All posts by z3u9t.icu

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.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/spurs-story-roundup/” title=”Spurs story roundup!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

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.

Celtic have been handed a significant boost ahead of their upcoming Scottish League Cup semi-final.

What’s the latest?

That’s according to a report by BT Sport, who claim that St. Johnstone look set to be without key attacking duo Glenn Middleton and Stevie May for Saturday’s Premier Sports Cup semi-final against Celtic.

The report goes on to state that May will be sidelined for around six weeks due to a knee injury, while on-loan Rangers winger Middleton suffered a hamstring injury in Scotland U21’s 2-0 loss to Belgium in midweek.

Speaking about the injuries, St. Johnstone manager Callum Davidson said: “Stevie suffered a knee injury in training so he’s going to be out for a while, probably up until Christmas.

“That’s a blow for us because we want good competition for places and he’s someone who either plays with energy or comes off the bench with energy. He’s going to be sorely missed. I’m gutted to lose him because he was just coming into a bit of form.

“Glenn is struggling. I was cursing at the television when I saw him limp off. It’s a slight hamstring injury. He’s been in getting assessed today and hopefully it’s not as bad as first feared, but I think Saturday will come too soon for him, which, again, is a blow.”

Postecoglou will be delighted

Considering just how important both May and Middleton have been to St. Johnstone so far this season, the news that neither player looks set to feature in the League Cup semi-final is sure to have left Ange Postecoglou delighted.

Indeed, over May’s 13 Scottish Premiership appearances this term, the centre-forward has scored two goals, registered one assist and created one big chance for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 1.3 shots and making 0.6 key passes per game.

With Celtic’s defence looking rather depleted with Carl Starfelt a doubt, and Stephen Welsh nursing his own issues, this should come as a huge relief to the Bhoys manager.

Meanwhile, over Middleton’s own 13 league fixtures this season, the on-loan winger has taken an average of 1.2 shots and made 0.6 key passes per game. His absence will certainly make it an easier afternoon for the likes of Anthony Ralston and Josip Juranovic.

As such, the fact that St. Johnstone will be without the duo for Saturday’s fixture will undoubtedly come as a substantial boost for Celtic, who will very much fancy their chances of making the final following their opponents’ injury blow.

In other news: Ange may be heading for Celtic nightmare over 20 y/o sensation who’s a “real presence”

Taking to Twitter, many West Ham United fans have been left buzzing following reliable club insider ExWHUemployee’s claim involving Andrea Belotti.

The Torino captain has reportedly been on manager David Moyes and recruitment chief Rob Newman’s radar as West Ham continue their search for a brilliant back up forward (The Daily Express).

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/west-ham-developments-2/” title=”West Ham developments” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Concerns surround star man Michail Antonio and whether his past record of injury problems could resurface again over 2021/2022, leaving Moyes and the club ‘desperate’ to sign a striker over the summer.

Alas, the transfer mission fell flat and West Ham seem set to monitor their targets ahead of potential swoops in January.

ExWHUemployee, sharing the latest on Belotti in particular, has made a promising claim as he backs the Hammers’ interest.

According to his information, as explained on the West Ham Way Podcast, Italy’s international star is still set to be out of contract at the end this season as things stand.

As a result, West Ham are indeed eyeing Belotti as the 27-year-old is free to negotiate a pre-contract with overseas clubs in the winter window.

West Ham fans buzz…

Given links to the Serie A frontman have now been backed by a very reliable source, you can understand why many supporters have been left buzzing on social media.

The 41-cap star is arguably proven on the world’s biggest stages, having helped his nation to Euro 2020 glory, and his prolific record at club level is another incentive to swoop.

Since the beginning of 2019/2020, Belotti has racked up 31 goals and 10 assists in Serie A alone – pointing to a capable back up for Antonio and a potential bargain for free.

West Ham supporters certainly agree it’s a move worth pursuing, with one fan even calling him ‘perfect’ for Moyes.

Find all of their best verdicts down below:

“no one is ready for him under moyes”

Credit: @krays2208

“Pre contract is right down GSB street of doing business”

Credit: @_whufcszn

“GET. RIGHT. IN.

Belotti should be top of Moyes’ striker targets IMO. COYI”

Credit: @BlaugranaIron

“Couldn’t ask for a harder worker! Proper Moyes player!”

Credit: @CalsCrypto

“Omds pre contract Belotti aswell pls”

Credit: @WHUNath8

“Hope so, he’s strong and loves to bully defenders. Perfect type of striker for how we play”

Credit: @GtheHead

“all my dreams will come true if we can complete this signing. Would be huge for the future of the club imo. Would fit Moyes & squad perfectly imo”

Credit: @DJTiale

In other news: ‘Increasingly likely’…Sky reporter breaks news on ‘clinical’ forward in big boost for West Ham, find out more here.

Rangers boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst has enjoyed a seamless transition to life in Glasgow and is thriving at Ibrox as the club’s new head coach.

He has won five of his first six matches – starting with Sparta Prague – in all competitions, including all four of his Premiership games, and has carried on where Steven Gerrard left off.

However, one issue he has faced has been the fitness of midfielder Ryan Jack. The 29-year-old recently returned after nine months out of action and has now suffered a fresh setback, which is a shame as he has the potential to be a key player for the Dutchman.

Transfer dream

The Gers signed Jack on a free transfer from Aberdeen in the summer of 2017 and he has been a fine servant for the club over the years. At the time of the move, Transfermarkt valued him at just £630k, having played 250 times for the fellow Scottish side.

Since arriving at Ibrox, Jack has made 133 appearances for the club and been directly involved in 23 goals, with 11 for himself and 12 assists. He has also been capped 10 times by Scotland since joining the Gers, making his debut in November 2017.

Back in 2019, then-Gers boss Steven Gerrard claimed that the 29-year-old ‘drives the team on’ with how he demands more from his teammates, saying: “Ryan is an example for the rest of the squad because he never drops his standards, whether it’s a training session or a game.

“He knits everything together, he drives the team on, he demands from everyone else around him.”

The £12k-per-week beast played an important part in Rangers’ title success last season. He averaged a sublime SofaScore rating of 7.14 as he managed 2.2 tackles and interceptions per game, whilst completing 90% of his passes overall.

At the time of writing, Transfermarkt value him at £3.15m and, at the age of 29, he still has the opportunity to improve on that valuation if he is able to return to fitness and play a leading role for the club in the second half of the campaign.

Therefore, Rangers pulled off a transfer blinder by landing Jack on a free in 2017. He has surpassed 100 appearances for the club, heavily increasing his value and turning in impressive performances on a consistent basis in a title-winning season. Hopefully this will not be the end of his Gers career and he will continue to prove his worth under Van Bronckhorst when he returns from injury.

AND in other news, Forget Tavernier: “Terrific” Rangers beast with 51 duels won is already GVB’s key man…

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…

There is going to be a changing of the guard at Celtic this summer. A fresh manager will arrive, alongside their new CEO in Dominic McKay and also potentially a director of football.

With those manoeuvres in place, it appears as though the Hoops are taking their recruitment in a different direction.

They are seemingly targeting young players on pre-contract deals from England. They missed out on Ben Pearson who they were trying to lure to Scotland, but they now have other targets in mind.

Wigan Athletic’s Kyle Joseph and Rochdale’s Kwadwo Baah have both been linked with a switch to Glasgow. Though, they’ve already had success in luring another English talent to Parkhead; Liam Shaw.

The 19-year-old has agreed to join the Bhoys on a free transfer in the summer from Sheffield Wednesday.

Capable of playing in defence or as a holding player, his arrival could mean a host of things for the club. First and foremost, it will prove the club is still a hotbed for the best young talent around; something Celtic have needed to prove for a while.

Secondly, it could finally bring down the curtain on Scott Brown’s stay at Paradise.

The Celtic captain is out of contract in the summer and has been touted with taking on a coaching role in Glasgow or at Aberdeen. It would be a timely way for his stay at Celtic to come to an end.

After all, this could be their first season without silverware in a considerable period of time. Brown’s performances have been dwindling and not even a goal and an assist against Killie can convince us he’s sufficiently turned a corner.

The 35-year-old has put in some laboured displays this term and nothing typifies that more than the red card he received after just five minutes on the field against Livingston. Moving to replace him as swiftly as they have done here, therefore, is nothing short of magic from Nick Hammond.

If Brown had any hope of continuing his playing days at Celtic, then signing Shaw has surely dealt a mighty blow to those aspirations. The Hoops haven’t always got their recruitment spot on, but landing a player as talented as the Wednesday midfielder for absolutely nothing is risk-free.

Celtic need to drive themselves in a new direction after this torrid season. The perfect way to do that would be by waving farewell to their divisive captain and bringing in a young and hungry midfielder. Shaw is exactly that.

AND in other news, Soro should be fuming if Celtic sign £50k-p/w brute this summer, he’s a “class player”…

Rangers boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst could be set for a fresh injury lift after an update on Kemar Roofe’s injury situation…

What’s the latest?

According to The Scotsman, the striker has an ‘outside chance’ of being fit for the second leg of their UEFA Europa League semi-final clash.

The report claims that he has been in a hyperbaric chamber this week in a bid to speed up his recovery from a knee problem. He will be out for the first leg and for the Old Firm match on Sunday and Rangers are now targeting next Thursday (5th May) as a possible return date.

Gio will be buzzing

Van Bronckhorst will surely be buzzing with this news as it suggests that Roofe may be available for selection next week if the hyperbaric chamber is able to work its magic and get him back fit for the second leg.

The Dutch head coach is without first-choice striker Alfredo Morelos for the rest of the season due to injury and this means that the ex-Leeds man’s injury is doubly concerning as it leaves the Gers with no recognised centre-forward options. Fashion Sakala can play through the middle but is mainly deployed out wide on the right, which is why getting Roofe back will be a big boost for the club.

His injury was a major blow for Rangers as he was hitting form at the right time in the season. Prior to his knock, he scored four goals and provided two assists in his last six outings for the club in all competitions – including a crucial strike against Braga in the last round in Europe to send the Light Blues through to the last four.

This suggests that he would have had a big impact against RB Leipzig in Germany this week, and against Celtic on Sunday, as he has been in red-hot form in front of goal in recent weeks. Instead, he will be watching on from the sidelines as the Gers fight through these two huge matches without a natural number nine to call upon.

Hopefully, Rangers can head into the second leg at Ibrox without a heavy deficit to overturn and Roofe will be able to come back into the team to make the difference at the top end of the pitch. Van Bronckhorst, given the forward’s recent run of goals, will be buzzing with the prospect of having the former Anderlecht man back.

AND in other news, Wilson masterclass: Rangers must brutally axe 26 y/o dud who’s an “all-round shambles”…

When Arsenal take on Crystal Palace at the Emirates this evening, Mikel Arteta will have to make a big selection call.

Thomas Partey has returned to first-team training and Gunners fans will no doubt be keen to see their summer signing get back on the pitch but rather than the Ghana international, it’s Granit Xhaka who is arguably more important and thus, he needs to start.

Xhaka’s influence on this Arsenal side was so clear to see in the Gunners’ FA Cup third round triumph over Newcastle last time out. The Switzerland international started the game on the bench, and they toiled away, failing to create an opening.

And then, when the midfielder was brought on, Arsenal began stitching things together in the middle of the park. As per Sofascore, he completed 22 more passes than the man he replaced in the second-half Joe Willock, despite playing ten fewer minutes.

Xhaka came on and gave control of the game to Arsenal, whilst he proved that he is also getting more defensively disciplined by winning six duels – Willock won the same amount, but he contested three more duels than the Swiss ace (15 to 12).

Arsenal improved when he came on and the Gunners ran out 2-0 winners, with the 28-year-old playing a pivotal role in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s goal when he slipped through Kieran Tierney for the eventual assist.

Described as a “natural leader” by Arteta, the Gunners boss also hailed the £35m man’s attitude, saying: “(The other players) need to have the personality and work rate that he has. The courage to face their problems and slowly knock down that wall and start to enjoy this profession the way he deserves.”

And that’s something Arsenal’s former scout, Francis Cagigao, further raved about to the The Athletic, declaring: “First and foremost, you saw his passing ability. Then his character. When I say ‘character’, it’s the fact that he always wants the ball. He’s extremely brave, he never hides. Even in moments when his team are under the cosh and a lot of players won’t accept responsibility, he always will.”

Against Palace tonight, with the Gunners searching for a fourth successive win in the Premier League, they will need every bit of that character.

The north London side have already been hurt by the Eagles before at the Emirates when things were going well – who can ever forget when Wilfried Zaha embarrassed them and saw the Gunners spiral out of top four contention under Unai Emery a couple of years ago? In fact, Arsenal haven’t beaten Palace in their last four meetings between the two sides, so they’ve become a bit of a bogey team as well in recent times.

The Gunners can’t risk something like that again, especially when they’ve just hit a good run of form. It’s exactly why more than the returning Partey, Arteta must start his “natural leader” so that the north London side have a better chance of taking home all three points.

Whilst Partey’s time will come, dropping him straight back in at this point in time would be a big risk, so Arteta should go with his hot hand and select Xhaka from the off.

Meanwhile, Arsenal could find another Gabriel Martinelli in this teenager…

Andre Villas-Boas has revealed his time at Tottenham ended badly because Daniel Levy was hell-bent on selling him to Paris Saint-Germain.

The Lowdown: Villas-Boas’ spell at Tottenham

The Portuguese boss lasted 18 months at Spurs after being hired in the summer of 2012. He had a 56.25% win percentage in north London, pretty good for anyone using a LeoVegas Bonus at the time and only bettered by Mauricio Pochettino and Tim Sherwood at Tottenham in the Premier League era.

He has since gone on to manage Zenit St Petersburg, Shanghai SIPG and Marseille.

The Latest: AVB makes Levy claim

Speaking on the Key and Gray Podcast this weekend, published in the Sunday Mirror on May 9th (via Give Me Sport), Villas-Boas revealed Levy wanted him to go to PSG as they would have had to pay a considerable fee. He explained:

“Tottenham in the first year was very good.

“It was not easy with Daniel, I’m not the simplest of guys to work with but we had our ups and downs.

“We had a lot of fun in that first season and we reached the end of that season and I was expecting to renew with Tottenham after having refused to go to Paris Saint-Germain.

“But what I think is that Daniel was willing to sell me to Paris Saint-Germain rather than renewing me because my clause was £50m. 

“So we started the second in bad animosity, Either way, we were very, very close to the top, we had more points when I reached an agreement to leave Tottenham than we had the season when we beat the record points. 

“But the environment was not there anymore, the connection with me and Daniel and [then technical director] Franco Baldini, so it was also time to go. 

“It all has to do with this extravagant leadership to take control of the clubs.”

The Verdict: Unsurprising

Villas-Boas failed to set the world alight at Tottenham, but his win percentage illustrated he actually did a decent job at the club. Given more time in a better atmosphere, he may well have been able to produce better results, but in the end it clearly wasn’t meant to be.

To hear that Levy wanted to push him out of the door so he could bring in a fee of £50m is unsurprising – the Spurs chairman is known as a hard negotiator who has an eye for a profit, recently leading to fan protests outside the stadium over his and ENIC’s running of the club.

Perhaps his decision on AVB came as a detriment to the chances of bringing silverware to north London, and it is certainly worrying to hear from someone who has been on the inside just how much the club value cash over success.

In other news, Glenn Hoddle has slammed this Levy decision.

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