Slavisa Jokanovic

1 In And 1 Out – 2 Transfers That Fulham Could Complete In January

I hate to sound like a broken record, but I’m so hugely frustrated with Fulham this season and their manager Slavisa Jokanovic. I’m annoyed because I like Jokanovic but his choices this year confuse me. Last season, they did alright and stayed in the slipstream of the top six for the first-half of the campaign, all the while playing good football and entertaining people.

In the second half of the campaign, Ryan Sessegnon was unleashed on the league and with Scott Malone occupying left-back, the youngster was played as a left winger in a 4-2-3-1 formation.

Things were simple; Cairney wanted to play in the middle, did so and attracted a £20million bid from Newcastle.  Sessegnon was on the left and showed his true attacking talent which even at that age was too much for most defences, while Sone Aluko was as usual at home, cutting in from the right.

This season, he has tinkered with various formations which have left Cairney and the influential Stefan Johansen out of position, while the boss insists that Sessegnon is a left-back. It’s maddening. However, he appears to be stubborn on this one and so any ins and out may reflect this:

Ben Marshall (Wolverhampton Wanderers, In)

Jokanovic simply won’t listen to reason regarding Sessegnon, so even when he does return to the 4-2-3-1 formation which sprung them to a play-off place at the end of the season, it would appear he won’t play the young man there on the long-term.

Ben Marshall has long since been linked with a move south though and he is comfortable in that position himself, something which was shown when this was his regular starting place at Wolves last season under Paul Lambert, who of course knows him so well.

Ryan Sessegnon (Tottenham Hotspur, Out)

Even if he stayed, he wouldn’t be in rightful position and I fear for the player that it’ll now happen either way, with Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino seemingly seeing the young England hopeful as a replacement for Danny Rose, who could be about to join Manchester United for £50million after having fallen out with the boss somewhat.

Whatever money is offered for Sessegnon will be huge, so there is no way Fulham will turn it down I feel. As far as the player is concerned, he would be wise to make the move regardless of his position on the pitch, as he can always state his case for playing further forward, somewhere down the line, much like what Gareth Bale did.

Emerson Palmieri

Why Liverpool Should Look To Sign Emerson Palmieri In January

Liverpool’s Premier League season is going through a rough patch and Jurgen Klopp’s side has conceded 16 times in 9 outings so far in the league. The defence has been a major concern and a string of dismal defensive displays have made things complicated for the Reds, especially following previous weekend’s disastrous 4-1 Wembley defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.

Klopp’s summer transfer policy was highly criticised for not bringing in a centre-back which was considered as their topmost priority and his defensive options like Dejan Lovren and Ragnar Klavan have failed to impress the gaffer due to their error-prone displays.

The entire back five of Liverpool needs an upgrade and despite early promises shown by the youngsters like Danny Ward, Joe Gomez, Andrew Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, the back line lacks experience as well as consistency. Nathaniel Clyne is yet to return from his injury whereas Joel Matip is also proving to be little inconsistent lately.

Left-back Alberto Moreno, surprisingly, has been the most influential defender for the Merseysiders who has improved drastically following a couple of disappointing campaigns. Yet, the Liverpool defence is not good enough if we compare them with both the Manchester clubs, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur and if reports from several outlets are believed to be true, Reds boss Klopp is set to complete the £22m transfer of AS Roma left-back Emerson Palmieri who has been extensively scouted in recent years and a summer move reportedly broke down due to his ACL rupture that he suffered towards the end of the previous campaign and is yet to recover fully from this long-standing injury.

Emerson, 23, joined the Serie A heavyweights back in 2015 from Santos and despite being a second-fiddle to Lucas Digne, the Brazil-born defender has earned regular status after Digne’s departure (who joined Barcelona) and has impressed in the short run following a balanced display down the left flank. He has showed great attacking skills but has maintained defensive composure at the same time – something Liverpool desperately need to sort out as early as possible.

Liverpool’s left-back conundrum is nothing new. Since Jose Enrique’s egress, the Reds have experimented many in that role, but most of them failed to earn a regular status. Moreno joined them back in 2014 but failed to convince the gaffer with his erroneous outings. Klopp had to play versatile James Milner in a makeshift left-back role last season, who, against all odds, did a tremendous job in an unusual slot and benched the Spaniard for the majority of the campaign.

Moreno was on the verge of being transferred out and Klopp brought in young Scotsman Andrew Robertson following an impressive Premier League campaign with Hull City. But Moreno sensationally turned his fortunes around with a stellar pre-season campaign and re-registered his place in the starting XI despite Robertson’s commendable performances in limited opportunities.

The Reds now have three options for the left-back slot including James Milner; Emerson’s arrival thus will jeopardise Robertson’s career growth furthermore. The Roma youngster has statistical superiority that makes him an upgrade on the current options and his signing will be a strong message of Klopp’s intent to rebuild his defensive line.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmB2dUIHRC8

Son Heung-min

Son Heung-min Is As Good As The Superstars Of English Football And He Deserves More Plaudits

Premier League football has witnessed plenty of ups and downs over the years, but Tottenham Hotspur’s upsurge under Mauricio Pochettino has to be the most notable one especially in an era when money is ruling the world of football. Spurs, the North London heavyweights, have always been in the shadow of their local rivals Arsenal.

However, they successfully clinched a second-placed league finish last season, much above the Gunners (who failed to secure even a Champions League spot) and were closest challengers of league champions Chelsea.

Tottenham have a youthful squad who are working as a unit under young Argentine gaffer Mauricio Pochettino. The likes of Harry Kane, Dele Alli, and Christian Eriksen have emerged as Premier League’s brightest of attackers who have performed exceptionally well in Spurs’ attacking third.

One of Tottenham Hotspur’s stars, however, has been immensely underrated despite being one of their most consistent performers since last summer. We are talking about 25-year-old South Korean attacker Son Heung-min who has settled in well since joining the Premier League giants a couple of years back on a £22million fee from Bundesliga outfit Bayer Leverkusen.

Although he struggled to have much game-time in his maiden Premier League campaign due to the scintillating form of Erik Lamela, Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen in the frontline, Son grabbed his opportunities last season due to the injuries of Argentine wingman Lamela, as well as hitman Harry Kane for a few game weeks.

The South Korean international appeared 34 times (23 starts) in the league last term where he netted 14 goals and registered 6 assists. Statistically, he was on par with the likes of Eden Hazard, Sadio Mane and Philippe Coutinho – footballers, who are lauded as Premier League’s most valued attackers in terms of influence, quality, as well as the impact on the game.

Hazard appeared 36 times last season in the league for the Blues where he found the net on 16 occasions and assisted 5 times. Coutinho, Liverpool’s Samba sensation, netted 13 and assisted 7 times in 28 league starts (31 appearances altogether in Premier League).

Sadio Mane, who became Liverpool’s Player of the Season for 2016-17 and was also included in Premier League’s Team of the Year, managed 26 starts in the league and scored 13 goals and 5 assists during the previous campaign. Son performed efficiently in both the wings and also as the second striker but never received enough acknowledgements despite being as good as the superstars of English football.

Son scored a sensational goal against Borussia Dortmund in their Champions League opener where the North London heavyweights secured a comfortable 3-1 win against the Bundesliga big guns. In spite of his excellence, the wingman’s place in Spurs’ starting XI is not secured enough as he has only managed 3 substitute appearances among 4  of Tottenham’s league outings this season.

But the player does not seem to be worried about his game-time and is confident of quietly continuing his good work for the North Londoners.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=no7lz5mtGME