All posts by n8rngtd.top

Phil Hay has provided a very interesting update surrounding Leeds United’s stance heading into the summer transfer window. The Athletic reporter claims that the Whites would be looking to recruit five new players once the market opens once again for business. Not only is this a hugely promising idea in terms of squad depth, but it hints that Marcelo Bielsa is due to pen a new deal with the club soon.

The Argentinian took over at Elland Road in 2018, but did not sign a long-term contract. Bielsa likes to manage his time accordingly and therefore is known for signing short, one or two year deals with clubs. His current contract with Leeds is set to expire in the summer, with no news of an extension emerging as of yet.

However, Hay’s update could hint that the boss has big plans for Leeds moving forwards and he wants to stick around to see this team re-establish themselves in the Premier League. He enjoyed a fruitful summer window in 2020, aiding in the recruitment of the likes of Illan Meslier, Robin Koch and Raphinha. With the Whites currently in tenth place in the table, they are far from any danger of slipping back into the Championship.

There’s no question that this Leeds side is a very exciting project right now. After earning their promotion and Championship title, they have re-emerged on the scene of the Premier League with a bang. They’ve managed to secure positive results against the likes of Manchester City, Arsenal and Leicester. It’s been a solid start for the Whites, but there’s always room for improvement.

Naturally, new targets are being monitored ahead of the summer and potential outgoings also loom. But the man the club would miss the most if he was to leave is Bielsa.

After driving them to their long-awaited return back to England’s top flight, the Argentine has written his name in the club’s history. Whilst the may not have signed on the dotted line just yet, the big plans in the pipeline could may well spell that the good news is just around the corner.

In other news, Leeds must move for Phillips 2.0 in Boubakary Soumare…

Former Celtic striker Frank McAvennie believes the Hoops would be a ‘joy to watch’ if they were to bring in Eddie Howe as their new manager.

McAvennie, who spent four years with the club across two spells, was asked by Football Insider what he made of reports that Celtic had reached out to Howe.

“I would be delighted,” he said. “He plays the right brand of football and that is very important.

“We are renowned for our style of football. When I was at Celtic big Billy McNeill told me it is not just about winning, it is about the way that you win. There has to be a bit of cavalier, a bit of style to it.

“I think Eddie Howe would bring that. The brand of football he brought to Bournemouth was a joy to watch.”

Why might Celtic be keen on Howe?

Howe is lining up his next managerial project after leaving Bournemouth following their relegation from the Premier League. The Englishman remarkably led the Cherries from the bottom of League Two to the top flight, where they remained for five years (Transfermarkt).

Howe espoused a progressive philosophy at the Vitality Stadium, reluctant to employ the conservative tactics traditionally favoured by promoted/lower mid-table sides.

Celtic, who relinquished to the title to their arch-rivals Rangers at the weekend, are poised to appoint Neil Lennon’s long-term replacement this summer.

Transfer Tavern verdict

Relegation was a slightly sorry end to Howe’s otherwise sensational tenure at Bournemouth, but this appointment could rightly excite Celtic fans.

His 29.8% win rate in the Premier League doesn’t even tell close to the full story. Howe genuinely worked magic with limited resources and, judging by his five-year top-flight tenure with the Cherries, seems more than capable of taking the fight to Steven Gerrard’s Gers.

The 43-year-old may have initially anticipated that he would fill a Premier League vacancy, but Celtic retain a considerable pull and he could build his reputation further at Parkhead.

In other news, John Kennedy issued an emphatic warning over one Celtic player targeted by a Premier League club.

Aston Villa saw their hopes of back-to-back Premier League wins go up in smoke, after they were consigned to a surprising 1-0 defeat to ten-man Sheffield United on Wednesday night.

The Blades have been rooted to the bottom of the table for much of this season, but pulled off a real shock at Bramall Lane thanks to a goal from David McGoldrick.

Villa as a whole didn’t look like themselves, but one man who really struggled to get to the pace of the game, was John McGinn.

The Scotland international looked out of sorts, losing possession 21 times on the night, which is far above his season average in the Premier League of 12.9 per match. He also wasn’t decisive enough in his passing either, boasting the second-highest amount of touches for Villa with 99, but only providing one key pass – even left-back Matt Targett matched his efforts.

And it wasn’t just him being sloppy in the middle of the park either. He missed a glorious opportunity early on into the game that would have handed Villa the initiative but he fluffed his lines completely after some good work from Ollie Watkins – all in all, none of his four attempts found the target.

Writing in his post-match player ratings for The Birmingham Mail, Ashley Preece said: “His sloppy pass in midfield almost handed Sheffield United their first chance, only for his brilliant recovery to pinch it back from inside the box to deny Baldock from slamming home. McGinn, though, missed a huge chance after 10 minutes as he rushed his effort after Watkins’ nod down and slashed it wide of the far post.

“McGinn was guilty of ball-watching for United’s opener as McGoldrick raced past three black Villa shirts before striking home. The Scot did improve slightly after the hosts went down to 10 men and almost assisted Traore with a cute header before his effort was well-blocked while, moments later, he had a shot of his own which was deflected for a corner by Ampadu. Looked sluggish here, as if the effort at Leeds had taken something out of him.”

And that last part is what’s absolutely critical for Villa, and why Smith should make that bold call of dropping him from the starting line-up. The £18m-rated man has played the full 90 minutes in every single Premier League game this season bar one, and that was only because of picking up a suspension for the clash against Newcastle.

The Scotland international showed signs of real fatigue and burn-out against the Blades, and given that Smith has January signing Morgan Sanson still knocking on the door for his first start in the top-flight, now seems like the perfect time for such a change to be made.

McGinn just looked off the pace going forward, and even tracking back, as seen by his role in allowing McGoldrick to score the winner. It would be a ruthless call to drop someone who’s been Mr Undroppable for Villa this season, but Wednesday’s game showed why that must exactly happen.

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

Reports last month suggested that Celtic had set their sights on making Mohamed Elyounoussi’s loan move from Southampton permanent.

The Norwegian, who has scored 13 goals in 37 appearances for the Hoops in all competitions this season, reportedly had his valuation slashed from £8-10m last summer to just £5m ahead of a summer deal.

Southampton return on the cards?

However, Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl has appeared to have opened the door to a St Mary’s return for the 26-year-old.

Talking to Hampshire Live on Friday, Hasenhuttl was asked asked if returning loan stars like Elyounoussi could be the answer to his lack of attacking squad depth, to which the Austrian said:

“You can be sure that we have a few players in our mind, yes.”

Transfer Tavern take

Elyounoussi has fallen out of favour in recent months, starting just one of the club’s last eight league fixtures.

He’s proven his quality during his two-year loan stint in Scotland, though, with this season’s highlights coming in a 2-2 draw with Lille and 4-1 win over Motherwell.

His current Transfermarkt valuation stands at £10.8m, so if Celtic could bring him to Parkhead permanently for under half of that, it could prove a real shrewd piece of business.

However, by the sounds of it, the versatile attacker could be on the way back down south.

In other news: Celtic are keen on talking with 18-year-old winger, find out more here.

Celtic need to ‘wake up and give themselves a shake’ as Scott Brown nears the end of his contract, according to former Hoops player Kris Commons.

Brown joined Celtic in 2007 and has worn the armband since 2010. In that time, he has won 10 Premiership titles, six Scottish Cups and six Scottish League Cups.

Brown reportedly courted for Aberdeen role

However, he is now into the final months of his contract, raising the prospect of him departing on a free transfer in the summer. Brown is thought to be considering an offer to take on a player-coaching role at his former club Aberdeen (via Daily Record).

Commons, who played for the Hoops between 2011 and 2017 and was a long-time team-mate of the current skipper, admits that the offer will be ‘tempting’ to Brown given that he would likely play more first team football at Pittodrie, having been in and out of the Celtic team in recent weeks.

However, he has nonetheless implored Celtic to tie the veteran down.

Allowing Brown to leave Celtic would be a ‘huge mistake’

“Brown has a key role to play in how the club rebuilds itself,” Commons wrote in the Scottish Daily Mail [15/03 print edition, Verdict supplement page 7, via 67HailHail]

“He has been a loyal servant to the club over the years. He’s a Celtic man through and through.

“The club need to wake up and give themselves a shake. If they allow Brown to walk out the door in the summer, it would be a huge mistake.”

Transfer Tavern verdict

As Commons argues, it is important to have Brown around for the managerial transition at Parkhead. Leaders are crucial in times of upheaval.

The captain, who turns 36 in the summer, doesn’t necessarily have to play week in, week out as he largely has this season. It is his presence which is crucial, and you imagine he would be very reluctant to leave fresh off the back of Rangers dethroning the Bhoys domestically.

A one-year deal may suit both parties and satisfy Commons.

In other news, there is an update on a new contender for the Celtic managerial role.

When Noni Madueke left Tottenham Hotspur on a free transfer in 2018, nobody could’ve predicted his meteoric rise and now ultimately, it will leave Daniel Levy hurting with regret.

In the two-and-a-half seasons since his departure, the 19-year-old gem has emerged as one of England’s brightest prospects outside of the Premier League.

Following in the footsteps of Jadon Sancho, Madueke opted to swap England for Holland, rejecting Manchester United to join 24-time Eredivisie champions PSV Eindhoven on a three-year deal.

This season, in particular, has been a highlight as the teenage sensation has racked up 17 goal contributions (nine scored, eight assisted) in only 1,105 minutes of action, as per Transfermarkt.

As a result, his valuation has soared. Upon arrival, he was rated at just £540k but that figure now stands at £12.6m and will surely continue to rise alongside his phenomenal form.

His transformation has largely been down to former Red Devils rival Ruud van Nistelrooy, who believed his ability in one-on-one situations, combined with is speed, was far more suited to the wing than in the no.10 role. He’s certainly reaping the rewards now.

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Madueke’s one goal contribution every 65 minutes is considerably clear of many options in his role, both at Spurs and on the international stage.

Take Sancho as an example, he’s arguably Gareth Southgate’s leading contender to start at right-wing in this summer’s European Championships – despite delivering an astonishing 12 goals and 16 assists for Dortmund this season, the former City starlet is only contributing a goal once every 89 minutes.

Jose Mourinho’s best option in the position appears to be Gareth Bale, who has scored ten goals and provided three assists. He is perhaps most comparable to Madueke given his lack of regular game time (1,280 minutes), but even then, he’s still some way off with one goal contribution every 98.5 minutes.

Former PSV midfielder Tommie van de Leegte waxed lyrical about the England prodigy to Dutch radio station Omroep Brabant last year, he said (via Goal.com): “He’s fast and has the capability to trick his opponent. He brings creativity and is very explosive in his actions. That’s what PSV needs.”

As evident above, Levy should’ve done more to keep the kid in north London as by now, he could’ve been making such waves in the Premier League, and for a man who likes to make a pretty penny, that’ll be an even tougher pill to swallow.

The Spurs chairman may well forever regret losing out on Madueke.

AND in other news, Spurs could find the next Yaya Toure in £13.6m-rated prodigy…

Leicester City could be in line to sign Cengiz Under on a permanent deal after Corriere dello Sport have reported that AS Roma ‘hope’ that they can sell him.

As per the news outlet, the East Midlands club exerted the option to take him on loan for the 2020/21 term for €3m, with the further option to buy for €23m, equating to a total of €26m (£22.3m) should they wish to sign him permanently.

However, the Italian publication also claim that it would be ‘difficult’ for Brendan Rodgers’ team to exert this option, although it has not been ruled out.

Leicester should not give up on Under

The Foxes should not give up on Under just yet, despite his rather tame return for them. The Turkey international has only managed to score a mere two goals and make a further three assists in 19 games in total over all competitions so far this season (Transfermarkt), and would surely have been hoping for better numbers.

However, at just 23 years of age, the winger still has a lot of potential and is a more than feasible squad option for LCFC to have.

He has even earned the highest of praises from footballing legends Francesco Totti and Christian Vieri, which should not go unnoticed.

Nonetheless, Under is a player that Leicester should be considering signing on a permanent basis if they are not already thinking of doing.

In other news, find out what FA Cup news has left Foxes fuming here!

Mark Douglas has dropped a claim explaining what this week’s developments on beIN mean for the potential takeover of Newcastle United by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) group.

As per a report from the Associated Press earlier this week, the Serie A is set to lose a lot of money due to the ongoing disputes between beIN and the KSA, as they gained a lot of revenue from the Qatari broadcaster.

Given that beIN is still banned in Saudi Arabia with the tensions still firmly high, added to the strong relationship that the Serie A has with the KSA, the Qatari broadcaster have ostracised the Italian top flight, even telling other countries not to bid for their TV rights.

Douglas has made a connection between this report and the potential takeover of the St. James’ Park faithful, given the previous issues that the Premier League have held with the KSA about streaming live fixtures from the division illegally, with beIN currently their sole provider in the Gulf region.

Writing in his latest piece for The Chronicle, the football journalist has claimed that any issues with beIN ‘may well become a priority’ for the KSA’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) if the pending arbitration case is a success for the Magpies.

Newcastle need beIN on their side

As Douglas suggests, assuming that PIF will come back to the table, the North East club will need to try and get beIN on their side in order to have the best chance of a takeover being completed by the Saudi consortium.

The unblocking of the Qatari broadcaster in the Kingdom may well go a long way in doing this, but that is not a formality given that there are clearly still tensions between the two Gulf countries.

In other news, find out which Toon-linked manager has been claimed could replace Steve Bruce at NUFC here!

Former Tottenham Hotspur captain Gary Mabbutt insists that Gareth Bale has not done anything wrong by claiming that he could return to Real Madrid at the end of the season, telling Football FanCast that he did not say anything wrong.

Bale was at the centre of a media storm last week as he claimed that his current plan was to return to Spain at the end of the season, when his loan spell at Spurs ends.

He said: “‘The original plan was to do a season at Spurs and after the Euros still have a year left at Real Madrid.

“My plan is to go back and that’s as far as I’ve planned, to be honest.”

His agent, Jonathan Barnett, subsequently claimed that the Wales international’s comments had been taken out of context.

It remains to be seen what the future holds for Bale but reports have suggested that Spurs do have the option to extend his stay at the club by another season should they so wish.

Bale has, thus far, somewhat struggled for minutes in the Spurs first-team but he has made 25 appearances in all competitions, scoring 10 goals and laying on three assists.

Mabbutt, though, believes that the media have somewhat twisted Bale’s words, insisting that he simply said what he knew – as it stands, Bale will only be with the club until the summer unless that option is triggered for Spurs to keep him.

Speaking exclusively to FFC, he said: “He’s on a season-long loan from Real Madrid. He’s asked what’s going to happen at the end of the season.

“As far as he’s aware he’s on a season long loan at Spurs, then he’s asked about what could happen. He’s going back to Real Madrid because that is what the current deal is.

“There’s nothing in place to say he’s staying for five years on loan or he’s going to be signing for Spurs.”

Bale struggled for minutes at Real before his move to Spurs, making just 12 starts in La Liga and failing to play in any of their final seven games in La Liga in 2019/20.

Carlo Ancelotti should urge Everton to launch a pursuit of Blackburn Rovers striker Adam Armstrong in the summer transfer window.

What’s the word?

According to Football Insider, the Toffees have begun tracking Armstrong and had scouts watch the Rovers sensation in action against AFC Bournemouth on Monday.

Armstrong has been one of the Championship’s stand-out talents this term and his efforts at Ewood Park have not gone amiss on Merseyside.

The 24-year-old has 20 goals and three assists in all competitions, including 19 in 34 league games for the division’s third-best record behind Ivan Toney (28) and Teemu Pukki (25).

Everton are monitoring Armstrong’s situation as his prolific record has club chiefs on alert, with the Goodison Park outfit set to be in the market for a new centre-forward this off-season.

The Blues are set to part with winter signing Joshua King when his contract expires in June, while doubt has arisen over the futures of Cenk Tosun and Moise Kean with both available for suitable offers.

Blackburn are expected to value Armstrong at £25m as Newcastle United would be due 40% of any fee received, while the striker also has interest from West Ham with David Moyes said to have carried out personal checks, per The Sun.

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Brighton & Hove Albion have also been linked, while Newcastle are reportedly ready to re-sign their academy product regardless of the outcome of their fight for Premier League survival.

Should Everton sign Blackburn’s Armstrong?

Ancelotti could do far worse than to urge Everton’s owner Farhad Moshiri to bankroll a pursuit of Armstrong in the off-season, when the Goodison Park outfit strive to bolster the Italian’s attacking options.

The Blues will likely have to meet Blackburn’s valuation in full to snap up Armstrong given the widespread Premier League interest, but would acquire a lethal centre-forward in the West Denton-born frontman.

Armstrong has been thriving in the second-tier this season in a Rovers side that has seen any hopes of promotion be completely dashed, with the Play-Off positions almost out of reach with a 20-point deficit to sixth-placed Reading with eight games to play.

That cannot be said for Toney or Pukki, with the Championship’s top-scorers playing for sides contending for automatic promotion with Brentford sitting third and Norwich topping the table with an eight-point lead over second-placed Watford.

Armstrong has also averaged the most shots-per-game in the second-tier this season with 4.6 – 1.1 more than Pukki and 1.7 more than Toney – while only five players across the division have attempted more from outside the box (1.3), per WhoScored.

What has counted against Armstrong is that the £17,000-per-week star missed five games with a hamstring injury before returning to face Bournemouth on Monday, depriving Blackburn boss Tony Mowbray of a forward he lauds for his “dynamic movement”.

Mowbray also hails Armstrong for having “amazing attributes” and was surprised that no Premier League side sought his signature in January, which Ancelotti should see is not the case come the summer if moves are secured for Tosun and Kean to leave Everton.

AND in other news, Everton have landed a huge boost in the race to sign a £20m “victim of circumstance”…