All posts by h79snht.top

Sky Sports’ Jamie Weir believes that Tottenham Hotspur had a good January transfer window despite their last-minute business.

The Lowdown: Spurs did solid business

It took a long time for Tottenham to kick into gear as they clearly saw Pedro Porro as their number-one target and weren’t very willing to move on from him as they eventually landed the Spaniard.

The ex-Sporting defender wasn’t the only signing to arrive in January, with Arnaut Danjuma joining on loan until the end of the season, but is yet to start a game for Tottenham although he’s been on the bench twice and scored on his debut.

Despite only bringing in two players – both of whom have only arrived on initial loan deals – Weir believes it was nevertheless a good transfer window for Spurs and Antonio Conte.

The Latest: Levy delivered for Conte

Conte made it clear he wanted signings last month to mould this team into his own, and Weir insisted that two new faces arriving were enough to consider January a successful window.

He said: “In terms of Spurs’ business over January – I’m going to get absolute pelters here from Spurs fans on Twitter – but I thought it was a decent January for Tottenham.

“They identified their main area of concern, which was right wing-back. They identified their number-one target, which was Pedro Porro – who absolutely turned Spurs inside-out twice when Spurs played Sporting in the Champions League – and they got him.

“Yes, it took 31 days to get it over the line, but it takes two to tango, and from what I understand, all the difficulty was at Sporting’s end and Spurs were willing to do the deal, and it was off and it was on, and it was off again. But they got it over the line.”

The Verdict: Tottenham may have just done enough

While many will have likely wanted more players to arrive – especially when top-four rivals such as Chelsea and Newcastle United also bolstered their squads with big-money signings – Spurs appear to have done smart business.

Tottenham have structured both of these deals very well as they have not had to hand over massive amounts of money in transfer fees and instead can leave them all until the summer, which will indeed help with Financial Fair Play rules.

Weir clearly is happy with what Tottenham did last month to improve their squad, and even if neither are starters immediately, they will give Conte more options and depth, which will be key when the Champions League kicks off once again.

Injury expert Ben Dinnery says that Gabriel Jesus is ‘bang on schedule’ in terms of his return to Arsenal.

The Lowdown: London Colney return

Arsenal reporter for GOAL Charles Watts has confirmed that Jesus has returned to Arsenal to step up his recovery from a knee injury that he picked up in December.

After surgery, he is able to do light training with a ball, and is walking around freely without the need for crutches or a knee brace.

The Latest: ‘Bang on schedule’

Speaking to GiveMeSport, Denary says that Jesus is ‘bang on schedule’ in terms of his recovery, after he was given a timescale of between three and four months out:

“Mikel Arteta was always fairly vague on the timescale of Jesus’ injury, but my understanding was around that three month period and potentially extending to closer towards four months.

“That fits with that because he picked up that injury in Qatar and that was at the beginning of December.

“As a guide, you would say he is bang on schedule in targeting that, but it really depends on how Arsenal are doing as to whether they rush him back into the team.”

The Verdict: Big boost

The fact that Jesus is on schedule to recover, and has not suffered any injury setbacks, is a big boost for Mikel Arteta and his team going into the latter stages of the season.

Hailed as a ‘world-class’ striker on his day by his former Manchester City team-mate Ilkay Gundogan, Jesus has made a huge difference in terms of turning the Gunners from top-four hopefuls to title contenders.

Aside from his five goals and five assists in the Premier League before his injury, the Brazil international has also averaged more shots and dribbles per game than anyone else in the squad, while he has also won the most fouls (WhoScored).

Nonetheless, after dropping points to both Newcastle United and Everton in the New Year so far, Jesus will be key in terms of keeping their title hopes up.

A group Qatari investors are likely to make a bid for Manchester United in the coming days, according to Sky Sports.

The Lowdown: Friday deadline

The Glazers are overseeing takeover discussions without Old Trafford executives and have set a deadline of this Friday for bids to be made.

They value the club at around £6billion, which could see United become the most expensive sports team ever, should a takeover actually go through at that price.

Qatari investors have recently been linked with making their move for the Red Devils, and it looks as if that could well materialise before Friday.

The Latest: Sky Sports update

Sky Sports chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol said this on Monday afternoon regarding United and Qatari investors.

“We’ve been told today that private investors who are linked to the Qatari Royal Family are likely to make a bid to buy Manchester United this week.”

Solhekol then described it as “massive news for the future of Manchester United” due to the wealth of the potential buyers.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-man-utd-news-11/” title=”Latest Man Utd news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: One to watch

Erik ten Hag has got things back on track on the pitch in Manchester, so potential Qatari investors could help take the club back to the top off the pitch, should a takeover go through.

They appear to want to help Ten Hag immediately in the transfer window, which may already make a positive impact amongst supporters. A formal bid will need to be made in the next few days, though, and it’ll be interesting to see what opening offer they go in with in regards to the Glazers’ £6billion asking price.

Liverpool have previously been linked with a move for Josko Gvardiol and a new claim has now emerged from a reliable source on the club’s pursuit of the player ahead of the summer transfer window.

What’s the latest on Liverpool’s interest in Gvardiol?

According to journalist David Lynch, the Reds will be “all over” the RB Leipzig centre-back in an attempt to bolster their squad heading into the 2023/24 campaign.

Speaking on the Born And Red YouTube channel, Lynch claimed: “I’ve absolutely no doubt that Liverpool will be all over Gvardiol in the summer.

“The Red Bull link, I know they watch them regularly and will absolutely love him.

“He says he’s really keen on coming to Liverpool but it’s just the price tag that could be an issue. You would have to do something in terms of moving a centre-half on for decent-ish money I think to even look at that.”

Klopp could finally bin Joe Gomez

There is little doubt that things need to change at Anfield and that became crystal clear once again in the humiliating 5-2 defeat to Real Madrid on Tuesday night in the Champions League.

The Reds took their heaviest home defeat ever in Europe when Carlo Ancelotti’s side ran riot under the floodlights on the red side of Merseyside in another humbling realisation for Jurgen Klopp that his once successful squad has turned stale.

This poor performance came just a day after FSG confirmed that they were not interested in selling and will continue to work in the best interests of the club, so reinvestment should be their number one priority in the development and pursuit of further success.

As suggested by Lynch, the club would likely need to bolster funds by moving on another centre-back this summer and one player who should surely be in the firing line for an Anfield exit is Joe Gomez after his “nightmare” display against Madrid – as dubbed by writer Demar Grant.

The 25-year-old dud was absolutely savaged when it came to player ratings with the hard-to-impress L’Equipe giving the Liverpool defender just a two out of ten rating in the aftermath of his blunder-filled performance.

The popular French publication wrote that Klopp would ‘undoubtedly regret’ playing Gomez over Joel Matip, citing that ‘the English defender, who was very feverish in defence, was involved in all the goals conceded’.

Gvardiol, on the other hand, has been a standout performer for his side in the Bundesliga and has been attracting plenty of attention for his solid defensive performances in the Leipzig back-line and, in comparison to Gomez, has been a reliable presence.

The Croatian defender – hailed “fearless” by Rio Ferdinand – has outperformed Gomez in a number of attributes already this season including pass completion rate (88.6% v 85.6%), interceptions (22 v 21), blocks (20 v 15), take-on success rate (90.9% v 80%), aerial duels won (59.5% v 53.3%) and shot-creating actions (20 v 16).

These statistics indicate that the ex-Dinamo Zagreb star would be an upgrade in terms of what he offers defensive and in possession – by being more efficient and effective with his defensive and attacking actions.

With that being said, if Liverpool can meet the reported exit clause of €110m (£97m) it would be a great investment into repairing the defensive issues in the squad and Klopp must ditch Gomez in order to sign the Leipzig enforcer.

Aston Villa boss Unai Emery was conservative in his approach to his first window in charge of the club in January as the coach did not make major changes to the squad.

The Spanish manager opted for minor adjustments to his roster, potentially due to it being midway through the season, by signing Jhon Duran and Alex Moreno, from Chicago Fire and Real Betis respectively, and allowing Danny Ings to join West Ham.

Moreno has come in to fight it out with Lucas Digne for a starting spot at left-back and has made six Premier League appearances since arriving at Villa Park.

The former Everton defender has struggled this season and needed competition to push him. He has averaged an underwhelming Sofascore rating of 6.68 across 18 outings in the top flight – making 2.1 tackles and interceptions per game and winning 52% of his defensive duels.

His Sofascore rating places him 14th in the squad and his poor form suggests that the dud is not living up to his £25m price tag, which could open up a debate around his future heading into the summer.

If all goes well, Moreno could become the first choice in that position and Emery could ditch Digne from the club by cashing in on him ahead of the 2023/24 campaign.

Could Sebastian Revan replace Lucas Digne at Aston Villa?

The Spanish head coach could earn and save NSWE millions in one go by selling the ex-Barcelona full-back and then coaching academy talent Sebastian Revan to make the step up to the first team.

If there is sufficient interest in the defender, Villa could rake in a sizeable fee for Digne as FootballTransfers place his Expected Transfer Value at around £28m (€32m).

Emery could land save the owners millions on a replacement for the Frenchman by unearthing Revan from the U21 side, as the 19-year-old has caught the eye this season.

Earlier this term, the teenager averaged a Sofascore rating of 7.00 in the EFL Trophy for the U21s and made four tackles and interceptions per game – winning 58% of his duels – across two matches.

The dynamo, who already has first-team experience with Grimsby and Hereford on loan, has played 13 times in the Premier League 2 and contributed with one goal and two assists from defence. He is now an experienced player for the U21s as the youngster has made 36 appearances for them to date, after playing 28 matches at U18 level.

His boss at Grimsby, Paul Hurst, hailed the talent as a “very athletic” defender who “impressed” for Villa in the FA Youth Cup, which highlights how well the gem has performed at academy level for the club.

At the age of 19, the battler still has plenty of years left ahead of him to develop and improve with Emery set to benefit from coaching him into becoming a first-team-ready left-back who could replace Digne in the summer – providing Moreno with competition next term.

This would, therefore, prevent NSWE from needing to splash out millions on a new signing to come in as a replacement for the French defender.

Newcastle United are the frontrunners in the race to sign Bristol City midfielder Alex Scott, according to a report from Football Insider.

The Lowdown: Transfer battle

After impressing with Bristol City this season, Scott is being targeted by a whole host of Premier League clubs, including the likes of Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

It also recently emerged that Newcastle have scouted him ahead of a potential summer move, with the midfielder fitting the profile of the type of player Eddie Howe wants to bring in, given that he is just 19-years-old but already has first-team experience.

The Latest: Newcastle leading the race

As per a report from Football Insider, the Magpies are now in pole position in the race for the teenager, who is valued at £25m by his current club.

While Newcastle are said to be well-placed to secure the youngster’s signature, they may have to fend off competition from Wolves, West Ham and Crystal Palace, who are also believed to be readying moves.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/newcastle-news-7/” title=”Newcastle news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: Make it happen

There is good reason why there is so much interest in the starlet, as he possesses the potential to go on and be a top midfielder at Premier League level.

Hailed as a ‘unique talent’ who is ‘destined for the very top’ by Bristol City boss Nigel Pearson, the central midfielder has been one of his side’s most consistent performers in the Championship this season, averaging a 6.87 match rating from Sofascore.

After a breakthrough season in the 2021/22 campaign, Scott is showing real signs of improvement, having already bettered his assist tally from the previous season, setting up his teammates for five goals in the second tier this term.

The next logical step is a move to the top flight, and Newcastle should do everything in their power to secure Scott’s signature in the summer transfer window.

Tottenham officials have been sent to run the rule over Ajax attacker Mohammed Kudus as the club, and Fabio Paratici by extension, eye a move.

The Lowdown: Spurs make transfer plans…

Spurs and managing director Paratici, who oversees the club’s transfer activity, have reportedly been making plans behind-the-scenes with many targets linked.

Centre-backs are thought to be high on the priority list for the north London club with the likes of Palace star Marc Guehi mentioned as players attracting interest.

Antonio Conte’s side have been linked with moves for Franck Kessie among others to strengthen the midfield, and according to 90min, they have an attack-minded ace in their sights.

The Latest: Tottenham eye Kudus…

As per the outlet, Tottenham are among the host of clubs taking an interest in Kudus, who is also being tracked by Premier League quartet Man United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea.

It’s added that Spurs have sent officials in the form of their scouting team to run the rule over Ghana’s international ace with the race for his signature heating up.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/tottenham-latest-news-4/” title=”Tottenham latest news” poster=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/cropped-tottenham-fans.jpg” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: Major player…

The 22-year-old ranks among Ajax’s highest-rated players and has been in red hot form this season – already managing double figures in terms of Eredivisie goal contributions in the Eredivisie.

Kudus also shone at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, scoring two goals in three group stage games whilst boasting far superior attacking stats than all of Ghana’s squad (WhoScored).

Still young, the false nine creator for Ajax would come to Spurs as a player with real longevity.

Called a ‘world class’ talent by former Dutch Footballer Jan van Halst, he would be an exciting signing.

Wolves fell to a late 2-1 defeat against Newcastle United on Sunday afternoon to drag Julen Lopetegui’s side right back into the Premier League relegation battle.

Alexander Isak headed Eddie Howe’s side into a first-half lead after meeting Kieran Trippier’s free-kick, but Wolves looked as if they could nick a point at St James’ Park when Hwang Hee-chan equalised with a tap-in.

Although the South Korean ended the Old Gold’s woeful run of strikers failing to score in the Premier League, it wasn’t enough for Lopetegui’s side, as Miguel Almiron scored a late winner for the high-flying hosts.

The result leaves Wolves in 13th position in the Premier League table but only three points outside the relegation zone after a number of relegation-threatened sides picked up big results this weekend.

Although the Old Gold look much improved and were perhaps unfortunate not to take a point, Daniel Podence was once again disappointing after being restored to the starting lineup following the injury to Pablo Sarabia.

Was Daniel Podence Wolves’ worst player vs Newcastle?

As per Sofascore, the Portuguese winger would earn a woeful 6.3/10 rating for his performance, which was the worst of any player to start the game from both sides.

During his time on the pitch, the former Olympiacos man would manage just 35 touches of the ball, which was shockingly fewer than goalkeeper Jose Sa, who had 45.

The diminutive winger would contribute just 18 passes at St James’ Park which is lower than his season average of 20.2, while he would also succeed with just one of his four dribble attempts, losing possession on 11 occasions in total.

It was no surprise that Liam Keen, who covers Wolves for the Express and Star, was critical of the 27-year-old during his match coverage.

He said: “Wolves had a good chance on the break but Podence was very sloppy and lost the ball.”

While Podence did see a good effort come off the post, he contributed very little at St James’ Park and perhaps emphasised why he has been dropped for Sarabia in recent weeks.

His lack of physicality was clearly exposed against Howe’s side, as he was dribbled past four times during his 67 minutes on the pitch, which was the most of any player on the pitch and far more than his average of 0.8 dribbles per game.

Given Wolves had chances on the break against Newcastle and didn’t take them, which led to them losing the game, Podence definitely cost Lopetegui on Sunday.

Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Harry Winks has taken to Instagram to provide a response to comments that he recently made on his parent club.

What did Harry Winks say?

The Englishman is currently spending the final few months of his season-long loan deal in Serie A with the Italian strugglers, Sampdoria.

Winks has become a regular in their starting XI having started the last eight of Sampdoria's league games following a lengthy injury which kept him sidelined (via Transfermarkt).

However, did recently comment about his time away from north London and suggested the club had not been in contact with him:

"I can only focus on the next match, but I am proud to have made this choice. Nobody from Tottenham has contacted me, not even the coach. I was and am fully focusing on Sampdoria," he said.

But on Thursday afternoon, the 27-year-old posted on his Instagram story to clarify his comments, claiming he had not heard from Spurs on their plans for next season:

"I just wanted to clarify [that] my comments about no contact from Spurs were in regards to plans for next season. There are still plenty of games left this season for both Sampdoria and Spurs and this has to be the full focus for both.

"Having been at Spurs since the age of 5, I have nothing but respect for everyone at the Club."

Will Spurs sell Winks in the summer?

Winks will arrive back in north London with just one year remaining on his current deal with the Lilywhites having spent the year away in Italy.

But as aforementioned, it has been a difficult campaign for the Englishman on the whole having suffered from an ankle injury which had kept him out of action until January.

The injury was so severe that the midfielder was forced to undergo surgery back in November to help rectify the issue.

As a result, Winks has missed the majority of the season in Italy which has meant his opportunity to leave Spurs for the season and show them what he can do has been hindered.

And in a side which look destined for relegation, it has not been an easy environment for the 27-year-old to return to considering they have only won two games all season.

Spurs are expected to look for a new midfielder in the summer but considering the difficulties Winks has endured, it is difficult to imagine him returning to the fold ahead of next season.

Nottingham Forest defender Renan Lodi is likely to stay at the club should they remain in the Premier League, according to journalist Jacque Talbot.

The Lowdown: Newcastle interest

The Brazilian first arrived at The City Ground on a season-long loan from Atletico Madrid in August 2022 with an option to buy included in his contract as negotiated with the La Liga outfit.

The Reds left-back has firmly established himself as first-choice in his position having made 23 appearances under Steve Cooper, but with impressive performances comes interest.

Football Transfers report that Newcastle United are watching the 24-year-old after being interested in completing a deal last summer, though it’s believed that he is keen to remain in the Midlands.

The Latest: Talbot’s update

Taking to Twitter, Talbot revealed that Lodi is expected to remain at Forest so long as they don’t suffer relegation, with Evangelos Marinakis potentially trying to lower his fee. He wrote:

“Exc: Forest – told Renan Lodi’s future at club continues to largely depend on their Premier League status next season – but the side still may negotiate a fee down of what was agreed for the option-to-buy – €30m.

“Forest will need to assess their options over whether they have the money to activate the clause in full even if they do survive this season – but wouldn’t say he’s heading for the exit (PL status withstanding).”

The Verdict: Keep hold of him

Lodi has been dubbed ‘The New Marcelo’ by talent scout Jacek Kulig and Forest should do everything they possibly can to keep hold of him beyond the upcoming summer window.

The left-footed ace currently ranks in the 83rd percentile for most interceptions and the 82nd percentile for most clearances per game, but is also strong on the attack (FBRef). The Serrana native has whipped 54 crosses into the box so far this season and has even gotten on the scoresheet himself, which shows his desire to get down the flank and contribute in the final third.

Cooper’s defender also has the versatility to operate higher up on the left side of the midfield alongside in his natural position, offering the boss flexibility when it comes to formation.

According to Spanish outlet AS, Atletico manager Diego Simeone has already made the decision to sell Lodi in the summer whether that’s to Forest or not, so they have to stay up to give themselves a chance of permanently securing his services.