All posts by z3u9t.icu

Gabby Agbonlahor has dropped a big transfer claim on West Ham United and their pursuit of Burnley ace Chris Wood.

The Lowdown: West Ham eye Wood

As per Football Insider, the East London club as well as Everton have joined Aston Villa in the race to sign Wood in the summer window.

The Clarets currently value the New Zealand international at £30m, but are reportedly hopeful that they can secure a £40m fee if the three teams mentioned start a bidding war.

The Latest: Agbonlahor backs Wood move

Speaking to Football Insider, Agbonlahor, who is now a pundit after an impressive career as a striker himself for AVFC and England, has claimed that a move to the London Stadium for Wood would be a good one for both parties:

“Wood’s a very, very good player and wherever he goes, that team is going to get goals out of him.

“Maybe West Ham would be good. They’ve only got Antonio so they need to cover and maybe he could give them a different style of player. You don’t want the same type of striker on the bench.

“They’ve got the Europa League too, so West Ham probably need two more strikers. Wood would be a good option.

“I really like him, hardworking, physical, good in the air, he’s a great finisher as well.

“At 29, he’s going to want that move now. It’s now or never.

“Once you get into your thirties those moves become harder. If I was him I’d be pushing through that move this summer.”

The Verdict: Wood a good signing if cheaper

Wood would certainly be a good signing for David Moyes’ team providing that they can get him for cheaper than the valuation set by Burnley.

Given that he is 29 years of age now, £40m or even £30m would be way too much to spend on the striker, especially given the financial impact that the global pandemic has had.

However, it is imperative that the Hammers bring in another forward in order to provide some much needed cover for Michail Antonio, and Wood could well be an ideal fit.

The six-foot-three colossus would give the Irons a different option with his aerial ability and physical presence, while he has also shown that he can be prolific in the Premier League, reaching double figures in each of the last four seasons in the top flight with the Clarets (Transfermarkt).

Nonetheless, WHU should certainly try and sign Wood if possible, as long as they can lower the asking price.

In other news, find out what big transfer update has Hammers talking here!

Tottenham Hotspur legend Graham Roberts is not sold on the prospect of the club hiring Brighton & Hove Albion boss Graham Potter as their new manager, telling Football FanCast that he is not the kind of appointment that will keep Harry Kane at the club.

The England international has been linked away from Spurs ahead of the summer transfer window, with The Athletic reporting that he wants to take on a new challenge this summer.

Spurs sacked Jose Mourinho earlier this season after a desperately poor season that saw the club fall to ninth at one stage.

Potter has been linked as a potential appointment and Football.London have reported previously that Spurs’ players have been impressed by Brighton’s approach whenever the two sides have met.

However, Roberts thinks that a manager with a bulging trophy cabinet is required to ensure that Kane feels the club are moving in the right direction following Mourinho’s exit.

Asked about how Kane would feel if Potter, or Scott Parker who has also been linked by the same Football.London report, became the new boss, he told FFC:

“I think that would be a bad thing for us.

“If you’re Harry Kane, you’re looking for a top manager coming in now, somebody that’s won trophies and those two haven’t won trophies.

“We haven’t won any trophies so we can’t go shouting our mouths off. That’s what Harry wants to win.

“He won the London trophy (Player of the Year at the London Football Awards) the other day and it was all about ‘no, I want a team trophy, I don’t want individual ones, I’ve got them, yeah, they’re good but I want that team one’.”

A source from Newcastle United has dropped a bombshell ahead of the opening of the summer window.

The Lowdown: Transfer window awaits

The summer transfer window is fast approaching, with the St. James’ Park faithful looking to bring in some good additions as well as shift deadwood in order to have the best squad possible to compete in the 2021/22 Premier League season.

Joe Willock is likely to be a player that they will look to try and sign on a permanent deal from Arsenal given his impact in the North East, while other players, namely Andy Carroll and Dwight Gayle for example, face uncertain futures.

The Latest: Transfer bombshell dropped

Football Insider revealed a “bombshell” on Tuesday evening – Mike Ashley is refusing to spend big while talks over a potential takeover of the Tyneside club by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) group continue.

A source from the Magpies has told the news outlet that the board have now passed on the message to Steve Bruce that he will only have a transfer budget of between £8-10m to work with.

That would rule out the possibility of signing Willock permanently as the Gunners are thought to want closer to £20m, while quite frankly it is just a ridiculously low transfer kitty for an established top flight side in 2021.

The Verdict: Transfer blow

If the Toon only have a mere £8-10m to spend in the market, then that really is a big blow.

Not only would they likely miss out on Willock unless they could raise funds by selling other players, but it means that they would hardly be able to compete in the market against their fellow rivals in the top flight, despite the financial impact of the global pandemic.

NUFC will really want to kick on next season with fans back in the ground, but this latest piece of news will surely not appease them one bit, and now a takeover cannot come soon enough.

In other news, find out what ‘fascinating’ takeover insight a sports lawyer has dropped here!

Lots of Everton fans have been fuming over the performance of Richarlison in their 2-1 home defeat to Aston Villa in the Premier League on Saturday night.

Carlo Ancelotti saw his team lose yet another game at Goodison Park as Anwar El Ghazi scored a late winner after Dominic Calvert-Lewin had equalised from a corner, with Ollie Watkins giving Dean Smith’s team the lead early on after pouncing on a defensive error from Mason Holgate.

Nonetheless, Richarlison struggled to make an impact on the match, losing out on six of his 10 duels as well as recording fewer touches than Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford (Sofascore).

The former Watford star also lost possession of the ball on 13 separate occasions, the fourth-most out of any of his teammates to have set foot on the pitch (Sofascore).

Everton fans on Richarlison display

These Toffees supporters blasted his performance on Twitter, with one going as far as to claim that the Brazil international was ‘abysmal’:

“Richarlison is so clumsy it’s not funny, Gomes seems to be constantly moving in slow motion. #Takes #EFC #coyb”

Credit: @footyanalysis

“Everton still not good enough to play the way Carlo wants to play and not good enough to carry passengers. Richarlison needs to be dropped. Holgate can’t play centre half. Gomes needs dropping permanently #EFC”

Credit: @dazzler1878

“#Richarlison is so frustrating at times. Easy ball on to Sigi and doesn’t put his head up #efc”

Credit: @sicurrie

“Coleman. Holgate. Richarlison. Iwobi. Gomes. Any one of them could and should be taken off here, been dreadful. #EVEAVL”

Credit: @northernharto

“Richarlison needs to be dropped. He offers nothing as a creative force.”

Credit: @AlexOBr82171506

“Richarlison was and has been abysmal. So has most of the team including Sigurdsson but Richarlison as been equally dreadful.”

Credit: @JMoran1982

In other news, find out whose display against Villa was also slammed by numerous Everton fans.

A number of Liverpool fans have been calling for Harvey Elliott to stay put at Anfield this summer, rather than going out on loan again.

The Reds could have a busy transfer window in the summer, with incomings and outgoings both expected after what has been a tumultuous season.

Jurgen Klopp will be keen to bolster his squad, but equally, there are fringe players who could generate some much-needed transfer funds, such as Xherdan Shaqiri and Divock Origi.

[freshpress-quiz id=“355458″]

Someone who could potentially become a first-team regular is Elliott, with the 18-year-old coming off the back of an excellent season on loan at Blackburn Rovers.

The forward scored seven goals and registered 11 assists in the Championship in 2020/21, catching the eye with his vision, quick feet and end product.

According to the Liverpool Echo, the Reds are still yet to decide what to do with Elliott and Sepp van den Berg this summer, as Klopp weighs up his options.

There is an increasing feeling that the teenager could be a handy player to have around, however, given his recent performances.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/all-the-latest-liverpool-news/” title=”All the latest Liverpool news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Liverpool fans call for Elliott to stay

These Liverpool supporters took to Twitter to provide their thoughts on the matter.

“Bring Harvey back, give him mins in the first team next year and leave Sepp there on loan”

Credit: @lfcguy76

“Please bring Harvey Elliott into the fold. He’s a young, confident forward. He could offer something different”

Credit: @ReviewFootball

“We could have done with Elliott as a sub for any of our front three this season”

Credit: @ceklfc

“Keep Harvey and loan Sepp”

Credit: @biGDhee08

“Bring in Harvey Elliot, have VVD teach VDB how to defend and see them perform in the CL final in 5-6 years”

Credit: @Kristiannc991

“Give them a chance”

Credit: @eddiespana

“Elliott needs to stay, and Sepp is better than Neco so keep him too idc”

Credit: @joexlfc

In other news, some Liverpool fans are unhappy with a link claiming the Reds want to sign a Premier League player this summer. Find out who it is here.

Peterborough United Director of Football has told Football FanCast that Everton have set their sights on finishing in the top four continually.

The Toffees are flexing their muscles, as they have appointed Carlo Ancelotti as manager and are in the process of building a brand new stadium that will serve as a major upgrade on Goodison Park.

The club have enjoyed a promising season after making some statement moves in the transfer window, too, including the signing of James Rodriguez from Real Madrid.

Everton currently sit eighth in the Premier League but are just five points off the top four, and are also within touching distance of finishing above Liverpool, with whom they are level on points.

Fry has been impressed with the way Ancelotti has improved Everton and he believes that the club are aiming to become a top side within the Premier League, backing them to do so.

Speaking exclusively to FFC, he said: “They definitely want to get in the top four, they want to play in the best competitions in the world, there’s no doubt about that.

“So does the manager, so when the manager went there a lot of people went ‘why has he gone there, they don’t really have any ambition’, but I think they’ve shown they have with the progress of the new ground and he’s made them a better team.

“They’re a bit inconsistent, I think everybody in the country bar Manchester City is inconsistent, but they’re going to be a powerful club again, I’m sure of that.”

Despite having had their UEFA Champions League journey ended on Wednesday evening against Real Madrid, Liverpool went out of the competition with a fight.

The Reds turned in a fantastic showing at Anfield, the only thing missing was the goals – their 3-1 defeat in Madrid eventually saw them eliminated.

One man who was key to Liverpool’s performance was right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold, who was a constant thorn in the side of Los Blancos.

Having netted the winner against Aston Villa at Anfield last time out, the 22-year-old turned in another scintillating attacking performance.

Throughout the 90 minutes, he provided a huge 17 crosses from the right-flank, five of those being accurate, according to WhoScored.

Whilst that looks somewhat wasteful, six of his passes did end up being key passes. For comparison, the entirety of the Real Madrid team could only produce five key passes of their own, emphasising just how effective Alexander-Arnold was from an attacking standpoint for the home side.

Indeed, but for better finishing from his Liverpool teammates, such as Georginio Wijnaldum, Sadio Mane and Mo Salah, the England man might have racked himself up a handful of assists in what would have been a brilliant comeback win from his side.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-liverpool-news%2c-transfer-rumours-and-more-gravenberch-keita-mane-williams-kabak” title=”Read the latest Liverpool news, transfer rumours and more…”]

Whilst Alexander-Arnold was exhilarating from an attacking sense, he did not allow his defensive responsibilities to be forgotten.

Throughout the game, he produced two tackles and three interceptions. In the end, only centre-back Nathaniel Phillips produced more than his total five defensive contributions.

Previously dubbed “wonderful” by Jurgen Klopp, the right-back’s performance was certainly befitting of that praise and of course the occasion.

It was just a shame that his teammates could not match that as Liverpool’s Champions League fight came to a bruising end against Real Madrid.

AND in more news, take a look at our player ratings from the Reds’ 0-0 draw against Los Blancos on Wednesday…

Celtic may be without a manager but that isn’t stopping the Hoops hierarchy from considering new arrivals at Parkhead.

Of course, Neil Lennon left the hot seat a number of weeks ago but the transfer rumour mill has been in full swing regardless.

What’s the word?

According to GIVEMESPORT, Celtic are in the race to sign Peterborough forward Siriki Dembele this summer.

They claim that his eye-catching form in England’s third tier has led to interest in a player who may not cost a penny this summer.

That’s because Dembele is out of contract in a few months time and thus, could sign a pre-contract deal similar to the one Liam Shaw has already agreed with Celtic.

Interestingly, the Posh winger is the brother of Karamoko Dembele.

Imagine him & Edouard

Dembele would be a fantastic addition for Celtic, a team that have lacked creativity and goals from a wide area of late.

Moi Elyounoussi may have scored in the Old Firm derby but that was just his first goal in his last 11 matches. As for Ryan Christie, he has netted only twice in his last 26 outings.

Evidently, they need a bit of extra spice in forward areas. They’d certainly find that in Dembele, a player who has registered eight goals and 12 assists in League One this term.

His tally of assists is only bettered by two players in the division, one of which happens to be former Hoops star Aiden McGeady. His goal tally, meanwhile, now stands at 21 in a Peterborough shirt.

It’s not a giant number but he’s come on leaps and bounds in the last few years. As well as playing on the wing, he’s begun to play as a centre-forward, a role he’s been hailed as “absolutely outstanding” in by Darren Ferguson.

It’s in a wide area where he’d be of better use to Celtic, though, especially if Odsonne Edouard stays.

The Frenchman is a goal-scoring phenomenon and even if the team has struggled this term, he’s still scored 20 goals. Therefore, just imagine the tally he could manage playing alongside someone as creative as Dembele.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/latest-celtic-manager-and-transfer-news-boupendza-mcgeady-marsch-mccarthy” title=”Latest Celtic manager and transfer news!”]

The 24-year-old has provided 1.7 key passes per match in 2020/21, a tally only bettered by David Turnbull and Ryan Christie at Celtic. His 3.2 dribbles per game this term, however, is more impressive than anyone in the Bhoys team.

With a player as rampant and creative as Dembele down the wings, it could open up further scoring opportunities for Edouard. He should be licking his lips at this development.

AND in other news, Major “investment” claim emerges at Celtic, supporters should be buzzing…

Keith Gillespie has exclusively told Football FanCast that Leicester City defender Jonny Evans is still good enough to start for Manchester United.

Having come through the ranks at Old Trafford before winning 11 major honours, including the Champions League and three Premier League titles, the centre-back was sold to West Brom by former United boss Louis van Gaal back in 2015.

Evans spent three seasons with the Baggies before making the switch to Leicester following West Brom’s relegation back to the Championship.

The Foxes are looking good to finish in the top-four and on course to win the FA Cup for the first time, with Evans one of their most consistent performers this season.

And Gillespie, who played with Evans at international level, is still surprised that Manchester United got rid of him, and believes he would get into Ole Gunnar Solsjkaer’s current defence.

He told Football FanCast:

“I played with Jonny with Northern Ireland, so I know how good he is. I remember Jonny’s debut against Spain. We’d lost on the Saturday to Iceland 3-0 and he put Jonny in at left-back, and he was absolutely unbelievable. We ended up winning that game as well.

“He’s like a Rolls Royce. Left-foot, right-foot, his distribution is good, he wins headers. His reading of the game is good.

“Why Manchester United got rid of him is beyond me. I think Ole Gunnar Solsjkaer said recently that he was surprised that Louis van Gaal got rid of him.

“Jonny went to West Brom and was fantastic, and Man City and Arsenal were in for him. And you’re thinking, why did you get rid of him? I’d have him in the Man United defence now. You know what you’re going to get from Jonny. He’s a fantastic player, who;s just got better and better with age.”

Whilst Caglar Soyuncu and Wesley Fofana have more than played their part, Evans really has stepped up in the absence of Harry Maguire, and his form is a major reason as to why Leicester have done so well over the last 18 months.

Daylight robbery. If there was one phrase to describe Sunderland’s draw with Crewe on Saturday, it would be that.

The Mackems were 2-0 down after 38 minutes and following Grant Leadbitter’s dislocated shoulder, it looked as though there was no way back for the Black Cats.

However, cue four game-changing substitutions from Lee Johnson. He was fed up with a large portion of his side and who can blame him following the ease with which Crewe found proceedings at Gresty Road?

Jordan Jones and Chris Maguire stepped up to the plate, though, and scored two delightful goals. Jones fired in from long range before the latter popped up with a rare strike this season, volleying home.

It was a rescue act from the two attackers in what was a rare quiet day at the office for the likes of Aiden McGeady and Charlie Wyke.

We know they have the ability to provide quality and you can excuse their poor performances. That being said, you cannot excuse some of their defenders; namely Callum McFadzean.

The left-back has been particularly poor in recent months and once again on Saturday, he let Johnson and his teammates down. He was given a match rating of 2/10 by The Chronicle’s James Hunter, who gave him the following review; “Caught out time and again, and it was no surprise he was hooked on the hour.”

A quick look at the stats tells you just how poor McFadzean was. He completed only 54% of his passes, a tally that only Leadbitter had a worse record in.

On top of that, he lost possession of the ball on 26 occasions. Alongside Max Power, it was the worst number of anyone to take the field for Johnson’s side.

Defensively, he won two out of five ground duels but we shouldn’t be shocked by a performance as lackadaisical as this. McFadzean was guilty of giving away a penalty against Wimbledon back in November and hasn’t been too convincing since.

Both goals came down his side in the 2-1 defeat to Plymouth as he failed to get tight enough to his men.

His role in the side is becoming a big problem for Johnson, especially when you consider what else the manager has to contend with at left-back. Denver Hume is still out injured while Jake Vokins has hardly been convincing himself since a loan move from Southampton.

Like McFadzean, he can be a bit lazy in possession and had a torrid first game against MK Dons. Roker Report described it as one of the worst debuts they’ve seen from a Black Cats player.

If Sunderland want to get promoted, they will have to find an alternative solution from somewhere.

AND in other news, Imagine him & McGeady: Sunderland missed dream signing in “extremely talented” 27 y/o…