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Name: Jeremy Ngakia

Club: West Ham United

Date of Birth: 7 September 2000

Position: Defender (Right-back/Centre-back), Wide midfielder, Winger

Jeremy Ngakia – his career so far

Ever since he joined the West Ham United academy aged only 14, the incredibly talented Jeremy Ngakia has been advancing through the ranks rapidly, establishing himself as a key component of all the squads he played for during that time. But interestingly enough, before joining the Hammers, the Deptford-born Ngakia had a trial with Chelsea’s academy but after being scouted by West Ham academy goalkeeping coach Jerome John whilst playing for Surrey Quays-based youth club Ballers Football Academy, the Irons swooped in and got his signature.

Of course, this would, in time, prove to be a smart move both by the outfit and the young player himself who ended up progressing quite nicely and adding flair, skill and attacking prowess to the Hammers’ academy throughout the years.

Having advanced through the youth ranks rather quickly, Ngakia made his U18 debut in the 2016/17 season and then made another 16 appearances in the campaign as a schoolboy, also signing his first scholarship papers that very same summer.

The young full-back ended up tallying a total of 36 appearances for the U18s before making a step up into the U23 squad and making his grand debut in February 2018 against Tottenham Hotspur. Since then, he could muster a total of 20 games with two assists under his belt in the process as well.

Even though 2018/19 didn’t really start as he would have wanted it, considering he suffered a foot injury that sidelined him for a while, he recovered well, returning to still play a big part for West Ham United’s campaign.

In 2019/20, however, he finally got his big break, making his senior team debut in a 2-0 loss to Liverpool in January. Since then, he featured three more times, all in the Premier League, but the recent outbreak that put football on hold meant his rise would temporarily be stopped.

Needless to say, big things are expected from him in the immediate future and Ngakia looks ready to take the challenge head-on and win.

Transfer latest

According to some of the latest transfer rumours surrounding Ngakia, the 19-year-old full-back could be in line for a brand new contract at the club. Of course, given his recent rise and incredible talent, this is definitely some excellent West Ham news if it turns out to be true.

Ngakia is young and bound to become even better and the recent praise he’s been getting on all fronts certainly proves as much. Seeing him get a new contract would be just a further testament to the importance he holds for the Hammers’ immediate and long-term future.

Of course, with the summer transfer window approaching rapidly and West Ham struggling to stay afloat in the Premier League amidst Ngakia’s emergence, we shouldn’t disregard the option of transfer rumours slowly but surely entering the picture. The Hammers should definitely stay on their toes.

Player profile

Ngakia looks set to become the perfect modern full-back, capable of helping his team in all phases of play with equal proficiency. Being a defender first and foremost, however, the youngster will have to work on his positioning, decision-making and marking abilities.

That doesn’t mean he’s necessarily not good enough in those aspects but he is very much an attacking-minded full-back who can boast with a great technique, excellent first touch and an abundance of pace when going forward.

When we combine that with his exceptional work rate and enough power to win duels, Ngakia already has the makings of a well-rounded player despite his young age. The foundations for the future are there but it will be up to West Ham to groom him properly to ensure he reaches his full potential.

Southampton welcome Watford to St Mary’s this weekend in what will be an absolutely crucial game down at the bottom of the Premier League.

The Saints find themselves in 19th place with just nine points to their name from 13 games, whereas the Hornets find themselves one point below Southampton in 20th.

Obviously, the loser of this encounter will head into December rooted to the bottom of the table, so there is plenty at stake in the battle for survival.

Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side have conceded the most goals in the division with 31 – the most by a single side in Europe’s top five leagues – whereas Watford have scored the least goals in the Premier League this term with just eight strikes.

Nevertheless, here’s the XI that we think the former RB Leipzig boss should select for this crucial game…

Southampton lined up in a 4-3-3 formation last time out against Arsenal, and were excellent having had 21 shots to the Gunners’ 12 – it was only for some extremely wasteful finishing that the Saints didn’t win the game.

We think that Hasenhuttl needs to stick with this system, but there are also some changes he needs to make in terms of personnel.

The Austrian coach revealed that Stuart Armstrong – who we outlined could soon become Southampton’s most important midfielder – will miss the game due to injury.

Instead of simply bringing Oriol Romeu back into the fold, Hasenhuttl should bring 20-year-old Callum Slattery in from the wilderness to replicate the Scot’s energy and tempo in the middle of the park – none of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Romeu or James Ward-Prowse have the intensity needed to press effectively.

Elsewhere, Hasenhuttl also revealed that Jannik Vestergaard has been ill and may be a doubt for the game, although the Dane wasn’t even on the bench last time out anyway – as a result, Jan Bednarek and Jack Stephens should start.

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In attack, Moussa Djenepo must start having began the Arsenal game on the bench following international duty – we have already seen how the Malian can win games alone with moments of brilliance such as against Brighton and Sheffield United, which could be the difference against Watford.

In other Southampton news, Hasenhuttl must be wary of this Watford duo…

It’s fair to say Ashley Young isn’t exactly the most popular of figures amongst the Manchester United crowd. The 34-year-old was the subject of boos from some of his own fans on the club’s pre-season tour earlier in the summer, but he continues to remain a key part of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side.The veteran has already made ten appearances across all competitions this season, with eight of them coming in the Premier League. He was once again involved in the Red Devils’ latest clash against Bournemouth on Saturday afternoon, and despite the fact their side fell to a 1-0 defeat, United fans appeared to take one silver lining.Young receiving a yellow card mid-way through the game meant he has now earned his fifth of the season – thereby invoking an automatic one-game suspension.After hearing the news, fans of the Manchester side took to Twitter to voice their thoughts on the situation, and many expressed their absolute delight.Watch Manchester United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Some Red Devils fans even hoped whether he could be booked for the rest of the season, and insisted that it is the only positive from their loss.

Check out some of the reaction of United fans below:

Arsene Wenger’s 22-year helm at Arsenal may have come to an end in 2018, but the Gunners’ former manager is now officially back in work.

Wenger, who won three Premier League and a record seven FA Cups during his time with the club, departed The Emirates following a decline in results and the consequent increase and intensification of calls for his departure.

Yet the Frenchman has now been appointed as FIFA’s Chief of Global Football Development; a new role within the governing body.

The 70-year-old will return to working in football for the first time since leaving the north London outfit, and these Arsenal fans were certainly delighted to see their former manager back in work. This is especially given the contrast in feelings towards their former manager and current boss Unai Emery – who reportedly could have less than a month to save his job at the club. 

Here are some of the best reactions following the news that Wenger will be returning to football.

Manchester City’s Oleksandr Zinchenko will return to his club this week on a major high after helping Ukraine to seal their place in next year’s European Championship finals.

The 22-year-old was in the team that defeated Portugal 2-1 to ensure qualification for Euro 2020 and confirm their status as Group B winners, as per UEFA.com.

Zinchenko was played in a left-sided midfield role by national team boss Andriy Shevchenko last night and he posted some impressive figures from the match.

According to WhoScored.com, he had 61 touches of the ball and an 85% passing success rate, completing 39 of his 46 passes, while embarking on two successful dribbles, winning one aerial duel and two tackles, making two interceptions and recording five clearances.

All of Zinchenko’s nine Manchester City appearances this season (and 49 of his 52 games for the club) have come at left-back, but he has played in a central or wide midfield role on numerous occasions during his club career.

These Manchester City fans on Twitter believe that the 22-year-old should be redeployed as a midfielder in Pep Guardiola’s line-up ahead of the likes of Ilkay Gundogan:

Do you think Zinchenko’s best position is at left-back or in midfield? Join in the discussion by commenting 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…

It is fair to say that many Newcastle fans haven’t been enamoured with Steve Bruce at times since his appointment, but Darren Bent believes he deserves to be praised for his management in recent weeks.

What did he say?

The former Sunderland striker, who spent two years playing under Bruce with the Black Cats, was full of praise for what the Magpies produced against Manchester United, and believes the credit should go to his former boss.

Some Toon fans have opposed the 58-year-old since the day he was appointed, criticising him as an unambitious option. Bruce himself had to declare he wouldn’t be Mike Ashley’s ‘yes man’, such were the doubts over him taking over.

Bruce has therefore faced a somewhat hostile atmosphere, in a position which was already a difficult one to take up given he was following on from the popular Rafa Benitez.

Watch Newcastle United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

However, Bent feels he has proven himself on occasion, telling Football Insider: “I was watching the game on Sky and not only what a result, but what a performance. If there was a game where Steve Bruce got his team selection and tactics absolutely spot on, it was then.

“Newcastle were hard to beat, first half they limited Manchester United to that one chance from Maguire header and then Almiron took half a year to shoot.”

The ex-England international also suggested that the Magpies’ boss set-up in the right way against Liverpool a few weeks earlier, and only lost out due to the Reds’ quality.

Positive signs

Bruce took on a challenging job and though he hasn’t got off to the best of starts, with only two wins in eight league games, Bent is right that he deserves some praise.

He may have added an expensive striker in Joelinton over the summer but the Magpies lost two of their most influential players last year in Salomon Rondon and Ayoze Perez, and their combined 25 goals is difficult to replace.

Despite that, Bruce has earned terrific wins against the Red Devils and away at Tottenham, and if he can make his side more dominant, particularly against weaker teams at home, then he could have a successful season.

Another positive is the recent faith he has shown in youngsters Sean and Matty Longstaff. Both impressed and were crucial to last week’s victory, and if they can maintain their level of performance they could prove key this year, and it will be thanks to Bruce.

Those fans who protest against him should instead get behind their manager and back him and the players in order to create a positive atmosphere which can allow the club to build.

If you’ve ever played on a 4G pitch, then you’ll know they’re a bit of a nightmare. Small black rubber pellets get stuck in every orifice and will proceed to appear everywhere you go for at least two months after the match.Your knees and ankles start to ache after a while trudging around on what is essentially spongy concrete, and carpetÂburns await anyone brave (or stupid) enough to attempt a slide tackle.As mammoth as the skill difference between us mere Sunday league players and professional footballers is, they still faced the very same problems.Rather than rubber bits appearing in a Corsa, they’ll bounce around a Bentley, rather than shoving frozen peas on their joints and taking paracetamol, they have an army of physios at their disposal, and so on and so forth.

Manchester United played their Group L clash on what can be only be described as the most Europa League-looking thing we’ve ever laid our eyes upon – a scruffy artificial pitch.

Admittedly, we weren’t anticipating fireworks from a United side who barely scraped past Rochdale on their beautifully kept heated turf at Old Trafford, but the drab 0-0 draw may be a little more palatable after De Telegraff journalist Marcel van der Kraan explained just how awful the AZ Alkmaar pitch truly is…

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

According to The Mirror, Arsenal are interested in bring Donyell Malen back to the Emirates Stadium.

What’s the story?

It has been an impressive start to the season for Malen. The 2o-year-old Netherlands international has scored 10 goals in his first 13 matches for PSV Eindhoven as the Dutch team sit third in the Eredivisie with two games in hand on leaders Vitesse Arnhem.

The forward has thus attracted some attention from clubs around Europe, including the Gunners. They are said to be monitoring the youngster, currently valued at £50m.

Watch Arsenal Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Would represent poor business

The stats show that Malen is going through a purple patch right now. He is the top scorer in the league, and his first two caps for the Oranje are recognition of his recent displays.

However, Arsenal signing the youngster would represent incredibly poor business, and would show that the Emirates outfit’s hierarchy really have learned anything from previous mistakes.

Two years ago, the striker left the Gunners to move back to his homeland for just £500,000, which means that PSV are expecting a fee 100 times higher than that. Yes, he may have enjoyed an impressive couple of months so far this term, but that does not mean his services can demand such a hefty price.

Also, Unai Emery does not need to add another striker to his squad. He already has arguably one of the best in world football, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, at his disposal, whilst Alexandre Lacazette is also a star forward who has two goals in two starts in the Premier League this term.

The problem the former Sevilla boss has is at the other end of the pitch. Some of the defensive performances from his side so far this season have been hard to watch. Against Watford, for example, the north Londoners were outplayed in the second half and conceded a huge 31 shots. David Luiz has done little to shore up the backline since joining from Chelsea, and the whole back four continues to look shaky.

It is a problem they have suffered from for a while. In the last three full campaigns, no side in the top six has shipped more than the Gunners. Quite frankly, that is not good enough, and it needs solving soon. Forget spending a fortune on a player deemed not good enough just 24 months ago. Splash the cash on a top-class defender who can finally end their defensive woes.

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Leeds have been given some good news on the injury front following Marcelo Bielsa’s pre-match press conference ahead of Sunday’s clash with Barnsley.

The Argentine revealed that Tyler Roberts was now back in contention whilst Luke Ayling was healthy.

Ayling has been out after having to undergo ankle surgery whilst Roberts had fluid drained from his knee which caused him to miss the opening month of the season.

Certain Leeds fans were understandably delighted with the news as one hailed it as brilliant. A further individual stated that Roberts was the Whites’ most underrated player.

Another fan explained how they’d been looking forward to seeing the 20-year-old play again. One said he could challenge Mateusz Klich for a place.

Roberts contributed to eight goals in the Championship last season by way of finding the net himself and laying on strikes for his teammates.

Adam Forshaw has since stepped into his role alongside Klich whilst Stuart Dallas has just recently signed a new deal after stepping up at right-back in place of Ayling.

Here’s the best of the reaction from various sources on Twitter.

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[ad_pod ]It’s fair to say that Wolves have undergone a bit of a transformation over these past few years.The influence of Jorge Mendes has allowed the Midlands outfit to bring in some huge names over the past couple of years, and after their seventh-placed finish, it’s hard to remember where they were just a few years ago.The day before they embark on their Europa League journey, one of their former star players celebrated his birthday, and the club didn’t forget to wish him well.

Kevin Doyle was a bit of a cult hero at Wolves during his time at the club, and before Molineux was being treated to regular screamers from Ruben Neves, they had the honour of watching some tap-ins from Doyle.

Watch Wolverhampton Wanderers Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

This highlight reel shows just how far Wolves have come over the past few years. Not that Doyle wasn’t a solid player at that level, but Wolves now have a £30m striker up top rather than a man who scored just three goals in League One in his final season with the club.