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Former Leeds United striker Noel Whelan has lauded an “outrageous” moment from Raphinha in his side’s 2-0 defeat to West Ham, saying it sums him up as a player.

Marcelo Bielsa’s side were beaten at the London Stadium on Monday evening, leaving them in 11th place in the table with 11 matches remaining.

It has been a strong first season back in the top flight for Leeds, but four defeats in their last five league outings suggests they may just be running out of steam a little.

Whelan hails Raphinha

Raphinha has arguably been Leeds’ standout player so far this season, chipping in with five goals and assists apiece, wreaking havoc from out wide with his pace and trickery.

Speaking to Football Insider, Whelan lauded the 24-year-old, highlighting one acrobatic attempt against the Hammers as proof of his unique brilliance as a player, as well as praising his mentality:

“Raphinha was very quiet in the first 20 or 30 minutes of the game. Second half, when you need to show a bit of fight, we know he’s got that. It’s one of the thing things that I love so much about him. He gets upset by defeats. You can see that they hurt him.

“He was trying everything. The overhead kick that took a deflection, I don’t think any other player would have tried that in the Leeds United side.

“It goes to show the confidence and the belief in his own abilities that he has to try something as outrageous as that. It nearly came off.

“He’s one of these players that rise to the occasion and stands up to the fight. When you’re 2-0 down, his head doesn’t go down to the ground, his body language isn’t bad.

“He’s one of these players that wants to really fight and get something out of the game. We need these players at Leeds.

“But he gets that opportunity and he knows himself that he should have scored. Anywhere to the right or the left, it’s a goal. We’ve seen him bend them in two or three times this season.”

Transfer Tavern take

There is no doubt that Bielsa will be desperate to keep hold of Raphinha beyond this season, with the likes of Liverpool and Manchester United rumoured to be interested in signing him.

The Brazilian brings so much quality to this Leeds side and losing him would undoubtedly hamper their chances of building on this promising season and kicking on further in 2021/22 and beyond.

In other news: Phil Hay highlights major defensive issue at Leeds.

Miguel Almiron lit up the stage as Newcastle United beat Everton 2-0 on Saturday with the Paraguayan often the most creative player on the pitch.

Steve Bruce was desperate for a positive result at Goodison Park with his Magpies side without a win in 11 games across all competitions, but built on the promising second half seen in defeat to Leeds with a brace from Callum Wilson.

Newcastle played with a solid tempo throughout their time on Merseyside to flip the form book and deny the Toffees a chance to move fourth in the table, with Wilson opening the scoring by heading in Jonjo Shelvey’s corner before scoring again in stoppage time.

Wilson had failed to score in his last seven appearances across all competitions but struck his ninth and 10th goals of the season thanks a greater level of service into the ex-AFC Bournemouth striker.

Newcastle’s struggles getting the ball into their £20m man left Wilson anonymous in defeat at Aston Villa last week, while rarely seeing chances to end his drought against Leeds on Tuesday before a change of system.

Bruce stuck with the revised formation for United’s trip to Everton and saw his decision pay off, with Almiron able to pull the strings from the centre and constantly drive at the Everton backline.

Had Almiron not been on form, Wilson may not have been able to punish the Toffees for their toothless performance with Carlo Ancelotti’s side unable to match the pace of the game.

Almiron even brought Isaac Hayden into the Magpies’ attacking moves, teeing the defensive midfielder up for a shot midway through the first half that needed a block from Gylfi Sigurdsson to not test former Sunderland goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.

The £42,000-per-week Paraguayan would have been very much deserving of his second assist of the Premier League season and first since matchday one had Wilson managed to find the back of the net moments before the end, too, having seen the striker round Pickford but hit the post from a tight angle.

Almiron’s efforts played a key role in Newcastle snapping their winless run and moving marginally further clear of the relegation zone, having played his socks off in the centre.

United only saw 39% of the ball during their 2-0 win at Goodison Park, ensuring the Toon had to use their time in possession to good effect. But Almiron more than did his fair share, with the 26-year-old ending the game with the joint-most key passes (3) having created more goal-scoring opportunities than any Everton player, per WhoScored.

Almiron also attempted the third-most dribbles by a visiting player (2), attempted the second-most tackles (3), made the joint-most interceptions (2) and was never dispossessed, to highlight his ability at both making a difference with the ball at his feet and in winning it back.

Wilson may have scored twice to seal what has become a rare win for Newcastle, but the 28-year-old was dispossessed seven times – four more than any other player for either side – and failed to create a goalscoring chance for his teammates despite taking six shots.

Bruce must now realise the errors of his ways in playing Almiron out wide in recent months, having also scored against Leeds, and stick with the £14.5m-rated maestro in the middle if Newcastle are to build on their emerging form.

AND in other news, Newcastle could part with a £30k-p/w dynamo before the end of the month…

Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa is doing a remarkable job at the club and looks to have turned them from a Championship team to a comfortable Premier League team and Phil Hay has delivered an exciting update on his future.

What Hay had to say about Bielsa

The journalist for The Athletic was talking about the manager and reported: “Marcelo Bielsa has been involved in talks about the next transfer window and people close to him say he is more and more invested in the ‘long game’ at Leeds.”

This is great news for the club

The fact that the Argentinian was nominated and placed in the top three for ‘the best’ FIFA men’s coach emphasises the quality of manager Leeds have and it was a great achievement to get him at the club in the first place.

He is normally known for not thinking about his long term future, and this is proven by the fact he only does one-year contracts. Therefore to hear this update from a very reliable journalist should excite supporters of the club massively.

It is also good to hear that they are discussing the transfer window. Kalvin Phillips’ injury is highlighting a need for squad depth as they struggle a lot defensively without him. If the club can continue to have such a good campaign then they have a real foundation to build on, especially with Biesla in charge and they can look at promoted clubs from the past like Leicester and Wolves and turn the club back into a real powerhouse again.

In other Leeds news one star has been praised by legend Deco, have a read who it is here!

Kevin Phillips has tipped newly-promoted Leeds United to bring exiled Spurs left-back, Danny Rose, back to Elland Road.

The England international is approaching the final six months of his contract in north London and after slipping drastically down the pecking order, this summer will call time on his 13-year era with the Lilywhites.

It’s a tough pill to swallow for Rose who has only had two permanent clubs in his professional career.

He joined Spurs from Leeds back in 2007 and he now finds himself being shown the door by Daniel Levy.

The 30-year-old hasn’t made a single appearance for Tottenham this season and has been demoted to the reserve league, which is a huge slap in the face.

Why Leeds should sign Danny Rose

Speaking to Football Insider, Phillips thinks that snapping up Rose next summer would be a “no brainer” for Andrea Radrizzani.

“I imagine Leeds would look at Danny Rose. It will not be about money for him at this stage,” the ex-striker said. “He will want to play football and I am sure he would love to play in a Marcelo Bielsa side. A specialised, experience left-back who is good on the ball. He could slot in quite nicely.”

Indeed, with things turning extremely sour down in London, Rose will likely take a wage cut in order to secure regular playing time. With no transfer fee to pay next year, it’s an extremely attractive bit of business for Leeds.

Bielsa is also struggling with an injury-stricken squad at the moment, with both Robin Koch and Diego Llorente on the sidelines.

This has forced Luke Ayling to cover the centre-back position, with Stuart Dallas moving to right-back. Whilst it’s a testament to these players’ versatility, it’s alarming that Leeds have such little depth when it comes to their defensive options.

Rose would be a huge boost in this department and would likely get regular minutes with Dallas now taking on a new midfield role.

Re-signing the 30-year-old dynamo in the summer should be an option that Radrizzani is already considering, as it would benefit all parties involved in the move.

In other news, Andrea Radrizzani update could spell huge news for the Whites…

Tottenham Hotspur clearly haven’t learned their lesson.

Once again, they sat back in the second half and invited pressure to the point of the opposition scoring.

It wasn’t too long ago that Spurs sat top of the table with both Heung-min Son and Harry Kane scoring goals for fun, now they have slipped to sixth place having also dropped points to Crystal Palace and Wolverhampton Wanderers in the very same manner.

Indeed, Fulham had more shots (eight) than the home side (five) in the second half and also dominated possession, notching a total of 55% – a total contrast to the opening period as Jose Mourinho’s side were in complete control with 58% possession, via SofaScore.

After Harry Kane opened the scoring by ending a fine move which saw Sergio Reguilon whip a delightful ball in for him to nod home, Spurs were pegged back in the 74th minute when Eric Dier was caught napping from a cross himself. The diminutive 5 foot 9 Ivan Cavaleiro beat him to a header.

Though, the Englishman’s game overall, aside from that one momentary lapse in concentration, was actually pretty decent – he managed three clearances, two tackles and enjoyed more touches than any other Spurs player (94), per SofaScore.

This shows that he had a major influence in starting Spurs’ counter-attacks as not even the playmaking Tanguy Ndombele could get near such numbers (69) having only played nine fewer minutes.

He also proved to be a strong presence at the back, thwarting Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who endured the match’s second-lowest rating of 6.2 after completing just one of five dribbles as well as losing the ball 15 times, per SofaScore.

Other culprits let Mourinho down far worse at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last night, perhaps surprisingly, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg was one huge disappointment.

The great Dane, often a powerhouse in the middle of the pitch, averaging 2.8 tackles, 2.2 fouls and 1.2 interceptions per game on the season via WhoScored, was instead wasteful and lightweight against the Cottagers.

Only one other Spurs player graded worse than his 6.3 rating as he won only 35% of his 14 duels, he won 12 out of 17 in the 3-0 victory against Leeds United last time out as a comparison, and committed four fouls, which is nearly double his usual mean as above. He was even dribbled past four times, which was more than anyone else on the pitch, per SofaScore.

The £27m-rated summer arrival was completely dominated by his opposite numbers Harrison Reed, who made six tackles, and Andre Zambo Anguissa, who successfully pulled off six dribbles, thus the pair ran rings around Hojbjerg all night.

To top things off, the 25-year-old picked up his fourth booking of the season having committed four fouls, meaning he’ll be on thin ice in the coming games now.

“He’s a captain without needing to wear the armband,” Mourinho said in October (via The Athletic) – well if that’s the case, then the ‘Special One’ has every right to feel aggrieved and let down by Hojbjerg’s outing on Wednesday night.

Someone with that acclaim, on over £100k-per-week too, should be doing so, so much better.

AND in other news, Spurs can find next Jan Vertonghen in “phenomenal talent” lauded by Messi…

Sunderland simply aren’t at the races right now.

They should be buoyed by the potential of a takeover, but instead, there is still an incredibly negative atmosphere surrounding the Stadium of Light.

They can’t hold onto leads and their attack is far from flowing – heading into this weekend, Sunderland had scored the second-lowest number of goals in the top eight so far.

That, clearly, is far from ideal. They are behind their promotion rivals and if they don’t score more goals, they will be consigned to yet another year in League One.

Danny Graham has still only scored two strikes in 54 matches for Sunderland while Will Grigg has yet to find the net all season.

For someone who cost the club £4m in 2019, you want a lot more for your money.

Sunderland’s issues have only got worse with the news that Lynden Gooch will miss the next month. Aiden McGeady is building up his fitness and with Elliott Embleton back in the first-team fray, they do have solutions.

However, what if Phil Parkinson thought outside the box? One player he could consider is 20-year-old Jack Diamond, someone with just nine first-team appearances to his name.

He spent last season on loan at Harrogate Town where he scored three goals in their triumphant promotion campaign from the National League to League 2 and since returning, he has been superb for Sunderland’s U23s.

The versatile forward has scored three goals in three Premier League 2 outings, while he also netted for the senior side in the Papa John’s trophy.

Having made two appearances in the league this term, he is clearly in Parkinson’s plans but he needs to play more, especially with the lack of fluidity in the Black Cats’ attack right now.

After all, Diamond had a brilliant summer, being hailed by both Luke O’Nien and Phil Parkinson.

His teammate said back in September: “There are a few of the youngsters who have been impressing. Jack Diamond has come back and done really well, so we have that healthy competition.”

Parkinson added: “Jack we’ve been pleased with, he’s got real pace and power. There are areas of his game he’s got to get better at but you’d expect that for a young player.”

It’s evident why he needs more regular action.

Meanwhile, one Sunderland man who made just SEVEN passes on Friday night let Parkinson down…

Whilst Manchester City might well be tempted to search for a replacement for Eric Garcia in the January or summer transfer windows, they arguably have a player who can eclipse the Spaniard ready-made in the City academy.

Garcia has been attracting the interest of Barcelona for some time now and looks set to leave the Citizens when his contract with the club expires next summer.

However, Pep Guardiola can replace the 21-year-old by promoting academy talent Taylor Harwood-Bellis to the first-team on a permanent basis.

The 18-year-old has already made six appearances for the City first-team in his short career, whilst he has been a regular in City’s academy sides in recent seasons (per Transfermarkt).

Back in 2019, Guardiola was full of praise for the centre-back after he and Eric Garcia started together in City’s Carabao Cup win against Preston North End, saying:

“I am pleased a lot with Eric Garcia and Taylor Harwood-Bellis at the back, they helped us a lot.

“They combined, they suit each other perfectly and they have played in the academy every weekend.

“They are exceptional human beings with a good mentality. I am very pleased.” (per Goal)

Therefore, the Englishman has clearly already impressed Guardiola a lot with his performances in the past, so when Garcia leaves the club, it seems clear that City won’t need to venture into the transfer market, as they already have a natural successor in Harwood-Bellis.

He has featured twice in the Carabao Cup already this season, featuring as a right-back in the win against Burnley, which demonstrates the youngster’s versatility and willingness to play wherever needed, whilst he was also on the bench for City’s Champions League fixtures against Marseille and Porto, which will have been a great experience for the youngster.

Whilst the defender is unlikely to establish himself as a regular in City’s first-team any time soon, due to the plethora of options available to Guardiola at the back, there seems no reason why he can’t be a big part of the Citizens’ future, providing he continues to work hard and prove himself with the academy sides.

And, in other news… 106 passes completed: Man City defender produced another near-perfect display vs Fulham

Have you found your favourite team for the season yet? With Everton and Aston Villa in a surprising lead in the Premier league, it looks like it’s going to be an exciting run this year. You never know if they’ll pull off a Leicester City. We all know that championships are won in April and May, but why not find your team to root for already when the title is up for grabs?

With Virgil van Dijk out for most of the season, it looks like Liverpool will have a hard time winning their second Premier League title in a row. That means the Premier League might crown a new champion this year. The question is who’s hungry enough for it. Arsenal, Manchester United and City don’t look comfortable this year, Chelsea is being rebuilt, so who’s left?

Tottenham might look like a strong contender for the premiership this year. It certainly seems like Mourinho’s ideas are taking hold, and they look strong with Kane and Song in front. But if you really want to twist the tale of 2020, what about a team like Everton under Ancelotti’s rule? They haven’t been this strong since the 70’s and we might be in for a thrill of a season this year. Don’t do like Özil and miss out on all the fun.

Place your bets for the season

You probably heard of the man who placed a quid on Leicester City in 2015. Who would have thought there was 5000 times return on his bet and hold true? You don’t have to be quite as optimistic or radical in your approach to betting, but let’s say Aston Villa or Everton might qualify for the Europa League next season. Or might even join the top 4. It might not seem as unrealistic as it sounds. If Aston Villa can beat champions Liverpool at home 7-2, that kind of proves that anything can happen in football.

You can receive free betting tips if you look in the right places. If the Premier League doesn’t interest you, there’s plenty going on the leagues below. Will this be Brentford’s year? There’s football played every day all over the world, so you don’t have to limit your bets to English football. There are plenty of matches to go around for everyone and now the Champions League and Europa League have begun, it’s all about picking your games to watch.

Remember, be responsible

As with anything else in life, you can’t evade responsibility. That means you should never gamble for more than your worth or even can afford. You’ve heard the stories before. Betting should always be a fun supplement to your monthly income.

Betting is about responsibility and if you can set aside a little of your earnings each month, it should be sufficient for you to enjoy the fun of sports betting. If you always stick to your budget, you can make sure you will have a fun time at the sports centre.

Leeds United are on cloud nine right now as they sit fifth in the Premier League, six games into their long-awaited return,

Things are going incredibly well at Elland Road, but you can’t help but feel that the Whites may not be able to sustain this progress, especially with the injury problems sustained in recent weeks, with Kalvin Phillips, Liam Cooper and Diego Llorente all picking up problems.

Fortunately, one man who has been able to avoid injury is Illan Meslier.

Meslier has been one of Leeds’ best players this term, earning all sorts of plaudits throughout the season, but if he was to go down injured, Leeds would be in something of a nightmare predicament.

Indeed, United would have to call upon Kiko Casilla if Meslier were to pick up a problem, and nobody needs reminding why that’s a troublesome situation.

Casilla made a string of high-profile errors last season against Wigan, Nottingham Forest and Brentford, leading to Phil Hay claiming that his head had gone.

Noel Whelan would go on to describe him as ‘an accident waiting to happen’ and his calamitous display for the U23s over the weekend shows that he hasn’t done much to shake that moniker.

Having him as Meslier’s deputy is undoubtedly a dangerous game to be playing, and while Elia Caprile also remains at the club, he’s never played a senior minute in English football, so trusting him would be just as much of a risk.

Leeds’ first port of call in January should be to sign a back-up goalkeeper, whether that be on a loan or on a permanent deal, because having Casilla as your number 2 is asking for trouble.

We can only hope that Victor Orta is aware of the situation concerning the goalkeepers and that he’s got his eyes on solving that issue with a signing in January.

In our Transfers that shook the club feature, Football Transfer Tavern takes a look at deals that many may not have seen coming and the impact that they had during their time by using statistical data and pundit remarks.

Kevin Keegan is a name that makes the hairs stand up on the necks of Newcastle United fans around the world.

A fine player for the Magpies, the now 69-year old scored a rather impressive 48 goals in 78 games in English league football between 1982 and 1984, according to Soccerbase.

Many supporters of the Tyneside club would have therefore relished the appointment of Keegan as manager ahead of the 1993/94 season, when he won 24 of his 43 matches in carge, with his team scoring 89 goals in the process, as per Transfermarkt.

The 1994/95 season would see his record dip slightly, as the Englishman won 23 of his 47 games as coach, with his side managing to score nine fewer goals (via Transfermarkt).

However, it was arguably not until the 1995/96 campaign that Keegan really made his mark. Finishing just a mere four points off of Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United in the Premier League table, the Geordie guided his team to a quite respectable second place. On the other hand, this could remarkably be seen as an ultimate failure, with the Magpies being 12 points clear at the top of the table in February.

Ultimately, Keegan’s tenure at St. James’ Park came to an end in the January of the following year, as the Toon Army still ponder what might have been.

However, little did they know back then that this was not the end of the Messiah. Indeed, the silver fox returned as manager in the northeast in January 2008 in what may have come as a shock.

Unfortunately, Keegan only managed to win four out of his 17 games in charge during his second spell in charge (per resigning after only eight months in the job, which left the club searching for a new boss very early in the campaign.

With all of this in mind, it cannot really be said that the return of King Kev was all that successful, and so fans may still be cursing their luck that his reign could be deemed ultimately as another failure, with flashbacks of the 1995/96 Premier League title collapse still fresh in their minds.

Geordies, was Keegan’s return to Newcastle a failure? Comment below with your views!