In his exclusive column for CaughtOffside, former Liverpool attacker Stan Collymore discusses some of football’s biggest talking points including James Maddison’s future, Jadon Sancho’s recent revival and where Wilfried Zaha may end up next season, plus much more…
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James Maddison would fit Newcastle perfectly, but don’t rule Arsenal out…
I think when you look at where Newcastle are and the direction they want to head toward, a player like James Maddison fits their profile perfectly. They’ve got a strong English core to their side and a creative number 10, who can operate in the wider positions, is the type of player they’re missing. Walking into a dressing room that has players around the same age that he can develop with is always important too, so I can definitely see him fitting in well there.
The fans would love him because the Geordies embrace players who put themselves about and can knit things together. He also has a good eye for goals so he’d contribute in that department too.
In terms of his own development, I genuinely believe he’d thrive under Eddie Howe – he’s hard-working and he’s direct, and I don’t mean direct in terms of long balls, but Newcastle obviously transition a lot quicker than what Leicester do, so for Maddison, who is capable of playing those one touch, quick, eye-of-a-needle passes, Newcastle’s system would be ideal.
When it comes to what Leicester may decide to do with him though, he has 18 months left on his deal and surely they wouldn’t want to let a player as valuable as him leave for free, so even if Newcastle are interested, I don’t expect them to be the only ones.
I wonder if Mike Arteta’s Arsenal may think about signing him too. They’re almost guaranteed to be in the Champions League next season so they’ll want options and providing Martin Odegaard with competition could be key to the Norwegian going from strength to strength. I think Arteta would welcome a player as confident as Maddison coming in as well. His personality is a bit like Marmite – he’s a player you either love or hate and there’s been a few instances in the past where his behaviour has been questioned so his future will depend on his attitude now, which does seem to have improved.
The biggest area he needs to work on now is his level of consistency. He’s never really had a solid season from start to finish, but if he can string together a good second half of the campaign and be instrumental in the Foxes staying up, then I’m sure a lot of clubs, including Newcastle and Arsenal, will be in for him come the summer window.
Back-to-back draws for Leeds against Man United…
Obviously Man United are heading to Elland Road on Sunday. It’s unusual to play the same team back-to-back, but after getting a 2-2 result on Wednesday at Old Trafford, Leeds will feel a lot more confident that they can take at least another point again next time out.
The crowd will play a huge part too. I think if they can get in United’s faces again and use their physicality, Leeds’ players, who will be desperate to impress whoever their next manager is going to be, could definitely get another draw.
Welcome back Jadon Sancho!
On the subject of Man United, as I’ve said before if the Red Devils are to become a side that competes for the big trophies again, an in-form Jadon Sancho will play a huge role in that.
I thought he was excellent when he came on against Leeds on Wednesday night. He looked sharp, pacey and really dynamic. I don’t think Alejandro Garnacho had a bad game so I don’t understand the criticism he’s received but when it comes to the possibility of Sancho starting on Sunday, I think Erik Ten Hag should consider bringing him off the bench again for another two or three games.
Let him continue to build his confidence and get him chomping at the bit to come on with half an hour or so to go. He’s also a really useful option to have once opposition fullbacks begin to tire, as we saw when he came on and got the better of Luke Ayling earlier in the week. I wonder if Ten Hag will opt for the same again this weekend.
Wilfried Zaha could be the Bees’ knees…
He’s a tier-two player and what I mean by that is, he’s best suited to competitions such as the Europa League.
Don’t get me wrong, he’s done fantastically during his two spells at Crystal Palace but any suggestion that he should return to Man United because he may have some unfinished business there, no, sorry – not for me. I actually think if he does move, he’d prefer to stay in London anyway.
Spurs could be an option for him and he’d be available on a free transfer so he’d fit the criteria of any club that has to work within the confines of a smaller budget.
I like the look of Brentford for him though. They’re a club that are trying to take the next step. They’ll be looking at the Europa Conference and Europa League places and thinking they’ve got a real chance, so to bring in a player like Zaha would signal progress, not only for Thomas Frank and the club but also for the player himself.
Sean Dyche needs to take Everton back to the 1980s…
Everton got a huge win against Arsenal last weekend by putting their bodies on the line. They didn’t allow the Gunners any time to play and once they’d broken their spirit, were then able to play themselves.
Back when I played, we nicknamed Everton the “Dogs of War”, and that wasn’t because they were brutes who just wanted to scrap on the pitch, it was because they were a team prepared to die fighting for the cause. They had some top players who could really play, Duncan Ferguson for example, but we called them that because of how tenacious they were. They’d make your lives a misery for those 90 minutes and once they’d broken you, they’d play their game and it used to work, so it has to be back to the future for Sean Dyche.
Dyche needs to channel his inner Joe Royle, who was the Toffees’ boss back then and really get his Everton team fighting for each other again. It’s how they beat Arsenal and it’s how I expect them to take at least take a point from arch-rivals Liverpool during the Merseyside Derby on Monday.
Calm down, Arsenal vs Man City next week is not a title decider…
I know Wednesday night’s game between Arsenal and Man City is a big game, but I still don’t think it’s a title decider.
There is still such a long way in the campaign to go, but admittedly, the result will have huge significance in terms of the psychological battle. They’re both coming into this weekend’s round of fixtures off the back of damaging defeats too, so it’ll be interesting to see which team bounces back stronger in time for the midweek clash at the Emirates.