All posts by z3u9t.icu

Flocking to Twitter, these West Ham United fans have erupted in response to club insider Claret & Hugh’s financial claim – with the club apparently subject to a ‘major’ multi-million pound investment.

Indeed, as per their source, there is now an opportunity for a new investor to join the existing West Ham shareholders with co-owners David Gold and David Sullivan long making it clear they would welcome other parties to ‘share the financial strain’.

C&H have also been told that agents are acting on behalf of ‘certain third parties’ who are willing to invest and are currently looking at opportunities to do so.

Sullivan, however, would remain the majority shareholder – with this not being a takeover update and more akin to another party investing in a small percentage of the club.

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

It is claimed that while the Irons are the subject of this possible cash injection, it may still be ‘some weeks away’.

Flocking to this update in response to Twitter account West Ham Central, there were a fair few mixed responses from supporters.

Find all of their best ones down below.

West Ham fans erupt as insider claim emerges…

“Huhhhhhhhhhh”

Credit: @joelitt78828048

“If this is true”

Credit: @eplmad

“Wait what……”

Credit: @TalkinWestHam

“200M warchest this season you say?”

Credit: @_ghzst

“Ronaldo and Messi at the bowl”

Credit: @1bbyWHU

“Gold & Sullivan have realised that if they want to keep the clubs value & even raise it, they need to spend a lot more!

Strong outside investment could take us from a club that might worry about relegation, to consistently pushing top 6 – making us worth over £1billion!”

Credit: @WhufcSloth

In other news: West Ham in talks to sign this ‘very fast’ 42-cap forward who is now ‘likely’ to leave, find out more here.

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, former Sheffield Wednesday defender Jon Newsome has warned Dejphon Chansiri that he will not be able to sell the Owls for £160m.

Following Wednesday’s relegation from the Championship to League One, the topic of Chansiri potentially selling the club has come up.

However, according to The Sun on Sunday (via The 72), the businessman is not looking to give up his asset. And if such an idea is to be considered, then potential buyers are looking at £160m in order to complete a takeover.

For Newsome, Chansiri has no chance of receiving a fee like that given the situation the Yorkshire outfit currently finds itself in.

Speaking exclusively to FFC about Wednesday’s future, the retired Premier League footballer said:

“I’ve heard reports this week that he wants £160m for the football club. Now, he paid £37m for the club, he’s subsequently sold the stadium to himself that’s now on a 30-year lease at £2.5m a year, which is going to be a massive cost for a League One club to pay £2.5m a year to play football at your own stadium.

“And all of a sudden he wants £160m because he says that’s what he’s put in? Well, it doesn’t work like that. It doesn’t work like that.”

Indeed, it is a figure you cannot see anyone paying, while Chansiri’s public stance is that he takes full responsibility for Wednesday’s relegation and aims to continue at the club.

Leeds United could sign their new Samu Saiz in Club Brugge starlet Noa Lang as a fresh update emerges on their pursuit of the 21-year-old.

What’s the story?

According to recent reports from The Telegraph, the Whites have been been watching the 21-year-old, although they are set to face intense competition if the try to land him in the summer transfer window.

Now, Football Insider have claimed in recent days that Marcelo Bielsa’s side will open talks with Lang now that the Premier League season is officially over.

A new Samu Saiz

The tricky Spaniard Saiz was a revelation when he burst onto the scene at Elland Road, contributing to 12 goals from midfield in a Whites side that struggled throughout the 2017/2018 campaign, averaging a very impressive 1.8 key passes and 1.6 shots per game.

His final season at Elland Road saw him manage 1.5 dribbles per match in the Championship, being fouled 1.8 times and providing the same number of key passes a match.

Just like Saiz, the £18m-rated Lang is a prolific dribbler, averaging 1.5 dribbles per game in the Belgian top flight, a figure which just ranks him outside the top ten in the entire division.

Dubbed a “phenomenon” by Belgian sports journalist Peter Vandenbempt, Lang made history when he became the first player in 60 years to mark his debut with a hat-trick for Ajax.

That saw Ajax manager, Erik Ten Hag, say: “He showed (his talent) today and I am very happy with that. Noa shows (his ability) it during training and during the reserve matches. And today he has also clearly shown it at the highest level too.”

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/leeds-united-marcelo-bielsa-transfer-gossip-rumours-news-elland-road-rodrigo-de-paul” title=”Read the latest Leeds transfer rumours and news!”]

Lang is just an inch taller than Saiz at 5 foot 10, and like the Spaniard, has that low centre of gravity to be able to turn away from players with ease, before also having the end product to actually contribute to his team – last season alone has seen him rack up 17 goals and 11 assists in all competitions.

If Bielsa is looking for a player to come in and bring back that bit of Saiz magic, then he should look no further than Lang.

Meanwhile, a major update has emerged about Marcelo Bielsa…

In an exclusive interview with The Transfer Tavern, former Aston Villa midfielder Lee Hendrie has tipped his old side to win the race for Tammy Abraham this summer.

According to Football Insider, the Villans are in a battle with Midlands rivals Wolves to secure Abraham’s signature. Meanwhile, The Telegraph claims Chelsea have slapped a £40m price tag on the striker.

Abraham has barely featured since the arrival of Thomas Tuchel at Stamford Bridge, with the German preferring the likes of Timo Werner and Kai Havertz.

However, the 23-year-old impressed last season, scoring 15 goals in the Premier League, and in his loan spell at Villa prior as he helped them win promotion back to English football’s top flight.

That spell, where Abraham registered an impressive 26 times, should give Villa the edge in any potential transfer tussle, according to Hendrie.

On the England international, the ex-Villa player told TT:

“The connection with Villa, I’d be surprised if he didn’t choose Villa over Wolves if I’m quite honest.

“I just feel that when you’ve played at a football club and you know the foundation, you know what you’re getting into. And I know the fans love him and he’s got a great rapport with the fans.”

With reports emerging that Chelsea could make a move to sign Inter Milan striker Romelu Lukaku, Abraham’s future in west London is starting to look increasingly bleak.

Frank McAvennie has given his candid thoughts on the latest developments in the saga of the potential takeover of Newcastle United.

The Lowdown: HMRC discontinue investigation

The Magpies confirmed last week that HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) were discontinuing their investigation into the taxes of the club, which in turn prompted owner Mike Ashley to refer to ‘dark forces’ which were preventing the Tyneside outfit from becoming the ‘powerhouse that the fans deserve’.

The chief executive of Sports Direct also launched an anti-competition lawsuit against the Premier League with regards to their decision-making process with the failed deal between him and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) group.

The Latest: McAvennie reacts

McAvennie, who is now a pundit after having a stellar footballing career playing for the likes of Celtic and West Ham, has given his thoughts to Football Insider about the investigation and the lawsuit. He claimed that the discontinuation of the former is a big boost for the potential takeover, as well as voicing his confusion over why it has not been approved already, saying:

“Mike has been wanting to sell Newcastle for years.

“Loads of people have come forward and he’s never sold it. If he’s wanting to sell it, why is he still there? 

“The powers-that-be said ‘no’. I know he’s taking the Premier League to court because they stopped someone buying it.

“That’s the biggest load of nonsense, look at the boys at Man City. They’re Saudi so I’m not sure why this wasn’t all sorted ages ago. 

“Maybe the HMRC stuff has changed something, I don’t know too much about it. But not having that going on has to be a huge boost for the takeover.” 

The Verdict: Takeover depends on legal battle

Not only has Ashley launched a legal case against the Premier League accusing them of anti-competitive behaviour, but there is also the pending arbitration hearing he has launched against them over the KSA consortium’s failed bid.

The chances of the takeover happening at St James’ Park could depend greatly on the results of these two cases, and positive outcomes for Ashley may well pave a significant pathway for it to come back onto the table.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/newcastle-updates-2/” title=”Newcastle updates! (2)” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Whatever happens, it is clear that Ashley is trying to get as much compensation out of the failed deal as possible, with the results of his legal battle with the Premier League remaining unclear.

In other news, find out what big claim has been dropped on the potential takeover.

Rangers have been boosted by Steven Davis, Allan McGregor, James Tavernier and Leon Balogun signing new deals at Ibrox in recent weeks but Steven Gerrard and Ross Wilson shouldn’t stop there, and should now prioritise handing Connor Goldson a new contract.

As per This is Futbol, journalist Scott McDermott has claimed on a recent episode of the Record Rangers podcast that he believes the Light Blues will be offering the former Brighton man new terms in the near future.

McDonald said: “I expect him to sign it, I think he’ll be the next one. I’d be really surprised. Probably with him, there’s a wee bit of debate just because of his age – you know, would he want to go back to England, he’s only got a year left.

“He might feel as if he’s still got a bit of unfinished business in the Premier League, for instance, we don’t know, but from the outside looking in, the other three that you mentioned, I’d be amazed if Goldson wasn’t next on the list.”

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/rangers-news-ibrox-steven-gerrard-ross-wilson-gers-rfc” title=”Latest Rangers news, transfer rumours and more!”]

The 28-year-old centre-back has played every single minute of Rangers’ league campaign so far this season and has undoubtedly been one of Gerrard’s top performers, contributing four goals and two assists and averaging a superb 7.38 WhoScored rating. This is enough to rank Goldson as Rangers’ fourth-best performer so far this season, with only Tavernier, Ryan Kent and Borna Barisic currently ranked higher.

The Englishman’s current contract is set to expire at the end of next season, so it would not be a surprise to see some interest in the defender in the near future unless Rangers can tie him down to a longer deal.

Although he is already one of the top earners at Ibrox, reportedly receiving £25,000 per week, it is clear that Goldson is a leader in this Rangers side and is clearly rated highly by Gerrard.

Earlier in the season, the 40-year-old manager was full of praise for his centre-back, saying: “Connor has been an absolute mountain for this team, a true warrior. He’s had a lot of stick over the years, wrongly in my opinion. But he’s continued to improve and has been one of our most consistent players. I wasn’t too happy with the back line in Belgium on Thursday but if you look at the big picture, Goldson has been absolutely immense.”

[freshpress-quiz id=“593776”]

Therefore, following the claim from McDermott, Wilson should act quickly to make Goldson the next player to commit to a new deal with the club, as otherwise we may see an English Premier League side register an interest in him in the near future, which might prove enough to turn his head.

In other news… Sold for £1m, now in League One: Rangers sold one of their “top players” at perfect time

On the whole, Everton were flat-footed and off the pace against Brighton & Hove Albion on Monday night, but Seamus Coleman stole the show for Carlo Ancelotti’s side.

The game lacked heaps of real quality from either team, yet the Seagulls dominated for much of the encounter and arguably deserved to win.

Missed chances from Neal Maupay, Jakub Moder and Adam Lallana ultimately came back to haunt Graham Potter’s men, who could only force one significant save from Rob Olsen when he denied Lewis Dunk.

Everton were fortunate that Brighton’s lack of a clinical presence meant they could leave the south coast with a point, having offered no real attacking threat of their own with top-scorer Dominic Calvert-Lewin sidelined with an abductor problem.

Ancelotti was still able to call on James Rodriguez, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Richarlison to lead the Toffees’ charge, but neither of the trio left the Amex Stadium with anything to write home about having either been too passive or packaged out of the game by Brighton.

With little of what Sigurdsson or Rodriguez tried paying off, Richarlison particularly spent much of the game chasing the ball as Brighton sought a breakthrough.

Ben Godfrey played a key role in Potter’s men having to settle for a draw after magnificently blocking Danny Welbeck’s effort with a quarter of an hour still to play, while already proving the bane of the former England international by preventing him from reaching Maupay’s clever pass earlier in the half.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/latest-everton-news-and-views” title=”Latest Everton news and views!”]

It was a performance from the £20m summer signing from Norwich City that Everton fans will have come to expect, with Godfrey – who was praised by some as the only highlight of the night – often lauded for his efforts even in defeats.

But it was rather Coleman who stole the show, by doing what Rodriguez or Sigurdsson could not and providing Everton with a creative force, while still offering his defensive support.

Everton struck eight attempts on Robert Sanchez’s goal on Monday night, but only one attempt required the 23-year-old to take action when Rodriguez forced a save from the Spaniard in the 71st-minute, per WhoScored.

Part of the problem for the Toffees was a lack of vision from their key playmakers with Sigurdsson and Richarlison failing to create a single chance for themselves or a teammate, and Rodriguez coupling his two shots with one key pass.

Brighton managed to fashion 15 goalscoring chances and took 23 shots as a team to Everton’s respective four and eight. And of the Blues’ key passes, Coleman provided three – a joint game-high with Maupay and Lallana.

Coleman is not usually one of Everton’s more creative players with the 32-year-old only averaging 0.7 key balls a game in the Premier League this term for his side’s sixth-most, yet frequently surged up the right-hand channel to offer an attacking outlet.

It did not come as a hindrance to the Toffees’ defence, either, with the Republic of Ireland international – who Ancelotti calls “fantastic” – registering a game-high three interceptions, snatching the ball off Welbeck’s toes in the box and providing a crucial block to deny Lallana.

Godfrey may have stood out to some supporters as the only highlight, but Coleman stole the show for Everton by impressing at both ends of the field while some failed to impress at either.

AND in other news, Everton have been tipped to sign a £25m star once dubbed “a freak of a talent”…

A journalist has claimed that Chris Wilder could end up going to Newcastle United to replace Steve Bruce after recent reports linking him with the job.

Speaking on talkSPORT, Alan Biggs, who has been a football reporter for Sky, the Sheffield Star and the Daily Telegraph, claimed when asked about the former Sheffield United boss: “I do see either West Brom or Newcastle”, adding that the St. James’ Park faithful “investigated the possibility” of hiring him back in 2019.

Newcastle should not overlook Wilder

The North East club should certainly not overlook the possibility of hiring Wilder as their new coach if Bruce were to leave.

Even though the Blades have struggled at the foot of the table in the Premier League so far in the 2020/21 term, which subsequently led to the Yorkshireman leaving, his success in the previous season should still be greatly admired, having guided them to a pretty impressive ninth-placed finish having just been promoted up from the EFL Championship.

Nonetheless, Wilder is experienced in the top flight as well as in the lower divisions, so it could well be an inspired appointment even if the Tyneside club were to find themselves relegated at the end of the campaign.

With tensions certainly rising at the Magpies, there are few better candidates to choose from.

In other news, find out what inside claim Liam Kennedy has dropped on takeover talk at NUFC here!

Issa Diop came close to costing West Ham United the win as David Moyes’ side held on to beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-2 on Monday night.

The Irons stormed out of the blocks to claim a three-goal lead before half-time for the second successive Premier League game, but would have feared a repeat of the 3-3 Arsenal draw when Leander Dendoncker pulled one back.

Fabio Silva later set up a nervy finish for Moyes’ men when he drilled home Wolves’ second, but Nuno Espirito Santo’s team could not find another way past Lukasz Fabianski and the Hammers clinched three vital points.

West Ham now sit fourth in the Premier League standings and are in control of their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League, while a win over Leicester City this Sunday can see the London Stadium natives close the gap to third to a single point.

Moyes will have been nervous of the Irons letting slip another three-goal lead when Dendoncker and Silva struck home for Wolves, having seen Diop and centre-back partner Craig Dawson both struggle at Molineux.

West Ham were once again without Angelo Ogbonna as the Italian continues his recovery from a high ankle sprain, although he has been making solid progress as he looks to return after seven games in the treatment room.

The Hammers sorely missed the former Juventus enforcer, as an early yellow card for Dawson left the Watford loanee – now set for a £2m permanent summer switch – having to be overly cautious and give up plenty of chances.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/the-latest-west-ham-news-and-views-2″ title=”The latest West Ham news and views!”]

Willian Jose, Dendoncker and Daniel Podence each struck three efforts on goal while Adama Traore’s two and Pedro Neto’s five attempts helped toward Wolves taking 20 shots, per WhoScored, eight more than West Ham give up on average per Premier League game this season.

Diop was no better, as the Frenchman switched off too many times and failed to cover the space left by Aaron Cresswell to leave Silva with time to pick his spot and drill home low into the far-right corner.

The £16.2m-rated centre-half appeared desperate for Cresswell or Ben Johnson – a second-half substitute for Arthur Masuaku – to be the one to track Silva back, when Diop was the best-placed option to run with the 18-year-old and avoid the nervy finish.

Dawson and Mark Noble later had to restrain Diop from charging up the pitch after making a crucial block following a rush of blood to the head, and had already been urged by the Hammers captain to be quicker with his actions.

Diop’s efforts may have returned more clearances (8) than Dawson (6), as well as more interceptions (2 to 1) and shots blocked (1 to 0) for SofaScore’s higher match rating at 6.8 out of 10 compared to his teammate’s 6.3, but his low moments came close to costing West Ham the win and three vital points.

AND in other news, West Ham trail a Premier League rival for a five-goal, seven-assist star once labelled an “exciting prospect”…

Liverpool host Fulham at Anfield on Sunday aiming to bounce back from yet another defeat at home, this time at the hands of Chelsea.

The loss was not only costly in context of the Premier League table but also on the injury front, with Ozan Kabak sustaining a knock and potentially being doubtful for this weekend’s clash.

With a long list of centre-back casualties including Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez, Joel Matip and Kabak himself, as well as auxiliary defender Jordan Henderson, it is now time for Jurgen Klopp to put his faith in winter arrival Ben Davies.

The 25-year-old joined Liverpool in the January transfer window from Preston North End, having impressed in the second tier of English football.

Prior to his move, he had played every minute of the preceding 13 Championship matches, helping the Whites to six clean sheets in that time.

In fact, albeit in the second tier, Davies was outperforming Virgil van Dijk in tackles, interceptions and clearances per game, according to WhoScored.

Jurgen Klopp also made no secret of his admiration for the Englishman, saying that he loved “a lot” about his play.

However, that praise has not translated into opportunity thus far, with Davies having not yet made an appearance.

Rated at £2.16m at the current time, he is surely set to be rewarded with a Premier League debut sooner rather later.

After all, he has now had an extended period of time at Anfield, had the opportunity to get to know his teammates and adjust to the demands of his illustrious employers, all aspects which should only benefit the Reds should he take to the pitch.

One worry about his inclusion, though, could potentially be that he has never played in the top flight of English football throughout his career. That’s where the opposition could ironically help.

Coming up against Fulham, one of the lowest scorers in the league this season having netted on just 21 occasions, he also faces a side who he has faced on three occasions already in his career. It shouldn’t be too much of a baptism of fire, then, that some could maybe expect.

It’s an opportunity that Davies should be ready to take should it be afforded to him by Klopp.

AND in other news, read why we think Liverpool are making a mistake over their short-term Champions League targets…