All posts by z3u9t.icu

Many Everton fans have been left to fume as a transfer update emerged on Moise Kean.

As per Italian football journalist and transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Paris Saint Germain want him back, and it would only be for another loan with an option to buy.

Kean wants to sign for PSG, and it is now up to Rafa Benitez whether he would like to keep the Italy international at Goodison Park or not.

The Merseyside club need to more definitive when it comes to Kean, whether they wish to sell him on a permanent deal or keep him for the new season, as another loan does not really help them.

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Some Toffees supporters want to give him another chance, given that he impressed by scoring 17 goals in 41 matches in total over all competitions in Paris (Transfermarkt), while others want to take advantage of this by selling the 21-year-old for what could be a very decent amount of money, and then using that to reinvest in the squad.

Everton fans on Kean transfer update

These Blues fumed as the exit news was shared across Twitter:

“Don’t be dumb Rafa lad”

Credit: @bobadiIIa

“The absolute cheek of them. Hopefully Brands can negotiate something so we don’t lose out cause even though we hold some cards, they can depreciate if they screw us about.”

Credit: @Matt_S_1982

“Unless PSG are paying the same amount as his value would drop we are being taken for mugs”

Credit: @Middleton2010

“Don’t loan him again, so pointless”

Credit: @Everton0122

“Tell them to buy or do one”

Credit: @ianmitty

“Another stupid deal for Everton, going to end up practically giving him away.”

Credit: @ryanxdevlin

In other news, find out what EFC update has Evertonians buzzing here!

A number of Wolves supporters have reacted in frustrated fashion to Tim Spiers’ confirmation that the club’s Premier League clash with Arsenal, scheduled for Tuesday lunchtime, has been postponed.

Bruno Lage’s side were also meant to be in action on Boxing Day but their league meeting with Watford at Molineux was called off. It has given Wolves’ players time to recharge their batteries and preparations had been underway to take on the Gunners at the Emirates Stadium tomorrow.

Unfortunately, Wanderers have now had back-to-back matches postponed, with Spiers confirming the news on Twitter on Monday evening due to a combination of numerous injuries and positive virus cases within Lage’s squad, which is among the thinnest in the Premier League anyway.

It is deeply frustrating for Wolves at a time when they are looking to continue their good form, but their next match now won’t be until January 3, when they make the trip to Manchester United.

Wolves fans fume over Arsenal postponement

These Wanderers fans took to Twitter to show their annoyance at the news, which some supporters dubbed a “shocking” indictment of the lack of squad depth at Molineux.

“Embarrassing, imagine if we actually had a squad and not just 14 first team players anyway. Club is a shambles top to bottom, where’s all the Watford bashers now”

Credit: @TheMolineuxBlog

“Embarrassing from us”

Credit: @adamwwfc03

“This season is fast becoming a farce, looks like teams are taking it in turns to have a week off”

Credit: @Retrowolves1

“Game should go ahead, nobody’s fault other than ours that we have a tiny squad”

Credit: @wwfcltd

“Injuries? That’s embarrassing. That’s our own fault, not Arsenal’s”

Credit: @WiggyWWFC

“Shocking when these blokes are meant to be all vaccinated, work in some of the most covid safe environments etc. Just end the season now otherwise every team soon as they get a few injuries will be crying Covid”

Credit: @jamiehen1

In other news, Wolves are still interested in signing one player. Find out who it is here.

According to a Tottenham Hotspur source (via Football Insider), head coach Antonio Conte is personally plotting a summer sale behind-the-scenes as some major exit news emerges.

The Lowdown: Crunch summer window looming…

The Lilywhites, buoyed by their most recent Premier League form, are now top contenders for 2022/2023 Champions League qualification – a phenomenal turnaround since that humiliating defeat to Man United in Nuno Espirito Santo’s last game.

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Conte’s side have bagged a brilliant 26 goals in their last seven Premier League matches with nine of them coming in their two most previous wins alone (Transfermarkt).

Thumping victories over Newcastle United last week (5-1) and Aston Villa yesterday (4-0) exemplify the confidence running through Tottenham’s team at the moment as they also gear up for this summer’s transfer window behind-the-scenes.

Competition for places under Conte is now potentially more intense than ever and the Italian has allegedly made a major decision already on who he wants to sell at Spurs.

The Latest: Conte plotting Ndombele sale…

As per FI, the former Inter Milan boss is personally plotting to sell club-record signing and Lyon loanee Tanguy Ndombele, regardless of whether or not the French outfit activate his permanent purchase option.

Conte has apparently ‘made up his mind’ with an N17 source explaining there is ‘no way back’ for the 25-year-old.

The ex-Juventus boss allegedly doesn’t regard Ndombele as capable of slotting into the Spurs team, meaning they are now open to summer offers.

The Verdict: Right call?

The France international possesses bags of ability, as evident by spells of form under former Spurs manager Jose Mourinho and rave reviews from certain players at the club.

According to West Ham star Declan Rice, his England teammates from Tottenham have called Ndombele ‘unbelievable’, while N17 live presenter Ben Haines has previously waxed lyrical over the ‘gem’ of a player (Twitter).

However, his temporary exit from Spurs was arguably fuelled by doubts surrounding his application, and it may finally be the right time to offload permanently.

Valued at around £31.5 million by Transfermarkt, chairman Daniel Levy will be hoping he can claw back a far greater transfer sum.

In other news: In recent weeks: Tottenham step up chase to sign ‘incredible’ player as club brace their bid! Find out more here.

Celtic journalist Kieran Devlin thinks Ange Postecoglou will field an unchanged line-up for Saturday’s Scottish League Cup semifinal against St Johnstone. 

The lowdown

Celtic’s last game prior to the international break was their 4-2 victory away to Dundee.

Postecoglou set out his team in a 4-1-4-1 formation that day, with Joe Hart in goal and Anthony Ralston, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Stephen Welsh and Josip Juranovic protecting him.

Nir Bitton slotted into the holding role behind Liel Abada, David Turnbull, Callum McGregor and two-goal Filipe Jota. Kyogo Furuhashi led the line for the Hoops.

Victory over the Saints at Hampden Park could set up a meeting with Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s Rangers in the semifinal, provided they get the better of Hibernian on Sunday.

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The latest

Addressing supporters in The Athletic’s matchday discussion, Devlin wrote: “I’d think maybe the starting XI will be the same as against Dundee?”

Carl Starfelt and Tom Rogic may have been in contention had they recovered, but for the umpteenth time this season ‘an injury has taken much longer to heal than expected’.

Devlin does note that James Forrest, who played the last half an hour at Dundee, has a chance of starting if he’s deemed to be fit enough.

The verdict

One aspect of this team that would please ex-Hoop Frank McAvennie is seeing Furuhashi deployed through the middle.

He feels it would be a ‘mistake’ for Postecoglou to play him out wide as he’s done on four occasions so far this season.

With Giorgos Giakoumakis, who came off the bench against Dundee, out injured, the Australian’s centre-forward decision perhaps becomes that little bit easier, with the limited options up front almost making it a no-brainer to start the club’s top scorer through the centre.

In other news, read about Celtic’s January transfer plan.

Rangers sporting director Ross Wilson made a number of moves in the transfer market last summer in an attempt to bolster the squad.

He brought in the likes of John Lundstram and Fashion Sakala, among others, to improve the team in their bid to secure the Premiership title for the second season running.

However, his efforts appear to have failed, as their Glasgow arch-rivals rivals are six points clear after 33 matches. The Light Blues chief was unable to provide the quality needed to close out another title, barring a late comeback this term, but what could he have done differently?

It was reported by 90min in January 2021 that the Gers were one of the clubs leading the race to land Nigerian striker Taiwo Awoniyi at the end of that season.

He was on loan at Union Berlin from Liverpool at the time and Rangers, along with Celtic, wanted to snap him up on a permanent basis.

However, Wilson was unable to secure a deal for his services as the German club struck an agreement with the Reds last summer, with Awoniyi valued at £4.5m by Transfermarkt at the time of the switch.

Since signing for Union at the start of 2021/22, Awoniyi has been superb. Bundesliga journalist Stefan Bienkowski recently dubbed the striker’s form “remarkable” and the statistics back that up. He has found the net 12 times in the German top-flight across 24 appearances, showing that he can score on a regular basis at the top level.

Meanwhile, no Rangers player has more than 11 goals in the Premiership, while Alfredo Morelos is one of only two players in double figures. This suggests that the Nigerian would be an upgrade on what Gio van Bronckhorst currently has at his disposal.

Awoniyi is now attracting interest from the Premier League, with the likes of West Ham and Newcastle eyeing him up for a fee in the region of £25m.

This means that Rangers could have had a player whose value has drastically soared in the space of a year, going from £4.5m to potentially £25m if the firm offers come in from those English suitors.

The Gers could have made a quick profit from the gem to boost the club coffers and invest in players across the pitch, whilst also benefitting from his goalscoring talent throughout 2021/22.

Therefore, Wilson endured a big Ibrox howler with the Nigeria international, who is without doubt one that got away from the Glasgow giants…

AND in other news, “I’m told..”: Big Rangers transfer claim will surely delight everyone at Ibrox…

Leeds winger Raphinha made his debut for Brazil during the international break as he featured in their matches against Venezuela and Colombia.

The Whites forward picked up two assists against Venezuela and racked up four chances created over the course of the two games.

Despite this impressive achievement from the former Rennes man, another Leeds forward may have caught Marcelo Bielsa’s eye with his performances on international duty.

Welsh winger Dan James found his best form for his county over the break, with the summer signing from Manchester United excelling against the Czech Republic and Estonia.

In the first match against the Czech Republic, James was given the highest SofaScore rating in the game as he recorded a score of 8.2. He scored a goal in the 2-2 draw with a crisp finish from the right-handside and, per SofaScore, created an eye-catching four chances for his teammates.

On top of that, he also won 50% of his duels and completed 100% of his attempted dribbles – causing constant problems for the Czech defence.

James followed up on that display by putting in another solid showing against Estonia on Monday night. He completed 50% of his attempted dribbles and won four of his seven duels. Once again, he created another four chances for his teammates. This shows that he was sharp in the final third of the pitch and smart with his pass selection as he created multiple openings for other players to score.

Over the course of the two games, he scored once and created eight chances for Wales over the international break, whilst Raphinha failed to score and registered two assists from four key passes.

Therefore, James showed more than the Brazilian in the final third for his country and stole the show for Robert Pages’ men.

Bielsa will surely be delighted with James’ displays for Wales as it could give him a confidence boost heading into the next batch of Premier League matches. The forward is yet to pick up a goal or assist for the Whites since joining from Manchester United, making five appearances, and his superb form for his country could help him get off the mark against Southampton on Saturday.

The thought of him and Raphinha linking up together is now becoming a mouth-watering one.

AND in other news, £11.5m profit: Leeds pulled off transfer blinder with “first-class” £50k-p/w colossus…

Writing in his column for The Daily Star, Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson has given Tottenham Hotspur and chairman Daniel Levy a managerial instruction.

The Lowdown: Pressure on Nuno…

Despite a brilliant start to life at N17, even managing to clinch August’s Premier League Manager of the Month award, it has all been downhill for Nuno Espirito Santo since the international break.

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The Portuguese has overseen a trio of humiliating defeats at their hands of London rivals in September and there are now reports of growing unrest behind the scenes at Spurs.

As such, links have re-emerged to former boss Mauricio Pochettino after Levy attempted to re-hire him earlier this year, but Merson has now told the Lilywhites chairman to make a different appointment if Nuno is indeed given his marching orders.

The Latest: Merson makes Potter claim…

Writing in his Daily Star column, Merson has told Levy to hire Brighton and Hove Albion boss Graham Potter as Nuno’s possible replacement.

The pundit believes that the Seagulls manager could bring an ‘entertaining’ brand of football to Spurs and a philosophy which supporters especially would love.

He also suggests that Nuno has ‘lost the players’ at Tottenham and, if they lose against Aston Villa today, doesn’t see how the 47-year-old survives the next international break.

The Verdict: Ideal man?

When Spurs were linked with Potter as a possible replacement for Jose Mourinho earlier this year, reliable reporter Alasdair Gold lifted the lid on what Lilywhites players think of him as a coach.

Their reception of the 46-year-old, according to the football.london journalist, is certainly glowing, with Gold revealing that a ‘number of’ Spurs players had a ‘lasting impression’ left on them by his playing style at Brighton (Twitter).

It is also claimed that a number of them would have been ‘happy’ if the former Ostersunds man was pursued by Spurs during their last managerial hunt.

Taking this into account, and the fact that he has been called a ‘world class manager’ by former England international Adam Lallana, Merson could very well have a point.

In other news: Spurs source claims that Levy is eyeing £115,000-per-week ‘genius’ amid Nuno unrest…find out more here.

Nottingham Forest have been dealt a blow in their bid to bring Zian Flemming to the City Ground.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Dutch publication De Limburger, who claim that a deal for the Fortuna Sittard midfielder is looking increasingly unlikely for Dane Murphy to be able to get over the line this summer, with Italian sides Empoli and Napoli having entered the race for the 23-year-old.

It is also reported that Forest and the Eredivisie club have been at something of a stalemate over their respective valuations of the player, with the Reds thought to have already submitted more than one offer for Flemming, all of which have been rejected.

It is claimed that the Championship side feel the youngster is worth around £1.5m, while Fortuna are thought to be demanding a figure much higher than this amount in order to sanction a sale – with Flemming himself stating that his asking price was “a very high transfer fee – too high.”

However, De Limburger claim that, following the interest from Italy, the chances of a move to England and Nottingham, in particular, are fading fast.

Murphy will be gutted

Considering the sheer amount of potential Flemming appears to possess, as well as the fact that, at one point, it looked as if Forest were very much in the driving seat regarding the signing of the midfielder, should the Reds ultimately miss out on a deal for the 23-year-old this summer, it would undoubtedly leave Murphy gutted.

Indeed, over his 33 Eredivisie appearances last season, the £1.08m-rated man bagged 12 goals, provided seven assists and created eight big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 2.8 shots and making 0.8 key passes per fixture.

These metrics saw the attacking midfielder earn a highly impressive average SofaScore match rating of 7.04, ranking him as Fortuna Sittard’s third-best player in the top flight of Dutch football.

As such, with Forest already boasting a number of extremely talented youngsters in the likes of Brennan Johnson, Alex Mighten and Jordan Lawrence-Gabriel, the addition of Flemming would have further transformed Chris Hughton’s side into one of the most exciting outfits in the second tier.

However, with a move now looking unlikely for the 23-year-old, unless the Forest CEO can pull something special out of the bag to beat both Napoli and Empoli to the midfielder, he will have to turn his attention in what remains of the summer transfer window elsewhere.

In other news: Forest dealt blow over “one of the best” ahead of Bradford tie, Hughton will be gutted

Paris Saint-Germain manager Mauricio Pochettino would be open to succeeding Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the Manchester United hot seat following his dismissal over the weekend.

What’s the story?

According to The Telegraph’s James Ducker, the 49-year-old is interested in becoming the Red Devils’ new boss, although would prefer to wait until the summer before switching clubs.

He tweeted: “Pochettino open to taking over as MUFC manager next summer.”

However, a recent update from BBC Sport has claimed that the Argentine tactician would be prepared to depart PSG immediately should he be approached, raising the possibility of his imminent appointment.

Simon Stone’s report states that: “Mauricio Pochettino is open to becoming Manchester United manager, and it is not out of the question they could get the Paris St-Germain boss now.

“The Argentine is held in high regard at Old Trafford, but there was a feeling it might be difficult to prise him away from PSG mid-season.” Man Utd fans will be buzzing

Man United supporters will be delighted with this news as Pochettino is one of the most highly respected coaches in European football after his impressive exploits at Tottenham Hotspur and in the French capital.

He guided Spurs to four consecutive top-four finishes in the Premier League during his five-and-a-half-year reign, reaching the Champions League final in 2019 before being dismissed just a few months later.

Following his move to the Parc des Princes halfway through last season, Pochettino broke his managerial duck, claiming his first piece of silverware via a French Cup success.

Nevertheless, it’s believed that the South American is currently unhappy in Paris, and Stone’s latest revelation reveals how the setup is not completely to Pochettino’s liking.

“It is not thought United have made an approach yet but the 49-year-old is less than completely happy with the setup at PSG, where his role is essentially that of first-team coach, with all broader club and footballing issues handled by sporting director Leonardo,” he wrote.

With United down in seventh-place in the top-flight table and six points behind West Ham in the final Champions League qualification spot, the club’s hierarchy may need to act quickly in order to save their season, and Pochettino could be the ideal candidate judging by his ability to get teams into the top four places. That, understandably so, would leave the United fanbase buzzing.

And, in other news…”I’m told” – Sky Sports journo drops big Man United manager update, fans surely elated

The Evening Standard’s Jack Rosser wouldn’t rule out a move to Tottenham for Southampton striker Danny Ings this summer.

The 29-year-old Saints forward was in inspired form last season scoring 13 goals in all competitions, and has 46 in 100 appearances for the south coast outfit in total, and with only one year remaining on his current contract, Southampton may look to cash in on their prized asset this summer and avoid the risk of losing him on a free next year.

Eurosport also confirmed earlier this week that Spurs were observing the situation of Ings, with Rosser telling TT: “Ings might be looking a bit higher but if nothing comes from City, United or Chelsea someone like that and Spurs come knocking with a nice little wage offer.

“The chance to live in London and play at the stadium, there’s not too many that would turn it down, so I wouldn’t rule it out.”

After failing to qualify for Champions League football last season finishing seventh in the league table, Spurs hired former Wolves manager Nuno Espirito Santo as their new manager and he will be looking to bring in his own players this summer.

With that in mind, although Espirito Santo will want to keep hold of his best players, Spurs may have to delve into the transfer market for a new striker, with Harry Kane heavily linked with a move away from the Tottenham Hotspur stadium this summer.