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Sheffield Wednesday correspondent Dom Howson hit out at referee Peter Wright in Saturday’s 2-2 draw against Ipswich Town in League One.

The Lowdown: Late comeback

The Owls appeared to be heading for a third league defeat of the season after Dominic Iorfa’s own goal gave the visitors a two-goal advantage with just 20 minutes remaining.

However, George Byers pulled one back and Michael Smith headed a late equaliser for Darren Moore’s side. The draw leaves Wednesday in fourth place, four points behind joint-leaders Ipswich and Portsmouth.

The Latest: Howson’s post

Howson provided a live commentary for Examiner Live (via Twitter) during Saturday’s draw and wasn’t happy with referee Wright.

He said during the second half that the official was ‘having an absolute shocker’ after a ‘clear foul’ on Lee Gregory went unpunished.

The Verdict: Frustration

It wasn’t just Howson who was unhappy with the officials on Saturday, with many of the Wednesday faithful making their feelings known. However, their actions nearly got the match abandoned, which of course isn’t what anyone wanted.

Journalist Stuart Rayner also hit out at Wright, labelling his performance ‘terrible’, so Moore and Wednesday may well be hoping that the official isn’t in charge of any of their games in the near future.

Wolverhampton Wanderers are planning a January move for Strasbourg defender Alexander Djiku, according to Ghana Soccernet.

The lowdown

The report claims that the centre-back was close to joining Wolves in the summer, only for the deal to collapse ‘at the eleventh hour’. It also notes that Bruno Lage’s side failed to secure a move for West Ham United defender Craig Dawson as they unsuccessfully sought a last-ditch central defensive addition.

Significantly, the 28-year-old is out of contract at the end of this season, so Strasbourg may be inclined to sell him on the cheap in the winter.

The latest

As per Ghana Soccernet, Wolves are now lining up ‘another offer’ for the Ghanaian defenfer at the turn of the year.

Lage still views him as the ‘ideal candidate’ and has refused to give up on the transfer. Also, the player is expected to be keen on any such move, having already expressed his desire to play in the Premier League.

The verdict

Wolves could definitely do with another body at centre-half, especially one like Djiku who’s in the peak years of his career. They currently have Nathan Collins, Max Kilman, Yerson Mosquera and Toti Gomes at their disposal, but it’s a group which lacks experience, with their average age coming to just 22.5 years.

From that point of view, offloading Conor Coady (29) and Willy Boly (31) after Romain Saiss (32) had already left on a free transfer looks like a potential mistake.

However, they could remedy it with a move for Djiku, a modern defender who posts very high volumes of progressive passes (95th percentile among centre-backs in Europe’s big five leagues) and progressive carries (81st percentile).

He has been dubbed ‘outstanding’ by former Ghana boss Charles Akonnor and has now racked up 18 caps for his country, so he seems like a target who’s well worth a renewed pursuit.

Manchester United duo Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial could return for the derby clash against Manchester City, according to reliable journalist Samuel Luckhurst.

The Lowdown: Huge game v Man City

The Premier League returns this weekend and Erik ten Hag’s side have the biggest test possible as they head to the Etihad Stadium to face their local rivals and reigning champions on Sunday afternoon.

Pep Guardiola’s men are again the team to beat this season and United will know they will need to be at their very best to get a positive result against their rivals, who won 4-1 in this fixture last term.

There have been fitness doubts over both Rashford and Martial ahead of the match, but a positive update has now emerged.

The Latest: United duo could feature

Taking to Twitter, Luckhurst shared comments from Ten Hag that the United pair could be in contention to feature prominently on Sunday.

The Manchester Evening News journalist tweeted:

“Ten Hag says Rashford and Martial could be back for #mufc.”

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The Verdict: They can hurt City again

This is an undoubted boost for United, particularly when it comes to Rashford, with the Englishman finding his groove again this season and scoring three times in six league outings.

His pace on the counterattack is something that Ten Hag will surely want to use in a forward line which could also include Jadon Sancho and Bruno Fernandes.

Having come off the bench to grab the assist for Rashford’s goal against Liverpool in August, Martial could be a good impact substitute.

Also, the fact that both he and the England international have caused City problems in the past could act as a mental advantage for United, who come into the game having won their last four in the Premier League.

Southampton continued their slump in form on Saturday, as they fell to defeat against a travelling Everton side.

They have now lost three on the run and have only won once in the Premier League in their last five.

It marks a continuation of poor form for Ralph Hasenhuttl, who will be starting to worry about his job security. His Saints team now sit in 15th, with every team below them holding a game in hand.

Despite taking the lead through Joe Aribo, a double salvo from the Toffees stunned the home side, and despite late pressure, they could not get past the staunch defending from the visitors.

One man who certainly hindered their attacking play was Sekou Mara, who started in one of the four fluid attacking roles.

The Frenchman was a passenger, and at times it felt like they were a man down. He had just 15 touches – considerably fewer than goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu’s 40 – before understandably being dragged off after 60 minutes.

Despite his lack of time on the ball, when he did get it, he seemed to ruin most attacks too. He did not manage a single shot on target and had a miserable pass accuracy of 71%. This was only from his seven attempted passes too.

Hasenhuttl is often a manager who likes his whole side to work hard, and whilst Mara was far from potent up front, had he contributed defensively his poor day at the office could have been excused.

However, he was just as toothless with his defending too, as he lost 75% of his eight duels, ceding possession of the ball four times in the process.

This miserable display culminated in his early withdrawal and a SofaScore rating of 6.8. However, his statistics and all-around display throughout the game suggest that might actually have been kind to the 20-year-old.

Perhaps Hasenhuttl will have to rethink his selection in the future, with particular focus on Mara following his disasterclass.

After taking the lead, they stood a real chance at taking all three points. But a lack of any real cutting edge and a few minutes of madness led them to yet another defeat.

Shakhtar Donetsk star and Arsenal transfer target Mykhaylo Mudryk ‘will assess his future in January’, according to CBS reporter Ben Jacobs.

The Lowdown: Arsenal interest

As per transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, the Gunners were exploring a deal for the 21-year-old towards the end of the summer window, but an agreement failed to come to fruition before the September 1st deadline.

Just weeks later, the winger spoke of a move to England, name-checking the north London club as a potential destination.

As quoted by football.london, he said: “My dream is to play in Premier League, of course. Arsenal is a very good team, very good manager – so from my side, I can’t say no to Arsenal!”

The Latest: Jacobs’ news

Jacobs has shared a fresh update on Mudryk’s plans, with heavy transfer interest expected in the January window.

Speaking with GiveMeSport, the CBS reporter said:

“I think he made it clear to me that he will assess his future in January, and it would be hard to say no to top clubs. He particularly referenced Arsenal.”

The Verdict: Huge talent

The youngster has caught the eye of some of Europe’s biggest clubs with a number of fantastic performances in the Champions League this season, in which he has bagged two goals and two assists in Shakhtar’s opening three games.

Having been touted as the Ukrainian Neymar, the 21-year-old has been on the receiving end of huge praise in recent times. The Athletic’s Jack Collins recently dubbed the winger as “absolutely unreal”, as “his explosiveness in small bursts is almost undefendable” and even said “his ability to keep the ball tethered to his foot, even at full speed, is Bernardo [Silva]-esque.”

With the level of competition regularly linked with the signing, this won’t be an easy deal for Arsenal to complete. But, if they can get it over the line, he looks to be another hugely exciting attacking talent to add to a growing list of young superstars at Mikel Arteta’s disposal.

Leeds United head into Sunday afternoon’s Premier League meeting against Arsenal in rather poor form, with Jesse Marsch’s side currently on a run of five games without a win in all competitions.

With the visitors to Elland Road having been in decidedly better form this autumn – Mikel Arteta’s side currently top the Premier League table – in truth, three points would not look overly likely for the Whites this weekend.

Indeed, with Marsch revealing in his pre-match press conference that Patrick Bamford is still working his way back to 100% fitness, it remains unclear as to whether the 29-year-old will be selected from the off against the Gunners today.

However, considering just how impressive Joe Gelhardt has been for the under-21s in recent weeks, it would seem as if the Leeds manager could well find a ready-made Bamford replacement in the 20-year-old striker.

Indeed, while Gelhardt is no stranger to the Whites’ first team, having already made 29 appearances for the senior side since his 2020 move to LS11, only six of these have come as Premier League starts.

It is true that underage football is a much lower standard than that of the top flight, but taking into account the England under-21 international’s recent displays for Michael Skubala’s side, the £8.7m-rated talent would appear to be well worth a shot from the outset this afternoon.

In the youth team’s 5-3 Papa John’s Trophy victory over Tranmere Rovers earlier this month, Gelhardt played a starring role, scoring two goals, getting three shots on target, making two key passes, completing one dribble and drawing four fouls. These returns saw the 20-year-old earn a game-topping SofaScore match rating of 8.4.

Following that performance, Leeds Live journalist Joe Donnohue – who awarded the striker a nine in his own player ratings – had considerable praise for the youngster, stating on Twitter: “Two very well-taken goals – power and placement. Worked hard off the ball from start to finish. Like Gnonto, uses his body so well to his advantage.”

Furthermore, despite not finding the net in his next outing for the under-21s – a 1-0 win over Sunderland in Premier League 2 this week – the £16.5k-per-week hitman was once again awarded an impressive eight in Donnohue’s player ratings.

The journalist added of the starlet’s display: “Superb work rate for the full 90. On more than one occasion he was back defending SAFC counters. Competed physically & adhered to the tactics.”

Considering just how impressive the player who Marcelo Bielsa claimed “always creates danger” has been for the under-21s, coupled with Bamford clearly not being back to full fitness just yet, Marsch simply must unleash the 20-year-old against Arsenal. The wonderkid undoubtedly has the ability to help fire Leeds to a much-needed three points against the Gunners.

CBS Sports journalist Ben Jacobs has now revealed a transfer update involving Everton and Weston McKennie.

The Lowdown: January move?

Jacobs has shared that the Juventus midfielder is not going to seriously consider his future with the Serie A club until after the World Cup in Qatar finishes. The journalist states that the Premier League is of ‘huge appeal’ to the USA international, and Tottenham Hotspur in particular have had a ‘long-standing’ interest.

Jacobs added that the Old Lady are ‘open’ to selling McKennie for a transfer fee of £20m or more, claiming that the 24-year-old still has ‘huge potential’.

The Latest: Everton have ‘scouted’ McKennie

Taking to Twitter on Monday afternoon, Jacobs has also added that Everton are among a number of clubs in the English top flight to have ‘scouted’ McKennie, and that he could move to the Premier League in January, but there is ‘nothing advanced’ between any of his potential suitors at this moment in time.

The CBS reporter claimed: “Several Premier League clubs have scouted McKennie, including Newcastle, Leeds, Everton and Arsenal. But none have advanced interest yet. He’s a player who could well move to England in January but right now there is nothing advanced from any potential Premier League suitors.”

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The Verdict: Would not make sense

After signing Amadou Onana, Idrissa Gueye and James Garner in the summer, a move for McKennie would not make much sense for Everton in January.

Hailed as a ‘pressing machine’ by 90min journalist Chris Smith, the 24-year-old ranks in the 97th percentile for progressive passes received and the 93rd percentile for touches among midfielders in Europe’s top five leagues over the past year (FBRef), so he would clearly add a lot of quality in the middle of the park for the Toffees.

However, given that the American is likely to cost a fee of more than £20m, Frank Lampard would be better off investing in other areas of the pitch, unless Everton let one or two midfielders go in January.

Wolverhampton Wanderers’ season shows no signs of improving under interim manager Steve Davis as the Old Gold find themselves in 19th place in the Premier League standings but Fosun could find a solution in Vitor Pereira.

Despite the club confirming that Davis would remain in charge until after the World Cup, links have continued to emerge for the Midlands club, with Portuguese boss Pereira the latest to be linked with a move to Molineux.

Band TV host Neto (via Sport Witness) has claimed that the 54-year-old, who is currently in charge of Corinthians, could leave Brazil when the season ends in November and that he could end up at either Wolves or Aston Villa.

Considering that Villa have now appointed Unai Emery, that opens the door for a move to Wolves, and he is a name that the Old Gold should seriously consider if they want to steer clear of relegation this season, as, unfortunately for Davis, his side only looks like heading in one direction.

Although the former Crewe Alexandra boss oversaw an important 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest, he has also seen his side comprehensively beaten by both Chelsea and Leicester City, with another defeat against Crystal Palace thrown into the mix.

Wolves’ goalscoring woes have barely improved under the Englishman and if the Old Gold want to remain in the Premier League, that is a key issue they must fix.

Indeed, it is clear that the Portuguese coach knows how to get his teams firing in attack, with Porto scoring 139 goals over the 52-year-old’s two league campaigns in charge at the Estadio do Dragao, as well as his Fenerbahce side sitting hitting the back of the net on 60 occasions in the 2015/16 Super Lig campaign and his Shanghai SIPG outfit bagging 77 league goals in 2018.

Furthermore, considering Pereira has won four titles in his managerial career – two with Porto and one each with Olympiacos and Shanghai SIPG – he could bring a winning mentality with him to Molineux and restore some confidence in the squad.

Pereira has averaged above 1.5 points per game in all of his jobs aside from his time at 1860 Munich, which shows that he knows how to get the best out of squads, whereas Davis and Lage have both averaged just 0.75 points per game in the Premier League with Wolves this season.

Therefore, it is clear that the Portuguese boss would be a big upgrade on Davis and should Fosun wish to give their side the best chance of retaining their top-flight status come the end of the season, they should look to bring the 54-year-old manager to Molineux as soon as possible.

The former Pakistan fast bowler replaces Abdul Razzaq

Umar Farooq12-Jan-2021

Former Pakistan fast bowler Umar Gul has been named bowling coach of Quetta Gladiators ahead of the sixth edition of the Pakistan Super League. He will replace Abdul Razzaq, who had been with the franchise for last four seasons, but had to step down after the PCB’s Conflict of Interest policy which barred associations’ coaches from being involved in the league. This will be Gul’s first ever coaching role after retiring from all forms of cricket last year.Gul, 36, represented Pakistan in 47 Tests, 130 ODIs and 60 T20Is from 2003-16. He decided to quit cricket following after National T20 Cup last year, where he played for Balochistan. He retired as a modern great of Pakistan fast bowling, being a leading wicket-taker during Pakistan’s run to the 2007 World T20 final, and also the leading wicket-taker in the 2009 edition, when Pakistan won the trophy. He spent much of this time heading the world T20 rankings, with a reputation as one of the best yorker bowlers in the format. His career best, five for 6 against New Zealand at the World T20 in 2009 were, at the time, the best ever T20 bowling figures.”Gul will bring in a wealth of experience to our franchise,” franchise owner Nadeem Omar said in a statement. “He has had a tremendous T20 career and clearly a standout successor for us to replace Abdul Razzaq, who had an exceptional time with us over the years. His[Gul] knowledge of modern day cricket will surely help and support our young fast bowlers like Naseem Shah and Mohammad Husnain. I am very excited to have him on board and I have no doubt that he can offer a great deal to our bowling unit for the upcoming PSL season.”Razzaq joined Gladiators in the second edition and has since then been a part time coach at the franchise. But the stint ends with the PCB’s new policy that was bought last year in which coaches who are involved with the domestic circuit cannot sign in any capacity with the PSL franchise to avoid any conflict of interest. Razzaq is presently a head coach of one of the sixth associations – Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and is an active member of the national selection committee.ESPNcricinfo had reported last year that the PCB had introduced a clear-cut code of ethics which was set to have a far-reaching effects on various employees. Its ramifications are meant to clamp down on coaches or selectors working in the system with dual jobs that could cause a potential conflict.The policy could have effected Gul’s appointment as he is also a member of the PCB’s cricket committee, but the PCB confirmed that this appointment didn’t fall foul of their code of ethics.

Glasgow Rangers returned to winning ways over the weekend as Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s men bounced back from their European disappointment to beat Aberdeen 4-1 at Ibrox in the Premiership.

Antonio Colak, John Lundstram, James Tavernier, and Alfredo Morelos all got themselves on the scoresheet after the away side had taken a shock lead in the first half.

One player who caught the eye in the win was Bayern Munich loanee Malik Tillman as he assisted the opening goal with a driving run from midfield.

He burst through the Aberdeen defence on the right channel with superb movement and had the presence of mind to roll the ball across for Colak to slot into an almost empty net.

After the game, BBC Sport pundit Rory Loy compared him to a former Premier League star, saying: “I think Tillman is a funny one. He’s not obviously had an illustrious career as of yet. He reminds me almost of [Dimitar] Berbatov.

“The way he moves when the team’s not doing so well. He is easy to criticise because the way he kind of walks around the pitch at times but he shows touches of brilliance and class and when the team is doing well he thrives in that environment.

“Maybe it’s just getting him to do the dirty side of the game as well.”

Van Bronckhorst could now unearth Rangers’ own Berbatov by helping Tillman to add more consistency to his game. The former Manchester United and Tottenham man’s body language had the tendency to come across as being disinterested but he ended his career with 251 goals and 106 assists at club level, which suggests that he was certainly working hard in front of goal.

Tillman, who van Bronckhorst once described as an “epic talent”, may have the same, relaxed, stance out of possession but he is also showing signs that he can still have a telling impact at the top end of the pitch.

The 20-year-old has scored three goals and provided three assists in 19 matches for Rangers in all competitions, including four goal contributions in ten matches from midfield in the Premiership.

He showcased his potential as a goalscorer at youth level with Bayern as he plundered 26 goals and 15 assists in 61 matches for the U19s and second team combined.

Therefore, he has the scope to develop into a regular scorer, whilst he has also shown that he can create for his teammates, and this means that he could grow into Rangers’ own version of Berbatov.

His body language may not always catch the eye for the right reasons but he has the potential to make up for it by being a huge player for the club in the final third by scoring and assisting on a regular basis, just as the Bulgarian icon did.