All posts by z3u9t.icu

[ad_pod ]

With an FA Cup fourth round tie against Brighton on the horizon, West Brom boss Darren Moore has an ideal opportunity to experiment with his lineup in the hope of finding an able replacement for the departed Harvey Barnes.

How big a loss will Barnes be?

Whilst the Baggies will undoubtedly want to progress in the competition, and should view the Seagulls as beatable opposition, Moore should take a few risks to see if he can find someone to replicate the talents of Barnes in that creative role supporting the strikers.

21-year-old Barnes, who was on loan from Leicester, was recalled by the Foxes (as per the BBC) thanks to his scintillating form at the Hawthorns. Barnes managed to score nine goals and record six assists in 26 Championship starts for the Midlands-based side as per Whoscored, which prompted boss Claude Puel to bring him back to the King Power Stadium and throw him in against Wolves for his first Premier League start.

Thogden has ranked his top 5 sets of Championship away fans for Pl>ymaker FC. Did your club make the list? Find out in the video below…

Whilst that is good news for Leicester and for Barnes, it is a big problem for West Brom who were surely hoping for the Englishman to stay and aid their push for promotion.

What can Moore do?

The Baggies boss should hand young forward Jonathan Leko a rare start for the trip to the Amex Stadium, having started him in the 1-0 win against Wigan in the earlier rounds of the FA Cup. The 19-year-old has only made one other start this season, coming in the Carabao Cup, but he will be hoping for more game time following Barnes’ departure.

Leko is predominantly a winger, but is a skilful player who has a good eye for a through ball and decent dribbling ability, which suggests that he could be an able performer in a central attacking midfield role too.

The teenager has featured in that position sporadically this season already (as seen on Transfermarkt), and the game against Chris Hughton’s men will give Moore a great chance to test out a 4-2-3-1 system with Leko in behind one of Dwight Gayle or Jay Rodriguez, having favoured a 4-3-3 system in recent weeks.

Moore has opted for a 3-4-1-2 system frequently this season, which would also be an option that deploys Leko in the no.10 role.

A worrying Newcastle United update has emerged on former Brighton chief Dan Ashworth… 

What’s the talk?

Daily Mail journalist Craig Hope has revealed that the ex-FA supremo is set to be made to wait until after the summer transfer window to link up with the Magpies.

Ashworth left the Seagulls earlier this year and is being eyed up by the Toon to work with Eddie Howe to build the club moving forward.

Hope Tweeted: “Dan Ashworth could be made to wait until November before taking up NUFC sporting director role. Negotiations with Brighton continue but no progress yet. Club relaxed if Howe/Nickson/Staveley oversee summer transfers, as was case in Jan. Scouting meetings this wk.”

He added: “Told that Ashworth has a nine-month notice period and, as it stands, will be made to see it out. Brighton not making it easy for him to join Newcastle, as is their right.”

Fuming

This update will surely leave supporters fuming as this news comes as a big blow to the club and their plans heading into next season.

Whilst PIF may be ‘relaxed’ over the situation, having a cloud of doubt hovering over the sporting director role throughout the summer is not ideal.

Ashworth may have ideas about who he would like the club to be signing and what direction he wants the team to go in with Howe and that may not perfectly align with what Steve Nickson does before he arrives.

This means that decisions could be taken throughout the next window that the ex-Brighton chief then has to work around and look to rectify. It is a difficult situation for all parties involved and it will be frustrating for the club as they will need to navigate a second window in a row without a sporting director in place.

Whilst the Magpies were able to bring in the likes of Bruno Guimaraes, Matt Targett, Chris Wood, Dan Burn and Kieran Trippier, they also struggled towards the end of the window. Howe wanted a striker and an attacking midfielder on deadline day and the Toon failed to complete moves for Hugo Ekitike and Jesse Lingard as they left those particular pieces of business too late in the window.

This illustrates what can go wrong without a dedicated sporting director in place to assist Howe to get deals over the line. Therefore, supporters will be fuming that the club are now set go through another window in a similar fashion because of Ashworth’s notice period.

AND in other news, Howe can unearth a new “outstanding” £20m gem in NUFC’s rarely-seen Darsley Park star…

An update has emerged on Rangers and their pursuit of a centre-back to improve Gio van Bronckhorst’s squad at Ibrox.

What’s the talk?

According to the Daily Record, Dutch club Vitesse are willing to part ways with Danilho Doekhi this month for a fee in the region of £2m. He is out of contract at the end of the season and the Eredivisie side will accept a fee to cash in on him now before losing him for nothing.

The report claims that the Gers see him as a potential replacement for Connor Goldson at centre-back and are eyeing a possible swoop for him this month.

Masterclass

Rangers could pull off a masterclass by bringing Doekhi to the club in January. Although he is available on a free in the summer, signing him now for a cut-price £2m fee would strengthen their side in the short term and allow van Bronckhorst to bed in a new centre-back partnership ahead of next season.

If Goldson, as the report suggests, is due to leave in the summer then it could be Calvin Bassey who the Vitesse man is set to play alongside should he arrive at Ibrox. Imagine Doekhi and Bassey playing together at the back in the second half of the season…

The ex-Leicester man has started nine games since van Bronckhorst arrived, all at centre-back, and the Gers have kept seven clean sheets and conceded twice in those matches. This highlights how well he has played since his positional shift, but what about Doekhi?

Thomas Letsch, manager of his current club, previously took the time to heap praise on the defender, saying: “Danilho is extremely important. He is one of the best centre-backs of the Eredivisie.

“Of course there is more talk about Oussama Tannane, Riechedly Bazoer and the attacking players. But it is very important for the team that you are stable and prevent goals. Everyone is responsible for that, but Doekhi, Jacob Rasmussen and also Tomas Hajek do a super job.

“He already played fantastic last year and this season he has performed at the highest level in every game. Danilho makes almost no mistakes and is an absolute team player, a very calm player. flat developed. He coaches other players very well. He is calmer than other players and perhaps that makes him less noticeable, but he is the reserve captain for a reason.”

Doekhi has averaged a SofaScore rating of 7.01 in the Eredivisie this season, winning 65% of his duels and making an impressive 3.6 tackles and interceptions per game. At the age of 23, he also has the potential to improve further in years to come.

Therefore, him and Bassey, 22, could be the club’s centre-back partnership for many, many, years. That is why this could be a masterclass from the Gers by snapping the Dutchman up and playing him alongside the Nigeria international.

AND in other news, Rangers gifted huge transfer boost that’ll surely leave Ibrox fans buzzing…

Manchester United see Leeds stalwart Illan Meslier as a potential goalkeeping transfer target to bring in next summer, according to a fresh rumour which has emerged.

The Lowdown: Meslier a huge figure for Leeds

Despite still only being 21, the Frenchman has already matured into one of the Whites’ most important players, proving to be a model of consistency between the sticks.

Meslier recently became the youngest goalkeeper in Premier League history to make 50 appearances in the competition and has been hailed as ‘fearsome’ by Tony Cascarino. He has been ever-present in the top flight so far this term and missed just three league games in 2020/21.

The only downside of the youngster being so highly regarded is that heavyweight clubs could show an interest, and that is exactly what appears to be the case here.

[freshpress-quiz id=“383507″]

The Latest: Man United keen on Meslier move

According to The Daily Star, Manchester United are ‘hot on’ the idea of signing Meslier as they look for possible long-term successors to David De Gea. The Red Devils see the £22k-per-week Leeds goalkeeper as ‘one of the best young stoppers around.’

Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martinez is also seen as a target at Old Trafford following an impressive start to life at Aston Villa since joining from Arsenal last year.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-united-news-29/” title=”Latest Leeds United news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: Massive potential loss for Leeds

Much like Kalvin Phillips and Raphinha, who have also been linked with exits, there needs to be an acceptance from Leeds fans that Meslier will not be around forever at Elland Road, with WhoScored ranking him as their fourth-best player so far this season.

The Whites are languishing in 16th place in the league, and with a possible relegation battle on the cards, the goalkeeper could feel that his future lies at a club playing Champions League football.

If Meslier is to leave Yorkshire, Leeds should at least receive a huge transfer fee for his services considering his current deal doesn’t expire until the summer of 2026, giving them the funds to bring in reinforcements of similar or superior quality.

In other news, Graham Smyth has provided a key update regarding one Leeds player. Find out who it is here.

Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly still eyeing up a move to sign Franck Kessie in the January transfer window.

The Lowdown: Shining at AFCON

Kessie is currently shining at the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) with Ivory Coast, recently putting in a man-of-the-match performance against reigning champions Algeria with a goal that helped knock them out of the group stages.

He is ranking highly among his teammates in terms of average shots, key passes and dribbles per game so far in the tournament (WhoScored), and will now look to continue his impressive performances in the knockout stages.

The Latest: Tottenham lurking

As per The Daily Telegraph, Spurs are now getting ready to make their swoop for Kessie this month, despite his contract at AC Milan running out in the summer.

This is to fend off the inevitable competition for his signature once his deal expires and he becomes a free agent.

The Verdict: No-brainer

It is certainly a no-brainer for the North London club to sign Kessie up in January, as they could potentially get a bargain with only six months left on his contract.

Yes, that bargain becomes even more enticing if he is free at the end of the campaign, but there’s no telling which other teams will be interested, and who will be able to offer Champions League football.

Described as a ‘devastating’ player by AC Milan legend Antonio Cassano, the sky is the limit for the Ivorian, who is only 25 years of age.

Antonio Conte is even said to be a ‘huge fan’ of his, and he should know all about him having watched him in the Serie A while managing rivals Inter.

Nonetheless, as pundit Kevin Campbell has previously pointed out, it would no doubt be an ‘exciting’ move for the Lilywhites should they be able to pull it off.

In other news, find out whose THFC future is to be decided ‘this weekend’ here!

Celtic are closing in on a deal to bring Reo Hatate to Parkhead in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by Anthony Joseph, with the Sky Sports journalist revealing in a post on Twitter that Ange Postecoglou’s side are close to agreeing a deal with Kawasaki Frontale concerning the 24-year-old.

Joseph goes on to state that the midfielder met with Celtic chiefs last week to discuss his proposed switch to Parkhead, with personal terms between the player and the Premiership side not thought to be an issue.

In his tweet, the journalist said: “Celtic are close to agreeing a deal with Kawasaki Frontale for Reo Hatate. The versatile 24-year-old met with club chiefs last week, where he expressed his desire to move to Scotland. Personal terms are not believed to be an issue.”

Fans will be buzzing

Considering just how impressive Hatate was for Kawasaki Frontale this season, the news that Celtic are close to securing the signing of the midfielder is sure to have left fans of the club buzzing.

Indeed, over his over 30 J League appearances this term, the £720k-rated man scored five goals, registered two assists and created three big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of two shots and making 1.1 key passes per game.

These returns saw the Japan international squad member earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 7.16, ranking him as his side’s fifth-best player in the top flight of Japanese football – with his performances playing a hugely important role in Frontale sealing the J League title.

Furthermore, Hatate’s ability to play at left-back, in central or attacking midfield or on the left-wing – all four of which are positions the 24-year-old played at least one game in this season – is something that will undoubtedly come in extremely useful for Postecoglou over the course of the current campaign, particularly with the sheer volume of injuries the 56-year-old’s Celtic side have picked up this term.

As such, the news that a deal for Hatate appears close to getting over the line is extremely positive for everyone involved with the club, with the midfielder certainly looking to be a player who has the ability to make a big impact for the Bhoys in the second half of the campaign.

In other news: “It turned out…”: Devlin drops worrying Celtic injury update that’ll have Ange livid

The promotion of youth very much looks as if it will play an extremely important role in Ange Postecoglou’s plans for the transformation of his Celtic side.

Indeed, Opta journalist Sacha Pisani revealed in a post on Twitter back in October that the average age of Celtic’s starting XIs had been the youngest of any side in the Scottish Premiership up to that point, with the Bhoys’ starting lineup coming in at an average of 25 years and 149 days old.

However, a recent article by Kieran Devlin and Mark Carey for The Athletic revealed that, despite the youthful nature of 56-year-old’s first-team squad, the majority of the Hoops central midfielders – namely Nir Bitton, James McCarthy, Tom Rogic and Callum McGregor – are beyond what is generally considered to be the peak age (23-27) for a player in their position.

According to the report, this is not the case in any other area of the current Celtic squad, meaning that, should Postecoglou wish to continue the current rate of revolution within his side, an injection of youth must be shot into in the middle of the Parkhead pitch.

And, rather luckily for the Greek-Australian manager, there is one young central midfielder in the club’s ranks that is causing quite the commotion – in the shape of 16-year-old Daniel Kelly.

Kelly can save Celtic millions

Many Celtic fans will no doubt be able to recall that, back June of 2020, Kelly put pen to paper on a four-year pre-professional contract with the Bhoys, keeping him at Parkhead until at least the summer of 2024, after the then-14-year-old had been attracting interest from a number of Europe’s leading clubs.

That summer, it was reported that the likes of Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Leicester City and Benfica were amongst the sides hoping to pinch the midfielder from Celtic’s grasp – and it is not difficult to see why.

Indeed, the recently turned 16-year-old Kelly has continually impressed throughout Celtic’s various academy age groups, playing U18 football from the age of 15, as well as recently making his Lowland League debut for the Celtic B side.

In the fixture against Broomhill, the box-to-box midfielder came off the bench with just 14 minutes of normal time to play and ended the match with both a goal and an assist to his name.

This is perhaps the clearest example as to why Kelly is thought to be one of the most promising young players Scotland has produced in recent years, as the teenager has cleared every hurdle placed in front of him thus far with extreme ease – with the natural next step for the youngster being to the first-team.

And, considering Celtic’s need for young blood in the middle of the park, perhaps Postecoglou should indeed consider handing Kelly his first-team debut in the coming weeks, as, if the 16-year-old once again proves that he is capable, he could not only end up saving the club millions of pounds in transfer fees in January but for many years to come.

In other news: Ange could repeat Josh Adam disaster with 15 y/o Celtic prodigy, it’d be a big blow

Liverpool have a multitude of attacking players in their squad who have contributed to keeping the Reds in the race to win the Premier League title, along with securing the Carabao Cup earlier in the season.

One figure who hasn’t been as active in the Premier League as some of his attacking team-mates this season is Roberto Firmino.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-liverpool-news-transfer-rumours-gossip-salah-gnabry-isak-romano” title= “Read the latest Liverpool news!”]

With 17 league appearances under his belt, the Brazilian has only started nine times, which shows that he hasn’t always been a first-choice pick for Jurgen Klopp at times this season, in addition to having some injury issues.

Despite scoring five goals and providing three assists in the league, the 30-year-old’s overall performances have earned him a disappointing season rating of 6.84/10 from WhoScored, making him one of the lowest-rated Liverpool players to start more than three league games.

With this in mind and the £180k-per-week attacker’s contract at Anfield set to expire in the summer of 2023, it seems as though the Merseyside club could have identified a potential future long-term replacement for the Brazil striker.

According to a recent report from Record (via Sport Witness), the performance from Benfica striker Darwin Nunez against the Reds in their recent Champions League meeting impressed the hierarchy at Liverpool and a number of their players.

In 79 appearances for the Portuguese club, the 22-year-old has racked up 42 goals and provided 15 assists across all competitions.

Labelled a “tenacious” player and a “monster” on the pitch by journalist James Dodd, the £36m-rated attacker not only scored against Jurgen Klopp’s squad in midweek, he also made two key passes and completed all four of his dribbles, highlighting what a tricky player he is for opponents to handle.

Also, the Uruguayan has twice as many shots per game on average (2.8) in the Portuguese league this season compared to Firmino in the Premier League (1.4).

Taking all of this into account, if the 30-year-old ends up leaving Merseyside in the near future, signing Nunez as his replacement could be just what the Reds need to keep their lethal attack ticking over nicely.

In other news: FSG could replicate Elliott masterclass as LFC plot bid for “special” teenage sensation

With Antonio Conte’s Tottenham Hotspur side heading into Saturday’s Premier League clash with Watford off the back of a disappointing 1-1 draw against 10-man Southampton last time out, the 52-year-old would have been hoping for a much-improved display at Vicarage Road this afternoon.

While the Italian would have certainly enjoyed the match a great deal more if his side had managed to seal all three points slightly earlier, Spurs nevertheless came away with maximum points thanks to Davinson Sanchez’s dramatic 96th-minute winner, with the game ending 1-0.

However, despite the victory, there were still a number of performances within the team which will have given Conte cause from concern, with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Sergio Reguilon and Emerson Royal all enduring something of an afternoon to forget against Watford.

It will undoubtedly be the latter of this trio who would have been most disappointed with his own display on the bus home from Vicarage Road on Saturday evening.

Lost the ball every 5.4 touches

While Emerson’s metrics over his 90 minutes on the pitch were not overly disastrous, the wing-back’s wastefulness in the final third was undeniably the 22-year-old’s downfall against Watford.

Indeed, the £22.5m-rated man had a whopping 113 touches of the ball, but he found his intended target with just four of his 13 attempted crosses and lost possession a whopping 21 times, meaning that he ceded possession with every 5.4 touches.

This is something which was also picked up by the Evening Standard’s Dan Kilpatrick, who awarded the defender a five in his player ratings, as well as stating of the £62k-per-week right-back’s performance: “No-one was allowed more space and time in the final third but the Brazilian put in a succession of poor crosses. You couldn’t escape the feeling that Watford knew he wasn’t much of a threat.”

As such, it is unavoidable that Emerson’s poor decision making in the final third of the pitch badly let his side down on Saturday despite Tottenham’s ultimate victory, and is an area of his game that the Brazil international must improve if he is to finally disprove Kieron Dyer’s claim that he is “miles off it” for Spurs.

In other news: Spurs begin talks for £116k-p/w gem dubbed “the best”, he’s “more stable” than De Ligt

Many Nottingham Forest fans have been slamming the performance of Gaetan Bong in their 1-1 draw at Reading on Saturday.

Philip Zinckernagel gave the away side a very early lead, but Steve Cooper’s men were eventually pegged back midway through the second half by Scott Dann.

Bong came on around the half-hour mark to replace the injured Max Lowe at left-back, and several Forest supporters were left wishing that he did not after the performance that he put in.

The former Brighton defender lost out on four of his duels and also failed to record a single successful dribble, blocked shot or interception, while failing to make a key pass or cross (SofaScore).

Bong also lost possession of the ball on 13 occasions, the joint-third most out of any Forest player despite not starting the match (SofaScore).

Nottingham Forest fans hammer Bong

These Forest fans slammed the Cameroonian’s performance on Twitter, with one even going as far as to claim that he is a ‘liability’ against Reading:

“Was a good trip to Reading, shame about result and if I’m honest first time Cooper made a big mistake by bringing Bong on, waste of a sub because he is awful”

Credit: @AdzL_93

“Leave Bong in Reading please”

Credit: @cookenffc

“PLEASE DO NOT PLAY BONG AGAIN!!!!!!!”

Credit: @Lee_Rev1

“Bong is still absolutely lost, how does he still get a game?”

Credit: @mmearsuk

“Gaetan Bong plays like he’s filming a TikTok”

Credit: @josephpickard

“Bong is a liability. COYR!”

Credit: @ScatmanRon

In other news, find out what club tweet had these Forest fans erupting