All posts by h716a5.icu

David Sullivan would risk throwing his money away with a revised approach for Chelsea full-back Emerson Palmieri after West Ham United’s initial loan bid was rejected.

What’s the word?

According to the Mirror, Frank Lampard has blocked Emerson from joining the Irons as David Moyes strives to find cover and competition for Aaron Cresswell.

West Ham are not expecting to have Arthur Masuaku back from knee surgery until the end of February, and they consider Emerson to be a good stop-gap who can fill the void left by the DR Congo international.

Emerson has been frozen out at Stamford Bridge for much of the campaign with Lampard favouring summer signing Ben Chilwell, while Marcos Alonso is also ahead of the 26-year-old in the former England star’s pecking order.

Yet Lampard is refusing to sanction a temporary exit for the £13.5m-rated full-back as he plans to manage a heavy fixture list featuring games in the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup.

Emerson has only featured for 88 minutes in the Premier League this season after earning his sole start of the campaign so far in the Blues’ 3-0 win over West Ham last month, while carrying the strain in the FA Cup and the dead rubber Champions League Group Stage ties.

Moyes has been without Masuaku since early December after undergoing career-saving surgery, leaving Cresswell to play seven of the following eight top-flight games at left-back with cover from academy graduate Ben Johnson.

Should West Ham sign Emerson?

While Moyes is on the lookout for cover to support and challenge Cresswell until Masuaku has returned to full fitness and can take over the left-back duties, he would be wise to avoid urging Sullivan to strike a deal with Chelsea for Emerson.

Sullivan would risk throwing his money down the drain by signing Emerson on loan, who is paid £75,000-per-week at Stamford Bridge which only Andriy Yarmolenko (£115k-p/w) and Jarrod Bowen (£96k-p/w) earn in excess of at the London Stadium, per Spotrac.

Chelsea would likely want to see Emerson play if he were to join West Ham, too, which could spark a clause like the alleged £50,000 penalty fee the Irons were claimed to have agreed to pay every time Fikayo Tomori did not feature before his proposed loan fell through.

Emerson would struggle to make worth of any such agreements, having progressively got worse over the last three seasons whilst struggling to get a game for Chelsea, with his tackle success in Premier League fixtures decreasing from 60% in 2018/19 to 46.2% and 33.3% in the following two terms, per FBref.

He has only been successful in applying pressure to the opposition in 21.4% of the instances where he has tried to force a change of possession, too, which is only marginally more than Moyes is currently seeing from 20-year-old Johnson (16.7%) in his rare outings thus far.

Cresswell, who forces a turnover with 27.7% of his pressures and wins 47.4% of his tackles, would barely feel any pressure whatsoever from Emerson if signed. So, Sullivan would be better served saving his cash from going to waste and urge Moyes to keep faith in his current options or find a better, alternative target.

AND in other news, West Ham consider January bid for “phenomenal” striker boasting 15 goals in 19 games.

Ex-referee Mark Halsey has admitted that he has “doubts” over the red card that was given to Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno during Wolves’ 2-1 win against them on Tuesday night.

Halsey unsure

Nuno Espirito Santo’s side came from behind to beat the Gunners who finished the game with nine men, after David Luiz was sent off during first-half stoppage time.

But Leno was dismissed after racing out his area to dispossess Adama Traore charging up the right-hand side, only for the ball to strike his hand which saw him given a straight red card.

Speaking exclusively to The Transfer Tavern, Halsey revealed his doubts about the decision, regarding whether the German shot-stopper was denying a clear goalscoring opportunity.

“It’s not about the last man, we keep going ‘oh he’s the last man’, it’s nothing to do with that,” he said.

“It’s about did the player deny a goal or an obvious goalscoring opportunity. In those situations, the referee must consider the distance between the offence and the goal, the general direction of play, the likelihood of gaining and keeping control of the ball and the location and number of defenders around at that moment.

“The one part of that criteria I felt was in doubt was is he going to gain control of the ball? If you take Leno out of the picture and he misses that, on the wet and slippery surface, I think there’s a bit of doubt there whether he (Traore) would have gained control of the ball.”

Transfer Tavern Verdict

We have to agree with Halsey here. If Traore was barrelling down the middle of the pitch at the edge of the penalty box, then the red card would be unquestionable, but that wasn’t the case.

There were no guarantees from that position that Traore was going to score, due to the angle and where he would have ended up if Leno missed it. The Spaniard still would have had a lot to do to find the net from there.

Despite this, Wolves supporters won’t care one bit, as it was a huge win that pushed them far away from the relegation places and put a cork on their recent slump in form.

In other news, Key Wolves asset attracting interest from PL duo who left England international feeling ‘powerless.’

Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa is doing a remarkable job at the club and looks to have turned them from a Championship team to a comfortable Premier League team and Phil Hay has delivered an exciting update on his future.

What Hay had to say about Bielsa

The journalist for The Athletic was talking about the manager and reported: “Marcelo Bielsa has been involved in talks about the next transfer window and people close to him say he is more and more invested in the ‘long game’ at Leeds.”

This is great news for the club

The fact that the Argentinian was nominated and placed in the top three for ‘the best’ FIFA men’s coach emphasises the quality of manager Leeds have and it was a great achievement to get him at the club in the first place.

He is normally known for not thinking about his long term future, and this is proven by the fact he only does one-year contracts. Therefore to hear this update from a very reliable journalist should excite supporters of the club massively.

It is also good to hear that they are discussing the transfer window. Kalvin Phillips’ injury is highlighting a need for squad depth as they struggle a lot defensively without him. If the club can continue to have such a good campaign then they have a real foundation to build on, especially with Biesla in charge and they can look at promoted clubs from the past like Leicester and Wolves and turn the club back into a real powerhouse again.

In other Leeds news one star has been praised by legend Deco, have a read who it is here!

David Moyes should urge West Ham to test Sheffield United’s resolve with a bid for Aaron Ramsdale in the summer transfer window.

What’s the word?

According to Claret & Hugh, the Hammers may look to sign Blades shot-stopper Ramsdale at the end of the season, should Chris Wilder fail to keep his side in the Premier League.

The Bramall Lane natives presently sit bottom of the table on 11 points after 26 games, 15 points behind 17th-placed Newcastle, having lost their last four and avoided defeat on just five occasions all term.

Ramsdale has started all 26 of Sheffield United’s top-flight fixtures since returning to South Yorkshire in an £18.5m deal last summer, re-joining his boyhood club from AFC Bournemouth three-and-a-half-years after moving to the south coast.

The 22-year-old presently has no desires to leave Bramall Lane for the foreseeable future, but he is expected to be the subject of a number of approaches if the Blades instigate a fire sale upon relegation.

“I want to build a rapport with my team-mates, my defenders and the fans for when they come in next year,” Ramsdale said on Sunday, via quotes by Yorkshire Live. “I have been on loan and only had the one season with Bournemouth.

“This is now time for me to kick on and whatever league we are in next year, I want to be part of it and help the team and be consistent every week.”

West Ham are likely to be in the market for a new goalkeeper in the next transfer window, with Lukasz Fabianski out of contract this summer while he and Darren Randolph will turn 36 and 34 respectively before the start of the 2021/22 campaign.

Should West Ham sign Ramsdale?

West Ham moving to sign Ramsdale if Sheffield United are relegated could be met with scepticism from supporters, given it will be the goalkeeper’s second relegation in as many seasons following Bournemouth falling out of the Premier League last term.

But Moyes should overlook any fears and test the Blades’ resolve, as the former England U21 international could be a wise pick up as the Irons likely look to add a younger pair of hands between the sticks.

While Ramsdale endured a tricky start to his second spell at Bramall Lane, he has begun to rediscover the form that saw Wilder target him as Dean Henderson’s replacement. He is also highly-rated by England manager Gareth Southgate and the Three Lions coaching staff.

Former Premier League star Shaka Hislop described Ramsdale as being “outstanding” for the Cherries last season, amid links with a possible switch to Chelsea. The ex-West Ham ‘keeper also suggested: “As a young goalkeeper, you are looking for weaknesses in his game. I don’t think he has an awful lot.”

Ramsdale has since been through his troubles this season but is coming out on the brighter side, despite Sheffield United’s terrible form, with Jurgen Klopp labelling him “incredible” after Liverpool beat the Blades 2-0 on Sunday.

The German was impressed by the shot-stopper’s display having pulled off what Sky Sports pundit Graeme Souness claims were “saves he is not entitled to make”, the type of stops that would go down a treat at the London Stadium where Fabianski continues to make unbelievable saves.

Ramsdale also offers more saves per game (3.54) than Fabianski (2.88) so if Moyes is looking to go younger in goal, he should urge West Ham to test Sheffield United’s resolve.

AND in other news, West Ham have been slapped with a £20m asking price to sign an “outstanding” talent this summer…

David Moyes can sign West Ham United an attacking project by launching a summer swoop for Fiorentina forward Dusan Vlahovic.

What’s the word?

According to Calciomercato, the Hammers and Borussia Dortmund are monitoring Vlahovic’s situation, having been attracted by the 21-year-old’s form in the Serie A this term.

The four-cap Serbia international is enjoying his best season in front of the net in his senior career to date with nine goals in 24 league games, following a previous high of six in 30 outings during the delayed 2019/20 campaign.

Vlahovic has further started more Italian top-flight fixtures (21) while featuring for more minutes (1,775) this term than he has in any previous campaign, having bettered last season’s record of 13 starts plus 1,515 minutes on the field and in fewer available games.

His current €8,500-per-week (£7.5k-p/w) contract at the Artemio Franchi Stadium is due to run until 2023, but the Partizan Belgrade product stated in January that he is open to a possible extension and that his agent had already reached out to the Viola hierarchy.

“I’m a Fiorentina player and I only think of Fiorentina,” Vlahovic told Sky Sport Italia, via quotes shared by Football Italia. “My agent talks about the renewal. I like Florence, I like Fiorentina, so… why not?”

His possible continued presence with Fiorentina marks a sizable turn around in fortunes from the off-season, when only the late intervention by head coach Giuseppe Iachini – who was fired in November – prevented a deal being agreed with AS Roma or Hellas Verona.

Should West Ham sign Vlahovic?

It remains to be seen how or if Vlahovic can maintain his current form over the final third of the Serie A season, having started the campaign poorly under Iachini before finding his final touch following the appointment of Cesare Prandelli.

Vlahovic had scored just once in six Italian top-flight games this season before La Viola parted with Iachini, but the youngster has since struck eight in 14 games after a four-match drought to kick off Prandelli’s reign.

However, scoring regularly against elite-calibre sides remains a challenge for the 6 ft 2 Serbian, with Vlahovic unable to find the back of the net against AC Milan, Atalanta, Napoli, Inter Milan or Roma.

Those clubs represent five of the top seven in the Serie A standings, although he did score during Fiorentina’s surprise 3-0 win away to reigning champions Juventus in December and in defeat to SS Lazio in January.

West Ham moving to sign Vlahovic in the summer amid their on-going search for Sebastien Haller’s successor would thus see Moyes strive to acquire a new project in the £14.4m-rated talent, who idolises Sweden great Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

“He is a legend, I love him,” Vlahovic told The Gazzetta dello Sport, via quotes by Football Italia. “My friends used to call me Ibra because I walked with wide feet like Zlatan, but it was not to imitate the legend. It just came so naturally.

“I have been following the Swedish star since he played for Inter. Then, I accompanied him as a fan on his adventure in Barcelona and the American experience. And now at Milan.”

Moyes may prefer to sign a more proven option to fill the void left by Haller joining AFC Ajax in January, but the right deal could see Vlahovic offer solid depth at the London Stadium that the former Manchester United boss can mould into a player of his own making.

AND in other news, West Ham eye the man responsible for “unbelievable” signings that deliver millions in profit…

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, former Leeds United midfielder Carlton Palmer has given his thoughts on how his old side can improve.

Under manager Marcelo Bielsa, the Whites have impressed this season in the Premier League following their promotion from the Championship.

Leeds look all but safe, sitting on 35 points with 12 games to play, while they also boast a strong record in front of goal. In the 26 matches they have played so far, Bielsa’s men have managed to find the back of the net on 43 occasions.

To go that one step further, though, Palmer believes work needs to be done in the next transfer window. He exclusively told FFC:

“The players at Leeds United have done extremely well. But, you know, say if you want to be in the top six next season, it’s a big jump in spend to get to that next level of quality, paying salaries and transfer fees. So that’s the difference.”

If Leeds are to be ambitious next season and try to aim for a European place, then moving for some quality players in the summer is something the club will likely need to consider.

Competition for European qualification has been fierce this campaign, with the likes of West Ham, Everton and Aston Villa all entering the conversation. Should attempting to do battle with these clubs and the rest of the division’s more stronger outfits be something Bielsa has in mind for next term, then dipping into the transfer market will probably be necessary.

Steve Bruce should urge Newcastle United to launch a summer swoop to sign Celtic-owned defender Jack Hendry and add a no-nonsense titan to his ranks at St. James’ Park.

What’s the word?

According to the Mirror, the Magpies feature in a small clutch of Premier League sides monitoring Hendry’s situation ahead of the next transfer market.

Celtic are expected to recall the 25-year-old to Parkhead at the close of the current season, following a tremendous campaign on loan with Belgian Pro League side KV Oostende.

Hendry joined the Diaz Arena natives for the 2020/21 term after being shunned by previous Hoops boss Neil Lennon, who resigned last month, but he is expected to chase a second chance in Glasgow as he eyes a return to the Scotland national side.

The centre-half played just 11 minutes across all competitions during Lennon’s second tenure at Celtic, but has proven a key fixture of the Oostende line-up with starting roles in 21 of his 22 Pro League outings to date.

De Kustboys boss Alexander Blessin has been full of praise for the Glasgow-born defender, whose side have a £2m option to buy him, noting in November: “He’s a great talker in defence. He makes the people he’s playing with better. You can see them listening to him.

“He’s been a tower of experience for us. Jack’s the most important member of the team this season and he’s one of the best defenders in the league. When you get signed by a club the size of Celtic at such a young age, then you obviously must have a lot of qualities.”

Oostende could easily look to sign Hendry and flip him for profit in the summer market, with Newcastle, Burnley and Wolverhampton Wanderers said to be tracking his situation as he nears the final 12-months of his Celtic contract.

Should Newcastle sign Hendry?

With funds expected to be tight at St. James’ Park in the off-season, Bruce may have to shop around for cheaper options to plug gaps in his defence and Hendry could emerge as a worthwhile solution if his future is not with Celtic.

Newcastle are at risk of losing Fabian Schar this summer, with the Swiss international said to be considering his options, while Federico Fernandez – who is also due to be a free agent at the end of the season – is yet to be offered a new contract despite ongoing negotiations.

It would obviously remain to be seen how much Oostende or Celtic may ask for, depending on the Belgian side taking up their option to purchase Hendry, but the 25-year-old is proving to be a no-nonsense type player who is hard for Pro League attackers to beat.

The three-cap Scotland international, who has not represented his national side since 2018, is only dribbled past 0.1 times per game in the Belgian top-flight this term, per SofaScore. He also offers 4.5 clearances to keep the danger away from Guillaume Hubert’s goal.

Hendry records 1.2 successful tackles a game, too, and plays the ball out from the back with 31.1 accurate passes – 23.8 in his own half – while providing a goal threat with 1.2 shots, as Oostende mount a surprise push for Champions League qualification.

Newcastle defenders Schar (0.8/1.5) and Jamaal Lascelles (0.8/0.9) have each offered fewer successful tackles per game in the Premier League this season, while Fernandez (0.3), Ciaran Clark (0.3), Isaac Hayden (0.5) and Schar (0.7) are each dribbled past more often when fielded at centre-half, per WhoScored.

Only summer free-agent Fernandez (5.6) and captain Lascelles (4.6) offer more clearances and more shots (1.3, 1.4 respectively) per game than Hendry, while no current natural Toon centre-back plays a higher number of accurate passes, per SofaScore.

Much is still to be decided with Hendry’s future, much like with Fernandez and Schar at Newcastle, however, the 6 ft 3 Hoops-owned enforcer should be a target for Bruce if United do look to add another member to his backline this summer.

AND in other news, some Newcastle players want a “very good organiser” lauded by those he’s worked with to replace Steve Bruce…

Many fans of Crystal Palace have been reacting to a post on Twitter in which Matt Woosnam shared an article of his regarding the future of the Eagles manager Roy Hodgson.

In Woosnam’s article for The Athletic, the journalist claims that the south London side’s recent 1-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion has “done little to assuage the concerns of critics” of Hodgson, who has a matter of months remaining on his contract as the Palace boss.

Woosnam also claims that there “appears to be no sign of certainty” as to whether or not the Eagles will look to offer the 73-year-old a contract extension and also questioned, after sharing his article on Twitter, whether the former England manager would accept a new deal “knowing he was never first choice,” as well as whether Hodgson’s much-maligned style of football will be “tolerated” when fans return to Selhurst Park.

In reaction to the journalist’s tweet, many fans of the club flocked to have their say on the matter, with plenty appearing to be firmly of the belief that Hodgson should not remain in charge of Palace beyond the end of the current season.

So, what exactly did these Crystal Palace fans have to say in reaction to Matt Woosnam’s tweet regarding Roy Hodgson’s future?

“Any extension of Hodgson contract will require an extension on many players contracts I think. It would be madness to allow a man in the last year of his contract to form a new squad knowing he won’t be there.”

@UpperTierSteve

“No thank you. He doesn’t develop youngsters, he only wants 28/29-year-olds and upwards at the club – he didn’t even want Eze, we could have signed Watkins and Justin but Roy didn’t want them. Will not be getting a season ticket if he stays.”

@Hape9999

“If this man gets a new contract, for the first time in my adult life I’ll not renew my season ticket. It won’t mean much to the club but will definitely be a big thing for me. I’m someone who’d probably still have a season ticket if I lived halfway across the world.”

@pdot_j

“If we lose Wilf, will these tactics keep us up even with Roy? You play like this all the time and you get lucky (Brighton, Fulham) now and then but, eventually, it stops working.”

@rickerz61

“Let’s not even entertain this idea.”

@WarrenAJB

“No no and no.”

@Kevbartleyy

“I reckon he knows that this is his last season.”

@cpfcjude

In other news: One Palace star has been linked with a move elsewhere in the Premier League, find out more here!

The year is 2012 and with the assistance of Ian Bankier, Celtic have just won the league. It was a landmark moment for the Bhoys, one that signalled the start of a remarkable nine straight SPFL crowns.

The likes of Neil Lennon and Brendan Rodgers engineered an incredible period of success but it didn’t come without its flaws.

One of those was the inability to hold onto some of their best players.

Celtic saw the likes of Virgil van Dijk, Moussa Dembele and Kieran Tierney head off to pastures new in pursuit of not only a better pay package but also a greater chance of European success.

They have duly replaced a few of them in the transfer market. Odsonne Edouard has scored 81 goals since arriving at Parkhead while Kristoffer Ajer has often been the glue holding Celtic’s defence together.

That being said, replacing a player like Van Dijk is particularly difficult to do. The Dutchman made 115 appearances for the Bhoys and has since gone on to win the Champions League and Premier League with Liverpool.

He is known as one of the best defenders in world football, defining the role of a ball-playing centre-half.

Though, Celtic should already have had their next Van Dijk in their clutches once he left.

That’s because in 2012, the year that started Celtic’s dominance, Bankier missed out on the simple acquisition of a French centre-half.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/latest-celtic-transfer-news-onuachu-edouard-dembele-turnbull” title=”The latest Celtic news and views!”]

That happened to be Willy Boly. The centre-back was at Auxerre in Ligue 1 at the time and was valued at a little over £1m.

Lennon admitted the club were interested in his services but he would ultimately stay in France for another two years. That was before he went to Braga and then ended up at Wolves in England.

Boly has since become a wall and a pillar of consistency in defence, being linked with highbrow moves to clubs like Arsenal.

Similarly to Van Dijk, the 30-year-old is impeccably strong and has plenty of pace to get him out of tricky situations. Furthermore, he’s tough to beat and can play out capably from the back.

Speaking about his qualities last year, Wolves journalist Tim Spiers said: “Boly is just ridiculous. I mean, it looks like he’s never been away. He looks a better player to me.

“Boly makes such an impact, he rarely makes mistakes, is so dominant in both boxes and vastly underrated by anyone outside the club.”

Of course, we cannot merely say that Boly is as good as Van Dijk because that would be incorrect. However, what we can do is compare the statistics.

The £46k-per-week defender was able to win four aerial duels per game last season compared to the five won by a certain Dutch centre-back.

Both of their pass success rates were north of 80% while the duo completed over four clearances per match.

In terms of tackling, however, it is Boly who is more robust. He won 2.6 challenges a match in 2019/20, compared to Van Dijk’s 0.6.

Celtic have signed a number of defenders since missing out on Boly but given his performances in England, he would have been their dream replacement.

AND in other news, Fresh twist emerges in Celtic manager hunt, it’s bad news for Hoops supporters…

Glasgow Rangers defender Leon Balogun has slammed UEFA and FIFA amid the racism row involving Glen Kamara.

Balogun slams governing bodies

During the Gers’ 2-0 defeat to Slavia Prague at Ibrox in their Europa League round of 16 second leg, Kamara was the subject of alleged racist abuse from Ondrej Kudela.

Slavia have moved to deny those allegations (slavia.cz), while Kamara has released a statement backing up his claim. Speaking to German publication Kicker, Balogun has slammed the governing bodies’ lack of action, as he said:

“What is missing: That UEFA or FIFA will take action. I am no longer interested in these wretched campaigns. That is all well and good, but the campaign content must also be lived authentically and must not remain just empty words. Designing captain’s armbands with the label “No Racism” is of no use if racist incidents are not punished again in the end. I have the feeling that “People of Color” are used to promote the supposedly cosmopolitan and inclusive values ​​of the FIFA and UEFA brands. But when it is precisely these players that are attacked, far too often people are silent. I would like the expensive campaigns to be followed by action.”

Hard to disagree

It is hard to disagree with Balogun – it feels as though there is a distinct lack of desire from both UEFA and FIFA to make real strides in the battle against racism. Incredibly, the £80,000 fine Nicklas Bendtner received for showing Paddy Power on his boxer shorts at Euro 2012 was higher than all but one punishment dished out by UEFA for racism offences in the previous decade (inews.co.uk).

While campaigns such as Say No to Racism and even kneeling as part of the Black Lives Matters movement might raise a certain amount of awareness to the cause, it is nowhere near enough to eradicate this issue. UEFA and FIFA must both do more in this fight rather than hoping the problem goes away.

In other news, Rangers eye this defender as Filip Helander is linked with a move away from Ibrox.