All posts by z3u9t.icu

Flocking to Twitter, plenty of Manchester City supporters have absolutely erupted over the latest on their chase to sign Fiorentina sensation Dusan Vlahovic.

Pep Guardiola has shared that his team’s player availability ’emergency’ is officially over, with Ferran Torres now the only man unavailable as the Sky Blues travel to Watford this evening (The Daily Mail).

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City are seeking to maintain their impressive winning run since losing 2-0 at home to Crystal Palace in late October, a hot streak of victories which includes triumphs over bitter rivals Manchester United and European powerhouses Paris-Saint Germain (mancity.com).

As January looms, however, sporting director Txiki Begiristain has been tipped to target a natural striking option and heir to club legend Sergio Aguero, coming after he failed to land one for Guardiola in the summer.

Corriere dello Sport (via Sport Witness) have shared an exciting update on their quest, with the Italian source claiming that Tottenham are slipping away in the race for Vlahovic and City now emerging as favourites.

As Begiristain and the Citizens gather ‘more and more information’ on the 21-year-old ahead of the winter window, it is believed that a ‘shower of millions’ in the form of a Man City bid could now be tabled.

Man City fans ‘buzzing’…

Amid their heavy links to Borussia Dortmund superstar Erling Haaland, Fiorentina’s star man could come as an ideal alternative, leaving little wonder as to why plenty of City fans are excited by this latest claim from Italy.

Likened to Haaland himself, the striker has been in hot form for La Viola over 2021/22, scoring 12 goals and setting up two others in just 15 Serie A starts (WhoScored).

He also averaged a killer 3.4 shots on goal per match in that time – more than any Man City player has under Guardiola in the Premier League so far this campaign.

Unsurprisingly, a fair few City supporters want to see him make the move to Eastlands, as they took to Twitter with excited reactions:

“Buzzing, some good news.”

Credit: @SumonM21

“Please let this be true”

Credit: @Jacob4rmstrong

“No way”

Credit: @Mantus_G

“Music to me ears”

Credit: @vhoooosh

“Siuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu”

Credit: @Weezy_ef

“Finally a striker. Please just sign one lads”

Credit: @BernardoTouch

“LESSS GOOOOOOOO”

Credit: @King_Kevin100

In other news: ‘Aaaah’, ‘Siuuu’, ‘Finally’…Many Man City fans go wild as ‘perfect’ £53.9m claim emerges, find out more here.

West Ham have approached Aston Villa over a move for centre-back Kortney Hause, according to Football Insider.

The Lowdown: El Ghazi interest

The 26-year-old isn’t the first Villa player with whom the Hammers have been linked during the January transfer window. David Moyes is also thought to be keen on signing Anwar El Ghazi, with the Irons manager viewing the Dutchman as a versatile attacking option at the London Stadium.

Villa are willing to part ways with the Netherlands international and would prefer a permanent sale, and it now seems as if Hause is also a player of interest.

The Latest: Source shares Hause update

Football Insider, who were informed by a West Ham source, shared a story on Saturday morning regarding Hause.

They claimed that the Hammers have approached Villa over a possible deal, but Steven Gerrard’s side have the option to extend the defender’s stay in the Midlands by a further 12 months.

The report added that, should Villa activate the clause, it would enable them to secure a significantly higher fee for Hause, with his manager open to moving him on if the club can bring in a replacement.

The Verdict: New addition needed first

Villa recently lost Axel Tuanzebe’s services after he cut short his season-long loan spell to join Italian side Napoli. That has left Gerrard with Hause, Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa as first team options in the centre of defence, so Villa certainly need one and possibly two additions at the back if they are to part ways with the 26-year-old.

The £25,000-a-week earner, who journalist Pat Rowe called a defender who ‘dominates players’, made his first start under Gerrard in the recent 2-1 defeat to Brentford, with a number of fans criticising his performance that day.

Incomings are needed at Villa Park before possibly letting Hause leave, but it seems as if a move to the capital could have legs, making it a transfer rumour to watch.

In other news: ‘Heartbroken’ – Many Villa fans react to Gregg Evans’ big transfer development

This season has been a disastrous state of affairs for Celtic and if anything typified that, it would be the Bhoys’ defeat on Sunday.

Having already been usurped by their biggest rivals in the league, the Hoops were left to rue shambolic defending and poor finishing as they were knocked out of the Scottish Cup.

Does that sound familiar? Of course it does. Time and time again this term we’ve witnessed defensive mistakes let the manager and indeed the club’s supporters down.

We’ve also seen a lack of ruthlessness in front of goal. That was perfectly summed up when Benjamin Siegrist made 12 saves in a 0-0 draw with Dundee United.

On this occasion, everything went wrong again as they suffered a 2-0 defeat in the fourth round to Rangers.

Odsonne Edouard missed a simple chance in the second half from a matter of yards out and then saw his spot-kick saved later on. A good chance for Moi Elyounoussi also went begging after the break.

Though, had they been better from a defensive point of view they wouldn’t have been left chasing their tails.

John Kennedy must have been left fuming with his two full-backs; Jonjoe Kenny and Diego Laxalt.

The duo were described as “abysmal” by The Athletic’s Kieran Devlin and it was clear to see why. Kenny reacted too slowly for the opener and then struggled to track the run of Ryan Kent for the second, diverting the ball into his own net.

Unfortunately, it was Laxalt who was considerably worse. The Uruguay international has been rather inconsistent this season and this match summarised perfectly why the Hoops shouldn’t be lusting after a £7.2m permanent switch.

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As Rangers broke forward down the right for Steve Davis’ opening strike, Laxalt wasn’t even in the frame. He vacated his role down the left and Steven Gerrard’s men were able to profit.

When the ball was finally swept home, Laxalt was standing in the centre of the pitch just outside the penalty area.

Speaking in his half-time show on the A Celtic State of Mind channel, Paul John Dykes said he was “horrifically out of position” and “nowhere to be seen.”

Though, Laxalt was worse for the second goal. Joe Aribo got down the right again and then led the left-back a merry dance. The Rangers winger produced a tremendous piece of trickery that sold the Uruguayan completely.

Aribo then whipped a ball in which Kent managed to divert home with the aid of Kenny.

John Harton was scathing in his assessments during Premier Sports’ live coverage of the match. The former Celtic striker said it was “such a poor attempt” at trying to mark Aribo for the second.

He then claimed it was a “horror first half” from Laxalt, suggesting he “does nothing.”

With his woeful opening 45 minutes in mind, it was not a surprise to see him dragged off at half-time in favour of Greg Taylor.

Perhaps the £57k-per-week earner ought to be dropped for good next time out.

AND in other news, Forget Hjelde: Celtic could have their new Ajer in 17 y/o never-seen in the first team…

Glasgow Rangers are reportedly now following Brazilian youngster Antony as Giovanni van Bronckhorst targets his first signing of the summer transfer window.

The Lowdown: Busy summer?

In his first summer transfer window at Ibrox, van Bronckhorst will want to put his own stamp on the squad, and so there should be expected to be plenty of incomings and outgoings before the new season starts.

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The Teddy Bears have recently been linked with a loan move for Billy Gilmour, but the likes of Alex Lowry, Joe Aribo and Filip Helander are reportedly attracting interest from the Premier League.

The Latest: Rangers following

As per A Bola, the Light Blues, as well as Basel, are now following young forward Antony ahead of a potential move in the summer.

Described as an ‘offensive weapon’, the Gers have ‘collected some notes’ on the versatile talent as they look to start their business straight away.

The Verdict: Exciting

It certainly is exciting for the supporters that the club seem to be looking at summer recruitment already, despite the season not being over.

A Brazilian who is just 20 years of age, Antony is an interesting albeit relatively unknown prospect, having scored two goals while on loan at Arouca in the Portuguese top flight from Corinthians.

Capable of playing virtually anywhere in the attack, from second striker to both wings, RFC will be hoping to add more depth to the squad once the window officially opens, and perhaps the young South American could be a good start.

In other news, find out what ‘disappointing’ Rangers update has now emerged here!

Former Premier League striker Dean Windass has exclusively told Football FanCast that he’s been left bamboozled by Chris Wilder’s departure from Sheffield United.

Following almost two days of uncertainty, Wilder was finally relieved of his duties at Bramall Lane on Saturday evening, less than 24 hours before the Blades were thrashed by Leicester City.

Having guided Sheffield United from mid-table in League One to their highest Premier League finish last season, Wilder’s sacking came as a major surprise to the footballing world, despite United sitting rock-bottom of the table and on course to be relegated.

Under-23s manager, Paul Heckingbottom, has been placed in temporary charge for the remainder of the campaign, but Windass believes that Wilder would have been the best man to take Sheffield United back into the topflight.

He exclusively told Football FanCast:

“I don’t see any sense in it if I’m being quite honest with you. I don’t get the logic behind it. Yes Sheffield United will go down even if Jose Mourinho or Alex Ferguson would have got the job, but nothing is going to change. I don’t understand it, unless there has been a massive row. There have been rumours of conflict between him and the hierarchy.

“The question on everybody’s lips is can Sheffield United get straight back to the Premier League?

“With Chris Wilder you would have said ‘yes’, I’m not saying no about Paul Heckingbottom or whoever gets the job, but more so with Chris, because the players knew him, he’s a local lad, he loves the club like me with Hull City, so it just doesn’t make any sense.”

And Wilder’s absence was quickly felt following Sheffield United’s 5-0 defeat at Leicester, which was their heaviest since their promotion back to the Premier League, and first time they conceded five in a league match for more than three years.

West Ham United could find themselves another Michail Antonio this summer amid interest in one of the Championship’s hottest prospects…

What’s the word?

According to the Lancashire Telegraph, the Hammers are at the front of the queue to secure Blackburn Rovers talisman Adam Armstrong but they face competition from relegated Fulham as well as Premier League rivals Newcastle United, Norwich City and Southampton.

Despite only having one year to run on his current contract, the Championship outfit are remaining firm over their £20m valuation of the striker, whilst they are pushing to tie him down to fresh terms that would see him take a 40% sell-on clause.

The 24-year-old is currently on holiday, with his representatives holding talks with Rovers over his future.

Shades of Antonio

The Irons have had mixed success when it comes to recruiting from the lower divisions, ranging from absolute flops like Jordan Hugill to finding club legends like Michail Antonio.

A move for Armstrong would certainly edge towards the latter rather than the former.

As per Transfermarkt, the diminutive 5 foot 8 dynamo found the net a whopping 29 times in all competitions for Blackburn during the 2020/21 campaign, adding to his 17-goal tally a season earlier.

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He clearly has a knack for scoring goals and has proven that in every step up through the leagues, having enjoyed successful loan spells at Coventry and Barnsley whilst on the books at the Magpies.

During his time at the Ricoh Arena, he earned perhaps the most glowing endorsement he’ll ever receive from Hammers legend and then-teammate Joe Cole.

“Armstrong reminds me of Aguero in a way, he’s of the build and he’s hungry for goals,” he claimed. “In a lovely way, he’s selfish for goals and has the ingredients to be a top player and go on to score many more goals.”

The 24-year-old, valued at £14.4m by Transfermarkt, has also been dubbed “explosive” and “devastating” by Tony Mowbray during an interview with The Athletic back in January.

West Ham signed Antonio after a very lucrative season at Nottingham Forest, where he delivered 26 goal contributions in 46 appearances, via WhoScored, so there would certainly be further similarities if David Moyes took a punt on Armstrong.

£20m is a lot cheaper than some of the fees mooted around their other targets, namely the £40m price tag on Tammy Abraham’s head, so GSB should look to sanction a move for the Blackburn sensation this summer.

AND in other news, West Ham suffer major Jesse Lingard setback…

Nuno Espirito Santo ‘could become one of the candidates’ for the managerial vacancy at Tottenham Hotspur, according to football.london journalist Alasdair Gold.

The lowdown

Spurs have been without a permanent manager since sacking Jose Mourinho before the Carabao Cup final in April.

Paulo Fonseca was expecting to become the club’s new boss before they pulled the plug on talks with the 48-year-old (via BBC Sport). A move for Gennaro Gattuso following the swift end to his tenure at Fiorentina was also abandoned amid a backlash from numerous supporters.

Nuno is lining up his next challenge after leaving Wolverhampton Wanderers at the end of the season. The 47-year-old led them back into to the Premier League in 2018, since when they have secured back-to-back seventh-place finishes before slipping to 13th this year (Transfermarkt).

The latest

Gold said: “I keep getting told, and again today, from those in Italy that know Paratici, that he likes Nuno Espirito Santo and not to rule out that he could become one of the candidates.”

However, the ‘Jorge Mendes factor’ could prove to be a problem. Paratici is said to have ‘a good relationship with Nuno’s agent’, but Spurs may be reluctant to be saddled with a number of Mendes’ clients.

Gold added: “I understand that he [Mendes] and Paratici have a good relationship but there is always going to be that fear that Spurs will end up having to take on a number of his players. Italian media claimed Fiorentina and Gattuso parted ways because of exactly that.”

The verdict

Guiding Wolves to consecutive top-seven finishes on the back of promotion was some achievement from Nuno, and we shouldn’t be too quick to forget it. Yes, last season was tricky as they slumped to 13th, but in many ways it underlined the importance of injured striker Raul Jimenez to the functioning of the team, who badly missed the influence of their top scorer from the previous two campaigns.

However, Nuno wouldn’t seem a particularly exciting appointment for Tottenham. He deployed a counter-attacking system to great effect at Molineux, but adopting that style at a club like Spurs with loftier ambitions can frustrate the fanbase all too easily. Also, Levy is on record as saying that he wants a manager who will play expansive football, which may conflict with Nuno’s usual style.

In other news, Gold also dropped this intriguing claim about another candidate. 

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, Gary Mabbutt has defended Jose Mourinho despite Tottenham’s recent slump.

Mourinho’s future at Spurs has come under significant pressure in recent days following their brutal Europa League exit, just three days after their top-four hopes were dealt a major blow in the north London derby.

Tottenham responded to those defeats and Hugo Lloris’ post-match comments by comfortably beating Aston Villa on Sunday to go into the international break on a high.

But Mabbutt believes that Mourinho’s managerial stature is the reason he gets unnecessary amounts of criticism, and has backed the former Chelsea boss to deliver the goods at Spurs this season.

He told Football FanCast:

“When you have a manager that’s probably the most famous manager in the world and has 25 trophies under his belt, you’re always going to get scrutiny.

“Yes, you’re going to have setbacks. When things aren’t going particularly well, you’re going to get a kick up the backside. We got that after the Arsenal and Zagreb games, and got the response that the manager and fans were looking for in the Villa game.

“Of course there is going to be scrutiny, it’s never going to change. But at the end of this season, people could be saying ‘what a great year for Spurs’ – top-four, trophy in the cabinet, onto the next.”

It’s a strange situation at Tottenham heading into the final two months of the campaign.

Despite the doom and gloom, a strong end in the league could see Champions League football return to north London next season, whilst there’s the possibility of ending their 13-year trophy drought in the Carabao Cup final.

Marcus Bent has exclusively told Football FanCast that Everton might struggle to keep Tom Davies if he keeps performing at his current level.

Davies, who’s a product of the Toffees academy, burst on the scene as a teenager and made his debut as a 17-year-old against Southampton at the end of the 2015-2016 campaign under Roberto Martinez.

Less than 12 months down the line, the midfielder scored against Manchester City to enter the top-10 for Everton’s youngest Premier League goalscorers behind the likes of James Vaughan and Wayne Rooney.

Ever since that memorable strike against Pep Guardiola’s team, Davies has been something of a regular in the Everton side, and has occasionally worn the armband in the absence of both Seamus Coleman and Gylfi Sigurdsson.

Despite being on the bench for the win at Arsenal and loss against Aston Villa, Davies has already racked up 149 Everton appearances before his 23rd birthday.

And Bent told Football FanCast that if the former England U21 star keeps improving, interest will no doubt come his way:

“Technically good for his age – very aware, very mature. I think he’s got a long career at Everton, but if he carries on the way he’s going there will be a lot of clubs that want to take him. I’m not saying Everton are a top-six club, but now they’re kind of pondering away from that.

“Davies will want to play in the top-six, so if he carries on doing what he’s doing he will want to be successful and start winning trophies.”

Lille have made a formal approach for Tottenham Hotspur defender Serge Aurier, as reported by Fabrizio Romano on Twitter.

The Lowdown: Spurs look to streamline right-back position before the window slams shut

With less than a week until the window slams shut, Lilywhites manager Nuno Espirito Santo will be keen to complete any remaining transfer business at the club, in order to solely focus on the important playing schedule that lies ahead on domestic and European fronts.

Right-back looks to be one particularly overpopulated area within the Spurs roster, with Japhet Tanganga, Matt Doherty and Aurier all rivalling each-other for playing opportunities.

Now, the north Londoners look set to slim down in that spot following recent reports.

The Latest: Romano confirms Lille approach

Speaking to his large audience on Twitter, transfer guru Romano signified that Lille have made their move for the Ivorian, stating: “Tottenham have received an approach from Lille for Serge Aurier in case Çelik will leave.”

Atletico Madrid have commenced discussions with Lille full-back Zeki Celik, paving the way for Aurier to move to France.

Of course, the 28-year-old has been subject to speculation for a number of months after refusing to sign a new deal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium [Sky Sports].

The Verdict: Right move for player and club to part ways

Enduring an erratic career in the Premier League, moving on to pastures new may be the best option for Aurier before the end of the summer window.

In 2020/21, the ex-Paris Saint Germain defender helped his current employers to UEFA Conference League qualification, registering five goal contributions in 27 appearances; two goals and three assists [Transfermarkt].

Aurier managed to win 123 duels across the piece in the Premier League last term [Premier League], but his lapses of concentration at the back were a major concern for some pundits.

Once labelled as ‘amazing’ by former Tottenham Hotspur man Paul Robinson, Spurs should look to sell Aurier on and re-invest any monetary gain to secure priority targets [Football Insider].

In other news, Tottenham Hotspur have agreed a fee for a Premier League star. Find out more here.