Category Uncategorized

Sky Sports reporter Florian Plettenberg has now dropped a new update on West Ham United’s interest in an “incredible” English ace, who’s keen on a move to the London Stadium.

West Ham in real danger of relegation after Wolves defeat

Wolverhampton Wanderers picked up their first Premier League victory of the season at West Ham’s expense on Saturday afternoon, securing a 3-0 victory at Molineux, which leaves Nuno’s side in real trouble.

Following the latest setback, the Hammers are four points adrift of 17th-placed Nottingham Forest, having collected just 14 points all season, which suggests they are in urgent need of reinforcements during the current transfer window.

Max Kilman was particularly disappointing in the defeat against Rob Edwards’ side, receiving a SofaScore match rating of just 5.9, the lowest of any player, while Jamie Carragher criticised the defender for not doing enough to prevent Igor Thiago scoring for Brentford earlier this season.

The Sky Sports pundit said: “He’s the leader at the back for West Ham. I used to really like him at Wolves but he probably didn’t have that responsibility at Wolves.

“When you are the leading main centre-half, you’ve got to dominate that situation.”

With Kilman struggling, bringing in a new centre-back may be of key significance before the January transfer window closes, and Plettenberg has now dropped a new update on West Ham’s interest in Toulouse defender Charlie Cresswell.

Taking to X, the Sky Sports reporter confirmed Cresswell is being closely monitored by the Irons, but they are yet to open formal negotiations.

ExWHUemployee has previously confirmed the centre-back is keen on a move to the London Stadium, with reports from elsewhere revealing it may take at least £18m to get a deal done.

"Incredible" Cresswell impressing in Ligue 1

Lauded as “incredible” by scout Jacek Kulig, the English defender has been impressing over the past year, placing in a high percentile for some key defensive statistics, when compared to other centre-backs.

Charlie Cresswell’s key statistics

Average per 90 (past year)

Blocks

1.50 (82nd percentile)

Clearances

7.03 (88th percentile)

Aerials won

3.71 (96th percentile)

Sky Sports’ Dougie Critchley has also called out Konstantinos Mavropanos, Jean-Clair Todibo and Kilman for their subpar performances this season, saying they’ve been “well short” of their best.

Subscribe for Inside Transfer Insight on West Ham Want a clearer read on transfer chatter and defensive targets? Subscribe to the newsletter for focused transfer-market analysis, scout-style breakdowns and West Ham defensive coverage that helps you separate credible moves from noise.

---

Subscribe By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

The Hammers have shipped 41 goals in the Premier League this season, the highest number of any side, which means it will be vital Nuno strengthens his backline before the end of the month.

Related West Ham offered former Tottenham star who had a 'good relationship' with Nuno

There’s been a transfer ‘twist’ out of West Ham.

Posts ByEmilio Galantini

Cresswell’s performances for Toulouse suggest he could have what it takes to help propel West Ham to safety, but they will have to hope their recent form doesn’t dissuade the centre-back from making a move to the London Stadium.

Fulham have now made an approach to sign a “fantastic” midfielder, who has been impressing in the Europa League this season.

Cottagers keen to strengthen in the engine room

The Cottagers are looking to bring in a striker, central midfielder and right-winger this month, with Marco Silva recently insisting the uptick in form hasn’t changed his plans, saying: “It’s not because we won games and we are looking for a different position right now that we are changing ourselves,

“We look with full ambition for the season like we did before, and even if the results were not so good, we will not change completely the scenario because it’s clear what we need.”

Silva’s side have been on a strong run in the Premier League, collecting 11 points from their last five matches, recently extending the unbeaten run to five games courtesy of Harrison Reed’s last gasp equaliser against Liverpool.

Despite Reed’s heroics, Fulham remain keen on signing a new central midfielder, and they have now made preliminary contact over a deal for Real Betis midfielder Sergi Altimara, with it being revealed the Spanish club could be willing to sanction a departure for the right price.

Indeed, according to a report from TEAMtalk, Betis have set an asking price of around £22m for Altimira, but the Cottagers are not alone in their pursuit, with Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt also very keen on securing his signature.

Betis are in a strong negotiating position, with the midfielder tied down on a contract until 2029, which suggests the west Londoners may need to fork out the full asking price to tempt his current employers into a sale.

Related Fulham leading the charge to sign "skilful" forward, willing to make £35m bid

The Cottagers are prepared to make a big bid for an attacker.

Posts ByDominic Lund "Fantastic" Altimira impressing in Europa League

The 24-year-old has been an important player for Betis in the Europa League this season, featuring in all six games, and he was particularly impressive in the 3-1 win against Dinamo Zagreb last month, making three tackles and winning four duels to help keep the Croatian side at bay.

Lauded as “fantastic” by Spanish reporter Mateo Gonzalez last season, the Betis ace has strong defensive attributes, while he is also comfortable in possession of the ball, as showcased by his performance across some key statistics over the past year.

Sergio Altimira’s key statistics

Average per 90 (past year)

Tackles

3.02 (94th percentile)

Interceptions

1.56 (91st percentile)

Clearances

2.17 (80th percentile)

Pass completion %

91.5% (96th percentile)

Perhaps the Spaniard’s best moment this season came in La Liga at the end of November, however, scoring in Betis’ 2-0 derby victory away at Sevilla.

Having put in some promising displays in both La Liga and the Europa League, Altimira could be an exciting signing for Fulham, and £21m feels like a reasonable fee to shell out.

	Brett Lee with his Test Player of the Year trophy: ‘It’s been a great summer” © Getty Images

Brett Lee has completed an outstanding year by winning his first Allan Border Medal despite missing the entire World Cup with an ankle injury. Fittingly, in a season when he took over from Glenn McGrath as the spearhead of Australia’s attack, Lee became the first bowler since McGrath in 2000 to claim the major award.He also took home the Test Player of the Year title, while Matthew Hayden was named the One-Day International Player of the Year. Lee finished with 125 votes in the Allan Border Medal count, ahead of Hayden on 107 and last year’s champion Ricky Ponting on 64.It was Lee’s first time on the stage at the medal ceremony since 2000, when he was named the Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year. He said it was a thrill to be taking such an important role in the side following the disappointment of missing the World Cup triumph.”I’m really enjoying that leadership role,” Lee said. “It sits a bit funny with me being called the strike bowler or the main bowler because it’s a team effort. I actually thought missing 19 matches I was absolutely no chance. That was a very hard time missing the World Cup, watching it on TV was very hard.Lee said the medal was a pinnacle after the low of his lengthy spell out of the team leading up to the 2005 Ashes. “I spent 19 months on the sideline carrying the drinks,” he said. “But to appreciate the good times you have to go through the bad times.”In a year that was dominated by coloured clothing – Australia only played six Tests during the voting period – Lee polled in all but one Test. His 12 votes in the Test count put him five ahead of Hayden (7), while there was a traffic jam for third, with five players grabbing three votes.There was no question that Lee was the star in the longer form of the game during a summer when Australia equalled their own world record of 16 consecutive Test victories. He was named Man of the Series in both the Sri Lanka and India contests and finished with 40 wickets during the voting period, at the average of 20.58.Against Sri Lanka he collected 16 wickets at 17.56 in two Tests, while in the four India games he grabbed 24 victims at 22.58. Lee’s success was not limited to Tests and he picked up 30 ODI wickets at 21.70, however his injury meant it was not surprising that he finished 11th in the one-day count.Hayden ended up with 24 votes, ahead of Ricky Ponting on 19, and there was a three-way tie for third, with Michael Clarke, Adam Gilchrist and McGrath all on 14. Hayden’s award capped a terrific return to the one-day arena after he lost his spot following the 2005 tour of England.In his first series during the voting period, Hayden belted an Australian-record unbeaten 181 in the Chappell-Hadlee Series in New Zealand, and things improved from there. He was the leading scorer at the World Cup in the Caribbean, making 659 runs at 73.22, and a blistering 66-ball century against South Africa was a highlight.A productive ODI tour of India followed and Hayden finished the 12-month period with 1462 runs at 56.23. He made four centuries and six fifties and he said he was “fully stoked” to win the award after he was not part of the one-day team in mid-2006. His World Cup began with serious injuries to both feet but he said that was never going to stop him help Australia defend their title.”Fifteen months out from the tournament I looked to be in deep trouble, not looking to play one-day cricket again,” he said. “I had a deep fire in my belly. A couple of broken feet at the start of a tournament is perhaps not the way you want to start. It was just a lot of work getting back into that side, and from that moment on I don’t think broken feet were going to stop me.”

It’s hard to pinpoint just what’s so irresistable about Shane Bond but there can be no two ways about his efficacy © Getty Images

Shot of the Day
Tamim Iqbal batted like a puppy on a leash for the first 35 balls ofhis innings, visibly straining to cut loose but holding himself backat the behest of his master, Dav Whatmore. Finally, in the 12th over -James Franklin’s first – he’d had enough. First up came a clunking cutthat whistled through point for four, then two balls later he was offdown the pitch in a reprise of his India innings. He didn’t quite getto the ball however, and was forced into a late adjustment,under-edging a cut through fine leg. Set a field for that!Hangtime of the Day
The problem with West Indian cricket, so we are led to believe, isthat NBA basketball is poaching all the tallest and most athleticyoung men in the region. In their absence, it was left to SaqibulHasan to demonstrate why the shorties just don’t cut the mustard.Though he leapt heroically to intercept a clipped drive from HamishMarshall at mid-on, and held his shape in the air for an age, hemanaged merely to get a fingertip to the chance, and the moment waslost.Déjà vu of the Day
It’s hard to pinpoint just what’s so irresistable about Shane Bond.His run-up is hardly the most thrusting ever seen, and his pace – froma distance – seems a notch or two below the Malingas and Taits of thistournament. But time and again he just gets it all spot on, and hisstartled opponents are too slow to adapt as the ball hustles throughtheir defences. Against England in St Lucia, he struck with the thirdand sixth balls of his second spell, en route to figures of 2 for 19;today he struck with his first and sixth of his second spell, forfigures of 2 for 15.Lost leprechauns of the Day
They danced and they sang and chased their pots of gold, but there wasno doubt about it. The posse of five puzzling Irishmen at midwicketcould not have been more out of place had they been riverdancing at areggae concert. It was widely assumed they’d misread the itinerary anddecided “D2” matches were the place to be, but in actual fact itturned out they were just passing through en route to Barbados, wheretheir all-conquering “D1” heroes take on Australia next Friday. Not soIrish after all.Indiscreet photo opportunity of the Day
No, it wasn’t Percy Sonn with his pants around his ankles (althoughthat would at least have proved he still exists – the only thing lowerthan the attendances at this World Cup has been his profile … whereis he?). Instead it was the sight of the reserve umpire, BillyBowden, who spent several minutes of the New Zealand innings sat bythe sightscreen, tapping the ground with a white stick. The suspicionsof a generation of international batsmen have been confirmed.Dead-horse floggers of the Day
Even as they presided over yet another hopelessly over-policed andunder-attended non-event, the ICC’s scandalous obsession with thebottom line shone brazenly through the corporatized gloom. Up on thebig screen, as regularly as they dared to promote it, flashed thedemand:

“Buy the official World Cup song, ‘Game of Love andUnity’, at outlets around the ground”

Love and unity? Just who do they think they are kidding anymore?

Bob Simpson says Glenn McGrath can be a force against England © Getty Images

Bob Simpson has joined the current coach John Buchanan in supporting Glenn McGrath’s push to play in next summer’s Ashes series. Despite his age – McGrath will be almost 37 when the first Test starts in November – both Australian mentors are confident fitness and a lack of high-quality match-play will not be problems when England arrive. Ricky Ponting has also chipped in by saying McGrath is “vital” to the team and placed him in the same daunting category as Shane Warne and Brett Lee.Simpson, a former national player, captain, coach and selector, told the McGrath’s “Rolls-Royce action and rhythm” would continue to support him. “He doesn’t need the explosive pace to perform,” Simpson said. “I don’t think fitness will be an issue for him, so if his attitude is where it needs to be I have no doubt he will play on. If he wants to play he should be given every opportunity.”McGrath has not bowled since pulling out of the VB Series to be with his family while his wife Jane has cancer treatment. He ruled himself out of the South Africa and Bangladesh tours and aims to come back in October’s Champions Trophy before his Ashes Test return.Buchanan, who often disagrees with his predecessor Simpson, was confident McGrath would add to his 542 Test wickets. “You only have to look at Glenn’s figures to say he’s always a viable option,” Buchanan told the paper. “But obviously from his point of view there are a lot of family issues that need to be sorted out first. I guess we all wait and hope that it works itself out, and if it does then I’m sure you’ll see Glenn McGrath striding in and adding to that tally.”Ponting said it would not be a big ask for McGrath to make the Ashes series. “The big problem that he’s had is coming back to international cricket when he’s had a big break,” he said. “If he wants to be a part of the Ashes tour then I know he’ll work exceptionally hard whenever he gets the chance and he’ll do as much bowling as he can.”We’ll keep our fingers crossed and hope he is around. We all saw how much we missed him in a couple of Tests in England.”Australia are looking for a three-match replacement for McGrath and this weekend will be crucial for the contenders playing in the Pura Cup. Michael Kasprowicz, Jason Gillespie and Shaun Tait have chances to impress before the selectors name the Test squad early next week while Ponting added Victoria’s Shane Harwood to the list.Ponting will speak to the on-duty selector Andrew Hilditch and Phil Jaques, who has faced each bowler in the domestic competitions this year, before the outfit is announced. “Australian cricket has been lucky we’ve had the bowlers of Warne’s and McGrath’s and Gillespie’s calibre over the last almost ten years,” Ponting said. “You know what you are going to get when you throw them the ball. That’s always going to change and what we’re obviously after now is to get guys to step into their shoes and do the job.”The current one-day attack has opportunities at Cape Town tonight and in Port Elizabeth on Sunday. The side should be boosted by the return of Stuart Clark after it struggled to counter the trouble caused by Graeme Smith’s century at Centurion. “I really see it as just a bit of fine-tuning, and that’s what we’ve got to try and work on in the next couple of days,” Buchanan said. “It’s about the key deliveries that each of those bowlers might have.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball commentary
Photo gallery
Bulletin – Butt and Naved script crushing win
Verdict – The perfect one-day performance
On the Ball – Butt cashes in
Commentary – Police hospitality
Roving Reporter – A wicketkeeper in the steel city
Plays of the day – Sami and the spitting cobra
Quotes – Dhoni: ‘The boys are not shattered
Quotes – Inzamam: ‘The toss was important’
Preview package
Preview – Expect a Pakistan counter-attack
Quotes – Dravid and Younis quotes
News – Agarkar replaces injured Balaji
News – Younis and Kaneria back for third ODI
News – Inzamam reprimanded for equipment abuse

With Pakistan’s first home series against India for 14 years fast approaching, Wasim Akram has attracted criticism from Pakistan’s cricket establishment for offering help and advice to India’s bowlers during their tour of Australia.Wasim has been of particular assistance to Irfan Pathan, the 19-year-old left-armer, who has come on in leaps and bounds during the trip Down Under. Pathan, who toured Pakistan with the Under-19s last November, took over as India’s spearhead when Zaheer Khan pulled out through injury. According to one report, he spent over an hour in the nets with Wasim after India’s impressive victory over Australia on Sunday.”He is very earnest,” Wasim was reported as saying. “He is a good bloke, with lot of potential. He runs in fast and that’s the first sign of a good fast bowler.” The report added that Wasim, who is on a commentary assignment, has been India’s unofficial bowling coach since last October.It is a disappointment for Pakistan, who have stated that they intend to take on India’s batsmen with a pace barrage of their own when their series gets underway in March. Javed Miandad, the coach, and his captain Inzamam-ul-Haq both believe that Pakistan’s new-ball pair of Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Sami can unsettle a batting line-up that has been blazing a trail in Australia all winter.”We will rely on our pacers, and with Shoaib and Sami we have two matchwinners,” said Inzamam. “We are ready for the home series against India, which will be really tough. Our young team played well in New Zealand, and with a superior bowling attack we think we can stop the Indian batting which has been performing very well in Australia.”The tour will consist of three Tests and five one-day internationals. Pakistan won their Test series in New Zealand 1-0, but were trounced 4-1 in the subsequent one-dayers.

An enthralling battle is on the cards when Karachi Whites and Peshawar clash in the final of the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy Grade-I National Cricket Championship at National Stadium from Friday.The five-day encounter, which will be televised live by PTV with Radio Pakistan also making arrangements for ball-by-ball coverage, is a repeat of the 1998-99 final. On that occasion, Peshawar clinched their first major title with an innings victory inside four days under Kabir Khan’s captaincy.Karachi Whites, winners of three of the 16 crowns claimed by the city, finished runners-up five times in the last eight seasons. Their last success in the oldest first-class championship of the country was achieved as long ago as 1992-93.Moin Khan, the former Test skipper, leads a young Karachi Whites squad which faces a test of character against Peshawar who have definite edge in pace bowling department.Fazle Akbar has fond memories of the corresponding final four seasons ago at the same venue when he claimed 10 wickets in the match, including a hat trick in the first innings.Now at the age of 22 and sporting a beard, Fazle has matured into a devastating user of the new ball. His tally of 93 first-class wickets this season, including 52 in the championship, speaks volume of his consistency. But despite being the leading wicket-taker, he is constantly denied a recall to the national side.Fazle’s regular partner, Kabir Khan, another Test reject, is a vastly-experienced pacer and adds variety with his left-arm fast-medium with a haul of 53 scalps. They are complimented by Waqar Ahmed, a diminutive left-arm quickie who was the leading bowler in the Patron’s Trophy last year with 51 wickets. But despite boasting 74 wickets in th season, Waqar is competing with Umer Gul for the third pacer’s spot. Umer, 17, captured 11 wickets in five matches in the recent Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand.The Whites are handicapped by the enforced absence of paceman Mohammad Sami and all-rounder Shahid Afridi. Both are in Lahore where the national camp starts Friday in preparation of next week’s Asian Test Championship final against Sri Lanka.Tanvir Ahmed with 69 wickets, including 50 in Quaid Trophy, is the man on whom Moin will reply heavily with the new ball. The supporting cast includes Mohammad Hasnain, Ovais Athar and all-rounder Imran Javed.For Danish Kaneria, this is an ideal opportunity to make up for his huge disappointment in last year’s final against dethroned champions Lahore Blues. The Test leg-spinner bowled a solitary over for 21 runs in the that game.On the batting front, Karachi Whites look more formidable with Ghulam Ali, Hasan Raza and Saeed bin Nasir all passing 1,000 runs for the season.Saeed, a 22-year-old right-hander, is a player who is capable of progressing through the ranks and stake his claims at the highest level.Left-handed opening batsman Shadab Kabir after a successful Patron’s Trophy season with Customs was abruptly shown the door after being recalled to the Test side for the tour of Bangladesh at the start of the year. He will be itching to prove the selectors wrong once again.Peshawar were facing a dilemma at the time of filing this report with two of their key batsmen stuck up in Lahore for various reasons. Akhtar Sarfraz, the left-hander, is almost certain to miss the game since his wife is expecting their second child.Opener Riffatullah was making a last-minute efforts to catch a flight Thursday night after Wapda finally agreed to release him from their inter-departmental tournament.The toss virtually decided the fate of the previous final, which lasted only three days, on a pitch that assisted the pacers throughout. But in sharp contrast, the current strip, which is bone hard, should encourage the batsmen to play with freedom and later assist the spinners. The outfield looks in immaculate condition, thanks to the tireless efforts of NSK’s chief curator Ahsan Arain and his able team.The team winning the toss in all probability, may opt to field first to take advantage of the moisture at the start of the match.Ideally, a score in the region of 275-325 in the first innings would be enough for either team to put pressure on the other.Teams (from):Karachi Whites: Moin Khan (captain), Ghulam Ali, Shadab Kabir, Saeed bin Nasir, Hasan Raza, Mohammad Masroor, Imran Javed, Arif Mahmood, Tanvir Ahmed, Mohammad Hasnain, Danish Kaneria, Irfanuddin, Ovais Athar, Adnan Malik, Ariz Kamal, Saif Ashraf, Farhan Iqbal.Peshawar: Arshad Khan (captain), Aftab Khan, Riffatullah, Yasir Hameed, Wajahatullah Wasti, Akhtar Sarfraz, Taimur Khan, Zulfiqar Jan, Kabir Khan, Fazle Akbar, Waqar Ahmed, Umer Gul, Javed Iqbal, Nauman Habib, Zeeshan Mohsin, Abrar Ahmed.Umpires: Mohammad Nazir Junior and Iftikhar Malik.TV umpire: Afzaal Ahmed.Match referee: Munawwar Agha.

Canterbury finished the day on 257/5 but honours were shared on day oneafter Northern Districts fought back during an intriguing day of ShellTrophy cricket in Rangiora.With Canterbury 107/0 at lunch and both openers looking untroubled on abenign pitch it looked as if a repeat of last week’s one innings drawagainst Auckland could eventuate.But the defending champion Northern side showed what a hardened,professional outfit it is by strangling the Canterbury run-rate and chippingaway with wickets throughout the second and third sessions.Early on it didn’t appear as if the pace bowlers would prosper on a pitchthat was slow in pace and low in bounce. Edges didn’t look like carrying towicket keeper Robbie Hart, despite him standing close to the wicket.Northern began the match in search of a record eighth consecutive win. Toachieve the milestone the Northern players will have to overcome not only aspirited Canterbury side, but also the disadvantage of losing the toss andbeing forced to bowl first on a well-grassed but hard, dry pitch.Coach Chris Kuggeleijn said the record was not a motivating factor and itsdiscussion had “barely come up” in his team’s pre-match preparations. Hesaid Grant Bradburn’s 100th match was a far more import milestone and itwould be nice to win the match for him.Canterbury captain Gary Stead looked to be in fine touch, scoring his thirdconsecutive half-century in leading his team to a dominant position atlunch. But shortly after the break, with his score on 80, he missed astraight ball form left-arm spinner Bruce Martin when attempting a sweep andwas adjudged LBW by Australian umpire Peter Parker.Opening partner Robbie Frew (53) and Jarred Englefield (13) followed inquick succession as Northern struck back in the middle session.Chris Harris (46) and Michael Papps (35) set about repairing the damage witha partnership of 77 before Simon Doull struck with the second new ball.Although, as Kuggeleijn described it, Doull bowled at a pace “barely hardenough to knock the bails off” he swung the second new ball both ways andpicked up the well set Harris and Papps in a seven over spell that cost only12 runs.Northern’s fightback stemmed from its ability to cut off the flow of runs tothe Canterbury batsmen, with only 62 scored in the final session.The inability of the Canterbury batsmen to go on after getting starts, andthe absence throughout the day of drives down the ground, suggests thatscoring runs on the dull Dudley Park pitch is not easy. But nor, it seems,is taking wickets.Kuggeleijn agreed Northern had fought back well but said he would have beenhappier if Doull had picked up another wicket with the second new ball. Hesaid his side still had a lot of work to do to capture the remaining fiveCanterbury wickets when play resumed tomorrow.A concern to the purist would be the insidious creep of Cricket Max into thefirst-class game. The Northern players took the field in what can only bedescribed as butt-ugly pinstriped shirts. There is, of course, no room inthe game for such flashy nonsense. Next thing you know they’ll be admittingwomen into the Long Room. Quite outrageous.

Newcastle United will be looking to end their run of two straight defeats in the Premier League as they face Tottenham today.

The Magpies lost 1-0 to both Chelsea and Everton away from home in their last two top-flight outings prior to the international break and now face the prospect of a third successive loss.

They were beaten by an Alex Iwobi goal last time out as they struggled at Goodison Park in a game marred by a pitch invader locking himself to a goal post.

How many changes will Howe make to his team from that clash? Here is our predicted XI…

Martin Dubravka; Javier Manquillo, Fabian Schar, Dan Burn, Matt Targett; Jonjo Shelvey, Bruno Guimaraes, Joelinton; Ryan Fraser, Chris Wood, Allan Saint-Maximin (4-3-3)

We are predicting that the head coach will make three alterations to the side, with Shelvey, Manquillo and Saint-Maximin all coming back in.

Starting off in the defence, Emil Krafth may find himself on the bench in favour of his Spanish colleague. The Sweden international has been a lightweight throughout the campaign, losing 53% of his duels and 63% of his aerial battles, and could be exposed against the talent of Heung-Min Son.

Whilst Manquillo has not been sensational in the Premier League, he has won a solid 64% of his overall duels in the top-flight – winning 59% of his aerial battles. This suggests that he is the stronger option, defensively, out of the two and that is why he may start at right-back.

In midfield, Joe Willock could be axed in favour of Shelvey. Matt Ritchie previously dubbed the ex-Liverpool man as “unbelievable” and his form in the Premier League this season for the Magpies has justified his praise. The gem has averaged a SofaScore rating of 6.91 throughout the campaign, showing that he has consistently delivered on the pitch.

Willock, who Freddie Ljungberg previously dubbed as “passive”, has averaged an underwhelming score of 6.73. As per SofaScore, the dud was dribbled past twice, failed to complete any of his attempted dribbles and completed 68% of his passes in the 1-0 defeat to Everton, which is why he may now find himself on the bench.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

Finally, we are predicting that French forward Saint-Maximin will take up Miguel Almiron’s place. FFC published an article explaining why he should start and he should come in for the Paraguay international.

The ex-MLS star has been nowhere near good enough for the Toon this season. In 22 Premier League appearances, he has failed to produce a single goal or assist whilst averaging a dismal SofaScore rating of 6.60, which is why he should be dropped to the bench in favour of the former Nice man.

AND in other news, Howe must finally unleash “breathtaking” £93k-p/w Newcastle gem, he’s what they need…