All posts by z3u9t.icu

Derby County are considering a move to bring Albert Adomah to Pride Park this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Football League World, who claim that the Queens Park Rangers winger is considering his future at the club after a disappointing season in west London.

They also report that Derby County, as well as Bristol City, Ipswich Town, Luton Town and Birmingham City, are keeping a close eye on the situation of the Ghana international ahead of a potential move in the upcoming transfer window.

Rooney must not move

While it is undeniable that Adomah is a player who has thrived at Championship level over the course of his career, scoring 65 goals and registering 70 assists over his 439 appearances in the competition for clubs such as QPR, Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest and Middlesbrough, there are a number of reasons why a move for the player Dean Smith once claimed is “real trouble” for defenders should not be considered by Wayne Rooney’s side this summer.

Firstly, after joining QPR from Forest last October, the £900k-rated man found it difficult to hold down a place in Mark Warburton’s starting XI, with only seven of the winger’s 34 Championship appearances this season coming from the first whistle.

Indeed, the fact he did not secure a starting spot is not overly surprising, as his performances for the Rs did not exactly set the world alight, with Adomah averaging a SofaScore match rating of just 6.74 for his team, ranking him as the club’s joint 11th-worst performer in the second tier.

Aside from his level of performance, the veteran’s wages would also appear to be something of a problem for Rooney’s cash-strapped Derby side, as Adomah currently takes home a rather hefty £13k-per-week at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium, an amount that would rank him as one of the Rams’ highest earners if he were to make a move to the club this summer.

Furthermore, with the winger being under contract until 2022, QPR would likely demand a fee for the 33-year-old, something that would also be a problem due to Derby’s current financial state.

As such, not only would a move for Adomah appear to be irresponsible from a financial standpoint, it would also be rather a waste of money when considering the winger’s most recent displays for QPR.

So, it would be highly advisable for Rooney to turn his attention away from Adomah in the transfer market this summer, as the 35-year-old looks to build a side capable of a much more respectable finish in the Championship next time around.

In other news: Get it done: Rooney must sanction Derby swoop for “fantastic” 24 G/A beast this summer

Transfer insider Dean Jones believes there could be a shock twist on the future of Liverpool striker Divock Origi. 

The lowdown: Italy bound?

The 27-year-old, who once again endeared himself to the Anfield faithful with another Merseyside derby goal on Sunday, is widely expected to leave the club in the summer when his contract expires.

Recently, reputable journalist James Pearce admitted that an amicable departure was imminent with Serie A giants AC Milan the favourites to sign the popular Belgian frontman, with some reports even claiming an agreement will be found in Milan this week.

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However, a fresh update has emerged claiming it’s not too late for all parties to perform a major U-turn…

The latest: Jones makes claim

Speaking to GiveMeSport, Jones suggested there remains a possibility that Origi will still be plying his trade on Merseyside next season due to the ‘massive moments’ he produces.

“There’s loads of clubs that are a good potential fit for Origi, but I think it’s also going to depend on what he wants at this stage of his career.

“Whatever you say or think of him and whether he’s good enough to be in that Liverpool team, he has had some massive moments in a Liverpool shirt and he continues to have them.

“Jurgen Klopp absolutely loves him. If Klopp tells him he still has a role for him in that squad, I’d be surprised to see him leave.”

The verdict: Time has come

Seemingly on the brink of an exit for a number of transfer windows now, the prospect of keeping Origi and in turn offering the 32-cap Belgium ace a new deal is surely out of the question.

Albeit a man of multiple memorable moments, not least against the seven goals scored against cross-park rivals Everton, the striker who was hailed as ‘very unique’ by Jermaine Jenas has missed out on five Premier League match-day squads entirely in 2022 alone, suggesting he is not even a major option off the bench.

Despite a noteworthy return of nine direct goal contributions in 16 fleeting outings this season and well-established cult hero status on the Kop, the best option now for all parties would be a move away this summer.

In other news, a key Liverpool update has emerged regarding a superstar player. Read more here.

Leeds United are reportedly interested in signing Rubin Kazan winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia this summer as they look to bolster their attacking options.

The Whites enjoyed another positive result last weekend, drawing 0-0 at home to Manchester United and holding their own throughout. It has been a hugely impressive first season back in the Premier League for Leeds, who are in ninth place and have taken some huge scalps along the way.

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Despite that, it would be a surprise if new signings weren’t made in the summer transfer window, with Marcelo Bielsa potentially looking to add depth in wide areas.

Leeds keen on Kvaratskhelia move

According to Football FanCast, Leeds’s director of football Victor Orta has ‘held talks’ with Kvaratskhelia’s agent over a move to Elland Road.

The 20-year-old is an exciting young talent who is valued at £13.5m by Transfermarkt, already boasting three goals in eight caps for Georgia despite his status as an up and coming prospect.

Transfer Tavern take

While Kvaratskhelia wouldn’t necessarily represent an immediate first team option for Leeds, his long-term potential seems very promising, with his superb dribbling skills catching the eye.

Leeds fans may recognise the exciting one-on-one ability as being similar to a certain Brazilian they signed last summer. In fact, his 3.4 dribbles per top flight game is actually far better than Raphinha’s average this season of 1.9. On international duty, Kvaratskhelia’s average goes even higher to an almost unbelievable five take-ons per match.

Marcelo Bielsa may feel he can develop the youngster’s raw talent even further and turn him into a formidable player for the Whites, given the Argentine’s reputation in the game.

With Raphinha having the right-sided wide role nailed down, the left side is more up for grabs – Kvaratskhelia predominantly plays there, meaning that a move for him makes even more sense.

In other news, Leeds have been linked with a move for a central midfielder this summer. Find out who it is here.

With just one win in their past 13 Premier League games and a dismal 2-1 defeat against relegation strugglers Norwich City at the weekend, Rafa Benitez’s time in charge of Everton was brought to an end, leaving the Toffees in 16th place in the league table and on the hunt for a new manager.

In terms of who could come in as the next figure to try and steady the ship, it seems as though Everton owner Farhad Moshiri has one name in mind to come in and replace Benitez and try and get the Toffees’ season back on the rails.

What’s the news?

According to a recent report from The Athletic by Everton journalist Patrick Boyland and Greg O’Keeffe, the Merseyside club have identified former Borussia Dortmund manager Lucien Favre as a potential candidate to take the reins at Goodison Park.

During his stint in charge of Dortmund between July 2018 and December 2020, Favre took charge of 110 matches across all competitions, winning 68, drawing 17 and losing 25, which is an impressive record to have.

The 64-year-old has had spells at other German clubs such as Hertha BSC and Borussia Monchengladbach as well as having a period in charge of French club OGC Nice and FC Zurich in his native country of Switzerland, highlighting the experience he has in management.

Even though he hasn’t had a job since leaving Dortmund, this would give Everton the opportunity to get him to Goodison quicker than potentially any other manager they see as a possible candidate for the job that is currently working at another club.

In his own words, Favre has said in the past that his players “have to be ready to suffer in training,” suggesting just how much he expects from them. That could be just what Everton need to get the right attitude and work ethic in the squad that can deliver strong performances and positive results on the pitch.

After all, Benitez clearly didn’t get the most from his players but a stern coach such as Favre appears to fit the bill.

Moving forward, Everton should definitely make an approach to the Swiss boss in the coming days and weeks if they haven’t already to see if he would be willing to test his managerial abilities in the Premier League with a side that need a big change in fortunes before the end of the current campaign.

In other news: “As things stand”: Fabrizio Romano drops fresh EFC manager claim, fans surely relieved – opinion

Celtic have ‘stepped up’ talks with reported target Cameron Carter-Vickers of Tottenham Hotspur, as their search for defensive reinforcements rolls on [Daily Record].

The Lowdown: Celtic start off 2021/22 in disappointing fashion

Progressing into the new campaign, new Hoops manager Ange Postecoglou will be agitating to get new signings in the door following an opening day defeat to Heart of Midlothian [BBC].

Having made some inroads from a recruitment perspective, Celtic have managed to acquire additions Carl Starfelt, Kyogo Furuhashi, Liel Abada, Osaze Urhoghide and Liam Shaw [Transfermarkt].

They are now closing in on a sixth new face according to recent developments.

The Latest: Talks continue for Carter-Vickers; loan deal not an option

Celtic have stepped up talks with 23-year-old Carter-Vickers as they look to add defensive cover moving further into 2021/22 [Daily Record].

Despite being keen to explore the option of bringing the United States international in on loan, this scenario has now been quashed as they player wishes to leave north London for good.

Spurs are said to have an asking price of around £5 million for his services, which could cause issue with Anderlecht and Club Brugge also linked with a swoop.

The Verdict: Carter-Vickers would be an astute signing for Celtic

In desperate need of depth at the back, Carter-Vickers would prove to be an astute signing who could retain significant sell-on value in the long-term.

In 2020/21, Southend-born Carter-Vickers featured 26 times on loan at Bournemouth, registering two goal contributions, one goal and one assist [Transfermarkt], as the Cherries made the Championship play-offs.

Furthermore, he impressed with his awareness to danger throughout the year, recording an average of 3.6 clearances per game [WhoScored].

Once labelled as ‘very good’ by former coach Jonathan Woodgate, Celtic should look to secure his signature as a matter of priority [Bournemouth Echo] – he is young enough to sell on for profit in the future but experienced enough to improve the first XI immediately, boasting eight USA caps already.

In other news, an England international is willing to take a pay cut to join the Hoops.

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.

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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.

Noel Whelan believes that new Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou could be gone before the turn of the year, saying that handing him a 12-month contract signifies that the Parkhead hierarchy do not fully trust the 55-year-old.

The Lowdown: Celtic building towards 2021/22

Moving into 2021/22, Celtic fans will be delighted to have finally received some much-needed managerial clarity after going more than 100 days without a permanent head coach before appointing Ange Postecoglou.

Rebuilding the squad has began in earnest, with the Hoops being linked with moves for Ko Ikatura and George Baldock.

The Latest: Whelan believes Postecoglou could be gone by the turn of 2021

However, BBC pundit Whelan has taken a rather dim view of the former Yokohama F. Marinos manager’s prospects at Celtic in a recent interview with Football Insider, stating:

“If he does not hit the ground running he is going to come in for it, simple. That is what happens when you take over at a club like Celtic.

“The fact that the club only gave him a rolling one-year contract speaks volumes. They are not clearly convinced either. If Postecoglou had the full backing of the board he would have been given a three-year contract.

“He has got a lot of work to do to convince the players and to convince the fans.

“If there is a sizeable gap between themselves and Rangers at Christmas time you could see the club start looking for a replacement. It would not surprise me.”

The Verdict: Whelan’s comments are harsh

The former Aberdeen forward rightly points out the expectation levels and immense pressure to succeed at an enormous club like Celtic, but his scathing criticism of Postecoglou, and in particular his contract situation, is a tad harsh.

This is standard practice at Parkhead – they operate with almost every manager on an initial 12-month rolling contract basis; recent examples include Brendan Rodgers, Neil Lennon and Ronny Deila.

Three-year deals may provide extended continuity in football, but they don’t necessarily guarantee success. Only time will tell with regards to whether Whelan is proved right or wrong about Postecoglou, but the manager at least deserves to have some chance to prove himself rather than being judged before a competitive ball is kicked in his Celtic tenure.

In other news, Celtic are considering a move for this Manchester City defender.

A journalist at Sky Sports has revealed that Luis Campos is ‘interested’ in a role at Newcastle United.

The Lowdown: ‘The Wizard’

Campos has been nicknamed ‘The Wizard of Capital Gains’ as he has made a habit of lifting trophies while making hundreds of millions of profit on selling players (Sky Sports).

Among those names are the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Fabinho, Thomas Lemar, Bernardo Silva and Anthony Martial, all of whom he discovered while at Monaco, while Nicolas Pepe and Gabriel have both been sold to Arsenal when he was at Lille for a large profit.

The Latest: Campos interest

Sky Sports journalist Gary Cotterill has revealed (via Pete Graves) that Campos would be ‘interested’ in a role at St. James’ Park following the takeover by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) consortium.

The renowned Sporting Director ‘expects’ to be considered by the new owners, following Ligue 1 title triumphs at both Monaco and Lille.

The Verdict: Get him in

Whether it is a Sporting Director role or any other on the board, the North East club must look to get Campos in as soon as possible.

His record speaks for itself, unearthing hidden talents and helping to beat heavy favourites PSG to the domestic title with two different clubs.

Nonetheless, his background matches perfectly with the direction that the Tyneside outfit want to head in, and getting him on board would be a big coup.

In other news, find out which ‘outstanding’ Premier League ace could now join NUFC here!

An update has emerged in Leeds’ pursuit of Cagliari central midfielder Nahitan Nandez…

What’s the talk?

According to Centro Trentuno, as transcribed by TBRF, Leeds chief Victor Orta has flown to Italy to discuss a deal for Cagliari midfielder Nahitan Nandez, with the player having recently returned from the Copa America.

The report claims that a deal could be close for the South American gem, whilst a separate report earlier this month suggested that he will cost the club £26m (€30m).

Although, it remains to be seen whether or not Leeds are willing to go as high as that for Nandez or if they have been able to negotiate a lower figure.

Bielsa will be over the moon

Marcelo Bielsa will be over the moon with this update as it seems as though the club are closing in on an agreement for the midfielder.

The Leeds head coach could be about to add a talented, versatile, player to his squad and that should leave him delighted as it will give him another quality option to pick from in the Premier League next season.

Nandez has proven his ability to compete at the top level in Italy and has shown that he can operate in a number of roles, which could be a factor in terms of why Bielsa would love him at Elland Road. Serie A journalist Conor Clancy once labelled him as a “machine” and highlighted the versatility within his game that could please the Argentine coach.

He said:

“Anywhere Bielsa wants to play him, he’d do a job. I like him a lot.

“I think he’s only about five foot seven, but you wouldn’t know it if you just watched clips of him, he is a little bit of a machine. He’s so powerful but at the same time, has really, really good ball control.”

In Serie A last season, Nandez played in eight separate positions across the defence and midfield for Cagliari whilst still averaging a solid WhoScored rating of 6.72. This shows that he is reliable and consistent and that he has the tactically flexibility and knowledge to go out and do a job wherever he is needed, which could make him a key asset for Bielsa.

Injury at right-back? Nandez can fill in.

Right-winger is suspended? Nandez can come in.

Klich isn’t doing enough in midfield? Nandez can come in.

There are a plethora of scenarios that could lead to the 25-year-old being a big player for Leeds next season and that is why Bielsa will be delighted that it appears as though he is closing in on a switch to Yorkshire.

AND in other news, Imagine him and Bamford: Leeds can land dream gem who has “something special” for £30m…

Celtic had a frantic summer as Ange Postecoglou and Dominic McKay got to work quickly on repairing the rubble of a disastrous 2020/21 campaign at Parkhead.They added a host of first-team names to their ranks while also bolstering the reserves who are taking part in the Lowland League this term.What’s the word?The window only slammed shut just under 48 hours ago but the Hoops are already plotting who they want to sign in January.They have been targeting two players in the top-flight of Irish football after initially turning to Liam Scales in the transfer window.One of the players who Celtic are planning to scout this week is Drogheda teenager Killian Phillips.They will watch the player on Friday and then decide whether to bring him to the club on a permanent basis in a few months time.That’s according to reporter Daniel McDonnell who initially took to Twitter to say: “Celtic are tracking Sligo Rovers prospect Johnny Kenny. He’ll be watched on Friday and is on their long term radar. Drogheda’s Killian Phillips is also being monitored.”Their new Ajer?At just 19 years of age, Phillips is very much a player for the future.Coincidentally, he also looks like a similar type of player to Liam Shaw. Celtic signed the youngster from Sheffield Wednesday after agreeing to a deal before the summer got underway.That being said, despite his versatility as a defender and a midfielder, he is yet to make his debut for the Bhoys.That characteristic reminds us of a certain Kristoffer Ajer. The Norwegian arrived at Celtic as a 17-year-old but he was a defensive midfielder when he walked through the door.Ajer was transformed into a centre-back and it’s there where he’s really cut his teeth as a professional footballer.He’s now signed for Brentford in a deal worth £17.5m but his heir apparent – Leo Hjelde – also headed for an exit.However, by signing Phillips, they could make up for the loss of Hjelde.The Drogheda teenager is a midfielder by trade but is also capable of playing further back in defence. It’s that versatility that reminds us the most of Ajer when comparing the duo.Phillips also played on the wing in Ireland last season. That wasn’t something that Ajer had in his locker but he did feature as a rampaging full-back on the odd occasion.Although the Irishman wouldn’t be an instant player for the first-team, his future in the game looks immense.AND in other news, Celtic may have just repeated their John McGinn howler…