Maurizio Sarri was once again left with more questions than answers following Chelsea’s 2-0 Premier League defeat away at Arsenal last Saturday.
The loss to their London rivals comes in a period where the team have not only been unable to score, but have played poor in general.
There have been a bunch of underperformers of late, and now is the time for the Italian to act if Chelsea are to finish in the top four. Furthermore, here are two players Sarri should be looking towards going forward.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek
Ruben Loftus-Cheek is currently out with a back injury but, even when he has been fit, he has been overlooked by Sarri.
That, however, needs to change. The 23-year-old looks like a much bitter fit for that No.8 role compared to Mateo Kovacic and Ross Barkley, the two midfielders who Sarri seems to rate really highly.
Loftus-Cheek dribbles in a meaningful way unlike his English team-mate Barkley who seems to have lost his explosive power following his own injury problems, while the Chelsea youth product is also so much more threatening in the opponent’s box than Kovacic.
Callum Hudson-Odoi
According to Sky Sports, Callum Hudson-Odoi will turn down Chelsea’s latest £85,000-a-week contract offer with Bayern Munich still circling, and it is not hard to understand why.
The boy wants minutes on the pitch, something he should be getting considering how atrocious Willian has been this season.
The Brazilian has played a major role in Chelsea’s attack growing stale and predictable, which is why it is time for him to give way to his younger team-mate who has all the tools needed to become a complete winger.
Hudson-Odoi is quick, can beat full-backs on the inside or outside, cross, shoot and play on both flanks. Now is the time for Sarri to start utilising that.
A big result against Man City could be season-defining for Arsenal. The Gunners are on the back of a few good wins, namely a dominant performance against Chelsea, and a win against the reigning Premier League champions could help take them to the next level.
Of course, the aim for the Gunners is simple: they want to finish in the top four. They’re currently achieving that aim, but only on goals scored, and if you consider that Chelsea will be the favourites against Huddersfield, a win against Man City is the only way for Arsenal to stay ahead.
That won’t be easy, though, and it will require every Arsenal player to be on form. Single moments could define the fixture, and so perhaps Arsenal should turn to the king of the single moment, Mesut Ozil.
Ozil has had a poor season at Arsenal, but make no mistake about it, he’s one of the few players at the Emirates that is able to turn a game on its head in an instant.
With his brilliant range of passing and dribbling, Ozil is able to find a last-ditch pass or bit of space that could open up Man City, and that could transform Arsenal’s fortunes. Especially with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette in the fold, they’ll love to build from his quality.
Granted, Ozil is an inconsistent player, but he has a tendency to step up when it really matters, and it doesn’t come bigger than Arsenal’s tie with Man City. It’s a risk, but it could pay off handsomely for Arsenal.
Liverpool fans have taken to Twitter in delighted fashion after it was revealed that Mohamed Salah would not be included in Egypt’s squad for the international fixtures in March, as reported by Kingfut.com.
The Premier League’s top scorer will not be called up to the squad for the game against Niger in the AFCON qualifiers on March 21, nor the friendly against Nigeria four days later.
Significantly, the Pharaohs have already qualified for the tournament, so can afford not to call the 26-year-old into the squad for the competitive game.
Be sure to check out the incredible story of the man who rose from a Tanzanian refugee camp to become one of Australia’s biggest football stars in the video below…
The decision means Salah will be afforded a break between the Reds’ trip to Fulham on March 17, and a huge match against title rivals Tottenham at Anfield on March 31, which Jurgen Klopp will surely be overjoyed at.
Naturally, with the way things are going right now, fans of the Premier League’s second-placed team are ecstatic with the news on Twitter…
Everton midfielder Idrissa Gueye is still eager to join Paris Saint-Germain after seeing a potential January move to the French outfit fall through.
What’s the story?
Gueye told L’Equipe:
“It is a dream that sadly did not come true. Every player works to join the best teams, to play in matches in the Champions League.
“But I was honoured that PSG were interested in me. Now, I know that I am of interest to these types of clubs, I am ready to go to the final level to join a top European club.
“I am going to work even more so that they come back to me. Maybe it is not finished with PSG.
“PSG asked my leaders to find out how I could leave. But Everton put the brakes on right away. They did not want to sell me. I pushed.
“I saw the directors to tell them of my desire to go to Paris, it was a golden opportunity, a huge challenge not to miss at 29 years old.”
Talk of PSG being interested in Gueye gathered pace in the latter stages of the January window.
The midfielder has confirmed that he asked to leave Everton to make the move to Paris, but the Toffees were not prepared to sanction his exit at that stage.
Gueye is still keen to join the Ligue 1 outfit, however, and has vowed to continue performing to a high level in order to seal a move.
Quite how the Everton fans feel about Gueye’s comments is another matter, but it does seem strange that the 29-year-old has been so public in his desire to move on during a very difficult period of the season for his English club.
How will this one end?
Gueye has made 97 appearances for Everton since arriving in 2016 from Aston Villa.
When considering that the midfielder cost in the region of £7m, he has been a wonderful signing for the Merseyside outfit.
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It remains to be seen whether PSG return for Gueye this summer as a lot can change in six months. Indeed, the club will already have targets in mind and it is unclear whether the Senegal international is still on their list.
The chance to join a club of PSG’s ilk is difficult to turn down, however, and Everton should allow him to move on this summer, providing the price is right and PSG remain in the hunt.
Whilst Gueye is extremely unlikely to win titles with Everton any time soon, he could expect to land a host of silverware in the French capital.
Arsenal had a quiet transfer window last month with only Denis Suarez arriving at the north London club in a loan deal from Barcelona.
The market in the summer, however, could be another story with Paris Saint-Germain’s Christopher Nkunku just one name currently being linked with a move to the Emirates.
The Breakdown
The Daily Mirror reports Nkunku, who is unhappy over his lack of involvement in the first team, will not be kept at PSG against his will and will be allowed to leave for Arsenal if that is his desire.
All things considered, that can only be seen as a positive development for the Gunners who would be wise to take advantage of the opportunity that is presenting itself.
Alex Iwobi’s form has picked up in recent weeks but, overall, Arsenal are not currently spoilt with options out wide — especially when it comes to that position on the left flank.
Signing Nkunku, who can also play on the opposite side and in midfield, would help address that.
To go with his versatility, the 21-year-old also has pace, vision and a wicked delivery from set pieces in his locker, things which could help reinvigorate an Arsenal attack that can, at times, look a bit flat following Alexis Sanchez’s exit and Mesut Ozil’s banishing.
When London Evening Standard reported on Sunday that Manchester United are prepared to pay £34million to acquire the services of Mauricio Pochettino, the immediate, knee-jerk reaction was one of shock.
As far as managers go that’s a staggering sum – according to The Telegraph’s Matt Law, reporting in December, it would be a world-record amount.
And yet, that in itself highlights the strange paradox of football. How can the most expensive player in the world, £200million man Neymar, be valued at almost six times more than what might come to be the most expensive sum ever shelled out for a manager?
What other industry values subordinates as greater assets than their bosses, and devotes six times as much money in bringing them into the company? It simply doesn’t make sense. Even as London Evening Standard’s own report highlights, £34million spent on Pochettino would still be a fraction of the cost United splashed out on Fred last summer. The Brazilian has gone on to make just seven Premier League appearances.
Of course, there’s a tangible difference in that footballers are nearly always worth something as long as they’re under contract, even if their value rapidly depreciates due to poor performances. Take Danny Ings as an example: Liverpool signed him for an initial £6.5million and after serious injuries limited him to just 25 first-team appearances in three years, they agreed in the summer a £20million sale to Southampton.
Managers, on the other hand, only tend to cost the club even more money when they don’t live up to expectations. Jose Mourinho, in addition to pocketing whatever he earned in wages at Old Trafford, was part of a £20million payoff just to get him out of the club after a disastrous run of results.
Yes, clubs often take a hit on flopped signings, but the only way they can find resale value on a manager is if another club comes in for him – and usually, when that happens, it’s because he’s doing incredibly well. For most clubs too, there is nearly always somebody out of work desperate to take a job, whether its Sam Allardyce or Steve Bruce. Poaching isn’t necessary.
That perspective, however, completely ignores the role a manager plays in the modern game, and Pochettino represents a particularly fitting case study. The amount of value he’s added to Tottenham’s squad simply through exceptional management has been staggering.
Last summer, CIES Football Observatory ranked Harry Kane as the most valuable player in the world, while Dele Alli was valued at over £150million – these are players who, prior to Pochettino’s tutelage, were respectively stuck on the fringes of the first team squad and playing in League One.
Soccer Football – Premier League – Watford v Tottenham Hotspur – Vicarage Road, Watford, Britain – September 2, 2018 Tottenham’s Dele Alli, Harry Kane, Christian Eriksen and Kieran Trippier celebrate an own goal their first scored by Watford’s Abdoulaye Doucoure Action Images via Reuters/Matthew Childs EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or “live” services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use
That’s not to suggest Kane and Alli wouldn’t be revered as amongst world football’s best without Pochettino’s guidance, such is their immense natural talent, and it’s as much a nod to Tottenham’s youth development and recruitment as it is the Argentine. But the chances are that neither would have flourished anywhere near as quickly had Pochettino not taken the reins in north London.
Simply put, managers are value adders; appearances, international caps, performance levels and silverware all naturally increase a player’s worth. So why, in financial terms at least, do we view them as so secondary to playing talent?
Unai Emery earns just over £115k per week at Arsenal; Mesut Ozil takes home more than three times that at £350k. In 2016/17, Cristiano Ronaldo earned €87.5million in wages, bonuses and sponsorship; at the start of that same season, Zinedine Zidane’s salary was just £4.6million (€5.27million). It seems clubs are prepared to let managers take on all the risk of glory or failure, yet limit them from the same level of reward.
In many ways though, the fact this paradox has become of genuine interest is symptomatic of how football has changed. Managers were once seen as mysterious, illusive figures who watched training from afar, picked the team and occasionally indulged in stuffy, stiff give-nothing-away interviews.
But nowadays, managers are perceived almost as cult-of-personality leaders; visionaries, philosophers, psychologists, heroes and pantomime villains. They’ve moved from behind the curtain to centre-stage and there’s greater attention on tactics, systems and personal relationships than ever before.
Responsibility has accordingly shifted: whenever a team falls short, it’s nearly always the manager we blame first. Once upon a time, the passion and commitment of the players would be the primary target.
That, in itself, though, once again highlights the paradox. We expect managers to inspire the best from their players, to organise them in a way that creates football both entertaining and efficient, and yet the notion of a £34million fee – the kind of money that wouldn’t even be enough to sign most top class players – still leaves us a little open-mouthed.
You’re far more likely to hear a supporter lament it as another indication of football’s decadent wealth than praise it as a representation of Pochettino’s genuine worth. But maybe, just maybe, a world-record fee for the Argentine is evidence of the situation starting to change.
Leicester City are no longer searching for a new manager after parting company with Claude Puel at the weekend and moving for Brendan Rodgers.
Doubts were cast over the summer over Puel’s long-term future but the Frenchman was given the start of the season to defy expectations. However, the Foxes have struggled despite splashing out on the likes of James Maddison. With Leicester languishing in 12th place following a heavy defeat to Crystal Palace, the decision was made to look for a new boss.
Now in place at the King Power, the Northern Irishman is no stranger to the Premier League following spells with both Liverpool and Swansea.
Now Rodgers has taken the job, Leicester should look to sign Celtic maestro – Olivier Ntcham. Valued at just £3.6m by Transfermarkt, the Frenchman moved to the SPFL in the summer of 2017 after failing to make the grade at Manchester City. Ntcham instantly became a key member of the squad at Celtic Park and is enjoying one of his finest seasons to date.
The 23-year-old has been in fantastic form netting six goals and registering one assist for his team-mates. Ntcham is a complete midfielder who could operate in a number of roles in the Foxes engine room. After establishing himself as a regular for Celtic, he should have no problem adapting to life in England should Rodgers move to the King Power.
Despite signing a new contract in November, the allure of life in the Premier League could be too difficult to turn down. Capturing his signature in the summer could prove to be a wise decision.
[ad_pod ]Ezgjan Alioksi joined Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa for the club’s press conference on Thursday.The 28-year-old left-back has been in fine form in recent week. Just like everyone else at Elland Road, he has been reinvigorated and improved by the guidance of Bielsa, and the Macedonian heaped credit to the Argentine coach during the press conference.Are fans being priced out of the Championship as well as the Premier League? The angry Bolton fan in the video below certainly believes so…
What he said
As quoted by the Whites’ official Twitter account, when asked about the impact Bielsa has had at the Yorkshire club, Alioski said: “This year, with this coach, we’re enjoying the season. It’s like a surprise, like a gift, so as players we make sure we’re working hard.â€
A full recording of the press conference has also been provided by the Yorkshire Evening Post.
Massive impact
When considering the transformative effect Bielsa has had on Leeds, and how quickly he has been able to imprint his ideals and philosophy on the squad, then a ‘gift’ to the club is perhaps the best way to describe him and his influence.
Last season, Leeds finished 13th in the Championship. This time around, with largely the same squad, they’re in the thick of the title race and playing scintillating football.
On top of that, Bielsa has also committed himself to bringing through talented academy prospects, with the likes of Jack Clarke, Leif Davis and Aapo Halme, amongst others, all getting first team minutes this season.
As we near the international break, sides are starting to announce their squads for the upcoming Euro 2020 qualifiers and, if you’re a Southampton fan, there was a very surprising inclusion in Norway’s.
Mohamed Elyounoussi, 24, made the cut despite being a bit part player at St Mary’s Stadium since his arrival in the summer – the winger has played just 700 minutes of football this term, making 15 league appearances and failing to contribute to any goals.
The former Basel man chalked up 11 goals and 15 assists for the Swiss outfit last term and has five strikes to his name for Norway already, so Saints will be hoping he can resurrect that kind of form while on international duty and start firing upon his return to the south coast at the end of the month.
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With eight games to go and the Saints sitting just two points clear of the drop zone, Hasenhuttl’s side are far from safe yet and they need everyone to be on top form as the season draws to a close.
Here’s what the fans on Twitter had to say about Elyounoussi’s call-up…
With 190 Premier League appearances to his name, Gary Cahill is sure to go down as one of the best defenders of his generation having won everything there is to win at club level.
The Derbyshire-born player took the first steps to his footballing dream by signing at the age of 15 for Aston Villa where he would represent the club’s youth teams for a further four years.
Despite impressing as a teenager for the Lions, he was loaned out to Burnley in order to gain some first team experience. 32 games later and now a fully-established central defender, Cahill would mark his return to Villa Park with arguably the stand-out moment of his career for the club.
With the score locked at 1-1 during a Premier League clash against arch-rivals Birmingham City in 2006, Cahill produced a spectacular overhead kick finish to put his side ahead and send the home supporters crazy. The sublime technique displayed would have been more suited to that of a striker rather than a defender yet it showed just how much talent that he had at his disposal.
Nevertheless, after sanctioning yet another loan move to the Championship in 2007, Villa decided to let Cahill leave on a permanent deal at the turn of the year, selling him to Bolton Wanderers. In hindsight, Villa supporters must have seen this is a huge mistake as throughout his five year stay with the Trotters, the defender proved to be very consistent and reliable.
A number of outstanding performances during the 2011/12 campaign attracted the interest of Chelsea who agreed a fee believed to be in the region of just £7m for Cahill (via the BBC). The former Villa man’s career then skyrocketed as he was part of a squad which won both the FA Cup and the Champions League with the latter seeing him produce arguably the greatest ever performance of his career to date in the final.
Despite going into the game against Bayern Munich as underdogs at the Allianz Arena, Chelsea prevailed via a penalty-shootout after a dogged defensive display led by Cahill and fellow central defender David Luiz. In a match which was dominated by Die Roten, it was quite simply incredible just how the Blues managed to come out victorious, especially when you consider that they were managed by the vastly inexperienced Roberto Di Matteo.
Following this achievement, Cahill played an integral part in winning the Europa League in 2013 before going on to claim the second double of his career two years later, winning both the League Cup and the Premier League under then-boss Jose Mourinho.
After a change in the way that Chelsea set-up in 2016 by Antonio Conte, the England international was almost faultless in the side’s barnstorming run to the title, producing an incredible level of consistency.
Cahill would later captain the Blues to his first ever FA Cup final in 2018 where an Eden Hazard penalty secured a 1-0 victory for the club. However, since this triumph, the defender has been left out of Maurizio Sarri’s plans for the future and has only featured sporadically during the 2018/19 campaign.
At the age of 33, Cahill undoubtedly has at least two or three more campaigns to play before he calls time on his distinguished career and maybe, just maybe this could happen where it all began, with Villa.
Regardless of what division the Lions find themselves in next season, the acquisition of a former Champions League winner would clearly bolster the club’s squad and bring much-needed experience to their back line.