Championship – Sport Witness http://sportwitness.co.uk Mon, 04 Dec 2023 10:16:48 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.1.15 From ‘flop’ to hero for Leeds United player – Dragging loan from depths of despair http://sportwitness.co.uk/flop-hero-leeds-united-player-dragging-loan-depths-despair/ http://sportwitness.co.uk/flop-hero-leeds-united-player-dragging-loan-depths-despair/#respond Mon, 04 Dec 2023 10:16:20 +0000 http://sportwitness.co.uk/?p=450606 It’s always nice to see a player come back from having been written off, especially when that writing off came as quickly as it did for Rasmus Kristensen at AS Roma. Sent to the Serie A side for the season after Leeds United were relegated from the Premier League, things went wrong very quickly for

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It’s always nice to see a player come back from having been written off, especially when that writing off came as quickly as it did for Rasmus Kristensen at AS Roma.

Sent to the Serie A side for the season after Leeds United were relegated from the Premier League, things went wrong very quickly for the right sided player.

Soon after arriving at Roma, Kristensen was left out of the club’s UEFA squad and therefore unable to play in Europe. Then the Italian media started taking aim over the little use and positive contribution he was having since his arrival from Leeds United.

At the beginning of November he was labelled a ‘flop’ who hadn’t yet managed to adapt to Roma or Italian football. Later that same month it was declared he was ‘not up to par’ and wasn’t able to help Jose Mourinho through an injury crisis.

Well, Sunday was a very good day for Rasmus.

In 45 minutes of action he scored a goal and contributed an assist, being a big part of Roma’s 2-1 victory over Sassuolo.

That’s obviously seeing him receive lots of praise from the media around the Rome club, and will hopefully be a confidence boost after a difficult time.

Such a positive new slant can only be good for Leeds United and the player’s future prospects.

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Leeds United player pushed forward for huge transfer – Would be massive step for his career http://sportwitness.co.uk/leeds-united-player-pushed-forward-huge-transfer-massive-step-career/ http://sportwitness.co.uk/leeds-united-player-pushed-forward-huge-transfer-massive-step-career/#respond Fri, 01 Dec 2023 11:16:49 +0000 http://sportwitness.co.uk/?p=450440 Leeds United goalkeeper Illan Meslier has been pushed forward for a move to Inter Milan. On his YouTube channel, Sport Mediaset journalist Marco Barzaghi was taking stock of the Serie A side’s transfer targets. When talking about the goalkeeping position, Barzaghi said the Leeds player is an option. His comments are relayed by FcInter1908.it. The

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Leeds United goalkeeper Illan Meslier has been pushed forward for a move to Inter Milan.

On his YouTube channel, Sport Mediaset journalist Marco Barzaghi was taking stock of the Serie A side’s transfer targets. When talking about the goalkeeping position, Barzaghi said the Leeds player is an option.

His comments are relayed by FcInter1908.it.

The journalist has hailed the 23-year-old and believes he could be considered by the Italian club, who have also been offered Napoli’s Alex Meret.

“Meret has been offered, whose contract at Napoli expires [in 2024]. There is another possibility: Meslier from Leeds, former French Under 21 player and a great promise,” he said.

A move to the San Siro would be a big step in the Frenchman’s career. For now, Barzaghi has only indicated the Whites stopper is one of the options Inter could consider, if they decide to strengthen the goalkeeping position.

Meslier initially joined Leeds on loan from FC Lorient in 2019 and his transfer was made permanent a year later. He has been the first-choice goalkeeper at the English club since the start of 2020.

He’s kept six clean sheets and conceded 18 goals from 18 games this season, and has helped Daniel Farke’s side to currently have the third best defence in the Championship.

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Manager seems to be regretting leaving Leeds man out of squad – Could really use him in next game http://sportwitness.co.uk/manager-seems-regretting-leaving-leeds-man-squad-really-use-next-game/ http://sportwitness.co.uk/manager-seems-regretting-leaving-leeds-man-squad-really-use-next-game/#respond Thu, 30 Nov 2023 16:08:44 +0000 http://sportwitness.co.uk/?p=450310 Soon after his arrival at AS Roma on loan from Leeds United, Rasmus Kristensen received some news he likely wasn’t expecting. It came when the Serie A side needed to register their players for the Europa League, and due to some financial issues, the Denmark international had to be left out. That limited the games

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Soon after his arrival at AS Roma on loan from Leeds United, Rasmus Kristensen received some news he likely wasn’t expecting.

It came when the Serie A side needed to register their players for the Europa League, and due to some financial issues, the Denmark international had to be left out. That limited the games the Leeds loanee could play in, and while he has played fairly regularly, he also isn’t the first choice under José Mourinho,

The problem with all this for AS Roma is that they are now facing some sort of defensive injury crisis at centre-back, and could really use the Dane ahead of their upcoming game against Servette.

Chris Smalling and Marsha Kumbulla are currently out of action, while Gianluca Mancini is also a doubt, leaving just Diego Llorente and Evan Ndicka at Mourinho’s disposal.

The Portuguese manager said, relayed by Voce Giallorossa: “We are waiting for Smalling and Kumbulla. Unfortunately Kristensen, who could have helped there is also not available.”

As you can see, Mourinho would have loved to have the Leeds man for this game, but their decisions early on in the season are now backfiring, leaving him a bit shorthanded at the back.

The 26-year-old has only made 12 appearances in Serie A this season, starting six of those, and picked up one assist in the 7-0 win over FC Empoli back in mid-September.

The last time he was named in the starting XI was towards the end of October, in the 1-0 loss over Inter Milan.

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‘Mysterious object’ – Confusion over Udinese signing player after he spent last season at Watford http://sportwitness.co.uk/mysterious-object-confusion-udinese-signing-player-spent-last-season-watford/ http://sportwitness.co.uk/mysterious-object-confusion-udinese-signing-player-spent-last-season-watford/#respond Thu, 30 Nov 2023 12:16:38 +0000 http://sportwitness.co.uk/?p=450234 Having sold Beto to Everton, Udinese needed a striker to replace him, and decided that Keinan Davis, who had just spent the season on loan at Watford, was the man to do that. Unfortunately for everyone involved, the player injured himself rather quickly, and it was claimed that he wasn’t in good shape when he

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Having sold Beto to Everton, Udinese needed a striker to replace him, and decided that Keinan Davis, who had just spent the season on loan at Watford, was the man to do that.

Unfortunately for everyone involved, the player injured himself rather quickly, and it was claimed that he wasn’t in good shape when he arrived.

The 25-year-old has yet to play for his new club, who paid €2.3m for him, and Sport Face in Italy are now referring to the former Watford loanee as a ‘mysterious object’.

He is still trying to ‘overcome a calf injury’ that he picked up soon after arriving, and there is clearly some frustration at the situation.

His situation remains a ‘real mystery’, and clearly there is a need for him to make an appearance sooner rather than later, with Udinese currently languishing in 16th in the table.

When that will happen, no one really knows, but after his seven goals and two assists in 34 games for Watford last season, there was clearly hope he would have played by now.

Bought from Aston Villa, the 25-year-old had made 86 appearances for his former club, scoring six goals and providing seven assists.

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‘He pours out energy’ – Leeds United player making transfer likelier, compared to a fountain http://sportwitness.co.uk/pours-energy-leeds-united-player-making-transfer-likelier-compared-fountain/ http://sportwitness.co.uk/pours-energy-leeds-united-player-making-transfer-likelier-compared-fountain/#respond Thu, 30 Nov 2023 10:17:31 +0000 http://sportwitness.co.uk/?p=450195 Leeds United’s Diego Llorente has been on loan at AS Roma since the start of this year. Chris Smalling has been sidelined with an injury for most of the season and that’s seen Llorente enjoy a prominent role under José Mourinho. He’s made 14 appearances so far, which includes 10 league starts. Today’s Corriere dello

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Leeds United’s Diego Llorente has been on loan at AS Roma since the start of this year.

Chris Smalling has been sidelined with an injury for most of the season and that’s seen Llorente enjoy a prominent role under José Mourinho. He’s made 14 appearances so far, which includes 10 league starts.

Today’s Corriere dello Sport takes a look at the Leeds United owned player’s performances and covers his future at the Serie A side.

The centre-back has been operating in a three-man defence along with Evan Ndicka and Gianluca Mancini.

It’s said ‘he pours out energy’ and is compared to a ‘marvellous and very tall fountain’.

The newspaper adds the Leeds man has been having an impact both on and off the pitch, at a time when Roma have been able to find balance in Smalling’s absence. This has seen Mourinho’s side seriously consider retaining the Spain international

There are several factors indicating that he’s likely to stay at the Italian club beyond his loan deal.

On his future at Roma, the report states Llorente’s position ‘will be evaluated’ with Leeds at the end of this season.

His goal, for now, is to perform well on the pitch for Roma and make his way into the Spain squad for next summer’s Euros.

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“I wasn’t allowed to stay” – Defender says Brexit was behind Leicester City exit http://sportwitness.co.uk/i-wasnt-allowed-stay-defender-says-brexit-behind-leicester-city-exit/ http://sportwitness.co.uk/i-wasnt-allowed-stay-defender-says-brexit-behind-leicester-city-exit/#respond Wed, 29 Nov 2023 15:40:29 +0000 http://sportwitness.co.uk/?p=450087 Back in 2021, when Alessandro Circati joined Parma, he also had the chance to sign for Leicester City. That decision was covered by the Italian media at that time, with newspapers revealing he had a trial with the Foxes, and chose to join the Serie A side instead. This week, Circati was interviewed by Sport

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Back in 2021, when Alessandro Circati joined Parma, he also had the chance to sign for Leicester City.

That decision was covered by the Italian media at that time, with newspapers revealing he had a trial with the Foxes, and chose to join the Serie A side instead.

This week, Circati was interviewed by Sport Optus, with quotes relayed by I Love Palermo Calcio. There, he recalled that he indeed spent some time training with Leicester City, and it’s actually the Brexit rules which stopped him from playing for the club.

“I was at Leicester for about three months and had been given the chance to sign there, but because of Brexit, which came into effect on January 1st, I wasn’t allowed to stay,” said Circati.

“So I came back here because my family is not too far away and I had the opportunity to do some training at Collecchio. After about a week of training they took me aside and told me they would like to have me for the rest of the season. I took a weight off my shoulders after signing for a big club. It was my dream.”

Circati joined Parma’s youth ranks back then. He was part of their U-18 and U-19 squads, and got promoted to the first team in the summer of 2022.

The youngster is now conquering his place as a starter at the Serie A side, and at the age of 20, he now has 35 appearances for them.

It seems only time will tell whether Leicester City will regret having missed out on his signing, although it now seems they had their hands tied when it came to keeping him at the club.

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“There were some talks” – West Brom star reveals transfer opportunity in summer and PL dream http://sportwitness.co.uk/talks-west-brom-star-reveals-transfer-opportunity-summer-pl-dream/ http://sportwitness.co.uk/talks-west-brom-star-reveals-transfer-opportunity-summer-pl-dream/#respond Wed, 29 Nov 2023 15:16:13 +0000 http://sportwitness.co.uk/?p=450080 Signed on a free transfer from Celta de Vigo in 2022, Okay Yokușlu has now established himself as a regular for West Bromwich Albion. The defensive midfielder has played in the vast majority of the Baggies’ games in the Championship to date as they try and return to the Premier League under the management of

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Signed on a free transfer from Celta de Vigo in 2022, Okay Yokușlu has now established himself as a regular for West Bromwich Albion.

The defensive midfielder has played in the vast majority of the Baggies’ games in the Championship to date as they try and return to the Premier League under the management of Carlos Corberán.

West Brom currently sit third in the table, seven points behind Ipswich, and Yokuşlu had a chat about his time at the club, relayed by NTV Spor.

One of the questions during the interview related to a possible exit from The Hawthorns, with it believed there had been some approaches from teams in his home country, Turkey, about a return to the Süper Lig.

He said: “There was nothing official, but there were some talks. I have a contract here now and my dream of making it to the Premier League continues. I have two years left on my contract and I want to achieve this within that time frame.

“If you ask if there is Süper Lig football in my career plan, I haven’t made such a long-term plan at the moment, but my immediate goal is to get to the Premier League. We will see what will happen after that.”

Therefore, it appears there were indeed some attempts to repatriate the West Brom defensive midfielder during the summer, which he wasn’t overly keen about.

That will be great news for fans of the Baggies, who can rely on the 29-year-old until, at the very least, the end of the season.

Beyond that, it could all depend on whether West Brom do achieve that promotion Yokuşlu so desires.

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From bad to worse for Leeds flop as he’s summoned to England for court case – Player’s struggles continue http://sportwitness.co.uk/bad-worse-leeds-flop-hes-summoned-england-court-case-players-struggles-continue/ http://sportwitness.co.uk/bad-worse-leeds-flop-hes-summoned-england-court-case-players-struggles-continue/#respond Wed, 29 Nov 2023 12:09:03 +0000 http://sportwitness.co.uk/?p=450005 Leeds United midfielder Brenden Aaronson’s troubles are set to continue as he’s being summoned to England to appear in court. That’s according to BILD, who say as things are ‘not going well’ on loan at Union Berlin, there are now problems off the pitch for the American. The newspaper explains that Aaronson has been summoned

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Leeds United midfielder Brenden Aaronson’s troubles are set to continue as he’s being summoned to England to appear in court.

That’s according to BILD, who say as things are ‘not going well’ on loan at Union Berlin, there are now problems off the pitch for the American.

The newspaper explains that Aaronson has been summoned back to England from Germany to appear in court over driving offences.

The Leeds man is accused of two offences he is said to have committed during his time at Elland Road. The first is a charge of driving 30km/h too fast and the second is for allegedly refusing to show his driving license. His trial is set to take place on January 3rd at Harrogate Magistrates’ Court.

It’s the latest low point for the midfielder, who is having a difficult spell. He joined Leeds last season but was unable to make much of impact as they were eventually relegated to the Championship.

He left in the summer and joined Union Berlin on loan but has barely made an impact at the German club, with various reports explaining he’s largely been a transfer flop.

He’s now set for a short return to England to appear in court.

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“I thought about stopping” – Player reveals how miserable he was at Leicester, has ‘extra motivation’ tonight http://sportwitness.co.uk/i-thought-stopping-player-reveals-miserable-leicester-extra-motivation-tonight/ http://sportwitness.co.uk/i-thought-stopping-player-reveals-miserable-leicester-extra-motivation-tonight/#respond Wed, 29 Nov 2023 11:38:21 +0000 http://sportwitness.co.uk/?p=449999 Finally managing to leave Leicester City, Nampalys Mendy quickly found himself a new club in RC Lens in France. After so many years of limbo at the King Power Stadium, the midfielder now gets to play in the Champions League, where he will face Arsenal on Wednesday night. Ahead of the game, Mendy sat down

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Finally managing to leave Leicester City, Nampalys Mendy quickly found himself a new club in RC Lens in France.

After so many years of limbo at the King Power Stadium, the midfielder now gets to play in the Champions League, where he will face Arsenal on Wednesday night.

Ahead of the game, Mendy sat down with La Voix des Sports, where he discussed the last few years and how tough life was for him at Leicester.

Describing his experience at the now Championship side, the Senegal international felt it was ‘mixed’, as he grew as a person and as a player, and it allowed him to ‘mature and progress’.

An injury did stop him for the best part of two years, and it took him a long time to find his level again, leaving him in a situation where he really had to question his future.

He said: “It’s really when I came back (from his loan at Nice), when Claude Puel was managing, that I managed to properly return, with a good pre-season. I asked myself a lot of questions: stopping? I spoke about it with those close to me. I don’t know if I would have done it, but I thought about stopping. I was mostly frustrated.”

As for whether this game against Arsenal in the Champions League is a great time fro him to prove a point, that’s not how the former Leicester man looks at it.

He said: “Prove a point, I don’t think so, but I’m happy because it’s an English club, and I know people I was with at Leicester will watch this game. It’s an extra motivation. Just like the first game. It’s really personal, it does me a lot of good.

“It’s maybe a bit of ego, but it’s normal, I think. I don’t have bitterness, I try and move on, to do my best. I’ve never cheated. When I was on the pitch, I was performant, but there were decisions. It’s part of our sport. To be honest, I always tried to leave Leicester, but I never managed it. I was never in the offices, but it was always complicated to leave, and not just for me.”

This comes a couple of weeks after the 31-year-old unloaded in an interview about the poor treatment he received and how he felt had ‘come alive’ again since leaving Leicester on a free this summer when his contract finally expired.

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“Not on the table” – Director scoffs at move for Leeds United outcast, new plan may be needed http://sportwitness.co.uk/not-table-director-scoffs-move-leeds-united-outcast-new-plan-may-needed/ http://sportwitness.co.uk/not-table-director-scoffs-move-leeds-united-outcast-new-plan-may-needed/#respond Wed, 29 Nov 2023 11:16:36 +0000 http://sportwitness.co.uk/?p=449989 Real Betis president Ángel Haro has insisted that Leeds United defender Junior Firpo is not on their list of targets, despite reports saying otherwise. Infobae cover comments from the director today amid growing reports that Betis are looking to bring Firpo back to the club in the January transfer window. Firpo currently finds himself out

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Real Betis president Ángel Haro has insisted that Leeds United defender Junior Firpo is not on their list of targets, despite reports saying otherwise.

Infobae cover comments from the director today amid growing reports that Betis are looking to bring Firpo back to the club in the January transfer window.

Firpo currently finds himself out of the picture at Elland Road, having failed to convince manager Daniel Farke since his arrival in the summer.

A report last week indicated that Betis had already opened talks with Leeds about a potential move, with that followed by another claim yesterday that Firpo is determined to move on.

That was backed up by another claim today that Firpo was ‘burning with desire’ to get out of Elland Road after falling out of favour and barely featuring this season.

That presented a return to Betis as a distinct possibility in the January transfer window, particularly if Juan Miranda leaves for AC Milan, which would leave Betis needing a new left-back and looking to their former player.

It seems that idea has not reached Haro and his team, though, as he insists the Leeds man is not on the list at this moment in time.

“The list is short, and I have not seen that name,” he said.

“He is a player that we are very fond of, he is a Betic youth player, but I already said that he is not on the table.”

Junior Firpo and his camp may need a new plan.

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