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Harry Wilson starred for Wales in Wednesday’s Nations League clash against Finland as Ryan Giggs’ men rode out a comfortable 3-1 win. The Liverpool ace – currently on loan with Cardiff City – struck first to give his country the opener just before the half hour mark.

According to Sofascore, Wilson also contributed a key pass, one tackle and drew three fouls as the Finnish struggled to deal with his attacking threat. Shrewsbury Town midfielder and former Wales international Dave Edwards took to Twitter to praise the 23-year-old, branding his performance as “unplayable”.

The Whites were linked to a move for the winger over the summer, but no move materialised as several other clubs also eyed up his services. However, now he appears to be completely out of favour at Liverpool, Leeds could have an opening to reignite their interest.

Should Leeds sign Harry Wilson?

Wilson was originally part of a £40million plan devised by Michael Edwards to raise cash for their spending during the transfer window. The attacker was named alongside Marko Grujic, seemingly valuing each player at £20million each as the Reds looked to fund moves for big targets.

Neither men left the Merseyside permanently outfit though, and Wilson returned to his native to represent Cardiff for the remainder of the season on loan. He has already gotten off the mark for the Bluebirds, bagging two goals and an assist in five Championship appearances. His spell with Cardiff could become another club he shines for.

Wilson’s best loan stint came during his time with Derby during the 2018/19 season. The versatile attacker scored 15 Championship goals for the Rams and contributed a further three assists – totalling 18 goals and six assists for the season (via Transfermarkt).

Wilson also has a mean long-range shot and could certainly add a whole new attacking dynamic to Leeds’ team. Rather than playing short passes to target man Patrick Bamford, the Welshman’s ability to pull the trigger from outside the box could catch the opposition off-guard and make the Whites all the more lethal.

The Liverpool man’s current £60,000 per week contract runs out next summer, which could be very attractive to Victor Orta and co.

In other news, Signing Dele Alli would be a huge boost to Patrick Bamford’s game…

Wolves suffered an agonising defeat in the West Midlands derby this afternoon as rivals Aston Villa managed to scoop all three points for themselves with a last gasp penalty.

The stats will certainly interest the neutrals – with a whole number of yellow cards dished out and both teams eventually being limited to ten men. But despite the Villans losing Douglas Luiz first, they managed to cling on and draw a penalty, which killed the game off in the fourth minute of injury time.

Joao Moutinho was the man given his marching orders for Wolves after a second yellow card offence, but one player who disappointed just as much as the midfielder was Fabio Silva.

Fabio Silva’s stats vs Aston Villa

With Raul Jimenez injured, the £80,000 per week summer signing has been propelled into the limelight and made just his second Premier League start for his new club today. Whilst the West Midlands derby was not a match Nuno Espirito Santo would have liked to deploy Silva up front, his hand was forced.

Unfortunately for the 18-year-old, he was kept silent by the Aston Villa defence, who limited him to just 12 accurate passes the entire game. The teen also failed to complete any dribbles and he mustered up just the one shot on target (via Sofascore).

Filling in for a clinical goalscorer like Jimenez is not an easy task, especially for a young up and coming player. Unfortunately, Silva was easy meat for the Villans this afternoon and he posed absolutely no threat to them in front of goal.

It will be a tough result to take after conceding a late penalty, but focus now shifts to Chelsea, where Nuno will hope to catch the attack-minded Blues on the counter-attack.

In other news, Wolves boss Nuno needs to start playing Rayan Ait-Nouri more often…

Loads of Everton fans have reacted as former Toffees player Ademola Lookman missed a penalty for Fulham versus West Ham United in the Premier League.

Indeed, the England U21 international decided to take the spot-kick away from the usual taker for Scott Parker’s team, Aleksandar Mitrovic, and his effort was comfortably saved by Lukasz Fabianski.

Lookman attempted a Panenka penalty in the last minute of the game and a goal would have made the score 1-1 and earned a precious point for the Cottagers, but instead, he was made to look rather embarrassed.

Supporters of the Goodison Park faithful will remember Lookman’s pretty barren spell at the Merseyside club, in which he only managed to score a mere four goals and make just two assists in a total of 48 matches in all competitions over three consecutive seasons (Transfermarkt).

Everton fan reaction to Lookman miss

These EFC supporters reacted to the miss from Lookman on Twitter, with one Blue even claiming that it was ‘terrible’:

In other news, find out which Everton player must do better according to an ex-Toffee here!

Sunderland shareholder Charlie Methven has revealed a seven figure amount the club could lose if the 2020/21 season is played entirely behind closed doors.

After the curtailment of fixtures last season due to the coronavirus pandemic, Sunderland missed out on the chance of getting a promotion place from League One to the Championship.

First team boss Phil Parkinson is under increasing pressure to deliver a promotion this time round but with fans still not allowed inside the stadium for home games, the season will be a little more difficult than first imagined.

Despite proposals for fans to gradually be re-introduced to watching games in attendance, a recent rise in coronavirus cases has halted such a move.

That has allowed clubs to look at their finances and Methven has now revealed the seven figure amount Sunderland will lose this season due to games being played behind closed doors.

As revealed by the Echo earlier this month, Sunderland were facing losses of over £250,000 per game this season.

For Methven and Sunderland, that means adjusting to a £7million net drop in income.

“You have got the lost gate money, no corporate hospitality, lost retail sales on match day, and there is the week to week loss in conferencing,” he explained, speaking to The Mirror.

“For us, add those things together it is £9m a season lost revenue. There are reductions in cost for not holding games, stewarding, policing, litter picking. So it is net, about £7m.”

This is extremely worrying for Sunderland and in truth, they will not be the only club facing such losses during this unprecedented time.
The only thing they can do is keep trying to get results on the pitch which may take them to a higher division where income will increase.

Promotion to the Championship has never been more key.

Sunderland fans, what are your thoughts on this? Let us know below…

Since joining from Nottingham Forest a few years ago, Henri Lansbury hasn’t exactly established himself as a starter for Aston Villa.

The former England U21 international has found himself in and out of the team, and last season played just 15 times across all competitions for Dean Smith’s side.

But having been thrown into the starting line-up for the Carabao Cup third round clash against Bristol City on Thursday night, Lansbury delivered a timely reminder of the quality that he has.

Spot the fact from the fib: Are these Premier League records true or false?

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Villa eased to a comfortable 3-0 win at Ashton Gate, and whilst Bertrand Traore may be the name on everybody’s lips following his first goal for the club, Lansbury’s midfield masterclass would surely have left Smith purring in the dug-out.

As per Sofascore, despite not scoring or even getting himself an assist, he recorded an 8.0 match rating – higher than the likes of Traore, Ollie Watkins and Anwar El Ghazi, who all found themselves on the score-sheet.

Lansbury helped run the game from the middle of the park, boasting an 88% pass accuracy and delivering a game-high six key passes on the night – to put that latter stat into context, the Villa players in joint-second (Keinan Davis and Jacob Ramsey) provided exactly half that.

The 29-year-old also created two official big chances, delivered six crosses into the box, and found his target with five out of the eight long balls that he attempted.

Having come in from the cold like he did – it was his first competitive outing of the season – it was a performance of the highest order. And with Villa making movies in the transfer market and competition for places hotting up, Lansbury’s display would have left Smith raving.

Since football has returned, there have been transfer rumours suggesting that Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will look to leave the club as his contract runs out next summer, although manager Mikel Arteta has reassured Gunners fans that this might not be the case.

Speaking about the Gabon forward and his future at the club via Evening Standard, Arteta said: “Players that can make the difference in any moment in the game every three days in competitions. That is a big task and he has done that at different clubs.

“He is willing to stay with us. He is really happy where he is. He can see what we are trying to do and hopefully he can evolve as well some parts of his game he might feel he can improve. We are pushing him every day.”

Aubameyang showed how crucial he is to the Arsenal squad with his 9.2 Man of the Match rating against Norwich yesterday, per SofaScore, as he helped himself to two goals and an assist in the 4-0 win over the Canaries.

He also scored his 50th Premier League goal for the club in 79 appearances, with some quick to point out on Twitter that he has reached this landmark in fewer appearances than some Gunners legends like Thierry Henry and Ian Wright.

This emphasises how reassuring Arteta’s update seeems for everyone associated with Arsenal. Aubameyang is a potent striker who, at 31, still has more years in him to help the Gunners battle for the Champions League places again and hopefully win some silverware.

He is also an ideal figure to have in the squad as an influence for young strikers breaking into the senior squad like Eddie Nketiah and Gabriel Martinelli, who can look to the Gabon ace for inspiration on honing their raw talents to become strikers of similar prestige to Aubameyang.

Gunners fans, are you happy with Arteta’s reassurance about Aubameyang’s Arsenal future? Comment below with your views! 

It was another disappointing afternoon for Arsenal on Sunday as they lost 2-1 to their most bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur, effectively ending any hopes the Gunners may have had in terms of securing a top-seven finish.

Indeed, that loss moves the Gunners down to ninth, four points behind Sheffield United with just three games to play, and unless they win the FA Cup, Mikel Arteta’s side look to be set for a season without European football.

However, it wasn’t all doom and gloom for the north London outfit.

There were a few bright sparks in the game, Alexandre Lacazette scored a screamer to open the scoring, but one man who caught the eye above everyone else was Dani Ceballos.

The Real Madrid loanee barely put a foot wrong against Spurs, with a pass success rate of just under 93 per cent and more touches than any other player, the Spaniard was central to everything the Gunners were trying to do.

While fans had a lot to be miserable about after losing to Spurs, they were more than happy with what they saw from the 23-year-old.

While the midfielder may have been brilliant against Spurs, it’s been a long road for him to get to this point.

He was often criticised by the fanbase earlier in the season, but many noted a marked improvement from the playmaker over the past few weeks.

Unfortunately, it seems as though Ceballos’ upturn in form has come at the wrong time, his loan deal is up in a few weeks, meaning he’s set to return to Real Madrid at the end of the season.

His showing against Tottenham led to a number of fans calling for him to be signed permanently.

However, you can’t help but feel these calls are far too reactionary after one good performance, he was criticised earlier in the season for a reason, and if he reverts back to that type of form it won’t be long until opinions swing once again.

Tottenham Hotspur face Crystal Palace this afternoon in what could be Jan Vertonghen’s final game for the club. 

After thumping Leicester City 3-0 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Spurs know they must win at Selhurst Park and hope their bitter rivals Chelsea beat Wolves to qualify for the Europa League.

Jose Mourinho has named an unchanged side for the victories over Leicester, Arsenal and Newcastle, but he may have to call in a couple of replacements at this late stage in the competition.

Vertonghen and Michael Vorm are expected to bid farewell to the club after 14 years of service between them in north London.

If Spurs beat the Eagles, they will usurp Wolves in the race for the European competition should Nuno Espirito Santo’s side lose to the Blues, although seventh could be enough to clinch a place in the Europa League if Chelsea also beat Arsenal in the FA Cup final.

Football Transfer Tavern have worked on a predicted starting lineup for Spurs, which sees Mourinho make two changes to the side that thrashed Leicester at home.

Barring the 3-1 victory over Newcastle United, Spurs have started their biggest victories in recent weeks in a 4-2-3-1 formation, and it is unlikely that Mourinho will want to switch from his preferred system at such a crucial stage in the competition.

Dele Alli is in contention to start for the first time since the 2-o win against West Ham last month. He has missed the past five games with a hamstring injury but trained with the first team this week and should slot back into the side today, with Moussa Sissoko dropping to the bench in his place.

Alli’s return could see Giovani Lo Celso slot in alongside Harry Winks, with the pair forming a key part of the supply chain for Harry Kane and Son Heung-min.

Eric Dier will also be available for selection after serving a four-match ban. However, Toby Alderweireld and Davinson Sanchez have looked solid at the back in recent weeks, and Dier may miss out for the time being.

Meanwhile, Lucas Moura started the game against Leicester before being replaced by Steven Bergwijn. Bergwijn could be in line to earn his first start since the 0-0 draw with Bournemouth, as he has developed a habit for scoring goals in big games. Indeed, he scored on his home debut against Manchester City in February, as well as opening the scoring against Manchester United last month.

Spurs should be full of confidence heading into the clash, as Palace have lost their last seven games, while Mourinho’s men enter the fixture unbeaten in their last five since a harrowing 3-1 defeat to Sheffield United. However, they cannot afford to slip up at Selhurst Park, as there is so much at stake.

Tottenham fans, do you think this is how Mourinho will start against Palace? Let us know your views in the comments section below!

A number of Manchester City fans gave their approval to a rumoured new away shirt for next season which was leaked online.

Footy Headlines posted images of the proposed away kit for 2020/21 from Puma, with the design also shared on Twitter via @City_Xtra.

As per Footy Headlines [via Manchester Evening News], the shirt is predominantly navy blue and features architectural designs on the torso which are apparently a nod to the Castlefield area of the city of Manchester. The club crest and sponsors’ logos appear to be in a shade of pink.

The latest kit leak for the Premier League champions comes just a few short weeks after a rumoured home shirt for 2020/21 was published by Footy Headlines, who also shared images of a leaked third kit for next season which subsequently drew a negative reaction from many supporters.

Manchester City switched their kit designer to Puma from Nike last year and have a 10-year partnership with the German brand which is set to run until 2029 (as per Manchester Evening News).

These City fans on Twitter were impressed with the leaked away shirt, with one supporter believing it is the “best of the lot”:

Man City fans, would you be happy to have this as the club’s away kit next season? Share your views in the comments section below!

Name: Curtis Jones

Club: Liverpool

Date of Birth: 30 January 2001

Position: Midfielder/winger

Curtis Jones – His career so far

Curtis Jones is a 19-year-old midfielder who has been one of the Reds since an early age, climbing through the ranks from Liverpool’s U9 side up until their senior team in 2019/20. The talented youngster made his U23 debut back in January 2018 and shortly after that, in February, the Reds tied him down with his first professional contract.

Even though he didn’t feature for the seniors until a bit further down the line, Jones was a regular at Melwood in 2017/18, often participating in Jurgen Klopp’s training sessions and was even named in the matchday squad for the Merseyside derby with Everton at Goodison Park that season.

The first glimpses of his talent were seen during the team’s pre-season tours in the summer of 2018 when he played a big part in the friendlies, showcasing his potential and impressing the gaffer along the way.

But it was not until January 7, 2019, that his first-team debut arrived in the FA Cup third-round tie away at Wolverhampton Wanderers. It would, however, take him another year to score his first goal for the seniors, slotting a curler to beat none other than Everton 1-0 at Anfield in the same competition.

Jones is also a well-establish figure in Liverpool’s younger squads, recording appearances for their U18, U23 and UEFA U19 squads respectively. He is also quite prolific, scoring 15 goals and assisting six in 29 games for the U18s, 13 and seven in 33 for the U23s and 13 and three in 18 games for the UEFA U19s.

So far, we’ve seen him don the red colour of the first-team nine times during his stay with the Scousers, scoring twice and assisting one goal under his belt in the process as well. Eight out of those nine appearances came in 2019 and one in 2018/19.

Both goals have been scored in the FA Cup while the single assist was tallied in the EFL Cup, all in 2019/20.

Transfer latest

Currently, it seems that Jones is set to stay at Anfield for the time being and eventually become a regular first-team player and more importantly, an undisputed starter at the club despite possible transfer news surrounding him. The now 19-year-old signed a contract extension back in August 2019 which is valid until 2024, according to Transfermarkt.

This would indicate his importance to the upper hierarchy at the club and the local boy is already on route to having a much bigger role within the squad, as evidenced by his recent appearances with the senior team in 2019/20.

He was, however, courted by the likes of Glasgow Rangers, led by Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard, who wanted the young lad on loan but were promptly shown the door by the Reds, as indicated by some of the latest transfer rumours.

There were also transfer news on Leeds United and Swansea being among the interested parties back in December and before the January transfer window opened but Liverpool have since seemingly changed their stance, as was indicated by their snubbing of Rangers’ inquiry later on.

Besides, it was Klopp himself who mentioned Jones as a possible candidate for a step-up back when he was giving some big Liverpool news back in February. If those words and the player’s recent outbreak are any indications at all, the 19-year-old is poised to stay and develop at Anfield, regardless of the transfer rumours that linked him with a plethora of suitors.

Player profile

The thing that stands out the most about this young talent is his sheer versatility. According to Transfermarkt’s database of games, he’s been deployed all over midfield and even on the wings throughout his career and can be utilised in many different ways, depending on the team’s needs. (source: )

By looking at Wyscout’s heatmap for 2019/20, we can see his tendency to stick to the left side and occupy the left half-space to advance the ball into the final third and then the opposition’s box as well.

The most common weapon in his arsenal seem to be dribbles, as he attempted 7.73 per 90 minutes in 2019/20, completing an impressive 52%. He also averages 4.54 touches in the box which tells us he likes to go forward and present himself as an option in the danger zones.

When we accompany that with 3.92 shots per 90 minutes and 2.98 progressive runs, we get a highly technical and aggressive player who is both creative and deadly on the ball. The transfer rumours may have stopped for now but if Liverpool don’t make sure he’s tied down, there are bound to be vultures prowling around once again.