Tag: Mohamed Simakan

Newcastle lost out on Marc Guehi and their best Plan B option, too
29Aug By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Features, Premier League

Newcastle lost out on Marc Guehi and their best Plan B option, too

Newcastle United were pushing hard to sign Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace, as the Magpies viewed the proven Premier League and England national team starter as the ideal central defensive signing this summer. Guehi has been one of the top center backs in the Premier League for the last three seasons, though his departure threatened to hurt Crystal Palace significantly because they had already lost the underrated Joachim Andersen to another Premier League side, Fulham. Despite this, it looked like Palace were prepared to accept the Newcastle offer on the table for Guehi, because the Magpies were willing to offer around 70 million pounds in order to get their man. In the end, Newcastle decided to walk away from the bargaining table, frustrated with the plodding nature of the negotia...
Read More
Liverpool want to sign another world-class Bundesliga defender
24Aug By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Features, Premier League

Liverpool want to sign another world-class Bundesliga defender

Liverpool have one of the best center back pairings in world football when both Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate are fully healthy and at their best. Over the years, they have had great success with making signings from the Bundesliga, with Konate, formerly of RB Leipzig, standing out among them. He wasn't the first Bundesliga center back to make it big at Liverpool either, as former Schalke free agent Joel Matip is one of the biggest examples of Klopp's brilliant scouting eye. Even last summer, Klopp found a couple of great deals from the Bundesliga, with midfielders Dominik Szoboszlai and Wataru Endo playing starring roles in Liverpool returning to the fore as Premier League title contenders. Now, according to a report from Sky Sports Germany's Philipp Hinze and Florian Plett...
Read More
Newcastle add one of the world’s most underrated defenders to their wishlist
23Aug By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Features, Premier League

Newcastle add one of the world’s most underrated defenders to their wishlist

Newcastle United qualified for the Champions League back in the 2022/23 season, which was their first under Saudi Arabian ownership, but they failed to repeat the trick in 2023/24 despite improved attacking output from breakout superstars Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon. In that 2022/23 season, Newcastle didn't have the greatest attacking reputation, but they had, by far, the best defense in the Premier League, anchored by the center back duo of Fabian Schar and Sven Botman. After Botman's injury to close the 2023/24 season, Newcastle have realized the importance of adding depth in central defense. And even though they signed a starting-caliber central defender in Lloyd Kelly of Bournemouth for free, they are interested in a more ambitious signing. Crystal Palace star Marc Guehi...
Read More
The 10 most underrated center backs in world football in 2024
3Aug By Kevin ParviziNo Comments
Bundesliga, Champions League, Features, LaLiga, Ligue 1, Premier League, Serie A

The 10 most underrated center backs in world football in 2024

As a position, center backs are underrated in general, because they have to do so much heavy lifting to stop the opposition's best attackers and are being tasked with more playmaking and on-the-ball ability under pressure - even moreso in modern football than ever before. Here are 10 center backs who are especially underrated. These are young players who haven't yet been picked out as top transfer targets, or they are more experienced players in their primes who have somehow flown under the radar, largely because they star for clubs outside of the spotlight. Joachim Andersen, Crystal Palace Even though Joachim Anderen has been operating at the highest level while starting for Crystal Palace in the Premier League, the vast majority of fans around the world don't know how good he is. ...
Read More