyama should start alongside Moussa Sissoko instead, with Kieran Tripper as a right wing-back and Ben Davies coming in for the disappointing Danny Rose on the opposite flank.
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With Son Heung-Min struggling for form in recent weeks, Pochettino decided to give Erik Lamela an opportunity to impress from the start against West Brom, but he failed to take it and was destroyed by Spurs fans on Twitter for his first-half display.
The Argentine winger was eventually replaced by Lucas Moura in the 78th minute – the Brazilian must be given a chance in the XI against Newcastle alongside Eriksen – while Dele Alli should drop to the bench following an off-colour performance at the Hawthorns.
That leaves Harry Kane up top, and he will be looking to get back on the goal trail having drawn a blank at the weekend.
West Ham United owner David Sullivan certainly isn’t the most popular figure among the London Stadium faithful after what has happened in recent years, but if he follows up the appointment of Manuel Pellegrini as the club’s new manager with some exciting new additions this summer, that situation could quickly change.
The 69-year-old took action and decided that David Moyes shouldn’t stay on with the east London outfit following the expiry of his contract at the end of the season, and he certainly delivered what the fans wanted in that instance.
Sullivan certainly hasn’t got many things right during his time at the helm, but appointing a previous Premier League title winner, whom Hammers supporters on Twitter are keen to see link up with £140,000-a-week attacker, and giving him control of who the club recruits is certainly a big step in the right direction.
While the Irons are looking pretty good from an attacking point of view –Pellegrini will hope to convince Javier Hernandez and Manuel Lanzini to stay – more work is needed in midfield and at the back given they had the joint-worst defensive record in the top flight this season.
Here are three signings Sullivan must deliver for Pellegrini this summer to ensure he goes from zero to hero among West Ham supporters…
According to reports in The Sun, West Bromwich Albion centre-back Ahmed Hegazi is available for just £2.5m this summer because of a clause in his contract after the Baggies were relegated from the Premier League, and West Ham should be looking to snap the Egypt international up for that bargain price.
The Irons struggled from a defensive point of view this season and need reinforcements in that area following the departures of Jose Fonte and James Collins in the last few months, and the 27-year-old certainly fits the bill.
First and foremost he has shown with the Baggies that he is a good defender who isn’t afraid to put his body on the line for his team, while he is also strong and decent in the air and now has a year’s experience at this level under his belt.
West Ham have long been linked with a move for the Sporting Lisbon midfielder and seemingly came close to getting him last summer, but it is a deal Sullivan must do this time around.
Cheikhou Kouyate and Mark Noble consistently produced below-par performances in the middle of the park for the Irons this season, and it is clear to see that the east London outfit are missing some strength and power in the middle of the park – something Carvalho would deliver.
The Euro 2016 winner would also provide a much-needed barrier in front of a leaky backline, and allow Pellegrini to set up with a more attacking style next term.
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Given he is 35 years of age the potential of addition of the Manchester City legend would likely split West Ham fans, but Sullivan should look to bring him to the London Stadium on a one-year contract.
The Ivory Coast international has shown the quality he has throughout his time in the Premier League, and while he may be getting on a bit and not quite have the athleticism he once did, he is hugely experienced and influential and will have a point to prove that he should still be a regular starter at this level.
The fact that Pellegrini already knows him well and knows what it takes to get the best out of him is just another reason why he must be in an Irons shirt next season.
Because the howlers from Loris Karius were so bad and so costly, practically everything else about Saturday’s Champions League final aside from Gareth Bale’s wonderful bicycle kick and Mohamed Salah’s first half injury has been quickly forgotten.
That includes the fact Liverpool were actually in this match for quite a long time and arguably looked more likely to score than Real Madrid during the opening periods. Throughout the whole 90 minutes, likewise, there were certainly some Liverpool players who held up their end of the bargain – so below is a belated opportunity to acknowledge them.
Sadio Mane grabbed Liverpool’s only goal of the game by latching onto a knockdown from Dejan Lovren – valued by Transfermarkt at £18million – who was actually pretty solid up against Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema.
Andrew Robertson finished off a fine debut season at Anfield with another impressive outing, his defining moment being a last-ditch tackle to stop Ronaldo scoring, and James Milner was his usual busy self in midfield, creating the joint-most chances of any player for either side.
So, Liverpool fans, let us know which players impressed you most (and least) against Real Madrid by taking part in the poll below and issuing player ratings for each of those involved in the 3-1 defeat…
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Crystal Palace have been in talks with French goalkeeper Alban Lafont but he wants assurances that he will be their no. 1 next season, according to L’Équipe.
What’s the story?
Lafont is one of the hottest prospects in France, having already made 100 senior appearances for Toulouse at the age of 19 and holding the record for the youngest goalkeeper to play in Ligue 1.
In an interview with L’Équipe, the young ‘keeper, valued at £16.2million on Transfermarkt, spoke of his desire to leave Toulouse after battling relegation for three seasons.
Crystal Palace are eager to secure the services of the wunderkind, but Lafont wants a guarantee that he will be the first choice goalkeeper.
He said in his interview: “Today I am the no. 1 at Toulouse so if I want to progress I have to keep playing. If I leave, it’s not to be on the bench.”
A serious talent
It’s telling that Alban Lafont was named the second most promising footballer under the age of 20 by the CIES Football Observatory, above his compatriot Kylian Mbappé.
This man is a serious talent with the potential to be up there with the best in the world and would be a great signing for Palace.
It is worth remembering that it can be difficult for a young goalkeeper to adjust to the Premier League, particularly if they are thrown straight in at the deep end like David de Gea.
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But if he is given time, this player could grow into a quality player for Palace for many years to come.
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According to The Express, Tottenham Hotspur and Everton target Matias Vecino will be available for £19m in this summer’s transfer window.
What’s the story?
Vecino is currently in action at the 2018 World Cup, with the 26-year-old helping Uruguay reach the knockout round of the competition with a match to spare.
The midfielder plays his club football for Inter Milan, having joined the Italian giants from Fiorentina last summer.
Earlier this month, Tottenham and Everton were both linked with a move for Vecino, and according to The Express, Inter would be prepared to sell for £19m this summer.
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That said, it is understood that Chelsea are also very much in the race for the 24-time international, and the interest will surely mount if Uruguay continue to progress at this summer’s World Cup.
What are Vecino’s credentials?
Vecino is a 6ft 2inch midfielder who started his professional career with Uruguayan outfit Central Espanol before joining Nacional, where he spent two years.
Fiorentina signed him on a four-year contract in January 2013, although the deal did not actually go through until the summer of the same year.
The versatile midfielder scored six times and registered eight assists in 85 appearances for Fiorentina, whilst he also turned out for Cagliari and Empoli on loan before joining Inter.
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The San Siro giants paid in the region of £20m to sign him last summer, and he scored three times and registered three assists in 31 appearances last term.
According to The Express, Inter would be prepared to sell for £19m ahead of the new season, however, and Tottenham and Everton are very much in the race.
That said, it appears that the Tottenham fans are not convinced that Vecino would be a good signing having watched him in action at the World Cup.
According to The Chronicle, Newcastle United boss Rafael Benitez has dismissed Stoke City’s £10m bid for Dwight Gayle.
What’s the story?
Stoke offered £10m for Gayle over the weekend – according to the Daily Mail – with the Potters looking to boost their squad for the 2018-19 Championship campaign.
However, The Chronicle has claimed that Benitez has made it clear that he will not be selling Gayle this summer unless a new centre-forward arrives at the club.
It is understood that Gayle is happy in Newcastle and does not want to move his young family, meanwhile, which seems to suggest that the striker will still be with the Magpies entering the new Premier League season.
There are question marks over Gayle’s ability to operate at Premier League level, however, and his future is believed to be far from secure despite Benitez’s stance.
Should Newcastle sell Gayle?
There can be no doubting Gayle’s work-rate and commitment to the cause, and those two attributes have made him popular with the Newcastle fans.
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The striker’s 23 Championship goals during the 2016-17 season, meanwhile, played a key role in Newcastle securing a return to the Premier League.
He only managed six Premier League goals last term, however, and there are not too many reasons to suggest that he will improve on that total next term.
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If Newcastle are to cement themselves as a top-10 team in the Premier League, they will need to find a striker who can score at least 12 league goals a season.
Valued at £9m by transfermarkt.co.uk, Gayle is a brilliant success story having progressed from non-league football to the Premier League, but Newcastle should be looking for an upgrade on the centre-forward in this summer’s transfer window.
Eric Lichaj’s time at Nottingham Forest has officially come to an end after he completed a move to fellow Championship outfit Hull City.
The defender spent five years at the club, but they only released a short statement confirming his exit on their official website.
The 29-year-old has moved to the KCOM Stadium for an undisclosed fee, and has put pen to paper on a two-year deal with the Tigers.
The USA international joined Forest in 2013 from Aston Villa and went on to make close to 200 appearances for the club.
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Last season, Lichaj started just 22 Championship matches and came off the bench in one other.
In total, the defender made 27 appearances in all competitions after dropping down the pecking order.
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With just one year remaining on his current deal, Forest opted to sell rather than allow him to leave for nothing next summer.
Forest fans have been wishing the defender well on Twitter, and some are disappointed by the news.
A scare has been thrown into the West Indies camp on the eve of the first Test against Australia, with senior batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan struck down with an apparent back injury
Peter English25-Nov-2009
Match facts
November 26-30, 2009
Start time 10am (00.00 GMT)Shivnarine Chanderpaul needs to be at his immovable best for West Indies to seriously challenge Australia•Getty Images
Big Picture
Both teams have something to prove. This is Australia’s first Test since their Ashes defeat in August and they are desperate to eliminate some of the pain by sweeping past West Indies, just as they did the last two times they toured. However, the local personnel is considerably different to the great days of Warne, McGrath and Co, so this assignment won’t be as easy as in years past.The Australians believe the only thing that went wrong in England was losing the big moments. The only time that didn’t happen in their past four series was in South Africa earlier in the year, with the superb victory seeming more like a fluke than the norm when it is wedged with the three other defeats.West Indies have even more concerns after finding peace following a damaging player strike, during which the side lost at home to Bangladesh. The embarrassment is driving their ambition for this contest, but the reality is that if they win one of the games the trip will be considered a major success. In their past 39 Tests they have been victorious on only three occasions and despite Australia’s transition tangles, it would take a major upset for them to improve on that record.”If you look at Australian teams of six or seven years ago, we were expected to win every series we played,” Ricky Ponting said. “In this one we’re just expected to win because of this so-called weak West Indies team. We will just do everything we can to play the best cricket we can.”
Form guide (last five Tests, most recent first)
Australia – LWDLD West Indies – LLLLD
Watch out for
Ricky Ponting – Hell hath no fury like an Australian captain scorned in England. Twice. Now he’s home Ponting will be looking to bury every opponent in the lead-up to next year’s Ashes series. At 34, he is entering the sunset of his career but will want to depart in a blaze of success following his latest setback.Shivnarine Chanderpaul tormented Australia in the Caribbean last year, batting for nearly 26 hours in the three-Test series, including a not-out run of more than 18 hours across two Tests. If he remains so hard to remove the chances of West Indies springing a surprise will increase significantly. The tourists need him at his most tenacious.
Team news
A predictable squad has led to a predictable XI. Doug Bollinger has been confirmed as the 12th man because only an injury will be able to split up the golden boys of Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus. Nathan Hauritz will play while Shane Watson, the opening allrounder, hopes to deliver around 10 overs a day.Australia 1 Simon Katich, 2 Shane Watson, 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Michael Hussey, 5 Michael Clarke, 6 Marcus North, 7 Brad Haddin (wk), 8 Mitchell Johnson, 9 Nathan Hauritz, 10 Peter Siddle, 11 Ben Hilfenhaus.Chris Gayle is a definite and now the big fear for the visitors is Ramnaresh Sarwan’s back. If Sarwan is out either Narsingh Deonarine or Travis Dowlin will bat at No. 3, while Gayle is down to partner Adrian Barath, the 19-year-old debutant. The tourists want to pick four fast men, including Dwayne Bravo, and a spinner, but the balance depends on Sarwan, with a decision due to be made on Thursday morning.West Indies (possible) 1 Chris Gayle (capt), 2 Adrian Barath, 3 Ramnaresh Sarwan, 4 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 5 Dwayne Bravo, 6 Brendan Nash, 7 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 8 Sulieman Benn, 9 Jerome Taylor, 10 Ravi Rampaul, 11 Kemar Roach.
Pitch and conditions
Expect a tinge of green on the first morning and the usual tricky seam early in the match before it flattens out in a batsman’s beauty. It hasn’t rained much over the past week so neither side will be tempted to choose an all-pace attack, and some turn is also expected for later in the game. The weather is predicted to be typical November: humid, maximum temperatures around 30 degrees and the chance of a storm every few days.
Stats and Trivia
Ricky Ponting averages 62.77 against West Indies in 18 Tests and his 1695 runs put him fourth on Australia’s list behind Steve Waugh, Allan Border and Mark Waugh. Shivnarine Chanderpaul is the best of the current West Indians against Australia, with 1210 in 15 matches at 48.40
The last time Australia lost a Test at the Gabba was against West Indies in 1988-89
Jerome Taylor will be the most experienced of the specialist fast bowlers with 28 Tests, two more than Mitchell Johnson
West Indies have lost their past eight Tests in Australia
Nathan Hauritz has 10 wickets at 64.10 in 10 first-class games at the Gabba
Quotes
“This is the start of 10 Test matches that we want to do everything we possibly can to improve our Test ranking from No. 4 back up to close to where it should be.”
“It’s going to be the first time I’ll open the batting with Barath. He’s been around in first-class and he’s certainly got a few hundreds underneath his belt. He’s a pretty decent player. We’re not looking to expect too much from Barath at this point in time, but we at the same time we will look to give the team a good start.”
“We have had a good look at the Australian bowling attack and we felt it’s not as experienced as previous attacks. Maybe we can put them under some pressure.”
If Pakistan’s batsmen had applied themselves in the first innings the way they did in the second, a draw would have been the most likely result of the Napier Test
The Bulletin by Sriram Veera13-Dec-2009 Scorecard and ball-by-ball details How they were out Daryl Tuffey’s maiden Test fifty led New Zealand to 471•Getty Images
If Pakistan’s batsmen had applied themselves in the first innings the way they did in the second, a draw would have been the most likely result of the Napier Test. As it stands now, Pakistan are still trailing by 120 runs with two days remaining, though a determined performance from their openers cut the first-innings deficit by more than half.And don’t shake your head in disbelief when you look at the scorecard. Daryl Tuffey, whose previous best was 35, nearly reached his maiden Test hundred as New Zealand gained control of the decider. However, their vice-like grip on the contest – they led by 248 runs when the innings ended after lunch – had loosened at stumps with Salman Butt and Imran Farhat reaching half-centuries during a 128-run association.The second and third sessions made for fascinating watching. New Zealand’s rudimentary plan A appeared to be heavily influenced by Pakistan’s terrible first-innings effort. They bowled outside off stump to the left-hand openers, who normally are crease-bound, hoping they would reach out and commit mistakes. To Butt, who tends to fall over on his front foot, they occasionally brought the ball back in to try force an lbw, and for Farhat they had a short mid-off in place and waited for the airy drive.Plan A didn’t work, though, for the openers were determined not to chase anything they didn’t have to and also because there was not much help from the pitch. Slowly, the batsmen began to play square and cover drives and New Zealand started to bowl with more imagination in the second session. The seamers attacked the stumps more, slipped in the odd delivery outside off and Vettori as usual was on target. However, Butt and Farhat continued to be patient and reaped the benefits.Both batsmen stayed adjacent to the line of the ball and generally favoured the off side more with their drives, bottom-hand punches and cuts. The disciplined effort was in stark contrast to the extravagance in the first innings but they might have learnt hard lessons from watching Vettori and Tuffey thrive when New Zealand batted.Imran Farhat followed up his first-innings century with a fifty in the second•Getty Images
Tuffey’s innings showed how good the Napier pitch was for batting. It also said much about Pakistan’s listless bowling display and highlighted the mess they dragged themselves into due to a poor first-innings performance. As you would expect from a third-day track, Danish Kaneria found some spin and completed his five-for but the morning belonged to Vettori and Tuffey.Vettori cruised along, using his bottom hand to flash length deliveries through cover and carve short-of-a-length balls through cover point, and continued to improvise without much risk. Like he did so effectively last evening, Vettori teased Pakistan with his calculated shuffles. He moved towards off to flick to square-leg and would create more room for his cuts by arching back. Pakistan didn’t have anyone with pace to hurry Vettori into making mistakes and it took a stunning fielding effort to dismiss him. Vettori drove one well to the left of short extra cover where Umar Akmal flung himself to hold on to the catch.Tuffey had a few problems against Kaneria – he was dropped, on 32, by Umar Gul at long-leg off an attempted sweep and survived couple of appeals for lbw – but he was solid against the fast bowlers. He handled the short ball without problems and cut at every opportunity. He brought up the fifty partnership with Vettori and his half-century with cut shots, and dispatched Kaneria over long-on. Tuffey’s best, though, was an on drive that bisected long-on and long-off. He leaned forward to a flighted legbreak, took his front leg out of the way and drove through the line, past the startled bowler.It was a shot that a top-order batsman would have been proud of, and it not only reflected his confidence but also said much about Pakistan’s state of mind. By the day’s close, however, Pakistan’s openers had redressed the imbalance and left it open to several results.