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Mateusz Klich played the full 90 minutes as Leeds United drew 1-1 with Preston North End in Tuesday night’s Championship affair at Deepdale.

Eddie Nketiah scored a late equaliser for Marcelo Bielsa’s side, who are second in the Championship table with 24 points from their 13 matches this season.

That Klich has started every league match for the Whites this term – contributing one goal and one assist ahead of the clash with Preston on Tuesday night – suggests Bielsa is an admirer of his talent and considers him an important member of the squad.

According to WhoScored, the midfielder had two shots, made four tackles and boasted a pass success rate of 89% against Alex Neil’s side, which is not exactly disastrous.

However, there was a real mixed bag of opinions from the Leeds fans when it came to discussing the 29-year-old.

Why being the away goalkeeper at Leeds is the toughest job in football in the video below…

Whilst not all of the comments were directly related to his performance against Preston, it was very interesting to see just how many different views there were on the midfielder’s contribution.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

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…

Speaking to TV2, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s former Norway teammate Stale Solbakken has slammed the performances of Jesse Lingard.

What did he say?

Lingard has endured a frustrating calendar year, and has yet to open his goal-scoring account for this season. A section of the Manchester United support have criticised him for his poor form, and now, Solbakken has further poured salt on the wounds.

The former Wolves boss said (as translated by The Daily Mirror): “I can’t remember the last time I saw Jesse Lingard playing a good match, I actually can’t. He is truly an Achilles heel for this United team.

Watch how to cross the road like a boss with freestyler Ben Nuttall in the video below…

“He is almost invisible, and when he is subbed out you wonder, did you even see him? And this is not the first time. I don’t see him, I don’t see his personality, I don’t see what he brings to United.

Watch Manchester United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

“Seriously I think he is a direct liability to the team because in the position he plays you have to either be good with the ball so you can play in small spaces, otherwise you have to be dynamic and go behind the opponent’s back four from a slightly deeper position, get on second balls on from crosses for example, be a threat round the opponent’s box, have goal nose. I don’t see that he has anything.”

Damning

Talk about kicking a man when he’s down. Solbakken’s brutal verdict on what Lingard offers United is a fresh reminder of just how far the England international’s stock has fallen. As an academy product, the 26-year-old should be the poster boy of the Red Devils’ revolution. A player who has come through the youth sides and gone on to form the heartbeat of the midfield.

Instead, his off-the-pitch activities have pretty much symbolised everything that has gone wrong for him in recent months. A lack of focus and dedication to his craft, and quite understandably, on the receiving end of criticism from some of his own fans. And with players like Angel Gomes and Mason Greenwood waiting in the wings, Lingard’s time is perhaps over.

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Sunderland may have sacked Jack Ross, but they don’t have anyone lined up to replace him, as reported by The Sunderland Echo.

Stewart Donald has been quoted as saying: “This is the reality of it: Jack has left the football club because I’ve made the judgement call that promotion this season has the best chance this season, potentially, with someone else.

“I’m gutted to say that and I’m sure Jack will come back from this stronger. Nothing has been pre-done, it hasn’t been done because of news on a takeover, we’re now starting fresh and we’ve got to find our new man and we’ve got to get it right.”While there is no concrete interest in one specific man, Daniel Stendel has emerged as an early option for the job, having got Barnsley promoted, with Donald admitting he could be someone the club looks at.

Ross came in following Sunderland’s second consecutive relegation and managed to stabilise the club, losing out in the play-offs to a 94th-minute goal from Patrick Bauer, as per Transfermarkt.

However, just having the club stabilised is no longer deemed enough, as indicated by Donald’s aforementioned comments, meaning that having the club sitting sixth in the League One table, having lost twice and failed to keep a single league clean sheet was not good enough.

Ross had lost the backing of many fans, as was indicated by the response he got following the Black Cats’ 2-0 loss against Lincoln City, the game that would prove to be his last as Sunderland manager.

The fact this decision has been made without a replacement being lined up indicates how much the Sunderland bosses felt Ross was underperforming.

Sunderland will need to move quickly to appoint someone, though the postponement of the Fleetwood Town match will give extra time for the new man to begin implementing their ideas once appointed.

Sunderland fans, was this the correct decision? Join the discussion by commenting below…

[ad_pod ]Cenk Tosun’s performance for Turkey on Tuesday evening has caught the eye of many Everton fans, who want him to be given another chance in the team.The striker scored twice in his country’s 4-0 win over Moldova, including a well-taken goal which saw him dink the ball over the goalkeeper before volleying into the back of the net.So far this season he has been limited to a place on the bench, featuring only once, in a cup match against Lincoln.However, some fans believe Marco Silva is making a mistake by leaving him out, and despite his record of nine goals in 44 appearances for the Toffees, they want him to be given another regular run to prove himself.One fan noted that he would be a good partner for Moise Kean to have, while others suggest he would be able to score the chances that Dominic Calvert-Lewin has missed so far this campaign.Watch Everton Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Take a look at the best of the reaction below!

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[ad_pod ]Aston Villa will feel frustrated by picking up just a point at home to a ten-man West Ham side.The visitors’ left-back Arthur Masuaku received his marching orders 23 minutes from time after picking up a second yellow card for what appeared to be a challenge on Ahmed Elmohamady.Dean Smith’s men failed to capitalise as the game petered out into a goalless stalemate.Their captain Jack Grealish has since come out and claimed that the result “feels like a defeat,†but what do the experts think?

Lee Hendrie (BBC Radio 5 Live)

Former Villa midfielder Lee Hendrie, who made over 250 appearances in B6 over 14 years, didn’t mince his words and kept it short and sweet.

He doesn’t appear to be wrong either as the club are the joint-second lowest goalscorers of this current Premier League campaign, having scored just four goals from five matches.

Ashley Preece (Birmingham Live)

Local reporter Ashley Preece added more fuel to the fire by continuing to blast what appears to be an apparent trend.

He blamed Villa’s frontline of Wesley, Jota and Anwar El Ghazi for their inability to score or even create changes of note.

The home side recorded ten shots at goal, but just half were on target, per WhoScored.

Oliver Kay (The Athletic)

And finally, this tweet from Oliver Kay, the senior football writer at the Athletic, pretty much summed everything up.

He believed the decision-making of the Villa squad was crucial to their demise on Monday night, labelling it ‘bizarre.’

Things will need to drastically improve in the near future otherwise, a relegation battle could be on the horizon.

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West Ham visit Selhurst Park on Saturday to face Crystal Palace and will be hoping for a repeat of their previous meeting – the Hammers ran out 3-2 winners on December – although their chances will be significantly boosted if Manuel Pellegrini makes a simple tactical tweak.

On the chalkboard

There is a feeling of positivity around the London Stadium this season, despite some questionable results – Pellegrini has taken the helm and was backed extensively in the transfer market as he looked to overhaul the mish-mash he inherited from David Moyes.

While a few of the summer signings have failed to make an impact – albeit largely due to injuries – Felipe Anderson has been exceptional in the Premier League and is a threat when given an opportunity to whip in a cross or take a shot on goal.

Playing on the left-flank, the Brazilian has been a standout performer but will surely struggle to produce the goods if he starts in his regular role. He may not like it, but the former Lazio man must be deployed on the right if he wants as much joy as usual.

Avoiding Aaron Wan-Bissaka

Palace right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka has outshone Eagles talisman Wilfried Zaha this season and his battling performances in defence have surely put him on the radar of the big six.

As the noisy Selhurst Park faithful will tell you, wingers hate playing against the former winger; his pace makes him difficult to get away from and, on the rare occasion that he is beaten, a perfectly-time sliding tackle will often see him win the ball back.

Anderson would surely breathe a sigh of relief if he was tasked with attacking down Palace’s left, guarded by Patrick van Aanholt. The Dutchman is a threat going forward but can be caught out in defence – Pellegrini must switch his speedster over to the opposite wing if he wants to get the best from his star man, even if it means the 25-year-old won’t be able to cut inside, as he loves to do.

Who is West Ham’s worst ever signing? Check out the video below for a pretty strong candidate for the dubious honour…

Life hasn’t really been easy for Thibaut Courtois at Real Madrid so far.

The now 27-year-old goalkeeper joined Los Blancos in the summer of 2018 and has since become their first-choice man between the sticks. But that role proved to be rather difficult to perform for the Belgian.

In fact, Marca came out with an interesting statistic that showed just how difficult it actually is. They revealed that Courtois hasn’t been able to keep a clean sheet at Real Madrid since February, which is an extremely disappointing record to hold.

Watch Spanish Football Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Needless to say, as soon as the fans found out about it, they were left angry and in disbelief.

Many of them quickly took to Twitter to voice their disappointment and to slam their goalkeeper, with some calling him “pathetic” and “useless”.

You can see some of their reactions and replies in the collection of tweets down below.

Beware, though, it is not a lovely sight for any Courtois fans…

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Crystal Palace have joined Brentford in the race to sign free agent Christian Eriksen.

That’s according to 90min, and their claim has had a number of Eagles fans talking on social media.

Eriksen is currently without a club after leaving Inter Milan last month and has been offered a return to the Premier League with Brentford.

The Bees have tabled an initial six-month contract with the option of a further year for the 29-year-old, however, Palace are also circling.

90min suggest that the Eagles and Championship leaders Fulham have also made contact with the attacking midfielder, who has made 226 appearances in the Premier League, scoring 51 times and providing 67 assists.

Eriksen left Tottenham in 2020, but it seems as if a return to England is on the cards with multiple clubs keen on his services.

Palace fans react

@CPFCtransfersHQ shared the update regarding Palace’s interest in Eriksen on Twitter. This is what these Eagles supporters have had to say in reply, with many surprised at the links.

“Please @CPFC”

Credit: @joshstoneham03

“Maybe Eriksen is coming? Seems interesting”

Credit: @byson_matrix

“I’m going to pretend this is happening and have a fantastic Monday night”

Credit: @erictwigs

“Let’s get him!”

Credit: @SidViscous9

“Beautiful player, who I would LOVE to see in red n blue, BUT – can he really be allowed on a pitch after his last appearance? There’s a reason why his last contract was annulled…”

Credit: @Promo_man

“Erm”

Credit: @matthew_poole30

In other news: Crystal Palace now move for Celtic defender with transfer on the cards – journalist. 

Tim Spiers has now revealed some key transfer news involving Wolves and Adama Traore.

The Lowdown: Who’s in the running?

Traore’s contract at Molineux expires in the summer of 2023, and with no sign of him penning a new deal any time soon, the January transfer window provides the optimum opportunity for the Midlands club to get the maximum value out of selling him.

Tottenham have been strongly linked with signing him after reportedly already having personal terms agreed, while Italian football journalist Rudy Galetti has recently claimed that the 25-year-old is on his way to Barcelona on a loan move with an option to buy.

The Latest: Traore’s price tag revealed

Replying to a Wolves fan on Twitter, The Athletic journalist Spiers has revealed that Traore’s asking price is €25m (£20.9m), contrary to some reports of a higher figure. The journalist tweeted:

“I think there’s some confusion because some reports are £ and some €.

“From what I’m told it’s €25m, so £20.9m.”

The Verdict: Too cheap

While Traore has not been at his best so far this season, with just one goal scored and no assists in 23 games across all competitions (Transfermarkt still value him at £25.2m, and there is no doubting his ability on his day.

The Spain international currently averages a whopping 4.2 dribbles per game in the Premier League, second only to Newcastle winger Allan Saint-Maximin (4.3), and at 26 years of age, he still has room for improvement.

Wolves should not be bullied into selling him cheaply with just a few days left in the transfer window.

In other news, find out what transfer update has left these Wolves fans gushing

Rangers are battling a number of Premier League sides in the race to sign West Brom star Sam Johnstone in the upcoming January transfer window.

What’s the story?

According to TEAMtalk, Giovanni van Bronckhorst has got his sights set on the England international as the man to bolster his goalkeeping options, but he won’t be an easy target to get.

It’s claimed that Spurs, Newcastle and West Ham are all also interested in the 6 foot 3 shot-stopper, whose contract at the Hawthorns comes to an end in the summer.

The report adds that Rangers “could even offer a pre-contract in January in view of next season and beyond.”

A new era at Rangers

While Allan McGregor has served Rangers incredibly well with a whopping 416 games to his name, his performances this campaign have just reinforced the idea that his best days are well and truly behind him.

In fact, McGregor has a save percentage of just 50% in the Scottish Premiership for the Gers, which is the joint-lowest in the division, and at 39, should surely be out of Van Bronckhorst’s plans at Ibrox.

And, the Dutchman could kickstart that new era by making a swoop for the 28-year-old Johnstone.

His former boss Steve Bruce labelled the shot-stopper a “diamond”, and given the kind of shift he has had to put in last season at The Hawthorns, it’s no surprise why he has earned such praise.

No goalkeeper in the Premier League faced more shots on target (228) than Johnstone, while no goalkeeper has made as many saves as him either (161) – it was no surprise then that he earned rave reviews for his performances, with Micah Richards hailing his former teammate as “exceptional” last year.

Despite the fact the Baggies were relegated from the Premier League, Gareth Southgate called Johnstone up for the England squad back in September for the Three Lions’ World Cup qualifiers – an indication that the level he’s playing at right now isn’t quite where his actual ability lies.

If Van Bronckhorst is keen to go with the whole ‘out with the old, and in with the new’, then swapping an ageing and declining veteran in McGregor, for someone much younger and skilled in Johnstone, could well be the way to go.

Meanwhile, Rangers are battling to sign this star…