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Many Derby County fans have been left to slam the display of Lee Gregory in their 0-0 draw at Barnsley in the EFL Championship on Wednesday evening.

The striker, currently on loan from Stoke City, was guilty of missing a big chance to win the match, but instead the Pride Park faithful had to settle for a point to edge them ever closer to safety.

Gregory did not have the best of games by his standards, losing out on five of his duels, while also failing to record a single successful dribble and losing possession of the ball 11 times (Sofascore).

Aside from that one great chance, the 32-year-old struggled to make any sort of real impact on the fixture, recording fewer touches than his own goalkeeper Kelle Roos and a mere 25 in total, the fewest out of any Rams player to have started the clash (Sofascore).

Derby fan reaction to Gregory display

These DCFC supporters slammed his performance on Twitter, with one fan even going as far as to claim that the Englishman was ‘rubbish’:

“Gregory was rubbish send him back !!! #dcfc #dcfcfans”

Credit: @JillianW123

“Roos and Mengi really good today. Edmundson worked very well in midfield but lacks control with the ball at his feet. Gregory had an absolute stinker with an awful touch when he was through in the first half and missing the 1v1 in the second. Lucky not to give away a pen #dcfc”

Credit: @Joe43534774

“Must admit Lee Gregory is worse than I thought #dcfc”

Credit: @rooybears

“We let Marriott go on loan and we sign Lee Gregory no wonder we are in trouble #dcfc”

Credit: @Rammie007

“It’s the reason why Gregory allowed out on loan. Not good enough, doesn’t score enough. We need Derby players in the summer not loan players”
Credit: @ijclarke72

“Gregory has had the chance to win 3 games now, and fluffed them all. Not impressed.”
Credit: @RamInSweden

In other news, find out who was hammered for their display versus Cardiff City here!

Liverpool slumped to their sixth straight home defeat in the Premier League after their 1-0 loss to Fulham on Sunday.

Pearce reacts

Things went from bad to worse for the reigning Premier League champions as they fell further off the pace in the race for the top four. If there were any doubts of their title charge being over before the game, they have now surely been confirmed.

Mario Lemina scored the only goal of the game right on half-time to secure the points for the relegation-battling Cottagers, who latched onto a mistake from Mohamed Salah.

After the full-time whistle, The Athletic journalist James Pearce provided immediate analysis on the game as soon as referee Kevin Friend put the whistle to his mouth.

Transfer Tavern Verdict

Liverpool have had just 10 shots on target in their last three games, which is nowhere near good enough for a team which recently won the Champions League and the Premier League in the space of 13 months.

It’s becoming increasing unfathomable that their gruesome run has continued. Jurgen Klopp freshened the squad up and featured some new faces in a bid to provide some new ideas, but ultimately nothing new came to the table.

The mystery is growing. Only Klopp and his coaching staff can work on the possible answers with a huge Champions League game on the horizon in midweek.

In other news, Liverpool blockbuster move in trouble as ‘unplayable’ star’s hefty demands emerge

Many Sheffield Wednesday fans are reacting to the latest news reported by Dom Howson around Owls player Joost van Aken.

The journalist posted on Twitter that: ‘Joost van Aken has suffered a fresh injury blow. The defender has not played for #SWFC since their Boxing Day draw at Blackburn.’

The 26-year-old was loaned out last season but became integral for the 2020/21 campaign as he featured 17 times before his injury (Transfermarkt). During the 1278 minutes of football he has played in the Championship, he managed 1.1 tackles, 1.2 interceptions, and 2.4 clearances a game (WhoScored).

When he played this season, the Owls managed six clean sheets, but only managed to win three games (Transfermarkt). Since his injury, Wednesday have won three out of four matches, and due to this, many are not too upset that he will be sidelined for even longer than expected.

However with Sheffield Wednesday still in the relegation zone and four points from safety (SofaScore), depth in their squad is needed as they have to turn things around sooner rather than later, so this injury will be frustrating for the club.

Here is what fans said following the injury update:

“Get rid”

Credit: @RyanGoodo

“Lucky escape for SWFC.”

Credit: ShiregreenOwl

“Missed 6 matches, we win 4 out of 6”

Credit: @DavidGillet

“Meh. Average at best would be bottom of the pile for CBs for me.”

Credit: @Patchswfc

“Forgot about him tbh”

Credit: @OwlSheffield

“Was actually playing very well on left of a back three. We need all hands on deck…”

Credit: @1SportsGenius

In other news, fans were discussing midfielder Izzy Brown. Have a read why here!

AFC Bournemouth forward Joshua King showed David Moyes what West Ham United are missing in just 13 touches against Wycombe Wanderers on Tuesday night.

King entered the action at the Vitality Stadium as a late substitute to replace Dominic Solanke as boss Jason Tindall sought to see out a 1-0 win to solidify the Cherries’ place in the automatic promotion places.

Bournemouth have been in top form since their return to the Championship with 10 wins in 19 games, but are yet to see the best from King who remains without a goal or an assist after playing just 347 minutes in a heavily disrupted campaign.

King missed the start of the season through a thigh injury and later tested positive for coronavirus, before sustaining a back injury in training that kept the Norway forward out of action until Tuesday’s meeting with Wycombe.

West Ham had strived to sign King in the summer under the instructions of Moyes but failed to seal a deal, with Bournemouth rejecting the Irons’ offer of £13million as they chased at least £17m for the 51-cap international.

Moyes has remained keen on the idea of working with King at the London Stadium ever since, with reports surfacing lately claiming the Hammers boss has stressed the importance of offensive additions after marking the 28-year-old as his top January target.

Irons chiefs are confident Bournemouth will be more inclined to accept a lower sum in January with King’s £45,000-per-week contract due to expire in the summer, and would have seen what sort of impact the former Manchester United trainee could bring to the club in his brief cameo during the week.

He may not have scored or assisted with Junior Stanislas’ 68th-minute strike all that separated promotion-chasing Bournemouth and their relegation-threatened opposition, but King impressed in his limited window of opportunity.

Only Diego Rico (15) took more touches than King (13) following Tindall’s late triple substitution, per WhoScored, while being the only Cherries player to record a 100% pass success rate with each of his seven passes finding a teammate.

King was additionally the only Bournemouth player to register a key ball, successful dribble or aerial duel won in the closing stages, while Wycombe piled on late pressure with Daryl Horgan and Fred Onyedinma doing their best to inspire a comeback.

Moyes would no doubt have been impressed by what King brought to the field at the Vitality Stadium on Tuesday night, despite only playing the final nine minutes.

AND in other news, West Ham are showing short-term vision in the transfer market by targeting a £52k-p/w star who won’t cost David Sullivan a penny.

According to ESPN’s Julien Laurens, Arsenal are one of the clubs interested in signing RB Leipzig star Marcel Sabitzer.

What’s the story?

The Austria international has been a revelation for the Bundesliga side, captaining them to some impressive performances, including in the Champions League where Leipzig knocked out Manchester United in their final group stage game.

Now, it appears Sabitzer is on the radar of Mikel Arteta’s side, with Laurens revealing on The Gab and Juls show: “There is another club (interested in Sabitzer), I think Arsenal are very keen as well. I think there’s a few English clubs (interested).

“He will be perfect for the Premier League – the way he plays, 26 years old, it’s a good age, all that energy. I think he’s ready. He’s just ready. Maybe (he) needs a bit of time to adapt, but I’m not even sure he needs that. He would be a great signing, potentially quite cheap as well for the kind of player that you’re getting. It’s a no-brainer.”

Forget Isco

Make no mistake about it, if it’s a choice between Isco and Sabitzer, the Gunners absolutely have to go after the younger, and more in-form player in the £31.5m-rated Leipzig star.

His coach at the Bundesliga side, Julian Nagelsmann, has waxed lyrical about his abilities, saying: “I have always said I want more goal threat from midfield. He clearly took that both literally and personally. He’s a very important player for us.”

That ability to get goals from midfield is something Arsenal have lacked since the days of Aaron Ramsey, who of course left the Emirates to join Serie A giants Juventus on a free transfer.

Too much of the goal-scoring burden has been placed on the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette, so Sabitzer’s arrival would help to lessen that and make the Gunners more of a threat from elsewhere on the pitch than just up front.

It’s a move Edu simply has to make.

Speaking to Football Insider, former Premier League striker Gabriel Agbonlahor has claimed that Spurs star Son Heung-min can go to any club in the world – tipping the player to leave unless Daniel Levy ties him down with a bumper new deal. 

Son, who has been in electric form recently alongside superstar forward Harry Kane, is actually on much less when compared to his teammate – with the 27-year-old England captain taking home around £200,000-per-week.

In comparison, Son is on around £60,000-a-wek less despite contributing to an equally devastating effect under manager Jose Mourinho so far this season.

Son tipped for possible exit

Now, speaking to Football Insider, Agbonlahor has dropped a hint that the £67.5 million-valued Son could leave if Spurs fail to tie him down with a new contract.

According to the pundit, he could play for any side in world football, including four Champions League giants who have an abundance of star players already.

“If I was Tottenham I’d be putting down on a contract on whatever he wants, just to get him signed on because he can go to any club in the world,” he explained.

“At any club in the world he’d be starting, we’re talking Liverpool, Man City, Real Madrid, Barcelona he’s that good.

“Spurs will know that, Jose will know that, Daniel Levy will know that so I’m sure they’ll tie him down and he’ll be one of the highest earners for sure.”

Transfer Tavern take

Described as a ‘dream’ to work with by ex-Spur Alan Hutton, this news comes after Football Insider revealed a huge ENIC development from behind the scenes.

Indeed, according to the outlet, Joe Lewis and the ENIC group have approved of a new deal for Son, but with January around the corner, Spurs will want to tie him down as quickly as possible.

In other news: Alasdair Gold swooned over this shining light against WBA, find out more here. 

Carlo Ancelotti must regret handing Andre Gomes a starting role in Saturday’s Merseyside Derby after witnessing the Everton midfielder struggle against Liverpool.

The Toffees hosted their Stanley Park neighbours at Goodison Park this weekend looking to maintain an unbeaten start to the season, having won each of their opening Premier League and Carabao Cup fixtures.

An early goal from Sadio Mane left Everton on the back foot from the third minute, but the Blues refused to break and moved level through Michael Keane midway through the first half.

Mohamed Salah later restored the Premier League champions lead, yet Everton were able to dig deep again through Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s tenth goal of the season and seventh in the league.

The Merseyside Derby continued to edge in Liverpool’s favour through a late sending off for Richarlison, with referee Michael Oliver showing the Brazilian a straight red card for a studs-up foul on Thiago Alcantara.

Jordan Henderson appeared to further punish Everton when his stoppage-time effort found a way past Pickford, but would be denied following a VAR check which deemed Sadio Mane to have been marginally – albeit debatably – offside in the build-up.

Everton were able to hold on and claim a draw as a result of David Coote’s decision at Stockley Park, however Ancelotti will have been questioning his decision to start Gomes having witnessed the 27-year-old struggle throughout the affair.

Gomes returned to the Everton starting line-up to face Liverpool having sat out the Blues’ 4-2 win over Brighton & Hove Albion prior to the international break through a minor issue, marking his fourth appearance of the league season.

Ancelotti ultimately had to haul the £21.6m-rated midfielder off in the 72nd-minute once Liverpool moved into a 2-1 lead, however, after a lapse second of concentration from Yerry Mina presented Salah with his chance to strike past Jordan Pickford with a well-placed volley.

Gomes was seemingly always at least a yard off the pace during his time on the field, with the former FC Barcelona midfielder Marco Silva once hailed as “a player with high quality” (Liverpool Echo) losing possession 13 times and losing nine of his 13 duels, per SofaScore.

The £112,212-per-week man, in fact, won just three of his 12 ground duels, committed four fouls, was caught offside once, dribbled past once, misplaced each of his three long balls, failed to find a teammate with his sole cross, failed in two of three attempted dribbles, failed to record a single effort on goal and was shown a yellow card.

Gomes was able to record one key ball from his 20/26 accurate passes, two tackles and one clearance, but his overall impact on proceedings left Liverpool able to utilise their right-hand options in Trent Alexander-Arnold and Salah.

AND in other news, a Premier League rival has shown Everton a great deal of respect by blocking the Blues’ bid to land Carlo Ancelotti’s £10m target.

Kepa Arrizabalaga’s future with Chelsea currently resides with a question mark as the club push to find his replacement. 

A move that started out with potential in abundance has become arguably one of the worst record-breaking moves in transfer history. Despite winning the Europa League with the Blues, Kepa’s Premier League career has failed to live up to expectations.

Maurizio Sarri helped orchestrate a £71million swoop for the Spaniard’s services back in 2018, smashing the record for most money spent on a goalkeeper (via BBC Sport). This record still stands, with not even Liverpool’s appointment of Alisson going beyond the hefty price tag.

Now, just two years into his tenure, Frank Lampard has planned for a future without Kepa. The Spain international disappointed his manager after a poor run in the Premier League, conceding a total of 47 goals.

Chelsea are yet to sign a replacement but are eager to strike a deal with latest target Edouard Mendy, with an agreement thought to be close.

Fellow goalkeeper Petr Cech has spoken out on the difficult situation at Stamford Bridge, suggesting that the Spanish international could still have a long term future in west London.

“Kepa struggled last season, that is unquestionable,” he said (via Daily Express). “But the club invested in him and gave him a long-term contract because they believe he has the qualities and attributes to be successful.”

The 24-year-old could re-establish himself as a first team player in the future, but for the upcoming season at least, it seems very unlikely Lampard will trust him as his first choice ‘keeper.

“Additions will be made to the squad, perhaps even in goal, and this is what is being discussed now,” Cech continued. “But nobody is giving up on Kepa and we all hope he has a great future.”

Do you think Kepa has a future at Chelsea? Join the conversation in the comments below!

After ten matches, Tottenham Hotspur sit top of the Premier League table and whilst it is still early days, no one could have predicted the immense form Jose Mourinho’s side find themselves in.

And for the first time in what seems like an eternity, Spurs will go into the north London derby this weekend super-confident of picking up a victory.

They have more than shown that they can mix it with the elite this term, thrashing Manchester United 6-1, defeating Pep Guardiola’s City 2-0 and drawing 0-0 to a scary-looking Chelsea attack.

Although, despite the positivity around picking up a point at Stamford Bridge, there was a worrying sign of what could come in the near future.

Spurs were without arguably their best defender, Toby Alderweireld, after the Belgian suffered a muscle injury last week. It did not stop them from keeping a fourth clean sheet in five matches, but it may have exposed their biggest weakness.

After the match, Mourinho lambasted the 31-year-old’s usually defensive partner, Eric Dier. He told reporters, via Football.London: “Dier made more mistakes than him [Rodon], especially in ball possession.”

This certainly appears to be the case too as the England colossus lost possession 12 times, made just four of 12 long-balls (33%) and failed to record a single tackle, interception or block, as per SofaScore.

It is no surprise that Spurs’ defensive record improved the second that Aldweireld was utilised more. It took until the end of October for Mourinho’s men to claim their first clean sheet, in what was only the Belgian’s third start of the season.

Without Alderweireld alongside him, the €30m-rated (£27m) Dier has struggled, failing to record above a 6.9 rating when paired with Davinson Sanchez or Joe Rodon, via WhoScored.

Ex-Spurs legend Gary Mabbutt has called upon the 26-year-old to become “the general” in the absence of his teammate, though the signs aren’t really positive in the chances of that happening.

Another former Lilywhites man, Jermaine Jenas, waxed lyrical about Dier following the City triumph, calling him “sensational.”

In reality, this blow to Alderweireld could be a double sucker-punch as Dier is yet to truly standout with the long-serving giant next to him. Perhaps the £85k-per-week star has been masked by the man next to him, and that should have Mourinho worried tenfold.

AND in other news, Exclusive: Gary Mabbutt makes bold Spurs Premier League claim…

Burnley youngsters Josh Benson and Anthony Glennon have been targeted for loan spells by a former Premier League manager now operating in League Two.

Grimsby Telegraph reported that Ian Holloway wants to bring the Clarets duo to Grimsby Town, where the 20-year-old duo both had loan spells last season.

The 57-year-old, who has managed Blackpool and Crystal Palace in the English top flight, told the Mariners’ official media channels: “I’ve made a call to Burnley and those two lads ended up on their bench, and because we used them in level two, they might want to put them into level one or the Championship. I don’t know if I can get them back, but I have asked the question.

“What I am trying to do is to make sure I bring in the right blend, to make a beautiful cake mix that has got every different ingredient in it – so it isn’t boring. I want new and fresh people to come in, and it is really important to start on a positive footing.”

Former Arsenal academy midfielder Benson scored twice in 11 appearances on loan at Grimsby last season, having gone out to Blundell Park in January, and was included among the substitutes for Burnley’s final six games of the Premier League season, albeit without making an appearance (as per TransferMarkt).

Glennon, a versatile defender who can play centrally or on the left and who was previously on Liverpool’s books, netted once in his 12 appearances for the Mariners earlier this year before being included in the Clarets’ matchday squads towards the end of the campaign (as per TransferMarkt).

Indeed, the two players share numerous similarities – both came to Burnley from the academies of high-profile Premier League clubs, both went on loan to Grimsby in January before being recalled for the latter weeks of the Clarets’ league season and both are still awaiting their breakthrough at Turf Moor. Even their birthdays are close to one another, with Glennon just nine days older than his team-mate.

Despite both being included by Sean Dyche in matchday squads towards the end of last season, that neither Benson nor Glennon made it off the bench indicates that they still have a road to travel if they are to get into the Clarets’ first team.

Should they go back to Grimsby on loan, they will return to a familiar environment under an experienced coach in Holloway (more than 600 games in management) who wants them there, hence raising the distinct likelihood of them getting regular game-time.

It’s a move which seems to make perfect sense for the two 20-year-olds as they continue their development and hopefully push for first team inclusion at Turf Moor in the foreseeable future.

Burnley fans, would you be in favour of Glennon and Benson going on loan to Grimsby again for this season? Comment below with your views!