All posts by z3u9t.icu

Tottenham Hotspur are not in active talks to sign Adama Traore this month…

What’s the word?

That’s according to The Sunday Times journalist Duncan Castles, who delivered the bombshell to his ‘The Transfer Window’ podcast this week.

“I’ve just had a message from someone close to Adama who state that there are no active negotiations with Tottenham,” he claimed. 

Several outlets have suggested in recent days that Spurs were indeed in discussions with Wolverhampton Wanderers over a mid-season swoop for the £20m-rated wide man.

The Telegraph reported that the north Londoners were keen to land him on an initial loan deal, with an obligation to buy, whilst TEAMtalk suggested the club had offered as many as four first-team players in return as a bargaining chip.

Castles, who is as reliable as they come in terms of transfers, throws caution to the window with his intriguing claim.

This won’t go down well

The need for reinforcements to Antonio Conte’s squad has become ever so apparent this month.

Spurs’ inconsistent form continued as they were knocked out of the Carabao Cup by the Italian’s former club, Chelsea, in midweek and the boss alluded to just how far ahead the Champions of Europe were after the game.

“I think that in this moment we can’t compare the two situations, the Chelsea situation and the Tottenham situation. I think it’s not fair to compare the two situations, because it’s impossible to compare,” he said.

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By claiming that, he is suggesting that the task at hand in N17 is a massive one. The Blues have spent bid in recent windows and they are reaping the rewards for it. Meanwhile, the Lilywhites’ hierarchy have barely bolstered the playing squad at all.

Yes, they have paid some big-money fees, such as Tanguy Ndombele (£55m) and Giovani Lo Celso (£55m), but the bulk of the squad that let Mauricio Pochettino down still remain – Jose Mourinho and Nuno Santo have come and gone in that time, too.

Traore has quickly emerged as a top target for both Conte and sporting director Fabio Paratici and at £20m, it seems like a real bargain, considering his top-flight experience and suitability to the system. Indeed, he can play right wing-back or as a right inside-forward, and even up top.

The fact that Castles claims there are no ongoing talks is worrying and will surely anger much of the Spurs supporter base who have been ever so keen to see his signature.

It will also surely anger Conte as he knows that he needs additions and with less than two weeks remaining in the transfer window, they have yet to conduct any business.

football.london reporter Alasdair Gold even suggested that there were fears the Italian head coach could walk if he doesn’t get the right players this month.

This latest bombshell will not go down well with many at Tottenham, that’s for sure. If Spurs aren’t in talks to sign Traore as some reports suggest, then what on earth are they up to? They must back Conte to the wall, and quickly.

AND in other news, Spurs suffer “real blow” ahead of Leicester clash after Arsenal postponement…

Former Spurs number one Paul Robinson has backed Tottenham to sign Chelsea star Andreas Christensen, according to reports by Football Insider.

The Lowdown: Spurs interested in Christensen

According to The Daily Star, Spurs are competing for the signing of Chelsea defender Christensen. The 25-year-old could be available on a free transfer in 2022 as his contract is set to expire next summer.

The Denmark international has played 11 times in the Premier League this season under Thomas Tuchel, and he currently leads the Blues in one statistic, offsides won – averaging 0.8 per game.

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Football Insider previously reported that Chelsea had made a breakthrough in contract negotiations with the player. However, an agreement is still yet to be finalised and with January fast approaching, Christensen will have just six months left on his deal.

The Daily Star reports that Tottenham would be interested in signing the 6 foot 2 defender, if a contract extension cannot be agreed upon.

The Latest: Robinson loves the move

As per Football Insider, ex-Spurs goalkeeper Robinson has heaped praise on Christensen following his former club’s interest in the player, further claiming that a deal would “have to be” on a free transfer as Chelsea and Spurs “do not do business.”

“Historically, they just do not do business so it would have to be on a free transfer in the summer.

“Christensen is a top, top player though. A top centre-half.

“When you look at his age and where he is at in his career. He probably needs a move and a fresh challenge.

“I’m not sure how it would work going from Chelsea to Tottenham. I’m sure he is a strong enough player and a strong enough character to get the fans on side very quickly though.”

The Verdict: Ideal but unlikely

It is reported that a £140,000-per-week deal was ‘practically agreed’ in August, which would have seen the defender almost double his current £80,000-per-week salary at Stamford Bridge.

Tottenham could be an interesting prospect for Christensen as Antonio Conte has experience managing the Dane, who he described in late 2017 as Chelsea’s ‘best surprise’, but if the Blues are happy to double his wages it appears unlikely he will jump ship.

Former Chelsea teammate Cesc Fabregas has also previously hailed the player’s talents, describing him as ‘very underrated’, so Tottenham would be foolish not to try their luck in convincing him to cross London, but this one feels rather ambitious.

Despite currently sitting in eighth position in the Premier League table, Wolves have only managed to score 13 goals in 18 games, leaving Norwich City as the only club to have found the back of the net on fewer occasions this season.

With the January transfer window around the corner, one deal that the Midlands club could look to do that wouldn’t cost them a penny and could spark their push to end the season in a European place would be to recall midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White from his current loan deal with Championship side Sheffield United.

After making two very short cameo appearances in Wolves opening three league games of the season against Leicester City and Manchester United, Gibbs-White joined the Blades to get some regular game time in the Championship.

Since joining the Yorkshire club, the 21-year-old, who is currently valued at £8.1m according to Transfermarkt, has made 15 appearances in the Championship in which he has managed to score five goals and provide four assists in the process, showing how capable he is in front of goal.

Taking into account his young age as well as his decent goals and assists record with the Blades, it’s easy to see why David McGoldrick has lavished praise on the midfield dynamo and said that Gibbs-White has “got the world at his feet.”

In addition to this, it’s no surprise that Sheffield United manager Paul Heckingbottom has aired his concerns about the prospect of Wolves recalling Gibbs-White in January before expressing his happiness with the player and his wishes to see the Wolves man see out the rest of his loan deal and stay at Bramall Lane until the end of the season.

Moving forward, unless Wolves can start scoring goals regularly, they should definitely consider recalling Gibbs-White in January to see if he can replicate the same sort of goalscoring form he’s shown at Sheffield United back in the Premier League if Lage will give him regular playing time.

If this were to happen, Gibbs-White definitely has what it takes to push Wolves into Europe by the end of the season and prove to Lage that he’s ready to be a regular figure in his squad rather than going out on loan again.

In other news: Lage heading for Wolves disaster over £33k-p/w gem dubbed “phenomenal” by Tim Spiers – opinion

Rafael Benitez has said that Salomon Rondon will ‘100%’ be fit enough to start when Everton travel to Brentford this weekend.

As quoted by The Liverpool Echo, the Toffees manager said that the striker had ‘been training well the last two weeks’ and that he was ‘quite confident’ that the Venezuelan would perform.

Everton are down two forward options for their trip to London after Richarlison picked up his fifth yellow card of the season last time out against Manchester City, earning a one-match suspension. Dominic Calvert-Lewin is already out of action because of a thigh injury.

Rondon an unpopular choice right now

Rondon has endured a difficult start to his Everton career since he joined from Dalian Professional on a free transfer in the summer.

He is yet to open his account for the Blues after eight appearances and, worse still, he has racked up as many yellow cards (one) as he’s had shots on target (via Premier League).

The 32-year-old was also mocked and criticised by numerous supporters when he walked straight down the tunnel at full-time last weekend rather than acknowledging the travelling fans, having already been unpopular among some of the Goodison Park faithful over his unproductive performances.

Fan feed The Toffee Blues relayed Benitez’s quotes, and here’s how some of their followers responded. A couple let rip at ‘agent Rafa’, seemingly accusing the former Liverpool boss of sabotaging Everton, while another made unflattering comparisons between Rondon and ‘Sunday League’ players.

Everton fans bemoan likely Rondon start

“God help us”

Credit: @jaysmith1878

“Does Rondon have dirt on Benítez or something?! I have seen Sunday League players with more skill and motivation than this dude…”

Credit: @SOSTV1878

“Stuff like this almost makes me believe the agent Rafa stuff”

Credit: @andy_beck77

“Definitely agent Rafa this… he can’t be serious”

Credit: @efcn3

“#rafaOut immediately!!! Playing Delph and saying Rondon is fit, get a grip. Should have never been appointed Everton manager”

Credit: @NickRyanPGALol

“Rafa Benitez has insisted he is ready to start the game with 10 men against Brentford later this week.”

Credit: @WatchedToffee

In other news, many Everton fans have also reacted to Benitez’s comments on this player’s injury.

Celtic are continuing their pursuit in their attempts to sign forward Daizen Maeda and midfielder Yosuke Ideguchi, Anthony Joseph reports.

The Lowdown: Maeda and Ideguchi profiled

Maeda and Ideguchi are plying their trade in Japan’s J1 League, with the pair both regulars in 2021.

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Versatile striker Maeda, who can also play on the wing, has scored 23 times and has registered three assists in 40 appearances in all competitions for Yokohama F. Marinos.

Meanwhile, Ideguchi, who plays for Gamba Osaka, can turn out as a central or attacking midfielder and has made 41 appearances this calendar year.

The Hoops have been confident of signing Maeda since October, while links to Ideguchi have only just emerged, and Joseph has provided updates on the pair.

The Latest: Joseph’s tweet

Sky Sports reporter Joseph took to Twitter on Monday afternoon to share a number of Hoops updates.

One of those was on Maeda and Ideguchi, on which he said:

“Celtic are continuing their pursuit of Yokohama F Marinos forward Daizen Maeda and Gamba Osaka midfielder Yosuke Ideguchi.”

The Verdict: Nicholson not giving up

January looks set to be a busy first transfer window for interim CEO Michael Nicholson, and it seems as if he is doing everything he can to bring a number of Japanese stars to Scotland to join Kyogo Furuhashi.

Reo Hatate looks like he could be the first J1 League arrival in the New Year with the 24-year-old keen on a Parkhead swoop.

However, it seems as if Nicholson and co may need to work harder to make a breakthrough in any moves for Maeda and Ideguchi, with the pair possibly bolstering Postecoglou’s midfield and attacking ranks even further.

In other news: ‘Outstanding’ star may miss 4 games as Celtic issues worsen pre-Betis. 

Paddy Kenny has claimed that Amanda Staveley will now be ‘furious’ with the new owners over a development at Newcastle United.

The Lowdown: Staveley to be snubbed

As per the The Daily Mail, Staveley is set to be snubbed by the new owners in their hunt for someone to take the new chief executive role.

It is claimed that the businesswoman was expected to be handed the position as a reward for her role as the public face of the takeover by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) consortium.

The Latest: Kenny reacts

Speaking to Football Insider, former Premier League goalkeeper Kenny, 43, has claimed that Staveley would be ‘furious’ if she is not given the role:

“Personally, I’d be absolutely livid.

“Obviously, we don’t know all the ins and outs and what’s been promised to her when they made the deal.

“But if she’s been told she’d get the job and now this has happened, she’ll be furious. She has done all the hard work in sorting this takeover out.

“We know how long that took so it could be a proper kick in the teeth if this does end up happening.”

The Verdict: Can still contribute

Even if Staveley is not made the new chief executive at St. James’ Park, she can still contribute to the North East club in other ways.

It was a pleasure for the Toon Army to see her in attendance during their 3-2 loss at home to Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League last time out, and the way that she has communicated to the fans during the whole takeover process is already more than what Mike Ashley managed to do during his tenure.

Nonetheless, Staveley will no doubt be a key figure in the new era, and making her the new chief executive would only be a bonus.

In other news, find out what the immediate reaction was from players to Steve Bruce’s sacking here!

Since joining Celtic in what was a £4.95m move back in the summer of 2020, it would appear to be a fair statement to make that Albian Ajeti has not exactly hit the heights many expected he would at Parkhead.

Indeed, in his debut campaign last season, the £2.88m-rated centre-forward failed to impress over his 20 Premiership appearances for the Bhoys – only ten of which came as starts – scoring six goals, registering one assist and creating one big chance for his teammates, as well as averaging a mere 0.7 shots and making just 0.6 key passes per game.

These returns saw the £16k-per-week striker earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 6.85, ranking him as the Hoops’ joint 12th-worst performer in the top flight of Scottish football.

The Switzerland international also failed to make his mark in any of the other competitions he featured in, failing to hit the back of the net in any of his 10 appearances across Europa League qualifying, the Europa League proper, Champions League qualifying, the SFA Cup and the Scottish League Cup.

It has been a similar story for the man who Packie Bonner dubbed a “problem” so far this season, with Ajeti having scored two goals, registered no assists and created no big chances over his six Premiership appearances – with these returns seeing the centre-forward average a disappointing SofaScore match rating of just 6.72, ranking him as the club’s eighth-worst player in the league.

As such, considering his poor returns and hefty weekly wage, in addition to the fact that Ange Postecoglou brought in the likes of Kyogo Furuhashi, Georgios Giakoumakis and Jota this summer – all of whom already look to be ahead of Ajeti in Celtic’s attacking pecking order – the 56-year-old Bhoys boss simply must to all he can to move the striker on come January. At the moment, the 24-year-old is stealing a living at Parkhead.

In other news: Worrying behind-the-scenes Celtic update emerges, it’s real cause for concern for fans

Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds moved up to 16th in the Premier League table with a 1-0 win over Watford at Elland Road on Saturday.

Diego Llorente brilliantly finished from close range after the ball dropped at an awkward angle for him, expertly turning his body to drill a shot past Ben Foster.

His strike ended up winning the three points for Leeds, as Watford only managed one shot on target in the entire match.

Whilst Llorente won the game for the Whites, one player who was an unsung hero for Bielsa was right-back Jamie Shackleton.

With regular starter Luke Ayling ruled out, Shackleton was called upon to step up at full-back for the second game running and he produced an excellent performance. He was defensively solid along with offering a reliable outlet on the ball down the right, which played a part in allowing Leeds to dominate the game and ultimately beat the Hornets.

In terms of his defending, Shakleton was superb. Per SofaScore, he won eight of his 11 ground duels and made two clearances and four tackles. Along with that, he did not allow a single Watford player to dribble past him in the 90 minutes.

This shows that he was strong in the challenge and positionally aware, as he was not exposed by any players dribbling past him. By being solid at the back, Emmanuel Dennis was limited to one shot in the game and had a dribble success rate of 0% on the left wing, coming up against Shackleton.

On the ball, the youngster also impressed. Via SofaScore, he had a whopping 96 touches of the ball in the 90 minutes. Shackleton was successful with two of his three attempted dribbles and completed 84% of his passes, whilst also winning two fouls and managing one shot in the final third.

He was active on the ball throughout the match and assured in possession, as he completed the vast majority of his passes. His dribbling success shows that he was also able to offer quality in transition, beating players to push Leeds up the pitch and get the team closer to the Watford goal to build pressure on the Hornets.

Therefore, forget Llorente, Shackleton was Leeds’ unsung hero against Watford. He merged strong defending with composure on the ball and Bielsa will surely be hoping that he can maintain this level of performance until Ayling is fit to return.

AND in other news, Fresh development emerges on “unlimited energy” beast that’ll leave Leeds fans excited…

Crystal Palace made a successful start to their first-team squad overhaul in the summer, but the job is far from complete for new manager Patrick Vieira.

What’s the story?

The likes of Marc Guehi, Michael Olise and Odsonne Edouard replaced several ageing campaigners at Selhurst Park, giving the capital club a far more youthful and exciting look under their French boss.

And now, journalist Tom Barclay believes Palace believes Vieira will be targeting a new right-back over the coming months as he looks to finish off his rebuilding job in south London.

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, Barclay said: “On the right-hand side at the moment, Joel Ward is a fantastic servant, very reliable, fantastic defensively, but is probably not technically the most gifted.

“And I imagine going forward, in this process that Vieira is trying to put in, they probably want a more creative, technically better right-back playing in that position.”

Crystal Palace fans will be buzzing

Ward has been an admirable performer for Palace ever since he arrived from Portsmouth for just £585,000 back in 2012, scoring five goals and providing ten assists in his 282 appearances in all competitions.

The 31-year-old has become somewhat of a fan’s favourite during his nine-year stay thanks to his full-blooded performances and has been a regular starter under a raft of different managers.

However, the 6 foot 1 beast is far from a modern-day full-back. While Ward is comfortable defending one-on-one against an opposition winger or clearing his lines when a cross comes into the box, he often struggles to provide an attacking threat.

As per SofaScore, Ward has only averaged 0.3 key passes per game this season despite playing every minute, has only completed 43% of his dribbles and managed 0.3 accurate crosses per outing.

His underwhelming performances in the final third of the pitch have seen him receive an average match rating of just 6.67, the 14th-lowest total in the Palace squad.

As a result, a large section of the club’s supporters will surely be buzzing at the prospect of a new right-sided defender joining Vieira’s revolution over the next couple of transfer windows, providing the south London outfit with extra firepower down the flanks.

And, in other news…Never mind Benteke: Palace ace who made 3 key passes and won 7 duels shone against AFC 

Issa Diop has now handed David Moyes a massive selection headache at West Ham.

The 24-year-old centre-back has long struggled with consistency at the London Stadium since his then club-record £22m move from Toulouse in June 2018.

Last campaign, he was largely third-choice behind Angelo Ogbonna and Craig Dawson, having played only 18 times in the Premier League, of which just 15 were starts, via Transfermarkt.

His position in the pecking order will have undoubtedly been hampered by the arrival of his fellow Frenchman, Kurt Zouma, this summer and whilst he’s yet to feature in the top-flight this term, he has delivered with solid performances in both the Europa League last week and the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night.

It now leaves the Irons boss with plenty to ponder as Diop’s form simply cannot be ignored.

He was colossal in Croatia against reigning champions Dinamo Zagreb despite a serious lack of game time, as outlined by Football FanCast previously, and then at Old Trafford, he was a key cog in keeping United’s frontline quiet all night.

Just days after late heartbreak against the Red Devils in the Premier League, Moyes rotated his squad for the third-round clash and it paid off, with the 6 foot 4 titan putting in another defensive masterclass.

As per SofaScore, Diop was graded as the Hammers’ highest-rated outfield player (7.7) as he recorded a whopping seven clearances, three interceptions, two tackles and one block, whilst he also won 100% of his duels, both on the ground and in the air.

What a display.

He was an absolute rock against the likes of Anthony Martial, Jadon Sancho and last season’s loan hero Jesse Lingard – even when Bruno Fernandes and Mason Greenwood entered the pitch, it didn’t faze the £18m-rated beast.

Diop earned the praise of assistant manager Stuart Pearce, who told reporters (via The Athletic):

“But I thought Diop was absolutely magnificent. The longer the game went on the more of a colossus he looked at the back and he’s still in relative terms, a very young man for a central defender so we’re absolutely delighted to have Issa at this club.”

It comes three years after former Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho dubbed the West Ham star a “monster” for another standout performance at the back.

Moyes now must think about what is best for this Hammers side. You cannot ignore the recent outings from Diop and the potential partnership of the two Frenchman in the heart of their defence must be a rather tempting prospect right now.

Diop must remain when the Irons head to Leeds on Saturday.

AND in other news, 5 tackles, 3 interceptions: £13m-rated West Ham monster stole the show at Old Trafford…