Swansea
Norwich City seal Championship title finally at Carrow Road
Norwich City have clinched the Championship title on Saturday after coming from behind to defeat Reading 4-1 at Carrow Road. Daniel Farke’s dominant side had already sealed an immediate return to the Premier League with five matches to spare on April 17 and are now celebrating winning the second division for the second time in only three seasons. The trophy was guaranteed on Saturday as Kieran Dowell’s brace, a Xavi Quintilla free-kick and Teemu Pukki’s 26th goal of the campaign saw Norwich fight back from Josh Laurent’s early header to thump out-of-form Reading. The Canaries would have actually wrapped up the title on Saturday regardless of their own result after fellow promoted side Watford were beaten 2-0 at play-off hopefuls Brentford. At the other end of the table, the relegation batt...
Lingard and Garner steal the headlines, but how are the rest of Man Utd’s loanees doing this season?
Manchester United’s link with their academy is synonymous and the list of talent which has come through the ranks onto the pitch at Old Trafford is endless. However, progression into the first team isn’t something which comes easy, and even those of the most fame now – including David Beckham – sometimes have to go out on loan to prove their worth. We’ve profiled some of the United players currently out on loan this season – both young and old – and assessed what their chances are of returning to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s line-up at Old Trafford anytime soon. Jesse Lingard We’re going to start off with the players currently loaned out to clubs within the United Kingdom and undoubtedly, Jesse Lingard has started to shine since his move to West Ham United. The 28-year-old is the only name on th...
Burnley and Fulham could compete to sign this Manchester-born defender
Burnley, Fulham and Swansea City are among the clubs looking to sign Sheffield United defender Kean Bryan when his contract expires this summer, Football Insider claims. The 24-year-old has been a regular for the Blades during the back end of the current season, featuring in eight of the previous 12 league games. 11 of those outings have come at centre-back, with the other from the left wing-back role from where he scored the winner in the shock 2-1 victory at Manchester United. Earlier last month, Kean stated his ambition to stay with the Blades despite their imminent relegation, but the club have yet to renew his contract which expires in June. It is now reported that Burnley, Fulham and Championship play-off hopefuls Swansea are in the running to sign the Manchester-born player on ...
Manchester City in bizarre spat with Opta
Manchester City are in another battle with stats boffins Opta over Pep Guardiola’s managerial record. But Opta acknowledged Saturday’s 2-1 win over West Ham as the moment Pep reached his double ton. The Athletic report that City officials made the case in a meeting with Opta. The report adds that games that are decided on penalties are what’s causing the stats imbalance. Opta and City also held differing views over their incredible winning streak. The stats experts said that the win against Swansea made it an English record of 15 wins in a row in all competitions. But City think they already hold the record when they won 20 in a row during a dominant 2017-18 season. However, one of those games was won on penalties against Wolves in the Carabao Cup. Opta stats recorded that as a draw, which...
West Ham star unlikely to figure, Tottenham face tough test
The FA Cup continues apace this week, with the fifth round line-up featuring some intriguing ties over the next three days. We’ll update this story with reports, results and highlights as the games take place. Manchester United booked their place in the next FA Cup draw with a 1-0 home victory over West Ham United – Scott McTominay bagged the winner in extra-time. Burnley crashed out of the competition as they were beaten 2-0 by Bournemouth at Turf Moor – Sam Surridge and Junior Stanislas got the goals. There are four games on Wednesday, with Swansea City versus Manchester City kicking things off at 5.30 pm. Leicester City versus Brighton & Hove Albion and Sheffield United versus Bristol City are next on the agenda and both home teams look good bets to make progress. The final fixture ...
Report: Leeds United make loan decision on Sam Greenwood amid Swansea City interest
Leeds United have no plans of loaning out Sam Greenwood despite multiple approaches from Championship club Swansea City, Football Insider reports. The young forward joined the Whites from Arsenal last summer and he has since made his senior debut in the club’s FA Cup defeat against Crawley Town last month. Greenwood has yet to make the matchday squad for any Premier League game, but manager Marcelo Bielsa has no desire to send him out on loan. The Swans have made multiple loan proposals for the 19-year-old striker, but he appears set to remain at Elland Road for the rest of the season. Sportslens view: Greenwood has yet to make his breakthrough with the Whites, but he has impressed in Premier League 2 with six goals from nine games. The Swans are currently flying high in the Championship i...
Scout Report: 4 Premier League loanees shining in the Championship this season
In recent years the Championship has become a hotspot for developing young talent from the Premier League. The demands of the Championship helps the development of youngsters with a handful of top-flight clubs regularly sending their players to gain experience in the second tier. Here are four Premier League loanees who are currently shining in the Championship. Harvey Elliott The first player on the list is wonderkid Harvey Elliott. The Blackburn Rovers winger, on loan from Premier League champions Liverpool, has been exceptional and has taken no time to adjust to the demands of the Championship. Liverpool had a difficult choice to make last summer regarding the 17-year-old’s future, but their decision to send him on loan to garner first-team experience is paying off. Elliott is flourishi...
FA Cup fourth round 2020/21: Results, Report & Highlights
The FA Cup rumbles on this weekend, with the fourth round line-up featuring some enthralling ties over the next four days. We’ll update this story with reports, results and highlights throughout the weekend. The action got underway on Friday evening as Wolverhampton Wanderers grabbed a narrow 1-0 win at Chorley. Vitinha’s swerving 35-yard effort was Wolves’ only shot on target but was enough to send them through to the fifth round. The early game on Saturday is at Southampton as they welcome Arsenal to St Mary’s. Other notable ties later in the day include West Ham United versus Doncaster Rovers and Cheltenham Town versus Manchester City. The standout game on Sunday is at Old Trafford as Manchester United face Liverpool for the second time in eight days. The two sides fought out a goalless...
Opinion: Swansea City playmaker not the answer for Leeds United
Media reports linking Leeds United with a move for Swansea City playmaker Yan Dhanda have certainly raised a few eyebrows around the Sportslens team this weekend. Various outlets have reported that the Whites are interested in signing the 22-year-old after he produced some impressive performances in the Championship over the past couple of months. His efforts have helped to fire Swansea into contention for promotion and sparked talk that a move to the Premier League could be on the cards. SL View – Yan Dhanda Dhanda spent five years in Liverpool’s academy before moving to Swansea in search of first-team opportunities in 2018. He initially struggled to force his way into the first team, but he has started to see more game time this season. His ability on the ball has been eye-catching, alth...
Who are promotion contenders in the Championship?
The Championship is acclaimed to be one of the most competitive leagues in the world; a league where anybody can beat anybody. But 7 games in, who are the early promotion contenders? Reading have been the surprise package this season so far and they have established a 5-point-lead at the top of the Championship league table. A dramatic turn around in fortunes to last season when under the management of Mark Bowen, they succumbed to a mediocre 14th place. However this season, there is a new man in the dug-out: Veljko Paunovic. The Serbian manager had never previously managed in English football. But, clearly, he is doing something right as Reading are unbeaten and have won 6 out of 7 matches. Reading have only played in the Premier League for three seasons and two of those ended in relegati...
Report: Leicester City enter the race to sign Tottenham Hotspur target valued at £20m
Leicester City have joined Tottenham Hotspur in the race to sign Swansea City centre-back Joe Rodon, a report from The Sun claims. The Wales international has been linked with a move to the Premier League in recent weeks and Spurs have emerged as the leading contenders to land his signature. It is now reported that the Foxes are also interested in signing the 22-year-old, who has made 54 appearances for the Swans across all competitions. However, manager Brendan Rodgers is not looking to pursue his services this summer as he wants to give time for new centre-back Wesley Fofana to settle in first. Hence, the east Midlands outfit are only planning to make an approach for Rodon in January or next summer and that puts Spurs in a good position in the player’s pursuit. The north London side rece...
British lawmakers write Commonwealth over killings in Nigeria
Thirteen members of the House of Lords, United Kingdom, have expressed concern over the killings by Boko Haram insurgents in the North-East and Fulani herdsmen in the Middle Belt region. The upper house of parliament members said the failure of the Federal Government to protect Nigerians was a breach of the Commonwealth Charter. They requested the Commonwealth to raise the killings with its Ministerial Action Group. This was contained in a letter to the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Patricia Scotland, dated September 14, co-signed by Baroness Cox, Baroness Kennedy, Jim Shannon, Fiona Bruce, former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Williams and 14 others. They cited a report by the UK All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom of Religion or Belief, which accused unnamed ...
