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Leeds United were in electric form against West Bromwich Albion on a special evening for the Whites faithful at Elland Road.

What’s the word?

Leeds has been a city consumed by promotion-fever this season, and that feeling was intensified by a thumping 4-0 win over West Bromwich Albion last week.

It was a game which saw gushing admiration pour in for Marcelo Bielsa and his talented squad of players and David Prutton, a regular Sky Sports pundit, joined the eulogisers as he delivered his verdict on the game, per Yorkshire Evening Post.

The former Leeds man singled out three key players for individual praise, including midfield lynchpin Kalvin Phillips.

‘Tyler Roberts was very good, Pablo Hernandez was very good and Kalvin Phillips kept things ticking along as he does – unsung but highly effective.’

While the role of the defensive midfield enforcer has often been underappreciated and neglected, it’s fair to say that Phillips is far from unsung.

A firm fan favourite – time to bust a myth?

In the role Phillips plays the headlines will seldom belong to him, and Friday’s game served to prove that.

Naturally, Roberts’ creative genius and Pablo Hernandez’s artistry were at the forefront of the post-match reaction throughout the media, but Phillips’ contribution would have been duly noted by the supporters.

That the 23-year-old midfielder has been nicknamed the ‘Yorkshire Pirlo’ and has even prompted some supporters to tip him for an England call-up speaks volumes about the enormity of his reputation at Elland Road.

With the likes of Declan Rice and Fernandinho also joining Phillips by earning gargantuan praise for their performances so far this season, it’s fair to say that attitudes are changing in regard to how holding midfielders are perceived throughout the footballing world.

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Tottenham Hotspur have been one of the most consistent producers of the next generation of talent in recent years, and murmurs emerging from their academy ranks hint that Troy Parrott is one to watch for the future.

What’s the word?

Parrott is a name which Tottenham supporters have become increasingly familiar with in recent weeks in light of Harry Kane’s absence.

After scoring 11 goals in just seven games in the U18’s Premier League this season, it was no surprise that Parrott was mentioned as a potential candidate to replace Kane during his spell on the sidelines.

But, at just 17 years of age, it’s even less surprising that a call-up has yet to materialise. The club’s long-term vision for Parrott, however, is beginning to take shape after the budding goal machine signed a contract extension with the club.

Indeed, according to football.london, Parrott signed his first professional contract with the club on his 17th birthday on Monday, with the player taking to Instagram to express his delight at the ultimate birthday gift.

Daniel Levy has learned from Reo Griffiths setback

That Daniel Levy has wasted absolutely no time in offering the prolific forward a professional contract surely has its roots in Spurs’ transfer history.

Around this time last year, Reo Griffiths was bookmarked as one to watch in Tottenham’s youth ranks. The teenage sensation, like Parrott, boasted a relentless record in front of goal, prompting speculation over his credentials to solve the club’s notable second striker conundrum.

But unforeseeable disappointment laid on the horizon as he completed a permanent transfer away from north London last summer when he agreed terms with Lyon.

Spurs’ inability to keep hold of their academy jewel represented a huge setback and the fact Levy has moved to tie up a deal on Parrott’s 17th birthday is telling: he has seemingly learned his lesson from Griffiths’ departure.

In the midst of an era which is slowly being defined by the willingness of aspiring academy players to challenge themselves away from the comfort and familiarity of English football, Tottenham’s latest agreement should be regarded as an excellent piece of business.

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After a week at Celtic it looks like Jeremy Toljan has been playing his whole career with the Hoops.

The entire month of January seemed to be taken up with the elusive search for a right-back going on until two hours away from the transfer window closing.

In the final couple of days attention turned to the 24-year-old who hadn’t made a single Bundesliga appearance this term.

Two days after touching down in Scotland, Toljan found himself listed as a substitute away to St. Johnstone and when Mikael Lustig picked up a first half knock the German was thrown into a dramatic debut.

Toljan linked up instantly with James Forrest, pushing forward impressively but in a measured way as Celtic hunted down the breakthrough.

In midweek against Hibs, he provided the assist for Ryan Christie to open the scoring and the worries over the problem position started to clear.

During 2018, Jack Hendry, Lustig, Kris Ajer, Cristian Gamboa and Tony Ralston all played at right-back but it now looks like the loan signing from Dortmund has nailed it. His biggest test comes on Thursday when Valencia visit on Europa League duty.

And it’s safe to say, Celtic fans on Twitter are delighted with Toljan’s contributions so far…

وصل قبل قليل، الدولي الإسباني تياجو ألكانتارا، متوسط ميدان بايرن ميونخ، لمركز تدريب ميلوود الخاص بنادي ليفربول الإنجليزي.

تياجو أصبح أقرب من أي وقتٍ مضى من نادي ليفربول، بعدما تواصل الفريق الإنجليزي مع نظيره الألماني، إلى اتفاق شبه رسمي، كما أكد بايرن ميونخ، أن تياجو سينتقل إلى ليفربول، مهنئًا يورجن كلوب مواطنه بالتعاقد مع اللاعب (طالع ماذا قال؟).

كما وجه تياجو رسالة وداعية اليوم الجمعة، لجماهير بايرن ميونخ بعد قضائه 7 سنوات مع الفريق البافاري (طالع تصريحاته).

وكشفت شبكة “فوتبول ديلي” البريطانية، عن وصول ألكانتارا قبل قليل، في سيارة مرسيسدس، وهو يتجه لـ ميلوود. شاهد لحظة وصول ألكانتارا لـ ليفربول

Thiago Alcantara arriving at Liverpool’s training ground to sign for the club! 🔴 pic.twitter.com/6HYgTeyhq0 — Football Daily (@footballdaily) September 18, 2020

ليفربول يسعى للإعلان عن الصفقة، في منتصف اليوم، ليتمكن من تسجيل لاعب برشلونة السابق، في الاتحاد الإنجليزي، ويكون قادرًا على التواجد في مباراة تشيلسي القادمة بالجولة الثانية من البريميرليج.

يُذكر أنّ ألكانتارا في الموسم الماضي شارك في 40 مباراة مع النادي البافاري بمُختلف المُسابقات، وسجّل ثلاثة أهداف وصنع هدفين.

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West Ham United boss Manuel Pellegrini has admitted that he is still unable to put a timeframe on when Jack Wilshere will be available for selection.

What’s the latest?

Pellegrini told reporters on Wednesday, as quoted by football.london:

“We will analyse Jack Wilshere next week, then we will be more clear about his future.”

Whilst there have been positive updates on Samir Nasri and Manuel Lanzini, the same simply cannot be said for Wilshere.

The midfielder joined West Ham on a free transfer last summer following his departure from Arsenal.

The Englishman has only made five appearances for the Hammers, though, the last of which was against Newcastle United at the start of December.

The 27-year-old has missed a serious amount of football over the last few years and it is unclear whether he will be able to return this season.

What is the current issue?

Wilshere was out with an ankle injury in the early stages of the season, before returning in the latter stages of November.

The midfielder picked up yet another problem with his ankle in early December, though, and has been on the sidelines ever since.

Since the start of the 2013-14 season, Wilshere has had five separate ankle injuries, in addition to a broken foot, knee injury and two hairline cracks in his calf bone.

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…

The fact that Pellegrini was unable to give a proper update is a concern, suggesting that the England international will be unable to return this season.

Wilshere is contracted to West Ham until the summer of 2021, though, and will certainly be hoping that his latest issue proves to be his last.

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Loads of West Ham fans have been reacting to a big update on a possible striker signing, as reports claim they will not move for Maxi Gomez this month.

According to The Evening Standard, West Ham’s £43.5m swoop for Gomez will definitely not happen on deadline day.

The report claims Celta Vigo will not release the striker this month because they are in a relegation battle.

The Spanish outfit currently sit 18th in La Liga, two points adrift of safety, and Gomez is pretty much their only source of goals.

Look away Arsenal fans! American Soccer Fan is back to troll more fans at the London Stadium in the video below…

This is bad news for the Hammers though, who have gone off the boil in recent weeks after a terrific run of form before Christmas, and desperately need a clinical goalscorer.

Manuel Pellegrini’s side could be without Marko Arnautovic for at least a couple of weeks after the striker injured his foot during the defeat at Wolves, and there are still question marks over how committed the Austrian international will be even once he is fit.

You can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below, where fans are fuming at this transfer update…

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Garry Monk’s in-form side welcomed a hapless Bolton Wanders to St Andrew’s on Tuesday evening and, perhaps rather predictably, the visitors recorded their first win on the road since August with a 1-0 win.

Football is a funny old game. Just at the moment in which Birmingham were beginning to hit top form and edging towards the play-off places, they lost what appeared to be a routine win on paper.

Relegation-threatened Bolton were without a victory away from home since they beat Reading 1-0 on August 18, 2018, so it was no surprise that the Birmingham fans were furious in the aftermath of proceedings.

Plenty of fans took to social media to vent their frustration and a handful of individual players came in for strong criticism on Twitter, one of whom was Wes Harding.

The 22-year-old has needed to be patient this season while waiting for a first-team opportunity, but he has become a regular in recent weeks at right-back.

But Harding, a natural centre-back by trade, has struggled to make an impact on the overlap, and his lack of technical quality is beginning to frustrate plenty of supporters, with many now calling for him to be dropped for the upcoming fixture against Blackburn Rovers.

Here’s what the Birmingham fans had to say about Harding’s performance against Bolton on Tuesday:

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Southampton host Spurs this weekend after an ultimately disappointing loss to Manchester United last weekend and, if the Saints can’t get the results, their ever-improving performance standards will be irrelevant.

Ex-Portsmouth player and Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson has had his say on the upcoming clash, and what he said might surprise some Saints fans.

What’s the word, then?

Well, writing in his weekly predictions feature, Merson said:

“Tottenham had a great result in midweek in the Champions League and I thought they were fortunate against Arsenal. Southampton are a funny team – they go to Old Trafford and should have got a point and did well.

“If Cardiff end up beating West Ham and go above Southampton, they’ve then got some hard games coming up. Cardiff need to go above Southampton to make them panic but if they are always in front of them, it is just another hard game gone by, but I think Southampton will stay up.”

Is he right?

Southampton currently sit just two points above the drop with Cardiff, who host West Ham United in Wales on Saturday, waiting eagerly below to escape the bottom three.

There is no such thing as an easy run-in in the Premier League, especially for a team in the St Mary’s outfit’s position – visits from Liverpool and Tottenham, in particular, could push Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men to the limit.

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Obviously, the key for them is to try and remain above Cardiff for the remainder of the season because, although it ultimately wouldn’t matter if they finish 17th in the standings, they avoid having to chase points to get back into a safe position then.

As Merson says, the south coast outfit were unfortunate not to get a point from Old Trafford, having recorded one of their best performances since Hasenhuttl’s first game in charge – the victory over Arsenal in December.

They will need to do that week-in, week-out though if they are to renew acquaintances with the top flight next season.

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West Bromwich Albion drew 2-2 with Nottingham Forest on Tuesday evening in controversial circumstances as Dwight Gayle’s dive provided Jay Rodriguez with the opportunity to equalise from the penalty spot in the 89th minute.

The supporters were feeling rather fortunate to come away with a positive result after a relatively underwhelming display, but there was one bright spark worth noting: the performance of Rekeem Harper.

The 18-year-old played the full 90 minutes in the league for the fourth time in the last five games, showcasing a level of maturity and confidence in his own ability which supporters are naturally drawn towards.

Players of his age seldom slip under the radar of expectant supporters, and Harper has been no exception in the Championship in recent times.

The Baggies faithful are monitoring his development with a keen eye and they were delighted with what they saw from the teenager on Tuesday.

Harper’s stunning long-range effort which crashed off the post in the build up to Jacob Murphy’s equaliser represented a moment of technical genius worth salivating over, but it was the overall quality of his performance which particularly delighted supporters.

Indeed, the academy graduate put in a fantastic all-round display in central midfield and earned gushing praise on Twitter for his efforts.

Here’s what the West Brom fans had to say about Harper’s performance against Nottingham Forest:

أفادت تقارير صحفية إسبانية، أن الدولي الصربي، لوكا يوفيتش مهاجم ريال مدريد الإسباني، يقترب من العودة إلى الدوري الألماني من جديد.

لوكا يوفيتش انتقل إلى ريال مدريد في الصيف الماضي قادمًا من انتراخت فرانكفورت، لكنه لم يشارك بصفة أساسية مع النادي الملكي خلال موسم 2019/2020.

طالع أيضًا.. بوتراجينيو: نتمنى حظًا سعيدًا لـ بيل في توتنهام

شبكة “ليبيرتاد ديجيتال” الإسبانية، أفادت بأن لوكا يوفيتش يقترب من مغادرة النادي الملكي على سبيل الإعارة إلى فريقه السابق، اينتراخت فرانكفورت الألماني.

وشددت التقارير، على أن ريال مدريد يمتلك أكثر من عرض على الطاولة للتعاقد مع المهاجم الصربي، لكن اللاعب يفضل العودة إلى ناديه القديم.

ويأمل لوكا حسم الصفقة في أسرع وقت ممكن، بعدما وافق على كل الشروط للعودة إلى المكان الذي تألق فيه كثيرًا، وجعل ريال مدريد يتعاقد معه.

يوفيتش لعب في فرانكفورت خلال الفترة من 2017 حتى 2019، وخلال موسمين سجل 36 هدفا في 75 مباراة بمختلف المسابقات.

بينما في موسمه الماضي مع ريال مدريد، شارك لوكا في 27 مباراة، أغلبهم كان بديلًا، وسجل هدفين فقط.