All posts by z3u9t.icu

At this point in the season, Liverpool have had more shots at goal in the Premier League than any other top-flight side with a total of 147, a full 20 more than second-placed Manchester City in that regard.

This shows that Jurgen Klopp’s side have not been struggling to attack their opponents so far this season, but it seems as though the Merseyside club have their eye on potentially signing one of Europe’s top attacking talents.

What’s the latest?

It has recently been reported by Spanish media outlet Fichajes that Liverpool is a potential destination for Atletico Madrid attacker Joao Felix during the upcoming January transfer window, alongside Italian clubs Juventus and Inter Milan, on an initial loan deal.

Felix, who was described as an “exciting” player by Portuguese journalist Jose Delgado, signed for Atletico back in the 2019 summer transfer window from Benfica for a massive £113m fee.

Since then, the 21-year-old, who is currently valued at £72m by Transfermarkt, has made 81 appearances for the La Liga champions across all competitions, scoring 19 goals and providing nine assists along the way.

Felix won the Golden Boy award for 2019, beating the likes of Erling Haaland, Jadon Sancho and Kai Havertz and securing his status as one of Europe’s best young players.

The next Jota?

In terms of a potential move to Liverpool in January, if the Merseyside club are willing to take him on loan in January with a potential permanent move on the cards further down the line, we feel that Felix could be a good investment for the Reds based on his young age and the experience he has under his belt playing in La Liga and the Champions League.

Additionally, with the Portuguese star being able to play in a number of roles across the attack such as second striker, centre-forward and on the left wing, he could well be a younger version of Diogo Jota, who is also Portuguese, has spent some time with Atletico and is able to play in the same positions as Felix.

Furthermore, the 21-year-old has racked up a similar number of dribbles per game (1.3) in La Liga this season to what Jota has in the Champions League (1.5).

Also, with Roberto Firmino’s contract at Liverpool set to expire in 2023 when he will be 32, there’s every chance that Felix could be his long-term replacement at Anfield if he ends up joining on a permanent basis and the Brazilian leaves when his contract runs out.

With Liverpool set to take on Atletico in their next Champions League game next week, it will be interesting to see whether or not Felix plays a part in the match and shows why the Reds should make a move to sign him in January.

In other news: Possession lost 15 times: Klopp must ruthlessly axe £140k-p/w LFC ace, he’s a liability

With Bruno Lage’s Wolverhampton Wanderers side heading into Saturday’s Premier League clash on the back of a decent run of league form, the 45-year-old manager would have undoubtedly been hoping for yet another positive result when Wolves welcomed Newcastle United to Molineux.

And, while it was not exactly the best performance the Old Gold have ever put in, they nevertheless managed to overcome Steve Bruce’s winless Newcastle side thanks to two goals from summer signing Hee-Chan Hwang, with the South Korea international’s brace being enough for Lage’s men to secure a 2-1 win.

However, while the 25-year-old winger stole the headlines with his goals, Lage will have arguably been more impressed with the performance of Raul Jimenez, as, despite not getting himself on the scoresheet, the centre-forward put on a dominant display against the Magpies.

Three key passes

After scoring a match-winning first goal of the season against Southampton last time out, the 30-year-old striker will have gone into Saturday’s fixture in high spirits, and it certainly showed.

Over his 90 minutes on the pitch against Newcastle, the £25.2m-rated man proved an extremely creative outlet for Lage’s side, providing both of the assists for Hwang’s goals, making three key passes, creating one big chance and completing five of his six attempted dribbles.

The player who Nuno Espirito Santo dubbed a “special” talent also chipped in for his side in a defensive capacity, winning eight duels, making one tackle, one clearance and drawing one foul against the Magpies in a dominant physical display.

These returns saw the £41k-per-week man earn a SofaScore match rating of 8.0, with only Hwang receiving a higher rating than the Mexico international on the day.

As such, while Jimenez did not manage to score himself, the 30-year-old nevertheless ran the show for his side on Saturday, with his performance undoubtedly giving Lage and the Wolves fans confidence that their team can continue their current run of Premier League form after the international break.

In other news: Wolves dealt “massive blow” on 20 y/o beast, Bruno Lage will be gutted

Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba will not be leaving Old Trafford over what remains of the summer transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by Fabrizio Romano, with the journalist revealing in a post on Twitter that, despite reports suggesting otherwise, the Frenchman will not be leaving United this summer, and the central midfielder was never discussed as a potential makeweight in the club’s proposals to Juventus in their signing of Cristiano Ronaldo.

In his tweet, Romano said: “Paul Pogba is also staying and he’s never been involved in any proposal to Juventus.”

Further reports have claimed that Paris Saint-Germain have been considering a move for the 28-year-old, who has just one year remaining on his current contract at Old Trafford – with no agreement reached between the club and the player concerning a new deal at present.

Music to the ears of fans

While it would indeed appear something of a priority to ensure that Pogba does put pen to paper on a contract extension this season, as the possibility of the midfielder leaving the club for nothing next summer is currently a very real one, Romano’s claim that the France international will remain a United player beyond Tuesday’s transfer deadline is sure to be music to the ears of fans.

Indeed, since his return to Manchester back in 2016, the 28-year-old has consistently been one of the club’s most consistent performers in the Premier League, earning seasonal SofaScore match ratings of 7.66, 7.40, 7.21, 7.13 and 6.98 over the past five top-flight seasons respectively.

And, the £54m-rated man has already highly impressed over his two Premier League appearances for the Red Devils this term, having provided a whopping five assists and creating one big chance for his teammates, as well as taking an average of three shots and making three key passes per game.

These returns have seen the £290k-per-week midfielder average a SofaScore match rating of 7.55, ranking him as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s third-best performer in the league.

As such, it is evident that Pogba is a crucial component within the Manchester United side, who will undoubtedly play a key role in any success the club manage to achieve this season.

So, Romano’s claim that the Frenchman does not look likely to leave the club over what remains of the summer transfer window is sure to delight Solskjaer and fans of the club alike.

In other news: Man Utd make contact over £27m-rated “complete midfielder”, Ole would love him

West Ham youngster Ben Johnson was one silver lining for David Moyes as his side were defeated at a wintery and snow-hit Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Pep Guardiola now has ten wins in 11 top-flight matches over the Irons after Manchester City ran away 2-1 victors thanks to goals from midfield duo Ilkay Gundogan and Fernandinho. Hammers midfielder Manuel Lanzini came off the bench to seal an injury-time consolation goal but it wasn’t enough to salvage anything for the visitors in the most difficult of conditions.

It was another Premier League game in which Declan Rice excelled in the heart of the pitch, registering the most touches and accurate passes of West Ham’s visiting cast, but this level of performance is now expected for the England regular.

Instead, the spotlight deserves to be on 20-year-old right-back Ben Johnson, who for large spells of the game marshalled Rice’s international colleague Raheem Sterling to great effect.

The Evening Standard’s Jack Rosser was equally impressed, mentioning a similar observation in his post-match ratings column, where Johnson was amongst his best performers.

‘Very good up against Raheem Sterling on the right of the back four and made a superb block on the line to deny Jesus,’ he wrote.

[snack-amp-story url = “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/west-ham-news-transfer-updates-rumours-gossip-david-moyes-gsb-premier-league” title=”Read the latest West Ham news, transfer updates and much, much more!”]

Indeed, only Rice (57) had more touches off the ball for West Ham than the impressive academy graduate (53), which suggests that he wasn’t afraid to assert some sort of authority against such a high-quality side as City.

That was also backed up by the fact that he lost possession 18 times, the most of any Hammers player – at the very least he was trying to influence the game, unlike some of his teammates.

Furthermore, the 5 foot 9 wing-back did his defensive dues, recording two clearances, including one desperate one off the line, as well as two blocks and he even recorded one key pass, per SofaScore.

It’s no wonder Moyes has lauded the emerging prospect a “really important player” for the club – clearly that’s the case, as he has usurped usual reliable stalwart Vladimir Coufal in the role.

Johnson was certainly one of the few positives for the Irons from Sunday’s disappointing defeat to the Premier League champions.

AND in other news, ExWHUemployee: West Ham are interested in this Bundesliga goal-machine…

Michael Ball thinks Everton could sell Richarlison to allow Rafa Benitez to sign top target Kalidou Koulibaly.

Benitez, who was named as Carlo Ancelotti’s successor last month, has bolstered his squad by signing Andros Townsend, Asmir Begovic and Demarai Gray.

He has his sights set on being reunited with Senegal international defender Koulibaly, who he managed at Napoli.

Current Napoli chief Luciano Spalletti has insisted Koulibaly is not for sale but that did not stop the Toffees making an opening bid, according to Calciomercato, which was rejected. It is thought that the Italian club will only allow the 30-year-old to depart for a significant fee.

Meanwhile, Richarlison is among those on former Everton boss Ancelotti’s wishlist following his appointment as Real Madrid’s new boss. It has been reported that Ancelotti has already made contact in the hope of taking the Brazil international to the Bernabeu.

Ex-Everton left-back Ball believes Richarlison could leave Goodison Park to allow Benitez to sign his top target.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, he said: “Summer windows, especially after tournaments, result in shock transfers happening.

“We don’t want Richarlison to leave but if he does there would be massive money in the kitty to replace him and bring players like Koulibaly to the football club.”

Juventus attacker Federico Chiesa would cost Premier League clubs upwards of £100million this summer, according to Forza Italian Football editor Conor Clancy.

Chiesa shone as Italy broke England hearts by winning the Euro 2020 final at Wembley earlier this month.

The former Fiorentina man, who joined Juventus last October for a potential fee of £54million, scored two goals in seven appearances at the international tournament and his performances caught the eye of numerous clubs.

German media outlet Bild, via The Mirror, reported Chelsea have already seen an offer worth £85million pushed back by the Italian giants.

Meanwhile, Italian newspaper Repubblica – via MailOnline – revealed Juventus have rejected an £86million bid from Liverpool as they look to reclaim the Premier League title next season.

The 23-year-old scored 15 goals and contributed 11 assists in 46 Juventus appearances last season and Serie A expert Clancy insists the Turin-based club will do everything they can to ensure Chiesa does not depart.

Speaking exclusively to The Transfer Tavern, he said: “It would take all of the money. Juve are playing hardball with Chiesa because he is their star now.

“Forget about Cristiano Ronaldo. Chiesa is the guy that’s going to take them forward to the next generation.

“It’s going to take a lot of money, probably £100m, to make Juve part ways with him and I’m not sure that’s going to happen this summer.”

Jacob Murphy is set to sign a new long-term deal at Newcastle United, ending speculation linking with him moves to Leeds United and Rangers [Shields Gazette].

The Lowdown: Newcastle strive towards the 2021/22 season

Moving into 2021/22, the Toon will be hoping to improve on their 12th placed Premier League finish last campaign [BBC].

Despite not yet plunging into the summer transfer market yet, Steve Bruce’s men have been linked with moves players like  Kristoffer Ajer and Matheus Nunes.

However, keeping hold of their key assets will also likely be a priority to the St James’ Park hierarchy, something which they seem to have successfully enacted in the form of the 26-year-old.

The Latest: Murphy set to pen new long-term deal at St James’ Park

Excelling in his newly defined role as a right-wing back, Murphy is set to commit his future to the Geordies on a lengthy new contract [Shields Gazette].

Though the finer details of his signature are yet to be finalised, he will now bring the curtain down on interest in his services from Premier League side Leeds United and UEFA Champions League qualifiers Rangers [Shields Gazette].

In recent months, European attention from Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen and Turkish Super Lig Galatasaray had also come to the fore [Football Insider].

The Verdict: New Murphy contract is welcome news for the Magpies supporters

Unquestionably, this news will come as a timely boost to the Newcastle United support. Playing a key role in the Magpies’ upturn in form towards the end of 2020/21, the versatile right-sider registered seven goal contributions in 31 appearances; three goals and four assists [Transfermarkt].

Labelled as ‘outstanding’ by The Times editor Henry Winter back in April [Football Fancast], he has shown a commendable desire to adapt as a footballer over the last year, winning 106 duels over the course of the campaign in his new defensive role [Premier League].

In other news, an Italian side are interested in a Newcastle United midfielder.

The Chronicle’s Lee Ryder has dropped an intriguing Newcastle United transfer claim that may excite the club’s fans.

What’s the story?

The Magpies have had a fairly quiet summer window thus far, with only Joe Willock arriving on a permanent basis from Arsenal.

Now, Ryder has claimed on Twitter, that the “club’s chief scout spotted (was) at (a) Championship clash” at the weekend.

Then, in a follow-up article for The Chronicle, Ryder delved in a little deeper, saying: “And notably, Bruce’s head of recruitment Steve Nickson was spotted at Hull City’s bore draw with Bournemouth at the KCOM Stadium at the weekend.

“Nickson may have been running the rule over sought after midfielder David Brooks, who has also been subject of interest from Crystal Palace and is represented by the same agency that the Magpies use regularly for deals.”

Fans may be excited

Given the kind of disappointment that Newcastle fans have endured, not just in terms of their on-pitch performances but their off-the-pitch recruitment, it’d be easy to understand why they may not be overly excited until a new player or two arrives through the door and holds up the famous black and white shirt.

However, news that the Magpies’ chief scout is still very much out and about on scouting missions ahead of deadline day should reassure them and leave them both hopeful and excited over a potentially frantic deadline day finish.

And if Ryder’s theory is right that Nickson had his eye on Bournemouth’s Brooks, then they would be getting a superb player if they do make a move for him.

Speaking exclusively to FFC, former Villa man Lee Hendrie waxed lyrical about the versatile attacker, saying: “I’m a big fan of David Brooks. I’ve seen a fair bit of him this season and he’s an absolute talent, he really is.

“He reminds me of Jack (Grealish). He’s very slight, he’s very mobile and, again, he’s another player that could set the Prem on fire if he’s given a chance.”

He has managed eight goal contributions in 24 Championship games this campaign, and quite appealingly for Smith, he is able to play anywhere behind the striker.

In the £55,000-a-week earning Brooks, Bruce would be getting someone who is able to play both in the number ten role and out wide, with the Welshman’s low centre of gravity and quick turn of pace something to really change the game – his former Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe hailed him as someone who “turns well with the ball” and has “creative flair”.

Last season saw him bag six goals and provide a seven five assists, while he’s enjoyed a fine start to this campaign too, netting three times in just six games.

It’s no wonder then that Chris Wilder, his former boss at Sheffield United, declared him a “match-winner” and someone he wanted to bring back in October last year.

If the Magpies are to make a last-gasp swoop for a player following Nickson’s scouting mission, and Brooks is a man they are indeed targeting, then they could be getting a very fine player indeed with previous Premier League experience to boot.

Ryder’s claim is surely an exciting one for fans.

Meanwhile, Newcastle are eyeing a move for this Premier League star…

Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish has been nominated for Premier League player of the season, as confirmed by the Aston Villa official website [Aston Villa FC].

In what was an outstanding Premier League season for the England international, he notched six goals and ten assists catapulting his boyhood heroes to an 11th placed top-flight finish [Transfermarkt].

Up against some fierce competition, Grealish will need to see off the challenge of fellow nominees Kevin De Bruyne, Ruben Dias, Bruno Fernandes, Harry Kane, Mason Mount, Mohamed Salah and Tomas Soucek, with Kane and Dias likely to be frontrunners.

Pitching up against some of the best individuals in the country, few could argue against the creative midfielder achieving such a prestigious accolade. Averaging 3.1 key passes and 2.5 dribbles per game for the Villains [WhoScored], his ability to open up space has been a thorn in opposition backlines this campaign.

Loads of Villa fans have been sure to back up Grealish for the award and who could blame them! One supporter called the news ‘amazing’…

Villa fans joyous at Grealish recognition

“He won’t win it because of the time out injured but a total class act. If he’d stayed fit all season, firmly believe villa would be in Europe now. Onto next season for hopefully a higher finish providing we can keep hold of him and strengthen the squad UTV”

 Credit: @craigta64695079

 “Can you imagine the scenes if he wins this”

 Credit: @LawsAVFC

 “Some player”

 Credit: @coley_avfc

 “Amazing”

 Credit: @TAJ20_UTD

  “Player of the season nominee and missed 13 games guys different gravy”

 Credit: @jackscastleton2

 “Wow congratulations Jack”

Credit: @gillevilla

In other news, Celtic have earmarked a former Aston Villa man to spearhead their rebuild.

Tottenham Hotspur are now vying to sign in-form Valencia midfielder Carlos Soler as manager Antonio Conte eyes yet more fresh faces, according to reports.

The Lowdown: Conte seeks major overhaul…

The Telegraph, sharing some pretty big news this week, lifted the lid on a scheduled Spurs sit down at the end of 2021/2022 between Conte, managing director Fabio Paratici and chairman Daniel Levy.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/tottenham-newest-updates/” title=”Tottenham newest updates…” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

In the report, it is stated that Tottenham’s head coach wants as many as six major signings – including a reserve goalkeeper, right-wing-back, centre-half, two midfielders and a forward.

Conte’s ambition on the pitch is backed even more off it going by this latest update with there being no shortage of targets for his midfield.

Leicester City star Youri Tielemans and Brentford playmaker Christian Eriksen are both on the Lilywhites’ agenda as they aim to maintain their climb up the Premier League (The Times).

The Latest: Spurs competing for Soler…

TUTTOmercatoWEB, sharing yet another midfield man on Conte’s radar, now claim Tottenham are one of the teams competing to sign Valencia’s star man Soler.

The 25-year-old has bagged a brilliant 12 goals and five assists in all competitions this season, attracting interest from both the north Londoners and West Ham.

Valencia’s number 10 could also leave for nothing in 2023 with his contract expiring next year, potentially making his 2022 summer transfer ‘cheaper’.

The Verdict: Get it done…

Soler is still young, a proven final third threat and an alleged ‘highly respected’ figure in the Mestalla Stadium dressing room according to Radio Taronja journalist Alvaro Benzal (via La Liga Lowdown).

Bearing this in mind, the Spaniard comes as a seriously underrated option for Spurs.

According to WhoScored, only Dejan Kulusevski and Son Heung-min have averaged more key passes per 90 in the final third than Soler over 2021/2022 – while Son and Harry Kane stand as just two Spurs players with a greater amount of league goals.

Taking into account his quality, it’s little wonder Valencia slapped a mammoth €150 million (£126m) release clause into his current deal, as the La Liga giants confirmed back in 2019.

Reports out of Spain, via Sport Witness, also back that he would be perfect for Conte – with claims emerging that Soler ‘fits the profile’ Spurs’ head coach wants in north London.

As time runs down on his contract, Paratici could also be in a strong negotiating position, so we advise Spurs to seriously consider a formal approach this summer.

In other news: Source: Tottenham edge closer to ‘top signing’, he really wants to join Conte! Find out more here.