All posts by rastrear-estafeta.com

Speaking at Friday’s press conference, David Moyes has given West Ham fans a fresh update on the injury status of Jarrod Bowen and Vladimir Coufal.

The Hammers entertain Moyes’ former employers Everton on Sunday at the London Stadium as they seek to integrate some consistency in their quest to return to winning ways.

With only two wins in their last six games in all competitions, their recent form has been disappointing, leaving the Irons’ ambitions of securing a Champions League spot for next season as good as gone.

What’s the latest?

Moyes took to his pre-match press conference to share a fresh update on injured pair Bowen and Coufal.

Discussing the West Ham duo’s possibility of featuring against Everton, the 58-year-old said: “There’s a chance that both could make it. They both did a bit of training over the international break. I’m not quite sure both of them are match-fit and ready, that’s my only concern.”

Moyes will be buzzing

During Coufal’s omission from the team, owing to a hernia that he sustained around mid-February, West Ham have kept just two clean sheets in their last seven games in all competitions. Whilst he is most certainly more of an attacking full-back for Moyes’ side, his defensive acumen is solid, particularly when high up the pitch.

For tackles in the attacking third, Coufal places in the 68th percentile among positionally similar players in the top five European leagues and helps the Irons to limit counterattacking opportunities through positioning himself high up the field.

However, it’s his clearances which prove most effective for West Ham, with the Czech Republic international making around three per game, placing him in a rather high percentile of 85, according to FBRef.

As for Bowen, he has been sensational for David Moyes’ side and has already equalled his Premier League scoring record of last season with eight games to spare.

In the West Ham squad this season, he ranks top for goals, assists, minutes per goal, successful dribbles per match and shots on target per match, whilst also creating the most chances for the team this season. Essentially, most of the Hammers’ attacking play has gone through Bowen, who is having the season of his life.

Both players’ importance to David Moyes’ side is unquestionable, and their returns to training will come as a big boost for the Irons faithful, even if tomorrow might come a bit too soon for them to get back into match action.

In other news – Jack Rosser drops major West Ham injury update which will leave Moyes thrilled

According to a report from 90min, Wolves are interested in signing Newcastle United winger Allan Saint-Maximin in the summer transfer window. 

The lowdown: Eye-catching impact

Since arriving in England from Ligue 1 side Nice for £16.5m in 2019 (Sky Sports), the 25-year-old has been a revelation in the northeast. The Frenchman has scored 12 times and provided 14 assists for the St James’ Park outfit, becoming a fan favourite in the process.

However, the Toon Army could be set to lose their flamboyant talent as Premier League clubs look on with intent…

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

The latest: Wolves keen on Saint-Maximin

As per the report from 90min journalist Graeme Bailey, Wolves are believed to be among the clubs interested in signing the 25-year-old monster.

It’s claimed that Newcastle would be ‘open’ to the possibility of a sale as Everton and indeed the Old Gold look on at the £28.8m-valued Saint-Maximin (Transfermarkt).

The report added that Bruno Lage is looking to ‘replace’ Adama Traore, who has ‘no future’ at Molineux regardless of what happens regarding an ongoing loan switch at Barcelona.

The verdict: An improvement on Traore?

Under contract until 2026, prising the mercurial former France under-21 star away from Newcastle may prove an expensive venture for the Midlands club.

However, should adequate funds come in from the sale of Traore, who had attracted January interest from Tottenham Hotspur, a move for the man once hailed as ‘breathtaking’ by Gary Neville could become a reality as Lage attempts to further improve the Wolves squad.

So far this season, Saint-Maximin has registered eight direct goal contributions in 27 league outings, all whilst producing a Premier League high of 4.3 successful dribbles per game (Sofascore) – ahead of Traore in second with 4.2, with the Spain international contributing just one goal and zero assists in the English top flight prior to his mid-season loan move.

Therefore, it seems that the Newcastle maestro would be an upgrade on the 26-year-old, if that’s the transition which comes about at Molineux.

In other news, Journalist claims key Wolves player could be staying put. Read more here.

[ad_pod ]

Everton U23 manager David Unsworth waxed lyrical about 22-year-old goalkeeper Mateusz Hewelt following his display and clean sheet in the 2-0 win against Blackburn Rovers in Southport on Monday night, as per evertonfc.com.

What’s the word, then?

Well, the 22-year-old has been the first-choice for the U23s for a while now and he stepped up to the plate with a huge performance against the Lancashire outfit on Monday, with Unsworth seriously impressed with what he witnessed.

The one-time Toffees caretaker boss told evertonfc.com post-match: “That’s the best I’ve seen him.

“I’ve told him that. He made saves to keep us in the game and it was a fantastic performance. He gave us a platform to go and win the game. His was one of a number of outstanding performances.”

The goalkeeper made two brilliant saves to thwart Joseph Nuttall and John Buckley after Rovers started strongly, before goals from Bassala Sambou and Fraser Hornby eventually wrapped up the points for the Merseyside outfit.

What does future hold for Hewelt?

Despite being with the club since 2015 and the fact that he turns 23 years of age in September, he has only made one appearance in the first-team squad – away against Apollon Limassol in the Europa League in December 2017.

The stopper will surely be keen to prove that he can make the step up on a more regular basis sooner rather than later, and he may well have done exactly that with his latest display.

Marco Silva will be well aware of him and should be in direct contact with Unsworth to see who could be good enough to make the step up, and the 45-year-old’s latest comments prove he has the quality to make a difference.

With Jordan Pickford’s back-up Maarten Stekelenburg 36 years of age and only having just over a year remaining on his contract at Goodison Park, Hewelt could now be ready to seriously challenge the senior Toffees man.

Leeds United struck gold in their £5m deal for Illan Meslier as his stock continues to rise at Elland Road…

An unknown youngster

The 21-year-old shot-stopper joined the Yorkshire giants from Ligue 1 outfit Lorient back in August 2019, initially on loan, in a bid to provide backup to veteran Kiko Casilla.

He quickly made a name for himself amongst the U23s setup as by December, he had saved three penalties. By January 2020, he was involved in their FA Cup clash with Arsenal, where he made his senior debut for the club.

Meslier impressed despite a 1-0 defeat, earning rave reviews from The Athletic’s Phil Hay.

‘Meslier pulled off several difficult saves at the Emirates but it was the precision of his passing – floated deliveries into tight spaces, countering Arsenal’s press and allowing Leeds to rage through the lines – that suggested he would cope as interim first-choice if Kiko Casilla’s FA racism charge leads to a suspension.’

Indeed, his opportunity soon came with the Spaniard suspended for eight games.

A real star between the sticks

The rest has been history.

He took over the reins as the no.1 ever since and he has not looked back.

But as expected, his fine form has started to attract interest from elsewhere as it has done with similar stars like Kalvin Phillips – on the back of a phenomenal Euro 2020 campaign – and Raphinha, who has had to bear the brunt of their attacking output in the absence of the injured Patrick Bamford.

The Athletic claim that the Whites are bracing themselves for bids for all three players and whilst they are not irreplaceable, the departure of Meslier could be most damaging.

In almost a reverse situation, it is now the young Frenchman that does not have a sufficient – or vastly experienced – back up behind him.

If is ever sold, Leeds will know that they are in line for a hefty profit.

The 21-year-old’s transfer valuation has soared due to his form at Elland Road – as per CIES Football Observatory, Meslier is now worth around €50m (£42m).

That’s an increase of 740% since his permanent arrival in July 2020.

Back in March 2021, Hay waxed lyrical about the goalkeeper following a particularly stunning display against Fulham.

“It was ridiculous [save from Maja] and he’s pulled off quite a few like that, which I think is the sort of thing that marks him out as massive goalkeeping talent.

“He’s so young that there are parts of his game which are going to have to improve, aerially particularly, I think that’s quite apparent to everybody, but he is only 21.

“That is a young age for a footballer, generally, but a very, very young age for a goalkeeper – the potential in him is vast.”

Also dubbed a “rare talent” and a “big talent”, it’s easy to see how Leeds have struck gold with Meslier. Victor Orta signing him for just £5m now looks like a mockery with his value now breaking past the £40m mark.

United will certainly be in line to receive a pretty penny should he be sold in the future.

AND in other news, Leeds United dealt “hammer blow” before Aston Villa clash…

West Ham United have another massive match ahead of them tonight as they take on Lyon in their second leg Europa League quarter-final clash.

The first leg saw the Hammers draw 1-1 with the Ligue 1 side at the London Stadium after a goal from Tanguy Ndombele cancelled out Jarrod Bowen’s opener.

Just before the half-time whistle blew, West Ham full-back Aaron Cresswell was sent off for a foul on Lyon striker Moussa Dembele, meaning that he will miss tonight’s game as a result.

Looking ahead to the match in France, David Moyes will also be without centre-back Kurt Zouma after he picked up an ankle injury during the 2-0 defeat against Brentford at the weekend.

With all that in mind, here’s how we feel the Hammers could line up for this important showdown, with four changes from Sunday’s starting XI against the Bees.

In goal, having played in all but one of West Ham’s Europa League games this season, it seems likely that Alphonse Areola will start once more, with Lukasz Fabianski dropping out from Sunday.

In a back four, with Zouma and Cresswell unavailable, we can see Issa Diop and Ben Johnson coming in to replace those two next to Craig Dawson and Vladimir Coufal.

For the defensive midfield two, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek line up next to each other ahead of the back four.

Ahead of that duo, we think Jarrod Bowen and Pablo Fornals will keep their places in the team to see if they can get on the scoresheet or provide service for Michail Antonio ahead of them.

One other change that we think Moyes could make is to take out Manuel Lanzini, who failed to have any sort of impact against Brentford and has been branded “stupid” in the past by Trevor Sinclair.

In his place, we predict that the Irons boss will restore Said Benrahma to the team to see if he can be as “unplayable” as he has been at times in the past, according to Joe Cole.

Whatever starting XI Moyes ultimately selects, this is undoubtedly a massive game for the east London club, as a win would see them into their first European semi-final since 1976.

In other news: Jack Rosser reveals huge West Ham blow ahead of Lyon clash, Moyes will be devastated

Transfer insider Dean Jones believes that a Celtic swoop for Ahmed Kendouci would be the ‘icing on the cake’ for their January transfer window, as per GiveMeSport.

The Lowdown: Transfer request submitted

Kendouci has been linked with a move to Parkhead this month, despite Ange Postecoglou already adding to his midfield ranks with the signings of Reo Hatate, Yosuke Ideguchi and Matt O’Riley.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/celtic-updates-copy/” title=”Celtic updates!! (Copy)” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The 22-year-old, who has scored 18 goals for Algerian club ES Setif, has even handed in a transfer request following links of a move to Celtic Park.

The Hoops’ crosstown rivals Rangers have also been name-checked with an interest in Kendouci, who can play as a central, attacking or left midfielder.

The Latest: Jones’ comments

Transfer insider Jones was talking to GiveMeSport regarding a possible late January move to Celtic for Kendouci.

He believes that a late move for Kendouci could continue the ‘positive’ steps taken under Postecoglou and labelled as potential late deal as the ‘icing on the cake’, saying:

“They don’t want to lose everything they’ve built, in terms of momentum, up to this point.

“Since Ange came in, almost everything has been a positive. I think this would be the icing on the cake if they could get someone of his quality through the door.”

The Verdict: Not vital

Even though another new face would be exciting for Hoops supporters heading into a crunch period of fixtures, not signing Kendouci this month wouldn’t be the end of the world.

Celtic are now well-stocked in the middle of the park following their January business and still have David Turnbull to come back into the frame from injury.

However, it seems as if the Hoops are keen on the versatile midfielder, and getting one up on their Glasgow rivals could be nice ahead of the Old Firm derby next week, so it may be one to keep an eye on ahead of Monday’s transfer deadline.

In other news: Kieran Devlin has claimed that another Premier League club are now ‘in for’ this Celtic gem

Sheffield Wednesday have been boosted by the news that key pair George Byers and Liam Palmer should be fit for the crucial clash with Fleetwood Town.

The Lowdown: Huge game for Owls

The Owls were beaten 1-0 away to Wycombe Wanderers on Saturday afternoon, in what was a damaging defeat in the League One promotion battle.

The loss leaves Darren Moore’s side in seventh place and outside the playoff places ahead of Tuesday evening’s massive trip to struggling Fleetwood.

Wednesday had to make do without both Byers and Palmer for the Wycombe game – they didn’t come off the substitutes’ bench – with the pair key players this season, having started a combined 54 league matches.

The Latest: Key duo return

Speaking to the media on Saturday [via Football League World], however, Moore confirmed that he expects the duo to return to the fold at Fleetwood, having rested them at Adams Park:

“It has been a big week. The likes of George and Liam Palmer have played twice this week and we decided to rotate. Now we get them back and ready for Tuesday.

“We have suffered a lot of injuries this season from over misuse and fatigue and tiredness from games. I was able to rejuggle the pack and get ready for Tuesday.”

The Verdict: Massive boost for Wednesday

This is a huge boost for anyone of an Owls persuasion, given the enormity of Tuesday’s potentially make-or-break trip to Highbury.

Victory there would leave playoff destiny in Wednesday’s hands, taking them above Plymouth Argyle and Wycombe, and possibly Sunderland, too, if they don’t win at home to Rotherham on Tuesday.

Both Byers and Palmer would surely both be in Moore’s strongest possible XI and them being back in the team enhances the Owls’ hopes of securing a top-six place, ahead of the final game against Portsmouth at Hillsborough next weekend.

Byers has brought quality and poise to Wednesday’s midfield, scoring five league goals, while Palmer is a model of consistency, having now made 342 appearances for the club.

Wolves have decided not to make Francisco Trincao’s loan move from Barcelona permanent this summer, according to a fresh update.

The Lowdown: Trincao’s hit-and-miss spell

The 22-year-old arrived at Molineux on a temporary basis last year, with Barca deeming him surplus to requirements prior to the start of the new season.

Trincao has had some good moments, not the least of which a well-taken strike against Leeds United last time out, but he has only managed one goal and assist apiece in 22 Premier League appearances.

Wolves have the option of signing the Portuguese starlet permanently this summer – something that could see Adama Traore extend his stay at Barca in the process, having joined on loan in January.

[freshpress-poll id=“388780″]

The Latest: Permanent move off

According to Mundo Deportivo [via Sport Witness], Wanderers ‘will not exercise’ the clause, though, which, therefore, ‘makes it more difficult’ for Traore, who has fallen out of favour after a good start to life at the Nou Camp.

It appears as though Bruno Lage has seen enough to decide that Trincao isn’t worth persevering with in the long term, which means Barca will have to pay €30m (£25m) if they want to sign Traore, something they are not currently willing to do.

[freshpress-quiz id=“388797″]

The Verdict: Good decision by Wolves

Trincao is a nice footballer to watch, possessing a lovely left foot and good balance, but ultimately, his lack of end product has been an issue throughout the season. He has the same number of assists as goalkeeper Jose Sa, which is fairly damning for a winger.

For that reason, Wolves would be wise to look at other options to sign permanently in the summer instead, as they look to kick on from a positive season to date.

They have Pedro Neto fit again, which is a huge boost, and finding someone to fill the opposite flank instead of Trincao could make them a more formidable attacking force, also providing competition for the likes of Hwang Hee-chan and Daniel Podence.

In other news, an expert has dropped a key transfer claim regarding one Wolves player. Read more here.

Ciaran Kelly has now revealed that Eddie Howe has been taking a closer look at Newcastle United youngster Michael Ndiweni.

The Lowdown: No additional striker

While the St. James’ Park faithful managed to bring in Chris Wood from Burnley in the January transfer window, following the injury suffered by Callum Wilson, they failed in a deadline day move for Reims striker Hugo Ekitike.

With the window now closed, Howe will have to use other resources to increase his options up top, and that may mean digging into the academy instead of looking at free agents or emergency loans.

The Latest: Ndiweni eyed

As per The Chronicle journalist Kelly, Howe is now taking a close look at Academy attacker Ndiweni:

“Nufc were unable to sign an additional striker alongside Chris Wood last month, but Eddie Howe has taken a closer look at Michael Ndiweni, who has been in lethal form for the under-18s. Great to see.”

The Verdict: Give him a chance!

Ndiweni has not made a senior appearance yet for the North East club, but the 18-year-old has been flying at youth level.

He has scored no fewer than 18 goals in 31 games in total over all competitions across the last three seasons, including 12 in 13 this term (Transfermarkt), and given Wilson’s injury, he will feel that he can at least make the bench in the next senior match-day squad.

Nonetheless, the Toon Army will want to see academy lads given a chance, and Ndiweni is certainly someone who can grow with senior players around him.

In other news, find out which enormous ‘beast’ NUFC can now sign in June here!

Injury expert and Sky Sports contributor Ben Dinnery has relayed a big injury update out of Wolverhampton Wanderers before their clash with Burnley this afternoon.

The Lowdown: Wolves host Clarets

Bruno Lage’s side are back in Premier League action today, making the trip to Turf Moor as they take on a relegation-threatened Clarets side.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/all-the-latest-from-wolves-3/” title=”All the latest from Wolves!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

It is a huge game for Burnley, as they tussle with Everton to remain in the division, but it is also an important match for Wolves, following a positive season at Molineux.

As kick-off approaches, a key Wanderers injury update has emerged in recent days.

The Latest: Key trio ruled out

Taking to Twitter, Dinnery relays that Neves, Podence and Kilman are all out injured for the weekend action:

“Ruben Neves, Daniel Podence and Max Kilman are all out of the trip to Turf Moor. Raul Jimenez returns after completing a two-match ban.”

[freshpress-poll id=“388780″]

The Verdict: Europe still possible

Victory on Sunday could bring Wolves level on points with seventh-place West Ham, depending on how the Hammers fair against Chelsea this afternoon.

Their goal difference is currently inferior by four as David Moyes’ side currently lie in the UEFA Conference League-qualifying spot.

It highlights the importance of Wolves’ showdown at Molineux this afternoon with there being no threat of Lage’s men putting their feet up with nothing to play for in the remaining weeks of the season. Qualifying for Europe would be a wonderful achievement.

Having to make do without Neves, Podence and Kilman is an undoubted blow, however, with the trio all influential in their own right. The former has averaged 2.3 tackles per game in the league this season, while the latter has won 2.2 aerial duels per match.

In other news, Wolves are eyeing up an exciting move for an international player. Read more here.