By: Muhammad Saeedon November 16, 2024/comment : 0HITC,
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HITC understands Brighton & Hove Albion starlet Josh Duffus is being tracked by a host of European clubs who are keeping close tabs on the progress of the England youth forward.
London-born Duffus has emerged from Brighton’s youth academy, which he joined in 2017 when he was just 12.
He made his first-team debut in the Europa League last season against AEK Athens, whilst he also appeared on the bench in the Premier League but this term under new boss Fabian Hurzeler he has yet to feature.
Marseille amongst a host of clubs following Josh Duffus
Duffus’s current deal expires at the end of the season and HITC can confirm that Brighton are yet to agree terms with the 19-year-old, which is understood to have alerted a number of clubs.
He was handed his debut by Roberto De Zerbi and we can reveal that Marseille are one of the sides keeping close tabs on his situation.
It is understood that Club Brugge, Valencia and RB Leipzig are also amongst those who are keen on Duffus – indeed the German side saw his talents at close quarters when he scored in their Premier League International win over them last month.
In-form Brighton starlet has Premier League interest
Duffus has enjoyed an outstanding campaign for Brighton’s youth side with 10 goals to his name already.
By: Muhammad Saeedon November 16, 2024/comment : 0HITC,
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San Diego FC are confident of securing the signing of Kevin De Bruyne and HITC can confirm they are leading the chase for his signature.
HITC exclusively broke the news in the summer that the newest MLS franchise, who begin playing in 2025, were ready to target De Bruyne.
Due to MLS rules, San Diego are allowed to sign up to thee ‘designated players’ who do not count towards the wage cap – a rule first introduced when Los Angeles Galaxy signed David Beckham.
It has since allowed Inter Miami to make Lionel Messi one of the highest paid players in the world, and HITC understands that San Diego have a similar deal lined up for De Bruyne.
Photo by Jose Manuel Alvarez Rey/JAR Sport Images/NurPhoto via Getty Images
San Diego confident of landing Man City legend
HITC understands that talks with De Bruyne camp have advanced in recent weeks and there is a confidence that the Belgian will arrive in California next summer on a free transfer.
HITC is also told that De Bruyne has been assured by Belgian head coach Domenico Tedesco that playing in either America or Saudi Arabia will not impact on his international place ahead of the World Cup finals in 2026.
The biggest threat to San Diego comes from Saudi Arabia as the Pro League are looking to offer him terms, but they feel De Bruyne and his family prefer America.
San Diego supremo admits watching De Bruyne
San Diego have already signed Mexican star Hirving Lozano, but they want an additional attack minded player and that was confirmed by the club’s new sporting Tyler Heaps.
When asked about their next designated player in an interview with MLS Soccer’s official website, he said: “We see it as probably an attacking player, again, to complement Hirving.
“So we’re looking whether it’s right wing, or whether it’s [a No.] 8, [No.] 10, somebody that can impact the game.”
Heaps was asked directly about De Bruyne and refused to rule out the prospect.
“I enjoy watching him play football,” a smiling Heaps said of De Bruyne.
“I think a lot of people enjoy watching him play football, so I’ll just leave that at that.”
By: Muhammad Saeedon October 02, 2024/comment : 0HITC,
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Arne Slot has had an impressive start to his tenure at Liverpool, with The Reds sitting top of the Premier League table.
A shock defeat at Anfield to Nottingham Forest is the only blemish on Slot’s Liverpool record so far, which includes an impressive Champions League victory against AC Milan.
Slot has excelled in his new job despite all of these potential pitfalls. This has led to many suggesting that he has rightly continued where Klopp left off. However, the Dutchman has revealed that his football philosophy is actually inspired by one of Klopp’s great managerial rivals.
Arne Slot reveals his admiration for Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona
Photo credit should read GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images
In an interview with UEFA.com, Slot explained that his managerial philosophy was developed during his playing career when Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona team dominated European football.
He said: “I was not so fast, some people called me slow, and that helped me maybe a bit with game insight. Individually, I couldn’t go around three players. I always needed my team-mates where I could play them my passes.
“I was lucky enough that then the Barcelona team started playing, and I saw similar patterns, not in terms of how we play it, but more: OK, this ball which we sometimes play – and Barcelona constantly plays – leads to success. And that’s helped me create my own philosophy about football.”
The tiki-taka style of Guardiola’s Barcelona continues to influence football around the world to this day. Teams at all levels attempt to play the ball out from the back to replicate the highly successful philosophy that has influenced Slot.
For Liverpool fans, though, it may sting that their new coach was inspired by the manager who prevented Klopp from winning even more at Anfield.
Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola’s storied managerial rivalry
Klopp delivered Liverpool their first league title in 30 years in 2019/20, but if it wasn’t for Guardiola’s Manchester City, it could’ve been much more.
In the season before this league triumph, Liverpool amassed 97 points, which would’ve been enough to win the title in every season since 2019/20. However, Guardiola’s side pipped Klopp to the title by a single point.
The same story played out in the 2021/22 season when Klopp’s side finished with 92 points, only topped by Guardiola’s City, who came from two goals down to beat Aston Villa 3-2 and win the title once again.
Klopp is a legend at Liverpool for his achievements at the club, but his trophy cabinet would look even more impressive if not for Guardiola and City. It remains to be seen whether Slot’s admiration of Guardiola will see him topple Liverpool’s great modern-day rival.
By: Muhammad Saeedon October 02, 2024/comment : 0HITC,
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Manchester United were humbled once again in the Premier League on Sunday, losing 0-3 to Tottenham at Old Trafford.
United fans watched on in horror as Brennan Johnson gave Spurs an early lead, with second-half goals from Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke completing a miserable afternoon for the Red Devils.
Sunday’s defeat was United’s third in the league this season, leaving the club languishing in 13th place in the table.
This start has piled even more pressure on Erik ten Hag, with the Dutchman’s future once again on the minds of Sir Jim Radcliffe and INEOS.
However, performances on the pitch are more immediately concerning, given the money spent on the squad this summer.
Ten Hag oversaw a sizeable investment into his defence in the summer transfer window, signing Noussair Mazraoui and young starlet Leny Yoro.
Midfield anchor Manuel Ugarte also joined United from PSG to sure up the defence, but consecutive 3-0 home league defeats have raised questions about the success of this transfer spree.
One signing in particular, though, has garnered the most scrutiny, with Premier League legend Jamie Carragher delivering a damning verdict of his performance against Tottenham.
Jamie Carragher slams ‘out of position’ Mattijs de Ligt after defeat against Tottenham
Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images
Speaking on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football, Carragher was far from impressed with Mattijs de Ligt’s performance against Tottenham.
Carragher said: “Their [Manchester United’s] rest defence is awful, it always has been behind the ball when they lose possession.
“In that first half, de Ligt, a player they’ve brought in for huge money, is completely out of position the whole time. So he ends up having to go flying into challenges and into situations where he could get a yellow card or a red.”
Spurs’ opener came from a remarkable run from de Ligt’s Dutch teammate Micky van de Ven, but this could’ve been prevented if de Ligt had covered the available space.
His questionable positioning also led to big chances for Johnson and Timo Werner, with only poor finishing sparing the United defender’s blushes.
Clearly, de Ligt must improve in the areas that Carragher has highlighted. However, his individual stats should give some reassurance to ten Hag and the United fans.
Matthijs de Ligt’s stats show that he can still be a key player for Manchester United
Despite his performance against Tottenham, the Dutchman has shown some promise in his Manchester United career so far.
In the Premier League, de Ligt has completed 90% of his passes and is yet to be dispossessed by the opposition. He has also won 69.2% of his aerial duels, suggesting that he is providing quality both in and out of possession.
Some aspects of his game are concerning, though. He has only won 50% of his tackles, which will only be emphasised more if his positioning continues to be an issue.
However, if de Ligt can address his positional problems, his quality on the ball and his physical strength suggest that he should be an important player for Erik ten Hag and United.
That is also shown by the starting XI the former Celtic manager is putting out because, as Michael Dawson pointed out, it’s very attack-minded.
This isn’t just against Coventry, but in the big games also, even if Spurs find themselves on the losing side against Arsenal.
Dawson highlighted the roles of James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski and how their manager is ‘brave’ to play them together in the middle of the park, as he told Sky Sports News (24/09/24 at 10:25 am).
James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski under Ange Postecoglou
“It was a good performance against Brentford at the weekend,” said Dawson. “You look at the week before and they should have got more out of the game, then you go to Coventry and I thought it was a really, really poor performance.
“The performance against Brentford was top draw. You talk about keeping calm. That’s what Spurs did. Going one down after 23 seconds – and you talk about a reaction. But they stuck at it and they got numerous chances.
“Then the best player on the park, for me, was James Maddison. I thought he was magnificent, creating chances and threading balls. He was all over the pitch and he took his goals really well to clinch the three points, which they deserved – the credit that Ange deserves is that he went very attacking again. He went attacking against Arsenal where you went ‘this is brave’. Maddison and Kulusevski. Son on one side and Johnson on the other, then Solanke through the middle. He (Maddison) would drop into midfield. Kulusevski would go into the ten. They would rotate. Really, really good performance and plenty of positives from that game.”
Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images
James Maddison needs to find his form
One man who is under huge pressure and in the spotlight is Maddison because his form has been indifferent after he joined from Leicester City last summer.
The 27-year-old started like a house on fire and after ten Premier League games, he was one of the best players in the league.
By: Muhammad Saeedon September 25, 2024/comment : 0HITC,
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Wolves are considering moves for former Newcastle United stalwart Paul Dummett and ex-Crystal Palace defender James Tomkins after losing Yerson Mosquera to an ACL injury.
Exclusive from Graeme Bailey
Manchester City superstar Rodri was not the only player who saw his Premier League season end before it really began this weekend.
24 hours before the Spain midfielder was forced into an early exit in Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Arsenal, Yerson Mosquera was stretchered off as Wolverhampton Wanderers lost 3-1 to Midland neighbours Aston Villa.
Manager Gary O’Neil tipped Mosquera for a breakout season at Wolves over the summer, and following the sale of captain Max Kilman to West Ham. The youngster had been one of the success stories of the 2024/25 campaign in the opening weeks too.
But the Colombia international is unlikely to be seen again until deep into 2025, now, with Wolves’ Head of High Performance confirming the club’s worst fears.
Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images
Gary O’Neil’s Wolves lose defender Yerson Mosquera to ACL blow
“Yerson has now had all of the various assessments and scans which unfortunately confirm injuries to the medial collateral ligament [MCL] and the anterior cruciate ligament [ACL],” Phil Hayword tells the Wolves website.
“We will be visiting specialists in the coming days to finalise the plan for surgery; this will take place in the next two weeks.
“Clearly there is a long recovery period ahead for Yerson, and the club will be providing all the support he needs to ensure a successful rehabilitation and a return to competition in due course.
“It is highly unlikely he will feature again this season.”
Given that the January transfer window is still months away, Wolverhampton Wanderers will have to dip into the free-agent market if they are to offset Mosquera’s long-term absence with a replacement.
But with no space left in O’Neil’s 25-man squad for any non-homegrown players, Wolves will be limited to English-born players if they want to pursue a short-term solution.
James Tomkins and Paul Dummett under consideration by Wolves
HITC can confirm that James Tomkins is an option. At the age of 35, former West Ham ace Tomkins left Crystal Palace in the summer.
Paul Dummett, three years the former’s junior, is another option. The Wales international had spent the entirety of his career at Newcastle United. Dummett’s ability to provide cover at left-back as well as centre-half may appeal to O’Neil.
Then again, given that Mosquera is a right-footer, Tomkins may be a better tactical fit over southpaw Dummett.
Between them, the veteran duo have made 440 Premier League appearances. Neither Tomkins nor Dummett would be likely to feature regularly if they were to join, of course, with Wolves more likely to give Santiago Bueno a bigger role in Mosquera’s absence.
It was Bueno who replaced the former Villarreal loanee late on as Aston Villa secured another dramatic late win last time out.
“It just doesn’t look good at this moment,” Wolves boss O’Neil told a press conference at full-time, before the full extent of Mosquera’s injury had become clear.
“It was obviously a big blow in the game for us with the time it came. And it would be a big blow for us to lose him for a significant amount of time.
“He plays in an area of the pitch that we are already short in, and he was performing at a very high level for us in that area. Off the back of the back of the transfer window closing, it’s not an area that we could afford to lose someone in.
“Hopefully it’s not as bad as feared, but it’s not good at this moment.”
Tottenham fan Abi Summers suggested her team signs Eberechi Eze and then you will ’see the difference’ in quality.
Eze watched Michael Olise join Bayern Munich in the summer and many felt that the London club would go on to lose his partner in crime.
Tottenham were keen on Eze, but nothing materialised and he is now hoping to take his game to higher levels under Oliver Glasner.
But Jamie O’Hara wasn’t so sure, nor keen on his former club possibly bringing Eze to the other side of London, as he told talkSPORT.
Eberechi Eze tipped to replace Son Heung-min at Tottenham
“Without a doubt (we have to look for a Son replacement), that’s why I said earlier about Eze, someone like that comes in and then you are seeing the difference in the two players,” said Summers.
“That’s not saying Son hasn’t been an unbelievable servant, but that’s just calling it for what it is where someone is at in their career.”
O’Hara responded: “I am not sure about Eze, you know. No, (I don’t think he will make Spurs better). I think he’s a drifter.”
Photo by Mark Leech/Offside/Offside via Getty Images
Eberechi Eze would thrive under Ange Postecoglou
James Maddison is tasked with bringing the X-Factor for Spurs, but his performances have been mixed, even though he produced a Man of the Match display against Brentford at the weekend.
A player like Eze would provide that and even challenge Maddison for a starting birth, which is what he probably needs.
