All posts by z3u9t.icu

Marcus Bent has exclusively told The Transfer Tavern that there would be a huge weight of expectation on Ademola Lookman’s shoulders were Everton to re-sign him this summer.

Having come through the ranks at Charlton, the 23-year-old has gone down a different career path to many young English players at his age.

He left Charlton to join Everton, and despite scoring on his debut against Manchester City, never managed to establish himself as a regular at Goodison Park and left for Leipzig permanently two years ago following a successful loan spell.

But Lookman’s struggles resurfaced during his first year in Germany, forcing him to move back to the Premier League last summer – making a return to London with Fulham.

And despite their immediate relegation back to the Championship, Lookman showed his capabilities in the Premier League by scoring four times and adding four assists in 34 appearances.

Bent has previously suggested that a quick winger is on Everton’s shopping list this summer, but told The Transfer Tavern that Lookman would be expected to perform following his fine form for Fulham:

“He did well for Fulham, the problem being is that if he goes to Everton, he’s going to be expected to come in and do well.

“Obviously for Fulham in the Premier League, now they’ve gone down, yes, they’re going to look at him, but he’d have to hit the ground running.”

Former Scotland and Premier League manager Alex McLeish believes Tottenham would have to ‘break the bank’ to sign Illan Meslier this summer.

The Lowdown: Key performer for Leeds

There have been a number of key players for the Whites this season, catching the eye on their long-awaited return to the Premier League.

The likes of Kalvin Phillips, Raphinha and Patrick Bamford have all shone, but Meslier has arguably been as good as anyone.

The 21-year-old Frenchman has excelled in the Leeds goal, starting 35 league games and enhancing his reputation as one of Europe’s most exciting players in his position.

The Latest: Robinson discusses Spurs interest

Speaking to Football Insider, McLeish discussed the idea of Meslier replacing Hugo Lloris, something which has been mentioned in the media recently, saying only a huge bid would give Spurs a chance of signing the goalkeeper:

“It’s not easy to lose Lloris and find a goalkeeper of that level immediately, without paying top dollar. Some of the costs of goalkeepers over very recent years…

“He’s a hugely consistent goalie, I wouldn’t rate him the best in the world. I do think there are better out there.

“Would Spurs have to break the bank and go for a Meslier or someone like that? Leeds would probably break the bank to keep him. That’s the sort of levels we’re talking about now.

“For a rebuild in terms of goalkeepers, Harry Kanes, it’s a tough one being a Spurs fan.”

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The Verdict: Too important to sell

Meslier is one of the most influential players at Elland Road, so Marcelo Bielsa will be absolutely desperate to keep hold of him – Darren Bent hailed him as ‘superb’ earlier in the season.

Not only is the youngster excellent with the ball at his feet, but he also has the third-highest save percentage (75.1%) in the league this season, with only Nick Pope (77%) and Emiliano Martinez (76.6%) ahead of him.

Meslier could be the natural successor to Lloris for France, but Leeds must do all they can not to let him succeed the Frenchman at Spurs.

In other news, a pundit has been discussing an ex-Leeds player potentially returning to Elland Road this summer. Read more here.

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, former Leicester City striker Brian Deane has hailed the East Midlands club’s recruitment.

In the last summer transfer window, Leicester signed defenders Wesley Fofana and Timothy Castagne from Saint-Etienne and Atalanta respectively, with both players going on to help the Foxes win their first FA Cup.

Fofana arrived to strengthen the team’s central defence, while the versatile Castagne joined as a replacement for left-back Ben Chilwell, who departed the King Power for Chelsea in a £50m deal.

The duo have undoubtedly been successes for the club this season, featuring regularly for their side, and Deane has since praised Brendan Rodgers and his recruitment team for signing the two defenders and their overall work in recent transfer windows.

The ex-Leicester player, who feels his old side are setting the right example in the transfer market, told FFC:

“It [Leicester’s success] comes down to good recruitment. If Leicester can do it, then you think to yourself, ‘Why do clubs always look at paying the premium for players? Are they waiting to see how they do at a club and then go in for them?’

“That costs more money. You know, why not be more proactive? But you have to say, Leicester have got their recruitment spot on again.”

As well as Fofana and Castagne, Rodgers has also brought in the likes of James Justin, Ayoze Perez and Youri Tielemans permanently – the latter winning the FA Cup for his side and arguably epitomising Leicester’s recruitment success.

Speaking to Sky Sports (via Football Daily), journalist Kaveh Solhekol has dropped an enticing Tottenham Hotspur financial claim after the big development of former boss Jose Mourinho taking the job at AS Roma.

The Lowdown: Mourinho job could be great news for Spurs

Just over two weeks after chairman Daniel Levy and the Tottenham board opted to sack Mourinho after a year and a half in north London, the Portuguese has already secured a new position for the 2021/2022 campaign.

As confirmed by the Europa League semi-finalists, Roma have now appointed the 58-year-old as a replacement for current boss Paulo Fonseca – who will leave at the end of the season.

Originally, after dismissing Mourinho, Tottenham looked set for a financial hinderance – having to place their ex-boss on gardening leave while he continues to receive his reported £13 million-per-year contract (Sky Sports).

This could have lasted for up to 18 months according to Alasdair Gold, but Mourinho finding a new job so soon could now come as a big financial boost.

The Latest: Solhekol backs financial boost for Spurs

Backing previous claims made by other members of the media (Dan Kilpatrick), Sky Sports reporter Solhekol has dropped his own update on the financial aftermath for Spurs.

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Speaking to the broadcaster (via Football Daily), the reporter dropped a rather enticing claim – going on to say that Tottenham could save ‘millions and millions’.

“Now, our understanding of the situation as far as Mourinho and Spurs is concerned,” he explained to Sky.

“Because Jose [Mourinho] has taken this job, it will save Spurs millions and millions of pounds.

“If he hadn’t taken the job, they would have had to carry on paying him until the end of next season.

“His salary is reported to be around £13m-per-year, that is the kind of money you’re talking about Spurs saving.”

The Verdict: Some great news for a change

Amid the financial difficulties for Tottenham caused by coronavirus, with the club announcing they had lost an ‘irrecoverable’ amount of £63.9 million at the end of last year (Evening Standard), Levy and co have now received a very welcome bit of financial news.

Sky Sports backing previous reports of how this benefits Spurs only cements just how much it could help the club off the pitch and behind the scenes.

Levy will be a very relieved man given he also had to place fellow former boss Mauricio Pochettino on gardening leave for six months last year (The Telegraph), and a long time out for Mourinho could have eaten even further into the Lilywhites’ finances.

Now, it appears Spurs will soon have no outstanding managerial payments as soon as Mourinho begins at the Stadio Olimpico next season.

In other news: Tottenham make inquiry to sign ‘outstanding’ powerhouse, find out more here.

Nottingham Forest midfielder Harry Arter has been disappointed with his time at the City Ground thus far.

What’s been said?

According to a recent report by The Telegraph, the 31-year-old has been informed he is free to find a new club this summer, as he does not feature in Chris Hughton’s plans going forwards.

And, in a recent interview with The Football Show podcast (via Football League World), Arter discussed his spell at Forest, revealing that he has been left frustrated by the Forest manager’s treatment of him.

The midfielder said: “There’s a lot of stuff which is hard for me to understand and really work out what’s gone wrong. The change of manager, for me, hasn’t worked out. You see players move to clubs or a manager signs a particular player, then a new manager comes in and that player just isn’t for them.

“Unfortunately for me, that’s been the case here at Nottingham Forest. It’s very frustrating, very disappointing, but that’s how football can go sometimes. The game I did start under Chris, I was playing as a second striker or as a number 10 almost. That’s not my position. It was totally frustrating, that’s the best word for it.”

Hughton will be livid

Having only arrived at Forest from Bournemouth in what was a £4.95m deal last summer, just how little the £40k-per-week midfielder – whom Eddie Howe claimed has “tremendous desire” – has featured for the club is indeed slightly confusing.

Over his 13 Championship appearances for the Garibaldi, all of which came in the first half of the season, the central midfielder made an average of 0.4 interceptions, 1.5 tackles and 0.7 key passes per game, as well as making an average of 22.1 accurate passes in each fixture, with these metrics culminating in an average SofaScore match rating of 6.79 – ranking him as the club’s joint 15th-best player in the second tier.

And, while these displays have clearly not been the best performances of Arter’s career as a footballer, when considering how much Premier League experience the 31-year-old has behind him, Hughton’s apparent reluctance to play the midfielder does seem rather odd, particularly as Forest were struggling in the Championship themselves.

Having said that, while his frustrations are understandable, the fact that Arter has spoken out so openly about Hughton’s treatment of him is likely to have left the 62-year-old livid, and has surely put the final nail in the coffin on the £2.7m-rated man’s Forest career.

As such, we expect that Arter will indeed be moving on to pastures new this summer, something that will hopefully kickstart the midfielder’s career, while also freeing up a considerable amount of wage budget for Hughton to play with this summer.

In other news: Forest’s £7.3k-p/w dynamo drops concerning update that’ll surely leave fans gutted – opinion

At the age of 26, most would have expected Eric Bailly to have firmly established himself in the Manchester United starting XI by now.

After all, the Ivorian defender enjoyed an extremely impressive first season at Old Trafford following his move from Villarreal in 2016.

Now though, Bailly finds himself down the pecking order at Old Trafford and linked with a move to Serie A giants Inter Milan, who are reportedly monitoring his situation according to Eurosport.

It might now be time for the Red Devils to cut the defender adrift.

Since that fantastic first season under Jose Mourinho, Bailly has made just 44 starts for Manchester United in the four seasons since.

A number of injury issues, as well as the respective arrivals of Victor Lindelof and Harry Maguire have seen his opportunities at the club dwindle and his starts decrease season upon season.

Indeed, he is currently not available having contracted COVID-19 so is self-isolating in the Ivory Coast.

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Once hailed as “immense” by Solskjaer, it now appears that the Norwegian can simply not rely on the defender for fitness or performances on a regular basis. With the Red Devils’ boss also intending to sign another centre-back in the summer window, this would then see Bailly fall even further down the pecking order.

Considering the way in which Bailly’s transfer valuation continues to fall as he enters the final year of his Old Trafford contract, this summer might be the best time to sell.

Once rated at £31.5m, that has fallen all the way down to £13.5m – a trend that is only going to continue as his deal in Manchester continues to run down.

Couple that with his failure to really stake a claim in the Manchester United starting XI and the potential interest from Inter Milan, it all leads to a convincing argument over selling Bailly sooner rather than later.

AND in more news, a transfer update has handed Manchester United a big blow in their right-winger search…

According to an update by ExWHUemployee, via West Ham News, the agent of former Irons loan star Joao Mario has already been in touch with the club regarding a move as manager David Moyes is possibly handed an opportunity to go for him again this summer.

The Portuguese midfielder enjoyed a brief stint in east London on loan from Inter Milan, starting 12 Premier League matches whilst notching two goals and an assist in that time (WhoScored).

He is currently out on a temporary spell again, this time at Sporting Lisbon, with there being a high likelihood he leaves the San Siro permanently this summer given his contract expires in 2022. 

ExWHUemployee, sharing an update on his situation, claims the player’s agent has already been in touch with West Ham over a possible return.

Therefore, Moyes could move for the 28-year-old again as Irons fans rejoice at this news. Flocking to social media, plenty of supporters have begged the club to make a reunion happen.

Find all of their best verdicts down below.

West Ham fans beg for Joao Mario return

“Buzzing about this to be fair!”

Credit:@97Baltic

“Happy days! Welcome back”

Credit: @jdunne2101

“No brainer give him a pen”

Credit: @billstarpromos

“What a perfect signing this would be for us”

Credit: @SamKrueger_

“Baller, would have him back in a heartbeat. Was really starting to get into his groove before he left.”

Credit: @Skoobaskunk

“please I would love him back”

Credit: @Ollyhx1

“Bring him home”

Credit: @Sammy_dodgerx

“OMG PLEASEEEEEE”

Credit: @DeccersTekkers

In other news: West Ham face a possible Rice worry, find out more here.

Fans of Glasgow Rangers have been reacting to a post on Twitter, which relayed a report regarding interest in Gers attacking midfielder, Ianis Hagi.

According to the report by Italian outlet Gazzetta dello Sport, Serie A side Lazio are looking to address their lack of attacking edge this season by adding more firepower in the summer transfer window, with one of the club’s reported targets being Hagi, for whom Rangers are thought to be demanding a fee of around €10million.

So far this season, the £5.4 million-rated 22-year-old has scored six goals and provided nine assists over his 28 Scottish Premiership appearances for Steven Gerrard’s side, in addition to bagging a further goal and assist over his six Europa League fixtures.

And, after news of Lazio’s interest was relayed by several Rangers accounts on Twitter, fans of the club flocked to have their say on the matter, with many stating their belief that Gers would be stupid to turn down an offer of the amount quoted by Gazzetta.

So, what exactly did these Rangers fans have to say in reaction to the report regarding Ianis Hagi?

“Would take £10m personally. Great little player and great stats to match it. Just feel we could use the money to reinvest in better.”

@54timeskings72

“I like the kid and has genuine quality but still not convinced he fits into the way Gerrard wants to play. He doesn’t have the pace for RW/10 role.”

@petera1872

“Take it.”

@officialdeekot

“We’d be silly to turn that down, can’t see it being true though, I do rate him but that’d be too good an offer to refuse.”

@garryhood1872

“Would take that even though he will go for bigger money than that.”

@matalihan123

“Timing is everything for us now. They kept Rogic, Ntcham, Edouard and probably even Christie, McGregor and Forrest too long. The first 3 could’ve gone for £30m now they’ll be lucky to see half that. We need to be smart and move players at their peak.”

@DerickSnake

In other news: these Rangers fans were left baffled after this “insane” footage emerged – find out more here!

Victor Orta could sign Leeds a real upgrade on Patrick Bamford in Celtic striker Odsonne Edouard amid Noel Whelan’s transfer claim.

What’s the story?

The Frenchman has been linked with a move away from Celtic Park in recent months and has been touted with a switch to the Premier League, with the likes of Arsenal and Aston Villa said to be interested.

Whelan has now thrown Marcelo Bielsa’s side into the ring and claimed that the 23-year-old seems perfectly built to shine at Elland Road and that he’s a “big fan” of his work.

Speaking on BBC Radio Leeds, the ex-Whites player said: “I do think we need another striker, no doubt about that. I have been thinking for over two seasons now.

“Edouard at Celtic. I have been a big fan of him for a long time. He is my choice. He has got the stature, he has got the work rate, he can take set pieces.”

Upgrade on Bamfprd

While Bamford has led the line superbly for Leeds this season – he’s bagged 14 Premier League goals for the newly-promoted Whites – Edouard’s arrival would give Bielsa the perfect all-round striker.

In his time at Celtic, the young Frenchman has proven to be a prolific goalscorer, averaging a goal every other game – he’s scored 81 times in just 162 matches for the Bhoys.

The 23-year-old isn’t just a predatory number nine, though, also displaying impressive link-up play and touch to get the rest of his team-mates involved – he’s chipped in with five assists in 26 league games this campaign.

When you look at both Bamford and Edouard’s numbers this season in terms of all the key attacking stats, it’s the latter who comes out on top.

As per Sofascore, the France under-21 international has a better goals per minutes ratio, has missed far fewer big chances, and has a better goal conversion rate, too – all signs which point to him just being a far more clinical number nine.

Even when it comes the build-up play and defensive work which Bielsa may prize just as much, it’s Edouard who once again comes out looking the better. He averages more key passes per game, a better passing accuracy, completes triple the amount of dribbles per match, and wins more total duels in comparison to Bamford.

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Dubbed as “talismanic” by former Celtic boss Neil Lennon, the £13.5m-rated Edouard has the finishing touch and “stature”, as Whelan says, to be a real threat for Leeds, and could represent a genuine upgrade on Bamford in attack.

Meanwhile, Leeds are eyeing a summer move for this Premier League starlet…

Andre Gomes badly let Carlo Ancelotti down as Everton lost 2-0 at Chelsea on Monday night, having produced a passive performance at Stamford Bridge.

The Portuguese maestro retained his role in the Toffees’ engine room for a fourth successive Premier League match, having now failed to start just one of his side’s last eight.

But Ancelotti failed to see that faith repaid with a promising performance in south west London, as Thomas Tuchel’s Blues were easily able to bypass Gomes on route to a comfortable victory.

Chelsea took the lead on the half-hour mark when Kai Havertz’s shot was turned in for an own goal by Ben Godfrey, who could do little about the German’s attempt other than leave goalkeeper Jordan Pickford helpless.

Havertz later won his side a penalty, converted by Jorginho, in the second period after being brought down by Pickford, to seal a 2-0 win and maintain Tuchel’s unbeaten reign as Chelsea boss after eight wins and three draws in all competitions.

Gomes would remain on the field for a further 11 minutes after Jorginho’s strike beat Pickford before Ancelotti would replace the £18m-rated midfielder with Bernard, after he failed to offer much quality on the Stamford Bridge pitch.

The 27-year-old covered a vast area of the ground with his 47 touches taken across the middle third, per SofaScore, but he could not make his presence count despite boasting the Toffees’ only on-target effort of the night.

Gomes tried his luck from 25-yards out in first-half stoppage-time, although his low attempt on goal was easily saved by Edouard Mendy as he achieved his 13th clean sheet in 23 Premier League outings since a £22m move from Ligue 1 side Stade Rennais in September.

The result saw Chelsea stretch their lead over Everton in the race for Champions League qualification to four points, albeit having played a game more. The Goodison Park natives also slipped behind West Ham United, after the Irons beat Leeds later on Monday night.

Despite boasting his side’s only on-target effort with his only shot of the game, Ancelotti will have been disappointed with how poorly Gomes performed his defensive duties at Chelsea having struggled to cope with the man-marking system the Italian tactician initially utilised.

Gomes was a bystander whenever the hosts were in possession and rarely managed to take the ball from a Blues player, with the ex-FC Barcelona midfielder dribbled past six times – Allan (3) was beaten on the ground the second-most times by any player, per WhoScored.

Being dribbled past so frequently further saw that Gomes could only register a 14% tackle success rate, thanks to winning possession once, while also offering one interception but no clearances.

The 29-cap international is not generally a defensive powerhouse but has averaged 1.5 successful tackles a game in the Premier League this season, while being dribbled past just 1.6 times, making 0.4 interceptions and 0.5 clearances.

His struggles on the ground additionally ensured that Gomes lost 11 of his 14 ground duels – Richarlison lost the second-most by an Everton player with success in only five of his 10 contests, per SofaScore. Gomes averages 3.4 challenges won with a 40% success rate.

Altogether, Gomes’ performance meant he earned SofaScore’s worst match rating for a player who featured for either side at 5.9 out of 10 – the sixth time this season that he has scored below a base 6/10.

The Liverpool Echo also graded Gomes at 5/10, the same as Alex Iwobi but noted how the ex-Arsenal winger ‘couldn’t effectively get himself into the game’ while the Portuguese playmaker briefly improved after the break.

Yet Gomes was worse than Iwobi throughout the match and will have left Ancelotti wondering if he should start when Everton host Burnley on Saturday.

AND in other news, Carlo Ancelotti can delight an unsettled Everton ace with a summer swoop for his £13.5m-rated ex-teammate…