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Many Sunderland fans have been left slamming the display of Lynden Gooch despite them going through on penalties against Lincoln City in the EFL Trophy on Wednesday night.

The game was tightly poised at 1-1 after normal time, with Charlie Wyke equalising for the Stadium of Light faithful after Anthony Scully had initially put Lincoln in front.

Lee Johnson’s men ended up winning 5-3 on penalties in the end, but while there were some very good performances in a red-and-white-striped shirt, Gooch flattered to deceive.

The 25-year-old lost no fewer than 15 of his duels in the game, the most out of any player to have set foot on the pitch, and was also unsuccessful in nine of his dribble attempts (Sofascore).

He also failed to record a single key pass or accurate cross, and lost possession of the ball 20 times, again the most out of any player, earning him a very measly 6.1 overall rating on Sofascore.

Sunderland fan reaction to Gooch display

These Black Cats slammed his performance on Twitter, with one SAFC supporter even going as far as to say that the winger was ‘awful’:

“Gooch been poor of late, has to be an option to play there if he isn’t going to start JJ”

Credit: @safc25_john

“Diamond and Maguire changed the game IMO. Maguire brings people out and creates space down the wings. Gooch had a shocker.”

Credit: @marrs_jordan

“Gooch was very disappointing last night imo. Didn’t seem able to beat his man. Diamond helped turn the game our way when he came on.”

Credit: @kevindefty1

“Glad to see Gooch come off although I think it should have been earlier, he was very wasteful with the ball & clumsy in the tackle all game.”

Credit: @mackemjohn7

“Gooch is actually the worst player on the planet”

Credit: @plaistowcabbie

“We are poor to be fair. Gooch and Leadbitter awful”

Credit: @DavidMcKeever8

In other news, find out what news about Ross Stewart Sunderland fans are unhappy with here!

Whilst Rangers were dominant throughout the game on Wednesday night, there were some disappointing performances from a few of Steven Gerrard’s men.

The Gers pushed an pushed at Livingston on Wednesday night and deserved to come away with the three points after Alfredo Morelos’ late winner, but not every player in a blue shirt played well at the Almondvale Stadium.

Ryan Kent, in particular, was nowhere near his usual standard, with the former Liverpool man struggling to impose himself against David Martindale’s side.

As per SofaScore, the winger would earn a disappointing 6.4 rating for his display, which was the worst of any Rangers player who started the game, and the joint-worst of any player on the pitch.

Whilst Livingston’s tactics of fouling Kent nearly every time he got the ball will have frustrated the winger and Steven Gerrard, they were effective, as it prevented him from having any real impact on the game.

During his 89 minutes on the pitch, the 24-year-old, who reportedly earns £20k per week at Rangers, would fail in his one dribble attempt and would have no shots on target whatsoever.

This is way below the 1.8 dribbles and 2.4 shots per game he has averaged in the Scottish Premiership this season, emphasising that he wasn’t anywhere near his best.

Kent is usually one of Rangers’ most influential players in attack but he was limited to just 39 touches of the ball on Wednesday evening, the fewest of any Rangers player, including goalkeeper Allan McGregor, who would have 48.

The shot-stopper also completed more passes (48) than Kent (20), which again goes to show just how little he was involved during his time on the pitch, as he has averaged 40 passes per game so far this season.

Despite Livingston’s lack of possession, their right-winger Joshua Mullin would have more touches than Kent and would play three key passes compared to Kent’s zero, so it was no surprise to see him rated so low.

Therefore, it could definitely be argued that the winger’s performance was the one blip on a good night for Gerrard, as his side could now seal the title at the weekend if results go their way.

And, in other news… Forget Morelos: “Outstanding” beast who won 88% of his duels was Gerrard’s ace

According to Okay Yokuslu’s agent Batur Altiparmak, West Bromwich Albion have entered talks to sign the Turkey international on loan this month.

Baggies eye Yokuslu

The Baggies have been linked with a move for the 26-year-old midfielder (The Daily Mail), and it now seems they have stepped up their pursuit of the former Trabzonspor man.

Altiparmak has told AS that the Hawthorns outfit are in talks to sign Yokuslu on loan until the end of the season.

Matic-like midfielder

Yokuslu has been somewhat of a bit-part player for Celta Vigo, his current club, so far this campaign – he has played just 410 minutes in La Liga (Transfermarkt). However, with 28 caps for Turkey, he clearly has plenty of experience, and could therefore be an interesting option for Sam Allardyce.

Upon his transfer from Trabzonspor to Vigo in 2018, £3.6m-valued Yokuslu (Transfermarkt) compared himself to Manchester United midfielder Nemanja Matic (Fotomac via Stretty News). Indeed, when comparing the two on WhoScored, their stats are rather similar. Throughout his career, Yokuslu has averaged 2.2 tackles and 1.9 interceptions, while Matic’s numbers stand at 2.4 and 1.7 respectively.

The latter has won four league titles – three Premier Leagues with Chelsea and one title with Benfica in Portugal. Were Yokuslu to have anything like the impact Matic has had in the English top flight, West Brom would be signing a top player.

In other news, Baggies enter talks to sign this striker.

West Brom have edged closer to signing Okay Yokuslu, according to emerging reports…

What’s the word?

The Telegraph’s John Percy revealed that the Baggies were in talks with Celta Vigo over a move for the Turkey international before Saturday’s crunch match with relegation rivals Fulham.

He claims that a defensive midfield addition has been among Sam Allardyce’s priorities this transfer window, alongside a new forward too.

An initial loan deal for Yokuslu is expected to go through before the deadline on Monday. He has been cherry-picked over Leicester City youth product Hamza Choudhury.

Biggest need filled

Big Sam’s side are the leakiest defence in the Premier League, conceding a whopping 12 more goals than any other side but given he has plenty of options at the back, it’s on him to find the best partnership.

Although, an anchorman presence would certainly help as their midfield gets bypassed far too easily. Aside from rarely-seen academy graduate Sam Field, Albion do not have anyone else in the role.

When asked about the potential of defensive reinforcements, Allardyce told reporters, via BirminghamLive: “Unless I get rid of any of the six centre-halves I already have, no. I can’t bring another centre-half in when I already have six.”

But in Yokuslu, he’ll be getting a solution to this ongoing nightmare.

He also added: “If we can get a good defensive midfield player who can pass the ball as well as intercept and keep the pressure off the back four then we will try to get him.”

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Indeed, this is what the 26-year-old would bring to the Hawthorns.

Currently, Allardyce has often turned to a partnership of Romaine Sawyers and Jake Livermore, neither of which are defensively-minded enforcers.

In fact, the former has been the Baggies’ worst player this season with an average WhoScored rating of 6.13 – no other regular starter has managed worse.

Livermore isn’t too far behind with an average rating of 6.17.

But Sawyers has been left wanting in multiple matches this season – it’s as if he’s not adapted to the rise in opposition quality and game intensity from the Championship to the Premier League.

Per FBRef, he is dribbled past 1.53 times every 90 minutes and is only able to successfully tackle his opposite number 29.4% of the time, which is again, the worst between him and Livermore.

The 29-year-old also ranks 11th in this squad for tackles and interceptions combined per 90 (3.18).

By comparison, the €10m-rated (£9m) Celta Vigo powerhouse is managing 4.51 tackles and interceptions and is only dribbled past 1.18 times per 90, via FBRef.

That makes him the more industrious and imperious option, so no wonder Allardyce has given the nod over this move.

Yokuslu has been described as a ‘fine physical specimen’ because of his 6 foot 3 frame and is said to be a ‘swashbuckling midfielder who likes to get stuck in,’ which would be right up Big Sam’s street going by his aforementioned remarks.

To make this move even better, the imposing colossus is equally adept at playing in central defence too, so that should aid their leaky backline.

As the Yokuslu is initially coming in on loan, it’s pretty much a risk-free deal as he’s only thought to be on £29k-per-week in Spain. If they stay up, they’ll only have to pay £4.4m for him permanently too, and that could be a bargain.

Allardyce can finally stop persisting with Sawyers upon this imminent arrival, as evident above, he’s the solution to this defensive nightmare.

AND in other news, West Brom urged to sign “quality” 24-cap international…

Tottenham Hotspur retained the top spot in the Premier League with an impressive victory over their arch-rivals, Arsenal, on Sunday evening.

Jose Mourinho once again has his red-hot goalscoring duo, Harry Kane and Heung-min Son, to thank as the pair combined for both goals in the 2-0 victory.

The South Korean needed just 13 minutes to get on the scoresheet as he fired home a scorcher from well outside the penalty area before the 27-year-old marksman rifled one in from close range right on half-time.

In the end, Spurs hung onto a deserved victory despite the Gunners’ second-half dominance but largely, it was all bark and no bite.

Mikel Arteta’s men managed seven attempts at goal to Spurs’ one in the final 45 minutes, and struggled to find a way past a defence that has now kept four successive clean sheets in the division.

However but for all the positivity, Mourinho will surely be unhappy with what he saw from Giovani Lo Celso, a play who has been on the receiving end of some flak in recent weeks.

The ‘Special One’ criticised the Argentinian playmaker last month:

“I feel that when he plays he’s not the Gio that we know, not the Gio that we know that he can be an amazing player. But with the ball of course great criteria and he knows what he’s doing of course, and understands the way we want to play. But we need more intensity to be fitter, to be more intense and to be stronger in the transitions.”

It was only his second start in the Premier League this season on Sunday, which only goes to show the lack of faith Mourinho currently has in him, and that’s also reflected in the fact that Lo Celso is only averaging 44.8 minutes per appearance at the moment.

That certainly feels a bit like Tanguy Ndombele from last season, and the £31.5m-rated star did himself no favours.

Per SofaScore, he won just two of eight duels (25%) and failed to register a single shot, tackle, successful dribble, accurate cross or key pass in his 72 minutes on the pitch.

Lo Celso was also wasteful in possession as he lost the ball 13 times – more than any other Spurs player bar Son – and made just 18 of 29 passes.

Given Mourinho’s comments and the lack of reaction since, it would be a surprise to see the former Betis man start again in the upcoming games, unless of course, Ndombele hasn’t returned from illness.

AND in other news, Spurs can land Mourinho his next John Terry with swoop for £50m monster…

After yet another supreme performance for England, it’s been no surprise to see Jack Grealish’s name once again hit the headlines.

But whilst the Aston Villa star produced a fine display in the Three Lions’ victory over Iceland on Wednesday night, one of his teammates at club level also delivered a timely performance: Conor Hourihane.

With John McGinn and Douglas Luiz holding down the two central midfield positions for Dean Smith’s side this season in the Premier League, Hourihane hasn’t had much of a look-in thus far, making just three appearances and 151 minutes of football.

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When on international duty with Ireland however, it’s been a different story, featuring in all of their UEFA Nations League and friendly games over the past couple of months.

And against Bulgaria on Wednesday, Hourihane sent a message to Dean Smith that he’s ready to be called upon whenever he’s needed. Whilst the game ended in a 0-0 draw, the midfielder showed off his typically silky passing, and a more defensive edge too.

As per Sofascore, his 7.4 match rating was the highest of any midfield player on the pitch, and it was easy to see why. He boasted an impressive 92% pass accuracy and 73 touches, whilst he also sent in five crosses and completed seven of his ten attempted long balls.

That’s not to mention that he made a team-high four tackles – including one last ditch one – and one interception too. If Smith was keeping an eye out on how his players were getting on over the international break, then he would have been left impressed by Hourihane’s display in mid-week.

Spurs could be looking at a potential blow ahead of their Premier League clash against Manchester City on Sunday. Along with their recent injury updates, a concern has risen over Gareth Bale, who featured for Wales against players who later tested positive for coronavirus (via Manchester Evening News).

Whilst there’s no case of Bale having the virus himself, the rigorous testing at the club could flag something up following his international spell.

If the Real Madrid ace is forced to self-isolate, Jose Mourinho will be without options on the right-hand side. Erik Lamela will miss the City match after the manager confirmed he is “in the last period of his recovery”. This leaves only Lucas Moura and Steven Bergwijn to deploy in Bale’s absence. However, the Brazilian has had an inconsistent season so far – despite starting the first three Premier League games of the term, he has been limited to substitute appearances since.

Moura played just ten minutes against West Ham last month and was left on the bench in Tottenham’s narrow win over Brighton. He reappeared in the most recent match against West Brom, but was limited to a 12 minute cameo (via Transfermarkt).

With the 28-year-old being somewhat out of favour, Mourinho could take a gamble and switch up his lineup to face his former club.

Moussa Sissoko has quite often played on the right for France – as he did against Sweden earlier this week – and puts his pace to good use down the flank. The gaffer could opt to put the £90,000 per week midfielder’s versatility to the test and position him on the right-hand side against City.

It will be a daring move with Bergwijn and Moura available for selection, but Sissoko’s balance of both attacking and defensive abilities will help get Spurs over the line.

Tony Cascarino was full of praise for Sissoko last season for making easy work of taking on Manchester City’s defence. He lauded the 31-year-old for his “danger” on the ball and claimed that once he beats his man, “there is no way he is going to be stopped”.

This would of course leave a gap in the midfield, which Mourinho can play safe with and start Harry Winks alongside Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg. The two defensive midfielders will hopefully help to keep the likes of Kevin De Bruyne at bay.

It will certainly be a bold and potentially risky tactic from Mourinho, but Pep Guardiola will not be expecting it. Catching them out with the element of surprise could work very well in Spurs’ favour, who are currently second in the league table.

In other news, Dele Alli situation could brew storm between Daniel Levy & Jose Mourinho…

Lots of Newcastle United fans have been slamming the decision from Steve Bruce to not play Isaac Hayden versus Southampton in the Premier League.

Indeed, the former England U21 international was left on the bench for the game and was not brought on by Bruce during the match either.

The St. James’ Park faithful ended up losing the game 2-0 at St. Mary’s Stadium thanks to goals from Che Adams very early on in the first half and Stuart Armstrong late on in the second.

Saints ended up having 60% possession of the ball, with 15 shots and 561 passes recorded (Sofascore), and if Hayden would have played Ralph Hasenhuttl’s team may not have been as dominant in the middle third especially.

The defensive midfield player has won 5.2 of his duels per appearance in the top flight so far in the 2020/21 term, as well as averaging 1.8 tackles, 1.3 clearances and 1.3 interceptions a game (Sofascore).

Newcastle fan reaction to Bruce’s decision on Hayden

These members of the Toon Army blasted the decision by Bruce not to play Hayden on Twitter:

In other news, find out which Magpies star was slammed for his display here!

Tottenham Hotspur are not interested in signing Jesse Lingard or Wout Weghorst in the current transfer window, that is according to reliable football.london journalist Alasdair Gold.

It has been a busy few weeks for Spurs who have moved to bolster their squad for the 2020/21 campaign. Joe Hart, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Matt Doherty were all brought in prior to the season kicking off, whilst Sergio Reguilon and Gareth Bale have now also arrived.

However, it seems that the spending won’t stop there as Jose Mourinho has admitted that he still wants another two additions before the window closes in early October.

Two names who have been linked with moves to north London are Lingard and Weghorst. The Times suggested that Mourinho was keen to reunite with the £15.75m-valued Manchester United midfielder, with The Mirror then claiming that any move hinged on Dele Alli’s future.

Meanwhile Weghorst, who is valued at £27m, has been touted to join Spurs by De Telegraaf, who suggest that he is seen as an ideal back-up option to star striker Harry Kane.

But links to both players have now been downplayed by Gold, who has suggested that “links with Spurs looking to sign Jesse Lingard and/or Wout Weghorst are wide of the mark.”

Lingard has struggled for game time at Old Trafford recently under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, making just five Premier League appearances for the Red Devils during 2020, just one of which was a start (Transfermarkt).

Weghorst on the other hand has been a regular for Wolfsburg and was prolific in the Bundesliga last season, netting 16 goals in 32 appearances whilst also chipping in with three assists.

However, whilst it seems that Mourinho is keen on a couple more additions in the next few weeks, including a back-up striker, it looks as though these two players will not be following Bale and co through the door at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Spurs fans, do you think that the club should sign Weghorst and Lingard? Let us know below…

Having secured Premier League football for another season, all attentions at Aston Villa will firmly be on how the club can strengthen their squad for the start of the new campaign next month.

Dean Smith’s side spent heavily last summer in a bid to beat the drop, and The Athletic claim that “as much as £80m could be invested”, with “two or three signings expected to go straight into Dean Smith’s strongest starting XI and a couple of others targeted to freshen up the squad”.

One man who has been linked with a move to Villa Park, is Brentford defender Rico Henry. Reports have suggested that Villa are searching for players with pace, and are keen on bringing in some wing-backs this summer, with the Bees ace fitting that description to a tee.

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The 23-year-old played 51 games last season as Brentford fell short at the last hurdle in the Championship play-off final against Fulham, playing the majority of his games at left-back, and at left-midfield too.

Henry has actually previously worked with Villa boss Dean Smith, when the pair were at Walsall together.

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And speaking after the youngster was voted Football League Young Player of the Month back in October 2015, Smith said: “If I were to liken him to anyone it would be a young Ashley Cole. And it’s up to him how far he can now go in the game. I’ve recommended him a couple of times to the England Under-19s because, if there’s a better left-sided player in the country at 18 years of age, I’d like to see them.

“He’s a pleasure to coach and to have around the place, not just as a footballer but as a person. He’s got a great personality, which will hold him in good stead. He’s got a good engine and pace, he can get up and down the pitch and he’s got two goals already this season which is very good for a left-back.”

With Smith himself knowing all about Henry’s qualities, Villa can strike gold by bringing the Brentford speedster to the club this summer. It would give them a left-back who could potentially be a part of the back-line for at least the next five years or so.