All posts by rastrear-estafeta.com

Leicester City under Brendan Rodgers are absolutely flying, but will they come unstuck when they welcome Premier League basement boys Watford to the King Power Stadium at 7:30pm on Wednesday? If you’re in the UK, you can find out live on Amazon Prime Video!

The Foxes haven’t lost since early October and have just two defeats to their name all season. They’re currently leading Liverpool’s chasing pack in second, eight points adrift of the pacesetters after a late victory over Everton in the last match week.

Comparisons with the 2015/2016 campaign have already been drawn and who would bet against them achieving the impossible for a second time?

Watch Watford vs Leicester City Free and Live on Amazon Prime

In stark contrast, the Hornets sit at the foot of the English top-flight table and have just sacked their second manager of the campaign in Quique Sanchez Flores following Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at Southampton.

Interim boss Hayden Mullins will take charge for this match and it must be said, even this early, that the future looks bleak at Vicarage Road with the men for Hertfordshire already six points from safety.

The visitors can take some encouragement, however, from what happened the last time they faced Leicester, recording a 2-1 triumph in Rodgers’ first game in charge back in March thanks to Andre Gray’s added-time strike.

But the odds are stacked firmly against them on this occasion and it doesn’t get much better when we look at the injury news – both Craig Dawson and Tom Cleverley are poised to miss out once more.

Demarai Gray could return for the Foxes having sat out the Toffees clash with the flu and their only other absentee is a long-term one, Matty James.

With a win, Rodgers’ boys can keep up the pressure on the Reds at the top of the table, whilst an unlikely three points for Mullins’ men would give them some much-needed good news.

Amazon have purchased the rights to all of the Premiership games for this period and that of Boxing Day and the 27th December and if you’re in the UK, you can watch any of them absolutely free with Amazon Prime.

JOIN AMAZON PRIME ON 30 DAY TRIAL NOW

If you’re not already a member of Amazon Prime you can join immediately here on a 30 day free trial. Not only will you be able to watch any of the 20 fixtures they have the rights to but you’ll be able to get access to their one day delivery service which is very handy with Christmas coming up, plus any of their Prime output such as “Back of the Net” with Peter Crouch, the hit series “Vikings” and Series 2 of “Jack Ryan” amongst many others.

You don’t have long though if you want to get the first set of fixtures your side are playing in so be sure to sign up to your Amazon Prime here so you don’t miss out or click the below schedule to take you directly to the Amazon Prime Premiership page!

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

In his Team of the Week column for BBC Sport, Garth Crooks has hailed Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s impressive performance against Manchester City.

What did he say?

The Red Devils pulled off a superb victory at the home of their rivals on Saturday afternoon, with Wan-Bissaka in particular shining from a defensive point of view. As per Sofascore, the summer signing made an incredible seven clearances, five tackles, and blocked three shots, as he helped the United back-line keep out City’s much-vaunted attack.

And Crooks has now insisted the 22-year-old is right up there with the best in the division when it comes to defending, and labelled his display against Pep Guardiola’s side as “outstanding”.

He said: “I’ve been banging on about Aaron Wan-Bissaka for nearly two years now. I saw him play for Crystal Palace against Fulham at Craven Cottage, and Roy Hodgson didn’t want to talk about the player after the game for fear of attracting too much attention to the lad.

“I also said he was a Manchester United player if ever I saw one. His defending in the Manchester derby was nothing short of outstanding. Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold might be better on the ball but there isn’t a better defender in the country on his day than Wan-Bissaka.”

Intimidation

With the reputation that Wan-Bissaka continues to build for himself as one of the elite defenders in the Premier League, wingers must be terrified of having to come up against him. Raheem Sterling – a man who had already scored 15 goals in 22 games across all competitions this season – barely got a sniff coming up against the former Crystal Palace ace on Saturday, registering no shots on target whatsoever.

A real test for any fan: Can you name all of these obscure Man Utd signings?

Opposition teams will begin to think twice of how they choose to attack down United’s right, and that level of intimidation and fear factor is only great news for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side. As Crooks suggests, Wan-Bissaka’s defending is at a level where others are striving to catch up – and that is a remarkable compliment for someone who is still only 22.

Meanwhile, Manchester United fans are raving about this man’s commanding performance against Manchester City.

Erling Braut Haaland doesn’t really need much of an introduction anymore.The 19-year-old striker has already set the whole footballing stage ablaze with his performances, both in the domestic league and in Europe, battling some of the best teams in the world.At the very moment, he has a tally of 28 goals in just 22 games played across all competitions in 2019/20, and not to mention that he has netted eight in just six Champions League clashes.

Needless to say, the reported interest from many different clubs, the likes of Manchester United and Borussia Dortmund is not really a surprising turn of events. Journalist Fabrizio Romano claims four major clubs, including the above duo, have already tabled bids…

If he continues to improve like this, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that he’ll be even more spoiled for choice when the times comes to leave RB Salzburg, and the way he’s heading forward, that time might well arrive pretty soon.

But which club should he choose? Between Dortmund and Man United, the answer might be a surprising one.

While the sheer prospect of having such a talent at Old Trafford would no doubt be a rather exciting one, it feels like Ole Gunnar Solskjaer already has plenty of young starlets emerging onto the scene. Of course, Marcus Rashford leads the line with ten Premier League goals to his name and would most likely still remain their main gunman up front.

Separating the fairweathers from real fans: How much can you remember about United’s treble season?

Despite him actually being deployed on the left as well as down the centre in 2019/20, as per Transfermarkt’s database, Haaland could still be battling with the Englishman for a spot in the team.

The same can be said for Anthony Martial, who has also been Solskjaer’s pick for the centre-forward role in the ongoing campaign. And we also mustn’t forget the emergence of Mason Greenwood since the 18-year-old talent has already tallied 13 Premier League appearances with two goals to show for them.

With all of them taken into account, it feels like Haaland’s road towards an undisputed starting position – regardless of his undeniable quality – might be a rocky one, to say the least.

The Red Devils also have to take into account that the 6 ft 4 Norwegian star’s potential introduction could also put some of their current talents’ progress on hold, if he were to take their spot almost right from the bat.

There are many variables and angles to be dissected here, perhaps too many for a teenager who wants to rise to superstardom as quickly as possible.

At Dortmund, there’s a more straightforward story.

The only clear out and out striker for the team is Paco Alcacer but the former Barcelona man has been struggling with injuries in the current season so Lucien Favre has been made to patch up the squad by playing the likes of Marco Reus and Mario Gotze up front.

If Haaland is looking for more regular game time and an easier path to the starting XI – as Romano suggests – Dortmund just might be the answer to that question.

Seeing how he’s a young, up and coming player who needs to play in order to develop, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say the Bundesliga may appeal to him just a bit more.

It’s also, theoretically at least, a smaller jump than to the Premier League, Europe’s most competitive top flight. The old adage of walking before running certainly comes to mind.

Who Haaland chooses – and let’s not discount him staying with Salzburg for the time being – remains to be seen. But as things stand, Dortmund looks to be the better option, even if that does mean snubbing an arguably bigger club in United.

Meanwhile, many Spurs fans were absolutely delighted with an update on one of their big transfer targets…

Name: Oliver Skipp

Club: Tottenham Hotspur

Date of Birth: 16 September 2000

Position: Defensive midfielder

Oliver Skipp – his career so far

Oliver Skipp is easily among the most talented young players Tottenham Hotspur have to offer at the very moment. The 19-year-old defensive midfielder is already a first-team player despite his young age and has featured for Jose Mourinho’s squad throughout the 2019/20 Premier League season.

Born in Welwyn Garden City, Skipp, often called “Skippy” within the club, has clawed his way through Spurs’ youth ranks, featuring for their U18 squad back in 2016/17 when he was still only a schoolboy and then plying his trade for both their U23 and UEFA U18 teams, impressing in all of them respectively.

Of course, being a defensive midfielder by trade, the young talent never excelled at scoring goals but he did tally six assists for the U18 team, one goal and two assists for the U23s and even two assists in the 20 senior games played for Spurs.

His first real senior moments arrived in 2018/19 when he made his debut in the 2018 pre-season tour of the United States and then made an appearance in an official matchday squad for the first time vs Barcelona in the Champions League.

Soon after, he was on the bench for Spurs’ victory over Cardiff in the Premier League and then made his full debut in a 3-1 win at West Ham in the Carabao Cup before coming on as a substitute in a 3-1 win over Southampton at Wembley in the Premier League later in December.

Since that moment, he’s been able to record a total of 20 first-team appearances for Spurs, tallying a total of eight in 2019/20 before the season was abruptly put on hold. But with the return of football, it’s very likely we also see the return of Skipp as the future indeed looks very bright for the 19-year-old midfielder.

Transfer latest

Even though some transfer rumours were surrounding Skipp back in January, he seems to be in Mourinho’s plans at the moment. The youngster was consistently praised by the Special One following his great performances in 2019/20 and it’s fair to assume he’ll be given even more chances as time goes on.

But speaking of transfer news and transfer rumours, some reports were stating that he was keen on a loan move during the January transfer window with a reported preference for the English clubs, making a move to the Championship a possibility back then.

But no new Tottenham news indicate that the player will be considered for an exit as of right now, making those transfer rumours practically obsolete. His current contract, however, is valid only until 2021 according to Transfermarkt, and it will be interesting to see if those transfer news do come back at some point in the near future.

Player profile

Even though he is just 19, Skipp’s biggest strengths seem to lie in his mentality and confidence on the pitch. The youngster is calm and composed on the ball and makes sure to stay a couple of steps ahead of his opposition when he’s in possession.

As a defensive midfielder, his task is often to dictate the tempo and progress the ball into the advanced zones. He also seems to possess a certain dose of press-resistance and he uses his dribbling to get out of tight situations.

As per Wyscout’s database, Skipp recorded 2.05 dribbles per 90 minutes over all seasons included, tallying 50.8% success rate at the same time. When we combine this with his ability to pass the ball and direct it forward – as he can boast with 92% passing accuracy and 15.19 forward passes per 90 minutes in 2019/20 – that makes him a stable and secure presence in Spurs’ team when they are in possession.

Lastly, even though he is often positioned in deeper areas, he made 7.53 recoveries per 90 minutes in 2019/20 and his awareness of the pitch means he knows when to move up and when to stay put and drop into his own half.

With Spurs news lately being quite gloomy with all the injuries and a thin squad, maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to give Skipp a much bigger role once football eventually returns.

Name: Harvey Barnes

Club: Leicester City

Date of Birth: 9 December 1997

Position: Midfielder (Wide/Central/Attacking)

Harvey Barnes – his career so far

At the age of 22, Harvey Barnes has not only already made it on the big stage but is also a big part of Leicester City’s first-team squad under Brendan Rodgers. But he truly had to go through thick and thin to get where he is right now and despite his obvious talent and potential, it wasn’t a straightforward path at all.

Barnes played for the Greenfield Primary School when he was growing up and ended up joining Leicester City at the age of just nine. But straight from the beginning, he was a huge talent just waiting to be unleashed for the Foxes who didn’t wait long to give him his first professional contract with the squad.

He penned that in the summer of 2016 and by the end of the year, he already made his debut for the senior squad, coming on as a substitute away at FC Porto in the UEFA Champions League clash that ended badly for his team.

But in the following year, young Barnes joined MK Dons on loan for the remainder of that campaign, featuring in a total of 21 games, scoring six goals and assisting one on the side as well as his talents were starting to break through.

Upon his return, Barnes spent some time with Leicester’s U23s and during the summer of 2017 he signed a new four-year contract before going on another loan, this time to Barnsley FC where he scored and assisted five goals across a total of 25 games.

After being recalled to King Power Stadium in January 2018, Barnes quickly made his domestic debut in a goalless Emirates FA Cup third round stalemate at Fleetwood Town, soon to be followed up by his Premier League bow against Southampton in April 2018.

Still, there was one more loan around the corner as Barnes played 28 games for West Bromwich Albion, tallying nine goals and eight assists in the process before committing his future to Leicester until 2024 in the summer after his return, becoming a fully-fledged first-team member in the process as well.

So far, he can boast with 54 senior performances, eight goals and nine assists.

Transfer latest

Barnes has somewhat been outshined by his teammates, James Maddison, and that may very well be the reason why there haven’t been many transfer rumours or transfer news linking him with a potential scoop in the near future.

Of course, just the fact that he’s signed that new contract in 2019, which is still fresh and stretches until 2024, is also a pretty big indication the Foxes are keen on keeping their young gem at the club.

There are no other Leicester City news suggesting otherwise at the very moment but with the summer transfer window edging ever closer, we could expect a transfer rumour or two to pop up sooner rather than later.

Player profile

Barnes is quick on his feet and well capable of being deployed all across the final third, preferring the left-wing but also being quite effective when played in central areas, especially when slotting right behind the striker in that no.10 role.

When he is used as a wide outlet, however, he maintains the team’s width and can do some serious damage with his runs behind the defensive line and into the final third or the box itself.

But even more importantly, Barnes does have an eye for goal and can both finish the actions himself or set his teammates up for a golden chance. His intelligent movement is often used as a weapon to confuse the markers as the 22-year-old has been known to swap positions throughout the 90 minutes.

Still, his pace and technical abilities seem to be his most prominent weapons and Leicester have been using his skill set quite well so far, as evidenced from his eight goals and nine assists.

Loads of Everton fans have been destroying Marco Silva as ONDA DEPORTIVA (via The Toffee Blues) reported that he is a contender to manage at Valencia CF.

The Spanish club currently sit in 10th place in the La Liga table on 46 points having lost their last three games in the division, and only have five matches left to boost their hopes up of qualifying for European competition for the upcoming 2020/21 season, as per Sky Sports.

Silva would surely be looking to make an instant impact if he is hired, but several members of the Toffees faithful on Twitter did not seem to have faith in him given his relatively disastrous spell at Goodison Park.

The Portuguese boss was sacked by the Merseyside club midway through this campaign off the back of a rather humiliating 5-2 defeat at the hands of their bitter rivals Liverpool that left them sitting in the relegation zone (via BBC).

Silva actually lost more games in charge of the Blues then he won, having managed in 60 matches in all competitions, according to Transfermarkt.

These EFC supporters destroyed their former coach:

Evertonians, would Silva be a bad move for Valencia? Comment below!

Manchester United have been chasing Borussia Dortmund star Jadon Sancho for several years now, but seem to be no further forward. 

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has made it clear that Sancho is his top priority as he seeks to rebuild the Red Devils.

According to The Daily Mirror, Sancho will have to angle for a move away from the Signal Iduna Park. Chief football writer John Cross claims the winger will have to take matters into his own hands.

Talks between the two clubs have stalled, as they have not been able to agree on a suitable fee.

Recent reports had suggested that the Red Devils were leading the race to sign the Bundesliga ace, but this no longer appears to be the case.

Sancho, 20, is the club’s top scorer this season, scoring 20 goals and supplying 18 assists in all competitions so far.

Dortmund are demanding £120m for the Englishman, and they have made it clear they will not sell him for any less than £100m, even though Ed Woodward has warned Man United will not be spending heavily this summer due to the unprecedented circumstances.

While United will have money to spend in the summer, there is an understanding that this could have a knockdown effect on player valuations, and they could face another long wait if they fail to sign him in the transfer window.

Everything hinges on whether or not Solskjaer’s side will qualify for the Champions League, which will make the club more attractive in the market.

The Yellow and Blacks believe he wants to return to England, amid interest from Chelsea, Liverpool, Real Madrid and Manchester City.

Failing to sign Sancho would be a huge blow for Solskjaer, as he has been pursuing the youngster for three years now, with seemingly no end in sight.

If he does want to leave, he will have to push for a move to put plans in motion.

United fans, do you think Woodward will sign Sancho in the summer? Let us know down below!

According to The Athletic journalist Phil Hay, Leeds could confirm the signing of Wigan starlet Joe Gelhardt imminently.

What did he say?

The 18-year-old has enjoyed somewhat of a breakthrough campaign with the Latics, making 19 appearances for the senior side across all competitions.

Now, Hay has revealed that there don’t seem to be any hitches that could prevent a move from happening, and even suggested that things could all be signed off by Monday.

The Greatest Bargains in Premier League history – How much did they cost?

World Class score: 95% | Expert score: 80% | Veteran score: 65% | Intermediate score: 45% | Amateur score: 30% | Try Again: 5%

He said: “This transfer is a long way down the line. There are no issues with his medical or personal terms and Leeds are happy to meet the price set by Wigan’s administrators. It comes down to whether Gelhardt wants to join and sources close to him have told The Athletic that the move should go through on Monday. A box ticked, just about.”

Victor Orta securing the future

At just 18, Gelhardt is hardly likely to come in and replace Patrick Bamford as Leeds’ starting striker for the new Premier League season.

There’s every chance that the starlet may find himself with the academy teams to begin with at Elland Road, before potentially featuring in match-day squads and making substitute appearances later down the line.

Gelhardt didn’t complete the full 90 minutes for Wigan last season, and Marcelo Bielsa surely won’t be dropping him into the deep end soon after joining a new side.

But in securing his signing before rival clubs start circling, Victor Orta has ensured Leeds have snapped up a young talent who could turn into a first-team star of the future.

Jose Mourinho has told Tottenham Hotspur to send Oliver Skipp and Jamie Bowden out on loan after signing Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg from Southampton.

That’s according to Football Insider, as relayed by @HotspurRelated, who claim Hojbjerg’s arrival has caused an upheaval, which could lead to both Bowden and Skipp leaving for the time being at least.

Recent reports revealed that Mourinho has reluctantly allowed Skipp leave north London temporarily with Fulham reportedly leading the race to sign the 19-year-old this summer.

A Spurs source close to the situation told the outlet that the manager has agreed they both need to be playing regularly to continue their development, which is something he cannot provide at the moment.

It’s a case of the old ‘catch-22’ in action; Mourinho is keen for the midfielders to gain some game time under their belts as they have outgrown development football, but the Portuguese is not prepared to give them plenty of opportunities in the first-team.

Skipp is the more senior of the Spurs duo, as he has made 21 appearances for his boyhood club, but knows he will have a better chance of playing regular football elsewhere. He signed a new four-year deal with the Lilywhites last month but is angling to leave on loan.

Bowden still hasn’t made his debut for the senior squad, although he was a part of the pre-season tour of Asia last year.

Obviously, a loan move away from north London would be best for everyone involved. Loan spells will allow the teenagers to test their mettle and mentality to come back and challenge for a place in the starting lineup. They won’t be short of options in the summer as Spurs have been flooded by offers from across the country.

Tottenham fans, do you think Skipp and Bowden need to leave on loan? Let us know down below!

After narrowly securing their survival in the Premier League, Dean Smith will have to do everything possible to boost the squad for the upcoming 2020/21 season. Of course, Aston Villa, just like the rest of the footballing world, won’t get much rest nor a proper pre-season, so the clock is already ticking.

But luckily, the Villains have already identified the areas that definitely need strengthening this summer. Smith has decided a new forward is essential and while there are reportedly numerous candidates, The Sun state Villa have made Celtic’s Odsonne Edouard their number one priority.

The young goal machine has been utterly incredible all the way through and is undoubtedly dominating the Scottish Premier League.

Of course, for that exact reason, he wouldn’t come cheap and it will take a hefty bid to even turn Neil Lennon’s head and the Sun say Villa will try with a £30m offer. At the moment, we don’t know whether that will be enough to convince the Scottish giants to part with their jewel.

Arsenal were also mentioned as interested but Mikel Arteta has now dropped out of the race, leaving Smith to face off against the likes of Crystal Palace and Leicester City.

Whatever ends up happening, one thing is for sure, Edouard might indeed be set for a switch to the Premier League sooner rather than later.

Verdict

Villa’s attack has been lacklustre throughout the campaign and adding a 28-goal machine to their ranks would undoubtedly give them the boost they are craving so much.

Of course, this will be much easier said than done. After all, Edouard is a wanted man and a star back in Glasgow. For that reason, not only will Celtic aim to keep him there for as long as they can but the price might be more than Smith can currently splash out.