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West Ham United would be throwing money away if David Sullivan were to sanction a mid-season loan for FC Barcelona outcast Junior Firpo.

What’s the word?

According to Calcio Napoli 24, Firpo’s representatives have been in contact with a clutch of potential suitors to sound out their interest in signing the left-back in the January transfer window.

West Ham have reportedly not responded to the approach as of yet, but if they do want to sign the player, they will face competition from SSC Napoli, who Gianluca Di Marzio adds have asked for further information on the terms of any temporary deal for the £38,000-per-week defender.

Firpo is believed to favour a move to the Premier League if he is to leave the Camp Nou this winter, but Napoli remain in the hunt in case they manage to offload one of Kevin Malcuit, Elseid Hysaj or Faouzi Ghoulam.

West Ham were credited with an interest in signing Firpo last month following Arthur Masuaku undergoing career-saving knee surgery, with it noted at the time that Barcelona were eager to offload the defender as they strive to reduce their enormous wage bill.

Firpo has continued to live life on the fringes under Ronald Koeman since the Irons’ interest was previously claimed, playing just nine minutes of La Liga football in 2021 to bring his record over 10 appearances to 351 minutes across all competitions.

The last of his league outings even came at right-back as a late substitute for Sergino Dest, to continue a trend of playing out of position with no appearances in his natural left-back role during a La Liga game thus far this season.

Throwing money away

West Ham moving to sign Firpo on loan in the January transfer window would likely only serve to see Sullivan throw his money away by taking on the Barcelona outcast’s wages, as David Moyes already has options at full-back who warrant minutes.

Koeman was willing to field Firpo in his natural left-back role during stages of Barcelona’s Champions League Group Stage campaign, which saw the 24-year-old offer just 0.2 key passes and 0.4 shots while completing a mere 0.6 dribbles and making 0.6 successful tackles, per SofaScore.

Moyes would struggle to see those type of numbers match up and better those of Aaron Creswell at the London Stadium, who has put his initial rustiness to the side to begin shining at full-back once more in place of the injured Masuaku.

Cresswell has continually been defensively solid over the festive period and strong going forward, particularly from set-pieces with his ferocious power, and helped West Ham to begin setting their own tone at Chelsea after the Blues started the stronger of the two sides.

The £6m-rated star’s efforts have helped him to deliver seven crosses a game in the Premier League when fielded at left-back, with Cresswell finding a West Ham player with two of his efforts, per WhoScored. Comparably, Liverpool’s Andrew Robertson – considered as one of the best left-backs in the world – offers 2.2 accurate crosses from 9.4 deliveries a game.

Cresswell also produces 0.7 shots and the joint-most key passes per league game (1.4) by an Irons player with Tomas Soucek, among those who have played more than five times under Moyes this term.

Defensively, Cresswell is further successful with half of his 1.4 tackles a game, offers 1.3 interceptions – more than Masuaku had (0.5) – and makes 1.9 blocks, while offering at least twice as many assists (4) so far this season than anyone else in the Hammers squad.

Moyes also has Ben Johnson who can provide cover for Cresswell, and he did little wrong when fielded in the FA Cup earlier this month with a solid defensive showing from the 20-year-old.

West Ham might be eyeing new additions this month but a cast-off left-back isn’t needed at this time.

AND in other news, a £4.5m-rated brute was West Ham’s true star of the show vs Burnley.

Leeds United and their fans will be delighted with their recent Premier League result which saw them come away from Goodison Park with a hard-fought three points. The victory lifts them higher up the table, just one point behind Manchester City.

It was winger Raphinha who came to the rescue with a late goal to tip the scales in his side’s favour. Marcelo Bielsa was thrilled with his performance and lauded Victor Orta for signing him in his recent post-match press conference.

However, the boss didn’t have praise for all of his players and targeted Liam Cooper, Stuart Dallas and Mateusz Klich for their struggles to keep James Rodriguez in check.

“We made a conscious effort to have someone close to him throughout so that he was not able to do the thing he likes to do the most,” Bielsa said. “And despite the efforts of Dallas, Cooper and Klich, he was a player who was very difficult to neutralise.”

Indeed, Rodriguez was Everton’s most dangerous player and he caused the Whites a lot of trouble. According to Sofascore, the Colombian completed five key passes and created a big chance for the Toffees to score. He also had two shots on target and was successful in 100% of his attempted dribbles, highlighting just how much of a thorn in the side he was for the Leeds defence.

Bielsa and his men will face Chelsea in their next outing and will need to tighten up their defence if they want to keep the likes of Timo Werner and Tammy Abraham at bay. The Blues pose a huge threat in front of goal and Leeds simply cannot afford to be lax at the back.

Skipper Cooper will particularly be disappointed and he must improve his and his defensive teammates’ game to stand a chance next weekend.

In other news, This Leeds ace was Bielsa’s star man against Everton…

Leeds United have made an admirable start to their first season back in England’s top flight after 16 years of waiting.

The Whites have already banked impressive results including a win over Everton and a surprise 1-1 draw against Manchester City.

However, Marcelo Bielsa seems to rely too much on star striker Patrick Bamford and this has been made clear on several occasions this campaign.

Indeed, the 27-year-old is the club’s top scorer this term by some margin with eight goals. The next highest scoring Leeds player is Mateusz Klich, who has just two to his name (via BBC Sport).

The gap in stats in worrying for the Whites, who are in need of an extra injection of creativity.

Rob Lee spoke to Football FanCast about this and he believes that Victor Orta must take to the market in January and recruit a partner for Bamford.

“Patrick Bamford has done brilliant, I think he’s done a fantastic job,” the ex-midfielder said. “He’s their focal point, he plays every game, he’s scoring goals – which people probably questioned whether he would in the Premier League. But I think they need someone who can help him.”

Whilst Leeds aren’t in any danger right now, they risk slipping into extremely hot water if Bamford is to pick up an injury at all throughout the season. Bielsa also risks over-working him as he is currently the only source of the team’s goals.

Come January, Orta and Andrea Radrizzani must put their heads together and poach someone who can lighten the load on Bamford’s shoulders and help the Whites develop their attack.

In other news, Signing Dean Henderson will only hinder growth of Illan Meslier…

The international break is usually a bearer of bad news for many football clubs, never mind Glasgow Rangers. But Steven Gerrard may have been left feeling a little bit aggrieved after Nigeria were held to a 4-4 draw by Sierra Leone in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

Both Rangers first-team regular starters Joe Aribo and Leon Balogun were named in the starting line-up by manager Gernot Rohr, but Nigeria threw away a four-goal lead as Sierra Leone staged a spectacular comeback at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City.

Everton ace Alex Iwobi bagged a brace as the Super Eagles looked set to continue their perfect start to the AFCON qualifiers as they cruised towards a third win from three games in Group L after scoring four goals inside the first half hour.

Rohr set his side up in his favoured 4-2-3-1 formation, with Aribo deployed in a holding role as part of a midfield three along with Iwobi and Stoke City loanee Oghenekaro Etebo.

Nigeria enjoyed a whopping 62% of the possession of the ball but they couldn’t make their dominance in possession count when it mattered the most.

Several players were at fault for the poor performance overall but Aribo was the real culprit. At the best of times he looked off the pace, others he was caught slacking as the Leone Stars began their fightback just before half-time.

Goal gave the 24-year-old a low grade of 5/10 for his efforts, insisting ‘his languid style often left Etebo exposed in the defensive phase’, adding he wasn’t ‘as influential in a midfield pairing with the Stoke City loanee’, whilst Premium Times Nigeria were even more scathing in their assessment, claiming he was ‘very culpable as his doodling on the ball led to the second Sierra Leone goal’ and ‘he didn’t take as much care of his forward passes as he normally would and played within himself.’

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Perhaps this game was simply a case of too much, too soon for Aribo in such a short space of time after spending a lengthy spell on the sidelines. The 4-cap Nigeria international missed a substantial chunk of the season after he suffered an ankle injury in training, which saw him ruled out for several weeks.

Since then, he has scored three goals in four games in the Scottish Premiership, having made a full recovery, which brings his total to four goals in ten games so far this season. He bagged a brace as the Light Blues battered Hamilton Academical in a 8-0 win at home before the international break.

Even so, Aribo probably deserved a well-earned rest as he has played seven games in a row so far. Instead, he delivered a sub-par performance as a result, as he looked tired towards the end of the game. Is it any wonder, really? Gerrard will be hoping he is rested for the rematch next week, that’s for sure.

AND in other news, Gerrard could unearth the next Ryan Jack in Glasgow Rangers loanee Stephen Kelly…

Crystal Palace cruised to a comfortable 4-1 win over Leeds United at Selhurst Park in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.

Roy Hodgson’s side took the lead when Scott Dann headed a corner from Eberechi Eze into the back of the net, with Eze scoring his first goal for the club in sensational style with a sublime free-kick shortly after Leeds striker Patrick Bamford was denied an equaliser after his effort was ruled out by VAR due to the fact that his outstretched arm was offside.

Bamford pulled one back by finding the bottom corner, but his efforts were ultimately in vain as an own goal from his teammate Helder Costa and a goal from Palace striker Jordan Ayew secured the victory.

Patrick van Aanholt put in an impressive performance, Ayew was magnificent, but Scott Dann sent Hodgson a timely reminder with his defensive masterclass.

Reports in recent times revealed that several Premier League clubs are keen to make a cut-price move for the defender in the winter transfer market.

SofaScore gave Dann a high grade of 7.7 for his efforts (only Eze scored higher) – the centre-back completed 19 out of 21 passes at a pass completion rate of 90%, blocked one shot, made one interception and a staggering eight clearances, whilst he also won four out of five duels overall (80%), took 33 touches of the ball and wasn’t dribbled past once, which suggests that he managed to keep Bamford at bay for most of the game.

Similarly, the 33-year-old received a higher rating of 8/10 from Sky Sports, whilst football.london went one below, claiming he scored “a great header to open the scoring” and “maintained control for much of the game”, although he “lost Bamford for Leeds’ opening goal, however”, which is perhaps a little unfair. 90Min awarded him with the same score, saying he “led the line excellent and scored an outrageous header to give his side the lead as well.”

Palace have often been accused of lacking leadership in the past but Dann showed that he is both comfortable on the ball and confident without possession as he marshalled the defence in the absence of Gary Cahill and James Tomkins.

It’s worth pointing out that Leeds enjoyed a whopping 65% possession of the ball but they couldn’t make their overwhelming majority of possession count where it mattered the most. Once again, the wily veteran has shown that he is more than capable of delivering the goods, having started three wins out of four so far this season. So, Hodgson must keep the £2.5m-rated beast at all costs, that’s for sure.

AND in other news, Tyrick Mitchell’s injury is a timely boost for Patrick van Aanholt’s Crystal Palace career…

Bristol City have made a decision on the future of Sammie Szmodics, with the Championship side agreeing a deal with Peterborough United.

Sunderland suffered a second consecutive failure to gain promotion this year and manager Phil Parkinson has gradually been adding to his squad ahead of the 2020/21 season.

With further transfer activity expected at the Stadium of Light, interest in Szmodics had emerged with the 24-year-old falling out of favour with Bristol City.

Szmodics made a handful of appearances last term whilst spending time during the 2019/20 season on loan with League One side Peterborough, scoring four goals and providing four assists in 10 games (as per Transfermarkt).

It now appears that Sunderland are set to miss out to Darren Ferguson’s side, with a bid in the region of £1m from Posh believed to have been accepted by Bristol City.

Valued at £135,000 by Transfermarkt, Szmodics’ reported transfer fee is a big outlay for Peterborough, especially given the tight salary cap rules introduced in the English Football League this season.

Whether or not Sunderland’s interest in Szmodics was as genuine as reports claimed is only clear to those directly involved in the transfer.

Parkinson will be fully focused on the new season with the Black Cats, who begin their League One campaign against Bristol Rovers on Saturday, and he will need to quickly move on from the unsuccessful pursuit of the 24-year-old.

Do you think Sunderland should have done more to try and sign Szmodics? Let us know your views in the comments section below…

Fulham are expected to be one of the busier teams on Deadline Day.

The Whites’ Premier League campaign has gotten off to the worst possible start, losing each of their first four games this season, and with Tony Khan promising new arrivals after their 3-0 loss to Aston Villa last week, we’re expecting some names to come through the door on Monday.

It’s no secret that Fulham need to strengthen at the back, they’ve conceded 11 goals in four league games so far, and with The Athletic reporting that they want two centre-backs through the door, that will be their top priority.

With a hectic day expected, we’ve had a go at predicting at how Fulham could line-up after all is said and done.

The main thing to note is that we expect the London club to land their two centre-backs, with Timo Baumgartl and Jean-Clair Todibo coming in.

Todibo has been heavily linked for the past week, and it seems as though there has been a real breakthrough in that department, despite late interest from Borussia Dortmund.

The other centre-back spot seems to be a shootout between Baumgartl and Omar Colley, but with many reputable sources now reporting that Colley won’t be joining, we expect Baumgartl to come in after he was left out of PSV’s squad due to ongoing talks with the Cottagers.

The rest of the team remains largely the same, we expect Ademola Lookman to earn a starting berth after his electric league debut against Wolves, while Kenny Tete and Harrison Reed return to the XI.

Scott Parker will have a selection headache all season at left-back with Antonee Robinson and Joe Bryan being two solid options, but we’ve backed Robinson to take up the mantle in the near future.

Newcastle United have officially confirmed the signing of Callum Wilson from Championship club Bournemouth.

According to the official website of the Tyneside club, the 28-year old has joined up at St. James’ Park for an undisclosed fee and has signed a deal that will keep him in the northeast until the summer of 2024.

Speaking on the capture of Wilson, Steve Bruce has said: “I’m grateful the club has made it happen. Lee Charnley and those behind the scenes deserve a lot of credit.”

Indeed, the managing director of the Magpies was one of several people apparently instrumental in the signing of Wilson, who was not short of suitors as Dean Smith’s Aston Villa reportedly had a bid of their own rejected for the English international just a few days ago.

Nonetheless, this is a good bit of business from all of the parties involved in the deal. Wilson is somewhat of a goal-machine when glancing upon his statistics from his career thus far.

In 250 games across club level and England’s under-21 and senior teams, the striker has scored a relatively impressive 92 goals, as per Transfermarkt, meaning that he finds the back of the net every two to three matches on average.

The goal threat that Wilson carries may be vital for the Magpies going into the new season, as Newcastle fans will be hoping that the centre-forward can hit the ground running straight away.

Supporters may be able to see the Englishman for the first time in the famous black-and-white stripes at 3pm on Saturday as they kick off the new Premier League season away at David Moyes’ West Ham United at the London Stadium.

Geordies, are you happy with Wilson’s signing? Comment below with your views!

Arsenal’s transfer plans seem likely to revolve around whether or not Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is going to stay at the club or not.

The Gabon international is in the final year of his contract at the Emirates, and if he doesn’t put pen to paper on a new deal, the Gunners will have to start looking at alternate attacking options.

Luckily, recent reports indicate that the London club already have a contingency plan in place for if they do lose their top scorer.

What’s the story then?

Le10 Sport are claiming that Arsenal have a number of attacking options on their watchlist for if Aubameyang leaves, and one man they’re looking at is Memphis Depay.

The Dutch attacker has been plying his trade over in France for the past few years with Lyon, and if he can bring that sort of form over to England he could be a real coup.

Arsenal’s Salah

It would be very easy for any Gunners supporter to turn their nose up at the idea of signing Depay after his lacklustre spell with Manchester United in the Premier League.

However, the old adage is ‘form is temporary, class is permanent’ for a reason, and Depay has more than proven he has bags of talent during his time at PSV and Lyon.

The 26-year-old won an Eredivisie Golden Boot at PSV, and this season he’s netted 14 goals in 18 appearances for Lyon across Ligue 1 and the Champions League.

For some players, their first stint in the Premier League just doesn’t go to plan, just look at Mohamed Salah and Kevin De Bruyne’s stints at Chelsea where they couldn’t buy a start or a goal.

Since returning to the league for both Liverpool and Man City respectively, they’ve gone on to arguably be two of the best players the division has ever seen with Salah breaking the record for goals in a 38-game season and De Bruyne on the brink of breaking the assists record.

If Depay can showcase his talents this time around he could be a real star for the Gunners.

Key Information about Caledonian Stadium

Caledonian Stadium has been the home of Scottish Championship side Inverness Caledonian Thistle since it opened in 1996, two years after the club was formed.

Caledonian Stadium was redeveloped in 2004-05 which included the construction of two new stands as well as converting the ground into an all-seater with a capacity of over 7,500.

A history of Caledonian Stadium

When Caledonian and Inverness Thistly proposed to merge and join the Scottish Football League in 1994, it gave them more of a chance to build a brand new state of the art stadium. After two years of negotiating, work on the Caledonian Stadium finally commenced in October 1995 with Provost William Fraser cutting the first ceremonial turf. The first competitive league match played at the new ground was on 9 November 1996 when almost 4,000 fans witnessed a 1-1 draw with Albion Rovers.

Despite a successful opening of Caledonian Stadium, it was soon revealed that the ground did not meet the Scottish Premier League’s criteria of 10,000 seats and it looked as if the club’s hopes of playing in the top flight would be damaged. Somehow, Caley Thistle proposed a 100-mile ground share move at Pittodrie, Aberdeen so that they could play in the Scottish top flight for the first time.

Despite the odds, the SPL agreed that it would be possible for Caledonian Stadium to be upgraded before late January 2005. In addition to this good news for the club, the criteria had changed to 6,000 seats rather than 10,000 ahead of the next season. Redevelopment of Caledonian Stadium began shortly after, with the construction of two new stands at either end of the ground.

They were extraordinarily built in just 47 days by the Tulloch Construction Company who are also the club’s biggest shareholder. As part of the redevelopment cost, Tulloch’s name was added to it upon completion, though in February 2019, the stadium was renamed Caledonian Stadium after long-time sponsors Tulloch gifted the stadium to the club.

An initial club record was set at 7,045, during a league match against Celtic in 2005, and this was surpassed by Old Firm rivals Ranges who attracted a crowd of 7,512 at Caledonian Stadium a few months later. The West Stand was erected opposite the Main Stand in 2007, and it has a small capacity of just 400 – it was initially intended to be a singing section for the hardcore Calley fans. During 2018, Inverness CT replaced the original manned turnstiles with modern barcode scanning ones.

Tickets to Watch Inverness Caledonian Thistle at Caledonian Stadium

Adult season tickets are available from £20, senior citizens and 16-25 from £15, and under-16s from just £6. Adult season tickets are priced at around £246, seniors at £199, 16-25s at £179, juniors at £81, and under-12s for just £46.

Related Links

https://ictfc.com/ – Official Website of Inverness Caledonian Thistle

 https://ictfc.com/prices – Inverness Caledonian Thistle Ticket Office