Weekly Round Up & Transfer News
FA Cup Fourth Round
There was plenty of FA Cup action over the weekend with many of the wins coming from Premier League teams such as Leicester, Sheffield United, Norwich City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United who all easily progressed to the next round. Portsmouth and Sheffield Wednesday also managed to get victories over Barnsley and QPR which put their names into the hat for round five.
All of the other games played ended in draws meaning that there will be a second match replay to decide which of the remaining teams will keep their place in the competition.
The one match which probably stood out the most was League One Club Shrewsbury Town vs the current Premier League leaders Liverpool. The talented 18 year old youngster Curtis Jones gave the reds the deserved lead in the 15th minute of the game, which was followed up by an unfortunate own goal just after kick off in the second half which made it 2-0 to Liverpool.
The Merseyside team seemed pretty comfortable throughout the game but as time went on, their defence began to look a little nervy, which was shortly capitalised on by Shrewsbury super sub Jason Cummings.
Shrewsbury’s Super Sub Jason Cummings scored a brace against the European Champions
The 24 year old striker came onto the pitch and absolutely rocked the Montgomery Waters when he pulled a goal back, in the form of a penalty in the 65th minute which created an electric atmosphere inside the ground and gave the home fans hope that their team could achieve the impossible.
It was only 10 minutes after this that yet again, Cummings was able to tuck his shot beyond Liverpool keeper Adrian with the game ending 2-2, earning them a well-deserved replay next month at Anfield.
The FA Cup Fifth Round Draw can be found below, with ties taking place over the weeknights from 3-5 March.
FA Cup Fifth Round Draw:
Sheffield Wednesday v Manchester City
Reading or Cardiff City v Sheffield United
Chelsea v Shrewsbury Town or Liverpool
West Bromwich Albion v Newcastle United or Oxford United
Leicester City v Coventry City or Birmingham City
Northampton Town or Derby County v Manchester United
Southampton or Tottenham Hotspur v Norwich City
Portsmouth v Arsenal
Championship
In the only Championship match over the weekend, Stoke City continued in their great run of form with an impressive 2-0 win at home over play off hopefuls Swansea.
The goals came from none other than former Swan himself Sam Clucas, who celebrated in front of the away fans at The Bet365 Stadium, after they seemed to be giving him a lot of stick throughout the game, before James McClean added the second in the 91st minute to ensure the three points were in the bag for Michael O Neill’s men. This comes after The Potters’ 1-0 victory away at current league leaders West Brom last week where yet again, they put on a very solid and gritty performance to grind out the positive result that they were looking for.
O’Neill took over in the Potteries in November last year where after a very poor run of results under former manager Nathan Jones, they were sitting rock bottom of the Championship table and six points adrift of safety. However, approximately 14 games later, they are now seven points clear of the relegation zone having kept four of their past five clean sheets at home.
There’s no doubt about it that City are still way off where they would expect to be being a recent former Premier League team, but the Irishman has definitely transformed his Stoke side in the short amount of time he’s been at the club.
20 year old striker Tyrese Campbell has also put pen to paper on a new four and a half year contract with the club ensuring that his future remains entirely with The Potters. Stoke were able to see off other interest from both Celtic and Rangers with the young starlet hinting that Michael O’Neill had a huge factor in him staying at the club.
Promising Forward Tyrese Campbell signed a new four and a half year contract with The Potters, amid interest from Celtic and Rangers.
Transfer News
23 year old midfielder Giovani Lo Celso has signed a new five and a half year contract with Tottenham Hotspur for approximately £27m.
The Argentinian joined Spurs on a one year loan from Real Betis last August, but had the option to buy permanently in January and manager Jose Mourinho seems to think that it was a no brainer for the club. The Portuguese was delighted with the deal and went on to explain that Lo Celso ‘’is making an easy decision for the club to execute the option’’ after his recent great run of performances.
He is seen as the perfect replacement for Christian Eriksen, who has now officially completed his move to Inter Milan for £16.9m.
The Dane has signed a four and a half year contract which will keep him at the San Siro until 2024.
Elsewhere, Manchester City midfielder Fernandinho, whose contract is set to expire at the end of the current season, has signed a one year contract extension with the blues extending his stay at The Etihad until 2021. The 34 year old Brazilian has said that he has ‘’enjoyed every second’’ of his time at the club with that set to continue into the near future.
Versatile City Midfielder Fernandinho has signed a one year contract extension with The Citizens.