If Manuel Pellegrini’s tried and trusted 4-2-2-2 setup is to have the right impact at West Ham, the new Irons gaffer needs to find the perfect central midfielders for his system this summer. But amid the age of three-man engine rooms, more traditional box-to-box midfielders that combine both defensive grit with offensive quality are becoming more and more of a rarity.
It worked at Manchester City because Yaya Toure and Fernandinho are such dynamic, powerful and talented midfielders, but nobody at West Ham is really close to their level or the same type of surging presence, perhaps with the exception of Cheikhou Kouyate whose technical ability often leaves much to be desired.
But the World Cup inevitably serves as an audition and if there’s a player with Premier League experience the east London club’s recruiters should be taking notice of, it’s Huddersfield’s Aaron Mooy. The Australian international was the driving force that kept the Terriers in the top flight last season and he’s brought that impressive form to Russia, representing his country in a 2-1 defeat to France.
Indeed, Mooy may have ended up on the losing side but he still hugely impressed in the engine room, making key contributions at both ends of the pitch with five tackles and five clearances but also two accurate crosses and two created chances.
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That ability to balance out offensive and defensive duties could be exactly what makes Pellegrini’s West Ham side really come to life in the Argentine’s anticipated 4-2-2-2 formation, especially if he’s paired with a partner that offers a touch extra physicality, and Transfermarkt value him at a mere £9million.
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So, West Ham fans, would you back a swoop for Mooy this summer? Let us know by voting below…
[brid autoplay=”true” video=”255853″ player=”12034″ title=”Watch West Ham’s opening fixtures for the 201819 Premier League season”]
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is unquestionably an exciting signing for Arsenal, but the Gabon international’s presence in north London does create a rather difficult situation.
The Gunners now have two top-quality centre-forwards that cost club-record transfer fees at the time, with Alexandre Lacazette’s summer arrival preceding Aubameyang’s mid-season move from Borussia Dortmund, and thus Arsene Wenger is faced with something of a selection dilemma.
Accordingly, we proposed four solutions to Arsenal fans earlier this week – drop Lacazette, play Lacazette out wide, play Aubameyang out wide or play with two up front – and the latter option was preferred most, receiving 63% of the votes in our poll.
Whether that requires switching to a 3-5-2 or a 4-4-2, it would certainly represent a bold formation change from Wenger, who has used one lone front-man almost exclusively at Arsenal since the days of Dennis Bergkamp and Thierry Henry – and even the Dutchman played just behind the Gunners’ all-time leading goalscorer.
So, Arsenal fans, how would you set up Wenger’s side to deploy Aubameyang and Lacazette as strikers in the same starting XI? Let us know by voting below…
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Tottenham are a club in a desperate search for answers. It seems ridiculous for a club to spend over £100m on players to still fall so desperately far short of their Premier League ambitions. Those that tipped Spurs for a title tilt will be disappointed to find the North Londoners struggling to even squeeze their way into the Europa League reckoning for next season.
Liverpool by contrast are flying high and will enter Sunday’s encounter with Spurs chasing their 7th consecutive league victory. Despite playing a game less, the ‘Reds’ have opened up a 9-point league over Spurs, and this is in no small part down to their enigmatic Uruguayan frontman Luis Suarez.
The diminutive frontman has netted 28 times in the league this season and looks to have set Liverpool on course to challenge for league honours this May. When Tottenham’s Jan Vertonghen was asked to give a reason for the gulf between the sides this season he answered bluntly:
“Suarez,” he said. “Suarez is the reason for that.”
“At the moment he is up there as one of the best strikers in the world. I think he is the difference between the teams. (Daniel) Sturridge obviously is doing well and those two are very hard to stop.”
“They are one of the best teams in the league and they show it every week,” Vertonghen said.
“It is going to be very hard, especially at Anfield, and I hope we can play as we did last season because we did very well, not the result but the performance.”
So is it really as simple as that?
Spurs fans may point to the summer departure of Gareth Bale as the sole reason behind their recent demise; but for me putting down this season’s woes down to any individual is slightly missing the point.
Personnel isn’t really the issue for Spurs, it is how they are being used. The likes of Lamela, Eriksen, Chadli and Soldado are all quality footballers in their own right but of late they just look like ill-fitting cogs in an underperforming Spurs machine. I’m not suggesting that any of these players are at Suarez’s level, but he alone isn’t enough to explain the difference in league position this season.
Suarez’s impact isn’t just down to individual brilliance, he is part of a Liverpool side that is geared towards getting the best out of the resources they have. Brendan Rodgers hasn’t simply hashed together a side; he has meticulously planned the ins and outs of how he wants to play and the ways in which he can achieve that with what he has at his disposal.
Some say world class players are able to perform in any side and in any game, but I doubt Luis Suarez would enjoy half the success he has at Liverpool if he was part of the current Spurs set up. If it was down to Tim Sherwood he would probably be playing the Uruguayan as a lone striker, with Michael Dawson entrusted with pumping a series of hopeless long balls up to the pint sized forward.
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I can accept that Spurs no longer have a Gareth Bale to pop up with a 30-yard screamer to grab the points regularly, but to suggest that their failings are down to the players they have is woefully ignorant.
The most exciting playmaker the club has had since Modric is forced to play on the wing, while one of the most clinical strikers in Europe is made to play as a lone target man; surely these are the kinds of issues holding the club back?
A world-class player like Suarez would only paper over the clubs at Spurs, a desperate quick fix for a club with endemic problems running throughout. Rather than throwing money at players Spurs would do well to take a look at Rodgers’ Liverpool, a side that has spent considerably less yet still achieved the kinds of results Spurs could only dream of.
Will it need more than a simple solution for Spurs?
Aston Villa striker Darren Bent has endured a year to forget at the Midlands club and under their new manager Paul Lambert it only seems to be getting worse, so what does the future hold for the fallen England international?
While the remnants of the truly dreadful reign of Alex McLeish may not be totally gone, under the former Norwich boss, the club have started the season in similarly patchy form and they currently sit in 17th place in the Premier League with just five points from eight games.
Criticism of such a poor start has been in relatively short supply due to the good press that Lambert enjoys when compared to his predecessor and a tacit acknowledgement that turning around a sinking ship is going to take some time, particularly given the inexperienced squad that he has at it disposal.
Moreover, this is what makes it so strange that Lambert has taken to benching one of his better, most senior players in Bent and handing the captaincy over to new signing Ron Vlaar. The club record signing practically kept them up after signing for them from Sunderland back in 2010 and while 20 goals in 46 league games is hardly pulling up any trees, it’s a more than decent record comparable with most around the same level of club and approaching the benchmark by which all strikers are judged, the much-vaunted 1 in 2 ratio.
A concern with Bent is that he simply doesn’t involve himself enough in the play and relies solely on the service into him, which at the moment it has to be said, is far from consistent or even creative. He made just 20 touches of the ball, only three of which were inside the penalty area, against Fulham away last Saturday during a 75-minute showing.
However, when you see the chances that Christian Benteke is missing at the moment, the reluctance to place any sort of faith in Bent at the moment remains puzzling and Lambert appears to insist on playing the £10m Belgium international simply because he signed him as opposed to anything exceptional he has done on the pitch as of yet.
Bent aired his frustrations at Lambert’s rotation policy last weekend, when asked if he was happy with his current situation and playing time.
“When you start getting rotation systems it’s difficult to find a rhythm especially as a front-man. It’s the manager’s decision and we stand by that and just have to work hard in training and show you want to play. Goals are difficult at the moment but we need to get in the right place at the right time. That’s all I’ve done throughout my career. Once we get a team blend and start creating chances, I’ll start finishing them.”
While talk that the pair are barely on speaking terms may have been blown out of all proportion, it’s clear that Bent seems reasonably unhappy at how he’s been treated, particularly given that he’s still the club’s top goalscorer with three goals this season and a move in January has been mooted.
Liverpool are of course the main side that’s been mentioned and Brendan Rodgers squad does look worryingly thin of attacking options, especially so after Fabio Borini’s foot injury. The 39-year-old manager stated last week that recalling Andy Carroll from his loan spell at West Ham hadn’t yet crossed his mind but with the side competing on four fronts at the moment, the workload on Luis Suarez is intense and they will surely strengthen there when the window opens.
The same critique that Carroll would struggle to adapt to Rodgers’ style of play applies to Bent; he is a goalscorer, pure and simple, but he rarely gets involved in any build-up play, at least not to the degree that the former Swansea boss would want and while Liverpool undoubtedly need someone capable of finishing their chances and going some way to getting rid of the team’s systemic profligate ways, I can’t really see Bent starting every week at Anfield at the moment.
There’s also the fact that despite falling out of Roy Hodgson’s plans at international level of late, that Bent is a striker with international pedigree, at the peak of his career at 28 years of age and he cost £24m just two years ago, so Villa are likely to want a fair chunk of that fee back if he were to seek pastures new.
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Arsenal could do with a player of his predatory instincts given that they’ve struck just 13 goals in the league this season and appear to be struggling to put the ball in the back of the net, but again, he wouldn’t be first-choice at the Emirates either, while Chelsea and Tottenham, due to past affiliation and money will certainly be setting their sights a lot higher.
The thought that Bent may leave Villa in January is a perfectly feasible one, but picking a club that would be able to both afford him and grant him an assured first-team role is difficult. His relationship with Lambert may be fractious and his frequent omissions considering their current situation increasingly baffling, but the only route back to where he was at the beginning of last season may be to stay put where he is and make the most of a far from ideal environment.
Yaya Toure is set for talks with West Ham, just three weeks after his former manager at Man City, Manuel Pellegrini, was named boss at London Stadium.
Toure is a free agent, and reports from MailOnline suggest the Ivorian international and renowned Super-Agent Dimitri Seluk are in talks with the Hammers over a one-year deal.
The player has been linked with interest from arch-rivals Manchester United, as well as Marco Silva’s Everton,
What’s the story?
Toure has come to the end of his Manchester City contract, neither the club nor the player wanting to extend the star’s stay at the Etihad stadium. Pellegrini and Toure were said to have had a terrific relationship at Manchester City, a period that reaped a Premier League title and two League Cups under the Chilean.
Toure’s agent, Seluk, stated that the Premier League superstar “would play for a pound a week” if he were to move to a side in the top six. The 35-year old contributed 64 goals in 133 games under Pellegrini, during a period where he was widely-regarded as one of Europe’s finest midfielders.
What would he bring to London Stadium?
Whilst Pep Guardiola doubted the players ability to match the levels he set in his outstanding 13/14 Premier League season, in which he was involved in 29 goals in 35 games, he would be a significant signing at the end of what has been a turbulent season for West Ham.
Toure’s ability to dictate the tempo of a game is his strongest asset and a feature that would no doubt help solve West Ham’s erratic form at London Stadium. Similarly, his star appeal will attract better players to West Ham – the opportunity to work with one of the Premier League’s best-ever midfielders would surely be an attractive prospect for players.
The signing of Ryan Fredericks for the London side is considered a coup due to significant interest from other Premier League sides, and the targeting of Stoke City No.1 and England international, Jack Butland, is one that will solve another problem position for the Irons should that deal come to fruition.
How much will he cost?
The four-time African Player of the Year is expected to take a significant cut on his £220,000-a-week wages but the player’s demands could be the only stumbling block for the London side.
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Despite this, it’s likely that Pellegrini will demand that the club target the three-time Premier League winner, a player he trusts from his time at Manchester City and one that would surely make a significant difference to West Ham, despite being in the twilight of his career.
[brid autoplay=”true” video=”253217″ player=”12034″ title=”Watch The FM18 Two Minute Challenge Pellegrini at West Ham”]
Even though Liverpool lost one of their influential players in Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona earlier this month, everything was progressing well on the pitch.
The Merseyside outfit caused a shock less than two weeks ago when they ended Manchester City’s unbeaten Premier League run to win 4-3 at Anfield.
Monday night was expected to be another routine win for Jurgen Klopp’s men when they took on Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium, but Carlos Carvalhal’s side ripped up the script.
The hosts frustrated the Reds and stifled their prolific attack of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino.
In the end, Alfie Mawson scored the one and only goal, giving bottom-placed Swansea a much-needed win.
The result cut Liverpool’s unbeaten league run to 14 games and now fans have been bombarding the club’s Twitter page with solutions.
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Some have given Klopp a list of transfer targets, while others have suggested that the manager makes some changes to the team.
Roberto Soldado says that he is hopeful that he can repay the faith shown in him at Tottenham in the past few months to improve his goal return.
The Spanish striker ended a nine-game run without finding the back of the net last weekend against Cardiff, which was met with visible signs of relief from the player.
Soldado only arrived at White Hart Lane last summer, but after failing to live up to his £26m price tag so far, there have been murmurings that both he and the club are dissatisfied with the situation.
But now the 28-year-old is hopeful that he can build on his latest strike and prove his abilities to those who have supported him as Spurs push for a top four finish:
“It was a long expected goal for me and especially for my team-mates and the fans,” he is quoted by The Metro.
“Despite it has been a long time without scoring the support I have received on the social network has been amazing.
“Every time I touch the ball people are expecting to see the best of me and the reaction after my goal was amazing. I feel very loved here despite I haven’t proved anything to them.
“I still have time to change the situation. There are two months left, the most beautiful part of the season, and I hope to reach my top.”
Soldado went on to say that earlier in his career he may have considered a move back to Spain at the end of the season, but that now he is ready to fight for his future at the club:
‘”have to face the challenge with maturity,
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“If I would experience this struggling situation as a 22-year-old I would probably go back home one month later but not now. It is a positive experience for me, for my family and for the education of my children.”
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Wigan will desperately be looking to halt their dip in form when they welcome West Ham to the DW Stadium this Saturday.
Roberto Martinez has seen his side pick up just one Premier League victory this season, coming against Southampton back in August.
Six games have followed without a win, which now sees Wigan just a single point above the drop zone.
Meanwhile West Ham continue to impress, comfortably beating Southampton 4-1 last time out. They have now only lost one in their last six Premier League games.
Wigan will once again be without winger Albert Crusat (knee) and defender Antolin Alcaraz (groin), while Japanese international Ryo Miyaichi is doubtful with a groin injury.
Sam Allardyce will continue to be without long term absentees Ricardo Vaz Te and Jack Collison but is set to welcome defender Joey O’Brian back into the squad, following an injury he picked up in the win at QPR earlier in the month.
Prediction: Wigan 1-2 West Ham
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Fulham manager Slavisa Jokanovic has emerged as a shock contender to be the new man in the Chelsea dugout next season, according to Goal.
What’s the story, then?
The report claims that contractual talks between the Blues and previous reported frontrunner Maurizio Sarri have broken down, which has seen the club turn their attentions to Jokanovic, 49.
It goes on to say that Chelsea are in talks with the Serbian, who made 39 league appearances for the club between 2000 and 2002 and has just guided their West London rivals back into the Premier League.
The report also says that Jokanovic is now one of the leading candidates for the Stamford Bridge hot-seat, with Luis Enrique not interested in a return to management at this stage.
Jokanovic would be left-field but strong
Jokanovic would be a left-field decision on the face of it; he does not have the glittering CV some Chelsea fans might be looking for or experience of managing an elite club and he has just come out of the Championship.
However, he has lots of connections that should appeal; a connection with the club, a strong attacking philosophy and a headstrong nature that should see him resist some of the circus that surrounds Chelsea.
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In the absence of an outstanding elite candidate, Chelsea could do a lot worse than appoint the man Fulham fans absolutely adore.
According to Italian media outlet Gianluca Di Marzio, out of favour Southampton striker Manolo Gabbiadini is a January target for Serie A side Bologna, and Saints fans have been quick to have their say on the rumour.
The Italy international made a huge impression at St Mary’s following his move from Napoli this time last year, including scoring a brace in their 3-2 defeat against Manchester United in the EFL Cup final in February.
However, he has struggled to find the net since or perform well in the lone striker role, and the 26-year-old has only started one of the lowly south coast outfit’s last 12 Premier League matches having fallen down the pecking order under Mauricio Pellegrino, with Bologna ready to take him back to Serie A this month.
Southampton supporters took to social media to give their thoughts on the potential exit, and while one described it as “a new low from the board”, another said it would be “absolutely criminal to let a talented player like Gabbi leave”.